Evaluation of short-term epigenetic age fluctuation.

Considerable effort has been spent on lowering and maintaining the epigenetic age. However, the extent to which epigenetic age fluctuates under normal conditions is poorly understood. Therefore, we analyzed methylation data from monocytes and peripheral blood mononuclear cells collected from two Japanese men.

Congenital Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism with Early-Onset Coronary Artery Disease.

The patient with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) shows low serum levels of androgen, which is a group of sex hormones including testosterone, caused by the decreased gonadotropin release in the hypothalamus. Recent reports showed androgens exert protective effects against insulin resistance or atherosclerotic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus or coronary artery disease. However, whether the juvenile hypogonadism affects the diabetes or cardiovascular disease is unclear.

α-Glucosidase inhibitor miglitol attenuates glucose fluctuation, heart rate variability and sympathetic activity in patients with type 2 diabetes and acute coronary syndrome: a multicenter randomized controlled (MACS) study.

Background: Little is known about clinical associations between glucose fluctuations including hypoglycemia, heart rate variability (HRV), and the activity of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) in patients with acute phase of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This pilot study aimed to evaluate the short-term effects of glucose fluctuations on HRV and SNS activity in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with recent ACS. We also examined the effect of suppressing glucose fluctuations with miglitol on these variables.

Combination of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids reduces atherogenesis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice by inhibiting macrophage activation.

Background And Aims: Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are major components of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) which inhibit atherogenesis, although few studies have examined the effects of the combination of EPA and DHA on atherogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether DHA has additional anti-atherosclerotic effects when combined with EPA.

Methods: Male 8-week-old apolipoprotein E-deficient (Apoe) mice were fed a western-type diet supplemented with different amounts of EPA and DHA; EPA (2.

Intravital Imaging of Neutrophil Priming Using IL-1β Promoter-driven DsRed Reporter Mice.

Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocytes in human blood circulation and are quickly recruited to inflammatory sites. Priming is a critical event that enhances the phagocytic functionality of neutrophils. Although extensive studies have unveiled the existence and importance of neutrophil priming during infection and injury, means of visualizing this process in vivo have been unavailable.

Reduced ratio of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid to arachidonic acid is associated with early onset of acute coronary syndrome.

Background: The hospitalization rate for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) for people aged ≤50 has remained stable over the past decade. Increased serum levels of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are associated with a decreased incidence of cardiovascular events and mortality in older patients; however, it is currently unknown whether reduced serum levels of n-3 PUFAs is also a risk factor for ACS in patients aged ≤50 years.

Methods And Results: We retrospectively reviewed 102 (male/ female 73/29) Japanese ACS patients whose serum levels of EPA/arachidonic acid (AA) and DHA/AA were evaluated on admission.

IL-1α Gene Deletion Protects Oligodendrocytes after Spinal Cord Injury through Upregulation of the Survival Factor Tox3.

Unlabelled: Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes the release of danger signals by stressed and dying cells, a process that leads to neuroinflammation. Evidence suggests that inflammation plays a role in both the damage and repair of injured neural tissue. We show that microglia at sites of SCI rapidly express the alarmin interleukin (IL)-1α, and that infiltrating neutrophils and macrophages subsequently produce IL-1β.

Neutrophil plasticity: acquisition of phenotype and functionality of antigen-presenting cell.

Accumulating lines of evidence now demonstrate that neutrophils can participate in adaptive immune responses directly or indirectly. Even more striking is their potential to acquire phenotypic and functional properties that are typically reserved for professional APCs. These newly emerging concepts of neutrophil heterogeneity and plasticity now challenge the classic view of neutrophils as terminally differentiated leukocytes fully committed to phagocyte functionality.

Effect of combination tablets containing amlodipine 10 mg and irbesartan 100 mg on blood pressure and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with hypertension.

Background: Hypertension is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease and mortality. Patients who receive insufficient doses of antihypertensive agents or who are poorly adherent to multidrug treatment regimens often fail to achieve adequate blood pressure (BP) control. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) and calcium channel blocker (CCB) combination tablet containing a regular dose of irbesartan (100 mg) and a high dose of amlodipine (10 mg) with regard to lowering BP and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Neutrophil priming occurs in a sequential manner and can be visualized in living animals by monitoring IL-1β promoter activation.

Rapid enhancement of phagocyte functionality is a hallmark of neutrophil priming. GeneChip analyses unveiled elevated CD54, dectin-2, and IL-1β mRNA expression by neutrophils isolated from inflammatory sites. In fact, CD54 and dectin-2 protein expression was detected on neutrophils recovered from skin, peritoneal, and lung inflammation lesions but not on those in bone marrow or peripheral blood.

Histopathological heterogeneity of in-stent restenosis in four coronary endarterectomy specimens.

Here, we histopathologically compare four patients undergoing coronary artery bypass with coronary endarterectomy and onlay patch grafting for in-stent restenosis (ISR) after the implantation of a bare-metal stent (BMS), sirolimus-eluting stent (SES), or paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES) in an everolimus-eluting stent (EES). Heterogeneity of ISR was noted histopathologically. In ISR for BMS, restenosis is likely caused by so-called neoatherosclerosis that occurred which altered the healing process of BMS implantation.

Serum concentration of eicosapentaenoic acid is associated with cognitive function in patients with coronary artery disease.

Background: Recent studies have shown that intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) is associated with reduced risk of cognitive impairment and coronary artery disease (CAD); however, it is currently unknown whether reduced serum n-3 PUFA is associated with cognitive impairment in patients with CAD.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated cognitive function with the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), serum levels of PUFAs (including eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA], docosahexaenoic acid [DHA], dihomogammalinolenic acid [DGLA], and arachidonic acid [AA]), cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, cerebrovascular disease, and history of current/previous smoking), and parameters of cardiac function (left ventricular ejection fraction and brain natriuretic peptide levels) in 146 Japanese CAD patients. The associations between the MMSE scores and the other parameters were evaluated.

Effects of docosahexaenoic Acid on the endothelial function in patients with coronary artery disease.

Aim: The consumption of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), including docosahexaenoic acid DHA), reduces the incidence of cardiovascular events, and reduced serum levels of n-3 PUFA may be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. However, controversy remains regarding which components of PUFA are associated with the endothelial function in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). We therefore examined the associations between the n-3 and n-6 PUFA levels and CAD.

Cardiac rehabilitation reduces serum levels of oxidized low-density lipoprotein.

Background: Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) levels have been found to play an important role in the progression of atherosclerosis. However, methods for effectively reducing oxLDL levels have not been established. Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation (CR) with exercise training prevents the progression of atherosclerosis, and might reduce oxLDL levels.

Cryotherapy with concurrent CpG oligonucleotide treatment controls local tumor recurrence and modulates HER2/neu immunity.

Percutaneous cryoablation is a minimally invasive procedure for tumor destruction, which can potentially initiate or amplify antitumor immunity through the release of tumor-associated antigens. However, clinically efficacious immunity is lacking and regional recurrences are a limiting factor relative to surgical excision. To understand the mechanism of immune activation by cryoablation, comprehensive analyses of innate immunity and HER2/neu humoral and cellular immunity following cryoablation with or without peritumoral CpG injection were conducted using two HER2/neu(+) tumor systems in wild-type (WT), neu-tolerant, and SCID mice.

Reciprocal regulation of development of neutrophil-dendritic cell hybrids in mice by IL-4 and interferon-gamma.

Neutrophils contribute to innate host immunity by functioning as professional phagocytes, whereas dendritic cells (DCs) are prototypic antigen presenting cells (APCs) responsible for the induction of adaptive immune responses. We have demonstrated recently that neutrophils trans-differentiate into a unique population, termed "neutrophil-DC hybrids," expressing surface markers of both neutrophils and DCs and exhibiting dual functionality of both phagocytes and APCs. Although the hybrid cells emerged in significant numbers in murine bone marrow (BM) culture in the presence of GM-CSF, mechanisms regulating their development remained mostly unknown.