The role of AMPK in macrophage metabolism, function and polarisation

Abstract AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a ubiquitous sensor of energy and nutritional status in eukaryotic cells. It plays a key role in regulating cellular energy homeostasis and multiple aspects of cell metabolism. During macrophage polarisation, AMPK not only guides the metabolic programming of macrophages, but also counter-regulates the inflammatory function of macrophages and promotes their polarisation toward the anti-inflammatory phenotype. AMPK is located at the intersection of macrophage metabolism and inflammation. The metabolic characteristics of macrophages are closely related to immune-related diseases, infectious diseases, cancer progression and immunotherapy. This review discusses the structure of AMPK and its role in the metabolism, function and polarisation of macrophages. In addition, it summarises the important role of the AMPK pathway and AMPK activators in the development of macrophage-related diseases

Sensory Evaluation and Model Prediction of Vacuum-Packed Fresh Corn during Long-Term Storage

The postharvest shelf life of fresh corn largely depends on the packaging method and storage temperature. This study investigated the effect of vacuum packaging (VP) with high-barrier (HB) or ordinary (OR) nylon/nylon/polypropylene (PP) composite films and the impact of storage temperature (4, 25, and 38 °C) on the shelf life of fresh corn. The sensory quality and color changes of the corn were evaluated, indicating a significant improvement in the glossiness (GL), sourness (SO), and color changes compared to corn packaged using OR films. The results showed that the HB films preserved corn freshness under refrigerated and normal temperature storage conditions, delaying color changes and SO development. A shelf-life model was established based on the Arrhenius equation. The predicted values of the corn at different temperatures were compared with the experimental data, indicating that the model could accurately predict the shelf life. The shelf life observed via sensory evaluation was more than 50% shorter than the results obtained by instrumental measurements. Therefore, sensory evaluation could be applied to determine shelf life and avoid food waste

The enhancement of the perception of saltiness by umami sensation elicited by flavor enhancers in salt solutions

Health concerns related to the intake of salt have encouraged the investigation into sodium reduction by examining the taste-taste interaction between the perception of saltiness and umami. The effect of saltiness enhancement and sodium reduction of four kinds of umami carrier (WSA, MSG, IMP, and I + G) in a salt model solution with different salt concentrations (2.03-13.94 g/L) were investigated using the two-alternative forced choice (2-AFC) and generalized Labeled Magnitude Scale (gLMS). The saltiness difference thresholds (DT) under different umami carrier were further explored using the constant stimuli method. The results showed that umami carriers had effective effects of saliness enhancement in the salt solutions with different concentrations, and higher enhancemen levels were obtained at larger salt concentrations. The level of saltiness enhancement were varied between the different umami intensity and carriers, and WSA carrier with moderate intensity had the maximum sodium reduction percentages which reached to 24.25%. Besides, the DT values of saltiness taste were increased under umami carrier, which means that more salt can be reduced without evoking a variation in saltiness. The present work not only provided insight into the effect of umami chemicals on the saltiness perception and saltiness DT values but also presented valuable information regarding flavor when developing low sodium foods and contributing to the development of more healthful products that meet current nutritional recommendations