Short-chain fatty acids during pregnancy in multiple sclerosis: A prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) can have pro- or anti-inflammatory properties, but their relationship with multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses during pregnancy remains unknown. This study aimed to explore SCFA profiles in MS patients during pregnancy and to assess their association with the appearance of relapses during pregnancy and postpartum. METHODS: We prospectively included 53 pregnant MS patients and 21 healthy control women. Patients were evaluated during pregnancy and puerperium. SCFAs were measured by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Sixteen patients (32%) had relapses during pregnancy or puerperium, and 37 (68%) did not. All MS patients showed significant increases in acetate levels during pregnancy and the postpartum period compared to non-MS women. However, propionate and butyrate values were associated with disease activity. Their values were higher in nonrelapsing patients and remained similar to the control group in relapsing patients. The variable that best identified active patients was the propionate/acetate ratio. Ratios of <0.36 during the first trimester were associated with higher inflammatory activity (odds ratio = 165, 95% confidence interval = 10.2-239.4, p < 0.01). Most nonrelapsing patients showed values of >0.36, which were similar to those in healthy pregnant women. CONCLUSIONS: Low propionate/acetate ratio values during the first trimester of gestation identified MS patients at risk of relapses during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Herpesvirus Antibodies, Vitamin D and Short-Chain Fatty Acids: Their Correlation with Cell Subsets in Multiple Sclerosis Patients and Healthy Controls.

Although the etiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) is still unknown, it is commonly accepted that environmental factors could contribute to the disease. The objective of this study was to analyze the humoral response to Epstein-Barr virus, human herpesvirus 6A/B and cytomegalovirus, and the levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and the three main short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), propionate (PA), butyrate (BA) and acetate (AA), in MS patients and healthy controls (HC) to understand how they could contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease. With this purpose, we analyzed the correlations among them and with different clinical variables and a wide panel of cell subsets. We found statistically significant differences for most of the environmental factors analyzed when we compared MS patients and HC, supporting their possible involvement in the disease. The strongest correlations with the clinical variables and the cell subsets analyzed were found for 25(OH)D and SCFAs levels. A correlation was also found between 25(OH)D and PA/AA ratio, and the interaction between these factors negatively correlated with interleukin 17 (IL-17)-producing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in untreated MS patients. Therapies that simultaneously increase vitamin D levels and modify the proportion of SCFA could be evaluated in the future.

Differential protein expression on the cell surface of colorectal cancer cells associated to tumor metastasis.

Progression to metastasis is the critical point in colorectal cancer (CRC) survival. However, the proteome associated to CRC metastasis is very poorly understood at the moment. In this study, we used stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture to compare two CRC cell lines: KM12C and KM12SM, representing poorly versus highly metastatic potential, to find and quantify the differences in protein expression, mostly at the cell surface level. After biotinylation followed by affinity purification, membrane proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE and analyzed using nanoflow LC-ESI-LTQ. A total of 291 membrane and membrane-associated proteins were identified with a p value<0.01, from which 60 proteins were found to be differentially expressed by more than 1.5-fold. We identified a number of cell signaling, CDs, integrins and other cell adhesion molecules (cadherin 17, junction plakoglobin (JUP)) among the most deregulated proteins. They were validated by Western blot, confocal microscopy and flow cytometry analysis. Immunohistochemical analysis of paired tumoral samples confirmed that these differentially expressed proteins were also altered in human tumoral tissues. A good correlation with a major abundance in late tumor stages was observed for JUP and 17-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 8 (HSD17B8). Moreover, the combined increase in JUP, occludin and F11 receptor expression together with cadherin 17 expression could suggest a reversion to a more epithelial phenotype in highly metastatic cells. Relevant changes were observed also at the metabolic level in the pentose phosphate pathway and several amino acid transporters. In summary, the identified proteins provide us with a better understanding of the events involved in liver colonization and CRC metastasis.

A common surfactant used in food packaging found to be toxic for reproduction in mammals.

Migration from a multilayer plastic material intended for food contact showed that 2,4,7,9-tetramethyl-5-decyne-4,7-diol mixture (surfynol), used as a surfactant in the adhesive employed to build the multilayer, was transferred to water and other food simulants in contact with the plastic. When these multilayer plastics were used for containing seminal doses for artificial insemination, it was found that fertility was seriously damaged in terms of motility, acrosome integrity, mitochondrial activity and penetration capacity in the cells, thus affecting male fertility. Quantitative proteomic analysis of exposed germinal cells demonstrated the inhibition of key proteins involved in the fertilization capacity by affecting the cytoskeleton, sperm motility, the energy machinery and sperm defense mechanisms against oxidation, therefore confirming the surfactant-induced male infertility. These results open up new and interesting perspectives for the study of reprotoxicity caused by different chemicals common in our daily lives. SIGNIFICANCE: This paper demonstrates the toxicity for reproduction of a common surfactant used in food packaging and the scientific reasons why the sperm loses reproductive capacity in presence of this chemical. So, the surfactant affects the male fertility. The surfactant is present in many adhesives used either for building multilayer materials or to glue paper and plastic in food packaging. This is the first time that reprotoxicity is demonstrated for this compound. According to the theoretical approach Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) the compound is highly toxic but experimental data did not exist so far. The study described in this paper and the results obtained open a door to further research in which male infertility caused by chemicals could be demonstrated.

A synthetic lethal interaction between APC/C and topoisomerase poisons uncovered by proteomic screens.

The Anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) cofactor Cdh1 modulates cell proliferation by targeting multiple cell-cycle regulators for ubiquitin-dependent degradation. Lack of Cdh1 results in structural and numerical chromosome aberrations, a hallmark of genomic instability. By using a proteomic approach in Cdh1-null cells and mouse tissues, we have identified kinesin Eg5 and topoisomerase 2α as Cdh1 targets involved in the maintenance of genomic stability. These proteins are ubiquitinated and degraded through specific KEN and D boxes in a Cdh1-dependent manner. Whereas Cdh1-null cells display partial resistance to Eg5 inhibitors such as monastrol, lack of Cdh1 results in a dramatic sensitivity to Top2α poisons as a consequence of increased levels of trapped Top2α-DNA complexes. Chemical inhibition of the APC/C in cancer cells results in increased sensitivity to Top2α poisons. This work identifies in vivo targets of the mammalian APC/C-Cdh1 complex and reveals synthetic lethal interactions of relevance in anticancer treatments.