Gut microbes metabolize strawberry phytochemicals and mediate their beneficial effects on vascular inflammation.

Evidence suggests that a healthy gut microbiome is essential for metabolizing dietary phytochemicals. However, the microbiome's role in metabolite production and the influence of gut dysbiosis on this process remain unclear. Further, studies on the relationship among gut microbes, metabolites, and biological activities of phytochemicals are limited.

Functional Connectivity to the Amygdala in the Neonate Is Impacted by the Maternal Anxiety Level During Pregnancy.

Background And Purpose: Anxiety during pregnancy is common, and exposure to heightened anxiety during pregnancy may influence children's brain development and functioning. However, it is unclear if exposure to low levels of anxiety in utero would also impact the developing brain. The current prospective and longitudinal study included 40 healthy pregnant women without pregnancy complications or previous diagnosis of anxiety disorders.

Gut microbiota dysbiosis in Alzheimer's disease (AD): Insights from human clinical studies and the mouse AD models.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a debilitating neurocognitive disorder with an unclear underlying mechanism. Recent studies have implicated gut microbiota dysbiosis with the onset and progression of AD. The connection between gut microbiota and AD can significantly affect the prevention and treatment of AD patients.

Abnormal Exercise Gas Exchange Before Pulmonary Emboli Diagnosis.

A 20-year-old male underwent diagnostic testing due to unexplained shortness of breath and chest discomfort. He had no previous medical problems and was not taking any medications. Initial evaluations included cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), which yielded results that were reported as normal.

Dietary soy protein reverses obesity-induced liver steatosis and alters fecal microbial composition independent of isoflavone level.

Introduction: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a major public health concern that is exacerbated by the obesity pandemic. Dietary interventions have the potential to alleviate obesity-associated MASLD through variable mechanisms, including optimizing the gut microbiota. Previously, we reported that soy protein concentrate (SPC) with low or high levels of isoflavone (LIF or HIF) protected young obese Zucker rats from developing liver steatosis.

Grape-Seed Proanthocyanidin Extract (GSPE) Modulates Diurnal Rhythms of Hepatic Metabolic Genes and Metabolites, and Reduces Lipid Deposition in Cafeteria-Fed Rats in a Time-of-Day-Dependent Manner.

Scope: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a global health issue with increasing prevalence. Polyphenols, such as grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE), are bioactive compounds present in plants and represent an interesting therapeutical approach for MASLD.

Methods And Results: This study questioned whether the timing of GSPE administration impacts liver diurnal metabolism and steatosis in a rat obesity model.

Impact of maternal high-fat diet on offspring gut microbiota during short-term high-fat diet exposure in mice.

Alterations in the gut microbiome have been linked to obesity, with maternal high-fat diet (HF) playing a role in shaping offspring microbiome composition. However, the sex-specific responses to maternal HF diet and the impact of subsequent dietary challenges remain unclear. This study investigated the effects of maternal HF diet on offspring gut microbiota structure and predicted functional profile in response to short-term postnatal HF diet exposure with a focus on sex-specific responses.

Associations between maternal microbiome, metabolome and incidence of low-birth weight in Guatemalan participants from the Women First Trial.

Background: Low birth weight (LBW; <2,500 g) affects approximately 15 to 20 percent of global births annually and is associated with suboptimal child development. Recent studies suggest a link between the maternal gut microbiome and poor obstetric and perinatal outcomes. The goal of this study was to examine relationships between maternal microbial taxa, fecal metabolites, and maternal anthropometry on incidence of LBW in resource-limited settings.

Calorie restriction during gestation impacts maternal and offspring fecal microbiome in mice.

Background: Maternal undernutrition is the most common cause of fetal growth restriction (FGR) worldwide. FGR increases morbidity and mortality during infancy, as well as contributes to adult-onset diseases including obesity and type 2 diabetes. The role of the maternal or offspring microbiome in growth outcomes following FGR is not well understood.

Excessive Gestational Weight Gain, Independent of Body Mass Index, Is Associated With Child Fat Mass Index at Age 2 Years in the Growing life, Optimizing Wellness Study.

Background: Excessive gestational weight gain (eGWG) increases risk for pregnancy complications and future obesity for pregnant persons and children. Yet, it is unclear whether eGWG leads to higher child adiposity at 2 years, independent of the pregnant person's body mass index (BMI) while considering important covariates. Moreover, understanding the characteristics of pregnant persons experiencing eGWG will help design future targeted interventions.

The oxygen uptake efficiency slope does not accurately predict O of children - the Arkansas Active Kids study.

Background: Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is a vital indicator of health. However, accurately measuring peak oxygen consumption ( O) to determine CRF in children can be challenging. The oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) has been proposed as an alternative metric for predicting O in children, but its accuracy and agreement with measured O remain unclear.

Protonophore treatment augments energy expenditure in mice housed at thermoneutrality.

Background: Sub-thermoneutral housing increases facultative thermogenesis in mice, which may mask the pre-clinical efficacy of anti-obesity strategies that target energy expenditure (EE). Here, we quantified the impact of protonophore treatment on whole-body energetics in mice housed at 30°C.

Methods: C57BL/6J mice ( = 48, 24M/24F) were housed at 24°C for 2 weeks; 32 (16M/16F) were then transitioned to 30°C for a further 4 weeks.

Exploring the relationship between child temperament, maternal psychiatric symptoms, family environment and infant feeding.

Objectives: Infant temperament is assumed to be primarily innate. However, newer research suggests that maternal affection impacts ratings of temperament and environmental factors, including feeding method, can also influence infant temperament. This study investigates child temperament and its relationships with maternal psychiatric symptoms, environmental variables and feeding method longitudinally in a cohort of children followed from 6 to 72 months.

Maternal immune cell gene expression associates with maternal gut microbiome, milk composition and infant gut microbiome.

Background: Pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity promote deleterious health impacts on both mothers during pregnancy and the offspring. Significant changes in the maternal peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) gene expression due to obesity are well-known. However, the impact of pre-pregnancy overweight on immune cell gene expression during pregnancy and its association with maternal and infant outcomes is not well explored.

Unraveling Protein-Metabolite Interactions in Precision Nutrition: A Case Study of Blueberry-Derived Metabolites Using Advanced Computational Methods.

Metabolomics, the study of small-molecule metabolites within biological systems, has become a potent instrument for understanding cellular processes. Despite its profound insights into health, disease, and drug development, identifying the protein partners for metabolites, especially dietary phytochemicals, remains challenging. In the present study, we introduced an innovative in silico, structure-based target prediction approach to efficiently predict protein targets for metabolites.

Childhood cardiometabolic risk factors associated with the perinatal environment of the maternal-paternal-child triad.

Introduction: Clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors in childhood significantly increases the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease later in life. Identification of modifiable parental factors that contribute to offspring cardiometabolic health is critical for the prevention of disease. The objective was to identify factors associated with child cardiometabolic risk factors at age 5 years.

Novel odd-chain cyclopropane fatty acids: detection in a mammalian lipidome and uptake by hepatosplanchnic tissues.

Microbe-produced molecules (xenometabolites) found in foods or produced by gut microbiota are increasingly implicated in microbe-microbe and microbe-host communication. Xenolipids, in particular, are a class of metabolites for which the full catalog remains to be elaborated in mammalian systems. We and others have observed that cis-3,4-methylene-heptanoylcarnitine is a lipid derivative that is one of the most abundant medium-chain acylcarnitines in human blood, hypothesized to be a product of incomplete β-oxidation of one or more "odd-chain" long-chain cyclopropane fatty acids (CpFAs).

Human quad liver-on-chip system as a tool toward bridging the gap between animals and humans regarding toxicology and pharmacology of a cannabidiol-rich cannabis extract.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a major phytocannabinoid from . It is currently widely available and widely used in the USA, but despite its rapid progress to market, the pharmacology and toxicology of both CBD and cannabidiol-rich cannabis extracts (CRCE) remain largely unknown. The goals of this study were to investigate the potential of a novel human microphysiological system to emulate CRCE-induced hepatotoxicity and pharmacological properties demonstrated in animal models.

Western Diet Modifies Platelet Activation Profiles in Male Mice.

The correlation between obesity and cardiovascular disease has long been understood, yet scant investigations endeavored to determine the impact of an obesogenic diet on platelet activation or function. As platelets drive clot formation, the terminus of cardiovascular events, we aimed to elucidate the longitudinal effect of an obesogenic diet on platelet phenotype by assessing markers of platelet activation using flow cytometry. Male, weanling mice were fed either a Western diet (30% kcal sucrose, 40% kcal fat, 8.