Associations among the plasma amino acid profile, obesity, and glucose metabolism in Japanese adults with normal glucose tolerance.

Background: Amino acids (AAs) are emerging as a new class of effective molecules in the etiology of obesity and diabetes mellitus. However, most investigations have focused on subjects with obesity and/or impaired glucose regulation; the possible involvement of AAs in the initial phase of glucose dysregulation remains poorly understood. Furthermore, little attention has been given to possible associations between the pattern/degree of fat deposition and the plasma AA profile.

Overview of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) as a Potential Biomarker Relevant to Adiposity.

The cytokine "macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF)" is generally recognized as a proinflammatory cytokine, and MIF is involved in broad range of acute and chronic inflammatory states. With regard to glucose metabolism and insulin secretion, MIF is produced by pancreatic β cells and acts as a positive regulator of insulin secretion. In contrast, it is evident that MIF expressed in adipose tissues causes insulin resistance.

Validation study on the accuracy of echocardiographic measurements of right ventricular systolic function in pulmonary hypertension.

Background: The accuracy of echocardiographic parameters of right ventricular (RV) function has not been sufficiently validated in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether echocardiographic measurements reliably reflect RV systolic function in PH using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI)-derived RV ejection fraction (RVEF) as a gold standard.

Methods: A total of 37 consecutive patients with PH, 20 with pulmonary arterial hypertension, 12 with chronic thromboembolic PH, and five others, were prospectively studied.

Knockdown of macrophage migration inhibitory factor disrupts adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells.

Obesity is a condition in which adipose tissue mass is expanded. Increases in both adipocyte size and number contribute to enlargement of adipose tissue. The increase in cell number is thought to be caused by proliferation and differentiation of preadipocytes.

Effects of replacing metformin with pioglitazone on glycemic control in japanese patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus: A 12-week, open-label, prospective study.

Background: Insulin resistance is a critical aspect of the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus and is also associated with other risk factors for cardiovascular disease (eg, dyslipidemia and hypertension). Accordingly, insulin resistance is a possible target for lowering plasma glucose concentration and preventing diabetic macroangiopathy. Biguanides, such as metformin, and thiazolidinediones (TZDs), such as pioglitazone, improve insulin resistance.

Myocardial imaging with 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in sarcoidosis.

Purpose: Despite accumulating reports on the clinical value of (18)F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the assessment of cardiac sarcoidosis, no studies have systematically compared the images of these modalities.

Methods: Twenty-one consecutive patients with suspected cardiac sarcoidosis underwent cardiac examinations that included 18F-FDG PET and MRI. The association of 18F-FDG PET and MRI findings with blood sampling data such as serum angiotensin converting enzyme levels was also evaluated.

Pilot study of short-term effects of a novel long-acting oral beraprost in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Background: Oral prostacyclin analogs can improve the prognosis of patients with mild to moderate pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), but because they often provoke adverse effects, such as flushing and dizziness, administering the optimal dose can be difficult.

Methods And Results: In the present study, a novel long-acting oral beraprost (TRK-100STP: 0-360 mug/day for 12 weeks) was administered to 4 patients with mild to moderate PAH. The patients tolerated the drug well with mild adverse manifestations and negligible effects on the systemic circulation.

Analysis of N-glycan in serum glycoproteins from db/db mice and humans with type 2 diabetes.

Glycosylation has an important role in regulating properties of proteins and is associated with many diseases. To examine the alteration of serum N-glycans in type 2 diabetes, we used the db/db mouse model. Serum N-glycans were fluorescence labeled and applied to HPLC.

Estimation of beta-cell function from the data of the oral glucose tolerance test.

Although a hyperbolic relationship between insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity has been shown, the relationship has been often questioned. We examined the relationship using oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)-derived indexes. A total of 374 Japanese subjects who had never been given a diagnosis of diabetes underwent a 75-g OGTT.

Recovery of protein-losing enteropathy after living-donor lobar lung transplantation in primary pulmonary hypertension.

The patient investigated was a 43-year-old woman with primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) and refractory protein-losing enteropathy (PLE). She underwent living-donor lobar lung transplantation (LDLLT), which led to remarkable improvement in both pulmonary hypertension and PLE. Although there have been no reports, to our knowledge, that have demonstrated PLE as a complication of PPH, the present case clearly shows how PLE could complicate PPH.

Oxidative stress provokes atherogenic changes in adipokine gene expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

Increased oxidative stress has been associated with obesity-related disorders. In this study, we investigated how oxidative stress, in different ways of exposure, regulates gene expression of various adipokines in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Exposure to 100-500microM H(2)O(2) for 10min, as well as exposure to 5-25mU/ml glucose oxidase for 18h, similarly decreased adiponectin, leptin, and resistin mRNAs, and increased plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 mRNA.

Small cell carcinoma of the lung exclusively localized within the left descending pulmonary artery.

We encountered a 69-year-old woman displaying a filling defect within the left descending pulmonary artery (PA) on a chest CT scan and pulmonary angiography. A subsequent 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) scan demonstrated focal uptake in the left hilum. A cytologic examination of transbronchial needle aspiration specimens revealed small cell carcinoma.

Focal uptake on 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography images indicates cardiac involvement of sarcoidosis.

Aims: To evaluate the value of (18)F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography ((18)F-FDG PET) in detecting cardiac sarcoidosis.

Methods And Results: Thirty-two patients with sarcoidosis and thirty controls were recruited. All subjects underwent cardiac (18)F-FDG PET after a 6 h fasting period, and subjects with sarcoidosis underwent blood testing, ECG, echocardiography, and (67)Ga and (99m)Tc-sestamibi (MIBI) scintigraphy.

Addition of oral sildenafil to beraprost is a safe and effective therapeutic option for patients with pulmonary hypertension.

Although sildenafil, an oral phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitor, may offer benefits in the pharmacological management of pulmonary hypertension (PH), safety and effectiveness have not been studied during coadministration with beraprost, an oral prostacyclin analogue. To address this issue, we administered oral beraprost (40 microg) on day 1 and beraprost (40 microg) plus sildenafil (25 mg) on days 2 to 6 patients with moderate to severe PH. Although sildenafil plus beraprost produced transient flushing in 2 of 6 patients, systemic hemodynamics and arterial and venous gas analyses were similar in comparisons between the 2 treatment groups.

Troglitazone ameliorates abnormal activity of protein tyrosine phosphatase in adipose tissues of Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats.

Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) play an essential role in the regulation of steady-state phosphorylation of the insulin receptor and other proteins in the insulin signaling pathway. To determine the role of PTPases in adipose tissue in the development into an insulin-resistant state, we examined PTPase activities and protein levels of three major candidate PTPases in adipose tissues of 26-week-old male Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats. Particulate PTPase activities in visceral and epididymal adipose tissues of OLETF rats were increased compared to those in Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) rats, non-insulin-resistant controls.

A case of diabetes, deafness, cardiomyopathy, and central sleep apnea: novel mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms.

We describe a case of diabetes mellitus complicated by neurosensory hearing loss, cardiomyopathy, and sleep apnea syndrome. A 48-year-old man who was admitted for treatment of a lacerated tendon of the right shoulder was also found to require preoperative control of diabetes, a condition that had been diagnosed 4 years earlier. The family pedigree suggested maternal inheritance of diabetes.

Ganglioside GM3 participates in the pathological conditions of insulin resistance.

Gangliosides are known as modulators of transmembrane signaling by regulating various receptor functions. We have found that insulin resistance induced by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes was accompanied by increased GM3 ganglioside expression caused by elevating GM3 synthase activity and its mRNA. We also demonstrated that TNF-alpha simultaneously produced insulin resistance by uncoupling insulin receptor activity toward insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and suppressing insulin-sensitive glucose transport.