Association of plasma thioredoxin-1 with renal tubular damage and cardiac prognosis in patients with chronic heart failure

AbstractBackgroundThioredoxin-1 (Trx-1) is an abundant 12.5kDa redox protein expressed in almost all eukaryotic cells that protect against the development of heart failure and kidney dysfunction. Plasma Trx-1 levels are considered as a reliable marker for oxidative stress. However, it remains to be determined whether plasma Trx-1 levels can predict cardiac prognosis in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).Methods and resultsWe measured plasma Trx-1 levels and urinary β2-microglobulin–creatinine ratio (UBCR), a marker for renal tubular damage, in 156 consecutive patients with CHF and 17 control subjects. The patients were prospectively followed for a median follow-up period of 627 days and 46 cardiac events were observed. The patients with cardiac events had significantly higher plasma Trx-1 levels and UBCR levels than the cardiac event-free patients. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed that an elevated Trx-1 level was independently associated with poor outcome in patients with CHF after adjustment for confounding factors (hazard ratio, 1.74; 95% confidence interval, 1.33–2.29; p<0.0001). UBCR was increased with higher plasma Trx-1 levels. Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated that the highest Trx-1 tertile was associated with the highest risk of cardiac events.ConclusionPlasma Trx-1 level was associated with renal tubular damage and cardiac prognosis, suggesting that it could be a useful marker to identify patients at high risk for comorbid heart failure and renal tubular damage

Ⅲ Case Studies 3. Current State and Issues in the Management of Historic Site Ueda Castle:From the Examples of the New Construction of the Sanada Shrine Office and the Removal of the Civic Center

本報告書は、平成28年（2016）12月16日（金）に奈良文化財研究所平城宮跡資料館講堂において開催した平成28年度遺跡整備・活用研究集会“近世城跡の近現代”に関する報告書である

Dietary Combination of Fish Oil and Soy beta-Conglycinin Inhibits Fat Accumulation and Reduces Blood Glucose Levels by Altering Gut Microbiome Composition in Diabetic/Obese KK-Ay Mice

Dietary fish oil containing n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids provides health benefits by lowering lipid levels in the liver and serum. beta-Conglycinin (beta CG) is a major constituent protein in soybean with many physiological effects, such as lowering blood triglyceride levels, preventing obesity and diabetes, and improving hepatic lipid metabolism. However, the combined effects of fish oil and beta CG remain unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of a dietary combination of fish oil and beta CG on lipid and glucose parameters in diabetic/obese KK-Ay mice. KK-Ay mice were divided into three groups: control, fish oil, and fish oil + beta CG; these groups were fed a casein-based diet containing 7% (w/w) soybean oil, a casein-based diet containing 2% (w/w) soybean oil and 5% (w/w) fish oil, and a beta CG-based diet containing 2% (w/w) soybean oil and 5% (w/w) fish oil, respectively. The effects of the dietary combination of fish oil and beta CG on blood biochemical parameters, adipose tissue weight, expression levels of fat-and glucose metabolism -related genes, and cecal microbiome composition were evaluated. The total white adipose tissue weight (p < 0.05), levels of total serum cholesterol (p < 0.01), triglyceride (p < 0.01), and blood glucose (p < 0.05), and expression levels of fatty acid synthesis-related genes (including Fasn (p < 0.05) and Acc (p < 0.05)), and glucose metabolism-related genes (such as Pepck (p < 0.05)) were lower in the fish oil and fish oil + beta CG groups than in the control group. Furthermore, the relative abundance of Bacteroidaceae and Coriobacteriaceae differed significantly between the fish oil + beta CG and control groups. These findings suggest that dietary intake of fish oil + beta CG may prevent obesity and diabetes, alleviate lipid abnormalities, and alter the gut microbiome composition in diabetic/obese KK-Ay mice. Further research is needed to build on this study to evaluate the health benefits of major components of Japanese food

Apoptosis-Inducing Effect of Fucoxanthin on Human Leukemia Cell Line HL-60

The apoptosis-inducing effect of fucoxanthin on human leukemic HL-60 cells was investigated. Fucoxanthin, which was obtained from the brown alga Undaria pinnatifida, inhibited the proliferation of HL-60 cells and induced DNA fragmentation on agarose gel electrophoresis, a typical characteristic feature of apoptotic cells. The results of sandwich ELISA using anti-biotin-antibody and anti-DNA-antibody also demonstrated DNA fragmentation in accordance with the increase in fucoxanthin concentration and incubation time. Since the level of DNA fragmentation did not increase after 24 h incubation, fucoxanthin appeared to have some effect on cell cycle. In contrast, β-carotene did not show an apoptosis-inducing effect on HL-60 cells. These results suggested that a carotenoid structure might be crucial for inducing apoptosis.Not

Electroanatomical mapping of the atrialized right ventricle: Placement of a transvenous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in a patient with Ebstein’s anomaly

A 47-year-old woman with Ebstein’s anomaly suffered from an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest caused by ventricular fibrillation. Electroanatomical activation mapping showed an atrialized right ventricle. Atrial electrocardiogram, normal atrioventricular node conduction delay, and ventricular electrocardiogram were confirmed in the right atrium. Relatively preserved ventricular amplitude was found in the septal wall. Based on these findings, a transvenous dual-chamber implantable cardioverter-defibrillator was implanted for the prevention of sudden cardiac death. The patient has fared well, without any lead malfunctions, lead dislodgement, or inappropriate shocks. Sufficiently high atrial and ventricular amplitudes were confirmed during 18 months of follow-up

Left atrial strain as evaluated by two-dimensional speckle tracking predicts left atrial appendage dysfunction in patients with acute ischemic stroke

Background: Left atrial appendage (LAA) dysfunction predisposes patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) to cardioembolic stroke. Two-dimensional (2D) speckle tracking was reported to be useful for evaluating left atrial (LA) regional function, as well as left ventricular function. However, it remains unclear whether 2D speckle tracking is useful for evaluating LAA dysfunction. Therefore, we investigated whether decreased LA strain may predict LAA dysfunction and thrombus formation in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods: We performed transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography in 120 patients (83 males, mean age 72 ± 11 years) within 7 days of onset of an acute ischemic stroke. Longitudinal LA strain was evaluated using 2D speckle tracking imaging at each LA segment, and peak systolic strain was calculated by averaging the results for each segment. Results: Forty-eight patients had LAA dysfunction as defined by the presence of LAA thrombus and/or severe spontaneous echo contrast. LA peak systolic strain was significantly decreased in patients with LAA dysfunction compared to those without (32.3 ± 13.7% vs. 12.1 ± 7.2%, p < 0.0001). LA peak systolic strain was significantly correlated with LAA emptying flow velocity (r = 0.693, p < 0.0001). The optimum LA peak systolic strain cut-off value for predicting LAA dysfunction was 19%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that LA peak systolic strain was an independent predictor of LAA dysfunction (odds ratio 0.059, 95% confidence interval 0.018–0.146; p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Decreased LA peak systolic strain was independently associated with LAA dysfunction in patients with acute ischemic stroke