Review
Nutrition & Dietetics
Long T. Nguyen, Carol A. Pollock, Sonia Saad
Summary: The developmental programming hypothesis suggests that adverse environmental insults during critical developmental periods increase the risk of diseases in later life. Kidneys are susceptible to such insults, particularly due to peri-gestational nutrition, which affects kidney development and metabolism. Recent studies have identified oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, epigenetic modifications, and metabolic changes as potential novel pathways for therapeutic intervention.
Review
Physiology
Daniel J. Hoffman, Theresa L. Powell, Emily S. Barrett, Daniel B. Hardy
Summary: Nearly 2 billion adults worldwide are overweight, with over half classified as obese, and nearly one-third of global children experience poor growth and development. The global epidemic of obesity and double burden of malnutrition, where overweight coexists with underweight and micronutrient deficiencies, poses a significant challenge to human health. Understanding the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) is crucial in addressing the global issues of obesity and chronic diseases.
PHYSIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2021)
News Item
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Amy Maxmen
Summary: Bimonthly injections of cabotegravir were successful in keeping most people HIV-free, but in rare cases, the drug could hide infections and lead to resistance.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Betty Lin, Allison A. Appleton
Summary: Black women in the US are at a higher risk for pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality due to disparities in obstetric cardiometabolic complications. Previous research focused on risk factors during pregnancy, while the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) model suggests that stress exposures during early life may contribute to adult cardiometabolic health. Applying the DOHaD model to investigate the determinants of Black PRMM can help address this public health crisis.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Hiroaki Itoh, Megumi Ueda, Misako Suzuki, Yukiko Kohmura-Kobayashi
Summary: Metabolic syndrome, associated with obesity, increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, coronary diseases, stroke, and other disabilities. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) theory suggests that early developmental environmental imbalance affects health and predisposes individuals to non-communicable diseases, including metabolic syndrome. The 'Thrifty Phenotype' hypothesis proposes that undernourished fetuses develop evolutionary advantageous traits for survival in a hangry environment after birth, but this phenotype increases the risk of metabolic syndrome under an obesogenic diet. Chronic inflammation, referred to as 'Metaflammation', is believed to mediate the connection between obesity and metabolic disorders in metabolic syndrome. However, the contribution of evolutionary maladaptation to the pathophysiology of 'Metaflammation' remains understudied. Investigating 'Metaflammation' from the perspective of selective advantages and mismatches to contemporary lifestyles can provide valuable insights, considering the concept of evolutionarily conserved nutrient sensing and immune signaling systems.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Chloe R. McDonald, Andrea M. Weckman, Julie K. Wright, Andrea L. Conroy, Kevin C. Kain
Summary: The prenatal environment has a significant impact on fetal development and long-term health. Poor maternal health and various diseases during pregnancy can lead to cognitive, metabolic, and cardiovascular disorders in children and adults. Improving access to comprehensive antenatal care globally is necessary to protect the health and safety of women and children.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chien-Ning Hsu, You-Lin Tain
Summary: Animal models are essential for investigating the causal relationship between early-life exposure and the developmental programming of hypertension, providing insights into how early interventions can reprogram disease processes and prevent hypertension.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hisanori Fukunaga
Summary: Mitochondrial dysfunction is closely related to disease, and environmental factors during fetal life may influence health risks in offspring.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Theros T. Ng, Mohamad Mortada, Gabriel Akerele, Jarred H. Oxford, Alexandra Blanchard, Ramesh K. Selvaraj
Summary: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary zinc form and concentration in broiler chickens. The results showed that supplementation of zinc at 80 mg/kg improved body weight gain and feed intake in broiler chickens at 21 and 35 days. Additionally, zinc supplementation was found to improve intestinal morphology and modulate immunity.
ANIMAL FEED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Madelon van Wely
Summary: Miscarriage is a common occurrence that has a profound psychological impact on individuals and couples. This article provides an overview of sporadic and recurrent miscarriage, discussing their prevalence, psychological impact, genetics, the potential role of uterine natural killer cells, association with infections, and possible interventions.
FERTILITY AND STERILITY
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Miljana Z. Jovandaric, Sandra Babic, Misela Raus, Biljana Medjo
Summary: Metabolic changes in pregnant women, influenced by placental hormones, affect the metabolism of nutrients. Pregnancy is accompanied by increased lipid concentration and the accumulation of triglycerides in low-density lipoproteins (LDL) particles. Oxidative stress due to excessive production of free oxygen radicals plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of complications during pregnancy. The altered lipid profile and oxidative stress in pregnant women increase the risk of premature birth and pregnancy-related diseases.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Dieynaba Diallo, Caroline Quach
Summary: This study aims to examine the off-label assessment processes for vaccines to provide a standardized decision-making framework and analytical approach. The research will systematically identify reports and studies on off-label vaccine use in public health, with screening conducted independently by two reviewers and data extracted using a standard form.
Review
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Severi Luoto, Marco Antonio Correa Varella
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to global turmoil, with differences in policies implemented by political leaders varying based on sex. Female leaders emphasize minimizing human suffering, while male leaders focus on short-term economic consequences and risk-taking. These sex differences are rooted in evolutionary processes and the sexual differentiation of the mammalian brain.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
News Item
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Amy Maxmen
Summary: The WHO report on the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic focuses on animal markets, suggesting they may be the source of the virus. However, supporters of the lab-leak theory are not satisfied with this conclusion.
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jonas J. Neher
Summary: Immune cells called macrophages are found to shut down major metabolic pathways during ageing, leading to cognitive decline. Restoring metabolism in these cells and inhibiting EP2 receptor proteins can alleviate age-associated cognitive decline, indicating a potential therapeutic target for age-related cognitive decline.
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Guoli Zhou, Claudia Holzman, Yujing J. Heng, Mark Kibschull, Stephen J. Lye
Summary: This study aims to investigate whether maternal blood EBF1 gene-based microRNA transcripts can be used for detecting the risk of spontaneous preterm birth. Results showed that four EBF1-based miRNA transcripts in the third trimester of maternal blood were significantly associated with preterm birth.
JOURNAL OF MATERNAL-FETAL & NEONATAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Enrrico Bloise, Jianhong Zhang, Jittanan Nakpu, Hirotaka Hamada, Caroline E. Dunk, Siliang Li, Guinever E. Imperio, Lubna Nadeem, Mark Kibschull, Phetcharawan Lye, Stephen G. Matthews, Stephen J. Lye
Summary: The study aims to investigate the expression pattern of specific severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 cell entry genes, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and transmembrane protease serine 2, in the placenta across human pregnancy and in paired samples of decidua and placenta in pregnancies complicated by preterm birth or preeclampsia compared with those in term uncomplicated pregnancies. The increased expression of these genes in the placenta in the first trimester of pregnancy compared with later stages suggests differential susceptibility to placental entry of SARS-CoV-2 across pregnancy.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Guoli Zhou, Claudia Holzman, Bin Chen, Ping Wang, Yujing J. Heng, Mark Kibschull, Stephen J. Lye, Eric P. Kasten
Summary: This study identified two EBF1-correlated long non-coding RNAs in maternal blood that were associated with spontaneous preterm birth, providing potential biomarkers for prediction, triage, and stratification of interventions.
REPRODUCTIVE SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Jianhong Zhang, Stephen J. Lye
Summary: Human CD56(+)CD3(-) NK cells can be divided into two subsets based on the expression of CD56 and CD16, each subset having distinct functional characteristics. During human pregnancy, CD56(+) decidual (d)NK cells accumulate at the maternal fetal interface to regulate placental immunity and development. CD16(+) dNK subset, with lower expression of NK activation receptors, shows a more robust response to cytokine stimulation compared to CD16(-) dNK cells, potentially playing protective roles in normal gestations and regulating decidual immune response.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Kalyanaraman Kumaran, Ghattu Krishnaveni, Kumar Gavali Suryanarayana, Manohar Prabhu Prasad, Antonisamy Belavendra, Stephanie Atkinson, Ramaswamy Balasubramaniam, Robert H. J. Bandsma, Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, Giriraj Ratan Chandak, Elena M. Comelli, Sandra T. Davidge, Cindy-Lee Dennis, Geoffrey L. Hammond, Prabhat Jha, K. S. Joseph, Sadhana R. Joshi, Murali Krishna, Kang Lee, Stephen Lye, Patrick McGowan, Pablo Nepomnaschy, Vivek Padvetnaya, Saumyadipta Pyne, Harshpal Singh Sachdev, Sirazul Ameen Sahariah, Nalini Singhal, Jacquetta Trasler, Chittaranjan S. Yajnik, Janis Baird, Mary Barker, Marie-Claude Martin, Nusrat Husain, Daniel Sellen, Caroline H. D. Fall, Prakesh S. Shah, Stephen G. Matthews
Summary: The study protocol describes a comprehensive intervention to reduce non-communicable disease risks in children through a village-based cluster randomised design in rural India. The multifaceted intervention includes measures to optimize nutrition, parenting programme, lifestyle behavior change intervention, and environmental pollution reduction. The study will collect various biospecimens to assess intervention effects and conduct intention-to-treat analysis and process and economic evaluations.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Cindy-Lee Dennis, Flavia Marini, Jennifer Abbass Dick, Stephanie Atkinson, Jon Barrett, Rhonda Bell, Anick Berard, Howard Berger, Hillary K. Brown, Evelyn Constantin, Deborah Da Costa, Andrea Feller, Astrid Guttmann, Magdalena Janus, K. S. Joseph, Peter Juni, Sarah Kimmins, Nicole Letourneau, Patricia Li, Stephen Lye, Jonathon L. Maguire, Stephen G. Matthews, David Millar, Dragana Misita, Kellie Murphy, Anne Monique Nuyt, Deborah L. O'Connor, Rulan Savita Parekh, Andrew Paterson, Martine Puts, Joel Ray, Paul Roumeliotis, Stephen Scherer, Daniel Sellen, Sonia Semenic, Prakesh S. Shah, Graeme N. Smith, Robyn Stremler, Peter Szatmari, Deanna Telnner, Kevin Thorpe, Mark S. Tremblay, Simone Vigod, Mark Walker, Catherine Birken
Summary: The study aims to evaluate a telephone intervention and e-health resources tailored for pregnant women and their partners to optimize growth and development among children, with the primary goal of reducing child overweight and obesity. Secondary objectives include improving child growth trajectories, cardiometabolic risk factors, health behaviors, and school readiness at age 5.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Heyam Hayder, Guodong Fu, Lubna Nadeem, Jacob A. O'Brien, Stephen J. Lye, Chun Peng
Summary: The overexpression of miR-210-3p reduces trophoblast migration and invasion, affects EVT outgrowth in early pregnancy explants, and decreases the ability of trophoblast to form endothelial-like networks. Furthermore, miR-210-3p downregulates the expression of certain cytokines, potentially influencing EVT invasion and immune cell recruitment.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Wrivu N. Martin, Carol A. Wang, Stephen J. Lye, Stephen G. Matthews, Rebecca M. Reynolds, Carly E. McLaughlin, Roger Smith, Craig E. Pennell
Summary: The study found an inverse linear relationship between fetal growth and HPA-A function at age 18, with no consistent quadratic relationships identified. Removal of anticipatory responders from the models substantially attenuated the observed relationships. This suggests altered adrenal sensitivity may underlie the relationship.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM
(2021)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Oksana Shynlova, Lubna Nadeem, Anna Dorogin, Sam Mesiano, Stephen J. Lye
Summary: This study demonstrates that the selective progesterone receptor modulator, promegestone, can effectively prevent term labor and bacterial endotoxin-induced preterm birth in mice.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Lubna Nadeem, Rathesh Balendran, Anna Dorogin, Sam Mesiano, Oksana Shynlova, Stephen J. Lye
Summary: Metabolism of progesterone by the enzyme 20 alpha hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase is a mechanism for progesterone withdrawal in myometrial cells during uterine inflammation, which involves activation of NF-kappa B and AP-1 transcription factors. Pro-inflammatory mediators like LPS and TPA induce 20 alpha-HSD gene expression and decrease P4 release, leading to up-regulation of GJA1 and myometrial activation prior to labor.
JOURNAL OF CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Oksana Shynlova, Adam Boros-Rausch, Tali Farine, Kristina M. Adams Waldorf, Caroline Dunk, Stephen J. Lye
Summary: The study reveals the critical role of cytokines secreted by decidual and myometrial cells in activating inflammatory pathways leading to labor in humans. Targeting these pathways may provide potential therapeutic interventions for preterm labor.
JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yanxing Wei, Tianyu Wang, Lishi Ma, Yanqi Zhang, Yuan Zhao, Kathryn Lye, Lu Xiao, Chunlin Chen, Zhijian Wang, Yanlin Ma, Xiaohua Zhou, Fei Sun, Weili Li, Caroline Dunk, Siliang Li, Andras Nagy, Yanhong Yu, Guangjin Pan, Stephen J. Lye, Yongli Shan
Summary: This passage discusses the successful generation of trophoblast stem cells from primed human pluripotent stem cells, with BMP4 playing a significant role in the process. The derived TSCs are similar to blastocyst-derived hTSCs in various characteristics, and the chromatin accessibility dynamics and histone modifications involved in specifying hPSC-derived TSCs are defined. Additionally, knockout of H3K27 methyltransferases (EZH1/2) is shown to increase the efficiency of hTSC derivation from primed hPSCs.
Article
Cell Biology
Phetcharawan Lye, Caroline E. Dunk, Jianhong Zhang, Yanxing Wei, Jittanan Nakpu, Hirotaka Hamada, Guinever E. Imperio, Enrrico Bloise, Stephen G. Matthews, Stephen J. Lye
Summary: The study found that in pregnancies complicated by chorioamnionitis, the mRNA expression of ACE2 and CCL2 increased, while treatment with lipopolysaccharide led to an increase in cytokines and ACE2 mRNA in placental explants. The research also revealed that some immune cells from pregnant women's peripheral blood express ACE2 mRNA and protein, indicating a potential pathway for SARS-CoV-2 virus to access the placenta in cases of chorioamnionitis.
Article
Cell Biology
Adam Boros-Rausch, Oksana Shynlova, Stephen James Lye
Summary: This study investigated the mechanism of action of the broad-spectrum chemokine inhibitor (BSCI) FX125L on human myometrial smooth muscle cells. The results showed that BSCI prevented infection-induced contraction of uterine myocytes by inhibiting the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, the expression of contraction-associated proteins, and disruption of myocyte interaction with tissue macrophages. BSCI represents a novel therapeutic approach for preventing inflammation-induced preterm birth in women.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Wrivu N. Martin, Carol A. Wang, Stephen J. Lye, Rebecca M. Reynolds, Stephen G. Matthews, Carly E. McLaughlin, Christopher Oldmeadow, Trevor A. Mori, Lawrence Beilin, Roger Smith, Craig E. Pennell
Summary: Animal and human data show independent relationships between fetal growth, HPA-A function, and adult cardiometabolic outcomes. While the association between fetal growth and adult cardiometabolic outcomes is well-established, the specific role of HPA-A in these relationships remains unclear.
JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS OF HEALTH AND DISEASE
(2022)