Application of Compositional Data Analysis to Study the Relationship between Bacterial Diversity in Human Faeces and Sex, Age, and Weight.

This work uses Compositional Data Analysis (CoDA) to examine the typical human faecal bacterial diversity in 39 healthy volunteers from the Andalusian region (Spain). Stool samples were subjected to high-throughput sequencing of the V3 and V4 regions of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene using Illumina MiSeq. The numbers of sequences per sample and their genus-level assignment were carried out using the Phyloseq R package.

Adherence to a Mediterranean lifestyle improves metabolic status in coronary heart disease patients: A prospective analysis from the CORDIOPREV study.

Background And Objectives: A Mediterranean lifestyle may prevent and mitigate cardiometabolic disorders. We explored whether adherence to a Mediterranean lifestyle was prospectively associated with the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among coronary heart disease (CHD) patients.

Methods: The Coronary Diet Intervention with Olive Oil and Cardiovascular Prevention (CORDIOPREV) study was an interventional diet study to compare a Mediterranean diet with a low-fat diet, in 1002 CHD patients.

Chronodisruption and diet associated with increased cardiometabolic risk in coronary heart disease patients: the CORDIOPREV study.

Individuals with evening chronotypes are prone to suffer chronodisruption and display worse lifestyle habits than morning-types, exhibiting higher cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, it is unknown whether CVD patients, who are evening chronotypes, have higher cardiometabolic risk than morning-types. This study explored whether individual chronotypes were associated with cardiometabolic risk in patients from the CORDIOPREV study (n = 857).

Coenzyme Q Supplementation for the Reduction of Oxidative Stress: Clinical Implications in the Treatment of Chronic Diseases.

Apart from its main function in the mitochondria as a key element in electron transport, Coenzyme Q (CoQ) has been described as having multiple functions, such as oxidant action in the generation of signals and the control of membrane structure and phospholipid and cellular redox status. Among these, the most relevant and most frequently studied function is the potent antioxidant capability of its coexistent redox forms. Different clinical trials have investigated the effect of CoQ supplementation and its ability to reduce oxidative stress.

Postprandial Lipemia Modulates Pancreatic Alpha-Cell Function in the Prediction of Type 2 Diabetes Development: The CORDIOPREV Study.

Diabetes (T2DM) is a major global health issue, and developing new approaches to its prevention is of paramount importance. We hypothesized that abnormalities in lipid metabolism are involved in alpha-cell deregulation. We therefore studied the metabolic factors underlying alpha-cell dysfunction in T2DM progression after a dietary intervention (Mediterranean and low-fat).

Long-term dietary adherence and changes in dietary intake in coronary patients after intervention with a Mediterranean diet or a low-fat diet: the CORDIOPREV randomized trial.

Purpose: Adherence to a healthy dietary pattern positively influences clinical outcomes in cardiovascular prevention, but long-term adherence is difficult to maintain. We evaluated 5-year changes in dietary habits, adherence achieved, and its maintenance in a cohort of coronary patients from the CORDIOPREV study.

Methods: 1002 coronary patients were randomized to a Mediterranean diet (n = 502) or a low-fat diet (n = 500) and received individual-group-telephone visits and personalized dietary advice.

Circulating miRNAs as Predictive Biomarkers of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Development in Coronary Heart Disease Patients from the CORDIOPREV Study.

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been proposed as type 2 diabetes biomarkers, and they may be a more sensitive way to predict development of the disease than the currently used tools. Our aim was to identify whether circulating miRNAs, added to clinical and biochemical markers, yielded better potential for predicting type 2 diabetes. The study included 462 non-diabetic patients at baseline in the CORDIOPREV study.

Low Intake of Vitamin E Accelerates Cellular Aging in Patients With Established Cardiovascular Disease: The CORDIOPREV Study.

Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) shortening is a biomarker of cellular aging that can be decelerated by diet. We aimed to investigate the effect of dietary intake of vitamin E on biomarkers of cellular senescence in patients with established cardiovascular disease. To this end, DNA from 1,002 participants of the CORDIOPREV study (NCT00924937) was isolated and LTL was measured by real-time PCR.

Neovascular deterioration, impaired NADPH oxidase and inflammatory cytokine expression in adipose-derived multipotent cells from subjects with metabolic syndrome.

Objective: Expansion of adipose tissue depends on the growth of its vascular network and it has been shown that adipose tissue dysfunction in obese subjects with the metabolic syndrome is associated with decreased angiogenesis. However, some subjects with a high body mass index do not develop metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity. In this study we examined the neovascular properties, expression levels of proteins involved in cellular redox balance and inflammatory cytokines in adipose-derived multipotent mesenchymal cells (ASCs) of subjects with different metabolic profiles.

TNFA gene variants related to the inflammatory status and its association with cellular aging: From the CORDIOPREV study.

Background: Several single nucleotide polymorphisms have been proposed as potential predictors of the development of age-related diseases.

Objective: To explore whether Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNFA) gene variants were associated with inflammatory status, thus facilitating the rate of telomere shortening and its relation to cellular aging in a population with established cardiovascular disease from the CORDIOPREV study (NCT00924937).

Materials And Methods: SNPs (rs1800629 and rs1799964) located at the TNFA gene were genotyped by OpenArray platform in 840 subjects with established cardiovascular disease.

Influence of endothelial dysfunction on telomere length in subjects with metabolic syndrome: LIPGENE study.

Previous evidences support that increased oxidative stress (OxS) may play an important role in metabolic syndrome (MetS) and both are closely linked to vascular dysfunction. This study determined whether there is a relationship between endothelial function and relative telomere length (RTL) in MetS subjects. In this cross-sectional study from the LIPGENE cohort, a total of 88 subjects (36 men and 52 women) were divided into four groups by quartiles of telomere length.

Effects of the Mediterranean diet supplemented with coenzyme q10 on metabolomic profiles in elderly men and women.

Background: Characterization of the variations in the metabolomic profiles of elderly people is a necessary step to understand changes associated with aging. This study assessed whether diets with different fat quality and supplementation with coenzyme Q10 (CoQ) affect the metabolomic profile in urine analyzed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy from elderly people.

Methods: Ten participants received, in a cross-over design, four isocaloric diets for 4-week periods each: Mediterranean diet supplemented with CoQ (Med + CoQ diet); Mediterranean diet; Western diet rich in saturated fat diet; low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet enriched in n-3 polyunsaturated fat.

Olive oil phenolic compounds decrease the postprandial inflammatory response by reducing postprandial plasma lipopolysaccharide levels.

We investigated the molecular mechanisms by which phenolic compounds (phenols) in virgin olive oil reduce the postprandial inflammatory response with the aim of identifying the transcription factor involved and the downstream effects. Olive oil-based breakfasts prepared with virgin olive oil (VOO) with high (398 ppm), intermediate (149 ppm) and low (70 ppm) phenol content were administered to 49 metabolic syndrome patients following a randomized crossover design. The consumption of a high-phenol VOO-based breakfast limited the increase of lipopolysaccharide plasma levels, TLR4, and SOCS3 proteins (p<0.

CCNG2 and CDK4 is associated with insulin resistance in adipose tissue.

Background: The involvement of cyclin G2 (CCNG2) and cyclin-dependent kinase-4 (CDK4), cell cycle regulatory proteins, in adipose tissue metabolism and insulin resistance is still unknown. The objective of this study was to analyze CCNG2 and CDK4 levels in visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) from nonobese and morbidly obese patients and their relationship with insulin resistance.

Methods: We studied the mRNA and protein levels of CCNG2 and CDK4 in VAT and SAT from 12 nonobese and 23 morbidly obese patients (11 with low [MO-L-IR] and 12 with high insulin resistance [MO-H-IR]).

Oxidative stress is associated with the number of components of metabolic syndrome: LIPGENE study.

Previous evidence supports the important role that oxidative stress (OxS) plays in metabolic syndrome (MetS)-related manifestations. We determined the relationship between the number of MetS components and the degree of OxS in MetS patients. In this comparative cross-sectional study from the LIPGENE cohort, a total of 91 MetS patients (43 men and 48 women; aged between 45 and 68 years) were divided into four groups based on the number of MetS components: subjects with 2, 3, 4 and 5 MetS components (n=20, 31, 28 and 12, respectively).

Mediterranean diet reduces senescence-associated stress in endothelial cells.

This paper aims to study the effects of the oxidative stress induced by quality and quantity of dietary fat on cellular senescence. Twenty elderly subjects consumed three diets, each for 4 weeks: a saturated fatty acid diet (SFA), a low-fat and high-carbohydrate diet (CHO-ALA), and a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) enriched in monounsaturated fatty acid following a randomized crossover design. For each diet, we investigated intracellular reactive oxidative species (ROS), cellular apoptosis and telomere length in human umbilical endothelial cells incubated with serum from each patient.

Mediterranean diet reduces endothelial damage and improves the regenerative capacity of endothelium.

Background: Endothelial dysfunction is a fundamental step in the atherosclerotic disease process. Activation or injury of the endothelium leads to a variety of inflammatory disorders, including the release of microparticles. Endothelial progenitor cells may contribute to the maintenance of the endothelium by replacing injured mature endothelial cells.

The insulin sensitivity response is determined by the interaction between the G972R polymorphism of the insulin receptor substrate 1 gene and dietary fat.

Scope: Insulin resistance, a condition associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus, results from the interaction of environmental and genetic factors. The aim of this study was to explore the influence of the G972R polymorphism at the insulin receptor substrate 1 gene on insulin sensitivity in a healthy young population. Furthermore, we examined whether the presence of this single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; GR or GG) interacts with dietary fat to modulate insulin sensitivity.

APOA1 and APOA4 gene polymorphisms influence the effects of dietary fat on LDL particle size and oxidation in healthy young adults.

We investigated whether APOA1 and APOA4 genotypes interact with diet to determine changes in LDL size and their susceptibility to oxidative modifications. A total of 97 healthy volunteers each consumed 3 diets for 4 wk: a SFA diet (38% fat, 20% SFA) followed by a low-fat and high-carbohydrate (CHO) diet (30% fat, 55% carbohydrate) or a monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) diet (38% fat, 22% MUFA) following a randomized crossover design. For each diet, we determined susceptibility to oxidative modifications and LDL size.

cpFBPaseII, a novel redox-independent chloroplastic isoform of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase.

A full-length FBPase cDNA has been isolated from Fragaria x ananassa (strawberry) corresponding to a novel putative chloroplastic FBPase but lacking the regulatory redox domain, a characteristic of the plastidial isoenzyme (cpFBPaseI). Another outstanding feature of this novel isoform, called cpFBPaseII, is the absence of the canonical active site. Enzymatic assays with cpFBPaseII evidenced clear Mg(2+)-dependent FBPase activity and a K(m) for fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (FBP) of 1.

Identification of a strawberry gene encoding a non-specific lipid transfer protein that responds to ABA, wounding and cold stress.

cDNA and genomic clones encoding a strawberry (Fragariaxananassa cv. Chandler) non-specific lipid transfer protein (Fxaltp gene) were isolated and characterized. The spatio-temporal expression pattern and structural features of this gene were studied for the first time in strawberry, a non-climacteric fruit of agricultural importance.