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Objectives: It is hypothesized that novel neuropeptides such as phoenixin (PNX), spexin (SPX), and kisspeptin (KISS) are involved in the pathogenesis of eating disorders. The study presented here analyzed neuropeptide concentrations during the course of anorexia nervosa (AN) and aimed to correlate those values with anthropometric and psychometric measurements. Methods: A longitudinal study was carried outin 30 AN adolescent patients and 15 age-matched healthy female controls. Selected neuroprotein serum levels were analyzed in malnourished patients (accAN) and following partial weight recovery (norAN), and these values were compared with the control group. Results: In accAN patients, decreased serum PNX levels were detected while SPX serum concentrations were lower in the accAN and norAN patients. No differences were observed in KISS concentrations in all studied groups. Conclusions: In malnourished adolescent inpatients with AN, serum PNX and SPX level were decreased. The partial weight recovery normalized PNX concentrations but failed to normalize SPX levels. Therefore these two neuropeptides might be crucial for the etiology and course of the AN. The KISS levels did not change in the course of AN. The PNX levels were associated with some symptoms of eating disorders which may indicate its potential contribution in the regulation of emotions and behaviors in AN. © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Neuropeptides are involved in numerous brain activities being responsible for a wide spectrum of higher mental functions. The purpose of this concise, structural and qualitative investigation was to map the possible immunoreactivity of the novel neuropeptide spexin (SPX) within the human magnocellular hypothalamus. SPX is a newly identified peptide, a natural ligand for the galanin receptors (GALR) 2/3, with no molecular structure similarities to currently known regulatory factors. SPX seems to have multiple physiological functions, with an involvement in reproduction and food-intake regulation recently revealed in animal studies. For the first time we describe SPX expressing neurons in the supraoptic (SON) and paraventricular (PVN) nuclei of the human hypothalamus using immunohistochemical and fluorescent methods, key regions involved in the mechanisms of osmotic homeostasis, energy expenditure, consummatory behaviour, reproductive processes, social recognition and stress responses. The vast majority of neurons located in both examined neurosecretory nuclei show abundant SPX expression and this may indirectly implicate a potential contribution of SPX signalling to the hypothalamic physiology in the human brain. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.

The recently discovered peptide phoenixin (PNX) and its receptor GPR173 are novel factors that exhibit a large spectrum of regulatory activity, especially when considered as a central modulator of GnRH-related hormonal control of reproductive processes. It has been already proven that GnRH agonists and antagonists can modulate peptidergic signalling in the HPG axis. Despite these findings, there is so far no information regarding the influence of treatment with GnRH analogues on SMIM20/phoenixin signalling in the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis. In the current study, SMIM20/phoenixin and GPR173 mRNA levels were measured in the hypothalamus, pituitary and ovaries of female rats in the dioestrus phase following treatment with GnRH-R agonist (buserelin) and antagonist (cetrorelix) using quantitative real-time PCR. The serum PNX concentrations were also estimated with ELISA technique. The hypothalamic, hypophyseal and especially ovarian levels of SMIM20 mRNA were increased after both buserelin and cetrorelix administration. The GPR173 expressions were in turn decreased in the hypothalamus and pituitary. Treatment with the GnRH analogues led to the modulation of SMIM20/phoenixin and GPR173 mRNA expression in the female rat hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis. By identifying buserelin and cetrorelix as novel modulators of phoenixin signalling in the animal HPG axis, these results cast new light on the GnRH analogues mode of action and contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the hormonal control of reproduction. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

Unsatisfactory pancreatic cancer treatment outcomes have prompted multiple avenues of research focused on identifying not only biomarkers of pancreatic adenocarcinoma progression but also potential prognostic survival factors in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Study consisted of 75 patients who underwent pancreatic resections between 2006 and 2011: 35 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PC), 30 patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP), and a non-malignant control group (NMCG) of 10 patients who underwent surgery due to benign tumors. Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) concentrations in tissue homogenates and sera were evaluated. The mean t-PA concentration in PC tissue homogenates was 12.3 ± 2 (7.5, 15) ng/mg. Compared with the t-PA concentration in the PC group, lower concentrations of t-PA (3.3 ± 0.7 (2.2, 4.7) ng/mg and 5.9 ± 0.8 (4.6, 7.3) ng/mg (P0.01)) were observed in tissue homogenates of the CP and the NMCG patients, respectively. Although serum concentrations of t-PA did not differ between patient groups, in PC patients, the t-PA concentrations were higher in sera than in tissue homogenates. In contrast, the CP and NMCG patient groups had lower t-PA concentrations in sera compared with tissue homogenates. Increasing tissue homogenate t-PA concentrations were associated with blood vessels infiltration. Tissue homogenate and serum t-PA concentrations were not related to the survival rate of patients with PC. The t-PA concentration above 7.45 ng/ml in tissue homogenates was indicative of PC. We concluded that higher concentrations of t-PA were observed in pancreatic cancer tissue compared to chronic pancreatitis, suggesting its potential role in the development and progression of pancreatic cancer. In contrast, the lack of significant differences in the serum t-PA concentrations between treatment groups suggests that serum t-PA concentrations may not be suitable as a biomarker for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways with the proven role of Th2 cells in its pathogenesis. The role and characteristic of different subsets of CD4(+) cells is much less known.The aim of the study was to analyze the incidence of different subsets of CD4(+) T cells, in particular different subsets of CD4(+) cells with the co-expression of different cytokines.Twenty five stable asthmatic and twelve age-matched control subjects were recruited to the study. Bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) were performed in all study subjects. CD4(+) T cells were isolated from BAL fluid by positive magnetic selection. After stimulation simultaneous expression of TGF-β, FoxP3, CD25, IFN-γ, IL-4, TNF-α (set 1); IL-10, FoxP3, CD25, IFN-γ, IL-4, MIP-1β (set 2); IL-17A, IL-8, IFN-γ, IL-4, MIP-1β (set 3) were measured by flow cytometry.The percentage of CD4(+) cells co-expressing Foxp3 and TGF-β (CD4(+)Foxp3(+)TGF-β(+) cells) was significantly lower (P = 0.03), whereas the percentage of CD4(+)IL-17(+) cells (P = 0.008), CD4(+)IL-17(+) IFN-γ(+) cells (P = 0.047) and CD4(+)IL-4(+) cells (P = 0.01) were significantly increased in asthmatics compared with that seen in healthy subjects. A significantly higher percentage of CD4(+)Foxp3(+) cells from asthma patients expressed IFN-γ (P = 0.01), IL-4 (P = 0.004) and CD25 (P = 0.04), whereas the percentage of CD4(+)IL-10(+) cells expressing Foxp3 was significantly decreased in asthmatics (P = 0.03). FEV1% predicted correlated negatively with the percentage of CD4(+)IL-17(+) cells (r = -0.33; P = 0.046) and positively with CD4(+)Foxp3(+)TGF-β(+) cells (r = 0.43; P = 0.01).Our results suggest that in the airways of chronic asthma patients there is an imbalance between increased numbers of CD4(+)IL-17(+) cells and Th2 cells and decreased number of CD4(+)Foxp3(+)TGF-β(+).