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Nutrients Feb 2024Normal pregnancy involves numerous physiological changes, including changes in hormone levels, immune responses, and metabolism. Although several studies have shown that...
Normal pregnancy involves numerous physiological changes, including changes in hormone levels, immune responses, and metabolism. Although several studies have shown that the gut microbiota may have an important role in the progression of pregnancy, these findings have been inconsistent, and the relationship between the gut microbiota and metabolites that change dynamically during and after pregnancy remains to be clarified. In this longitudinal study, we comprehensively profiled the temporal dynamics of the gut microbiota, communities, and serum and faecal metabolomes of 31 women during their pregnancies and postpartum periods. The microbial composition changed as gestation progressed, with the pregnancy and postpartum periods exhibiting distinct bacterial community characteristics, including significant alterations in the genera of the Lachnospiraceae or Ruminococcaceae families, especially the and . Metabolic dynamics, characterised by changes in nutrients important for fetal growth (e.g., docosatrienoic acid), anti-inflammatory metabolites (e.g., trans-3-indoleacrylic acid), and steroid hormones (e.g., progesterone), were observed in both serum and faecal samples during pregnancy. Moreover, a complex correlation was identified between the pregnancy-related microbiota and metabolites, with and making important contributions to changes in faecal and serum metabolites, respectively. Overall, a highly coordinated microbiota-metabolite regulatory network may underlie the pregnancy process. These findings provide a foundation for enhancing our understanding of the molecular processes occurring during the progression of pregnancy, thereby contributing to nutrition and health management during this period.
Topics: Pregnancy; Humans; Female; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Longitudinal Studies; Postpartum Period; Microbiota; Metabolome; Lactobacillales; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
PubMed: 38398806
DOI: 10.3390/nu16040483 -
Journal of Biomolecular Structure &... Jan 2024is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped and opportunistic human pathogen. is resistant to various antibiotics due to the production of quorum sensing (QS)-controlled virulence...
is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped and opportunistic human pathogen. is resistant to various antibiotics due to the production of quorum sensing (QS)-controlled virulence factor and biofilm formation. Hence, we need to find alternative strategies to overcome the antimicrobial resistance and biofilm formation in Gram-negative bacteria. QS is a mechanism in which bacteria's ability to regulate the virulence factors and biofilm formations leads to disease progression. Previously, hexadecanoic acid was identified as a CviRmediated quorum-sensing inhibitor. In this study, we aimed to discover potential analogs of hexadecanoic acid as a CviR-mediated quorum-sensing inhibitor against by using ADME/T prediction, density functional theory, molecular docking, molecular dynamics and free energy binding calculations. ADME/T properties predicted for analogs were acceptable for human oral absorption and feasibility. The highest occupied molecular orbitals and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals gap energies predicted and found oleic acid with -0.3748 energies. Docosatrienoic acid exhibited the highest binding affinity -8.15 Kcal/mol and strong and stable interactions with the amino acid residues on the active site of the CviR protein. These compounds on MD simulations for 100 ns show strong hydrogen-bonding interactions with the protein and remain stable inside the active site. Our results suggest hexadecanoic acid analogs could serve as anti-QS and anti-biofilm molecules for treating infections. However, further validation and investigation of these inhibitors against CviR are needed to claim their candidacy for clinical trials.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
PubMed: 38165661
DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2299945 -
Molecular Nutrition & Food Research Dec 2023Olive oil, rapeseed oil, and lard are dietary fats rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, but the effects of dietary oils enriched in monounsaturated fatty acids on...
SCOPE
Olive oil, rapeseed oil, and lard are dietary fats rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, but the effects of dietary oils enriched in monounsaturated fatty acids on hepatic lipid deposition have seldom been compared.
METHODS AND RESULTS
Ninety 8-week-old C57BL/6J male mice are randomly divided into six groups and fed diets containing lard, rapeseed oil, or olive oil with a 10% or 45% fat energy supply for 16 weeks. Under high-fat conditions, serum total cholesterol levels in the lard and olive oil groups are significantly higher than those in the rapeseed oil group. Hepatic lipid content in the olive oil group is higher than that in the other two groups. Compared with rapeseed oil, lard increases the liver levels of arachidonic, palmitic, and myristic acids and decreases the levels of eicosapentaenoic linolenic acid and linoleic acid. Olive oil increases the liver levels of docosatrienoic, arachidonic, oleic, and myristic acids; maltose; and fructose and decreases the levels of eicosapentaenoic, linolenic, and linoleic acids.
CONCLUSION
Olive oil probably causes hepatic lipid deposition in mice, which may enhance hepatic lipid synthesis by activating the starch and sucrose metabolic pathways. By contrast, rapeseed oil shows a significant anti-lipid deposition effect on the liver.
Topics: Male; Animals; Mice; Olive Oil; Rapeseed Oil; Cholesterol; Glucose; Lipid Metabolism; Transcriptome; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Dietary Fats; Liver; Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; Myristic Acids; Plant Oils; Fatty Acids
PubMed: 37867207
DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.202300398