An analysis of the expression of collagen I and III genes in the fascia of obese patients

Rectus diastasis increases risk of burst abdomen in emergency midline laparotomies: a matched case–control study

PURPOSE

Burst abdomen is a serious complication requiring immediate surgical treatment. This study aimed to investigate the association between rectus diastasis and burst abdomen in patients undergoing emergency midline laparotomy.

METHODS

A single-center, retrospective, matched case-control study of patients undergoing emergency midline laparotomy from May 2016 to August 2021 was conducted. Cases (patients who suffered from burst abdomen) were matched 1:4 with controls based on age and sex. Rectus diastasis was evaluated on CT imaging and was defined as a distance of at least three centimeters between the rectus abdominis muscles, three centimeters above the umbilicus. Midline laparotomy aponeurosis closure was standardized during the study period, using a slowly absorbable suture, sutured continuously with small bites of five millimeters and a minimum suture-to-wound ratio of 4:1. The primary outcome was the association between rectus diastasis and burst abdomen, evaluated against other suspected risk factors including obesity, liver cirrhosis, previous laparotomy, midline hernias and active smoking in a multivariate analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 465 patients were included in the study, with 93 cases matched to 372 controls. Eighty-four patients had rectus diastasis (35.5% cases vs. 13.7% controls; p =  < 0.001). Multivariate analysis found rectus diastasis significantly associated with burst abdomen (OR 3.06, 95% CI 1.71-5.47; p =  < 0.001). No other suspected risk factors showed a significant association with burst abdomen.

CONCLUSION

Rectus diastasis was highly associated with an increased risk of burst abdomen after emergency midline laparotomy.

Toxicological effects of microplastics in Litopenaeus vannamei as indicated by an integrated microbiome, proteomic and metabolomic approach

Microplastics (MPs) are a hazardous pollutant of world concern that threaten aquatic organisms and ecosystems. In this study, we chose the worldwide-distributed shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei as a model and investigated the toxicological effects of five types of MPs on L. vannamei using several omics approaches. After 14 days of exposure to MPs, obvious intestinal microbiota variation was observed, such as increased abundances of Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria and a decreased abundance of Firmicutes. Specifically, MPs induced several putative opportunistic pathogens and reduced lactic acid- and short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria. Alternatively, MPs altered haemolymph proteome profiles, but the five types of MPs had different effects on the enriched pathways and the expression of immune-related proteins. Furthermore, MPs also caused haemolymph metabolite variation, especially in amino acid and alpha-linolenic acid metabolism, and 28 differential metabolites were altered in the five MP-treated groups. Changes in intestinal bacteria were correlated with the haemolymph proteins and metabolites of the shrimp. Overall, these results reveal the toxicological effects of MPs on the intestinal microbiota and the host's immunity and metabolism in shrimp.

Increased angiotensin II from adipose tissue modulates myocardial collagen I and III in obese rats

It has been described that the cardiac dysfunction in the obesity model is because of collagen imbalance and that angiotensin II (Ang II) contributes to myocardial fibrosis. However, it remains undefined if changes in collagen I and III metabolism in obesity is due to the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) dysregulation from myocardium or excessive adipose tissue.

AIM

This study aimed to verify whether the changes in myocardial collagen metabolism result from RAS deregulation of cardiac or adipose tissue in an obesity model.

MAIN METHODS

Wistar rats were fed with control (CD) and high-fat (HFD) diets for 30 weeks. After the dietary intervention, animals were assigned to be treated with losartan at the 30 mg/kg/day dosage or kept untreated for an additional five weeks.

KEY FINDINGS

HFD induced obesity, comorbidities, and cardiac collagen overexpression. The HFD group presented an increase in Ang II levels in both adipose tissue and plasma, as well as AT1 receptor expression in cardiac tissue. Of note, the myocardial Ang II was not changed in the HFD group. Losartan administration reduced some obesity-induced comorbidities regardless of weight loss. The AT1 receptor blockade also decreased the release of Ang II from adipose tissue and myocardial AT1 receptor and collagen.

SIGNIFICANCE

It was seen that excessive adipose tissue is responsible for the exacerbated circulating Ang II, which induced cardiac fibrosis development.

Decreased Collagen Type I is Associated with Increased Metalloproteinase-2 Activity and Protein Expression of Leptin in the Myocardium of Obese Rats

Fundamento

A obesidade é um fator de risco para complicações médicas, incluindo o sistema cardiovascular. Há informações limitadas sobre o colágeno no coração obeso. Nosso estudo anterior demonstrou uma redução dos níveis proteicos de colágeno miocárdico tipo I em ratos obesos alimentados com uma dieta com alto teor de gordura durante 34 semanas. No entanto, os mecanismos responsáveis pelos níveis baixos não estão completamente elucidados.

Objetivo

O objetivo deste estudo foi testar a hipótese de que a redução do colágeno tipo I está associada ao aumento da atividade da metaloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), a qual está ligada à elevação de leptina no miocárdio de ratos obesos.

Métodos

Ratos Wistar machos com 30 dias de idade foram randomizados em dois grupos: controle (dieta padrão) e obeso (dieta com alto teor de gordura), e alimentados durante 34 semanas. Foram avaliados as características gerais dos animais e os perfis metabólicos e endócrinos. Foram avaliados as expressões proteicas miocárdicas de colágeno tipo I, leptina e inibidores teciduais de metaloproteinases (TIMP), bem como a atividade da MMP-2. O teste de correlação de Pearson foi aplicado para determinar as associações entre variáveis. O nível de significância foi de 5%.

Resultados

Os animais obesos apresentaram índice de adiposidade mais elevado em comparação ao controle. Foram observadas comorbidades como intolerância à glicose, hiperinsulinemia, resistência à insulina, hiperleptinemia e hipertensão nos ratos obesos. A obesidade reduziu o colágeno tipo I, TIMP-1 e TIMP-2, e aumentou a leptina e a MMP-2 no miocárdio. Houve uma correlação negativa entre o colágeno tipo I e a MMP-2 e uma correlação positiva entre a leptina e a MMP-2.

Conclusão

Foi confirmada a hipótese de que a redução do colágeno tipo I está associada ao aumento da atividade da MMP-2 e da expressão de leptina no miocárdio de ratos obesos. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2020; 115(1):61-70)

RNA-seq revealed the signatures of immunity and metabolism in the Litopenaeus vannamei intestine in response to dietary succinate

The intestine is important for nutrition, metabolism and immunity. Succinate (SA) plays a vital role in the physiological homeostasis of animal intestines. However, the effects of dietary SA on the intestinal immunity and metabolism in shrimp are not clear. In this study, we investigated the immune and metabolic responses in the intestine of Litopenaeus vannamei that were fed diets consisting of different levels of SA: 0 g/kg (Con) and 10 g/kg (SA) for 56 days. The results from a RNA-seq analysis identified 6005 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 2728 upregulated genes and 3277 downregulated genes, which were grouped into 312 pathways. The DEGs were most enriched in pathways related to protein synthesis and amino acid metabolism, including "ribosome", "aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis", "pyrimidine metabolism", and "arginine and proline metabolism"; additionally, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism pathways were also activated. A large number of immune-related genes were associated with mucus barrier modification, antimicrobial activity, pathogen attachment and recognition, antioxidant activity, and apoptosis. The expression patterns of several candidate genes involved in the immune response and nutrition metabolism were detected by qPCR. This study provides insight into the transcriptomic modulating mechanisms associated with intestinal immunity and the metabolism of L. vannamei in response to the intake of dietary SA.

Transcriptomic and microbiota response on Litopenaeus vannamei intestine subjected to acute sulfide exposure

Harmful effects of water pollutants are myriad. Sulfide from water bodies affects the aquatic animals. Intestine barrier function serves as the front-line of animals defense. Our previous study confirmed the toxic effect of sulfide on intestine immune response of Litopenaeus vannamei, but the underlying mechanisms remained elusive. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the transcriptomic and microbiota responses of the L. vannamei intestine subjected to acute sulfide exposure. Sulfide decreased bacterial richness and altered the intestine microbiota composition. Specifically, sulfide increased the abundances of Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria, but decreased the abundance of Proteobacteria. At the genus level, sulfide increased typical cellulolytic characteristics bacteria, such as Formosa, Sphingomonas, and Demequina. RNA-seq analysis identified differential expression of 1799 genes (701 up-regulated and 1098 down-regulated) were grouped into 267 pathways. The most enriched pathway 'amoebiasis' was related to the intestine mucus homeostasis. A number of immune-related genes associated with antimicrobial, antioxidant, pathogen attachment and recognition, and apoptosis processes in contrasting accessions; they were correlated with the abundance of intestine bacterial at the phylum level. This study provides an insight into the mechanisms associated with molecular and microbiota response and processes involved in adaptation strategies towards sulfide stress.

Dislocation rate increases with bariatric surgery before total hip arthroplasty

INTRODUCTION

Annually in the USA, 113,000 patients with refractory obesity undergo bariatric surgery (BS), and a subset does so in order to lower body mass index to become a more desirable total hip arthroplasty (THA) candidate. This study aims to evaluate THA risk with and without bariatric surgery.

METHODS

12,160 patients were identified in a claim-based review of the entire Medicare database with ICD-9 codes to identify patients in three groups. Patients who underwent BS prior to THA (Group I: 1,545 experimental group) and two control groups that did not undergo BS but had either a body mass index >40 (Group II: 6,918 bariatric control) or <25 (Group III: 3,697 normal weight control). Preoperative demographics/comorbidities and short-term medical (30 day) and long-term surgical (90-day and 2-year) complications were evaluated.

RESULTS

Group I had female predominance, youngest age, and highest incidence of: deficiency anaemia, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, diabetes, polysubstance abuse, psychiatric disorders and smoking. At 2 years, Group I had approximately twice the dislocation and revision risk compared to both Groups II and III; Groups I and II had over four times the risk of infection and wound complications compared to Group III.

CONCLUSION

In the Medicare population, these patients continue to have complication rates similar to and sometimes greater than obese patients with no prior bariatric surgery. Greater dislocation risk is possibly due to ligamentous laxity related to decreased collagen/elastin and/or component malposition due to intraoperative visualisation challenges.

Collagen I and III in women with diastasis recti

OBJECTIVES

Interest in elucidating the etiology of hernias has encouraged countless studies of musculoaponeurotic structures in individuals with and without hernias. Studies of hernia patients have firmly demonstrated a correlation between hernias and collagen alterations in their fascia. Diastasis recti is an increased width of the abdominal midline that is exclusively composed of interlacing aponeurotic expansions of the anterolateral abdominal muscles. The condition is common among women undergoing abdominoplasty, and many factors, not only mechanical, play a role. The goal of this study is to evaluate and compare collagen type I and III levels in the midline fascia of women with and without diastasis recti to report their possible influence on this condition.

METHODS

This is a case-control study nested within a surgical cohort of 18 women with diastasis recti and 18 women without the condition (cases and controls, respectively). Fascia from the midline of the abdominal wall was collected and analyzed through immunohistochemistry using polyclonal antibodies to collagen type I and III.

RESULTS

Both type I and type III collagen were less abundant in women with diastasis recti than in those without the condition, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Low collagen type I and type III levels in the midline of the abdominal wall may play a key role in the development of diastasis recti.