Age increases MCP-1 level in association with bariatric surgery operating time and metabolic risk severity.

OBJECTIVE: Assess the role of inflammation on operating time in younger vs. older bariatric surgery patients. METHODS: Fifty-five younger (F: 46, Age: 34.9 ± 4.0 years, body mass index [BMI]: 48.2 ± 1.0 kg m-2) and 48 older (F: 34, Age: 57.0 ± 5.1 years, BMI: 46.8 ± 1.0 kg m-2) adults were studied prior to surgery. Blood pressure, glycaemic control (fasting glucose/insulin, HbA1c), lipids (high-density lipoprotein and triglycerides) and inflammation (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 [MCP-1]) were assessed. Metabolic risk severity z-scores were calculated from clinical outcomes. Omental adipose biopsies were collected at surgery for MCP-1 protein analysis. Operating time was used to characterize surgical difficulty. RESULTS: Older vs. younger adults had higher HbA1c (P = 0.03). There was no difference in BMI, lipids, metabolic risk severity or insulin between groups, but operating time was longer in older vs. younger individuals (P = 0.04). Circulating MCP-1 was also elevated in older vs. younger adults (P = 0.04) independent of HbA1c, although this was not explained by omental fat. Nevertheless, serum MCP-1 was associated with increased metabolic risk severity (R = 0.27, P = 0.01). In addition, operating time was linked to HbA1c (R = 0.30, P = 0.01) and omental MCP-1 protein (R = 0.31, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: MCP-1 is associated with longer operating time and increased metabolic risk severity in older bariatric patients independent of glycaemic control. Pre-operative treatment of inflammation may be required to enhance surgery effectiveness.

Regulation of gene transcription in the epididymis.

The epididymis exhibits region-specific as well as cell-specific patterns of gene expression within the epithelium. The spatial and temporal patterns of gene expression originate during development and are critical to the formation and maintenance of a fully functional epididymis. Despite the number of mechanisms reported to contribute to the regulation of eukaryotic gene expression, little is known about the specific mechanisms involved in the control of epididymal gene expression. This review will outline some of the cis-DNA elements and associated transcription factors that have been identified in the epididymis, in addition to discussing the potential role of co-regulator molecules and changes in chromatin structure as critical control points of gene expression. Although gene expression can be controlled at several points, discussion will focus on gene regulation at the transcriptional level. The role of post-transcriptional control, with particular attention to mRNA stability, will also be discussed.