Metabolic Profile of Obeticholic Acid and Endogenous Bile Acids in Rats with Decompensated Liver Cirrhosis.

Obeticholic acid (OCA) is a semisynthetic bile acid (BA) analog and potent farnesoid X receptor agonist approved to treat cholestasis. We evaluated the biodistribution and metabolism of OCA administered to carbon tetrachloride-induced cirrhotic rats. This was to ascertain if plasma and hepatic concentrations of OCA are potentially more harmful than those of endogenous BAs. After administration of OCA (30 mg/kg), we used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to measure OCA, its metabolites, and BAs at different timepoints in various organs and fluids. Plasma and hepatic concentrations of OCA and BAs were higher in cirrhotic rats than in controls. OCA and endogenous BAs had similar metabolic pathways in cirrhotic rats, although OCA hepatic and intestinal clearance were lower than in controls. BAs' qualitative and quantitative compositions were not modified by a single administration of OCA. In all the matrices studied, OCA concentrations were significantly lower than those of endogenous BAs, potentially much more cytotoxic.

Exercise-induced alterations and loss of sarcomeric M-line organization in the diaphragm muscle of obscurin knockout mice.

We recently reported that skeletal muscle fibers of obscurin knockout (KO) mice present altered distribution of ankyrin B (ankB), disorganization of the subsarcolemmal microtubules, and reduced localization of dystrophin at costameres. In addition, these mice have impaired running endurance and increased exercise-induced sarcolemmal damage compared with wild-type animals. Here, we report results from a combined approach of physiological, morphological, and structural studies in which we further characterize the skeletal muscles of obscurin KO mice. A detailed examination of exercise performance, using different running protocols, revealed that the reduced endurance of obscurin KO animals on the treadmill depends on exercise intensity and age. Indeed, a mild running protocol did not evidence significant differences between control and obscurin KO mice, whereas comparison of running abilities of 2-, 6-, and 11-mo-old mice exercised at exhaustion revealed a progressive age-dependent reduction of the exercise tolerance in KO mice. Histological analysis indicated that heavy exercise induced leukocyte infiltration, fibrotic connective tissue deposition, and hypercontractures in the diaphragm of KO mice. On the same line, electron microscopy revealed that, in the diaphragm of exercised obscurin KO mice, but not in the hindlimb muscles, both M-line and H-zone of sarcomeres appeared wavy and less defined. Altogether, these results suggest that obscurin is required for the maintenance of morphological and ultrastructural integrity of skeletal muscle fibers against damage induced by intense mechanical stress and point to the diaphragm as the skeletal muscle most severely affected in obscurin-deficient mice.

Development of a liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous analysis of intact glucosinolates and isothiocyanates in Brassicaceae seeds and functional foods.

A new high pressure liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous determination of glucosinolates, as glucoraphanin and glucoerucin, and the corresponding isothiocyanates, as sulforaphane and erucin, was developed and applied to quantify these compounds in Eruca sativa defatted seed meals and enriched functional foods. The method involved solvent extraction, separation was achieved in gradient mode using water with 0.5% formic acid and acetonitrile with 0.5% formic acid and using a reverse phase C18 column. The electrospray ion source operated in negative and positive mode for the detection of glucosinolates and isothiocyanates, respectively, and the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) was selected as acquisition mode. The method was validated following the ICH guidelines. Replicate experiments demonstrated a good accuracy (bias%<10%) and precision (CV%<10%). Detection limits and quantification limits are in the range of 1-400ng/mL for each analytes. Calibration curves were validated on concentration ranges from 0.05 to 50µg/mL. The method proved to be suitable for glucosinolates and isothiocyanates determination both in biomasses and in complex matrices such as food products enriched with glucosinolates, or nutraceutical bakery products. In addition, the developed method was applied to the simultaneous determination of glucosinolates and isothiocyanates in bakery product enriched with glucosinolates, to evaluate their thermal stability after different industrial processes from cultivation phases to consumer processing.