Nutrient–nutrient interactions: competition, bioavailability, mechanism and function in health and diseases

The Nutrition Society Spring Conference 2018, held in Glasgow, brought together experts focusing on the interaction between different nutrients and how this impacts absorption, metabolism and health from biochemical and physiological perspectives. This cross-cutting theme was examined from a range of perspectives, bringing together experts on topics ranging from food processing to the impact of inflammation on nutrient status. Two plenary lectures provided a food landscape and lifecourse background to the proceedings, with on the first day a focus on processed/ultra-processed foods and their nutrient composition and, on the second day, a plenary lecture exploring the role that nutrient–nutrient interactions within the maternal diet have for the lifelong health of the offspring. The meeting was framed around three symposia, examining the competition and bioavailability of dietary components, nutrient–nutrient interactions and their role in protection from chronic diseases and the mechanisms of nutrient–nutrient interactions. The meeting ended with a round table, and an overall conclusion highlighting the opportunities to derive further understanding of the short- and long-term implications of diets through the study of nutrient–nutrient interactions

Fish oil-derived n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids for the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia

Purpose of review: Muscle mass and function decline progressively starting in middle age, which can result in sarcopenia and affect people's mobility and independence later in life. Exercise training and increased protein intake are typically recommended to counteract the age-associated decline in muscle mass and function. However, few people comply with exercise recommendations and the effectiveness of high-protein intake to halt the decline in muscle mass and function has not been proven. This review aims to explore recent developments in the potential for fish-oil derived n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) to improve muscle mass and function in older people. Recent findings: The results from several recent studies demonstrate that dietary supplementation with fish oil-derived n-3 PUFA stimulates muscle protein synthesis and improves muscle mass and function in sedentary older adults and augments the resistance exercise training-induced increase in muscle strength in older adults. The exact mechanisms by which fish oil-derived n-3 PUFAs exert their beneficial effects on muscle mass and function remain to be elucidated. Summary: Fish-oil supplementation has antisarcopenic effects and should be considered in the clinical care of older adults

Dietary nitrate reduces skeletal muscle oxygenation response to physical exercise : a quantitative muscle functional MRI study

© 2014 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American Physiological Society and The Physiological Society.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Evaluating the Educational Use of Ultrasound and Custom-Made Imaging Phantoms in Anatomy Teaching

The use of ultrasound as a teaching adjunct is growing quickly, as it allows learners to visualise structures from an integrated perspective enhancing understanding of topographic anatomy. Ultrasound also allows vocational learners to practise important skills (e.g. central venous catheterisation on imaging phantoms). The perceived educational usefulness of hands-on ultrasound and imaging phantoms was assessed using a 0-5 Likert scale. The custom-made phantom was designed in-house using gelatine and penne pasta simulating the echogenicity of neck vessels with and without atherosclerotic plaques. Undergraduate honours science students, from a clinically applied anatomy course, were invited to complete a fully anonymous questionnaire in January 2019 at the University of Glasgow, UK. The teaching session focused on cerebrovascular disease and the students actively scanned the phantoms in the context of carotid disease. As these data were collected anonymously for teaching evaluation to inform future practice, ethical approval was not sought. Data were analysed in SPSS version 24 using non-parametric tests. Twenty-eight out of forty-seven students returned the questionnaires (60% response rate). Based on their experience, 100% of respondents would recommend the use of ultrasound for anatomy learning. The mean score for the perceived usefulness of the ultrasound and imaging phantom as teaching adjuncts in learning the content was 4.96 (SD: 0.189; min-max range: 4-5) and 4.82 (SD: 0.390; min-max range: 4-5) respectively. The mean score for the interaction with the ultrasound aiding understanding of the content was 4.79 (SD: 0.499; min-max range: 3-5). There was a statistically significant correlation between the perceived ultrasound usefulness and the interaction aiding understanding (r=0.394; p=0.038). These data not only highlight the usefulness of hands-on ultrasound within educational settings, but also the potential applications of custom-made imaging phantoms. This area is evolving quickly and more research will allow educationalists to better delineate the role of ultrasound and phantoms

Long-chain n-3 fatty acids as an essential link between musculoskeletal and cardio-metabolic health in older adults

This narrative review aims to critically evaluate scientific evidence exploring the therapeutic role(s) of long-chain n-3 PUFA in the context of ageing, and specifically, sarcopenia. We highlight that beyond impairments in physical function and a lack of independence, the age-related decline in muscle mass has ramifications for cardio-metabolic health. Specifically, skeletal muscle is crucial in regulating blood glucose homeostasis (and by extension reducing type 2 diabetes mellitus risk) and providing gluconeogenic precursors that are critical for survival during muscle wasting conditions (i.e. AIDS). Recent interest in the potential anabolic action of n-3 PUFA is based on findings from experimental studies that measured acute changes in the stimulation of muscle protein synthesis (MPS) and/or chronic changes in muscle mass and strength in response to fish oil-derived n-3 PUFA supplementation. Key findings include a potentiated response of MPS to amino acid provision or resistance-based exercise with n-3 PUFA in healthy older adults that extrapolated to longer-term changes in muscle mass and strength. The key mechanism(s) underpinning this enhanced response of MPS remains to be fully elucidated, but is likely driven by the incorporation of exogenous n-3 PUFA into the muscle phospholipid membrane and subsequent up-regulation of cell signalling proteins known to control MPS. In conclusion, multiple lines of evidence suggest that dietary n-3 PUFA provide an essential link between musculoskeletal and cardio-metabolic health in older adults. Given that western diets are typically meagre in n-3 PUFA content, nutritional recommendations for maintaining muscle health with advancing age should place greater emphasis on dietary n-3 PUFA intake

H55N polymorphism is associated with low citrate synthase activity which regulates lipid metabolism in mouse muscle cells

Funding: This work was supported, in whole or in part, by European Social Fund under the Global Grant measure Grant VP1-3.1-ŠMM-07-K-02-057 (to A.L.), European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes grant (to T.V.), NHS Grampian Endowment grant (to A.R. and S.R.G.), Kuwait Ministry of Health grant (to M.A.), Saudi Ministry of Higher Education grant (to Y.A.,) as well as Saltire scholarship, Wenner-Gren Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, Albert Renold Travel Fellowship and a Novo Nordisk Foundation Challenge Grant (to B.G.).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Extracellular heat shock proteins in cell signaling

AbstractExtracellular stress proteins including heat shock proteins (Hsp) and glucose regulated proteins (Grp) are emerging as important mediators of intercellular signaling and transport. Release of such proteins from cells is triggered by physical trauma and behavioral stress as well as exposure to immunological “danger signals”. Stress protein release occurs both through physiological secretion mechanisms and during cell death by necrosis. After release into the extracellular fluid, Hsp or Grp may then bind to the surfaces of adjacent cells and initiate signal transduction cascades as well as the transport of cargo molecules such as antigenic peptides. In addition Hsp60 and hsp70 are able to enter the bloodstream and may possess the ability to act at distant sites in the body. Many of the effects of extracellular stress proteins are mediated through cell surface receptors. Such receptors include Toll Like Receptors 2 and 4, CD40, CD91, CCR5 and members of the scavenger receptor family such as LOX-1 and SREC-1. The possession of a wide range of receptors for the Hsp and Grp family permits binding to a diverse range of cells and the performance of complex multicellular functions particularly in immune cells and neurones

Effects of dietary supplementation with krill meal on serum pro-inflammatory markers after the iditarod sled dog race

A seafood-based supplement from krill, rich in omega-3 phospholipids and proteins was tested on a group of dogs competing in the 2016 Iditarod dog sled race to investigate the effects of krill meal on exercise-induced inflammation and muscle damage in comparison to a control group. A single team of 16 dogs received 8% krill meal for 5 weeks prior to the start of race, while another team of 16 dogs received no supplementation. Ten dogs of the treatment and 11 dogs of the control group finished the race and their blood was analyzed for omega-3 index, inflammation (CRP) and muscle damage (CK). The omega-3 index of the krill meal-fed dogs was significantly higher at the beginning of the race (mean 6.2% in the supplemented vs 5.2% in the control group, p < .001). CRP concentrations increased from 7.05 ± 2.27 to 37.04 ± 9.16 μg/ml in the control and from 4.26 ± 0.69 to 16.56 ± 3.03 μg/ml in the treatment group, with a significant difference between the groups (p < .001). CK activity was increased from 90.75 ± 8.15 IU/l to 715.90 ± 218.9 IU/l in the control group and from 99.55 ± 12.15 to 515.69 ± 98.98 in the supplemented group, but there were no differences between groups (p = .266). The results showed that krill meal supplementation led to significantly higher omega-3 index, which correlated with lower inflammation and a tendency for reduced muscle damage after this long-distance sled dog competition. However, these results need to be confirmed by more controlled studies, since it was a field study and effects of race speed or other performance-related factors such as fitness and musher skill on the results cannot be excluded

Measuring Activity Energy Expenditure: Accuracy of the GT3X+ and Actiheart Monitors

International Journal of Exercise Science 6(3) : 217-229, 2013. The purpose was to determine the accuracy of the GT3X+ and Actiheart monitors for estimating energy expenditure (EE) and steps. Additionally, to investigate agreement between waist- and wrist-mounted GT3X+ EE outputs. Nineteen participants (mean age=30) completed three treadmill walking trials at self-selected slow, medium, and fast speeds while wearing two GT3X+ (waist and wrist) and an Actiheart. Activity monitor EE was compared to indirect calorimetry criterion EE using Pearson correlations and ANOVAs. A Bland-Altman plot was used to investigate agreement between GT3X+ waist- and wrist-determined EE. GT3X+ determined steps were compared to researcher-counted steps using ANOVAs. EE estimates from all monitors correlated highly with the criterion (r ranged from .72 to .82). However, the GT3X+ (waist and wrist) underestimated EE during slow walking and overestimated EE during fast walking. There were no differences among GT3X+ (waist and wrist) estimates of EE and the criterion during the medium trial. Actiheart estimated EE was not significantly different from measured EE during all trials. The Bland-Altman plot indicated that at EE rates above 4 kcal·min-1, the GT3X+ worn on the wrist underestimated EE compared to when it was worn on the waist. There were no differences between GT3X+ waist-determined steps and researcher-counted steps for all trials. GT3X+ EE correlates highly with measured EE, but has poor absolute agreement during slow and fast walking. GT3X+ step estimates are accurate across the continuum of walking speeds when waist (but not wrist) mounted. Wrist-mounted device outputs are not comparable to waist-mounted outputs. The Actiheart accurately estimates EE

Constitutive expression of Yes-associated protein (Yap) in adult skeletal muscle fibres induces muscle atrophy and myopathy

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