Salivary Metabolomic Signatures and Body Mass Index in Italian Adolescents: A Pilot Study

Context

Obesity surveillance is scarce in adolescents, and little is known on whether salivary metabolomics data, emerging minimally invasive biomarkers, can characterize metabolic patterns associated with overweight or obesity in adolescents.

Objective

This pilot study aims to identify the salivary molecular signatures associated with body mass index (BMI) in Italian adolescents.

Methods

Saliva samples and BMI were collected in a subset of n = 74 young adolescents enrolled in the Public Health Impact of Metal Exposure study (2007-2014). A total of 217 untargeted metabolites were identified using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. Robust linear regression was used to cross-sectionally determine associations between metabolomic signatures and sex-specific BMI-for-age z-scores (z-BMI).

Results

Nearly 35% of the adolescents (median age: 12 years; 51% females) were either obese or overweight. A higher z-BMI was observed in males compared to females (P = .02). One nucleoside (deoxyadenosine) and 2 lipids (18:0-18:2 phosphatidylcholine and dipalmitoyl-phosphoethanolamine) were negatively related to z-BMI (P < .05), whereas 2 benzenoids (3-hydroxyanthranilic acid and a phthalate metabolite) were positively associated with z-BMI (P < .05). In males, several metabolites including deoxyadenosine, as well as deoxycarnitine, hyodeoxycholic acid, N-methylglutamic acid, bisphenol P, and trigonelline were downregulated, while 3 metabolites (3-hydroxyanthranilic acid, theobromine/theophylline/paraxanthine, and alanine) were upregulated in relation to z-BMI (P < .05). In females, deoxyadenosine and dipalmitoyl-phosphoethanolamine were negatively associated with z-BMI while deoxycarnitine and a phthalate metabolite were positively associated (P < .05). A single energy-related pathway was enriched in the identified associations in females (carnitine synthesis, P = .04).

Conclusion

Salivary metabolites involved in nucleotide, lipid, and energy metabolism were primarily altered in relation to BMI in adolescents.

Effects of β-Nicotinamide Mononucleotide, Berberine, and Cordycepin on Lipid Droplet Content and Developmental Ability of Vitrified Bovine Oocytes

Oocyte vitrification is crucial for livestock reproduction, germplasm conservation, and human-assisted reproduction, but the overabundance of lipids is highly detrimental to oocyte development. It is necessary to reduce the lipid droplet content of oocytes before cryopreservation. This study analyzed the impact of β-nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), berberine (BER), or cordycepin (COR) on various aspects of bovine oocytes, including lipid droplet content and the expression levels of genes related to lipid synthesis in bovine oocytes, development ability, reactive oxygen species (ROS), apoptosis, and the expression levels of genes associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and mitochondrial function in vitrified bovine oocytes. The results of our study indicated that 1 μM NMN, 2.5 μM BER, and 1 μM COR were effective in reducing the lipid droplet content and suppressing the expression levels of genes involved in lipid synthesis in bovine oocytes. Our findings showed that the vitrified bovine oocytes treated with 1 μM of NMN had a significantly higher survival rate and better development ability compared to the other vitrified groups. Additionally, 1 μM NMN, 2.5 μM BER, and 1 μM COR decreased the levels of ROS and apoptosis, decreased the mRNA expression levels of genes involved in ER stress and mitochondrial fission but increased the mRNA expression levels of genes associated with mitochondrial fusion in the vitrified bovine oocytes. Our study results suggested that 1 μM NMN, 2.5 μM BER, and 1 μM COR effectively decreased the lipid droplet content and enhanced the development ability of vitrified bovine oocytes by lowering ROS levels, reducing ER stress, regulating mitochondrial function, and inhibiting apoptosis. Furthermore, the results showed that 1 μM NMN was more effective than 2.5 μM BER and 1 μM COR.

Mechanism of Cordyceps sinensis and its Extracts in the Treatment of Diabetic Kidney Disease: A Review

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the major reason of chronic kidney disease (CKD)-caused end-stage renal failure (ESRF), and leads to high mortality worldwide. At present, the treatment of DKD is mainly focused on controlling the hyperglycemia, proteinuria, and hypertension, but is insufficient on the effective delay of DKD progression. Cordyceps sinensis is a kind of wild-used precious Chinese herb. Its extracts have effects of nephroprotection, hepatoprotection, neuroprotection, and protection against ischemia/reperfusion-induced injury, as well as anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities. According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, Cordyceps sinensis can tonify the lung and the kidney. Several Chinese patent medicines produced from Cordyceps sinensis are often used to treat DKD and achieved considerable efficacy. This review summarized the clinical usage of Cordyceps sinensis, as well as its mainly biological activities including anti-hyperglycemic, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-oxidant, anti-fibrotic activities and regulation of apoptosis.

A Systematic Review of the Biological Effects of Cordycepin

We conducted a systematic review of the literature on the effects of cordycepin on cell survival and proliferation, inflammation, signal transduction and animal models. A total of 1204 publications on cordycepin were found by the cut-off date of 1 February 2021. After application of the exclusion criteria, 791 papers remained. These were read and data on the chosen subjects were extracted. We found 192 papers on the effects of cordycepin on cell survival and proliferation and calculated a median inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 135 µM. Cordycepin consistently repressed cell migration (26 papers) and cellular inflammation (53 papers). Evaluation of 76 papers on signal transduction indicated consistently reduced PI3K/mTOR/AKT and ERK signalling and activation of AMPK. In contrast, the effects of cordycepin on the p38 and Jun kinases were variable, as were the effects on cell cycle arrest (53 papers), suggesting these are cell-specific responses. The examination of 150 animal studies indicated that purified cordycepin has many potential therapeutic effects, including the reduction of tumour growth (37 papers), repression of pain and inflammation (9 papers), protecting brain function (11 papers), improvement of respiratory and cardiac conditions (8 and 19 papers) and amelioration of metabolic disorders (8 papers). Nearly all these data are consistent with cordycepin mediating its therapeutic effects through activating AMPK, inhibiting PI3K/mTOR/AKT and repressing the inflammatory response. We conclude that cordycepin has excellent potential as a lead for drug development, especially for age-related diseases. In addition, we discuss the remaining issues around the mechanism of action, toxicity and biodistribution of cordycepin.

Cordycepin alleviates hepatic lipid accumulation by inducing protective autophagy via PKA/mTOR pathway

As the major active ingredient of Cordyceps militaris, cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine) has been well documented to possess lipid-lowering and anti-oxidative activities, making it a promising candidate for treatment of NAFLD. Autophagy was recently identified as a critical protective mechanism during NAFLD development. Therefore, this study aims to elucidate the mechanism of cordycepin regulating autophagy and lipid metabolism. Here, we found that cordycepin decreased palmitate-induced lipid accumulation by Oil Red O staining, Nile Red staining assays, triglyceride and total cholesterol measurements. Based on Western blot assay and immunocytochemistry, we found that cordycepin induced autophagy in PA-induced steatotic HepG2 cells. Whereas pretreatment with CQ, an autophagy inhibitor, substantially deteriorated the mitigative effects of cordycepin on PA-induced hepatic lipid accumulation. These data taken together indicate that cordycepin protects against PA-induced hepatic lipid accumulation via autophagy induction. Further, cordycepin remarkably increased the expression of P-PKA and decreased P-mTOR, whereas pretreatment with H89, a PKA inhibitor, abolished the ability of cordycepin to activate autophagy via mTOR activation. These data suggested that cordycepin protects against PA-induced hepatic lipid accumulation through the promotion of autophagy. The underlying mechanism might be associated with the PKA/mTOR pathway.

The Protective Effects of Danggui-Baizhu-Tang on High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity in Mice by Activating Thermogenesis

Danggui-Baizhu-Tang (DBT), a traditional Chinese medicine decoction, was used for decreasing serum TG and TC remarkably. However, effect of weight control and action mechanism remains confused. In this study, to evaluate the anti-obesity effects, different gradient concentration of DBT (0.59, 1.17 g/kg) or Orlistat (Orl, 15.6 mg/kg; positive control) were administrated by gavage for 8 weeks in C57BL/6J mice which were pretreated with chow or high fat diet (HFD) for 3 months. After administration, significant decrease of body weight and food utilization was observed. It was indicated that concentration of triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in serum were reduced strikingly, as well as accumulation of lipid droplets in liver. Meanwhile, DBT treatment could also decrease weight of white adipose tissue (WAT) and size of adipocytes, whereas increase weight of brown adipose tissue (BAT) in mice. Moreover, it was revealed that DBT could elevate rectal temperature by raising expression of uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1α), which were attributed to phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Furthermore, TNF-α and IL-6, obesity-related inflammatory cytokines, were decreased. In conclusion, DBT could stimulate phosphorylation of AMPK to raise expression of UCP1 and PGC-1α, and activate thermogenesis to prevent obesity.

Anti-Obesity Effects of the Mixture of Eriobotrya japonica and Nelumbo nucifera in Adipocytes and High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Mice

The present study is to evaluate the anti-obesity effects of Eriobotrya japonica (EJ), Nelumbo nucifera (NN), and their mixture (MIX, 1:1 ratio) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and high-fat diet-induced obese mice. The treatment of EJ, NN, and MIX in 3T3-L1 adipocytes effectively inhibited lipid accumulation, significantly decreased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP1c), and adipocyte lipid-binding protein (aP2), and significantly increased phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Moreover, oral treatment of MIX showed stronger effects than individual treatment. C57BL/6J mice (6 week old) were divided into two groups; low fat diet (LFD) containing 10% calories from fat and high fat diet (HFD) containing 60% calories from fat. The HFD groups were further divided into five subgroups; treated with distilled water (HFD), treated with 400 mg/kg EJ (EJ400), treated with 400 mg/kg NN (NN400), treated with 200 mg/kg MIX (MIX200), and treated with 400 mg/kg MIX (MIX400) during 13 weeks. In our results, the administration of EJ, NN, and MIX significantly decreased body weight (BW), fat weight, liver weight, hepatic triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC), lipid droplets in the liver, food efficacy ratio, and the plasma TG, TC, glucose, insulin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels in a dose-dependent manner, and MIX treatment showed stronger effect than their individual treatments. Similarly, MIX treatment decreased the expression of PPARγ, SREBP-1c, FAS, and ACC more strongly in the adipose tissue than single treatments. In conclusion, the MIX of EJ and NN extract may strongly regulate BW gain than EJ or NN alone, and its anti-obesity effect is associated with the control of lipid metabolism, including adipogenesis and lipogenesis.

Unexpected Nephrotoxicity in Male Ablactated Rats Induced by Cordyceps militaris: The Involvement of Oxidative Changes

Recently, many nutraceutical products containing the powdered or extracted parts of C. militaris have become available for health care. Due to the increased morbidity and mortality, poisonings associated with the use of herbs have raised the universal attention. Herein, we carried out the 28-day repeated toxicity test in male and female ablactated rats (three weeks old) given C. militaris powder orally at 0 (control), 1, 2, and 3 g/kg per day. Noticeable increments of serum aspartate and alanine aminotransferase (ALT and AST) levels were observed for both sexes, suggestive of weak hepatic toxicity. Nephrotoxicity characterized by tubular epithelium degeneration and necrosis was observed at the high dose, and the male rats were more susceptible to renal toxicity than female rats. In addition, the genes and protein expressions of novel markers of kidney toxicity, such as kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) were enlarged in the renal cortex and the urine. Moreover, C. militaris treatment significantly decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities. However, the ratio of glutathione oxidized form (GSSG)/glutathione reduced form (GSH) was increased by C. militaris treatment. We conclude that dietary contamination with C. militaris may have renal toxicity potentials, at least in part by causing oxidative damage to the kidney.