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Abstract: A series of novel peptides from various motifs of Asterina pectinifera cyclin B and their derivatives conjugated to HIV-Tat49–57 were designed and synthesized. Their bioactivities on two human cancer cell lines were determined. Among them, Tat-a5 (KAQIRAMECNILGRKKRRQRRR) exhibited significant cytotoxic effects on cancer cell lines EC-9706 and HCT-116. Tat-a5 could arrest cancer cells at G2/M phase and make them apoptotic. Our results suggested that Tat-a5 could be a novel leading peptide with anticancer activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: It has been well documented that obesity is closely associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Although body mass index (BMI) is the most frequently used method to assess overweightness and obesity, this method has been criticized because BMI does not always reflect true body fatness, which may be better evaluated by assessment of body fat and fat-free mass. The objective of this study was to investigate the best indicator to predict the presence of MetS among fat mass index, BMI and percentage of body fat (BF %) and determine its optimal cut-off value in the screening of MetS in practice.Methods: A cross-sectional study of 1698 subjects (aged 20-79 years) who participated in the annual health check-ups was employed. Body composition was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Fat mass index (FMI) was calculated. Sex-specific FMI quartiles were defined as follows: Q1: <4.39, Q2:4.39- < 5.65, Q3:5.65- < 7.03, Q4:≥7.03,in men; and Q1:<5.25, Q2:5.25- < 6.33, Q3:6.33- < 7.93,Q4:≥7.93, in women. MetS was defined by National Cholesterol Education Program/Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. The association between FMI quartiles and MetS was assessed using Binary logistic regression. Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis was used to determine optimal cutoff points for BMI,BF% and FMI in relation to the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity and specificity in men and women.Results: The adjusted odds ratios (95% CI) for the presence of MetS in the highest FMI quartile versus lowest quartile were 79.143(21.243-294.852) for men (P < 0.01) and 52.039(4.144-653.436) for women (P < 0.01) after adjusting age, BMI, BF%, TC, LDL, CRP, smoking status and exercise status, and the odds ratios were 9.166(2.157-38.952) for men (P < 0.01) and 25.574(1.945-336.228) for women (P < 0.05) when WC was also added into the adjustment. It was determined that BMI values of 27.45 and 23.85 kg/m2, BF% of 23.95% and 31.35% and FMI of 7.00 and 7.90 kg/m2 were the optimal cutoff values to predict the presence of MetS among men and women according to the ROC curve analysis. Among the indicators used to predict MetS, FMI was the index that showed the greatest area under the ROC curve in both sexes.Conclusions: Higher FMI levels appear to be independently and positively associated with the presence of MetS regardless of BMI and BF%. FMI seems to be a better screening tool in prediction of the presence of metabolic syndrome than BMI and percentage of body fat in men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although studies have shown that elevated cystatin C (Cys-C) levels are associated with the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the general population, few studies have examined the relationship between serum Cys-C levels and MetS, stratified by menopause status, among women in China. Therefore, we conducted this study to assess the relationship between Cys-C levels and MetS in Chinese premenopausal and postmenopausal women., Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the baseline data of 1,428 Chinese community-dwelling women who participated in the annual health checkup. MetS was defined by the updated National Cholesterol Education Program/Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the association between Cys-C levels and MetS. One-way analysis of variance, followed by posttest for linear trends, was performed to evaluate the relationships between Cys-C levels and the number of MetS components. Ordinal regression analysis was used to determine whether menopause status and MetS components contribute to elevated levels of Cys-C., Results: The mean level of Cys-C was significantly higher in women with MetS than in those without MetS among both premenopausal and postmenopausal women, showing a progressive increase (P for trend < 0.001) in parallel with the progressive increment in the number of MetS components in all women. Higher Cys-C levels were found to be associated with the presence of MetS after adjusting for age, body mass index, and estimated glomerular filtration rate in all women. The higher odds ratio changed little, even after further adjustment for serum blood nitrogen, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, drinking status, and smoking status. Elevated Cys-C level was significantly associated with postmenopause status (P = 0.007), increased waist circumference (P = 0.006), and elevated blood pressure (P = 0.025)., Conclusions: Higher serum Cys-C levels are positively and independently associated with the presence of MetS in Chinese premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Elevated Cys-C levels are significantly associated with postmenopause status.

Objective: To analyze the relationship between normal serum uric acid (SUA) levels and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among postmenopausal women, and determine the possible risk factors of NAFLD in this patient population., Methods: Chinese postmenopausal women who participated in the annual health check-up program from March 2009 to February 2010 were retrospectively assessed to identify individuals with SUA within normal range for study inclusion. For the total 1425 study participants, the recorded data of anthropometric parameters, metabolic factors, and serum biochemical parameters were collected. Results from abdominal ultrasonography examination were used to group participants according to presence of fatty liver. Women with fatty liver were divided into NAFLD and non-NAFLD groups. Further sub-grouping was performed according to SUA quartiles, as follows: Q1 group: less than 226.1 mumol/L); Q2 group: 226.1 mumol/L less than or equal to SUA less than 267.8 mumol/L; Q3 group: 267.8 mumol/Lless than or equal to SUA less than 303.5 mumol/L); Q4 group: 303.5 mumol/Lless than or equal toSUAless than or equal to357.0 mumol/L. The independent-sample t-test was used to compare normally distributed variables between groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze variables with skewed distribution. Categorical variables were examined by the R * C x2 test. Binary logistic analysis was used to determine the risk factors for fatty liver and to adjust for possible confounders. The multiple non-parameter independent-sample test (Kruskal-Wallis test) was used to compare the differences of SUA levels among NAFLD groups with different disease severity., Results: The prevalence of NAFLD among Chinese postmenopausal women with normal SUA was 32.8%, with NAFLD prevalences of 20.4% (70/343) in women with Q1 SUA, 26.3% (104/395) with Q2 SUA, 35.2% (128/364) with Q3 SUA, and 51.4% (166/323) with Q4 SUA. The prevalence of fatty liver showed a significant increasing trend according to the SUA quartile (x2 = 76.470, P-trend less than 0.01). Women in the SUA Q3 and Q4 groups had significantly higher risk of fatty liver presence than women in the Q1 group (P less than 0.01 for both, with or without adjustment of confounders). Disease severity did not appear to be related to disease severity, as the SUA levels in women with mild, moderate or severe fatty liver were not significantly different (286.8+/-48.2 mumol/L vs. 277.9+/-53.0 mumol/L vs. 281.4+/-48.2 mumol/L, respectively; x2 = 3.025, P more than 0.05)., Conclusion: SUA levels were independently correlated with NAFLD in Chinese postmenopausal women. SUA levels in the higher quartiles of the normal range may be an independent risk factor of NAFLD.