Inflammatory signatures distinguish metabolic health in African American women with obesity.

Obesity-driven Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a systemic inflammatory condition associated with cardiovascular disease. However, plasma cytokines and tissue inflammation that discriminate T2D risk in African American women with obese phenotypes are not well understood. We analyzed 64 circulating cytokines and chemokines in plasma of 120 African American women enrolled in the Black Women's Health Study.

Relationships Among Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, and Plasma Cytokines in African American Women.

Objective: The principal objective of this investigation was to identify novel cytokine associations with BMI and type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods: Cytokines were profiled from African American women with obesity who donated plasma to the Komen Tissue Bank. Multiplex bead arrays of analytes were used to quantify 88 cytokines and chemokines in association with clinical diagnoses of metabolic health.

BRD4 Regulates Breast Cancer Dissemination through Jagged1/Notch1 Signaling.

The bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) proteins are epigenetic "readers" of acetylated histones in chromatin and have been identified as promising therapeutic targets in diverse cancers. However, it remains unclear how individual family members participate in cancer progression and small molecule inhibitors such as JQ1 can target functionally independent BET proteins. Here, we report a signaling pathway involving BRD4 and the ligand/receptor pair Jagged1/Notch1 that sustains triple-negative breast cancer migration and invasion.

Progressive hypoxia decouples activity and aerobic performance of skate embryos.

Although fish population size is strongly affected by survival during embryonic stages, our understanding of physiological responses to environmental stressors is based primarily on studies of post-hatch fishes. Embryonic responses to acute exposure to changes in abiotic conditions, including increase in hypoxia, could be particularly important in species exhibiting long developmental time, as embryos are unable to select a different environment behaviourally. Given that oxygen is key to metabolic processes in fishes and aquatic hypoxia is becoming more severe and frequent worldwide, organisms are expected to reduce their aerobic performance.

Pharmacokinetics of Rilpivirine in HIV-Infected Pregnant Women.

Background: Rilpivirine pharmacokinetics is defined by its absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. Pregnancy can affect these factors by changes in cardiac output, protein binding, volume of distribution, and cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 activity. Rilpivirine is metabolized by CYP3A4.