No abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of green tea epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on changes in body composition, energy and substrate metabolism, cardiometabolic risk factors and liver function enzymes after an energy-restricted diet intervention in obese women. In the present randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, eighty-three obese (30 kg/m 2 . BMI , 40 kg/m 2 ) premenopausal women consumed 300 mg/d of EGCG or placebo (lactose). We measured body weight and adiposity (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), energy expenditure and fat oxidation rates (indirect calorimetry), blood lipid levels (TAG, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol), insulin resistance, C-reactive protein and liver function markers (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, g-glutamyltransferase, urea, bilirubin and 2-keto[1-13 C]isocaproate oxidation) before and after the intervention in the EGCG and control groups. We did not find any significant difference in the changes in body weight (2 0·3 kg, 95 % CI 25·0, 4·3), fat mass (2 0·7 kg, 95 % CI 23·5, 2·1), energy (0·3 kJ/kg per d, 95 % CI 2 3·1, 2·7) and fat (20·1 g/min, 95 % CI 2 0·03, 0·01) metabolism, homeostasis assessment model for insulin resistance (0·2, 95 % CI 2 0·2, 0·7), total cholesterol (20·21 mmol/l, 95 % CI 20·55, 0·13), LDL-cholesterol (2 0·15 mmol/l, 95 % CI 20·50, 0·20), TAG (2 0·14 mmol/l, 95 % CI 20·56, 0·29) and liver function markers between the EGCG and control groups. In conclusion, the present results suggest that dietary supplementation with 300 mg/d of EGCG for 12 weeks did not enhance energy-restricted diet-induced adiposity reductions, and did not improve weight-loss-induced changes in cardiometabolic risk factors in obese Caucasian women. The intake of 300 mg/d of EGCG for 12 weeks did not cause any adverse effect on liver function biomarkers.

SummaryKlebsiella pneumoniae is an important cause of community-acquired and nosocomial pneumonia.

Nutrigenomics is a new application of omics technologies in nutritional science. Nutrigenomics aims to identify molecular markers of diet-related diseases and mechanisms of interindividual variability in response to food. The aim of this study was to evaluate peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) as a model system and readily available source of RNA to discern gene expression signatures in relation to personalized therapy of obesity. PBMC were collected from obese men before and after an 8-week low-calorie diet (LCD) to lose weight. Changes in gene expression before and after the LCD were initially screened using a DNA-microarray platform and validated by qRT-PCR. Global gene expression analysis identified 385 differentially expressed transcripts after the LCD. Further analyses showed a decrease in some specific oxidative stress and inflammation genes. Interestingly, expression of these genes was directly related to body weight, while a lower IL8 gene expression was associated with higher fat mass decrease. Collectively, these observations suggest that PBMCs are a suitable RNA source and model system to perform nutrigenomics studies related to obesity and development of personalized dietary treatments. IL8 gene expression warrant further research as a putative novel biomarker of changes in body fat percentage in response to an LCD. 251

No abstract

Airway epithelial cells act as the first barrier against pathogens. These cells recognize conserved structural motifs expressed by microbial pathogens via Toll-like receptors (TLRs) expressed on the surface. In contrast to the level of expression in lymphoid cells, the level of expression of TLR2 and TLR4 in airway epithelial cells is low under physiological conditions. Here we explored whether Klebsiella pneumoniae upregulates the expression of TLRs in human airway epithelial cells. We found that the expression of TLR2 and TLR4 by A549 cells and human primary airway cells was upregulated upon infection with K. pneumoniae. The increased expression of TLRs resulted in enhancement of the cellular response upon stimulation with Pam3CSK4 and lipopolysaccharide, which are TLR2 and TLR4 agonists, respectively. Klebsiella-dependent upregulation of TLR expression occurred via a positive IB␣-dependent NF-〉 pathway and via negative p38 and p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase-dependent pathways. We showed that Klebsiella-induced TLR2 and TLR4 upregulation was dependent on TLR activation. An isogenic capsule polysaccharide (CPS) mutant did not increase TLR2 and TLR4 expression. Purified CPS upregulated TLR2 and TLR4 expression, and polymyxin B did not abrogate CPS-induced TLR upregulation. Although no proteins were detected in the CPS preparation by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and colloidal gold staining, we could not rule out the possibility that traces of protein in our CPS preparation could have been responsible, at least in part, for the TLR upregulation.

Obese women with higher leptin and lower ghrelin levels at baseline seem to be more resistant to FM loss. The leptin to ghrelin ratio could be proposed as a biomarker for predicting metabolic adaptations to energy restriction treatment and, if confirmed in future studies, as a predictor of treatment success/failure.

Microarrays, or gene chips, are transforming the way that gene expression is measured by allowing us to determine the expression of thousands of genes from a sample. This gives immense power to examine gene expression on a global scale within individual animals and between animals. The scope for analysing complex animal functions at the molecular level is within our grasp. Relatively few studies have examined complex behaviours and correlated them with gene expression in the central nervous system. Here, we review the use of microarray technology in the dissection of behaviour and focus specifically on dominance status. A cDNA library using suppression subtraction hybridisation on rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss of differing status has been produced to enrich the cDNA library for genes that are differentially expressed between individuals of different dominance status. A preliminary analysis demonstrated that there were 1,165 genes that differed between fish of different dominance status. Therefore, there is the potential of correlating gene expression profile with rank position within dominance hierarchies, thus identifying targets for candidate gene approaches.