Serum selenium and fasting blood glucose: a cross-sectional study in women of different menopause status.

BACKGROUND: This cross-sectional study aims to explore whether there exists an interaction between selenium and menopause concerning type 2 diabetes (T2D) prevalence and its related indicators such as fasting blood glucose (FBG) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). METHODS: 150 women aged 35-60 years old were finally analyzed in this study. Multivariate linear or logistic regression modeling was conducted to explore the association of selenium and the prevalence of T2D besides its related indicators. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on menopause status to assess the potential impact on the relationship. RESULTS: In the fully adjusted model, serum selenium was positively associated with FBG (ß: 0.03, CI: 0.01-0.05) and the prevalence of T2D (OR: 1.04, CI: 1.00-1.08). After stratifying the data by menopause status, compared with the postmenopausal women group, as the serum selenium concentrations increased, the FBG concentrations were significantly higher in the premenopausal women group (p for interaction = 0.0020). CONCLUSIONS: The present study found serum selenium was positively associated with FBG and the prevalence of T2D. Furthermore, the relationship between serum selenium and FBG was different in the premenopausal and postmenopausal women. More studies are still needed in the future to verify the relationship as well as to explore the specific mechanisms.

Introduction of Molecular Building Blocks to Improve the Stability of Metal-Organic Frameworks for Efficient Mercury Removal.

With expanding human needs, many heavy metals were mined, smelted, processed, and manufactured for commercialization, which caused serious environmental pollutions. Currently, many adsorption materials are applied in the field of adsorption of heavy metals. Among them, the principle of many mercury adsorbents is based on the interaction between mercury and sulfur. Here, a S-containing metal-organic framework NENU-400 was synthesized for effective mercury extraction. Unfortunately, the skeleton of NENU-400 collapsed easily when exposed to the mercury liquid solution. To improve the stability, a synthetic strategy installing molecular building blocks (MBBs) into the channels was used. Modified by the MBBs, a more stable nanoporous framework was synthesized, which not only exhibits a high capacity of saturation mercury uptake but also shows high selectivity and efficient recyclability.

Genome-wide DNA methylation and gene expression patterns provide insight into polycystic ovary syndrome development.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders in women. However, the epigenetic mechanism involved in PCOS progression remains largely unknown. Here, combining the DNA methylation profiling together with transcriptome analysis, we showed that (i) there were 7929 differentially methylated CpG sites (ß > 0.1, P < 0.05) and 650 differential transcripts (fold change > 1.5, P < 0.005) in PCOS compared to normal ovaries; (ii) 54 genes were identified with methylated levels that were correlated with gene transcription in PCOS; and (iii) there were less hypermethylated sites, but many more hypomethylated sites residing in CpG islands and N_Shore in PCOS. Among these genes, we identified that several significant pathways, including the type I diabetes mellitus pathway, p53 signaling pathway and NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, and some immune and inflammatory diseases may be highly involved in PCOS development. These results suggested that differences in genome-wide DNA methylation and expression patterns exist between PCOS ovaries and normal ovaries; epigenetic mechanisms may in part be responsible for the different gene expression and PCOS phenotype. All of this may improve our understanding of the basic molecular mechanism underlying the development of PCOS.

[Identification and sequence analysis of a novel human leukocyte antigen allele B*54:09].

OBJECTIVE: To identify a novel human leukocyte antigen(HLA) allele in Chinese population. METHODS: HLA typing was carried out with polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific oligonucleotide probes (PCR-SSOP). The HLA-B exons 1-7 of the proband were amplified and the product was cloned using a TOPO TA cloning sequencing kit to separate the two alleles. Both strands of exons 2 and 3 of selected colonies were sequenced. Sequence-based typing (SBT) was used to identify and analyze the difference between the new allele and the closest matching HLA-B allele. RESULTS: HLA typing indicated a SSOP pattern which did not match with known HLA-B alleles. The results of the sequencing suggested the HLA-B alleles of the proband as B*59:01 and a novel allele. The HLA-B exon 3 sequence of the novel allele was different from any known alleles. This allele differs from the closest matching B*54:06 allele by 6 nucleotides, which included nt486 (G to C), nt527 (A to T), nt538 (T to C), nt539 (G to T), nt559 (C to A) and nt560 (T to C) in exon 3, resulting in substitutions of three amino acids including Glu to Val at codon 152, Trp to Leu at codon 156 and Leu to Thr at codon 163. CONCLUSION: A novel HLA-B allele has been identified and has been designated as HLA-B*54:09 by WHO Nomenclature Committee for Factors of the HLA System.

[IL-6 expression in lung of rats subjected to brain ischemia].

OBJECTIVE: To study the expression changes of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the lung of rats with brain ischemia. METHODS: Adult SD rats were divided into sham operation group and brain ischemia lung injury (BILI) group randomly. Focal cerebral ischemia inflammatory lung injury model was developed with intraluminal thread technique. RT-PCR was applied to detect the IL-6 expression level of lung at 24 h after brain ischemia. The IL-6 protein in lung at 48 h after brain ischemia was detected with Western blot. Immunohistochemistry method was used to demonstrate the IL-6 protein location in lung at 72 h after brain ischemia. RESULTS: Increased immunostaining, protein level and mRNA expression for IL-6 were found in lung at investigated time point after brain ischemia. CONCLUSION: IL-6, as a crucial preinflammatory factor, could be related to airway inflammation in rats induced by brain ischemia.