Soluble ST2 is a biomarker for cardiovascular mortality related to abnormal glucose metabolism in high-risk subjects.

Aims: Inflammation plays a role in the development and progression of type 2 diabetes macroangiopathy. Interleukin 33 (IL-33) drives production of Th2-associated cytokines. The soluble form of suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2) acting as a decoy receptor blocks IL-33 and tones down Th2 inflammatory response.

Publisher Correction: Molecular phenomics and metagenomics of hepatic steatosis in non-diabetic obese women.

In the version of this article originally published, the received date was missing. It should have been listed as 2 January 2018. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of this article.

2-hydroxycaproate predicts cardiovascular mortality in patients with atherosclerotic disease.

Background And Aims: We aimed to identify novel biomarkers for cardiovascular mortality through a non-targeted metabolomics approach in patients with established atherosclerotic disease from the Tor Vergata Atherosclerosis Registry (TVAR).

Methods: We compared the serum baseline metabolome of 19 patients with atherosclerosis suffering from cardiovascular death during follow-up with the baseline serum metabolome of 20 control patients matched for age, gender, body mass index (BMI) and atherosclerotic disease status, who survived during the observation period.

Results: Three metabolites were significantly different in the cardiovascular mortality (CVM) group compared to controls: 2-hydroxycaproate, gluconate and sorbitol.

Molecular phenomics and metagenomics of hepatic steatosis in non-diabetic obese women.

Hepatic steatosis is a multifactorial condition that is often observed in obese patients and is a prelude to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Here, we combine shotgun sequencing of fecal metagenomes with molecular phenomics (hepatic transcriptome and plasma and urine metabolomes) in two well-characterized cohorts of morbidly obese women recruited to the FLORINASH study. We reveal molecular networks linking the gut microbiome and the host phenome to hepatic steatosis.

C-peptide: A predictor of cardiovascular mortality in subjects with established atherosclerotic disease.

Aim: Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes are independent risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Levels of C-peptide are increased in these patients and its role in the atherosclerosis progression was studied in vitro and in vivo over the past years. To evaluate the possible use of C-peptide as cardiovascular biomarkers, we designed an observational study in which we enrolled patients with mono- or poly-vascular atherosclerotic disease.

FoxO1 regulates asymmetric dimethylarginine via downregulation of dimethylaminohydrolase 1 in human endothelial cells and subjects with atherosclerosis.

Background And Aims: The O subfamily of forkhead (FoxO) 1 is a pivotal element in the regulation of endothelial activation. Compartmentalization and activity of FoxO1 is regulated by post translational modifications, but the implication in endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis remain controversial. Our aim was to identify FoxO1 related metabolic signatures in endothelial cells.

Decreased IRS2 and TIMP3 expression in monocytes from offspring of type 2 diabetic patients is correlated with insulin resistance and increased intima-media thickness.

Objective: In humans, it is unclear if insulin resistance at the monocyte level is associated with atherosclerosis in vivo. Here we have studied first-degree relatives of patients with type 2 diabetes to investigate whether a reduction in components of the insulin signal transduction pathways, such as the insulin receptor (InsR) or InsR substrate 1 or 2 (IRS1 or IRS2), or a reduction in genetic modifiers of insulin action, such as the TIMP3/ADAM17 (tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3/A disintegrin and metalloprotease domain 17) pathway, is associated with evidence of atherosclerosis.

Research Design And Methods: Insulin sensitivity was analyzed through euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp, and subclinical atherosclerosis was analyzed through intimal medial thickness.

Pioglitazone improves endothelial and adipose tissue dysfunction in pre-diabetic CAD subjects.

Objective: To investigate the effect of pioglitazone on endothelial and adipose tissue dysfunction in newly detected IGT patients with CAD.

Methods And Design: Participants (n=25) were randomized to treatment with either placebo or pioglitazone (30 mg/day) for 12 weeks. Before and after treatment we evaluated endothelial function (flow-mediated dilation--FMD--of the brachial artery), circulating adipose and inflammatory markers (adiponectin isoforms, TNF-alpha, and high sensitivity-CRP), and insulin sensitivity (euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp).

Regulation of gut inflammation and th17 cell response by interleukin-21.

Background & Aims: Interleukin (IL)-21, a T-cell-derived cytokine, is overproduced in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), but its role in the pathogenesis of gut inflammation remains unknown. We here examined whether IL-21 is necessary for the initiation and progress of experimental colitis and whether it regulates specific pathways of inflammation.

Methods: Both dextran sulfate sodium colitis and trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-relapsing colitis were induced in wild-type and IL-21-deficient mice.