Soy isoflavones significantly reduced serum total and LDL cholesterol but did not change HDL cholesterol and triacylglycerol. Soy protein that contained enriched or depleted isoflavones also significantly improved lipid profiles. Reductions in LDL cholesterol were larger in hypercholesterolemic than in normocholesterolemic subjects.

Relationships between human gut microbiota, dietary habits, and health/diseases are the subject of epidemiological and clinical studies. However, the temporal stability and variability of the bacterial community in fecal samples remain unclear. In this study, middle-aged Japanese male and female volunteers (n = 5 each) without disease were recruited from the Sakura Diet Study. Fecal samples and lifestyle information were collected in every quarter and at each defecation for 7 continuous days. Next-generation sequencing of 16S rDNA and hierarchical clustering showed no time trend and intra-individual differences in both fecal sample sets. Significant inter-individual variations in seasonal and daily fecal sample sets were detected for 24 and 23 out of 39 selected dominant genera (>0.1 % of the total human gut microbiota; occupation rate >85 %), respectively. Intra- to inter-individual variance ratios in 26 and 35 genera were significantly <1.0 for seasonal and daily stabilities. Seasonal variation in fermented milk consumption might be associated with Bifidobacterium composition, but not with Lactobacillus. For most of the dominant genera in the human gut microbiota, inter-individual variations were significantly larger than intra-individual variations. Further studies are warranted to determine the contributions of human gut microbiota to nutritional metabolism, health promotion, and prevention/development of diseases.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00203-015-1125-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Gout is a common arthritis caused by elevated serum uric acid (SUA) levels. Here we investigated loci influencing SUA in a genome-wide meta-analysis with 121,745 Japanese subjects. We identified 8948 variants at 36 genomic loci ( P <5 × 10 –8 ) including eight novel loci. Of these, missense variants of SESN2 and PNPLA3 were predicted to be damaging to the function of these proteins; another five loci— TMEM18 , TM4SF4 , MXD3-LMAN2 , PSORS1C1-PSORS1C2 , and HNF4A —are related to cell metabolism, proliferation, or oxidative stress; and the remaining locus, LINC01578 , is unknown. We also identified 132 correlated genes whose expression levels are associated with SUA-increasing alleles. These genes are enriched for the UniProt transport term, suggesting the importance of transport-related genes in SUA regulation. Furthermore, trans-ethnic meta-analysis across our own meta-analysis and the Global Urate Genetics Consortium has revealed 15 more novel loci associated with SUA. Our findings provide insight into the pathogenesis, treatment, and prevention of hyperuricemia/gout.

We identified a novel genetic variant associated with regular leisure-time exercise behavior. Further functional studies are required to validate the role of these variants in exercise behavior.

Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages worldwide, and its role in human health has received much attention. Although genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have investigated genetic variants associated with coffee consumption in European populations, no such study has yet been conducted in an Asian population. Here, we conducted a GWAS to identify common genetic variations that affected coffee consumption in a Japanese population of 11,261 participants recruited as a part of the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort (J-MICC) study. Coffee consumption was collected using a self-administered questionnaire, and converted from categories to cups/day. In the discovery stage (n = 6,312), we found 2 independent loci (12q24.12–13 and 5q33.3) that met suggestive significance (P < 1 × 10−6). In the replication stage (n = 4,949), the lead variant for the 12q24.12–13 locus (rs2074356) was significantly associated with habitual coffee consumption (P = 2.2 × 10−6), whereas the lead variant for the 5q33.3 locus (rs1957553) was not (P = 0.53). A meta-analysis of the discovery and replication populations, and the combined analysis using all subjects, revealed that rs2074356 achieved genome-wide significance (P = 2.2 × 10−16 for a meta-analysis). These findings indicate that the 12q24.12-13 locus is associated with coffee consumption among a Japanese population.