Gut Microbiome as a Target for Anti-ageing Interventions.

Trillions of various microorganisms inhabit the human intestine whilst having myriads of effects on the body. They participate in the metabolism of nutrients, support the work of the immune system, regulate operation of the nervous system, and produce vitamins, short-chain fatty acids, and a number of other compounds necessary for the host. An imbalance or disruption in the normal microbial community is called dysbacteriosis or dysbiosis.

The Effects of Bioactive Compounds on PTSD Treatment.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disease that arises in individuals who have experienced a traumatic event such as combat exposure, childhood physical abuse, sexual violence, physical assault, an accident, etc. Being difficult to diagnose and treat, PTSD is actively studied in areas of medicine, psychiatry, biochemistry, and rehabilitation. PTSD is characterized by significant comorbidity and is accompanied by depression and anxiety.

Intestinal barrier permeability: the influence of gut microbiota, nutrition, and exercise.

The intestinal wall is a selectively permeable barrier between the content of the intestinal lumen and the internal environment of the body. Disturbances of intestinal wall permeability can potentially lead to unwanted activation of the enteric immune system due to excessive contact with gut microbiota and its components, and the development of endotoxemia, when the level of bacterial lipopolysaccharides increases in the blood, causing chronic low-intensity inflammation. In this review, the following aspects are covered: the structure of the intestinal wall barrier; the influence of the gut microbiota on the permeability of the intestinal wall via the regulation of functioning of tight junction proteins, synthesis/degradation of mucus and antioxidant effects; the molecular mechanisms of activation of the pro-inflammatory response caused by bacterial invasion through the TLR4-induced TIRAP/MyD88 and TRAM/TRIF signaling cascades; the influence of nutrition on intestinal permeability, and the influence of exercise with an emphasis on exercise-induced heat stress and hypoxia.

Potential Biosafety of Mxenes: Stability, Biodegradability, Toxicity and Biocompatibility.

MXenes are two-dimensional nanomaterials with unique properties that are widely used in various fields of research, mostly in the field of energy. Fewer publications are devoted to MXene application in biomedicine and the question is: are MXenes safe for use in biological systems? The sharp edges of MXenes provide the structure of "nanoknives" which cause damage in direct physical contact with cells. This is effectively used for antibacterial research.

Impact of caloric restriction on oxidative stress and key glycolytic enzymes in the cerebral cortex, liver and kidney of old and middle-aged mice.

Caloric restriction (CR) is proposed as a strategy to prevent age-related alterations like impaired glucose metabolism and intensification of oxidative stress. In this study, we examined effects of aging and CR on the activities of glycolytic enzymes and parameters of oxidative stress in the cerebral cortex, liver, and kidney of middle-aged (9 months old) and old (18 months old) C57BL6/N mice. Control middle-aged and old mice were fed ad libitum (AL groups), whereas age-matched CR groups were subjected to CR (70% of individual ad libitum food intake) for 6 and 12 months, respectively.

Alpha-ketoglutarate partially alleviates effects of high-fat high-fructose diet in mouse muscle.

Consumption of high-calorie diets leads to excessive accumulation of storage lipids in adipose tissue. Metabolic changes occur not only in adipose tissue but in other tissues, too, such as liver, heart, muscle, and brain. This study aimed to explore the effects of high-fat high-fructose diet (HFFD) alone and in the combination with alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG), a well-known cellular metabolite, on energy metabolism in the skeletal muscle of C57BL/6J mice.

High-fat high-fructose diet and alpha-ketoglutarate affect mouse behavior that is accompanied by changes in oxidative stress response and energy metabolism in the cerebral cortex.

Background: High caloric diets with high amounts of fats and sweeteners such as fructose may predispose organisms to neurodegenerative diseases.

Methods: This study aimed to examine the effects of a high-fat high-fructose diet (HFFD) on the behavior of mice, energy metabolism, and markers of oxidative stress in murine cerebral cortex. Dietary α-ketoglutarate (AKG) was chosen as a treatment which could modulate the putative effects of HFFD.

Mitochondrial dysfunction as a possible trigger of neuroinflammation at post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder that occurs in approximately 15% of people as a result of some traumatic events. The main symptoms are re-experiencing and avoidance of everything related to this event and hyperarousal. The main component of the pathophysiology of PTSD is an imbalance in the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) and development of neuroinflammation.

Risks of obesity and diabetes development in the population of the Ivano-Frankivsk region in Ukraine.

The epidemic of obesity that parallels diabetes mellitus and its complications are diseases of major concern to modern societies. Community-based screening is an effective strategy to identify people at high risk of developing overweight, obesity, prediabetes, diabetes, and related health problems. Here, we present the results of screening the population of four locations in the Ivano-Frankivsk region (Western Ukraine).

Homeostasis of carbohydrates and reactive oxygen species is critically changed in the brain of middle-aged mice: Molecular mechanisms and functional reasons.

The brain is an organ that consumes a lot of energy. In the brain, energy is required for synaptic transmission, numerous biosynthetic processes and axonal transport in neurons, and for many supportive functions of glial cells. The main source of energy in the brain is glucose and to a lesser extent lactate and ketone bodies.

High fat high fructose diet induces mild oxidative stress and reorganizes intermediary metabolism in male mouse liver: Alpha-ketoglutarate effects.

Background: Diets rich in fats and/or carbohydrates are used to study obesity and related metabolic complications. We studied the effects of a high fat high fructose diet (HFFD) on intermediary metabolism and the development of oxidative stress in mouse liver and tested the ability of alpha-ketoglutarate to prevent HFFD-induced changes.

Methods: Male mice were fed a standard diet (10% kcal fat) or HFFD (45% kcal fat, 15% kcal fructose) with or without addition of 1% alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) in drinking water for 8 weeks.

High stability of blood parameters during mouse lifespan: sex-specific effects of every-other-day fasting.

Every-other-day fasting (EODF) is one type of caloric restriction that is proposed to have significant health benefits, including slowing aging-related processes. The present study evaluated multiple parameters of blood homeostasis comparing mice of different ages and mice on different diet regimes: ad libitum (AL) versus EODF. Hematological and classical biochemical parameters of blood were measured in young (6-month), middle-aged (12-month) and old (18-month) C57BL/6J mice of both sexes subjected either to EODF, or AL feeding.

Specific and combined effects of dietary ethanol and arginine on .

In this study, we have investigated specific and combined effects of essential amino acid, l-arginine, and ethanol (EtOH), a natural component of food, on a range of physiological and biochemical parameters of the flies. Rearing of during two weeks on the food supplemented with 50 mM l-arginine decreased activities of catalase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and glutathione--transferase in males by about 28%, 60%, and 60%, respectively. At the same time, arginine-fed males had 40% higher levels of lipid peroxides and arginine-fed females had 36% low-molecular mass thiol levels as compared to the control.

Metabolic Syndrome: Lessons from Rodent and Models.

Overweight and obesity are health conditions tightly related to a number of metabolic complications collectively called "metabolic syndrome" (MetS). Clinical diagnosis of MetS includes the presence of the increased waist circumference or so-called abdominal obesity, reduced high density lipoprotein level, elevated blood pressure, and increased blood glucose and triacylglyceride levels. Different approaches, including diet-induced and genetically induced animal models, have been developed to study MetS pathogenesis and underlying mechanisms.

The pro-radical hydrogen peroxide as a stable hydroxyl radical distributor: lessons from pancreatic beta cells.

The toxic potential of HO is limited, even if intracellular concentrations of HO under conditions of oxidative stress increase to the micromolar concentration range. Its toxicity is mostly restricted to the oxidation of highly reactive thiol groups, some of which are functionally very important. Subsequently, the HO radical is generated spontaneously from HO in the Fenton reaction.

Oxidative Stress and Energy Metabolism in the Brain: Midlife as a Turning Point.

Neural tissue is one of the main oxygen consumers in the mammalian body, and a plentitude of metabolic as well as signaling processes within the brain is accompanied by the generation of reactive oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen (RNS) species. Besides the important signaling roles, both ROS and RNS can damage/modify the self-derived cellular components thus promoting neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. While previously, the latter processes were thought to progress linearly with age, newer data point to midlife as a critical turning point.

Acute Exposure to the Penconazole-Containing Fungicide Topas Induces Metabolic Stress in Goldfish.

Triazole fungicides are widely used in agriculture that leads to pollution of freshwater ecosystems. The mechanisms of toxicity to fish by the triazole fungicide Topas that contains penconazole (1-[2-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)pentyl]-1-1,2,4-triazole) have not been studied. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of goldfish exposure for 96 h to the fungicide Topas at concentrations of 1.

Interplay between reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in living organisms.

In living organisms most oxygen consumed is reduced to water via four-electron reduction. However, few percentages of oxygen are reduced by consecutive one electron mechanisms giving rise to superoxide anion radical, (O), hydrogen peroxide (HO) and hydroxyl radical (HO) and their derivatives collectively called reactive oxygen species (ROS). Nitric oxide (NO) is produced at oxidation of arginine by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) or at reduction of nitrites by diverse reductases.

Chamomile as a potential remedy for obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Obesity is an increasing health concern related to many metabolic disorders, including metabolic syndrome, diabetes type 2 and cardiovascular diseases. Many studies suggest that herbal products can be useful dietary supplements for weight management due to the presence of numerous biologically active compounds, including antioxidant polyphenols that can counteract obesity-related oxidative stress. In this review we focus on , commonly known as chamomile, and one of the most popular medicinal plants in the world.

Oxidative stress concept updated: Definitions, classifications, and regulatory pathways implicated.

Reactive oxygen species were discovered in living organisms in the early 1950's and their action has been implicated in diverse biological processes. First formulated by H. Sies in 1985[57], the oxidative stress concept stimulated substantial interest in reactive oxygen species and it is now common that fundamental research in various biomedical fields includes mention of research on the involvement of oxidative stress.