Beneficial effects of phytoestrogens and their metabolites produced by intestinal microflora on bone health

Phytoestrogens are a class of bioactive compounds derived from plants and exert various estrogenic and antiestrogenic effects. Estrogen deficiency osteoporosis has become a serious problem in elderly women. The use of ovariectomized (OVX) rat or mice models to simulate the postmenopausal condition is well established. This review aimed to clarify the sources, biochemistry, absorption, metabolism, and mode of action of phytoestrogens on bone health in intervention studies. In vitro, phytoestrogens promote protein synthesis, osteoprotegerin/receptor activation of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand ratio, and mineralization by osteoblast-like cells (MC3T3-E1). In the OVX murine model, administration of phytoestrogens can inhibit differentiation and activation of osteoclasts, expression of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, and secretion of pyridinoline compound. Phytoestrogens also enhance bone formation and increase bone mineral density and levels of alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, osteopontin, and α1(I) collagen. Results of mechanistic studies have indicated that phytoestrogens suppress the rate of bone resorption and enhance the rate of bone formation.     

Phosphorylation of a Src kinase at the autophosphorylation site in the absence of Src kinase activity

Exposure of cells to oxidants increases the phosphorylation of the Src family tyrosine protein kinase Lck at Tyr-394, a conserved residue in the activation loop of the catalytic domain. Kinase-deficient Lck expressed in fibroblasts that do not express any endogenous Lck has been shown to be phosphorylated at Tyr-394 following H(2)O(2) treatment to an extent indistinguishable from that seen with wild type Lck. This finding indicates that a kinase other than Lck itself is capable of phosphorylating Tyr-394. Because fibroblasts express other Src family members, it remained to be determined whether the phosphorylation of Tyr-394 was carried out by another Src family kinase or by an unrelated tyrosine protein kinase. We examined here whether Tyr-394 in kinase-deficient Lck was phosphorylated following exposure of cells devoid of endogenous Src family kinase activity to H(2)O(2). Strikingly, treatment of such cells with H(2)O(2) led to the phosphorylation of Tyr-394 to an extent identical to that seen with wild type Lck, demonstrating that Src family kinases are not required for H(2)O(2)-induced phosphorylation of Lck. Furthermore, this efficient phosphorylation of Lck at Tyr-394 in non-lymphoid cells suggests the existence of an ubiquitous activator of Src family kinases.     

The Prevalence and Incidence of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Acute Pulmonary Embolism

Background

Symptomatic pulmonary embolism (PE) is a major cause of cardiovascular death and morbidity. Estimated prevalence and incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in developed countries are between 388–661 per 100,000, and 90–123 per 100,000 person-years respectively. However, the prevalence and incidence of AF in patients presenting with an acute PE and its predictors are not clear.

Methods

Individual patient clinical details were retrieved from a database containing all confirmed acute PE presentations to a tertiary institution from 2001–2012. Prevalence and incidence of AF was tracked from a population registry by systematically searching for AF during any hospital admission (2000–2013) based on International Classification of Disease (ICD-10) code.

Results

Of the 1,142 patients included in this study, 935 (81.9%) had no AF during index PE admission whilst 207 patients had documented baseline AF (prevalence rate 18,126 per 100,000; age-adjusted 4,672 per 100,000). Of the 935 patients without AF, 126 developed AF post-PE (incidence rate 2,778 per 100,000 person-years; age-adjusted 984 per 100,000 person-years). Mean time from PE to subsequent AF was 3.4 ± 2.9 years. Total mortality (mean follow-up 5.0 ± 3.7 years) was 42% (n = 478): 35% (n = 283), 59% (n = 119) and 60% (n = 76) in the no AF, baseline AF and subsequent AF cohorts respectively. Independent predictors for subsequent AF after acute PE include age (hazard ratio [HR] 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–1.08, p<0.001), history of congestive cardiac failure (HR 1.88, 95% CI 1.12–3.16, p = 0.02), diabetes (HR 1.72, 95% CI 1.07–2.77, p = 0.02), obstructive sleep apnea (HR 4.83, 1.48–15.8, p = 0.009) and day-1 serum sodium level during index PE admission (HR 0.94, 95% CI 0.90–0.98, p = 0.002).

Conclusions

Patients presenting with acute PE have a markedly increased age-adjusted prevalence and subsequent incidence of AF. Screening for AF may be of importance post-PE.     

Seasonal history ofMacrocentrus grandii [Hym.: Braconidae] andEriborus terebrans [Hym.: Ichneumonidae], two parasitoids of the European corn borer,Ostrinia nubilalis [Lep.: Pyralidae]

The seasonal histories and phenological relationships of European corn borer,Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), and its 2 parasitoids,Macrocentrus grandii (Goidanich) andEriborus terebrans (Gravenhorst) were studied in southcentral Minnesota. Both parasitoids overwintered in mature borer larvae, broke diapause, completed development, and emerged at the same time as did borer adults. Thus the 1st generation parasitoids coincided with the peak abundance of their preferred larval instars of the 1st host generation. Both parasitoids had a 2nd generation, matching the bivoltinism ofO. nubilatis in Minnesota. The activity of 2nd generationE. terebrans was before the peak 2nd generation borer moth flight and was not synchronized with the peak abundance of 2nd generation borer larvae. The peak activity of 2nd generationM. grandii occurred after the peak 2nd generation borer moth flight and was fully synchronized with the peak abundance of 2nd generation borer larvae. Thus,M. grandii has both generations synchronized with the host seasonal history, and was the more effective of the 2 parasitoids.     

Scavenging effect of benzophenones on the oxidative stress of skeletal muscle cells.

Benzophenone is an ultraviolet (UV)-absorbing agent that has been used in industry and medicine for more than 30 years. Consumers of cosmetics and sunscreens containing UV-absorbers are exposed to benzophenones on a daily basis, owing to the widespread use of these compounds. However, the efficacy of these compounds as scavengers of oxidative stress is still not well established. In the present study, we investigate the antioxidative capacity of six sunscreen benzophenone compounds. A primary myoblast culture was mixed in vitro with 100 microM menadione. The cytotoxic effect by menadione-induced oxidative stress was monitored by the lucigenin- or luminol-amplified chemiluminescence, methylthiotetrazole (MTT) assay, and the antioxidative effects of various benzophenone compounds were evaluated. The results showed that the addition of menadione can induce oxidative stress on myoblasts by superoxide and hydrogen peroxide production, which can be eradicated by superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, respectively, in a dose-dependent mode. The catalase has a protective effect on the cytotoxicity induced by menadione as measured by the MTT assay, while the SOD does not. The selected benzophenones also have a significant scavenging effect on the menadione-induced cell death on the myoblasts. The ortho-dihydroxyl structure and other hydroxy groups in the same ring have a stronger scavenging effect on the superoxide anion on myoblasts; thus, a stable penoxy radical may be formed. The mechanism of this effect remains to be clarified.     

Enhanced Recognition and Neutralization of HIV-1 by Antibody-Derived CCR5-Mimetic Peptide Variants

A tyrosine-sulfated CCR5-mimetic peptide, CCR5mim1, inhibits HIV-1 infection more efficiently than sulfopeptides based on the CCR5 amino terminus. Here we characterized sulfopeptide chimeras of CCR5mim1 and the heavy-chain CDR3 of the antibody PG16. Two chimeras bound a range of envelope glycoproteins and neutralized HIV-1 more efficiently than CCR5mim1. An immunoadhesin form of one of these, CCR5mim2-Ig, synergized with CD4-Ig to neutralize HIV-1. These sulfopeptides are among the broadest and most potent CCR5-mimetic peptides described to date.     

Compartmentalization of the exocyst complex in lipid rafts controls Glut4 vesicle tethering

Lipid raft microdomains act as organizing centers for signal transduction. We report here that the exocyst complex, consisting of Exo70, Sec6, and Sec8, regulates the compartmentalization of Glut4-containing vesicles at lipid raft domains in adipocytes. Exo70 is recruited by the G protein TC10 after activation by insulin and brings with it Sec6 and Sec8. Knockdowns of these proteins block insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. Moreover, their targeting to lipid rafts is required for glucose uptake and Glut4 docking at the plasma membrane. The assembly of this complex also requires the PDZ domain protein SAP97, a member of the MAGUKs family, which binds to Sec8 upon its translocation to the lipid raft. Exocyst assembly at lipid rafts sets up targeting sites for Glut4 vesicles, which transiently associate with these microdomains upon stimulation of cells with insulin. These results suggest that the TC10/exocyst complex/SAP97 axis plays an important role in the tethering of Glut4 vesicles to the plasma membrane in adipocytes.