Lactate promotes fatty acid oxidation by the tricarboxylic acid cycle and mitochondrial respiration in muscles of obese mice.

Lower oxidative capacity in skeletal muscles (SKMs) is a prevailing cause of metabolic diseases. Exercise not only enhances the fatty acid oxidation (FAO) capacity of SKMs but also increases lactate levels. Given that lactate may contribute to tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) flux and impact monocarboxylate transporter 1 in the SKMs, we hypothesize that lactate can influence glucose and fatty acid (FA) metabolism.

Lupenone attenuates thapsigargin-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis in pancreatic beta cells possibly through inhibition of protein tyrosine kinase 2 activity.

Aims: Prolonged high levels of cytokines, glucose, or free fatty acids are associated with diabetes, elevation of cytosolic Ca concentration ([Ca]), and depletion of Ca concentration in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of pancreatic beta cells. This Ca imbalance induces ER stress and apoptosis. Lupenone, a lupan-type triterpenoid, is beneficial in diabetes; however, its mechanism of action is yet to be clarified.

Whole body mass estimates and error propagation in countermovement jump: a simulated error study.

High-velocity actions are central to clinical and athletic performance, with jumping used to assess outcomes in sports medicine. Ground reaction force (GRF)-based methods are the standard for computing jump characteristics, but require mass estimation and GRF integration, potentially resulting in mass errors which influence outcomes. This study investigated how simulated mass errors influenced the centre of mass (CoM) trajectory during a countermovement jump.

The Smart Soil Organism Detector: An instrument and machine learning pipeline for soil species identification.

Understanding the diversity of soil organisms is complicated by both scale and substrate. Every footprint we leave in the soil covers hundreds to millions of organisms yet we cannot see them without extremely laborious extraction and microsopy endeavors. Studying them is also challenging.

Beneficial effects of intermittent fasting: a narrative review.

Caloric restriction is a popular approach to treat obesity and its associated chronic illnesses but is difficult to maintain for a long time. Intermittent fasting is an alternative and easily applicable dietary intervention for caloric restriction. Moreover, intermittent fasting has beneficial effects equivalent to those of caloric restriction in terms of body weight control, improvements in glucose homeostasis and lipid profiles, and anti-inflammatory effects.

Mitochondrial TFAM as a Signaling Regulator between Cellular Organelles: A Perspective on Metabolic Diseases.

Tissues actively involved in energy metabolism are more likely to face metabolic challenges from bioenergetic substrates and are susceptible to mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to metabolic diseases. The mitochondria receive signals regarding the metabolic states in cells and transmit them to the nucleus or endoplasmic reticulum (ER) using calcium (Ca2+) for appropriate responses. Overflux of Ca2+ in the mitochondria or dysregulation of the signaling to the nucleus and ER could increase the incidence of metabolic diseases including insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Single-Cell Sorting of Non-human Primate Adipocytes with Large-particle Flow Cytometry.

Fluorescence-activated cell sorting enables separation and analysis of heterogeneous cell populations based on size, granularity, and fluorescence intensity. Cell sorting has been widely used for isolation of cells that are ∼10 to 25 μm in diameter. By contrast, cell sorting of unilocular adipocytes isolated from white adipose tissue imposes a significant technological challenge.

Portrait Segmentation Using Ensemble of Heterogeneous Deep-Learning Models.

Image segmentation plays a central role in a broad range of applications, such as medical image analysis, autonomous vehicles, video surveillance and augmented reality. Portrait segmentation, which is a subset of semantic image segmentation, is widely used as a preprocessing step in multiple applications such as security systems, entertainment applications, video conferences, etc. A substantial amount of deep learning-based portrait segmentation approaches have been developed, since the performance and accuracy of semantic image segmentation have improved significantly due to the recent introduction of deep learning technology.

PPARδ Attenuates Alcohol-Mediated Insulin Resistance by Enhancing Fatty Acid-Induced Mitochondrial Uncoupling and Antioxidant Defense in Skeletal Muscle.

Alcohol consumption leads to the dysfunction of multiple organs including liver, heart, and skeletal muscle. Alcohol effects on insulin resistance in liver are well evidenced, whereas its effects in skeletal muscle remain controversial. Emerging evidence indicates that alcohol promotes adipose tissue dysfunction, which may induce organ dysregulation.

Alginate-Derived Elicitors Enhance β-Glucan Content and Antioxidant Activities in Culinary and Medicinal Mushroom, .

This study aimed to investigate the elicitation effects of alginate oligosaccharides extracted from brown algae ( species) on β-glucan production in cauliflower mushroom (). Sodium alginate was refined from , , and , and characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H NMR), resulting mannuronic acid to guluronic acid (M/G) rationes from 0.64 to 1.

Peroxiredoxin 2 deficiency does not affect insulin resistance and oxidative stress in high-fat diet-fed obese mice.

Objective: To examine if peroxiredoxin 2 (Prx2) deficiency aggravates high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance.

Material And Methods: Insulin sensitivity was measured in Prx2 knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) littermates using the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp.

Results: Whole body glucose turnover, glucose uptake, and levels of glucose transporter 4 (Glut4) protein in the skeletal muscle were found to be lower.

Transthyretin Maintains Muscle Homeostasis Through the Novel Shuttle Pathway of Thyroid Hormones During Myoblast Differentiation.

Skeletal muscle, the largest part of the total body mass, influences energy and protein metabolism as well as maintaining homeostasis. Herein, we demonstrate that during murine muscle satellite cell and myoblast differentiation, transthyretin (TTR) can exocytose via exosomes and enter cells as TTR- thyroxine (T) complex, which consecutively induces the intracellular triiodothyronine (T) level, followed by T secretion out of the cell through the exosomes. The decrease in T with the TTR level in 26-week-old mouse muscle, compared to that in 16-week-old muscle, suggests an association of TTR with old muscle.

Selenoprotein W deficiency does not affect oxidative stress and insulin sensitivity in the skeletal muscle of high-fat diet-fed obese mice.

Selenoprotein W (SelW) is a selenium-containing protein with a redox motif found abundantly in the skeletal muscle of rodents. Previous in vitro studies suggest that SelW plays an antioxidant role; however, relatively few in vivo studies have addressed the antioxidant role of SelW. Since oxidative stress is a causative factor for the development of insulin resistance in obese subjects, we hypothesized that if SelW plays a role as an antioxidant, SelW deficiency could aggravate the oxidative stress and insulin resistance caused by a high-fat diet.

Clusterin deficiency induces lipid accumulation and tissue damage in kidney.

Clusterin is a secretory glycoprotein that is involved in multiple physiopathological processes, including lipid metabolism. Previous studies have shown that clusterin prevents hepatic lipid accumulation via suppression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) 1. In this study, we examined the role of clusterin in renal lipid accumulation in clusterin-knockout mice and NRK52e tubular epithelial cells.

Trends in Research on the Security of Medical Information in Korea: Focused on Information Privacy Security in Hospitals.

Objectives: Information technology involves a risk of privacy violation in providing easy access to confidential information,such as personal information and medical information through the Internet. In this study, we investigated medical information security to gain a better understanding of trends in research related to medical information security.

Methods: We researched papers published on '의료정보' and 'medical information' in various Korean journals during a 10-year period from 2005 to 2015.

Nutritional regulation of renal lipogenic factor expression in mice: comparison to regulation in the liver and skeletal muscle.

Regulation of lipogenesis by pathophysiological factors in the liver and skeletal muscle is well understood; however, regulation in the kidney is still unclear. To elucidate nutritional regulation of lipogenic factors in the kidney, we measured the renal expression of lipogenic transcriptional factors and enzymes during fasting and refeeding in chow-fed and high-fat-fed mice. We also examined the regulatory effect of the liver X receptor (LXR) on the expression of lipogenic factors.

Transthyretin: A Transporter Protein Essential for Proliferation of Myoblast in the Myogenic Program.

Irregularities in the cellular uptake of thyroid hormones significantly affect muscle development and regeneration. Herein, we report indispensable role of transthyretin (TTR) in maintaining cellular thyroxine level. TTR was found to enhance recruitment of muscle satellite cells to the site of injury, thereby regulating muscle regeneration.

Methionine sulfoxide reductase B1 deficiency does not increase high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance in mice.

Methionine-S-sulfoxide reductase (MsrA) protects against high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance due to its antioxidant effects. To determine whether its counterpart, methionine-R-sulfoxide reductase (MsrB) has similar effects, we compared MsrB1 knockout and wild-type mice using a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp technique. High-fat feeding for eight weeks increased body weights, fat masses, and plasma levels of glucose, insulin, and triglycerides to similar extents in wild-type and MsrB1 knockout mice.

Metformin prevents glucotoxicity by alleviating oxidative and ER stress-induced CD36 expression in pancreatic beta cells.

Aim/hypothesis: Cluster determinant 36 (CD36), a fatty acid transporter, was reported to have a pivotal role in glucotoxicity-induced beta cell dysfunction. However, little is known about how glucotoxicity influences CD36 expression, and it is unknown whether this action can be counteracted by metformin. In the present study, we showed that metformin counteracts glucotoxicity by alleviating oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-induced CD36 expression.

Effect of High Glucose on MUC5B expression in Human Airway Epithelial Cells.

Objectives: Excessive production of mucus results in plugging of the airway tract, which can increase morbidity and mortality in affected patients. In patients with diabetes, inflammatory airway disease appears with more frequent relapse and longer duration of symptoms. However, the effects of high glucose (HG) on the secretion of mucin in inflammatory respiratory diseases are not clear.

Delphinidin prevents high glucose-induced cell proliferation and collagen synthesis by inhibition of NOX-1 and mitochondrial superoxide in mesangial cells.

This study examined the effect of delphinidin on high glucose-induced cell proliferation and collagen synthesis in mesangial cells. Glucose dose-dependently (5.6-25 mM) increased cell proliferation and collagen I and IV mRNA levels, whereas pretreatment with delphinidin (50 μM) prevented cell proliferation and the increased collagen mRNA levels induced by high glucose (25 mM).

Fibromodulin: a master regulator of myostatin controlling progression of satellite cells through a myogenic program.

Differentiation of muscle satellite cells (MSCs) involves interaction of the proteins present in the extracellular matrix (ECM) with MSCs to regulate their activity, and therefore phenotype. Herein, we report fibromodulin (FMOD), a member of the proteoglycan family participating in the assembly of ECM, as a novel regulator of myostatin (MSTN) during myoblast differentiation. In addition to having a pronounced effect on the expression of myogenic marker genes [myogenin (MYOG) and myosin light chain 2 (MYL2)], FMOD was found to maintain the transcriptional activity of MSTN Moreover, coimmunoprecipitation and in silico studies performed to investigate the interaction of FMOD helped confirm that it antagonizes MSTN function by distorting its folding and preventing its binding to activin receptor type IIB.

The Glucotoxicity Protecting Effect of Ezetimibe in Pancreatic Beta Cells via Inhibition of CD36.

Inhibition of CD36, a fatty acid transporter, has been reported to prevent glucotoxicity and ameliorate high glucose induced beta cell dysfunction. Ezetimibe is a selective cholesterol absorption inhibitor that blocks Niemann Pick C1-like 1 protein, but may exert its effect through suppression of CD36. We attempted to clarify the beneficial effect of ezetimibe on insulin secreting cells and to determine whether this effect is related to change of CD36 expression.

Age-related NADPH Oxidase (arNOX) Activity Correlated with Cartilage Degradation and Bony Changes in Age-related Osteoarthritis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the age-related NADPH oxidase (arNOX) activity in patients with age-related knee osteoarthritis (OA). Serum and cartilage arNOX activities were determined using an oxidized ferricytochrome C reduction assay. Full-thickness knee joint cartilages obtained through total knee replacement surgery were graded according to the Outerbridge (OB) classification.

TLR2 deficiency attenuates skeletal muscle atrophy in mice.

Oxidative stress and inflammation are associated with skeletal muscle atrophy. Because the activation of toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 induces oxidative stress and inflammation, TLR2 may be directly linked to skeletal muscle atrophy. This study examined the role of TLR2 in skeletal muscle atrophy in wild-type (WT) and TLR2 knockout (KO) mice.