Background:The gut microbiome and metabolome may significantly influence clinical outcomes in patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS). The study aimed to describe specific metagenomic/metabolomics profiles of different SBS types and to identify possible therapeutic targets. Methods: Fecal microbiome (FM), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and bile acid (BA) spectrum were analyzed in parenteral nutrition (PN)-dependent SBS I, SBS II, and PN-independent (non-PN) SBS patients. Results: FM in SBS I, SBS II, and non-PN SBS shared characteristic features (depletion of beneficial anaerobes, high abundance of Lactobacilaceae and Enterobacteriaceae). SBS I patients were characterized by the abundance of oxygen-tolerant microrganisms and depletion of strict anaerobes. Non-PN SBS subjects showed markers of partial FM normalization. FM dysbiosis was translated into VOC and BA profiles characteristic for each SBS cohort. A typical signature of all SBS patients comprised high saturated aldehydes and medium-chain fatty acids and reduced short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) content. Particularly, SBS I and II exhibited low protein metabolism intermediate (indole, p-cresol) content despite the hypothetical presence of relevant metabolism pathways. Distinctive non-PN SBS marker was high phenol content. SBS patients' BA fecal spectrum was enriched by chenodeoxycholic and deoxycholic acids and depleted of lithocholic acid. Conclusions: Environmental conditions in SBS gut significantly affect FM composition and metabolic activity. The common feature of diverse SBS subjects is the altered VOC/BA profile and the lack of important products of microbial metabolism. Strategies oriented on the microbiome/metabolome reconstitution and targeted delivery of key compounds may represent a promising therapeutic strategy in SBS patients. (JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2020;44:105-118) Keywords bile acids; gut microbiota; parenteral nutrition; short bowel syndrome, short-chain fatty acids, volatile organic compounds From the

Acetaminophen or paracetamol (APAP) overdose is a common cause of liver injury. Silymarin (SLM) is a hepatoprotective agent widely used for treating liver injury of different origin. In order to evaluate the possible beneficial effects of SLM, Balb/c mice were pretreated with SLM (100 mg/kg b.wt. per os) once daily for three days. Two hours after the last SLM dose, the mice were administered APAP (300 mg/kg b.wt. i.p.) and killed 6 (T6), 12 (T12) and 24 (T24) hours later. SLM-treated mice exhibited a significant reduction in APAP-induced liver injury, assessed according to AST and ALT release and histological examination. SLM treatment significantly reduced superoxide production, as indicated by lower GSSG content, lower HO-1 induction, alleviated nitrosative stress, decreased p-JNK activation and direct measurement of mitochondrial superoxide production in vitro. SLM did not affect the APAP-induced decrease in CYP2E1 activity and expression during the first 12 hrs. Neutrophil infiltration and enhanced expression of inflammatory markers were first detected at T12 in both groups. Inflammation progressed in the APAP group at T24 but became attenuated in SLM-treated animals. Histological examination suggests that necrosis the dominant cell death pathway in APAP intoxication, which is partially preventable by SLM pretreatment. We demonstrate that SLM significantly protects against APAP-induced liver damage through the scavenger activity of SLM and the reduction of superoxide and peroxynitrite content. Neutrophil-induced damage is probably secondary to necrosis development.

Z, Oliyarnyk O, Kazdova L. Metformin prevents ischemia reperfusion-induced oxidative stress in the fatty liver by attenuation of reactive oxygen species formation. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 309: G100 -G111, 2015. First published June 4, 2015; doi:10.1152/ajpgi.00329.2014.-Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with chronic oxidative stress. In our study, we explored the antioxidant effect of antidiabetic metformin on chronic [high-fat diet (HFD)-induced] and acute oxidative stress induced by short-term warm partial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) or on a combination of both in the liver. Wistar rats were fed a standard diet (SD) or HFD for 10 wk, half of them being administered metformin (150 mg·kg body wt Ϫ1 ·day Ϫ1 ). Metformin treatment prevented acute stress-induced necroinflammatory reaction, reduced alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase serum activity, and diminished lipoperoxidation. The effect was more pronounced in the HFD than in the SD group. The metformin-treated groups exhibited less severe mitochondrial damage (markers: cytochrome c release, citrate synthase activity, mtDNA copy number, mitochondrial respiration) and apoptosis (caspase 9 and caspase 3 activation). Metformin-treated HFD-fed rats subjected to I/R exhibited increased antioxidant enzyme activity as well as attenuated mitochondrial respiratory capacity and ATP resynthesis. The exposure to I/R significantly increased NADH-and succinate-related reactive oxygen species (ROS) mitochondrial production in vitro. The effect of I/R was significantly alleviated by previous metformin treatment. Metformin downregulated the I/R-induced expression of proinflammatory (TNF-␣, TLR4, IL-1␤, Ccr2) and infiltrating monocyte (Ly6c) and macrophage (CD11b) markers. Our data indicate that metformin reduces mitochondrial performance but concomitantly protects the liver from I/R-induced injury. We propose that the beneficial effect of metformin action is based on a combination of three contributory mechanisms: increased antioxidant enzyme activity, lower mitochondrial ROS production, and reduction of postischemic inflammation. metformin; oxidative stress; mitochondrial respiration; liver injury; 31 P MR spectroscopy METFORMIN IS AN ORAL ANTIHYPERGLYCEMIC drug widely used in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) (7). There is evidence that metformin also protects against oxidative stress in various tissues, although the antioxidant activity of metformin is not well understood. It has been shown that hyperglycemia is associated with increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation due to superoxide overproduction from the mitochondrial electron transport chain as a consequence of increased glycolysis (8). It has been hypothesized that the antioxidative effect of metformin is simply the consequence of its glucoselowering effect and subsequent decrease in superoxide anion production (3). Nevertheless, metformin has also displayed antioxidative characteristics in several models of oxidative stress without hyperglycemia (2,19,20,2...

Aims. To determine the effect of two different diets (high-sucrose (HS) and high-fat (HF)) on the main metabolic pathways potentially contributing to the development of steatosis: (1) activity of the liver lysosomal and heparin-releasable lipases; (2) fatty acid (FFA) oxidation; (3) FFA synthesis de novo; (4) VLDL output in vivo in a rat model of metabolic syndrome (MetS), hereditary hypertriglyceridemic (HHTg) rats fed HS or HF diets. Results. Both diets resulted in triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation in the liver (HF > HS). The intracellular TAG lipolysis by lysosomal lipase was increased in both groups and positively correlated with the liver TAG content. Diet type significantly affected partitioning of intracellular TAG-derived fatty acids among FFA-utilizing metabolic pathways as HS feeding accentuated VLDL secretion and downregulated FFA oxidation while the HF diet had an entirely opposite effect. FFA de novo synthesis from glucose was significantly enhanced in the HS group (fed ≫ fasted) while being completely eradicated in the HF group. Conclusions. We found that in rats prone to the development of MetS associated diseases dietary-induced steatosis is not simply a result of impaired TAG degradation but that it depends on other mechanisms (elevated FFA synthesis or attenuated VLDL secretion) that are specific according to diet composition.

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We present data supporting the hypothesis that the lysosomal-autophagy pathway is involved in the degradation of intracellular triacylglycerols in the liver. In primary hepatocytes cultivated in the absence of exogenous fatty acids (FFA), both inhibition of autophagy flux (asparagine) or lysosomal activity (chloroquine) decreased secretion of VLDL (very low density lipoproteins) and formation of FFA oxidative products while the stimulation of autophagy by rapamycine increased some of these parameters. Effect of rapamycine was completely abolished by inactivation of lysosomes. Similarly, when autophagic activity was influenced by cultivating the hepatocytes in “starving” (amino-acid poor medium) or “fed” (serum-supplemented medium) conditions, VLDL secretion and FFA oxidation mirrored the changes in autophagy being higher in starvation and lower in fed state. Autophagy inhibition as well as lysosomal inactivation depressed FFA and DAG (diacylglycerol) formation in liver slices in vitro. In vivo, intensity of lysosomal lipid degradation depends on the formation of autophagolysosomes, i.e. structures bringing the substrate for degradation and lysosomal enzymes into contact. We demonstrated that lysosomal lipase (LAL) activity in liver autophagolysosomal fraction was up-regulated in fasting and down-regulated in fed state together with the increased translocation of LAL and LAMP2 proteins from lysosomal pool to this fraction. Changes in autophagy intensity (LC3-II/LC3-I ratio) followed a similar pattern.

BackgroundResident macrophages (Kupffer cells, KCs) in the liver can undergo both pro- or anti-inflammatory activation pathway and exert either beneficiary or detrimental effects on liver metabolism. Until now, their role in the metabolically dysfunctional state of steatosis remains enigmatic. Aim of our study was to characterize the role of KCs in relation to the onset of hepatic insulin resistance induced by a high-fat (HF) diet rich in monounsaturated fatty acids.MethodsMale Wistar rats were fed either standard (SD) or high-fat (HF) diet for 4 weeks. Half of the animals were subjected to the acute GdCl3 treatment 24 and 72 hrs prior to the end of the experiment in order to induce the reduction of KCs population. We determined the effect of HF diet on activation status of liver macrophages and on the changes in hepatic insulin sensitivity and triacylglycerol metabolism imposed by acute KCs depletion by GdCl3.ResultsWe found that a HF diet rich in MUFA itself triggers an alternative but not the classical activation program in KCs. In a steatotic, but not in normal liver, a reduction of the KCs population was associated with a decrease of alternative activation and with a shift towards the expression of pro-inflammatory activation markers, with the increased autophagy, elevated lysosomal lipolysis, increased formation of DAG, PKCε activation and marked exacerbation of HF diet-induced hepatic insulin resistance.ConclusionsWe propose that in the presence of a high MUFA content the population of alternatively activated resident liver macrophages may mediate beneficial effects on liver insulin sensitivity and alleviate the metabolic disturbances imposed by HF diet feeding and steatosis. Our data indicate that macrophage polarization towards an alternative state might be a useful strategy for treating type 2 diabetes.

Background: Liver transplantation leads to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in up to 40% of graft recipients. The aim of our study was to assess transcriptomic profiles of liver grafts and to contrast the hepatic gene expression between the patients after transplantation with vs. without graft steatosis. Methods: Total RNA was isolated from liver graft biopsies of 91 recipients. Clinical characteristics were compared between steatotic ( n = 48) and control ( n = 43) samples. Their transcriptomic profiles were assessed using Affymetrix HuGene 2.1 ST Array Strips processed in Affymetrix GeneAtlas. Data were analyzed using Partek Genomics Suite 6.6 and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. Results: The individuals with hepatic steatosis showed higher indices of obesity including weight, waist circumference or BMI but the two groups were comparable in measures of insulin sensitivity and cholesterol concentrations. We have identified 747 transcripts (326 upregulated and 421 downregulated in steatotic samples compared to controls) significantly differentially expressed between grafts with vs. those without steatosis. Among the most downregulated genes in steatotic samples were P4HA1, IGF1 , or fetuin B while the most upregulated were PLIN1 and ME1 . Most influential upstream regulators included HNF1A, RXRA , and FXR . The metabolic pathways dysregulated in steatotic liver grafts comprised blood coagulation, bile acid synthesis and transport, cell redox homeostasis, lipid and cholesterol metabolism, epithelial adherence junction signaling, amino acid metabolism, AMPK and glucagon signaling, transmethylation reactions, and inflammation-related pathways. The derived mechanistic network underlying major transcriptome differences between steatotic samples and controls featured PPARA and SERPINE1 as main nodes. Conclusions: While there is a certain overlap between the results of the current study and published transcriptomic profiles of non-transplanted livers with steatosis, we have identified discrete characteristics of the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in liver grafts potentially utilizable for the establishment of predictive signature.