Genexpression von Omentin, Visfatin und Neuropeptid Y in humanem subkutanem und viszeralem Fettgewebe –Korrelation mit klinischen Parametern und Kortisolmetaboliten

Background and aim: Adipocytokines contribute to the pathophysiology and phenotypic spectrum of human obesity. The aim of our study was to assess the expression of omentin, visfatin and neuropeptide Y (NPY) in human adipose tissues of adults along with clinical parameters, hormones (NPY, cortisol), and to compare the latter with urinary steroids in obese individuals and controls. Methods: We studied 133 obese and normal-weight adults and 56 obese children. Expression of omentin, visfatin and NPY in visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissues of 62 adult surgical patients was quantified using real-time PCR. We measured clinical parameters, NPY (by RIA), serum cortisol (by ECLIA), and urinary cortisol metabolites (by GC-MS). Results: Omentin gene expression was higher in visceral than in subcutaneous adipose tissues. Visfatin expression was reduced in subcutaneous tissue of obese patients (p<0.05). NPY was detectable in adipose tissues, and, like plasma NPY, comparable between groups. Serum cortisol was 136.5±74.1 ng/ml in obese adults (vs. 162.2±56.1 ng/ml in controls, p<0.05, and vs. 96.4±47.9 ng/ml in obese children, p<0.001). There was a positive correlation for the (tetrahydrocortisol + allo-tetrahydrocortisol)/tetrahydrocortison ((allo- THF+THF)/THE) ratio (for 11β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase system (11β HSD) activity) with body mass index (BMI) (r= 0.1814, p<0.05) and with serum cortisol (r=0.2119, p<0.05). Conclusion: Even where the expression of adipozytokines is comparable between obese individuals and controls, we have to ponder the huge differences in total body fat and, therefore, the total production rate. Moreover, the 11β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase system may be associated with human obesity despite normal circulating cortisol from early ages on. However, as obesity is a complex disease, all findings have to be considered within the frame of other biomarkers.Hintergrund und Ziele: Adipozytokine spielen in der Pathogenese humaner Adipositas eine wesentliche Rolle. Des Weiteren sind sie mit kardiovaskulären bzw. metabolischen Risikofaktoren assoziiert. Das Ziel unserer Studie war es, die Genexpression von Omentin, Visfatin und Neuropeptid Y (NPY) in humanem Fettgewebe Erwachsener zu bestimmen. Ferner erhoben wir klinische Parameter und untersuchten die Konzentrationen von NPY im Plasma und Kortisol im Serum, um letztere mit Urinsteroiden bei adipösen und normalgewichtigen Erwachsenen und adipösen Kindern zu vergleichen. Methoden: Unsere Studienpopulation bestand aus 133 adipösen und normalgewichtigen Erwachsenen sowie aus 56 adipösen Kindern. Mithilfe von Real-time-PCR bestimmten wir die Expression von Omentin, Visfatin und NPY in subkutanem und viszeralem Fettgewebe von 62 erwachsenen adipösen und normalgewichtigen Probanden, die sich einer elektiven laparoskopischen Operation unterzogen hatten. Darüber hinaus bestimmten wir klinische Parameter, NPY-Plasmakonzentrationen (mittels Radioimmunoassay), Serumkortisolkonzentrationen (mittels ECLIA) und Kortisolmetabolite im Urin (mittels GC-MS). Ergebnisse: In viszeralem Fettgewebe konnten wir eine höhere Omentin-Genexpression feststellen als in subkutanem Fettgewebe. Die Visfatin-Genexpression war in subkutanem Fettgewebe adipöser Patienten reduziert (p<0,05). NPY war in subkutanem und viszeralem Fettgewebe nachweisbar. Die Genexpression von NPY sowie die NPY-Plasmakonzentrationen waren zwischen den verschiedenen Gruppen jeweils vergleichbar. Die Serumkortisolkonzentration betrug bei adipösen Erwachsenen 136,5±74,1 ng/ml (versus 162,2±56,1 ng/ml bei Kontrollen, p<0,05, und versus 96,4±47,9 ng/ml bei adipösen Kindern und Jugendlichen, p<0,001). Für den Quotienten aus (allo-Tetrahydrokortisol + Tetrahydrokortisol)/Tetrahydrokortison ((allo-THF+THF)/THE) (zur Abschätzung der Aktivität der 11β-HSD1 im Urin) ergab sich eine positive Korrelation mit dem Body-Mass-Index (BMI) (r=0,1814, p<0,05) und mit der Serumkortisolkonzentration (r=0,2119, p<0,05). Schlussfolgerungen: Auch wenn die Expression der Zytokine teilweise zwischen adipösen und normalgewichtigen Probanden vergleichbar war, darf der große Unterschied hinsichtlich der gesamten Körperfettmasse und somit der Produktionsrate nicht außer Acht gelassen werden. Darüber hinaus könnte das 11β-Hydroxysteroid-Dehydrogenase-System trotz normaler Kortisolkonzentrationen im Serum mit humaner Adipositas assoziiert sein. Da es sich bei Adipositas um ein komplexes Krankheitsbild handelt, müssen bei der Bewertung unserer Ergebnisse auch andere Biomarker Berücksichtigung finden

Mildred Andrews Boggess: A Biography

Mildred Morford Andrews Boggess (1915-1987) was an outstanding twentieth century organ teacher and performer. She was the highest-honored Professor of Music at the University of Oklahoma between June 1938 to June 1976. She produced at least twelve Fulbright Fellowship scholars and many winners at national or regional performance competitions. Boggess was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1971. Upon her retirement in 1976, headlines read: “The End of an Era,” “Winningest Coach of the Console,” and “The Legend Ends.” Her dedication to the University and the arts was such that head football coach Barry Switzer, Oklahoma Governor David Boren, Congressman Tom Steed, House Speaker Carl Albert, President Gerald Ford, and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller all extended their congratulations to her. This thesis is the first academic publication based upon her biographical materials. It includes an analysis of her pedagogical methods and impact upon sacred music in the twentieth century, in relation to prevailing ideology at the time and the Organ Reform Movement

Model Practice Building: Case Examples

This case study from the Missouri Foundation for Health Healthy and Active Communities Initiative (H&AC) provides examples of Model Practice Building strategies. Five MPB grantees were identified as Model Practices and are included as case examples in this report. The Model Practices and lessons learned were used by MFH to guide future funding decisions.https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cphss/1094/thumbnail.jp

Promising Strategies: Case Examples

This case study from the Missouri Foundation for Health Healthy and Active Communities Initiative (H&AC) provides examples of Promising Strategies projects that promote healthy living to provide key lessons, inform others doing similar work, and inform future grant making strategies.https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cphss/1072/thumbnail.jp

2012 Evaluation Report

This report provides a summary of key evaluation findings for 2012 for the Missouri Foundation for Health’s Healthy & Active Communities (H&AC) initiative.https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cphss/1080/thumbnail.jp

Point-of-Sale Report to the Nation: Realizing the Power of States and Communities to Change the Tobacco Retail and Policy Landscape

Advancing Science and Policy in the Retail Environment (ASPiRE) is funded by the National Cancer Institute\u27s (NCI) State and Community Tobacco Control (SCTC) Research Initiative. ASPiRE is a consortium of researchers from the Center for Public Health Systems Science (CPHSS) as Washington University in St. Louis, the Stanford Prevention Research Center, and the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health. In 2011, ASPiRE received a five-year grant from SCTC to conduct research on how to maximize state and local policies to restrict tobacco marketing at the point of sale (POS) and in the broader retail environment. It is important for professionals looking to advance retail policy work to understand the current retail and legal landscape, as well as potential policy options. We gave the first snapshot of the tobacco retail and policy environments in the first Report to the Nation. This report provides new findings on tobacco retailer density, examines changes in product availability and marketing and promotion at retailers since our first report, and documents the growth in retail policy activity in states and localities since 2012. We also present reported barriers to retail policy activity, helpful resources, examples of recent policy successes, and a roadmap of strategies to help demonstrate how states and communities are changing the tobacco retail and policy landscape.https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cphss/1047/thumbnail.jp

Show Me Health: Clearing the Air About Tobacco Evaluation Instruments

This report depicts a holistic overview of the evaluation instruments used in the Show Me Health: Clearing the Air About Tobacco (SMH) evaluation.https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cphss/1100/thumbnail.jp

Acupuncture in chemotherapy-induced dysgeusia (AcuDysg): study protocol of a randomised controlled trial

Introduction: Dysgeusia is a common side effect of chemotherapy in patients with cancer, but to date, there is no effective treatment. Many patients with cancer request complementary medicine treatment in addition to their cancer treatments, and acupuncture is highly accepted for patients with cancer; however, evidence regarding the effectiveness of acupuncture for dysgeusia is scarce.The study investigates the effectiveness of an additional dysgeusia-specific acupuncture plus self-acupressure intervention compared with supportive acupuncture plus self-acupressure intervention alone for chemotherapy-induced dysgeusia in patients with cancer. Methods and analysis: This is a multicentre, randomised, controlled and two-armed parallel-group, single-blind trial involving 130 patients. Both groups will receive eight sessions of acupuncture treatment over a period of 8 weeks and will be trained to perform self-acupressure (eLearning combined with therapist instruction) at predefined acupressure points once a day during the whole treatment period. Patients in the control group will receive supportive routine care acupuncture and self-acupressure treatment only; in addition to this treatment, the intervention group will receive the dysgeusia-specific acupuncture and acupressure within the same treatment session. The primary outcome is the perceived dysgeusia over 8 weeks, measured weekly after the acupuncture treatment. Secondary outcomes include the indices from the objective taste and smell test, weight loss, perceived dysgeusia, fatigue, distress, nausea and vomiting, odynophagia, xerostomia and polyneuropathy, as well as quality of life at the different time points. Ethics and dissemination: The study has been approved by the Cantonal Ethics Committee (CEC) (Kanton Zürich Kantonale Ethikkommission) (approval no. KEK-ZH-Nr. 2020-01900). The results will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication

Epstein–Barr virus-encoded microRNA miR-BART2 down-regulates the viral DNA polymerase BALF5

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in sequence-specific cleavage, translational repression or deadenylation of specific target mRNAs resulting in post-transcriptional gene silencing. Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) encodes 23 miRNAs of unknown function. Here we show that the EBV-encoded miRNA miR-BART2 down-regulates the viral DNA polymerase BALF5. MiR-BART2 guides cleavage within the 3′-untranslated region (3′UTR) of BALF5 by virtue of its complete complementarity to its target. Induction of the lytic viral replication cycle results in a reduction of the level of miR-BART2 with a strong concomitant decrease of cleavage of the BALF5 3′UTR. Expression of miR-BART2 down-regulates the activity of a luciferase reporter gene containing the BALF5 3′UTR. Forced expression of miR-BART2 during lytic replication resulted in a 40–50% reduction of the level of BALF5 protein and a 20% reduction of the amount of virus released from EBV-infected cells. Our results are compatible with the notion that EBV-miR-BART2 inhibits transition from latent to lytic viral replication