Month: March 2020

A metagenomic analysis of faecal microbiota in people with type 2 diabetes demonstrated that the disease was associated with marked functional alterations of the microbiota but only moderate compositional change. Future studies that employ metagenomic, transcriptomic, or metabolomics approaches could identify functional differences of the microbiota in diabetic cats that are not manifest as an overall difference in microbiota composition. The composition of the microbiota has been reported to change associated with age in humans, with the most consistent change reported being a VE-821 decreased total proportion and species diversity of bifidobacteria in elderly people. In cats, the microbiota composition is more diverse in kittens pre-weaning than postweaning. Longer term effects have not been comprehensively investigated, although one group reported no difference in bifidobacteria counts of kittens compared with geriatric cats. Specific age-associated differences in the proportions of predominant bacterial taxa or Bifidobacterium spp. were not identified in our study, although Faecalibacterium spp. were decreased in cats greater than ten years of age. Interestingly, reduced levels of Faecalibacterium spp. have also been reported in elderly humans. Further studies that compare samples from very young and very old cats may more readily identify agerelated alterations in microbiota composition of cats. None of the dietary factors that we evaluated affected faecal microbiota composition, in contrast to some previous studies which have related high protein diets to a lower abundance of Bifidobacterium. However, the diets investigated in those studies differed with respect to other nutrients as well as protein, and the effect of individual dietary components in isolation has not been scrutinised. All these previous studies have also utilised laboratory-housed cats, for which dietary and environmental factors can be more tightly controlled than for the pet cats in our study. In our study cats were fed a variety of commercially available diets, many of which were designed to meet maintenance requirements of adult cats. The variability in consumed diets also meant that only small groups of cats were available for comparison for some of the dietary factors considered, which may have impaired our ability to detect dietassociated differences. It is possible that with more extreme differences in nutrient profiles and/or studies involving larger numbers of cats, diet-related alterations in microbiota composition would become apparent. Further studies that are specifically designed to investigate individual nutrient effects are needed to ascertain the significance of diet in influencing microbiota composition in cats. In conclusion, the faecal microbiota composition of insulintreated, diabetic cats determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing did not differ from that of non-diabetic cats in this study. qPCR identified a decrease in Faecalibacterium spp. in elderly cats, similar to observations in elderly humans. There were no differences in faecal microbiota composition associated with cat breed or gender, dietary protein, carbohydrate or fat content, or dietary formulation in our study population of pet cats.

One group has estimated breast cancer outcome by using machine learning to create a 70 gene prediction algorithm while we and others have used machine learning, in combination with discrete signaling pathways, to predict metastasis-free survival. Others have attempted to distinguish between different types of cancer using many types of algorithms including Support Vector Machines, Principal Component Analysis and Artificial Neural Networks. Yet others predict chemosensitivity on the basis of gene expression and signaling networks. However, while all these approaches have made Ruxolitinib impressive strides and are useful in clinical practice, these ideas have not been combined to produce a principles-based approach to cancer drug design. Here we propose a framework for designing cancer treatments that extends existing ideas using the classifier conceptualization. The first step is to discriminate between cancerous and healthy cells. Because this is the goal of cancer treatment, it is important to concretely specify this goal. To do this, we use the mathematics of classification algorithms in conjunction with measurements of cell markers. The classifier answers the following questions: how much do cancer cells differ from healthy cells, and which biological markers can distinguish them? It asks this question while explicitly considering the heterogeneity of both populations. The markers could include gene expression, surface proteins, etc. Because distinguishing between cancer and healthy cells requires taking into account the heterogeneity in each population, we have focused on markers for single cells rather than cell populations where possible. Classifying algorithms in this context are designed to give the maximal separation of cancer cells from healthy cells in terms of these distinguishing markers. As such, we can say that the results of classification describe what a hypothetical “optimal” drug acting upon these markers could achieve. Part I of the Results demonstrates how one could define this optimality objective using gene expression in single cells and explores how many markers and cells are required to achieve this goal. The next step is to understand how the available treatment tools allow us to utilize the distinguishing markers of cancer cells. We should strive to approximate the optimal drug by designing new drugs or combining existing drugs. Here we focus on the second. Drugs should ideally target distinguishing properties of cancer, but most drugs used in the clinic do not do this perfectly. Furthermore, their mechanisms of action differ. Thus, it may be possible to predict how existing drugs should be combined to produce more desirable results. Actually making this prediction would hinge on relating the drug actions to the distinguishing properties of cancer. For example, if cancer cells differ from healthy cells primarily via three distinct markers.

The data of observational studies suggested that 1 cup/d of green tea rather than black tea is correlated to a 10% reduction in the risk of coronary artery diseases development. In addition, a large cohort study also found that green tea consumption, rather than black tea, is significantly associated with a decreased risk of mortality from CVD. Recently, Zhao et al. conducted a meta-analysis investigating the effect of black tea on blood cholesterol concentrations on the basis of 10 RCTs. However, the overall meta-analysis and subgroup analyses of the study were based on the combined populations with different health status, which might limit the drawing of conclusions about the specific populations. In general, this meta-analysis indicated that black tea consumption has no significant effect on blood cholesterol concentrations, while a previous meta-analysis suggested that green tea consumption can significantly lower the blood TC and LDL-C concentrations. Therefore, black tea and green tea consumption might possess inconsistent effect on cholesterol concentrations and CVD risk. The null effect of black tea on blood cholesterol may be partly because black tea contains less antioxidant compounds than green tea. Additionally, the amount and composition of catechins are substantially various between black tea and green tea due to the different degrees of fermentation. It has been reported that catechins constitute 80% to 90% of total green tea flavonoids, whereas they only constitute 20% to 30% of black tea flavonoids. This is mainly due to the fact that black tea catechins are usually converted to some complex varieties, such as thearubigins and theaflavins during the oxidation process in the manufacture of black tea. Animal studies have revealed that MK-1775 administration of catechins can significantly increase the activity of hepatic LDL-receptor and reduce plasma and liver cholesterol concentrations. In addition, Chan et al. suggested that catechins can inhibit cholesterol absorption by enhancing the cholesterol fecal excretion in hamsters. Consistent with the animal studies, a previous in vitro study has suggested that catechins can directly inhibit the biosynthesis of cholesterol by selectively inhibiting the activity of squalene epoxidase. Thus, if catechins account for the major beneficial effect of green tea on cholesterol concentrations, the comparatively lacking favorable effect of black tea on blood cholesterol concentrations is reasonable. In addition, all of the included studies selected participants with TC concentrations lower than 240 mg/dL, and most of the trials included subjects with high concentrations of HDL-C. This may also partially explain the null effects of black tea on TC and HDL-C concentrations, because TC and HDL-C concentrations may fluctuate in a certain range in the subjects with normal cholesterol conditions. Therefore, black tea consumption may not significantly affect the physiological regulation of blood cholesterol concentrations in these subjects.

It is projected that 377 billion will be saved by reduction of CVD mortality from 2011 to 2025. Low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol concentrations and high total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol concentrations are the major risk factors of CVD. A recent study Epoxomicin clinical trial suggests that a 1% reduction of cholesterol can decrease the risk of CVD by 3%, whereas hyperlipidemia may increase the heart attack risk by 3-fold. Accumulating data suggest that healthy foods consumption can significantly lower TC concentration, and increase HDL-C concentrations. Therefore, growing attention has been devoted to the dietary intervention on the prevention and treatment of CVD. Tea, derived from the plant Camellia sinensis, is currently consumed worldwide and considered as a major source of flavonoid consumption in the US diet. Tea is mainly divided into three types, such as green tea, black tea and oolong tea. In general, green tea is produced by non-fermented leaves, while black tea and oolong tea are made from the fermented leaves and partly fermented leaves, respectively. A previous metaanalysis on the basis of 14 randomized controlled trials revealed that green tea consumption can significantly reduce plasma LDL-C and TC concentrations. In addition, the meta-analysis based on observational studies found that tea consumption including green tea, black tea, or oolong tea is significantly associated with the reduction of CVD risk. To date, several RCTs have been designed to evaluate the effects of black tea consumption on blood cholesterol concentrations, with inconsistent results. Although two previous meta-analyses had been conducted to investigate the effect of black tea on blood cholesterol concentrations, one study only included two RCTs when pooling the effects of black tea on TC concentrations, while the other study conducted their meta-analysis based on the combined population with different health status. Therefore, we performed this meta-analysis to further assess the effects of black tea on blood cholesterol concentrations based on the PRISMA guidelines. The overall outcome of this meta-analysis suggested that black tea intake did not significantly alter concentrations of TC, HDLC, or LDL-C in healthy subjects. The results of subgroup analyses of TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C did not significantly affect the overall outcome of the effect of black tea on these biomarkers. Although subgroup analyses of LDL-C in healthy subjects indicated that administration of black tea significantly lower LDL-C concentrations based on the studies with high Jadad socre, significant heterogeneity was found in this subgroup. Due to the limited number of included studies, we could not conduct subgroup analysis to confirm the effects of black tea on blood cholesterol concentrations in subjects with T2DM and coronary artery diseases and thus these results should be confirmed by more RCTs in the future.

Platelet involvement is thought to be due to: release of growth factors or platelet-vessel interactions. Platelets contain agranules, dense granules, and lysosomes. The a-granule content includes both pro- and anti-angiogenic growth factors that are important regulators of some tumour growth. Platelet releasate has been linked with in vitro and in vivo angiogenesis, involving neuropeptide Y and the angiopoietin pathway. The mechanism of growth factor Dabrafenib sequestration is unclear, but may involve endocytosis of circulating vascular endothelial growth factor or enhanced VEGF production by megakaryocytes. There has been an interest in nonhaemostatic roles for platelets since the discovery that platelet depletion prevents growth of metastases. Patients with cancers and inflammatory disorders that induce pathological angiogenesis demonstrate higher platelet levels of growth factors, including VEGF. It is known that the higher VEGF levels parallels tumour progression, and platelets are activated in the circulation of such individuals. Lystbg mice lacking dense granules and lysosomes demonstrate normal inflammatory angiogenesis, suggesting a role for granule release. Interestingly, pro-angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors may be selectively released from platelets. Evidence supporting the need for platelet adhesion includes unaffected in vitro endothelial tube formation in Matrigel by the addition of platelet secretate, which includes a-granule secretions, that is enhanced with the physical presence of platelets. Also, platelet adhesion onto tumour endothelium is accompanied by VEGF release, and significantly more platelets have been observed adherent to angiogenic vessels compared to mature vasculature with intravital microscopy studies of dorsal skinfold chambers, supporting a role for platelet-vessel interactions. Whether platelets interact with endothelium or subendothelial structures remains unclear. While platelets bind subendothelial collagen after vessel injury during thrombosis, no evidence exists for a functional role of such interactions in physiological angiogenesis, nor for circulating platelet activation. Mice lacking GPVI, of central importance to direct platelet activation, demonstrate inflammatory angiogenesis in response to subcutaneous Matrigel implantation no differently from controls. This suggests that intact collagen binding properties may not be required for angiogenesis to occur in vivo. Thus, platelet adhesion to endothelium may lead to angiogenesis as a result of releasate from activated platelets, but that secretion of proangiogenic factors may also occur without adhesion. For example, quiescent platelets may more effectively stimulate wound healing compared with activated platelets, possibly by enhancing fibroblast differentiation. We therefore sought to identify a role for platelets using two in vivo models of physiological angiogenesis, sprouting and splitting forms of capillary growth.