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Zinc as a Biomarker of Cardiovascular Health
Get PDFThe importance of zinc (Zn) for cardiovascular health continuously gains recognition. As shown earlier, compromised Zn homeostasis and prolonged inflammation are common features in various cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Similarly, Zn biochemistry alters several vascular processes, and Zn status is an important feature of cardiovascular health. Zn deficiency contributes to the development of CVDs; thus, Zn manipulations, including Zn supplementation, are beneficial for preventing and treating numerous cardiovascular (CV) disorders. Finally, additional long-term, well-designed studies, performed in various population groups, should be pursued to further clarify significant relationships between Zn and CVDs
Calcium Biofortification of Crops–Challenges and Projected Benefits
Get PDFDespite Calcium (Ca) being an essential nutrient for humans, deficiency of Ca is becoming an ensuing public health problem worldwide. Breeding staple crops with higher Ca concentrations is a sustainable long-term strategy for alleviating Ca deficiency, and particular criteria for a successful breeding initiative need to be in place. This paper discusses current challenges and projected benefits of Ca-biofortified crops. The most important features of Ca nutrition in plants are presented along with explicit recommendations for additional exploration of this important issue. In order for Ca-biofortified crops to be successfully developed, tested, and effectively implemented in most vulnerable populations, further research is required
Molecular Determinants of the Cardiometabolic Improvements of Dietary Flavanols Identified by an Integrative Analysis of Nutrigenomic Data from a Systematic Review of Animal Studies
No full textScope: Flavanols are important polyphenols of the human diet with extensive demonstrations of their beneficial effects on cardiometabolic health. They contribute to preserve health acting on a large range of cellular processes. The underlying mechanisms of action of flavanols are not fully understood but involve a nutrigenomic regulation. Methods and Results: To further capture how the intake of dietary flavanols results in the modulation of gene expression, nutrigenomics data in response to dietary flavanols obtained from animal models of cardiometabolic diseases have been collected and submitted to a bioinformatics analysis. This systematic analysis shows that dietary flavanols modulate a large range of genes mainly involved in endocrine function, fatty acid metabolism, and inflammation. Several regulators of the gene expression have been predicted and include transcription factors, miRNAs and epigenetic factors. Conclusion: This review highlights the complex and multilevel action of dietary flavanols contributing to their strong potential to preserve cardiometabolic health. The identification of the potential molecular mediators and of the flavanol metabolites driving the nutrigenomic response in the target organs is still a pending question which the answer will contribute to optimize the beneficial health effects of dietary bioactives
In vitro efficacy of antibiotics against different Borrelia isolates
No full textIn the present study, the effectiveness of six antimicrobial agents have been tested against 24 borrelia strains isolated from Ixodes ricinus ticks (11 Borrelia lusitaniae, eight Borrelia afzelii, three Borrelia garinii and two Borrelia valaisiana) and one B. lusitaniae strain isolated from human skin. The minimum inhibitory concentration range of antimicrobial agents was as follows: amoxicillin, 0.125–2 mg/L; doxycycline, 0.125–1 mg/L, ceftriaxone, 0.016–0.063 mg/L; cefuroxime, 0.063–1 mg/L; azithromycin, 0.0017–0.11 mg/L; amikacin 32–512 mg/L. Potentially pathogenic B. lusitaniae and B. valaisiana species were more susceptible to amoxicillin and azithromycin than pathogenic B. afzelii and B. garinii (P 0.05). This study is the first report on in vitro susceptibility of isolates from Serbia to antimicrobial agents and the first report on susceptibility of larger number of isolates of potentially pathogenic species B. lusitaniae. We showed that antimicrobial agents in vitro inhibit growth of borrelia strains very effectively, indicating the potential of their equally beneficial use in the treatment of Lyme borreliosis
Impact of COVID-19 confinement on eating behaviours across 16 European countries: The COVIDiet cross-national study
No full textWe aimed to evaluate the changes in eating behaviours of the adult population across 16 European countries due to the COVID-19 confinement and to evaluate whether these changes were somehow related to the severity of the containment measures applied in each country. An anonymous online self-reported questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics, validated 14-items Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) Adherence Screener (MEDAS) as a reference of a healthy diet, eating and lifestyle behaviours prior to and during the COVID-19 confinement was used to collect data. The study included an adult population residing in 16 European countries at the time of the survey. Aggregated Stringency Index (SI) score, based on data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, was calculated for each country at the time the questionnaire was distributed (range: 0–100). A total of 36,185 participants completed the questionnaire (77.6% female, 75.2% with high educational level and 42.7% aged between 21 and 35 years). In comparison to pre-confinement, a significantly higher adherence to the MedDiet during the confinement was observed across all countries (overall MEDAS score prior to- and during confinement: 5.23 ± 2.06 vs. 6.15 ± 2.06; p < 0.001), with the largest increase seen in Greece and North Macedonia. The highest adherence to MedDiet during confinement was found in Spain and Portugal (7.18 ± 1.84 and 7.34 ± 1.95, respectively). Stricter contingency restrictions seemed to lead to a significantly higher increase in the adherence to the MedDiet. The findings from this cross-sectional study could be used to inform current diet-related public health guidelines to ensure optimal nutrition is followed among the population, which in turn would help to alleviate the current public health crisis
Influences of freeze- and spray-drying vs. encapsulation with soy and whey proteins on gastrointestinal stability and antioxidant activity of Mediterranean aromatic herbs
No full textThe aim of the present research was to study the chemical profile of volatile and non-volatile compounds in freeze- and spray-dried oregano, thyme, sage, and rosemary as well as to study the gastrointestinal stability and the biological activity of the samples after encapsulation using two proteins (soy and whey). Chemical analysis was performed by HS-SPME/GC-MS and HPLC-PDA techniques. The antioxidant activity (FRAP, DPPH and ORAC assays) and HPLC-PDA analyses were performed before and after simulated two-phase digestion process (gastric and duodenal) using human gastrointestinal enzymes. The effect of protein carriers was depended on the plant matrix and the class of compound. Soy protein is useful for the protection of thymol and carvacrol content in thyme and the increase of the antioxidant activity of sage. Whey protein is useful for flavanols stability in all studied herbs before and after the duodenal digestive phase
Influence of inflammatory cytokines on S100A proteins expression in CLL patients
Get PDFBackground: S100A proteins possess a broad range of intra- and extracellular functions. The involvement of these proteins in inflammation-mediated responses is of particular interests, considering that inflammation represents one of the landmarks of malignancy. Processes such as inflammation and cellular stress trigger the release of S100A proteins to extracellular space, interacting with their receptors and activating numerous intracellular signaling pathways, for instance NF-κB and AP1. Through them, S100A proteins take part into regulation of some
of the most essential cellular processes: cell differentiation, apoptosis,
inflammation, proliferation, etc.
Aims: The aim of the study is to assess the role of inflammation in activation of S100A proteins via proliferation and inflammation related signaling pathways.
Methods: We observed 60 CLL patients’ samples to isolate mononuclear cells (MNC) and CD19+
cells. MNC of CLL patients were treated with pro-inflammatory IL-6 and anti-inflammatory IL-10 cytokines, and inhibitors of JAK1/2, NF-κB and PI3K signaling pathways, to evaluate
S100A4, S100A8, S100A9, S100A12 and NF-κB protein expression by immunoblotting. Also, we used immunocytochemistry to analyse the number of the S100As immunopositive MNC of CLL patients.Results: S100A8 showed higher level of protein expression in MNC and
CD19+cells in comparison to healthy control. The number of immunopositive S100A4 (p<0.05) and S100A9 cells (p<0.001) was signifi cantly decreased in CD19+cells and MNC, respectively of CLL patients in comparison to healthy control. In addition, S100A4 and S100A9 proteins expression had statistically significant lower level of expression in MNC. Also, IL-6 stimulated expression of S100A8 and S100A4 in MNC of CLL, while the expression of latter one was prevented by NF-κB and JAK1/2 inhibitors. IL-10 reduced expression of S100A8 and S100A12 in MNC of CLL.Summary/Conclusion: Pro-inflammatory IL-6 and anti-inflammatory
IL-10 cytokines have opposite effect on inflammatory S100A8 protein
in CLL, with a potential to be a prognostic marker
Fructose-rich diet and walnut supplementation differently regulate rat hypothalamic and hippocampal glucose transporters expression
No full textBACKGROUND: Nutritional modulations may be considered a strategy to protect mental health. Neuronal homeostasis is highly dependent on the availability of glucose, which represents the primary energy source for the brain. In this study, we evaluated the effects of walnut intake and fructose-rich diet on the expression of glucose transporters (GLUTs) in two rat brain regions: hypothalamus and hippocampus. RESULTS: Our results show that walnut supplementation of fructose-fed animals restored the hypothalamic content of GLUT1 and GLUT3 protein. Furthermore, walnut intake did not affect increased hypothalamic GLUT2 content upon fructose consumption. These effects were accompanied by distinctive alterations of hippocampal GLUTs levels. Specifically, walnut intake increased GLUT1 content, whereas GLUT2 protein was decreased within the rat hippocampus after both individual and combined treatments. CONCLUSION: Overall, our study suggests that walnut supplementation exerted modulatory effects on the glucose transporters within specific brain regions in the presence of developed metabolic disorder
Sličan masnokiselinski status kod žena sa novodijagnostikovanim karcinomom dojke i onih koje su na terapiji inhibitorima aromataze
Get PDFBackground/Aim. Dysregulation of fatty acid (FA) me-tabolism is recognized as a component of malignant trans-formation in many cancers, including breast cancer (BC), and is often related to disease progression and prognosis. Adjuvant endocrine BC therapy using aromatase inhibitors may also influence FA metabolism. Thus, the aim of our study was to compare plasma total lipids FA status in new-ly diagnosed postmenopausal patients with BC and in postmenopausal women with BC receiving aromatase in-hibitors at least 2 years after completing chemotherapy with healthy women. Methods. The study included 17 newly diagnosed postmenopausal BC patients (ND group) and 21 postmenopausal women with BC receiving aroma-tase inhibitor therapy 2 years after ending chemotherapy (AI group), while a total of 15 apparently healthy women without a family history of BC, comparable in age and body mass index, served as a control group. Results. In both patient groups, we found significantly lower levels of vaccenic acid (18:1n-7), alpha-linolenic acid (18:3n-3), gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, 18:3n-6), and docosapentae-noic acid (22:5n-3), and a significantly higher level of di-homo-gamma-linolenic (20:3n-6), when compared with the control group. On the other hand, a significantly lower level of stearic acid (18:0) was observed only in AI pa-tients, while the level of linoleic acid (18:2n-6) was signifi-cantly higher in ND women than in the control group. Reduced estimated activities of D6 and D5 desaturases were found in both patient groups than in the control group. Conclusion. Our results indicate that FA profiles of plasma lipids of the newly diagnosed, untreated BC pa-tients are very similar to those of cured BC patients who underwent all sessions of chemotherapy and received aromatase inhibitors for at least two years. Additionally, according to our results, their FA profiles markedly differ from those of healthy women. Therefore, supplementation with omega-3 FA and GLA could have beneficial effects in these patients, and further studies should address the potential clinical benefits of the supplementation.Uvod/Cilj. Promene u metabolizmu masnih kiselina prepoznate su kao komponenta maligne transformacije u mnogim različitim vrstama kancera, uključujući i karcinom dojke (KD), a često su povezane sa progresijom i prognozom bolesti. Adjuvantna endokrina terapija KD, korišćenjem inhibitora aromataze, takođe može uticati na metabolizam masnih kiselina (MK). Zbog toga je cilj ovog rada bio da se uporede MK profili iz ukupnih lipida plazme kod žena u menopauzi, a kojima je dijagnostikovan KD, i onih sa KD koje su na terapiji inhibitorima aromataze najmanje dve godine, sa MK profilima kontrolne grupe. Metode. U studiju je bilo uključeno 17 žena sa novodijag- nostikovanim KD (ND grupi) i 21 žena sa KD koje su na terapiji inhibitorima aromataze (AI grupi). Kontrolnu grupu je činilo 15 uslovno zdravih žena u menopauzi koje nisu imale porodičnu anamnezu za KD i koje su po godinama i indeksu telesne mase poređene sa bolesnicama. Rezultati. Procenat vakcenske (18:1n-7), alfa-linolenske (18:3n-3), ga- ma-linolenske (18:3n-6) i dokozapentaenske (22:5n-3) kis- eline bio je značajno niži, dok je procenat dihomo-gama- linolenske kiseline (20:3n-6) bio značajno viši, kod obe grupe bolesnica u odnosu na kontrolnu grupu. Sa druge strane, niži nivo stearinske kiseline (18:0) pronašli smo u samo AI grupi, dok je visok nivo linolne kiseline (18:2n-6) utvrđen samo u ND grupi u odnosu na kontrolu. Smanjena procenjena ak- tivnost D6 i D5 desaturaze nađena je kod obe grupe bolesni- ca u odnosu na kontrolnu grupu. Zaključak. Naši rezultati su pokazali veoma sličan MK profil kod žena sa tek dijagnos- tikovanim KD i onih koje su na terapiji inhibitorima aroma- taze najkraće dve godine, ali i da se njihovi MK profili u ve- likoj meri razlikuju od MK profila kontrolne grupe. Zbog to- ga, suplementacija n-3 masnim kiselinama i gama linolenskom kiselinom može biti korisna za ove bolesnice, i buduće studije bi mogle ispitivati potencijalnu korist ovih suplemenata