The multi-center REACTION study has captured a broad range of data on physical, psychological and metabolic function as well as health status, biochemical and lifestyle information in 259 657 adults from the general population across the China.

We recently showed that forkhead-box class O1 (FoxO1) activation protects against high glucose-induced injury by preventing mitochondrial dysfunction in the rat kidney cortex. In addition, FoxO1 has been reported to mediate putative kinase 1 (PINK1) transcription and promote autophagy in response to mitochondrial oxidative stress in murine cardiomyocytes. In this study, we ascertained whether overexpressing FoxO1 in the kidney cortex reverses preestablished diabetic nephropathy in animal models. The effect of FoxO1 on mitophagy signaling pathways was evaluated in mouse podocytes. In vivo experiments were performed in male KM mice. A mouse model of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetes (T1D) was used, and lentiviral vectors were injected into the kidney cortex to overexpress FoxO1. A mouse podocyte cell line was treated with high concentrations of glucose and genetically modified using lentiviral vectors. We found aberrant mitochondrial morphology and reduced adenosine triphosphate production. These mitochondrial abnormalities were due to decreased mitophagy via reduced phosphatase/tensin homolog on chromosome 10-induced PINK1/Parkin-dependent signaling. FoxO1 upregulation and PINK1/Parkin pathway activation can individually restore injured podocytes in STZ-induced T1D mice. Our results link the antioxidative activity of FoxO1 with PINK1/Parkin-induced mitophagy, indicating a novel role of FoxO1 in diabetic nephropathy.

; for the 4C Study Group IMPORTANCE Whether optimal cardiovascular health metrics may counteract the risk of cardiovascular events among patients with prediabetes or diabetes is unclear. OBJECTIVE To investigate the associations of ideal cardiovascular health metrics (ICVHMs) with subsequent development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among participants with prediabetes or diabetes as compared with participants with normal glucose regulation. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The China Cardiometabolic Disease and Cancer Cohort Study was a nationwide, population-based, prospective cohort study of 20 communities from various geographic regions in China. The study included 111 765 participants who were free from CVD or cancer at baseline. Data were analyzed between 2011 and 2016. EXPOSURES Prediabetes and diabetes were defined according to the American Diabetes Association 2010 criteria. Seven ICVHMs were adapted from the American Heart Association recommendations. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The composite of incident fatal or nonfatal CVD, including cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and hospitalized or treated heart failure. RESULTS Of the 111 765 participants, 24 881 (22.3%) had normal glucose regulation, 61 024 (54.6%) had prediabetes, and 25 860 (23.1%) had diabetes. Mean (SD) age ranged from 52.9 (8.6) years to 59.4 (8.7) years. Compared with participants with normal glucose regulation, among participants with prediabetes, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio for CVD was 1.34 (95% CI, 1.16-1.55) for participants who had 1 ICVHM or less and 0.57 (95% CI, 0.43-0.75) for participants who had at least 5 ICVHMs; among participants with diabetes, the hazard ratios for CVD were 2.05 (95% CI, 1.76-2.38) and 0.80 (95% CI, 0.56-1.15) for participants who had 1 ICVHM or less and at least 5 ICVHMs, respectively. Such pattern of association between ICVHMs and CVD was more prominent for participants younger than 55 years

BackgroundObesity is a hallmark of aging in many Western societies, and is a precursor to numerous serious age-related diseases. Ghrelin (Ghrl), via its receptor (growth hormone secretagogue receptor, GHS-R), is shown to stimulate GH secretion and appetite. Surprisingly, our previous studies showed that Ghrl-/- mice have impaired thermoregulatory responses to cold and fasting stresses, while Ghsr-/- mice are adaptive.Methodology/Principal FindingsTo elucidate the mechanism, we analyzed the complete metabolic profiles of younger (3–4 months) and older (10–12 months) Ghrl-/- and Ghsr-/- mice. Food intake and locomotor activity were comparable for both null mice and their wild-type (WT) counterparts, regardless of age. There was also no difference in body composition between younger null mice and their WT counterparts. As the WT mice aged, as expected, the fat/lean ratio increased and energy expenditure (EE) decreased. Remarkably, however, older Ghsr-/- mice exhibited reduced fat/lean ratio and increased EE when compared to older WT mice, thus retaining a youthful lean and high EE phenotype; in comparison, there was no significant difference with EE in Ghrl-/- mice. In line with the EE data, the thermogenic regulator, uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), was significantly up-regulated in brown adipose tissue (BAT) of Ghsr-/- mice, but not in Ghrl-/- mice.ConclusionsOur data therefore suggest that GHS-R ablation activates adaptive thermogenic function(s) in BAT and increases EE, thereby enabling the retention of a lean phenotype. This is the first direct evidence that the ghrelin signaling pathway regulates fat-burning BAT to affect energy balance during aging. This regulation is likely mediated through an as-yet-unidentified new ligand of GHS-R.

No abstract