Exercise dependence, eating disorder symptoms and biomarkers of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (RED-S) among male endurance athletes

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Short-term effects and long-term changes of FUEL—a digital sports nutrition intervention on REDs related symptoms in female athletes

Female endurance athletes are at high risk for developing Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs), resulting in symptoms such as menstrual dysfunction and gastrointestinal (GI) problems. The primary aim of this study was to investigate effects of the FUEL (Food and nUtrition for Endurance athletes—a Learning program) intervention consisting of weekly online lectures combined with individual athlete-centered nutrition counseling every other week for sixteen weeks on REDs related symptoms in female endurance athletes at risk of low energy availability [Low Energy Availability in Females Questionnaire (LEAF-Q) score ≥8]. Female endurance athletes from Norway (n = 60), Sweden (n = 84), Ireland (n = 17), and Germany (n = 47) were recruited. Fifty athletes with risk of REDs (LEAF-Q score ≥8) and with low risk of eating disorders [Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) global score <2.5], with no use of hormonal contraceptives and no chronic diseases, were allocated to either the FUEL intervention (n = 32) (FUEL) or a sixteen-week control period (n = 18) (CON). All but one completed FUEL and n = 15 completed CON. While no evidence for difference in change in LEAF-Q total or subscale scores between groups was detected post-intervention (BFincl < 1), the 6- and 12-months follow-up revealed strong evidence for improved LEAF-Q total (BFincl = 123) and menstrual score (BFincl = 840) and weak evidence for improved GI-score (BFincl = 2.3) among FUEL athletes. In addition, differences in change between groups was found for EDE-Q global score post-intervention (BFincl = 1.9). The reduction in EDE-Q score remained at 6- and 12- months follow-up among FUEL athletes. Therefore, the FUEL intervention may improve REDs related symptoms in female endurance athletes.Clinical Trial Registrationwww.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04959565)

Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Induce a Collagen Cross-link Switch in Tumor Stroma

Intratumoral collagen cross-links heighten stromal stiffness and stimulate tumor cell invasion, but it is unclear how collagen cross-linking is regulated in epithelial tumors. To address this question, we used KrasLA1 mice, which develop lung adenocarcinomas from somatic activation of a KrasG12D allele. The lung tumors in KrasLA1 mice were highly fibrotic and contained cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) that produced collagen and generated stiffness in collagen gels. In xenograft tumors generated by injection of wild-type mice with lung adenocarcinoma cells alone or in combination with CAFs, the total concentration of collagen cross-links was the same in tumors generated with or without CAFs, but co-injected tumors had higher hydroxylysine aldehyde-derived collagen cross-links (HLCCs) and lower lysine-aldehyde-derived collagen cross-links (LCCs). Therefore, we postulated that an LCC-to-HLCC switch induced by CAFs promotes the migratory and invasive properties of lung adenocarcinoma cells. To test this hypothesis, we created co-culture models in which CAFs are positioned interstitially or peripherally in tumor cell aggregates, mimicking distinct spatial orientations of CAFs in human lung cancer. In both contexts, CAFs enhanced the invasive properties of tumor cells in 3-dimensional (3D) collagen gels. Tumor cell aggregates that attached to CAF networks on a Matrigel surface dissociated and migrated on the networks. Lysyl hydroxylase 2 (PLOD2/LH2), which drives HLCC formation, was expressed in CAFs, and LH2 depletion abrogated the ability of CAFs to promote tumor cell invasion and migration

Characterization of Dermal Fibroblasts as a Cell Source for Pediatric Tissue Engineered Heart Valves

There is continued debate regarding the appropriate cell type to replace valvular interstitial cells (VICs) in tissue engineered heart valves (TEHVs), particularly for pediatric patients. In this work, neonatal human dermal fibroblasts (nhDFFs) were compared to human pediatric VICs (hpVICs), based on their phenotypic and gene expression characteristics when cultured on collagen type I, fibronectin, fibrin, and tissue culture polystyrene (TCP) substrates. Similar confluency was achieved over the culture period on collagen and fibronectin between both cell types, although nhDFFs tended to reach lower confluence on collagen than on any other substrate. Morphologically, hpVICs tended to spread and form multiple extensions, while nhDFFs remained homogenously spindle-shaped on all substrates. PCR results indicated that fibroblasts did not differ significantly from VICs in gene expression when cultured on fibrin, whereas on collagen type I and fibronectin they showed increased α-SMA, xylosyltransferase I, and collagen type I expression (p < 0.05). However, protein expression of these targets, analyzed by immunocytochemistry and Western blotting, was not significantly different between cell types. These results suggest that nhDFFs express similar matrix production and remodeling genes as hpVICs, and the choice of substrate for TEHV construction can affect the growth and expression profile of nhDFFs as compared to native hpVICs

Characterization of Dermal Fibroblasts as a Cell Source for Pediatric Tissue Engineered Heart Valves

There is continued debate regarding the appropriate cell type to replace valvular interstitial cells (VICs) in tissue engineered heart valves (TEHVs), particularly for pediatric patients. In this work, neonatal human dermal fibroblasts (nhDFFs) were compared to human pediatric VICs (hpVICs), based on their phenotypic and gene expression characteristics when cultured on collagen type I, fibronectin, fibrin, and tissue culture polystyrene (TCP) substrates. Similar confluency was achieved over the culture period on collagen and fibronectin between both cell types, although nhDFFs tended to reach lower confluence on collagen than on any other substrate. Morphologically, hpVICs tended to spread and form multiple extensions, while nhDFFs remained homogenously spindle-shaped on all substrates. PCR results indicated that fibroblasts did not differ significantly from VICs in gene expression when cultured on fibrin, whereas on collagen type I and fibronectin they showed increased α-SMA, xylosyltransferase I, and collagen type I expression (p < 0.05). However, protein expression of these targets, analyzed by immunocytochemistry and Western blotting, was not significantly different between cell types. These results suggest that nhDFFs express similar matrix production and remodeling genes as hpVICs, and the choice of substrate for TEHV construction can affect the growth and expression profile of nhDFFs as compared to native hpVICs

Low Doses of Silver Nanoparticles Selectively Induce Lipid Peroxidation and Proteotoxic Stress in Mesenchymal Subtypes of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Molecular profiling of tumors shows that triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) can be stratified into mesenchymal (claudin-low breast cancer; CLBC) and epithelial subtypes (basal-like breast cancer; BLBC). Subtypes differ in underlying genetics and in response to therapeutics. Several reports indicate that therapeutic strategies that induce lipid peroxidation or proteotoxicity may be particularly effective for various cancers with a mesenchymal phenotype such as CLBC, for which no specific treatment regimens exist and outcomes are poor. We hypothesized that silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) can induce proteotoxic stress and cause lipid peroxidation to a greater extent in CLBC than in BLBC. We found that AgNPs were lethal to CLBCs at doses that had little effect on BLBCs and were non-toxic to normal breast epithelial cells. Analysis of mRNA profiles indicated that sensitivity to AgNPs correlated with expression of multiple CLBC-associated genes. There was no correlation between sensitivity to AgNPs and sensitivity to silver cations, uptake of AgNPs, or proliferation rate, indicating that there are other molecular factors driving sensitivity to AgNPs. Mechanistically, we found that the differences in sensitivity of CLBC and BLBC cells to AgNPs were driven by peroxidation of lipids, protein oxidation and aggregation, and subsequent proteotoxic stress and apoptotic signaling, which were induced in AgNP-treated CLBC cells, but not in BLBC cells. This study shows AgNPs are a specific treatment for CLBC and indicates that stratification of TNBC subtypes may lead to improved outcomes for other therapeutics with similar mechanisms of action