No abstract

Plasma urotensin II was raised in hypertensive patients compared to normotensive controls, and was directly related to systolic blood pressure. Our findings raise the possibility that urotensin II may have an aetiological role in hypertension and its complications.

Adrenomedullin (ADM) is a potent vasorelaxant peptide that plays important roles in cardiovascular homeostasis and inflammatory response. ADM derived from macrophages is one of the major sources of ADM that is produced in the inflammatory process. To assess the functions of ADM in inflammation, we studied the temporal changes in ADM production and its effect on secretion of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and cytokine response of NR8383 rat macrophages activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). NR8383 cells were stimulated by LPS in the absence and presence of exogenous ADM, and the concentrations of ADM, MIF, and proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-alpha, and IL-1beta) in the culture media and gene expressions of the cells were measured. We confirmed that the secretion and mRNA expression of ADM in the macrophages were markedly increased by LPS. ADM increased initial secretion of MIF and IL-1beta from both nonstimulated and LPS-stimulated cells, and it also increased basal and LPS-induced IL-6 secretion of the cells by 2- to 15-fold. However, it reduced secretion of TNF-alpha from LPS-stimulated cells by 34-56%. Our results suggest that ADM modulates MIF secretion and cytokine production and plays important roles in both the initiation and propagation of the inflammatory response.

ALP may be another marker of systemic inflammation, especially in women. Whether it provides clinical information additional to CRP requires further study.

No abstract

The authors studied the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) according to the World Health Organization, National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), and International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definitions. There was 92.9% agreement between the NCEP and IDF definitions. The IDF prevalence was higher (p = 0.001) due to more men fulfilling its criteria than the NCEP's (39.9 +/- 1.7% vs. 33.6 +/- 1.6%; p = 0.007). If central obesity were not a prerequisite, the IDF prevalence would increase slightly to 40.3 +/- 1.1%. Subjects categorized as having the metabolic syndrome under IDF but not NCEP tended to be men, younger, and leaner. Their prevalence of self-reported coronary heart disease was not significantly different from that of other metabolic syndrome patients. Whether waist circumference is a prerequisite does not affect the diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome in the United States. The IDF definition identifies additional individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease.

No abstract

We studied single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes in the urotensin-II (UTS2) and urotensin-II receptor gene (UTS2R) in Hong Kong Chinese (224 hypertensive and 306 normotensive unrelated subjects) and their relation to hypertension and the metabolic syndrome. For UTS2, the GGT haplotype (-605G, 143G and 3836T) was associated with higher plasma level of U-II and insulin, and higher homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index and beta-cell function. For UTS2R, the AC haplotype (-11640A and -8515C) was associated with higher 2 h plasma glucose after a 75 g oral glucose load. Therefore, U-II and its receptor may play a role in insulin resistance.