Regulation of T Helper 17 by Bacteria: An Approach for the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

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Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG enhances intestinal mucus barrier upon Escherichia coli infection

INTRODUCTION: Foodborne infection is a major food safety issue in both developing and developed countries. The use of probiotics has been emerging as a tool for the control of foodborne infections and gastrointestinal disorders such as diarrhea. Our study aims to investigate potential protective effects of probiotics on intestinal epithelial cells against invasion of foodborne pathogens and to elucidate the mechanisms of such effects. We hypothesize that Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) can either be used as prevention against or as an antagonist of foodborne pathogens, and such protective effects can be conferred through the upregulation of mucins in the intestinal epithelial cells …postprin

Modulation of porcine β-defensins 1 and 2 upon individual and combined Fusarium toxin exposure in a swine jejunal epithelial cell line

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Impact of melamine-tainted milk on foetal kidneys and disease development later in life

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Response of the Hepatic Transcriptome to Aflatoxin B1 in Domestic Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

Dietary exposure to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is detrimental to avian health and leads to major economic losses for the poultry industry. AFB1 is especially hepatotoxic in domestic turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo), since these birds are unable to detoxify AFB1 by glutathione-conjugation. The impacts of AFB1 on the turkey hepatic transcriptome and the potential protection from pretreatment with a Lactobacillus-based probiotic mixture were investigated through RNA-sequencing. Animals were divided into four treatment groups and RNA was subsequently recovered from liver samples. Four pooled RNA-seq libraries were sequenced to produce over 322 M reads totaling 13.8 Gb of sequence. Approximately 170,000 predicted transcripts were de novo assembled, of which 803 had significant differential expression in at least one pair-wise comparison between treatment groups. Functional analysis linked many of the transcripts significantly affected by AFB1 exposure to cancer, apoptosis, the cell cycle or lipid regulation. Most notable were transcripts from the genes encoding E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase Mdm2, osteopontin, S-adenosylmethionine synthase isoform type-2, and lipoprotein lipase. Expression was modulated by the probiotics, but treatment did not completely mitigate the effects of AFB1. Genes identified through transcriptome analysis provide candidates for further study of AFB1 toxicity and targets for efforts to improve the health of domestic turkeys exposed to AFB1.published_or_final_versio

Graduate training in food safety and toxicology at the University of Hong Kong

Session 9: Food Safety Education at an Academic level - Examples from a Global PerspectiveConference Theme: Food Safety and Consumer Protectio