Is the future of meat palatable? Perceptions of in vitro meat as evidenced by online news comments.

OBJECTIVE: To understand current public perceptions of in vitro meat (IVM) in light of its potential to be a more environmentally sustainable alternative to conventional meat. DESIGN: A qualitative content analysis of the comments made on online news articles highlighting the development of IVM and the world's first IVM hamburger in August 2013. SETTING: News article comment sections across seven US-based online news sources (The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Cable News Network and National Public Radio). SUBJECTS: Four hundred and sixty-two commenters who made eight hundred and fourteen publicly available online comments addressing IVM. RESULTS: Key themes in commenter perceptions of IVM included environmental and public health benefits, but also negative themes such as IVM's status as an unnatural and unappealing food. Overall, the tone of comments was more negative than positive. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that while the environmental and public health motivations for developing and in turn consuming IVM resonate with some segments of the population, others find that reasoning both uncompelling and problematic. Concerns about IVM as an unnatural and risky product also appear to be a significant barrier to public acceptance of IVM. Supporters of IVM may wish to begin to develop a regulatory strategy for IVM to build public trust and explore messaging strategies that cast IVM as a new technology with benefits to individuals rather than primarily a solution to global challenges. Those in the public health nutrition field can make an important contribution to the emerging public discussion about IVM.

Genetic determinants of atherosclerosis, obesity, and energy balance in consomic mice.

Metabolic diseases such as obesity and atherosclerosis result from complex interactions between environmental factors and genetic variants. A panel of chromosome substitution strains (CSSs) was developed to characterize genetic and dietary factors contributing to metabolic diseases and other biological traits and biomedical conditions. Our goal here was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) contributing to obesity, energy expenditure, and atherosclerosis. Parental strains C57BL/6 and A/J together with a panel of 21 CSSs derived from these progenitors were subjected to chronic feeding of rodent chow and atherosclerotic (females) or diabetogenic (males) test diets, and evaluated for a variety of metabolic phenotypes including several traits unique to this report, namely fat pad weights, energy balance, and atherosclerosis. A total of 297 QTLs across 35 traits were discovered, two of which provided significant protection from atherosclerosis, and several dozen QTLs modulated body weight, body composition, and circulating lipid levels in females and males. While several QTLs confirmed previous reports, most QTLs were novel. Finally, we applied the CSS quantitative genetic approach to energy balance, and identified three novel QTLs controlling energy expenditure and one QTL modulating food intake. Overall, we identified many new QTLs and phenotyped several novel traits in this mouse model of diet-induced metabolic diseases.

Obesity and weight loss result in increased adipose tissue ABCG1 expression in db/db mice.

The prevalence of obesity has reached epidemic proportions and is associated with several co-morbid conditions including diabetes, dyslipidemia, cancer, atherosclerosis and gallstones. Obesity is associated with low systemic inflammation and an accumulation of adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) that are thought to modulate insulin resistance. ATMs may also modulate adipocyte metabolism and take up lipids released during adipocyte lipolysis and cell death. We suggest that high levels of free cholesterol residing in adipocytes are released during these processes and contribute to ATM activation and accumulation during obesity and caloric restriction. Db/db mice were studied for extent of adipose tissue inflammation under feeding conditions of ad libitum (AL) and caloric restriction (CR). The major finding was a marked elevation in epididymal adipose ABCG1 mRNA levels with obesity and CR (6-fold and 16-fold, respectively) over that seen for lean wild-type mice. ABCG1 protein was also elevated for CR as compared to AL adipose tissue. ABCG1 is likely produced by cholesterol loaded ATMs since this gene is not highly expressed in adipocytes and ABCG1 expression is sterol mediated. Our data supports the concept that metabolic changes in adipocytes due to demand lipolysis and cell death lead to cholesterol loading of ATMs. Based on finding cholesterol-loaded peritoneal leukocytes with elevated levels of ABCG1 in CR as compared to AL mice, we suggest that pathways for cholesterol trafficking out of adipose tissue involve ATM egress as well as ABCG1 mediated cholesterol efflux. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Advances in High Density Lipoprotein Formation and Metabolism: A Tribute to John F. Oram (1945-2010).

Roles for cathepsins S, L, and B in insulitis and diabetes in the NOD mouse.

We developed a panel of non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice deficient in major lysosomal cysteine proteases (cathepsins S, L and B) to identify protease enzymes essential for autoimmune diabetes. Null alleles for cathepsins (Cts) S, L or B were introgressed onto the NOD genetic background with 19 Idd markers at homozygosity. Diabetes onset was determined among females aged up to 6 months. We evaluated insulitis and sialadenitis in tissues using histology and computer assisted morphology. NOD mice deficient in Ctss or Ctsb were partially protected from diabetes with incidence at 33% and 28%, respectively, versus wild-type NOD (69%; p < 0.00001). NODs lacking cathepsin L (Ctsl-/-) are completely protected from IDDM, as originally shown by others. Ctsl, Ctss, or Ctsb heterozygous mice were able to develop IDDM, although incidence levels were significantly lower for Ctsb+/- (50%) and Ctsl+/- (55%) as compared to NODs (69%; p < 0.03). Ctsl-/- mice contain functional, diabetogenic T cells and an enriched Foxp3+ regulatory T cell population, and diabetes resistance was due to the presence of an expanded population of regulatory T cells. These data provide additional information about the potency of the diabetogenic T cell population in Ctsl-/- mice which were comparable in potency to wild-type NOD mice. These data illustrate the critical contribution of each of these proteases in determining IDDM in the NOD mouse and provide a useful set of models for further studies.

Fluticasone furoate nasal spray: effective monotherapy for symptoms of perennial allergic rhinitis in adults/adolescents.

Intranasal corticosteroids are widely prescribed for the treatment of perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of intranasal fluticasone furoate, a novel enhanced-affinity glucocorticoid, in patients > or =12 years of age with PAR in a global, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 6-week study. Patients (n = 302) received fluticasone furoate nasal spray (FFNS) 110 microg or vehicle placebo once daily (q.d.). The primary efficacy measure was mean change from baseline over the 6-week treatment period in daily reflective total nasal symptom score (TNSS). Secondary end points included mean change from baseline in total and individual reflective nasal and ocular symptom scores and in daily peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF). FFNS was significantly more effective than placebo in reducing daily reflective TNSS over the treatment period (least square [LS] mean difference, -1.256; p < 0.001). Significant improvements were also established in total ocular symptom score (LS mean difference, -0.506; p = 0.004 versus placebo) and in all individual nasal (p < 0.001) and ocular (p < 0.03) symptoms assessed in a reflective manner. Improvements in daily PNIF were significantly greater with FFNS than placebo (LS mean difference, 8.376 L/minute; p = 0.004). FFNS was well tolerated. In this study, FFNS 110 microg q.d. was well tolerated and effective in reducing the nasal and ocular symptoms of PAR in adult and adolescent patients > or =12 years of age.

A 2-week, crossover study to investigate the effect of fluticasone furoate nasal spray on short-term growth in children with allergic rhinitis.

BACKGROUND: It is essential to assess potential growth effects of any newly developed corticosteroid. Fluticasone furoate is a recently approved, enhanced- affinity intranasal corticosteroid with low systemic bioavailability and proven efficacy in treating allergic rhinitis. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the current study was to assess whether treatment with fluticasone furoate nasal spray affected the short-term lower-leg growth rate in children with allergic rhinitis. METHODS: Prepubertal children with seasonal or perennial allergic rhinitis of at least 1 year's duration were included in this single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. The study consisted of 4 periods, each of 2 weeks' duration screening, then 2 treatment periods separated by a washout). Study medications were fluticasone furoate nasal spray 110 microg and placebo nasal spray, both administered QD in the morning. The primary end point, lower-leg growth rate (measured in millimeters per week), was assessed by knemometry. Adverse events were also assessed. RESULTS: Fifty-eight patients were randomized to the study and comprised the intent-to-treat (ITT) population (mean [SD] age, 9.1 [1.4] years; 39 males, 19 females). Five patients were excluded from the ITT group due to protocol violations; thus, 53 patients (mean [SD] age, 9.0 [1.4] years; 35 males, 18 females) comprised the growth population (a de facto per-protocol group). In the growth population, the adjusted mean lower-leg growth rate was 0.40 and 0.42 mm/wk with fluticasone furoate and placebo, respectively. The difference in adjusted mean lower-leg growth rate between fluticasone furoate and placebo was -0.016 mm/wk (95% CI, -0.13 to 0.10). Fluticasone furoate was noninferior to placebo, as the lower boundary of the 95% CI was above the prespecified noninferiority margin of -0.20 mm/wk. These results were supported by the ITT analysis. Fluticasone furoate nasal spray was well tolerated and had an adverse-event profile similar to that of placebo nasal spray. Nasopharyngitis (placebo, 4; fluticasone furoate, 1) and headache (placebo, 3; fluticasone furoate, 1) were the most frequent adverse events during the treatment periods. CONCLUSION: In this study, fluticasone furoate nasal spray 110 microg QD for 2 weeks had no effect on lower-leg growth rate in these prepubertal children with allergic rhinitis.