Biological models for phytochemical research: from cell to human organism

Abstract

Nutrigenomics represents a shift of nutrition research from epidemiology and physiology to molecular biology and genetics. Nutrigenomics seeks to understand nutrition influences on homeostasis, the mechanism of genetic predispositions for diseases, to identify the genes influencing risk of diet related diseases. This review presents some in vitro models applicable in nutrigenomic studies, and discuses the use of animal models, their advantages and limitations and relevance for human situation. In vitro and in vivo models are suitable for performance of DNA microarrays, proteomic and transcriptomic analyses. In vitro models (intracellular organelles and suborganellar compartments, cell cultures, or tissue samples/cultures) give insight in metabolic pathways and responses to test stimuli on cellular and molecular levels. Animal models allow evaluation of the biological significance of the effects recorded in vitro and testing of the hypothesis on how a specific factor affects specific species under specific circumstances. Therefore, the evaluation of the data in relation to human organism should be done carefully, considering the species differences. The use of in vitro and in vivo models is likely to continue as the effects of nutrition on health and disease cannot be fully explained without understanding of nutrients action at nuclear level and their role in the intra-and intercellular signal transduction. Through advances in cell and molecular biology (including genomic and proteomic), the use of these models should become more predictively accurate. However, this predictive value relies on an underpinning knowledge of the advantages and limitations of the model in nutrigenomic research as in other fields of biomedical research.

Nutrikinetic studies of food bioactive compounds: fromin vitrotoin vivoapproaches

“…The use of animal models is more widely accepted than in vitro models to bridge the gap between in vitro studies and the full human organism (Mortensen et al, 2008), although data from animal studies are controversially criticized due to the physiological differences between animal and human metabolism (Gomes et al, 2007). In vitro studies and animal experimentation are useful tools for obtaining a valid approximation to human in vivo processes (e.g.…”

Study of ethanol induced toxicity in liver explants using microfluidic devices

“…Indeed many liver cells cultured by traditional methods, which do not replicate in vivo flow and transport dynamics, rapidly lose their specific liver gene expression and consequently their ability to produce tissue specific functions (Boess et al 2003;Mathijs et al 2009). Traditionally to overcome many of the limitations associated with cell-based methodology, animal models have been utilised to study physiological and pathological effects however, due to differences between organisms these models are limited (King et al 2010;Mortensen et al 2008). The maintenance of human liver tissue in vitro represents a more attractive approach to studying biological processes, compared with isolated and cultured primary hepatocytes, as the former offers the complexity and interactions of multiple different cell types arranged in their specific in vivo architectural patterns.…”

General Mechanisms for Disease Prevention

“…Experimental systems that evaluate the effects of nutrients on disease mechanisms range from simple biochemical assays, to cell culture models, animal models and studies in humans (Table 9.1) [3]. Many cell culture, animal or human studies with isolated phytochemicals use far higher doses than those commensurate with consumption of a MedDiet.…”

“…Enantiomeric forms may differ between test substance and the dietary form. 3. Many phytochemicals are extensively metabolised in the body and little parent phytochemical may be present in the blood stream (see Chapter 4).…”