Colostrum whey down-regulates the expression of early and late inflammatory response genes induced by Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica Typhimurium components in intestinal epithelial cells.

Pathogenic invasion by Escherichia coli and Salmonellae remains a constant threat to the integrity of the intestinal epithelium and can rapidly induce inflammatory responses. At birth, colostrum consumption exerts numerous beneficial effects on the properties of intestinal epithelial cells and protects the gastrointestinal tract of newborns from pathogenic invasion. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of colostrum on the early and late inflammatory responses induced by pathogens. The short-term (2 h) and long-term (24 h) effects of exposure to heat-killed (HK) E. coli and Salmonella enterica Typhimurium on gene expression in the porcine intestinal epithelial cell (IPEC-J2) model were first evaluated by microarray and quantitative PCR analyses. Luciferase assays were performed using a NF-κB-luc reporter construct to investigate the effect of colostrum whey treatment on the activation of NF-κB induced by HK bacteria. Luciferase assays were also performed using NF-κB-luc, IL-8-luc and IL-6-luc reporter constructs in human colon adenocarcinoma Caco-2/15 cells exposed to dose-response stimulations with HK bacteria and colostrum whey. Bovine colostrum whey treatment decreased the expression of early and late inflammatory genes induced by HK bacteria in IPEC-J2, as well as the transcriptional activation of NF-κB-luc induced by HK bacteria. Unlike that with colostrum whey, treatment with other milk fractions failed to decrease the activation of NF-κB-luc induced by HK bacteria. Lastly, the reduction of the HK bacteria-induced activation of NF-κB-luc, IL-8-luc and IL-6-luc by colostrum whey was dose dependent. The results of the present study indicate that bovine colostrum may protect and preserve the integrity of the intestinal mucosal barrier in the host by controlling the expression levels of early and late inflammatory genes following invasion by enteric pathogens.

Effect of dietary organic and inorganic selenium on antioxidant status, embryo development, and reproductive performance in hyperovulatory first-parity gilts.

This project aimed to determine the effect of Se as inorganic Na-selenite (MSe) or organic Se-yeast (OSe) on antioxidant status, hormonal profile, reproductive performance, and embryo development in first-parity gilts. Forty-nine gilts were allocated to 1 of the 3 dietary treatments starting at first pubertal estrus and lasting up to 30 d after AI: control [CONT: basal diet (Se = 0.2 mg/kg) without added Se; n = 16], MSe (CONT + 0.3 mg/kg of MSe; n = 16), and OSe (CONT + 0.3 mg/kg of OSe; n = 17). Blood was collected from all gilts on the day after each onset of estrus and on d 30 after AI. Blood was also collected daily from d -4 to d +4 of the third onset of estrus (d 0) in 8 CONT, 9 MSe, and 8 OSe cannulated gilts. Gilts had received, after d 14 and 15 of their third estrus, a hormonal challenge to induce super-ovulation. At slaughter, embryos and corpora lutea (CL) were weighed and measured. Blood Se was less (P < 0.01) in CONT than in Se gilts and greater in OSe than in MSe (P < 0.01) from the first estrus until d 30 of gestation. At the same time, blood Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) decreased for CONT gilts, whereas it increased for both Se groups. The increase was greater in MSe than in OSe gilts (treatment × time, P = 0.02). Plasma 3,3',5-triiodothyronine and thyroxine concentrations for MSe tended to be less than for OSe gilts (P < 0.06). In cannulated gilts, plasma FSH tended to change among treatments (treatment × time, P = 0.06), and plasma estradiol-17ß (E(2)) was less (P = 0.01) for MSe than for OSe. There was no treatment effect on mean litter size or embryonic antioxidant status. The Se content of individual embryos was greater for Se-treated than for CONT gilts (P = 0.03), and Se content of individual embryos and total litter was greater for OSe than for MSe gilts (P < 0.01). The length, weight, and protein content of embryos were greater in OSe than in MSe gilts (P < 0.05). There was no treatment effect on weight, length, Se content, and ferric reducing antioxidant power of CL, but GSH-Px in CL was greater for Se than for CONT gilts (P = 0.02). In summary, the Se status response of gilts to dietary Se was affected by both the quantity and the source of Se dietary supplements. Moreover, the uterine transfer of Se to embryos was improved with OSe as compared with MSe, and this was concomitant with an enhanced development of embryos.

Brain and systemic glucose metabolism in the healthy elderly following fish oil supplementation.

Cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRg) is lower in individuals affected by cognitive decline and dementia, especially in Alzheimer's disease. However, as yet there is no consensus as to whether CMRg decreases during healthy aging. Epidemiological studies show that weekly consumption of fish abundant in ω3 fatty acids has a protective effect on cognition during aging. Thus, the primary objective of this human study was to use positron emission tomography analysis with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose to evaluate whether supplementation with a fish oil rich in ω3 fatty acids increases cerebral glucose metabolism in young or elderly adults. Healthy young (23±5y old; n=5) and elderly (76±3y old; n=6) women and men were included in the study. Semi-quantitative expression of the data as 'standardized uptake values' showed that elderly participants had significantly lower cerebral glucose metabolism compared with the young group. However, when expressed quantitatively a CMRg, there was no effect of age or ω3 supplementation on glucose metabolism in any of the brains regions studied. Higher plasma triglyceride levels and higher plasma insulin levels were associated with lower CMRg in several regions, suggesting that a trend towards the metabolic syndrome may be associated with cerebral hypometabolism. We conclude that under these experimental conditions, ω3 supplementation did not affect brain glucose metabolism in the healthy elderly. Future studies in this area should address whether glucose intolerance or other conditions linked to the metabolic syndrome impact negatively on brain glucose metabolism and cognition.

Higher plasma n-3 fatty acid status in the moderately healthy elderly in southern Québec: higher fish intake or aging-related change in n-3 fatty acid metabolism?

The elderly reportedly have a significantly higher % of eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids in plasma and red cell lipids. However, these observations are from a few small studies and the health status of the elderly in these studies is for the most part unclear. Since the elderly are susceptible to cardiovascular and neurological illnesses that seem to be related in part to lower intake of n-3 fatty acids it seems paradoxical that their blood levels of EPA and DHA would be higher than in young adults. We report here plasma fatty acid profiles and their response to supplementation with two types of fish oils from several of our recent studies in the moderately healthy elderly. We define the moderately healthy elderly as those who were in good physical condition, had no cognitive decline and, if present, in whom hypothyroidism, hyperlipidemia and/or hypertension were well-controlled. As shown previously, we confirm the higher % EPA and % total n-3 fatty acids (but not DHA) in fasting plasma and extend these findings to include higher plasma concentrations (mg/L) of n-3 fatty acids as well. The EPA-predominant supplement raised DHA only in the young, whereas the DHA-predominant supplement raised EPA more in the young than in the elderly. The moderately healthy elderly clearly have higher plasma n-3 fatty acids but whether this reflects differences in intake versus aging-related changes in n-3 fatty acid metabolism remains to be elucidated.

Risks of induction of labour in uncomplicated term pregnancies.

Our objective was to evaluate the risks of maternal and perinatal morbidity associated with induction of labour in uncomplicated term pregnancies. We conducted a retrospective cohort study including 7,430 women, not referred from another institution, with a single baby in vertex presentation, and delivering between 38 and 40 weeks of pregnancy. Among these women, 3,546 were excluded for prelabour pregnancy complications. Relative risks (RR), adjusted for parity, were computed to compare 3,353 women who went into labour spontaneously with 531 women whose labour was induced. Induction of labour was found to be associated with a higher risk of caesarean section [RR = 2.4, 95% CI 1.8, 3.4]. Use of non-epidural [RR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.2, 1.8] and of epidural analgesia [RR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.1, 1.7] was more frequent after labour induction. Resuscitation [RR = 1.2, 95% CI 1.0, 1.5], admission to the intensive care unit [RR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.0, 2.4] and phototherapy [RR = 1.3, 95% CI 1.0, 1.6] were more frequent after induction of labour. Results were similar when controlling simultaneously for parity, maternal age, gestational age, year of delivery, birthweight and the physician in charge of delivery in a logistic regression analysis. The results of this study suggests that induction of labour is associated with a higher risk of caesarean section and of some perinatal adverse outcomes. Induction of labour should be reserved for cases where maternal and perinatal benefits outweigh the risk of these complications.

Cellular mechanisms involved during oxytocin-induced prostaglandin F2alpha production in endometrial epithelial cells in vitro: role of cyclooxygenase-2.

PGs are important regulators of reproductive processes. At the time ofluteolysis in vivo, PGF2alpha is produced by endometrial cells, in response to oxytocin (OT). The mechanism by which OT induces the release of PGF2alpha remains to be defined. We have used 13 different cultures of bovine epithelial endometrial cells to study the effect of OT on the regulation of PGF2alpha and to identify the possible involvement of cyclooxygenases (COXs). OT induced a dose-dependent increase of both inositol phosphates (IPs) and [Ca2+]i concentration in epithelial cells labeled with [3H]-myoinositol or loaded with fura-2 (using a fluorescent microscope imaging system), respectively. OT induced a dose-dependent increase of both PGF2alpha production and COX-2 gene expression (as demonstrated by RT-PCR and Northern blots). PGF2alpha production was increased from 13.3 +/- 2.0 to 166.8 +/- 22.5 ng/ml (P < 0.0001). On the other hand, COX-2/beta-actin mRNA gene expression (as determined by densitometric analysis) was increased 5.1 +/- 0.7-fold (P < 0.001) with OT (10[-7] M) treatment, compared with control. Addition of indomethacin (1 microM) and a specific COX-2 inhibitor (NS-398, 1 microM) blocked the OT-induced PGF2alpha production. COX-1 and phospholipase A2 mRNA were expressed at steady-state levels, but no effect of OT was detected on their regulation. Combined to OT, 10 microq/ml of recombinant ovine interferon-tau (roIFN-tau) was able to decrease significantly (P < 0.0001) the dose-dependent increase of PGF2alpha production. Furthermore, partial bovine COX-1 (777 pb) and COX-2 (449 bp) cDNAs were cloned and sequenced. An homology of 83% and 97% was found in relation with rat and sheep, for COX-1, respectively. COX-2 was found to bear 84%, 86%, and 87% of homology in relation to rat, guinea pig, and human, respectively. Collectively, these results demonstrate, for the first time, that COX-2 is involved in the mechanism by which OT regulates PGF2alpha production in the endometrium.