β-Conglutins’ Unique Mobile Arm Is a Key Structural Domain Involved in Molecular Nutraceutical Properties of Narrow-Leafed Lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.)

European Research Program MARIE CURIE (FP7-PEOPLE- 2011-IOF), grant ref. PIOF-GA-2011-301550The Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (Ramon y Cajal Research Program)Grant ref. RYC-2014-16536The CSIC intramural research program, grant ref. 202240I002The Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, grant ref. number CPP2021-00898

Lipid Composition and Associated Gene Expression Patterns during Pollen Germination and Pollen Tube Growth in Olive (Olea europaea L.)

Pollen lipids are essential for sexual reproduction but our current knowledge regarding lipid dynamics in growing pollen tubes is still very scarce. Here, we report unique lipid composition and associated gene expression patterns during olive pollen germination. Up to 376 genes involved in the biosynthesis of all lipid classes, except suberin, cutin and lipopolysaccharides, are expressed in the olive pollen. The fatty acid profile of the olive pollen is markedly different compared with other plant organs. Triacylglycerol, containing mostly C12-C16 saturated fatty acids, constitutes the bulk of olive pollen lipids. These compounds are partially mobilized, and the released fatty acids enter the β-oxidation pathway to yield acetyl-CoA, which is converted into sugars through the glyoxylate cycle in the course of pollen germination. Our data suggest that fatty acids are synthesized de novo and incorporated into glycerolipids by the “eukaryotic pathway” in elongating pollen tubes. Phosphatidic acid is synthesized de novo in the endomembrane system during pollen germination and seems to have a central role in the pollen tube lipid metabolism. The coordinated action of fatty acid desaturases FAD2-3 and FAD3B might explain the increase of linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids observed in the germinating pollen. A continuous synthesis of triacylglycerol by the action of DGAT1 enzyme, but not PDAT, seems also plausible. All these data allow for a better understanding of the lipid metabolism during the olive reproduction process, which can impact in the future in the increase of olive fruit yield and, therefore, olive oil production

An Abnormal Nitric Oxide Metabolism Contributes to Brain Oxidative Stress in the Mouse Model for the Fragile X Syndrome, a Possible Role in Intellectual Disability

Background. Fragile X syndrome is the most common genetic cause of mental disability. Although many research has been performed, the mechanism underlying the pathogenesis is unclear and needs further investigation. Oxidative stress played major roles in the syndrome. The aim was to investigate the nitric oxide metabolism, protein nitration level, the expression of NOS isoforms, and furthermore the activation of the nuclear factor NF-κB-p65 subunit in different brain areas on the fragile X mouse model. Methods. This study involved adult male Fmr1-knockout and wild-type mice as controls. We detected nitric oxide metabolism and the activation of the nuclear factor NF-κBp65 subunit, comparing the mRNA expression and protein content of the three NOS isoforms in different brain areas. Results. Fmr1-KO mice showed an abnormal nitric oxide metabolism and increased levels of protein tyrosine nitrosylation. Besides that, nuclear factor NF-κB-p65 and inducible nitric oxide synthase appeared significantly increased in the Fmr1-knockout mice. mRNA and protein levels of the neuronal nitric oxide synthase appeared significantly decreased in the knockout mice. However, the epithelial nitric oxide synthase isoform displayed no significant changes. Conclusions. These data suggest the potential involvement of an abnormal nitric oxide metabolism in the pathogenesis of the fragile X syndrome

Current Advances Research in Nutraceutical Compounds of Legumes, Pseudocereals and Cereals

The increase of the Western-type diet and life-style, with high content of highly processed fats, salt and sugar, as well as sedentary life, is directly linked to an increasing incidence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity, cancer, cardiovascular diseases or stroke, and inflammatory-related diseases, which are a great challenge in global health and are usually associated with negative effects of globalization: rapid urbanization, diet and increased sedentary life worldwide. This has brought new interest and increased research into plant-based diets. In this context, the implementation in the diet of legumes, cereals and pseudo-cereals, due to their nutraceutical properties, which is interesting as well as advisable. These foods, in addition of having a high nutritional value themselves, have synergistic properties as part of a balanced diet. For example, most legumes are rich in lysine which is scarce in cereals, and these are rich in sulphur amino acids, such as methionine, while these amino acids are scarce in legumes and are of great importance for the central nervous system development. These foods or part of a food, due to their qualities, and that they provide health benefits can be classified as nutraceuticals. In addition, due to their health benefits beyond nutritional properties, can be classified as functional foods, promoting prevention and treatment for the above mentioned diseases, among others. This double function is due mainly to the proteins and the presence of various secondary metabolites and bioactive compounds in these foods of plant (grain and seed) origin. Last discovered knowledge and research features will be described in the present book chapter

Grain and seed protein functionality

Editado por Jiménez-López, José Carlos (CSIC

Legumes as food ingredient: characterization, processing, and applications

Editores: Jiménez-López, José Carlos (CSIC); Clemente, Alfonso (CSIC

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Identification of seed storage proteins as the major constituents of the extra virgin olive oil proteome

Proteins are minor components of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), but the nature of the olive oil proteome is still elusive. In this paper, we have uncovered the EVOO proteome for the first time. Seed storage proteins of globulin-type were identified as the most abundant proteins in EVOO, which also contains an active 13-lipoxygenase and several potential allergenic proteins, including the “panallergen” profilin. We validated our proteomic data by Western blotting and enzyme activity assays. Our data also demonstrated that the seed is the main source of proteins in EVOO, while the contribution of the pulp is uncertain and needs further verification. The impact of EVOO proteins on its stability and quality, and on human health is discussed.This work has been supported by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)-cofinanced grants RTC-2017-6654-2 (MINECO), AT17_5247 and P18-RT-1577 (Junta de Andalucía), and the Technological Agreement no. 09021200008. The authors thank José Berral and Dr. Adoración Zafra for their technical assistance. Mass spectrometry analysis was carried out at the CIC-BioGUNE’s Proteomic Platform in Derio, Bizkaia, Spain. CIC-bioGUNE is part of BRTA (Basque Research and Technology Alliance) and is supported by ProteoRed-ISCIII (grant PRB3 IPT17/0019), CIBERehd Network and Severo Ochoa grant (SEV-2016-0644)

Development of a new highly specific method for the identification and quantification of the main allergen Lup an 1 of narrow-leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.) seeds in natural and processed foods

1 página .- Presentación oral en el 25th National Symposium for Applied Biological Sciences (NSABS). Celebrado en Gembloux, Belgica. 31 enero 2020European Research Program MARIE CURIE (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IOF) grant number PIOF-GA-2011-30155; the Spanish MINECO grants numbers RYC-2014-16536 (Ramon y Cajal Research Program) and BFU2016-77243-P; the CSIC-Intramural grant number 201540E06

Lipid Composition and Associated Gene Expression Patterns during Pollen Germination and Pollen Tube Growth in Olive (Olea europaea L.)

17 Páginas.-- 8 Figuras.-- 1 TablaPollen lipids are essential for sexual reproduction, but our current knowledge regarding lipid dynamics in growing pollen tubes is still very scarce. Here, we report unique lipid composition and associated gene expression patterns during olive pollen germination. Up to 376 genes involved in the biosynthesis of all lipid classes, except suberin, cutin and lipopolysaccharides, are expressed in olive pollen. The fatty acid profile of olive pollen is markedly different compared with other plant organs. Triacylglycerol (TAG), containing mostly C12–C16 saturated fatty acids, constitutes the bulk of olive pollen lipids. These compounds are partially mobilized, and the released fatty acids enter the β-oxidation pathway to yield acetyl-CoA, which is converted into sugars through the glyoxylate cycle during the course of pollen germination. Our data suggest that fatty acids are synthesized de novo and incorporated into glycerolipids by the ‘eukaryotic pathway’ in elongating pollen tubes. Phosphatidic acid is synthesized de novo in the endomembrane system during pollen germination and seems to have a central role in pollen tube lipid metabolism. The coordinated action of fatty acid desaturases FAD2–3 and FAD3B might explain the increase in linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids observed in germinating pollen. Continuous synthesis of TAG by the action of diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) enzyme, but not phosphoplipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (PDAT), also seems plausible. All these data allow for a better understanding of lipid metabolism during the olive reproductive process, which can impact, in the future, on the increase in olive fruit yield and, therefore, olive oil production.Agencia Estatal de Investigación from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO-AEI) (ERDF co-financed AGL2013-43042P and AGL2017-84298P to A.J.C., AGL2014-55300R and AGL2017-87871R to J.M.M.-R.) and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) (JAEDOC089 to M.L.H.).Peer reviewe