To provide a screening method for a substance having an anti-obesity action and an anti-obesity drug. A screening method including: a step for contacting a test substance and a synoviolin-gene-expressing cell; and a step for verifying the effect of the test substance on the synoviolin gene expression, or the effect thereof on synoviolin protein activity. An action which reduces the amount of adipose tissue and an action which inhibits induction of adipocyte differentiation are examples of an anti-obesity action. An anti-obesity drug containing, as an active ingredient thereof, an siRNA of synoviolin, a decoy nucleic acid of synoviolin, or an antisense nucleic acid of synoviolin.

In general, the present invention relates to the field of (bio-)medicine and in particular to various metabolic diseases. Specifically, the invention provides means and methods for diagnosing, monitoring and predicting the risk for developing metabolic diseases. The invention uses exosomes as biomarkers for the aforementioned purposes. Moreover, an antibody of the present invention capable of specifically recognizing tissue-specific exosomes is also provided.

The present invention relates to an antibody, or an antigen-binding fragment thereof, specifically binding to APRIL for use in the prevention and/or treatment of hypertriglyceridemia, metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, diabetes mellitus type 2, abdominal aortic aneurysm, atherogenic dyslipidemia, cardiovascular events (e.g., myocardial infarction and stroke) and/or atherosclerosis. The invention further relates to a polynucleotide that encodes and/or a pharmaceutical composition that comprises the antibody or an antigen-binding fragment of the invention. The invention also relates to a kit and/or method for quantifying the concentration of nc-APRIL, canonical APRIL or total APRIL in a sample. Further, the invention relates to a nephelometric assay for quantifying nc-APRIL. Further, the invention relates to a method for predicting mortality risk in subjects suffering from, and/or for determining whether a subject is susceptible to the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia, metabolic syndrome, abdominal aortic aneurysm, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, diabetes mellitus type 2, atherogenic dyslipidemia, cardiovascular events and/or atherosclerosis.

This document provides materials and methods for identifying and quantifying AIM polypeptides in a sample using mass spectrometry techniques. For example, methods of using mass spectrometry to identify and quantify AIM polypeptides in a serum sample are provided. In some cases, quantification of AIM polypeptides can be used to diagnose and/or treat patients having a disease or disorder characterized by altered (e.g., increased or decreased) AIM polypeptide levels.

The present invention relates to a biomarker of predicting or diagnosing female genital disease or obesity. More specifically, the present invention relates to a composition for predicting or diagnosing risk of female genital disease or obesity, including detecting Prevotella spp., Sneathia spp. Megasphaera spp., Gardnerella spp., and Lactobacillus spp.

The present invention is in the field of in vitro diagnostics and relates to a method for preparing lipemic plasma or serum samples and the use thereof for establishing a lipid interference in the quantitative determination of the amount or the activity of an analyte in a plasma or serum sample.

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to molecular targets associated with treating or preventing hypoglycemia. Included in the invention are methods and compositions relating to inhibiting the expression or activity of a glucose modulating agent associated with hypoglycemia e.g., Fibroblast Growth Factor 19 (FGF19). Also included in the invention are methods and compositions for increasing the blood glucose level of a subject. Additional aspects of the invention relate to methods for determining whether a subject has or is at risk for developing hypoglycemia, for example, post-bariatric hypoglycemia.

Provided is a novel method and the like for diagnosing a lifestyle disease. The method for diagnosing a lifestyle disease provided by the present invention includes: collecting a biological sample from a subject; measuring the concentration of a fatty acid amide contained in the biological sample; determining whether the subject suffers from a lifestyle disease or a lifestyle disease has progressed when the measured value of the concentration of the fatty acid amide in the sample obtained from the subject is lower than a measurement result obtained from a healthy subject.

The methods described herein enable the evaluation of compounds on subjects to assess their therapeutic efficacy or toxic effects. The target of analysis is the underlying biochemical process or processes (i.e., metabolic process) thought to be involved in disease pathogenesis. Molecular flux rates within the one or more biochemical processes serve as biomarkers and are quantitated and compared with the molecular flux rates (i.e., biomarker) from control subjects (i.e., subjects not exposed to the compounds). Any change in the biomarker in the subject relative to the biomarker in the control subject provides the necessary information to evaluate therapeutic efficacy of an administered drug or a toxic effect and to develop the compound further if desired. In one aspect of the invention, stable isotope-labeled substrate molecules are administered to a subject and the label is incorporated into targeted molecules in a manner that reveals molecular flux rates through one or more metabolic pathways of interest. By this method, a comparison between subjects and control subjects reveals the effects of the chemical entity or entities on the biomarkers. This, in turn, allows for the identification of potential therapeutic uses or toxicities of the compound. Combinations of compounds can also be systematically evaluated for complementary, synergistic, or antagonistic actions on the metabolic pathways of interest, using the methods of the present invention as a strategy for identifying and confirming novel therapeutic or toxic combinations of compounds.

A method of lipid assay characterized by assaying the lipids contained in a blood component in the presence of an organic silicon compound. The method can cause specific conditions for direct methods while satisfying requirements such as no influence on precision of assay, no burden on assay apparatus, and easy availability.