From Structure to Function: How Prebiotic Diversity Shapes Gut Integrity and Immune Balance.

The microbiota stability, diversity, and composition are pillars for an efficient and beneficial symbiotic relationship between its host and itself. Microbial dysbiosis, a condition where a homeostatic bacterial community is disturbed by acute or chronic events, is a predisposition for many diseases, including local and systemic inflammation that leads to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and some types of cancers. Classical dysbiosis occurs in the large intestine.

Immunostimulatory effects of isomalto/malto-polysaccharides via TLR2 and TLR4 in preventing doxycycline-induced cytokine loss.

Isomalto/malto-polysaccharides (IMMPs) are α-glucans with prebiotic potential used as food ingredients. However, their ability to exert direct cellular effects remains unknown. IMMPs may enhance immunity by activating toll-like receptors (TLRs), key for defense against pathogens.

Exopolysaccharides from Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis and Bifidobacterium adolescentis modulate Toll-like receptor signaling.

Background: Exopolysaccharides (EPS) from probiotic bacteria like bifidobacteria, have gained considerable attention for the beneficial effects they exert in the gastrointestinal environment. Here, we investigated whether EPS isolated from Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis and Bifidobacterium adolescentis can interact with Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in a structure-dependent way and subsequently we investigated whether they influence cytokine-production in dendritic cells (DCs).

Prebiotics in food and dietary supplements: a roadmap to EU health claims.

Numerous studies have established that prebiotic ingredients in foods and dietary supplements may play a role in supporting human health. Over the three decades that have passed since prebiotics were first defined as a concept, research has revealed a complex universe of prebiotic-induced changes to the human microbiota. There are strong indications of a direct link between these prebiotic-induced changes and specific health benefits.

Perspectives of Patients and Clinicians on Reproductive Health Care and ADPKD.

Introduction: Family planning and reproductive care are essential but complex aspects of lifecycle management for individuals with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), given the potential genetic transmission and pregnancy-related complications. In this qualitative study, we studied the experiences and perspectives of patients with ADPKD and clinicians to identify areas for potential improvement in reproductive lifecycle care.

Methods: Focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted in the Netherlands with patients with ADPKD, both men and women, who had children through varied reproductive choices; and clinicians, including (pediatric) nephrologists, obstetric gynecologists and geneticists.

The effect of nerve cells on the intestinal barrier function and the influence of human milk oligosaccharides (hMOs) on the intestinal neuro-epithelial crosstalk.

The intestinal epithelium is an important gatekeeper of the human body by forming a barrier for the luminal content of the intestine. The barrier function is regulated by a complex crosstalk between different cell types, including cells from the enteric nervous system (ENS). ENS is considered to influence gastrointestinal processes and functions, but its direct effect on epithelial barrier function remains to be confirmed.

Harnessing cellular therapeutics for type 1 diabetes mellitus: progress, challenges, and the road ahead.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a growing global health concern that affects approximately 8.5 million individuals worldwide. T1DM is characterized by an autoimmune destruction of pancreatic β cells, leading to a disruption in glucose homeostasis.

Pancreatic stellate cells support human pancreatic β-cell viability and enhance survival of immunoisolated human islets exposed to cytokines.

Pancreatic islet transplantation is proposed as a cure for type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D). Despite its success in optimal regulation of glucose levels, limitations in longevity of islet grafts still require innovative solutions. Inflammatory stress post-transplantation and loss of extracellular matrix attribute to the limited β-cell survival.

Sustainable diets with plant-based proteins require considerations for prevention of proteolytic fermentation.

The human diet requires a more plant-based approach due to the exhaustive effects animal-based foods have on the environment. However, plant-based proteins generally miss a few or have a lower variety in essential amino acids and are more difficult to digest. Subsequently they might be prone to fermentation by the microbiome in the proximal colon.

Modeling Diffusive Search by Non-Adaptive Sperm: Empirical and Computational Insights.

During fertilization, mammalian sperm undergo a winnowing selection process that reduces the candidate pool of potential fertilizers from ~10-10 cells to 10-10 cells (depending on the species). Classical sperm competition theory addresses the positive or 'stabilizing' selection acting on sperm phenotypes within populations of organisms but does not strictly address the developmental consequences of sperm traits among individual organisms that are under purifying selection during fertilization. It is the latter that is of utmost concern for improving assisted reproductive technologies (ART) because 'low fitness' sperm may be inadvertently used for fertilization during interventions that rely heavily on artificial sperm selection, such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Acacia fiber or probiotic supplements to relieve gastrointestinal complaints in patients with constipation-predominant IBS: a 4-week randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled intervention trial.

Purpose: To date, no adequate treatment for irritable bowel syndrome with predominant constipation complaints (IBS-C) is available. Fibers with prebiotic properties and probiotic compounds have shown promise in relieving IBS-C-related complaints. We aimed to determine the effects of a 4-week intervention with either an Acacia fiber (AF) with prebiotic properties or a probiotic Bifidobacterium Lactis (BLa80) supplement, compared to a control supplement, on stool pattern, IBS symptoms and Quality of Life (QoL), in IBS-C individuals.

Exopolysaccharide β-(2,6)-levan-type fructans have a molecular-weight-dependent modulatory effect on Toll-like receptor signalling.

Scope: Fructans are a group of dietary fibers which are known to have many beneficial effects including immune-modulating effects. A family of fructans are β-(2,6)-linked levan-type fructans that are known to serve as exopolysaccharides in the cell wall of many species of bacteria including commensal bacteria and probiotics. It is still largely unknown whether and how they can serve as immunomodulating molecules.

Presence of digestible starch impacts fermentation of resistant starch.

Starch is an important energy source for humans. Starch escaping digestion in the small intestine will transit to the colon to be fermented by gut microbes. Many gut microbes express α-amylases that can degrade soluble starch, but only a few are able to degrade intrinsic resistant starch (RS), which is insoluble and highly resistant to digestion (≥80% RS).

Crystal type, chain length and polydispersity impact the resistant starch type 3 immunomodulatory capacity via Toll-like receptors.

Food ingredients that can activate and improve immunological defense, against e.g., pathogens, have become a major field of research.

A composite capsule strategy to support longevity of microencapsulated pancreatic β cells.

Pancreatic islet microencapsulation allows transplantation of insulin producing cells in absence of systemic immunosuppression, but graft survival is still limited. In vivo studies have demonstrated that many islet-cells die in the immediate period after transplantation. Here we test whether intracapsular inclusion of ECM components (collagen IV and RGD) with necrostatin-1 (Nec-1), as well as amino acids (AA) have protective effects on islet survival.

Necrostatin-1 releasing nanoparticles: In vitro and in vivo efficacy for supporting immunoisolated islet transplantation outcomes.

Immunoisolation of pancreatic islets in alginate microcapsules allows for transplantation in the absence of immunosuppression but graft survival time is still limited. This limited graft survival is caused by a combination of tissue responses to the encapsulating biomaterial and islets. A significant loss of islet cells occurs in the immediate period after transplantation and is caused by a high susceptibility of islet cells to inflammatory stress during this period.

β(2 → 1)-β(2 → 6) and β(2 → 1) fructans protect from impairment of intestinal tight junction's gene expression and attenuate human dendritic cell responses in a fructan-dependent fashion.

β(2 → 1)-β(2 → 6) branched graminan-type fructans (GTFs) and β(2 → 1) linear fructans (ITFs) possess immunomodulatory properties and protect human intestinal barrier function, however the mechanisms underlying these effects are not well studied. Herein, GTFs and ITFs effects with different degree of polymerization (DP) values on tight junctions (TJs) genes CLDN-1, -2 and -3, CDH1, OCLN and TJP1 were studied in Caco-2 gut epithelial cells, under homeostatic and inflammatory conditions. Also, cytokine production in dendritic cells (DCs) was studied.