The new biology of ageing

Human life expectancy in developed countries has increased steadily for over 150 years, through improvements in public health and lifestyle. More people are hence living long enough to suffer age-related loss of function and disease, and there is a need to improve the health of older people. Ageing is a complex process of damage accumulation, and has been viewed as experimentally and medically intractable. This view has been reinforced by the realization that ageing is a disadvantageous trait that evolves as a side effect of mutation accumulation or a benefit to the young, because of the decline in the force of natural selection at later ages. However, important recent discoveries are that mutations in single genes can extend lifespan of laboratory model organisms and that the mechanisms involved are conserved across large evolutionary distances, including to mammals. These mutations keep the animals functional and pathology-free to later ages, and they can protect against specific ageing-related diseases, including neurodegenerative disease and cancer. Preliminary indications suggest that these new findings from the laboratory may well also apply to humans. Translating these discoveries into medical treatments poses new challenges, including changing clinical thinking towards broad-spectrum, preventative medicine and finding novel routes to drug development.     

Identification of Tumor Antigens in the HLA Peptidome of Patient-derived Xenograft Tumors in Mouse

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Highlights

• •Sufficient tumor tissues are often unavailable large HLA peptidome discovery.
• •Using patient derived xenograft (PDX) tumors can overcome this limitation.
• •The large PDX HLA peptidomes expand significantly those of the original biopsies.
• •The HLA peptidomes of the PDX tumors included many tumor antigens.

     

Enthesopathies (lesions of muscular insertions) as indicators of the activities of neolithic Saharan populations

Enthesopathies are bony lesions involving the sites of insertion of muscles or ligaments. Those caused by hyperactivity of the relevant muscles may be distinguished clearly from those of metabolic or inflammatory origin. Observations from sporting and occupational medicine indicate that specific enthesopathies are correlated with different activities. Examination of the enthesopathies present on two groups of well-preserved neolithic skeletons from separate regions of the Sahara with different paleoenvironments show that overall 20% of the skeletons presented lesions. Three different forms of enthesopathy involved the arm, principally the elbow, and may be tentatively correlated with javelin throwing, wood cutting, and archery. Two types of lesion involving the foot were observed in skeletons from a hunter-gatherer population and may be correlated with much walking or running over hard ground. I suggest that the analysis of such lesions on ancient skeletons may, in concert with other archaeological data, throw light on the activities of ancient people.     

Mother-infant bonding

A study of the research on postpartum mother-infant bonding shows that results from poorly constructed research programs were published in major journals and became a part of hospital policy because the bonding concept was politically useful in the struggle between advocates of natural childbirth and managers of the medical model of birth. The concept was also uncritically accepted because it was consistent with a longstanding ideology of motherhood that sees women as the prime architects of their children’s personalities. Diane Eyer earned her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently writing a book on the ways in which the concepts of bonding and attachment have affected our understanding of appropriate early childcare.     

COVID-19 plasma proteome reveals novel temporal and cell-specific signatures for disease severity and high-precision disease management

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a systemic inflammatory condition with high mortality that may benefit from personalized medicine and high-precision approaches. COVID-19 patient plasma was analysed with targeted proteomics of 1161 proteins. Patients were monitored from Days 1 to 10 of their intensive care unit (ICU) stay. Age- and gender-matched COVID-19-negative sepsis ICU patients and healthy subjects were examined as controls. Proteomic data were resolved using both cell-specific annotation and deep-analysis for functional enrichment. COVID-19 caused extensive remodelling of the plasma microenvironment associated with a relative immunosuppressive milieu between ICU Days 3–7, and characterized by extensive organ damage. COVID-19 resulted in (1) reduced antigen presentation and B/T-cell function, (2) increased repurposed neutrophils and M1-type macrophages, (3) relatively immature or disrupted endothelia and fibroblasts with a defined secretome, and (4) reactive myeloid lines. Extracellular matrix changes identified in COVID-19 plasma could represent impaired immune cell homing and programmed cell death. The major functional modules disrupted in COVID-19 were exaggerated in patients with fatal outcome. Taken together, these findings provide systems-level insight into the mechanisms of COVID-19 inflammation and identify potential prognostic biomarkers. Therapeutic strategies could be tailored to the immune response of severely ill patients.     

Effect of High-Intensity Interval Training on Cardiac Apoptosis Markers in Methamphetamine-Dependent Rats

Chronic methamphetamine use increases apoptosis, leading to heart failure and sudden cardiac death. Previous studies have shown the importance of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in reducing indices of cardiac tissue apoptosis in different patients, but in the field of sports science, the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis in methamphetamine-dependent rats are still unclear. The present article aimed to investigate the changes in cardiac apoptosis markers in methamphetamine-dependent rats in response to HIIT. Left ventricular tissue was used to evaluate caspase-3, melusin, FAK, and IQGAP1 gene expression. Rats were divided into four groups: sham, methamphetamine (METH), METH-control, and METH-HIIT. METH was injected for 21 days and then the METH-HIIT group performed HIIT for 8 weeks at 5 sessions per week. The METH groups showed increased caspase-3 gene expression and decreased melusin, FAK, and IQGAP1 when compared to the sham group. METH-HIIT showed decreased caspase-3 and increased melusin and FAK gene expression compared with the METH and METH-control groups. The IQGAP1 gene was higher in METH-HIIT when compared with METH, while no difference was observed between METH-HIIT and METH-control. Twenty-one days of METH exposure increased apoptosis markers in rat cardiac tissue; however, HIIT might have a protective effect, as shown by the apoptosis markers.     

Specific features of ex‐obese patients significantly influence the functional cell properties of adipose‐derived stromal cells

Adipose‐derived stromal cells (ADSC) are increasingly used in clinical applications due to their regenerative capabilities. However, ADSC therapies show variable results. This study analysed the effects of specific factors of ex‐obese patients on ADSC functions. ADSC were harvested from abdominal tissues (N = 20) after massive weight loss. Patients were grouped according to age, sex, current and maximum body mass index (BMI), BMI difference, weight loss method, smoking and infection at the surgical site. ADSC surface markers, viability, migration, transmigration, sprouting, differentiation potential, cytokine secretion, telomere length and mtDNA copy number were analysed. All ADSC expressed CD73, CD90, CD105, while functional properties differed significantly among patients. A high BMI difference due to massive weight loss was negatively correlated with ADSC proliferation, migration and transmigration, while age, sex or weight loss method had a smaller effect. ADSC from female and younger donors and individuals after weight loss by increase of exercise and diet change had a higher activity. Telomere length, mtDNA copy number, differentiation potential and the secretome did not correlate with patient factors or cell function. Therefore, we suggest that factors such as age, sex, increase of exercise and especially weight loss should be considered for patient selection and planning of regenerative therapies.     

从宏基因组学切入探讨老年性阴道炎阴道微生态的微观整体性

老年性阴道炎是女性绝经后的常见病、多发病,西医认为该病的病因为绝经后或长期闭经后雌激素水平降低,阴道微生态失衡。宏基因组学是近年出现的菌群整体性检测方法,采用宏基因组学技术检测老年性阴道的微观整体状况,将为本病中医证型及疗效评定提供客观精确的量化标准。     

ESI-Q-TOF-MS直接进样法比较陕西五个不同地区丹参的化学成分差异（英文）

该研究采用ESI-Q-TOF-MS直接进样分析法对陕西商州、洛南、大荔、丹凤和铜川等五个地区丹参的化学成分进行了比较分析,通过丹参水溶性和脂溶性成分的质谱丰度差异评价了不同地区丹参化学成分含量的变化,对不同产地丹参的化学成分进行了鉴定,综合分析选出了最优的丹参种植产地。结果表明:五地丹参均含有丹参酮ⅡA、隐丹参酮、丹参酮Ⅰ、二氢丹参酮、丹参酚酮、次丹参醌、丹参醌Ⅱ等9种脂溶性化学成分和丹参素、咖啡酸、阿魏酸、迷迭香酸、原紫草酸、紫草酸、原儿茶醛、丹酚酸A、丹酚酸B等9种水溶性化学成分,其中丹参素钠、紫草酸、丹酚酸B和隐丹参酮的含量普遍较高,质谱丰度均大于30%。但是,随着种植环境不同,不同地区丹参的化学成分含量差异很大,如商州产丹参中含有较多具有生物活性的丹参酮类物质,其中丹参酮Ⅰ含量远远高于其他四个产地,质谱丰度达到72.6%,而其他地区丹参酮Ⅰ的质谱丰度为1.8%～11.3%。这表明丹参质量按照地区排序为商州>铜川>大荔>洛南>丹凤。该方法为中药药材质量评价提供了科学、可靠、便捷的途径,为药材规格等级的制定提供了新途径,为陕西丹参种植区域的选择提供了重要信息。