Iodine Nutrition During Pregnancy: Past, Present, and Future.

Iodine is a trace element that is important for the synthesis of thyroid hormones. During pregnancy, iodine requirements are increased by approximately 50% because of physiological changes. Adequate iodine status in pregnancy is crucial for maternal health and fetal growth. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a daily intake of 250 µg iodine for pregnant women to maintain adequate iodine status. Severe iodine deficiency during pregnancy can result in a series of detrimental effects on maternal and fetal health including hypothyroidism, goiter, stillbirth, abortion, increased neonatal mortality, neurological damage, and intellectual impairment. Correction of severe iodine deficiency can reduce the risk of adverse impacts. However, the influences of mild-to-moderate maternal iodine deficiency on fetal neural development and cognitive function are less clear. The safety and efficacy of iodine supplementation in mildly-to-moderately iodine-deficient women also remain uncertain. In addition, excess iodine during pregnancy carries a risk of adverse effects, and the recommended safe upper limits of iodine intake are controversial. Effective iodine supplementation should be implemented, and routine monitoring is necessary to guarantee adequate iodine status.

[Regulations of berberine on gene expression of BMP4 transcriptional pathways to improve visceral white adipose tissues insulin resistance in type 2 diabetic hamsters].

To study the effects of berberine on the gene mRNA expressions of BMP4 transcriptional pathways and brown/white adipose tissue conversion transcriptional pathways in visceral white adipose tissues(VWAT) in type 2 diabetic hamsters and explore the relevant mechanisms. The obese insulin-resistant hamster model were induced by using high-fat diet, and then the type 2 diabetic hamster model was created through injection with low-dose streptozotocin in the obese insulin-resistant hamster model. After the modeling, the hamsters were randomly divided into normal control, obese insulin-resistant, type 2 diabetic and berberine-treated diabetic groups. After the nine-week treatment, real-time quantitative PCR was used to measure the changes in gene mRNA expressions of VWAT BMP4 transcriptional pathways, brown/white adipose tissue conversion transcriptional pathways and their target genes in different groups. The results showed that the gene mRNA expressions of BMP4, BMPRⅡ, BMPRlA, Smad1, Smad5, Smad8, p38/MAPK, ATF2, PRDM16, C/EBPß, PGC1α, PPARγ and brown adipose tissue-specific genes was decreased and that of Smad6, Smurf1 and white adipose tissue-specific genes was increased in VWAT of model hamsters. Treatment with berberine regulated BMP4 transcriptional pathways and brown adipose tissue transcriptional pathways and induced the gene mRNA expression of brown adipose tissue-specific genes in VWAT to develop browning gene phenotype of white adipose tissues, and then improved fat-induced insulin resistance. These findings indicated that BMP4 transcriptional pathways involved in the formation of fat-induced visceral white adipose tissues insulin resistance (FIVWATIR) and the browning molecular mechanism of white adipose tissues induced by berberine.

Plasma metabolomic profiling of patients with diabetes-associated cognitive decline.

Diabetes related cognitive dysfunction (DACD), one of the chronic complications of diabetes, seriously affect the quality of life in patients and increase family burden. Although the initial stage of DACD can lead to metabolic alterations or potential pathological changes, DACD is difficult to diagnose accurately. Moreover, the details of the molecular mechanism of DACD remain somewhat elusive. To understand the pathophysiological changes that underpin the development and progression of DACD, we carried out a global analysis of metabolic alterations in response to DACD. The metabolic alterations associated with DACD were first investigated in humans, using plasma metabonomics based on high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis. The related pathway of each metabolite of interest was searched in database online. The network diagrams were established KEGGSOAP software package. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate diagnostic accuracy of metabolites. This is the first report of reliable biomarkers of DACD, which were identified using an integrated strategy. The identified biomarkers give new insights into the pathophysiological changes and molecular mechanisms of DACD. The disorders of sphingolipids metabolism, bile acids metabolism, and uric acid metabolism pathway were found in T2DM and DACD. On the other hand, differentially expressed plasma metabolites offer unique metabolic signatures for T2DM and DACD patients. These are potential biomarkers for disease monitoring and personalized medication complementary to the existing clinical modalities.