Short-term clinical evaluation of teduglutide for patients with Crohn's disease on home parenteral support for postoperative short bowel syndrome with intestinal failure.

BACKGROUND & AIM: The short-term effects of teduglutide (TED) for short bowel syndrome with chronic intestinal failure (SBS-IF) in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) remain unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of TED in patients with CD on home parenteral support (PS) for SBS-IF. METHODS: We retrospectively investigated the medical records of patients with CD associated with SBS-IF who initiated TED between 2020 and 2021. The primary outcomes were the change in PS volume and proportion of patients with a reduction of PS volume by ≥ 20% at week 8. Secondary outcomes were the change in PS volume in patients with CD without/with colon in continuity and adverse events during the observation period. RESULTS: Eighteen patients with CD who underwent home PS for SBS-IF were included in this study. Two patients were excluded owing to intolerable abdominal pain or vomiting within 8 weeks (11%). Sixteen patients continued TED throughout the observation period. The median PS duration was 10.5 years. The median observation period was 22 weeks after starting TED. TED significantly reduced the PS volume from 15,825.0 mL/week to 10,700.0 mL/week (p = 0.0038), and the PS volume decreased by ≥ 20% in 7 patients (43.8%) at week 8. The PS volume was significantly reduced at week 4 (p = 0.0078) in 11 patients without colon in continuity but not in 5 patients with colon in continuity. Two patients successfully stopped home PS. No serious adverse events occurred. CONCLUSIONS: TED administration significantly reduced PS volume at week 8 in patients with CD associated with SBS-IF, and at week 4 in patients without colon in continuity.

Removal of sperm tail using trypsin and pre-activation of oocyte facilitates intracytoplasmic sperm injection in mice and rats.

We examined various methods to enhance the accessibility of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technology to more users by making the technique easier, more efficient, and practical. First, the methods for artificially removing the mouse sperm tail were evaluated. Trypsin treatment was found to efficiently remove the sperm tails. The resultant sperm cells had a lower oocyte activation capacity; however, the use of activated oocytes resulted in the same fecundity as that of fresh, untreated sperm. Pre-activated oocytes were more resistant to physical damage, showed higher survival rates, and required less time per injection. Testing this method in rats yielded similar results, although the oocyte activation method was different. Remarkably, this method resulted in higher birth rates of rat progeny than with conventional methods of rat ICSI. Our method thereby streamlines mouse and rat ICSI, making it more accessible to laboratories across many disciplines.

Adductome-based identification of biomarkers for lipid peroxidation.

Lipid peroxidation is an endogenous source of aldehydes that gives rise to covalent modification of proteins in various pathophysiological states. In this study, a strategy for the comprehensive detection and comparison of adducts was applied to find a biomarker for lipid peroxidation-modified proteins in vivo This adductome approach utilized liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) methods designed to detect the specific product ions from positively ionized adducts in a selected reaction monitoring mode. Using this procedure, we comprehensively analyzed lysine and histidine adducts generated in the in vitro oxidized low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and observed a prominent increase in several adducts, including a major lysine adduct. Based on the high resolution ESI-MS of the adduct and on the LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis of the synthetic adduct candidates, the major lysine adduct detected in the oxidized LDL was identified as Nϵ-(8-carboxyoctanyl)lysine (COL). Strikingly, a significantly higher amount of COL was detected in the sera from atherosclerosis-prone mice and from patients with hyperlipidemia compared with the controls. These data not only offer structural insights into protein modification by lipid peroxidation products but also provide a platform for the discovery of biomarkers for human diseases.

Changes in nutrient composition and in vitro ruminal fermentation of total mixed ration silage stored at different temperatures and periods.

BACKGROUND: Total mixed ration (TMR) is widely used for dairy cattle and needs to be prepared daily because it deteriorates rapidly. Ensiling TMR allows preservation and saves labour at the farm; however, silage fermentation may influence various nutritional components. The objectives of this study were to evaluate nutritional changes and in vitro rumen fermentation of TMR silage that was stored at different temperatures and durations on a laboratory scale in comparison with those of typical TMR before ensiling. RESULTS: No distinct changes in crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre and non-fibrous carbohydrate contents were observed during silage fermentation. However, clear changes were observed in the soluble CP and soluble sugar fractions; solubilisation of the CP fraction in TMR silage was enhanced by prolonged storage and higher storage temperatures, and most soluble sugars were lost during ensiling. Short-chain fatty acid concentrations in the in vitro rumen from TMRs before and after ensiling were not significantly different; however, throughout incubation, NH3 -N concentrations from TMR silages were significantly higher than those from TMR before ensiling. CONCLUSION: A higher ruminal NH3 -N concentration from TMR silage may be a result of a shortage of fermentable sugars and enhanced deamination of CP. Feeding TMR ensiled under a high temperature must be investigated to balance proteins and carbohydrates for rumen fermentation.