Correlation of vascular structural changes in a cadaveric model and obesity-related cardiovascular non-communicable diseases.

INTRODUCTION: Carrying excess body weight is a vital risk factor for obesity-related chronic diseases affecting blood vessels. Obesity influences cardiovascular non-communicable diseases (NCDs) via vascular structural changes, which involve alterations in lipids, blood pressure, coagulation, fibrinolysis, and inflammation, leading to endothelial dysfunction due to vascular remodeling and stiffness. Small peripheral vessels are the first to be impacted; however, it is unclear whether this change is followed by microscopic changes in the aorta. OBJECTIVES: To determine the correlation of vascular structure with the incidence of NCDs and subcutaneous fat thickness and to study micro-scale changes in vascular structure, especially concerning collagen in the aorta, using a cadaveric model. METHODS: Twenty-four cadaveric models were classified into a control group and an NCD group. The subcutaneous fat thickness was measured on the arm, anterior abdomen, and thigh. The aorta was collected and stained with hematoxylin, eosin, and Masson's trichrome for collagen evaluation. The vessel thickness was morphometrically analyzed. Scanning electron microscopy was performed to identify the extracellular matrix organization in the vessel. RESULTS: Disorganization of the extracellular matrix and fragments of the vascular wall were found in the NCDs group. The tunica intima of the NCDs group represented endothelial dysfunction with macrophage foam cells. The thickness of the tunica intima of the NCDs group slightly increased without being significantly different compared to control group with 144.63 ± 124.38 µm and 105.60 ± 27.49 µm, respectively. However, the thickness of tunica media of the NCDs group significantly decreased compared to control group with 956.58 ± 27.80 µm and 1167.43 ± 48.6 µm, respectively. Collagen deposits in the aortic wall significantly increased by 15% in the NCDs group especially in tunica media by 17.4% compared to control. The results showed a correlation between the amount of collagen fiber and subcutaneous fat on the thigh. CONCLUSION: There was a change toward irregular microstructural patterns and increased collagen fibers in NCDs. In addition, there was a correlation between collagen fiber density and the subcutaneous fat thickness of the thigh in cadavers with a history of NCDs.

Effect of caffeine on genes expressions of developing retinas in the chick model.

It has been reported that overconsumption of caffeine during pregnancy leads to a deleterious effect within the nervous tissues during embryonic development. In this study, we further extrapolated the effect of caffeine in the developing retinas, which is known to be one of the most sensitive tissues in chick embryos. Morphological changes of retinal thickness and organization of neuroretinal epithelium were monitored using three gene markers, Atoh7, FoxN4, and Lim1. Upon treating with a single dose of caffeine (15 µmol at embryonic day 1 [E1]), relative thicknesses of developing retinas (particularly of E7 and E9) were significantly altered. Among the three genes studied, the expression pattern of Atoh7 was notably altered while those of FoxN4, and Lim1 mRNA showed only a slight change in these developing retinas. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction results supported the most notable changes of Atoh7 but not FoxN4, and Lim1 gene in the developing retinas, particularly at E7. The effect of caffeine towards other organs during development should be extrapolated and the awareness of its intensive consumption should be raised.

Late administration of caffeine affects cardiac maturation in chick embryos: a combined two and threedimensional morphogenetic and gene analyses

Cardiac malformations are very prevalent and can be caused both by defective genes and envi-ronmental teratogens. Among the latter, caffeine causes malformations when exposed during early cardiac development, whereas its later effects are still unclear. We exposed three-day incubated (D3) chick embryos to 2 mg caffeine and analyzed them at D5, D7 and D9. The embryos were serially sec-tioned and analyzed two-dimensionally. Alternatively, the sections of D9 embryos were reconstructed three-dimensionally using Amira® software and analyzed volumetrically. The expres-sion of genes involved in endothelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) was studied by real-time PCR. Interestingly, caffeine treatment at D3 em-bryos did not induce cardiac malformations, but did delay growth, in particular that of the ventricles and ventricular trabeculae. Furthermore, it affected EMT in the endocardial cushion and atrioventricu-lar valves. Gene-expression analysis revealed that caffeine had a progressively deleterious effect on the expressions of GATA4, MMP2, SNAIL1, TWIST1, and VIMENTIN. The effect of late caf-feine administration on the chicken embryos would provide suggestive evident towards a possible heart developmental defect in humans, particularly heavy caffeine consumers during pregnancy

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