Effect of flaxseed oil on muscle protein loss and carbohydrate oxidation impairment in a pig model after lipopolysaccharide challenge

An Integrative ATAC-Seq and RNA-Seq Analysis of the Endometrial Tissues of Meishan and Duroc Pigs

Meishan pigs are a well-known indigenous pig breed in China characterized by a high fertility. Notably, the number of endometrial grands is significantly higher in Meishan pigs than Duroc pigs. The characteristics of the endometrial tissue are related to litter size. Therefore, we used the assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with sequencing (ATAC-seq) and RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) to analyze the mechanisms underlying the differences in fecundity between the breeds. We detected the key transcription factors, including Double homeobox (Dux), Ladybird-like homeobox gene 2 (LBX2), and LIM homeobox 8 (Lhx8), with potentially pivotal roles in the regulation of the genes related to endometrial development. We identified the differentially expressed genes between the breeds, including SOX17, ANXA4, DLX3, DMRT1, FLNB, IRF6, CBFA2T2, TFCP2L1, EFNA5, SLIT2, and CYFIP2, with roles in epithelial cell differentiation, fertility, and ovulation. Interestingly, ANXA4, CBFA2T2, and TFCP2L1, which were upregulated in the Meishan pigs in the RNA-seq analysis, were identified again by the integration of the ATAC-seq and RNA-seq data. Moreover, we identified genes in the cancer or immune pathways, FoxO signaling, Wnt signaling, and phospholipase D signaling pathways. These ATAC-seq and RNA-seq analyses revealed the accessible chromatin and potential mechanisms underlying the differences in the endometrial tissues between the two types of pigs.

Management of a Patient With Premenstrual Syndrome Using Acupuncture, Supplements, and Meditation: A Case Report

Objective

The purpose of this case report was to describe a multimodal approach for the treatment of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

Clinical Features

A 36-year-old nulliparous woman presented to a free clinic for veterans and their spouses. She received a PMS diagnosis at age 18. She was previously prescribed hormonal birth control and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which minimally affected her condition. She stopped using conventional medicine therapies at age 27. Laboratory results showed that her progesterone was below 0.5 ng/mL. Her symptom score was 50 out of 60 on the Treatment Strategies for PMS assessment tool. During her menses, she experienced low back pain and stiffness, bloating, swelling, weight gain, breast tenderness, swelling, and pain, and she felt overwhelmed and stressed.

Intervention and Outcome

Traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture was administered in conjunction with 100 mg of coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinol) and a B-100 complex once a day and 400 mg of magnesium citrate, 1000 mg of flaxseed oil (Linum usitatissimum), and 1000 mg of turmeric (Curcuma longa) twice a day. Five days before the onset of her menstrual period, she was to ingest a B-100 complex twice a day and 400 mg of magnesium citrate, 1000 mg of flaxseed oil, and 1000 mg of turmeric 3 times a day. Mindfulness meditation was encouraged twice a day for 10 minutes to reduce stress. After 12 treatments over 3 months, her symptom score decreased to 18 out of 60 and remained below 20 for an additional 32 weeks.

Conclusion

This patient with PMS symptoms positively responded to a multimodal approach using traditional Chinese medicine-style acupuncture, dietary supplements, and mindfulness meditation.

The Effect of Increasing Concentrations of Omega-3 Fatty Acids from either Flaxseed Oil or Preformed Docosahexaenoic Acid on Fatty Acid Composition, Plasma Oxylipin, and Immune Response of Laying Hens

BACKGROUND

There is a lack of nutrition guidelines for the feeding of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) to laying hens. Knowledge as to whether the type and concentrations of α-linolenic acid (ALA) and/or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the diet can make a difference to the birds' immune responses when subjected to a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge is limited.

OBJECTIVES

The study was designed to determine the potential nutritional and health benefits to laying hens when receiving dietary omega-3 PUFA from either ALA or DHA.

METHODS

A total of 80 Lohmann LSL-Classic (white egg layer, 20 wk old) were randomly assigned to 1 of 8 treatment diets (10 hens/treatment), provided 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, or 0.8% of total dietary omega-3 PUFA, provided as either ALA-rich flaxseed oil or DHA-enriched algal biomass. After an 8-wk feeding period, the birds were challenged with Escherichia coli-derived LPS (8 mg/kg; i.v. injection), with terminal sample collection 4 h after challenge. Egg yolk, plasma, liver, and spleen samples were collected for subsequent analyses.

RESULTS

Increasing dietary omega-3 supplementation yielded predictable responses in egg yolk, plasma, and liver fatty acid concentrations. Dietary intake of ALA contributed mainly to ALA-derived oxylipins. Meanwhile, eicosapentaenoic acid- and DHA-derived oxylipins were primarily influenced by DHA dietary intake. LPS increased the concentrations of almost all the omega-6 PUFA-, ALA-, and DHA-derived oxylipins in plasma and decreased hepatic mRNA expression of COX-2 and 5-LOX (P < 0.001) involved in the biosynthesis of oxylipins. LPS also increased mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokine IFN-γ and receptor TLR-4 (P < 0.001) in the spleen.

CONCLUSIONS

These results revealed that dietary intake of ALA and DHA had unique impacts on fatty acid deposition and their derived oxylipins and inflammatory responses under the administration of LPS in laying hens.

Phytochemicals: A potential therapeutic intervention for the prevention and treatment of cachexia

Cachexia, a multifactorial and often irreversible wasting syndrome, is often associated with the final phase of several chronic disorders. Although cachexia is characterized by skeletal muscle wasting and adipose tissue loss, it is a syndrome affecting different organs, which ultimately results in systemic complications and impaired quality of life. The pathogenesis and underlying molecular mechanisms of cachexia are not fully understood, and currently there are no effective standard treatments or approved drug therapies to completely reverse cachexia. Moreover, adequate nutritional interventions alone cannot significantly improve cachexia. Other approaches to ameliorate cachexia are urgently needed, and thus, the role of medicinal plants has received considerable importance in this respect due to their beneficial health properties. Increasing evidence indicates great potential of medicinal plants and their phytochemicals as an alternative and promising treatment strategy to reduce the symptoms of many diseases including cachexia. This article reviews the current status of cachexia, the molecular mechanisms of primary events driving cachexia, and state-of-the-art knowledge that reports the preventive and therapeutic activities of multiple families of phytochemical compounds and their pharmacological mode of action, which may hold promise as an alternative treatment modality for the management of cachexia. Based on our review of various in vitro and in vivo models of cachexia, we would conclude that phytochemicals may have therapeutic potential to attenuate cachexia, although clinical trials are required to unequivocally confirm this premise.

Dietary Fatty Acid Regulation of the NLRP3 Inflammasome via the TLR4/NF-κB Signaling Pathway Affects Chondrocyte Pyroptosis

Dietary fatty acid (FA) content and type have different effects on obesity-associated osteoarthritis (OA), but the mechanisms underlying these differences are not fully understood. Inflammation activated by toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor- (NF-) κB signaling and pyroptosis induced by the NLRP3/caspase-1/gasdermin D (GSDMD) signaling pathway play important roles in OA development. Our aim in this study was to observe the effects of dietary FAs on the articular cartilage of obese post-traumatic OA model mice and on chondrocytes stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and to determine whether the underlying mechanisms involve TLR4/NF-κB and NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD signaling pathways. Mice were fed high-fat diets rich in various FAs and underwent surgical destabilization of the medial meniscus to establish the obesity-related post-traumatic OA model. LPS-induced SW1353 chondrosarcoma cells were used to mimic OA status in vitro, and TLR4 inhibitors or TLR4 overexpressing lentivirus was administered. Analysis using weight-matched mice and multiple regression models revealed that OA was associated with dietary FA content and serum inflammatory factor levels, but not body weight. Diets rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) attenuated OA and inhibited the TLR4/NF-κB and NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD signaling pathways, whereas diets rich in saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), or n-6 PUFAs increased OA severity and activated these pathways. In vitro results for SFAs, n-6 PUFAs, and n-3 PUFAs were consistent with the animal experiments. However, those for MUFAs were not. FA effects on the NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD pathway were associated with the inhibition or activation of the TLR4 signaling pathway. In conclusion, diets rich in SFAs or n-6 PUFAs can exacerbate obesity-associated OA, whereas those rich in n-3 PUFAs have protective effects against this disease, due to their respective pro-/anti-inflammatory and pyroptotic effects. Further research on dietary FA supplements as a potential therapeutic approach for OA is needed.

Pharmacological Applications and Action Mechanisms of Phytochemicals as Alternatives to Antibiotics in Pig Production

Antibiotics are widely used for infectious diseases and feed additives for animal health and growth. Antibiotic resistant caused by overuse of antibiotics poses a global health threat. It is urgent to choose safe and environment-friendly alternatives to antibiotics to promote the ecological sustainable development of the pig industry. Phytochemicals are characterized by little residue, no resistance, and minimal side effects and have been reported to improve animal health and growth performance in pigs, which may become a promising additive in pig production. This paper summarizes the biological functions of recent studies of phytochemicals on growth performance, metabolism, antioxidative capacity, gut microbiota, intestinal mucosa barrier, antiviral, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, detoxification of mycotoxins, as well as their action mechanisms in pig production. The review may provide the theoretical basis for the application of phytochemicals functioning as alternative antibiotic additives in the pig industry.

Antioxidant Properties and Cytoprotective Effect of Pistacia lentiscus L. Seed Oil against 7β-Hydroxycholesterol-Induced Toxicity in C2C12 Myoblasts: Reduction in Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial and Peroxisomal Dysfunctions and Attenuation of Cell Death

Aging is characterized by a progressive increase in oxidative stress, which favors lipid peroxidation and the formation of cholesterol oxide derivatives, including 7β-hydroxycholesterol (7β-OHC). This oxysterol, which is known to trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, and cell death, could contribute to the aging process and age-related diseases, such as sarcopenia. Identifying molecules or mixtures of molecules preventing the toxicity of 7β-OHC is therefore an important issue. This study consists of determining the chemical composition of Tunisian Pistacia lentiscus L. seed oil (PLSO) used in the Tunisian diet and evaluating its ability to counteract the cytotoxic effects induced by 7β-OHC in murine C2C12 myoblasts. The effects of 7β-OHC (50 µM; 24 h), associated or not with PLSO, were studied on cell viability, oxidative stress, and on mitochondrial and peroxisomal damages induction. α-Tocopherol (400 µM) was used as the positive control for cytoprotection. Our data show that PLSO is rich in bioactive compounds; it contains polyunsaturated fatty acids, and several nutrients with antioxidant properties: phytosterols, α-tocopherol, carotenoids, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds. When associated with PLSO (100 µg/mL), the 7β-OHC-induced cytotoxic effects were strongly attenuated. The cytoprotection was in the range of those observed with α-tocopherol. This cytoprotective effect was characterized by prevention of cell death and organelle dysfunction (restoration of cell adhesion, cell viability, and plasma membrane integrity; prevention of mitochondrial and peroxisomal damage) and attenuation of oxidative stress (reduction in reactive oxygen species overproduction in whole cells and at the mitochondrial level; decrease in lipid and protein oxidation products formation; and normalization of antioxidant enzyme activities: glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD)). These results provide evidence that PLSO has similar antioxidant properties than α-tocopherol used at high concentration and contains a mixture of molecules capable to attenuate 7β-OHC-induced cytotoxic effects in C2C12 myoblasts. These data reinforce the interest in edible oils associated with the Mediterranean diet, such as PLSO, in the prevention of age-related diseases, such as sarcopenia.

Kinetics of changes in gene and microRNA expression related with muscle inflammation and protein degradation following LPS-challenge in weaned piglets

To test the dynamic changes of the expression of genes and microRNA in the gastrocnemius muscle after LPS challenge, 36 piglets were assigned to a control group (slaughtered 0 h after saline injection) and LPS groups (slaughtered at 1 h, 2 h, 4 h, 8 h, and 12 h after LPS treatment, respectively). After LPS treatment, the mRNA expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α reached maximal levels at 1 h, 2 h, and 1 h, respectively (P < 0.05), and mRNA expression of TLR4, NODs, muscle-specific ring finger 1, and muscle atrophy F-box peaked at 12 h (P < 0.05). Moreover, the expression of miR-122, miR-135a, and miR-370 reduced at 1 h, 1 h, and 2 h, respectively (P < 0.05), and miR-34a, miR-224, miR-132, and miR-145 reached maximum expression levels at 1 h, 1 h, 2 h, and 4 h, respectively (P < 0.05). These results suggested that mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines was elevated in the early stage, mRNA expression of genes related to TLR4 and NODs signaling pathways and protein degradation increased in the later phase, and the expression of microRNA related to muscle inflammation and protein degradation changed in the early stage after LPS injection.