Translational research : the journal of laboratory and clinical medicine
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Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophic factor highly expressed in coronary plaques, particularly in macrophages, and in activated platelets. Thus, a possible role in the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has been suggested. We evaluated systemic BDNF levels according to the different clinical presentations of ACS. ⋯ At multivariate regression analysis BDNF levels independently predicted the presence of MØI (odds ratio [OR] = 2.856; 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.151-7.090], P = 0.024) and the absence of healed plaques (OR = 0.438, 95% CI [0.185-0.992], P= 0.050). Among ACS patients, BDNF levels were higher in patients with STEMI. Moreover, BDNF levels were independently associated with MØI and with the absence of healed plaques along the culprit vessel, suggesting a possible role of BDNF in promoting plaque inflammation, destabilization and occlusive thrombosis.
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Obesity has become a common rising health care problem, especially in "modern" societies. Obesity is considered a low-grade systemic inflammation, partly linked to leaky gut. Circadian rhythm disruption, a common habit in modern life, has been reported to cause gut barrier impairment. ⋯ Analysis of gut microbiota and their metabolites, as important regulators of barrier homeostasis, revealed that abnormal food timing reduced relative abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria, and the colonic butyrate level. Overall, our data supported that dysbiosis was characterized by increased intestinal permeability and decreased beneficial barrier butyrate-producing bacteria and/or metabolite to mechanistically link the time of eating to obesity. This data provides basis for noninvasive microbial-targeted interventions to improve intestinal barrier function as new opportunities for combating circadian rhythm disruption induced metabolic dysfunction.