Association between hair cortisol concentration and metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a highly prevalent disorder defined as a cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors including obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. It is believed that excessive cortisol secretion due to psychosocial stress-induced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation might be involved in the pathogenesis of MetS. We sought to explore the association between MetS and psychosocial risk factors, as well as cortisol concentration measured in different biological specimens including saliva, blood serum, and hair samples. The study was conducted on a sample of 163 young and middle-aged men who were divided into groups according to the presence of MetS. Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) was determined using high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection, while blood serum and salivary cortisol levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay. Lipid metabolism biomarkers were determined using routine laboratory methods. Anthropometric and lifestyle characteristics, as well as self-reported psychosocial indicators, were also examined. Significantly higher HCC and lower social support level among participants with MetS compared with individuals without MetS were found. However, no significant differences in blood serum and salivary cortisol levels were observed between men with and without MetS. In conclusion, chronically elevated cortisol concentration might be a potential contributing factor to the development of MetS.

Electroporation Assisted Improvement of Freezing Tolerance in Yeast Cells.

Prolonged storage of frozen dough worsens the structure of thawed dough. The main reason is the inhibition of yeast activity. In this study we investigated applicability of pulsed electric field treatment for introduction of cryoprotectant into yeast cells. We showed that pre-treatment of cells suspended in a trehalose solution improves freezing tolerance and results in higher viability after thawing. Viability increased with rise in electric field strength (from 3 to 4.5 kV/cm) and incubation time (from 0 to 60 min) after exposure. Pretreatment resulted in lower decrease in the viability of thawed cells, viability of untreated cells dropped to 10%, while pre-treatment with PEF and trehalose tripled the viability.

Changes in circulating endothelial microvesicles in men after myocardial infarction.

PURPOSE: The objective of the study was to determine the differences in the numbers of endothelial microvesicles (EMV) after myocardial infarction (MI) and their association with oxidative stress. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included 15 post MI patients and 28 healthy controls. Samples were analysed by flow cytometry. We examined four EMV populations: 1) CD144+, CD42a-, CD61-, 2) CD144+, CD42a+, CD61-, 3) CD105+, CD42a-, CD61-and 4) CD31+, CD42a-, CD61-and determined a percentage of CD62e + EMV. Malondialdehyde concentration was determined by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS: The median of EMV counts differed between controls and patients in: CD105+ (10.91 microvesicles/µl vs. 33.68 microvesicles/µl, P = 0.006), CD144+, CD42a+ (312.87 microvesicles/µl vs. 73.29 microvesicles/µl, P < 0.001) and CD31+ (2 microvesicles/µl vs. 1.38 microvesicles/µl, P = 0.021). The median of percentage of CD62e expression differed between controls and patients in: CD105+ (1.35% vs. 14.8%, P < 0.001), CD144+, CD42a+ (56.45% vs. 98.99%, P < 0.001) and CD144+, CD42a- (173.03% vs. 215.56%) EMV. In patients, EMV counts correlated with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations: CD105+: R = -0.69, P = 0.004 (LDL-C), R = -0.64, P = 0.01 (TC); CD144+, CD42a-: R = -0.68, P = 0.005 (LDL-C), R = -0.63, P = 0.011 (TC); CD144+: R = -0.54, P = 0.038 (HDL-C) and CD144+, CD42a-, CD62e+: R = 0.78, P = 0.001 (HDL-C). In controls, HDL-C concentration correlated with CD105+ (R = -0.395, P = 0.038) and CD105+, CD62e+ (R = -0.716, P < 0.001) counts. Malondialdehyde concentration correlated with CD144+, CD42a- (P = 0.01, R = 0.48) and CD105+, CD62e+ (P = 0.012, R = 0.47) counts. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in EMV levels after the MI period were observed. Counts of EMV and their CD62e expression correlated with dyslipidaemia and oxidative stress.

Association of Hair Cortisol Concentration with Prevalence of Major Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Allostatic Load.

BACKGROUND The high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases cannot be explained completely by conventional risk factors such as older age, smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, and dyslipidemia. Results of recent studies indicate that chronic stress may be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Thus, the aim of our study was to investigate the associations between the hair cortisol concentration (HCC), which is considered as a potential biomarker of long-term psychosocial stress, and traditional cardiovascular risk factors, including smoking, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity. MATERIAL AND METHODS Fasting blood samples and anthropometric and lifestyle data were collected from 163 apparently healthy men. HCC was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. Allostatic load (AL) index, defined as an integrated score of multiple interacting systems involved in the adaptation to adverse physical or psychosocial situations, was also calculated. RESULTS We found that many prevalent cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, smoking, higher than recommended waist circumference (WC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) median values, are associated with higher HCC. Hair cortisol level was also positively associated with the manifestation of individual cardiovascular risk factors such as higher-than-recommended total cholesterol, LDL-C, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, body mass index, and WC median values. Moreover, a significant positive relationship between HCC and AL index was observed. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggest that increased prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors is associated with higher HCC. Also, both HCC and AL index might be appropriate markers for the evaluation of chronic stress level.

Chronic and oxidative stress association with total count of endothelial microvesicles in healthy young male plasma.

BACKGROUND: Chronic and oxidative stress promotes injury to the endothelium. This happens early in the disease and novel biomarkers describing the rate of the damage may be important in early diagnostics and prevention. Microvesicles are shed from endothelial cells in response to oxidative stress, inflammation, coagulation, and angiogenesis. Their increased level in plasma could reflect the state of the endothelium. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to test the association between oxidative and chronic stress markers, atherosclerosis risk factors and endothelial microvesicle (EMV) count in peripheral blood. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 81 males, aged 25-55 years and apparently healthy. Venous blood samples were labeled with anti-CD144-FITC, anti-CD105-BV421, anti-CD42a-PerCP, anti-CD62e-PE, anti-CD31-APCy7, and anti-CD61-APC (BD Biosciences, San Jose, USA), and tested using a BD LSR Fortessa cytometer (BD Biosciences). Events were gated on forward and side-scattered light parameters. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and cortisol concentrations were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). RESULTS: Four populations of EMV expressing a combination of CD105+, CD31+, CD144+, and CD62e with CD42aor CD42a+ markers were examined. We found correlations between MDA concentration and hair cortisol and a total count of CD144+ microvesicles, and weak correlations with diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (p = 0.003, r = 0.324) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) (p = 0.016, r = 0.267), especially with the microvesicles carrying CD62e. There was a median difference of CD105+ microvesicle count between smoking (n = 13) and non-smoking (n = 68) individuals. A predictive model showed an association between CD144+ microvesicle counts with cortisol and MDA concentrations and waist circumference. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, our data and predictive model showed that the total counts of microvesicle populations were associated with stress-related parameters - cortisol and MDA concentrations; expression of CD62e in various populations of EMV and the ratio of CD144+ to CD105+/CD62e+ were associated with increased DBP and SBP, and also with total cholesterol concentration in healthy young male population.