Effects of almond (Armeniaca Sibirica L. Lam) polysaccharides on gut microbiota and anti-inflammatory effects on LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prebiotic properties of the almond polysaccharide AP-1 on intestinal microorganisms by using an in vitro fecal fermentation method and its anti-inflammatory effect on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 cells. The results showed that during the in vitro fermentation of AP-1, the pH value of the fermentation broth decreased obviously, while the concentration of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) increased significantly, especially acetic acid and butyric acid. In genus level, the number of Clostridium and Megamonas increased markedly in the AP-1 group after 24 h of fermentation. After 48 h of fermentation, there was a noticeable increase in the number of beneficial genera Lactobacillaceae and Bifidobacteriaceae, and a considerable decrease in the number of pro-inflammatory genera. In addition, we found that AP-1 had no toxic effect on RAW264.7 cells. In the LPS-induced inflammation model of RAW264.7 cells, AP-1 could effectively inhibit the release of NO, regulate the level of reactive oxides (ROS), and effectively down-regulate the mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6 and iNOS. In conclusion, the almond polysaccharide AP-1 may be a functional active substance aimed at promoting intestinal health and exerting anti-inflammatory effects.

Redistribution and Activation of CD16brightCD56dim NK Cell Subset to Fight against Omicron Subvariant BA.2 after COVID-19 Vaccination.

With the alarming surge in COVID-19 cases globally, vaccination must be prioritised to achieve herd immunity. Immune dysfunction is detected in the majority of patients with COVID-19; however, it remains unclear whether the immune responses elicited by COVID-19 vaccination function against the Omicron subvariant BA.2. Of the 508 enrolled patients infected with Omicron BA.2, 102 were unvaccinated controls, and 406 were vaccinated. Despite the presence of clinical symptoms in both groups, vaccination led to a significant decline in nausea or vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, pulmonary infection, and overall clinical symptoms and a moderate rise in body temperature. The individuals infected with Omicron BA.2 were also characterised by a mild increase in both serum pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels after vaccination. There were no significant differences or trend changes between T- and B-lymphocyte subsets; however, a significant expansion of NK lymphocytes in COVID-19-vaccinated patients was observed. Moreover, the most effective CD16brightCD56dim subsets of NK cells showed increased functional capacities, as evidenced by a significantly greater IFN-γ secretion and a stronger cytotoxic potential in the patients infected with Omicron BA.2 after vaccination. Collectively, these results suggest that COVID-19 vaccination interventions promote the redistribution and activation of CD16brightCD56dim NK cell subsets against viral infections and that they could facilitate the clinical management of patients infected with Omicron BA.2.

Structural characterization, α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and antioxidant activity of neutral polysaccharide from apricot (Armeniaca Sibirica L. Lam) kernels.

Screening for α-glucosidase inhibitors and antioxidants from natural sources that could reduce postprandial glucose in diabetic patients and reduce oxidative stress had attracted considerable interest. In this study, a neutral polysaccharide (AP-1) with a triple helix structure was isolated and purified from the residue of apricot (Armeniaca sibirica L. Lam.) kernels by using DEAE-52 and Sephadex G-100 columns. The molecular weight of AP-1 was 23.408 kDa and consisted mainly of glucose with trace amounts of arabinose, galactose, and mannose, which had molar percentages of 98.48, 0.63, 0.62 and 0.27 %, respectively. The main chain of AP-1 was composed of →4)-α-D-Glcp-(1 â†’ interlinked, and α-D-Glcp-(1 â†’ was attached as a branched chain at the O-6 position of →4,6)-α-D-Glcp-(1→. In addition, AP-1 exhibited stronger α-glucosidase inhibition and free radical scavenging ability compared to crude polysaccharides. Therefore, AP-1 could be used as a potential natural hypoglycemic agent and antioxidant in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Dilute Alloying to Implant Activation Centers in Nitride Electrocatalysts for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Dilute alloying is an effective strategy to tune properties of solid catalysts but is rarely leveraged in complex reactions beyond small molecule conversion. In this work, dilute dopants are demonstrated to serve as activating centers to construct multiatom catalytic domains in metal nitride electrocatalysts for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, of which the sulfur cathode suffers from sluggish and complex conversion reactions. With titanium nitride (TiN) as a model system, the dilute cobalt alloying is shown to greatly improve the reaction kinetics while inducing negligible catalyst reconstruction. Compared to the pristine TiN, the dilute nitride alloy catalyst enables onefold increase in the high rate (2.0 C) capacities of Li-S batteries, as well as an impressively low cyclic decay rate of 0.17% at a sulfur loading of 4.0 mgS cm-2 . This work opens up new opportunities toward the rational design of Li-S electrocatalysts by dilute alloying and also enlightens the understandings of complex domain-catalyzed reactions in energy applications.

Whey protein and xylitol complex alleviate type 2 diabetes in C57BL/6 mice by regulating the intestinal microbiota.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a metabolic disorder that has become a major threat to public health. Epidemiological and experimental studies have suggested that whey protein isolate (WPI) and xylitol (XY) play an important role on T2D. This manuscript hypothesizes the supplementation of whey protein and xylitol complex (WXY) has the hypoglycemic and hyperlipidemia effect of T2D mice induced by the conjoint action of a high-fat diet and streptozotocin (STZ) by modulating of intestinal microbiota. The mice with diabetes displayed higher levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin, total triglycerides, total cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and other serum parameters than the normal mice. Treatment with WXY for 6 weeks significantly modulated the levels of FBG and insulin, improved insulin sensitivity, pancreas impairment and liver function in T2D mice, and the effect was better than that observed with WPI and XY groups. Moreover, supplementation with WXY significantly changed the diversity and composition of the intestinal microbiota in T2D mice and restored the intestinal bacteria associated with T2D (Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Lactobacillus). This may be a potential mechanism for alleviating T2D symptoms. Spearman correlation analysis showed that the relative abundances of specific genera (Turicibacter, Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, Lactobacillus, Candidatus_Saccharimonas, Faecalibaculum and Coriobacteriaceae_UCG-002) were correlated with the levels of blood glucose and serum parameters. Therefore, WXY may be considered a promising dietary supplement for T2D treatment in the future.

Placental lipid transport and content in response to maternal overweight and gestational diabetes mellitus in human term placenta.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Placental lipid transport is altered in women with high prepregnancy body mass index (pre-BMI) or gestational diabetes (GDM), which consequently affects foetal growth. However, the interaction of maternal overweight (OW) and GDM on placental lipid metabolism and possible adaptations are less studied. We aimed to examine whether maternal OW or GDM is the main factor disrupting placental lipid processing in human term placenta. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 152 lean (18.5 ≤ pre-BMI ≤ 23.9 kg/m2) and OW (24 ≤ pre-BMI ≤ 27.9 kg/m2) pregnant women with or without GDM with a scheduled delivery by caesarean section were recruited. Maternal venous blood samples were used to measure metabolic parameters during pregnancy. Term placentas and cord blood were collected at delivery to determine placental lipid metabolism and foetal circulating lipid levels. Maternal OW significantly increased the placental mRNA expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism (FAT/CD36, FATP1, FATP4, FATP6, and PPAR-α), elevated placental lipid content (triglyceride, cholesterol), enhanced placental mTORC1-rpS6 and ERK1/2 signalling, increased cord blood insulin levels and birth weight. Neonatal birth weight was positively correlated with maternal pre-BMI, placental ERK1/2 signalling and cord blood insulin. There was an interaction between OW and GDM in regulating key placental fuel transport and storage gene expression (LPL, FATP6, FABP7, PPAR-α, PPAR-ß, PPAR-γ, IR-ß, GLUT1, SNAT2, SNAT4, and LAT1). CONCLUSION: Maternal OW mainly affects placental lipid metabolism, which may contribute to foetal overgrowth and may impact long-term offspring health. GDM plays a less significant role in affecting placental lipid transfer and other mechanisms may be involved.

The Effect of SOCS2 Polymorphisms on Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Susceptibility and Diabetic Complications in the Chinese Han Population.

BACKGROUND: SOCS2 is downregulated in diabetes, which might be related to diabetes. We explored the effect of SOCS2 polymorphisms on the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and diabetic complications. METHODS: The subjects consisted of 500 patients with T2DM and 501 healthy controls. Five variants in SOCS2 were genotyped by Agena MassARRAY system. RT-qPCR profiling was performed to detect the expression of SOCS2 mRNA. Logistic regression analysis was utilized to calculate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). RESULTS: Rs3825199 (OR = 1.44, p = 0.007), rs11107116 (OR = 1.39, p = 0.014) and rs10492321 (OR = 1.48, p = 0.004) had an increased T2DM risk of T2DM. Moreover, the contribution of SOCS2 polymorphisms to T2DM risk was associated with age, gender, smoking, drinking, and BMI. SOCS2 variants also had a reduced risk for T2DM patients with diabetic nephropathy, diabetic retinopathy and coronary heart disease. SOCS2 rs10492321 was the best single locus model. SOCS2 mRNA was downregulated in patients with T2DM compared to healthy controls (p = 0.029). CONCLUSION: This study firstly reported that rs3825199, rs11107116 and rs10492321 in SOCS2 conferred to an increased risk for the occurrence of T2DM in the Chinese Han population. Moreover, SOCS2 mRNA was downregulated in patients with T2DM, suggesting that SOCS2 might have an important role in the occurrence of T2DM.

PDX1 and MC4R genetic polymorphisms are associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus risk in the Chinese Han population.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex metabolic disease that is caused by a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors. This research aimed to investigate the association of genetic polymorphisms in PDX1 and MC4R with T2DM risk. METHODS: The genotypes of 10 selected SNPs in PDX1 and MC4R were identified using the Agena MassARRAY platform. We utilized odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the correlation between genetic polymorphisms and T2DM risk. RESULTS: We found that PDX1-rs9581943 decreased susceptibility to T2DM among in a Chinese Han population (OR = 0.76, p = 0.045). We also found that selected genetic polymorphisms in PDX1 and MC4R could modify the risk of T2DM, which might also be influenced by age, sex, BMI, smoking status, and drinking status (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that PDX1 and MC4R genetic variants were significantly associated with T2DM risk in a Chinese Han population. These single polymorphic markers may be considered to be new targets in the assessment and prevention of T2DM among Chinese Han people.

Microbial Diversity and Non-volatile Metabolites Profile of Low-Temperature Sausage Stored at Room Temperature.

Sausage is a highly perishable food with unique spoilage characteristics primarily because of its specific means of production. The quality of sausage during storage is determined by its microbial and metabolite changes. This study developed a preservative-free low-temperature sausage model and coated it with natural casing. We characterized the microbiota and non-volatile metabolites in the sausage after storage at 20°C for up to 12 days. Bacillus velezensis was the most prevalent species observed after 4 days. Lipids and lipid-like molecules, organoheterocyclic compounds, and organic acids and their derivatives were the primary non-volatile metabolites. The key non-volatile compounds were mainly involved in protein catabolism and ß-lipid oxidation. These findings provide useful information for the optimization of sausage storage conditions.

Association between STAT4 gene polymorphism and type 2 diabetes risk in Chinese Han population.

BACKGROUND: Evidence from genetic epidemiology indicates that type 2 diabetes (T2D) has a strong genetic basis. Activated STAT4 has an inflammatory effect, and STAT4 is an important mediator of inflammation in diabetes. Our study aimed to study the association between STAT4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and T2D susceptibility in Chinese Han population. METHODS: We conducted a 'case-control' study among 500 T2D patients and 501 healthy individuals. 5 candidate STAT4 SNPs were successfully genotyped. The association between SNPs and T2D susceptibility under different genetic models was evaluated by logistic regression analysis. 'SNP-SNP' interaction was analyzed and completed by multi-factor dimensionality reduction (MDR). Finally, we evaluated the differences of clinical characteristics under different genotypes by one-factor analysis of variance. RESULTS: The overall results showed that STAT4 rs3821236 was associated with increasing T2D risk under allele (OR 1.23, p = 0.020), homozygous (OR 1.51, p = 0.025), dominant (OR 1.36, p = 0.029), and additive models (OR 1.23, p = 0.020). The results of stratified analysis showed that rs3821236, rs11893432, and rs11889341 were risk factors for T2D among participants ≤ 60 years old. Only rs11893432 was associated with increased T2D risk among female participants. There was also a potential association between rs3821236 and T2D with nephropathy risk. STAT4 rs11893432, rs7574865 and rs897200 were significantly associated with lysophosphatidic acid, cystatin C and thyroxine t4, respectively. CONCLUSION: The genetic polymorphisms of STAT4 is potentially associated with T2D susceptibility of Chinese population. In particular, rs3821236 is significantly associated with T2D risk both in the overall and several subgroup analyses. Our study may provide new ideas for T2D individualized diagnosis/protection.

Risk Factors Screening for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Heterogeneity in Chinese Pregnant Women: A Case-Control Study.

PURPOSE: To study the risk factors of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) heterogeneity, and to evaluate the correlation between the risk factors and obesity. METHODS: We performed a case-control study of 452 women with GDM and 516 women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) at the first and second trimester. We defined GDM women as GDM-resistance subtype, GDM-dysfunction subtype, and GDM-mixed subtype, according to their simultaneous insulin-release test with predominant insulin-sensitivity defect, insulin-secretion defect, or both defects. RESULTS: We found that higher maternal age, family history of diabetes, the elevated level of fasting blood glucose in the first trimester (≥5.1 mmol/L) were risk factors of all GDM subtypes. Pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity and the increased gestational weight gain (GWG) in the first-trimester are risk factors of the GDM-resistance subtype. Indicators including younger age at first menstruation, the elevated levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total bile acid (TBA), triglyceride (TG), and the decreased level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) are risk factors of the GDM-resistance subtype. However, the associations between those risk factors and GDM-resistance subtype attenuated after adjusted by pre-pregnancy body mass index (pre-BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) in the first trimester. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the improved level of TG are independent risk factors for the GDM-resistance subtype and the GDM-mixed subtype, respectively. CONCLUSION: Women with GDM exhibited heterogeneity based on glycemic physiology and their risk factors are not all the same. Some obesity-related risk factors are specific to the GDM-resistance subtype, which are mediated by pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity and the elevated GWG the first-trimester.

Contribution of gestational diabetes mellitus heterogeneity and prepregnancy body mass index to large-for-gestational-age infants-A retrospective case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: To study the associations between heterogeneity of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) subtype/prepregnancy body mass index (pre-BMI) and large-for-gestational-age (LGA) infants of Chinese women. METHODS: We performed a retrospective case-control study of 299 women with GDM and 204 women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), using oral glucose tolerance test-based indices performed at 24-25 weeks of gestation. Women with GDM were classified into the following three physiologic subtypes: GDM with a predominant insulin-secretion defect (GDM-dysfunction), GDM with a predominant insulin-sensitivity defect (GDM-resistance), or GDM with both defects (GDM-mixed). We then used a binary logistic regression model to evaluate the potential associations of GDM subtypes and pre-BMI with newborn macrosomia or LGA. RESULTS: Women with GDM-resistance had a higher pre-BMI (P < 0.001), whereas women in the GDM-dysfunction and GDM-mixed groups had pre-BMIs comparable to the NGT group. In the logistic regression model, women in the GDM-mixed group exhibited an increased risk of bearing newborns with macrosomia and LGA, and women in the GDM-dysfunction group tended to have newborns with LGA after adjusting for pre-BMI and other potential confounders. Women who were overweight or obese prepregnancy manifested an increased risk of having newborns with macrosomia and LGA relative to normal-weight women, regardless of whether values were unadjusted or adjusted for all potential confounders. There was no significant interaction between GDM subtype and pre-BMI for any of the studied outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Heterogeneity of GDM (GDM-dysfunction and GDM-mixed) and prepregnancy overweight/obesity were independently associated with LGA in Chinese women. There was no significant interaction between GDM subtypes and pre-BMI for LGA.