-To assess the relationship between conditions of milk production and cheese contents of components of nutritional interest, it is necessary to know to what extent the compositional variability of cheese depends on that of milk. The respective effects of milk composition and the cheese-making process on cheese compositional variability in components of nutritional interest were therefore studied under real conditions of cheese production considering four different cheese-making technologies. The nutritional characteristics of the original milk were subject to high variations partly due to animal species (cow vs. goat). Apart from the aspects related to the dry matter content of cheese, the cheese compositional variability in fatty acids, β-carotene, xanthophylls and vitamin E depended mainly on the composition of the original milk. For vitamin A, it was partially influenced by both the original milk composition and the cheese-making process. Regarding folates and minerals, as well as total antioxidant capacity, the cheese composition varied mainly with the cheese-making process. In addition, the cheese-making technology had a significant effect on the cheese composition in minerals and folates, but did not influence the other components affected by the cheesemaking process. Consequently, the cheese contents of fat-soluble compounds depend directly on the conditions of milk production. On the contrary, the composition of cheese in water-soluble compounds varies independently of the conditions of milk production. The total antioxidant capacity of pressed cheeses, unlike the original milk, was positively correlated with some fat-soluble antioxidants. It could therefore be influenced by the conditions of milk production. Résumé -Effets respectifs de la composition du lait et de la transformation fromagère sur la variabilité de composition du fromage en composés d'intérêt nutritionnel. De façon à étudier la relation entre les conditions de production du lait et les teneurs en composés d'intérêt nutritionnel dans le fromage, il est nécessaire de savoir dans quelle mesure la variabilité de composition du fromage dépend de celle du lait d'origine. Les effets respectifs de la composition du lait et de la transformation fromagère sur la variabilité de composition du fromage en composés d'intérêt nutritionnel ont donc été étudiés en conditions réelles de production du fromage et en considérant quatre technologies fromagères différentes. Les caractéristiques nutritionnelles du lait à l'origine du fromage sont soumises à de grandes variations en partie dues à l'espèce animale (vache vs. chèvre). Mis à part les aspects liés à la teneur en matière sèche du fromage, la variabilité de composition du fromage en acides gras, en β-carotène, en xanthophylles et en vitamine E dépend principalement de la composition du lait d'origine, alors que pour la vitamine A celle-ci est influencée à la fois par la composition du lait d'origine et par la transformation fromagère. Par contre, la composition en folates et en minéraux du fr...

Background: Immunosenescence contributes to reduced vaccine response in elderly persons, and is worsened by deficiencies in nutrients such as Vitamin (Vit-D). The immune system is a well-known target of Vit-D, which can both potentiate the innate immune response and inhibit the adaptive system, and so modulate vaccination response.Objective: This randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial investigated whether Vit-D supplementation in deficient elderly persons could improve influenza seroprotection and immune response.Design: Deficient volunteers (Vit-D serum <30 ng/mL) were assigned (V1) to receive either 100,000 IU/15 days of cholecalciferol (D, n = 19), or a placebo (P, n = 19), over a 3 month period. Influenza vaccination was performed at the end of this period (V2), and the vaccine response was evaluated 28 days later (V3). At each visit, serum cathelicidin, immune response to vaccination, plasma cytokines, lymphocyte phenotyping, and phagocyte ROS production were assessed.Results: Levels of serum 25-(OH)D increased after supplementation (D group, V1 vs. V2: 20.7 ± 5.7 vs. 44.3 ± 8.6 ng/mL, p < 0.001). No difference was observed for serum cathelicidin levels, antibody titers, and ROS production in D vs. P groups at V3. Lower plasma levels of TNFα (p = 0.040) and IL-6 (p = 0.046), and higher ones for TFGβ (p = 0.0028) were observed at V3. The Th1/Th2 ratio was lower in the D group at V2 (D: 0.12 ± 0.05 vs. P: 0.18 ± 0.05, p = 0.039).Conclusions: Vit-D supplementation promotes a higher TGFβ plasma level in response to influenza vaccination without improving antibody production. This supplementation seems to direct the lymphocyte polarization toward a tolerogenic immune response. A deeper characterization of metabolic and molecular pathways of these observations will aid in the understanding of Vit-D's effects on cell-mediated immunity in aging. This clinical trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01893385.

Cardiomyopathies occur by mechanisms that involve inherited and acquired metabolic disorders. Both folate and vitamin B12 deficiencies are associated with left ventricular dysfunction, but mechanisms that underlie these associations are not known. However, folate and vitamin B12 are methyl donors needed for the synthesis of S-adenosylmethionine, the substrate required for the activation by methylation of regulators of energy metabolism. We investigated the consequences of a diet lacking methyl donors in the myocardium of weaning rats from dams subjected to deficiency during gestation and lactation. Positron emission tomography (PET), microscope and metabolic examinations evidenced a myocardium hypertrophy, with cardiomyocyte enlargement, disturbed mitochondrial alignment, lipid droplets, decreased respiratory activity of complexes I and II and decreased S-adenosylmethionine:S-adenosylhomocysteine ratio. The increased concentrations of triglycerides and acylcarnitines were consistent with a deficit in fatty acid oxidation. These changes were explained by imbalanced acetylation/methylation of PGC-1α, through decreased expression of SIRT1 and PRMT1 and decreased S-adenosylmethionine:S-adenosylhomocysteine ratio, and by decreased expression of PPARα and ERRα. The main changes of the myocardium proteomic study were observed for proteins regulated by PGC-1α, PPARs and ERRα. These proteins, namely trifunctional enzyme subunit α-complex, short chain acylCoA dehydrogenase, acylCoA thioesterase 2, fatty acid binding protein-3, NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquinone) flavoprotein 2, NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquinone) 1α-subunit 10 and Hspd1 protein, are involved in fatty acid oxidation and mitochondrial respiration. In conclusion, the methyl donor deficiency produces detrimental effects on fatty acid oxidation and energy metabolism of myocardium through imbalanced methylation/acetylation of PGC-1α and decreased expression of PPARα and ERRα. These data are of pathogenetic relevance to perinatal cardiomyopathies.

Epidemiologic and experimental studies showed that folate deficiency is associated with increased risk of degenerative diseases by enhancing abnormal one-carbon metabolism. We studied the changes in the proteome of liver, the main tissue of folate storage and metabolism, in a rat model of dietary folate depletion. Four-month-old rats were fed for 4 wk an amino acid-defined diet without folate and compared with pair-fed rats given the same diet adequately supplemented with folic acid. Folate deprivation decreased plasma and hepatic folate concentrations dramatically, while increasing homocysteinemia significantly. Using 2-dimensional electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight MS, we identified 9 spots corresponding to differentially expressed proteins in the liver of folate-deficient rats compared with controls. Among those spots, 4 had a significantly increased volume, whereas the volume of the 5 other spots was decreased. Upregulated proteins included glutathione peroxidase (GPx) 1 and peroxiredoxin 6, 2 enzymes involved in the response to oxidative stress, and MAWD binding protein (MAWDBP), which has been associated with cancer. MAWDBP was simultaneously identified as a second spot with a lower isoelectric point (pI) that vanished almost completely after folate deficiency. Decreased abundance was also observed for cofilin 1, a protein linked to tumorigenesis, and for the GRP 75 precursor and preproalbumin, both of which are responsive to oxidative stress and/or inflammation. Moreover, an enzyme activity assay and/or Western blot analysis of GPx-1 and MAWDBP confirmed the proteomic findings. Our results show that folate deficiency modifies the abundance of several liver proteins consistently with adaptive tissue responses to oxidative and degenerative processes.