Metabonomic variations associated with AOM-induced precancerous colorectal lesions and resveratrol treatment

Dietary Energy Intake and Presence of Aberrant Crypt Foci Are Associated with Phospholipid, Purine, and Taurine Metabolite Abundances in C57BL/6N Mouse Colon

SCOPE

Colon metabolomes associated with high-fat (H) versus energy-restricted (E) diets in early colorectal cancer (CRC) models have never been directly compared. The objectives of this study are to elucidate metabolites associated with diet, aberrant crypt foci (ACF), and diet:ACF interaction, using a lifetime murine model.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Three-week-old mice consumed control (C), E, or H initiation diets for 18 weeks. ACF formation is initiated weeks 16-21 with azoxymethane injections, followed by progression diet crossover (to C, E, or H) through week 60. Colon extracts are analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). Metabolites associated with diet, ACF, or diet:ACF are determined using regression models (FDR-adjusted p-value <0.05). No metabolites are significantly associated with initiation diets, but concentrations of acylcarnitines and phospholipids are associated with C, E, and H progression diets. Purines, taurine, and phospholipids are associated with ACF presence. No significant associations between metabolites and diet:ACF interaction are observed.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that recent, rather than early-life, diet is more closely associated with the colon metabolome, particularly lipid metabolism. Results from this study also provide candidate biomarkers of early CRC development and provide support for the importance of early diet on influencing pre-CRC risk.

Significant metabolic alterations in non-small cell lung cancer patients by epidermal growth factor receptor-targeted therapy and PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy

Background: Cancer-related deaths are primarily attributable to lung cancer, of which non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type. Molecular targeting therapy and antitumor immunotherapy have both made great strides in the treatment of NSCLC, but their underlying mechanisms remain unclear, especially from a metabolic perspective.

Methods: Herein, we used a nontargeted metabolomics approach based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to analyze the metabolic response of NSCLC patients to epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) or PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. Multiple analyses, including principal component analysis (PCA), orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and pathway analysis, were used for metabolic data analysis. Additionally, differential metabolites were analysed and identified by publically available and integrated databases.

Results: After treatment with EGFR-TKIs or PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, glutamate/glutamine, phenylalanine, n-acetyl-l-leucine, n-acetyl-d-tryptophan, D-n-valine, arachidonic acid, and linoleic acid levels were significantly increased in patients with NSCLC, whereas carnitine, stearyl carnitine, palmitoyl carnitine, linoleic carnitine, and palmitic acid levels were markedly decreased. Compared with newly diagnosed, untreated patients, there were three shared metabolic pathways (phenylalanine metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and D-glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism) in the EGFR-TKIs or PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor-treated groups, all of which were related to lipid and amino acid metabolism. Moreover, there were significant differences in lipid metabolism (glycerophospholipid metabolism and phosphatidylinositol signaling) and amino acid metabolism (tryptophan metabolism) between the EGFR-TKI and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor groups.

Conclusion: Our results show that EGFR-TKIs and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors induce changes in carnitine, amino acids, fatty acids, and lipids and alter related metabolic pathways in NSCLC patients. Endogenous metabolism changes occur due to drug action and might be indicative of antitumor therapeutic effect. These findings will provide new clues for identifying the antitumor mechanism of these two treatments from the perspective of metabolism.

Applications of resveratrol in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancer

Natural product compounds have lately attracted interest in the scientific community as a possible treatment for gastrointestinal (GI) cancer, due to their anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. There are many preclinical, clinical, and epidemiological studies, suggesting that the consumption of polyphenol compounds, which are abundant in vegetables, grains, fruits, and pulses, may help to prevent various illnesses and disorders from developing, including several GI cancers. The development of GI malignancies follows a well-known path, in which normal gastrointestinal cells acquire abnormalities in their genetic composition, causing the cells to continuously proliferate, and metastasize to other sites, especially the brain and liver. Natural compounds with the ability to affect oncogenic pathways might be possible treatments for GI malignancies, and could easily be tested in clinical trials. Resveratrol is a non-flavonoid polyphenol and a natural stilbene, acting as a phytoestrogen with anti-cancer, cardioprotective, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Resveratrol has been shown to overcome resistance mechanisms in cancer cells, and when combined with conventional anticancer drugs, could sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapy. Several new resveratrol analogs and nanostructured delivery vehicles with improved anti-GI cancer efficacy, absorption, and pharmacokinetic profiles have already been developed. This present review focuses on the in vitro and in vivo effects of resveratrol on GI cancers, as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms of action.

The effect of strength-endurance training on serum and urine metabolic profiles of female adolescent volleyball athletes

Aim

Limited investigations on metabolic responses to exercise training in female adolescent volleyball athletes exist. The aim of this study was to obtain serum and urine metabolite markers in female adolescent volleyball athletes within 2-week strength-endurance training using a metabolomics approach coupled with biochemical analysis, which would be potential biomarkers for evaluating the physiological state of athletes.

Methods

Twelve female adolescent volleyball athletes were recruited for 2-week strength-endurance training. Differential serum and urine metabolic profiles between the pre- and post-training group were obtained on gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and data subsequently underwent orthogonal partial least-squares analysis (OPLS).

Results

Strength-endurance training exerted a significant influence on the athletes' serum and urine metabolic profiles. The changed metabolites were primarily involved in energy metabolism, lipid metabolism and amino acids metabolism. Results support the hypothesis that female athletes displayed an increased propensity to oxidize lipids as the major energy source. Exposure to strength-endurance training also led to a significant increase in cortisol, but a decrease in testosterone, indicating disordered hormone adjustment. Exercise-induced oxidative stress occurred, as was evidenced by the decrease in reduced glutathione, and increases in blood malondialdehyde and oxidized glutathione. Since the muscle damage markers creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase did not show significant changes, the training might not cause cell membrane damage and the athletes did not cross the adaptive injury level.

Conclusion

By measurement of endogenous metabolites, the metabolomics study has the potential to reveal the global physiological changes in response to exercise training.

Metabolomics study on the intervention effect of Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae extract in exercise-induced exhaustion rat using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry

The metabolomics approach based on the gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was adopted to explore the underlying mechanism of the anti-fatigue effect of Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae (RSM), a famous herbal medicine in China used for multiple biological functions, in load-weighted swimming test in rat, combined with biochemical parameters evaluations. As a result, the metabolomics study followed by orthogonal partial least-square (OPLS) analysis could differentiate metabolic profiling between the control and exhaustive exercise group, showing the rats underwent an obvious metabolic perturbation, whereas RSM treatment restored scores plot close to normal and showed regulatory effects on the muscle metabolic profiles. The changed metabolic pathways of the potential biomarkers in response to the effect of RSM treatment for exhaustive exercise rats included in glucose metabolism (glucose, lactic acid, alanine), glutathione metabolism (glycine, glutamate, 5-oxo-proline), TCA cycle (succinic acid), arginine biosynthesis (glutamine, ornithine, urea), glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism (serine, glycine), oxidative stress (taurine) and purine metabolism (inosine). In addition, intervention of RSM increased hepatic glycogen, muscle glycogen and serum glucose, and decreased triglyceride and blood urea nitrogen levels, indicating RSM treatment may regulate energy metabolism by increasing the rate of fat utilization, decrease the protein and carbohydrate utilization. Furthermore, RSM reduced exhaustive exercise-induced accumulation of the lipid peroxidation byproduct malonaldehyde and elevated antioxidants' levels, including reduced glutathione and superoxide dismutase, which might be a positive reflection of improved oxidant-antioxidant balance. Moreover, RSM could protect against exercise-induced muscle damage by attenuating creatine kinase release. In summary, RSM provided a good anti-fatigue effect by regulating energy metabolism, oxidant-antioxidant balance, and the endogenous metabolites in the exercising muscle. This study demonstrates that metabolomics is an effective tool for the estimation of the potential anti-fatigue effect of RSM and for the illustration of its pharmacological mechanism.

Chemoprotective Effects of Geraniin against Azoxymethane Induced Colorectal Cancer by Reduction of Inflammatory Reaction

The leading cause of cancer-related death is colorectal cancer, and inflammatory bowel disease is a risk factor for this disease. Azoxymethane (AOM) is a potent cancer inducer widely used in rats for colon cancer. The current study was scrutinizing the chemo-protective effect of geraniin against AOM induced colorectal cancer via alteration of oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokines. The rats were divided into different groups such as Group I: normal control, Group II geraniin (20 mg/kg), Group III: received AOM, Group IV-VI: AOM + geraniin (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg), respectively. All group of rats were received treatment for 16 weeks. At the end of the experimental study, the hepatic, biochemical, phase II antioxidant, antioxidant enzymes, cytokines, apoptosis and inflammatory mediators were estimated. Geraniin treatment significantly reduced tumor weight and enhanced body weight. Geraniin administration also altered the level of antioxidant parameters-superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR); phase I enzymes - cytochrome B5, cytochrome P450; phase II enzymes - Glutathione-S-Transferase (GST), UDP-Glucuronyl transferase (UDP-GT) respectively. Obtained results also demonstrate that geraniin treatment reduced the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-2, IL-1α, IL-10, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-12, IL-17A, IFN-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α, G-CSF, and GM-CSF. Geraniin also reduced the expression of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ, G-CSF, and GM-CSF. On the basis of result we can conclude that geraniin reduced the colorectal cancer via inflammatory pathway.

Evaluation of the Biological Efficiency of Silver Nanoparticles Biosynthesized Using Croton tiglium L. Seeds Extract against Azoxymethane Induced Colon Cancer in Rats

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is considered as the most common type of gastrointestinal cancers. Chemotherapy became limited due to the adverse side effects. Therefore, the most effective Croton tiglium extract was selected to be incorporated by silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) then evaluated against colon cancer induced by azoxymethane (AOM) in rats.

METHODS

Different hematological and biochemical measurements were quantified in addition to markers of oxidative stress. Specific tumor and inflammatory markers were assayed. Colonic tissues were examined histopathologically in addition to immunohistochemistry (IHC). Native proteins and isoenzymes patterns were electrophoretically assayed beside expression of Tumor Protein P53 (TP53) and Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) genes in colonic tissues.

RESULTS

It was found that AOM caused significant (P≤0.05) elevation in the hematological and biochemical measurements. C. tiglium nano-extract restored these measurements to normalcy. Tumor and inflammatory markers elevated significantly (P≤0.05) in sera of AOM induced colon cancer group in addition to increasing peroxidation products with decline in antioxidant enzymes activities in colon tissues. Nano-extract restored these measurements to normalcy in post-treated group. Histopathological study revealed that nano-extract minimized severity of inflammatory reactions in all nano-extract treated groups and prevented  anti-Keratin 20 antibody expression in post-treated group. The lowest similarity index (SI%) values were noticed with electrophoretic protein (SI=71.43%), lipid (SI=0.00%) and calcium (SI=75.00%) moieties of protein patterns, catalase (SI=85.71%), peroxidase (SI=85.71%), α-esterase (SI=50.00%) and β-esterase (SI=50.00%) isoenzymes in colon cancer group. Furthermore, AOM altered the relative quantities of total native bands. The nano-extract prevented the alterations that occurred qualitatively in nano-extract post-treated group and quantitatively in all nano-extract treated groups. Levels of TP53 and APC gene expression increased in AOM injected group and nano-extract restored their levels to normalcy in the post-treated group.

CONCLUSION

C. tiglium nano-extract exhibited ameliorative effect against the biochemical and molecular alterations induced by AOM in nano-extract post-treated group.

Metabonomic Variation of Exopolysaccharide from Rhizopus nigricans on AOM/DSS-Induced Colorectal Cancer in Mice

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC), which occurs at the junction of the rectum and sigmoid colon, is a common malignancy associated with poor prognosis and high mortality worldwide. The exopolysaccharide (EPS1-1), isolated from the fermentation broth of Rhizopus nigricans (R. nigricans), has been reported to possess anti-CRC properties. However, the metabolic alterations caused by azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) are still unknown.

METHODS

In the present study, a mice colon cancer model was established by treatment with AOM/DSS. LC-MS/MS-based metabolomics studies were performed to analyze metabolic alterations at the tissue level. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was used to identify differentially expressed metabolites.

RESULTS

Nineteen distinct metabolites were identified that were associated with disruptions in the following pathways: biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, pyrimidine metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, folate biosynthesis, and inositol phosphate metabolism. Furthermore, six significantly altered metabolites were involved in these six pathways. Compared with the Model group, the expression of cytosine, deoxyuridine, 20-hydroxy-leukotriene E4, and L-homocysteic acid was lower, whereas that of 2-dehydro-3-deoxy-6-phospho-D-gluconic acid and hematoporphyrin was higher in the EPS1-1 group.

CONCLUSION

The results of multivariate statistical analysis demonstrate a promising application of the above metabolites by EPS1-1 in CRC therapy. Deeper understanding of the related mechanism warrants further investigation.

Chronic paradoxical sleep deprivation-induced depression-like behavior, energy metabolism and microbial changes in rats

AIMS

Given the lasting impact of chronic paradoxical sleep deprivation (PSD) on behavior and organism metabolic alternations, along with the role of the microbiome in neurobehavioral development and metabolism, we sought to examine the relationship between the microbiota and chronic PSD-induced behavioral and metabolic changes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Psychological status of 7-day PSD (7d-PSD) male rats was tested by behavioral method, serum inflammatory cytokines and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis-related hormones. In addition, GC-MS based urine metabolomics and 16S rRNA gene sequencing approaches were applied to estimate the influences of chronic PSD on host metabolism and gut-microbiota. Furtherly, microbial functional prediction and Spearman's correlation analysis were implemented to manifest the relations between the differential urinary metabolites and gut microbiota.

KEY FINDINGS

7d-PSD rats displayed depression-like behavior, metabolic and microbial changes. By integrating differential gut bacteria with indicators of depression and differential metabolites, we found that the alterations of Akkermansia, Oscillospira, Ruminococcus, Parabacteroides, Aggregatibacter and Phascolarctobacterium were closely related to abnormalities of depression symptoms and inflammatory cytokines. These bacteria also had close connections with host energy metabolism concerning arginine and proline metabolism, glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, and glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, pyruvate metabolism, which overlapped with the results of 16S rRNA gene function annotation.

SIGNIFICANCE

These data suggest that a specific situation of circadian disturbance, chronic PSD-induced alterations in gut microbiota and related host changes in metabolism may be the pathogenesis of depression.

Urinary Metabolomic Study of Chlorogenic Acid in a Rat Model of Chronic Sleep Deprivation Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

The urinary metabolomic study based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) had been developed to investigate the possible antidepressant mechanism of chlorogenic acid (CGA) in a rat model of sleep deprivation (SD). According to pattern recognition analysis, there was a clear separation among big platform group (BP), sleep deprivation group (SD), and the CGA (model + CGA), and CGA group was much closer to the BP group by showing a tendency of recovering towards BP group. Thirty-six significantly changed metabolites related to antidepressant by CGA were identified and used to explore the potential mechanism. Combined with the result of the classic behavioral tests and biochemical indices, CGA has significant antidepressant effects in a rat model of SD, suggesting that the mechanism of action of CGA might be involved in regulating the abnormal pathway of nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism; glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism; glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism; and arginine and proline metabolism. Our results also show that metabolomics analysis based on GC-MS is a useful tool for exploring biomarkers involved in depression and elucidating the potential therapeutic mechanisms of Chinese medicine.

The Role of Resveratrol in Cancer Therapy

Natural product compounds have recently attracted significant attention from the scientific community for their potent effects against inflammation-driven diseases, including cancer. A significant amount of research, including preclinical, clinical, and epidemiological studies, has indicated that dietary consumption of polyphenols, found at high levels in cereals, pulses, vegetables, and fruits, may prevent the evolution of an array of diseases, including cancer. Cancer development is a carefully orchestrated progression where normal cells acquires mutations in their genetic makeup, which cause the cells to continuously grow, colonize, and metastasize to other organs such as the liver, lungs, colon, and brain. Compounds that modulate these oncogenic processes can be considered as potential anti-cancer agents that may ultimately make it to clinical application. Resveratrol, a natural stilbene and a non-flavonoid polyphenol, is a phytoestrogen that possesses anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, and anti-cancer properties. It has been reported that resveratrol can reverse multidrug resistance in cancer cells, and, when used in combination with clinically used drugs, it can sensitize cancer cells to standard chemotherapeutic agents. Several novel analogs of resveratrol have been developed with improved anti-cancer activity, bioavailability, and pharmacokinetic profile. The current focus of this review is resveratrol’s in vivo and in vitro effects in a variety of cancers, and intracellular molecular targets modulated by this polyphenol. This is also accompanied by a comprehensive update of the various clinical trials that have demonstrated it to be a promising therapeutic and chemopreventive agent.

Chemopreventive effects of Ku-jin tea against AOM-induced precancerous colorectal lesions in rats and metabolomic analysis

Ku-jin tea (KJT) is a health beverage prepared from the leaves of the plant Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala that has been consumed in some regions of China for thousands of years. KJT contains high levels of anti-inflammatory and antioxidative compounds such as ginnalins, but little is known about the chemopreventive effect of KJT on colon cancer. In this study, we investigated the preventive effects of KJT on colon carcinogenesis using the azoxymethane (AOM)-induced precancerous colorectal lesion model in rats. The results showed that the number of aberrant crypts, aberrant crypt foci (ACF) and crypts/focus in rats of the KJT + AOM group were significantly decreased compared with rats of the AOM group (p < 0.01). Further exploration of the prevention mechanism of KJT by UPLC-QTOF/MS-based urinary metabolomics showed that 5 metabolic pathways were modulated, including purine metabolism and amino acid metabolism, in the group with KJT. In addition, the levels of the immunomodulatory cytokines IL-1α and IL-10 were significantly decreased, and the levels of IL-2 in the serum of AOM rats increased after KJT treatment. Our present data suggest that KJT can inhibit AOM-induced colonic ACF formation and might be a useful chemopreventive agent against colorectal carcinogenesis.

Poly-pharmacokinetic Study of a Multicomponent Herbal Medicine in Healthy Chinese Volunteers

The advent of mass spectrometry-based analytical technologies coupled with multivariate statistical methods offer tremendous new opportunities for understanding the pharmacokinetics (PKs) of multicomponent herbal medicines (HMs). We recently proposed a poly-PK strategy to characterize the concentration-time profile and the metabolic response profile of multicomponent HMs using an integrated phytochemical and metabolomics approach. Here, we provided the first example of the poly-PK strategy, in which we simultaneously characterized the PK as well as the metabolic response profiles of a Chinese HM, Huangqi decoction (HQD, consisting of Radix Astragali and Radix Glycyrrhizae), in healthy Chinese volunteers. Using the poly-PK approach, we identified 56 HQD-derived compounds and 292 biotransformed HQD metabolites in human plasma. Additionally, we acquired the concentration-time profiles of these plasma HQD metabolites and correlated them with a plasma metabolomics profile consisting of 166 human endogenous metabolites that were significantly altered in response to HQD intervention.

NMR-based Metabolomics Analysis of Liver from C57BL/6 Mouse Exposed to Ionizing Radiation

The effects of ionizing radiation to human health are of great concern in the field of space exploration and for patients considering radiotherapy. However, to date, the effect of high-dose radiation on metabolism in the liver has not been clearly defined. In this study, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics combined with multivariate data analysis was applied to study the changes of metabolism in the liver of C57BL/6 mouse after whole-body gamma (3.0 and 7.8 Gy) or proton (3.0 Gy) irradiation. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal projection to latent structures analysis (OPLS) were used for classification and identification of potential biomarkers associated with exposure to gamma and proton radiation. The results show that the radiation exposed groups can be well separated from the control group. Where the same dose was received, the proton exposed group was nevertheless well separated from the gamma-exposed group, indicating that different radiation sources induce different alterations in the metabolic profile. Common among all high-dose gamma and proton exposed groups were the statistically decreased concentrations of choline, O-phosphocholine and trimethylamine N-oxide, while the concentrations of glutamine, glutathione, malate, creatinine, phosphate, betaine and 4-hydroxyphenylacetate were statistically and significantly elevated. Since these altered metabolites are associated with multiple biological pathways, the results suggest that radiation induces abnormality in multiple biological pathways. In particular, metabolites such as 4-hydroxyphenylacetate, betaine, glutamine, choline and trimethylamine N-oxide may be prediagnostic biomarkers candidates for ionizing exposure of the liver.

Preventive effects of Resveratrol against azoxymethane-induced testis injury in rats

To evaluate the protective effects of Resveratrol (RES) on azoxymethane (AOM)-induced testicular damage using histopathology and biochemical analyses, 28 male rats were randomly divided into four groups. Groups were control, RES, AOM and ARES. At the end of the 7 weeks, following routine tissue processing procedure, testis sections were stained with haematoxylin-eosin and Masson's trichrome. The blood samples were taken for biochemical analysis of testosterone, total oxidative stress, total antioxidant status and oxidative stress index. Degenerative changes in the seminiferous tubules such as atrophy, loss in the number of germ cells and arrested spermatogenic cell, and increase in the connective tissue of the tunica albuginea in the groups with AOM treatment were found. RES treatment (ARES) reduced the number of affected seminiferous tubules significantly (p < .05) compared to AOM alone. The testosterone levels in AOM group were significantly lower than in the control group (p < .05). The total oxidative stress levels were significantly higher in AOM group compared to control group (p < .05). The total antioxidant status levels in ARES group were significantly higher than in the AOM group (p < .05). This study results suggest that an antioxidant like Resveratrol may be useful for decreasing the harmful effects of azoxymethane.

Analysis of metabonomic profiling alterations in a mouse model of colitis-associated cancer and 2-deoxy-d-glucose treatment

2-DG, a glycolytic inhibitor, attenuates AOM/DSS induced carcinogenesis. 2-DG also attenuates AOM/DSS induced metabolic alterations of 14 potential biomarkers. In addition, 2-DG attenuates AOM/DSS induced PKM2 expression.

Metabonomic Profiling Reveals Cancer Chemopreventive Effects of American Ginseng on Colon Carcinogenesis in Apc(Min/+) Mice

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) is one of the most commonly used herbal medicines in the West. It has been reported to possess significant antitumor effects that inhibit the process of carcinogenesis. However, the mechanisms underlying its anticancer effects remain largely unresolved. In this study, we investigated the cancer chemopreventive effects of American ginseng on the progression of high fat (HF) diet-enhanced colorectal carcinogenesis with a genetically engineered Apc(Min/+) mouse model. The metabolic alterations in sera of experimental mice perturbed by HF diet intervention as well as the American ginseng treatment were measured by gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOFMS) and liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-TOFMS) analysis. American ginseng treatment significantly extended the life span of the Apc(Min/+) mouse. Significant alterations of metabolites involving amino acids, organic acids, fatty acids, and carbohydrates were observed in Apc(Min/+) mouse in sera, which were attenuated by American ginseng treatment and concurrent with the histopathological improvement with significantly reduced tumor initiation, progression and gut inflammation. These metabolic changes suggest that the preventive effect of American ginseng is associated with attenuation of impaired amino acid, carbohydrates, and lipid metabolism. It also appears that American ginseng induced significant metabolic alterations independent of the Apc(Min/+) induced metabolic changes. The significantly altered metabolites induced by American ginseng intervention include arachidonic acid, linolelaidic acid, glutamate, docosahexaenoate, tryptophan, and fructose, all of which are associated with inflammation and oxidation. This suggests that American ginseng exerts the chemopreventive effects by anti-inflammatory and antioxidant mechanisms.

Brewers' Rice: A By-Product from Rice Processing Provides Natural Hepatorenal Protection in Azoxymethane-Induced Oxidative Stress in Rats

Brewers' rice, which is known locally as temukut, is a mixture of broken rice, rice bran, and rice germ. Our present study was designed to identify the effect of brewers' rice on the attenuation of liver and kidney damage induced by azoxymethane (AOM). Alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate transaminase (AST), creatinine, and urea were evaluated to understand potential hepatoprotective effects and the ability of brewers' rice to attenuate kidney pathology induced by AOM treatment. Liver and kidney tissues were evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Overall analyses revealed that brewers' rice improved the levels of serum markers in a manner associated with better histopathological outcomes, which indicated that brewers' rice could enhance recovery from hepatocyte and kidney damage. Taken together, these results suggest that brewers' rice could be used in future applications to combat liver and kidney disease.

Plant derived and dietary phenolic antioxidants: anticancer properties

In this paper, a review of the literature on the phenolic compounds with anticancer activity published between 2008 and 2012 is presented. In this overview only phenolic antioxidant compounds that display significant anticancer activity have been described. In the first part of this review, the oxidative and nitrosative stress relation with cancer are described. In the second part, the plant-derived food extracts, containing identified phenolic antioxidants, the phenolic antioxidants isolated from plants and plant-derived food or commercially available and the synthetic ones, along with the type of cancer and cells where they exert anticancer activity, are described and summarized in tables. The principal mechanisms for their anti-proliferative effects were also described. Finally, a critical analysis of the studies and directions for future research are included in the conclusion.

The pharmacology of resveratrol in animals and humans

In addition to thousands of research papers related to resveratrol (RSV), approximately 300 review articles have been published. Earlier research tended to focus on pharmacological activities of RSV related to cardiovascular systems, inflammation, and carcinogenesis/cancer development. More recently, the horizon has been broadened by exploring the potential effect of RSV on the aging process, diabetes, neurological dysfunction, etc. Herein, we primarily focus on the in vivo pharmacological effects of RSV reported over the past 5 years (2009-2014). In addition, recent clinical intervention studies performed with resveratrol are summarized. Some discrepancies exist between in vivo studies with animals and clinical studies, or between clinical studies, which are likely due to disparate doses of RSV, experimental settings, and subject variation. Nevertheless, many positive indications have been reported with mammals, so it is reasonable to advocate for the conduct of more definitive clinical studies. Since the safety profile is pristine, an added advantage is the use of RSV as a dietary supplement. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Resveratrol: Challenges in translating pre-clinical findings to improved patient outcomes.

Label-free mass spectrometric profiling of urinary proteins and metabolites from paediatric idiopathic nephrotic syndrome

Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) is caused by renal diseases that increase the permeability of the glomerular filtration barrier without evidence of a specific systemic cause. The aim of the present work was to reveal inherent molecular features of INS in children using combined urinary proteomics and metabolomics profiling. In this study, label-free mass spectrometric analysis of urinary proteins and small molecule metabolites was carried out in 12 patients with INS versus 12 sex- and age-matched control subjects with normal renal function. Integration and biological interpretation of obtained results were carried out by Ingenuity IPA software. Validation of obtained proteomics data was carried out by Western blot method. Proteomics data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium with the data set identifier PXD000765. This study indicates for the first time that paediatric INS is associated with up-regulation of afamin, hydroxyphenylacetate and uridine, and concomitant down-regulation in glutamine and phenylalanine levels, and many of these molecular species were previously shown to be involved in oxidative stress. Further studies in larger patient population are underway to investigate the role of oxidative stress in renal injury in paediatric INS.

Altered tissue metabolites correlate with microbial dysbiosis in colorectal adenomas

Several studies have linked bacterial dysbiosis with elevated risk of colorectal adenomas and cancer. However, the functional implications of gut dysbiosis remain unclear. Gut bacteria contribute to nutrient metabolism and produce small molecules termed the “metabolome”, which may contribute to the development of neoplasia in the large bowel. We assessed the metabolome in normal rectal mucosal biopsies of 15 subjects with colorectal adenomas and 15 nonadenoma controls by liquid chromatography and gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure abundances of specific bacterial taxa. We identified a total of 274 metabolites. Discriminant analysis suggested a separation of metabolomic profiles between adenoma cases and nonadenoma controls. Twenty-three metabolites contributed to the separation, notably an increase in adenoma cases of the inflammatory metabolite prostaglandin E2 and a decrease in antioxidant-related metabolites 5-oxoproline and diketogulonic acid. Pathway analysis suggested that differential metabolites were significantly related to cancer, inflammatory response, carbohydrate metabolism, and GI disease pathways. Abundances of six bacterial taxa assayed were increased in cases. The 23 differential metabolites demonstrated correlations with bacteria that were different between cases and controls. These findings suggest that metabolic products of bacteria may be responsible for the development of colorectal adenomas and CRC.

Gene features selection for three-class disease classification via multiple orthogonal partial least square discriminant analysis and S-plot using microarray data

Motivation

DNA microarray analysis is characterized by obtaining a large number of gene variables from a small number of observations. Cluster analysis is widely used to analyze DNA microarray data to make classification and diagnosis of disease. Because there are so many irrelevant and insignificant genes in a dataset, a feature selection approach must be employed in data analysis. The performance of cluster analysis of this high-throughput data depends on whether the feature selection approach chooses the most relevant genes associated with disease classes.

Results

Here we proposed a new method using multiple Orthogonal Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (mOPLS-DA) models and S-plots to select the most relevant genes to conduct three-class disease classification and prediction. We tested our method using Golub’s leukemia microarray data. For three classes with subtypes, we proposed hierarchical orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) models and S-plots to select features for two main classes and their subtypes. For three classes in parallel, we employed three OPLS-DA models and S-plots to choose marker genes for each class. The power of feature selection to classify and predict three-class disease was evaluated using cluster analysis. Further, the general performance of our method was tested using four public datasets and compared with those of four other feature selection methods. The results revealed that our method effectively selected the most relevant features for disease classification and prediction, and its performance was better than that of the other methods.

Preventive effects of resveratrol against azoxymethane induced damage in rat liver

BACKGROUND

In recent years, due to modern lifestyles and exposure to chemical carcinogens, cancer cases are steadily increasing. From this standpoint, azoxymethane (AOM), a chemical carcinogen which causes de novo liver damage, and resveratrol, which is an antioxidant found in foods and protects against oxidative stress damage, are of interest. We here aimed to evaluate whether resveratrol could protect the liver tissues from the effects of AOM.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was conducted in 4 groups, each consisting of seven rats, the first receiving only AOM (2 times per week, 5 mg/kg), group 2 AOM and resveratrol (2 times a week, 20 mg/kg), group 3 assessed only as a control and group 4 administered only resveratrol. At the end of the seventh week, the rats were sacrificed. Rat liver MDA, NO, GSH levels were analyzed biochemically, as well as the tissues being evaluated histopathologically.

RESULTS

MDA and NO increased in AOM group as signs of increased oxidative stress. The group concomitantly administered resveratrol was been found to be significantly decreased in MDA and NO levels and increased in GSH activity. However, there were no significant findings on histopathological evaluation.

CONCLUSIONS

In the light of these results, resveratrol appears to exert protective effect on oxidative stress in the liver tissue due to deleterious effects of chemical carcinogens.

Colitis-accelerated colorectal cancer and metabolic dysregulation in a mouse model

The connection between inflammation and colorectal cancer (CRC) has been well recognized, and numerous related molecular mechanisms have been uncovered. To gain further insight, we used BALB/c mice treated with azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sulfate sodium salt (DSS) to establish a colitis-associated CRC model recapitulating tubulovillous adenoma with high-grade dysplasia at week 14. We evaluated the mice in four groups: a control group fed a standard diet; a group given DSS, in which we observed no tumor or dysplasia; a group given AOM, in which we observed few dysplastic foci despite repeated administrations of the carcinogen and a group given both AOM and DSS, in which our observations agreed with those of other studies that found accelerated colorectal carcinogenesis following DSS-induced colitis. We examined the messenger RNA and micro RNA (miRNA) expression profiles of the four groups. In colitis-associated CRC, we observed the dysregulation of many pathways, including the upregulation of Wnt signaling and CRC pathways and the downregulation of apoptosis. Also, most differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched in metabolic rather than immune/inflammation pathways/processes. Additionally, we demonstrated that the expression of several important miRNAs involved in both the inflammatory response and metabolism was dramatically altered during colitis-associated CRC. Gene network analysis and gene profile analysis confirmed a close relationship between metabolic and inflammatory genes in colitis-associated CRC. Thus, our study may provide a framework for identifying metabolic genes as targets of novel molecular-based therapies against CRC.

Transcriptomic and metabonomic profiling reveal synergistic effects of quercetin and resveratrol supplementation in high fat diet fed mice

Dietary quercetin and resveratrol have been frequently used in treating various diseases, but the underlying mechanisms are not entirely clear. Here, we report combined transcriptomic and metabonomic profiling that showed that the combined supplementation with quercetin and resveratrol produced synergistic effects on a high-fat diet-induced metabolic phenotype in mice. Histological and phenotypic improvements in serum and hepatic total cholesterol, insulin, fasting blood glucose, and HbA1c were also observed in mice receiving combined quercetin and resveratrol supplementation. This combined quercetin and resveratrol supplementation resulted in significant restoration of gene sets in functional pathways of glucose/lipid metabolism, liver function, cardiovascular system, and inflammation/immunity, which were altered by high fat diet feeding. The integration of transcriptomic and metabonomic data indicated quercetin and resveratrol supplementation enhanced processes of glycolysis and fatty acid oxidation, as well as suppressed gluconeogenesis. These alterations discovered at both the transcriptional and metabolic levels highlight the significance of combined "omics" platforms for elucidating mechanistic pathways altered by dietary polyphenols, such as quercetin and resveratrol, in a synergistic manner.