. measured for 8 days. The feces were collected every 2 days for 8 days. Ileal and fecal lipids were extracted as described in the Supplemental Methods. Triglycerides were measured with a triglyceride colorimetric assay kit (Bioassay Systems). Free fatty acids (FFAs) were measured using reagents from Wako.Statistics. Experimental values are presented as the mean ± SD. Statistical analyses were performed using the 2-tailed Student's t test and 1-way ANOVA with Tukey's confirmation. Weighted UniFrac analysis to assess changes in bacterial abundance was performed on the Galaxy web-based platform. Statistical models including PCA, PLS-DA, and OPLS-DA were established to represent the major latent variables in the data matrix. P values of less than 0.05 were considered significant. Study approval. All animal studies were performed in accordance with the Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources guidelines and approved by the IACUC of the NCI.

SUMMARY Dietary soluble fibers are fermented by gut bacteria into short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), which are considered broadly health-promoting. Accordingly, consumption of such fibers ameliorates metabolic syndrome. However, incorporating soluble fiber inulin, but not insoluble fiber, into a compositionally defined diet, induced icteric hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Such HCC was microbiota-dependent and observed in multiple strains of dysbiotic mice but not in germ-free nor antibiotics-treated mice. Furthermore, consumption of an inulin-enriched high-fat diet induced both dysbiosis and HCC in wild-type (WT) mice. Inulin-induced HCC progressed via early onset of cholestasis, hepatocyte death, followed by neutrophilic inflammation in liver. Pharmacologic inhibition of fermentation or depletion of fermenting bacteria markedly reduced intestinal SCFA and prevented HCC. Intervening with cholestyramine to prevent reabsorption of bile acids also conferred protection against such HCC. Thus, its benefits notwithstanding, enrichment of foods with fermentable fiber should be approached with great caution as it may increase risk of HCC.

BackgroundAlteration of the gut microbiota through diet and environmental contaminants may disturb physiological homeostasis, leading to various diseases including obesity and type 2 diabetes. Because most exposure to environmentally persistent organic pollutants (POPs) occurs through the diet, the host gastrointestinal tract and commensal gut microbiota are likely to be exposed to POPs.ObjectivesWe examined the effect of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran (TCDF), a persistent environmental contaminant, on gut microbiota and host metabolism, and we examined correlations between gut microbiota composition and signaling pathways.MethodsSix-week-old male wild-type and Ahr–/– mice on the C57BL/6J background were treated with 24 μg/kg TCDF in the diet for 5 days. We used 16S rRNA gene sequencing, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics, targeted ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triplequadrupole mass spectrometry, and biochemical assays to determine the microbiota compositions and the physiological and metabolic effects of TCDF.ResultsDietary TCDF altered the gut microbiota by shifting the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes. TCDF-treated mouse cecal contents were enriched with Butyrivibrio spp. but depleted in Oscillobacter spp. compared with vehicle-treated mice. These changes in the gut microbiota were associated with altered bile acid metabolism. Further, dietary TCDF inhibited the farnesoid X receptor (FXR) signaling pathway, triggered significant inflammation and host metabolic disorders as a result of activation of bacterial fermentation, and altered hepatic lipogenesis, gluconeogenesis, and glycogenolysis in an AHR-dependent manner.ConclusionThese findings provide new insights into the biochemical consequences of TCDF exposure involving the alteration of the gut microbiota, modulation of nuclear receptor signaling, and disruption of host metabolism.CitationZhang L, Nichols RG, Correll J, Murray IA, Tanaka N, Smith PB, Hubbard TD, Sebastian A, Albert I, Hatzakis E, Gonzalez FJ, Perdew GH, Patterson AD. 2015. Persistent organic pollutants modify gut microbiota–host metabolic homeostasis in mice through aryl hydrocarbon receptor activation. Environ Health Perspect 123:679–688; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1409055

Lead-free piezoelectric ceramics have received attention because of increasing interest in environmental protection. Niobate ceramics such as NaNbO 3 and KNbO 3 have been studied as promising Pb-free piezoelectric ceramics, but their sintering densification is fairly difficult. In the present study, highly dense Na 0.5 K 0.5 NbO 3 ceramics were prepared using spark plasma sintering (SPS). Although the SPS temperature was as low as 9201C, the density of the Na 0.5 K 0.5 NbO 3 solid solution ceramics was raised to 4.47 g/cm 3 (499% of the theoretical density). After post-annealing in air, reasonably good ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties were obtained in the Na 0.5 K 0.5 NbO 3 ceramics with submicron grains. The crystal phase of the Na 0.5 K 0.5 NbO 3 has an orthorhombic structure. The Curie temperature is 3951C and the piezoelectric parameter (d 33 ) of the Na 0.5 K 0.5 NbO 3 ceramics reached 148 pC/N.

Previous studies have shown that the packaging RNA (pRNA) of bacteriophage phi29 DNA packaging motor folds into a compact structure, constituting a RNA nanoparticle that can be modularized with functional groups as a nanodelivery system. pRNA nanoparticles can also be self-assembled by the bipartite approach without altering folding property. The present study demonstrated that 2'-F-modified pRNA nanoparticles were readily manufactured through this scalable bipartite strategy, featuring total chemical synthesis and permitting diverse functional modularizations. The RNA nanoparticles were chemically and metabolically stable and demonstrated a favorable pharmacokinetic (PK) profile in mice (half-life (T(1/2)): 5-10 hours, clearance (Cl): <0.13 l/kg/hour, volume of distribution (V(d)): 1.2 l/kg). It did not induce an interferon (IFN) response nor did it induce cytokine production in mice. Repeat intravenous administrations in mice up to 30 mg/kg did not result in any toxicity. Fluorescent folate-pRNA nanoparticles efficiently and specifically bound and internalized to folate receptor (FR)-bearing cancer cells in vitro. It also specifically and dose-dependently targeted to FR(+) xenograft tumor in mice with minimal accumulation in normal tissues. This first comprehensive pharmacological study suggests that the pRNA nanoparticle had all the preferred pharmacological features to serve as an efficient nanodelivery platform for broad medical applications.

Diet-induced obesity is often modeled by comparing mice fed high-fat diet (HFD), which is made from purified ingredients, vs. normal chow diet (NCD), which is a low-fat assemblage of relatively unrefined plant and animal products. The mechanism by which HFD promotes adiposity is complex but thought to involve low-grade inflammation and altered gut microbiota. The goal of this study was to investigate the extent to which HFD-induced adiposity is driven by fat content vs. other factors that differentiate HFD vs. NCD. Mice were fed NCD, HFD, or other compositionally defined diets (CDD), designed to mimic NCD and/or explore the role of HFD components. A range of metabolic parameters reflecting low-grade inflammation and adiposity were assayed. Relative to NCD, HFD, and to a lesser, but, nonetheless, significant extent, CDD induced increased adiposity, indicating both lipid content and other aspects of HFD are obesogenic. Moreover, HFD and CDD induced a rapid and marked loss of cecal and colonic mass. Such CDD-induced effects were not affected by adjusting dietary protein levels/types but could be largely eliminated by exchanging insoluble fiber (cellulose) for soluble fiber (inulin). Replacing cellulose with inulin in HFD also protected mice against decreased intestinal mass, hyperphagia, and increased adiposity. Such beneficial effects of inulin were microbiota dependent, correlated with elevated fecal short-chain fatty acid levels analyzed via 1H-NMR-based metabolomics and were partially recapitulated by administration of short-chain fatty acid. HFD-induced obesity is strongly promoted by its lack of soluble fiber, which supports microbiota-mediated intestinal tissue homeostasis that prevents inflammation driving obesity and metabolic syndrome.

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Background: Contemporary oxime antidotes to organophosphate poisoning cannot penetrate CNS to reactivate inhibited acetylcholinesterase. Results: Structural, in vitro optimization of ionizable hydroxyiminoacetamido amine acetylcholinesterase reactivators produced superior antidotal responses for VX-, sarin-, paraoxon-, and tabun-exposed mice. Conclusion: Ionizable hydroxyiminoacetamido amines are promising centrally active acetylcholinesterase reactivators. Significance: A mechanism-based iterative refinement of acetylcholinesterase reactivation kinetics coupled with pharmacokinetic analyses yields efficient CNS penetrating antidotes.