Dysregulation of Serum MicroRNA after Intracerebral Hemorrhage in Aged Mice.

Stroke is one of the most common diseases that leads to brain injury and mortality in patients, and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is the most devastating subtype of stroke. Though the prevalence of ICH increases with aging, the effect of aging on the pathophysiology of ICH remains largely understudied. Moreover, there is no effective treatment for ICH.

Sex Differences in Adipose Tissue Distribution Determine Susceptibility to Neuroinflammation in Mice With Dietary Obesity.

Preferential energy storage in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) confers protection against obesity-induced pathophysiology in females. Females also exhibit distinct immunological responses, relative to males. These differences are often attributed to sex hormones, but reciprocal interactions between metabolism, immunity, and gonadal steroids remain poorly understood.

Beige adipocytes mediate the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of subcutaneous fat in obese mice.

Visceral obesity increases risk of cognitive decline in humans, but subcutaneous adiposity does not. Here, we report that beige adipocytes are indispensable for the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of subcutaneous fat. Mice lacking functional beige fat exhibit accelerated cognitive dysfunction and microglial activation with dietary obesity.

Visceral adipose NLRP3 impairs cognition in obesity via IL-1R1 on CX3CR1+ cells.

Induction of the inflammasome protein cryopyrin (NLRP3) in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) promotes release of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β in obesity. Although this mechanism contributes to peripheral metabolic dysfunction, effects on the brain remain unexplored. We investigated whether visceral adipose NLRP3 impairs cognition by activating microglial IL-1 receptor 1 (IL-1R1).

Endothelial Adora2a Activation Promotes Blood-Brain Barrier Breakdown and Cognitive Impairment in Mice with Diet-Induced Insulin Resistance.

Obesity and insulin resistance elicit blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown in humans and animal models, but the relative contributions of the two pathologies remain poorly understood. These studies initially addressed the temporal progression of cerebrovascular dysfunction relative to dietary obesity or diet-induced insulin resistance in male mice. Obesity increased BBB permeability to the low molecular weight fluorophore sodium fluorescein (NaFl), whereas diet-induced insulin resistance increased permeability to both NaFl and Evans blue, which forms a high molecular weight complex with serum albumin.

Dose responses of vitamin D3 supplementation on arterial stiffness in overweight African Americans with vitamin D deficiency: A placebo controlled randomized trial.

Background: Clinical trials are scant and equivocal on whether vitamin D can ameliorate arterial stiffness, particularly in populations at high risk for vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study determined the dose-response effects of vitamin D3 supplementation on arterial stiffness in overweight African Americans with vitamin D deficiency.

Methods: Seventy overweight African Americans (aged 13-45 years) with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels ≤ 20 ng/mL were randomized to monthly oral supplementation of 18,000 IU (~600 IU/day, n = 17), 60,000 IU (~2000 IU/day, n = 18), or 120,000 IU (~4000 IU/day, n = 18) of vitamin D3 or placebo (n = 17) for 16-weeks.

The feasibility of gamma radiation sterilization for decellularized tracheal grafts.

Objectives/hypothesis: The most promising stem cell-derived tracheal transplantation approach is dependent upon the use of decellularized tracheal grafts. It has been assumed that a sterilization step, such as gamma radiation, would damage the delicate extracellular matrix of the graft, thus rendering it less viable for cellular repopulation, although this has not been thoroughly investigated.

Study Design: Laboratory-based comparative analysis.

Dose and time responses of vitamin D biomarkers to monthly vitamin D3 supplementation in overweight/obese African Americans with suboptimal vitamin d status: a placebo controlled randomized clinical trial.

Background: A critical need exists to better understand the physiological sequel of vitamin D supplementation in obese individuals and African Americans. The aim was to comprehensively evaluate dose- and time-responses of a panel of vitamin D biomarkers to vitamin D supplements in this population.

Methods: We conducted a 16-week randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Urinary prostasin excretion is associated with adiposity in nonhypertensive African-American adolescents.

Background: Metabolic abnormalities in obesity can overstimulate the renal epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) and subsequently lead to blood pressure (BP) elevation. Prostasin, a membrane-bound/secretive serine protease, is thought to activate ENaC via the proteolytic cleavage of the channel. Our specific aim was to explore whether there is a relationship between adiposity and urinary prostasin excretion at the population level.

Cytokine profiling of young overweight and obese female African American adults with prediabetes.

Approximately 5-10% of subjects with prediabetes become diabetic every year. Inflammation is involved in the development of obesity-related type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, to date, the relationship between inflammation and prediabetes, defined by hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) ≥5.

Adolescent fiber consumption is associated with visceral fat and inflammatory markers.

Context: The link between adolescent fiber consumption, inflammation, and body fat distribution has not been investigated.

Objective: This study investigated associations of dietary fiber intake with inflammatory-related biomarkers and robust measures of total and central adiposity in a sample of 559 adolescents aged 14-18 yr (49% female, 45% Black).

Methods: Fasting blood samples were measured for leptin, adiponectin, resistin, C-reactive protein, and fibrinogen.

Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations are correlated with cardiometabolic risk among American black and white adolescents living in a year-round sunny climate.

Objective: Low vitamin D status is common among healthy black and white adolescents residing at southern U.S. latitudes with a year-round sunny climate.

Vitamin D3 supplementation for 16 weeks improves flow-mediated dilation in overweight African-American adults.

Background: A growing body of evidence has linked vitamin D deficiency to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Vitamin D deficiency is also more common in African Americans for whom an increased cardiovascular disease risk exists. This study sought to test the hypothesis that 16 weeks of 60,000 IU monthly supplementation of oral vitamin D(3) would improve flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in African Americans, whereas no change would be observed in the placebo group.

A 16-week randomized clinical trial of 2000 international units daily vitamin D3 supplementation in black youth: 25-hydroxyvitamin D, adiposity, and arterial stiffness.

Context: Vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency is commonly observed in black youth.

Objective: The aim was to determine 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in response to 2000 IU vitamin D supplementation over time; to evaluate the relation between 25(OH)D concentrations and total body fat mass by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry; and to determine whether vitamin D supplementation improves arterial stiffness measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV).

Design: We conducted a randomized, blinded, controlled clinical trial.

[The effects of rhG-CSF and rhSCF on peripheral blood leukocytes and CFU-GM in rhesus monkeys].

To evaluate the effects of rhG-CSF and rhSCF on mobilization of the peripheral blood stem cells, 15 monkeys were divided into control, rhG-CSF 10 micro g/(kg x day) and rhG-CSF 10 micro g/(kg x day) + rhSCF 50 micro g/(kg x day) treated groups. Monkeys were administered with vehicle, rhG-CSF and rhG-CSF + rhSCF subcutaneously once daily for 14 days, respectively. The results showed that the highest counts of leukocyte of rhG-CSF treated group were 411% of baseline value on day 7 after administration, compared with that of rhG-CSF + rhSCF treated group which were 538% on day 9.