At present, lifestyle-related diseases are one of the most critical health issues worldwide. It has been reported that lipopolysaccharide derived from a Gram-negative bacteria (IP-PA1) symbiotic with wheat exhibited several advantageous biological effects, such as the reduction of plasma glucose levels in NOD mice and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels in WHHL rabbits. In this study, the beneficial effects on plasma glucose and lipids of a tea (SI tea) consisting of IP-PA1 and Salacia (which contains an inhibitor of α-glucosidase) were investigated in the KK-Ay/TaJcl type 2 diabetic model mice and in human subjects with premetabolic syndrome in a double-blind, randomized study. SI tea significantly decreased plasma glucose levels in KK-Ay/TaJcl mice. A clinical trial of SI tea was performed with 41 subjects between the ages of 40 and 69, who belonged either to a high plasma glucose group (HG: FPG 100-125 mg/dl) or to a hyperlipidemia group (HL: TG ≥ 150 mg/dl, or LDL ≥ 120 mg/dl, or HDL < 40 mg/dl). These subjects ingested either Salacia without IP-PA1 (the control) or SI tea. Blood samples were collected at 0, 30, and 60 days after initiating SI tea treatment, and were measured for FPG, HbA1c, TG, LDL, and HDL. These results showed that SI tea reduced FPG and HbA1c more rapidly than the control in the HL group, and also significantly improved LDL and HDL levels in the HG group. Thus, SI tea may be helpful in preventing lifestyle-related diseases.
Vibrio vulnificus is the causative agent of primary septicemia, wound
infection and gastroenteritis in immunocompromised people. In this study, signature-tagged
mutagenesis (STM) was applied to identify the virulence genes of V.
vulnificus. Using STM, 6,480 mutants in total were constructed and divided into
81 sets (INPUT pools); each mutant in a set was assigned a different tag. Each INPUT pool
was intraperitoneally injected into iron-overloaded mice, and in vivo
surviving mutants were collected from blood samples from the heart (OUTPUT pools). From
the genomic DNA of mixed INPUT or OUTPUT pools, digoxigenin-labeled DNA probes against the
tagged region were prepared and used for dot hybridization. Thirty tentatively attenuated
mutants, which were hybridized clearly with INPUT probes but barely with OUTPUT probes,
were negatively selected. Lethal doses of 11 of the 30 mutants were reduced to more than
1/100; of these, the lethal doses of 2 were reduced to as low as 1/100,000.
Transposon-inserted genes in the 11 attenuated mutants were those for IMP dehydrogenase,
UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-2-epimerase, aspartokinase, phosphoribosylformylglycinamidine
cyclo-ligase, malate Na (+) symporter and hypothetical protein. When mice were immunized
with an attenuated mutant strain into which IMP dehydrogenase had been inserted with a
transposon, they were protected against V. vulnificus infection. In this
study, we demonstrated that the STM method can be used to search for the virulence genes
of V. vulnificus.
Lipopolysaccharide fromPantoea agglomerans (LPSp) facilitates Ca and P turnover in chicken calvaria and femurs. This study investigated osteoporosis prevention by the oral administration of LPSp in mice and in double-blind clinical tests. Using ovariectomized (OVX) osteoporosis mice model, we investigated the effects of LPSp on the bone density and Ca concentration after ingesting LPSp-containing water for 4 weeks. Oral administration of LPSp tended to suppress the decline in the bone density and the cortical bone thickness in the OVX mice. Moreover, the Ca concentrations were maintained in the OVX-LPSp mice. The effects of LPSp on bone turnover were tested in randomized and double-blind clinical test subjects, who were healthy women aged 40–79 years. The subjects ingested either soy milk without LPSp (control group) or with LPSp (LPSp group) for 3 months. The results showed that the LPSp group on premenopause maintained their bone density compared with the control group pre- and postmenopause. Moreover, these effects were maintained for 2 months postobservation. LPSp maintains bone volume and density in vivo. Thus, a combination of soy milk and LPSp may be useful for osteoporosis prevention.
Colonic macrophages have an inherent ability to produce TNF. Activation of colonic macrophages by unknown substances may contribute to the induction of TNF production, which causes the intestinal inflammation of CD.
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