No abstract

Serous surface papillary carcinoma of the peritoneum should be included in the differential diagnosis when ascites, omental caking, and peritoneal nodules or enhancement are observed in a postmenopausal woman with or without ovarian enlargement.

No abstract

Genome-wide association studies have identified more than 300 loci associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus; however, the mechanisms underlying their role in type 2 diabetes mellitus susceptibility remain largely unknown. Zinc finger AN1-type domain 3 (ZFAND3), known as testis-expressed sequence 27, is a type 2 diabetes mellitus-susceptibility gene. Limited information is available regarding the physiological role of ZFAND3 in vivo. This study aimed to investigate the association between ZFAND3 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. ZFAND3 was significantly upregulated in the liver of diabetic mice compared to wild-type mice. To overexpress ZFAND3, we generated a ZFAND3-expressing adenovirus (Ad) vector using an improved Ad vector exhibiting significantly lower hepatotoxicity (Ad-ZFAND3). Glucose tolerance was significantly improved in Ad-ZFAND3-treated mice compared to the control Ad-treated mice. ZFAND3 overexpression in the mouse liver also improved insulin resistance. Furthermore, gluconeogenic gene expression was significantly lower in primary mouse hepatocytes transduced with Ad-ZFAND3 than those transduced with the control Ad vector. The present results suggest that ZFAND3 improves glucose tolerance by improving insulin resistance and suppressing gluconeogenesis, serving as a potential novel therapeutic target for type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Nowadays, a lot of food ingredients are marketed as dietary supplements for health. Because the eŠectiveness and mechanisms of these compounds have not been fully characterized, they might have unknown functions. Therefore, we investigated the eŠect of several food ingredients (Bergamottin, Chrysin, L-Citrulline and b-Carotene) known as health foods on adipocyte diŠerentiation by using 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. In this study, we found that Bergamottin, a furanocoumarin isolated from grapefruit juice, promotes adipocyte diŠerentiation. In addition, Bergamottin increases the expression of adiponectin, an anti-in‰ammatory adipokine, and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor g (PPARg), a nuclear receptor regulating adipocyte diŠerentiation. Furthermore, the anti-in‰ammatory activity of Bergamottin was demonstrated by its inhibition of the activation of nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB), an in‰ammatory transcription factor. Stimulation of mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes by tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) decreased the expression of the endogeneous NF-kB inhibitor, IkBa. Treatment with Bergamottin further decreased the TNF-a-induced change in IkBa expression, suggesting that Bergamottin mediated the inhibition of NF-kB activation. In addition, Bergamottin decreased the TNF-a-induced increase in the mRNA levels of pro-in‰ammatory adipokines, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and interleukin-6. Taken together, our results show that Bergamottin treatment could inhibit in‰ammatory activity through promoting adipocyte diŠerentiation, which in turn suggests that Bergamottin has the potential to minimize the risk factors of metabolic syndrome.