The fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene variant rs9939609 predicts long-term incidence of cardiovascular disease and related death independent of the traditional risk factors.

Objective And Methods: The impact of the rs9939609 FTO variant on cardiovascular events was investigated in the 19-year follow-up of subjects recruited to the OPERA study.

Results: A total of 212 cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 152 coronary heart disease (CHD) events or deaths occurred during follow-up. The logistic regression analysis revealed that among the AA genotype the incidence of CHD (OR 1.

Fat mass- and obesity-associated gene Fto affects the dietary response in mouse white adipose tissue.

Common variants of human fat mass- and obesity-associated gene Fto have been linked with higher body mass index, but the biological explanation for the link has remained obscure. Recent findings suggest that these variants affect the homeobox protein IRX3. Here we report that FTO has a role in white adipose tissue which modifies its response to high-fat feeding.

Long telomeres in blood leukocytes are associated with a high risk of ascending aortic aneurysm.

Ascending aortic aneurysm is a connective tissue disorder. Even though multiple novel gene mutations have been identified, risk profiling and diagnosis before rupture still represent a challenge. There are studies demonstrating shorter telomere lengths in the blood leukocytes of abdominal aortic aneurysm patients.

Plasma levels of antibodies against oxidized LDL are inherited but not associated with HDL-cholesterol level in families with early coronary heart disease.

Objective: Oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxLDL) and antibodies against them (anti-oxLDLs) are thought to play a central role in atherosclerosis. One proposed antiatherosclerotic mechanism for HDL is to prevent oxidation of LDL. This study examined whether plasma HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) is related to plasma anti-oxLDL levels.

Elevated messenger RNA expression and plasma protein levels of osteopontin and matrix metalloproteinase types 2 and 9 in patients with ascending aortic aneurysms.

Objective: Ascending aortic aneurysms result from a degenerative process in the aortic wall, characterized by the loss of smooth muscle cells and elastic fibers. We hypothesized that there would be changes in plasma protein and aortic tissue messenger RNA levels of osteopontin, matrix metalloproteinase type 2, matrix metalloproteinase type 9, and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases type 1 in ascending aortic aneurysm samples.

Methods: Plasma, aortic tissue, and aortic mRNA samples were collected from patients with an ascending aortic aneurysm or an abdominal aortic aneurysm and from control individuals.

Effects of phosphatidylethanol on mouse adipocyte differentiation and expression of stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1.

Background: Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is an aberrant phospholipid formed in vivo only in the presence of ethanol. In circulation PEth is associated with lipoproteins and is transferred from one lipoprotein to another. Lipoprotein-associated PEth affects endothelial and smooth muscle cells of blood vessels, but its effects on other cell types have not been explored.