Publications

Recently, an association was found between nondiabetic kidney disease in African Americans and two independent sequence variants in the APOL1 gene, encoding apolipoprotein L1. In this study we determined the frequency of APOL1 risk variants in patients with biopsy-proven HIV-associated nephropathy (HIVAN) and distinctive pathological characteristics potentially driven by those risk variants. Among 76 patients with HIVAN, 60 were successfully genotyped for APOL1 G1 and G2 polymorphisms. In this cohort, 37 had two risk alleles, 18 were heterozygous, and 5 had neither risk variant. There were no differences in the pathological findings of HIVAN and the number of APOL1 risk alleles. Further, the progression to end-stage kidney disease or death did not differ by the number of risk alleles. Median renal survival was 9.3 months in patients with zero or one risk allele compared to 11.7 months in patients with two APOL1 risk alleles. Thus, our study suggests that although the majority of African-American patients with HIVAN have two APOL1 risk alleles other as yet unknown factors in the host, including genetic risk variants and environmental or viral factors, may influence the development of this disorder in those with zero or one APOL1 risk allele.

RATIONALE

Flight attendants who worked on commercial aircraft before the smoking ban in flights (pre-ban FAs) were exposed to high levels of secondhand smoke (SHS). We previously showed never-smoking pre-ban FAs to have reduced diffusing capacity (Dco) at rest.

METHODS

To determine whether pre-ban FAs increase their Dco and pulmonary blood flow (Qc) during exercise, we administered a symptom-limited supine-posture progressively increasing cycle exercise test to determine the maximum work (watts) and oxygen uptake (VO2) achieved by FAs. After 30 min rest, we then measured Dco and Qc at 20, 40, 60, and 80 percent of maximum observed work.

RESULTS

The FAs with abnormal resting Dco achieved a lower level of maximum predicted work and VO2 compared to those with normal resting Dco (mean±SEM; 88.7±2.9 vs. 102.5±3.1%predicted VO2; p = 0.001). Exercise limitation was associated with the FAs' FEV(1) (r = 0.33; p = 0.003). The Dco increased less with exercise in those with abnormal resting Dco (mean±SEM: 1.36±0.16 vs. 1.90±0.16 ml/min/mmHg per 20% increase in predicted watts; p = 0.020), and amongst all FAs, the increase with exercise seemed to be incrementally lower in those with lower resting Dco. Exercise-induced increase in Qc was not different in the two groups. However, the FAs with abnormal resting Dco had less augmentation of their Dco with increase in Qc during exercise (mean±SEM: 0.93±0.06 vs. 1.47±0.09 ml/min/mmHg per L/min; p<0.0001). The Dco during exercise was inversely associated with years of exposure to SHS in those FAs with ≥10 years of pre-ban experience (r = -0.32; p = 0.032).

CONCLUSIONS

This cohort of never-smoking FAs with SHS exposure showed exercise limitation based on their resting Dco. Those with lower resting Dco had reduced pulmonary capillary recruitment. Exposure to SHS in the aircraft cabin seemed to be a predictor for lower Dco during exercise.

BACKGROUND

In everyday practice, the use of colonoscopy for the prevention of colorectal cancer (CRC) is less effective in the proximal than the distal colon. A potential explanation for this is that proximal neoplasms have a more subtle endoscopic appearance, making them more likely to be overlooked.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the differences in endoscopic appearance, ie, diminutive size and nonpolypoid shape, of proximal compared with distal colorectal neoplasms.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional, single-center study.

SETTING

Endoscopists at the Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands who were previously trained in the detection and classification of nonpolypoid colorectal lesions.

PATIENTS

Consecutive patients undergoing elective colonoscopy.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS

Endoscopic appearance, ie, diminutive size (<6 mm) or nonpolypoid shape (height less than half of the diameter) of colorectal adenomas and serrated polyps (SPs), with a focus on adenomas with advanced histology, ie, high-grade dysplasia or early CRC and SPs with dysplasia or large size.

RESULTS

We included 3720 consecutive patients with 2106 adenomas and 941 SPs. We found that in both men and women, proximal adenomas with high-grade dysplasia/early CRC (n = 181) were more likely to be diminutive or nonpolypoid than distal ones (76.3% vs 26.2%; odds ratio [OR] 9.24; 95% CI, 4.45-19.2; P < .001). Of the proximal adenomas, 84.4% were diminutive or nonpolypoid compared with 68.0% of the distal ones (OR 2.66; 95% CI, 2.14-3.29; P < .001). Likewise, large/dysplastic SPs in the proximal colon were more often nonpolypoid than distal ones (66.2% vs 27.8%; OR 5.51; 95% CI, 2.79-10.9; P < .001).

LIMITATIONS

Inclusion of both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Proximal colorectal neoplasms with advanced histology frequently are small or have a nonpolypoid appearance. These findings support careful inspection of the proximal colon, if quality of cancer prevention with the use of colonoscopy is to be optimized.

BACKGROUND

Experimental and clinical evidence has pinpointed a critical role for matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) in ischemic ventricular remodeling and systolic heart failure. Prior studies have demonstrated that transgenic expression of the full-length, 68 kDa, secreted form of MMP-2 induces severe systolic failure. These mice also had unexpected and severe mitochondrial structural abnormalities and dysfunction. We hypothesized that an additional intracellular isoform of MMP-2, which affects mitochondrial function is induced under conditions of systolic failure-associated oxidative stress.

METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

Western blots of cardiac mitochondria from the full length MMP-2 transgenics, ageing mice and a model of accelerated atherogenesis revealed a smaller 65 kDa MMP-2 isoform. Cultured cardiomyoblasts subjected to transient oxidative stress generated the 65 kDa MMP-2 isoform. The 65 kDa MMP-2 isoform was also induced by hypoxic culture of cardiomyoblasts. Genomic database analysis of the MMP-2 gene mapped transcriptional start sites and RNA transcripts induced by hypoxia or epigenetic modifiers within the first intron of the MMP-2 gene. Translation of these transcripts yields a 65 kDa N-terminal truncated isoform beginning at M(77), thereby deleting the signal sequence and inhibitory prodomain. Cellular trafficking studies demonstrated that the 65 kDa MMP-2 isoform is not secreted and is present in cytosolic and mitochondrial fractions, while the full length 68 kDa isoform was found only in the extracellular space. Expression of the 65 kDa MMP-2 isoform induced mitochondrial-nuclear stress signaling with activation of the pro-inflammatory NF-κB, NFAT and IRF transcriptional pathways. By microarray, the 65 kDa MMP-2 induces an innate immunity transcriptome, including viral stress response genes, innate immunity transcription factor IRF7, chemokines and pro-apoptosis genes.

CONCLUSION

A novel N-terminal truncated intracellular isoform of MMP-2 is induced by oxidative stress. This isoform initiates a primary innate immune response that may contribute to progressive cardiac dysfunction in the setting of ischemia and systolic failure.

BACKGROUND

Intermittent moderate-intensity exercise is used in human inhalational exposure studies to increase the effective dose of air pollutants.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the inflammatory, coagulatory, and autonomic effects of intermittent moderate-intensity exercise.

METHODS

We measured hemodynamic, electrocardiographic, inflammatory, and coagulatory parameters in peripheral blood of 25 healthy subjects across an exercise protocol that included running on a treadmill or pedaling a cycle ergometer for 30 minutes every hour over 4 hours in a climate-controlled chamber with a target ventilation of 20 L/min/m2 body surface area.

RESULTS

Intermittent moderate-intensity exercise induced a systemic proinflammatory response characterized by increases in leukocyte counts, C-reactive protein, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and interleukin-6, but did not change coagulation tendency or heart rate variability.

CONCLUSION

Interpretation of pollutant-induced inflammatory responses in inhalational exposure studies should account for signals and noises caused by exercise, especially when the effect size is small.