New Biofunctional Loading of Natural Antimicrobial Agent in Biodegradable Polymeric Films for Biomedical Applications.

The study focuses on the development of novel based polymeric composite films and antimicrobial suture coatings. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), a synthetic biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, was combined with , a natural herb used for soothing burning effects and cosmetic purposes. The properties of these two materials were combined together to get additional benefits such as wound healing and prevention of surgical site infections.

Insulin resistance and inflammation predict kinetic body weight changes in response to dietary weight loss and maintenance in overweight and obese subjects by using a Bayesian network approach.

Background: The ability to identify obese subjects who will lose weight in response to energy restriction is an important strategy in obesity treatment.

Objective: We aimed to identify obese subjects who would lose weight and maintain weight loss through 6 wk of energy restriction and 6 wk of weight maintenance.

Design: Fifty obese or overweight subjects underwent a 6-wk energy-restricted, high-protein diet followed by another 6 wk of weight maintenance.

Differential effects of macronutrient content in 2 energy-restricted diets on cardiovascular risk factors and adipose tissue cell size in moderately obese individuals: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The most effective and safe dietary approach for weight loss and its impact on the metabolic functions and morphology of adipose tissue remain unclear.

Objectives: We evaluated whether an energy-restricted high-protein diet with a low glycemic index and soluble fiber (LC-P-LGI) would be more effective than a low-calorie conventional diet (LC-CONV) on weight loss and related metabolic risk factors. We further determined factors that may influence adipocyte size during energy restriction.

Human adipose tissue macrophages: m1 and m2 cell surface markers in subcutaneous and omental depots and after weight loss.

Context: Macrophages accumulate in adipose tissue and possibly participate in metabolic complications in obesity. Macrophage number varies with adipose tissue site and weight loss, but whether this is accompanied by phenotypic changes is unknown.

Objective: The objective of the study was to characterize the activation state of adipose tissue macrophages in human obesity.

Deficiency and inhibition of cathepsin K reduce body weight gain and increase glucose metabolism in mice.

Objective: Previous studies demonstrated increased levels of cysteine proteases cathepsins in serum and adipose tissues from obese patients. We now provide evidence from a mouse model of obesity to suggest a direct participation of cathepsin K (CatK) in mouse body weight gain and glucose metabolism.

Methods And Results: Using real-time polymerase chain reaction, we detected 12-fold increase in CatK transcripts after adipogenesis of human preadipocytes.

DNA repair gene polymorphisms and genetic predisposition to cutaneous melanoma.

The incidence of cutaneous melanoma is rising rapidly in a number of countries. The key environmental risk factor is exposure to the ultraviolet (UV) component in sunlight. The nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway deals with the main forms of UV-induced DNA damage.

IL-1 receptor antagonist in metabolic diseases: Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde?

Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) has been shown to play a crucial role in the prevention of various inflammatory diseases. There is also convincing evidence that IL-1ra is able to counteract inflammatory effects of IL-1 members implicated in insulin resistance and diabetes. However, the use of knock-out animal models provides evidence to the contrary and the role of IL-1ra in obesity-linked anomalies remains controversial.

Evidence for complex multigenic inheritance of radiation AML susceptibility in mice revealed using a surrogate phenotypic assay.

The mapping of genes which affect individual cancer risk is an important but complex challenge. A surrogate assay of susceptibility to radiation-induced acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in the mouse based on chromosomal radiosensitivity has been developed and validated. This assay was applied to the mapping of radiation-induced AML risk modifier loci by association with microsatellite markers.

Thymulin evokes IL-6-C/EBPbeta regenerative repair and TNF-alpha silencing during endotoxin exposure in fetal lung explants.

Chorioamnionitis is associated with increased risks of perinatal respiratory failure; however, components of the inflammatory acute-phase response are known to actively promote lung maturation. To manipulate this relationship, we examined the effect of the thymic immunomodulator thymulin on fetal lung mesenchyme-epithelial differentiation during exposure to Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Gestation day 14 fetal rat lung explants were cultured for 96 h at fetal (23 mmHg) or ambient (142 mmHg) Po(2).

Biochemical localisation of the 5-HT2A (serotonin) receptor in rat skeletal muscle.

The 5-HT2A receptor was recently shown to localise morphologically to the transverse tubules (TT) in rat foetal myoblasts. Receptor activation enhanced the expression of genes involved in myogenesis, and its TT localisation has led to the suggestion that it may participate in excitation-contraction coupling. In order to gain further insights into 5-HT2A receptor function in muscle we have (i) investigated its biochemical localisation in adult rat skeletal muscle and (ii) determined whether receptor expression is dependent upon muscle type.

Biochemical and functional characterization of the GLUT5 fructose transporter in rat skeletal muscle.

Previous work has demonstrated that human skeletal muscle and adipose tissue both express the GLUT5 fructose transporter, but to date the issue of whether this protein is also expressed in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue of rodents has remained unresolved. In the present study we have used a combination of biochemical and molecular approaches to ascertain whether rat skeletal muscle expresses GLUT5 protein and, if so, whether it possesses the capacity to transport fructose. An isoform-specific antibody against rat GLUT5 reacted positively with crude membranes prepared from rat skeletal muscle.

GLUT5 expression and fructose transport in human skeletal muscle.

Biochemical and immunocytochemical studies have revealed that, in addition to GLUT1 and GLUT4, human skeletal muscle also expresses the GLUT5 hexose transporter. The subcellular distribution of GLUT5 is distinct from that of GLUT4, being localised exclusively in the sarcolemmal membrane. The substrate selectivity of GLUT5 is also considered to be different to that of GLUT1 and GLUT4 in that it operates primarily as a fructose transporter.

Fructose uptake in rat adipocytes: GLUT5 expression and the effects of streptozotocin-induced diabetes.

Previous studies have shown that rat adipocytes possess the capacity to take up fructose by a mechanism that is distinct from that involved in the transport of glucose. In this investigation we report that rat adipocytes express the GLUT5 fructose transporter and that it is responsible for mediating a substantial component (approximately 80%) of the total cellular fructose uptake. This proposition is based on the finding that only 21% of the total fructose uptake was cytochalasin B (CB) sensitive which most likely reflects transport via GLUT1 and/or GLUT4.

Fructose transport and GLUT-5 protein in human sarcolemmal vesicles.

Sarcolemmal vesicles were produced from human skeletal muscle biopsy material obtained at rest and immediately after maximal dynamic exercise (100% maximal O2 uptake) for analysis of fructose transport and hexose transporter (GLUT-5) protein concentration. Human sarcolemmal vesicles displayed a time-dependent uptake of D-fructose that displayed saturable Michaelis-Menten type kinetics (maximal transport 477 +/- 37 pmol.min-1.

Analyses of the co-localization of cellubrevin and the GLUT4 glucose transporter in rat and human insulin-responsive tissues.

We have investigated the subcellular distribution and association of cellubrevin, a low molecular weight protein implicated in the process of membrane fusion, with intracellular membranes containing the insulin-sensitive GLUT4 glucose transporter from rat adipocytes, rat skeletal muscle and human skeletal muscle. SDS-PAGE and immunoblot analyses of subcellular fractions of adipocytes and skeletal muscle indicated a positive correlation between the distribution of GLUT4 and cellubrevin in intracellular membrane fractions tested from all tissues. The identity of the polypeptide reacting with antiserum against cellubrevin was further confirmed on the basis of its susceptibility to proteolysis by tetanus toxin.

Rab4, but not the transferrin receptor, is colocalized with GLUT4 in an insulin-sensitive intracellular compartment in rat skeletal muscle.

The role of Rab4, a small molecular weight GTP binding protein implicated in endosomal/plasma membrane (PM) recycling, in the translocation of the GLUT4 transporter in rat skeletal muscle was studied. Muscle membranes, prepared by subcellular fractionation of control and insulin treated rat skeletal muscle, were subjected to SDS/PAGE and immunoblot analyses. Insulin treatment caused an increase in GLUT4 in a plasma membrane (PM) enriched fraction from an intracellular membrane (IM) fraction.

Subcellular distribution and immunocytochemical localization of Na,K-ATPase subunit isoforms in human skeletal muscle.

The expression of Na,K-ATPase isoforms was investigated in human skeletal muscle membranes isolated by subcellular fractionation. The alpha 1, alpha 2, alpha 3 and beta 1 subunits were detectable in membranes prepared from the human soleus muscle. The alpha 1 subunit was largely detected in a fraction enriched with plasma membranes (PM), its abundance in an intracellular membrane fraction (IM) accounted for only 4% of that in the PM fraction.

Metabolic handling of orally administered glucose in cirrhosis.

We used a dual-isotope method (oral [1-14C]glucose and intravenous [6-3H]glucose) to examine whether the oral glucose intolerance of cirrhosis is due to (a) a greater input of glucose into the systemic circulation (owing to a lower first-pass hepatic uptake of ingested glucose, or to impaired inhibition of hepatic glucose output), (b) a lower rate of glucose removal, or (c) a combination of these mechanisms. Indirect calorimetry was used to measure oxidative and nonoxidative metabolism. Basal plasma glucose levels (cirrhotics, 5.