@article {10849, title = {The Complex Interplay between Lipids, Immune System and Interleukins in Cardio-Metabolic Diseases.}, journal = {Int J Mol Sci}, volume = {19}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 Dec 14}, abstract = {

Lipids and inflammation regulate each other. Early studies on this topic focused on the systemic effects that the acute inflammatory response-and interleukins-had on lipid metabolism. Today, in the era of the obesity epidemic, whose primary complications are cardio-metabolic diseases, attention has moved to the effects that the nutritional environment and lipid derangements have on peripheral tissues, where lipotoxicity leads to organ damage through an imbalance of chronic inflammatory responses. After an overview of the effects that acute inflammation has on the systemic lipid metabolism, this review will describe the lipid-induced immune responses that take place in peripheral tissues and lead to chronic cardio-metabolic diseases. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory effects of lipid lowering drugs, as well as the possibility of using anti-inflammatory agents against cardio-metabolic diseases, will be discussed.

}, keywords = {Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Cardiovascular Diseases, Humans, Hypolipidemic Agents, Immune System, Inflammation, Interleukins, Lipid Metabolism, Lipids, Metabolic Diseases}, issn = {1422-0067}, doi = {10.3390/ijms19124058}, author = {Bernardi, Stella and Marcuzzi, Annalisa and Piscianz, Elisa and Tommasini, Alberto and Fabris, Bruno} } @article {10482, title = {Circulating osteoprotegerin is associated with chronic kidney disease in hypertensive patients.}, journal = {BMC Nephrol}, volume = {18}, year = {2017}, month = {2017 Jul 06}, pages = {219}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a glycoprotein that plays an important regulatory role in the skeletal, vascular, and immune system. It has been shown that OPG predicts chronic kidney disease (CKD) in diabetic patients. We hypothesized that OPG could be a risk marker of CKD development also in non-diabetic hypertensive patients.

METHODS: A case-control study was carried out to measure circulating OPG levels in 42 hypertensive patients with CKD and in 141 hypertensive patients without CKD. A potential relationship between OPG and the presence of CKD was investigated and a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was designed thereafter to identify a cut-off value of OPG that best explained the presence of CKD. Secondly, to evaluate whether OPG increase could affect the kidney, 18 C57BL/6J mice were randomized to be treated with saline or recombinant OPG every 3~weeks for 12~weeks.

RESULTS: Circulating OPG levels were significantly higher in hypertensive patients with CKD, and there was a significant inverse association between OPG and renal function, that was independent from other variables. ROC analysis showed that OPG levels had a high statistically predictive value on CKD in hypertensive patients, which was greater than that of hypertension. The OPG best cut-off value associated with CKD was 1109.19~ng/L. In the experimental study, OPG delivery significantly increased the gene expression of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic mediators, as well as the glomerular nitrosylation of proteins.

CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that OPG is associated with CKD in hypertensive patients, where it might have a higher predictive value than that of hypertension for CKD development. Secondly, we found that OPG delivery significantly increased the expression of molecular pathways involved in kidney damage. Further longitudinal studies are needed not only to evaluate whether OPG predicts CKD development but also to clarify whether OPG should be considered a risk factor for CKD.

}, keywords = {Aged, Animals, Biomarkers, Case-Control Studies, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Hypertension, Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Middle Aged, Osteoprotegerin, Random Allocation, Renal Insufficiency, Chronic}, issn = {1471-2369}, doi = {10.1186/s12882-017-0625-3}, author = {Bernardi, Stella and Toffoli, Barbara and Bossi, Fleur and Candido, Riccardo and Stenner, Elisabetta and Carretta, Renzo and Barbone, Fabio and Fabris, Bruno} }