Associations of VEGF-A-Related Variants with Adolescent Cardiometabolic and Dietary Parameters.

Previous research has allowed the identification of variants related to the vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) and their association with anthropometric, lipidemic and glycemic indices. The present study examined potential relations between key VEGF-A-related single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), cardiometabolic parameters and dietary habits in an adolescent cohort. Cross-sectional analyses were conducted using baseline data from 766 participants of the Greek TEENAGE study.

Lipolysis-Stimulated Lipoprotein Receptor Acts as Sensor to Regulate ApoE Release in Astrocytes.

Astroglia play an important role, providing de novo synthesized cholesterol to neurons in the form of ApoE-lipidated particles; disruption of this process can increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease. We recently reported that glia-specific suppression of the lipolysis-stimulated lipoprotein receptor (LSR) gene leads to Alzheimer's disease-like memory deficits. Since LSR is an Apo-E lipoprotein receptor, our objective of this study was to determine the effect of LSR expression modulation on cholesterol and ApoE output in mouse astrocytes expressing human ApoE3.

Dietary Patterns, Blood Pressure and the Glycemic and Lipidemic Profile of Two Teenage, European Populations.

The present study sought to retrospectively investigate the dietary habits of two adolescent, European populations from the cross-sectional Greek TEENAGE Study and French STANISLAS Family Study. We aimed to explore the relation between the populations' dietary patterns and blood pressure, glycemic and lipidemic profile. Dietary patterns were extracted via Principal Component Analysis (PCA), based on data collected from two 24 h dietary recalls for the TEENAGE study and a 3-day food consumption diary for the STANISLAS study.

VEGF, the underlying factor for metabolic syndrome; fact or fiction?

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is currently diagnosed by the co-presence of at least three of the five following abnormalities: abdominal obesity, dysglycaemia, elevated serum triglycerides, low high-density cholesterol (HDL) and finally elevated blood pressure. Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This review is on the associations between MetS and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

Influence of pre-analytical variables on VEGF gene expression and circulating protein concentrations.

Background: The extended role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in human pathophysiology led us to evaluate pre-analytical parameters possibly influencing its levels in peripheral blood and tissues. The effects on VEGF protein levels and mRNA expression were measured after storage delay (blood and tissue), use of different types of anticoagulants (blood), and after different numbers of freeze-thaw cycles (blood).

Methods: Blood from healthy donors was sampled simultaneously in ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), acid citrate dextrose (ACD-A), hirudin, and serum separation tubes.