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Highlights d High AMY1 copy number (CN) is associated with higher levels of Porphyromonas in saliva d High AMY1-CN stool has more resistant starch degraders; drives more adiposity in GF mice d Stool short-chain fatty acid levels are predictive of salivary amylase activity d Upon diet standardization, gut microbiomes converged without eliminating differences

This study investigated the influence of maternal choline intake on the human placental transcriptome, with a special interest in its role in modulating placental vascular function. Healthy pregnant women (n=26, wk 26-29 gestation) were randomized to 480 mg choline/d, an intake level approximating the adequate intake of 450 mg/d, or 930 mg/d for 12 wk. Maternal blood and placental samples were retrieved at delivery. Whole genome expression microarrays were used to identify placental genes and biological processes impacted by maternal choline intake. Maternal choline intake influenced a wide array of genes (n=166) and biological processes (n=197), including those related to vascular function. Of special interest was the 30% down-regulation (P=0.05) of the antiangiogenic factor and preeclampsia risk marker fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFLT1) in the placenta tissues obtained from the 930 vs. 480 mg/d choline intake group. Similar decreases (P=0.04) were detected in maternal blood sFLT1 protein concentrations. The down-regulation of sFLT1 by choline treatment was confirmed in a human trophoblast cell culture model and may be related to enhanced acetylcholine signaling. These findings indicate that supplementing the maternal diet with extra choline may improve placental angiogenesis and mitigate some of the pathological antecedents of preeclampsia.

Research methods that predict Fe bioavailability for humans can be extremely useful in evaluating food fortification strategies, developing Fe-biofortified enhanced staple food crops and assessing the Fe bioavailability of meal plans that include such crops. In this review, research from four recent poultry (Gallus gallus) feeding trials coupled with in vitro analyses of Fe-biofortified crops will be compared to the parallel human efficacy studies which used the same varieties and harvests of the Fe-biofortified crops. Similar to the human studies, these trials were aimed to assess the potential effects of regular consumption of these enhanced staple crops on maintenance or improvement of iron status. The results demonstrate a strong agreement between the in vitro/in vivo screening approach and the parallel human studies. These observations therefore indicate that the in vitro/Caco-2 cell and Gallus gallus models can be integral tools to develop varieties of staple food crops and predict their effect on iron status in humans. The cost-effectiveness of this approach also means that it can be used to monitor the nutritional stability of the Fe-biofortified crop once a variety has released and integrated into the food system. These screening tools therefore represent a significant advancement to the field for crop development and can be applied to ensure the sustainability of the biofortification approach.