Pathophysiological background in different phenotypes of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains to be elucidated. The aim was to investigate the association between fecal and blood microbiota profiles and the presence of NAFLD in obese versus lean subjects. Demographic and clinical data were reviewed in 268 health checkup examinees, whose fecal and blood samples were available for microbiota analysis. NAFLD was diagnosed with ultrasonography, and subjects with NAFLD were further categorized as obese (body mass index (BMI) ≥25) or lean (BMI <25). Fecal and blood microbiota communities were analyzed by sequencing of the V3-V4 domains of the 16S rRNA genes. Correlation between microbiota taxa and NAFLD was assessed using zero-inflated Gaussian mixture models, with adjustment of age, sex, and BMI, and Bonferroni correction. The NAFLD group (n = 76) showed a distinct bacterial community with a lower biodiversity and a far distant phylotype compared with the control group (n = 192). In the gut microbiota, the decrease in Desulfovibrionaceae was associated with NAFLD in the lean NAFLD group (log2 coefficient (coeff.) = -2.107, P = 1.60E-18), but not in the obese NAFLD group (log2 coeff. = 1.440, P = 1.36E-04). In the blood microbiota, Succinivibrionaceae showed opposite correlations in the lean (log2 coeff. = -1.349, P = 5.34E-06) and obese NAFLD groups (log2 coeff. = 2.215, P = 0.003). Notably, Leuconostocaceae was associated with the obese NAFLD in the gut (log2 coeff. = -1.168, P = 0.041) and blood (log2 coeff. = -2.250, P = 1.28E-10). In conclusion, fecal and blood microbiota profiles showed different patterns between subjects with obese and lean NAFLD, which might be potential biomarkers to discriminate diverse phenotypes of NAFLD.

Cyclin dependent kinase 1 (Cdk1) have previously reported correlation with cancer growth and a key regulator for cell cycle. Mostly, Cdk1′s function of nucleus for cell cycle is well known to be associated with cancer, but cytoplasmic Cdk1′s traits are not clearly identified, yet. We revealed that tissue microarray blocks of epithelial ovarian cancer (n = 249) showed increased level of cytoplasmic Cdk1 (p < 0.001), but not in nucleus (p = 0.192) of histologic cell type independently. On survival analysis, Cdk1 overexpression conferred a significantly worse prognosis in 5-year overall survival (Log-rank p = 0.028, Hazard ratio = 2.016, 95% CI = 1.097 to 4.635). Also, the expression of Cdk1 was increased in ovarian cancer cell lines and Gene Expression Omnibus datasets. When the expression and activity of Cdk1 were inhibited by si-Cdk1 or RO-3306 which is a potent Cdk1 inhibitor, the growth of ovarian cancer was diminished. Moreover, combined treatment with RO-3306 and cisplatin in ovarian cancer significantly elevated anti-cancer effects than single-agent treatment. In conclusion, cytoplasmic Cdk1 expression which was elevated in ovarian cancer predicts a poor overall survival. The inhibition of Cdk1 expression and activity reduced ovarian cancer growth.

Though bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a favorable tool for assessing body composition to estimate nutritional status and physical fitness, such as sarcopenia, there are accuracy issues. Hence, high-frequency (HF) BIA equipment uses an additional frequency of 2 and 3 MHz and has been developed as a commercial model. However, there are no studies validating the accuracy and safety of HF-BIA. Therefore, this study aims to assess the validity of HF-BIA in analyzing body composition relative to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Appendicular lean mass (ALM), fat-free mass (FFM), and percentage of body fat (PBF) were assessed by HF-BIA and DEXA in 109 individuals; 50.5% (n = 55) were males. The average age and body mass index (BMI) were 43.4 ± 14.7 years and 25.5 ± 6.7 in males and 44.9 ± 14.1 years and 24.0 ± 6.4 in females, respectively. The HF-BIA results showed a high correlation with the DEXA results for assessing ALM (standard coefficient beta (β) ≥ 0.95), FFM (β ≥ 0.98, coefficient of determinations (R2) ≥ 0.95), and PBF (β ≥ 0.94, R2 ≥ 0.89). Body composition measured by HF-BIA demonstrated good agreement with DEXA in Korean adults.