Associations of Dynapenic Obesity and Sarcopenic Obesity with the Risk of Complications in COVID-19.

Ageing is associated with changes in body composition, such as low muscle mass (sarcopenia), decreased grip strength or physical function (dynapenia), and accumulation of fat mass. When the accumulation of fat mass synergistically accompanies low muscle mass or reduced grip strength, it results in sarcopenic obesity and dynapenic obesity, respectively. These types of obesity contribute to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality in the elderly, which could increase the damage caused by COVID-19. In this review, we associated factors that could generate a higher risk of COVID-19 complications in dynapenic obesity and sarcopenic obesity. For example, skeletal muscle regulates the expression of inflammatory cytokines and supports metabolic stress in pulmonary disease; hence, the presence of dynapenic obesity or sarcopenic obesity could be related to a poor prognosis in COVID-19 patients.

Increased O-GlcNAcylation promotes IGF-1 receptor/PhosphatidyI Inositol-3 kinase/Akt pathway in cervical cancer cells.

O-linked ß-N-acetylglucosaminylation (O-GlcNAcylation) is a reversible post-translational modification on serine and threonine residues of cytosolic, nuclear and mitochondrial proteins. O-GlcNAcylation level is regulated by OGT (O-GlcNAc transferase), which adds GlcNAc on proteins, and OGA (O-GlcNAcase), which removes it. Abnormal level of protein O-GlcNAcylation has been observed in numerous cancer cell types, including cervical cancer cells. In the present study, we have evaluated the effect of increasing protein O-GlcNAcylation on cervical cancer-derived CaSki cells. We observed that pharmacological enhancement of protein O-GlcNAcylation by Thiamet G (an inhibitor of OGA) and glucosamine (which provides UDP-GlcNAc substrate to OGT) increases CaSki cells proliferation, migration and survival. Moreover, we showed that increased O-GlcNAcylation promotes IGF-1 receptor (IGF1R) autophosphorylation, possibly through inhibition of protein tyrosine-phosphatase 1B activity. This was associated with increased IGF-1-induced phosphatidyl-Inositol 3-phosphate production at the plasma membrane and increased Akt activation in CaSki cells. Finally, we showed that protein O-GlcNAcylation and Akt phosphorylation levels were higher in human cervical cancer samples compared to healthy cervix tissues, and a highly positive correlation was observed between O-GlcNAcylation level and Akt phosphorylation in theses tissues. Together, our results indicate that increased O-GlcNAcylation, by activating IGF1R/ Phosphatidyl inositol 3-Kinase (PI-3K)/Akt signaling, may participate in cervical cancer cell growth and proliferation.

Low back pain in athletes can be controlled with acupuncture by a catecholaminergic pathway: clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Activation of the sympathetic nervous system attenuates inflammation via catecholamines. Recent evidence has shown that electroacupuncture (EA) activates neuronal networks involved in the release of dopamine and norepinephrine that control systemic inflammation. In muscle, catecholamines are related to cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). This signaling molecule has been implicated in recovery from sustained contractile activity, which may induce muscular pain, such as that which occurs during low back pain (LBP). OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to evaluate the effects of EA used for the control of LBP on the activation of the sympathetic nervous system in a randomized controlled clinical trial in athletes. METHODS: Two groups of athletes with acute or chronic low back pain were studied. EA, sham EA and pharmacological treatment (diclofenac sodium) were evaluated. The outcome measures included a pain score represented by a visual analogue scale (VAS) and serum levels of catecholamines quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, blood was collected into chilled heparin tubes, placed in 96-well cell culture plates and incubated with an equal volume of Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI) medium, with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) alone or with catecholamines. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels in the supernatants were analyzed. RESULTS: The results indicated that the initial pain ratings did not differ between the groups analyzed. EA induced epinephrine secretion but not norepinephrine or dopamine secretion. Although EA and pharmacological treatment did not differ in terms of pain relief, in vitro epinephrine and norepinephrine reduced TNF-α production in response to LPS stimuli. CONCLUSION: EA activates the sympathetic nervous system and induces the release of epinephrine, which could ameliorate inflammation and protect muscular tissue in addition to relieving pain.

Análisis descriptivo de tamaño, forma y disposición de las virutas dentinarias producidas por la instrumentación manual y por diferentes sistemas de instrumentación mecanizada / A descriptive analyisis of the size, shape and disposition of dentin chips produced by manual instrumentation and different mechanical instrumentation systems

Objetivo: evaluar "ex vivo" el tamaño, la forma y la disposición de las virutas dentinarias generadas por la instrumentación manual y por distintos sistemas mecanizados de preparación endodóntica. Materiales y métodos: se utilizaron 25 dientes humanos unirradiculares, con ápice maduroy un único conducto radicular. Luego de realizar la apertura coronaria de forma convencional, se determinó la longitud de trabajo de cada diente mediante la introducción de una lima tipo K Nº 10 en el conducto radicular hasta visualizarla en el foramen apical. A la medida obtenida se le restaron 3 mm y se seccionnó esa porción apical con un disco de diamante. A continuación, se irrigaron los conductos con una solución de NaOCl al 2,5% y se secaron con conos de papel absorbente. Los especímenes fueron divididos aleatoriamente en cinco grupos de 5 dientes, y para cada grupo se usó un sistema de instrumentación diferente: grupo 1, HyFlex CM 40/0.04 (Coltene ENDO, Ohio, Estados Unidos); grupo 2, WaveOne Large (Dentsply-Maillefer, Ballaigues, Suiza); grupo 3, ProTaper Next X4 (Dentsply-Maillefer); grupo 4, lima manual tipo K Nº 40 (Dentsply-Maillefer); grupo 5, Reciproc R40 (VDW, Munich, Alemania). Cada uno de los dientes fue insertado hasta su tercio cervical en la tapa de un tubo Eppendorf, a fin de recolectar las partículas de dentina producidas durante la instrumentación. Se seleccionaron, de manera aleatoria, dos tubos con muestras por cada grupo de estudio. A continuación, cada muestra se colocó en un portaobjetos y se observó en un microscopio Leica DM2000 (Leica Microsystems, Wetzlar, Alemania) a fin de evaluar tamaño, forma y disposición de las partículas de dentina obtenidas. Resultados: las partículas de dentina presentaron tamaños variables; la de mayor tamaño fue de 112 um x 35 um; la de menor tamaño, de 23 um x 10 um. La forma que predominó fue la rectangular. En general, la disposición fue regular, excepto en el caso de la instrumentación manual con limas tipo K.

Insulin signaling controls the expression of O-GlcNAc transferase and its interaction with lipid microdomains.

Lipid microdomains (rafts) are cholesterol-enriched dynamic ordered lipid domains belonging to cell membranes involved in diverse cellular functions, including signal transduction, membrane trafficking, and infection. Many studies have reported relationships between insulin signaling and lipid rafts. Likewise, links between insulin signaling and O-GlcNAcylation have also been described. However, the potential connection between O-GlcNAc and raft dynamics remains unexplored. Here we show that O-GlcNAc and the enzyme that creates this modification, O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT), are localized in rafts. On insulin stimulation, we observe time-dependent increases in OGT expression and localization within rafts. We show that these processes depend on activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway. Inhibition of OGT does not significantly affect cholesterol synthesis and raft building but decreases insulin receptor expression and PI3K and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway activation. Taken together, these findings indicate that O-GlcNAcylation, lipid rafts, and signaling pathways are spatiotemporally coordinated to enable fundamental cellular functions.