Feed Your Mitochondria and Shape Your Body!

If your body were a train, what would give it the power to move? The food you eat, which is burned by the train’s engine. Do you know how many engines your body has? Thousands of millions! They are called mitochondria. Mitochondria are tiny structures contained within the cells of your body that burn food, providing energy. The power of each mitochondrion is due to its own gearwheel: the circular mitochondrial DNA. There are many gears in each mitochondrion. Together, they regulate the mitochondrion’s ability to produce energy. Obesity modifies both the abundance and the function of the mitochondrial DNA, altering the ability of the body to efficiently produce energy, with some differences between males and females. Eating healthy foods not only makes you slim, but also boosts your mitochondria and makes you powerful

htr2c gene variant and salivary cortisol levels after endurance physical activity a pilot study

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Intergenerational Effect of Early Life Exposure to Permethrin: Changes in Global DNA Methylation and in Nurr1 Gene Expression

Environmental exposure to pesticides during the early stages of development represents an important risk factor for the onset of neurodegenerative diseases in adult age. Neonatal exposure to Permethrin (PERM), a member of the family of synthetic pyrethroids, can induce a Parkinson-like disease and cause some alterations in striatum of rats, involving both genetic and epigenetic pathways. Through gene expression analysis and global DNA methylation assessment in both PERM-treated parents and their untreated offspring, we investigated on the prospective intergenerational effect of this pesticide. Thirty-three percent of progeny presents the same Nurr1 alteration as rats exposed to permethrin in early life. A decrease in global genome-wide DNA methylation was measured in mothers exposed in early life to permethrin as well as in their offspring, whereas untreated rats have a hypermethylated genomic DNA. Further studies are however needed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms, but, despite this, an intergenerational PERM-induced damage on progenies has been identified for the first time

Intergenerational effect of early life exposure to permethrin: changes in global DNA methylation and in Nurr1 gene expression

Environmental exposure to pesticides during the early stages of development represents an important risk factor for the onset of neurodegenerative diseases in adult age. Neonatal exposure to Permethrin (PERM), a member of the family of synthetic pyrethroids, can induce a Parkinson-like disease and cause some alterations in striatum of rats, involving both genetic and epigenetic pathways. Through gene expression analysis and global DNA methylation assessment in both PERM-treated parents and their untreated offspring, we investigated on the prospective intergenerational effect of this pesticide. Thirty-three percent of progeny presents the same Nurr1 alteration as rats exposed to permethrin in early life. A decrease in global genome-wide DNA methylation was measured in mothers exposed in early life to permethrin as well as in their offspring, whereas untreated rats have a hypermethylated genomic DNA. Further studies are however needed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms, but, despite this, an intergenerational PERM-induced damage on progenies has been identified for the first time

Nutri-epigenetics and gut microbiota : how birth care, bonding and breastfeeding can influence and be influenced?

Maternal lifestyle is an important factor in the programming of an infant’s epigenome, in particular when considered alongside the mode of birth and choice of feeding method (i.e., breastfeeding or formula feeding). Beginning in utero, and during the first two years of an infant’s life, cells acquire an epigenetic memory of the neonatal exposome which can be influential across the entire lifespan. Parental lifestyle (e.g., malnutrition, alcohol intake, smoke, stress, exposure to xenobiotics and/or drugs) can modify both the maternal and paternal epigenome, leading to epigenetic inheritance in their offspring. This review aims to outline the origin of early life modulation of the epigenome, and to share this fundamental concept with all the health care professionals involved in the development and provision of care during childbirth in order to inform future parents and clinicians of the importance of the this process and the key role it plays in the programming of a child’s health.peer-reviewe

Cross-sectional study of exogenous intoxication autopsies in the Forensic Medicine Institute of Belo Horizonte in the period 2006-2012.

A intoxica??o ex?gena pode ser definida como as manifesta??es cl?nicas resultantes da intera??o de uma subst?ncia qu?mica com um organismo vivo. Por ser uma importante causa de morbidade e mortalidade ? considerada um problema de sa?de p?blica. A fim de analisar a preval?ncia da intoxica??o ex?gena nas necropsias do Instituto M?dico- Legal de Belo Horizonte, foi realizado um estudo transversal dos laudos do per?odo de 2006 a 2012. Foram analisados 447 laudos cuja causa da morte foi intoxica??o ex?gena. A maioria eram homens, com a maior concentra??o de casos entre 40 e 49 anos. Predominaram os morenos/negros e solteiros. A maioria era ativa do ponto de vista ocupacional e em atividades que n?o exigiam curso superior para seu exerc?cio. A pesquisa de teor alco?lico foi negativa na maioria dos casos. A pesquisa toxicol?gica foi positiva em 89,4% das necropsias, predominando os praguicidas, em especial os carbamatos. A circunst?ncia de morte mais prevalente foi o suic?dio e a maioria dos necropsiados n?o foi submetida a procedimentos m?dicos previamente ao ?bito. O estudo possibilitou tra?ar o perfil dos ?bitos relacionados ? intoxica??o ex?gena em uma ?rea regionalmente localizada, o que poder? ser ?til na elabora??o de estrat?gias de preven??o mais espec?ficas e eficazes.Exogenous intoxication can be defined as the clinical manifestations resulting from the interaction of a chemical with a living organism. Being a major cause of morbidity and mortality is considered a public health problem. In order to analyze the prevalence of exogenous intoxication in the necropsies of the Forensic Medical Institute of Belo Horizonte, a cross-sectional study of the autopsy reports from the period 2006 to 2012 was carried out. A total of 447 reports were analyzed whose cause of death was exogenous intoxication. The majority were men, with the highest concentration of cases between 40 and 49 years. Blacks and singles predominated. Most were active from an occupational point of view and in an occupation that did not require a higher education course. In the majority of cases, the alcohol test was negative. The toxicological screening was positive in 89.4% of the cases, predominating the pesticides, especially the carbamates. The most prevalent death circumstance was suicide, and most necropsies were not submitted to medical procedures prior to death. The study made it possible to trace the profile of deaths related to exogenous intoxication in a regionally localized area, which may be useful in the elaboration of more specific and effective prevention strategies

In Vivo Effects of Einkorn Wheat (Triticum monococcum) Bread on the Intestinal Microbiota, Metabolome, and on the Glycemic and Insulinemic Response in the Pig Model

Einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum) is characterized by high content of proteins, bioactive compounds, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, fructans, tocols, carotenoids, alkylresorcinols, and phytosterols, and lower α-, β-amylase and lipoxygenase activities compared to polyploid wheat. These features make einkorn flour a good candidate to provide healthier foods. In the present study, we investigated the effects of einkorn bread (EB) on the intestinal physiology and metabolism of the pig model by characterizing the glycemic and insulinemic response, and the microbiota and metabolome profiles. Sixteen commercial hybrid pigs were enrolled in the study; four pigs were used to characterize postprandial glycemic and insulinemic responses and twelve pigs underwent a 30-day dietary intervention to assess microbiota and metabolome changes after EB or standard wheat bread (WB) consumption. The postprandial insulin rise after an EB meal was characterized by a lower absolute level, and, as also observed for glucose, by a biphasic shape in contrast to that in response to a WB meal. The consumption of EB led to enrichment in short-chain fatty acid producers (e.g., Blautia, Faecalibacterium, and Oscillospira) in the gut microbiota and to higher metabolic diversity with lower content of succinate, probably related to improved absorption and therefore promoting intestinal gluconeogenesis. The observed changes, at both a compositional and metabolic scale, strongly suggest that EB consumption may support a health-promoting configuration of the intestinal ecosystem

NURR1 alterations in perinatal stress : a first step towards late‐onset diseases? A narrative review

Perinatal life represents a delicate phase of development where stimuli of all sorts, coming to or from the mother, can influence the programming of the future baby’s health. These stimuli may have consequences that persist throughout adulthood. Nuclear receptor related 1 protein (NURR1), a transcription factor with a critical role in the development of the dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain, mediates the response to stressful environmental stimuli in the perinatal period. During pregnancy, low‐grade inflammation triggered by maternal obesity, hyperinsulinemia or vaginal infections alters NURR1 expression in human gestational tissues. A similar scenario is triggered by exposure to neurotoxic compounds, which are associated with NURR1 epigenetic deregulation in the offspring, with potential intergenerational effects. Since these alterations have been associated with an increased risk of developing late‐onset diseases in children, NURR1, alone, or in combination with other molecular markers, has been proposed as a new prognostic tool and a potential therapeutic target for several pathological conditions. This narrative review describes perinatal stress associated with NURR1 gene deregulation, which is proposed here as a mediator of late‐onset consequences of early life events.peer-reviewe

Evaluation of human gene variant detection in amplicon pools by the GS-FLX parallel Pyrosequencer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A new priority in genome research is large-scale resequencing of genes to understand the molecular basis of hereditary disease and cancer. We assessed the ability of massively parallel pyrosequencing to identify sequence variants in pools. From a large collection of human PCR samples we selected 343 PCR products belonging to 16 disease genes and including a large spectrum of sequence variations previously identified by Sanger sequencing. The sequence variants included SNPs and small deletions and insertions (up to 44 bp), in homozygous or heterozygous state.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The DNA was combined in 4 pools containing from 27 to 164 amplicons and from 8,9 to 50,8 Kb to sequence for a total of 110 Kb. Pyrosequencing generated over 80 million base pairs of data. Blind searching for sequence variations with a specifically designed bioinformatics procedure identified 465 putative sequence variants, including 412 true variants, 53 false positives (in or adjacent to homopolymeric tracts), no false negatives. All known variants in positions covered with at least 30× depth were correctly recognized.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Massively parallel pyrosequencing may be used to simplify and speed the search for DNA variations in PCR products. Our results encourage further studies to evaluate molecular diagnostics applications.</p

The bnt162b2 vaccine induces humoral and cellular immune memory to sars-cov-2 Wuhan strain and the Omicron variant in children 5 to 11 years of age

SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines prevent severe COVID-19 by generating immune memory, comprising specific antibodies and memory B and T cells. Although children are at low risk of severe COVID-19, the spreading of highly transmissible variants has led to increasing in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations also in the youngest, but vaccine coverage remains low. Immunogenicity to mRNA vaccines has not been extensively studied in children 5 to 11 years old. In particular, cellular immunity to the wild-type strain (Wuhan) and the cross-reactive response to the Omicron variant of concern has not been investigated. We assessed the humoral and cellular immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 vaccine in 27 healthy children. We demonstrated that vaccination induced a potent humoral and cellular immune response in all vaccinees. By using spike-specific memory B cells as a measurable imprint of a previous infection, we found that 50% of the children had signs of a past, undiagnosed infection before vaccination. Children with pre-existent immune memory generated significantly increased levels of specific antibodies, and memory T and B cells, directed against not only the wild type virus but also the omicron variant