Chronic exposure to high inorganic As levels in drinking water has been related to many diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). The association with low and moderate As levels, however, ...remains controversial and has yet not been studied in European populations.
This study aimed to investigate possible association between As exposure and biomarkers of T2D in Croatian population. Observation recruited 86 adults from Eastern Croatia, where groundwater is contaminated with inorganic As, and 116 adults from Western Croatia, where As levels in drinking water are low. Both populations were divided in patient groups (T2D or prediabetes) and healthy controls. Exposure was assessed by determining total As in blood and urine and As metabolites in urine.
Eastern Croatian population had a significantly higher content of As in urine than Western, whereas the opposite was true for arsenobetain. Total As and As metabolites in urine positively correlated with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and negatively with albuminuria.
This study provides important preliminary data on the levels of As in urine and blood and their association with biomarkers of T2D in Croatian population exposed to low or moderate levels of As through drinking water as a solid basis for further research of the pathophysiological effects of such As exposure on the status and complications of diabetes.
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•This is first study providing data on urinary levels of As species in Croatian population.•Correlation between As in urine and blood with biomarkers of diabetes were investigated.•Higher concentrations of As species in urine were associated with geographical origin.•As levels in urine positively correlated with HbA1c and negatively with albuminuria
Purpose
The effect of acute exhaustive exercise session on skin microvascular reactivity was assessed in professional rowers and sedentary subjects. A potential involvement of altered hemodynamic ...parameters and/or oxidative stress level in the regulation of skin microvascular blood flow by acute exercise were determined.
Methods
Anthropometric, biochemical, and hemodynamic parameters were measured in 18 young healthy sedentary men and 20 professional rowers who underwent a single acute exercise session. Post-occlusive reactive hyperemia (PORH), endothelium-dependent acetylcholine (ACh), and endothelium-independent sodium nitroprusside (SNP) microvascular responses were assessed by laser Doppler flowmetry in skin microcirculation before and after acute exercise. Serum lipid peroxidation products and plasma antioxidant capacity were measured using spectrophotometry.
Results
At baseline, rowers had significantly lower diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate (HR), and higher stroke volume (SV), PORH, and endothelium-dependent vasodilation than sedentary. Acute exercise caused a significant increase in systolic blood pressure, DBP, HR, and SV and a decrease in total peripheral resistance in both groups. Acute exercise induced a significant impairment in PORH and ACh-induced response in rowers, but not in sedentary, whereas the SNP-induced vasodilation was not affected by acute exercise in any group. Antioxidant capacity significantly increased only in sedentary after acute exercise.
Conclusion
Single acute exercise session impaired microvascular reactivity and endothelial function in rowers but not in sedentary, possibly due to (1) more rowing grades and higher exercise intensity achieved by rowers; (2) a higher increase in arterial pressure in rowers than in sedentary men; and (3) a lower antioxidant capacity in rowers.
The effects of consumption of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) enriched hen eggs on endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent vasodilation in microcirculation, and on endothelial ...activation and inflammation were determined in young healthy individuals. Control group (
= 21) ate three regular hen eggs/daily (249 mg n-3 PUFAs/day), and n-3 PUFAs group (
= 19) ate three n-3 PUFAs enriched hen eggs/daily (1053 g n-3 PUFAs/day) for 3 weeks. Skin microvascular blood flow in response to iontophoresis of acetylcholine (AChID; endothelium-dependent) and sodium nitroprusside (SNPID; endothelium-independent) was assessed by laser Doppler flowmetry. Blood pressure (BP), body composition, body fluid status, serum lipid and free fatty acids profile, and inflammatory and endothelial activation markers were measured before and after respective dietary protocol. Results: Serum n-3 PUFAs concentration significantly increased, AChID significantly improved, and SNPID remained unchanged in n-3 PUFAs group, while none was changed in Control group. Interferon-γ (pro-inflammatory) significantly decreased and interleukin-10 (anti-inflammatory) significantly increased in n-3 PUFAs. BP, fat free mass, and total body water significantly decreased, while fat mass, interleukin-17A (pro-inflammatory), interleukin-10 and vascular endothelial growth factor A significantly increased in the Control group. Other measured parameters remained unchanged in both groups. Favorable anti-inflammatory properties of n-3 PUFAs consumption potentially contribute to the improvement of microvascular endothelium-dependent vasodilation in healthy individuals.
The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of enriched hen egg consumption on endothelium-dependent vasodilation (EDV) and the role of cyclooxygenases in EDV in the microcirculation of young ...healthy individuals. This study hypothesizes that Nutri4 eggs will improve endothelial function, which will be manifested by changes in microcirculatory flow measured by a laser Doppler flowmeter (LDF) during reactive hyperemia in response to vascular occlusion, in which
-3 PUFA plays an important role as well as its degradation pathway by cyclooxygenases.
Participants consumed three eggs per day for three weeks: The control group (CTRL,
= 14) consumed regular hen eggs (approximately 0.330 mg of lutein, 1.785 mg of vitamin E, 0.054 mg of selenium and 438 mg of
-3 PUFAs daily) and Nutri4 group (
= 20) consumed enriched eggs (approximately 1.85 mg of lutein, 0.06 mg of selenium, 3.29 mg of vitamin E, and 1026 mg of
-3 PUFAs daily). Skin microvascular blood flow in response to EDV (post-occlusive reactive hyperemia (PORH) and iontophoresis of acetylcholine (AChID)) and sodium nitroprusside (SNPID; endothelium-independent) was assessed by laser Doppler flowmetry before and after dietary protocol and in a separate group of participants who were administered perorally 100 mg of indomethacin before microvascular response assessment. Arterial blood pressure, heart rate, serum lipid, and liver enzymes, anthropometric measurements, protein expression of cyclooxygenase 1 (COX-1), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), neuronal nitric oxide synthases (nNOS), inducible nitric oxide synthases (iNOS), and endothelial nitric oxide synthases (eNOS) were measured before and after dietary protocol.
PORH and AChID were significantly enhanced, and SNPID remained unchanged in the Nutri4 group, while none was changed in the CTRL following a respective diet. PORH decreased after administration of indomethacin in Nutri4 after dietary protocol. Protein expression of COX-2 was significantly higher in the Nutri4 group compared to the CTRL after the dietary protocol.
Consumption of enriched eggs improves microvascular EDV in healthy young subjects. Results suggest an element of
-3 PUFAs metabolites via the cyclooxygenases pathway in enhanced reactive hyperemia.
The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate matrix assisted LASER desorption ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) of blood smear. Integrated light microscope ...and MALDI IT-TOF mass spectrometer, together with a matrix sublimation device, were used for analysis of blood smears coming from healthy male donors. Different blood plasma removal, matrix deposition, and instrumental settings were evaluated using the negative and positive ionization modes while agreement between the light microscopy images and the lateral distributions of cellular marker compounds served as the MSI quality indicator. Red and white blood cells chemical composition was analyzed using the differential
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expression. Five seconds of exposure to ethanol followed by the 5 min of 9-aminoacridine or α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid deposition, together with two sets of instrumental settings, were selected for the MALDI TOF MSI experiments. Application of the thin and transparent matrix layers assured good correspondence between the LASER footprints and the preselected regions of interest. Cellular marker
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signals coincided well with the appropriate cells. A metabolite databases search using the differentially expressed
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produced hits which were consistent with the respective cell types. This study sets the foundations for application of blood smear MALDI TOF MSI in clinical diagnostics and research.
This study aimed to examine whether the oral supplementation of vitamins C and E during a seven-day high salt diet (HS; ~14 g salt/day) prevents microvascular endothelial function impairment and ...changes oxidative status caused by HS diet in 51 (26 women and 25 men) young healthy individuals. Laser Doppler flowmetry measurements demonstrated that skin post-occlusive reactive hyperemia (PORH), and acetylcholine-induced dilation (AChID) were significantly impaired in the HS group, but not in HS+C+E group, while sodium nitroprusside-induced dilation remained unaffected by treatments. Serum oxidative stress markers: Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), 8-iso prostaglandin-F2α, and leukocytes' intracellular hydrogen peroxide (H
O
) production were significantly increased, while ferric-reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) and catalase concentrations were decreased in the HS group. All these parameters remained unaffected by vitamins supplementation. Matrix metalloproteinase 9, antioxidant enzymes Cu/Zn SOD and glutathione peroxidase 1, and leukocytes' intracellular superoxide production remained unchanged after the protocols in both HS and HS+C+E groups. Importantly, multiple regression analysis revealed that FRAP was the most powerful predictor of AChID, while PORH was strongly predicted by both FRAP and renin-angiotensin system activity. Hereby, we demonstrated that oxidative dis-balance has the pivotal role in HS diet-induced impairment of endothelial and microvascular function in healthy individuals which could be prevented by antioxidative vitamins consumption.
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of propolis and bee pollen on selected biochemical blood parameters in broiler chickens. This experimental study was conducted on 200 Ross 308 ...chickens of equally distributed sex, which were divided into five groups (a control group and four experimental groups). Throughout the whole study the control group of chickens was fed the control feed mixture while the feed mixture that was fed to the experimental groups of chickens contained additives (propolis and/or bee pollen, each supplemented separately or in combination in a certain proportion). The results obtained by this study are: significantly lower blood glucose, cholesterol and calcium levels (P < 0.001), as well as significantly lower triglycerides levels (P = 0.002), but also significantly higher sodium and chloride (P < 0.001), phosphorus (P = 0.004) and globulins levels (P = 0.027) in chickens of the experimental groups compared to the chickens of the control group on the 21
day of fattening. Furthermore, this study has found significantly lower blood glucose (P = 0.033) levels and significantly higher levels of total proteins and globulins (P = 0.003), as well as albumins (P = 0.040) in chickens of the experimental groups compared to the chickens of the control group on the 42
day of fattening. It can be concluded that the application of propolis and bee pollen as additives in broiler feeds enables the production of more vital and healthier animals, which significantly improves the fattening of chickens.
This study aimed to test the effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-enriched hen egg consumption on serum lipid and free fatty acid profiles, inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers, ...and microvascular reactivity in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Forty CAD patients participated in this study. Of those, 20 patients had acute CAD (Ac-CAD), and 20 patients had chronic CAD (Ch-CAD). The control group (N = 20) consumed three regular hen eggs/daily (249 mg n-3 PUFAs/day), and the n-3 PUFAs group (N = 20) consumed three n-3 PUFA-enriched hen eggs/daily (1053 g n-3 PUFAs/day) for 3 weeks. Serum n-3 PUFA concentration significantly increased (in all CAD patients), while LDL cholesterol and IL-6 (in Ac-CAD patients), and hsCRP and IL-1a (in all CAD patients) significantly decreased in the n-3 PUFAs group. Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity significantly decreased, and forearm skin microvascular reactivity in response to vascular occlusion (postocclusive reactive hyperemia (PORH)) remained unchanged in both the n-3 PUFAs and control groups in total CAD, Ac-CAD, and Ch-CAD patients. Potentially, n-3 PUFA-enriched hen eggs can change the free fatty acid profile to a more favorable lower n6/n3 ratio, and to exhibit mild anti-inflammatory effects but not to affect microvascular reactivity in CAD patients.
- The aim was to examine whether the postprocedural change in C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen levels was associated with the extent of periprocedural arterial injury caused by endovascular ...treatment (EVT). The study recruited 71 patients undergoing EVT. Eighty-four patients that underwent angiography served as a control group. CRP and fibrinogen were measured at baseline, and at 8, 24 and 48 hours following the procedure. In all experimental group patients, lesion complexity, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) treated segment length, balloon inflation time and stented segment length were recorded. There was significant increase in plasma CRP and fibrinogen levels 48 hours following EVT (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in CRP and fibrinogen levels among different TASC groups. CRP levels were significantly higher in stent subgroup compared to PTA subgroup. Significant positive correlation was found between PTA treated segment length and CRP increase between 8 and 24 hours following EVT (r=0.313, p=0.02), balloon inflation time and CRP increase in the aforementioned time frame (r=0.270, p=0.03), as well as between CRP increase at 8 hours and stented segment length (r=0.535, p=0.01). This study showed that the arterial injury caused by EVT reflected on the level of inflammatory biomarkers.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women, although traditionally, it has been considered as a male dominated disease. Chronic inflammation plays a crucial role in the ...development of insulin resistance, diabetes type 2 and CVD. Since studies on women were scarce, in order to improve diagnosis and treatment of CVD, there is a need to improve understanding of the role of inflammation in the development of CVD in women. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is an inexpensive and widely available marker of inflammation, and has been studied in cardio-metabolic disorders. There is a paucity of data on sex specific differences in the lifetime course of NLR. Men and women differ to each other in sex hormones and characteristics of immune reaction and the expression of CVD. These factors can determine NLR values and their variations along the life course. In particular, menopause in women is a period associated with profound physiological and hormonal changes, and is coincidental with aging. An emergence of CV risk factors with aging, and age-related changes in the immune system, are factors that are associated with an increase in prevalence of CVD in both sexes. The aim of this review is to comprehend the available evidence on this issue, and to discuss sex specific differences in the lifetime course of NLR in the light of immune and inflammation mechanisms.
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