Effects of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Selenium Deficiency on the Offspring Growth and Blood Glucose Mechanisms of C57BL/6J Mice

Associations of dietary selenium intake with the risk of chronic diseases and mortality in US adults

Objective

Selenium is an essential micronutrient and a type of dietary antioxidant. This study aimed to investigate the associations of dietary selenium intake with the risk of human chronic disease [cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes mellitus (DM), and cancer] and mortality among US general adults.

Methods

The dietary and demographic data in this study were collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2007 to 2018. Death outcomes were determined by associating with the National Death Index (NDI) records as of December 31, 2019. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the relationship of selenium intake with the risk of CVD, DM, and cancer. The effect of dietary selenium on all-cause and disease-specific mortality was estimated with restricted cubic spline (RCS) curves based on the univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models.

Results

Among the 25,801 participants, dietary selenium intake was divided into quintiles (Q1-Q5). After covariate adjustment, the results showed that the participants with higher quintiles (Q4 and Q5) of selenium intake tended to have a low risk of CVD (OR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.96, 0.99; OR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97, 1.00, respectively). Moreover, the RCS curves showed a significant nonlinear association between selenium intake and the risk of all-cause (with a HR of 0.82, 95% CI: 0.68, 0.99) and DM-specific mortality (with the lowest HR of 0.30; 95% CI, 0.12-0.75). Furthermore, we conducted a subgroup analysis and found a negative correlation between the highest quartile of selenium intake and all-cause mortality among participants aged 50 and above (HR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.60-0.93, p = 0.009).

Conclusion

Our results indicated that a moderate dietary selenium supplement decreased the risk of CVD and displayed a nonlinear trend in association with the risk of all-cause and DM-specific mortality among US adults. In addition, we found that participants aged 50 and older may benefit from higher selenium intake. However, these findings still need to be confirmed through further mechanism exploration.

Effect of high-fat diet on the fatty acid profiles of brain in offspring mice exposed to maternal gestational diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVE

Fatty acids play a critical role in the proper functioning of the brain. This study investigated the effects of a high-fat (HF) diet on brain fatty acid profiles of offspring exposed to maternal gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

METHODS

Insulin receptor antagonist (S961) and HF diet were used to establish the GDM animal model. Brain fatty acid profiles of the offspring mice were measured by gas chromatography at weaning and adulthood. Protein expressions of the fatty acid transport pathway Wnt3/β-catenin and the target protein major facilitator superfamily domain-containing 2a (MFSD2a) were measured in the offspring brain by Western blot.

RESULTS

Maternal GDM increased the body weight of male offspring (P < 0.05). In weaning offspring, factorial analysis showed that maternal GDM increased the monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) percentage of the weaning offspring's brain (P < 0.05). Maternal GDM decreased offspring brain arachidonic acid (AA), but HF diet increased brain linoleic acid (LA) (P < 0.05). Maternal GDM and HF diet reduced offspring brain docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and the male offspring had higher DHA than the female offspring (P < 0.05). In adult offspring, factorial analysis showed that HF diet increased brain MUFA in offspring, and male offspring had higher brain MUFA than female offspring (P < 0.05). The HF diet increased brain LA in the offspring. Male offspring had higher level of AA than female offspring (P < 0.05). HF diet reduced DHA in the brains of female offspring. The brain protein expression of β-catenin and MFSD2a in both weaning and adult female offspring was lower in the HF + GDM group than in the CON group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal GDM increased the susceptibility of male offspring to HF diet-induced obesity. HF diet-induced adverse brain fatty acid profiles in both male and female offspring exposed to GDM.

Study on the effect and mechanism of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus AFY06 on inflammation-associated colorectal cancer induced by AOM/DSS in mice

Introduction

Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus AFY06 (LR-AFY06) is a microorganism isolated from naturally fermented yogurt in Xinjiang, China.

Methods

In this study, we investigated the effects and mechanisms of LR-AFY06 in a mouse model of inflammation-associated colon cancer. The mouse model was established by azoxymethane/dextran sulfate sodium (AOM/DSS) induction. The tumor number in intestinal tissues was counted, and the histopathological analysis was performed on colon tissues. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction were performed to measure relevant protein levels in colon tissues.

Results

LR-AFY06 treatment alleviated weight loss, increased organ index, reduced intestinal tumor incidence, improved histopathological damage, decreased the levels of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the serum and colon tissue, downregulated the mRNA expression of inhibitor of NF-κB beta (IκBβ), p65, p50, p52, B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), and B-cell lymphoma-extra large (Bcl-xL) in colon tissues, and increased the mRNA expression of Bid and caspase-8. The high concentration of LR-AFY06 exerted a better effect than the low concentration; however, the effect was slightly inferior to that of aspirin. Moreover, LR-AFY06 mitigated the intestinal inflammatory process and inhibited intestinal tumor development by regulating the NF-κB and apoptosis pathways.

Discussion

The present study indicates the regulatory potential of LR-AFY06 in inflammation-associated colorectal cancer in mice, providing a valuable basis for further research.