Acute Effects of Single Doses of Bonito Fish Peptides and Vitamin D on Whole Blood Gene Expression Levels: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Nutrition Genomics

This Special Issue is devoted to nutrition genomics, which is the characterization of the whole genome response to nutrients, in an effort to gather all the available pertinent information and to establish the foundation for a future encyclopedia of genomic responses driven by diets or nutrients [...]

Sex differences in vitamin D metabolism, serum levels and action

The ubiquity of vitamin D metabolising enzymes and vitamin D receptors in mammalian organisms suggests that vitamin D has pleiotropic effects. There are quite a few studies indicating the anticancer, cardioprotective and antidiabetic effects of vitamin D; however, the best-documented actions of vitamin D are the regulation of Ca-phosphate balance and its effect on immune function.Vitamin D levels in organisms are modulated by many environmental and non-environmental factors. One potential factor that may influence vitamin D levels and effects is the sex of the individuals studied. This review focuses on the scientific evidence indicating different synthesis and metabolism of vitamin D in females and males, mainly from PubMed database sources. The article verifies the sex differences in vitamin D levels reported around the world. Moreover, the different effects of vitamin D on the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, nervous and immune systems, as well as cancer in males and females, were discussed.Most studies addressing sex differences in vitamin D levels and effects are observational studies with conflicting results. Therefore, carefully designed clinical trials and experiments on animal models should be carried out to determine the role of non-environmental factors that may differentiate vitamin D levels in females and males.

Candidate gene screening for lipid deposition using combined transcriptomic and proteomic data from Nanyang black pigs

Background

Lower selection intensities in indigenous breeds of Chinese pig have resulted in obvious genetic and phenotypic divergence. One such breed, the Nanyang black pig, is renowned for its high lipid deposition and high genetic divergence, making it an ideal model in which to investigate lipid position trait mechanisms in pigs. An understanding of lipid deposition in pigs might improve pig meat traits in future breeding and promote the selection progress of pigs through modern molecular breeding techniques. Here, transcriptome and tandem mass tag-based quantitative proteome (TMT)-based proteome analyses were carried out using longissimus dorsi (LD) tissues from individual Nanyang black pigs that showed high levels of genetic variation.

Results

A large population of Nanyang black pigs was phenotyped using multi-production trait indexes, and six pigs were selected and divided into relatively high and low lipid deposition groups. The combined transcriptomic and proteomic data identified 15 candidate genes that determine lipid deposition genetic divergence. Among them, FASN, CAT, and SLC25A20 were the main causal candidate genes. The other genes could be divided into lipid deposition-related genes (BDH2, FASN, CAT, DHCR24, ACACA, GK, SQLE, ACSL4, and SCD), PPARA-centered fat metabolism regulatory factors (PPARA, UCP3), transcription or translation regulators (SLC25A20, PDK4, CEBPA), as well as integrin, structural proteins, and signal transduction-related genes (EGFR).

Conclusions

This multi-omics data set has provided a valuable resource for future analysis of lipid deposition traits, which might improve pig meat traits in future breeding and promote the selection progress in pigs, especially in Nanyang black pigs.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-07764-2.