Brief Communication on the Impact of β-blockers on Outcomes in Patients Receiving Cancer Immunotherapy.

Preclinical studies show that β-adrenergic activation suppresses the immune system and reduces the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy. As a result, there is considerable interest in using β-blockers (BBs), a cheap and safe class of medication, in combination with immunotherapy to improve outcomes in cancer. This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical studies.

Myosin heavy chain 15 is associated with bovine pulmonary arterial pressure.

Bovine pulmonary hypertension, brisket disease, causes significant morbidity and mortality at elevations above 2,000 m. Mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) is moderately heritable, with inheritance estimated to lie within a few major genes. Invasive mPAP measurement is currently the only tool available to identify cattle at risk of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension.

A link between FTO, ghrelin, and impaired brain food-cue responsivity.

Polymorphisms in the fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) are associated with human obesity and obesity-prone behaviors, including increased food intake and a preference for energy-dense foods. FTO demethylates N6-methyladenosine, a potential regulatory RNA modification, but the mechanisms by which FTO predisposes humans to obesity remain unclear. In adiposity-matched, normal-weight humans, we showed that subjects homozygous for the FTO "obesity-risk" rs9939609 A allele have dysregulated circulating levels of the orexigenic hormone acyl-ghrelin and attenuated postprandial appetite reduction.

Hypoxia at the heart of sudden infant death syndrome?

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a significant clinical problem without an accepted pathological mechanism, but with multiple conflicting models. Mutations in a growing number of genes have been found postmortem in SIDS cases, notably genes encoding ion channels. This can only account for a minority of cases, however.

Abundance, distribution, mobility and oligomeric state of M₂ muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in live cardiac muscle.

M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors modulate cardiac rhythm via regulation of the inward potassium current. To increase our understanding of M2 receptor physiology we used Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy to visualize individual receptors at the plasma membrane of transformed CHO(M2) cells, a cardiac cell line (HL-1), primary cardiomyocytes and tissue slices from pre- and post-natal mice. Receptor expression levels between individual cells in dissociated cardiomyocytes and heart slices were highly variable and only 10% of murine cardiomyocytes expressed muscarinic receptors.

A mouse model to study the link between hypoxia, long QT interval and sudden infant death syndrome.

The pathology of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is poorly understood. Many risk factors, including hypoxia, have been identified. Prolongation of the ECG QTc interval is associated with elevated risk of SIDS but its aetiology in most cases remains unknown.

Contrasts between organic participation in apatite biomineralization in brachiopod shell and vertebrate bone identified by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Unusually for invertebrates, linguliform brachiopods employ calcium phosphate mineral in hard tissue formation, in common with the evolutionarily distant vertebrates. Using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (SSNMR) and X-ray powder diffraction, we compare the organic constitution, crystallinity and organic matrix-mineral interface of phosphatic brachiopod shells with those of vertebrate bone. In particular, the organic-mineral interfaces crucial for the stability and properties of biomineral were probed with SSNMR rotational echo double resonance (REDOR).

Gaining new insights into food reward with functional neuroimaging.

The notion that eating is intimately related to feelings of pleasure is not new. Indeed, in an environment characterised by many varied and palatable foods, hedonistic drives are likely to play a greater role in modulating food intake than homeostatic ones. Until recently however, a neurobiological account of the rewarding properties of food was lacking.

Gut hormones: implications for the treatment of obesity.

Bariatric surgery is the only effective treatment for patients with morbid obesity. This is no solution to the present obesity pandemic however. Currently licensed non-surgical pharmaceuticals are of limited efficacy and alternatives are needed.

Peptide YY: food for thought.

Obtaining a fuller understanding of gut hormones as mediators of appetite regulation and energy homeostasis has never been so important with obesity rates increasing at pandemic proportions. The role of the gut hormone peptide YY 3-36 (PYY3-36) in particular has sparked interest since the discovery of its anorectic effect in obese rodents and humans. Fasting circulating PYY concentrations correlate negatively with BMI and waist circumference in humans, whilst postprandial PYY levels predict subsequent changes in weight over a period of at least 6 months.