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- Jaeger, Julius W., et al.
(författare)
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Microbiota modulation by dietary oat beta-glucan prevents steatotic liver disease progression
- 2024
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Ingår i: JHEP Reports. - 2589-5559. ; 6:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background & Aims: Changes in gut microbiota in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) are important drivers of disease progression towards fibrosis. Therefore, reversing microbial alterations could ameliorate MASLD progression. Oat beta-glucan, a non-digestible polysaccharide, has shown promising therapeutic effects on hyperlipidemia associated with MASLD, but its impact on gut microbiota and most importantly MASLD-related fibrosis remains unknown. Methods: We performed detailed metabolic phenotyping, including assessments of body composition, glucose tolerance, and lipid metabolism, as well as comprehensive characterization of the gut-liver axis in a western-style diet (WSD)-induced model of MASLD and assessed the effect of a beta-glucan intervention on early and advanced liver disease. Gut microbiota were modulated using broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment. Results: Oat beta-glucan supplementation did not affect WSD-induced body weight gain or glucose intolerance and the metabolic phenotype remained largely unaffected. Interestingly, oat beta-glucan dampened MASLD-related inflammation, which was associated with significantly reduced monocyte-derived macrophage infiltration and fibroinflammatory gene expression, as well as strongly reduced fibrosis development. Mechanistically, this protective effect was not mediated by changes in bile acid composition or signaling, but was dependent on gut microbiota and was lost upon broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment. Specifically, oat beta-glucan partially reversed unfavorable changes in gut microbiota, resulting in an expansion of protective taxa, including Ruminococcus, and Lactobacillus followed by reduced translocation of Toll-like receptor ligands. Conclusions: Our findings identify oat beta-glucan as a highly efficacious food supplement that dampens inflammation and fibrosis development in diet-induced MASLD. These results, along with its favorable dietary profile, suggest that it may be a cost-effective and well-tolerated approach to preventing MASLD progression and should be assessed in clinical studies. Impact and Implications: Herein, we investigated the effect of oat beta-glucan on the gut-liver axis and fibrosis development in a mouse model of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Beta-glucan significantly reduced inflammation and fibrosis in the liver, which was associated with favorable shifts in gut microbiota that protected against bacterial translocation and activation of fibroinflammatory pathways. Together, oat beta-glucan may be a cost-effective and well-tolerated approach to prevent MASLD progression and should be assessed in clinical studies.
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| 2. |
- Welinder, Karen Gjesing, et al.
(författare)
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Biochemical Foundations of Health and Energy Conservation in Hibernating Free-Ranging Subadult Brown Bear Ursus arctos
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - Rockville, USA : American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. - 0021-9258 .- 1083-351X. ; 291:43, s. 22509-22523
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Brown bears (Ursus arctos) hibernate for 5-7 months without eating, drinking, urinating and defecating at a metabolic rate of only 25% of the summer activity rate. Nonetheless, they emerge healthy and alert in spring. We quantified the biochemical adaptations for hibernation by comparing the proteome, metabolome, and hematologic features of blood from hibernating and active free-ranging subadult brown bears with a focus on conservation of health and energy. We found that total plasma protein concentration increased during hibernation, even though the concentrations of most individual plasma proteins decreased, as did the white blood cell types. Strikingly, antimicrobial defense proteins increased in concentration. Central functions in hibernation involving the coagulation response and protease inhibition, as well as lipid transport and metabolism, were upheld by increased levels of very few key or broad-specificity proteins. The changes in coagulation factor levels matched the changes in activity measurements. A dramatic 45-fold increase in sex-hormone-binding-globulin SHBG levels during hibernation draws, for the first time, attention to its significant but unknown role in maintaining hibernation physiology. We propose that energy for the costly protein synthesis is reduced by three mechanisms, (i) dehydration, which increases protein concentration without de novo synthesis; (ii) reduced protein degradation rates due to a 6 °C reduction in body temperature, and decreased protease activity; and (iii) a marked redistribution of energy resources only increasing de novo synthesis of few key proteins. This comprehensive global data identified novel biochemical strategies for bear adaptations to the extreme condition of hibernation, and have implications for our understanding of physiology in general.
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