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17 new pubmed citations were retrieved for your search. Click on the search hyperlink below to display the complete search results: metabolomics These pubmed results were generated on 2016/04/28PubMed comprises more than 24 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.

20 new pubmed citations were retrieved for your search. Click on the search hyperlink below to display the complete search results: metabolomics These pubmed results were generated on 2016/04/27PubMed comprises more than 24 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.

Targeted metabolomics of Gammarus pulex following controlled exposures to selected pharmaceuticals in water. Sci Total Environ. 2016 Apr 22;562:777-788 Authors: Gómez-Canela C, Miller TH, Bury NR, Tauler R, Barron LP Abstract The effects of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) on aquatic organisms represent a significant current concern. Herein, a targeted metabolomics approach using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) is presented to characterise concentration changes in 29 selected metabolites following exposures of aquatic invertebrates, Gammarus pulex, to pharmaceuticals. Method performance revealed excellent linearity (R(2)>0.99), precision (0.1-19%) and lower instrumental limits of detection (0.002-0.20ng) for all metabolites studied. Three pharmaceuticals were selected representing the low, middle and high range of measured acute measured toxicities (of a total of 26 compounds). Gammarids were exposed to both the no-observed-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL) and the lowest-observed-adverse-effect-level (LOAEL) of triclosan (0.1 and 0.3mgL(-1)), nimesulide (0.5 and 1.4mgL(-1)) and propranolol (100 and 153mgL(-1)) over 24h. Quantitative metabolite profiling was then performed. Significant changes in metabolite concentrations relative to controls are presented and display distinct clustered trends for each pharmaceutical. Approximately 37% (triclosan), 33% (nimesulide) and 46% (propranolol) of metabolites showed statistically significant time-related effects. Observed changes are also discussed with respect to internal concentrations of the three pharmaceuticals measured using a method based on pulverised liquid extraction, solid phase extraction and LC-MS/MS. Potential metabolic pathways that may be affected by such exposures are also discussed. This represents the first study focussing on quantitative, targeted metabolomics of this lower trophic level benthic invertebrate that may elucidate biomarkers for future risk assessment. PMID: 27110989 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Bridging the gap between non-targeted stable isotope labeling and metabolic flux analysis. Cancer Metab. 2016;4:10 Authors: Weindl D, Cordes T, Battello N, Sapcariu SC, Dong X, Wegner A, Hiller K Abstract BACKGROUND: Metabolism gained increasing interest for the understanding of diseases and to pinpoint therapeutic intervention points. However, classical metabolomics techniques only provide a very static view on metabolism. Metabolic flux analysis methods, on the other hand, are highly targeted and require detailed knowledge on metabolism beforehand. RESULTS: We present a novel workflow to analyze non-targeted metabolome-wide stable isotope labeling data to detect metabolic flux changes in a non-targeted manner. Furthermore, we show how similarity-analysis of isotopic enrichment patterns can be used for pathway contextualization of unidentified compounds. We illustrate our approach with the analysis of changes in cellular metabolism of human adenocarcinoma cells in response to decreased oxygen availability. Starting without a priori knowledge, we detect metabolic flux changes, leading to an increased glutamine contribution to acetyl-CoA production, reveal biosynthesis of N-acetylaspartate by N-acetyltransferase 8-like (NAT8L) in lung cancer cells and show that NAT8L silencing inhibits proliferation of A549, JHH-4, PH5CH8, and BEAS-2B cells. CONCLUSIONS: Differential stable isotope labeling analysis provides qualitative metabolic flux information in a non-targeted manner. Furthermore, similarity analysis of enrichment patterns provides information on metabolically closely related compounds. N-acetylaspartate and NAT8L are important players in cancer cell metabolism, a context in which they have not received much attention yet. PMID: 27110360 [PubMed]

Modulation of the balance of fatty acid production and secretion is crucial for enhancement of growth and productivity of the engineered mutant of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus. Biotechnol Biofuels. 2016;9:91 Authors: Kato A, Use K, Takatani N, Ikeda K, Matsuura M, Kojima K, Aichi M, Maeda S, Omata T Abstract BACKGROUND: Among the three model cyanobacterial species that have been used for engineering a system for photosynthetic production of free fatty acids (FFAs), Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942 has been the least successful; the FFA-excreting mutants constructed from this strain could attain lower rates of FFA excretion and lower final FFA concentrations than the mutants constructed from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 and Synechococcus sp. PCC7002. It has been suggested that S. elongatus PCC7942 cells suffer from toxicity of FFA, but the cause of the low productivity has remained to be determined. RESULTS: By modulating the expression level of the acyl-acyl carrier protein thioesterase and raising the light intensity during cultivation, FFA secretion rates comparable to those obtained with the other cyanobacterial species were attained with an engineered Synechococcus elongatus mutant (dAS1T). The final FFA concentration in the external medium was also higher than previously reported for other S. elongatus mutants. However, about 85 % of the total FFA in the culture was found to remain in the cells, causing severe photoinhibition. Targeted inactivation of the wzt gene in dAS1T, which gene manipulation was previously shown to result in loss of the hydrophilic O-antigen layer on the cell surface, increased FFA secretion, alleviated photoinhibition, and lead to 50 and 45 % increase in the final cell density and the total amount of FFA in the culture (i.e., the sum of the cellular and extracellular FFA), respectively. The average rate of production of total FFA by the culture of the ∆wzt strain was 2.7 mg L(-1) h(-1), being five times higher than those reported for Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and comparable to the rates of triacylglycerol production in green algae. CONCLUSION: Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942 has larger capacity of FFA production than Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 but accumulates most of the product in the cell because of the imbalance of the rates of FFA production and secretion. This causes severe photoinhibition and exerts adverse effects on cell growth and FFA productivity. Enhancement of FFA secretion would be required to fully exploiting the capacity of FFA production for the purpose of biofuel production. PMID: 27110287 [PubMed]

Annotation of the human cerebrospinal fluid lipidome using high resolution mass spectrometry and a dedicated data processing workflow. Metabolomics. 2016;12:91 Authors: Seyer A, Boudah S, Broudin S, Junot C, Colsch B Abstract INTRODUCTION: Due to its proximity with the brain, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) could be a medium of choice for the discovery of biomarkers of neurological and psychiatric diseases using untargeted analytical approaches. OBJECTIVES: This study explored the CSF lipidome in order to generate a robust mass spectral database using an untargeted lipidomic approach. METHODS: Cerebrospinal fluid samples from 45 individuals were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry method (LC-HRMS). A dedicated data processing workflow was implemented using XCMS software and adapted filters to select reliable features. In addition, an automatic annotation using an in silico lipid database and several MS/MS experiments were performed to identify CSF lipid species. RESULTS: Using this complete workflow, 771 analytically relevant monoisotopic lipid species corresponding to 550 unique lipids which represent five major lipid families (i.e., free fatty acids, sphingolipids, glycerophospholipids, glycerolipids, and sterol lipids) were detected and annotated. In addition, MS/MS experiments enabled to improve the annotation of 304 lipid species. Thanks to LC-HRMS, it was possible to discriminate between isobaric and also isomeric lipid species; and interestingly, our study showed that isobaric ions represent about 50 % of the total annotated lipid species in the human CSF. CONCLUSION: This work provides an extensive LC/HRMS database of the human CSF lipidome which constitutes a relevant foundation for future studies aimed at finding biomarkers of neurological disorders. PMID: 27110228 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Peptidylation for the determination of low-molecular-weight compounds by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Analyst. 2016 Apr 25; Authors: Tang F, Cen SY, He H, Liu Y, Yuan BF, Feng YQ Abstract Determination of low-molecular-weight compounds by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) has been a great challenge in the analytical research field. Here we developed a universal peptide-based derivatization (peptidylation) strategy for the sensitive analysis of low-molecular-weight compounds by MALDI-TOF-MS. Upon peptidylation, the molecular weights of target analytes increase, thus avoiding serious matrix ion interference in the low-molecular-weight region in MALDI-TOF-MS. Since peptides typically exhibit good signal response during MALDI-TOF-MS analysis, peptidylation endows high detection sensitivities of low-molecular-weight analytes. As a proof-of-concept, we analyzed low-molecular-weight compounds of aldehydes and thiols by the developed peptidylation strategy. Our results showed that aldehydes and thiols can be readily determined upon peptidylation, thus realizing the sensitive and efficient determination of low-molecular-weight compounds by MALDI-TOF-MS. Moreover, target analytes also can be unambiguously detected in biological samples using the peptidylation strategy. The established peptidylation strategy is a universal strategy and can be extended to the sensitive analysis of various low-molecular-weight compounds by MALDI-TOF-MS, which may be potentially used in areas such as metabolomics. PMID: 27109889 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Foodborne pathogens and their toxins. J Proteomics. 2016 Apr 21; Authors: Martinović T, Andjelković U, Gajdošik MŠ, Rešetar D, Josić D Abstract Foodborne pathogens, mostly bacteria and fungi, but also some viruses, prions and protozoa, contaminate food during production and processing, but also during storage and transport before consuming. During their growth these microorganisms can secrete different components, including toxins, into the extracellular environment. Other harmful substances can be also liberated and can contaminate food after disintegration of food pathogens. Some bacterial and fungal toxins can be resistant to inactivation, and can survive harsh treatment during food processing. Many of these molecules are involved in cellular processes and can indicate different mechanisms of pathogenesis of foodborne organisms. More knowledge about food contaminants can also help understand their inactivation. In the present review the use of proteomics, peptidomics and metabolomics, in addition to other foodomic methods for the detection of foodborne pathogenic fungi and bacteria, is overviewed. Furthermore, it is discussed how these techniques can be used for discovering biomarkers for pathogenicity of foodborne pathogens, determining the mechanisms by which they act, and studying their resistance upon inactivation in food of animal and plant origin. BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Comprehensive and comparative view into the genome and proteome of foodborne pathogens of bacterial or fungal origin and foodomic, mostly proteomic, peptidomic and metabolomic investigation of their toxin production and their mechanism of action is necessary in order to get further information about their virulence, pathogenicity and survival under stress conditions. Furthermore, these data pave the way for identification of biomarkers to trace sources of contamination with food-borne microorganisms and their endo- and exotoxins in order to ensure food safety and prevent the outbreak of food-borne diseases. Therefore, detection of pathogens and their toxins during production, transport and before consume of food produce, as well as protection against food spoilage is a task of great social, economic and public health importance. PMID: 27109345 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Anti-stress effects of ginseng total saponins on hindlimb-unloaded rats assessed by a metabolomics study. J Ethnopharmacol. 2016 Apr 21; Authors: Feng L, Liu XM, Cao FR, Wang LS, Chen YX, Pan RL, Liao YH, Wang Q, Chang Q Abstract ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Ginseng, the roots and rhizomes of Panax ginseng C.A. Mey. (Araliaceae), is used as a tonic herb for thousands of years in Asian countries. Saponins are recognized as its major active ingredients and reportedly can ease disorders caused by various adverse stimuli. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether ginseng saponins have beneficial effects on stress caused by microgravity. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to assess the anti-stress effects and corresponding mechanisms of ginseng total saponins (GTSs) on simulated microgravity (SM) hindlimb-unloaded rats using a metabolomics method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The stressed rats were induced by hindlimb unloading for 7 continuous days. Levels of plasma corticosterone (CORT) and weights of immune organs including the thymuses, spleens, and adrenal glands were determined. Urinary metabolic profiles of the rats under the simulated microgravity condition with and without GTSs intervention were compared using an ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS) based metabolomics method. Multivariate statistical analysis including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Partial Least Squares project to latent structures-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) were performed. RESULTS: Compared with control (66.22 ± 10.40 ng/mL), the plasma CORT level of the SM rats (82.67 ± 13.64 ng/mL) were significantly (p < 0.05) elevated, and GTSs could restore this elevation to a lower level (77.75 ± 14.35 ng/mL). GTSs could also significantly alleviate the atrophy of the thymuses and the spleens, as well as the hypertrophy of the adrenal glands of the SM rats. Urinary metabolic profiling showed comprehensive metabolic variation among the three groups. A series of metabolic pathways including taurine and hypotaurine, purine and pyridine, and amino acid were affected. Eleven potential biomarkers such as taurine, adenine, and valine were identified. GTSs could correct the disturbed metabolic pathways and restore the variation of these potential markers. CONCLUSION: GTSs can exert anti-stress effects by reducing the secretion of plasma CORT, enhancing the immune function, and restoring an array of disturbed metabolic pathways and metabolites. The findings of this study provide crucial evidence of a link between metabolic imbalance and microgravity, and reveal a molecular basis for the anti-stress benefits of GTSs in the management of microgravity-related disorders. PMID: 27109340 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Discrimination of Three Panax Species Based on Differences in Volatile Organic Compounds Using a Static Headspace GC-MS-Based Metabolomics Approach. Am J Chin Med. 2016 Apr 24;:1-14 Authors: Chen XJ, Qiu JF, Wang YT, Wan JB Abstract Panax ginseng (Asian ginseng), Panax quinquefolium (American ginseng) and Panax notoginseng (notoginseng) are highly valuable tonic herbs derived from the Panax genus that have similar morphological appearances and odors but different pharmacological activities and clinical indications. Thus, the authentication of these three Panax species is crucial for ensuring the quality, safety and efficacy of medication. In the present study, a static headspace gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) followed by a multivariate statistical analysis was developed to globally characterize the volatile organic compound (VOC) profiles in P. ginseng, P. quinquefolium, and P. notoginseng, and subsequently to discover differentiating chemical markers. Under the optimized conditions, the headspace VOCs of a total of 49 batches of Panax herbs derived from the three Panax species were profiled, and the dataset of sample code, [Formula: see text]-m/z pair and ion intensity was processed by unsupervised principal component analysis (PCA) and by supervised partial least squared discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) to comprehensively compare the chemical differences in Panax across the species. The results demonstrated that Panax herbs derived from three species possess obviously diverse chemical characteristics of VOCs, PCA, and PLS-DA. According to their VOC profiles, 49 tested samples could be clearly differentiated according to species. Chemomarker 1, 2, and 4 might be used as unique chemical markers of P. ginseng, P. notoginseng and P. quinquefolium, respectively. Our findings indicate that static headspace GC-MS-based VOC profiling, combined with multivariate statistical analysis, provide a reliable tool to discriminate between the three Panax species and to identify their differentiation markers, which will be helpful for ensuring their quality, safety and efficacy. PMID: 27109159 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related Articles MyCompoundID MS/MS Search: Metabolite Identification Using a Library of Predicted Fragment-Ion-Spectra of 383,830 Possible Human Metabolites. Anal Chem. 2015 Oct 20;87(20):10619-26 Authors: Huan T, Tang C, Li R, Shi Y, Lin G, Li L Abstract We report an analytical tool to facilitate metabolite identification based on an MS/MS spectral match of an unknown to a library of predicted MS/MS spectra of possible human metabolites. To construct the spectral library, the known endogenous human metabolites in the Human Metabolome Database (HMDB) (8,021 metabolites) and their predicted metabolic products via one metabolic reaction in the Evidence-based Metabolome Library (EML) (375,809 predicted metabolites) were subjected to in silico fragmentation to produce the predicted MS/MS spectra. This spectral library is hosted at the public MCID Web site ( www.MyCompoundID.org ), and a spectral search program, MCID MS/MS, has been developed to allow a user to search one or a batch of experimental MS/MS spectra against the library spectra for possible match(s). Using MS/MS spectra generated from standard metabolites and a human urine sample, we demonstrate that this tool is very useful for putative metabolite identification. It allows a user to narrow down many possible structures initially found by using an accurate mass search of an unknown metabolite to only one or a few candidates, thereby saving time and effort in selecting or synthesizing metabolite standard(s) for eventual positive metabolite identification. PMID: 26415007 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Related Articles Effects of metformin on metabolite profiles and LDL cholesterol in patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2015 Oct;38(10):1858-67 Authors: Xu T, Brandmaier S, Messias AC, Herder C, Draisma HH, Demirkan A, Yu Z, Ried JS, Haller T, Heier M, Campillos M, Fobo G, Stark R, Holzapfel C, Adam J, Chi S, Rotter M, Panni T, Quante AS, He Y, Prehn C, Roemisch-Margl W, Kastenmüller G, Willemsen G, Pool R, Kasa K, van Dijk KW, Hankemeier T, Meisinger C, Thorand B, Ruepp A, Hrabé de Angelis M, Li Y, Wichmann HE, Stratmann B, Strauch K, Metspalu A, Gieger C, Suhre K, Adamski J, Illig T, Rathmann W, Roden M, Peters A, van Duijn CM, Boomsma DI, Meitinger T, Wang-Sattler R Abstract OBJECTIVE: Metformin is used as a first-line oral treatment for type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Here, we aimed to comprehensively investigate the pleiotropic effects of metformin. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We analyzed both metabolomic and genomic data of the population-based KORA cohort. To evaluate the effect of metformin treatment on metabolite concentrations, we quantified 131 metabolites in fasting serum samples and used multivariable linear regression models in three independent cross-sectional studies (n = 151 patients with T2D treated with metformin [mt-T2D]). Additionally, we used linear mixed-effect models to study the longitudinal KORA samples (n = 912) and performed mediation analyses to investigate the effects of metformin intake on blood lipid profiles. We combined genotyping data with the identified metformin-associated metabolites in KORA individuals (n = 1,809) and explored the underlying pathways. RESULTS: We found significantly lower (P < 5.0E-06) concentrations of three metabolites (acyl-alkyl phosphatidylcholines [PCs]) when comparing mt-T2D with four control groups who were not using glucose-lowering oral medication. These findings were controlled for conventional risk factors of T2D and replicated in two independent studies. Furthermore, we observed that the levels of these metabolites decreased significantly in patients after they started metformin treatment during 7 years' follow-up. The reduction of these metabolites was also associated with a lowered blood level of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C). Variations of these three metabolites were significantly associated with 17 genes (including FADS1 and FADS2) and controlled by AMPK, a metformin target. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that metformin intake activates AMPK and consequently suppresses FADS, which leads to reduced levels of the three acyl-alkyl PCs and LDL-C. Our findings suggest potential beneficial effects of metformin in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. PMID: 26251408 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Related Articles Isolation of Vaginal Lactobacilli and Characterization of Anti-Candida Activity. PLoS One. 2015;10(6):e0131220 Authors: Parolin C, Marangoni A, Laghi L, Foschi C, Ñahui Palomino RA, Calonghi N, Cevenini R, Vitali B Abstract Healthy vaginal microbiota is dominated by Lactobacillus spp., which form a critical line of defence against pathogens, including Candida spp. The present study aims to identify vaginal lactobacilli exerting in vitro activity against Candida spp. and to characterize their antifungal mechanisms of action. Lactobacillus strains were isolated from vaginal swabs of healthy premenopausal women. The isolates were taxonomically identified to species level (L. crispatus B1-BC8, L. gasseri BC9-BC14 and L. vaginalis BC15-BC17) by sequencing the 16S rRNA genes. All strains produced hydrogen peroxide and lactate. Fungistatic and fungicidal activities against C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis and C. lusitaniae were evaluated by broth micro-dilution method. The broadest spectrum of activity was observed for L. crispatus BC1, BC4, BC5 and L. vaginalis BC15, demonstrating fungicidal activity against all isolates of C. albicans and C. lusitaniae. Metabolic profiles of lactobacilli supernatants were studied by 1H-NMR analysis. Metabolome was found to be correlated with both taxonomy and activity score. Exclusion, competition and displacement experiments were carried out to investigate the interference exerted by lactobacilli toward the yeast adhesion to HeLa cells. Most Lactobacillus strains significantly reduced C. albicans adhesion through all mechanisms. In particular, L. crispatus BC2, L. gasseri BC10 and L. gasseri BC11 appeared to be the most active strains in reducing pathogen adhesion, as their effects were mediated by both cells and supernatants. Inhibition of histone deacetylases was hypothesised to support the antifungal activity of vaginal lactobacilli. Our results are prerequisites for the development of new therapeutic agents based on probiotics for prophylaxis and adjuvant therapy of Candida infection. PMID: 26098675 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Related Articles Compartment resolved reference proteome map from highly purified naïve, activated, effector, and memory CD8⁺ murine immune cells. Proteomics. 2015 Jun;15(11):1808-12 Authors: Zanker D, Otto W, Chen W, von Bergen M, Tomm JM Abstract Differentiation of CD8(+) T lymphocytes into effector and memory cells is key for an adequate immune response and relies on complex interplay of pathways that convey signals from the cell surface to the nucleus. In this study, we investigated the proteome of four cytotoxic T-cell subtypes; naïve, recently activated effector, effector, and memory cells. Cells were fractionated into membrane, cytosol, soluble nuclear, chromatin-bound, and cytoskeletal compartments. Following LC-MS/MS analysis, identified peptides were analyzed via MaxQuant. Compartment fractionation and gel-LC-MS separation resulted in 2399 proteins identified in total. Comparison between the different subsets resulted in 146 significantly regulated proteins for naïve and effector cells, followed by 116 for activated, and 55 for memory cells. Besides Granzyme B signaling (for activated and/ or effector cells vs. naïve cells), the most prominent changes occurred in the TCA cycle and aspartate degradation. These changes suggest that correct balancing of metabolism is key for differentiation processes. All MS data have been deposited in the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD001065 (http://proteomecentral.proteomexchange.org/dataset/PXD001065). PMID: 25643623 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Related Articles Use of metabotyping for the delivery of personalised nutrition. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2015 Mar;59(3):377-85 Authors: O'Donovan CB, Walsh MC, Nugent AP, McNulty B, Walton J, Flynn A, Gibney MJ, Gibney ER, Brennan L Abstract SCOPE: Personalised nutrition can be defined as dietary advice that is tailored to an individual. In recent years, the concept of targeted nutrition has evolved, which involves delivering specific dietary advice to a group of phenotypically similar individuals or metabotypes. This study examined whether cluster analysis could be used to define metabotypes and developed a strategy for the delivery of targeted dietary advice. METHOD AND RESULTS: K-means clustering was employed to identify clusters based on four markers of metabolic health (triacylglycerols, total cholesterol, direct HDL cholesterol and glucose) (n = 896) using data from the National Adult Nutrition Survey. A decision tree approach was developed for the delivery of targeted dietary advice per cluster based on biochemical characteristics, anthropometry and blood pressure. The appropriateness of the advice was tested by comparison with individualised dietary advice manually compiled (n = 99). A mean match of 89.1% between the methods was demonstrated with a 100% match for two-thirds of participants. CONCLUSION: Good agreement was found between the individualised and targeted methods demonstrating the ability of this framework to deliver targeted dietary advice. This approach has the potential to be a fast and novel method for the delivery of targeted nutrition in clinical settings. PMID: 25410729 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Related Articles Effects of dietary betaine supplementation subjected to heat stress on milk performances and physiology indices in dairy cow. Genet Mol Res. 2014;13(3):7577-86 Authors: Zhang L, Ying SJ, An WJ, Lian H, Zhou GB, Han ZY Abstract This study aimed to determine whether feeding betaine to cows elevates their production performance during summer heat stress. Thirty-two lactating Holstein cows were randomly divided into 4 groups: the control group, which received a total mixed ration (TMR), and 3 experimental groups that received TMR blended with 10 g/day (group I), 15 g/day (group II), and 20 g/day (group III) betaine for 8 weeks. Milk and blood were sampled throughout the experimental period. The average maximum and minimum air temperatures were 28.3 and 24.1°C, respectively. The average temperature-humidity index was 78.6 units. The results showed that feeding betaine to cows increased feed intake, milk yield, milk lactose, milk protein, plasma cortisol, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and malondialdehyde levels (P<0.05); however, it caused HSP70 levels to decrease (P<0.05). The milk performance of group II was significantly affected. These results indicate that supplementing betaine to the diet of dairy cows increases their milk performance and improves their antioxidant capacity; these processes help relieve the cow from heat stress. In conclusion, supplementing dairy cows with 15 g/day betaine generated the most positive influence on performance and productivity, and hence caused the greatest reduction in heat stress. PMID: 25222258 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Related Articles Detection of Apoptotic Versus Autophagic Cell Death by Flow Cytometry. Methods Mol Biol. 2016;1419:1-16 Authors: Sica V, Maiuri MC, Kroemer G, Galluzzi L Abstract Different modes of regulated cell death (RCD) can be initiated by distinct molecular machineries and their morphological manifestations can be difficult to discriminate. Moreover, cells responding to stress often activate an adaptive response centered around autophagy, and whether such a response is cytoprotective or cytotoxic cannot be predicted based on morphological parameters only. Molecular definitions are therefore important to understand various RCD subroutines from a mechanistic perspective. In vitro, various forms of RCD including apoptosis and autophagic cell death can be easily discriminated from each other with assays that involve chemical or pharmacological interventions targeting key components of either pathway. Here, we detail a straightforward method to discriminate apoptosis from autophagic cell death by flow cytometry, based on the broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk and the genetic inhibition of ATG5. PMID: 27108427 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related Articles Neuronal metabolomics by ion mobility mass spectrometry in cocaine self-administering rats after early and late withdrawal. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2016 Apr 23; Authors: Zhang X, Chiu VM, Todd RP, Sorg BA, Hill HH Abstract The neuronal metabolomes in rat striatum (STR), prefrontal cortex (PFC), and nucleus accumbens (NAC) were analyzed by Hadamard transform ion mobility mass spectrometry (HT-IMMS) in order to reveal global and specific metabolic changes induced by cocaine self-administration after 1-day or 3-week withdrawal. Metabolite features were comprehensively separated and detected using HPLC-IMMS within minutes. Global metabolic differences were observed by PCA for comparisons between cocaine and saline treatments at 1-day withdrawal time. Metabolite features that were significantly changed were selected using PCA loadings' plot and unpaired LLL test and then tentatively identified by accurate m/z, yielding a complete profile of metabolic changes induced by cocaine self-administration. The majority of these changes were found at the 1-day withdrawal time, but several of them endured even after 3-week withdrawal from cocaine, and these changes were generally brain region specific. Putatively identified metabolites associated with oxidative stress and energy metabolism were also specifically investigated. We discovered that the dysregulation of creatine/creatinine was different between the STR and NAC, demonstrating that metabolic alterations are brain region specific. Glutathione and adenosine were also changed in their abundance, and the results agreed with previous studies. In general, this study provided a high-throughput analytical platform to perform metabolomics analyses with putative identifications for altered metabolite features induced by cocaine treatment, therefore revealing additional metabolic targets of cocaine-induced changes after early and extended withdrawal times. PMID: 27108279 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related Articles Integrative functional genomic analysis unveils the differing dysregulated metabolic processes across hepatocellular carcinoma stages. Gene. 2016 Apr 20; Authors: Ramesh V, Ganesan K Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly heterogeneous disease and the development of targeted therapeutics is still at an early stage. The 'omics' based genome-wide profiling comprising the transcriptome, miRNome and proteome are highly useful in identifying the deregulated molecular processes involved in hepatocarcinogenesis. One of the end products and processes of the central dogma being the metabolites and metabolic processes mediate the cellular functions. In recent years, metabolomics based investigations have revealed the major deregulated metabolic processes involved in carcinogenesis. However, the integrative analysis of the holistic metabolic processes with genomics is at an early stage. Since the gene-sets are highly useful in assessing the biological processes and pathways, we made an attempt to infer the deregulated cellular metabolic processes involved in HCC by employing metabolism associated gene-set enrichment analysis. Further, the metabolic process enrichment scores were integrated with the transcriptome profiles of HCC. Integrative analysis shows three distinct metabolic deregulations: i) hepatocyte function related molecular processes involving lipid/ fatty acid/ bile acid synthesis, ii) inflammatory processes with cytokine, sphingolipid & chondriotin sulphate metabolism and iii) enriched nucleotide metabolic process involving purine/pyrimidine & glucose mediated catabolic process, in hepatocarcinogenesis. The three distinct metabolic processes were found to occur both in tumor and liver cancer cell line profiles. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering of the metabolic processes along with clinical sample information has identified two major clusters based on AFP (alpha-fetoprotein) and metastasis. The study reveals the three major regulatory processes involved in HCC stages. PMID: 27107678 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related Articles Metabolomics to identify biomarkers and as a predictive tool in inflammatory diseases. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2015 Dec;29(6):770-782 Authors: Jutley GS, Young SP Abstract There is an overwhelming need for a simple, reliable tool that aids clinicians in diagnosing, assessing disease activity and treating rheumatic conditions. Identification of biomarkers in partially understood inflammatory disorders has long been sought after as the Holy Grail of Rheumatology. Given the complex nature of inflammatory conditions, it has been difficult to earmark the potential biomarkers. Metabolomics, however, is promising in providing new insights into inflammatory conditions and also identifying such biomarkers. Metabolomic studies have generally revealed increased energy requirements for by-products of a hypoxic environment, leading to a characteristic metabolic fingerprint. Here, we discuss the significance of such studies and their potential as a biomarker. PMID: 27107512 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]