Effect of genetic variants of chemokine receptors on the development of myocardial infarction in Turkish population

Inflammation is a crucial component of coronary atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction (MI). Chemokine receptors are important modulators of inflammation. Polymorphisms in genes coding for chemokine receptors, CCR2 and CCR5, have been studied as genetic markers of coronary artery disease. In the present study, we investigated whether genetic variants of CCR2-V64I and CCR5-delta32 chemokine receptors have any effect on the development of myocardial infarction. A total of 146 MI patients and 202 control subjects were genotyped for CCR2 and CCR5. CCR2-V64I genotypes were not significantly different between patients with MI and controls (P > 0.05). CCR5-delta32 genotype distribution in cases was significantly different from that of controls (P = 0.042). The CCR5-delta32 wt/deletion genotype frequencies for controls and cases were 0.10 and 0.19, respectively and individuals with CCR5-delta32 wt/deletion genotype had a 2.13-fold increased risk of myocardial infarction (P = 0.0013). Individuals carrying the CCR5-delta32 heterozygote or homozygous variant genotype (deletion/deletion + wt/deletion) had a 1.96-fold increased risk of myocardial infarction compared with the wild-type genotype (wt/wt) (p: 0.016). In conclusion, our data have suggested that genetic variant of CCR5 might be associated with the development of MI. Further larger sample size studies are required to confirm our findings.     

Body fat distribution has no effect on serum visfatin levels in healthy female subjects

Obesity is the presence of either abnormal absolute amount or relative proportion of body fat. Contrary to gluteal obesity, visceral obesity is associated with different metabolic alterations including insulin resistance (IR). A relatively new adipocytokine visfatin is shown to be expressed predominantly in visceral fat and exhibit insulin-mimicking effects in rodents. It is still unclear whether serum visfatin levels are associated with increased total or visceral fat mass in humans. The aim of our study was to investigate the relation between visfatin and obesity parameters namely body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WaC) and IR in healthy female subjects. Eighty one female subjects ?20 years of age, having no diagnosis of glucose intolerance or diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia were chosen. The patients were divided into four groups according to their BMI and WaC values. Serum visfatin and HOMA-IR levels did not differ among groups. No correlation was detected between serum visfatin levels and obesity and metabolic parameters. In conclusion, we demonstrated that body fat distribution did not affect serum visfatin levels in healthy female subjects. Further studies are needed to clarify the exact factors influencing and determining serum visfatin levels and its clinical reflections.     

Relationship between osmotic stress-induced abscisic acid accumulation,biomass production and plant growth in drought-tolerant and -sensitive wheat cultivars

The effects of increasing osmotic stress induced by 100–400 mOsm (−0.976 MPa) polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) were investigated in a drought-tolerant (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Mv Emese) and drought-sensitive (cv. GK élet) wheat cultivar at the three-leaf stage. During osmotic stress, the decline of the water potential (ψ _w) was more significant in the leaves, while the abscisic acid (ABA) levels of the roots increased earlier and remained higher in the sensitive than in the tolerant variety. There was an increasing gradient of ABA content toward the youngest leaves in the drought-sensitive GK élet, while more ABA accumulated in the fully developed, older leaves of the tolerant cultivar Mv Emese. In accordance with the rapid and significant accumulation of ABA, the stomatal conductance decreased earlier in the tolerant cultivar. The effect of water stress on the PSII photochemistry was pronounced only 1 week after the exposure to PEG, as indicated by the earlier decrease of the net CO₂ fixation, the effective quantum yield (Φ_PSII) and the photochemical quenching (q _P) in light-adapted samples of the tolerant variety in 400 mOsm PEG 6000. The stress treatment caused more significant reductions in these parameters toward the end of the experiment in the sensitive cultivar. In spite of small differences in the photosynthetic characteristics, the net biomass production was not significantly altered by this osmotic stress. The accumulation of ABA controlled the distribution of the biomass between the shoot and root systems under osmotic stress, and contributed to the development of stronger and deeper roots in the drought-sensitive cultivar GK élet. However, the root elongation did not correlate with the drought sensitivity of these cultivars on the basis of crop yield.     

Effect of Artichoke Leaf Extract on Hepatic and Cardiac Oxidative Stress in Rats Fed on High Cholesterol Diet

Hypercholesterolemia and lipid peroxidation play complementary roles in atherosclerosis. Artichoke (Cynara scolymus L., Asteraceae) leaf extract (ALE), rich in antioxidants, has cholesterol-reducing effect. We investigated the effect of ALE on serum and hepatic lipid levels and pro-oxidant–antioxidant balance in the liver and heart of hypercholesterolemic rats. Rats were fed on 4% (w/w) cholesterol and 1% cholic acid (w/w) supplemented diet for 1 month. ALE (1.5 g/kg/day) was given by gavage during the last 2 weeks. High cholesterol (HC) diet caused significant increases in serum and liver cholesterol and triglyceride levels. It increased malondialdehyde (MDA) and diene conjugate (DC) levels in both tissues. Hepatic vitamin E levels and hepatic and cardiac glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities decreased, but superoxide dismutase and glutathione transferase activities, glutathione, and vitamin C levels remained unchanged due to HC diet. Serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels and ratio of cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol decreased in ALE plus HC-treated rats, but liver cholesterol and triglyceride levels remained unchanged. Significant decreases in hepatic and cardiac MDA and DC levels and increases in hepatic vitamin E and GSH-Px activities were observed in ALE-treated hypercholesterolemic rats. Our results indicate that ALE decreases serum lipids and hypercholesterolemia-induced pro-oxidant state in both tissues.     

Structural investigation of the glandular trichomes of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salvia argentea</Emphasis>

The morphology, anatomy and distribution of glandular trichomes on the aerial organs of Salvia argentea L. has been investigated. Two morphologically distinct types of glandular trichomes were determined. Capitate glandular trichomes forming a base 1–7 celled, a stalk 1–5 celled or no stalk and a head uni- or bicellular had various types. In capitate trichomes, the neck cell that has an important role especially for xeroformic plants, acting to prevent the backflow of secreted substance through the apoplast has been distinctively observed in the investigated species. The capitate trichomes were present abundantly on all aerial organs of S. argentea. Peltate glandular trichomes had a large secretory head forming 1–5, 8 central and 8–10, 12, 14 peripheral cells. Peltate trichomes are present on all aerial organs, except petiole, being the most abundant on calyx and corolla. Results were shown by tables and photographs.     

Temtamy preaxial brachydactyly syndrome is caused by loss-of-function mutations in chondroitin synthase 1, a potential target of BMP signaling

Altered Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signaling leads to multiple developmental defects, including brachydactyly and deafness. Here we identify chondroitin synthase 1 (CHSY1) as a potential mediator of BMP effects. We show that loss of human CHSY1 function causes autosomal-recessive Temtamy preaxial brachydactyly syndrome (TPBS), mainly characterized by limb malformations, short stature, and hearing loss. After mapping the TPBS locus to chromosome 15q26-qterm, we identified causative mutations in five consanguineous TPBS families. In zebrafish, antisense-mediated chsy1 knockdown causes defects in multiple developmental processes, some of which are likely to also be causative in the etiology of TPBS. In the inner ears of zebrafish larvae, chsy1 is expressed similarly to the BMP inhibitor dan and in a complementary fashion to bmp2b. Furthermore, unrestricted Bmp2b signaling or loss of Dan activity leads to reduced chsy1 expression and, during epithelial morphogenesis, defects similar to those that occur upon Chsy1 inactivation, indicating that Bmp signaling affects inner-ear development by repressing chsy1. In addition, we obtained strikingly similar zebrafish phenotypes after chsy1 overexpression, which might explain why, in humans, brachydactyly can be caused by mutations leading either to loss or to gain of BMP signaling.     

Effects of Selenium Supplementation on Antioxidant Defense and Glucose Homeostasis in Experimental Diabetes Mellitus

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of different forms of Se supplementation on the antioxidant defense and glucose homeostasis in experimental diabetes. Sodium selenate (SS) or selenomethionine (SM) were administered (2 μmol Se kg⁻¹ day⁻¹) via orogastric route to streptozotocine (STZ)-induced diabetic rats in addition to basal diet for 12 weeks. Glucose levels in whole blood, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity in erythrocytes, Se and fructosamine levels in plasma were evaluated monthly. Plasma Se levels increased significantly in all diabetic groups compared to basal measurements, being more prominent in SM group [p(SM₃/SM₀) = 0.018]. The increase in GSH-Px activities was significant at the end of the second month in SS [p(SS₂/SS₀) = 0.028], whereas at the end of the third month in SM the value was lower [p(SM₃/SM₀) = 0.018] and the unsupplemented diabetic control (DC) groups, p(DC₃/DC₀) = 0.012. Glucose increased significantly only in DC group. Fructosamine increased gradually in all diabetic groups, being significant in DC and SS groups. At the end of the third month, highest fructosamine levels were observed in SS group, which were significantly higher than the SM group [p(SM/SS) = 0.010]. In conclusion, Se augmented the antioxidant defense by increasing GSH-Px activity and this effect was more prominent when Se was supplemented as SM, which exerted positive effects also on glucose homeostasis.     

In silico mutational studies of Hsp70 disclose sites with distinct functional attributes

The Mutation‐Minimization Method (MuMi) to study the local response of proteins to point mutations has been introduced here. The heat shock protein Hsp70 as the test system since it displays features that have been studied in great detail has been used here. It has many conserved residues, serves several different functions on each of its domains, and displays interdomain allostery. For the analysis of spatial arrangement of residues within the protein, the network properties of the wild type (WT) protein as well as its all single alanine residue mutants using MuMi has been investigated. The measures to express the amount of change from the WT structure upon mutation and compare these deviations to find potential critical sites have been proposed. The functional significance of the potential sites to the parameter that uncovers them has been mapped. It was found that sites directly involved in binding were sensitive to mutations and were characterized by large displacements. On the other hand, sites that steer large conformational changes typically had increased reachability upon alanine mutations occurring elsewhere in the protein. Finally, residues that control communication within and between domains reside on the largest number of paths connecting pairs of residues in the protein. Proteins 2015; 83:2077–2090. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Evaluation of insulin resistance and plasma levels for visfatin and resistin in obese and non-obese patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

This study was designed to evaluate insulin resistance and plasma levels of visfatin and resistin in obese and non-obese patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).A total of 37 premenopausal PCOS patients with (n = 18, mean (SD) age: 27.5 (5.7 years) or without obesity (n = 19, mean (SD) age: 23.7 (3.1) years) and healthy volunteers (n = 18, mean (SD) age:29.8 (4.1) years) were included in this study. Data on clinical characteristics, glycemic parameters and lipid parameters were recorded for each subject as were plasma visfatin and resistin levels. Mean (SD) HOMA-IR values were significantly higher in obese PCOS patients (3.4 (1.7)) compared with non-obese PCOS patients (2.0 (1.2), p<0.01) and controls (1.6 (0.8), p<0.01). No significant difference was noted between study groups in terms of plasma resistin (ng/mL) or visfatin (ng/mL) levels. There was no correlation between serum plasma visfatin (r = 0.127, p = 0.407) and resistin (r = -0.096, p = 0.544) levels and HOMA-IR. In conclusion, our findings revealed increased likelihood of metabolic and dyslipidemic manifestations in obese compared to non-obese PCOS patients, while no significant difference was noted in visfatin and resistin levels among PCOS patients in terms of co-morbid obesity and in comparison to controls.     

The effect of osteoporosis on self-report sleep quality in postmenopausal women

We aimed to show the effect of osteoporosis on sleep quality in 59 postmenopausal women. The participants’ bone-mineral density levels were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). According to their DEXA results, participants were divided into two groups as osteoporotics and controls. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to evaluate sleep quality. Fourteen osteoporotic women (43.8%) and four controls (14.8%) were “poor” sleepers (p < 0.05). Postmeno-pausal women with osteoporosis scored greater on the “sleep latency” and “sleep duration” components of PSQI than controls. According to the findings of our study, osteoporosis is a risk factor for poor sleep quality in postmenopausal women.