Behavioral and omics analyses study on potential involvement of dipeptide balenine through supplementation in diet of senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8

Acute balenine supplementation in humans as a natural carnosinase-resistant alternative to carnosine

Balenine possesses some of carnosine's and anserine's functions, yet it appears more resistant to the hydrolysing CN1 enzyme. The aim of this study was to elucidate the stability of balenine in the systemic circulation and its bioavailability in humans following acute supplementation. Two experiments were conducted in which (in vitro) carnosine, anserine and balenine were added to plasma to compare degradation profiles and (in vivo) three increasing doses (1-4-10 mg/kg) of balenine were acutely administered to 6 human volunteers. Half-life of balenine (34.9 ± 14.6 min) was respectively 29.1 and 16.3 times longer than that of carnosine (1.20 ± 0.36 min, p = 0.0044) and anserine (2.14 ± 0.58 min, p = 0.0044). In vivo, 10 mg/kg of balenine elicited a peak plasma concentration (Cmax) of 28 µM, which was 4 and 18 times higher than with 4 (p = 0.0034) and 1 mg/kg (p = 0.0017), respectively. CN1 activity showed strong negative correlations with half-life (ρ = - 0.829; p = 0.0583), Cmax (r = - 0.938; p = 0.0372) and incremental area under the curve (r = - 0.825; p = 0.0433). Overall, balenine seems more resistant to CN1 hydrolysis resulting in better in vivo bioavailability, yet its degradation remains dependent on enzyme activity. Although a similar functionality as carnosine and anserine remains to be demonstrated, opportunities arise for balenine as nutraceutical or ergogenic aid.

No Effect of Acute Balenine Supplementation on Maximal and Submaximal Exercise Performance in Recreational Cyclists

Carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) and its methylated analogues anserine and balenine are highly concentrated endogenous dipeptides in mammalian skeletal muscle that are implicated in exercise performance. Balenine has a much better bioavailability and stability in human circulation upon acute ingestion, compared to carnosine and anserine. Therefore, ergogenic effects observed with acute carnosine and anserine supplementation may be even more pronounced with balenine. This study investigated whether acute balenine supplementation improves physical performance in four maximal and submaximal exercise modalities. A total of 20 healthy, active volunteers (14 males; six females) performed cycling sprints, maximal isometric contractions, a 4-km TT and 20-km TT following either preexercise placebo or 10 mg/kg of balenine ingestion. Physical, as well as mental performance, along with acid-base balance and glucose concentration were assessed. Balenine was unable to augment peak power (p = .3553), peak torque (p = .3169), time to complete the 4 km (p = .8566), nor 20 km time trial (p = .2660). None of the performances were correlated with plasma balenine or CN1 enzyme activity. In addition, no effect on pH, bicarbonate, and lactate was observed. Also, the supplement did not affect mental performance. In contrast, glucose remained higher during and after the 20 km time trial following balenine ingestion. In conclusion, these results overall indicate that the functionality of balenine does not fully resemble that of carnosine and anserine, since it was unable to elicit performance improvements with similar and even higher plasma concentrations.

Detection of Balenine in Mouse Plasma after Administration of Opah-Derived Balenine by HPLC with PITC Pre-Column Derivatization

We examined the absorption of balenine (Bal) in mouse blood after the administration of a high-purity Bal prepared from opah muscle. Using HPLC with phenyl isothiocyanate pre-column derivatization, we successfully isolated imidazole peptides and their constituents. We detected Bal and 3-methylhistidine (3-Me-His) in mouse blood 1 h after the administration of opah-derived Bal. The concentrations of Bal and 3-Me-His significantly increased to 128.27 and 69.09 nmol/mL in plasma, respectively, but were undetectable in control and carnosine (Car)-administrated mice. In contrast, β-alanine and histidine did not increase in mouse plasma 1 h after the administration of Car and opah-derived Bal. The present study is the first report on the absorption of food-derived Bal in mouse blood and serves as a pilot study for future clinical trials.

Isolation of balenine from opah (Lampris megalopsis) muscle and comparison of antioxidant and iron-chelating activities with other major imidazole dipeptides

Balenine (Bal) in opah muscle was extracted using hot water and purified by ion-exchange chromatography and recrystallization to provide 41 g of over 95% pure Bal from 1 kg of opah muscle. The structure of purified Bal was identical to that of an authentic Bal standard by NMR analysis. The antioxidant (ORAC and HORAC values) and Fe(II) ion-chelating abilities of purified Bal were examined by comparison with two major imidazole dipeptides, carnosine (Car) and anserine (Ans). Opah-derived Bal showed significantly higher ORAC and HORAC values and Fe(II) ion-chelating ability at 0.3 mM. In silico molecular simulation revealed that Bal and Car formed hydrogen bonds between the hydrogen atom of the imidazole imino group and the carboxyl carbonyl oxygen, whereas Ans did not. The proposed method for extracting and purifying Bal from opah muscle suggests that opah can be utilized as a functional food or Bal resource.

L-carnosine and its Derivatives as New Therapeutic Agents for the Prevention and Treatment of Vascular Complications of Diabetes

Vascular complications are among the most serious manifestations of diabetes. Atherosclerosis is the main cause of reduced life quality and expectancy in diabetics, whereas diabetic nephropathy and retinopathy are the most common causes of end-stage renal disease and blindness. An effective therapeutic approach to prevent vascular complications should counteract the mechanisms of injury. Among them, the toxic effects of Advanced Glycation (AGEs) and Lipoxidation (ALEs) end-products are well-recognized contributors to these sequelae. L-carnosine (β-alanyl-Lhistidine) acts as a quencher of the AGE/ALE precursors Reactive Carbonyl Species (RCS), which are highly reactive aldehydes derived from oxidative and non-oxidative modifications of sugars and lipids. Consistently, L-carnosine was found to be effective in several disease models in which glyco/lipoxidation plays a central pathogenic role. Unfortunately, in humans, L-carnosine is rapidly inactivated by serum carnosinase. Therefore, the search for carnosinase-resistant derivatives of Lcarnosine represents a suitable strategy against carbonyl stress-dependent disorders, particularly diabetic vascular complications. In this review, we present and discuss available data on the efficacy of L-carnosine and its derivatives in preventing vascular complications in rodent models of diabetes and metabolic syndrome. We also discuss genetic findings providing evidence for the involvement of the carnosinase/L-carnosine system in the risk of developing diabetic nephropathy and for preferring the use of carnosinase-resistant compounds in human disease. The availability of therapeutic strategies capable to prevent both long-term glucose toxicity, resulting from insufficient glucoselowering therapy, and lipotoxicity may help reduce the clinical and economic burden of vascular complications of diabetes and related metabolic disorders.

Music intervention improves spatial learning and memory and alters serum proteomics profiling in rats

Music has a long history of healing or mitigating physical and mental illness in the clinical setting. We aimed to test changes in behavioral cognition and serum proteomics in rats undergoing music intervention (MI). The Morris water maze (MWM) was used to evaluate spatial learning and memory in rats. Serum protein expression profiling was examined using magnetic bead-based matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF-MS). MI improved spatial learning and memory in both male and female rats. Peak 1708.61 (m/z values) was significantly increased in MI females vs. female controls. Peak 3925.09 (m/z values) was significantly reduced in MI males versus male controls. The two differential serum peptide peaks (m/z values: 1708.61, 3925.09) were further sequence identified as regions of proteins Desmin and Acsm1. Western blot and immunofluorescence testing of Desmin expression showed consistent results on proteomics analysis. MI plays an important role in behavioral cognition and protein expression in rats. This study provides a foundation in proteomics that suggests that MI might improve spatial learning and memory ability.

The Body-wide Transcriptome Landscape of Disease Models

Virtually all diseases affect multiple organs. However, our knowledge of the body-wide effects remains limited. Here, we report the body-wide transcriptome landscape across 13–23 organs of mouse models of myocardial infarction, diabetes, kidney diseases, cancer, and pre-mature aging. Using such datasets, we find (1) differential gene expression in diverse organs across all models; (2) skin as a disease-sensor organ represented by disease-specific activities of putative gene-expression network; (3) a bone-skin cross talk mediated by a bone-derived hormone, FGF23, in response to dysregulated phosphate homeostasis, a known risk-factor for kidney diseases; (4) candidates for the signature activities of many more putative inter-organ cross talk for diseases; and (5) a cross-species map illustrating organ-to-organ and model-to-disease relationships between human and mouse. These findings demonstrate the usefulness and the potential of such body-wide datasets encompassing mouse models of diverse disease types as a resource in biological and medical sciences. Furthermore, the findings described herein could be exploited for designing disease diagnosis and treatment.

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Body-wide multi-organ transcriptome datasets encompassing diverse disease models

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Skin is a disease-sensor organ, and FGF23 mediates a bone-skin cross talk in diseases

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Diverse putative inter-organ cross talk selectively associates with diseases

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A cross-species map illustrating the mouse-human relationships