Immobilization of Naringinase onto Polydopamine-Coated Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Juice Debittering Applications.

Chemical amination of the enzyme was demonstrated to favor immobilization onto polydopamine (PDA)-coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) for the first time, to the best of the author's knowledge. MNPs prepared via hydrothermal synthesis were coated with PDA for the immobilization of naringinase. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy showed that the MNPs were composed mainly of FeO with an average size of 38.

Determining the effects of paternal obesity on sperm chromatin at histone H3 lysine 4 tri-methylation in relation to the placental transcriptome and cellular composition.

Paternal obesity has been implicated in adult-onset metabolic disease in offspring. However, the molecular mechanisms driving these paternal effects and the developmental processes involved remain poorly understood. One underexplored possibility is the role of paternally induced effects on placenta development and function.

Current global status of male reproductive health.

Background: The widespread interest in male reproductive health (MRH), fueled by emerging evidence, such as the global decline in sperm counts, has intensified concerns about the status of MRH. Consequently, there is a pressing requirement for a strategic, systematic approach to identifying critical questions, collecting pertinent information, and utilizing these data to develop evidence-based strategies. The methods for addressing these questions and the pathways toward their answers will inevitably vary based on the variations in cultural, geopolitical, and health-related contexts.

The Association between Long-Term DDT or DDE Exposures and an Altered Sperm Epigenome-a Cross-Sectional Study of Greenlandic Inuit and South African VhaVenda Men.

Background: The organochlorine dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is banned worldwide owing to its negative health effects. It is exceptionally used as an insecticide for malaria control. Exposure occurs in regions where DDT is applied, as well as in the Arctic, where its endocrine disrupting metabolite, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) accumulates in marine mammals and fish.

Emerging evidence that the mammalian sperm epigenome serves as a template for embryo development.

Although more studies are demonstrating that a father's environment can influence child health and disease, the molecular mechanisms underlying non-genetic inheritance remain unclear. It was previously thought that sperm exclusively contributed its genome to the egg. More recently, association studies have shown that various environmental exposures including poor diet, toxicants, and stress, perturbed epigenetic marks in sperm at important reproductive and developmental loci that were associated with offspring phenotypes.

Exposure to environmental contaminants and folic acid supplementation intergenerationally impact fetal skeleton development through the paternal lineage in a rat model.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are ubiquitous in the environment, which is of concern since they are broadly toxic for wildlife and human health. It is generally accepted that maternal prenatal folic acid supplementation (FA) may beneficially impact offspring development, but it has been recently shown that the father's exposures also influence the health of his offspring. Bone is an endocrine organ essential for whole-body homeostasis and is susceptible to toxicants.

Ion-Triggered Hydrogels Self-Assembled from Statistical Copolypeptides.

Statistical copolypeptides comprising lysine and tyrosine with unprecedented ion-induced gelation behavior are reported. Copolypeptides are obtained by one-step -carboxyanhydride (NCA) ring-opening polymerization. The gelation mechanism is studied by in situ SAXS analyses, in addition to optical spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

Correction of neonatal vitamin D status using 1000 IU vitamin D/d increased lean body mass by 12 months of age compared with 400 IU/d: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Intrauterine exposure to maternal vitamin D status <50 nmol/L of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] may adversely affect infant body composition. Whether postnatal interventions can reprogram for a leaner body phenotype is unknown.

Objectives: The primary objective was to test whether 1000 IU/d of supplemental vitamin D (compared with 400 IU/d) improves lean mass in infants born with serum 25(OH)D <50 nmol/L.

Sperm histone H3 lysine 4 tri-methylation serves as a metabolic sensor of paternal obesity and is associated with the inheritance of metabolic dysfunction.

Objective: Parental environmental exposures can strongly influence descendant risks for adult disease. How paternal obesity changes the sperm chromatin leading to the acquisition of metabolic disease in offspring remains controversial and ill-defined. The objective of this study was to assess (1) whether obesity induced by a high-fat diet alters sperm histone methylation; (2) whether paternal obesity can induce metabolic disturbances across generations; (3) whether there could be cumulative damage to the sperm epigenome leading to enhanced metabolic dysfunction in descendants; and (4) whether obesity-sensitive regions associate with embryonic epigenetic and transcriptomic profiles.

Early-Life Exposure to Environmental Contaminants Perturbs the Sperm Epigenome and Induces Negative Pregnancy Outcomes for Three Generations via the Paternal Lineage.

Due to the grasshopper effect, the Arctic food chain in Canada is contaminated with persistent organic pollutants (POPs) of industrial origin, including polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides. Exposure to POPs may be a contributor to the greater incidence of poor fetal growth, placental abnormalities, stillbirths, congenital defects and shortened lifespan in the Inuit population compared to non-Aboriginal Canadians. Although maternal exposure to POPs is well established to harm pregnancy outcomes, paternal transmission of the effects of POPs is a possibility that has not been well investigated.

Concordant Androgen-Regulated Expression of Divergent Rhox5 Promoters in Sertoli Cells.

Concordant transcriptional regulation can generate multiple gene products that collaborate to achieve a common goal. Here we report a case of concordant transcriptional regulation that instead drives a single protein to be produced in the same cell type from divergent promoters. This gene product-the RHOX5 homeobox transcription factor-is translated from 2 different mRNAs with different 5' untranslated regions (UTRs) transcribed from alternative promoters.

Whole-genome sequencing of H3K4me3 and DNA methylation in human sperm reveals regions of overlap linked to fertility and development.

The paternal environment has been linked to infertility and negative outcomes. Such effects may be transmitted via sperm through histone modifications. To date, in-depth profiling of the sperm chromatin in men has been limited.

ChIP-seq protocol for sperm cells and embryos to assess environmental impacts and epigenetic inheritance.

In the field of epigenetic inheritance, delineating molecular mechanisms implicated in the transfer of paternal environmental conditions to descendants has been elusive. This protocol details how to track sperm chromatin intergenerationally. We describe mouse model design to probe chromatin states in single mouse sperm and techniques to assess pre-implantation embryo chromatin and gene expression.

Antimicrobial and degradable triazolinedione (TAD) crosslinked polypeptide hydrogels.

Hydrogels are perfectly suited to support cell and tissue growth in advanced tissue engineering applications as well as classical wound treatment scenarios. Ideal hydrogel materials for these applications should be easy to produce, biocompatible, resorbable and antimicrobial. Here we report the fabrication of degradable covalent antimicrobial lysine and tryptophan containing copolypeptide hydrogels, whereby the hydrogel properties can be independently modulated by the copolypeptide monomer ratio and chiral composition.

A global approach to addressing the policy, research and social challenges of male reproductive health.

Male infertility is a global health issue; yet to a large extent, our knowledge of its causes, impact and consequence is largely unknown. Recent data indicate that infertile men have an increased risk of somatic disorders such as cancer and die younger compared to fertile men. Moreover, several studies point to a significant adverse effect on the health of the offspring.

Histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation in sperm is transmitted to the embryo and associated with diet-induced phenotypes in the offspring.

A father's lifestyle impacts offspring health; yet, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. We hypothesized that a diet that changes methyl donor availability will alter the sperm and embryo epigenomes to impact embryonic gene expression and development. Here, we demonstrate that a folate-deficient (FD) diet alters histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) in sperm at developmental genes and putative enhancers.

Protocol for a randomised trial evaluating a preconception-early childhood telephone-based intervention with tailored e-health resources for women and their partners to optimise growth and development among children in Canada: a Healthy Life Trajectory Initiative (HeLTI Canada).

Introduction: The 'Developmental Origins of Health and Disease' hypothesis suggests that a healthy trajectory of growth and development in pregnancy and early childhood is necessary for optimal health, development and lifetime well-being. The purpose of this paper is to present the protocol for a randomised controlled trial evaluating a preconception-early childhood telephone-based intervention with tailored e-health resources for women and their partners to optimise growth and development among children in Canada: a Healthy Life Trajectory Initiative (HeLTI Canada). The primary objective of HeLTI Canada is to determine whether a 4-phase 'preconception to early childhood' lifecourse intervention can reduce the rate of child overweight and obesity.

Sperm histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation is altered in a genetic mouse model of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance.

Advancing the molecular knowledge surrounding fertility and inheritance has become critical given the halving of sperm counts in the last 40 years, and the rise in complex disease which cannot be explained by genetics alone. The connection between both these trends may lie in alterations to the sperm epigenome and occur through environmental exposures. Changes to the sperm epigenome are also associated with health risks across generations such as metabolic disorders and cancer.

Torpor expression is associated with differential spermatogenesis in hibernating eastern chipmunks.

Hibernators suppress physiological processes when expressing torpor, yet little is known about the effects of torpor on male reproductive physiology. Studies of hibernating mammals suggest that deep torpor negatively impacts spermatogenesis and that transitions between torpor and euthermic arousals increase cellular oxidative stress, with potentially damaging effects on sperm. Here, we hypothesize that variation in torpor expression affects the reproductive readiness of hibernators by impacting their sperm production.

Folic acid supplementation reduces multigenerational sperm miRNA perturbation induced by environmental contaminant exposure.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) can induce epigenetic changes in the paternal germline. Here, we report that folic acid (FA) supplementation mitigates sperm miRNA profiles transgenerationally following paternal exposure to POPs in a rat model. Pregnant founder dams were exposed to an environmentally relevant POPs mixture (or corn oil) ± FA supplementation and subsequent F1-F4 male descendants were not exposed to POPs and were fed the FA control diet.

Crosslinking of Electrospun Fibres from Unsaturated Polyesters by Bis-Triazolinediones (TAD).

Crosslinking of an unsaturated aliphatic polyester poly(globalide) (PGl) by bistriazolinediones (bisTADs) is reported. First, a monofunctional model compound, phenyl-TAD (PTAD), was tested for PGl functionalisation. H-NMR showed that PTAD-ene reaction was highly efficient with conversions up to 97%.

Prenatal Exposure to Environmentally-Relevant Contaminants Perturbs Male Reproductive Parameters Across Multiple Generations that are Partially Protected by Folic Acid Supplementation.

The paternal environment is thought to influence sperm quality and future progeny may also be impacted. We hypothesized that prenatal exposure to environmentally-relevant contaminants impairs male reproduction, altering embryo gene expression over multiple generations. Folic acid (FA) can improve sperm quality and pregnancy outcomes, thus we further hypothesized that FA mitigates the contaminants.