BIOCLAIMS standard diet (BIOsd): a reference diet for nutritional physiology

Experimental replication is fundamental for practicing science. To reduce variability, it is essential to control sources of variation as much as possible. Diet is an important factor that can influence many processes and functional outcomes in studies performed with rodent models. This is especially true for, but not limited to, nutritional studies. To compare functional effects of different nutrients, it is important to use standardized, semi-purified diets. Here, we propose and describe a standard reference diet, the BIOCLAIMS standard diet. The diet is AIN-93 based, but further defined with dietary and experimental requirements taken into account that allow for experiments with bioactive food components and natural (non-expensive) labeling. This diet will be implemented by two European research consortia, Mitofood and BIOCLAIMS, to ensure inter-laboratory comparability

Natalizumab, Fingolimod and Dimethyl Fumarate Use and Pregnancy-Related Relapse and Disability in Women With Multiple Sclerosis

To investigate pregnancy-related disease activity in a contemporary multiple sclerosis (MS) cohort

Different lipid forms of omega-3 and their effect on small intestine in mice

Omega - 3 fatty acids of marine origin exert beneficial effects on lipid metabolism and can protect against insulin resistance in high fat diet (HFD)-fed animals. Simultaneously, recent studies showed that different lipid forms could have numerous consequences regarding the regulation of energy balance, nutrient absorption, and substrate metabolism. Indeed, when omega-3 was provided as triglycerides (TG, i.e. fish oil), it induced dose-dependently the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism as well as fatty acid oxidation in small intestine of C57BL/6 mice fed various HFDs. As the underlying mechanism(s) explaining the differences in EPA/DHA bioavailability among various lipid forms of Omega-3 is not entirely clear, we performed a mouse study (n=8 per group) using purified HFDs with control HFD based on corn oil (cHF) and part of the lipids were replaced by omega-3 fish lipids in different forms: as either TG (cHF-F), marine phospholipids (PL; Krill oil, given at two different doses Krill-low (Krill-L) and Krill-high (Krill-H)), and as wax esters in the extract from the zooplankton Calanus finmarchicus (Calanus oil CAL-L representing same omega-3 levels as Krill-L diet). As a healthy control we fed a subset of mice standard chow (STD). All mice were fed their diet for 8 weeks and after sacrifice, whole small intestine was isolated, frozen and used for RNA isolation and microarray gene expression analysis using 8x60K Agilent arrays. Results showed that PL-H versus control cHFc induced specifically metabolic lipid pathways, while TG and PL-L mainly affected cytoskeleton regulation

Different lipid forms of omega-3 and their effect on small intestine in mice

Omega - 3 fatty acids of marine origin exert beneficial effects on lipid metabolism and can protect against insulin resistance in high fat diet (HFD)-fed animals. Simultaneously, recent studies showed that different lipid forms could have numerous consequences regarding the regulation of energy balance, nutrient absorption, and substrate metabolism. Indeed, when omega-3 was provided as triglycerides (TG, i.e. fish oil), it induced dose-dependently the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism as well as fatty acid oxidation in small intestine of C57BL/6 mice fed various HFDs. As the underlying mechanism(s) explaining the differences in EPA/DHA bioavailability among various lipid forms of Omega-3 is not entirely clear, we performed a mouse study (n=8 per group) using purified HFDs with control HFD based on corn oil (cHF) and part of the lipids were replaced by omega-3 fish lipids in different forms: as either TG (cHF-F), marine phospholipids (PL; Krill oil, given at two different doses Krill-low (Krill-L) and Krill-high (Krill-H)), and as wax esters in the extract from the zooplankton Calanus finmarchicus (Calanus oil CAL-L representing same omega-3 levels as Krill-L diet). As a healthy control we fed a subset of mice standard chow (STD). All mice were fed their diet for 8 weeks and after sacrifice, whole small intestine was isolated, frozen and used for RNA isolation and microarray gene expression analysis using 8x60K Agilent arrays. Results showed that PL-H versus control cHFc induced specifically metabolic lipid pathways, while TG and PL-L mainly affected cytoskeleton regulation

Reduced Number of Adipose Lineage and Endothelial Cells in Epididymal fat in Response to Omega-3 PUFA in Mice Fed High-Fat Diet

We found previously that white adipose tissue (WAT) hyperplasia in obese mice was limited by dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 PUFA). Here we aimed to characterize the underlying mechanism. C57BL/6N mice were fed a high-fat diet supplemented or not with omega-3 PUFA for one week or eight weeks; mice fed a standard chow diet were also used. In epididymal WAT (eWAT), DNA content was quantified, immunohistochemical analysis was used to reveal the size of adipocytes and macrophage content, and lipidomic analysis and a gene expression screen were performed to assess inflammatory status. The stromal-vascular fraction of eWAT, which contained most of the eWAT cells, except for adipocytes, was characterized using flow cytometry. Omega-3 PUFA supplementation limited the high-fat diet-induced increase in eWAT weight, cell number (DNA content), inflammation, and adipocyte growth. eWAT hyperplasia was compromised due to the limited increase in the number of preadipocytes and a decrease in the number of endothelial cells. The number of leukocytes and macrophages was unaffected, but a shift in macrophage polarization towards a less inflammatory phenotype was observed. Our results document that the counteraction of eWAT hyperplasia by omega-3 PUFA in dietary-obese mice reflects an effect on the number of adipose lineage and endothelial cells

H2AX/53BP1 foci as a potential pre-treatment marker of HNSCC tumors radiosensitivity – preliminary methodological study and discussion

In order to improve patients’ post-treatment quality of life, a shift from surgery to non-surgical (chemo)radio-treatment is recognized in head and neck oncology. However, about half of HNSCC tumors are resistant to irradiation and an efficient marker of individual tumor radiosensitivity is still missing. We analyzed whether various parameters of DNA double strand break (DSB) repair determined in vitro can predict, prior to clinical treatment initiation, the radiosensitivity of tumors. We compared formation and decrease of γH2AX/53BP1 foci in 48 h after irradiating tumor cell primocultures with 2 Gy of γ-rays. To better understand complex tumor behavior, three different cell type primocultures – CD90−, CD90+, and a mixed culture of these cells – were isolated from 1 clinically radioresistant, 2 radiosensitive, and 4 undetermined HPV–HNSCC tumors and followed separately. While DSB repair was delayed and the number of persisting DSBs increased in the radiosensitive tumors, the results for the radioresistant tumor were similar to cultured normal human skin fibroblasts. Hence, DSB repair kinetics/efficiency may correlate with clinical response to radiotherapy for a subset of HNSCC tumors but the size (and therefore practical relevance) of this subset remains to be determined. The same is true for contribution of different cell type primocultures to tumor radioresistance

Omega-3 phospholipids from krill oil enhance intestinal fatty acid oxidation more effectively than omega-3 triacylglycerols in high-fat diet-fed obese mice

Antisteatotic effects of omega-3 fatty acids (Omega-3) in obese rodents seem to vary depending on the lipid form of their administration. Whether these effects could reflect changes in intestinal metabolism is unknown. Here, we compare Omega-3-containing phospholipids (krill oil; ω3PL-H) and triacylglycerols (ω3TG) in terms of their effects on morphology, gene expression and fatty acid (FA) oxidation in the small intestine. Male C57BL/6N mice were fed for 8 weeks with a high-fat diet (HFD) alone or supplemented with 30 mg/g diet of ω3TG or ω3PL-H. Omega-3 index, reflecting the bioavailability of Omega-3, reached 12.5% and 7.5% in the ω3PL-H and ω3TG groups, respectively. Compared to HFD mice, ω3PL-H but not ω3TG animals had lower body weight gain (−40%), mesenteric adipose tissue (−43%), and hepatic lipid content (−64%). The highest number and expression level of regulated intestinal genes was observed in ω3PL-H mice. The expression of FA ω-oxidation genes was enhanced in both Omega-3-supplemented groups, but gene expression within the FA β-oxidation pathway and functional palmitate oxidation in the proximal ileum was significantly increased only in ω3PL-H mice. In conclusion, enhanced intestinal FA oxidation could contribute to the strong antisteatotic effects of Omega-3 when administered as phospholipids to dietary obese mice

Plasma Acylcarnitines and Amino Acid Levels As an Early Complex Biomarker of Propensity to High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity in Mice

<div><p>Obesity is associated with insulin resistance and impaired glucose tolerance, which represent characteristic features of the metabolic syndrome. Development of obesity is also linked to changes in fatty acid and amino acid metabolism observed in animal models of obesity as well as in humans. The aim of this study was to explore whether plasma metabolome, namely the levels of various acylcarnitines and amino acids, could serve as a biomarker of propensity to obesity and impaired glucose metabolism. Taking advantage of a high phenotypic variation in diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6J mice, 12-week-old male and female mice (<i>n</i> = 155) were fed a high-fat diet (lipids ~32 wt%) for a period of 10 weeks, while body weight gain (<b>BWG</b>) and changes in insulin sensitivity (<b>ΔHOMA-IR</b>) were assessed. Plasma samples were collected before (week 4) and after (week 22) high-fat feeding. Both univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were then used to examine the relationships between plasma metabolome and selected phenotypes including BWG and ΔHOMA-IR. Partial least squares-discrimination analysis was able to distinguish between animals selected either for their low or high BWG (or ΔHOMA-IR) in male but not female mice. Among the metabolites that differentiated male mice with low and high BWG, and which also belonged to the major discriminating metabolites when analyzed in plasma collected before and after high-fat feeding, were amino acids Tyr and Orn, as well as acylcarnitines C16-DC and C18:1-OH. In general, the separation of groups selected for their low or high ΔHOMA-IR was less evident and the outcomes of a corresponding multivariate analysis were much weaker than in case of BWG. Thus, our results document that plasma acylcarnitines and amino acids could serve as a gender-specific complex biomarker of propensity to obesity, however with a limited predictive value in case of the associated impairment of insulin sensitivity.</p></div