Promising role of ferulic acid,atorvastatin and their combination in ameliorating high fat diet-induced stress in mice

AimsThe present study evaluated a comparative and combined hepatoprotective effect of atorvastatin (AS) and ferulic acid (F) against high fat diet (HFD) induced oxidative stress in terms of hyperlipidemia, anti-oxidative status, lipid peroxidation and inflammation.Main methodsMale Swiss albino mice were given a diet containing high fat (H) (23.9% wt/wt), supplemented with AS (10 mg/kg) or F (100 mg/kg) and both (10 and 100 mg/kg) for 8 weeks. The control mice (C) were fed with normal diet.Key findingsThe H mice exhibited increased body weight; hyperlipidemia; serum level of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6); hepatic lipid profile; lipid accumulation; reactive oxygen species (ROS) of hepatocytes, lipid peroxidation and liver antioxidant capacity was decreased. Immunofluorescent and Western blot assay revealed activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway. The addition of F or AS and both in the diet significantly counteracted HFD induced body weight gain; hyperlipidemia; TNF-α, IL-6; hepatic lipid profile; fatty infiltration; NF-κB signaling pathway; ROS; lipid peroxidation and moreover elevated levels of hepatic antioxidant enzymes activity were observed.SignificanceSimultaneous treatment with AS, F and their combination protected against HFD induced weight gain and oxidative stress. The protection may be attributed to the hypolipidemic and free radical scavenging activity of AS or F and their combination. This study illustrates that AS and F have relatively similar hypolipidemic, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory actions and the AS + F combination along with HFD has shown outstanding effects as compared to other treated groups.     

Hyperglycemia impairs osteoblast cell migration and chemotaxis due to a decrease in mitochondrial biogenesis

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - Diabetes is associated with an increase in skeletal fragility and risk of fracture. However, the underlying mechanism for the same is not well understood....     

Synthesis of diverse analogues of Oenostacin and their antibacterial activities

Several diverse analogues of Oenostacin, a naturally occurring potent antibacterial phenolic acid derivative, have been synthesized. A small library with more than forty analogues having different aromatic rings and varied side chains has been achieved through solution phase synthesis. Some of these analogues, that is, 22, 23 and 42, possessed potent antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus having EC(50) ranging from 0.49 to 0.67 microM as compared to Oenostacin (EC(50)=0.12 microM).     

Molecular phylogeny of Neotropical bioluminescent beetles (Coleoptera: Elateroidea) in southern and central Brazil

Bioluminescence in beetles is found mainly in the Elateroidea superfamily (Elateridae, Lampyridae and Phengodidae). The Neotropical region accounts for the richest diversity of bioluminescent species in the world with about 500 described species, most occurring in the Amazon, Atlantic rainforest and Cerrado (savanna) ecosystems in Brazil. The origin and evolution of bioluminescence, as well as the taxonomic status of several Neotropical taxa in these families remains unclear. In order to contribute to a better understanding of the phylogeny and evolution of bioluminescent Elateroidea we sequenced and analyzed sequences of mitochondrial NADH2 and the nuclear 28S genes and of the cloned luciferase sequences of Brazilian species belonging to the following genera: (Lampyridae) Macrolampis, Photuris, Amydetes, Bicellonycha, Aspisoma, Lucidota, Cratomorphus; (Elateridae) Conoderus, Pyrophorus, Hapsodrilus, Pyrearinus, Fulgeochlizus; and (Phengodidae) Pseudophengodes, Phrixothrix, Euryopa and Brasilocerus. Our study supports a closer phylogenetic relationship between Elateridae and Phengodidae as other molecular studies, in contrast with previous morphologic and molecular studies that clustered Lampyridae/Phengodidae. Molecular data also supported division of the Phengodinae subfamily into the tribes Phengodini and Mastinocerini. The position of the genus Amydetes supports the status of the Amydetinae as a subfamily. The genus Euryopa is included in the Mastinocerini tribe within the Phengodinae/Phengodidae. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Insights into the structural nature of the transition state in the Kir channel gating pathway

In a previous study we identified an extensive gating network within the inwardly rectifying Kir1.1 (ROMK) channel by combining systematic scanning mutagenesis and functional analysis with structural models of the channel in the closed, pre-open and open states. This extensive network appeared to stabilize the open and pre-open states, but the network fragmented upon channel closure. In this study we have analyzed the gating kinetics of different mutations within key parts of this gating network. These results suggest that the structure of the transition state (TS), which connects the pre-open and closed states of the channel, more closely resembles the structure of the pre-open state. Furthermore, the G-loop, which occurs at the center of this extensive gating network, appears to become unstructured in the TS because mutations within this region have a ‘catalytic’ effect upon the channel gating kinetics.     

Women Up, Men Down: The Clinical Impact of Replacing the Framingham Risk Score with the Reynolds Risk Score in the United States Population

Background

The Reynolds Risk Score (RRS) is one alternative to the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) for cardiovascular risk assessment. The Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) integrated the FRS a decade ago, but with the anticipated release of ATP IV, it remains uncertain how and which risk models will be integrated into the recommendations. We sought to define the effects in the United States population of a transition from the FRS to the RRS for cardiovascular risk assessment.

Methods

Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, we assessed FRS and RRS in 2,502 subjects representing approximately 53.6 Million (M) men (ages 50–79) and women (ages 45–79), without cardiovascular disease or diabetes. We calculated the proportion reclassified by RRS and the subset whose LDL-C goal achievement changed.

Results

Compared to FRS, the RRS assigns a higher risk category to 13.9% of women and 9.1% of men while assigning a lower risk to 35.7% of men and 2% of women. Overall, 4.7% of women and 1.1% of men fail to meet newly intensified LDL-C goals using the RRS. Conversely, 10.5% of men and 0.6% of women now meet LDL-C goal using RRS when they had not by FRS.

Conclusion

In the U.S. population the RRS assigns a new risk category for one in six women and four of nine men. In general, women increase while men decrease risk. In conclusion, adopting the RRS for the 53.6 million eligible U.S. adults would result in intensification of clinical management in 1.6 M additional women and 2.10 M fewer men.