No abstract

Butter and virgin olive oil (EVOO) are two fats differing in their degree of saturation and insaponifiable fraction. EVOO, enriched in polyphenols and other minority components, exerts a distinct effect on health. Using next generation sequencing, we have studied early and long-term effects of both types of fats on the intestinal microbiota of mice, finding significant differences between the two diets in the percentage of certain bacterial taxa, correlating with hormonal, physiological and metabolic parameters in the host. These correlations are not only concomitant, but most noticeably some of the changes detected in the microbial percentages at six weeks are correlating with changes in physiological values detected later, at twelve weeks. Desulfovibrionaceae/Desulfovibrio/D. sulfuricans stand out by presenting at six weeks a statistically significant higher percentage in the butter-fed mice with respect to the EVOO group, correlating with systolic blood pressure, food intake, water intake and insulin at twelve weeks. This not only suggests an early implication in the probability of developing altered physiological and biochemical responses later on in the host lifespan, but also opens the possibility of using this genus as a marker in the risk of suffering different pathologies in the future.

Although at present depression is one of the most disabling disorders in our social environment, the understanding of its pathogenesis and the resources for its treatment are still unsatisfactory. The importance of brain asymmetry in the pathogenesis of disorders in brain function, including mood disorders such as depression, is a highly unexplored, sometimes underrated, and even ignored topic. It is important to note that the basal and pathological functional lateralization must have an underlying neurochemical substrate. It is also necessary to indicate that the brain asymmetry extends to a neurovisceral integration whose behavior may also be lateralized. One of the most studied axis from the functional point of view is the brain-heart connection, in whose operation there are observations that suggest an asymmetric behavior in basal conditions that is modified by central and peripheral changes, as well as by pharmacological treatments. There are evidences that connect cardiovascular function, neurochemical asymmetries, and depression. A deep understanding of the bilateral behavior of the brain following pathophysiological changes in blood pressure as well as pharmacologically induced, can provide us with therapeutic suggestions for the treatment of depression. In this article, we analyze remarkable results of some representative selected contributions, with which we discuss our proposal on the relationship between hypertension, depression and neurochemical asymmetry.

Down syndrome (DS) induces a variable phenotype including intellectual disabilities and early development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Moreover, individuals with DS display accelerated aging that affects diverse organs, among them the brain. The Ts65Dn mouse is the most widely used model to study DS. Progressive loss of cholinergic neurons is one of the hallmarks of AD present in DS and in the Ts65Dn model. In this study, we quantify the number of cholinergic neurons in control and Ts65Dn mice, observing a general reduction in their number with age but in particular, a greater loss in old Ts65Dn mice. Increased expression of the m1 muscarinic receptor in the hippocampus counteracts this loss. Cholinergic neurons in the Ts65Dn mice display overexpression of the early expression gene c-fos and an increase in the expression of β-galactosidase, a marker of senescence. A possible mechanism for senescence induction could be phosphorylation of the transcription factor FOXO1 and its retention in the cytoplasm, which we are able to confirm in the Ts65Dn model. In our study, using Ts65Dn mice, we observe increased cholinergic activity, which induces a process of early senescence that culminates in the loss of these neurons.

Insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP, cystinyl aminopeptidase, CysAP) and aminopeptidase M (alanyl aminopeptidase, AlaAP) are closely related enzymes involved in cognitive, metabolic, and cardiovascular functions. These functions may be modulated by the type of fat used in the diet. In order to analyze a possible coordinated response of both enzymes we determined simultaneously their activities in frontal cortex, liver, and plasma of adult male rats fed diets enriched with fats differing in their percentages of saturated, mono or polyunsaturated fatty acids such as sesame, sunflower, fish, olive, Iberian lard, and coconut. The systolic blood pressure, food intake, body and liver weight as well as glucose and total cholesterol levels in plasma were measured. The type of fat in the diet influences the enzymatic activities depending on the enzyme and its location. These results suggest cognitive improvement properties for diets with predominance of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Physiological parameters such as systolic blood pressure, food intake, and biochemical factors such as cholesterol and glucose in plasma were also modified depending on the type of diet, supporting beneficial properties for diets rich in mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Inter-tissue correlations between the analyzed parameters were also modified depending on the type of diet. If the type of fat used in the diet modifies the behavior and relationship between CysAP and AlaAP in and between frontal cortex, liver and plasma, the functions in which they are involved could also be modified.