Young women with polycystic ovary syndrome have raised levels of circulating annexin V-positive platelet microparticles.

STUDY QUESTION: Are circulating microparticles (MPs) altered in young women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)? SUMMARY ANSWER: Women with PCOS have elevated concentrations of circulating platelet-derived MPs, which exhibit increased annexin V binding and altered microRNA (miR) profiles compared with healthy volunteers. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Some studies have shown that cardiovascular risk is increased in young women with PCOS but the mechanisms by which this occurs are uncertain. Circulating MPs are elevated in patients with cardiovascular disease but the characteristics of MPs in patients with PCOS are unclear. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: Case-control study comprising 17 women with PCOS (mean ± SD; age 31 ± 7 years, BMI 29 ± 6 kg/m(2)) and 18 healthy volunteers (age 31 ± 6 years, BMI 30 ± 6 kg/m(2)). PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: The study was conducted in a University hospital. Nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and flow cytometry (CD41 platelet, CD11b monocyte, CD144 endothelial) were used to determine MP size, concentration, cellular origin and annexin V positivity (reflecting phosphatidylserine exposure). Fatty acid analysis was performed by gas chromatography and MP miR expression profiles were compared by microarray. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: PCOS subjects showed increased MP concentrations compared with healthy volunteers (mean ± SD; 11.5 ± 5 × 10(12)/ml versus 10.0 ± 4 × 10(12)/ml, respectively; P = 0.03), which correlated with the homeostasis model of insulin resistance (r = 0.53, P = 0.03). This difference was predominantly seen in MPs whose size was in the small exosomal range (<150 nm in diameter, P< 0.05). PCOS patients showed a greater percentage of annexin V(+) MPs compared with healthy volunteers (84 ± 18 versus 74 ± 24%, respectively, P = 0.05) but the cellular origin of MPs, which were predominantly platelet-derived (PCOS: 99 ± 0.9%; controls: 99 ± 2.5%), did not differ. MP fatty acid concentration and composition was similar between groups but 16 miRs were differentially expressed (P < 0.05). LIMITATIONS, REASON FOR CAUTION: Patients with PCOS were classified by the Rotterdam criteria, which describes a less severe metabolic phenotype than other definitions of the syndrome. Our findings may thus not be generalizable to all patients with PCOS. MicroRNA expression analysis was only undertaken in an exploratory subset of the overall study population hence, validation of our findings in a larger cohort is mandatory. Furthermore, miR levels were unaltered for the highly expressed miRs and it is unclear whether differences in the lowly expressed miRs carries pathological relevance. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: This study suggests that women with PCOS have an altered MP profile but further studies are needed to confirm this, to explore the mechanisms by which these alterations develop and to establish whether therapies that improve insulin sensitivity are able to reduce circulating MP concentrations. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS: The study was funded by grants from the Wales Heart Research Institute and Mrs John Nixon Scholarship. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Endemic infection reduces transmission potential of an epidemic parasite during co-infection.

Endemic, low-virulence parasitic infections are common in nature. Such infections may deplete host resources, which in turn could affect the reproduction of other parasites during co-infection. We aimed to determine whether the reproduction, and therefore transmission potential, of an epidemic parasite was limited by energy costs imposed on the host by an endemic infection. Total lipids, triacylglycerols (TAG) and polar lipids were measured in cockroaches (Blattella germanica) that were fed ad libitum, starved or infected with an endemic parasite, Gregarina blattarum. Reproductive output of an epidemic parasite, Steinernema carpocapsae, was then assessed by counting the number of infective stages emerging from these three host groups. We found both starvation and gregarine infection reduced cockroach lipids, mainly through depletion of TAG. Further, both starvation and G. blattarum infection resulted in reduced emergence of nematode transmission stages. This is, to our knowledge, the first study to demonstrate directly that host resource depletion caused by endemic infection could affect epidemic disease transmission. In view of the ubiquity of endemic infections in nature, future studies of epidemic transmission should take greater account of endemic co-infections.

Daphnia magna can tolerate short-term starvation without major changes in lipid metabolism.

Daphnia magna is a common crustacean that is adapted to brief spells of fasting. Lipids are naturally a major component of their diet and are stored as energy reserves. However, there has been some controversy in the literature on the extent to which dietary lipids are used directly for complex lipid formation in Daphnia. We examined lipid metabolism in D. magna by labeling the animals using [1-14C]acetate and then followed the turnover of radiolabeled lipids during a pulse chase. Daphnia were either fed or maintained without food during the chase period. The decrease in radioactivity during the chase was relatively unaffected by feeding, although there were some differences in the distribution of radioactivity between lipid classes or individual FA. The polar lipids, which were four times better labeled than nonpolar lipids, contained the most radioactivity in the zwitterionic phosphoglycerides, PE and PC. Under the experimental conditions, the turnover of the polar membrane lipids was unaffected by feeding. Within nonpolar lipids, TAG accounted for up to about 80% of the label, followed by DAG. Overall, our data show that D. magna is capable of high rates of lipid radiolabeling de novo and, in addition, is able to use--and indeed may be dependent on--some dietary components such as the PUFA linoleate and alpha-linolenate. The results also clearly show that Daphnia is able to tolerate brief spells of fasting (24 h) with very little change to its lipid metabolism.

Further glucosides of lichens' acids from Central Asian lichens.

Eight compounds isolated from an extract of Central Asian lichens comprised new glucosides having murolic, protoconstipatic and allo-murolic acids as the aglycones and a saccharide moiety linked at C-18 made up of four glucoses. The structures were elucidated using extensive spectroscopic analysis (1D and 2D NMR, MS, IR, UV and CD) and by chemical methods.

Glycoside esters from lichens of central Asia.

Ten compounds isolated from the extract of the central Asian lichens comprised new glycosides and glycoside esters having 18R-hydroxy-dihydroalloprotolichesterinic, 18S-hydroxy-dihydroprotolichesterinic and 18S-hydroxy-neodihydroprotolichesterinic acids, as the aglycones and a saccharide moiety linked at C-18 and also at C-21 made by glucose, xylose or rhamnose. The structures were elucidated using extensive spectroscopic analysis (1D and 2D NMR, MS, IR, UV and ORD) and by biochemical methods.

Macrolactone glycosides of three lichen acids from Acarospora gobiensis, a lichen of Central Asia.

The compounds isolated from the extract of Central Asian lichen (Acarospora gobiensis H. Magn.) comprised three new glycosides having 18-hydroxy-dihydroalloprotolichesterinic, 18-hydroxy-neodihydroprotolichesterinic and 18-hydroxy-dihydroprotolichesterinic acids as aglycones and a di- or trisaccharide moiety linked at C-18 and at the carboxylic group. These compounds, called gobienines A-C, were found to be di- or trisacharides forming a macrolactone with the aglycone. The structures were elucidated by using extensive spectroscopic analysis (1D and 2D NMR, MS, IR and ORD) and chemical and enzymatic methods.

Glycosidic compounds of murolic, protoconstipatic and allo-murolic acids from lichens of Central Asia.

Eleven compounds isolated from the extract of the Central Asian lichens comprised eight new glycosides having murolic, protoconstipatic and allo-murolic acids, as the aglycones and a saccharide moiety linked at C-18 made up of one or two sugars (glucose and apiose or rhamnose or xylose or arabinose). The structures were elucidated by using extensive spectroscopic analysis (1D and 2D NMR, MS, IR, UV and CD) and chemical methods.

Effect of copper and lead on lipid metabolism in bryophytes and lichens.

Bryophytes and lichens have a widespread occurrence and can survive under extreme environmental conditions, such as drought, low temperatures, continuous light or prolonged darkness. It has been shown that lipid metabolism is sensitive to both metal response and metal resistance mechanisms in many organisms, including yeast, Silene cucubalus, and in the marine brown algae Fucus spp. and Ascophyllum nodosum. In the present study, the effects of lead and copper on lipid metabolism have been studied in two moss species, Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus and Dicranum scoparium, and also in the lichen Peltigera horizontalis with a cyanobacterial Nostoc photobiont.

Effects of sulfur dioxide on lichen lipids and fatty acids.

Lipids and fatty acids were studied in some lichen species after exposure to 1 ppm of aqueous sulfur dioxide. The changes in lipid composition are specific to the lichen species tested. The exposure of lichens to SO2 resulted in a slight reduction of the total phospholipid content. The amount of betaine lipid diacylglyceryltrimethylhomoserine was increased in Stereocaulon paschale, but the level of this lipid was not changed in Peltigera aphthosa. An increase in fatty acid unsaturation in lichens in response to the effect of SO2 probably has adaptive significance.