High sensitivity C-reactive protein distribution in the elderly: the Bambuí Cohort Study, Brazil

The measurement of the serum concentration of the acute-phase reactant C-reactive protein (CRP) provides a useful marker in clinical practice. However, the distribution of CRP is not available for all age and population groups. This study assessed the distribution of high sensitivity-CRP (hs-CRP) by gender and age in 1470 elderly individuals from a Brazilian community that participates in the Bambuí Cohort Study. Blood samples were collected after 12 h of fasting and serum samples were stored at -70°C. Measurements were made with a commercial hs-CRP immunonephelometric instrument. More than 50% of the results were above 3.0 mg/L for both genders. Mean hs-CRP was higher in women (3.62 ± 2.58 mg/L) than in men (3.03 ± 2.50 mg/L). This difference was observed for all ages, except for the over-80 age group. This is the first population-based study to describe hs-CRP values in Latin American elderly subjects. Our results indicate that significant gender differences exist in the distribution of hs-CRP, and suggest that gender-specific cut-off points for hs-CRP would be necessary for the prediction of cardiovascular risks.

Development and validation of a genotype 3 recombinant protein-based immunoassay for hepatitis E virus serology in swine

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is classified within the family Hepeviridae, genus Hepevirus. HEV genotype 3 (Gt3) infections are endemic in pigs in Western Europe and in North and South America and cause zoonotic infections in humans. Several serological assays to detect HEV antibodies in pigs have been developed, at first mainly based on HEV genotype 1 (Gt1) antigens. To develop a sensitive HEV Gt3 ELISA, a recombinant baculovirus expression product of HEV Gt3 open reading frame-2 was produced and coated onto polystyrene ELISA plates. After incubation of porcine sera, bound HEV antibodies were detected with anti-porcine anti-IgG and anti-IgM conjugates. For primary estimation of sensitivity and specificity of the assay, sets of sera were used from pigs experimentally infected with HEV Gt3. For further validation of the assay and to set the cutoff value, a batch of 1100 pig sera was used. All pig sera were tested using the developed HEV Gt3 assay and two other serologic assays based on HEV Gt1 antigens. Since there is no gold standard available for HEV antibody testing, further validation and a definite setting of the cutoff of the developed HEV Gt3 assay were performed using a statistical approach based on Bayes' theorem. The developed and validated HEV antibody assay showed effective detection of HEV-specific antibodies. This assay can contribute to an improved detection of HEV antibodies and enable more reliable estimates of the prevalence of HEV Gt3 in swine in different regions.

Specific alterations in plasma proteins during depressed, manic, and euthymic states of bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a common psychiatric mood disorder affecting more than 1-2% of the general population of different European countries. Unfortunately, there is no objective laboratory-based test to aid BD diagnosis or monitor its progression, and little is known about the molecular basis of BD. Here, we performed a comparative proteomic study to identify differentially expressed plasma proteins in various BD mood states (depressed BD, manic BD, and euthymic BD) relative to healthy controls. A total of 10 euthymic BD, 20 depressed BD, 15 manic BD, and 20 demographically matched healthy control subjects were recruited. Seven high-abundance proteins were immunodepleted in plasma samples from the 4 experimental groups, which were then subjected to proteome-wide expression profiling by two-dimensional electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight/time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. Proteomic results were validated by immunoblotting and bioinformatically analyzed using MetaCore. From a total of 32 proteins identified with 1.5-fold changes in expression compared with healthy controls, 16 proteins were perturbed in BD independent of mood state, while 16 proteins were specifically associated with particular BD mood states. Two mood-independent differential proteins, apolipoprotein (Apo) A1 and Apo L1, suggest that BD pathophysiology may be associated with early perturbations in lipid metabolism. Moreover, down-regulation of one mood-dependent protein, carbonic anhydrase 1 (CA-1), suggests it may be involved in the pathophysiology of depressive episodes in BD. Thus, BD pathophysiology may be associated with early perturbations in lipid metabolism that are independent of mood state, while CA-1 may be involved in the pathophysiology of depressive episodes.

Overexpression of myeloid differentiation protein 88 in mice induces mild cardiac dysfunction, but no deficit in heart morphology

Cardiac remodeling involves changes in heart shape, size, structure, and function after injury to the myocardium. The proinflammatory adaptor protein myeloid differentiation protein 88 (MyD88) contributes to cardiac remodeling. To investigate whether excessive MyD88 levels initiate spontaneous cardiac remodeling at the whole-organism level, we generated a transgenic MyD88 mouse model with a cardiac-specific promoter. MyD88 mice (male, 20-30 g, n=∼80) were born at the expected Mendelian ratio and demonstrated similar morphology of the heart and cardiomyocytes with that of wild-type controls. Although heart weight was unaffected, cardiac contractility of MyD88 hearts was mildly reduced, as shown by echocardiographic examination, compared with wild-type controls. Moreover, the cardiac dysfunction phenotype was associated with elevation of ANF and BNP expression. Collectively, our data provide novel evidence of the critical role of balanced MyD88 signaling in maintaining physiological function in the adult heart.

Influence of the addition of lupine protein isolate on the protein and technological characteristics of dough and fresh bread with added Brea Gum

The effect of protein lupine isolate (LI) and addition of brea gum (BG) on a basic bread formulation is described. The major objective of this research was to evaluate the influence of the addition of LI on the quality and quantity of the proteins of fresh bread with BG. Protein quality was determinate by the Chemical Score method corrected for protein digestibility (CSCD%). The bread dough characteristics were determined by farinograph and alveograph. Fresh bread characterization was performed by measuring the physical parameters and evaluating the crumb structure. The effect of LI and BG on available lysine, the loss of available lysine ratio, and the chemical composition of the breads were also determined. The addition of LI on the bread formulation improved the protein content and the CSCD% of lysine. The dough with LI was less resistant to prolonged kneading and less manageable. With BG addition, the dough became stickier. The quality of fresh bread was affected by the addition of LI: the fresh bread had lower specific volume and more heterogeneous crumbs than that of the control group. The addition of BG did not influence the quality of the bread made with the mixed flour, but it had a positive effect on the loss of available lysine.

Modeling and kinetic study of bio-ethanol production from soy protein concentrate by-product

Abstract The aim of this work was to evaluate a non-agitated process of bioethanol production from soybean molasses and the kinetic parameters of fermentation using a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ATCC® 2345). Kinetic experiment was conducted in medium with 30% (w v-1) of soluble solids without supplementation or pH adjustment. The maximum ethanol concentration was in 44 hours, the ethanol productivity was 0.946 g L-1 h-1, the yield over total initial sugars (Y1) was 47.87%, over consumed sugars (Y2) was 88.08% and specific cells production rate was 0.006 h-1. The mathematical polynomial was adjusted to the experimental data and provided very similar parameters of yield and productivity. Based in this study, for one ton of soybean molasses can be produced 103 kg of anhydrous bioethanol.