Recent studies have reported conflicting associations of fried-food consumption and risk of overweight/obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypertension, and a meta-analysis is not available. We aimed to explore the association between fried-food consumption and risk of overweight/obesity, T2DM and hypertension in adults through a meta-analysis. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science for studies published up to 17 June 2020. Pooled relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by random-effects models. In comparing the highest to lowest fried-food intake, the pooled RRs (95% CIs) were 1.16 (1.07-1.25; I² = 71.0%, P_{heterogeneity} < 0.001) for overweight/obesity (cohort: 1.19 [0.97-1.47], n = 2; cross-sectional: 1.14 [1.03-1.27], n = 9), 1.07 (0.90-1.27; 84.7%) for T2DM (cohort: 1.01 [0.89-1.15], n = 9; case-control: 2.33 [1.80-3.01], n = 1), and 1.20 (1.05-1.38; I²=91.8%) for hypertension (cohort: 1.06 [0.98-1.15], n = 8; cross-sectional: 2.16 [0.59-7.87], n = 3). Our meta-analysis indicates fried-food consumption is associated with increased risk of overweight/obesity and hypertension but not T2DM in adults, but the findings should be interpreted with caution due to high heterogeneity and unstable subgroup analyses of this meta-analysis. More studies are warranted to investigate the total fried-food consumption and these health outcomes.

Diabetes mellitus is becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide and needs effective clinical treatment methods. β-Cell replacement therapy has become a safe alternative for diabetes treatment in recent years, and encapsulation methods have been proposed to facilitate this type of therapy. Here, we used coaxial microfluidic electrospray technology to generate microcapsules allowing high cell viability (>90%) with porous alginate shells and β cell-containing cores in less than half an hour. Benefitting from microfluidic electrospray, the sizes of the generated microcapsules were adjustable. The biocompatible porous hydrogel shell not only protected β cells from immune rejection but also allowed the exchange of small molecular nutrients during transplantation, and the liquid core guaranteed the high viability of the encapsulated cells. This constructed living cell biosystem further demonstrated its potential as an artificial islet after transplantation into the omental pouches of diabetic mice to control blood glucose levels and thus treat diabetes. We consider that this system, with an elaborate structure and an abundance of highly viable encapsulated β cells to improve treatment performance, could be applied in a wide range of clinical situations.

Background. Conflicting findings have been reported regarding the sex-specific association between serum uric acid (SUA) level and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk, and no study has explored the association between the change in hyperuricemia status and T2DM risk. The study was aimed at exploring the sex-specific association of baseline SUA and changes in hyperuricemia status with T2DM risk. Methods. We included 37,296 eligible adults without T2DM at the first examination who attended the baseline examination and at least one follow-up annual examination. Cox and logistic regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratios (ORs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for T2DM risk associated with baseline SUA and the change in hyperuricemia status, respectively. Results. During a median follow-up of 3.09 years, of 37,296 eligible adults, 2,263 developed T2DM. Compared with the first SUA quartile, higher quartiles were associated with an increased risk of T2DM in women (HR 1.78, 95% CI 1.17-2.71 for Q3 and 1.93, 1.27-2.93 for Q4; Ptrend<0.001) but not in men. Compared with women with a persistent normal SUA level at baseline and the last follow-up, T2DM risk increased significantly among those whose SUA status changed from normal at baseline to hyperuricemia at the last follow-up (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.12-2.55) and those with persistent hyperuricemia at baseline and the last follow-up (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.60-3.46). However, for men, a nonsignificant association was found between the change in hyperuricemia status and T2DM risk. Conclusions. Baseline SUA and the change in hyperuricemia status were associated with T2DM risk only among women. The findings suggest the importance of monitoring SUA levels and maintaining them within a normal range for preventing or reducing incident T2DM in Chinese women.

Pancreatic β-cells adapt to compensate for increased metabolic demand during obesity. Although the miRNA pathway has an essential role in β-cell expansion, whether it is involved in adaptive proliferation is largely unknown. First, we report that EGR2 binding to the miR-455 promoter induced miR-455 upregulation in the pancreatic islets of obesity mouse models. Then, in vitro gain- or loss-of-function studies showed that miR-455 overexpression facilitated β-cell proliferation. Knockdown of miR-455 in ob/ob mice via pancreatic intraductal infusion prevented compensatory β-cell expansion. Mechanistically, our results revealed that increased miR-455 expression inhibits the expression of its target cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 1 (CPEB1), an mRNA binding protein that plays an important role in regulating insulin resistance and cell proliferation. Decreased CPEB1 expression inhibits elongation of the poly(A) tail and the subsequent translation of Cdkn1b mRNA, reducing the CDKN1B expression level and finally promoting β-cell proliferation. Taken together, our results show that the miR-455/CPEB1/CDKN1B pathway contributes to adaptive proliferation of β-cells to meet metabolic demand during obesity.

Examining the role of resting heart rate (RHR) in hypertension risk could improve our understanding of its pathogenesis. However, most relevant studies have been conducted in developed countries such as the United States and Brazil, with no evidence for the older Chinese population. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between RHR and the risk of developing hypertension in an older Chinese population. A total of 3836 participants from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) were included in this prospective study. Using Cox proportional hazard models, the association between RHR and the risk of incident hypertension was evaluated, with results expressed as hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Multiplicative interaction effects were analyzed for RHR with age, sex, and regular exercise, and subgroup analyses of the association were also conducted based on these factors. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate the robustness of the results. During a 4.86‐year follow‐up, 1449 incident cases of hypertension occurred. Every 10 beats per min increase in RHR was associated with a 6% higher risk of incident hypertension (HR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01–1.12). Subgroup analyses demonstrated significant associations in women, participants aged ≥80, and those who did not exercise regularly. The sensitivity analyses confirmed the consistency of these results. These findings indicate that a faster RHR is associated with a higher risk of incident hypertension in the older Chinese population, suggesting its potential use in identifying older individuals at greater risk of incident hypertension.