AIM: To study the possibility that yellow wine improves the pathological changes of atherosclerosis in vivo. METHODS: Six weeks old LDL receptor knockout mice (n=48) on a high-fat and L-methionine diet developed plasma hyperhomocysteinemia and atherosclerosis. The animals were randomly divided into yellow wine group, red wine group, ethanol group and control group (n=12 in each group) and were sacrificed after 14 weeks. The levels of plasma lipids and homocysteine in serum were examined. The morphological changes of aorta artery and the atherosclerosis of aorta sinus were observed under microscope. The expression and activation of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) were determined by the method of immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: No significant difference of plasma total cholesterol, triglyceride or high density lipoprotein cholesterol among groups was observed. Plasma homocysteine was significantly decreased in yellow wine group as compared to other three groups (P<0.01). Compared to ethanol and control groups, use of yellow wine and red wine significantly reduced the atherosclerosis lesion area (P<0.01). However, no significant discrepancy between the yellow wine group and red wine group was found. Compared to control group, the expression of MMP-2 in yellow wine group, red wine group and ethanol group decreased by 26.3%, 27.6% (P<0.01) and 5.7% (P>0.05), respectively. The activity of MMP-2 in yellow wine group, red wine group and ethanol group decreased by 31.7%, 32.5% (P<0.01) and 6.7% (P>0.05), respectively. CONCLUSION: Yellow wine and red wine inhibit the expression of MMP-2 and improve the pathologic changes of atherosclerosis, indicating that they have benefic effects on cardiovascular system.

BACKGROUND: Bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol S (BPS) are increasingly used as substitutes for bisphenol A (BPA), an environmental obesogen. However, health effects of BPF and BPS remain unclear. In this study, we evaluated the associations of BPA, BPF, and BPS with obesity in children and adolescents. METHODS: We used data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013 to 2014, a nationally representative study. We included 745 participants aged 6 to 17 years old. General obesity was defined based on the 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention body mass index-for-age growth charts for the United States. Abdominal obesity was defined as waist-to-height ratio ≥0.5. RESULTS: After adjustment for demographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors, and urinary creatinine levels, the odds ratio of general obesity comparing the highest with lowest quartile of urinary bisphenol levels was 1.74 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.92 to 3.31) for BPA, 1.54 (95% CI, 1.02 to 2.32) for BPF, and 1.36 (95% CI, 0.53 to 3.51) for BPS. Moreover, the associations were stronger in boys than in girls for BPA and BPF. Similar results were observed for abdominal obesity. CONCLUSION: This study for the first time showed that exposure to BPF, a commonly used substitute for BPA, was positively associated with higher risk of obesity in children and adolescents. The association of BPA and BPF with general and abdominal obesity was primarily observed in boys, suggesting a possible sex difference. Further investigations on the underlying mechanisms are needed.
Adolescent ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Child ; Creatinine ; Female ; Growth Charts ; Humans ; Life Style ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Odds Ratio ; Sex Characteristics ; United States

OBJECTIVEAlpha-2 macroglobulin (alpha2M) is a proteinase inhibitor found in association with senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Also alpha2M has been implicated in several pathophysiological processes in AD. In view of the recent contradictory reports on the relationship between AD and a common polymorphism I1000V in A2M gene, the present authors studied a relatively large sample, determined the genotype of the I1000V polymorphism in A2M gene in sporadic AD patients and age-matched controls with normal cognition, and examined the possible association of the polymorphism with AD.

METHODSGenotypes of A2M and apolipoprotein E (apoE) were detected by polymerase chain reaction combined with restriction fragment length polymorphism in 257 patients and 242 controls in Guangzhou, and 112 patients and 113 controls in Chengdu.

RESULTSThe 1000Val allele frequencies in the merged AD and control groups were 7.7% and 8.7%, respectively. The differences of allelic and genotypic frequencies between the patients and control subjects were not statistically significant, even after stratification by apoE epsilon4 status or by age-of-onset of the disease.

CONCLUSIONThe results of this study revealed no association between the I1000V polymorphism of A2M and Chinese sporadic AD in Guangzhou and Chengdu.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Alzheimer Disease ; ethnology ; genetics ; Apolipoproteins E ; genetics ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; China ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; alpha-Macroglobulins ; genetics