Brain natriuretic peptide and cancer

Background Natriuretic peptides have been proposed as biomarkers of cardiovascular disease, especially heart failure. Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) has also been shown to be upregulated at the transcriptional and translational levels by pro-inflammatory cytokines in cardiac myocytes. Although we often measure plasma BNP levels in cancer patients, it remains unknown whether cancer-related inflammation affects the plasma BNP levels. We investigated the relationship between the BNP and human cancers. Methods We retrospectively studied 2,923 patients in whom the plasma BNP levels and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured and echocardiography was performed. Patients with clinically evident heart failure (NYHA II or higher), heart disease requiring medical treatment or surgery, renal dysfunction, and inflammatory disease were excluded. There were 234 patients in the final analysis. Blood sampling was performed before surgery and chemotherapy. In addition, we evaluated the relationship between the inflammation and plasma BNP levels in mouse models of colon cancer. Results Of the 234 patients, 80 were diagnosed with cancer. Both the plasma BNP and serum CRP levels were significantly higher in cancer patients than those without. There were no significant differences in the echocardiographic parameters. There was a significant positive correlation between the plasma BNP and serum CRP levels in cancer patients (r = 0.360, P<0.01) but not in those without. In cancer patients, only the CRP correlated with the BNP independent of the age, creatinine level, hypertension, and body mass index. In addition, in nude mice with subcutaneous colon cancer, the plasma BNP level was elevated compared with that in non-cancer mice, and there was a significant relationship between the plasma BNP and serum levels of the inflammatory markers. Conclusions In cancer patients, as well as colon cancer model mice, the plasma BNP levels were elevated, possibly due to cancer-related inflammation. The effect of cancer on the BNP levels should be considered when using BNP as an indicator of heart failure in cancer patients

The Retention of Contractility of Rabbit Myofibrils During Storage at 25 C

During postmortem storage of muscle at 25 degrees C, myofibrils retained the ability to contract for more than 400 hours under experimental conditions used to prevent bacterial contamination of the meat surface. During t his time, rapid breakdown of troponin T was observed. Storage beyond 500 hours resulted in rapid loss of contractility correlating with proteolysis of the heavy chain of myosin, an din this stage some granules were observed along the whole A-band within the sarcomere

Advance research in functional and healthy food from animal products antihypertensive peptides derived from meat protein hydrolysates

Meat is a good source of effective peptides in preventing and reducing chronic lifestyle related disease (CLSRDs) such as hypertension. Lack in crucial nutrients consumption such as protein of plant or animal origin along with abnormalities in carbohydrate and fat metabolism may underlie the aetiology of the clinical course of hypertension. Functional food derived from meat rich in those nutrients may utilize physiological function of peptides as well as improve digestion and metabolism carbohydrate and fats, thus lowering blood pressure and normalize associated biochemical and histopathological changes in man body. Edible meat comes in top of the most valuable animal products that the proteolytic action of meat muscle tremendously generates a profound number of multi-amino acid peptides, some of them with a strong relevant antihypertensive activity

Antimicrobial activity of extracts of Callistemon citrinus flowers and leaves against Listeria monocytogenes in beef burger

This study compared the antibacterial activities of freeze-dried extracts of Callistemon leaves (CL) and flowers (CF) against the growth of cryopreserved Listeria monocytogenes. Agar well diffusion method was used to monitor inhibitory effects of the extracts on the L. monocytogenes in vitro conditions. The extracts were added to the formulation of beef burgers to test their antimicrobial activity against L. monocytogenes at 1 and 2% concentrations. After the preparation, the beef burgers were stored at +4 A degrees C and -18 A degrees C for 6 days and 3 months, respectively. Results showed a dose-response inhibitory pattern against L. monocytogenes from methanolic extract of CL and hydromethanolic extract of CF. For example, the highest concentration (10%) of CF yielded an inhibition zone of 35.0 mm, while the lowest concentration (1%) of CL gave an inhibition zone of 21.0 mm against the growth of L. monocytogenes in vitro conditions. Control group (without extracts) had the highest L. monocytogenes counts within a month in refrigerated conditions, and those treated with 2% CL had the least L. monocytogenes counts after the three months of frozen storage. In comparison with CF, the greatest reduction in L. monocytogenes counts were observed in the groups treated with the highest concentration of CL in vitro conditions. The growth of L. monocytogenes in both refrigerated and frozen beef burgers was highly inhibited by 2% of methanolic extract of CL after a week of refrigeration and 3 months of frozen storage. As a result, it might be concluded that the extracts of Callistemon could be used as an antimicrobial agent for meat preservation purposes

Differences in gelling properties induced by transglutaminase in chicken muscles are explained by determining myosin heavy chain mRNA ratios using RT-PCR technique

We investigated the differences in microbial transglutaminase (MTG)-induced protein polymerisation levels in myosin heavy chain (MHC), in relation to their mRNA ratios, among chicken muscles. The expression levels of seven MHC genes were quantified using real-time-polymerase chain reaction analysis. The dominant genes in the pectoratis and biceps were MyHC-6 and MyHC-1, respectively. Gizzard muscle expressed only MyHC-11, the most highly expressed gene among all the muscles. MyHC-7 was expressed only in cardiac muscle. Variations in expression of these genes, in terms of both specificity and quantity lead to diversity in physicochemical and gelling properties among chicken muscle. These results indicate that variations in MHC mRNA expression parallel the MHC isoforms and may account for distinctive biochemical reactions, including the reaction between MHC and transglutaminase reactivities demonstrated by SDS-PAGE. Fluctuations in gelation properties induced by MTG between muscle's reflect the different MHC protein levels, which in turn reflect the variations in MHC mRNA ratios among chicken muscles

Analysis of the IgG Immune Response to Treponema phagedenis-Like Spirochetes in Individual Dairy Cattle with Papillomatous Digital Dermatitis ▿

Papillomatous digital dermatitis (PDD) is a major infectious disease of the foot skin in dairy cattle. Treponema phagedenis-like spirochetes have been consistently detected in PDD lesions, and antibodies against these organisms have been demonstrated in affected cattle. However, little is known about the dominant antigens recognized by the immune system of affected cattle. Here, we investigated the IgG immune response to T. phagedenis-like isolates by Western blotting with different sera using whole-cell lysates and extracted glycolipid from 18 and 8 isolates, respectively, including those from different cattle on the same or different farms, isolates from different lesions affecting a single cow, and different isolates from the same lesion affecting a single cow. The reactivity of sera in Western blot assays revealed different banding patterns or showed no bands, suggesting that considerable antigenic variations, including glycolipid, may exist among the isolates, even in those from single individuals. With use of a total of 151 serum samples collected from three groups of cattle, i.e., PDD-positive cows on PDD-positive farms (group A), PDD-negative cows on PDD-positive farms (group B), and cows on PDD-free farms (group C), the levels of IgG antibodies against four T. phagedenis-like isolates were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The optical density in groups A and B was significantly higher than that in group C, even though the value varied among the antigens used. Therefore, combinations of multiple Treponema species should be used for serological analysis and the development of a suitable vaccine because of antigenic variations