Serum oxytocin levels were decreased in T2DM as well as OB subjects.

Metabolic syndrome (MS), a kind of metabolic disorder, is characterized by abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension (Bai, Zhu, & Dong, 2018). The number of patients with MS is increasing yearly due to the changes in the diet structure and lifestyle at present (Taylor et al., 2013). The prevalence of MS is 32% in the United States and 25% in Europe and Latin America (Solis & Petrascheck, 2011). However, the incidence of MS is up to 30% in China (Zuo et al., 2009). It is generally accepted that the combination of physical exercise and a low-calorie diet is the best way to prevent and treat metabolic

This report demonstrated the utility of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-fluorescence detection for selective separation and sensitive quantification of multiple microRNAs (miRNAs). A duplex specific nuclease (DSN)-assisted target recycling amplification strategy was developed to enhance the signals of miRNAs, which alleviates the low sensitivity of conventional HPLC to nucleic acids. To separate the signals of different miRNAs, DNA probes with different lengths and base sequences were immobilized on magnetic beads. The application of an effective magnetic separation minimized the background signal and extended the dynamic range. This assay achieved a limit of detection of 0.39 fM for miRNA-122, 0.30 fM for miRNA-155, and 0.26 fM for miRNA-21, respectively. The proposed assay was successfully applied to detect simultaneously miRNA-122, miRNA-155, and miRNA-21 in serum samples from healthy persons and cervical cancer patients, and the results were then compared with those of quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction amplification.

The neurohypophysial hormone, oxytocin, is involved in the regulation of energy metabolism. Adiponectin (APN) is an adipose tissue-specific serum protein that inversely associates with metabolic syndrome (MetS). High-molecular-weight adiponectin (HMW APN) is considered the active form. In the present study, we aimed to determine the relationships of oxytocin and HMW APN to MetS and investigate whether or not the combination of oxytocin and HMW APN is associated with further metabolic abnormalities compared to each of them alone. A total of 170 subjects (75 with MetS and 95 non-MetS) were enrolled. Anthropometric parameters, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), blood lipids, hs-CRP, oxytocin and HMW APN levels were measured. Compared with non-MetS subjects, serum oxytocin and HMW APN levels were significantly lower in subjects with MetS (P<0.01). We then classified the subjects into three groups: high oxytocin and high HMW APN levels (high score group), low oxytocin and low HMW APN levels (low score group) and others. Participants in low score group showed the worst metabolic profiles and were more likely to have MetS compared to the other two group. In Spearman rank correlation coefficient, the classification by the combination of oxytocin and HMW APN was significantly correlated with a larger number of metabolic risk factors compared with classification by each of them alone. Individuals with low circulating oxytocin levels coupled with low HMW APN levels were at significantly increased risk of MetS. The combination of both markers would be useful for identifying MetS high risk patients.