1,721,110 research outputs found
Effects of Fish n-3 PUFAs on Intestinal Microbiota and Immune System
Full text linkStudies over several decades have documented the beneficial actions of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which are plentiful in fish oil, in different disease states. Mechanisms responsible for the efficacy of n-3 PUFAs include: (1) Reduction of triglyceride levels; (2) anti-arrhythmic and antithrombotic effects, and (3) resolution of inflammatory processes. The human microbiota project and subsequent studies using next-generation sequencing technology have highlighted that thousands of different microbial species are present in the human gut, and that there has been a significant variability of taxa in the microbiota composition among people. Several factors (gestational age, mode of delivery, diet, sanitation and antibiotic treatment) influence the bacterial community in the human gastrointestinal tract, and among these diet habits play a crucial role. The disturbances in the gut microbiota composition, i.e., gut dysbiosis, have been associated with diseases ranging from localized gastrointestinal disorders to neurologic, respiratory, metabolic, ocular, and cardiovascular illnesses. Many studies have been published about the effects of probiotics and prebiotics on the gut microbiota/microbioma. On the contrary, PUFAs in the gut microbiota have been less well defined. However, experimental studies suggested that gut microbiota, n-3 PUFAs, and host immune cells work together to ensure the intestinal wall integrity. This review discussed current evidence concerning the links among gut microbiota, n-3 PUFAs intake, and human inflammatory disease
Analysis of differentially expressed genes in livers of knock-in mouse models by microarray technology
Full text linkAcute effects of high-density lipoproteins : biochemical basis and clinical findings
No full textPURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review aims to provide an overview and an update of all therapeutic applications of synthetic high-density lipoproteins tested in animal models or in clinical trials. RECENT FINDINGS: Starting from 1990, when plasma-derived high-density lipoproteins were administered for the first time to cholesterol-fed rabbits to evaluate a possible atherosclerosis regression, the efficacy of high-density lipoprotein therapy has been assessed in a variety of cardiovascular diseases. Synthetic high-density lipoproteins constituted by purified apolipoprotein (apo)A-I, recombinant apoA-I variants or small apoA-I-mimetic peptides complexed with phospholipids have proven their efficacy in animal models and recently also in humans. Clinical investigations on the effects of acute HDL treatment have been focused only on atherosclerosis regression. Short-term administration of the mutant apoA-IMilano provided clearcut benefit in coronary atheromas. More recently, treatment with synthetic high-density lipoproteins containing human purified apoA-I was associated with moderate activity in atheroma regression, albeit with some safety concerns at high doses. SUMMARY: Administration of synthetic high-density lipoproteins has proven to be effective in promoting atherosclerosis regression not only in animal models, but also in humans. Applications to other areas of cardiovascular disease, such as restenosis and ischemia/reperfusion, have only, up to now, been tested in experimental models
HDL therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases
No full textHigh-density lipoprotein (HDL) therapy is an emerging area of therapeutic development in the cardiovascular field, aimed at supplementing and improving the vascular benefit exerted by current treatments. Several studies have clearly established that HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels are a potent and independent epidemiologic risk factor for cardiovascular diseases; moreover, studies in animal models have established that HDL-C raising interventions, such as overexpression of apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), the major HDL protein component, reduce the extent of atherosclerosis. In vitro and in vivo experiments have provided mechanistic explanations for the atheroprotective effects of HDL. HDL not only mediates reverse cholesterol transport, but also exerts antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic and vasodilatory effects. These multiple antiatherosclerotic properties provide an excellent rationale for designing therapeutic interventions targeted at enhancing HDL/apoA-I levels, but also for considering a direct administration of HDL-apoA-I in a variety of cardiovascular diseases. We provide an overview and an update of all therapeutic applications of synthetic HDL tested in animal models or in clinical trials. HDL therapy has proven to be effective in promoting atherosclerosis regression not only in experimental models, but also in humans, whereas applications to other areas of cardiovascular disease have only, up to now, been tested in animal models
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Interazione tra gli acidi biliari e il microbiota intestinale: implicazioni fisiopatologiche = Reciprocal interactions between bile acids and intestinal microbiota: pathophysiological implications
No full textThe microbiota and the genes that comprise its microbiome play a key role in human pathophysiology. Host-microbe interactions affect metabolism, immunity, behavior and development. Alterations in the intestinal microbiota composition are associated with a number of diseases, ranging from obesity and inflammatory diseases to neurodevelopmental disorders and physiological abnormalities. The gut microbiota not only facilitates harvesting of nutrients and energy from the ingested food, but also convert dietary molecules into signaling metabolites to communicate with the host. One such class of metabolites, bile acids, is produced in the liver from enzymatic oxidation of cholesterol and is metabolized in the intestine by the gut microbiota. Bile acids function both as detergents that facilitate digestion and absorption of dietary lipids, and as hormones that act systemically via several receptors and regulate numerous metabolic pathways in the host. Conversely, bile acids can modulate gut microbial composition both directly owing to their detergent properties on bacterial membranes, and indirectly through activation of specific genes in the small intestine. Thus, targeting the interplay between microbiota, bile acids, and bile acid receptors signaling seems to represent a promising avenue for the treatment of metabolic diseases. However, much more research is needed in order to reach a deeper understanding of the complex crosstalk between the gut microbiota and the human host
Light and electron microscopic findings in five cases of cryoglobulinemic glomerulonephritis
No full textRenal tissue from five patients with cryoglobulinemia was studied by light and electron microscopy and immunofluorescence. None of the histologic features observed at the light microscopic level seems to be specific for cryoglobulinemia. Electron microscopic investigations have shown very large electron dense deposits in almost every examined lobule in all cases. The deposits displayed two main patterns; a homogeneous texture in two cases and tubular or annular structures in three cases. The patients with typically structured deposits had IgG-IgM cryoglobulinemia (2 cases) or monoclonal IgM cryoglobulinemia (1 case). The presence of IgM in cryoglobulinemia may be the cause of the peculiar structure of the deposits
- …
