Plasma CD36 and Incident Diabetes:A Case-Cohort Study in Danish Men and Women

BACKGROUND: Membrane CD36 is a fatty acid transporter implicated in the pathogenesis of metabolic disease. We aimed to evaluate the association between plasma CD36 levels and diabetes risk and to examine if the association was independent of adiposity among Danish population.METHODS: We conducted a case-cohort study nested within the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health study among participants free of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer and with blood samples and anthropometric measurements (height, weight, waist circumference, and body fat percentage) at baseline (1993 to 1997). CD36 levels were measured in 647 incident diabetes cases that occurred before December 2011 and a total of 3,515 case-cohort participants (236 cases overlap).RESULTS: Higher plasma CD36 levels were associated with higher diabetes risk after adjusting for age, sex and other lifestyle factors. The hazard ratio (HR) comparing high versus low tertile of plasma CD36 levels was 1.36 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00 to 1.86). However, the association lost its significance after further adjustment for different adiposity indices such as body mass index (HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 0.87 to 1.73), waist circumference (HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 0.88 to 1.68) or body fat percentage (HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 0.86 to 1.66). Moreover, raised plasma CD36 levels were moderately associated with diabetes risk among lean participants, but the association was not present among overweight/obese individuals.CONCLUSION: Higher plasma CD36 levels were associated with higher diabetes risk, but the association was not independent of adiposity. In this Danish population, the association of CD36 with diabetes risk could be either mediated or confounded by adiposity.</p

Plasma adiponectin levels and type 2 diabetes risk: a nested case-control study in a Chinese population and an updated meta-analysis.

Results from previous prospective studies assessing the relation between adiponectin and type 2 diabetes (T2D) were not entirely consistent, and evidence in Chinese population is scarce. Moreover, the last meta-analysis did not examine the impact of metabolic variables on the adiponectin-T2D association. Therefore, we prospectively evaluated the adiponectin-T2D association among 571 T2D cases and 571 age-sex-matched controls nested within the Singapore Chinese Health Study (SCHS). Furthermore, we conducted an updated meta-analysis by searching prospective studies on Pubmed till September 2016. In the SCHS, the odds ratio of T2D, comparing the highest versus lowest tertile of adiponectin levels, was 0.30 (95% confidence interval: 0.17, 0.55) in the fully-adjusted model. The relation was stronger among heavier participants (body mass index ≥23 kg/m2) compared to their leaner counterparts (P for interaction = 0.041). In a meta-analysis of 34 prospective studies, the pooled relative risk was 0.53 (95% confidence interval: 0.47, 0.61) comparing the extreme tertiles of adiponectin with moderate heterogeneity (I 2 = 48.7%, P = 0.001). The adiponectin-T2D association remained unchanged after adjusting for inflammation and dyslipidemia markers, but substantially attenuated with adjustment for insulin sensitivity and/or glycaemia markers. Overall evidence indicates that higher adiponectin levels are associated with decreased T2D risk in Chinese and other populations

Serum Amino Acids in Association with Prevalent and Incident Type 2 Diabetes in A Chinese Population

We aimed to simultaneously examine the associations of both essential and non-essential amino acids with both prevalent and incident type 2 diabetes in a Chinese population. A case-control study was nested within the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Participants included 144 cases with prevalent and 160 cases with incident type 2 diabetes and 304 controls. Cases and controls were individually matched on age, sex, and date of blood collection. Baseline serum levels of 9 essential and 10 non-essential amino acids were measured using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. We identified that five essential (isoleucine, leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, and valine) and five non-essential (alanine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, and tyrosine) amino acids were associated with the prevalence of type 2 diabetes; four essential (isoleucine, leucine, tryptophan, and valine) and two non-essential (glutamine and tyrosine) amino acids were associated with the incidence of type 2 diabetes. Of these, valine and tyrosine independently led to a significant improvement in risk prediction of incident type 2 diabetes. This study demonstrates that both essential and non-essential amino acids were associated with the risk for prevalent and incident type 2 diabetes, and the findings could aid in diabetes risk assessment in this Chinese population

The botanical origin and antioxidant, anti-BACE1 and antiproliferative properties of bee pollen from different regions of South Korea

Abstract Background Bee pollen (BP) has been used as a traditional medicine and food diet additive due to its nutritional and biological properties. The potential biological properties of bee pollen vary greatly with the botanical and geographical origin of the pollen grains. This study was conducted to characterize the botanical origin and assess the antioxidant effects of ethanol extracts of 18 different bee pollen (EBP) samples from 16 locations in South Korea and their inhibitory activities on human β-amyloid precursor cleavage enzyme (BACE1), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), human intestinal bacteria, and 5 cancer cell lines. Methods The botanical origin and classification of each BP sample was evaluated using palynological analysis by observing microscope slides. We measured the biological properties, including antioxidant capacity, inhibitory activities against human BACE1, and AChE, and antiproliferative activities toward five cancer cell lines, of the 18 EBPs. In addition, the growth inhibitory activities on four harmful intestinal bacteria, six lactic acid-producing bacteria, two nonpathogenic bacteria, and an acidulating bacterium were also assessed. Results Four samples (BP3, BP4, BP13 and BP15) were found to be monofloral and presented four dominant pollen types: Quercus palustris, Actinidia arguta, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Amygdalus persica. One sample (BP12) was found to be bifloral, and the remaining samples were considered to be heterofloral. Sixteen samples showed potent antioxidant activities with EC50 from 292.0 to 673.9 μg mL− 1. Fourteen samples presented potent inhibitory activity against human BACE1 with EC50 from 236.0 to 881.1 μg mL− 1. All samples showed antiproliferative activity toward the cancer cell lines PC-3, MCF-7, A549, NCI-H727 and AGS with IC50 from 2.7 to 14.4 mg mL− 1, 0.9 to 12.7 mg mL− 1, 5.0 to > 25 mg mL− 1, 2.7 to 17.7 mg mL− 1, and 2.4 to 8.7 mg mL− 1, respectively. In addition, total phenol and flavonoid contents had no direct correlation with antioxidant, anti-human BACE1, or antiproliferative activities. Conclusion Fundamentally, Korean bee pollen-derived preparations could be considered a nutritional addition to food to prevent various diseases related to free radicals, neurodegenerative problems, and cancers. The botanical and geographical origins of pollen grains could help to establish quality control standards for bee pollen consumption and industrial production

BLOOD BIOMARKERS AND RISK OF INCIDENT TYPE 2 DIABETES

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (SPH

Properties of Functions in the Wiener Class BVp[a,b] for 0<p<1

We will investigate properties of functions in the Wiener class BVp[a,b] with 0<p<1. We prove that any function in BVp[a,b] (0<p<1) can be expressed as the difference of two increasing functions in BVp[a,b]. We also obtain the explicit form of functions in BVp[a,b] and show that their derivatives are equal to zero a.e. on [a,b]

Proteomics analysis of plasm exosomes in early pregnancy among normal pregnant women and those with antiphospholipid syndrome

Introduction: Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disorder associated with thrombosis and adverse obstetric outcomes. Early diagnosis and intervention can improve pregnancy outcomes to some extent, but current results are unsatisfactory. Exosomes, containing biomacromolecules relevant to reproduction, play essential roles in pregnancy. However, research progress on their involvement in APS remains limited. Objectives: This study aims to investigate protein profile changes in plasma exosomes and identify potential biomarkers for obstetric APS. Methods: We employed tandem mass tag (TMT) markers to analyze exosome protein profiles from 6 healthy early pregnant women and 6 early-stage APS patients. Quantitative proteomics analysis was conducted using the Maxquant search engine. Results: Differential expression analysis identified 51 upregulated and 22 downregulated proteins in plasma exosomes from early pregnant women with APS, such as serpin peptidase inhibitor C1/A1/A7, apolipoprotein 1/2, orosomucoid 1/2 and apolipoprotein H. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis shows that differentially expressed proteins are enriched in the PPAR signaling pathway and staphylococcus aureus infection pathway. Enrichment analysis indicated associations with glycerolipid biosynthesis, vitamin transport, and negative regulation of very-low-density lipoprotein particle remodeling. Conclusion: Our study highlights alterations in the protein profiles of plasma exosomes in APS pregnant patients and proposes potential biomarkers, offering insights for early diagnosis and treatment and improving reproductive outcomes

Factors associated with psychological distress during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the predominantly general population: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BackgroundThe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has escalated the burden of psychological distress. We aimed to evaluate factors associated with psychological distress among the predominantly general population during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe searched PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, and World Health Organization COVID-19 databases (Dec 2019-15 July 2020). We included cross-sectional studies that reported factors associated with psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Primary outcomes were self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression. Random-effects models were used to pool odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (#CRD42020186735).FindingsWe included 68 studies comprising 288,830 participants from 19 countries. The prevalence of anxiety and depression was 33% (95% CI: 28%-39%) and 30% (26%-36%). Women versus men (OR: 1.48 [95% CI: 1.29-1.71; I2 = 90.8%]), younger versus older (InterpretationOne in three adults in the predominantly general population have COVID-19 related psychological distress. Concerted efforts are urgently needed for interventions in high-risk populations to reduce urban-rural, socioeconomic and gender disparities in COVID-19 related psychological distress