Etiological study of polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia in a French cohort of hospitalized patients and proposal of a diagnostic aid algorithm : Short title: polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia in a French cohort of hospitalized patients.

Serum protein electrophoresis can sometimes reveal polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia. This electrophoretic abnormality can be caused by a variety of conditions and can be difficult to investigate. We sought to investigate screening practices in patients with hypergammaglobulinemia in order to establish diagnostic guidance strategies.

[Estimation of glomerular filtration rate in children: interest of FAS formula].

The recommended equation to estimate the value of glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) among children is Schwartz equation updated in 2009. However, it is few frequently used because involves height, a factor rarely documented for laboratories, especially hospital laboratories. The FAS (Full Aged Spectrum) formula developed by a European group, allows to get away from this factor.

[Two-year clinico-biological feedback in Overseas France and French-speaking territories during Covid-19 pandemic].

The French Society of Clinical Biology (SFBC) set up a working group “Biochemical markers of Covid-19” whose main objective is to review, analyse and monitor biological prescriptions according to the patient’s care path. This study covers all public and private sectors of medical biology in metropolitan France and overseas and extends to the French-speaking world. We present a summary of feedbacks after 2 years of the pandemic.

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of familial hypercholesterolemia in French adult and pediatric populations.

Background: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is the most common genetic disorder associated with a high risk for premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease attributable to increased levels of LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) from birth. FH is both underdiagnosed and undertreated.

Objective: We describe the clinical, biological, and genetic characteristics of 147 patients in France with clinical FH (including a group of 26 subjects aged < 20 years); we explore how best to detect patients with monogenic FH.

[Biomarkers in diabetes mellitus: contributions and discrepancies of new technologies. A case report].

Potential discrepancies between laboratory and estimated (from Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM)) glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) have been reported by diabetologists. CGM devices produce an eA1c derived from average glucose and correlated with Time-in-Range (TIR, %) which is the relative time spent in a range of normal glycaemia. Through a case report, we studied the potential causes for these discrepancies.

[Myocardial injury in coronavirus disease 19 (Covid-19): main pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical utility of cardiac biomarkers].

Covid-19 is responsible for myocardial injury in many infected patients, which is associated with severe disease and critical illness. The mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 may cause myocardial damage involve direct effect of the virus in cardiac cells and indirect effect due to the clinical consequences of Covid-19. Cardiomyocytes are well known to express Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme-2 receptors (ACE-2) to facilitate the virus cell entry, which could explain the occurrence of myocarditis, functional alterations in the myocardium, and more rarely, myocardial infarction.

[Management of a global health crisis: first COVID-19 disease feedback from Overseas and French-speaking countries medical biologists].

The French society of clinical biology "Biochemical markers of COVID-19" has set up a working group with the primary aim of reviewing, analyzing and monitoring the evolution of biological prescriptions according to the patient's care path and to look for markers of progression and severity of the disease. This study covers all public and private sectors of medical biology located in metropolitan and overseas France and also extends to the French-speaking world. This article presents the testimonies and data obtained for the "Overseas and French-speaking countries" sub-working group made up of 45 volunteer correspondents, located in 20 regions of the world.

[SFBC working group "Biochemical markers of COVID-19"].

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is responsible for an epidemic disease called COVID-19, which was initially evidenced in Wuhan, China, and spread very rapidly in China and around the world. In France, the first isolated case seems now to be reported in December 2019, stage 3 of the COVID-19 epidemic was triggered on March 14, the start of the planned containment exit from May 11. Healthcare services have faced a large influx of patients who may be beyond their capacity to receive and care, particularly in the Large-East and Ile-de-France regions.

CD40 signaling and hepatic steatosis: Unanticipated links.

Obesity predisposes to an increased risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Hepatic steatosis is the key pathological feature of NAFLD and has emerged as a metabolic disorder in which innate and adaptive arms of the immune response play a central role in disease pathogenesis. Recent studies have revealed unexpected relationships between CD40 signaling and hepatic steatosis in high fat diet rodent models.

Marked antioxidant effect of orange juice intake and its phytomicronutrients in a preliminary randomized cross-over trial on mild hypercholesterolemic men.

Background & Aims: Blond orange juice is the most consumed fruit juice in the world. It is a source of hesperidin, a bioavailable flavonoid reported to exhibit potential vascular protective actions. However, the specific impact on vascular function of Citrus phytomicronutrients, is unknown.

Novel risk factors for premature peripheral arterial occlusive disease in non-diabetic patients: a case-control study.

Background: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of genetic and environmental vascular risk factors in non diabetic patients with premature peripheral arterial disease, either peripheral arterial occlusive disease or thromboangiitis obliterans, the two main entities of peripheral arterial disease, and to established whether some of them are specifically associated with one or another of the premature peripheral arterial disease subgroups.

Methods And Results: This study included 113 non diabetic patients with premature peripheral arterial disease (diagnosis <45-year old) presenting either a peripheral arterial occlusive disease (N = 64) or a thromboangiitis obliterans (N = 49), and 241 controls matched for age and gender. Both patient groups demonstrated common traits including cigarette smoking, low physical activity, decreased levels of HDL-cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (active form of B6 vitamin) and zinc.

Flavanone metabolites decrease monocyte adhesion to TNF-α-activated endothelial cells by modulating expression of atherosclerosis-related genes.

Flavanones are found specifically and abundantly in citrus fruits. Their beneficial effect on vascular function is well documented. However, little is known about their cellular and molecular mechanisms of action in vascular cells.

Naringin, the major grapefruit flavonoid, specifically affects atherosclerosis development in diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in mice.

Naringin (NAR) from grapefruit has exhibited potential protective effects against atherosclerosis development. However, specific mechanisms responsible for such effects are poorly understood. Thus, we aimed to investigate the antiatherogenic effects of NAR in different mouse models of hypercholesterolemia and decipher its molecular targets in the aorta using transcriptomic approach.

A protective role for CD154 in hepatic steatosis in mice.

Unlabelled: Inflammation and lipid metabolism pathways are linked, and deregulation of this interface may be critical in hepatic steatosis. The importance of the dialog between inflammatory signaling pathways and the unfolded protein response (UPR) in metabolism has been underlined. Herein, we studied the role of CD154, a key mediator of inflammation, in hepatic steatosis.

Serum free light chain immunoassay as an adjunct to serum protein electrophoresis and immunofixation electrophoresis in the detection of multiple myeloma and other B-cell malignancies.

Background: Protein and immunofixation electrophoresis of serum and urine are established as diagnostic aids for identifying monoclonal gammopathies. However, many patient sera sent to laboratories are not accompanied by urine samples and recent reports suggest the use of serum free light chain (sFLC) analysis in combination with serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) and immunofixation electrophoresis (lFE) could eliminate the need for urinalysis. The aim of the study was to assess the utility of sFLC measurement in addition to serum protein electrophoresis in the identification of patients with B-cell malignancies.

Low amounts of trans 18:1 fatty acids elevate plasma triacylglycerols but not cholesterol and alter the cellular defence to oxidative stress in mice.

Trans fatty acids are found mainly in processed foods. It has been shown that when their intake is high, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triacylglycerols are elevated, while HDL-cholesterol decreases. To evaluate a possible effect of these compounds, even in low amounts, C57Bl/6J mice were fed for 7 weeks a diet containing 13.

Distribution of the lipolysis stimulated receptor in adult and embryonic murine tissues and lethality of LSR-/- embryos at 12.5 to 14.5 days of gestation.

The lipolysis stimulated receptor (LSR) recognizes apolipoprotein B/E-containing lipoproteins in the presence of free fatty acids, and is thought to be involved in the clearance of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRL). The distribution of LSR in mice was studied by Northern blots, quantitative PCR and immunofluorescence. In the adult, LSR mRNA was detectable in all tissues tested except muscle and heart, and was abundant in liver, lung, intestine, kidney, ovaries and testes.

Dietary fish oil up-regulates cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase mRNA in mouse liver leading to an increase in bile acid and cholesterol excretion.

To investigate the molecular events controlling reverse cholesterol transport, we compared gene expression of normal mouse liver to that of mice fed a long chain (LC) omega-3 fatty acid-enriched diet. Using cDNA microarrays, we assessed expression levels of 1176 genes, and we found that D-site binding protein (DBP) was three-fold increased in mice on a LC omega-3 fatty acid-rich diet compared to controls. DBP is known to increase transcriptional level of cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase (C7alpha), the rate-limiting enzyme for bile acid production and cholesterol excretion, and we found that C7alpha mRNA was also up-regulated by LC omega-3 fatty acids.

n-3 FA increase liver uptake of HDL-cholesterol in mice.

In humans, diets rich in fish oil (containing n-3 FA) decrease the incidence of coronary artery diseases. This is thought to be caused by the induction in liver and skeletal muscle of genes involved in lipid oxidation, and to the repression in liver and adipose tissue of genes responsible for lipogenesis. n-3 FA are known to reduce the synthesis of FA and TG in the liver, resulting in a decrease of plasma concentrations of TG-rich lipoproteins.