A maternal diet of fatty fish reduces body fat of offspring compared with a maternal diet of beef and a post-weaning diet of fish improves insulin sensitivity and lipid profile in adult C57BL/6 male mice

AIM

The maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation may affect the long-term health of the offspring. Our aim was to study how a fish or meat diet perinatal and after weaning affects body composition, insulin sensitivity and the profile of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in breast milk, fat depots, skeletal muscle and liver in male adult mice offspring.

METHODS

During gestation and lactation, C57BL/6 dams were fed a herring- or beef-based diet. Half of the pups in each group changed diets after weaning. In offspring, body composition measured by DEXA, plasma lipid profile and insulin sensitivity measured by euglycemic clamp or QUICKI were monitored to adulthood. Analysis of total FAs by GC-MS were performed in the diet, breast milk and in different tissues.

RESULTS

At 9 week of age, offspring of herring-fed dams had less body fat than offspring of beef-fed dams. Mice fed herring after weaning had increased insulin sensitivity at 15 week of age, reduced total plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and compared with beef-fed mice, larger interscapular brown adipose tissue depots. The FA composition of the maternal diet was mirrored in breast milk, and the herring diet significantly affected the FA profile of different tissues, leading to an increased content of n-3 PUFAs.

CONCLUSION

A herring-based maternal diet reduces body fat in the offspring, but the insulin sensitivity, plasma lipids and amount of brown adipose tissue are affected by the offspring's own diet; the herring diet is more beneficial than the beef diet.

Risk factors for infections with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in a county of Southern Sweden

Background

It is important to identify patients who are at risk for infections with extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria in order to reduce mortality, to avoid spread of resistant bacteria in hospitals, and to minimize the number of patients receiving unnecessary treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics. A case-control survey among Swedish patients was performed at Skåne University Hospital to identify risk factors for developing an infection with ESBL-producing Escherichia coli in a low endemic country.

Methods

We used a computerized database to identify patients with growth of ESBL-producing E. coli (n = 109) in urine or blood cultures and an equal number of controls matched for age and gender with non ESBL-producing E. coli in urine and blood diagnosed between January and October 2008. We used unadjusted P-values.

Results

Patients with ESBL-producing E. coli had a significantly (P < 0.05) higher likelihood of having traveled to Asia including Turkey and the Middle East including Egypt (14/58) than the non-ESBL-positive group (4/53). Hospital stay during the previous year (P < 0.04), especially for more than one month, was another significant (P = 0.01) risk factor for infection with ESBL-producing E. coli (8/58). A stay in the surgical department was a further risk factor (P < 0.01).

Conclusion

In this study, we identified 22 of 58 (38%) patients with ESBL-producing E. coli by considered significant risk factors before starting antibiotics.

Association between CD8+ T-cell subsets and cardiovascular disease

BACKGROUND

The findings of experimental studies suggest that the immune system plays a key role in atherosclerosis, but the clinical importance of different immune cells in cardiovascular disease remains poorly characterized. In this study we investigated the association between CD8(+) T cells and carotid disease as well as development of cardiovascular disease events.

METHODS

The study cohort comprised 700 subjects from the cardiovascular arm of the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells, obtained at the 1991-1994 baseline investigation and stored at -140 °C, were thawed and the different CD8(+) T-cell populations analysed by flow cytometry. Baseline carotid intima-media thickness and stenosis were assessed by ultrasonography and clinical events were monitored through validated national registers.

RESULTS

Subjects with a high fraction of CD8(+) T cells were characterized by decreased cytokine release from activated leucocytes, metabolic signs of insulin resistance and increased incidence of coronary events; hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for the second and third tertiles of CD8(+) T cells were 2.57 (1.16, 5.67) and 2.61 (1.19, 5,71), respectively, in a Cox proportional hazards regression model. Correlations were found between the fraction of CD8(+) CD25(+) T cells and the degree of carotid stenosis (r = 0.11, P < 0.01), and between the CD8(+) CD56(-) IFN-γ(+) T-cell fraction and the degree of stenosis (r = -0.18, P < 0.005). The association between CD8(+) CD56(-) IFN-γ(+) T cells and carotid stenosis remained significant after controlling for major cardiovascular disease risk factors.

CONCLUSION

This study provides prospective clinical evidence for a role of CD8(+) T cells in cardiovascular disease and suggests the existence of CD8(+) T-cell subsets with different pathological functions.

Onset of sexual maturity in female chickens is genetically linked to loci associated with fecundity and a sexual ornament

Onset of sexual maturation is a trait of extreme importance both evolutionarily and economically. Unsurprisingly therefore, domestication has acted to reduce the time to sexual maturation in a variety of animals, including the chicken. In comparison with wild progenitor chickens [the Red Junglefowl (RJF)], domestic layer hens attain maturity approximately 20% earlier. In addition, domestic layers also possess larger combs (a sexual ornament), produce more eggs and have denser bones. A large quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis (n=377) was performed using an F(2) intercross between a White Leghorn layer breed and a RJF population, with onset of sexual maturity measured and mapped to three separate loci. This cross has already been analysed for comb mass, egg production and bone allocation. Onset of sexual maturity significantly correlated with comb mass, whilst the genetic architecture for sexual maturity and comb mass overlapped at all three loci. For two of these loci, the QTL for sexual maturity and comb mass were statistically indistinguishable from pleiotropy, suggesting that the alleles that increase comb mass also decrease onset of sexual maturity.

How selective sweeps in domestic animals provide new insight into biological mechanisms

Genetic studies of domestic animals are of general interest because there is more phenotypic diversity to explore in these species than in any experimental organism. Some mutations with favourable phenotypic effects have been highly enriched and gone through selective sweeps during the process of domestication and selective breeding. Three such selective sweeps are described in this review. All three mutations are intronic and constitute cis-acting regulatory mutations. Two of the mutations constitute structural changes (one duplication and one copy number expansion). These examples illustrate a general trend that noncoding mutations and structural changes have both contributed significantly to the evolution of phenotypic diversity in domestic animals. How the molecular characterization of trait loci in domestic animals can provide new basic knowledge of relevance for human medicine is discussed.

Retracted: 147 reduced syntaxin-5 in skeletal muscle of patients with type 2 diabetes. A link between lipid storage and insulin resistance

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy). This abstract has been retracted at the request of Jan Borén, co-author, because of conscious fabrication, corruption or suppression of basic material and conscious preparation and presentation of falsified results in the abstract by one of the authors.

Evaluation of a commercial multiplex PCR test (SeptiFast) in the etiological diagnosis of community-onset bloodstream infections

The commercial polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, SeptiFast, is designed to identify the DNA of individual bacterial and fungal pathogens in whole blood. We aimed to evaluate the usefulness of the test for the detection of community-onset bloodstream infections. We prospectively included adult patients who were subjected to blood culture (BC) at an infectious diseases department. For the evaluation, one BC/PCR set (two BC bottles and one PCR tube) per patient was used. When several sets were obtained and analyzed, the first set with any positive result was evaluated. Among 1,093 consecutively included patients, BC was positive in 138 and PCR was positive in 107. Fifty positive PCR results were supported by BC in the same BC/PCR set, ten were supported by other cultures, and, additionally, ten were supported by the clinical presentation. Compared with BC, PCR showed specificities and negative predictive values of >97% for all detectable pathogens. The following sensitivities and positive predictive values (PPVs) were noted: Staphylococcus aureus, 67% and 43%; Streptococcus pneumoniae, 12% and 67%; other Streptococcus species, 43% and 77%; Escherichia coli, 53% and 56%; and Klebsiella species, 43% and 23%. If support from other cultures and the clinical presentation were included in the reference standard, the PPVs for the detection of these bacteria were 57%, 100%, 92%, 75%, and 69%, respectively. Although the specificities were high, the low sensitivities and suboptimal PPVs noted in the present study discourage routine use of the test in its present form for the detection of community-onset bloodstream infections.

Targeted resequencing of a genomic region influencing tameness and aggression reveals multiple signals of positive selection

The identification of the causative genetic variants in quantitative trait loci (QTL) influencing phenotypic traits is challenging, especially in crosses between outbred strains. We have previously identified several QTL influencing tameness and aggression in a cross between two lines of wild-derived, outbred rats (Rattus norvegicus) selected for their behavior towards humans. Here, we use targeted sequence capture and massively parallel sequencing of all genes in the strongest QTL in the founder animals of the cross. We identify many novel sequence variants, several of which are potentially functionally relevant. The QTL contains several regions where either the tame or the aggressive founders contain no sequence variation, and two regions where alternative haplotypes are fixed between the founders. A re-analysis of the QTL signal showed that the causative site is likely to be fixed among the tame founder animals, but that several causative alleles may segregate among the aggressive founder animals. Using a formal test for the detection of positive selection, we find 10 putative positively selected regions, some of which are close to genes known to influence behavior. Together, these results show that the QTL is probably not caused by a single selected site, but may instead represent the joint effects of several sites that were targets of polygenic selection.

Genotype at the PMEL17 locus affects social and explorative behaviour in chickens

1. We studied behaviour and brain gene expression in homozygous PMEL17 genotypes, using chickens originating from an advanced White Leghorn x red junglefowl intercross. The behavioural studies consisted of three social and one explorative behaviour test. There were significant differences between the genotypes in both social and explorative behaviour. 2. Gene expression studies showed no PMEL17 expression in brain, so the genotype differences must depend on extra-neural gene expression or expression during embryonic development. However, linkage or spurious family effects (genetic drift) can not be excluded. 3. The study strongly suggests a correlated effect between plumage colour and behaviour, and we conclude that PMEL17 may have a pleiotropic effect on social and explorative behaviour in chickens.

Genome sequence, comparative analysis, and population genetics of the domestic horse

We report a high-quality draft sequence of the genome of the horse (Equus caballus). The genome is relatively repetitive but has little segmental duplication. Chromosomes appear to have undergone few historical rearrangements: 53% of equine chromosomes show conserved synteny to a single human chromosome. Equine chromosome 11 is shown to have an evolutionary new centromere devoid of centromeric satellite DNA, suggesting that centromeric function may arise before satellite repeat accumulation. Linkage disequilibrium, showing the influences of early domestication of large herds of female horses, is intermediate in length between dog and human, and there is long-range haplotype sharing among breeds.

Methodology investigation of expirograms for enabling contact free breath alcohol analysis

The present techniques for breath alcohol determination have usability limitations concerning practical use and the time and effort required for the test person. The rationale of the physiological assumptions in a recently demonstrated technique for breath analysis without a mouthpiece is investigated in this paper. Expirograms quantifying ethanol, carbon dioxide (CO(2)) and water (H(2)O) from 30 test subjects were analysed, with respect to the influence of individual variations in end-expiratory CO(2) and H(2)O concentrations, and possible benefits from simultaneous measurement of CO(2) or H(2)O. Both healthy subjects and patients suffering from pulmonary diseases performed breath tests with small and maximum volume expiration. The breath tests were recorded basically with a standard evidential instrument using infrared absorption spectroscopy, and equipped with a mouthpiece. Average concentrations were significantly higher for the maximum than for the small expirations. For the maximum expirations, the healthy subjects had a significantly higher end-expired PCO(2) of 4.4 ± 0.5 kPa (mean ± standard deviation) than the patients (3.9 ± 0.7 kPa). The corresponding values for H(2)O were 39 ± 1 and 38 ± 1 mg l(-1). The results indicate that the CO(2) variability is consistent with the requirements of accuracy for alcohol ignition interlocks. In addition, CO(2) as tracer gas is preferable to H(2)O due to its low concentration in ambient air. In instruments for evidential purposes H(2)O may be required as tracer gas for increased accuracy. Furthermore, the study provides support for early determination of breath alcohol concentration, indicating that determination after 2 s will introduce an additional random error of 0.02 mg l(-1) or less.