Dietary habits and their association with blood pressure among elderly Icelandic people

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn View/Open Allur texti - Full textOBJECTIVE: Prevalence of hypertension, which is the most common risk factor for cardiovascular disease in elderly people, increases with age. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between diet and blood pressure in elderly Icelanders, with focus on cod liver oil, and to compare their diet to dietary guidelines. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Diet was assessed using three-day weighed food records and blood pressure was measured after a 12-hour-fast in 236, 65-91 years old, Icelanders living in the capital area of Iceland. 99 men (42%) and 137 women (58%) participated in the study. RESULTS: According to Nordic nutrition recommendations, intake of nutrients was above lower intake levels among the majority of participants. However, 19% were under this level for vitamin-D, 13% for iodine, 17% of men for vitamin-B6, and 26% and 12% of men and women, respectively, for iron. Systolic blood pressure was inversely associated with cod liver oil intake, even when adjusted for age, body mass index, gender, and antihypertensive medications (P=0.01). Intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids correlated with blood pressure in a similar way. Other dietary factors were not associated with blood pressure. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that intake of cod liver oil is associated with lower blood pressure among elderly people and may therefore have beneficial effects on health. A notable proportion of participants was at risk of vitamin D, vitamin B6, iodine, and iron deficiency.Tilgangur: Tíðni langvinnra sjúkdóma, svo sem háþrýstings, eykst með hækkandi aldri, en fæðuvenjur og aðrir lífsstílsþættir geta haft áhrif á þessa þróun. Þar sem háþrýstingur er einn helsti áhættuþáttur hjarta- og æðasjúkdóma meðal eldra fólks eru tengsl mataræðis og blóðþrýstings mikilvægt rannsóknarefni. Tilgangur rannsóknarinnar var að kanna tengsl fæðuþátta, sérstaklega lýsis, við blóðþrýsting meðal eldri Íslendinga á höfuðborgarsvæðinu og meta fæðuneyslu þeirra með samanburði við íslenskar og norrænar ráðleggingar um mataræði og næringarefni. Efniviður og aðferðir: Þátttakendur voru 236 talsins, 65 til 91 árs gamlir Íslendingar af höfuðborgarsvæðinu. Níutíu og níu karlar (42%) og 137 konur (58%) tóku þátt. Mataræði þeirra var metið með þriggja daga veginni fæðuskráningu og blóðþrýstingur mældur eftir 12 tíma föstu. Niðurstöður: Flestir þátttakendur fengu meira en lágmarksskammt af öllum nauðsynlegum næringarefnum. Hins vegar fengu 19% minna en lágmarksskammt af D-vítamíni, 13% af joði, 17% karla af B6-vítamíni, og 26% karla og 12% kvenna af járni. Marktæk neikvæð fylgni var á milli lýsisneyslu og slagbilsþrýstings. Þessi tengsl voru enn til staðar eftir að leiðrétt hafði verið fyrir aldri, þyngdarstuðli, kyni og inntöku á blóðþrýstingslækkandi lyfjum (p=0,01). Neysla á löngum ómega-3 fitusýrum tengdist slagbilsþrýstingi einnig marktækt. Aðrir fæðuþættir tengdust ekki blóðþrýstingi. Ályktanir: Niðurstöður benda til þess að neysla á lýsi sé tengd lægri blóðþrýstingi meðal eldra fólks og hafi á þann hátt jákvæð áhrif á heilsufar. Stór hluti þátttakenda var í áhættuhópi vegna skorts á D-vítamíni, B6-vítamíni, joði og járni

Cross-Species Single-Cell Analysis Reveals Divergence of the Primate Microglia Program

Summary Microglia, the brain-resident immune cells, are critically involved in many physiological and pathological brain processes, including neurodegeneration. Here we characterize microglia morphology and transcriptional programs across ten species spanning more than 450 million years of evolution. We find that microglia express a conserved core gene program of orthologous genes from rodents to humans, including ligands and receptors associated with interactions between glia and neurons. In most species, microglia show a single dominant transcriptional state, whereas human microglia display significant heterogeneity. In addition, we observed notable differences in several gene modules of rodents compared with primate microglia, including complement, phagocytic, and susceptibility genes to neurodegeneration, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Our study provides an essential resource of conserved and divergent microglia pathways across evolution, with important implications for future development of microglia-based therapies in humans

Macrophages : Combattant Maf pour l'éternité

Les macrophages ont une contribution essentielle dans la bonne santé et la maladie. Comment les macrophages sont capables d'auto-renouvellement reste une question sans réponse. Au sein du laboratoire il a était démontré que les macrophages déficients pour MafB et c-Maf (Maf-DKO) ont la capacité de s'autorenouveller indéfiniment in vitro et ceci sans perdre leur identité de macrophages ni devenir cancéreux (Aziz et al. 2009). En utilisant les macrophages Maf-DKO comme outil d'étude de l'auto-renouvellement, nous avons pu identifier un réseau de genes qui permet l'auto-renouvellement des macrophages en absence de MafB. De plus nous montrons que des macrophages génétiquement non modifiés sont capables d'exprimer des genes du réseau d'auto-renouvellement des cellules souches embryoniques. Ce réseau d'auto-renouvellement est inhibé par MafB, qui peut-être sous exprimé in vivo. Les macrophages alvéolaires (MA) expriment constitutivement de faibles niveaux de MafB et c-Maf comme montré par Gautier et al. 2013. Les MA montrent une importante capacité d'auto-renouvellement, ils peuvent être amplifiés ex vivo. La surpression de MafB dans les MA in vitro et in vivo réduit la capacité d'auto-renouvellement de ces derniers. Nous avons finalement identifié GSK3 comme une cible pharmacologique pour l'inhibition de MafB dans les macrophages. Il a était montré que GSK3 tait nécessaire pour l'activation de MafB par phosphorylation directe. Nous avons montré que par inhibition de GSK3, les macrophages étaient capables s'auto-renouveler même s'ils exprimés de façon endogène/exogène MafB et c-Maf.Macrophages contribute to essential functions in health and disease. Some macrophages are short lived but some macrophages are able to self-renew. However, in which manner macrophages are able to self-renew remains an open question. In our lab, we have demonstrated that macrophages deficient in MafB and c-Maf (Maf-DKO macrophages) can self-renew indefinitely in vitro, without neither loosing their macrophage identity nor becoming cancerous (Aziz et. al 2009).Using Maf-DKOs as a tool to study molecular mechanisms of self-renewal of macrophages, we have now been able to identify a network of genes, which allows macrophage self-renewal in the absence of MafB. We identified 25 genes, which affected only self-renewal. Additionally, we show that genetically unmodified macrophages are able to express self-renewal gene network. This self-renewal network is inhibited by MafB, which can be downregulated in vivo after mitogenic stimuli. Recently, Gautier et al., showed that Alveolar macrophages (AMs) constitutively express very low levels of MafB and c-Maf. We were able to demonstrate that AMs are able to self-renew in vitro and in vivo. Overexpression of MafB in AM in vitro and in vivo reduced the ability of AMs to self-renew. Additionally, we identified GSK3 as a pharmaceutical target for MafB regulation in macrophages. GSK3 has been shown to be required for Maf activation through direct phosphorylation. We showed that by inhibiting GSK3, macrophages were able to self-renew even if they were expressing endogenous or exogenous MafB and c-Maf

Isolation and Long-term Cultivation of Mouse Alveolar Macrophages

Alveolar macrophages (AM) are tissue-resident macrophages that colonize the lung around birth and can self-maintain long-term in an adult organism without contribution of monocytes. AM are located in the pulmonary alveoli and can be harvested by washing the lungs using the method of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Here, we compared different conditions of BAL to obtain high yields of murine AM for in vitro culture and expansion of AM. In addition, we describe specific culture conditions, under which AM proliferate long-term in liquid culture in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. This method can be used to obtain large numbers of AM for in vivo transplantation or for in vitro experiments with primary mouse macrophages

Long-term culture-expanded alveolar macrophages restore their full epigenetic identity after transfer in vivo

International audienceAlveolar macrophages (AMs) are lung tissue-resident macrophages that can be expanded in culture, but it is unknown to what extent culture affects their in vivo identity. Here we show that mouse long-term ex vivo expanded AMs (exAMs) maintained a core AM gene expression program, but showed culture adaptations related to adhesion, metabolism and proliferation. Upon transplantation into the lung, exAMs reacquired full transcriptional and epigenetic AM identity, even after several months in culture and could self-maintain long-term in the alveolar niche. Changes in open chromatin regions observed in culture were fully reversible in transplanted exAMs and resulted in a gene expression profile indistinguishable from resident AMs. Our results indicate that long-term proliferation of AMs in culture did not compromise cellular identity in vivo. The robustness of exAM identity provides new opportunities for mechanistic analysis and highlights the therapeutic potential of exAMs