Liraglutide provides similar glycaemic control as glimepiride (both in combination with metformin) and reduces body weight and systolic blood pressure in Asian population with type 2 diabetes from China, South Korea and India: a 16-week, randomized, double-blind, active control trial(*)

AIM

To assess and compare the efficacy and safety of liraglutide with those of glimepiride, both in combination with metformin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in Asian population from China, South Korea and India.

METHODS

A 16-week, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, four-arm, active control trial was carried out. In total, 929 subjects with type 2 diabetes with a mean (±s.d.) age of 53.3 ± 9.5 years, HbA₁(c) of 8.6 ± 1.0% and body weight of 68.1 ± 11.7 kg were randomized (liraglutide 0.6, 1.2 or 1.8 mg once daily or glimepiride 4 mg once daily all in combination with metformin: 1 : 1 : 1 : 1). One subject withdrew immediately after randomization and before exposure.

RESULTS

HbA₁(c) was significantly reduced in all groups compared with baseline. Treatment with liraglutide 1.2 and 1.8 mg was non-inferior to glimepiride (mean HbA₁(c) reduction: 1.36% points, 1.45% points and 1.39% points, respectively). No significant difference was shown in the percentage of subjects reaching American Diabetes Association HbA₁(c) target <7% or American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists target ≤6.5% between liraglutide 1.2 and 1.8 mg and glimepiride. Liraglutide was associated with a 1.8-2.4 kg mean weight reduction, compared with a 0.1 kg mean weight gain with glimepiride. Liraglutide led to a significantly greater reduction in systolic blood pressure (SBP) compared with glimepiride. Two subjects in the glimepiride group reported major hypoglycaemia while none in the liraglutide groups. Liraglutide was associated with about 10-fold lower incidence of minor hypoglycaemia than glimepiride. Gastrointestinal disorders were the most common adverse events (AEs) for liraglutide, but were transient and resulted in few withdrawals.

CONCLUSIONS

In Asian subjects with type 2 diabetes, once-daily liraglutide led to improvement in glycaemic control similar to that with glimepiride but with less frequent major and minor hypoglycaemia. Liraglutide also induced a significant weight loss and reduced SBP and was generally well tolerated. The most frequently reported AE was transient nausea. The effect of liraglutide in this Asian population is comparable to the effects seen in Caucasian, African American and Hispanic populations in global liraglutide phase 3 trials.

Problems with and a system to eliminate single-primer PCR product contamination in simple sequence repeat molecular marker-assisted selection in soybean

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) provides a foundation for simple sequence repeat molecular marker-assisted selection (SSR MAS) in soybean. This PCR system and its various conditions have been optimized by many researchers. However, current research on the optimization of the PCR system focuses on double-primer PCR products. We compared single- and double-SSR primer PCR products from 50 soybean samples and found that the use of single-PCR primers in the reaction system can lead to amplified fragments of portions of the SSR primers in the PCR process, resulting in both false-positives and fragment impurity of double-primer PCR amplification, inconvenient for subsequent analysis. We used "single-primer PCR correction" to eliminate interference caused by single-primer nonspecific PCR amplification and improve PCR quality. Using this method, the precision and success rates of SSR MAS in soybean can be increased.

Plant height affects Fusarium crown rot severity in wheat

Effects of plant height on Fusarium crown rot (FCR) disease severity were investigated using 12 pairs of near-isogenic lines (NILs) for six different reduced height (Rht) genes in wheat. The dwarf isolines all gave better FCR resistance when compared with their respective tall counterparts, although the Rht genes involved in these NILs are located on several different chromosomes. Treating plants with exogenous gibberellin increased FCR severity as well as seedling lengths in all of the isolines tested. Analysis of the expression of several defense genes with known correlation with resistance to FCR pathogens between the Rht isolines following FCR inoculation indicated that the better resistance of the dwarf isolines was not due to enhanced defense gene induction. These results suggested that the difference in FCR severity between the tall and dwarf isolines is likely due to their height difference per se or to some physiological and structural consequences of reduced height. Thus, caution should be taken when considering to exploit any FCR locus located near a height gene.

Obesity, insulin resistance and the prevalence of atopy and asthma in US adults

BACKGROUND

The roles of obesity and insulin resistance in asthma and atopy are not well understood. We investigated whether there is an association of obesity and insulin resistance with asthma and atopy prevalence in US adults.

METHODS

Data from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression, controlling for sex, age, ethnicity, income, and smoking status. Obesity was measured by body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, and insulin resistance by the homeostasis model assessment. Asthma was defined by self-report of ever receiving a diagnosis and still having asthma currently, and atopy by any positive specific serum IgE responses to a panel of aeroallergens.

RESULTS

Neither obesity measure nor insulin resistance was associated with atopy. Obesity was positively associated with asthma overall (odds ratio [OR] for obese vs normal BMI = 2.28, 95% CI: 1.76, 2.96; OR for obese vs normal waist circumference = 1.75; 95% CI: 1.22, 2.51) but insulin resistance was not (OR = 1.26; 95% CI: 0.80, 1.98). Obesity was also associated with nonatopic asthma (OR for obese vs normal BMI = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.2, 5.2; OR for obese vs normal waist circumference = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.21, 3.54), while obese BMI was also associated with atopic asthma (OR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.37, 3.03). Obesity remained independently associated with all asthma outcomes after controlling for insulin resistance.

CONCLUSION

Obesity was independently associated with asthma, and atopic and nonatopic asthma, after controlling for insulin resistance and socio-demographic factors. There was no evidence that insulin resistance was associated with atopy or asthma.

Seasonal changes in antifreeze protein gene transcription and water content of beetle Microdera punctipennis (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) from Gurbantonggut desert in Central Asia

Desert beetle Microdera punctipennis (Coleoptera: Tenebriondae) is a special species in Gurbantonggut Desert in Central Asia. To investigate the possible strategy it employs for cold survival, seasonal changes in supercooling point (SCP), body water content, haemolymph osmolality and antifreeze protein gene (Mpafp) expression were measured over 13 months. Our results show SCPs in M. punctipennis adults changed from -8.0°C in summer to -18.7°C in winter. During winter, adults endured modest water loss; total water decreased from 65.4 percent in summer to 55.9% in winter. Mpafp mRNAs level increased by 13.1 fold from summer to early winter, and haemolymph osmolality increased accordingly from 550 mOsm to 1486 mOsm. Correlation coefficient of Mpafp mRNAs level and SCP indicates that Mpafp mRNA explained 65.3 percent of the variation in SCPs. The correlation between Mpafp mRNA level and total water reflected an indirect influence of antifreeze protein on water content via reducing SCP.

Production of Macrophomina phaseolina Conidia by Multiple Soybean Isolates in Culture

Macrophomina phaseolina is the cause of charcoal rot of soybean (Glycine max). Resistance to M. phaseolina in commercial soybean cultivars is not common but is needed in locations where the disease is chronic and severe. The objective of this study was to develop a reliable method to produce sufficient M. phaseolina conidia that can be used to inoculate soybean plants in a high-throughput resistance-screening program. Production of pycnidia is not common on most culture media, such as potato dextrose agar, but can be produced on media containing plant parts or oilseed extracts. Seven semi-defined media were tested to induce pycnidia production. Results indicated that the number of pycnidia that were produced by eight M. phaseolina isolates was dependent on induction medium; however, peanut butter extract-saturated filter paper placed over soynut butter extract agar (PESEA) allowed for greater pycnidia and conidia production than the other media tested. Production of pycnidia on PESEA ranged from 269 to 1,082 per plate. There were no differences among isolates in germination of conidia produced on PESEA, which averaged 83 ± 2% germination. A conidial suspension from one M. phaseolina isolate produced on PESEA and inoculated onto soybean radicles significantly distinguished (P < 0.01) 'DT97-4290', a soybean genotype with partial resistance to charcoal rot, from a susceptible genotype, 'LS98-0358'. Results of this study indicated that multiple isolates of M. phaseolina from soybean produced sufficient amounts of conidia on PESEA to use as inoculum. This conidia inoculum production method will facilitate soybean charcoal rot resistance screening evaluation with different soybean isolates.

Evaluations of boar gonad development, spermatogenesis with regard to semen characteristics, libido and serum testosterone levels based on large White Duroc x Chinese Erhualian crossbred boars

Chinese Erhualian pigs are known for prolificacy with distinct reproductive traits compared with Western commercial breeds. In this study, a four-generation intercross resource population was constructed using White Duroc boars and Chinese Erhualian sows as founder animals, and a total of 14 male reproductive traits were recorded in 411 F2/F3 boars including the testis and epididymis weights, the seminiferous tubular diameter and spermatogenesis at 60, 90 and 300 days of age, semen characteristics, serum testosterone concentration and libido level at 300 days of age. The White Duroc-Erhualian boars showed remarkable segregations in the traits measured except for the seminiferous tubular diameter and had high ratio (13.9%) of the abnormality of spermatogenesis, providing a good experimental population for detecting quantitative trait loci affecting these male reproductive traits. Furthermore, the correlations among nine male reproductive traits at 300 days of age indicated that the testis weight and the body weight were strongly correlated with the sperm production, supporting the two traits as important parameters for boar selection to increase sperm production and ultimately improve boar fertility. The libido level in the White Duroc-Erhualian boars that was evaluated by a new and easily recorded scoring system showed a significant correlation with serum testosterone concentration. Yet, both libido and serum testosterone concentration were not correlated with the sperm production. Results of this study provided new information on the male reproductive physiology and genetics in Chinese Erhualian and White Duroc boars.

Effects of fasting on hematologic and clinical chemical values in cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis)

BACKGROUND

Fasting is an important pre-analytical factor that may affect clinical pathology parameters in toxicological and pharmacological studies. Little information is available on how fasting affects clinical pathology parameters in cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis).The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of fasting on clinical pathology parameters in healthy adult cynomolgus monkeys.

METHODS

Five female and six male cynomolgus monkeys were fasted for 0, 8, 16, and 24 hours. Changes in body weight (BW), core hematologic, and serum clinical chemical parameters were evaluated.

RESULTS

The BW significantly decreased after 24 hours of fasting. Significant decreases in red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and mean corpuscular volume and increases in mean cell hemoglobin and mean cell hemoglobin concentration were observed at 16 hours in males. In females, increasing the duration of fasting caused a significant time-dependent increase in platelets. Blood urea nitrogen showed significant decreases in female and male monkeys after fasting. Alkaline phosphatase increased in females after fasting. Aspartate transaminase significantly increased both in females and males at 8 hours. In females, alanine transaminase and lactate dehydrogenase significantly increased at 8 hours. Albumin significantly decreased in males 24 hours, but increased in females 16 hours after fasting. Serum glucose and triglyceride were not affected by fasting. Serum calcium decreased and inorganic phosphorus increased in males after fasting.

CONCLUSION

These results suggested that clinical pathology data would vary after fasting. The decision to feed or fast before blood collection for clinical pathology tests should be made based on careful consideration.

Increased TRPV1 gene expression in esophageal mucosa of patients with non-erosive and erosive reflux disease

BACKGROUND

Transient receptor potential channel vanilloid subfamily member-1 (TRPV1) may play a role in esophageal perception. TRPV1 mRNA and protein expression were examined in the esophageal mucosa of non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) and erosive esophagitis (EE) patients and correlated to esophageal acid exposure.

METHODS

Seventeen NERD patients, eight EE patients and 10 healthy subjects underwent endoscopy after a 3-week washout from proton pump inhibitors or H2 antagonists. Biopsies, obtained from the distal esophagus, were used for conventional histology, for Western blot analysis and/or quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Overall 13 NERD patients, four EE patients and five controls underwent ambulatory pH-testing.

KEY RESULTS

TRPV1 expression was increased in all NERD and EE patients, as measured by Western blot analysis (0.65 +/- 0.07 and 0.8 +/- 0.05 VS 0.34 +/- 0.04 in controls; P < 0.01) and by qPCR (1.98 +/- 0.21 and 2.52 +/- 0.46 VS 1.00 +/- 0.06; P < 0.01). Neutrophilic infiltration, in the mucosa, was detected only in EE patients.

CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES

Non-erosive reflux disease and EE patients presented increased TRPV1 receptors mRNA and protein, although no correlation with acid exposure was demonstrated. Increased TRPV1 in the esophageal mucosa may contribute to symptoms both in NERD and EE patients and possibly account for peripheral mechanisms responsible for esophageal hypersensitivity in NERD patients.