Investigation of a targeted panel of gut microbiome-derived toxins in children with chronic kidney disease.

Background: The gut-kidney axis is implicated in chronic kidney disease (CKD) morbidity. We describe how a panel of gut microbiome-derived toxins relates to kidney function and neurocognitive outcomes in children with CKD, consisting of indoleacetate, 3-indoxylsulfate, p-cresol glucuronide, p-cresol sulfate, and phenylacetylglutamine.

Methods: The Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) cohort is a North American multicenter prospective cohort that enrolled children aged 6 months to 16 years with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 30-89 ml/min/1.

Longitudinal Plasma Metabolome Patterns and Relation to Kidney Function and Proteinuria in Pediatric CKD.

Key Points: Longitudinal untargeted metabolomics. Children with CKD have a circulating metabolome that changes over time.

Background: Understanding plasma metabolome patterns in relation to changing kidney function in pediatric CKD is important for continued research for identifying novel biomarkers, characterizing biochemical pathophysiology, and developing targeted interventions.

Using Machine Learning to Identify Metabolomic Signatures of Pediatric Chronic Kidney Disease Etiology.

Background: Untargeted plasma metabolomic profiling combined with machine learning (ML) may lead to discovery of metabolic profiles that inform our understanding of pediatric CKD causes. We sought to identify metabolomic signatures in pediatric CKD based on diagnosis: FSGS, obstructive uropathy (OU), aplasia/dysplasia/hypoplasia (A/D/H), and reflux nephropathy (RN).

Methods: Untargeted metabolomic quantification (GC-MS/LC-MS, Metabolon) was performed on plasma from 702 Chronic Kidney Disease in Children study participants (: FSGS=63, OU=122, A/D/H=109, and RN=86).

Food Insecurity Is Associated with Prediabetes Risk Among U.S. Adolescents, NHANES 2003-2014.

Food insecurity has been linked to adverse health consequences. We sought to determine if food insecurity was related to obesity and prediabetes risk in U.S.

Food insecurity is associated with prediabetes and dietary differences in U.S. adults aged 20-39.

Food insecurity has been linked with lifestyle and metabolic health differences in varying populations. We sought to assess how food insecurity may have been associated with prediabetes and dietary differences in a relatively young subset of U.S.

Association between kindergarten and first-grade food insecurity and weight status in U.S. children.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine if food insecurity is an independent risk factor for obesity in U.S. children.

Increases in IGF-1 After Anti-TNF-α Therapy Are Associated With Bone and Muscle Accrual in Pediatric Crohn Disease.

Context: Low levels of insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in pediatric and adolescent Crohn disease (CD) likely contribute to bone and muscle deficits.

Objective: Assess changes in IGF-1 levels and associations with bone and muscle accrual following initiation of anti-tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) therapy in pediatric and adolescent CD.

Design And Participants: Participants (n = 75, age 5 to 21 years) with CD were enrolled in a prospective cohort study; 63 completed the 12-month visit.

Serum Alanine Aminotransferase Trends and Their Relationship with Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in United States Adolescents, 1999-2014.

Introduction: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), characterized by hepatocyte dysfunction, fat accumulation, and fibrosis, is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in children. Elevated levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) are used clinically to identify potential liver dysfunction. Our goal was to assess for changes in the national prevalence of elevated ALT over time and potential relationship to trends in the metabolic syndrome (MetS) severity and elevated body mass index (BMI).

Correlation of metabolic syndrome severity with cardiovascular health markers in adolescents.

Background And Objectives: The presence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in childhood is a significant risk factor for later cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recent data showed temporal decreases in a sex- and race/ethnicity-specific MetS severity z-score among U.S.

Examining trends in prediabetes and its relationship with the metabolic syndrome in US adolescents, 1999-2014.

Aims: We sought to investigate temporal trends in prediabetes prevalence among US adolescents using two definitions and evaluate relationships with obesity and a MetS-severity score.

Methods: We evaluated data from 5418 non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic adolescents aged 12-19 participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2014 with complete data regarding MetS and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Prediabetes status was defined by American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria: fasting glucose 100-125 mg/dL or HbA1c 5.

Metabolic risk factors in nondiabetic adolescents with glomerular hyperfiltration.

Background: In adults, glomerular hyperfiltration is associated with abnormalities related to metabolic syndrome (MetS). We investigated if glomerular hyperfiltration was associated with metabolic abnormalities in US adolescents without diabetes.

Methods: We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally representative sample of US adolescents ages 12-17 years.

Trends in Metabolic Syndrome Severity and Lifestyle Factors Among Adolescents.

Background And Objectives: Childhood metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a risk factor for adverse outcomes later in life. Our goal was to identify temporal trends among US adolescents in the severity of MetS, its individual components, and factors related to diet and physical activity.

Methods: We analyzed 5117 participants aged 12 to 19 from NHANES.

What should the ideal HIV self-test look like? A usability study of test prototypes in unsupervised HIV self-testing in Kenya, Malawi, and South Africa.

HIV self-testing (HIVST) is increasingly being sought and offered globally, yet there is limited information about the test features that will be required for an HIV self-test to be easy to use, acceptable to users, and feasible for manufacturers to produce. We conducted formative usability research with participants who were naïve to HIVST using five prototypes in Kenya, Malawi, and South Africa. The tests selected ranged from early-stage prototypes to commercially ready products and had a diverse set of features.

The efficiency of dentin sialoprotein-phosphophoryn processing is affected by mutations both flanking and distant from the cleavage site.

Normal dentin mineralization requires two highly acidic proteins, dentin sialoprotein (DSP) and phosphophoryn (PP). DSP and PP are synthesized as part of a single secreted precursor, DSP-PP, which is conserved in marsupial and placental mammals. Using a baculovirus expression system, we previously found that DSP-PP is accurately cleaved into DSP and PP after secretion into medium by an endogenous, secreted, zinc-dependent Sf9 cell activity.