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Objective To investigate the change of HO-1 expression in adipose tissue of obese young SD rats as well as its relationship with macrophage infiltration and polarization. Methods Three-week old SD rats (n=24) were randomly divided into 2 groups, routine diet group (NC) and high fat diet group (FC). After feeding 4 weeks, triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein (HDL-C), fasting glucose and insulin were compared between these two groups and the insulin resistance index was calculated. The gene expressions of HO-1, IL-6, IL-10 and MCP-1 were assessed by quantitative PCR. Infiltration and polarization of macrophages and M2 macrophages in the visceral adipose tissue were examined by immunohistochemistry. Results The levels of FINS, FBG and HOMA-IR in rats of FC group were higher than those of rats in NC group after 4 weeks feeding (P < 0.05). The level of HO-1, IL-6, MCP-1 in rats from FC group were significantly higher while level of IL-10 were lower compared with those in rats from NC group after 4 weeks of feeding (P < 0.05). In samples from FC groups, more macrophages were detected in adipose tissue by DAB staining than those from NC group. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in MOD value of F4/80 and CD206 between these two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion The infiltration of macrophage in visceral adipose tissue of obese young SD rats significantly increased while HO-1 expression was reactively increased. This insinuated that HO-1 might play an important role in anti-inflammatory mechanism through regulating polarization of macrophages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To study the effect of inhibiting the expression of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) in neuroblastoma cells on the proliferation, invasion and migration of tumor cells. Methods The specific small molecule inhibitor WZB117 was used to inhibit the expression of GLUT1 in neuroblastoma cells. The expression of GLUT1 mRNA was detected by real-time quantitative PCR; the expression of GLUT1 protein was detected by Western blotting; the ability of cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 assay; the ability of cell invasion and migration were detected by Transwell TM invasion and migration assay, respectively. Results After treated with WZB117, the expression level of GLUT1 mRNA increased, while the protein expression level decreased in the neuroblastoma cells. Cell proliferation was inhibited, and the ability of cell invasion and migration were reduced. Conclusion Inhibiting the expression of GLUT1 in neuroblastoma cells might attenuate the malignant biological behaviors of tumor cells.

Objective: To study the correlation of coronin-1 and mycolic acid (MA)-induced foam cell formation of macrophages and explore its possible mechanism., Methods: According to the difference of coronin-1 expression level, the experiment included three types of cells: RAW264.7-Cor.Plus, RAW264.7 and RAW264.7-Cor.Minus. After the cells were treated with the polystyrene microspheres coated with 100 μg/mL MA for 24 hours, total proteins were extracted and the level of coronin-1 in each group was detected by Western blotting. With the microspheres coated with 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 μg/mL MA as phagocytic particles, the cells were swallowed for 24, 48, 72 hours, 5 and 8 days before and after the treatment with 2 μmol/L cytochalasin D (ctyD), and the levels of total cholesterol (TC) and free cholesterol (FC) were tested by TC enzyme kit and FC enzyme kit, respectively; then the cholesterol ester (CE) and the CE/TC ratio were used to quantitatively evaluate the level of foam cell formation. The ctyD-treated cells (RAW264.7-ctyD, RAW264.7-ctyD-MA) and their control groups were stained with FITC-phalloidin, and then the percentage of F-actin rearrangement was calculated., Results: After MA induction, the coronin-1 level of the three experimental groups were significantly higher than that of the corresponding control groups, and there was also obvious difference between the three experimental groups (RAW264.7-Cor.Plus>RAW264.7>RAW264.7-Cor.Minus). The level of foam cell formation of macrophages in each group with different coronin-1 level was positively correlated with the MA coating concentration and its phagocytic time. The highest coronin-1 expression group (RAW264.7-Cor.Plus) had the highest foam cell formation level, and the lowest coronin-1 expression group (RAW264.7-Cor.Minus) had the lowest foam cell formation level. The inhibition of F-actin by ctyD significantly decreased the foam cell formation induced by MA, but the inhibition of F-actin had no significant impact on the positive correlation between coronin-1 and the foam cell formation induced by MA. After phalloidin staining, the F-actin rearrangement rate of MA-treated cells was significantly higher than that of non-MA control cells., Conclusion: MA could induce the expression of coronin-1 of macrophage, and the coronin-1 level was positively correlated with the foam cell formation induced by MA. F-actin was involved in the process of lipid accumulation in MA-treated macrophages, but the F-actin was not the key or the only way in coronin-1 regulating the foam cell formation induced by MA.

Objective: To explore the formation conditions and characteristics of murine macrophage-derived foam cells induced by the polystyrene microspheres coated with mycolic acid (MA)., Methods: RAW264.7 cells were divided into blank control group and polystyrene microsphere experimental groups where polystyrene microspheres were coated with 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 μg/mL mycolic acid, respectively. The mixture of RAW264.7 cells and polystyrene microspheres was incubated for 24, 48, 72 hours, 5 and 8 days, respectively. After oil red O staining, the cell morphology of each group was observed under a microscope. The level of intracellular cholesterol ester of each group was measured with total cholesterol and free cholesterol kits, and the cell proliferation was detected with MTT assay., Results: When the concentration of MA was 75 μg/mL and the phagocytosis time was 24 hours, the typical foam cells formed, and its intracellular cholesterol ester content was (60.98±1.32)%. With the phagocytosis time went by, the lower MA concentration was needed for the formation of foam cells. With the gradual accumulation of lipids in foam cells, the cell proliferation activity was gradually weakened., Conclusion: MA-coated polystyrene microspheres can quickly induce macrophages to form foam cells. MA concentration and the formation of foam cells were positively correlated, and it is time-dependent.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the optimal cutoff point of Waist-to-height (WHtR) for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome (MS) in children and adolescents in six areas of China., Methods: Ninety thousand two hundred and eighty four children aged 6 to 15 years old from 6 areas, including Beijing, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Chongqing and Nanning in China, were surveyed in a random cluster sample. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was employed to determine the optimal cutoff values of WHtR for detecting the children and adolescents with two or more risk factors of MS., Results: The optimal WHtR cutoff values derived from the ROC analysis was 85(th) and 80(th) percentiles in males and females, with 6-15 years of age, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity under these cutoff values were 35.78% and 85.41% in males and 49.21% and 79.87% in females, for 6-9 years of age, while the sensitivity and specificity were 49.60% and 85.90% in males and 47.01% and 80.07% in females for 10-15 years of age. The areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) for WHtR 85(th) percentile were 0.61 and 0.64 in males and females for 6-9 years of age, and 0.68 and 0.63 in males and females for 10-15 years of age. The AUCs for WHtR 85(th) percentile in both genders were significantly larger than that for WHtR 90(th) percentile for 10-15 years of age., Conclusion: Our findings indicated that the 85(th) percentile of WHtR (0.48 in both genders for 6-9 years of age, 0.48 in males and 0.46 in females for 10-15 years of age) might be an appropriate cutoff to predict the children and adolescents with two or more risk factors.

Objective: To survey the current status of pubertal development of Chinese children and to compare the precocious puberty prevalence of different regions., Methods: A cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted on 18 707 children and adolescents aged 6≊18 y with male/female ratio of 9 812/8 895 from 6 representative geographical areas in China, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Chongqing and Nanning. The height, weight, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference(HC) and sexual maturation states (Tanner stages: breast stages for girls and testicular volume for boys) of children and adolescents were measured. Probit analysis was used to calculate the median age and 95% confidence interval (CI) for onset of breast and testicular development. The prevalence of precocious puberty of different regions and BMI, waist circumference of different groups were compared., Results: Breast development before 8 y was observed in 2.91% of girls, and testicular volume 4 ml or more before 9 y was observed in 1.74% of boys. The median age of onset of Tanner stages 2 for breast development in girls was 9.69 y (95% CI: 9.63≊ 9.75); the median age of onset of puberty as indicated by Tanner stages 2 for testicular development in boys was 11.25 y (95%CI:11.19≊ 11.30). The prevalence of precocious puberty (43 girls and 37 boys) was 0.43% (80/18 707). The prevalence of precocious puberty in northern region was higher than that in southwest region (0.736% compared with 0.282% P<0.05). There was no difference in onset age of precocious puberty in girls among three regions; but the onset age of precocious puberty in boys was earlier in east China [(7.4±0.28)y]. The SD values of BMI and waist-to-hip ratio (W/H) in precocious puberty children were higher than those in the peer normal children. There was no difference in BMI,waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio in the precocious puberty children among different regions., Conclusion: The current diagnostic criteria of precocious puberty are suitable for the children in the survey areas. The prevalence and the onset age of precocious puberty are various in different regions. A positive association between obesity and precocious puberty is found both in boys and girls.