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Randi Ugleholdt Department of Endocrinology, Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev and Gentofte, Herlev, Denmark
Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

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Åse Krogh Rasmussen Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark

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Pernille A H Haderslev Department of Anaesthesiology, Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev and Gentofte, Herlev, Denmark

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Bjarne Kromann-Andersen Department of Urology, Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev and Gentofte, Herlev, Denmark

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Claus Larsen Feltoft Department of Endocrinology, Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev and Gentofte, Herlev, Denmark

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Patients with pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL) are treated with α-adrenoceptor antagonists to improve peroperative hemodynamics. However, preoperative blood pressure targets differ between institutions. We retrospectively compared per- and postoperative hemodynamics in 30 patients with PPGL that were pretreated with phenoxybenzamine aiming at different blood pressure targets at two separate endocrine departments. All patients were subsequently undergoing laparoscopic surgery at Department of Urology, Herlev University hospital. Fourteen patients were treated targeting to symptomatic and significant orthostatic hypotension and 16 patients to a seated blood pressure below 130/80 mmHg. As a control group, we included 34 patients undergoing laparoscopic adrenalectomy for other reasons. The group titrated to orthostatic hypotension required a higher dose of phenoxybenzamine to achieve the blood pressure target. This group had less intraoperative systolic and diastolic blood pressure fluctuation (Mann–Whitney U test; P  < 0.05) and less periods with heart rate above 100 b.p.m. (Mann–Whitney U test; P = 0.04) as compared to the group with a preoperative blood pressure target below 130/80 mmHg. Peroperative use of intravenous fluids were similar between the two groups, but postoperatively more intravenous fluids were administered in the group with a target of ortostatism. Overall, the control group was more hemodynamic stable as compared to either group treated for PPGL. We conclude that phenoxybenzamine pretreatment targeting ortostatic hypotension may improve peroperative hemodynamic stability but causes a higher postoperative requirement for intravenous fluids. Overall, PPGL surgery is related to greater hemodynamic instability compared to adrenalectomy for other reasons.

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Ashley N Reeb Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

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Andrea Ziegler Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

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Reigh-Yi Lin Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

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Follicular thyroid cancer (FTC) is the second most common type of thyroid cancers. In order to develop more effective personalized therapies, it is necessary to thoroughly evaluate patient-derived cell lines in in vivo preclinical models before using them to test new, targeted therapies. This study evaluates the tumorigenic and metastatic potential of a panel of three human FTC cell lines (WRO, FTC-238, and TT1609-CO2) with defined genetic mutations in two in vivo murine models: an orthotopic thyroid cancer model to study tumor progression and a tail vein injection model to study metastasis. All cell lines developed tumors in the orthotopic model, with take rates of 100%. Notably, WRO-derived tumors grew two to four times faster than tumors arising from the FTC-238 and TT2609-CO2 cell lines. These results mirrored those of a tail vein injection model for lung metastasis: one hundred percent of mice injected with WRO cells in the tail vein exhibited aggressive growth of bilateral lung metastases within 35 days. In contrast, tail vein injection of FTC-238 or TT2609-CO2 cells did not result in lung metastasis. Together, our work demonstrates that these human FTC cell lines display highly varied tumorigenic and metastatic potential in vivo with WRO being the most aggressive cell line in both orthotopic and lung metastasis models. This information will be valuable when selecting cell lines for preclinical drug testing.

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Caishun Zhang Special Medicine Department, College of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

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Junhua Yuan Special Medicine Department, College of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

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Qian Lin Special Medicine Department, College of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

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Manwen Li Special Medicine Department, College of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

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Liuxin Wang Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Department, Yuhuangding Hospital Affiliated to Qingdao University, Yantai, China

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Rui Wang Special Medicine Department, College of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

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Xi Chen Physiology Department, College of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

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Zhengyao Jiang Physiology Department, College of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

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Kun Zhu Intensive Care Unit Department, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

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Xiaoli Chang Institute of Acupuncture, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China

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Bin Wang Special Medicine Department, College of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
Medical Microbiology Department, College of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

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Jing Dong Special Medicine Department, College of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
Physiology Department, College of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

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Ghrelin plays a pivotal role in the regulation of food intake, body weight and energy metabolism. However, these effects of ghrelin in the lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPBN) are unexplored. C57BL/6J mice and GHSR−/− mice were implanted with cannula above the right LPBN and ghrelin was microinjected via the cannula to investigate effect of ghrelin in the LPBN. In vivo electrophysiological technique was used to record LPBN glucose-sensitive neurons to explore potential udnderlying mechanisms. Microinjection of ghrelin in LPBN significantly increased food intake in the first 3 h, while such effect was blocked by [D-Lys3]-GHRP-6 and abolished in GHSR−/− mice. LPBN ghrelin microinjection also significantly increased the firing rate of glucose-excited (GE) neurons and decreased the firing rate of glucose-inhibited (GI) neurons. Additionally, LPBN ghrelin microinjection also significantly increased c-fos expression. Chronic ghrelin administration in the LPBN resulted in significantly increased body weight gain. Meanwhile, no significant changes were observed in both mRNA and protein expression levels of UCP-1 in BAT. These results demonstrated that microinjection of ghrelin in LPBN could increase food intake through the interaction with growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR) in C57BL/6J mice, and its chronic administration could also increase body weight gain. These effects might be associated with altered firing rate in the GE and GI neurons.

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Ermina Bach Department of Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

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Niels Møller Department of Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

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Jens Otto L Jørgensen Department of Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

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Mads Buhl The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

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Holger Jon Møller Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

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Aims/hypothesis

The macrophage-specific glycoprotein sCD163 has emerged as a biomarker of low-grade inflammation in the metabolic syndrome and related disorders. High sCD163 levels are seen in acute sepsis as a result of direct lipopolysaccharide-mediated shedding of the protein from macrophage surfaces including Kupffer cells. The aim of this study was to investigate if low-grade endotoxinemia in human subjects results in increasing levels of sCD163 in a cortisol-dependent manner.

Methods

We studied eight male hypopituitary patients and eight age- and gender-matched healthy controls during intravenous low-dose LPS or placebo infusion administered continuously over 360 min. Furthermore, we studied eight healthy volunteers with bilateral femoral vein and artery catheters during a 360-min infusion with saline and low-dose LPS in each leg respectively.

Results:

Systemic low-grade endotoxinemia resulted in a gradual increase in sCD163 from 1.65 ± 0.51 mg/L (placebo) to 1.92 ± 0.46 mg/L (LPS) at 220 min, P = 0.005 and from 1.66 ± 0.42 mg/L (placebo) to 2.19 ± 0.56 mg/L (LPS) at 340 min, P = 0.006. A very similar response was observed in hypopituitary patients: from 1.59 ± 0.53 mg/L (placebo) to 1.83 ± 0.45 mg/L (LPS) at 220 min, P = 0.021 and from 1.52 ± 0.53 mg/L (placebo) to 2.03 ± 0.44 mg/L (LPS) at 340 min, P < 0.001. As opposed to systemic treatment, continuous femoral artery infusion did not result in increased sCD163.

Conclusion:

Systemic low-grade endotoxinemia resulted in increased sCD163 to levels seen in the metabolic syndrome in both controls and hypopituitary patients. This suggests a direct and cortisol-independent effect of LPS on the shedding of sCD163. We observed no effect of local endotoxinemia on levels of serum sCD163.

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Jiaxi Li Department of Physiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

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Pu Huang Department of Health Management Center, Changsha Central Hospital, University of South China, Changsha, Hunan, China

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Jing Xiong Department of Endocrinology, Xiangya Third Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

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Xinyue Liang Department of Physiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

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Mei Li Department of Physiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

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Hao Ke Department of Physiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

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Chunli Chen Department of Dermatology, Xiangya Third Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

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Yang Han Department of Physiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

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Yanhong Huang Department of Physiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

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Yan Zhou Department of Physiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

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Ziqiang Luo Department of Physiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
Hunan Key Laboratory of Organ Fibrosis, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

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Dandan Feng Department of Physiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
Hunan Key Laboratory of Organ Fibrosis, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

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Chen Chen School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

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Objective

Ghrelin regulates body weight, food intake, and blood glucose. It also regulates insulin secretion from pancreatic islet cells. LEAP2 is a newly discovered endogenous ligand of the growth hormone secretagogue’s receptor (GHSR). It not only antagonizes the stimulation of GHSR by ghrelin but also inhibits the constitutive activation of GHSR as an inverse agonist. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients have endocrine disorders with metabolic imbalance. Plasma levels of ghrelin and LEAP2 may be changed in obese and T2D patients. However, there is no report yet on circulating LEAP2 levels or ghrelin/LEAP2 ratio in T2D patients. In this study, fasting serum ghrelin and LEAP2 levels in healthy adults and T2D patients were assessed to clarify the association of two hormones with different clinical anthropometric and metabolic parameters.

Design

A total of 16 females and 40 males, ages 23–68 years old normal (n  = 27), and T2D patients (n  = 29) were enrolled as a cross-sectional cohort.

Results

Serum levels of ghrelin were lower but serum levels of LEAP2 were higher in T2D patients. Ghrelin levels were positively correlated with fasting serum insulin levels and HOMA-IR in healthy adults. LEAP2 levels were positively correlated with age and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in all tested samples. Ghrelin/LEAP2 ratio was negatively correlated with age, fasting blood glucose, and HbA1c.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated a decrease in serum ghrelin levels and an increase in serum LEAP2 levels in T2D patients. LEAP2 levels were positively correlated with HbA1c, suggesting that LEAP2 was associated with T2D development. The ghrelin/LEAP2 ratio was closely associated with glycemic control in T2D patients showing a negative correlation with glucose and HbA1c.

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Richard W Carroll Endocrine, Diabetes, and Research Centre, Wellington Regional Hospital, New Zealand

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Brian Corley Endocrine, Diabetes, and Research Centre, Wellington Regional Hospital, New Zealand
Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand

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Joe Feltham Department of Radiology, Wellington Regional Hospital, New Zealand

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Patricia Whitfield Endocrine, Diabetes, and Research Centre, Wellington Regional Hospital, New Zealand
Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand

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William Park University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand

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Rowena Howard Diabetes and Endocrinology Service, Hutt Hospital, New Zealand

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Melissa Yssel Department of Biochemistry & Endocrinology, Awanui Labs, New Zealand

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Ian Phillips Department of Biochemistry, Awanui Labs, Dunedin, New Zealand

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Simon Harper Department of Surgery & Anaesethesia, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand
Department of General Surgery, Wellington Regional Hospital, New Zealand

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Jun Yang Centre for Endocrinology and Metabolism, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
Department of Medicine, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

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Objective

The assessment of primary aldosteronism incorporates adrenal vein sampling (AVS) to lateralize aldosterone excess. Current adrenal vein sampling protocols rely on concurrent cortisol measurements to assess successful cannulation and lateralization and may be inaccurate in the setting of autonomous cortisol secretion. We aimed to compare the measurement of plasma cortisol and metanephrine concentrations to assess cannulation and lateralization during AVS.

Design

This is a diagnostic accuracy study in a tertiary referral endocrinology department.

Methods

Forty-one consecutive patients with confirmed primary aldosteronism undergoing AVS (49 procedures) were included. None had cortisol autonomy. The use of plasma metanephrine-based ratios were compared with standard cortisol-based ratios to assess cannulation and lateralization during ACTH-stimulated AVS.

Results

There was strong agreement between a cortisol selectivity index (SI) ≥5.0 and an adrenal vein (AV) to peripheral vein (PV) plasma metanephrine ratio (AVmet–PVmet) of ≥12.0 to indicate successful cannulation of the AV (n = 117, sensitivity 98%, specificity 89%, positive predictive value (PPV) 95%, negative predictive value (NPV) 94%). There was strong agreement between the standard cortisol-based SI and an AV plasma metanephrine-to-normetanephrine ratio (AVmet–AVnormet) of ≥2.0 to indicate successful cannulation (n = 117, sensitivity 93%, specificity 86%, PPV 94%, NPV 84%). There was strong agreement between the cortisol- or metanephrine-derived lateralization index (LI) > 4.0 for determining lateralization (n = 26, sensitivity 100%, specificity 94.1%, PPV 91.6%, NPV 100%).

Conclusions

Ratios incorporating plasma metanephrines provide comparable outcomes to standard cortisol-based measurements for interpretation of AVS. Further studies are required to assess the use of metanephrine-derived ratios in the context of confirmed cortisol autonomy.

Significance statement

Primary aldosteronism is a common cause of secondary hypertension, and adrenal vein sampling remains the gold standard test to assess lateralization. Cortisol-derived ratios to assess cannulation and lateralization may be affected by concurrent cortisol dysfunction, which is not uncommon in the context of primary aldosteronism. Our study showed comparable outcomes when using accepted cortisol-derived or metanephrine-derived ratios to determine cannulation and lateralization during adrenal vein sampling. Further research is required to validate these findings and to assess the use of metanephrine-derived ratios in the context of confirmed concurrent cortisol dysfunction.

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Jia Liu Department of Endocrinology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

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Min Liu Department of Radiology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China

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Zhe Chen Department of Endocrinology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

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Yumei Jia Department of Endocrinology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

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Guang Wang Department of Endocrinology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

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Objective

Autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) is the most common autoimmune thyroid disease. Longitudinal relaxation time mapping (T1-mapping) measured by MRI is a new technique for assessing interstitial fibrosis of some organs, such as heart and liver. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between T1-mapping value and thyroid function and determine the usefulness of T1-mapping in identifying thyroid destruction in AIT patients.

Methods

This case–control study recruited 57 drug-naïve AIT patients and 17 healthy controls. All participants were given thyroid MRI, and T1-mapping values were measured using a modified look-locker inversion-recovery sequence.

Results

AIT patients had significantly higher thyroid T1-mapping values than the healthy controls (1.077 ± 177 vs 778 ± 82.9 ms; P < 0.01). A significant increase in thyroid T1-mapping values was presented along with the increased severity of thyroid dysfunction (P < 0.01). Correlation analyses showed that increased thyroid T1-mapping values were associated with higher TSH and lower FT3 and FT4 levels (TSH: r = 0.75; FT3: r = −0.47; FT4: r = −0.72; all P < 0.01). Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis revealed a high diagnostic value of T1-mapping values for the degree of thyroid destruction (area under the curve was 0.95, 95% CI: 0.90–0.99, P < 0.01).

Conclusions

AIT patients have higher thyroid T1-mapping values than the healthy controls, and the T1-mapping values increased with the progression of thyroid dysfunction. Thyroid T1-mapping value might be a new index to quantitatively evaluate the degree of thyroid destruction in AIT patients.

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Federica Saponaro Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology, Laboratory of Biochemistry, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Endocrinology Unit 2, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

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Alessandro Saba Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology, Laboratory of Biochemistry, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Laboratory of Clinical Pathology, University Hospital of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

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Sabina Frascarelli Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology, Laboratory of Biochemistry, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

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Concetta Prontera Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, Pisa, Italy

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Aldo Clerico Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, Pisa, Italy

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Marco Scalese Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Council of Research, Pisa, Italy

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Maria Rita Sessa Laboratory of Endocrinology, University Hospital of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

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Filomena Cetani Endocrinology Unit 2, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

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Simona Borsari Endocrinology Unit 2, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

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Elena Pardi Endocrinology Unit 2, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

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Antonella Marvelli Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

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Claudio Marcocci Endocrinology Unit 2, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

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Claudio Passino Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, Pisa, Italy

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Riccardo Zucchi Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology, Laboratory of Biochemistry, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

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Objectives

The aims of this paper were to evaluate the levels of Vitamin D (VitD) in patients with heart failure (HF), compared to a control group, to assess the effects of VitD on HF outcome and to compare VitD measurement between LIAISON immunoassay and HPLC-MS-MS methods in this population.

Design and Methods

We collected clinical, biochemical and outcome data from 247 patients with HF and in a subgroup of 151 patients, we measured VitD both with LIAISON and HPLC-MS-MS.

Results

HF patients had statistically lower 25OHD levels (45.2 ± 23.7 nmol/L vs 58.2 ± 24.0 nmol/L, P < 0.001) and a statistically higher prevalence of VitD insufficiency (61.1% vs 39.5%, P < 0.001) and deficiency (24.7% vs 6.6%, P < 0.001), compared to healthy controls. There was a significant inverse relationship between baseline 25OHD and risk of HF-related death, with a HR of 0.59 (95% CI 0.37–0.92, P = 0.02), confirmed in a multivariate adjusted analysis. Kaplan–Meier survival analyses showed that VitD insufficiency was associated with reduced survival in HF patients (log rank P = 0.017). There was a good agreement between LIAISON and HPLC-MS-MS (Cohen’s kappa coefficient 0.70), but the prevalence of VitD insufficiency was significantly higher with the former compared to the latter method (58.3%, n = 88 vs 55.6%, n = 84, P < 0.001). LIAISON underestimated the 25OHD levels and showed a mean relative bias of −0.739% with 95% of limits of agreement (−9.00 to +7.52%), when compared to HPLC-MS-MS.

Conclusions

25OHD levels adequately measured by HPLC-MS-MS showed to be low in HF population and to be correlated with HF-related risk of death.

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Sarah J Hall Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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Brad Aisbett Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia

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Samuel J Robertson Institute of Sport, Exercise & Active Living (ISEAL), Victoria University, Footscray, Victoria, Australia

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Sally A Ferguson Appleton Institute, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

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Anne I Turner Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia

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The effect of working on-call from home on the sympatho-adrenal medullary system activity is currently unknown. This study had two aims, Aim 1: examine salivary alpha amylase awakening response (AAR) and diurnal salivary alpha amylase (sAA) profile in fire and emergency service workers who operate on-call from home following a night on-call with a call (NIGHT-CALL), a night on-call without a call (NO-CALL) and an off-call night (OFF-CALL), and Aim 2: explore whether there was an anticipatory effect of working on-call from home (ON) compared to when there was an off-call (OFF) on the diurnal sAA profile. Participants wore activity monitors, completed sleep and work diaries and collected seven saliva samples a day for one week. AAR area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCG), AAR area under the curve with respect to increase (AUCI), AAR reactivity, diurnal sAA slope, diurnal sAA AUCG and mean 12-h sAA concentrations were calculated. Separate generalised estimating equation models were constructed for each variable of interest for each aim. For Aim 1, there were no differences between NIGHT-CALL or NO-CALL and OFF-CALL for any response variable. For Aim 2, there was no difference between any response variable of interest when ON the following night compared to when OFF the following night (n = 14). These findings suggest that there is no effect of working on-call from home on sAA, but should be interpreted with caution, as overnight data were not collected. Future research, using overnight heart rate monitoring, could help confirm these findings.

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Flavia Letícia Martins Peçanha Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Laboratório de Adaptações Metabólicas, Programa de Bioquímica e Biofísica Celular, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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Reinaldo Sousa dos Santos Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Laboratório de Adaptações Metabólicas, Programa de Bioquímica e Biofísica Celular, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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Wagner Seixas da-Silva Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Laboratório de Adaptações Metabólicas, Programa de Bioquímica e Biofísica Celular, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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The thyroid hormones (THs), triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4), are very important in organism metabolism and regulate glucose utilization. Hexokinase (HK) is responsible for the first step of glycolysis, catalyzing the conversion of glucose to glucose 6-phosphate. HK has been found in different cellular compartments, and new functions have been attributed to this enzyme. The effects of hyperthyroidism on subcellular glucose phosphorylation in mouse tissues were examined. Tissues were removed, subcellular fractions were isolated from eu- and hyperthyroid (T3, 0.25 µg/g, i.p. during 21 days) mice and HK activity was assayed. Glucose phosphorylation was increased in the particulate fraction in soleus (312.4% ± 67.1, n = 10), gastrocnemius (369.2% ± 112.4, n = 10) and heart (142.2% ± 13.6, n = 10) muscle in the hyperthyroid group compared to the control group. Hexokinase activity was not affected in brain or liver. No relevant changes were observed in HK activity in the soluble fraction for all tissues investigated. Acute T3 administration (single dose of T3, 1.25 µg/g, i.p.) did not modulate HK activity. Interestingly, HK mRNA levels remained unchanged and HK bound to mitochondria was increased by T3 treatment, suggesting a posttranscriptional mechanism. Analysis of the AKT pathway showed a 2.5-fold increase in AKT and GSK3B phosphorylation in the gastrocnemius muscle in the hyperthyroid group compared to the euthyroid group. Taken together, we show for the first time that THs modulate HK activity specifically in particulate fractions and that this action seems to be under the control of the AKT and GSK3B pathways.

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