Differential modulation of hepatic very low-density lipoprotein secretion by triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins derived from different oleic-acid rich dietary oils

Minor components from dietary oils can modulate the atherogenic response of the TAG-rich lipoproteins (TRL) in which they are transported. In the present study we investigated the influence of TRL isolated from man after the intake of oleic acid-rich oils with different minor component compositions on VLDL secretion by rat primary hepatocytes. TRL were isolated from nine men after the intake of meals enriched with high-oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) or virgin olive oil (VOO) or VOO enriched with minor components (EVO). TRL were incubated with rat primary hepatocytes and the lipid accumulation was analysed in the cells and the secreted VLDL. The expression of genes for proteins related to hepatic lipid metabolism and VLDL production was also measured. Incubation of hepatocytes with TRL derived from HOSO as compared to VOO led to lower intracellular lipid accumulation and VLDL production despite higher mRNA expression for diacylglycerol-acyltransferase, microsomal TAG transfer protein, apoB and PPARα. When TRL derived from EVO were used there were no changes in VLDL secretion. These results suggest that incorporation of minor components from dietary high-oleic oils into TRL modulates the effect of these atherogenic particles on VLDL secretion. © 2007 The Authors.This work was supported by funds from Comision Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CYCIT, AGL2005-00 572), Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FIS. Red Corporativa ISCIII G03/140-2002) and a Juan de la Cierva contract to J. S. P.Peer Reviewe

Influence of different dietary fats on triacylglycerol deposition in rat adipose tissue

It has been demonstrated that triacylglycerol (TAG) mobilization from adipose tissue is selective and depends on fatty acid (FA) chain length, unsaturation and positional isomerism. The present study was performed to determine the influence of dietary fat on the composition of TAG stored in rat perirenal and subcutaneous adipose tissues. These results may provide information on the susceptibility of stored TAG to hydrolysis and further mobilization, and may help to establish an interrelationship between dietary composition and the FA efflux from adipose tissue. TAG molecular species and FA composition were determined by HPLC and GLC respectively. No significant differences were found in either FA or TAG composition between perirenal and subcutaneous adipose depots. The major FA in the dietary fats were present in the adipose tissues of the animals; in most cases, in similar proportions. However, differences were found between dietary and adipose tissue content of minor FA, which suggests that dietary FA composition is altered between ingestion and deposition in adipose tissue. The TAG molecular species of rat adipose tissue were enriched with the FA characteristic of each dietary fat. Dietary sunflower oil was responsible for enrichment with the most polar TAG. This finding may suggest easier mobilization of stored TAG. In conclusion, the process of fatty acid and TAG deposition in rat adipose tissue is selective, and depends on the composition of the diet.Supported by grants (OLI96-2126 and ALI99-0863) from the Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (CICYT) and the Government of the País Vasco (PI 96/22) and by a felIowship from this Government

Oleanolic Acid-Enriched Olive Oil Alleviates the Interleukin-6 Overproduction Induced by Postprandial Triglyceride-Rich Lipoproteins in THP-1 Macrophages

Oleanolic acid (OA), a triterpene that is highly present in olive leaves, has been proposed as a component of functional foods for the prevention of metabolic syndrome, due to its anti-inflammatory activity. We analyzed the effects of OA on inflammatory parameters and signaling proteins in LPS-stimulated THP-1 macrophages. Thus, THP-1 macrophages were incubated with LPS for 48 h after pretreatment with OA at different concentrations. Pretreatment with OA was significantly effective in attenuating IL-6 and TNF-α overproduction induced by LPS in macrophages, and also improved the levels of AMPK-α. We also evaluated the effects of human triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRLs) derived from individuals consuming an OA-enriched functional olive oil. For this purpose, TRLs were isolated from healthy adolescents before, 2 and 5 h postprandially after the intake of a meal containing the functional olive oil or common olive oil, and were incubated with THP-1 macrophages. THP-1 macrophages incubated with TRLs isolated at 2 h after the consumption of the OA-enriched olive oil showed significant lower levels of IL-6 compared to the TRLs derived from olive oil. Our results suggest that OA might have potential to be used as a lipid-based formulation in functional olive oils to prevent inflammatory processes underlying metabolic syndrome in adolescents.Andalusia 2014–2020 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Operative Program, grant number B-AGR-287-UGR18

Potential Protective Effect of Oleanolic Acid on the Components of Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review

The high prevalence of obesity is a serious public health problem in today’s world. Both obesity and insulin resistance favor the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is associated with a number of pathologies, especially type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular diseases. This serious problem highlights the need to search for new natural compounds to be employed in therapeutic and preventive strategies, such as oleanolic acid (OA). This research aimed to systematically review the effects of OA on the main components of MetS as well as oxidative stress in clinical trials and experimental animal studies. Databases searched included PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE, Cochrane, and CINAHL from 2013 to 2019. Thus, both animal studies (n = 23) and human clinical trials (n = 1) were included in our review to assess the effects of OA formulations on parameters concerning insulin resistance and the MetS components. The methodological quality assessment was performed through using the SYRCLE’s Risk of Bias for animal studies and the Jadad scale. According to the studies in our review, OA improves blood pressure levels, hypertriglyceridemia, hyperglycemia, oxidative stress, and insulin resistance. Although there is scientific evidence that OA has beneficial effects in the prevention and treatment of MetS and insulin resistance, more experimental studies and randomized clinical trials are needed to guarantee its effectiveness.The results reported in the study are from the doctoral thesis of the main author and belong to the Clinical Medicine and Health Public Programme (B 12.56.1) of the University of Granada, Spain. F.-A. Á is granted with a pre-doctoral FPU grant (University of Granada, Spain). This work was also supported by a research initiation fellowship of the University of Granada, Spai

Waist Circumference and Abdominal Volume Index Can Predict Metabolic Syndrome in Adolescents, but only When the Criteria of the International Diabetes Federation are Employed for the Diagnosis

The authors are grateful to schools, parents, and guardians as well as to participant students for their collaboration in the development of this study. This work was supported by funds from Grant CEI2015-MP-BS23 from Campus of International Excellence CEIBioTic Granada and by funds from Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (AGL2011-23810).Supplementary Materials The following are available online at https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/6/1370/s1, Table S1: Optimal cutoff points in receiver-operator curves (ROC) analysis of different anthropometric indexes for predicting MetS in boys according to diagnostic criteria, Table S2: Optimal cutoff points in receiver-operator curves (ROC) analysis of different anthropometric indexes for predicting MetS in girls according to diagnostic criteria.We previously reported, using the diagnostic criteria of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), that waist circumference (WC) and abdominal volume index (AVI) were capable of predicting metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adolescents. This study was aimed at confirming this finding when other diagnostic criteria are used. A cross-sectional study was performed on 981 Spanish adolescents (13.2 ± 1.2 years). MetS was diagnosed by eight different criteria. Ten anthropometric indexes were calculated and receiver-operator curves (ROC) were created to determine their discriminatory capacity for MetS. Of all diagnostic criteria, the ones proposed by the IDF showed the highest mean values for weight, WC and systolic blood pressure in boys and girls with MetS, and the lowest for glucose and triglycerides in boys. ROC analysis showed that only WC, AVI and body roundness index (BRI) achieved area under the curve (AUC) values above 0.8 in boys, and that fat content, body mass index (BMI), WC, AVI, BRI and pediatric body adiposity index (BAIp) showed AUC values above 0.8 in girls. Importantly, this occurred only when diagnosis was carried out using the IDF criteria. We confirm that WC and AVI can predict MetS in adolescents but only when the IDF’s diagnostic criteria are employed.This work was supported by funds from Grant CEI2015-MP-BS23 from Campus of International Excellence CEIBioTic Granada and by funds from Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (AGL2011-23810)

Virgin olive oil reduces blood pressure in hypertensive elderly subjects

Background and aims: Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for coronary heart disease. Recent studies have pointed out the possibility that virgin olive oil may lower blood pressure in hypertensive subjects. However, until the date there is scarce information regarding elderly people. The present study was designed to assess the effect of dietary virgin olive oil on blood pressure in medically-treated hypertensive elderly patients. Methods: 31 medically-treated hypertensive (HT) elderly patients and 31 normotensive (NT) elderly volunteers participated in a randomized sequential dietary intervention. Subjects consumed diets enriched in sunflower oil (SO) or virgin olive oil (VOO) for four weeks each with a four-week washout period between them. Results: VOO reduced total and LDL-cholesterol in NT but not in HT (p<0.01) and the concentrations were lower than in the group consuming SO. In contrast, no significant differences were found in the levels of tocopherols among the groups studied. Ironinduced oxidation of LDL resulted in a complete loss of monoacylglycerols (MG) and diacylglycerols (DG) and a reduction in triacylglycerols (TG) (60-80%), which was found to be greater in HT (p<0.01) with no effect of diet. VOO consumption normalized systolic pressure in the HT group (136 ± 10 mmHg) compared to SO (150 ± 8 mmHg). Conclusion: dietary VOO proved to be helpful in reducing the systolic pressure of treated HT elderly subjects. However, a greater resistance to the lowering effect of VOO of total and LDL-cholesterol and a greater susceptibility to TG oxidation was detected in these patients.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Metodología del estudio Guadix sobre los efectos de un desayuno de tipo mediterráneo sobre los parámetros lipídicos y postprandiales en preadolescentes con sobrepeso y obesidad

El exceso de peso corporal de la población ha llevado a la Organización Mundial de la Salud a calificarlo como epidemia global. La prevalencia de sobrepeso y obesidad infantil en España se sitúa entre las más elevadas del continente europeo, y es aún superior en Andalucía. Las consecuencias para la salud de los niños no son tan evidentes como en los adultos, pero la obesidad infantil se está asociando con patologías que se creían eran sólo padecidas por los adultos, tales como el síndrome metabólico. La resistencia a la insulina es el factor de riesgo más importante en sujetos con obesidad severa, que junto con la obesidad visceral, exacerban la trigliceridemia postprandial, lo que incrementa el riesgo cardiovascular. Sin embargo y a nuestro entender, este fenómeno no ha sido debidamente estudiado por el momento en la población infantil. Las propiedades cardiosaludables del aceite de oliva, el ingrediente principal de la Dieta Mediterránea, han sido sobradamente puestas de manifiesto, que incluyen un mejor patrón lipídico postprandial. En este contexto, el objetivo de este estudio es determinar los efectos de un desayuno de tipo mediterráneo sobre parámetros lipídicos postprandiales en preadolescentes con sobrepeso y obesidad. Para ello, se ha llevado a cabo un estudio cuasi experimental prospectivo multicéntrico, que compara los beneficios de una intervención dietética en una sola comida de tipo mediterráneo en el metabolismo lipídico postprandial en sujetos en edades preadolescentes (10-14 años) afectados por obesidad o sobrepeso (grupo estudio), con respecto a los sujetos normopeso (grupo control). Los resultados permiten ampliar el conocimiento sobre la fisiopatología de la obesidad de los niños y contribuir a las recomendaciones dietéticas para el mantenimiento de la población infantil. Más aún, aportan información sobre el desarrollo de aterogénesis durante el periodo postprandial, que puede comenzar a edades tan tempranas.The excess weight that characterizes much of the population of the world today has led the World Health Organization to declare a obesity pandemic. The number of overweight and obese children in Spain is among the highest in Europe, and this number is even higher in Andalusia. The health consequences of excess weight for children are not as evident as for adults. However, child obesity is now being associated with pathologies, such as the metabolic syndrome, which were previously believed to be only found in adults. Resistance to insulin is an important risk factor in subjects with severe obesity, which along with visceral obesity, make postprandial triglyceridemia more severe. This increases cardiovascular risk. However, in our opinion, this phenomenon has not been adequately studied in children. The hearthealthy properties of olive oil, the main ingredient of the Mediterranean diet, have been clearly highlighted in various studies. These properties include an improved postprandial lipid pattern. In this context, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of a Mediterranean-diet breakfast on the postprandial lipid parameters in a study group of overweight and obese preadolescents (age 10-14) in comparison to a control group of subjects with no weight problems. The results obtained provide greater knowledge of the physiopathology of child obesity and contribute to the elaboration of dietary recommendations for the maintenance of child health. Additionally, our results give information regarding the development of atherogenesis during the postprandial period, which can begin at a very early age

Ceruloplasmin and its clinical relevance as an indactor of cardiovascular risk factor in a school population of Granada

La ceruloplasmina también conocida como ferroxidasa, pertenece a la familia de las proteínas sensibles a la inflamación, siendo su función principal la de transportar el cobre en la sangre. Si bien, además de esta función transportadora, en la actualidad, son numerosos los estudios que han intentado hacer uso de la determinación de sus concentraciones séricas, como un indicador predictivo del riesgo de padecer trastornos cardiovasculares en pacientes que presentan sobrepeso u obesidad. Los resultados obtenidos en este estudio confirman la existencia de una correlación significativa entre los niveles séricos de ceruloplasmina y el estado nutricional de los sujetos, lo que significa que para la población de escolares valorada, las concentraciones séricas de esta proteína suponen un importante factor para predecir el riesgo de padecer trastornos cardiovasculares.Also known as ferroxidase ceruloplasmin, belongs to the family of inflammation-sensitive proteins, and its main function to transport copper in the blood. Although, in addition to this transport function, at present, there are numerous studies that have attempted to use the determination of serum concentrations as a predictive indicator of cardiovascular risk in patients who are overweight or obese. The results of this study confirm the existence of a significant correlation between serum ceruloplasmin and nutritional status of the subjects, which means that for the population of students assessed, serum levels of this protein are an important predictor the risk of cardiovascular disease

El Conocimiento Didáctico del Contenido en ciencias: estado de la cuestión

This paper gives a descriptive overview of the literature related to Pedagogical Content Knowledge - PCK - in the sciences. It is expected that this review can contribute to a better understanding of PCK, pointing out what has been investigated about this concept. Specifically, we analyze: a) how PCK is defined, what are its main features and how it has been appropriated by teachers; b) the relationship between PCK, knowledge of the contents to be taught and students learning; c) how PCK was actually used in teachers' training and teachers' evaluation; and, d) the scientific areas in which PCK has been studied. It concludes that PCK is an essential tool for improving the quality of teacher training