Levels of the male sex hormone testosterone are generally stable in the age interval 20 -70 years, but several studies indicate an earlier, age-dependent decline. Testosterone deficiency is often underdiagnosed and undertreated, but replacement therapy has nonetheless increased during the last couple of years. Owing to possible negative side effects, alternative treatments have been investigated, including different supplementation protocols. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of probiotic supplementation on the testosterone level in healthy men aged between 55 and 65. Hence, 12 weeks randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to investigate the effect on testosterone levels following supplementation of the recognized probiotic Limosilactobacillus reuteri ATCC PTA 6475 on testosterone levels, using high-, low- or placebo treatment. Venous blood samples were collected at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks, for analysis of bloodwork, lipid profile, hormones, and electrolytes. Subjects were also asked to complete a questionnaire. The supplementation had no effect on testosterone levels, neither using high- or low dose, nor placebo. However, a significant decrease of triglyceride levels was observed in the high-dose group. No other parameters showed any significant change. The present study does not support the hypothesis that a probiotic supplementation can increase testosterone levels in ageing men.

The hydroxyalkyl amination of agarose gels was studied as an approach to improve adsorption of polyphenols and pharmaceuticals from water. Three commercially available agarose gels, Zetarose FlashFlow4, ZetaCell-CL6B and Sepharose 4B were chemically modified using tris-(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane, TRIS, and ethanolamine, EA. The adsorbed amounts of bisphenol A and diclofenac were significantly higher on TRIS- and EA-derivatives compared with the parent gels. Regarding bisphenol A adsorption on TRIS-ZetaCell-CL6B, a maximal adsorption capacity, Q max of 16 μmol/mL gel and an equilibrium dissociation constant K_L of 2.7 × 10⁻⁴ mol/L were observed. Filtration of diclofenac-contaminated water through TRIS-Zetarose FlashFlow 4 resulted in a 10-fold reduction of the pollutant concentration within 64 column volumes of the effluent. The moderate binding affinity of polyphenols to TRIS- and EA-adsorbents facilitates efficient polyphenol desorption and column regeneration. The effects of TRIS- and EA-substituents in agarose gels, can be harnessed for the development of environmental adsorbents, as well as for the preparative separation of polyphenols and pharmaceuticals. We consider the physical shapes and textures of the prospective adsorbents with a particular focus on spongy macroporous cryogels. These innovative materials hold promise for future applications in liquid and air filtration.  

N-vinylimidazole-divinylbenzene (VI-DVB) copolymer beads with a N-vinylimidazole (VI) weight content ranging from 7% to 15% were studied as possible adsorbents for hemoperfusion and compared with the cross-linked polystyrene beads from commercial devices. All the beads had a large volume fraction of mesopores with diameters of 2–50 nm, quantified by nitrogen adsorption, and BET areas from 500 to 1000 m²/g. Metal-chelate adsorption of copper (II) ions on VI-DVB was high in 0.15 M NaCl (up to 40 μmol/mL), and low in blood plasma (< 1 μmol/mL). Reversible adsorption of blood plasma proteins was high (> 100 mg/mL beads) on all the bead types. Irreversibly adsorbed proteins eluted by 2% SDS included albumin, fibrinogen, fibronectin, and transferrin. Metal chelating contributed to the irreversible adsorption. Unlike the beads from commercial devices, VI-DVB beads adsorbed the LPS endotoxin from plasma. Adsorption of bilirubin and IL-6 was high on all the beads tested, but VI-DVB beads were better adsorbents of bile acids. VI-DVB are promising as components of multifunctional devices for blood purification applicable to treatment of diseases where conventional devices have lower or negligible adsorption capacity.

High-performance autotolerant bioelectrodes should be ideally suited to design implantable bioelectronic devices. Because of its high redox potential and ability to reduce oxygen directly to water, human ceruloplasmin, HCp, the only blue multicopper oxidase present in human plasma, appears to be the ultimate biocatalyst for oxygen biosensors and also biocathodes in biological power sources. In comparison to fungal and plant blue multicopper oxidases, e.g. Myrothecium verrucaria bilirubin oxidase and Rhus vernicifera laccase, respectively, the inflammatory response to HCp in human blood is significantly reduced. Partial purification of HCp allowed to preserve the native conformation of the enzyme and its biocatalytic activity. Therefore, electrochemical studies were carried out with the partially purified enzyme immobilised on nanostructured graphite electrodes at physiological pH and temperature. Amperometric investigations revealed low reductive current densities, i.e. about 1.65 µA cm−2 in oxygenated electrolyte and in the absence of any mediator, demonstrating nevertheless direct electron transfer based O2 bioelectroreduction by HCp for the first time. The reductive current density obtained in the mediated system was about 12 µA cm−2. Even though the inflammatory response of HCp is diminished in human blood, inadequate bioelectrocatalytic performance hinders its use as a cathodic bioelement in a biofuel cell.

Purpose Physical exercise is reported to affect the immune response in various ways. Thus, the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines as well as the abundance of circulating leukocytes are changed. In this study, the occurence of circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA (cfmtDNA) and nuclear DNA (nDNA) was investigated in connection with a single bout of strenuous physical exercise. Methods Healthy volunteers performed a controlled ergo-spirometry cycle test and venous blood samples were taken at different time-points to analyze the concentration of blood components before, during and after the test. The number of circulating leukocytes was measured, as well as secretion of the soluble urokinase activator receptor (suPAR). Results Cf-mtDNA significantly increased during exercise, compared to baseline values and after 30 and 90 min of rest. Circulating leukocytes increased during exercise, but returned to baseline levels afterwards. Surface expression of the urokinase plasminogen activating receptor (uPAR) on neutrophils decreased significantly during exercise. The concentration of suPAR tended to increase during exercise but only significantly after 90 min of rest. Conclusion Increased concentration of cf-mtDNA indicates that cell damage takes place during high intensity training. Hypoxia and tissue damage are likely causes of cf-mtDNA from muscle cells. The levels of cf-mtDNA remain high during the initial rest, due to the decreasing numbers of leukocytes normally clearing the plasma from cf-mtDNA. The increased levels of suPAR further emphasize that strenuous physical exercise causes a reaction similar to inflammation. Further studies are needed to detect the source of increased cf-mtDNA and the corresponding increase of suPAR liberation.

OBJECTIVE: Inflammation is associated with major depressive disorder (MDD) and suicidal behavior. According to the 'leaky gut hypothesis', increased intestinal permeability may contribute to this relationship via bacterial translocation across enterocytes. We measured plasma levels of gut permeability markers, in patients with a recent suicide attempt (rSA), MDD subjects with no history of a suicide attempt (nsMDD), and healthy controls (HC), and related these markers to symptom severity and inflammation. METHOD: We enrolled rSA (n = 54), nsMDD (n = 13), and HC (n = 17). Zonulin, intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP), soluble CD14, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were quantified in plasma. Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and Suicide Assessment Scale (SUAS) were used for symptom assessments. RESULTS: The rSA group displayed higher I-FABP and lower zonulin levels compared with both the nsMDD and the HC groups (all P < 0.001). IL-6 correlated positively with I-FABP (r = 0.24, P < 0.05) and negatively with zonulin (r = -0.25, P < 0.05). In all subjects, I-FABP levels correlated positively with MADRS (r = 0.25, P < 0.05) and SUAS scores (r = 0.38, P < 0.001), and the latter correlation was significant also in the nsMDD group (r = 0.60, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The 'leaky gut hypothesis' may improve our understanding of the link between inflammation and suicidal behavior. These findings should be considered preliminary until replicated in larger cohorts.

Thin macroporous poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels were produced by cross-linking of PVA in a semi-frozen state with glutaraldehyde (GA) on glass slides or in the wells of microtiter plates. The 100-130 mu m-thick gels were mechanically transferable, squamous translucent films with a high porosity of 7.2 +/- 0.3 mL/g dry PVA i.e. similar to larger cylindrical PVA monoliths of the same composition. Additional treatment of the gels with 1% GA increased the aldehyde group content from 0.7 to 2.4 mu mol/mL as estimated using dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) reagent. Translucency of the gels allowed registration of UV-visible spectra of the DNP' ;Wined films. The catalytic activity of trypsin covalently immobilized on thin gels in the microtiter plates was estimated with chromogenic substrate directly in the wells, and indicated that the amount of protein immobilized was at least 0.34 mg/mL gel. Human immunoglobulin G (IgG) immobilized on thin gels at 0.1-10 mg/mL starting concentrations could be detected in a concentration-dependent manner due to recognition by anti-human rabbit IgG conjugated with peroxidase and photometric registration of the enzymatic activity. The results indicate good permeability of the hydrogel pores for macromolecular biospecific reagents and suggest applications of thin reactive PVA hydrogels in photometric analytical techniques.

Background: Mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-cn), which represents the number of mitochondrial genomes per cell, can be quantified in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and is thought to reflect variations in mitochondrial biogenesis. Additionally, mtDNA may be released at low levels into the circulation from mitochondria under cellular stress, resulting in circulating cell-free mtDNA (ccf-mtDNA) detectable in plasma. The source or physiological significance of ccf-mtDNA in psychiatric illness is unknown but may reflect cell damage, cell death, or bioenergetic compromise. Methods: We enrolled suicide attempters (across diagnoses), non-suicidal subjects with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and healthy controls (all medication-free) in two independent cohorts (n=110 & n=74). MtDNA was quantified in cell-free plasma and in PBMCs. Results: Ccf-mtDNA was elevated in suicide attempters and in non-suicidal MDD subjects, compared to healthy controls. These group effects were very large (Cohen’s d ranging from 0.9 to 4.0, all p<0.00001). Ccf-mtDNA and cellular PBMC mtDNA-cn were not significantly correlated with each other (r=0.02, p=0.87), suggesting they reflect different processes. Ccf-mtDNA correlated with post-dexamethasone cortisol (r=0.5, p<0.001), suggesting that HPA-axis hyperactivity may be associated with cellular damage and release of ccf-mtDNA into the blood. Ccf-mtDNA also directly correlated with the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase (r=0.32, p=0.001), possibly reflecting a compensatory attempt to upregulate antioxidant defence mechanisms due to cellular stress. Conclusions: Ccf-mtDNA may represent a novel marker of cellular stress, which is increased in certain psychiatric conditions. These results call for replication in larger cohorts and in longitudinal studies.

Inflammation has been proposed to play a role in the generation of depressive symptoms. Previously, we demonstrated that patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) have increased plasma levels of the soluble form of the urokinase receptor (suPAR), a marker for low-grade inflammation. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that acute exercise would induce inflammatory response characterized by increased suPAR and elucidate whether patients with MDD display altered levels of suPAR in response to acute exercise. A total of 17 patients with MDD and 17 controls were subjected to an exercise challenge. Plasma suPAR (P-suPAR) was analyzed before, during, and after exercise. There was a significantly higher baseline P-suPAR in the patients with MDD, and the dynamic changes of P-suPAR during the exercise were significantly lower in the patients with MDD, compared with the controls. This study supports the hypothesis that an activation of systemic inflammatory processes, measured as elevated P-suPAR, is involved in the pathophysiology of depression. The study concludes that P-suPAR is influenced by acute exercise, most likely due to release from activated neutrophils.

Background: Preclinical data suggest that chronic stress may cause cellular damage and mitochondrial dysfunction, potentially leading to the release of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) into the bloodstream. Major Depressive Disorder has been associated with an increased amount of mtDNA in leukocytes from saliva samples and blood, but no previous studies have measured plasma levels of free-circulating mtDNA in a clinical psychiatric sample.Methods: In this study, free circulating mtDNA was quantified in plasma samples from 37 suicide attempters, who had undergone a dexamethasone suppression test (DST), and 37 healthy controls. We hypothesized that free circulating mtDNA would be elevated in the suicide attempters and associated with hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA)-axis hyperactivity. Results: Suicide attempters had significantly higher plasma levels of free-circulating mtDNA compared to healthy controls at different time points (pre- and post-DST) (all p-values ,2.98E-12, Cohen’s d ranging from 2.55-4.01). Pre-DST plasma levels of mtDNA were positively correlated with postDST cortisol levels (rho50.49, p,0.003).Conclusions: Suicide attempters may have elevated plasma levels of free-circulating mtDNA, which are related to impaired HPA-axis negative feedback. This peripheral index is consistent with increased cellular or mitochondrial damage. The specific cells and tissues contributing to plasma levels of free-circulating mtDNA are not known, as is the specificity of this finding for suicide attempters. Future studies are needed in order to better understand the relevance of increased freecirculating mtDNA in relation to the pathophysiology underlying suicidal behavior and depression.