Adipokines and Inflammation: Focus on Cardiovascular Diseases

It is well established that adipose tissue, apart from its energy storage function, acts as an endocrine organ that produces and secretes a number of bioactive substances, including hormones commonly known as adipokines. Obesity is a major risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases, mainly due to a low grade of inflammation and the excessive fat accumulation produced in this state. The adipose tissue dysfunction in obesity leads to an aberrant release of adipokines, some of them with direct cardiovascular and inflammatory regulatory functions. Inflammation is a common link between obesity and cardiovascular diseases, so this review will summarise the role of the main adipokines implicated in the regulation of the inflammatory processes occurring under the scenario of cardiovascular diseases

Circulating Sphingosine-1-Phosphate as A Non-Invasive Biomarker of Heart Transplant Rejection

Accumulating evidence has confirmed that the expression of sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase 2a (SERCA2a) is downregulated in heart failure and cardiac allograft rejection. Although many SERCA2a-related genes and proteins involved in the regulation of myocardial Ca(2+) fluxes have been explored, its related metabolites remain poorly studied. Our main objective was to identify circulating SERCA2a-related metabolites altered in cardiac allograft rejection and to determine whether these could serve as non-invasive biomarkers. Sixty plasma samples from adult heart transplant were included in a metabolomic analysis. Sphingosine-1 phosphate (S1P), metabolite closely related with SERCA, were increased in patients with cardiac rejection (p < 0.0001). S1P discriminated between patients with and without rejection: normal grafts vs. all rejecting grafts (AUC = 0.911, p < 0.0001), normal grafts vs. Grade 1 R (AUC = 0.819, p < 0.01), Grade 2 R (AUC = 0.911, p < 0.0001), Grade 3 R (AUC = 0.996, p < 0.0001). In addition, we found changes in key enzymes and receptors of S1P pathway analysed on explanted hearts from heart failure patients. This preliminary study reveals that circulating S1P determination could be a novel approach to detect cardiac rejection, showing a robust capability for detection that improves gradually with the severity of rejection. These alterations could be relevant to better understand the involvement of calcium regulation on the pathophysiology of rejection

Influences of catchment and river channel characteristics on the magnitude and dynamics of storage and re-suspension of fine sediments in river beds

Fine particles or sediments are one of the important variables that should be considered for the proper management of water quality and aquatic ecosystems. In the present study, the effect of catchment characteristics on the performance of an already developed model for the estimation of fine sediments dynamics between the water column and sediment bed was tested, using 13 catchments distributed worldwide. The model was calibrated to determine two optimal model parameters. The first is the filtration parameter, which represents the filtration of fine sediments through pores of the stream bed during the recession period of a flood event. The second parameter is the bed erosion parameter that represents the active layer, directly related to the re-suspension of fine sediments during a flood event. A dependency of the filtration parameter with the catchment area was observed in catchments smaller than ~100 km2, whereas no particular relationship was observed for larger catchments ( &gt; 100 km2). In contrast, the bed erosion parameter does not show a noticeable dependency with the area or other environmental characteristics. The model estimated the mass of fine sediments released from the sediment bed to the water column during flood events in the 13 catchments within ~23% bias