Human intestinal fatty acid binding protein 2 expression is associated with fat intake and polymorphisms.

The intestinal fatty acid binding protein (FABP2) is involved in lipid metabolism whereby variations in the promoter (haplotypes A/B) and exon 2 (Ala54Thr) are associated with dyslipidemia and insulin resistance. To elucidate which factors determine FABP2 expression in human mucosa, we investigated the association between fat intake, genotypes, biochemical variables, and FABP2 expression. FABP2 gene expression was assessed in duodenal specimens from 100 participants who answered a FFQ and who were genotyped and characterized for traits of metabolic syndrome and further biochemical data.

s-ICAM-1 and s-VCAM-1 in healthy men are strongly associated with traits of the metabolic syndrome, becoming evident in the postprandial response to a lipid-rich meal.

Background: The importance of the postprandial state for the early stages of atherogenesis is increasingly acknowledged. We conducted assessment of association between postprandial triglycerides, insulin and glucose after ingestion of a standardized lipid-rich test meal, and soluble cellular adhesion molecules (sCAM) in young healthy subjects.

Methods: Metabolic parameters and sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and E-selectin were measured before and hourly until 6 hours after ingestion of a lipid-rich meal in 30 healthy young men with fasting triglycerides <150 mg/dl and normal fasting glucose levels.

Investigation of the Lith6 candidate genes APOBEC1 and PPARG in human gallstone disease.

Background: Genetic susceptibility contributes to the aetiology of gallbladder diseases as shown by multiple epidemiological studies. A major gallstone susceptibility locus (Lith6) was identified in 2003 by quantitative trait locus mapping in mice. Two attractive positional and functional candidate genes in apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing protein (APOBEC1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG) are located in this interval.

Lactobacilli, bifidobacteria and E. coli nissle induce pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Aim: To investigate whether the stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) with the cell debris and cell extraction of different probiotic strains is similar or species specific.

Methods: Three strains of bifidobacteria, 4 strains of lactobacilli, and E. coli nissle were sonicated and centrifuged in order to divide them into cell extract and cell debris.

A common functional exon polymorphism in the microsomal triglyceride transfer protein gene is associated with type 2 diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism and insulin levels.

The microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) is required for the assembly and secretion of apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins. Emerging evidence has indicated that the functional MTP exon polymorphism I128T is associated with dyslipidemia and other traits of the insulin-resistance syndrome, and the T128 variant seems to confer a reduced stability of MTP, resulting in reduced binding of LDL particles. The aim of the study was to elucidate the association of this MTP polymorphism with parameters of postprandial metabolism.

Genetic variation in DLG5 is associated with inflammatory bowel disease.

Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis are two subphenotypes of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a complex disorder resulting from gene-environment interaction. We refined our previously defined linkage region for IBD on chromosome 10q23 and used positional cloning to identify genetic variants in DLG5 associated with IBD. DLG5 encodes a scaffolding protein involved in the maintenance of epithelial integrity.

Association of NOD2 (CARD 15) genotype with clinical course of Crohn's disease: a cohort study.

Background: Crohn's disease is a heterogeneous disorder for which NOD2 (CARD 15) has been identified as a susceptibility gene. We investigate the relation between NOD2 genotype and phenotypic characteristics of patients with Crohn's disease.

Methods: Hypotheses about the relation between NOD2 genotype and Crohn's disease phenotype were generated retrospectively from a group of 446 German patients with this disorder.