Musk gland seasonal development and musk secretion are regulated by the testis in muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus)

BACKGROUND: The muskrat is a seasonal breeder. Males secrete musk to attract females during the breeding season. The testosterone binding to the androgen receptor (AR) in musk glands of muskrat may play an important role conducting the musk secretion process. METHODS: The musk gland, testis and blood samples of musk rats are collected in both breeding and non-breeding seasons. Some part of the samples are kept in liquid nitrogen for transcriptome analysis and Western blotting test. Some part of the samples are kept in 70% alcohol for histology experiment, blood samples are kept at -20 °C for the serum testosterone measurement experiment. RESULTS: This study demonstrates that the quantity of secreted musk, the volume of the musk glands, the diameter of the gland cells and AR expression are all higher during the breeding season than at other times (p < 0.01). StAR, P450scc and 3ß-HSD expression in the Leydig cells of the testis were also higher during this season, as was serum testosterone. AR was also observed in the gland cells of two other musk-secreting animals, the musk deer and small Indian civet, in their musk glands. These results suggest that the testes and musk glands co-develop seasonally. CONCLUSION: The musk glands' seasonal development and musk secretion are regulated by the testes, and testosterone plays an important role in the seasonal development of musk glands.

Lard and/or canola oil-rich diets induce penile morphological alterations in a rat model

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of dietary lipid quantity and/or quality on penis morphology in adult rats. METHODS: Thirty-eight male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups: normal lipid diet (NL), high-fat diet rich in saturated fatty acids (HF-S), high-fat diet rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (HF-P), and high-fat diet rich in saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (HF-SP). Blood samples were collected and the penises were removed for histomorphometrical and immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS: All high-fat diets promoted an increase in the body mass (p<0.0001). The HF-S and HF-SP groups presented hyperglycemia (p=0.0060), hyperinsulinemia (p=0.0030), and hypercholesterolemia (p=0.0020). Concerning the penis, the high-fat diets led to an increase in the collagen fibers (p<0.0001) and smooth muscle cell density area (p=0.0027), and a decline in the sinusoidal space density area (p<0.0001) and corpus cavernosum cell proliferation (p=0.0003). CONCLUSION: Diets rich in saturated and/or polyunsaturated fatty acids promoted overweight and induced penile changes in rodent models, which may lead to the development of erectile dysfunction. .

The Role of Diet in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / 대한소화기학회지

Prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is about 20-25% in Korean adults population. Obesity is strongly associated with NAFLD and the prevention of obesity is a major public issue. Unfortunately, pharmacological treatment of obesity and NAFLD remains uncertain. Only weight loss by dietary changes been shown to lead to histological improvement in fatty liver. So the nutrition therapy is a cornerstone of treatment for NAFLD. Epidemiologic studies show that saturated fat, trans-fatty acid, carbohydrate, and simple sugar have strong correlation with intrahepatic fat accumulation. But, true associations with specific nutrients still remain unclear. Recently, fructose consumption has been rising in many countries and several epidemiologic studies show that fructose consumption has strong correlation with metabolic diseases. The consumption of excessively added sugar in the pathogenesis of steatohepatitis has received attention. Most clinicians agree with lifestyle modification are effective in histologic improvement. Total energy intake restriction is the most important action to reduce intrahepatic fat accumulation. Macronutrient composition may also have correlation with the development of NAFLD. To reduce the incidence of NAFLD, public statements on optimal dietary education program have been issused. Various specific dietary programs are suggested. Among them low fat diet and low carbohydrate diet are suggested in patients with NAFLD. However, there is no ideal diet to obtain the histological improvement in NAFLD. Further randomised controlled studies about specific diet are needed to determine the long-term benefit and histological improvement by ideal diet. Tailoring diet therapy to a patient's lifestyle is more important than universal specific dietary program.

Programa de intervenção interdisciplinar em hábitos de vida em indivíduos de risco cardiometabólico: análise de fatores dietéticos associados à melhora do metabolismo glicídico / Interdisciplinary intervention program on lifestyle in individuals at cardiometabolic risk analysis of dietary factors associated with improvement in glucose metabolism

Introdução: Doenças cardiometabólicas são problemas de saúde pública mundial com repercussões sociais e econômicas. Dieta inadequada é apontada como um dos principais fatores de risco modificáveis, de importância central na prevenção destas doenças. Apesar da constatação de que certos nutrientes se associam a doenças, ainda existem dúvidas quanto às relações causais. Objetivos: 1) Revisar a participação dos alimentos e nutrientes na gênese e controle de doenças crônicas não-transmissíveis integrantes da síndrome metabólica (manuscrito 1); 2) Descrever de forma detalhada a estrutura do programa de intervenção interdisciplinar em hábitos de vida, desenvolvido para usuários da rede pública de saúde do município de São Paulo (manuscrito 2); 3) Investigar o efeito de mudanças em fatores dietéticos sobre o metabolismo glicídico, decorrentes de intervenção em hábitos de vida em indivíduos de risco cardiometabólico da rede pública de saúde (manuscrito 3). Métodos: Foram incluídos adultos com diagnóstico de pré-diabetes ou síndrome metabólica sem diabetes em ensaio clínico aleatorizado envolvendo dois tipos de intervenções de 18 meses: tradicional e intensiva. A intervenção tradicional consistiu de consultas trimestrais com endocrinologista; na intensiva, além dos atendimentos médicos, os indivíduos participaram de sessões psicoeducativas em grupo com equipe multiprofissional. As orientações dietéticas visaram à adequação do consumo de gorduras totais (redução de saturadas e trans e elevação de insaturadas) e aumento na ingestão de fibras. As variáveis coletadas nos momentos pré- e pós-intervenção incluíram dados sócio-demográficos, antropométricos, dietéticos e bioquímicos (glicemia de jejum e póssobrecarga, perfil lipídico, insulina, adiponectina, proteína C reativa, IL-6, TNF-, apolipoproteína A1 e B). A dieta foi avaliada por recordatórios de 24 horas, processados pelo Nutrition Data System software. Foram empregados os testes: t de Student, coeficientes de correlações, ANOVA com p de tendência e análises de regressão múltipla para identificar fatores dietéticos associados à melhora do metabolismo glicídico. Resultados: O manuscrito 1 consiste de um capítulo de livro (Nutrição em Saúde Coletiva) abordando aspectos epidemiológicos de doenças do espectro da síndrome metabólica com ênfase em fatores alimentares e estado nutricional. O manuscrito 2 detalha a estrutura, a equipe integrante, as orientações preconizadas.

Incorporation of dietary trans monounsaturated fatty acids into tissues of Walker 256 tumor-bearing rats

The correlation between dietary trans fatty acids and neoplasia was examined in the present study. Walker 256 tumor-bearing and control rats were fed a trans monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA)-rich diet for 8 weeks and the incorporation of trans fatty acids by tumor tissue was examined. Also, the effect of tumor growth on trans fatty acid composition of plasma and liver, and the content of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) was determined. Walker 256 tumor cells presented both trans and cis MUFAs given in the diet. The equivalent diet proportions were 0.66 for trans and 1.14 for cis. Taking into consideration the proportion of trans MUFAs in plasma (11.47 percent), the tumor incorporated these fatty acids in a more efficient manner (18.27 percent) than the liver (9.34 percent). Therefore, the dietary trans fatty acids present in the diet are actively incorporated by the tumor. Tumor growth itself caused marked changes in the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the plasma and liver but provoked only slight modifications in both trans and cis MUFAs. Tumor growth also reduced the unsaturation index in both plasma and liver, from 97.79 to 86.83 and from 77.51 to 69.64, respectively. This effect was partially related to an increase in the occurrence of the lipid oxidation/peroxidation process of TBARS content which was increased in both plasma (from 0.428 to 0.505) and liver (from 9.425 to 127.792) due to tumor growth

Monounsaturated fatty acid (avocado) rich diet for mild hypercholesterolemia

To assess the effect of a high monoinsaturated fatty acids (MFA) diet on serum lipids, 30 healthy adultt normolipidemic volunteers and 37 adult patients with mild hypercholesterolemia (5.4 - 9.3 mmol/l), 15 of them also with hypertriglyceridemia (2.3 - 4.8 mmol/l), were studied. Fifteen healthy and 30 hypercholesterolemic subjects (15 of them with associated type 2 diabetes mellitus) received an avocado enriched diet (2000 Kcal, lipids 53 percent MFA 49 g saturated/unsaturated ratio 0.54), and seven non-diabetic hypercholesterolemic individuals received an isocaloric control diet (MFA 34 g, saturated/unsaturated ratio 0.7). Serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations were measured before and after a 7-day diet period. In healthy individuals a 16 percent decrease of serum total cholesterol level followed the high MFA diet, while it rose after the control diet (p<0.001 between diets). In hypercholesterolemic subjects a significant (p<0.01) decrease of serum total cholesterol (17 percent), LDL-cholesterol (22 percent) and triglycerides (22 percent), and increase of HDL-cholesterol (11 percent) levels occurred with the avocado diet, while no significant changes were noticed with the control diet. High lipid, high MFA-avocado enriched diet can improve lipid profile in healty and especially in mild hypercholesterolemic patients, even if hypertriglyceridemia (combined hyperlipidemia) is present