Description: Credible climate change predictions require reliable fundamental scientific knowledge of the underlying processes. Despite extensive observational data accumulated to date, atmospheric aerosols still pose key uncertainties in the understanding of Earth’s radiative balance due to direct interaction with radiation and because they modify clouds’ properties. Specifically, major gaps exist in the understanding of the physicochemical pathways that lead to aerosol growth in the atmosphere and to changes in their properties while in the atmosphere. Traditionally, the driving forces for particle growth are attributed to condensation of low vapor pressure species following atmospheric oxidation of volatile compounds by gaseous oxidants. The current study presents experimental evidence of an unaccounted-for new photoinduced pathway for particle growth. We show that heterogeneous reactions activated by light can lead to fast uptake of noncondensable Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) at the surface of particles when only traces of a photosensitizer are present in the seed aerosol. Under such conditions, size and mass increase; changes in the chemical composition of the aerosol are also observed upon exposure to volatile organic compounds such as terpenes and near-UV irradiation. Experimentally determined growth rate values match field observations, suggesting that this photochemical process can provide a new, unaccounted-for pathway for atmospheric particle growth and should be considered by models.

Description: Striatin is a protein regulator of vesicular trafficking in neurons that also binds caveolin-1 and Ca 2+ -calmodulin and could activate endothelial nitric oxide synthase. We have shown that striatin colocalizes with the mineralocorticoid receptor and that mineralocorticoid receptor activation increases striatin levels in vascular cells. To test whether striatin is a regulator of vascular function, wild-type and heterozygous striatin-deficient mice (Strn +/– ) were randomized in crossover intervention to restricted (0.03%) and liberal sodium (1.6%) diets for 7 days on each diet, and blood pressure and aortic vascular function were measured. Compared with wild-type, sodium restriction significantly reduced blood pressure in Strn +/– . On liberal salt intake, phenylephrine and high KCl caused a greater vascular contraction in Strn +/– than wild-type, and endothelium removal, nitric oxide synthase inhibitor L-NAME, and guanylate cyclase inhibitor ODQ enhanced phenylephrine contraction to a smaller extent in Strn +/– than wild-type. On liberal salt, acetylcholine relaxation was less in Strn +/– than in wild-type, and endothelium removal, L-NAME, and ODQ blocked acetylcholine relaxation, suggesting changes in endothelial NO-cGMP. On liberal salt, endothelial nitric oxide synthase mRNA expression and the ratio of endothelial nitric oxide synthase activator pAkt/total Akt were decreased in Strn +/– versus wild-type. Vascular relaxation to NO donor sodium nitroprusside was not different among groups. Thus, striatin deficiency is associated with salt sensitivity of blood pressure, enhanced vasoconstriction, and decreased vascular relaxation, suggesting a critical role for striatin, through modulation of endothelial NO-cGMP, in regulation of vascular function and BP during changes in sodium intake.

Description: Aldosterone interacts with mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) to stimulate sodium reabsorption in renal tubules and may also affect the vasculature. Caveolin-1 (cav-1), an anchoring protein in plasmalemmal caveolae, binds steroid receptors and also endothelial nitric oxide synthase, thus limiting its translocation and activation. To test for potential MR/cav-1 interaction in the vasculature, we investigated if MR blockade in cav-1–replete or –deficient states would alter vascular function in a mouse model of low nitric oxide (NO)–high angiotensin II (AngII)–induced cardiovascular injury. Wild-type (WT) and cav-1 knockout mice (cav-1 –/– ) consuming a high salt diet (4% NaCl) received N -nitro- l -arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) (0.1–0.2 mg/ml in drinking water at days 1–11) plus AngII (0.7–2.8 mg/kg per day via an osmotic minipump at days 8–11) ± MR antagonist eplerenone (EPL) 100 mg/kg per day in food. In both genotypes, blood pressure increased with L-NAME + AngII. EPL minimally changed blood pressure, although its dose was sufficient to block MR and reverse cardiac expression of the injury markers cluster of differentiation 68 and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in L-NAME+AngII treated mice. In aortic rings, phenylephrine and KCl contraction was enhanced with EPL in L-NAME+AngII treated WT mice, but not cav-1 –/– mice. AngII-induced contraction was not different, and angiotensin type 1 receptor expression was reduced in L-NAME + AngII treated WT and cav-1 –/– mice. In WT mice, acetylcholine-induced relaxation was enhanced with L-NAME + AngII treatment and reversed with EPL. Acetylcholine relaxation in cav-1 –/– mice was greater than in WT mice, not modified by L-NAME + AngII or EPL, and blocked by ex vivo L-NAME, 1 H -(1,2,4)oxadiazolo(4,3- a )quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), or endothelium removal, suggesting the role of NO-cGMP. Cardiac endothelial NO synthase was increased in cav-1 –/– versus WT mice, further increased with L-NAME + AngII, and not affected by EPL. Vascular relaxation to the NO donor sodium nitroprusside was increased with L-NAME + AngII in WT mice but not in cav-1 –/– mice. Plasma aldosterone levels increased and cardiac MR expression decreased in L-NAME + AngII treated WT and cav-1 –/– mice and did not change with EPL. Thus, during L-NAME + AngII induced hypertension, MR blockade increases contraction and alters vascular relaxation via NO-cGMP, and these changes are absent in cav-1 deficiency states. The data suggest a cooperative role of MR and cav-1 in regulating vascular contraction and NO-cGMP–mediated relaxation during low NO–high AngII–dependent cardiovascular injury.

Description: Background.  Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–infected patients demonstrate increased activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). We evaluated changes in immune markers with physiological RAAS activation. Methods.  Immune activation markers were assessed serially in 18 HIV-infected and 7 non–HIV-infected subjects consuming an ad libitum diet followed by a standardized low-sodium diet. Results.  Levels of CCL-2 ( P = .0004) and soluble CD163 ( P = .0001) significantly increased with sodium restriction and RAAS activation, compared with levels in individuals with ad libitum sodium intake, among chronically treated HIV-infected subjects (mean duration of ART [±SEM], 11 ± 1 years), but not among non–HIV-infected subjects of similar age and sex. Conclusions.  Dietary sodium restriction, which activates RAAS, uniquely stimulates critical indices of immune activation during HIV infection. Clinical Trials Registration.  NCT01407237.

Description: Background Overactivation of the aldosterone and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) pathway is associated with hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia. Caveolin 1 (cav-1) is involved in glucose/lipid homeostasis and may modulate MR signaling. We investigated the interplay between cav-1 and aldosterone signaling in modulating insulin resistance and dyslipidemia in cav-1–null mice and humans with a prevalent variant in the CAV1 gene. Methods and Results In mouse studies, cav-1 knockout mice exhibited higher levels of homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, cholesterol, and resistin and lower ratios of high- to low-density lipoprotein (all P 〈0.001 versus wild type). Moreover, cav-1 knockout mice displayed hypertriglyceridemia and higher mRNA levels for resistin, retinol binding protein 4, NADPH oxidase 4, and aldose reductase in liver and/or fat tissues. MR blockade with eplerenone significantly decreased glycemia ( P 〈0.01), total cholesterol ( P 〈0.05), resistin ( P 〈0.05), and described enzymes, with no effect on insulin or triglycerides. In the human study, we analyzed the CAV1 gene polymorphism rs926198 in 556 white participants; 58% were minor allele carriers and displayed higher odds of insulin resistance (odds ratio 2.26 [95% CI 1.40–3.64]) and low high-density lipoprotein (odds ratio 1.54 [95% CI 1.01–3.37]). Aldosterone levels correlated with higher homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance and resistin and lower high-density lipoprotein only in minor allele carriers. CAV1 gene expression quantitative trait loci data revealed lower cav-1 expression in adipose tissues by the rs926198 minor allele. Conclusions Our findings in mice and humans suggested that decreased cav-1 expression may activate the effect of aldosterone/MR signaling on several pathways of glycemia, dyslipidemia, and resistin. In contrast, hyperinsulinemia and hypertriglyceridemia are likely mediated by MR-independent mechanisms. Future human studies will elucidate the clinical relevance of MR blockade in patients with genotype-mediated cav-1 deficiency.

Description: Abnormal aldosterone physiology has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiometabolic diseases. Single aldosterone measurements capture only a limited range of aldosterone physiology. New methods of characterizing aldosterone physiology may provide a more comprehensive understanding of its relationship with cardiometabolic disease. We evaluated whether novel indices of aldosterone responses to dietary sodium modulation, the sodium-modulated aldosterone suppression-stimulation index (SASSI for serum and SAUSSI for urine), could predict cardiometabolic risk factors. We performed cross-sectional analyses on 539 subjects studied on liberal and restricted sodium diets with serum and urinary aldosterone measurements. SASSI and SAUSSI were calculated as the ratio of aldosterone on liberal (maximally suppressed aldosterone) to the aldosterone on restricted (stimulated aldosterone) diets and associated with risk factors using adjusted regression models. Cardiometabolic risk factors associated with either impaired suppression of aldosterone on liberal diet, or impaired stimulation on restricted diet, or both; in all of these individual cases, these risk factors associated with higher SASSI or SAUSSI. In the context of abnormalities that constitute the metabolic syndrome, there was a strong positive association between the number of metabolic syndrome components (0–4) and both SASSI and SAUSSI ( P 〈0.0001) that was independent of known aldosterone secretagogues (angiotensin II, corticotropin, potassium). SASSI and SAUSSI exhibited a high sensitivity in detecting normal individuals with zero metabolic syndrome components (86% for SASSI and 83% for SAUSSI). Assessing the physiological range of aldosterone responses may provide greater insights into adrenal pathophysiology. Dysregulated aldosterone physiology may contribute to, or result from, early cardiometabolic abnormalities.

Description: The cycling of atmospheric aerosols through clouds can change their chemical and physical properties and thus modify how aerosols affect cloud microphysics and, subsequently, precipitation and climate. Current knowledge about aerosol processing by clouds is rather limited to chemical reactions within water droplets in warm low-altitude clouds. However, in cold...

Description: Aging and abnormal aldosterone regulation are both associated with vascular disease. We hypothesized that aldosterone dysregulation influences the age-related risk of renal vascular and cardiovascular disease. We conducted an analysis of 562 subjects who underwent detailed investigations under conditions of liberal and restricted dietary sodium intake (1124 visits) in the General Clinical Research Center. Aldosterone regulation was characterized by the ratio of maximal suppression to stimulation (supine serum aldosterone on a liberal sodium diet divided by the same measure on a restricted sodium diet). We previously demonstrated that higher levels of this Sodium-modulated Aldosterone Suppression-Stimulation Index (SASSI) indicate greater aldosterone dysregulation. Renal plasma flow (RPF) was determined via p -aminohippurate clearance to assess basal renal hemodynamics and the renal vascular responses to dietary sodium manipulation and angiotensin II infusion. Cardiovascular risk was calculated using the Framingham Risk Score. In univariate linear regression, older age (β=–4.60; P 〈0.0001) and higher SASSI (β=–58.63; P =0.001) predicted lower RPF and a blunted RPF response to sodium loading and angiotensin II infusion. We observed a continuous, independent, multivariate-adjusted interaction between age and SASSI, where the inverse relationship between SASSI and RPF was most apparent with older age ( P 〈0.05). Higher SASSI and lower RPF independently predicted higher Framingham Risk Score ( P 〈0.0001) and together displayed an additive effect. Aldosterone regulation and age may interact to mediate renal vascular disease. Our findings suggest that the combination of aldosterone dysregulation and renal vascular dysfunction could additively increase the risk of future cardiovascular outcomes; therefore, aldosterone dysregulation may represent a modifiable mechanism of age-related vascular disease.

Description: The "liver tolerance effect" has been attributed to a unique potential of liver-resident nonprofessional APCs including hepatocytes (HCs) to suppress T cell responses. The exact molecular mechanism of T cell suppression by liver APCs is still largely unknown. In mice, IL-10–dependent T cell suppression is observed after Th1-mediated hepatitis induced by Con A. In this study, we show that HCs, particularly those from regenerating livers of Con A–pretreated mice, induced a regulatory phenotype in naive CD4 + T cells in vitro. Using reporter mice, we observed that these T regulatory cells released substantial amounts of IL-10, produced IFN-, failed to express Foxp3, but suppressed proliferation of responder T cells upon restimulation with anti-CD3 mAb. Hence, these regulatory cells feature a similar phenotype as the recently described IL-10–producing Th1 cells, which are generated upon activation of Notch signaling. Indeed, inhibition of -secretase and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 17 but not a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 10, respectively, which blocked Notch activation, prevented IL-10 secretion. HCs from Con A–pretreated mice showed enhanced expression of the Notch ligand Jagged1 and significantly increased receptor density of Notch1 on CD4 + T cells. However, HCs from Con A–pretreated IFN regulatory factor 1 –/– mice, which cannot respond to IFN-, as well as those from IFN- –/– mice failed to augment IL-10 production by CD4 + T cells. In conclusion, it seems that HCs fine-tune liver inflammation by upregulation of Jagged1 and activation of Notch signaling in Th1 cells. This mechanism might be of particular importance in the regenerating liver subsequent to Th1-mediated hepatitis.