Calprotectin — A Novel Marker of Obesity

Background

The two inflammatory molecules, S100A8 and S100A9, form a heterodimer, calprotectin. Plasma calprotectin levels are elevated in various inflammatory disorders. We hypothesized that plasma calprotectin levels would be increased in subjects with low-grade systemic inflammation i.e. either obese subjects or subjects with type 2 diabetes.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Plasma calprotectin and skeletal muscle S100A8 mRNA levels were measured in a cohort consisting of 199 subjects divided into four groups depending on presence or absence of type 2 diabetes (T2D), and presence or absence of obesity. There was a significant interaction between obesity and T2D (p = 0.012). Plasma calprotectin was increased in obese relative to non-obese controls (p<0.0001), whereas it did not differ between obese and non-obese patients with T2D (p = 0.62). S100A8 mRNA levels in skeletal muscle were not influenced by obesity or T2D. Multivariate regression analysis (adjusting for age, sex, smoking and HOMA2-IR) showed plasma calprotectin to be strongly associated with BMI, even when further adjusted for fitness, CRP, TNF-α or neutrophil number.

Conclusions/Significance

Plasma calprotectin is a marker of obesity in individuals without type 2 diabetes.     

Recent Arguments Against Germ Cell Renewal in the Adult Human Ovary: Is an Absence of Marker Gene Expression Really Acceptable Evidence of an Absence of Oogenesis?

In 2004, a study from our lab published in the journal Nature re-ignited a worldwide debate over the validity of the dogma that mammalian females are incapable of oocyte and follicle production during postnatal life. Amidst widespread skepticism, we forged ahead and published a second study in 2005 in the journal Cell, which not only reaffirmed with different experimental approaches that this dogma is invalid but also identified cells in bone marrow (BM) and blood of adult female mice that could generate oocytes contained within immature follicles in the ovaries of recipient females following transplantation. Although this work has been the subject of extensive critical commentary as well, two recent reports from others have confirmed the germline potential of adult BM-derived cells in mice. Further, independent corroboration of the results and conclusions presented in our earlier Nature paper is also now available. However, two papers have been published that purportedly question our work and conclusions. The first is a paper by Eggan et al. published in the journal Nature, which attempts to draw conclusions about the germline potential of BM-derived cells after focusing solely on ovulated eggs while ignoring what may be occurring at the level of oogenesis in the ovaries. The second is a report from Liu et al. just released in the journal Developmental Biology that claims to provide evidence refuting the possibility that adult female mammals produce new oocytes. However, all of the data presented in this latter report are derived from gene expression studies that the authors say fail to show the occurrence of meiosis or germ cell mitosis in adult human ovaries. Given that more than three years have past since our initial study challenging the dogma was published, it is our belief that continuing arguments against the possibility of postnatal oogenesis in mammals should be based on more rigorous experimental approaches than simply an absence of evidence, especially from gene expression analyses. Further, the interpretations offered by Liu et al. of their results are not as straightforward as they contend since some of their data can also be viewed as supportive of postnatal oogenesis in reproductive age women.     

A Taxonomic Signature of Obesity in the Microbiome? Getting to the Guts of the Matter

Obesity is an important and intractable public health problem. In addition to the well-known risk factors of behavior, diet, and genetics, gut microbial communities were recently identified as another possible source of risk and a potential therapeutic target. However, human and animal-model studies have yielded conflicting results about the precise nature of associations between microbiome composition and obesity. In this paper, we use publicly available data from the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) and MetaHIT, both surveys of healthy adults that include obese individuals, plus two smaller studies that specifically examined lean versus obese adults. We find that inter-study variability in the taxonomic composition of stool microbiomes far exceeds differences between lean and obese individuals within studies. Our analyses further reveal a high degree of variability in stool microbiome composition and diversity across individuals. While we confirm the previously published small, but statistically significant, differences in phylum-level taxonomic composition between lean and obese individuals in several cohorts, we find no association between BMI and taxonomic composition of stool microbiomes in the larger HMP and MetaHIT datasets. We explore a range of different statistical techniques and show that this result is robust to the choice of methodology. Differences between studies are likely due to a combination of technical and clinical factors. We conclude that there is no simple taxonomic signature of obesity in the microbiota of the human gut.     

Breastfeeding and Childhood Obesity: Shift of the Entire BMI Distribution or Only the Upper Parts?

A protective effect of breastfeeding on overweight (binary) has been reported by meta-analyses using logistic regression, whereas studies using linear regression and BMI (continuous) detected no significant association. To assess the relationship of these differences with different outcome classification, we compared results for linear, logistic, and quantile regression models in a cross-sectional data set of considerable size. Height, weight, and questionnaire data on 9,368 preschool children were collected during school-entry examinations in 1999 and 2002 in Bavaria, Southern Germany. We calculated multivariable linear, logistic, and quantile regression models with outcomes BMI, overweight, obesity, and BMI quantiles (as appropriate). Models considered the covariates breastfeeding (breastfed vs. never breastfed), gender, age, smoking in pregnancy, TV watching, maternal BMI, parental education, and early infant weight gain. No significant association was found in the linear regression model. In the logistic model, a significant association was observed for obesity (odds ratio: 0.72 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.55, 0.94)). In quantile regression no significant point estimates were observed for the percentiles of 0.4-0.8. However, breastfeeding reduced the BMI of children having values on the 90th and 97th percentiles by -0.23 (95% CI -0.39, -0.07) and -0.26 (95% CI -0.45, -0.07) kg/m(2), respectively, on average. In contrast, breastfeeding was significantly associated with a low shift toward higher BMI values for BMI quantiles of 0.03 and from 0.1 to 0.3. The detection of associations between breastfeeding and childhood body composition might be related to the coding of the response variable (continuous or binary) and the statistical method used (linear, logistic, or quantile regression). Quantile regression should additionally be applied in such studies.     

Genetic Features of the Tomato Marker Line Мо938

Russian Journal of Genetics - In cultivated tomato hybrids (Marglobe × Mo938), the anthocyanin-free gene shows linked inheritance with the d (dwarf) gene on chromosome 2, but with a...     

Serum Bile Acids in Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot: A Marker for Liver and Heart?

Background and Aims

Patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot may develop chronic right ventricular dysfunction and hepatic congestion over time. We hypothesized that bile acid metabolism is altered in repaired tetralogy of Fallot patients and therefore sought to correlate right ventricular indices with serum bile acid levels.

Methods

Indexed right ventricular end diastolic volume, as assessed by cardiac magnetic-resonance imaging, was classified as <100ml/m² (Group 1, n = 5), 100–150ml/m² (Group 2, n = 18), and >150ml/m² (Group 3, n = 6) in 29 patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot. Pulmonary regurgitation fraction and right ventricular ejection fraction were calculated. The serum bile acid profile, including 15 species, in these patients was determined by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.

Results

Serum bile acid levels increased from Group 1 to Group 3 (2.5 ± 0.7; 4.1 ± 2.5; 6.0 ± 2.8 μmol/l, respectively) with significantly increased bile acid values in Group 3 compared to Group 1 (p≤0.05). In Group 3, but not in Group 1 and 2, a significant increase in glycine-conjugated bile acids was observed. Pulmonary regurgitation fraction increased (12 ± 1; 28 ± 16; 43 ± 3%, Groups 1–3, respectively) and right ventricular ejection fraction decreased (48.4 ± 6.4; 48.5 ± 6.5; 42.1 ± 5.3%, Groups 1–3, respectively) with rising indexed right ventricular end diastolic volume.

Conclusions

These preliminary results suggest that serum bile acid levels are positively correlated with indexed right ventricular end-diastolic volume in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot; however, this needs to be confirmed in a larger patient cohort.     

Arbitrary Primer Based RAPD — A Useful Genetic Marker for Species Identification in Morels

Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of 5.8S ribosomal DNA gene of 46 monospore cultures representing different species of family Morchellaceae were sequenced. Eight putative species namely Morchella esculenta, M. crassipes, M. angusticeps, M. conice, Mitrophora semilibera, Morchella spongiola, M. vulgaris and Verpa conica were designated to the sequenced cultures analyzed based on similarity with the best aligned sequence of the BLAST search. We recorded interspecific polymorphism in ITS regions of the 5.8S r-DNA gene amongst putative species of morels. However no intraspecific ITS polymorphism could be visualized amongst monospores from single and or different ascocarps collected from various geographical regions. PCR RAPDamplified profiles of different monospores were identical at intraspecific levels and could not be distinguished by eight arbitrary primers tested. RAPD profiles exhibited significant interspecific polymorphism distinguishing all the eight putative species from each other by primer OPP-6 (5’- GTG GGT TGA C- 3’) and a custom primer (5’-CGC ACC GCA G-3’). RAPDprofiles generated using aforesaid arbitrary primers can serve as useful genetic markers for species identification and to improve morel systematics. Present study is the first report on exploitation of random primers in species differentiation in morels.     

How Frequent Are Eating Disturbances in the Population? Norms of the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire

Objective

The Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) is a self-report instrument assessing the specific psychopathology and key behaviors of eating disorders. This study sought to determine the prevalence of eating disturbances, and to provide psychometric properties and norms of the EDE-Q, in a representative German population sample.

Methods

A total of 2520 individuals (1166 men, 1354 women) were assessed with the EDE-Q.

Results

Eating disorder psychopathology was higher and most key behaviors were more prevalent in women than in men. Psychopathology declined with age ≥65 in both sexes, and showed a peak at age 55–64 in men. Overall, 5.9% of the women and 1.5% of the men revealed eating disturbances. The prevalence of eating disturbances decreased with age in women and was significantly higher in obese than in normal-weight individuals. Psychometric analyses showed favorable item characteristics. Internal consistencies of EDE-Q composite scores were ≥.80 for women and ≥.70 for men. The factor structure of the EDE-Q was partially reproduced. Sex- and age-specific population norms are reported.

Discussion

This study provides population norms of the EDE-Q for both sexes and across the age range, demonstrates demographic variations in symptomatology, and reveals satisfactory psychometric properties. Further research is warranted on eating disturbances in older adults.     

Childhood eczema: disease of the advantaged?

OBJECTIVE--To determine whether the increased prevalence of childhood eczema in advantaged socioeconomic groups is due to increased parental reporting. DESIGN--Comparison of parental reports of eczema with visible eczema recorded by medical officers during a detailed physical examination. SETTING--National birth cohort study. SUBJECTS--8279 children from England, Wales, and Scotland born during 3-9 March 1958 and followed up at the ages of 7, 11, and 16. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Prevalence of eczema according to parental report compared with medical officer''s examination at the ages of 7, 11, and 16. RESULTS--Prevalence of both reported and examined eczema increased with rising social class at the ages of 7, 11, and 16 years. The point prevalence of examined eczema at age 7 was 4.8%, 3.6%, 3.6%, 2.4%, 2.2%, and 2.4% in social classes I, II, III non-manual, III manual, IV, and V respectively (chi 2 value for linear trend 12.6, P < 0.001). This trend persisted after adjustment for potential confounders such as region and family size and was not present for examined psoriasis or acne. CONCLUSIONS--Eczema is more prevalent among British schoolchildren in social classes I and II than those in lower classes. Exposures associated with social class are probably at least as important as genetic factors in the expression of childhood eczema.     

Childhood Obesity: Do Parents Recognize This Health Risk?

Objective: This study examined parents’ understanding of excess weight as a health risk, knowledge of healthy eating habits, and recognition of obesity in their children. Research Methods and Procedures: An anonymous questionnaire was distributed during well‐care visits involving children 4 to 8 years of age at a pediatric faculty practice. Parents indicated their level of concern about excess weight and other familiar health risks using a four‐point Likert scale, answered multiple‐choice questions concerning healthy eating patterns, and communicated their perceptions about their child's weight using a visual analog scale. A parent's perception was considered “accurate” if it deviated from the child's growth chart percentile by <30 points. Results: Of the 83 parents surveyed, 23% (19/83) had overweight children (≥95th percentile of age‐ and gender‐specific BMI growth charts). These parents did not differ from other parents in their level of concern about excess weight as a health risk or in their knowledge of healthy eating patterns, but the two groups of parents did differ in the accuracy of their perceptions about their children's weight. Only 10.5% of parents of overweight children (2/19) perceived their child's weight accurately compared with 59.4% of other parents (38/64; p < 0.001). Parents of overweight children invariably underestimated their children's weight. The median difference between their perception and the growth chart percentile was ?45 points. Discussion: Given that most parents of overweight children fail to recognize that their child has a weight problem, pediatricians should develop strategies to help these parents correct their misperceptions.     

PCR–SSCP: A Method for the Molecular Analysis of Genetic Diseases

Single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) is a reproducible, rapid and quite simple method for the detection of deletions/insertions/rearrangements in polymerase chain reaction amplified DNA. All the details for the use of PCR–SSCP are presented in the direction of genetic diseases (β-thalassaemia, cystic fibrosis), optimum gel conditions, sensitivity and the latest modifications of the method, which are applied in most laboratories. This non-radioactive PCR–SSCP method can be reliably used to identify mutations in patients (β-globin, CFTR), provided suitable controls are available. Moreover, it is widely used for mutation identification in carriers (β-thalassaemia, cystic fibrosis), making it particularly useful in population screening.     

Is There Still a French Eating Model? A Taxonomy of Eating Behaviors in Adults Living in the Paris Metropolitan Area in 2010

Background

Meal times in France still represent an important moment in everyday life. The model of three rigorously synchronized meals is still followed by a majority of people, while meal frequencies have flattened in other European or North-American countries. We aimed to examine the “French model” of eating behavior by identifying and characterizing distinct meal patterns.

Methods

Analyses were based on data from the SIRS cohort, a representative survey of the adult population in the Paris area. A clustering algorithm was applied to meal variables (number, time, location, with whom the meal is usually shared and activities associated with meals). Regression models were used to investigate associations between patterns and socio-demographic, social environment and perceived food quality variables.

Results

Five different patterns were identified among 2994 participants. The first three types (prevalence 33%, 17% and 24%) followed a three-meal pattern, with differences in locations and social interactions mainly related to time constraints and age. More marked differences were observed in the remaining two types. In the fourth type (prevalence 13%), individuals ate one or two meals per day, often with an irregular schedule, at home and in front of the television. They frequently were unemployed and had lower income. Breakfast skipping, increased snacking and a low adherence to dietary guidelines suggested that this behavior might have health consequences. In the fifth type (12%), people also ate two meals or less per day, possibly with the same consequences on food quality. However, meals were often taken outside the home, in social settings, and individuals following this pattern were typically active, integrated, young people, suggesting that this pattern might be an adaptation to a modern urban lifestyle.

Conclusions

While a majority of the population still follows the three-meal pattern, our analysis distinguished two other eating patterns associated with specific sociological profiles.     

Does Breastfeeding Help to Reduce the Risk of Childhood Overweight and Obesity? A Propensity Score Analysis of Data from the KiGGS Study

BackgroundCurrent studies suggest that the beneficial effect of breastfeeding on overweight and obesity may have been largely overestimated. We examined the relationship between >4 months of full breastfeeding and overweight/obesity in children living in Germany.MethodsWe analyzed retrospectively collected data on breastfeeding from children aged 3–17 years who participated in the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS baseline study) between 2003 and 2006 (n = 13163). To minimize confounding, we applied propensity score matching and multivariate logistic regression analyses to estimate the effect of breastfeeding on childhood overweight and obesity.ResultsAdjusted analyses of the matched dataset (n = 8034) indicated that children who were breastfed for <4 months had a significant reduction in the odds of overweight (OR 0.81 [95% CI 0.71–0.92]) and obesity (OR 0.75 [95% CI 0.61–0.92]) compared to children who were not breastfed or who were breastfed for a shorter duration. Further analyses stratified by age group showed that the association was strongest in children aged 7–10 years (OR 0.67 [95% CI 0.53–0.84] for overweight and OR 0.56 [95% CI 0.39–0.81] for obesity), while no significant effect could be seen in other age groups.DiscussionOur findings support the hypothesis that breastfeeding does have a beneficial effect on childhood overweight and obesity, although the effect seems to be strongest in children of primary school age.     

Mechanism for the Action of λ Exonuclease in Genetic Recombination

Lambda exonuclease degrades in vitro redundant single stranded regions which probably result in λ DNA from genetic recombination in vivo.