Obesity modulates NK-cell activity via LDL & DUSP1 signaling for Populations with Adverse Social Determinants.

African American (AA) women are disproportionally affected by obesity and hyperlipidemia, particularly in the setting of adverse social determinants of health (aSDoH) contributing to health disparities. Obesity, hyperlipidemia, and aSDoH appear to impair Natural Killer cells (NKs). As potential common underlying mechanisms are largely unknown, we sought to investigate common signaling pathways involved in NK dysfunction related to obesity and hyperlipidemia in AA women from under-resourced neighborhoods.

Role of STING Deficiency in Amelioration of Mouse Models of Lupus and Atherosclerosis.

Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune syndrome characterized by autoreactive responses to nucleic acids, dysregulation of the type I interferon (IFN-I) pathway, and accelerated atherosclerosis. The stimulator of IFN genes (STING), a cytosolic DNA sensor, has pathogenic implications in various inflammatory diseases. However, its specific role in SLE pathogenesis, particularly in tissue damage, remains unclear.

Cholesterol crystals in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.

The presence of cholesterol crystals (CCs) in tissues was first described more than 100 years ago. CCs have a pathogenic role in various cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction, aortic aneurysm and, most prominently, atherosclerosis. Although the underlying mechanisms and signalling pathways involved in CC formation are incompletely understood, numerous studies have highlighted the existence of CCs at various stages of atheroma progression.

Social Determinants of Health in Cardio-Oncology: Multi-Level Strategies to Overcome Disparities in Care: State-of-the-Art Review.

Addressing the need for more equitable cardio-oncology care requires attention to existing disparities in cardio-oncologic disease prevention and outcomes. This is particularly important among those affected by adverse social determinants of health (SDOH). The intricate relationship of SDOH, cancer diagnosis, and outcomes from cardiotoxicities associated with oncologic therapies is influenced by sociopolitical, economic, and cultural factors.

Propionate functions as a feeding state-dependent regulatory metabolite to counter proinflammatory signaling linked to nutrient load and obesity.

Generally, fasting and refeeding confer anti- and proinflammatory effects, respectively. In humans, these caloric-load interventions function, in part, via regulation of CD4+ T cell biology. However, mechanisms orchestrating this regulation remain incomplete.

Neighborhood Perceptions Are Associated With Intrinsic Amygdala Activity and Resting-State Connectivity With Salience Network Nodes Among Older Adults.

Objective: Neighborhood perceptions are associated with physical and mental health outcomes; however, the biological associates of this relationship remain to be fully understood. Here, we evaluate the relationship between neighborhood perceptions and amygdala activity and connectivity with salience network (i.e.

Social Determinants modulate NK cell activity via obesity, LDL, and DUSP1 signaling.

Adverse social determinants of health (aSDoH) are associated with obesity and related comorbidities like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Obesity is also associated with natural killer cell (NK) dysregulation, suggesting a potential mechanistic link. Therefore, we measured NK phenotypes and function in a cohort of African-American (AA) women from resource-limited neighborhoods.

Associations between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation, IFNγ, and high-density lipoprotein particle size: Data from the Washington, D.C. cardiovascular health and needs assessment.

Introduction: Neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation is associated with increased cardiovascular risk factors, including inflammation. Inflammation plays an important role in modifying the cardioprotective function of high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Moreover, recent studies suggest that very high HDL is associated with adverse cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes.

Geographic social vulnerability is associated with the alpha diversity of the human microbiome.

As a risk factor for conditions related to the microbiome, understanding the role of SVI on microbiome diversity may assist in identifying public health implications for microbiome research. Here we found, using a sub-sample of the Human Microbiome Project phase 1 cohort, that SVI was linked to microbiome diversity across body sites and that SVI may influence race/ethnicity-based differences in diversity. Our findings, build on the current knowledge regarding the role of human geography in microbiome research, suggest that measures of geographic social vulnerability be considered as additional contextual factors when exploring microbiome alpha diversity.

Neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and individual-level socioeconomic status are associated with dopamine-mediated changes to monocyte subset CCR2 expression via a cAMP-dependent pathway.

Social determinants of health (SDoH) include socioeconomic, environmental, and psychological factors that impact health. Neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation (NSD) and low individual-level socioeconomic status (SES) are SDoH that associate with incident heart failure, stroke, and cardiovascular mortality, but the underlying biological mechanisms are not well understood. Previous research has demonstrated an association between NSD, in particular, and key components of the neural-hematopoietic-axis including amygdala activity as a marker of chronic stress, bone marrow activity, and arterial inflammation.

Social determinants of health, health disparities, and adiposity.

Social determinants of health (SDoH), or the socioeconomic, environmental, and psychosocial conditions in which individuals spend their daily lives, substantially influence obesity as a cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted the converging epidemics of obesity, CVD, and social inequities globally. Obesity and CVD serve as independent risk factors for COVID-19 severity and lower-resourced populations most impacted by adverse SDoH have the highest COVID-19 mortality rates.

N-arachidonylglycine is a caloric state-dependent circulating metabolite which regulates human CD4T cell responsiveness.

Caloric deprivation interventions such as intermittent fasting and caloric restriction ameliorate metabolic and inflammatory disease. As a human model of caloric deprivation, a 24-h fast blunts innate and adaptive immune cell responsiveness relative to the refed state. Isolated serum at these time points confers these same immunomodulatory effects on transformed cell lines.

By what molecular mechanisms do social determinants impact cardiometabolic risk?

While it is well known from numerous epidemiologic investigations that social determinants (socioeconomic, environmental, and psychosocial factors exposed to over the life-course) can dramatically impact cardiovascular health, the molecular mechanisms by which social determinants lead to poor cardiometabolic outcomes are not well understood. This review comprehensively summarizes a variety of current topics surrounding the biological effects of adverse social determinants (i.e.

Interleukin-8 (IL-8) as a Potential Mediator of an Association between Trimethylamine N-Oxide (TMAO) and Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 (PCSK9) among African Americans at Risk of Cardiovascular Disease.

Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO)-a microbial metabolite derived from the hepatic-gut axis-is linked to inflammation, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), which is largely hepatically expressed, blocks low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor recycling, also leading to hyperlipidemia. The primary objective of this study was to investigate a previously hypothesized potential relationship between TMAO and PCSK9 in order to explore novel mechanisms linking TMAO and CVD risk.

Relationships between neighborhood disadvantage and cardiovascular findings at autopsy in subjects with sudden death.

Background: Neighborhood disadvantage is associated with a higher risk of sudden cardiac death. However, autopsy findings have never been investigated in this context. Here, we sought to explore associations between neighborhood disadvantage and cardiovascular findings at autopsy in cases of sudden death in the State of Maryland.

Associations between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and severity of depression: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011-2014.

Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage may contribute to depression. This study examined associations between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage, measured as deprivation, and depression severity within a broadly representative sample of the U.S.

LDL associates with pro-inflammatory monocyte subset differentiation and increases in chemokine receptor profile expression in African Americans.

Background: In the United States, African Americans (AAs) have greater risk for Class III obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Previous reports suggest that AAs have a different immune cell profile when compared to Caucasians.

Methods: The immune cell profile of AAs was characterized by flow cytometry using two experimental setups: ex vivo (N = 40) and in vitro (N = 10).

Social Determinants of Cardiovascular Disease.

Social determinants of health (SDoH), which encompass the economic, social, environmental, and psychosocial factors that influence health, play a significant role in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors as well as CVD morbidity and mortality. The COVID-19 pandemic and the current social justice movement sparked by the death of George Floyd have laid bare long-existing health inequities in our society driven by SDoH. Despite a recent focus on these structural drivers of health disparities, the impact of SDoH on cardiovascular health and CVD outcomes remains understudied and incompletely understood.

Associations of Social Vulnerability Index With Pathologic Myocardial Findings at Autopsy.

Social vulnerability is an important determinant of cardiovascular health. Prior investigations have shown strong associations of social determinants of health with cardiovascular risk factors, imaging findings, and clinical events. However, limited data exist regarding the potential role of social vulnerability and related physiologic stressors on tissue-level pathology.

Spatial Clustering of County-Level COVID-19 Rates in the U.S.

Despite the widespread prevalence of cases associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, little is known about the spatial clustering of COVID-19 in the United States. Data on COVID-19 cases were used to identify U.S.

Formation and Cellular Impact of Cholesterol Crystals in Health and Disease.

Cholesterol crystals (CCs) were first discovered in atherosclerotic plaque tissue in the early 1900 and have since been observed and implicated in many diseases and conditions, including myocardial infarction, abdominal aortic aneurism, kidney disease, ocular diseases, and even central nervous system anomalies. Despite the widespread involvement of CCs in many pathologies, the mechanisms involved in their formation and their role in various diseases are still not fully understood. Current knowledge concerning the formation of CCs, as well as the molecular pathways activated upon cellular exposure to CCs, will be explored in this review.