Liver-derived extracellular vesicles improve whole-body glycaemic control via inter-organ communication.

Small extracellular vesicles (EVs) are signalling messengers that regulate inter-tissue communication through delivery of their molecular cargo. Here, we show that liver-derived EVs are acute regulators of whole-body glycaemic control in mice. Liver EV secretion into the circulation is increased in response to hyperglycaemia, resulting in increased glucose effectiveness and insulin secretion through direct inter-organ EV signalling to skeletal muscle and the pancreas, respectively.

Insulin on the brain: The role of central insulin signalling in energy and glucose homeostasis.

Insulin signals to the brain where it coordinates multiple physiological processes underlying energy and glucose homeostasis. This review explores where and how insulin interacts within the brain parenchyma, how brain insulin signalling functions to coordinate energy and glucose homeostasis and how this contributes to the pathogenesis of metabolic disease.

Preservation of alpha-tocopherol in sunflower oil by herbs and spices.

The ability of some commercially available herb and spice extracts to preserve alpha-tocopherol in sunflower oil during heating at 85-105 degrees C was assessed using sunflower oil as a model system. The Rancimat was evaluated for the heating stage and was used throughout as it was shown to be viable: alpha-tocopherol did not evaporate under the test conditions. The delay in the onset of rancidity was found to be directly related to the initial alpha-tocopherol concentration (P < 0.

Investigation into the use of graft copolymer-based cibacron blue F3GA columns for the purification of proteins.

The graft copolymers Nylon-co-hydroxyethylmethacrylate and poly(ethylene)-co-hydroxyethylmethacrylate coupled to Cibacron blue F3GA at wet volume levels similar to those obtained with Sepharose 4B. However, the graft copolymers removed protein from human serum to a far lesser extent than did Sepharose 4B. Further investigations involved the preparation of hydrolyzed poly(vinyl acetate) copolymers of nylon and polyethylene and of cellulose-co-hydroxyethylmethacrylate and study of the ability of the copolymers to remove human serum albumin and lactic dehydrogenase.