Selenium is an essential trace element for humans and animals, and selenium deficiency is associated with several disease conditions such as immune impairment. In addition, selenium intakes that are ...greater than the recommended daily allowance (RDA) appear to protect against certain types of cancers. In humans and animals, cell proliferation and death must be regulated to maintain tissue homeostasis, and it has been well documented that numerous human diseases are directly related to the control of cell cycle progression and apoptosis. Thus, the elucidation of the mechanisms by which selenium regulates the cell cycle and apoptosis can lead to a better understanding of the nature of selenium's essentiality and its role in disease prevention. This article reviews the status of knowledge concerning the effect of selenium on cell cycle and apoptosis.
Secondary bile acids (BAs) and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), two major types of bacterial metabolites in the colon, cause opposing effects on colonic inflammation at chronically high physiological ...levels. Primary BAs play critical roles in cholesterol metabolism, lipid digestion, and host⁻microbe interaction. Although BAs are reabsorbed via enterohepatic circulation, primary BAs serve as substrates for bacterial biotransformation to secondary BAs in the colon. High-fat diets increase secondary BAs, such as deoxycholic acid (DCA) and lithocholic acid (LCA), which are risk factors for colonic inflammation and cancer. In contrast, increased dietary fiber intake is associated with anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects. These effects may be due to the increased production of the SCFAs acetate, propionate, and butyrate during dietary fiber fermentation in the colon. Elucidation of the molecular events by which secondary BAs and SCFAs regulate colonic cell proliferation and inflammation will lead to a better understanding of the anticancer potential of dietary fiber in the context of high-fat diet-related colon cancer. This article reviews the current knowledge concerning the effects of secondary BAs and SCFAs on the proliferation of colon epithelial cells, inflammation, cancer, and the associated microbiome.
Many epidemiological and experimental studies have suggested that dietary fiber plays an important role in colon cancer prevention. These findings may relate to the ability of fiber to reduce the ...contact time of carcinogens within the intestinal lumen and to promote healthy gut microbiota, which modifies the host’s metabolism in various ways. Elucidation of the mechanisms by which dietary fiber-dependent changes in gut microbiota enhance bile acid deconjugation, produce short chain fatty acids, and modulate inflammatory bioactive substances can lead to a better understanding of the beneficial role of dietary fiber. This article reviews the current knowledge concerning the mechanisms via which dietary fiber protects against colon cancer.
Selenium (Se), an essential mineral, plays a major role in cellular redox status and may have beneficial effects on bone health. The objective of this study was to determine whether Se deficiency ...affects redox status and bone microarchitecture in a mouse model. Thirty-three male C57BL/6J mice, 18 wk old, were randomly assigned to 3 groups. Mice were fed either a purified, Se-deficient diet (SeDef) containing ∼0.9 μg Se/kg diet, or Se-adequate diets containing ∼100 μg Se/kg diet from either selenomethionine (SeMet) or pinto beans (SeBean) for 4 mo. The Se concentration, glutathione peroxidase (GPx1) activity, and GPx1 mRNA in liver were lower in the SeDef group than in the SeMet or SeBean group. The femoral trabecular bone volume/total volume and trabecular number were less, whereas trabecular separation was greater, in the SeDef group than in either the SeMet or SeBean group (P < 0.05). Bone structural parameters between the SeMet and SeBean groups did not differ. Furthermore, Serum concentrations of C-reactive protein, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, and intact parathyroid hormone were higher in the SeDef group than in the other 2 groups. These findings demonstrate that Se deficiency is detrimental to bone microarchitecture by increasing bone resorption, possibly through decreasing antioxidative potential.
Obesity is an established risk factor for many diseases including intestinal cancer. One of the responsible mechanisms is the chronic inflammation driven by obesity. However, it remains to be defined ...whether diet-induced obesity exacerbates the intestinal inflammatory status by cytokines produced in adipose tissue or the high fat diet first alters the gut microbiota and then drives intestinal inflammation. To address this question, we fed C57BL/6 mice with a high fat diet (HF, 60%) and sacrificed them sequentially after 8, 12, and 16 weeks, and then compositions of gut microbiota and expressions of antimicrobial peptides were determined. The compositions of gut microbiota were altered at 8 wk HF feeding, followed with reduced Paneth antimicrobial peptides lysozyme and Reg IIIγ after 12 and 16 wk HF feeding (p<0.05), whereas elevations of circulating inflammatory cytokines IFNγ and TNF-α were observed until feeding a HF diet for 16 weeks (p<0.05). These results indicated that high fat diet may stimulate intestinal inflammation via altering gut microbiota, and it occurs prior to the potential influence by circulating inflammatory cytokines. These findings emphasized the importance of microbiota, in addition to adipose tissue per se, in driving intestinal inflammation, which may thereafter promote intestinal tumorigenesis.
► Lysozyme was purified from egg white by superparamagnetic nanoparticles. ► In vitro digest of lysozyme exhibited ACE inhibitory and antioxidative potencies. ► Ultrafiltration improved the ...antioxidative activity of the final hydrolysate LPH2. ► Thirty-eight peptides in the LPH2–3kDa were identified by UPLC-MALDI-TOF-TOF MS. ► The identified peptides RGY, WIR and VAW were found to be dual-functional activities.
Lysozyme from hen egg white is a well-known antimicrobial protein with high ratio of hydrophobic and positively charged amino acid residues. In order to explore functional bioactivities of enzymatic hydrolysates of lysozyme, the protein was subjected to a simulated gastrointestinal digestion and the resulting hydrolysate (LPH2) showed a strong competitive angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity (IC50=12.6μg/ml) and a remarkable antioxidant activity. The LPH2 was fractionated using a 3kDa cut-off membrane and the obtained permeate LPH2–3kDa was analysed by MALDI-TOF-TOF MS. Using this technology, 38 different peptides were identified and some of these peptides were well fit with structure requirements of ACE inhibitory peptides and/or antioxidant peptides. The findings from this study suggest that the protein containing high proportion of hydrophobic and positively charged residues have the potential to generate multifunctional peptides, and these peptides would be beneficial ingredient to be used in functional foods.
Selenium is an essential dietary component for animals including humans, and there is increasing evidence for the efficacy of certain forms of selenium as cancer-chemopreventive compounds. In ...addition, selenium appears to have a protective effect at various stages of carcinogenesis including both the early and later stages of cancer progression. Mechanisms for selenium-anticancer action are not fully understood; however, several have been proposed: antioxidant protection, enhanced carcinogen detoxification, enhanced immune surveillance, modulation of cell proliferation (cell cycle and apoptosis), inhibition of tumor cell invasion and inhibition of angiogenesis. Research has shown that the effectiveness of selenium compounds as chemopreventive agents in vivo correlates with their abilities to affect the regulation of the cell cycle, to stimulate apoptosis and to inhibit tumor cell migration and invasion in vitro. This article reviews the status of knowledge concerning selenium metabolism and its anticancer effects with particular reference to the modulation of cell proliferation and the inhibition of tumor cell invasion.
Background & Aims Little is known about functions of microRNA (miR) passenger strands (miR*) or their roles in tumor development or progression. We screened for miRs and miR* with levels that were ...altered in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) cells and human tumor samples and investigated their targets and effects on cell function and tumor progression in mice. Methods We performed array-based profile analysis to identify miRs with levels that were increased more than 2-fold in metastatic (SW620) CRC cells compared with nonmetastatic (SW480) cells. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization analyses were used to measure miRNA levels in CRC cell lines and human tumor samples. We used miRNA duplex mimics or inhibitors to increase and decrease levels of miRNA in CRC cells and assessed their activities and ability to form metastatic xenograft tumors in nude mice. Results Levels of miR-221* and miR-224 were reduced in metastatic compared with nonmetastatic CRC cells; levels in human tumor samples correlated inversely with tumor stage and metastasis to lymph nodes as well as patient survival times. SW480 cells transfected with miR-221* or miR-224 inhibitors had increased motility in vitro compared with SW480 control cells and formed larger, more metastatic tumors when injected into mice. SW620 cells transfected with miR-221* or miR-224 mimics had reduced migration and motility in vitro and formed smaller tumors with fewer metastases in mice compared with control SW620 cells. We identified the 3′ untranslated region of MBD2 messenger RNA as a target of miR-221* and miR-224. MBD2 silences the gene encoding maspin, a suppressor of metastasis. In CRC cells, we found that miR-221* and miR-224 increase the expression of maspin through MBD2 down-regulation. Conclusions In metastatic CRC cells, reduced levels of miR-221* and miR-224 increase levels of MBD2, thereby decreasing expression of the metastasis suppressor maspin. Increased activities of miR-221* and miR-224 reduce growth and metastasis of CRC xenograft tumors in mice; these miRs might be developed as therapeutic reagents or biomarkers of CRC progression.
Glutathione is an important bioactive tripeptide and is widely used in the food, medicine, and cosmetics industries. The aim of this study was to provide an efficient method for producing GSH and to ...explore its synthesis mechanism. Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain HBSD-W08 was screened for GSH production, and its fermentation medium was optimized using single-factor experiments of the Plackett-Burman and central composite rotatable designs. This method was used to analyze the effects of the presence and concentration of various carbon sources, organic and inorganic nitrogen sources, metal ions, and precursor amino acids on GSH production and catalase, superoxide dismutase, and γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase activity.
The three most significant factors affecting GSH production were peptone (optimal concentration OC: 2.50 g L
), KH
PO
(OC: 0.13 g L
), and glutamic acid (OC: 0.10 g L
). GSH productivity of HBSD-W08 was obtained at 3.70 g L
in the optimized medium. The activity of γ-GCS, which is a marker for oxidative stress, was found to be highly positively correlated with GSH production.
This finding revealed an underlying relationship between GSH synthesis and oxidative stress, providing useful information for developing effective GSH fermentation control strategies.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in Western countries, and the gut-liver axis is implicated in liver disease pathogenesis. We hypothesize that ...advanced liver steatosis accompanies an increase in hepatic inflammation, colonic secondary bile acids (BAs) and secondary BA-producing bacteria in mice fed a high-fat (HF) diet model of obesity. Four-week old male C57BL/6 mice were fed an HF (45% energy) or a low-fat (LF) (10% energy) diet for 21 weeks. At the end of the study, body weight and body fat percentage in the HF group were 0.23- and 0.41-fold greater than those in the LF group, respectively. Similarly, the HF group exhibited an increase in hepatic lipid droplets, inflammatory cell infiltration, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and hepatocellular ballooning (but without hepatic Mallory bodies) which are key histological features of advanced hepatic steatosis. Furthermore, RNA sequencing, qPCR and immunohistological methods found that nicotinamide n-methyltransferase and selenoprotein P, two inflammation-related hepatic genes, were upregulated in the HF group. Consistent with the hepatic inflammation, the levels of proinflammatory plasma-cytokines (TNF-α and IL6), colonic secondary BAs (LCA, DCA) and secondary BA producing bacteria (e.g., lactobacillaceae/Lachnospiraceae) were at least 0.5-fold greater in the HF group compared with the LF group. Taken together, the data demonstrate that advanced liver-steatosis is concurrent with an elevated level of hepatic inflammation, colonic secondary bile acids and their associated bacteria in mice fed an HF diet. These data suggest a potential gut-liver crosstalk at the stage of advanced liver-steatosis.
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