Ambient air pollution exposure and telomere length: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to provide evidence of the associations between pre- and post-birth and adulthood air pollution exposure with telomere length. STUDY DESIGN: The databases of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched up to June 1st, 2022 in order to include relevant observational studies and perform a systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: The random-effects meta-analysis was grouped by air pollutant and exposure window (pre- and post-birth and adulthood) to evaluate the summary effect estimate. Cochran's Q and I2 statistics were used to evaluate the heterogeneity among the included studies. The quality of individual studies was evaluated using the national toxicology program/office of health assessment and translation risk of bias rating tool. RESULTS: We identified 18 studies, covering 8506 children and 2263 adults from multiple countries. We found moderate evidence that particulate matter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) exposure during the entire pregnancy (-0.043, 95% CI: -0.067, -0.018), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure during the first trimester (-0.016, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.027, -0.005), long-term adulthood PM2.5 exposure were associated with shortening telomere length. Mild to high between-study heterogeneity was observed for the most tested air pollutant-telomere length combinations in different exposure windows. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review and meta-analysis provides the evidence which strongly supports that prenatal PM2.5 and NO2 exposures were related to reduced telomere length, while prenatal sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) exposures, childhood PM2.5, particulate matter less than 10 µm (PM10), NO2 exposures and short-term adulthood PM2.5 and PM10 exposures were not associated with telomere length. Further high-quality studies are needed to elaborate our suggestive associations.

Expression and distribution of endocan in human tissues.

Endocan is a novel human endothelial cell specific molecule. Its expression is regulated by cytokines and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The distribution of endocan in normal human tissues, however, remains unclear. We examined the expression of endocan in normal human tissue using immunohistochemical stains. Endocan was expressed in actively proliferative or neogeneic tissues and cells such as glandular tissues, endothelium of neovasculature, bronchial epithelium, germinal centers of lymph nodes etc. Endocan was not present in silent or resting tissues or cells such as endothelium of great arteries and spleen etc. Our findings suggest that endocan may act as a marker for angiogenesis or oncogenesis and could be regarded as a candidate gene for inflammatory tissue, neoplasia, tumor development and metastasis. The expression level of endocan may assist early diagnosis and prognosis of some tumors.

Preparation and evaluation of a microemulsion for oral delivery of berberine.

The principal aim of this study was to develop an oral microemulsion formulation of berberine in order to improve its bioavailability. The Microemulsion was prepared with pharmaceutically acceptable ingredients such as oleic acid, Tween 80 and PEG400. Phase diagrams were drawn to elucidate the phase behavior of systems, which were composed of Tween 80 as surfactant and PEG400 as cosurfactant. A single isotropic region, considered to be a bicontinuous microemulsion, was detected in the pseudo ternary phase diagrams. The berberine-loaded microemulsion was characterized by viscosity, refractive index, electrical conductivity and particle size. In vivo pharmacokinetic profile and oral bioavailability were also investigated in rats. The optimized formulation was as follows: 15 wt.% oleic acid, 17 wt.% Tween-80, 17 wt.% PEG400, and 51 wt.% water. The formulated microemulsion was found to be relatively uniform in size (24.0 nm). The in vivo study indicated that the bioavailability of the oral berberine-loaded microemulsion formulation was 6.47 times greater than that of the berberine tablet suspensions. The results suggest that the microemulsion is a promising oral drug delivery system for berberine.