High glucose-induced injury in human umbilical vein endothelial cells is alleviated by vitamin D supplementation through downregulation of TIPE1.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) and its associated vascular complications have become a worldwide health concern. The effects and mechanism of vitamin D supplementation on endothelial function under high glucose condition remain elusive. METHODS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with 35 mM glucose, then 100 nM vitamin D were added. Transwell migration assay, CCK-8, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, autophagy flux and transmission electric microscope were performed. RESULTS: Vitamin D reduced apoptosis, promoted migration and enhanced viability of HUVECs, decreased TIPE1 (Tumor necrosis factor-α-induced protein 8-like 1) under high glucose conditions. Overexpression of TIPE1 reverses the effects of vitamin D by increasing ROS production, inflammation, cell apoptosis, and suppressing autophagy, cell migration and viability. And vitamin D negatively correlated with TIPE1 mRNA level in DM patients. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D reverses the harmful effects of high glucose on HUVECs by reducing TIPE1 expression. And vitamin D supplementation could help to alleviate high glucose-induced injury in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with microvascular complications.

Ultrasound-guided microwave ablation in the treatment of recurrent primary hyperparathyroidism in a patient with MEN1: a case report.

Background: Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is an inherited endocrine syndrome caused by the mutation in the tumor suppressor gene MEN1. The recurrence rate of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) in patients with MEN1 after parathyroidectomy remains high, and the management of recurrent hyperparathyroidism is still challenging. Case presentation: We reported a 44-year-old woman with MEN1 combined with PHPT who was diagnosed through genetic screening of the patient and her family members. After parathyroidectomy to remove one parathyroid gland, the patient suffered from persistent high levels of serum calcium and parathyroid hormone, which returned to normal at up to 8 months after ultrasound-guided microwave ablation (MWA) for bilateral parathyroid glands, suggesting an acceptable short-term prognosis. Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided MWA for parathyroid nodules may be an effective therapeutic strategy for recurrent PHPT in MEN1 patients.

Impaired Glucose Metabolism in Young Offspring of Female Rats with Hypothyroidism.

PURPOSE: Because thyroid hormones from the maternal thyroid glands are known to influence the growth, development, and metabolic functioning of offspring, we used a rat model to preliminarily investigate the effects of maternal hypothyroidism on glucose metabolism, pancreas cell proliferation, and insulin production in young male offspring and the possible underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Female rats were divided into a maternal hypothyroidism (MH) group, which received water containing 0.02% 6-propyl-2-thiouracil before and during pregnancy to induce hypothyroidism, and a control group which consumed tap water. RESULTS: Our results showed that there were no differences of islets structure between the offspring from the two groups, but glucose metabolism was impaired with higher plasma glucose concentrations at 0 and 15 min in the OGTT in 8-week-old offspring of the MH group. From birth to 8 weeks, pancreatic TRß1 and TRß2 mRNA level declined significantly in MH offspring, accompanied by decreased Ki67 and insulin mRNA expression. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal hypothyroidism results in impaired pancreatic insulin synthesis and pancreatic cell proliferation in neonatal offspring and subsequent glucose intolerance in young offspring, which may be related to TRß gene downregulation in the pancreas.

Increased serum gamma-glutamyltransferase levels are associated with ventricular instability in type 2 diabetes.

The purpose of our study is to examine the association between serum GGT levels and ventricular instability in Chinese patients with T2DM. We conducted a cross-sectional, community-based study in Nanjing, China from June to November 2011. Among 10,050 patients aged 40-79 years, we enrolled 2444 with pre-diabetes, 2496 with T2DM, and 4521 without diabetes (non-diabetes). Electrocardiograms were performed to measure the QT interval corrected for heart rate (QTc) and QT interval dispersion (QTd). Serum GGT levels, metabolic parameters, body mass index, and blood pressure were also measured. We found that there were no significant associations of increased QTc/QTd with serum GGT levels in participants with pre-existing T2DM and non-diabetes, after adjusting for age, duration of diabetes, and metabolic parameters. Even after adjustment, higher risks of QTc ≥ 440 ms/√s and QTd ≥ 58 ms were found in participants with serum GGT levels ≥49 U/L compared with those with <15 U/L in the pre-diabetes (QTc: OR 1.96, 95 % CI 1.23-2.47; QTd: OR 1.34, 95 % CI 1.07-1.94) and newly diagnosed T2DM (QTc: OR 2.01, 95 % CI 1.39-2.51; QTd: OR 1.53, 95 % CI 1.03-1.99) groups. We conclude that Increased serum GGT levels are associated with some markers of ventricular repolarization abnormalities in the early stage of T2DM.

The associations of bedtime, nocturnal, and daytime sleep duration with bone mineral density in pre- and post-menopausal women.

To explore the association of sleep patterns with bone mineral density (BMD) in pre- and post-menopausal women, we used a questionnaire to evaluate the sleep patterns and performed calcaneal quantitative ultrasound to estimate BMD, in 6,510 women aged 40 years or older, from June to November 2011 in Nanjing City. We found a 1.7-fold risk of osteoporosis in post-menopausalwomen with bedtime of ≥0:00 am (OR = 1.69, 95 % CI 1.39-2.13), compared to those whose bedtime of <0:00 am. post-menopausalwomen with excessive total sleep (>10 h vs. 8-9 h, OR = 1.54, 95 % CI 1.05-2.02) were shown to have a higher risk of osteoporosis, however, this high risk was not detected in those with excessive nocturnal sleep (>10 h vs. 8-9 h, OR = 0.85, 95 % CI 0.62-1.30). By contrast, post-menopausalwomen with inadequate nocturnal sleep (≤7 h vs. 8-9 h, OR = 1.68, 95 % CI 1.32-2.75), excessive daytime sleep (≥180 min vs. 0 min, OR = 1.52, 95 % CI 1.08-2.13), and noontime nap (>60 min vs. 0 min: OR = 1.37, 95 % CI 1.06-1.76) were demonstrated to have higher risk of bone loss. Nevertheless, these associations were not found in premenopausal women. We conclude that delayed bedtime, nocturnal sleep deprivation, excessive daytime sleep, and noontime nap, but not reduced total sleep duration, could promote bone loss in post-menopausalwomen, which might be related to circadian rhythm disturbances. However, they have limited influences to BMD in women who were still in menstruating. Mechanism responsible for the phenomena warrants further investigation.

Serum complement C3 has a stronger association with insulin resistance than high sensitive C-reactive protein in non-diabetic Chinese.

OBJECTIVE: To compare association of complement C3 (C3) and high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) with insulin resistance. SUBJECTS: A total of 587 non-diabetic Chinese aged 20-80 years were recruited. METHODS: Complement C3 and hs-CRP were measured by the rate nephelometry method and the particle enhanced immunoturbidimetric method, respectively, and their relationship to insulin resistance was assessed. Insulin resistance was defined as the upper quartile of HOMA2-IR. RESULTS: Complement C3 and hs-CRP were significantly higher in subjects with insulin resistance than those without. Complement C3 was the second strongest determinant of insulin in the study (ß = 0.34, P < 0.001). By regression analysis, C3 was significantly associated with insulin resistance (OR = 3.78, P < 0.05), independent of waist circumference and other metabolic risk factors; however, hs-CRP was not. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated the best model predicting insulin resistance was one that included C3 and waist circumference (AUC = 0.741, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Compared to hs-CRP, serum C3 might be a better inflammatory marker of insulin resistance in the non-diabetic Chinese population.

The ApoB/ApoA1 ratio is associated with metabolic syndrome and its components in a Chinese population.

In this study, we assessed whether the apolipoprotein B/apolipoprotein A1 ratio (ApoB/ApoA1) is related to metabolic syndrome (MS) and its components in an urban Chinese population. A total of 709 community residents were enrolled. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the International Diabetes Federation definition in 2005. The high ApoB/ApoA1 group was defined as the gender-specific upper quartile of the ApoB/ApoA1 ratio. Insulin resistance (IR) was defined as the upper quartile of Homa-IR. The ApoB/ApoA1 ratio was significantly higher in subjects with MS, compared to those without (p < 0.05). After adjusting for age and gender, subjects with MS (odds ratio [OR] = 3.5) or IR (OR = 2.3) were more likely to be in the high ApoB/ApoA1 group. The ApoB/ApoA1 ratio increased significantly as the number of MS components increased (p < 0.05). Taken together, these data demonstrate that the ApoB/ApoA1 ratio is strongly associated with MS and its components in an urban Chinese population.