Response of the porcine -promoter and -expressing myotubes to known anabolic and catabolic agents .

Unlabelled: Myosin heavy chain-IIB (MyHC-IIB; encoded by or ) expression is often associated with muscle hypertrophic growth. Unlike other large mammals, domestic pig breeds express MyHC-IIB at both the mRNA and protein level.

Aim: To utilise a fluorescence-based promoter-reporter system to test the influence of anabolic and catabolic agents on increasing porcine -promoter activity and determine whether cell hypertrophy was subsequently induced

Methods: C2C12 myoblasts were co-transfected with porcine promoter-driven ZsGreen and CMV-driven DsRed expression plasmids.

The phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) inhibitor, 3-mercaptopicolinic acid (3-MPA), induces myogenic differentiation in C2C12 cells.

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) is a gluconeogenic enzyme with a cytosolic (Pck1/PEPCK-C) and mitochondrial (Pck2/PEPCK-M) isoform. Here we investigate the effect of 3-mercaptopicolinic acid (3-MPA), a PEPCK inhibitor, on C2C12 muscle cells. We report that Pck2 mRNA is 50-5000-fold higher than Pck1 during C2C12 myogenesis, indicating Pck2 is the predominant PEPCK isoform.

Fetal cardiac dysfunction in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy is associated with elevated serum bile acid concentrations.

Background & Aims: Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is associated with an increased risk of stillbirth. This study aimed to assess the relationship between bile acid concentrations and fetal cardiac dysfunction in patients with ICP who were or were not treated with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA).

Methods: Bile acid profiles and NT-proBNP, a marker of ventricular dysfunction, were assayed in umbilical venous serum from 15 controls and 76 ICP cases (36 untreated, 40 UDCA-treated).

Changes in expression of serine biosynthesis and integrated stress response genes during myogenic differentiation of C2C12 cells.

Skeletal muscle is a highly metabolic and dynamic tissue that is formed through the complex and well-organised process of myogenesis. Although there is a good understanding about the role of the Muscle Regulatory Factors during myogenesis, little is known about the potential interplay of other metabolic proteins. The aim of this study was to determine the endogenous mRNA expression profile for a novel group of genes, recently associated with β-adrenergic agonist (BA) induced muscle hypertrophy in pigs [1], during myogenic differentiation in C2C12 cells and their response to dibutyryl cyclic-AMP (dbcAMP).

Postpartum evaluation of cardiovascular disease risk for women with pregnancies complicated by hypertension.

Objectives: Postpartum stratification of cardiovascular risk for women with pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia is challenging. Our aim was to identify potential clinical and biomarker predictors of future cardiovascular risk at six weeks postpartum in women with hypertensive pregnancies.

Study Design: Prospective longitudinal cohort.