Min Jeong Shin

Weight loss effect on inflammation and LDL oxidation in metabolically healthy but obese (MHO) individuals: Low inflammation and LDL oxidation in MHO women

Objective:Recently, a subtype of obesity characterized as a metabolically healthy but obese (MHO) individual has been identified. However, limited data are available on these MHO individuals’ metabolic and inflammatory profiles, and the effect of weight loss on these profiles. We investigated metabolic and inflammatory markers in MHO women to determine the effects of a 12-week weight loss on those markers.Subjects:One hundred and twenty-nine overweight-obese Korean women participated for 12 weeks in a clinical intervention study involving a 300u2009kcal/day intake reduction. The subjects were divided into two groups: MHO and metabolically abnormal obese (MAO) individuals.Methods:Computed tomography was performed. C-reactive protein (CRP), interkeukin-6 (IL-6) and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL), as well as blood lipids, glucose and insulin concentrations were determined at baseline and after weight loss.Results:At baseline, plasma CRP (P<0.001), IL-6 (P<0.05) and oxidized LDL (P<0.001) levels were significantly lower in the MHO group than in the MAO group. Visceral fat at L1 (P<0.005) and visceral fat at L4 (P<0.001) were significantly lower in the MHO group than in the MAO group. The treatment induced weight loss averaging 3.11% of initial body weight, and the degree of weight loss between the two groups was similar. Visceral fat at L1 and L4 was reduced from its initial values by 3.2 and 5.4%, respectively, after weight loss. The levels of CRP (P<0.05) and oxidized LDL (P<0.01) were significantly reduced in the MAO group after the 12-week weight loss, whereas these effects were not seen in the MHO group.Conclusions:Our results showed that MHO individuals exhibited lower visceral fat accumulation and more favorable metabolic and inflammatory states than MAO individuals. After a 12-week weight loss program, significant reductions in blood lipids, CRP and oxidized LDL levels were observed in MAO individuals. However, there was no measurable effect of weight loss on lipid profiles and inflammation in MHO individuals, indicating differing effects of weight loss on these markers between MAO and MHO groups.

Relation Between Red Cell Distribution Width With Echocardiographic Parameters in Patients With Acute Heart Failure

BACKGROUNDnRed cell distribution width (RDW) has recently been discovered to be a novel prognostic marker in patients with heart failure. However, the relation between RDW and echocardiographic parameters in acute heart failure (AHF) has not been studied.nnnMETHODS AND RESULTSnWe analyzed laboratory findings including RDW, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and echocardiographic parameters in 100 patients with AHF. The mean RDW was 14.2 +/- 2.0% and median NT-proBNP was 5183 pg/mL. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 33.1 +/- 14.5% and early mitral inflow velocity to early diastolic mitral annular velocity (E/E), was 21.2 +/- 9.4. When the RDW was considered in tertile categories, the highest tertile group (> 14.5%) had higher E/E (P < .001) and higher NT-proBNP (P = .02) than the lowest tertile group (< 13.2%). In multiple linear regression analysis, RDW was independently correlated with E/E even after adjustment of other risk factors (beta-coefficient 0.431, P = .001). The optimal cutoff value of RDW for predicting E/E > 15, suggesting elevated left ventricular filling pressure (LVFP) was 13.45% (area under the curve 0.633, P < .05). An additive power of RDW with NT-proBNP for predicting E/E > 15 was found in logistic regression analysis (P = .038).nnnCONCLUSIONSnWe found a novel relation between higher levels of RDW and elevated E/E in patients with AHF. This novel finding raises the possibility that a simple marker, RDW may be associated with elevated LVFP in patients with AHF.

The association of SNP276G>T at adiponectin gene with circulating adiponectin and insulin resistance in response to mild weight loss

Objective:The purpose of this study was to determine whether common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the adiponectin (ADIPOQ) locus influence changes in circulating adiponectin and the features of insulin resistance in response to a weight loss intervention.Subjects:In total, 294 nondiabetic/overweight–obese Koreans participated in a clinical intervention study lasting 12 weeks involving a caloric reduction of −300kcal/day.Methods:Plasma adiponectin, blood lipids, glucose and insulin concentrations were measured at baseline and after weight loss. Insulin resistance was estimated by homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) derived from fasting glucose and insulin concentrations. We genotyped for three SNPs, 45T>G, 276G>T and −11377C>G.Results:At baseline, HOMA-IR was significantly higher in GG homozygotes than in carriers of the T allele at SNP276G>T of the adiponectin gene (P<0.05). With regard to SNP45T>G and SNP −11377C>G, we did not find any genotype related differences in baseline levels of HOMA-IR and adiponectin. In the 45/276 haplotype test, homozygous for the TG haplotype had significantly lower concentrations of plasma adiponectin (P<0.05). After the 12-week weight loss intervention, the significant decreases in HOMA-IR (P<0.001) and increases in adiponectin (P<0.01) were observed in GG homozygotes at SNP276, which were not shown in carriers of the T allele. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in the decreases in HOMA-IR between the GG homozygotes and carriers of the T allele at SNP276 (P<0.05). Regarding SNP45T>G and SNP −11377C>G, there was no association between SNP45T>G and SNP −11377C>G and decreases in HOMA-IR. In the 45/276 haplotype test, there was a significant difference in changes of adiponectin levels among those with different haplotype combinations (P<0.05).Conclusion:The SNP276G>T of the ADIPOQ gene is associated with different responses of circulating adiponectin and insulin resistance to mild weight loss in overweight-obese subjects.

Micellar phytosterols effectively reduce cholesterol absorption at low doses

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of micellar phytosterols on cholesterol absorption in humans. Methods: 24 healthy adults (mean age 37 years, 16 women and 8 men) underwent four cholesterol-absorption tests to compare the effects of micellar phytosterols supplement containing 500, 300, 200 mg phytosterols and placebo on cholesterol absorption in a cross-over design. Individual absorption tests were separated by 2 weeks. Using the single oral isotope method, inhibition of cholesterol absorption was determined by gas-chromatography mass spectrometry measurement of the differences in plasma hexadeuterated cholesterol enrichment 4 days after test meals with or without phytosterols. Each test meal provided 500 kcal and 89 mg cholesterol including 40 mg tracer cholesterol. We used a general linear mixed model with SAS to test the significance of treatment effect. Results: Micellar phytosterols had a significant overall effect on cholesterol absorption (p = 0.0002), reduced cholesterol absorption by 23.3% at a dose of 300 mg phytosterols (p = 0.0004) and by 32.0% at a dose of 500 mg phytosterols (p = 0.0001) compared with the placebo. The effect of 200 mg treatment did not reach statistical significance but there was a tendency (p = 0.052). Conclusion: Water-dispersible, micellar phytosterols reduced cholesterol absorption effectively at very low doses.

The cholesterol-lowering effect of plant sterol-containing beverage in hypercholesterolemic subjects with low cholesterol intake

We investigated the effect of a beverage containing plant sterols on serum concentrations of triacylglycerol and cholesterol of hypercholesterolemic subjects that consume a low cholesterol diet. Fifty three hypercholesterolemic subjects (fasting LDL-cholesterol > 130 mg/dl) were fed a placebo beverage for 4 weeks followed by feeding a test beverage containing plant sterols for 8 weeks in a single-blind, randomized cross-over study. The subjects were instructed to maintain the same amount of dietary intake of fat and cholesterol during the study. After 4 weeks of treatment with a beverage containing of 1.6 g/d of plant sterols, subjects whose concentrations of LDL-cholesterol did not decrease by 15% received 3.2 g/d of plant sterols. The total study population who completed the whole protocol was 45 subjects (15 males, 30 females, average age 56). At baseline, the average dietary daily intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol were relatively low with 11.12 g and 135.2 mg, respectively. After 8 week treatment with plant sterols, serum concentrations of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were decreased significantly by 4.38% (p < 0.05), 8.28% (p < 0.05) respectively. However, concentrations of HDL-cholesterol and triacylglycerol did not change significantly. We conclude that a beverage containing plant sterols decrease serum total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol concentrations significantly in subjects with relatively low dietary cholesterol intake.

Relationship between Insulin Resistance and Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidant Vitamins in Hypercholesterolemic Patients

Background: Several studies have reported that insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia increased lipid peroxidation, suggesting the linking to each other. We investigated the relationships between insulin resistance index HOMA-IR and lipid peroxidation, plasma antioxidant status in non-diabetic, hypercholesterolemic patients. Methods: We measured the urinary excretion of 8-epi-prostaglandin F2α(PGF2α) levels as a measure of lipid peroxidation in vivo, total radical trapping antioxidant potential (TRAP) and fat-soluble antioxidant vitamins in 76 non-diabetic subjects with hypercholesterolemia (mean age 59 years, 25 males and 51 females). Insulin resistance was evaluated by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) derived from fasting glucose and insulin concentrations. Results: HOMA-IR was positively correlated with the urinary excretion of PGF2α (r = 0.222, p < 0.05) and negatively correlated with the TRAP (r = –0.211, p < 0.05) in total subjects. Furthermore, there were significant inverse relationships between HOMA-IR and lipid corrected fat-soluble vitamins such as β-carotene (r = –0.297, p < 0.01) and γ-tocopherol (r = –0.243, p < 0.05) and also significant inverse relation was found between lipid corrected β-carotene and the urinary PGF2αexcretion (r = –0.205, p < 0.05). When total subjects were divided into three groups according to tertiles of HOMA-IR, significant differences in urinary PGF2αexcretion (p < 0.05) and lipid corrected β-carotene (p < 0.005) among the three groups were observed. The highest HOMA-IR group had the higher levels of urinary PGF2αexcretion and lower levels of plasma β-carotene compared with the lowest HOMA-IR group. Conclusion: Our data showed that the insulin resistance of hypercholesterolemic patients increased oxidative stress and negatively influenced plasma antioxidant system. These results provide evidence in understanding mechanism linking insulin resistance and oxidative stress accompanied by reduced antioxidant system.

Plasma levels of leptin are associated with the plasma levels of LDL conjugated dienes in children.

Background: Plasma leptin has been suggested to be involved in the proatherogenic process by increasing oxidative stress. We investigated the relationship between leptin and plasma conjugated diene formation, a measure of LDL oxidation in vivo in schoolchildren. Methods: We measured blood lipid profiles, plasma antioxidant vitamins, leptin and diene conjugation in LDL of 118 Korean children (35 overweight-obese vs. 83 normal weight children). Results: The overweight-obese children showed significantly higher levels of leptin (p < 0.0001), conjugated dienes (p = 0.02), total cholesterol (p < 0.05), triglyceride (p < 0.005) and LDL cholesterol (p < 0.01) and a significantly lower level of plasma lycopene (p < 0.0001) compared with the normal weight children. When all the subjects were classified into the three groups by tertiles of leptin levels, significant differences in circulating conjugated dienes (p < 0.05), lipid-corrected lycopene (p < 0.05), total cholesterol (p < 0.05), triglyceride (p < 0.05) and LDL cholesterol (p < 0.05) were found among the three groups. Conclusion: Our results showed that leptin was positively associated with the LDL conjugated diene formation, which might be related to the proatherogenic process in schoolchildren.

The growth of GaN on the metallic compound graphite substrate by HVPE

The GaN layer was typical III-V nitride semiconductor and was grown on the sapphire substrate which cheap and convenient. However, sapphire substrate is non-conductivity, low thermal conductivity and has large lattice mismatch with the GaN layer. In this paper, the poly GaN epilayer was grown by HVPE on the metallic compound graphite substrate with good heat dissipation, high thermal and electrical conductivity. We tried to observe the growth mechanism of the GaN epilayer grown on the amorphous metallic compound graphite substrate. The HCl and gas were flowed to grow the GaN epilayer. The temperature of source zone and growth zone in the HVPE system was set at and , respectively. The GaN epilayer grown on the metallic compound graphite substrate was observed by SEM, EDS, XRD measurement.

The associations between serum leptin, adiponectin and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in hypercholesterolemic patients

We examined the associations between adiponectin or leptin and serum ICAM-1 levels in seventy-six hypercholesterolemic patients (mean age 59 yrs, 25 males and 51 females, LDL-cholesterol>=130mg/dL at screening). Blood lipid profiles and HOMA-IR derived from fasting glucose and insulin concentrations were determined. Serum levels of adiponectin, leptin and ICAM-1 were analyzed using ELISA. The results showed that serum levels of leptin were positively associated with serum levels of ICAM-1 independent of age, sex and BMI (r =0.392, p<0.001). Serum levels of adiponectin were negatively associated with serum levels of ICAM-1 independent of age, sex and BMI (r =-0.343, p<0.005). Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis showed that serum leptin was an independent factor to be associated with serum ICAM-1 levels after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, alcohol intake, smoking status, blood lipids such as total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol and HOMA-IR (p<0.001). With respect to adiponectin, its association with serum ICAM-1 was attenuated but still significant when further adjustments were made for age, sex, BMI, alcohol intake, smoking status, blood lipids such as total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol and HOMA-IR (p<0.005). In conclusion, this study suggests that adiponectin and leptin are associated with endothelial derived inflammation.

Association of apo E polymorphism with variations in lipid and small dense LDL in koreans with alow fat intake

Abstract We investigated whether apo E polymorphism contributes to the variations in blood lipid profile, apolipoprotein B and small dense LDL in 92 clinically healthy Korean subjects who traditionally consume a low fat and low cholesterol diet (40 males, 52 females, aged 24-60). Body weight, height, waist and hip circumference were measured. Body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip ratio (WHR) were calculated. Dietary intake was assessed by using a semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire. Alleles ϵ3, ϵ2 and ϵ4 showed relative frequencies of 72.8%, 7.6%, and 19.6%, respectively, in the subjects. In order to estimate the independent effects of alleles ϵ2 and ϵ4, as compared with ϵ3 homozygosity, on lipid and apolipoprotein parameters, multiple linear regression was performed after adjustment for confounding variables such as age, gender, BMI, WHR, smoking and alcohol consumption. Apo E polymorphism was associated with variations in the serum concentrations of LDL-cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and concentration of LDLIII (d 1.044 – 1.063 g/ml), and was higher in the allele ϵ4 than ϵ3 homozygosity. Moreover, the allele ϵ4 significantly increased the concentration of LDLIII even after adjustment for the serum concentration of triacylglycerol. The allele ϵ2 did not show any significant effects on lipid or apolipoprotein concentrations. Our results showed that the apo E4 isoform was related to higher levels of LDL-cholesterol and small dense LDL in Koreans who are exposed to a low fat, carbohydrate rich diet.