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Topic Review
Consumption of Dairy Foods and Cardiovascular Disease
A high intake of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) has been linked to an enhanced risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and this effect is thought to be largely mediated by increased plasma LDL-cholesterol level and its proatherogenic effect. Within this context, dairy foods deserve consideration since they are largely consumed and contribute a relevant proportion to the global SFAs intake. A substantial reduction in the intake of dairy products and a preferential consumption of low-fat dairy products have been advocated as a strategy for CVD prevention, but evidence in this regard is scant and inconsistent. By reviewing the literature on the relationship of different dairy products (low/full-fat dairy, milk, cheese, yogurt) with CV events and major CV risk factors, this work provides consistent evidence that a moderate consumption of dairy foods is not associated with increased CV risk, independent of whether full-fat or low-fat products are considered. As for specific foods, fermented products and products added with probiotics are associated with a lower risk of CV events. Therefore, these results highlight the wide heterogeneity existing among dairy foods with regard to their association with CVD and expand current knowledge on the relevance of food choices with regard to cardiovascular health.
  • 1.1K
  • 22 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Roles of TM4SF5 in Hepatocyte Metabolism
Transmembrane 4 L six family member 5 (TM4SF5) has been observed to play roles in the regulation of metabolic functions and activities in hepatocytes using in vitro cell and in vivo animal models without or with TM4SF5 expression in addition to clinical liver tissue samples. TM4SF5 is present on the membranes of different organelles or vesicles and cooperates with transporters for fatty acids, amino acids, and monocarbohydrates, thus regulating nutrient uptake into hepatocytes and metabolism and leading to phenotypes of chronic liver diseases.
  • 1.1K
  • 09 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Prokineticin 2/PROK2 and Male Infertility
The prokineticin system (PROK) consists of the prokineticin 1 (PROK1) and prokineticin 2 (PROK2) proteins. Through the activation of two G-protein receptors (PROKR1 and PROKR2) regulate a wide range of biological functions, including gastrointestinal motility, circadian rhythm regulation, neurogenesis, angiogenesis, pain perception, and mood regulation. Recently, new evidence confirms and extends the knowledge on the role of the PROK2 system in the male reproductive system, opening new scenarios in the field of male infertility
  • 1.1K
  • 30 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Inflammatory Mechanisms of Endothelial Dysfunction
Maintenance of endothelial cell integrity is an important component of human health and disease since the endothelium can perform various functions including regulation of vascular tone, control of hemostasis and thrombosis, cellular adhesion, smooth muscle cell proliferation, and vascular inflammation. Endothelial dysfunction is encompassed by complex pathophysiology that is based on endothelial nitric oxide synthase uncoupling and endothelial activation following stimulation from various inflammatory mediators (molecular patterns, oxidized lipoproteins, cytokines). The downstream signaling via nuclear factor-κB leads to overexpression of adhesion molecules, selectins, and chemokines that facilitate leukocyte adhesion, rolling, and transmigration to the subendothelial space. Moreover, oscillatory shear stress leads to pro-inflammatory endothelial activation with increased monocyte adhesion and endothelial cell apoptosis, an effect that is dependent on multiple pathways and flow-sensitive microRNA regulation. Furthermore, the role of neutrophil extracellular traps and NLRP3 inflammasome as inflammatory mechanisms contributing to endothelial dysfunction has recently been unveiled and is under further investigation. 
  • 1.1K
  • 23 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Ogaja
Ogaja (Acanthopanax sessiliflorus fruit) has an important role in decreasing blood pressure. However, its biochemical change characteristic has not been clarified completely at the metabolic level. Therefore, in this study, a combination method of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy-based metabonomics and multivariate statistical analyses was employed to explore the metabolic changes of serum samples from spontaneously hypertensive rats treated with Ogaja extracts.
  • 1.1K
  • 17 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Microbiome-Associated Metabolomics Profiling in LD
Advances in high-throughput screening of metabolic stability in liver and gut microbiota are able to identify and quantify small-molecule metabolites (metabolome) in different cellular microenvi-ronments that are closest to their phenotypes. Metagenomics and metabolomics are largely recog-nized to be the “-omics” disciplines for clinical therapeutic screening. Here, metabolomics activity screening in liver disease (LD) and gut microbiomes has significantly delivered the integration of metabolomics data (i.e., a set of endogenous metabolites) with metabolic pathways in cellular en-vironments that can be tested for biological functions (i.e., phenotypes).
  • 1.1K
  • 19 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Probiotics in Metabolic Syndrome
The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate whether the use of probiotics has any effect on the components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) before patients develop type 2 diabetes. A qualitative systematic review, following the Cochrane methodology, and a comprehensive literature search of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted in PubMed and Scopus from inception until 4 July 2019. According to our inclusion criteria, nine clinical studies were finally analyzed, corresponding to six RCTs. Probiotics intake in patients with MetS resulted in improvements in body mass index, blood pressure, glucose metabolism, and lipid profile in some studies. Regarding inflammatory biomarkers, probiotics also positively affected the soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1), interleukine-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and thrombomodulin. Despite the diversity of the published studies, the intake of probiotics for patients with MetS may offer a discrete improvement in some of the clinical characteristics of the MetS and a decrease in inflammatory biomarkers. Nevertheless, these beneficial effects seem to be marginal compared to drug therapy and a healthy lifestyle and clinically non-relevant.
  • 1.1K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Gut Microsex/Genderome, Immunity and Stress in the Sexes
Sex has been universally acknowledged as a confounding factor in every type of biological study, while there are strong sex differences in morbidity along the lifespan. Humans have almost identical genomes (99.2%), yet minor variance in their DNA produces remarkable phenotypic diversity across the human population. On the other hand, metagenomic analysis of the human microbiome is more variable, depending on the sex, lifestyle, geography, and age of individuals under study. Immune responses in humans also exhibit variations, with an especially striking sexual dimorphism, which is at play in several other physiologic processes. Sex steroids have noticeable effects on the composition of the human microbiome along the lifespan, accompanied by parallel changes in immunity and the stress response. Gut microsex/genderome, a recently coined term, defines the sexually dimorphic gut microbiome. Apart from the sex steroids, the stress hormones are also at play in the proliferation of microbes.
  • 1.1K
  • 10 Nov 2022
Topic Review
The Influence of Specific Microbial Species on Diabetes
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder with an alarming incidence rate and a considerable burden on the patient’s life and health care providers. An increase in blood glucose level and insulin resistance characterizes it. Internal and external factors such as urbanization, obesity, and genetic mutations could increase the risk of DM. Microbes in the gut influence overall health through immunity and nutrition. More studies have been conducted to evaluate and estimate the role of the gut microbiome in diabetes development, progression, and management. 
  • 1.1K
  • 15 May 2023
Topic Review
Neuropeptide Y and Peptide YY
A description of immunomodulatory properties of neuropeptides NPY and PYY on macrophages in the context of cancer.
  • 1.1K
  • 09 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Nutritional Treatment Strategies of Thyroiditis of Hashimoto
Since the thyroid gland is one of the organs most affected by autoimmune processes, many patients with thyroiditis of Hashimoto (TH) seek medical advice on lifestyle variance and dietary modifications to improve and maintain their hyroid function. For most TH patients, the hormone-replacement therapy with levothyroxine is indispensable. Nevertheless, an appropriate dietary regimen and ecological lifestyle can complement the standard treatment and favor remission of TH by improving the function of the thyroid gland, as well as by regulating the levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), antibodies to thyroid peroxidase (Ab-TPO) and thyroglobulin (Ab-Tg). Other less significant parameters may be a repercussion of healthier body reactions and improvement of life quality, such as better sleep and alertness. Compliance with nutritional guidelines with a focus on the prevailing anti-inflammatory diet and controlled vitamin D dosing may help individual TH patients to reduce the need for medicines, slow down the course of the disease, and avoid relapses.
  • 1.1K
  • 23 May 2022
Topic Review
Epidemiology of Lean/Normal-Weight Type 2 Diabetes
Several epidemiologic data have continued to support the existence of lean diabetes in populations living in low-income countries of Asia and Africa, and others studies pointed to a high prevalence of diabetes in normal-weight non-white populations, even in high-income settings such as the U.S.
  • 1.1K
  • 09 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Diagnosis and Treatment of MODY
Maturity-Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY) is a monogenic type of diabetes, resultant from single gene mutations. MODY is characterized by mild hyperglycemia, autosomal dominant inheritance, early onset of diabetes (<25 years), insulin resistance, and preservation of endogenous insulin secretion. The genes involved are crucial for the development, function and regulation of beta cells and can cause glucose sensing and insulin secretion disorders.
  • 1.1K
  • 24 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Antioxidants in Knee Osteoarthritis
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a chronic multifactorial pathology and a current and essential challenge for public health, with a negative impact on the geriatric patient’s quality of life.
  • 1.1K
  • 14 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Murine Models of Obesity
Obesity, classified as an epidemic by the WHO, is a disease that continues to grow worldwide. Obesity results from abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat and usually leads to the development of other associated diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, among others. In vitro and in vivo models have been crucial for studying the underlying mechanisms of obesity, discovering new therapeutic targets, and developing and validating new pharmacological therapies against obesity. Preclinical animal models of obesity comprise a variety of species: invertebrates, fishes, and mammals. However, small rodents are the most widely used due to their cost-effectiveness, physiology, and easy genetic manipulation. The induction of obesity in rats or mice can be achieved by the occurrence of spontaneous single-gene mutations or polygenic mutations, by genetic modifications, by surgical or chemical induction, and by ingestion of hypercaloric diets. 
  • 1.1K
  • 19 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Mathematical Models of FDG Kinetics
A common feature of tumor pathological metabolism is an increased glucose uptake, together with its fermentation to lactate, even under aerobic conditions. This behavior is known as Warburg effect. 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) is a glucose analog that is systematically utilized as a radioactive tracer in nuclear medicine. FDG Positron Emission Tomography (FDG-PET) is a functional imaging modality that utilizes FDG as a tracer in order to quantitative assess FDG metabolism in tumors (but other pathologies are systematically investigated as well, by means of this imaging technique). FDG-PET measures the radiation emitted by the tracer injected in the organism, and these measurements encode, in a very indirect way, two kinds of information: the localization of FDG accumulation in the body and the rate with which FDG changes its metabolic status along time. In order to decode such sophisticated information, two inverse problems must be solved: (1) Image reconstruction inverse problem: to reconstruct the spatio-temporal distribution of FDG inside the tissue by solving the integral equation that connects the FDG density to the measured radiation by means of the Radon transform. (2) Compartmental inverse problem: to model the tracer kinetics by solving the non-linear time-dependent equation that connects the tracer coefficients to the reconstructed FDG concentration.
  • 1.1K
  • 15 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Lipo-Glycemic Dysmetabolism
Glycation has been shown to induce aggregation of a wide spectrum of proteins including those implicated in the pathogenesis of AD. A recent in vitro fluorescence study revealed a significant impact of glucose levels on Aβ1-40 aggregation, resulting in additional types of formed oligomers. Correspondingly, Aβ glycation was associated with aggravation of amyloid neurotoxicity through up-regulation of RAGE and subsequent GSK-3 activation.
  • 1.1K
  • 13 Sep 2021
Topic Review Video
Iron-Homeostasis in Beta-Cells
Iron is a central role in a variety of essential cellular functions as oxygen transport and exchange, being the metal component of many intracellular enzymes. Its ability to react with oxygen also makes it a toxic compound, able to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can damage DNA, phospholipids and proteins. It is therefore of utmost importance, for both the cells and the organisms, to maintain iron homeostasis, ensuring iron supply and preventing accumulation of iron excess.
  • 1.1K
  • 09 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Metabolomics in Bone Research
Identifying the changes in endogenous metabolites in response to intrinsic and extrinsic factors has excellent potential to obtain an understanding of cells, biofluids, tissues, or organisms’ functions and interactions with the environment. The advantages provided by the metabolomics strategy have promoted studies in bone research fields, including an understanding of bone cell behaviors, diagnosis and prognosis of diseases, and the development of treatment methods such as implanted biomaterials.
  • 1.1K
  • 28 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Identification of Secondary Metabolites in Medicinal Orchids
The secondary metabolites present in medicinal orchids are diverse and possess a vast array of biological activities. They represent valuable raw materials for modern pharmaceuticals and clinical medicine and have tremendous potential for future development. A systematic collation of secondary metabolites’ composition and a summary of the biological activities of medicinal orchids represent a crucial step in unlocking the potential of these valuable resources in drug development.
  • 1.1K
  • 24 Jul 2023
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