Impact of β-casein variants on the formation of β-casomorphins in blue cheeses: Investigating key drivers through peptidomic analysis.

β-Casomorphins (BCMs), food-associated peptides resulting from the proteolytic cleavage of β-casein (β-CN), have been widely investigated for their opioid-like activity. This research aimed to identify the presence of BCM7, BCM6, and BCM5 in different bovine milk-deriving blue cheese types and to describe the intricate mechanisms behind their formation, focusing on their origin from cheese with β-CN A1 and A2 variants. Using nanoLC-ESI-Q-Orbitrap-MS/MS and advanced computational tools, we explored the peptidomes of Bleu d'Auvergne, Gorgonzola, Stilton, and Bergader blue cheeses from milk containing both β-CN A1 and A2 variants.

Gut bacterium Intestinimonas butyriciproducens improves host metabolic health: evidence from cohort and animal intervention studies.

Background: The human gut microbiome strongly influences host metabolism by fermenting dietary components into metabolites that signal to the host. Our previous work has shown that Intestinimonas butyriciproducens is a prevalent commensal bacterium with the unique ability to convert dietary fructoselysine to butyrate, a well-known signaling molecule with proven health benefits. Dietary fructoselysine is an abundant Amadori product formed in foods during thermal treatment and is part of foods rich in dietary advanced glycation end products which have been associated with cardiometabolic disease.

Leg muscles of migratory locust (Locusta migratoria) as a protein source: Extraction, protein composition and foaming properties.

Migratory locust (Locusta migratoria) is an edible insect species that is usually consumed at the adult developmental stage and represents a valuable source of proteins. Locusts can be processed into food ingredients or directly consumed after removal of legs and wings. Legs represent a unique matrix, which comprises a chitin-based exoskeleton typical for insects and muscle tissues commonly occurring also in other animals.

Compartmentalization vs. segregation of reactants: Accomplishment of the Maillard reaction at the water-water interface.

All-aqueous (water-in-water) emulsions are increasingly used as droplets reactors. The present communication reports that precursors of a reaction segregated by partitioning between emulsion phases can undergo reaction at the interface, i.e.

Diet-induced impairment of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue metabolic homeostasis and its prevention by probiotic administration.

Western dietary pattern is one of the main contributors to the increased risk of obesity and chronic diseases, through oxidative stress and inflammation, that are the two key mechanisms targeting metabolic organs, such as skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. The chronic exposure to high levels of dietary fatty acids can increase the amount of intramyocellular lipids in skeletal muscle, altering glucose homeostasis and contributing to a reduction in mitochondrial oxidative capacity. Probiotic administration is a promising approach as preventive strategy to attenuate metabolic damage induced by Western diet.

Gut microbiota drives colon cancer risk associated with diet: a comparative analysis of meat-based and pesco-vegetarian diets.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) risk is strongly affected by dietary habits with red and processed meat increasing risk, and foods rich in dietary fibres considered protective. Dietary habits also shape gut microbiota, but the role of the combination between diet, the gut microbiota, and the metabolite profile on CRC risk is still missing an unequivocal characterisation.

Methods: To investigate how gut microbiota affects diet-associated CRC risk, we fed Apc-mutated PIRC rats and azoxymethane (AOM)-induced rats the following diets: a high-risk red/processed meat-based diet (MBD), a normalised risk diet (MBD with α-tocopherol, MBDT), a low-risk pesco-vegetarian diet (PVD), and control diet.

Metabolite variations in sulla shoots induced by drought stress.

Background: Climate change results in an increased occurrence of drought periods, which affect the performance of Mediterranean legumes such as sulla. To evaluate the effects of drought stress on the antioxidant capacity and the accumulation of phytochemicals in sulla shoots, rainfed and drought-stressed plants (RAI) and watered plants with timely vegetative regeneration (STI) were cultivated in parallel in a field experiment and sampled at four different times.

Results: Drought stress strongly and positively affected the antioxidant capacity and the accumulation of polyphenols in sulla shoots, with key differences at wintertime.

Protein-bound and free glycation compounds in human milk: A comparative study with minimally processed infant formula and pasteurized bovine milk.

The role of the Maillard reaction and the accumulation of non-enzymatic glycation compounds in human milk have been scarcely considered. In this study, we investigated the proteins most susceptible to glycation, the identity of the corresponding modified residues and the quantitative relationship between protein-bound and free glycation compounds in raw human milk and, for comparison, in minimally processed infant formula and pasteurized bovine milk. In human milk, total protein-bound lysine modifications were up to 10% of the counterparts in infant formula, while Nε-carboxymethyllysine reached up to 27% of the concentration in the other two products.

Plant production of recombinant antigens containing the receptor binding domain (RBD) of two SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Objectives: The aim of this work was to rapidly produce in plats two recombinant antigens (RBDw-Fc and RBDo-Fc) containing the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike (S) protein from SARS-CoV-2 variants Wuhan and Omicron as fusion proteins to the Fc portion of a murine IgG2a antibody constant region (Fc).

Results: The two recombinant antigens were expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana plants, engineered to avoid the addition of N-linked plant-typical sugars, through vacuum agroinfiltration and showed comparable purification yields (about 35 mg/kg leaf fresh weight).

Conclusions: Their Western blotting and Coomassie staining evidenced the occurrence of major in planta proteolysis in the region between the RBD and Fc, which was particularly evident in RBDw-Fc, the only antigen bearing the HRV 3C cysteine protease recognition site.

Protective role of cells and spores of Shouchella clausii SF174 against fructose-induced gut dysfunctions in small and large intestine.

The oral administration of probiotics is nowadays recognized as a strategy to treat or prevent the consequences of unhealthy dietary habits. Here we analyze and compare the effects of the oral administration of vegetative cells or spores of Shouchella clausii SF174 in counteracting gut dysfunctions induced by 6 weeks of high fructose intake in a rat model. Gut microbiota composition, tight junction proteins, markers of inflammation and redox homeostasis were evaluated in ileum and colon in rats fed fructose rich diet and supplemented with cells or spores of Shouchella clausii SF174.

Beyond the gut: Investigating the mechanism of formation of β-casomorphins in human blood.

To evaluate the potential differences in the propensity of β-casein A1 (β-CNA1) and A2 (β-CNA2) from bovine milk to release health-relevant β-casomorphins (BCMs), food-derived peptides were monitored over time in the blood of eight human volunteers who consumed milk containing both protein variants. Liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution tandem mass spectrometry revealed interindividual variability of milk peptidomic profiles in human blood. BCMs were not detected, whereas BCM precursors originating from both β-CNA1 and β-CNA2 were ascertained, with β-CNA2-derived peptides showing a slightly greater susceptibility to proteolysis.

Phenotypical and biochemical characterization of tomato plants treated with triacontanol.

Biostimulants are heterogeneous products designed to support plant development and to improve the yield and quality of crops. Here, we focused on the effects of triacontanol, a promising biostimulant found in cuticle waxes, on tomato growth and productivity. We examined various phenological traits related to vegetative growth, flowering and fruit yield, the metabolic profile of fruits, and the response of triacontanol-treated plants to salt stress.

Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 relieves inflammation, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and autophagy in hippocampus of western diet-fed rats by modulation of systemic inflammation.

The consumption of western diets, high in fats and sugars, is a crucial contributor to brain molecular alterations, cognitive dysfunction and neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, a mandatory challenge is the individuation of strategies capable of preventing diet-induced impairment of brain physiology. A promising strategy might consist in the administration of probiotics that are known to influence brain function via the gut-brain axis.

Effect of brewer's spent grain melanoidins on maillard reaction products during storage of whey protein model systems.

Maillard reaction readily takes place in dairy products because of the association between thermal treatments, extended storage and the matrix composition. Along with the impairment of protein digestion, the formation of glycation and α-dicarbonyl compounds is a concern for quality attributes of whey proteins when used as ingredients. In this paper, we outline the capacity of brewer's spent grain melanoidins in reducing the accumulation of α-dicarbonyl compounds, thus controlling the formation of dietary advanced glycation end-products in accelerated shelf life at 35 °C.

Integrated omics approach reveals the molecular pathways activated in tomato by Kocuria rhizophila, a soil plant growth-promoting bacterium.

Plant microbial biostimulants application has become a promising and eco-friendly agricultural strategy to improve crop yields, reducing chemical inputs for more sustainable cropping systems. The soil dwelling bacterium Kocuria rhizophila was previously characterized as Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria (PGPB) for its multiple PGP traits, such as indole-3-acetic acid production, phosphate solubilization capability and salt and drought stress tolerance. Here, we evaluated by a multi-omics approach, the PGP activity of K.

Albumen and Yolk Plasma Peptidomics for the Identification and Quantitation of Bioactive Molecules and the Quality Control of Hen Egg Products.

Hen eggs and the corresponding food products are essential components of human diet. In addition to supplying basic nutrients, they contain functional peptides that are released in vivo within the intact raw material following physiological proteolytic events affecting specific proteins or derive from technological processing of albumen and yolk fractions as a result of the dedicated use of proteases from plant and microbial sources. Besides their potential importance for functional applications, peptides released under physiological conditions in intact egg can be used as markers of product storage and deterioration.

Characterization of Nanovesicles Isolated from Olive Vegetation Water.

Edible plant and fruit-derived nanovesicles (NVs) are membrane-enclosed particles with round-shape morphology and signaling functions, which resemble mammalian cell-derived extracellular vesicles. These NVs can transmit cross-kingdom signals as they contain bioactive molecules and exert biological effects on mammalian cells. Their properties and stability in the gastrointestinal tract suggest NVs as a promising nutraceutical tool.

Downregulation of praja2 restrains endocytosis and boosts tyrosine kinase receptors in kidney cancer.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common kidney cancer in the adult population. Late diagnosis, resistance to therapeutics and recurrence of metastatic lesions account for the highest mortality rate among kidney cancer patients. Identifying novel biomarkers for early cancer detection and elucidating the mechanisms underlying ccRCC will provide clues to treat this aggressive malignant tumor.

A Genotyping Method for Detecting Foreign Buffalo Material in Mozzarella di Bufala Campana Cheese Using Allele-Specific- and Single-Tube Heminested-Polymerase Chain Reaction.

Mozzarella di Bufala Campana (MdBC) cheese is a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) product that is important for the economy and cultural heritage of the Campania region. Food fraud can undermine consumers' trust in this dairy product and harm the livelihood of local producers. The current methods for detecting adulteration in MdBC cheese due to the use of buffalo material from foreign countries could exhibit limitations associated with the required use of expensive equipment, time-consuming procedures, and specialized personnel.

Proteomic Characterization of Native and Rearranged Disulfide Bonds in Proteins from Thermally Treated and Commercial Milk Samples.

To investigate thiol-disulfide interchange reactions in heated milk yielding non-native intramolecular rearranged and intermolecular cross-linked proteins, a proteomic study based on nanoLC-ESI-Q-Orbitrap-MS/MS and dedicated bioinformatics was accomplished. Raw milk samples heated for different times and various commercial dairy products were analyzed. Qualitative experiments on tryptic digests of resolved protein mixtures assigned the corresponding disulfide-linked peptides.

Proteomic analysis of murine Tsc1-deficient neural stem progenitor cells.

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare, multisystem genetic disorder that leads to the development of benign tumors in multiple organs and neurological symptoms. TSC clinical manifestations show a great heterogenicity, with most patients presenting severe neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders. TSC is caused by loss-of-function mutations in either TSC1 or TSC2 genes, leading to overexpression of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) and, consequently, abnormal cellular growth, proliferation and differentiation as well as to cell migration defects.

AUF1 Recognizes 8-Oxo-Guanosine Embedded in DNA and Stimulates APE1 Endoribonuclease Activity.

The existence of modified ribonucleotide monophosphates embedded in genomic DNA, as a consequence of oxidative stress conditions, including 8-oxo-guanosine and ribose monophosphate abasic site (rAP), has been recently highlighted by several works and associated with oxidative stress conditions. Although human apurinic-apyrimidinic endodeoxyribonuclease 1 (APE1), a key enzyme of the base-excision repair pathway, repairs rAP sites and canonical deoxyribose monophosphate abasic sites with similar efficiency, its incision-repairing activity on 8-oxo-guanosine is very weak. The aims of this work were to: (i) identify proteins able to specifically bind 8-oxo-guanosine embedded in DNA and promote APE1 endoribonuclease activity on this lesion, and (ii) characterize the molecular and biological relevance of this interaction using human cancer cell lines.

Investigating phenotypic relationships in persimmon accessions through integrated proteomic and metabolomic analysis of corresponding fruits.

Together with phenological and genomic approaches, gel-based and label-free proteomic as well metabolomic procedures were separately applied to plants to highlight differences between ecotypes, to estimate genetic variability within/between organism populations, or to characterize specific mutants/genetically modified lines at metabolic level. To investigate the possible use of tandem mass tag (TMT)-based quantitative proteomics in the above-mentioned contexts and based on the absence of combined proteo-metabolomic studies on cultivars, we here applied integrated proteomic and metabolomic approaches to fruits from Italian persimmon ecotypes with the aim to characterize plant phenotypic diversity at molecular level. We identified 2255 proteins in fruits, assigning 102 differentially represented components between cultivars, including some related to pomological, nutritional and allergenic characteristics.