Association between oxidative balance score and inflammatory markers in middle-aged and older Japanese people

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the association between oxidative balance score (OBS), wherein higher OBSs indicate lower oxidative stress, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), as well as inflammatory scores, in a large cohort of Japanese adults.

METHODS

In total, 9703 individuals aged 40-69 years participated in a baseline survey of a population-based cohort study in Saga, Japan (2005-2007). OBSs were calculated from 11 prooxidant and antioxidant lifestyle factors, including dietary intake, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and smoking status. Lifestyle data, including dietary intake, were obtained using a self-administered questionnaire. Adjusted geometric means of serum hs-CRP levels were calculated based on OBS quartiles, and linear trend tests were performed, with adjustments for potential confounders. In addition, an inflammatory cytokine z-score was constructed and assessed alongside individual markers.

RESULTS

After adjusting for multiple confounders in both sexes, the results showed a significant inverse association between OBS and serum hs-CRP levels in both men and women. These results remained unaltered when the OBS evaluation excluded powerful prooxidants, serum ferritin, or smoking. There was also an association between OBS and lower inflammatory z-score, indicating reduced overall systemic inflammation.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that a higher OBS, indicating a greater predominance of antioxidants over prooxidant exposure, is associated with lower hs-CRP levels and reduced systemic inflammation, regardless of sex.

Asymmetrically Functionalized Electron-Deficient π-Conjugated System for Printed Single-Crystalline Organic Electronics

Large-area single-crystalline thin films of n-type organic semiconductors (OSCs) fabricated via solution-processed techniques are urgently demanded for high-end electronics. However, the lack of molecular designs that concomitantly offer excellent charge-carrier transport, solution-processability, and chemical/thermal robustness for n-type OSCs limits the understanding of fundamental charge-transport properties and impedes the realization of large-area electronics. The benzo[de]isoquinolino[1,8-gh]quinolinetetracarboxylic diimide (BQQDI) π-electron system with phenethyl substituents (PhC2 -BQQDI) demonstrates high electron mobility and robustness but its strong aggregation results in unsatisfactory solubility and solution-processability. In this work, an asymmetric molecular design approach is reported that harnesses the favorable charge transport of PhC2 -BQQDI, while introducing alkyl chains to improve the solubility and solution-processability. An effective synthetic strategy is developed to obtain the target asymmetric BQQDI (PhC2 -BQQDI-Cn ). Interestingly, linear alkyl chains of PhC2 -BQQDI-Cn (n = 5-7) exhibit an unusual molecular mimicry geometry with a gauche conformation and resilience to dynamic disorders. Asymmetric PhC2 -BQQDI-C5 demonstrates excellent electron mobility and centimeter-scale continuous single-crystalline thin films, which are two orders of magnitude larger than that of PhC2 -BQQDI, allowing for the investigation of electron transport anisotropy and applicable electronics.

Multi-ancestry genome-wide analysis identifies shared genetic effects and common genetic variants for self-reported sleep duration

Both short (≤6 h per night) and long sleep duration (≥9 h per night) are associated with increased risk of chronic diseases. Despite evidence linking habitual sleep duration and risk of disease, the genetic determinants of sleep duration in the general population are poorly understood, especially outside of European (EUR) populations. Here, we report that a polygenic score of 78 European ancestry sleep duration single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is associated with sleep duration in an African (n = 7288; P = 0.003), an East Asian (n = 13 618; P = 6 × 10-4) and a South Asian (n = 7485; P = 0.025) genetic ancestry cohort, but not in a Hispanic/Latino cohort (n = 8726; P = 0.71). Furthermore, in a pan-ancestry (N = 483 235) meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for habitual sleep duration, 73 loci are associated with genome-wide statistical significance. Follow-up of five loci (near HACD2, COG5, PRR12, SH3RF1 and KCNQ5) identified expression-quantitative trait loci for PRR12 and COG5 in brain tissues and pleiotropic associations with cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric traits. Overall, our results suggest that the genetic basis of sleep duration is at least partially shared across diverse ancestry groups.

Mediation analysis unveils a carcinogenic effect of ADH1B rs1229984 through mechanisms other than change in drinking intensity: oesophageal cancer case-control study

BACKGROUND

Ingested alcohol is predominantly oxidized to acetaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (ADH1B), and acetaldehyde is further oxidized to acetate mainly by aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2). Although alcohol consumption is a convincing risk factor for oesophageal cancer, the role of ADH1B rs1229984 (His48Arg), the single-nucleotide polymorphism associated with slow alcohol metabolism, in oesophageal cancer development is unclear. Because this single-nucleotide polymorphism is associated with both increased risk of oesophageal cancer and drinking intensity, its association with oesophageal cancer might operate either through a direct pathway independently of drinking intensity, via an indirect pathway mediated by drinking intensity, or both.

METHODS

To disentangle these different pathways, we applied a mediation analysis to an oesophageal cancer case-control study (600 cases and 865 controls) by defining the ADH1B Arg allele and alcohol consumption as exposure and mediator, respectively, and decomposed the total-effect odds ratio of the ADH1B Arg allele into direct- and indirect-effect odds ratio.

RESULTS

The ADH1B Arg allele was associated with oesophageal cancer risk through pathways other than change in drinking intensity (direct-effect odds ratio, 2.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.41-2.92), in addition to the indirect pathway mediated by drinking intensity (indirect-effect odds ratio, 1.27; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.53). Further analyses by stratifying genotypes of ALDH2 rs671 (Glu504Lys), the functional single-nucleotide polymorphism that strongly attenuates the enzymatic activity, showed significant direct-effect odds ratio within each stratum.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that ADH1B Arg allele contributes to oesophageal cancer risk by slowing alcohol breakdown, in addition to its effect on the amount of alcohol consumed.