Consumption of Grapes Modulates Gene Expression, Reduces Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, and Extends Longevity in Female C57BL/6J Mice Provided with a High-Fat Western-Pattern Diet

Gestational GenX and PFOA exposures induce hepatotoxicity, metabolic pathway, and microbiome shifts in weanling mice

Ammonium perfluoro (2-methyl-3-oxahexanoate) (GenX), a replacement for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), has been detected in multiple environmental media and biological samples worldwide. Accumulated evidence implies that GenX exposure might exert adverse health effects, although the underlying mechanisms have not been fully revealed. In this study, pregnant BALB/c mice were exposed to GenX (2 mg/kg/day), PFOA (1 mg/kg/day), or Milli-Q water by gavage from the first day of gestation (GD0) until GD21. Necropsy and tissue collection were conducted in pups at 4 weeks of age. PFOA and GenX induced similar histopathological changes in both the liver and the intestinal mucosa, accompanied by higher serum levels of alanine and aspartate aminotransferase. Moreover, the capacity of hepatic glycogen storage and intestinal mucus secretion were significantly decreased, suggesting dysfunction of liver metabolism and the intestinal mucosal barrier. A total of 637 and 352 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the liver tissues of GenX and PFOA group, respectively. Most of the enriched pathways from the DEGs by KEGG enrichment analysis were metabolism-associated. Moreover, overexpression of CYP4A14, Sult2a1, Cpt1b, Acaa1b, Igfbp1, Irs-2 and decreased expression of Gys2 were observed in livers of GenX exposed pups, supporting the hypothesis that there was metabolic disruption. Furthermore, DNA damage and cell cycle arrest proteins (Gadd45β, p21, Ppard) were significantly increased, while cell proliferation-related proteins (Cyclin E, Myc, EGFR) were decreased by gestational GenX exposure in the pups' liver. In addition, imbalance of gut microbiota and dysfunction of the intestinal mucosa barrier might contribute to hepatotoxicity at least in part. Taken together, our results suggested that gestational GenX exposure triggered metabolic disorder, which might be responsible for the hepatotoxicity in the pups in addition to dysfunction of the intestinal mucosa barrier. This study enriches the mechanisms of GenX-induced developmental hepatotoxicity by associating metabolic disorder with intestinal homeostasis.

Does the Grape Products Intake has an Effect on Body Weight in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

INTRODUCTION

There is a growing interest in the considerable benefits of grape products intake, as some studies have indicated that they may improve cardiometabolic risk factors. However, the widespread impact of grape products on the anthropometric indices is not fully resolved.

METHOD

The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the effects of grape products intake on anthropometric indices in adults. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) examining the effects of grape products intake on anthropometric indices, published up to December 2021, were identified through PubMed, SCOPUS, and ISI Web of Science databases. 30 studies with 35 effect sizes, including 1284 participants (708 cases and 576 controls), were included and analyzed using a random-effects model to calculate weighted mean differences (WMDs) with 95% confidence interval (CI).

RESULT

The outcomes have revealed grape products intake to significantly decrease body weight (p = 0.001) and body mass index (p = 0.004) in obese participants, and also, a greater effect was observed when grape seed extract was used.

CONCLUSION

Our study suggests that grape products intake may help to decrease body weight in obese participants. Future large RCTs with longer duration and obese populations are needed to expand our findings.

Multi-Organ Nutrigenomic Effects of Dietary Grapes in a Mouse Model

As a whole food, the potential health benefits of table grapes have been widely studied. Some individual constituents have garnered great attention, particularly resveratrol, but normal quantities in the diet are meniscal. On the other hand, the grape contains hundreds of compounds, many of which have antioxidant potential. Nonetheless, the achievement of serum or tissue concentrations of grape antioxidants sufficient to mediate a direct quenching effect is not likely, which supports the idea of biological responses being mediated by an indirect catalytic-type response. We demonstrate herein with Hsd:ICR (CD-1® Outbred, 18-24 g, 3-4 weeks old, female) mice that supplementation of a semi-synthetic diet with a grape surrogate, equivalent to the human consumption of 2.5 servings per day for 12 months, modulates gene expression in the liver, kidney, colon, and ovary. As might be expected when sampling changes in a pool of over 35,000 genes, there are numerous functional implications. Analysis of some specific differentially expressed genes suggests the potential of grape consumption to bolster metabolic detoxification and regulation of reactive oxygen species in the liver, cellular metabolism, and anti-inflammatory activity in the ovary and kidney. In the colon, the data suggest anti-inflammatory activity, suppression of mitochondrial dysfunction, and maintaining homeostasis. Pathway analysis reveals a combination of up- and down-regulation in the target tissues, primarily up-regulated in the kidney and down-regulated in the ovary. More broadly, based on these data, it seems logical to conclude that grape consumption leads to modulation of gene expression throughout the body, the consequence of which may help to explain the broad array of activities demonstrated in diverse tissues such as the brain, heart, eye, bladder, and colon. In addition, this work further supports the profound impact of nutrigenomics on mammalian phenotypic expression.

A critical review exploring science communication of nutrition and dietetic research: a case-based approach exploring methodologies

BACKGROUND

Nutrition is an area of apparent disagreement among the public and experts. It is also an area which has seen a rapid increase in the number of publications in the past 40 years. With the advent of online media and social media platforms, the volume of news has also increased. This review considered five types of nutrition research and how press releases linked to publications might be reported by the media.

METHODS

Examples were taken from nutrition-related articles published in the areas of in vitro work, animal data, epidemiology, clinical trials and data modelling publications which had press releases deposited in online repositories (EurekAlert! and AlphaGalileo). A critical narrative of the source of the media message, estimates of its reach and any potential exaggeration or source of confusion were identified.

RESULTS

It was clear that research has been reported by funders, journals and researchers' institutions in ways that claim extended findings of the data beyond that reported in the manuscript. This included inferences of health benefits in humans from laboratory studies, splitting outcome data for the same exposure in epidemiological studies based on perceived public interest, using clinical trials to make media claims that would not be permitted in advertisements and claiming modelled data for cases were actual changes in numbers of cases.

CONCLUSIONS

It is essential that funding bodies and institutions along with academic journals apply pressure to discourage exaggeration of research. This is necessary to maintain public trust in science and ultimately improve public health.

Dietary antioxidants and lifespan: Relevance of environmental conditions, diet, and genotype of experimental models

The rise of life expectancy in current societies is not accompanied, to date, by a similar increase in healthspan, which represents a great socio-economic problem. It has been suggested that aging can be manipulated and then, the onset of all age-associated chronic disorders can be delayed because these pathologies share age as primary underlying risk factor. One of the most extended ideas is that aging is consequence of the accumulation of molecular damage. According to the oxidative damage theory, antioxidants should slow down aging, extending lifespan and healthspan. The present review analyzes studies evaluating the effect of dietary antioxidants on lifespan of different aging models and discusses the evidence on favor of their antioxidant activity as anti-aging mechanisms. Moreover, possible causes for differences between the reported results are evaluated.

Influence of grape consumption on the human microbiome

Over the years, a substantial body of information has accumulated suggesting dietary consumption of grapes may have a positive influence on human health. Here, we investigate the potential of grapes to modulate the human microbiome. Microbiome composition as well as urinary and plasma metabolites were sequentially assessed in 29 healthy free-living male (age 24-55 years) and female subjects (age 29-53 years) following two-weeks of a restricted diet (Day 15), two-weeks of a restricted diet with grape consumption (equivalent to three servings per day) (Day 30), and four-weeks of restricted diet without grape consumption (Day 60). Based on alpha-diversity indices, grape consumption did not alter the overall composition of the microbial community, other than with the female subset based on the Chao index. Similarly, based on beta-diversity analyses, the diversity of species was not significantly altered at the three time points of the study. However, following 2 weeks of grape consumption, taxonomic abundance was altered (e.g., decreased Holdemania spp. and increased Streptococcus thermophiles), as were various enzyme levels and KEGG pathways. Further, taxonomic, enzyme and pathway shifts were observed 30 days following the termination of grape consumption, some of which returned to baseline and some of which suggest a delayed effect of grape consumption. Metabolomic analyses supported the functional significance of these alterations wherein, for example, 2'-deoxyribonic acid, glutaconic acid, and 3-hydroxyphenylacetic acid were elevated following grape consumption and returned to baseline following the washout period. Inter-individual variation was observed and exemplified by analysis of a subgroup of the study population showing unique patterns of taxonomic distribution over the study period. The biological ramifications of these dynamics remain to be defined. However, while it seems clear that grape consumption does not perturb the eubiotic state of the microbiome with normal, healthy human subjects, it is likely that shifts in the intricate interactive networks that result from grape consumption have physiological significance of relevance to grape action.

Short-Term Grape Consumption Diminishes UV-Induced Skin Erythema

Over three million Americans are affected by skin cancer each year, largely as a result of exposure to sunlight. The purpose of this study was to determine the potential of grape consumption to modulate UV-induced skin erythema. With 29 human volunteers, we report that nine demonstrated greater resistance to UV irradiation of the skin after consuming the equivalent of three servings of grapes per day for two weeks. We further explored any potential relationship to the gut-skin axis. Alpha- and beta-diversity of the gut microbiome were not altered, but grape consumption modulated microbiota abundance, enzyme levels, and KEGG pathways. Striking differences in the microbiome and metabolome were discerned when comparing the nine individuals showing greater UV resistance with the 20 non-responders. Notably, three urinary metabolites, 2'-deoxyribonic acid, 3-hydroxyphenyl acetic and scyllo-inositol, were depressed in the UV-resistant group. A ROC curve revealed a 71.8% probability that measurement of urinary 2'-deoxyribonic acid identifies a UV skin non-responder. 2'-Deoxyribonic acid is cleaved from the DNA backbone by reactive oxygen species. Three of the nine subjects acquiring UV resistance following grape consumption showed a durable response, and these three demonstrated unique microbiomic and metabolomic profiles. Variable UV skin sensitivity was likely due to glutathione S-transferase polymorphisms. We conclude that a segment of the population is capable of demonstrating greater resistance to a dermal response elicited by UV irradiation as a result of grape consumption. It is uncertain if modulation of the gut-skin axis leads to enhanced UV resistance, but there is correlation. More broadly, it is reasonable to expect that these mechanisms relate to other health outcomes anticipated to result from grape consumption.

The gut microbiota - a vehicle for the prevention and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) arises principally against a background of cirrhosis and these two diseases are responsible globally for over 2 million deaths a year. There are few treatment options for liver cirrhosis and HCC, so it is vital to arrest these pathologies early in their development. To do so, we propose dietary and therapeutic solutions that involve the gut microbiota and its consequences. Integrated dietary, environmental and intrinsic signals result in a bidirectional connection between the liver and the gut with its microbiota, known as the gut-liver axis. Numerous lifestyle factors can result in dysbiosis with a change in the functional composition and metabolic activity of the microbiota. A panoply of metabolites can be produced by the microbiota, including ethanol, secondary bile acids, trimethylamine, indole, quinolone, phenazine and their derivatives and the quorum sensor acyl homoserine lactones that may contribute to HCC but have yet to be fully investigated. Gram-negative bacteria can activate the pattern recognition receptor toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in the liver leading to nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling, which can contribute to HCC initiation and progression. The goal in preventing HCC should be to ensure a healthy gut microbiota using probiotic supplements containing beneficial bacteria and prebiotic plant fibers such as oligosaccharides that stimulate their growth. The clinical development of TLR4 antagonists is urgently needed to counteract the pathological effects of dysbiosis on the liver and other organs. Further nutrigenomic studies are required to understand better how the diet influences the gut microbiota and its adverse effects on the liver.

Addition of grapes to both a standard and a high-fat Western pattern diet modifies hepatic and urinary metabolite profiles in the mouse

The benefits of fruit and vegetable dietary consumption are largely defined in epidemiological terms. Relatively little is known about the discrete effects on metabolic pathways elicited by individual dietary fruits and vegetables. To address this, grape powder was added to both a standard and a high-fat Western pattern diet given to 10-week-old female C57BL/6J mice for a period of 91 days, whereupon 24 h urines were collected and the mice euthanized after a 12 h fast for the collection of liver tissue. Alterations in hepatic and urinary metabolite patterns were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomics. Urinary excretion of the gut microbiota metabolites 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, 5-hydroxyindole, glyceric acid, gluconic acid and myo-inositol was attenuated when grape was added to the standard diet but the gut microbiota metabolites gluconic acid, scyllo-inositol, mannitol, xylitol, 5-hydroxyindole and 2-deoxyribonic acid were increased in urine when grape was added to the high-fat diet. Increased hepatic ascorbic acid and 5-oxoproline levels indicated the anti-oxidant effect of grape powder on the liver. Pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated that for both standard and high-fat diets, grape addition significantly upregulated the malate-aspartate shuttle indicating enhanced hepatic utilization of glucose via cytosolic glycolysis for mitochondrial ATP production. It is concluded that a grape diet reprogrammes gut microbiota metabolism, attenuates the hepatic oxidative stress of a high-fat diet and increases the efficiency of glucose utilization by the liver for energy production.