Effects of non-digestible carbohydrates on gut microbiota and microbial metabolites: a randomised, controlled dietary intervention in healthy individuals.

The gut microbiome is impacted by certain types of dietary fibre. However, the type, duration and dose needed to elicit gut microbial changes and whether these changes also influence microbial metabolites remain unclear. This study investigated the effects of supplementing healthy participants with two types of non-digestible carbohydrates (resistant starch (RS) and polydextrose (PD)) on the stool microbiota and microbial metabolite concentrations in plasma, stool and urine, as secondary outcomes in the Dietary Intervention Stem Cells and Colorectal Cancer (DISC) Study.

Challenges Associated With the Design and Deployment of Food Intake Urine Biomarker Technology for Assessment of Habitual Diet in Free-Living Individuals and Populations-A Perspective.

Improvement of diet at the population level is a cornerstone of national and international strategies for reducing chronic disease burden. A critical challenge in generating robust data on habitual dietary intake is accurate exposure assessment. Self-reporting instruments (e.

Design and Characterisation of a Randomized Food Intervention That Mimics Exposure to a Typical UK Diet to Provide Urine Samples for Identification and Validation of Metabolite Biomarkers of Food Intake.

Poor dietary choices are major risk factors for obesity and non-communicable diseases, which places an increasing burden on healthcare systems worldwide. To monitor the effectiveness of healthy eating guidelines and strategies, there is a need for objective measures of dietary intake in community settings. Metabolites derived from specific foods present in urine samples can provide objective biomarkers of food intake (BFIs).

Calystegines are Potential Urine Biomarkers for Dietary Exposure to Potato Products.

Scope: Metabolites derived from specific foods present in urine samples can provide objective biomarkers of food intake (BFIs). This study investigated the possibility that calystegines (a class of iminosugars) may provide BIFs for potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) product exposure.

Developing community-based urine sampling methods to deploy biomarker technology for the assessment of dietary exposure.

Objective: Obtaining objective, dietary exposure information from individuals is challenging because of the complexity of food consumption patterns and the limitations of self-reporting tools (e.g., FFQ and diet diaries).

Resistant starch supplementation increases crypt cell proliferative state in the rectal mucosa of older healthy participants.

There is strong evidence that foods containing dietary fibre protect against colorectal cancer, resulting at least in part from its anti-proliferative properties. This study aimed to investigate the effects of supplementation with two non-digestible carbohydrates, resistant starch (RS) and polydextrose (PD), on crypt cell proliferative state (CCPS) in the macroscopically normal rectal mucosa of healthy individuals. We also investigated relationships between expression of regulators of apoptosis and of the cell cycle on markers of CCPS.

Developing a Food Exposure and Urine Sampling Strategy for Dietary Exposure Biomarker Validation in Free-Living Individuals.

Scope: Dietary choices modulate the risk of chronic diseases and improving diet is a central component of public health strategies. Food-derived metabolites present in urine could provide objective biomarkers of dietary exposure. To assist biomarker validation, this work aims to develop a food intervention strategy mimicking a typical annual diet over a short period of time and assesses urine sampling protocols potentially suitable for future deployment of biomarker technology in free-living populations.

Limited evidence for a beneficial effect of vitamin C supplementation on biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient with important antioxidant properties. Higher vitamin C intake appears to be associated with positive effects on cardiovascular risk factors in cohort studies, whereas large randomized controlled clinical trials did not confirm the benefits of supplemental vitamin C on cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes. In this overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, an "umbrella review," we investigated the effects of vitamin C supplementation on biomarkers of cardiovascular risk, that is, arterial stiffness, blood pressure, endothelial function, glycemic control, and lipid profile.

Adherence to the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research cancer prevention recommendations and WNT-pathway-related markers of bowel cancer risk.

Bowel cancer risk is strongly influenced by lifestyle factors including diet and physical activity. Several studies have investigated the effects of adherence to the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF)/American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) cancer prevention recommendations on outcomes such as all-cause and cancer-specific mortality, but the relationships with molecular mechanisms that underlie the effects on bowel cancer risk are unknown. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between adherence to the WCRF/AICR cancer prevention recommendations and wingless/integrated (WNT)-pathway-related markers of bowel cancer risk, including the expression of WNT pathway genes and regulatory microRNA (miRNA), secreted frizzled-related protein 1 (SFRP1) methylation and colonic crypt proliferative state in colorectal mucosal biopsies.

Higher levels of self-reported sitting time is associated with higher risk of type 2 diabetes independent of physical activity in Chile.

Background: Sitting behaviours have increased markedly during the last two decades in Chile. However, their associations with health outcomes such as diabetes have not been reported. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the independent association of self-reported sitting time with diabetes-related markers and diabetes prevalence in Chile.

Active commuting is associated with a lower risk of obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome in Chilean adults.

Background: There is limited evidence on how active commuting is associated with health benefits in developing countries. The aim of this study therefore was to investigate the associations between active commuting and markers of adiposity and cardiometabolic risk in the Chilean adult population.

Methods: In total, 5157 participants from the Chilean National Health Survey 2009-10 were included in this cross-sectional study.

Non-digestible carbohydrates supplementation increases miR-32 expression in the healthy human colorectal epithelium: A randomized controlled trial.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) risk is modulated by diet and there is convincing evidence of reduced risk with higher non-digestible carbohydrates (NDCs) consumption. Resistant starch (RS), a NDC, positively modulates the expression of oncogenic microRNAs, suggesting that this could be a mechanism through which NDCs protect against CRC. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of supplementation with two NDCs, RS, and polydextrose (PD), on microRNA expression in the macroscopically-normal human rectal epithelium using samples from the DISC Study, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled dietary intervention.

Effects of supplementation with nondigestible carbohydrates on fecal calprotectin and on epigenetic regulation of SFRP1 expression in the large-bowel mucosa of healthy individuals.

Background: Hyperactive Wnt signaling is frequently observed in colorectal cancer. Higher intakes of dietary fiber [nondigestible carbohydrates (NDCs)] and the fermentation product butyrate are protective against colorectal cancer and may exert their preventative effects via modulation of the Wnt pathway.

Objectives: We investigated the effects of supplementing healthy individuals with 2 NDCs [resistant starch (RS) and polydextrose] on fecal calprotectin concentrations and Wnt pathway-related gene expression.

Overexpression of LOXIN Protects Endothelial Progenitor Cells From Apoptosis Induced by Oxidized Low Density Lipoprotein.

Human endothelial progenitor cells (hEPC) are adult stem cells located in the bone marrow and peripheral blood. Studies have indicated that hEPC play an important role in the recovery and repair of injured endothelium, however, their quantity and functional capacity is reduced in several diseases including hypercholesterolemia. Recently, it has been demonstrated that hEPC express lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1) and its activation by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) induces cellular dysfunction and apoptosis.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials testing the effects of vitamin C supplementation on blood lipids.

Background & Aims: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in humans revealed contradictory results regarding the effect of vitamin C supplementation on blood lipids. We aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs investigating the effect of vitamin C supplementation on total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides and to determine whether the effects are modified by the participants' or intervention characteristics.

Methods: Four databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Cochrane Library) were searched from inception until August 2014 for RCTs supplementing adult participants with vitamin C for ≥ 2 weeks and reporting changes in blood lipids.

Is resistant starch protective against colorectal cancer via modulation of the WNT signalling pathway?

Epidemiological and experimental evidence suggests that non-digestible carbohydrates (NDC) including resistant starch are protective against colorectal cancer. These anti-neoplastic effects are presumed to result from the production of the SCFA, butyrate, by colonic fermentation, which binds to the G-protein-coupled receptor GPR43 to regulate inflammation and other cancer-related processes. The WNT pathway is central to the maintenance of homeostasis within the large bowel through regulation of processes such as cell proliferation and migration and is frequently aberrantly hyperactivated in colorectal cancers.

Lamin A: a putative colonic epithelial stem cell biomarker which identifies colorectal tumours with a more aggressive phenotype.

Abnormalities in the expression, distribution and structural organization of A-type lamins are most commonly associated with a spectrum of inherited disorders which predominantly affect mesenchymal lineages, collectively known as laminopathies. However, a new role for lamin A has been discovered in the progression of a common epithelial cancer. CRC (colorectal cancer) patients expressing lamin A/C in their tumour tissue were found to have a 2-fold greater risk of CRC-related mortality compared with patients with lamin A/C-negative tumours.

Lamin A/C is a risk biomarker in colorectal cancer.

Background: A-type lamins are type V intermediate filament proteins encoded by the gene LMNA. Mutations in LMNA give rise to diverse degenerative diseases related to premature ageing. A-type lamins also influence the activity of the Retinoblastoma protein (pRb) and oncogenes such a beta-catenin.

Colonic and colorectal cancer stem cells: progress in the search for putative biomarkers.

The maintenance of healthy colonic crypts is dependent on the integrity of the adult epithelial stem cells located within them. Perturbations in stem cell dynamics are generally believed to represent the first step towards colorectal tumorigenesis. Experimental manipulation of intestinal stem cells has greatly increased our understanding of them, but further progress has been slowed due to the absence of a reliable stem cell biomarker.