Changes in hepatic gene expression and serum metabolites after oral administration of overdosed vitamin-E-loaded nanoemulsion in rats

Vitamin-E-loaded nanoemulsion (Vit E-NE) was produced, and the effects of repeated oral administration of Vit E-NE (2 g/kg/day) for five days on hepatic gene expression and serum metabolites were investigated in rats. The mean particle diameter and zeta potential of Vit E-NE was 112 nm and 56 mV, respectively. Vit E-NE administered rats showed significantly higher triglyceride content than of standard diet (control) or Vit E control emulsion (Vit E-CE) group but no toxicity symptoms were found in blood biochemical analysis. Next generation sequencing analysis of rat liver revealed that several genes related to energy and xenobiotic metabolism (CYP1A1 and glutathione S-transferase) were significantly altered. Serum metabolites (B-hydroxybutyrate and palmitoleic acid) indicating ketone body production and activation of stearoyl-CoAdesaturase were significantly increased by administration of Vit E-NE. The results of this study suggest that excessive consumption of edible nano-sized food ingredients can possibly cause adverse effects.

Chemical stability of morphine and methadone, and of methadone in combination with acepromazine, medetomidine or xylazine, during prolonged storage in syringes

OBJECTIVE

To assess the chemical and physical stability of morphine and methadone stored in syringes for 12 months and of methadone when mixed with acepromazine, medetomidine or xylazine.

METHODS

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique was developed and validated for the analysis of morphine and methadone. Morphine and methadone were dispensed into syringes and stored at 25°C/60% relative humidity (RH) and 40°C/75% RH. Solutions containing mixtures of methadone combined with acepromazine, medetomidine or xylazine were stored in syringes at 25°C/60%RH. At initiation, after 1 week and then 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, samples were analysed by HPLC for the quantification of the morphine or methadone. Measured concentrations were assessed as a function of storage time and temperature using linear regression statistics to calculate stability.

RESULTS

When stored at 40°C/75%RH as pre-dispensed syringes, severe physical and chemical changes were observed after the third month for both morphine and methadone. In contrast, at 25°C/60%RH both drugs remained chemically stable for 12 months, with concentration variations not exceeding a 5% change from initiation as stipulated in VICH stability guidelines. When in combination with acepromazine or xylazine, methadone also remained chemically stable, but the combination with medetomidine failed stability criteria prior to 6 months. Precipitation compromised the physical stability of methadone in all unsealed syringes prior to 9 months' storage.

CONCLUSION

Pre-dispensing morphine or methadone into unsealed syringes compromises the drugs' physical stability. Mixing of methadone with other drugs can degrade its chemical stability.

Exploratory metabolomics of biomarker identification for the internet gaming disorder in young Korean males

The main aim of the current research is to characterize the molecular dynamics related to internet gaming disorder (IGD) using non-targeted plasma metabolite profiling based on gas-chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF MS). IGD is a psychiatric disorder instigated by excessive and prolonged internet gaming, which shared many pathological symptoms with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The prevalence of the disorder has been rapidly increased particularly in East Asia countries (5.9% in South Korea) compared to Europe or North America (0.3-1.0% in United States and 1.16% in Germany). Thus we comparably explored the correlation between plasma metabolites and internet addiction severity in IGD patients, and potential biomarker composite in combination with clinical parameters. The systematic metabolite profiling of 54 blood samples (normal user, N=28 and IGD, N=24) identified a total of 104 metabolites out of 1212 metabolic feature, and revealed unique relation of co-linearly regressed set of plasma metabolites (arabitol, myo-inositol, methionine, pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid, and aspartic acid) with internet addiction severity scale (R=0.795). In addition, orthogonal partial least squared discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis identified the potential biomarker cluster that simultaneously discriminated the different types of the psychiatric status. The potential biomarker re-composite was comprehensively evaluated by a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis where the AUCs were 0.890, 0.880, 1.000, and 0.935 for control, IGD, AD and IGD+AD, respectively (N=18, 19, 5, and 10) against the others. This exploratory method may provide robustness of predictive diagnosis in population screening of IGD. The identified metabolic features, the relatedness with clinical parameters, and the putative biochemical linkage will hopefully aid future pathological studies in IGD.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D cutoffs for functional bone measures in postmenopausal osteoporosis

This study sought to determine the minimal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration required to maintain bone health in postmenopausal women with low bone mass. A serum 25(OH)D concentration of 20 ng/mL rather than 30 ng/mL was appropriate for bone health.

INTRODUCTION

There is no consensus on the minimal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration required to maintain bone health. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between 25(OH)D measured via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), which is the current gold standard, and biochemical markers of bone turnover, PTH, and bone mineral densitometry (BMD).

METHODS

The medical records of 750 postmenopausal women newly diagnosed with osteoporosis or osteopenia at Samsung Medical Center from 2009 to 2014 were investigated. Subjects were divided into four groups according to serum 25(OH)D concentration: <10, 10-20, 20-30, and ≥30 ng/mL. Serum concentrations of bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BS-ALP), carboxy-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type 1 collagen (CTx), intact PTH (iPTH), and BMD were compared among the four groups using analysis of covariance. Thresholds of 25(OH)D were then assessed using spline plots and locally weighted regression smoothing (LOESS) plots.

RESULTS

25(OH)D was negatively correlated with serum BS-ALP, CTx, and iPTH. Only femur neck and total femur BMD had significant positive relationships with 25(OH)D. Cutoff values of 11.9 and 9.7 ng/mL were estimated from the spline plots of femur neck and total femur BMD, respectively. For iPTH, the LOESS plot showed a steep decrease to a serum 25(OH)D concentration of about 20 ng/mL, followed by a plateau.

CONCLUSIONS

According to this study, a serum 25(OH)D concentration of 20 ng/mL, rather than 30 ng/mL, was appropriate for bone health.

Disease Type- and Status-Specific Alteration of CSF Metabolome Coordinated with Clinical Parameters in Inflammatory Demyelinating Diseases of CNS

Central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory demyelinating diseases (IDDs) are a group of disorders with different aetiologies, characterized by inflammatory lesions. These disorders include multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), and idiopathic transverse myelitis (ITM). Differential diagnosis of the CNS IDDs still remains challenging due to frequent overlap of clinical and radiological manifestation, leading to increased demands for new biomarker discovery. Since cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) metabolites may reflect the status of CNS tissues and provide an interfacial linkage between blood and CNS tissues, we explored multi-component biomarker for different IDDs from CSF samples using gas chromatography mass spectrometry-based metabolite profiling coupled to multiplex bioinformatics approach. We successfully constructed the single model with multiple metabolite variables in coordinated regression with clinical characteristics, expanded disability status scale, oligoclonal bands, and protein levels. The multi-composite biomarker simultaneously discriminated four different immune statuses (a total of 145 samples; 54 MS, 49 NMOSD, 30 ITM, and 12 normal controls). Furthermore, systematic characterization of transitional metabolic modulation identified relapse-associated metabolites and proposed insights into the disease network underlying type-specific metabolic dysfunctionality. The comparative analysis revealed the lipids, 1-monopalmitin and 1-monostearin were common indicative for MS, NMOSD, and ITM whereas fatty acids were specific for the relapse identified in all types of IDDs.

Alzheimer's disease with cerebrovascular disease: current status in the Asia-Pacific region

BACKGROUND

There is growing awareness of the coexistence of Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular disease (AD+CVD), however, due to lack of well-defined criteria and treatment guidelines AD+CVD may be underdiagnosed in Asia.

METHODS

Sixteen dementia specialists from nine Asia Pacific countries completed a survey in September 2014 and met in November 2014 to review the epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of AD+CVD in Asia. A consensus was reached by discussion, with evidence provided by published studies when available.

RESULTS

AD accounts for up to 60% and AD+CVD accounts for 10-20% of all dementia cases in Asia. The reasons for underdiagnosis of AD+CVD include lack of awareness as a result of a lack of diagnostic criteria, misdiagnosis as vascular dementia or AD, lack of diagnostic facilities, resource constraints and cost of investigations. There is variability in the tools used to diagnose AD+CVD in clinical practice. Diagnosis of AD+CVD should be performed in a stepwise manner of clinical evaluation followed by neuroimaging. Dementia patients should be assessed for cognition, behavioural and psychological symptoms, functional staging and instrumental activities of daily living. Neuroimaging should be performed using computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. The treatment goals are to stabilize or slow progression as well as to reduce behavioural and psychological symptoms, improve quality of life and reduce disease burden. First-line therapy is usually an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor such as donepezil.

CONCLUSION

AD+CVD is likely to be under-recognised in Asia. Further research is needed to establish the true prevalence of this treatable and potentially preventable disease.

Comparison of Total Arch and Partial Arch Transposition During Hybrid Endovascular Repair for Aortic Arch Disease

OBJECTIVE

Total arch transposition (TAT) during hybrid endovascular repair for aortic arch disease is believed to allow a better landing zone, but also to be associated with higher peri-operative mortality than partial arch transposition (PAT). Information on this issue is limited.

METHOD

This study was a retrospective analysis. All 53 consecutive patients with aortic arch disease (41 males, mean age 65.0 years) who underwent hybrid endovascular repair with TAT (zone 0, n=20) or PAT (zone 1 or 2, n=33) from 2008 to 2014 were analyzed retrospectively. The peri-operative and late outcomes of these two groups were compared.

RESULTS

Baseline characteristics, including EuroSCORE II results, were similar in the two groups. After procedures, peri-operative mortalities and stroke rates were similar in the two groups (5.0% vs. 9.1%, p=1.000, and 10.0% vs. 6.1%, p=.627). Interestingly, all four strokes occurred in patients with a type III aortic arch irrespective of transposition type. Primary success rates (80.0% vs. 69.7%, p=.527) and type I endoleak incidences (20.0% vs. 27.3%, p=.744) were not significantly different. During follow up (mean duration 36.9 months), overall survival (89.7% vs. 87.4% at 1 year and 89.7% vs. 79.3% at 3 years; p=.375) and re-intervention free survival rates (78.6% vs. 92.0% at 1 year; 72.0% vs. 62.2% at 3 years, p=.872) were similar in the two groups.

CONCLUSION

Morbidity and mortality were high within the first year of hybrid endovascular therapy for aortic arch disease, implying that candidates for hybrid procedures need to be selected carefully. Hybrid endovascular repair with TAT was found to have peri-operative mortality, stroke, and long-term survival rates comparable with PAT, so hybrid endovascular repair may be considered, irrespective of type of arch reconstruction, when clinically indicated.

Systematic biomarker discovery and coordinative validation for different primary nephrotic syndromes using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

The goal of this study is to identify systematic biomarker panel for primary nephrotic syndromes from urine samples by applying a non-target metabolite profiling, and to validate their utility in independent sampling and analysis by multiplex statistical approaches. Nephrotic syndrome (NS) is a nonspecific kidney disorder, which is mostly represented by minimal change disease (MCD), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), and membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN). Since urine metabolites may mirror disease-specific functional perturbations in kidney injury, we examined urine samples for distinctive metabolic changes to identify biomarkers for clinical applications. We developed unbiased multi-component covarianced models from a discovery set with 48 samples (12 healthy controls, 12 MCD, 12 FSGS, and 12 MGN). To extensively validate their diagnostic potential, new batch from 54 patients with primary NS were independently examined a year after. In the independent validation set, the model including citric acid, pyruvic acid, fructose, ethanolamine, and cysteine effectively discriminated each NS using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis except MCD-MGN comparison; nonetheless an additional metabolite multi-composite greatly improved the discrimination power between MCD and MGN. Finally, we proposed the re-constructed metabolic network distinctively dysregulated by the different NSs that may deepen comprehensive understanding of the disease mechanistic, and help the enhanced identification of NS and therapeutic plans for future.

Contribution of Drosophila TRPA1 to Metabolism

Transient receptor potential (TRP) cation channels are highly conserved in humans and insects. Some of these channels are expressed in internal organs and their functions remain incompletely understood. By direct knock-in of the GAL4 gene into the trpA1 locus in Drosophila, we identified the expression of this gene in the subesophageal ganglion (SOGs) region. In addition, the neurites present in the dorsal posterior region as well as the drosophila insulin-like peptide 2 (dILP2)-positive neurons send signals to the SOGs. The signal is sent to the crop, which is an enlarged organ of the esophagus and functions as a storage place for food in the digestive system. To systematically investigate the role of TRPA1 in metabolism, we applied non-targeted metabolite profiling analysis together with gas-chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry, with an aim to identify a wide range of primary metabolites. We effectively captured distinctive metabolomic phenotypes and identified specific metabolic dysregulation triggered by TRPA1 mutation based on reconstructed metabolic network analysis. Primarily, the network analysis pinpointed the simultaneous down-regulation of intermediates in the methionine salvation pathway, in contrast to the synchronized up-regulation of a range of free fatty acids. The gene dosage-dependent dynamics of metabolite levels among wild-type, hetero- and homozygous mutants, and their coordinated metabolic modulation under multiple gene settings across five different genotypes confirmed the direct linkages of TRPA1 to metabolism.

Technical and clinical aspects of cortisol as a biochemical marker of chronic stress

Stress is now recognized as a universal premorbid factor associated with many risk factors of various chronic diseases. Acute stress may induce an individual's adaptive response to environmental demands. However, chronic, excessive stress causes cumulative negative impacts on health outcomes through "allostatic load". Thus, monitoring the quantified levels of long-term stress mediators would provide a timely opportunity for prevention or earlier intervention of stress-related chronic illnesses. Although either acute or chronic stress could be quantified through measurement of changes in physiological parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, and levels of various metabolic hormones, it is still elusive to interpret whether the changes in circulating levels of stress mediators such as cortisol can reflect the acute, chronic, or diurnal variations. Both serum and salivary cortisol levels reveal acute changes at a single point in time, but the overall long-term systemic cortisol exposure is difficult to evaluate due to circadian variations and its protein-binding capacity. Scalp hair has a fairy predictable growth rate of approximately 1 cm/month, and the most 1 cm segment approximates the last month's cortisol production as the mean value. The analysis of cortisol in hair is a highly promising technique for the retrospective assessment of chronic stress.

Clinical Applications of Simultaneous PET/MR Imaging Using (R)-[11C]-Verapamil with Cyclosporin A: Preliminary Results on a Surrogate Marker of Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The development of resistance to antiepileptic drugs is explained well by the transporter hypothesis, which suggests that drug resistance is caused by inadequate penetration of drugs into the brain barrier as a result of increased levels of efflux transporter such as p-glycoprotein. To evaluate the brain expression of p-glycoprotein in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, including neocortical epilepsy, we developed a noninvsive quantitative analysis including asymmetry indices based on (R)-[(11)C]-verapamil PET/MR imaging with cyclosporin A, a p-glycoprotein inhibitor.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Six patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, 5 patients with drug-sensitive epilepsy, and 8 healthy controls underwent dynamic (R)-[(11)C]-verapamil PET/MR imaging with an intravenous infusion of cyclosporin A. Asymmetry indices [(Right Region - Left Region)/(Right Region + Left Region) × 200%] of the standard uptake values in each of the paired lobes were calculated.

RESULTS

All patients with drug-resistant epilepsy had significantly different asymmetry from the healthy controls, whereas all patients with drug-sensitive epilepsy had asymmetry similar to that in healthy controls. In the temporal lobe, the asymmetry indices of patients with left temporal lobe drug-resistant epilepsy were more positive than those of healthy controls (healthy controls: 4.0413 ± 1.7452; patients: 7.2184 ± 1.8237; P = .048), and those of patients with right temporal drug-resistant epilepsy were more negative (patients: -1.6496 ± 3.4136; P = .044). In addition, specific regions that had significant asymmetry were different between the lateral and medial temporal lobe epilepsy groups. In the frontal lobe, the asymmetry index of patients with right frontal lobe drug-resistant epilepsy was more negative than that in healthy controls.

CONCLUSIONS

We confirmed that statistical parametric mapping analysis by using asymmetry indices of (R)-[(11)C]-verapamil PET/MR imaging with cyclosporin A could be used as a surrogate marker for drug-resistant epilepsy, and this approach might be helpful for localizing or lateralizing the epileptic zone.

Suppression of Somatic Expansion Delays the Onset of Pathophysiology in a Mouse Model of Huntington's Disease

Huntington’s Disease (HD) is caused by inheritance of a single disease-length allele harboring an expanded CAG repeat, which continues to expand in somatic tissues with age. The inherited disease allele expresses a toxic protein, and whether further somatic expansion adds to toxicity is unknown. We have created an HD mouse model that resolves the effects of the inherited and somatic expansions. We show here that suppressing somatic expansion substantially delays the onset of disease in littermates that inherit the same disease-length allele. Furthermore, a pharmacological inhibitor, XJB-5-131, inhibits the lengthening of the repeat tracks, and correlates with rescue of motor decline in these animals. The results provide evidence that pharmacological approaches to offset disease progression are possible.

Huntington’s Disease (HD) is caused by inheritance of a single disease-length allele harboring an expanded CAG repeat, which continues to expand in somatic tissues with age. There is no correction for the inherited mutation, but if somatic expansion contributes to disease, then a therapeutic approach is possible. The inherited disease allele expresses a toxic protein, and whether further somatic expansion adds to toxicity is unknown. Here we describe a mouse model of Huntington’s disease that allows us to separate out the effects of the inherited gene from the expansion that occurs during life. We find that blocking the continued expansion of the gene causes a delay in onset of symptoms. This result opens the doors to future therapeutics designed to shorten the repeat.

Unraveling heterogeneous susceptibility and the evolution of breast cancer using a systems biology approach

Background

An essential question in cancer is why individuals with the same disease have different clinical outcomes. Progress toward a more personalized medicine in cancer patients requires taking into account the underlying heterogeneity at different molecular levels.

Results

Here, we present a model in which there are complex interactions at different cellular and systemic levels that account for the heterogeneity of susceptibility to and evolution of ERBB2-positive breast cancers. Our model is based on our analyses of a cohort of mice that are characterized by heterogeneous susceptibility to ERBB2-positive breast cancers. Our analysis reveals that there are similarities between ERBB2 tumors in humans and those of backcross mice at clinical, genomic, expression, and signaling levels. We also show that mice that have tumors with intrinsically high levels of active AKT and ERK are more resistant to tumor metastasis. Our findings suggest for the first time that a site-specific phosphorylation at the serine 473 residue of AKT1 modifies the capacity for tumors to disseminate. Finally, we present two predictive models that can explain the heterogeneous behavior of the disease in the mouse population when we consider simultaneously certain genetic markers, liver cell signaling and serum biomarkers that are identified before the onset of the disease.

Conclusions

Considering simultaneously tumor pathophenotypes and several molecular levels, we show the heterogeneous behavior of ERBB2-positive breast cancer in terms of disease progression. This and similar studies should help to better understand disease variability in patient populations.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13059-015-0599-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A purse-string suture at the level of internal inguinal ring, taking only the peritoneum leaving the distal sac: is it enough for inguinal hernia in pediatric patients?

PURPOSE

Although laparoscopic surgery in children has expanded in recent years. Laparoscopic hernia repair in children is still debatable. We aimed to summarize and describe our results of laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair and techniques among children.

METHODS

Between March 2011 and April 2013, 98 children (67 male, 31 female) underwent laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair at the department of surgery. The clinical outcomes were collected retrospectively.

RESULTS

The mean follow-up period was 22.6 months. Twelve patients were ex-premature infants and a contralateral patent processus vaginalis (PPV) was present in 37 of the 91 unilateral inguinal hernia patients. There were two postoperative complications (transient hydrocele, umbilical port site infection). The mean operative time was 46 min. Recurrence, metachronous hernia and testicular atrophy were not observed during the follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS

Our preliminary experiences suggest that the laparoscopic purse-string suture of internal inguinal opening of hernia sac could be a safe, effective, and reliable alternative for management of pediatric inguinal hernia.

Edge contacts of graphene formed by using a controlled plasma treatment

Despite the fact that the outstanding properties of graphene are well known, the electrical performance of the material is limited by the contact resistance at the metal-graphene interface. In this study, we demonstrate the formation of "edge-contacted" graphene through the use of a controlled plasma processing technique that generates a bond between the graphene edge and the contact metal. This technique controls the edge structure of the bond and significantly reduces the contact resistance. This simple approach requires no additional post-processing and has been proven to be very effective. In addition, controlled pre-plasma processing was applied in order to produce CVD-graphene field effect transistors with an enhanced adhesion and improved carrier mobility. The contact resistance attained by using pre-plasma processing was 270 Ω μm, which is a decrease of 77%.

PPARγ induces growth inhibition and apoptosis through upregulation of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 in gastric cancer cells

Peroxisome proliferator activator receptor-gamma (PPARγ) is a ligand-activated transcriptional factor involved in the carcinogenesis of various cancers. Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) is a tumor suppressor gene that has anti-apoptotic activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anticancer mechanism of PPARγ with respect to IGFBP-3. PPARγ was overexpressed in SNU-668 gastric cancer cells using an adenovirus gene transfer system. The cells in which PPARγ was overexpressed exhibited growth inhibition, induction of apoptosis, and a significant increase in IGFBP-3 expression. We investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms of PPARγ in SNU-668 cells using an IGFBP-3 promoter/luciferase reporter system. Luciferase activity was increased up to 15-fold in PPARγ transfected cells, suggesting that PPARγ may directly interact with IGFBP-3 promoter to induce its expression. Deletion analysis of the IGFBP-3 promoter showed that luciferase activity was markedly reduced in cells without putative p53-binding sites (-Δ1755, -Δ1795). This suggests that the critical PPARγ-response region is located within the p53-binding region of the IGFBP-3 promoter. We further demonstrated an increase in PPARγ-induced luciferase activity even in cells treated with siRNA to silence p53 expression. Taken together, these data suggest that PPARγ exhibits its anticancer effect by increasing IGFBP-3 expression, and that IGFBP-3 is a significant tumor suppressor.

Metabolomic response of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to the inhibition of target of rapamycin (TOR) by rapamycin

Rapamycin, known as an inhibitor of Target of Rapamycin (TOR), is an immunosuppressant drug used to prevent rejection in organ transplantation. Despite the close association of the TOR signaling cascade with various scopes of metabolism, it has not yet been thoroughly investigated at the metabolome level. In our current study, we applied mass spectrometric analysis for profiling primary metabolism in order to capture the responsive dynamics of the Chlamydomonas metabolome to the inhibition of TOR by rapamycin. Accordingly, we identified the impact of the rapamycin treatment at the level of metabolomic phenotypes that were clearly distinguished by multivariate statistical analysis. Pathway analysis pinpointed that inactivation of the TCA cycle was accompanied by the inhibition of cellular growth. Relative to the constant suppression of the TCA cycle, most amino acids were significantly increased in a time-dependent manner by longer exposure to rapamycin treatment, after an initial down-regulation at the early stage of exposure. Finally, we explored the isolation of the responsive metabolic factors into the rapamycin treatment and the culture duration, respectively.