Incorporating grape seed antioxidants into a functional food model

Gemstone Team IMMUNE (Innovative Medicines for Maladies Utilizing Nutraceutical Enhancements)Consumption of foods rich in natural antioxidants may potentially reduce the risk of chronic illnesses. This study examined feasibility and consumer acceptability of creating a functional food rich in natural antioxidants from cold-pressed grape seed oil and flour. The first study investigated and compared five grape seed varieties, and found Chardonnay grape seeds contained the highest quantity of health-beneficial properties. Consequently, addition of Chardonnay grape seed flour and oil to bread significantly increased health-beneficial properties. Baking conditions influenced antioxidant properties of bread, indicating processing conditions may affect antioxidant activity in finished food products. In addition, the consumer sensory evaluation study found control bread was preferred over bread containing grape seed flour and oil; however, grape seed containing bread had an overall positive reception. Incorporation of grape seeds into bread may be effective in incorporating health-beneficial compounds into the diet; however, further studies on long term health effects should be conducted

Identification and functional annotation of genes differentially expressed in the reproductive tissues of the olive tree (Olea europaea L.) through the generation of subtractive libraries

© 2017 Zafra, Carmona, Traverso, Hancock, Goldman, Claros, Hiscock and Alche. The olive tree is a crop of high socio-economical importance in the Mediterranean area. Sexual reproduction in this plant is an essential process, which determines the yield. Successful fertilization is mainly favored and sometimes needed of the presence of pollen grains from a different cultivar as the olive seizes a self-incompatibility system allegedly determined of the sporophytic type. The purpose of the present study was to identify key gene products involved in the function of olive pollen and pistil, in order to help elucidate the events and signaling processes, which happen during the courtship, pollen grain germination, and fertilization in olive. The use of subtractive SSH libraries constructed using, on the one hand one specific stage of the pistil development with germinating pollen grains, and on the other hand mature pollen grains may help to reveal the specific transcripts involved in the cited events. Such libraries have also been created by subtracting vegetative mRNAs (from leaves), in order to identify reproductive sequences only. A variety of transcripts have been identified in the mature pollen grains and in the pistil at the receptive stage. Among them, those related to defense, transport and oxidative metabolism are highlighted mainly in the pistil libraries where transcripts related to stress, and response to biotic and abiotic stimulus have a prominent position. Extensive lists containing information as regard to the specific transcripts determined for each stage and tissue are provided, as well as functional classifications of these gene products. Such lists were faced up to two recent datasets obtained in olive after transcriptomic and genomic approaches. The sequences and the differential expression level of the SSH-transcripts identified here, highly matched the transcriptomic information. Moreover, the unique presence of a representative number of these transcripts has been validated by means of qPCR approaches. The construction of SSH libraries using pistil and pollen, considering the high interaction between male-female counterparts, allowed the identification of transcripts with important roles in stigma physiology. The functions of many of the transcripts obtained are intimately related, and most of them are of pivotal importance in defense, pollen-stigma interaction and signaling

The Core Apoptotic Executioner Proteins CED-3 and CED-4 Promote Initiation of Neuronal Regeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans

Laser severing of individual axons in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans revealed that the apoptotic executioner caspase CED-3 and its regulator CED-4/Apaf-1 play an unexpected beneficial role in promoting axonal regeneration

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Immune response to viral infections in COPD

Exazerbationen sind wichtige Auslöser für das Fortschreiten der Zigarettenrauch induzierten COPD. Sie werden hauptsächlich durch Atemwegsinfektionen mit dem respiratorischen Syncytial Virus, Influenza Virus und Rhino Virus verursacht. Hypothese: Die Zytokinantwort von zirkulierenden Leukozyten auf virale Infektionen ist bei Rauchern und COPD reduziert (primärer Endpunkt). PBMCs von gesunden Nichtrauchern (NS), Rauchern ohne Einschränkungen in der Lungenfunktion (S) und aktuellen oder Ex-rauchern mit COPD wurden in vitro mit RSV, IAV und HRV infiziert. Nach 24 h und 7 Tagen wurde die Zytokinausschüttung analysiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Zytokinfreisetzung nach Virus Infektion bei S und Patienten mit COPD beeinträchtigt ist. Je nach Virus ist entweder eine Reduktion oder eine Überproduktion dominant. Diese Daten dieser Doktorarbeit dienen als Grundlage zur Identifizierung neuer Therapie Strategien, um Infekt-bedingte Exazerbationen bei Patienten mit COPD deutlich zu reduzieren

Simvastatin requires activation in accessory cells to modulate T-cell responses in asthma and COPD

T-cell-dependent airway and systemic inflammation triggers the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. Retrospective studies suggest that simvastatin has anti-inflammatory effects in both diseases but it is unclear, which cell types are targeted. We hypothesized that simvastatin modulates T-cell activity. Circulating CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells, either pure, co-cultured with monocytes or alveolar macrophages (AM) or in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), were ex vivo activated towards Th1/Tc1 or Th2/Tc2 and incubated with simvastatin. Markers for Th1/Tc1 (IFN gamma) and Th2/Tc2 (IL-5, IL-13) were measured by ELISA; with PBMCs this was done comparative between 11 healthy never-smokers, 11 current smokers without airflow limitation, 14 smokers with COPD and 11 never-smokers with atopic asthma. T-cell activation induced IFN gamma, IL-5 and IL-13 in the presence and absence of accessory cells. Simvastatin did not modulate cytokine expression in pure T-cell fractions. beta-hydroxy-simvastatin acid (activated simvastatin) suppressed IL-5 and IL-13 in pure Th2- and Tc2-cells. Simvastatin suppressed IL-5 and IL-13 in Th2-cells co-cultivated with monocytes or AM, which was partially reversed by the carboxylesterase inhibitor benzil. Simvastatin suppressed IL-5 production of Th2/Tc2-cells in PBMCs without differences between cohorts and IL-13 stronger in never-smokers and asthma compared to COPD. Simvastatin induced IFN gamma in Th1/Tc1-cells in PBMCs of all cohorts except asthmatics. Simvastatin requires activation in accessory cells likely by carboxylesterase to suppress IL-5 and IL-13 in Th2/Tc2-cells. The effects on Il-13 are partially reduced in COPD. Asthma pathogenesis prevents simvastatin-induced IFN gamma up-regulation. Simvastatin has anti-inflammatory effects that could be of interest for asthma therapy. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved