The maintenance of bone homeostasis is largely dependent upon cellular communication between osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Microvesicles (MVs) have received a good deal of attention and are increasingly considered as mediators of intercellular communication due to their capacity to merge with and transfer a repertoire of bioactive molecular content (cargo) to recipient cells, triggering a variety of biologic responses. Here, we demonstrated that MVs shed from osteoblasts contain RANKL protein and can transfer it to osteoclast precursors through receptor ligand (RANKL-RANK), leading to stimulation of RANKL-RANK signaling to facilitate osteoclast formation. Such MV-mediated intercellular communication between osteoblasts and osteoclasts may represent a novel mechanism of bone modeling and remodeling. It may be worthwhile to further explore MVs as tools to modify the biological responses of bone cells or develop an alternative drug to treat bone diseases.

bNephrotoxicity is the major dose-limiting factor for the clinical use of colistin against multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of lycopene on colistin-induced nephrotoxicity in a mouse model. Fifty mice were randomly divided into 5 groups: the control group (saline solution), the lycopene group (20 mg/kg of body weight/day administered orally), the colistin group (15 mg/kg/day administered intravenously), the colistin (15 mg/kg/day) plus lycopene (5 mg/kg/day) group, and the colistin (15 mg/kg/day) plus lycopene (20 mg/kg/day) group; all mice were treated for 7 days. At 12 h after the last dose, blood was collected for measurements of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine levels. The kidney tissue samples were obtained for examination of biomarkers of oxidative stress and apoptosis, histopathological assessment, and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis. Colistin treatment significantly increased concentrations of BUN and serum creatinine, tubular apoptosis/necrosis, lipid peroxidation, and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) activity, while the treatment decreased the levels of endogenous antioxidant biomarkers glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Notably, the changes in the levels of all biomarkers were attenuated in the kidneys of mice treated with colistin by lycopene (5 or 20 mg/kg). Lycopene treatment, especially in the colistin plus lycopene (20 mg/kg) group, significantly downregulated the expression of NF-B mRNA (P < 0.01) but upregulated the expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and HO-1 mRNA (both P < 0.01) in the kidney compared with the results seen with the colistin group. Our data demonstrated that coadministration of 20 mg/kg/day lycopene can protect against colistin-induced nephrotoxicity in mice. This effect may be attributed to the antioxidative property of lycopene and its ability to activate the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.

The association between potential long-term effects of previous schistosome infection (PSI) and the development of metabolic syndrome remains unknown. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the association between them. Participants were from regions which were all reportedly heavily endemic for S. japonicum in China 40 years ago. One thousand five hundred and ninety-seven men were enrolled. Among these, 465 patients with PSI were selected as study subjects and 1132 subjects served as controls. We found PSI significantly correlated with lower prevalences of metabolic syndrome and its components, including central obesity, hypertriglyceridemia and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, which indicates that the potential long-term effects of PSI may reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome. However, further studies are needed to investigate the protective immune effects of PSI.

The American Heart Association aims to improve cardiovascular health by encouraging the general population to meet 7 cardiovascular health behaviors and factors. The atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) is an important index. Our aim is to evaluate the relationship between ideal cardiovascular health and the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) in middle-aged Chinese men.A cross-sectional study was performed. A total of 27,824 middle-aged Chinese men were enrolled. The association between ideal cardiovascular health behaviors and factors and AIP was determined. The 7 cardiovascular health metrics were scored as follows: 0, poor; 1, general; and 2, ideal. The cardiovascular health status was classified according to the total score, as follows: 0 to 4, inadequate; 5 to 9, average; and 10 to 14, optimum. Analyses assessed the prevalence of 7 cardiovascular health metrics, its association with AIP. Logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs), adjusting for age.All 7 cardiovascular health metrics were shown to correlate with AIP (all P values < 0.05), and the strongest correlation existed between body mass and AIP, followed by total cholesterol and AIP. The mean AIP level increased with the decrease in the score of each of the 7 cardiovascular health metrics (all P values < 0.05). The subjects with poor cardiovascular health status had a 4.982-fold increase in the high risk of developing atherosclerosis, whereas a 1-point increase in the cardiovascular health score resulted a 0.046 reduction in AIP and a 22.3% reduction in the high-risk of developing atherosclerosis (OR = 0.777, 95% CI: 0.768–0.787).The ideal cardiovascular health score correlated significantly with AIP, and a 1-point increase in the cardiovascular health score led to a 0.046 reduction in AIP and a 22.3% reduction in the high risk of developing atherosclerosis. These validated the value of ideal cardiovascular health behaviors and factors in the prediction of high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Ideal cardiovascular health metrics are of great realistic significance for the prevention and control of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases.

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The aim of this study was to determine the associations between cardiovascular health and the waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). A cross-sectional study was performed recruiting 26701 middle-aged Chinese men. Of the seven ideal cardiovascular health metrics, body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol (TC), blood pressure (BP), and fasting blood glucose (FBG) were found to increase with an elevation of the mean WC and WHtR. The mean WC and WHtR were significantly lower in the subjects with intermediate or ideal cardiovascular health than those with poor or intermediate health. After adjustment for age, the mean WC and WHtR decreased by 1.486 cm and 0.009 per 1-point increase in the cardiovascular health score, and 2.242 cm and 0.013 per 1-point increase in the number of ideal cardiovascular health metrics, respectively. The cardiovascular health score was negatively correlated with the WC (r = −0.387) and WHtR (r = −0.400), while the number of ideal cardiovascular health metrics was negatively associated with the WC (r = −0.384) and WHtR (r = −0.395). The cardiovascular health is correlated negatively with the WC and WHtR, and a stronger correlation existed between the cardiovascular health and WHtR than WC.

BackgroundThe correlation between the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) and waist circumference (WC) remains unknown.MethodsA total of 5351 middle-aged men living in Southeastern China were surveyed using the random stratified cluster sampling method. A WC of 90 cm or greater was indicative of abdominal obesity, and AIP was calculated as follows: log [triglyceride (TG)/high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C)].Results(1) A significantly higher AIP was observed in subjects with abdominal obesity than in those without abdominal obesity (P < 0·001). (2) Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed an odds ratio of 1·93, 2·59 and 2·76 for abnormal AIP levels for the second, third and fourth WC quartiles, respectively (all P < 0·001) compared to the first WC quartile as a reference. (3) There was a linear correlation between WC and AIP, and a 1·0 cm increase in WC resulted in a 0·0175 rise in AIP. For AIP corresponding to moderate risk (0·12–0·21), WC was 85–90 cm; for AIP corresponding to high risk (> 0·21), WC was >90 cm.ConclusionsAIP of 0·12–0·21 or >0·21 indicates a likelihood of borderline abdominal obesity or abdominal obesity, respectively, and the combination of WC and AIP may increase the specificity and sensitivity for detection of abdominal obesity in clinical practice. The results suggest that AIP may be used as a reference to estimate abdominal obesity.

BackgroundIt has been shown that irisin levels are reduced in skeletal muscle and plasma of obese rats; however, the effect of exercise training on irisin level remains controversial. We aim to evaluate the association of swimming exercise with serum irisin level and other obesity-associated parameters.MethodsForty healthy male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to 4 groups: a normal diet and sedentary group (ND group), normal diet and exercise group (NDE group), high-fat diet and sedentary group (HFD group), and high-fat diet and exercise group (HFDE group. After 8 consecutive weeks of swimming exercise, fat mass and serum irisin level was determined.ResultsHigher serum irisin levels were detected in the HFDE group (1.15 ± 0.28 μg/L) and NDE group (1.76 ± 0.17 μg/L) than in the HFD group (0.84 ± 0.23 μg/L) or the ND group (1.24 ± 0.29 μg/L), respectively (HFDE group vs. HFD group, P < 0.05; NDE group vs. ND group, P < 0.01). Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that serum irisin level negatively correlated with TG level (r = −0.771, P < 0.05), percentage fat mass (r = −0.68, P < 0.05), fat mass (r = −0.576, P < 0.05), visceral fat mass (r = −0.439, P < 0.05) and TC level (r = −0.389, P < 0.05). The fat mass, visceral fat mass and percentage fat mass were lower in the HFDE group than the HFD group (all P values < 0.01).ConclusionSwimming exercise decreases body fat mass in high-fat-fed Wistar rats, which may be attributable to elevated irisin levels induced by swimming exercise.