Nutritional Gaps and Supplementation in the First 1000 Days.

Optimized nutrition during the first 1000 days (from conception through the 2nd birthday) is critical for healthy development and a healthy life for the newborn. Pregnancy and the postpartum period are accompanied by physiological changes, increased energy needs, and changing requirements in the nutrients critical for optimal growth and development. Infants and toddlers also experience physiological changes and have specific nutritional needs. Food and nutrition experts can provide women of childbearing age with adequate dietary advice to optimize nutrition, as well as guidance on selecting appropriate dietary supplements. Considering the approaching 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) will be making specific recommendations for children, it is important to provide accurate scientific information to support health influencers in the field of nutrition. The purpose of this review is to summarize the nutrition and supplementation literature for the first 1000 days; to highlight nutritional and knowledge gaps; and to educate nutrition influencers to provide thoughtful guidance to mothers and families. Optimal nutrition during pregnancy through early childhood is critical for supporting a healthy life. Nutrition influencers, such as dietitians, obstetricians/gynecologists, and other relevant health professionals, should continue guiding supplement and food intake and work closely with expectant families and nutrition gatekeepers.

Glutathione release through connexin hemichannels: Implications for chemical modification of pores permeable to large molecules.

Cysteine-scanning mutagenesis combined with thiol reagent modification is a powerful method with which to define the pore-lining elements of channels and the changes in structure that accompany channel gating. Using the Xenopus laevis oocyte expression system and two-electrode voltage clamp, we performed cysteine-scanning mutagenesis of several pore-lining residues of connexin 26 (Cx26) hemichannels, followed by chemical modification using a methanethiosulfonate (MTS) reagent, to help identify the position of the gate. Unexpectedly, we observed that the effect of MTS modification on the currents was reversed within minutes of washout. Such a reversal should not occur unless reducing agents, which can break the disulfide thiol-MTS linkage, have access to the site of modification. Given the permeability to large metabolites of connexin channels, we tested whether cytosolic glutathione (GSH), the primary cell reducing agent, was reaching the modified sites through the connexin pore. Inhibition of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase by buthionine sulfoximine decreased the cytosolic GSH concentration in Xenopus oocytes and reduced reversibility of MTS modification, as did acute treatment with tert-butyl hydroperoxide, which oxidizes GSH. Cysteine modification based on thioether linkages (e.g., maleimides) cannot be reversed by reducing agents and did not reverse with washout. Using reconstituted hemichannels in a liposome-based transport-specific fractionation assay, we confirmed that homomeric Cx26 and Cx32 and heteromeric Cx26/Cx32 are permeable to GSH and other endogenous reductants. These results show that, for wide pores, accessibility of cytosolic reductants can lead to reversal of MTS-based thiol modifications. This potential for reversibility of thiol modification applies to on-cell accessibility studies of connexin channels and other channels that are permeable to large molecules, such as pannexin, CALHM, and VRAC.

Heteromeric, but not homomeric, connexin channels are selectively permeable to inositol phosphates.

Previous work has shown that channels formed by both connexin (Cx)26 and Cx32 (heteromeric Cx26/Cx32 hemichannels) are selectively permeable to cAMP and cGMP. To further investigate differential connexin channel permeability among second messengers, and the influence of connexin channel composition on the selectivity, the permeability of inositol phosphates with one to four phosphate groups through homomeric Cx26, homomeric Cx32, and heteromeric Cx26/Cx32 channels was examined. Connexin channels were purified from transfected HeLa cells and from rat, mouse, and guinea pig livers, resulting in channels with a broad range of Cx26/Cx32 aggregate ratios. Permeability to inositol phosphates was assessed by flux through reconstituted channels. Surprisingly, myoinositol and all inositol phosphates tested were permeable through homomeric Cx32 and homomeric Cx26 channels. Even more surprising, heteromeric Cx26/Cx32 channels showed striking differences in permeability among inositol phosphates with three or four phosphate groups and among isomers of inositol triphosphate. Thus, heteromeric channels are selectively permeable among inositol phosphates, whereas the corresponding homomeric channels are not. There was no discernible difference in the permeability of channels with similar Cx26/Cx32 ratios purified from native and heterologous sources. The molecular selectivity of heteromeric channels among three inositol triphosphates could not be accounted for by simple connexin isoform stoichiometry distributions and therefore may depend on specific isoform radial arrangements within the hexameric channels. Dynamic regulation of channel composition in vivo may effectively and efficiently modulate intercellular signaling by inositol phosphates.