Project description:Emerging new evidence highlights the importance of prolonged daily fasting periods for the health and survival benefits of calorie restriction (CR) and time-restricted feeding (TRF) in male mice; however, little is known about the impact of these feeding regimens in females. We placed 14-month-old female mice on five different dietary regimens, either CR or TRF with different feeding windows, and determined the effects of these regimens on physiological responses, progression of neoplasms and inflammatory diseases, serum metabolite levels, and lifespan. Compared with TRF feeding, CR elicited a robust systemic response, as it relates to energetics and healthspan metrics, a unique serum metabolomics signature in overnight fasted animals, and was associated with an increase in lifespan. These results indicate that daytime (rest-phase) feeding with prolonged fasting periods initiated late in life confer greater benefits when combined with imposed lower energy intake.
Project description:The effects of maternal microbiota on the fetal development was investigated by comparing tissues of fetuses from germ-free (GF) and normal (SPF) murine dams using RNA-seq and non-targeted metabolomics (for metabolomics data, see: https://bmcmicrobiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12866-022-02457-6). For RNA-seq, two E18.5 fetuses were collected from 6 GF dams and 6 SPF dams, and transcriptomes analyzed by QuantSeq in whole intestine, brain and placenta.
Project description:We leveraged neonatal piglets as a preclinical model for human infants, with a system-level approach that integrates evidence from serum, urine, liver, brain and the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), with the bioactive function of α-lactalbumin, a rich source of tryptophan, in a formula feeding study. Complementing metabolomics data generated throughout the GIT during the early feeding period, we further integrated quantitative serum, liver, brain and urine metabolome data, as well as liver and brain transcriptome data to investigate the metabolic consequences behind the differential responses to diet. Transcriptional and metabolomics analysis revealed an individualized, divergent response to α-lactalbumin linked to either efficient utilization of tryptophan by the host, or production of indole-3-lactate by intestinal microbiota. This variability was further highlighted by differences in metabolic and immunological effects in a tissue-specific manner. Our work highlights the importance of considering the nutrition-microbiota-host metabolism axis to optimize the phenotypic response of a diet.
Project description:Moderate caloric restriction (CR) and weight loss are beneficial for the promotion of health; however, there is controversy regarding the effects of dieting regimens on behavior. In this study, we investigated two different dieting regimens: repeated fasting and refeeding (RFR) and daily feeding of half the amount of food consumed by RFR mice (CR). Mice in both regimens were subjected to 20% reduction in food intake and transiently reduced their body weights during the first 12 days of the study. Open field, light-dark transition, elevated plus maze, and forced swimming tests indicated that CR, but not RFR, reduced anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors, with a peak on day 8. Using a mouse whole genome microarray, we analyzed gene expression in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hypothalamus. In addition to the caloric restriction-responsive genes commonly modified by RFR and CR, each regimen differentially changed the expression of distinct genes in each region. The most profound change was observed in the amygdala of CR mice: 884 genes were specifically up-regulated. Ingenuity pathway analysis showed that these 884 genes significantly modified 9 canonical pathways in the amygdala. alpha-adrenergic and dopamine receptor signaling were the two top-scoring pathways. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR confirmed the up-regulation of 6 genes in these pathways. Ppp1r1b encoded Darpp-32 including dopamine receptor signaling, and the increased protein was specific for CR mice. Our results suggest that moderate CR may modify anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors and alter gene expression especially in the mouse amygdala.
Project description:To clarify the mechnism that grass-fed and grain-fed regimens inducing the different characteristics of Wyu Angus cattle, we used high-throughput sequencing and metabolomics analysis to explore differentially expressed genes , differentially expressed miRNAs and lnRNAs, meanwhile constructed importantly regulatory networks.