Investigation of serum and adipose tissue levels of asprosin in patients with severe obesity undergoing sleeve gastrectomy.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to reveal the relationship between obesity and asprosin (fibrillin-1) in patients undergoing bariatric surgery and to investigate the role of asprosin in obesity etiopathogenesis. METHODS: The study included 37 patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy for severe obesity and 37 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for cholelithiasis in the study and control groups, respectively. Blood samples were collected from the patients in the preoperative period to measure biochemical parameters. Blood samples were collected at 6 months postoperatively from the patients in the study group to compare their pre- and postoperative serum asprosin levels. RESULTS: A significant intergroup difference in terms of mean asprosin levels in adipose tissue was noted (p = 0.001). A comparison of preoperative and postoperative 6-month serum asprosin levels in the study group showed significant differences (p = 0.021). The area under the curve of asprosin tissue levels was 78.1%, and the cutoff value was 217.34 ng/g of protein, with a sensitivity and specificity of 73.0%. Tissue levels of asprosin were found to increase the risk of obesity by a factor of 1.018 (odds ratio; 95% CI: 1.008-1.027). CONCLUSIONS: Serum asprosin levels decreased significantly at 6 months after bariatric surgery. Adipose tissue of patients with obesity showed high asprosin levels and immunoreactivity. In conclusion, asprosin levels in adipose tissue were considered a potential independent risk factor in obesity etiopathogenesis.

A New Treatment Experience in Pseudomonas Keratitis: Topical Meropenem and Cefepime.

PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy of topical meropenem and cefepime treatments with respect to moxifloxacin as new treatment options in an experimental Pseudomonas keratitis model. METHODS: Twenty-four rabbits in which keratitis are induced using Pseudomonas aeruginosa were divided into four groups according to treatment options. A solution of 50 mg/mL meropenem was prepared and topically applied to the first group, 50 mg/mL cefepime solution to the second group, topical 0.5% moxifloxacin drop to the third group, and topical isotonic (0.9% saline) solution to the fourth (control) group. The eyes were examined before and after treatment to score the clinical severity. After the subjects were sacrificed, their corneas were excised. To determine the efficacy of treatments, clinical score, bacterial load, and histopathological and immunohistochemical findings were evaluated. RESULTS: When the three treatment groups were compared, there was a significant difference in the colony-forming unit (CFU) value, polymorph-nuclear leukocyte (PMNL) infiltration, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 immunoreactivity (P=0.022, P=0.038, and P=0.037, respectively). The CFU values, PMNL infiltration scores and MMP-9 immunoreactivity were significantly lower in the meropenem and moxifloxacin groups compared with the cefepime group (P<0.05 for all). There was no significant difference between the meropenem and moxifloxacin groups in respect of the CFU values, PMNL infiltration, and MMP-9 immunoreactivity (P=0.842, P=0.784, and P=0.699, respectively). CONCLUSION: The results of our study indicate that topical meropenem is at least as effective as topical moxifloxacin in the treatment of Pseudomonas keratitis. The meropenem and moxifloxacin are safer and suitable in the limited corneal invasion than cefepime. Thus, topical meropenem may be an alternative drug in the treatment of this condition. Clinical studies are needed to be conducted to assess this possibility more accurately.

GLP-1 Localisation and Proglucagon Gene Expression in Healthy and Diabetic Mouse Ileum.

INTRODUCTION: Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a polypeptide that is mainly produced by intestinal L cells and is encoded by the proglucagon gene. In this study, GLP-1 localisation was investigated in the ileum of healthy and diabetic mice by immunohistochemistry and proglucagon gene expression was assayed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study included 18 male Balb/c mice that were divided into diabetic, sham, and control groups. Mice in the diabetic group received 100 mg/kg of streptozotocin. Immunohistochemical expression of GLP-1 was determined using the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex technique, and proglucagon gene expression was determined by RT-PCR. RESULTS: Analysis of GLP-1 immunohistochemical localisation showed that GLP-1-immunopositive cells (L cells) were present between epithelial cells in the intestinal crypts. The intensity and localisation of GLP-1 immunoreactivity were similar among the mice in all the groups. Proglucagon gene expression levels were also statistically similar among the mice in all the groups. CONCLUSION: No difference was demonstrated among the mice in the diabetic, sham, or control groups with respect to proglucagon gene expression and GLP-1 localisation in the ileum, suggesting that diabetes does not affect proglucagon gene expression in the ileum.

Examination of the immunohistochemical localization and gene expression by RT-PCR of the oxytocin receptor in diabetic and non-diabetic mouse testis.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine Oxytocin receptor (OTR) gene expression and localization in diabetic and non-diabetic mouse testes by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 18 male BALB/c mice (8-12 weeks old) were used and divided into three groups: diabetic, sham, and control. Streptozotocin (STZ) was applied to the diabetic group and sodium citrate was administered to the sham group in the same way, however, the control group was left untouched. The testicular tissues were removed on the thirtieth day of testing; the right testis tissues were passed through a routine histologic process and sections were stained with H&E and PAS staining techniques. The avidin-biotin-peroxidase method was applied to determine OTR immunoreactivity, while the left testis tissues were used for RT-PCR. RESULTS: It was found that the body weight had decreased in the diabetic group and the diameter of the seminiferous tubules in the said group was shorter than those of the other groups. There were no obvious differences with regard to the histologic appearance between the groups. The immunohistochemical examination showed that the OTR immunoreactivity was strong in the control and sham groups but weak in the diabetic group, and the immunoreactivity was only seen in the Leydig cells. In addition, the OTR gene expression was lower in the diabetic group than in the other groups. CONCLUSION: We concluded that diabetes reduces the OTR expression in the testis. It is suggested that OTR protection should be researched in diabetes for healthy reproduction and sexuality.