Dietary total antioxidant capacity is inversely related to central adiposity as well as to metabolic and oxidative stress markers in healthy young adults

BACKGROUND: Dietary total antioxidant capacity (TAC) has been assumed as a useful tool to assess the relationship between the cumulative antioxidant food capacity and several chronic disorders. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the potential relationships of dietary TAC with adiposity, metabolic and oxidative stress markers in healthy young adults. METHODS: This study enrolled 266 healthy subjects (105 men/ 161 women; 22 ± 3 years-old; 22.0 ± 2.7 kg/m2). Dietary intake, anthropometry, blood pressure, lifestyle features, and biochemical data were assessed with validated procedures. RESULTS: In linear regression analyses, dietary TAC values were inversely associated with glycemia, total cholesterol:HDL-c ratio, triglycerides and oxidized-LDL concentrations, and positively associated with HDL-c concentrations, independently of gender, age, smoking status, physical activity, vitamin use supplement, waist circumference, energy intake, fatty acid intake. In addition, plasma TAC was negatively correlated with ox-LDL concentrations (r= -0.20, P = 0.003), independently of the assessed confounding variables. Finally, dietary TAC values were inversely related to waist circumference values (r= -0.17, P = 0.005) as well as to lower mild central obesity occurrence (waist circumference ≥ 80/ 94 cm for women/ men, respectively). CONCLUSION: Dietary TAC values are inversely associated with glucose and lipid biomarkers as well as with central adiposity measurements in healthy young adults, indicating dietary TAC as a useful tool to assess the health benefits of cumulative antioxidant capacity from food intake. In addition, the independent and inverse relationships of ox-LDL concentrations with dietary and plasma TAC respectively suggest a putative role of antioxidant rich-diet in the link between redox state and atherogenesis at early stage

Relationship of oxidized low density lipoprotein with lipid profile and oxidative stress markers in healthy young adults: a translational study

BACKGROUND: Despite oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) plays important roles in the pro-inflammatory and atherosclerotic processes, the relationships with metabolic and oxidative stress biomarkers have been only scarcely investigated in young adult people. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess plasma ox-LDL concentrations and the potential association with oxidative stress markers as well as with anthropometric and metabolic features in healthy young adults. METHODS: This study enrolled 160 healthy subjects (92 women/68 men; 23±4 y; 22.0±2.9 kg/m2). Anthropometry, body composition, blood pressure, lifestyle features, biochemical data, and oxidative stress markers were assessed with validated tools. Selenium, copper, and zinc nail concentrations were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. RESULTS: Total cholesterol (TC), LDL-c and uric acid concentrations, TC-to-HDL-c ratio, and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity were positive predictors of ox-LDL concentrations, while nail selenium level (NSL) was a negative predictor, independently of gender, age, smoking status, physical activity. Those individuals included in the highest tertile of GPx activity (≥611 nmol/[mL/min]) and of NSL (≥430 ng/g of nail) had higher and lower ox-LDL concentrations, respectively, independently of the same covariates plus truncal fat or body mass index, and total cholesterol or LDL-c concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Ox-LDL concentrations were significantly associated with lipid biomarkers, GPx activity, uric acid concentration, and NSL, independently of different assayed covariates, in young healthy adults. These findings jointly suggest the early and complex relationship between lipid profile and redox status balance

PTPA variants and impaired PP2A activity in early-onset parkinsonism with intellectual disability

The protein phosphatase 2A complex (PP2A), the major Ser/Thr phosphatase in the brain, is involved in a number of signalling pathways and functions, including the regulation of crucial proteins for neurodegeneration, such as alpha-synuclein, tau and LRRK2. Here, we report the identification of variants in the PTPA/PPP2R4 gene, encoding a major PP2A activator, in two families with early-onset parkinsonism and intellectual disability. We carried out clinical studies and genetic analyses, including genome-wide linkage analysis, whole-exome sequencing, and Sanger sequencing of candidate variants. We next performed functional studies on the disease-associated variants in cultured cells and knock-down of ptpa in Drosophila melanogaster. We first identified a homozygous PTPA variant, c.893T&gt;G (p.Met298Arg), in patients from a South African family with early-onset parkinsonism and intellectual disability. Screening of a large series of additional families yielded a second homozygous variant, c.512C&gt;A (p.Ala171Asp), in a Libyan family with a similar phenotype. Both variants co-segregate with disease in the respective families. The affected subjects display juvenile-onset parkinsonism and intellectual disability. The motor symptoms were responsive to treatment with levodopa and deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus. In overexpression studies, both the PTPA p.Ala171Asp and p.Met298Arg variants were associated with decreased PTPA RNA stability and decreased PTPA protein levels; the p.Ala171Asp variant additionally displayed decreased PTPA protein stability. Crucially, expression of both variants was associated with decreased PP2A complex levels and impaired PP2A phosphatase activation. PTPA orthologue knock-down in Drosophila neurons induced a significant impairment of locomotion in the climbing test. This defect was age-dependent and fully reversed by L-DOPA treatment. We conclude that bi-allelic missense PTPA variants associated with impaired activation of the PP2A phosphatase cause autosomal recessive early-onset parkinsonism with intellectual disability. Our findings might also provide new insights for understanding the role of the PP2A complex in the pathogenesis of more common forms of neurodegeneration.</p

Alterações quantitativas das células neuroendócrinas no Megacólon chagásico

Utilizando-se técnicas histoquímicas pela prata (Masson-Fontana e Sevier- Munger) estudaram-se a distribuição e o número de células enterocromafins (EC) e do conjunto EC mais células argirófilas (ARG) em peças cirúrgicas de megassigmóide chagásico. Observou-se que tanto nos "megas"(n = 16) como nos controles (n = 8), a posição das células EC e ARG na mucosa foi predominantemente basal, com distribuição irregular, principalmente das EC. A análise histológica revelou aparente aumento numérico das EC e do conjunto EC mais ARG. Todavia, contagens sistematizadas mostraram que somente o conjunto dessas células apresentou aumento estatisticamente significativo (P < 0,01). Realizou-se também o estudo morfométrico da mucosa e das musculares que revelou espessamento significativo (P<br>Silver stainings (Masson-Fontana and Sevier- Munger methods) were applied to sections from surgical specimens of chagasic megasigmoid. The distribution and the number of both enterochromaffin (EC) cells and EC plus argyrophyl (ARG) cells were studied. Both of them, EC and ARG cells presented a predominantly basal localization in mucosal glands of megasigmoids (n = 16) and Controls (n= 8) The counting of EC cells and EC plus ARG cells has shown that only the group EC plus ARG cells was significantly increased. Morphometric studies revealed a significant increase in the thickness of the muscle and mucosa layers of the megasigmoid when compared to the Controls

Influencia de la dieta sobre marcadores plasmáticos de estrés oxidativo en humanos

La instauración del estrés oxidativo se relaciona con la existencia de un desequilibrio entre los sistemas oxidativos y antioxidantes, a favor de los primeros. Tal proceso se ha involucrado en el desarrollo de las enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles, entre ellas: obesidad, aterogénesis, diabetes, transtornos neurodegenerativos y cáncer. El estrés oxidativo se controla a través de sistemas de defensa antioxidantes, incluyendo mecanismos enzimáticos y no enzimáticos. Este último grupo se refiere, sobre todo, a los antioxidantes de origen dietético, especialmente, vitaminas, minerales y fitoquímicos (polifenoles y carotenoides). De ello, deriva la importancia de la dieta como factor involucrado en la modulación del estrés oxidativo. Las implicaciones y efectos de los antioxidantes dietéticos sobre el proceso oxidativo pueden ser evaluados por medio de diversos biomarcadores específicos. Estos indicadores incluyen sobre todo, a los productos derivados de la oxidacion de lípidos, proteínas y ácidos nucleicos por radicales libres y especies reactivas de oxígeno. Por otra parte, los marcadores basados en la valoración de la capacidad antioxidante son también indicadores del estrés oxidativo. Los estudios que abordan la dieta como factor que modula el estrés oxidativo, se basan, preferentemente, en el efecto de las vitaminas y minerales (estudios de suplementación), alimentos y bebidas (fuentes de compuestos antioxidantes) o patrones dietéticos. Algunos estudios han logrado describir efectos beneficiosos sobre los marcadores del estrés oxidativo. No obstante, todavía, los resultados no son del todo concluyentes, presentándose una importante heterogeinidad metodológica en cuanto a las condiciones de los sujetos y de las intervenciones dietéticas evaluadas, así como sobre la interpretación de los resultados y su incidencia sobrre la salud

Influencia de la dieta sobre marcadores plasmáticos de estrés oxidativo en humanos

La instauración del estrés oxidativo se relaciona con la existencia de un desequilibrio entre los sistemas oxidativos y antioxidantes, a favor de los primeros. Tal proceso se ha involucrado en el desarrollo de las enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles, entre ellas: obesidad, aterogénesis, diabetes, transtornos neurodegenerativos y cáncer. El estrés oxidativo se controla a través de sistemas de defensa antioxidantes, incluyendo mecanismos enzimáticos y no enzimáticos. Este último grupo se refiere, sobre todo, a los antioxidantes de origen dietético, especialmente, vitaminas, minerales y fitoquímicos (polifenoles y carotenoides). De ello, deriva la importancia de la dieta como factor involucrado en la modulación del estrés oxidativo. Las implicaciones y efectos de los antioxidantes dietéticos sobre el proceso oxidativo pueden ser evaluados por medio de diversos biomarcadores específicos. Estos indicadores incluyen sobre todo, a los productos derivados de la oxidacion de lípidos, proteínas y ácidos nucleicos por radicales libres y especies reactivas de oxígeno. Por otra parte, los marcadores basados en la valoración de la capacidad antioxidante son también indicadores del estrés oxidativo. Los estudios que abordan la dieta como factor que modula el estrés oxidativo, se basan, preferentemente, en el efecto de las vitaminas y minerales (estudios de suplementación), alimentos y bebidas (fuentes de compuestos antioxidantes) o patrones dietéticos. Algunos estudios han logrado describir efectos beneficiosos sobre los marcadores del estrés oxidativo. No obstante, todavía, los resultados no son del todo concluyentes, presentándose una importante heterogeinidad metodológica en cuanto a las condiciones de los sujetos y de las intervenciones dietéticas evaluadas, así como sobre la interpretación de los resultados y su incidencia sobrre la salud

Dietary total antioxidant capacity is inversely related to central adiposity as well as to metabolic and oxidative stress markers in healthy young adults

BACKGROUND: Dietary total antioxidant capacity (TAC) has been assumed as a useful tool to assess the relationship between the cumulative antioxidant food capacity and several chronic disorders. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the potential relationships of dietary TAC with adiposity, metabolic and oxidative stress markers in healthy young adults. METHODS: This study enrolled 266 healthy subjects (105 men/ 161 women; 22 ± 3 years-old; 22.0 ± 2.7 kg/m2). Dietary intake, anthropometry, blood pressure, lifestyle features, and biochemical data were assessed with validated procedures. RESULTS: In linear regression analyses, dietary TAC values were inversely associated with glycemia, total cholesterol:HDL-c ratio, triglycerides and oxidized-LDL concentrations, and positively associated with HDL-c concentrations, independently of gender, age, smoking status, physical activity, vitamin use supplement, waist circumference, energy intake, fatty acid intake. In addition, plasma TAC was negatively correlated with ox-LDL concentrations (r= -0.20, P = 0.003), independently of the assessed confounding variables. Finally, dietary TAC values were inversely related to waist circumference values (r= -0.17, P = 0.005) as well as to lower mild central obesity occurrence (waist circumference ≥ 80/ 94 cm for women/ men, respectively). CONCLUSION: Dietary TAC values are inversely associated with glucose and lipid biomarkers as well as with central adiposity measurements in healthy young adults, indicating dietary TAC as a useful tool to assess the health benefits of cumulative antioxidant capacity from food intake. In addition, the independent and inverse relationships of ox-LDL concentrations with dietary and plasma TAC respectively suggest a putative role of antioxidant rich-diet in the link between redox state and atherogenesis at early stage

Relationship of oxidized low density lipoprotein with lipid profile and oxidative stress markers in healthy young adults: a translational study

BACKGROUND: Despite oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) plays important roles in the pro-inflammatory and atherosclerotic processes, the relationships with metabolic and oxidative stress biomarkers have been only scarcely investigated in young adult people. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess plasma ox-LDL concentrations and the potential association with oxidative stress markers as well as with anthropometric and metabolic features in healthy young adults. METHODS: This study enrolled 160 healthy subjects (92 women/68 men; 23±4 y; 22.0±2.9 kg/m2). Anthropometry, body composition, blood pressure, lifestyle features, biochemical data, and oxidative stress markers were assessed with validated tools. Selenium, copper, and zinc nail concentrations were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. RESULTS: Total cholesterol (TC), LDL-c and uric acid concentrations, TC-to-HDL-c ratio, and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity were positive predictors of ox-LDL concentrations, while nail selenium level (NSL) was a negative predictor, independently of gender, age, smoking status, physical activity. Those individuals included in the highest tertile of GPx activity (≥611 nmol/[mL/min]) and of NSL (≥430 ng/g of nail) had higher and lower ox-LDL concentrations, respectively, independently of the same covariates plus truncal fat or body mass index, and total cholesterol or LDL-c concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Ox-LDL concentrations were significantly associated with lipid biomarkers, GPx activity, uric acid concentration, and NSL, independently of different assayed covariates, in young healthy adults. These findings jointly suggest the early and complex relationship between lipid profile and redox status balance