Ameliorating Atopy by Compensating Micronutritional Deficiencies in Immune Cells: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Functional iron deficiency facilitates allergy development and amplifies the symptom burden in people experiencing allergies. Previously we selectively delivered micronutrients to immune cells with ß-lactoglobulin as carrier (holoBLG), resulting in immune resilience and allergy prevention. OBJECTIVE: The clinical efficacy of a food for special medical purposes-lozenge containing ß-lactoglobulin with iron, polyphenols, retinoic acid, and zinc (holoBLG lozenge) was assessed in allergic women. METHODS: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study, grass- and/or birch pollen-allergic women (n = 51) were given holoBLG or placebo lozenges over 6 months. Before and after dietary supplementation, participants were nasally challenged and the blood was analyzed for immune and iron parameters. Daily symptoms, medications, pollen concentrations, and well-being were recorded by an electronic health application. RESULTS: Total nasal symptom score after nasal provocations improved by 42% in the holoBLG group versus 13% in the placebo group. The combined symptom medication score during the birch peak and entire season as well as the entire grass pollen season improved in allergic subjects supplemented with the holoBLG lozenge by 45%, 31%, and 40%, respectively, compared with the placebo arm. Participants ingesting the holoBLG lozenge had improved iron status with increased hematocrit values, decreased red cell distribution width, and higher iron levels in circulating CD14+ cells compared with the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: Targeted micronutrition with the holoBLG lozenge seemed to be effective in elevating the labile iron levels in immune cells and reducing the symptom burden in allergic women in this pilot study. The underlying allergen-independent mechanism provides evidence that dietary nutritional supplementation of the immune system is one of the ways to combat atopy.

Oxidative Metabolism Drives Immortalization of Neural Stem Cells during Tumorigenesis.

Metabolic reprogramming is a key feature of many cancers, but how and when it contributes to tumorigenesis remains unclear. Here we demonstrate that metabolic reprogramming induced by mitochondrial fusion can be rate-limiting for immortalization of tumor-initiating cells (TICs) and trigger their irreversible dedication to tumorigenesis. Using single-cell transcriptomics, we find that Drosophila brain tumors contain a rapidly dividing stem cell population defined by upregulation of oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos). We combine targeted metabolomics and in vivo genetic screening to demonstrate that OxPhos is required for tumor cell immortalization but dispensable in neural stem cells (NSCs) giving rise to tumors. Employing an in vivo NADH/NAD+ sensor, we show that NSCs precisely increase OxPhos during immortalization. Blocking OxPhos or mitochondrial fusion stalls TICs in quiescence and prevents tumorigenesis through impaired NAD+ regeneration. Our work establishes a unique connection between cellular metabolism and immortalization of tumor-initiating cells.

Impact of osteopontin on the development of non-alcoholic liver disease and related hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Osteopontin, a multifunctional protein and inflammatory cytokine, is overexpressed in adipose tissue and liver in obesity and contributes to the induction of adipose tissue inflammation and non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL). Studies performed in both mice and humans also point to a potential role for OPN in malignant transformation and tumour growth. To fully understand the role of OPN on the development of NAFL-derived hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we applied a non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-HCC mouse model on osteopontin-deficient (Spp1-/- ) mice analysing time points of NASH, fibrosis and HCC compared to wild-type mice. METHODS: Two-day-old wild-type and Spp1-/- mice received a low-dose streptozotocin injection in order to induce diabetes, and were fed a high-fat diet starting from week 4. Different cohorts of mice of both genotypes were sacrificed at 8, 12 and 19 weeks of age to evaluate the NASH, fibrosis and HCC phenotypes respectively. RESULTS: Spp1-/- animals showed enhanced hepatic lipid accumulation and aggravated NASH, as also increased hepatocellular apoptosis and accelerated fibrosis. The worse steatotic and fibrotic phenotypes observed in Spp1-/- mice might be driven by enhanced hepatic fatty acid influx through CD36 overexpression and by a pathological accumulation of specific diacylglycerol species during NAFL. Lack of osteopontin lowered systemic inflammation, prevented HCC progression to less differentiated tumours and improved overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: Lack of osteopontin dissociates NASH-fibrosis severity from overall survival and HCC malignant transformation in NAFLD, and is therefore a putative therapeutic target only for advanced chronic liver disease.