Serum Progranulin Concentrations May Be Associated With Macrophage Infiltration Into Omental Adipose Tissue

OBJECTIVE—Progranulin is an important molecule in inflammatory response. Chronic inflammation is frequently associated with central obesity and associated disturbances; however, the role of circulating progranulin in human obesity, type 2 diabetes, and dyslipidemia is unknown

Variable number of tandem repeat polymorphisms of the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene IL-1RN: a novel association with the athlete status

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The interleukin-1 (IL-1) family of cytokines is involved in the inflammatory and repair reactions of skeletal muscle during and after exercise. Specifically, plasma levels of the IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) increase dramatically after intense exercise, and accumulating evidence points to an effect of genetic polymorphisms on athletic phenotypes. Therefore, the IL-1 family cytokine genes are plausible candidate genes for athleticism. We explored whether IL-1 polymorphisms are associated with athlete status in European subjects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Genomic DNA was obtained from 205 (53 professional and 152 competitive non-professional) Italian athletes and 458 non-athlete controls. Two diallelic polymorphisms in the IL-1β gene (<it>IL-1B</it>) at -511 and +3954 positions, and a variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) in intron 2 of the IL-1ra gene (<it>IL-1RN</it>) were assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found a 2-fold higher frequency of the <it>IL-1RN </it>1/2 genotype in athletes compared to non-athlete controls (OR = 1.93, 95% CI = 1.37-2.74, 41.0% vs. 26.4%), and a lower frequency of the 1/1 genotype (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.40-0.77, 43.9% vs. 58.5%). Frequency of the <it>IL-1RN </it>2/2 genotype did not differ between groups. No significant differences between athletes and controls were found for either -511 or +3954 <it>IL-1B </it>polymorphisms. However, the haplotype (-511)C-(+3954)T-(VNTR)2 was 3-fold more frequent in athletes than in non-athletes (OR = 3.02, 95% CI = 1.16-7.87). Interestingly, the <it>IL-1RN </it>1/2 genotype was more frequent in professional than in non-professional athletes (OR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.02-3.61, 52.8% vs. 36.8%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study found that variants at the IL-1ra gene associate with athletic status. This confirms the crucial role that cytokine IL-1ra plays in human physical exercise. The VNTR <it>IL-1RN </it>polymorphism may have implications for muscle health, performance, and/or recovery capacities. Further studies are needed to assess these specific issues. As VNTR <it>IL-1RN </it>polymorphism is implicated in several disease conditions, athlete status may constitute a confounding variable that will need to be accounted for when examining associations of this polymorphism with disease risk.</p

Association between the Interleukin-6 Promoter Polymorphism −174G/C and Serum Lipoprotein(a) Concentrations in Humans

Background: Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor antagonist tocilizumab has been shown to lower serum Lp(a) concentrations. We investigated whether the IL-6 single nucleotide polymorphism 2174G/C is associated with baseline serum Lp(a) concentrations. Methodology/Principal Findings: We divided 2321 subjects from the Lipid Analytic Cologne (LIANCO) cohort into 2 groups, the ones with substantially elevated Lp(a), defined as concentrations $60 mg/dl (n = 510), and the ones with Lp(a),60 mg/ dl (n = 1811). The association with the genotypes GG (33.7%), GC (50.75%) and CC (15.55%) was investigated. The GC and the CC genotype were associated with a significantly increased odds ratio of having substantially elevated Lp(a) concentrations (OR = 1.3, 95 % CI 1.04 to 1.63, P = 0.02 and OR = 1.44, 95 % CI 1.06 to 1.93, P = 0.018). These associations remained significant after adjusting for age, sex, smoking behavior, body mass index, serum lipoproteins, hypertension and diabetes. Of these covariates, only LDL cholesterol was significantly and independently associated with elevated Lp(a) concentrations. Conclusions/Significance: The IL-6 single nucleotide polymorphism 2174G/C is associated with increased odds of having elevated Lp(a). Whether this association plays a role in the Lp(a)-lowering effects of IL-6 receptor antagonists remains to b

Inspection of microstructure and phase composition of a dispersion ceramic after hydrothermal treatment

The primary purpose of this work was the examination of the surface of ATZ ceramic after hydrothermal treatment. The surface was inspected concerning its roughness. The phase composition and the microstructure on the surface and within the peripheral zone were determined after applying a stepwise broad ion beam polishing technique. After each preparation step, the surface was analysed with X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and the phase composition was calculated. Additionally, the cross sectional area of the sample was observed with a field emission scanning electron microscope technique (FESEM). Hydrothermal treatment of ATZ ceramic leads to changes of roughness and phase composition on the surface. But the penetration depth of the phase transformation is only 14 micron. The result of this last step of only 0.5 wt% monoclinic zirconia corresponds to the initial content after fabrication. That means that the tetragonal/monoclinic transformation only takes place in this small surface layer of a thickness of less than 14 micron. This is in good agreement with the FESEM analysis where a defect peripheral zone of a thickness of about 9 micron was observed

Surface properties after ageing of dispersion ceramic and its influence on strength

The primary purpose of this work was the examination of the surface and the strength of ATZ ceramic after hydrothermal treatment. Hydrothermal treatment of ATZ ceramic leads to changes of roughness and phase composition on the surface. The phase composition and the microstructure on the surface and within the peripheral zone were determined after applying a stepwise broad ion beam polishing technique and quantitative phase analysis. With this technique a penetration depth of the phase transformation of less than 14 µm was observed. Investigations of the cross sectional area by means of FESEM have shown a transformation zone of about 9 µm. Both methods lead to comparable results with a very small, morphologically changed peripheral layer. The study of the strength after ageing with different thickness of the samples showed that for a thickness of 2.0 mm there is no negative influence on mechanical behaviour. In consideration of this fact no significant change of tribological properties is expected

Zielorientierte rationelle Methoden der Kunststoffpruefung

TIB: FR 4370 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman

Microstructure and hydrothermal ageing of alumina-zirconia composites modified by laser engraving

International audienceLaser engraving is more and more commonly used to write permanent identity features on medical devices. In particular, it is performed on ceramic heads for hip prostheses. Since these components are submitted to high mechanical loading during long periods of time (several years), it is critical to assess the influence of laser engraving on their durability. In the present article, laser marking of zirconia-toughened alumina and alumina-toughened zirconia resulted in an important colour change. It did not affect notably the resistance to hydrothermal ageing, despite important microstructural changes (in particular formation of a zirconia-alumina solid solution layer some tenths of micrometres thick). The formation of this original microstructure was explained by the fast cooling rate after lasing

Sub-surface assessment of hydrothermal ageing in zirconia-containing femoral heads for hip joint applications

International audienceZirconia-based materials have been used in orthopaedics since the 1980s, with large success, mainly thanks to transformation toughening. On the other hand, their main drawback is their potential sensitivity to hydrothermal ageing, i.e. tetragonal to monoclinic phase transformation on their surface in the presence of water. Hydrothermal ageing may result in roughness increase and microcracking of the surface. In this article the hydrothermal ageing behaviour of three medical-grade zirconia-based materials is assessed at high temperature and extrapolated to room or body temperature. The degradation is also characterized by FIB/SEM nano-tomography to better assess sub-surface evolutions. In both zirconia and alumina-toughened zirconia (ATZ), ageing results in the presence of a homogenous transformed layer of constant thickness whose growth rate is about 8 times slower in ATZ than in zirconia. Microcracking occurs in the entire transformed layer in zirconia, but was much less relevant in ATZ. Zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) is much less prone to ageing. In ZTA ageing results in a thin transformed layer in which the monoclinic fraction decreases with depth. No microcracking was observed in ZTA