Differentiation of CD133-positive pancreatic cells into insulin-producing islet-like cell clusters.

Adult pancreatic stem and progenitor cells could represent an alternative source of insulin-producing tissue for diabetes treatment. In order to identify these cells, we have focused on the human pancreatic cells expressing cell surface molecule CD133, a marker of adult stem cells. We found that population of human CD133-positive pancreatic cells contains endocrine progenitors expressing neurogenin-3 and cells expressing human telomerase, ABCG2, Oct-3/4, Nanog, and Rex-1, markers of pluripotent stem cells.

Weight, body composition and fat distribution of Czech women in relation with reproductive phase: a cross-sectional study.

A sample of 213 healthy Czech women was classified into four groups according to their reproductive phase: fully reproductive, premenopausal, menopausal and postmenopausal women. Changes in body weight, body composition and fat distribution were studied in those four groups using the classical anthropometric method. Body weight rises till the menopause with no further increase.

Polyclonal anti-T-cell therapy for type 1 diabetes mellitus of recent onset.

The destruction of pancreatic beta-cells in type 1 diabetes mellitus is mediated by autoreactive T-lymphocyte clones. We initiated a prospective randomized controlled trial of polyclonal rabbit anti-T-cell globulin (ATG) in patients with type 1 diabetes within 4 weeks of diagnosis and with residual post-glucagon C-peptide levels still over 0.3 nmol/l.

Isolation and characterization of human CXCR4-positive pancreatic cells.

The existence of an adult PSC that may be used in the treatment of diabetes is still a matter of scientific debate as conclusive evidence of such a stem cell in the adult pancreas has not yet been presented. The main reason why putative PSC has not yet been identified is the lack of specific markers that may be used to isolate and purify them. In order to increase the list of potential PSC markers we have focused on the human pancreatic cells that express cell surface receptor CXCR4, a marker of stem cells derived from different adult tissues.

Decrease in plasma B-type natriuretic peptide early after initiation of cardiac resynchronization therapy predicts clinical improvement at 12 months.

Background: Decrease in neurohormonal activation during pharmacotherapy for chronic heart failure (CHF) is associated with haemodynamic and clinical improvement. We tested the hypothesis that changes in neurohormonal activation after initiation of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) predict its long-term clinical effect.

Methods: The study group included 43 patients with CHF (37 males, mean age 62+/-9 years, NYHA class 3.

The decrease in C-reactive protein concentration after diet and physical activity induced weight reduction is associated with changes in plasma lipids, but not interleukin-6 or adiponectin.

Subclinical inflammation is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The mechanisms underlying increased levels of inflammatory markers and their changes in response to weight loss are not fully understood yet. It has been proposed that elevated concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) are mediated by cytokines produced in adipose tissue.

Metabolic effect of sirolimus versus mycophenolate mofetil on pancreatic graft function in the early posttransplant period.

Metabolic effects of immunosuppressive agents are of great importance in pancreas or islet transplantation. The aim of our study was to compare effects of tacrolimus-based immunosuppression in conjunction with sirolimus (RAPA) versus mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) on glucose metabolism in type 1 diabetic recipients following a simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation (SPK). We examined 30 insulin-independent patients after SPK with venous systemic drainage of the pancreatic graft.

The value of B-type natriuretic peptide and big endothelin-1 for detection of severe pulmonary hypertension in heart transplant candidates.

Background: Severe pulmonary hypertension (PH) and increased pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) are important risk factors that predict early postoperative mortality after orthotopic heart transplantation. The aim of our study was to determine the value of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and big endothelin-1 (big ET1) for prediction of severe PH in heart transplant candidates.

Methods: The study population included 43 potential heart transplant candidates (38 males, mean age 52 +/- 7 years).

Effect of acute hyperglycaemia on sodium handling and excretion of nitric oxide metabolites, bradykinin, and cGMP in Type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of acutely induced hyperglycaemia on renal sodium handling and to explore the role of the bradykinin-nitric oxide-cGMP signalling pathway.

Patients And Methods: We compared 20 Type 1 diabetic (DM1) patients without microalbuminuria with 15 weight-, age-, and sex-matched healthy controls (C). Clearances of para-aminohippuric acid (CPAH), inulin (Cin), lithium, sodium, and urinary nitrite/nitrate (NOx), cGMP and bradykinin excretion rates were measured in two 90-min periods: a glycaemic clamp-induced euglycaemia (5 mmol/l-period I) and hyperglycaemia (12 mmol/l-period II) (Study 1) and during time-controlled euglycaemia (5 mmol/l-period I and 5 mmol/l-period II) to avoid the effects of time and volume load (Study 2).

Insulin secretion, sensitivity, and metabolic profile of young healthy offspring of hypertensive parents.

Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are commonly observed in essential hypertension, which is part of the metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to examine whether insulin secretion abnormalities or alterations in insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance are also present in healthy men, offspring of patients with essential hypertension. Twelve young (27 +/- 3.

[Disorders of parathyroid function in patients on regular dialysis therapy and after kidney transplantation].

Background: Parathyroids dysfunction is a key disorder in the spectrum of renal osteopathy, occurring after renal transplantation and, occasionally, after parathyroidectomy. In our subjects, dysfunction is understood as plus or minus activity.

Methods And Results: Parathyroidectomy as the primary procedure was performed in 179 patients for all types of hyperparathyrodism.

Angiotensin II-induced hypertension in bradykinin B2 receptor knockout mice.

The present study was performed to examine the role of endogenous bradykinin (BK) in the development of angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced hypertension in mice. BK B2receptor knockout (B2R-/-) and wild-type (B2R+/+) mice (22to 26 g) were infused with either saline (SAL) or Ang II (40ng/min) via an osmotic minipump implanted intraperitoneally. On day 12after implantation, there was no difference in systolic blood pressure (SBP, tail-cuff plethysmography) between SAL/B2R+/+ and SAL/B2R-/- mice(128+/-5 versus 133+/-6 mm Hg, n=24/group).

Increased glucagon-stimulated insulin secretion of cryopreserved rat islets transplanted into nude mice.

Cryopreservation is the only available technique for long-term storage of pancreatic islets. The freezing/thawing protocol may cause considerable loss of viable islet tissue and impair its function in vivo. The aim of this study was to investigate glucose and insulin levels after transplantation of fresh and cryo/thawed rat islets.

[Metabolic sequelae of pancreatic transplantation using two different surgical techniques].

Background: By transplantation of the pancreas in diabetics type 1 long-term-term independence on exogenous insulin can be achieved. The extent of normalization of the carbohydrate metabolism can depend on the applied surgical technique. The objective of the submitted work was to compare indicators of compensation of diabetes one year after combined transplantation of the kidney and pancreas, using the method of transplantation of a segment of the pancreas with obliteration of the pancreatic duct by a polymer and the method of transplantation of the whole pancreas with drainage of the pancreatic duct into the urinary bladder.

[Insulin resistance and insulin secretion in type II non-obese diabetics].

Background: Glucose tolerance depends essentially on insulin secretion and its action in target tissues. Diabetes mellitus type II (insulin-nondependent diabetes) is a disease conditioned by a dysbalance between insulin secretion and effect; it has not been decided whether the cause is insulin resistance or impaired insulin secretion, although a defect of insulin secretion for the manifestation of the disease is generally accepted. The purpose of the submitted study was to assess to what extent insulin secretion and its effect after an oral glucose load and a hyperglycaemic clamp is affected in different groups of non-obese patients with diabetes type II.

[Glucose utilization and risk of hyperglycemia during simultaneous administration of branched-chain amino acids and fat emulsions in healthy persons].

In order to evaluate the effect of substrate competition on glucose utilization, we studied 8 healthy volunteers under three different conditions: 1. Hyperinsulinemic (75 a 550 microU/ml) euglycemic (5 mmol/1) clamp (HEC). 2.

[The effect of fish oil on the secretion and effect of insulin in patients with type II diabetes].

The metabolic effect of 3-week dietary supplementation with a fish oil concentrate was examined in not markedly obese, not hypertriglyceridemic men with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) treated with hypoglycemic agents. Ten patients were given 15 ml/d of fish oil (Martens Oil, Norway) equivalent to 3.1 g of n-3 fatty acid (FA) per day, and compared to 10 diabetics treated with placebo (15 ml/d saline).

[Atherosclerotic changes in the carotid artery detected by ultrasound in newly diagnosed type II diabetics].

In a group of 107 middle-aged men with newly detected diabetes type II the authors investigated by means of a double ultrasonographic examination the incidence of atherosclerotic changes of the carotid artery. The incidence of atherosclerotic lesions on the carotid artery was relatively high (44% of the group), the majority of arterial stenoses was, however, without haemodynamic impact. A frequent finding were calcifications in the sclerotic plaques.

[Blood pressure and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetics].

The authors analyzed in 145 patients with Type 2, diabetes, persisting on average for 10 years, influences affecting the blood pressure reading. 1. In patients treated on account of hypertension (40%) the increase of systolic and diastolic pressure persisted and the fasting concentrations of C peptide were elevated.

Insulin action and insulin binding following pancreas transplantation.

Insulin action and insulin specific binding to erythrocytes were examined in ten recipients of a pancreatic segment and renal graft (Group 1), in nine non-diabetic kidney recipients (Group 2) and in ten age- and weight-matched healthy control subjects (Group 3). All transplant recipients were normoglycaemic without need of insulin, received the same immunosuppression and had good renal graft function at 11-18 months post-transplantation, when the investigation was performed. Using the insulin clamp technique, insulin action was expressed as the metabolic clearance rate of glucose at insulin infusion rates of 1.

[Insulin secretion and insulin resistance in type II diabetes. Relation to fatty acid composition of serum phospholipids].

Non-obese middle-aged men (n = 21) in an early stage after manifestation of Type 2 diabetes mellitus, and free of signs of atherosclerotic complications, when compared with an age-, weight- and sex-matched control group (n = 14), were found to show: 1. a decrease in linoleic acid content and increase in polyunsaturated elongated forms of n-6 and n-3 families fatty acids in serum phospholipids; 2. fasting hyperinsulinemia and impaired dynamics of insulin secretion after glucose load; 3.

[Clinical course of recent insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and possibilities of controlling it therapeutically].

Intensive insulin treatment in a recent stage of IDDM promotes metabolic compensation of the disease regardless which regime of conventional or unconventional treatment is used. In thus treated patients more frequently complete or partial metabolic remission is achieved. C-peptide in patients in remission is much higher than in other patients, and conversely there are fewer persons without residual B-cell secretion.

Endocrine pancreatic secretion in patients after acute pancreatitis.

In 14 nonobese patients after acute pancreatitis and with normal oral glucose tolerance, the response of insulin, C-peptide, and pancreatic glucagon after 100 g of oral glucose was assessed. The curves of insulin and C-peptide were significantly raised compared with those of controls, and no difference was found between the response of patients with a negative (n = 8) and a positive (n = 6) family history of type II diabetes. The curves of pancreatic glucagon did not differ from those found in controls.