Control of Intestinal Stemness and Cell Lineage by Histone Variant H2A.Z Isoforms.

The histone variant H2A.Z plays important functions in the regulation of gene expression. In mammals, it is encoded by two genes, giving rise to two highly related isoforms named H2A.

Pharmacological activation of constitutive androstane receptor induces female-specific modulation of hepatic metabolism.

Background & Aims: The constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) is a nuclear receptor that binds diverse xenobiotics and whose activation leads to the modulation of the expression of target genes involved in xenobiotic detoxification and energy metabolism. Although CAR hepatic activity is considered to be higher in women than in men, its sex-dependent response to an acute pharmacological activation has seldom been investigated.

Methods: The hepatic transcriptome, plasma markers, and hepatic metabolome, were analysed in and male and female mice treated either with the CAR-specific agonist 1,4-bis[2-(3,5-dichloropyridyloxy)]benzene (TCPOBOP) or with vehicle.

Pre- and Postnatal Dietary Exposure to a Pesticide Cocktail Disrupts Ovarian Functions in 8-Week-Old Female Mice.

Female infertility has a multifactorial origin, and exposure to contaminants, including pesticides, with endocrine-disrupting properties is considered to be involved in this reproductive disorder, especially when it occurs during early life. Pesticides are present in various facets of the environment, and consumers are exposed to a combination of multiple pesticide residues through food intake. The consequences of such exposure with respect to female fertility are not well known.

Oxidative Stress in NAFLD: Role of Nutrients and Food Contaminants.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is often the hepatic expression of metabolic syndrome and its comorbidities that comprise, among others, obesity and insulin-resistance. NAFLD involves a large spectrum of clinical conditions. These range from steatosis, a benign liver disorder characterized by the accumulation of fat in hepatocytes, to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which is characterized by inflammation, hepatocyte damage, and liver fibrosis.