Search

Purpose: Periodontal disease worsens glycemic control due to the bidirectional link between periodontitis and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), involving inflammatory markers such as soluble tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (sTWEAK), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and omentin-1. However, their combined role in T2DM with periodontitis has not been studied. This study aimed to evaluate the levels of these biomarkers in periodontitis patients with T2DM before and after nonsurgical periodontal therapy (NSPT). Materials and Methods: Sixty subjects were divided into four groups (15 each): Group I (systemically and periodontally healthy), Group II (systemically healthy with periodontitis), and Groups III and IV (periodontitis with T2DM, exhibiting good glycemic control [hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) <7%] and poor control [HbA1c >8%]), respectively. Periodontal parameters such as plaque index, bleeding index, probing pocket depth, and clinical attachment level were assessed. Serum samples were collected at baseline and 3 months to measure sTWEAK, omentin-1, and TNF-α levels using ELISA. HbA1c levels were evaluated at baseline and 3 months. Results: TNF-α was significantly elevated in all groups compared with sTWEAK and omentin-1. However, omentin-1 levels were higher in the healthy group compared with all other groups. Periodontal parameters and biomarker levels showed significant improvement across all groups after 3 months post-NSPT. Conclusion: TNF-α and sTWEAK may serve as diagnostic markers, while omentin-1 can be a reliable prognostic marker for evaluating NSPT effects in T2DM patients with periodontitis and varying glycemic control.

To explore the relationship between serum levels of midkine and omentin-1 and the severity of sepsis in patients, and their prognostic value. A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 180 sepsis patients. According to the severity of the patient's condition, they were separated into sepsis group ( n  = 76), severe sepsis group ( n  = 59), and sepsis shock group ( n  = 45). Based on the survival within 28 days of admission, they were grouped into survivors group ( n  = 128) and nonsurvivors group ( n  = 52). The serum Midkine level and APACHE II score in the sepsis shock group were higher than those in the severe sepsis group and sepsis group, while the Omentin-1 level was lower than that in the severe sepsis group and sepsis group ( p  < 0.05). The serum Midkine level and APACHE II score in the severe sepsis group were higher than those in the sepsis group, while the Omentin-1 level was lower than that in the sepsis group ( p  < 0.05). The Midkine and APACHE II score in the nonsurvivors group was higher than those in the survivors group, while the Omentin-1 score was lower than that in the survivors group ( p  < 0.05). Midkine and APACHE II score were independent risk factors for the prognosis of sepsis patients, while Omentin-1 was a protective factor for the prognosis of sepsis patients ( p  < 0.05). The AUC of the combined prediction of serum Midkine and Ommentin-1 for the prognosis of sepsis patients was 0.880, with a sensitivity of 90.38% and a specificity of 72.66%. The combined prediction of serum Midkine and Ommentin-1 was better than that of individual prediction of Midkine and Ommentin-1. Serum Midkine is highly expressed and Omentin-1 is lowly expressed in sepsis patients, and the combination of the two has a high predictive power for the prognosis of sepsis patients.

Introduction: Background and aims: omentin-1 might present a potential role in metabolic syndrome (MS). The aim of our investigation was to evaluate the relationship between omentin-1 and nascent MS. Methods: we carried out a cross-sectional study in 606 obese subjects. Adiposity parameters, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, insulin levels, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triglyceride and glucose index (TyG), lipid profile, C-reactive protein, omentin-1, and prevalence of nascent MS were determined. Results: 307 subjects had MS (49.2 %) and 299 did not show MS (50.8 %). Subjects without MS have higher omentin-1 levels (delta: 78.0 ± 13.8 ng/ml; p = 0.01). A negative correlation was observed between omentin-1 and adiposity parameters, glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, TyG index and triglycerides in both groups. And a positive correlation was observed with HDL-cholesterol. BMI (OR = 1.17, 95 % CI = 1.09-1.31; p = 0.02), HOMA-IR (OR = 5.21, 95 % CI = 1.69-21.11; p = 0.01) and omentin-1 (OR = 0.95, 95 % CI = 0.94-0.97; p = 0.02) remained in the final model as predictors of MS. The cut-off point according to the Youden index was 372.45 ng/ml of omentin-1, to predict MS. Conclusions: Caucasian patients with obesity had clearly lower serum omentin-1 levels in the presence of nascent MS. An inverse correlation was demonstrated with adiposity parameters, insulin resistance and triglycerides. And a direct correlation with HDL-cholesterol was reported.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are connective tissue autoimmune diseases. The present study aimed to check whether serum clusterin (CLU) concentration and its glycosylation pattern may be markers differentiating these diseases-blood sera of patients with PsA (n = 37), RA (n = 34), and healthy subjects (control, n = 21) were examined. CLU concentration was measured using the ELISA test. Glycosylation was analyzed using lectin-ELISA with sialo-specific lectins from Maackia amurensis (MAA) and Sambucus nigra (SNA) recognizing sialic acid (SA) α2,3- and α2,6-linked, respectively, and fucose-specific lectins from Lotus tetragonolobus (LTA), Ulex europaeus (UEA), and Lens culinaris (LCA) specific to fucose α1,3-linked, α1,2-linked, and core fucose, respectively. Significantly higher CLU concentrations were observed in the PsA than in the RA patients. The expression of α2,6-linked SA was significantly higher in the PsA and RA patients than in the control. The expression of SNA-reactive SA was visibly higher in the PsA compared to the RA and control group but insignificant. Negative significant correlations between CLU concentrations and its glycans reactivity with LTA and UEA were also observed. Significantly higher serum CLU concentration, accompanied by a high expression of SNA-reactive SA and a reduced degree of Lewis x and Lewis y antennary fucosylation, may constitute a promising panel of parameters differentiating PsA from RA.

Background: Metabolic syndrome is a prevalent and common health problem and numerous studies have revealed the role of diet and lifestyle change in prevention of metabolic syndrome. However, the novel dietary index, cardioprotective index (CPI) and its association with metabolic syndrome is not investigated yet. In the current study, we evaluated the association between metabolic syndrome and its components, CPI, Nesfatin-1 and Omentin-1in a cross-sectional study., Methods: Three hundred forty eight overweight and obese individuals with metabolic syndrome were recruited. Subjects underwent anthropometric and laboratory assays including metabolic markers, Nesfatin-1 and Omentin-1 with commercial kits., Results: Those at the first tertile of CPI had lower high density lipoprotein concentrations (HDL) and higher low density lipoprotein concentrations (LDL), triglyceride (TG), systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP, DBP) levels compared with those at the highest tertiles (P < 0.05). After adjustment for the confounding effects of age, sex, body mass index, physical activity and total calorie intake, LDL lost its significance across CPI tertiles. Moreover, serum total cholesterol, insulin and insulin resistance were not significant across CPI tertiles neither in crude nor in adjusted models (P > 0.05). Additionally, being at the third tertile of CPI was accompanied with significantly higher Nesfatin-1 and Omentin-1 levels compared with lowest tertiels (P < 0.05) in crude and confounder - adjusted models., Conclusions: To our findings, CPI was in positive relationship with metabolic parameters, blood pressure, Nesfatin-1 and Omentin-1 levels in metabolic syndrome. Further future studies will help to elaborate the causality., Clinical Trial Number: Not applicable., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Written consent was obtained from all of the participants of the study. The protocol of the study is approved by ethics committee of Alnoor University (143-P912). Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objectives: The aim of this research was to evaluate changes in body composition, adipokine levels, and dyslipidemia parameters in males with abdominal obesity following two distinct interventions: exercise alone and exercise combined with an ad libitum diet., Methods: This study included 44 males with abdominal obesity (mean age 34.7 ± 5.5 years, waist circumference [WC] 110.3 ± 8.5, BMI 32.0 ± 3.9), who were randomly assigned to three groups: an experimental group engaging in aerobic-resistance exercise (II, n = 16), an experimental group engaging in aerobic-resistance exercise combined with an ad libitum high-protein, low-glycemic index carbohydrate diet (III, n = 16), both interventions lasting 6 weeks, and a control group without interventions (I, n = 12). Body composition metrics (body mass index [BMI], waist circumference [WC], body fat [BF], abdominal fat [ABD]) and fat-free mass [FFM], along with biochemical blood analyses (irisin [IR], omentin [OMEN], glucose [GLU], insulin [INS], LDL- and HDL-cholesterol), were measured at baseline and after the 6-week intervention. The effects of the interventions on the analyzed variables across groups were assessed using mixed ANOVA tests with post-hoc comparisons. Effect size (ES) was also calculated using partial eta squared ( η p 2 )., Results: The intervention in group III resulted in a significant decrease in IR ( p < 0.01, η p 2 = 0.03) by 41% and LDL-C ( p < 0.01, η p 2 = 0.02) by 14%. These effects were associated with a reduction in BF ( p < 0.01, η p 2 = 0.02) by 14%, ABD ( p < 0.01, η p 2 = 0.03) by 31%, and WC ( p < 0.01, η p 2 = 0.01) by 3%. In group II, decreases after 6 weeks of intervention were noted only in WC ( p = 0.02, η p 2 = 0.01) by 1% and in INS ( p < 0.01, η p 2 = 0.04) by 47%. No differences were found between groups. The use of low-glycemic index carbohydrates ( p < 0.01, η p 2 = 0.06) and increased protein intake ( p < 0.01, η p 2 = 0.30) led to changes in the fiber-to-energy value of the diet ratio ( p < 0.01, η p 2 = 0.18) and a reduction in dietary energy value ( p < 0.01, η p 2 = 0.13) by 23%, resulting in a greater energy deficit than in the II group., Conclusions: These findings highlight the effect of combining dietary and exercise interventions to achieve significant changes in body composition and metabolic parameters, even over a short period of intervention.

Background: Abnormal glycosylation is associated with tumors. The clinical value of serum glycans in assessing progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients remains a challenge., Methods: A study dynamically comparing levels of fifteen lectin-specific glycans between preoperative and postoperative serum of 65 HCC patients was conducted via lectin biochip technology. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to address associations between serum glycan levels and clinicopathological characteristics. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to evaluate the impacts of serum glycan levels on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of the HCC patients., Results: HCC patients presented significantly higher levels of the lectin-specific glycans in preoperative serum than disease-free individuals (p < 0.001 - p = 0.029), except ConA. The glycans in preoperative sera were significantly related to tumor size, pTNM, metastasis, BCLC stage, portal hypertension (PHT), and platelet count (PLT), respectively (p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic analyses indicated that tumor size and pTNM independently impact on glycan-specific lectins either LTL, UEA-I, VVL, NPL, WGA, PNA, MAL-I, SNA, or PHA-L (p = 0.003 - p = 0.044); BCLC stage and PLT were independent factors influencing the serum glycans recognizable DSA (p = 0.024) and SNA (p = 0.050), respectively. Surgical excision of tumor mass significantly reduced glycan levels in sera. Tumor differentiation, albumin, and ABO type significantly revealed independent influence on glycan-specific lectins, such as RCA-I (p = 0.024), VVL (p = 0.024), and Con A (p = 0.026) in the postoperative serum. HCC patients with high levels of VVL-binding glycans significantly benefited from a longer OS time (p = 0.016, HR: 0.460, 95% CI: 0.237-0.892) and a better PFS time (p = 0.004; HR: 0.435, 95% CI: 0.237-0.799), respectively., Conclusion: Serum glycans could reflect surgical outcomes in at-risk patients and become valuable biomarkers in evaluating the progression of HCC patients., (© 2024 The Author(s). Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Intelectin-1 (ITLN1; also Omentin-1, OMNT1) is secreted by adipose tissue (AT) and plays an important role in glucose metabolism regulation, with links to obesity-associated diseases. ITLN1 activity so far has rarely been investigated using RNA-sequencing and in larger cohorts. We evaluated ITLN1 expression among three clinical cohorts of the Leipzig Obesity BioBank-a cross-sectional cohort comprising of 1480 people, a cohort of people with metabolically healthy or unhealthy obesity (31 insulin-sensitive, 42 insulin-resistant individuals with obesity), and a longitudinal two-step bariatric surgery cohort (n = 65). We hypothesized that AT ITLN1 expression is associated with serum omentin-1, clinical parameters associated with obesity, and with weight loss after bariatric surgery. We also investigated the correlation of AT ITLN1 expression with genes related to inflammatory response, lipid metabolism, obesity, and regulation of energy balance. Likewise, we inspected gene group expression and metabolic pathways associated with ITLN1 expression using gene set enrichment and gene correlation analysis. We show that ITLN1 expression differs in VAT and SAT, and should therefore be analyzed separately. Furthermore, ITLN1 expression increases with VAT tissue mass, but is negatively affected by AT tissue dysfunction among individuals with unhealthy obesity, corroborated by interplay with genes related to tissue inflammation. Gene set enrichment and gene correlation analysis of ITLN1 expression suggest that AT ITLN1 expression is related to local inflammatory processes in AT, but also in processes such as regulation of appetite, energy balance, and maintenance of body weight., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Diabetic foot disease is an advanced complication of diabetes mellitus, which is associated with severe invalidization and high mortality rate among affected people. Many factors are involved in its pathogenesis but not all of them are fully elucidated. Objectives: Adipose tissue and its hormones - adipokines, are related to diabetic complications and metabolic disorders. Until now, there are limited data on their role in diabetic foot. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to determine the levels of the adipokine omentin-1 in people with and without diabetic foot disease and to look for its potential involvement in this complication. Methods: Eighty patients with type 2 diabetes and mean age of 60.8±10.5 years were included in this study. They were divided into two groups: with (n=36) and without (n=44) diabetic foot disease. Standard antrometric, clinical and laboratory tests were made. Body composition was analyzed by bioelectrical impedance based device. Serum omentin-1 was measured using ELISA method. Results: Levels of omentin-1 were significantly higher among people with diabetic foot disease (700.2±345.1 ng/ml), compared to the other group (560.2±176.7 ng/ml). This difference remained significant even after adjusting for potential confounders. In a regression model omentin-1 proved its predictive value for development of diabetic foot. Conclusion: Adipokines, and particularly omentin-1, might be included in the pathogenesis of diabetic foot disease., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women globally. Resistin, omentin and ghrelin, adipokines involved in inflammation and metabolic regulation, have been implicated in cancer development, yet their associations with BC remain unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to elucidate the relationships between resistin, omentin, and ghrelin concentrations and BC, while exploring potential moderators such as body mass index (BMI) and menopausal status. A comprehensive search of electronic databases up to 13 May 2024 identified studies comparing resistin and omentin, but not ghrelin, concentrations in BC patients and healthy controls. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were calculated using random-effects models, and meta-regression and subgroup analyses were performed to investigate sources of heterogeneity. Analysis of 11 studies showed that BC patients exhibited significantly higher resistin concentrations compared to controls, with a pooled SMD of 2.05 (95 % CI 1.24 to 2.86, p < 0.001). Meta-regression indicated that BMI significantly moderated the resistin-BC association (p = 0.003). In contrast, omentin concentrations presented a complex picture, with a pooled SMD of -0.27 (95 % CI -1.39 to 0.84, I^ 2  = 96.2 %, p < 0.001), indicating substantial heterogeneity and inconclusive results, whereas only one study investigated ghrelin. Our findings support a significant association between elevated resistin concentrations and BC, suggesting a potential role of resistin in BC pathophysiology. The data on omentin and ghrelin remain inconclusive, warranting further investigation. Future research should focus on large, longitudinal studies with standardized methodologies to validate these findings and clarify the role of adipokines in BC., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To analyze the correlation between serum fibronectin 3 (Ficolin-3) levels and early severe bleeding in newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) patients., Methods: A total of 125 patients with newly diagnosed APL admitted to Shanxi Bethune Hospital from January 2020 to August 2023 were selected. All patients were given all-trans retinoic acid+arsenic for induction therapy. The severe bleeding events within 30 days of induction therapy (assessed by WHO bleeding score, grade 0, grade 1 and grade 2 were no bleeding or mild bleeding, grade 3 and grade 4 were severe or fatal bleeding) were used as observation endpoints. The serum Ficolin-3 levels was dected by ELISA method, baseline data and other laboratory indicators were counted, and the correlation between serum Ficolin-3 levels and early severe bleeding in newly diagnosed APL patients was analyzed., Results: 23 out of 125 APL patients experienced early severe bleeding during induction therapy, including 13 cases of grade 3 bleeding and 10 cases of grade 4 bleeding. There were 102 cases of non-serious bleeding, including 30 cases of grade 0, 24 cases of grade 1 bleeding, and 48 cases of grade 2 bleeding. The proportion of serum promyelocytes, white blood cell count, and D-D level in the severe bleeding group were significantly higher than those in the non severe bleeding group ( P < 0.05), while the levels of PLT and FIB were significantly lower than those in the non-serious bleeding group ( P < 0.05). The serum Ficolin-3 levels in the severe bleeding group were significantly lower than those in the non severe bleeding group before treatment, days of treatment, 14 days of treatment, and 30 days of treatment ( P < 0.05). Confirmed by point two column correlation, serum Ficolin-3 levels were negatively correlated with early severe bleeding in newly diagnosed APL patients before treatment, 7 days, 14 days, and 30 days after treatment ( r values were -0.485, -0.397, -0.304, and -0.183, respectively). The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) graph of the subjects was drawn, and the results showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of serum Ficolin-3 levels before treatment and at 7 and 14 days after treatment for predicting early severe bleeding in newly diagnosed APL patients was greater than 0.7, all of which had certain predictive efficacy, and the serum Ficolin-3 level before treatment had the best predictive efficacy., Conclusion: The serum Ficolin-3 levels in newly diagnosed APL patients are associated with early severe bleeding, and the serum Ficolin-3 levels before treatment have a significant advantage in predicting early severe bleeding in newly diagnosed APL patients.

Background and Purpose: Immune dysfunction is one of the risk factors which plays an important role in the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), and inflammation may be involved in its etiology. Minimal data is available on the effect of cytokine levels on neurobehavioral function in lymphoma before the initiation of chemotherapy. Therefore, we aimed to explore the risk of NHL by assessment of cytokine and adipokine levels and their correlation with neurobehavioral changes., Methods: This case-control study enrolled 62 subjects (age-sex matched: 31 cases and 31 controls). Neurobehavioral assessment was done using Montreal Cognitive Assessment questionnaire (MoCA) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). EORTC Core Quality of Life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) was used to assess quality of life. Questionnaire assessment and sample collection were done after the patient enrolment and before first cycle of chemotherapy., Results: Mean age of NHL patients and healthy controls was 51.9 ± 11.8 and 50 ± 10.9 years, respectively. NHL patients showed significantly higher levels of IL-6 (0.77 ± 0.11) and TNF- α (1.47 ± 1.31) than controls (0.55 ± 0.4 and 0.66 ± 0.89, respectively) with p-value<0.005. Also, NHL patients showed significantly lower levels of adiponectin (0.31 ± 0.24) and omentin (0.46 ± 0.1) than controls (0.42 ± 0.13 and 0.53 ± 0.11, respectively) with p-value<0.005. Lower MoCA and EORTC QLQ C-30 scores and higher PHQ-9 scores were observed in NHL patients in comparison to healthy control., Conclusion: Our results showed that adiponectin, omentin IL-6 and TNF-α may be used as pre-diagnostic markers of NHL risk. Neurobehavioral changes observed in NHL patients may alter the quality of life., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interests, (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has emerged as the predominant chronic liver condition globally, and underdiagnosis is common, particularly in mild cases, attributed to the asymptomatic nature and traditional ultrasonography's limited sensitivity to detect early-stage steatosis. Consequently, patients may experience progressive liver pathology. The objective of this research is to ascertain the efficacy of serum glycan glycopatterns as a potential diagnostic biomarker, with a particular focus on the disease's early stages. We collected a total of 170 serum samples from volunteers with mild-NAFLD (Mild), severe-NAFLD (Severe), and non-NAFLD (None). Examination via lectin microarrays has uncovered pronounced disparities in serum glycopatterns identified by 19 distinct lectins. Following this, we employed four distinct machine learning algorithms to categorize the None, Mild, and Severe groups, drawing on the alterations observed in serum glycopatterns. The gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) algorithm outperformed other models in diagnostic accuracy within the validation set, achieving an accuracy rate of 95% in differentiating the None group from the Mild group. Our research indicates that employing lectin microarrays to identify alterations in serum glycopatterns, when integrated with advanced machine learning algorithms, could constitute a promising approach for the diagnosis of NAFLD, with a special emphasis on its early detection.

Antiphospholipid syndrome is a rare autoimmune disease characterized by persistent antiphospholipid antibodies. Immunoglobulin G plays a vital role in disease progression, with its structure and function affected by glycosylation. We aimed to investigate the changes in the serum immunoglobulin G glycosylation pattern in antiphospholipid syndrome patients. We applied lectin microarray on samples from 178 antiphospholipid syndrome patients, 135 disease controls (including Takayasu arteritis, rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease) and 100 healthy controls. Lectin blots were performed for validation of significant differences. Here, we show an increased immunoglobulin G-binding level of soybean agglutinin (p = 0.047, preferring N-acetylgalactosamine) in antiphospholipid syndrome patients compared with healthy and disease controls. Additionally, the immunoglobulin G from antiphospholipid syndrome patients diagnosed with pregnancy events had lower levels of fucosylation (p = 0.001, recognized by Lotus tetragonolobus) and sialylation (p = 0.030, recognized by Sambucus nigra I) than those with simple thrombotic events. These results suggest the unique serum immunoglobulin G glycosylation profile of antiphospholipid syndrome patients, which may inform future studies to design biomarkers for more accurate diagnosis of antiphospholipid syndrome and even for the prediction of clinical symptoms in patients., (© 2024 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Immunology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Scandinavian Foundation for Immunology.)

The poor remodeling of placental spiral arteries seen in preeclampsia is also discussed to contribute to recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) preceded by abnormal angiogenesis and excessive complement activation. Low levels of Mannose-binding-lectin (MBL), a pattern recognition molecule (PRM) of the lectin pathway, have been found in women with RPL. We propose that pregnancy loss is connected to defective angiogenesis with reperfusion damage in the placenta and decreased levels of PRM in the lectin pathway in women with RPL. In this cohort study, we investigate the angiogenic factors and the lectin complement pathway in early pregnancy and their time-dependent relationship with pregnancy outcomes in 76 women with secondary RPL (sRPL) who have at least four prior pregnancy losses and a live birth. We evaluated levels of Angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1), Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), and the PRMs, MBL, ficolin-1, -2, -3 and an additional soluble PRM, Pentraxin-3, during the 5th, 6th, and 7th gestational weeks. Our results showed that, compared to live births, pregnancies that ended in loss were associated with elevated VEGF levels and decreased levels of the Ang-2/Ang-1 ratio. Also, increasing levels of ficolin-2 were significantly associated with pregnancy loss, with MBL showing no association. Our research suggests that women with sRPL may have inadequate placentation with impaired angiogenesis in pregnancies ending in a loss., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To investigate lectin pathway proteins (LPPs) as biomarkers for axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) in a cross-sectional cohort with a suspicion of axSpA, comprising newly diagnosed axSpA and chronic low back pain (cLBP) individuals., Methods: Serum samples from 515 participants within the OptiRef cohort, including 151 axSpA patients and 364 cLBP patients, were measured using immunoassays for LPPs (mannan-binding lectin (MBL), collectin liver-1 (CL-L1), M-ficolin, H-ficolin and L-ficolin, MBL-associated serine proteases (MASP)-1, -2 and -3, MBL-associated proteins (MAp19 and MAp44) and the complement activation product C3dg)., Results: Serum levels of L-ficolin, MASP-2 and C3dg were elevated in axSpA patients, whereas levels of MASP-3 and CL-L1 were decreased, and this remained significant for C3dg and MASP-3 after adjustment for C reactive protein (CRP). A univariate regression analysis showed serum levels of CL-L1, MASP-2, MASP-3 and C3dg to predict the diagnosis of axSpA, and MASP-3 and C3dg remained significant in a multivariate logistic regression analysis. Assessment of the diagnostic potential showed that a combination of human leukocyte antigen B27 (HLA-B27) and measurements of L-ficolin, MASP-3 and C3dg increased the diagnostic specificity for axSpA, however, with a concomitant loss of sensitivity., Conclusions: Serum levels of complement activation, that is, C3dg, and MASP-3 differed significantly between axSpA and cLBP patients after adjustment for CRP. Although combining HLA-B27 with measurements of L-ficolin, MASP-3 and C3dg increased the diagnostic specificity for axSpA, this seems unjustified due to the concomitant loss of sensitivity. However, both C3dg and MASP-3 were associated with axSpA diagnosis in multivariate logistic regression, suggesting an involvement of complement in the inflammatory processes and possibly pathogenesis in axSpA., Competing Interests: Competing interests: CEM, AT, ST, AKW declare no conflicts of interest. AGL has received consulting fees from Novartis, UCB, Pfizer and Janssen; Honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Novartis, UCB, Pfizer; Support for attending meetings from Janssen and Novartis; Participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, Janssen. LS has received support for attending meetings and/or travel from Abbvie and MSD. MP has received support for attending meetings and/or travel from UCB and Jannsen; Receipt of equipment, materials, drugs, medical writing, gifts or other services from Novartis. VRR has received honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Abbvie; Support for attending meetings and/or travel from Pfizer; Participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for Takeda. BM has received support for attending meetings and/or travel from UCB, Amgen and Galapagos Biopharma. JR has received support for attending meetings and/or travel from Abbvie, Jannsen, Novartis and UCB. SL has received support for attending meetings and/or travel from MSD and Abbvie. JS has received consulting fees from UCB; Honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from Abbvie, MSD, Novartis, UCB. DP has received research grants from AbbVie, Eli Lilly, MSD, Novartis, and Pfizer; Consulting fees from AbbVie, Biocad, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Moonlake, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB; Payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from AbbVie, Canon, DKSH, Eli Lilly, Janssen, MSD, Medscape, Novartis, Peervoice, Pfizer, and UCB; Participation on Advisory Board for AbbVie, Biocad, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Moonlake, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB; Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid: ASAS, GRAPPA. FP has received research grants from Novartis, Eli Lily, UCB; Consulting fees from AMGEN, AbbVie, BMS, Celgene, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, UCB, Medscape, Galapagos, Hexal; Support for attending meetings and/or travel from Celgene, Janssen, Pfizer, Novartis, UCB; Participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board for AbbVie, Celgene, Janssen, Novartis, UCB; Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid: ASAS, Y-ASAS, GRAPPA, Y-GRAPPA, EMEUNET, EULAR, DGRh, DEGUM, Rheumazentrum Berlin; Receipt of study materials from Aidian Oy., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess and correlate the serum and GCF levels of omentin with the periodontal status of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with and without periodontitis., Methods: Forty-four patients were divided into four groups: group H: 11 systemically and periodontally healthy subjects; group P: 11 systemically healthy subjects with periodontitis; group RA: 11 periodontally healthy subjects with rheumatoid arthritis and group RA + P: 11 rheumatoid arthritis subjects with periodontitis. Periodontal parameters (plaque index, modified gingival index, probing depth, and clinical attachment level) were recorded and serum and GCF samples were collected for the estimation of omentin using ELISA., Results: The mean value of plaque index, modified gingival index, probing depth, and clinical attachment level were significantly higher whereas serum and GCF omentin levels were found to be decreased in group IV when compared to the other groups. The significant correlation was found between the serum and GCF omentin levels with all the periodontal parameters., Conclusion: The omentin level in serum and GCF was found to be lower in RA patients with periodontitis. It is also inversely correlated with the periodontal parameters. Thus, omentin can serve as a significant diagnostic and therapeutic tool in both periodontal and rheumatoid disease., (© 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Purpose: Mucosal inflammation is a key feature of ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic relapsing and remitting form of inflammatory bowel disease. Omentin-1, a newly discovered adipokine, is reported to have anti-inflammatory effects and has been found to be decreased in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The aim of our study was to investigate the association between serum omentin-1 levels and mucosal disease activity in patients with UC., Study Design: A total of 126 patients with UC and 77 healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. Serum omentin-1 expression levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to evaluate its potential for monitoring disease activity, including clinical and endoscopic activity., Results: Serum omentin-1 levels were significantly lower in patients with UC compared to healthy controls (HC) (UC, 61.7 interquartile range: 51.5-72.6 versus healthy controls, 103.5 interquartile range: 48.3-156.2 ng/ml; P < .001). Furthermore, serum omentin-1 levels were associated with both clinical and endoscopic activity in patients with UC. Notably, omentin-1 levels were significantly lower in patients who achieved mucosal healing. Receiver operating characteristic curves indicated that serum omentin-1 levels could potentially serve as an activity index for evaluating UC., Conclusions: These findings provide further insight into the association between omentin-1 and UC, suggesting that omentin-1 may be a useful biomarker for monitoring mucosal disease activity in patients with UC., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Glycoprotein clusterin (CLU) has many functions such as phagocyte recruitment, complement system inhibition, apoptosis inhibition, hormone and lipid transport, as well as in the immune response. The study aimed to assess the changes in CLU concentrations and the profile and degree of CLU glycosylation between patients with severe COVID-19, convalescents, and healthy subjects (control). The profile and degree of serum CLU N-glycosylation were analyzed using lectin-ELISA with specific lectins. CLU concentrations were significantly lower and relative reactivities of CLU glycans with SNA ( Sambucus nigra agglutinin) were significantly higher in severe COVID-19 patients in comparison to convalescents and the control group. The relative reactivities of CLU glycans with MAA ( Maackia amurensis agglutinin), together with relative reactivity with LCA ( Lens culinaris agglutinin), were also significantly higher in patients with severe COVID-19 than in convalescents and the control group, but they also significantly differed between convalescents and control. The development of acute inflammation in the course of severe COVID-19 is associated with a decrease in CLU concentration, accompanied by an increase in the expression of α2,3-linked sialic acid, and core fucose. Both of these parameters can be included as useful glycomarkers differentiating patients with severe COVID-19 from convalescents and the control group, as well as convalescents and healthy subjects.

Introduction: Circulating omentin levels have been positively associated with insulin sensitivity. Although a role for adiponectin in this relationship has been suggested, underlying mechanisms remain elusive. In order to reveal the relationship between omentin and systemic metabolism, this study aimed to investigate associations of serum concentrations of omentin and metabolites., Research Design and Methods: This study is based on 1124 participants aged 61-82 years from the population-based KORA (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg) F4 Study, for whom both serum omentin levels and metabolite concentration profiles were available. Associations were assessed with five multivariable regression models, which were stepwise adjusted for multiple potential confounders, including age, sex, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, lifestyle markers (physical activity, smoking behavior and alcohol consumption), serum adiponectin levels, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, use of lipid-lowering or anti-inflammatory medication, history of myocardial infarction and stroke, homeostasis model assessment 2 of insulin resistance, diabetes status, and use of oral glucose-lowering medication and insulin., Results: Omentin levels significantly associated with multiple metabolites including amino acids, acylcarnitines, and lipids (eg, sphingomyelins and phosphatidylcholines (PCs)). Positive associations for several PCs, such as diacyl (PC aa C32:1) and alkyl-alkyl (PC ae C32:2), were significant in models 1-4, whereas those with hydroxytetradecenoylcarnitine (C14:1-OH) were significant in all five models. Omentin concentrations were negatively associated with several metabolite ratios, such as the valine-to-PC ae C32:2 and the serine-to-PC ae C32:2 ratios in most models., Conclusions: Our results suggest that omentin may influence insulin sensitivity and diabetes risk by changing systemic lipid metabolism, but further mechanistic studies investigating effects of omentin on metabolism of insulin-sensitive tissues are needed., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver condition worldwide. NAFLD is often associated with features of Metabolic Syndrome such as obesity and insulin resistance., Methods: The current comprehensive meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the association between circulating Omentin levels and NAFLD. A systematic search in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases was conducted to identify relevant studies up until 5th May 2022. The standard mean difference (SMD) values and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed for the association of Omentin levels with NAFLD risk in a random effect model., Results: The meta-analysis involved 6 case-control studies with a total of 371 cases and 269 controls. Pooled SMD showed no significant difference in serum Omentin between NAFLD and healthy groups (SMD= -0.047 and 95% CI -0.957&#95;0.862 P=0.91). Subgroup analysis based on sample size showed that the average Omentin levels were significantly higher in NAFLD patients in studies with sample size ≥70 (SMD=0.356 CI 0.056&#95;0.655 P=0.02)., Conclusion: Additional well-designed studies with more sample sizes are essential to clarify the potential role of Omentin as a risk marker of NAFLD., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

The anti-inflammatory adipokine intelectin-1, which is encoded by the ITLN1 gene, is hypothesized to be linked to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and obesity. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the ITLN1 gene polymorphism rs2274907 on obesity and T2DM in Turkish adults. The impact of genotype on lipid profiles and serum intelectin levels in the obese and diabetes groups was also investigated. Randomly selected 2266 adults (mean age, 55.0 ± 11.7 years; 51.2% women) participating in the population-based Turkish adult risk factor study were cross-sectionally analyzed. The genotyping of rs2274907 A > T polymorphism was performed by using the hybridization probe based LightSNiP assay in real-time PCR. T2DM were defined using the criteria of the American Diabetes Association. Obesity was described as Body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m 2 . Statistical analyses were used to investigate the association of genotypes with clinical and biochemical measurements. According to findings, there was no vital connection between the rs2274907 polymorphism and obesity, T2DM, or serum intelectin-1 level. The TA+AA carriers had significantly higher triglyceride levels (p = 0.007) compared with the TT carriers in both obese and T2DM women when adjusted for relevant covariates. ITLN1 rs2274907 polymorphism is not correlated with the risk of obesity and T2DM and not affect serum ITLN1 levels in Turkish adults. However, this polymorphism appears to be important in regulating triglyceride levels in obese and diabetic women., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Omentin-1, a newly discovered adipokine, is implicated in the modulation of the adipose phenotype, ameliorating systemic metabolism and exhibiting anti-atherogenic, anti-oxidative, cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing properties. Our goal was to explore circulating omentin-1 in subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) and determine its correlations with cardiometabolic risk factors., Methods: In a large case-control and interventional longitudinal study, serum omentin-1, metabolic and lipid parameters, inflammatory biomarkers, classic adipocytokines and cardiovascular risk factors were assessed in 120 consecutive patients with SH and 120 healthy controls matched on age, gender and date of blood draw. Sixteen patients with SH were administered L-T4 and, after six months, circulating omentin-1 and other biomarkers were determined., Results: SH subjects presented significantly decreased circulating omentin-1 than control individuals (P<0.001). In all study participants, omentin-1 was negatively correlated with TSH, anti-thyroid antibodies, HOMA-IR, C-peptide, lipid and inflammatory biomarkers, adipokines and cardiovascular risk factors, including Framingham score and apolipoprotein B. Omentin-1 was positively associated with adiponectin and HDL-C. Circulating omentin-1 was independently associated with SH occurrence, above and beyond clinical and cardiometabolic factors (P=0.04). TSH was a negative independent predictor of serum omentin-1 levels (P<0.001). L-T4 treatment did not alter considerably the lower omentin-1 levels in treated SH patients (P=0.07)., Conclusions: Omentin-1 may be a useful non-invasive biomarker reflecting cardiometabolic risk as well as a promising therapeutic target. More mechanistic and larger prospective studies shedding light on the pathogenetic role of omentin-1 in SH are required to confirm these findings.

Background: The role of sortilin and omentin-1 in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and vascular disease is an emerging topic in recent years. These molecules can be found circulating in the blood. Recent studies have shown how these biomarkers appear to correlate with the severity of PAD. The levels of these molecules appear to be inversely proportional to each other. Their relationship may provide further insight into the management of the very old diabetic patients with PAD. This study aimed to assess the possible role of sortilin/omentin-1 ratio as easy-to-measure marker in peripheral artery disease (PAD) in type-2 diabetic patients., Methods: This study analyzed the association between sortilin and omentin-1 serum levels and the presence of clinically significant lower limb PAD in diabetic individuals. We enrolled 295 diabetic patients, including 179 with PAD. Serum levels were collected and correlated with clinical characteristics of the patients., Results: Sortilin concentration was significantly higher in the latter group compared to the former and there was a trend toward increased sortilin levels as disease severity increased. Omentin-1 serum levels were significantly lower in diabetic patients with PAD than in diabetic controls and the levels gradually decreased in proportion to disease severity. The ratio of sortilin to omentin-1 was significantly higher in patients with PAD compared to the other group., Conclusion: The sortilin to omentin-1 ratio appears to be a predictive factor for PAD in patients with type-2 diabetes and it may be a promising marker for clinically significant atherosclerosis of the lower limbs. Further studies are needed to confirm this finding and to evaluate its clinical usefulness., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In India, diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most common cause of chronic kidney disease. Timely detection of microalbuminuria and appropriate intervention can reverse or arrest the progress of nephropathy. The pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy has revealed that during the early onset of kidney involvement in diabetics, inflammation and fibrosis progress from tubular to glomerular damage. This study was designed to elucidate the association of chemokines, Omentin 1, and interleukin 6 (IL-6) with microalbuminuria., Material: Settings and Design: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted as a collaborated study in the Departments of General Medicine and Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, India, during 2019-2020., Methods and Material: Our study group comprised 116 diabetes mellitus patients. They were grouped into two, each of 58 on the basis of their urine albumin levels; Group 1 (controls) had UACR &lt; 30 μg/mg, eGFR&gt; 90ml/ min and Group 2 (cases) had UACR ≥ 30 μg/mg and &lt; 300 μg/mg, eGFR&gt;60ml/min and &lt; 90ml/min. Serum omentin 1 and IL-6, creatinine, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting (FBS) and postprandial blood sugar (PPBS), lipid profile, total protein, albumin, and fasting insulin, HOMA-IR were studied., Observation: Our study showed that Omentin 1 levels were decreased, and IL-6 levels were increased in the DN group compared to the T2DM without DN. The risk estimates calculated revealed that diabetes mellitus patients having an IL-6: omentin ratio ≥ 0.26 had Odds of 3.97 of developing DN, which was statistically significant (CI 2.36-6.68). Therefore, a ratio of ≤ 0.26 was found to be kidney protective among diabetes mellitus patients., Conclusion: From the results of this present study, we recommend that estimation of serum IL-6: omentin 1 ratio of T2DM will aid in identifying early stages of DN before the onset of microalbuminuria., (© Journal of the Association of Physicians of India 2011.)

We investigated the effects of 12 weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on selected circulating adipokines and other cardiovascular diseases risks factors in men with obesity. Thirty men with obesity (age: 24.96±3.11 year, BMI: 30.92±1.04 kg/m 2 ) were randomly assigned to HIIT and control groups. The HIIT group participated in a 12-week HIIT program (5×2 min interval bout at an intensity of 85-95% HRmax interspersed by 1 min passive recovery, three times per week), while the control group maintained their usual lifestyles. Blood lipids, insulin resistance, and select serum adipokines were assessed before and after 12 weeks of the intervention period. HIIT improved body composition and lipid profiles (p<0.05) and also decreased fasting insulin levels (p=0.001) and HOMA-IR (p=0.002) levels. Furthermore, HIIT increased levels of lipocalin-2 (p=0.002) while decreasing omentin-1 levels (p=0.001) in men with obesity. Changes in lcn2 and omentin-1 concentrations correlated with the changes in risk factors in the HIIT group (p<0.05). The results indicate that 12 weeks of supervised HIIT significantly improves both circulating concentrations of lcn2 and omentin-1, two recently described adipokines, and risk markers of cardiovascular diseases in men with obesity. Further research is necessary to understand the molecular mechanisms involved with these changes., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Background: The effects of weight loss therapies on omentin-1 levels have been unclear, showing both elevations and decreases in circulating levels. The role of dietary fat might have an important role. The aim of our investigation was to evaluate the influence of weight decrease on omentin-1 levels after two different high-fat hypocaloric diets., Methods: 319 Caucasian obese subjects were randomly allocated during 12 weeks (Diet M (high monounsaturated fat diet) vs. Diet P (high polyunsaturated fat diet)). The mean age was 47.2 ± 5.0 years (range: 26-64), and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 37.9 ± 4.1 kg/m 2 (range: 30.6-39.8). Sex distribution was 237 females (74.7%) and 72 males (25.3%). Anthropometric and biochemical parameters were evaluated at basal and after both diets. SPSS 23.0 has been used to realize univariant and multivariant statistical analysis., Results: After both diets, BMI, weight, fat mass, waist circumference, systolic blood, LDL-cholesterol, insulin levels, and HOMA-IR decreased in a statistical way from basal values. These improvements were similar in both diets. After Diet P, omentin-1 levels increase (21.2 ± 9.1 ng/ml: P = 0.02), and after Diet M, this adipokine increases (47.1 ± 11.2 ng/ml: P = 0.02), too. The increase of omentin-1 with Diet M was statistically significantly higher than that after Diet P ( P = 0.01). A multiple regression analyses adjusted by age and sex reported a statistical relation between BMI (kg/m 2 ) and insulin (UI/L) with omentin-1 levels., Conclusions: Our study demonstrated a significant improvement on serum omentin-1 levels after weight loss secondary to both diets; in contrast, omentin-1 improvement was higher with Diet M than with Diet P., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Daniel de Luis et al.)

Purpose: To investigate the association of omentin-1 and inflammatory factors in serum and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) of women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) compared to normal pregnant (NP) subjects. Furthermore, to examine their correlation with maternal clinical characteristics., Methods: We compared 116 GDM women to 115 NP women, at the time of cesarean section. Circulating omentin-1 and pro-inflammatory (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α), and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1RA, IL-10) were examined. Moreover, their mRNA expression in VAT, along with inflammatory factors involved in the NF-κB pathway (TLR2, TLR4, NF-κB, IKκB), were examined., Results: Circulating omentin-1 (p = 0.022) was lower and circulating IL-1-β, IL-1RA, as well as IL-10 (p = 0.005, p = 0.007, and p = 0.015, respectively), were higher in GDM compared to NP women. Omentin-1 correlated negatively with pre-pregnancy and gestational BMI, and HOMA-IR in all women, but was not associated with cytokines. TLR2, TLR4, IL-1β, IL-1RA, IL-6, IL-10 mRNA expression in VAT was lower in GDM compared with controls (p < 0.05 all). In multivariate analysis, BMI at delivery was significantly correlated to omentin-1 concentrations in all and NP subjects. In addition, omentin-1 expression was correlated to inflammatory gene expression in all, GDM and NP, women (p < 0.05 all)., Conclusion: Serum levels and VAT gene expression of omentin-1 are not independently linked to GDM; notwithstanding, GDM women have a VAT-altered inflammatory status. In addition, no systemic association between omentin-1 and inflammatory factors was found, whereas associations between their expression in all women were observed, indicating that expression of these adipokines is linked between them regardless of GDM., (© 2021. Italian Society of Endocrinology (SIE).)

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the primary cause of death worldwide. It is mainly caused by atherosclerosis that initiates from a genetic-environmental interaction. Studies highlighted the association of numerous gene polymorphisms with CAD. Omentin-1 is secreted from visceral adipose tissues, intestine, and others; it has anti-inflammatory and insulin sensitivity improving roles., Aim: To explore the association of the omentin-1 gene polymorphisms (rs2274907 and rs2274908) with serum lipid concentrations and CAD in a sample of the Iraqi population., Methods: A case-control study was followed, in which CAD patients were analyzed versus a group of healthy persons. Serum lipid concentrations were measured by enzymatic methods. Genotyping of the omentin-1 gene for rs2274907 SNP was achieved by ARMS-PCR, while for rs2274908 SNP by allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) techniques., Results: Atherogenic serum lipid concentrations increased significantly in CAD patients relative to the control group. Genotyping of the omentin-1 gene for rs2274907 SNP revealed a significant (OR = 4.11, P = 0.035) elevation of the AT genotype carriers in CAD versus the control groups. The genotype analysis of the rs2274908 SNP failed to exhibit a significant variation. The two analyzed SNPs were indicated to be in linkage disequilibrium (r = 0.772, P < 0.0001). The global haplotype association of the 2 SNPs was demonstrated to be significant (P = 0.006). Serum lipid concentrations were found to be independent of the genotype distribution of the rs2274907 SNP., Conclusion: Carriers of the AT genotype of rs2274907 SNP in the omentin-1gene may have a four-fold risk of developing CAD compared to those of the wild genotype. Alterations of serum lipid concentrations may do not depend on the genotypes of this SNP., (Copyright © 2021 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with systemic inflammation. A wide range of adipokines activities suggests they influence pathogenesis and infection course. The aim was to assess concentrations of chemerin, omentin, and vaspin among COVID-19 patients with an emphasis on adipokines relationship with COVID-19 severity, concomitant metabolic abnormalities and liver dysfunction. Serum chemerin, omentin and vaspin concentrations were measured in serum collected from 70 COVID-19 patients at the moment of admission to hospital, before any treatment was applied and 20 healthy controls. Serum chemerin and omentin concentrations were significantly decreased in COVID-19 patients compared to healthy volunteers (271.0 vs. 373.0 ng/ml; p < 0.001 and 482.1 vs. 814.3 ng/ml; p = 0.01, respectively). There were no correlations of analyzed adipokines with COVID-19 severity based on the presence of pneumonia, dyspnea, or necessity of Intensive Care Unit hospitalization (ICU). Liver test abnormalities did not influence adipokines levels. Elevated GGT activity was associated with ICU admission, presence of pneumonia and elevated concentrations of CRP, ferritin and interleukin 6. Chemerin and omentin depletion in COVID-19 patients suggests that this adipokines deficiency play influential role in disease pathogenesis. However, there was no relationship between lower adipokines level and frequency of COVID-19 symptoms as well as disease severity. The only predictive factor which could predispose to a more severe COVID-19 course, including the presence of pneumonia and ICU hospitalization, was GGT activity., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Aims: Data about the influence of short-term lifestyle intervention in children with obesity on long-term follow-up body weight, adipokines and cardiometabolic risk parameters is scarce., Methods: In a subgroup of the LOGIC-trial (Long-term Effects of Lifestyle Intervention in Obesity and Genetic Influence in Children), we assessed anthropometry (BMI, BMI-SDS (Standard Deviation Score), adipokines (omentin-1, chemerin, leptin, adiponectin) and cardiometabolic risk parameters, (e.g. hsCRP) in children with overweight/obesity after 4 weeks of lifestyle intervention (n = 156, 14.0 ± 1.8 yrs) and after one year follow-up (n = 50). Data were compared to normal weight children (JuvenTUM school cohort; n = 152, 13.3 ± 0.7 yrs)., Results: Short-term lifestyle intervention was associated with a significant reduction in BMI and BMI-SDS (p < 0.001), with significant reductions in hsCRP, leptin, and chemerin levels, and an increase in adiponectin and omentin-1 levels (p < 0.001 for all). After one year follow-up a significant reduction in BMI and BMI-SDS was observed in children from the LOGIC-trial (p < 0.001). Improvements in adiponectin (p = 0.025) and chemerin levels (p = 0.027) were seen in children with clear weight loss success (BMI-SDS reduction ≥ 0.2), whereas children with no or only mild weight loss success showed an increase in leptin levels (p < 0.001). An increase in omentin-1 levels was observed after 1 year independent of weight change (p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Effects of short-term weight reduction on mean BMI and BMI-SDS persist over one year. Improvements in omentin-1 levels were independent of short-term or long-term weight loss., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: LOGIC-trial: NCT01067157, JuvenTUM-trial: NCT00988754., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.)

Aberrant circulating omentin-1, which is an anti-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic adipokine, has been reported in various solid tumors. Therefore, we investigated whether or not circulating omentin-1 could be associated with postmenopausal BC (PBC) and could be used as a potential diagnostic and clinical tool taking into consideration clinicopathologic features, tumor markers, as well as anthropometric, metabolic, and inflammatory parameters. Serum omentin-1, tumor markers (CA15-3 and CEA); metabolic (insulin, glucose, HOMA index, and serum lipids), anthropometric (BMI, waist circumference, and fat mass), and inflammatory (TNF-α, IL-6, hsCRP) parameters; classic adipokines (leptin and adiponectin); the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) score; and cardiovascular (CVD) risk were determined in 103 postmenopausal women with pathologically confirmed incident invasive BC, 103 controls matched on age, 51 patients with benign breast lesions (BBL), and 50 obese postmenopausal women of similar age. The mean serum omentin-1 was significantly lower in cases than in controls and patients with BBL ( p < 0.001). In the patients, omentin-1 was inversely associated with tumor, metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers, cancer stage, and the number of infiltrated lymph nodes ( p < 0.05). In all study participants, omentin-1 was negatively correlated with CVD risk and positively correlated with MedDiet score. Lower circulating omentin-1 was independently associated with PBC occurrence above and beyond known risk factors. According to the ROC curve analysis, the overall diagnostic performance of omentin-1 (0.84, 95% CI 0.79-0.89) is similar to CA15-3. Circulating omentin-1 may be a biomarker at the intersection of PBC and cardiometabolic risk in postmenopausal women, and could be modulated by the adoption of a MedDiet. Further mechanistic and large multicentric prospective and longitudinal studies are required to elucidate the ontological role of omentin-1 in BC and CVD risks, as well as its diagnostic and prognostic ability and its therapeutic potential.

Ficolin-2 is regarded as an important innate immunity factor endowed with both lectin (carbohydrate recognition) qualities and ability to induce complement activation. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of the FCN2 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) polymorphisms with ficolin-2 expression and perinatal complications in preterm neonates. The sequencing analysis allowed us to identify six 3'UTR polymorphisms with minor allele frequency (MAF) >1%: rs4521835, rs73664188, rs11103564, rs11103565, rs6537958 and rs6537959. Except for rs4521835, all adhered to Hardy-Weinberg expectations. Moreover, rs6537958 and rs6537959 were shown to be in perfect linkage disequilibrium (LD) with nine other genetic polymorphisms: rs7040372, rs7046516, rs747422, rs7847431, rs6537957, rs6537960, rs6537962, rs11462298 and rs7860507 together stretched on a distance of 1242 bp and very high LD with rs11103565. The 3'UTR region was shown to bind nuclear extract proteins. The polymorphisms at rs4521835 and rs73664188 were found to influence serum ficolin-2 concentration significantly. All polymorphisms identified create (together with exon 8 polymorphism, rs7851696) two haplotype blocks. Among 49 diplotypes (D1-D49) created from rs7851696 (G>T), rs4521835 (T>G), rs73664188 (T>C), rs11103564 (T>C), rs11103565 (G>A) and rs6537959 (T>A), twenty two occurred with frequency >1%. Two diplotypes: D13 (GTTTGT/GGTCGT) and D10 (GTTTGT/GGTCGA), were significantly more frequent among preterm neonates with early onset of infection and pneumonia, compared with newborns with no infectious complications (OR 2.69 and 2.81, respectively; both p<0.05). The minor (C) allele at rs73664188 was associated with an increased risk of very low (≤1500 g) birthweight (OR=1.95, p=0.042) but was associated with the opposite effect at rs11103564 (OR=0.11, p=0.005)., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Świerzko, Jarych, Gajek, Chojnacka, Kobiela, Kufelnicka-Babout, Michalski, Sobczuk, Szala-Poździej, Matsushita, Mazela, Domżalska-Popadiuk, Kilpatrick, Kalinka, Sekine and Cedzyński.)

Background/aim: A member of the adipokine family, omentin-1 is selectively secreted from visceral fat tissue and the omentum. It has been shown that omentin-1 is involved in the pathogenesis of certain diseases and can be used as a prognostic marker. This study first investigated the prognostic significance of omentin-1 in surgical intensive care patients. In addition, the relationship between omentin-1 and laboratory and clinical parameters commonly used in intensive care units (ICUs) was evaluated., Materials and Methods: One hundred and fifty-four patients hospitalized in the surgical ICU were included in the study. Blood samples for omentin-1 were collected from the patients displaying clinical condition changes. Changes in omentin-1 levels were observed during the hospital stay of the patients. A total of 423 blood samples were evaluated. Omentin-1 levels were compared to the laboratory parameters routinely monitored in the ICU and the prognostic significance of omentin-1 for surgical intensive care patients was investigated., Results: The median APACHE II score of all patients was (median-IQR, 8.0–6.0 ng/mL). Omentin-1 levels of the alive patients in the ICU (median-IQR, 339.04–407.68 ng/mL) were significantly higher compared to dead patients (median-IQR, 166.40–363.60 ng/mL). Omentin-1 levels were higher in nonsepsis patients compared to the levels of the patients in sepsis and septic shock (p < 0.001). Omentin-1 values were negatively correlated with the C-reactive protein and procalcitonin levels, body temperature, and the SOFA (sequential organ failure assessment score) scores and they were positively correlated with albumin, prealbumin, and glucose levels., Conclusion: Omentin-1 may play a role in the complex constructs of inflammation and metabolic events in intensive care patients. Reduced omentin-1 levels in surgical intensive care patients were associated with poor prognosis and increased mortality., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.)

Background: Exercise benefits people with abnormal glucose metabolism, and serum ficolin-3 levels have been reported to be associated with diabetes. However, no relevant study has discussed the relationship between high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and ficolin-3 in a Chinese population., Objective: To compare the effect of HIIT and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on blood pressure, glucose control, the lipid profile and the serum ficolin-3 level in patients with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (T2D)., Methods: We recruited 145 patients with prediabetes and 196 T2D patients from March to June 2018. All participants were randomly grouped into HIIT and MICT groups. HIIT consisted of progressing to twelve 1-min bouts at 90% maximal aerobic capacity (1 min recovery), and MICT consisted of progressing to 20 min at 65% maximal aerobic capacity. ˙VO 2 peak, body composition, blood pressure, glucose, the lipid profile and the serum ficolin-3 level were measured before and after three weeks of training., Results: After 3 weeks of training, participants in both the HIIT and MICT groups had significantly lower SBP, BMI, waist circumference, % body fat, and serum levels of FPG, TC, TGs, UA and ficolin-3, as well as increased vital capacity and VOmax. Additionally, the patients in the HIIT group still had significantly lower levels of 2hPG and LDL-C, regardless of prediabetes or diabetes status. After comparing the differences in the variation in parameters between the HIIT and MICT groups, we found that HIIT could help patients with prediabetes or diabetes acquire better effects of treatment in regard to anthropometry, blood pressure, glucose control, UA and ficolin-3 levels than MICT. Finally, the patients in the HIIT group had a lower rate of loss to follow-up and a higher rate of session attendance., Conclusions: Both HIIT and MICT were beneficial exercise strategies for health in patients with prediabetes or T2D. However, HIIT is a more time-efficient strategy and could lower the serum level of ficolin-3 in patients after 3 weeks of training., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

The increasing availability of sequenced genomes has enabled a deeper understanding of the complexity of fish lectin repertoires involved in early development and immune recognition. The teleost fucose-type lectin (FTL) family includes proteins that preferentially bind fucose and display tandemly arrayed carbohydrate-recognition domains (CRDs) or are found in mosaic combinations with other domains. They function as opsonins, promoting phagocytosis and the clearance of microbial pathogens. The Antarctic fish Trematomus bernacchii is a Perciforme living at extremely low temperatures (-1.68 °C) which is considered a model for studying adaptability to the variability of environmental waters. Here, we isolated a Ca ++ -independent fucose-binding protein from the serum of T. bernacchii by affinity chromatography with apparent molecular weights of 32 and 30 kDa under reducing and non-reducing conditions, respectively. We have characterized its carbohydrate binding properties, thermal stability and potential ability to recognize bacterial pathogens. In western blot analysis, the protein showed intense cross-reactivity with antibodies specific for a sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) fucose-binding lectin. In addition, its molecular and structural aspects, showing that it contains two CRD-FTLs confirmed that T. bernacchii FTL (TbFTL) is a bona fide member of the FTL family, with binding activity at low temperatures and the ability to agglutinate bacteria, thereby suggesting it participates in host-pathogen interactions in low temperature environments., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Immune dysfunction is an established risk factor in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The cytotoxicity of natural killer (NK) cells is greatly impaired in AML, and the profile of NK cell receptors is markedly altered in AML; however, this is not yet well characterized. In this study, we found the downregulation of Siglec-7 could be utilized as a potential marker of NK cell dysfunction in AML. The absolute numbers and percentages of NK cells were declined in the peripheral blood of patients with AML, and the levels of activating receptors NKG2D, NKp46, and NKp30 were reduced in NK cells from patients with AML compared with healthy controls. In contrast, the levels of inhibitory receptors TIM-3, ILT-4, ILT-5, and PD-1 were increased in NK cells from patients with AML. Of note, the level of Siglec-7 in NK cells from patients with AML was significantly lower than that in NK cells from healthy controls, and Siglec-7 + NK cells displayed higher levels of activating receptors and stronger cytotoxicity when compared with Siglec-7 - NK cells. Our data indicate that decreased Siglec-7 level may predict NK cell dysfunction in AML, and NK cells may be promising targets of immunotherapy for AML., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The innate and adaptive immune system is involved in the airway inflammation associated with acute exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We evaluated the association of mannose-binding lectin (MBL), immunoglobulin (Ig) and ficolin-2 concentrations with COPD exacerbations and according to the glucocorticoid treatment duration for an index exacerbation., Methods: Post-hoc analysis of the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled REDUCE trial of 5 vs. 14 days of glucocorticoid treatment for an index exacerbation. MBL, ficolin-2 and total IgG/IgA and subclass concentrations were determined in stored samples drawn (n = 178) 30 days after the index exacerbation and associated with the risk of re-exacerbation during a 180-day follow-up period., Results: IgG and subclass concentrations were significantly lower after 14 days vs. 5 days of glucocorticoid treatment. Patients with higher MBL concentrations were more likely to suffer from a future exacerbation (multivariable hazard ratio 1.03 per 200 ng/ml increase (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00-1.06), p = 0.048), whereas ficolin-2 and IgG deficiency were not associated. The risk was most pronounced in patients with high MBL concentrations, IgG deficiency and 14 days of glucocorticoid treatment pointing towards an interactive effect of MBL and IgG deficiency in the presence of prolonged glucocorticoid treatment duration [Relative excess risk due to interaction 2.13 (95% CI - 0.41-4.66, p = 0.10)]. IgG concentrations were significantly lower in patients with frequent re-exacerbations (IgG, 7.81 g/L vs. 9.53 g/L, p = 0.03)., Conclusions: MBL modified the short-term exacerbation risk after a recent acute exacerbation of COPD, particularly in the setting of concurrent IgG deficiency and recent prolonged systemic glucocorticoid treatment. Ficolin-2 did not emerge as a predictor of a future exacerbation risk., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: Some studies have suggested that patients with diabetes and foot complications have worse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk profiles, higher degrees of endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness and a higher inflammatory background than patients with diabetes without diabetic foot complications. Patients with diabetes mellitus have an alteration in the sympathovagal balance as assessed by means of heart rate variability (HRV) analysis, which is also related to the presence of endothelial dysfunction. Other studies suggest a possible role of inflammation coexisting with the alteration in the sympathovagal balance in favor of the atherosclerotic process in a mixed population of healthy subjects of middle and advanced age., Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of alteration of sympathovagal balance, assessed by HRV analysis, in a cohort of patients with diabetes mellitus with diabetic foot and in control subjects without diabetic foot compared with a population of healthy subjects and the possible correlation of HRV parameters with inflammatory markers and endothelial dysfunction indices., Methods: We enrolled all patients with diabetic ulcerative lesions of the lower limb in the Internal Medicine with Stroke Care ward and of the diabetic foot outpatient clinic of P. Giaccone University Hospital of Palermo between September 2019 and July 2020. 4-h ECG Holter was performed. The following time domain HRV measures were analyzed: average heart rate, square root of the mean of successive differences of NN (RMSSD), standard deviation or square root of the variance (SD), and standard deviation of the means of the NN intervals calculated over a five-minute period (SDANN/5 min). The LF/HF ratio was calculated, reactive hyperemia was evaluated by endo-PAT, and serum levels of vaspine and omentin-1 were assessed by blood sample collection., Results: 63 patients with diabetic foot, 30 patients with diabetes and without ulcerative complications and 30 patients without diabetes were enrolled. Patients with diabetic ulcers showed lower mean diastolic blood pressure values than healthy controls, lower MMSE scores corrected for age, lower serum levels of omentin-1, lower RHI values, higher body weight values and comparable body height values, HF% and LF/HF ratio values. We also reported a negative correlation between the RHI value and HRV indices and the expression of increased parasympathetic activity (RMSDD and HF%) in subjects with diabetic foot and a statistically significant positive correlation with the LF/HF ratio and the expression of the sympathovagal balance., Discussion: Patients with diabetic foot show a higher degree of activation of the parasympathetic system, expressed by the increase in HF values, and a lower LF/HF ratio. Our findings may corroborate the issue that a parasympathetic dysfunction may have a possible additive role in the pathogenesis of other vascular complications in subjects with diabetic foot., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Early and persistent activation of complement is considered to play a key role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Complement activation products orchestrate a proinflammatory environment that might be critical for the induction and maintenance of a severe inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2 by recruiting cells of the cellular immune system to the sites of infection and shifting their state of activation towards an inflammatory phenotype. It precedes pathophysiological milestone events like the cytokine storm, progressive endothelial injury triggering microangiopathy, and further complement activation, and causes an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). To date, the application of antiviral drugs and corticosteroids have shown efficacy in the early stages of SARS-CoV-2 infection, but failed to ameliorate disease severity in patients who progressed to severe COVID-19 pathology. This report demonstrates that lectin pathway (LP) recognition molecules of the complement system, such as MBL, FCN-2 and CL-11, bind to SARS-CoV-2 S- and N-proteins, with subsequent activation of LP-mediated C3b and C4b deposition. In addition, our results confirm and underline that the N-protein of SARS-CoV-2 binds directly to the LP- effector enzyme MASP-2 and activates complement. Inhibition of the LP using an inhibitory monoclonal antibody against MASP-2 effectively blocks LP-mediated complement activation. FACS analyses using transfected HEK-293 cells expressing SARS-CoV-2 S protein confirm a robust LP-dependent C3b deposition on the cell surface which is inhibited by the MASP-2 inhibitory antibody. In light of our present results, and the encouraging performance of our clinical candidate MASP-2 inhibitor Narsoplimab in recently published clinical trials, we suggest that the targeting of MASP-2 provides an unsurpassed window of therapeutic efficacy for the treatment of severe COVID-19., Competing Interests: WS, NL, and YA are consultants to Omeros Inc., which is developing inhibitors of the lectin pathway. GD, TD, SG, and SY are employed by Omeros Inc. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Ali, Ferrari, Lynch, Yaseen, Dudler, Gragerov, Demopulos, Heeney and Schwaeble.)

This study was conducted as part of a larger study of East Tyrolean health tourism, and investigates the effects of an active seven-day vacation on metabolic parameters and adipokines. Fifty-two healthy vacationers participated in two types of vacation activities (golf vs. Nordic walking or e-biking [nw&eb]). In the former group, 30 subjects played golf for a mean duration of 33.5 h per week; in the NW&EB group, 22 persons performed Nordic walking or e-biking for a mean duration of 14.2 h per week. Metabolic parameters and adipokines, such as leptin, adiponectin, GF-21, irisin, omentin-1, betatrophin, and resistin, were measured one day before and one day after the stay. After one week, only the NW&EB group experienced a significant decrease of 1.0 kg in body weight. Significant changes in HDL-C, FGF-21, irisin, and omentin-1 were seen in the golf group; and in triglycerides, HbA1c, leptin and adiponectin in the NW&EB group. No significant changes in betatrophin or resistin were registered in either group. A seven-day vacation with an activity program for several hours per week causes favorable changes in metabolic parameters and adipokines known to be involved in the pathophysiology of the metabolic syndrome. The changes differed in their magnitude and significance, depending on the type of activity., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Aim: RBP4, Vaspin and omentin-1 are adipokines, which play an important role in the development of obesity-related complications. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different kinds of fat intake on adipokine levels in obese women., Methods: A total of 272 obese women (BMI ≥ 30) were included in the current cross-sectional study, according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Body composition was measured using a body composition analyzer. For the measurement of retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4), vaspin and omentin-1 serum concentrations, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used. Dietary intake was assessed using a 3-day 24-h dietary recall., Results: Statistically significant differences were found between polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs) and linoleic acid intake and vaspin and omentin-1 levels. In addition, there were found statistically significant relationships between cholesterol, monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFAs) and total fat intakes with omentin-1 levels. Also, RBP4 and vaspin levels were different significant with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intake. Moreover, the results revealed that there were statistically significant differences between RBP4 levels and α-linolenic acid and oleic acid intake., Conclusion: This study revealed that by examining RBP4, vaspin and omentin-1 as adipokines, a novel link between fat intakes and adipokine levels was found., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Plasma omentin levels have been shown to be associated with circulating adiponectin concentrations and cardiometabolic disease-related outcomes. In this study, we aim to examine the association of omentin gene polymorphism with serum adiponectin levels and cardiometabolic health status using a genetic approach, and investigate whether these associations are modified by lifestyle factors., Methods: The study included 945 normal glucose tolerant and 941 unrelated individuals with type 2 diabetes randomly selected from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study (CURES), in southern India. Study participants were classified into cardiometabolically healthy and unhealthy, where cardiometabolically healthy were those without hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. Fasting serum adiponectin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. The omentin A326T (rs2274907) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was screened by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and direct sequencing., Results: The 'A' allele of the omentin SNP was significantly associated with lower adiponectin concentrations after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and cardiometabolic health status (p = 1.90 x 10-47). There was also a significant association between circulating adiponectin concentrations and cardiometabolic health status after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, WC and Omentin SNP (p = 7.47x10-10). However, after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, WC and adiponectin levels, the association of 'A' allele with cardiometabolic health status disappeared (p = 0.79) suggesting that adiponectin serves as a mediator of the association between omentin SNP and cardiometabolic health status. There were no significant interactions between the SNP and dietary factors on adiponectin levels and cardiometabolic health status (p>0.25, for all comparisons)., Conclusions: Our findings show that adiponectin might function as a mechanistic link between omentin SNP and increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases independent of common and central obesity in Asian Indians. Before strategies to promote adiponectin modulation could be implemented, further studies are required to confirm the molecular mechanisms involved in this triangular relationship between omentin gene, adiponectin and cardiometabolic diseases., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Kalliklectin is a unique fish-specific lectin that demonstrates sequence similarity to mammalian plasma kallikrein and coagulation factor XI, which are not lectins but proteases. Reported fish kalliklectins and these mammalian proteases comprise four characteristic "apple domains" (APDs). Bioinformatics analysis revealed that Siluriformes species possess anomalous kalliklectins comprising 6 to 16 APDs. Complementary DNA cloning showed that the full-length nucleotide sequence of Ictalurus punctatus consists of 2240 bp that encode 720 amino acid residues to produce a mature protein with a putative 18 amino acid N-terminus peptide sequence. This protein has a predicted molecular mass of 83,417.23 Da. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) showed that this lectin gene expresses in the liver but not in any other tissues, including the mucosal tissues. This differential expression pattern makes this lectin unique compared to other lectins described in previous studies. We successfully detected an 85-kDa protein in the serum using western blotting analysis, suggesting that this lectin protein is produced by the liver and secreted into the bloodstream. We characterized a novel cDNA sequence encoding a new type of kalliklectin with eight APDs isolated from channel catfish, I. punctatus. Based on phylogenetic analysis, we speculated that there was a duplication of the third and fourth APD set in a common Siluriformes ancestor at some point after its separation from the common teleost ancestor and that these duplications then underwent independent repeats in different lineages resulting in the generation of the [APD1]-[APD2]-{[APD3]-[APD-4]} × n structure in modern catfishes.

We do not understand why non-white ethnicity and chronic kidney disease increase susceptibility to COVID-19. The lectin pathway of complement activation is a key contributor to innate immunity and inflammation. Concentrations of plasma lectin pathway proteins influence pathway activity and vary with ethnicity. We measured circulating lectin proteins in a multi-ethnic cohort of chronic kidney disease patients with and without COVID19 infection to determine if lectin pathway activation was contributing to COVID19 severity. We measured 11 lectin proteins in serial samples from a cohort of 33 patients with chronic kidney impairment and COVID19. Controls were single plasma samples from 32 patients on dialysis and 32 healthy individuals. We demonstrated multiple associations between recognition molecules and associated proteases of the lectin pathway and COVID-19, including COVID-19 severity. Some of these associations were unique to patients of Asian and White ethnicity. Our novel findings demonstrate that COVID19 infection alters the concentration of plasma lectin proteins and some of these changes were linked to ethnicity. This suggests a role for the lectin pathway in the host response to COVID-19 and suggest that variability within this pathway may contribute to ethnicity-associated differences in susceptibility to severe COVID-19., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Medjeral-Thomas, Troldborg, Hansen, Gisby, Clarke, Prendecki, McAdoo, Sandhu, Lightstone, Thomas, Willicombe, Botto, Peters, Pickering and Thiel.)

H-ficolin recognizes patterns on microorganisms and stressed cells and can activate the lectin pathway of the complement system. We aimed to assess H-ficolin in relation to the progression of diabetic kidney disease (DKD), all-cause mortality, diabetes-related mortality, and cardiovascular events. Event rates per 10-unit H-ficolin-increase were compared in an observational follow-up of 2,410 individuals with type 1 diabetes from the FinnDiane Study. DKD progression occurred in 400 individuals. The unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) for progression was 1.29 (1.18-1.40) and 1.16 (1.05-1.29) after adjustment for diabetes duration, sex, HbA 1c , systolic blood pressure, and smoking status. After adding triglycerides to the model, the HR decreased to 1.07 (0.97-1.18). In all, 486 individuals died, including 268 deaths of cardiovascular causes and 192 deaths of complications to diabetes. HRs for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality were 1.13 (1.04-1.22) and 1.05 (0.93-1.17), respectively, in unadjusted analyses. These estimates lost statistical significance in adjusted models. However, the unadjusted HR for diabetes-related mortality was 1.19 (1.05-1.35) and 1.18 (1.02-1.37) with the most stringent adjustment level. Our results, therefore, indicate that H-ficolin predicts diabetes-related mortality, but neither all-cause mortality nor fatal/non-fatal cardiovascular events. Furthermore, H-ficolin is associated with DKD progression, however, not independently of the fully adjusted model.

Background and Purpose: erosion of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques may cause life-threatening thromboembolic complications. There is indeed an urgent need to recognize a clear-cut biomarker able to identify vulnerable plaques. Here, we focused on circulating proteins belonging to the lectin pathway (LP) of complement activation., Methods: we analyzed mannose-binding lectin (MBL), ficolin-1, -2 and -3 (LP initiators) levels by ELISA in sera from n = 240 of an already published cohort of patients undergoing endarterectomy for severe carotid stenosis and followed-up until 18 months after surgery. Immunofluorescence followed by confocal and polarized light microscopy was used to detect LP initiator intraplaque localization. Spearman's rank test was drawn to investigate correlation between serum LP levels and circulating inflammatory proteins or intraplaque components. Survival analyses were then performed to test the predictive role of LP on long-term adverse outcome., Results: ficolins, but not MBL, correlated positively with 1) high circulating levels of inflammatory markers, including MPO, MMP-8, MMP-9, ICAM-1, osteopontin, neutrophil elastase, and; 2) immune cell intraplaque recruitment. Immunofluorescence showed ficolins in calcified plaques and ficolin-2 in cholesterol-enriched plaque regions in association with macrophages. In the multivariate survival analysis, ficolin-2 serum levels predicted a major adverse cardiovascular event during the follow-up, independently of symptomatic status and inflammatory markers (hazard ratio 38.6 [95 % CI 3.9-385.2])., Conclusions: ficolins support intraplaque immune cell recruitment and inflammatory processes ultimately leading to plaque vulnerability. Especially for ficolin-2 a strong predictive value toward adverse cardiovascular events was demonstrated. This evidence offers potentially new pharmacological target to dampen the inflammatory mechanisms leading to plaque vulnerability., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is associated with significant weight loss; thus, it is crucial to discern the contribution of hormones produced by adipose tissue. Some of the adipokines have not been sufficiently studied. Therefore, the present study aims to measure serum concentrations of omentin and visfatin, in adolescent inpatients with AN. The correlations between selected adipokines and psychopathological symptoms of AN were also analyzed. Thirty adolescent inpatients with anorexia nervosa and thirty healthy age and height matched girls (CONT) were enrolled in the study. The physical and mental examination, anthropometric and psychometric assessment - Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26) and Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS), and blood analysis were performed at two-time points - in the malnourished patients (AN T1) and after partial weight recovery (8.30 ± 3.75 weeks) (AN T2). The omentin concentration was not significantly different from the CONT neither in AN T1 nor AN T2. The visfatin level was altered in AN T1 and did not change after partial weight normalization (AN T2). A positive correlation between visfatin and YBOCS was found in AN T2. Visfatin concentrations were decreased in adolescent inpatients suffering from AN in the acute phase of the disease and did not normalize after partial weight restoration. The studies considering visfatin as a biomarker of the acute phase of AN should be continued. Moreover, the visfatin showed association with the obsessive and compulsive symptoms; thus its participation in non-homeostatic regulation of food intake should be investigated in further studies., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between omentin-1, body composition and physical activity (PA) levels in older women.Eighty-one older women (age = 64 ± 6years; body mass index = 24.2 ± 3.2 kg/m2; body fat percentage = 36.1 ± 5.7%) participated in this study. We divided the subjects into overweight/obesity and normal weight group. Body composition was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Serum omentin-1 concentration was measured using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. PA levels were obtained by using accelerometers. In addition, anthropometric and insulin resistance values were determined.Omentin-1 level in overweight/obesity group was significantly lower than in the normal weight group (P < .01). Analysis of all subjects showed that serum omentin-1 was negatively correlated with body weight, BMI (body mass index), waist circumference (WC), WHR (waist-to-hip ratio), percentage of body fat, total body fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM) (r = -.571, -0.569, -0.546, -0.382, -0.394, -0.484, -0.524, all P < .01), respectively. We also found a negative correlation between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and total body FM (r = -.233, P < .05). However, no significant correlation was found between omentin-1 and sedentary behavior and MVPA (both P > .05). Moreover, the relationship between omentin-1, body composition and PA was analyzed by using multiple linear stepwise regressions. The results showed that serum omentin-1 concentration was inversely correlated with total body FM (β = -0.334, P = .004) in multiple linear stepwise regression analysis.We found that total body FM was inversely related to serum omentin-1 concentration and PA levels, but there was no correlation between omentin-1 and PA levels. These results showed that PA may participate in the regulation of body composition, which may be also affected by serum omentin-1. However, the mechanism by which PA affects body composition may not be through omentin-1 and was more likely through other metabolic pathways., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interests to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Hypertension (HT) is a disease that can cause death due to multiple target organ damage and eventually related vascular system damage. High blood pressure is known increased inflammatory activity and to cause endothelial dysfunction has been showed in HT patients. Omentin-1 is a glucoprotein of the adiponectin family released from visceral adipose tissue, endothelial cells, and visceral fat stromal-vascular cells. It has anti-inflammatory effect and circulating omentin-1 concentration correlates negatively with waist circumference, insulin resistance, and body-mass index. Serum omentin-1 is used as a biomarker of coronary artery disease, obesity, cancer, metabolic syndrome, inflammatorydisease, atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus. The aim of our study is to investigate circulating omentin-1 levels in HT patients compared to healthy normotensive controls. Patients diagnosed with new essential HT (n = 61) and healthy normotensive individuals (n = 60) were enrolled in this study. The HT group was separated into two subgroups. There were 30 patients in stage 2 HT group and 31 patients in stage 1 HT group. Omentin-1 levels were significantly lower both in stage 1 and 2 HT subgroup as compared with the normotensive controls (72.19 ± 54.33 ng/ml for stage 1 HT subgroup; 62.45 ± 47.01 ng/ml for stage 2 HT subgroup; and, 147.84 ± 58.55 ng/ml for healthy normotensive controls; overall P < 0.001). The present study demonstrated that serum Omentin-1 levels decreased in patients with HT compared with normotensive controls. These lower concentrations may be attributed to a combined outcome of endothelial dysfunction, renal injury, and inflammation in the setting of hypertension.