Posttraumatic stress disorder is characterized by functional dysregulation of dermal fibroblasts.

Incidence of mental health disorders are rising in modernity, with psychological stress linked to a propensity for developing various chronic diseases due to a relative inability of the body to counter the allostatic load on cellular level. Despite these high rates of comorbidities associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there is still a lack of understanding in terms of the peripheral effects of PTSD on tissue level. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to profile basal dermal fibroblast functional status in PTSD using a wide range of markers involved in the cell-to-cell communication facilitated by fibroblasts. Primary dermal fibroblasts derived from patients diagnosed with PTSD (n = 11) and matched trauma exposed controls (i.e. who did not develop PTSD, n = 10) were cultured using standard techniques. The patients and controls were matched based on age, sex, body-mass index (BMI) and lifestyle. The growth rate, population doubling time, cell surface marker expression (CD31, FNDC5) (flow cytometry), secretome (TIMP-2, MMP-9) (ELISAs), intracellular signalling capacity (Fluo-4 Ca2+ flux) and gene expression (IL-6, IL-10, PTX-3, iNOS, Arg1) were compared between groups. The data illustrated significant PTSD-associated fibroblast conditioning resulting in a blunted signalling capacity. This observation highlights the importance of including tissue-specific investigations in future studies focused on elucidating the association between PTSD and subsequent risk for somatic disease.

Systemic Factors During Metabolic Disease Progression Contribute to the Functional Decline of Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Reproductive Aged Females.

It is known that advanced metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes compromise the functional and regenerative capacity of endogenous adipose-tissue resident stem cells (ADSCs). It is, however, still unclear at which stage of disease progression ADSCs become compromised and whether systemic factors contribute to their functional decline. It was therefore hypothesized that inflammatory changes in the systemic microenvironment during distinct stages of disease progression negatively affect the functional capacity of ADSCs. A total of forty-seven (n = 47) black African reproductive aged females (32 ± 8 years; mean ± SD) were included in this study and subdivided into: (a) healthy lean (C; body mass index, BMI ≤ 25 kg/m2), (b) healthy overweight/obese (OB; BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2), (c) obese metabolic syndrome (MetS; BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2), and (d) type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM; previously diagnosed and on treatment) groups. Participants underwent anthropometric assessments and a DXA scan to determine their body composition and adipose indices. Each persons' systemic metabolic- (cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, and blood glucose) and inflammatory profiles (CRP, SDF1α, TNFα, IL6, IL8, IL10, and IFNy) were also evaluated. Participant-derived serum was then used to treat an ADSC cell line in vitro and its effect on viability (MTT-based assay), proliferation (BrdU), migration (wound healing assay), and osteogenic differentiation assessed. When exposed to serum derived from overweight/obese individuals (with or without metabolic syndrome), both the proliferative and migratory responses of ADSCs were less pronounced than when exposed to healthy control serum. Serum IL6 concentrations were identified as a factor influencing the proliferation of ADSCs, suggesting that long-term disruption to the systemic cytokine balance can potentially disrupt the proliferative responses of ADSCs. Obese participant-derived serum (with and without metabolic syndrome) furthermore resulted in lipid accumulation during osteogenic differentiation. This study, therefore demonstrated that systemic factors in obese individuals, regardless of the presence of metabolic syndrome, can be detrimental to the multifunctional properties of ADSCs.

Bone mineral density in people living with HIV: a narrative review of the literature.

Bone health status is largely absent in South Africa, the main reasons being the absence and cost-effectiveness of specific screening equipment for assessing bone mineral density (BMD). Various risk factors seem to play a role, some of which can be modified to change bone health status. Urbanisation is also a public health concern. Changing nutritional, as well as social behaviour, play integral roles in the prevalence and incidence of decreased BMD. Furthermore, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) specifically, has a negative impact on BMD and although highly active antiretroviral therapy increases the prognosis for HIV-infected individuals, BMD still seem to decrease further. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry is considered the gold standard for BMD assessment; however, recent developments have provided more cost-effective screening methods, among which heel quantitative ultrasound appears to be the most widely used in resource limited countries such as South Africa.