Category Biology/Biotechnology

A pancreatic islet of Langerhans expressing the immunoregulator antimicrobial peptide CRAM (in red). The insulin-producting beta-cells are in green and the glucagon-producting alpha-cells are in blue. Credit: © Julien Diana

A category of antimicrobial peptides, cathelicidins and being researched by a team coordinated by Julien Diana, Inserm Research Fellow at Inserm Unit 1151 is focusing on. Apart from their protective function, these peptides have also exhibited immunoregulatory abilities against several autoimmune diseases.

They observed that beta pancreatic cells in non-diseased mice produce cathelicidins and that, interestingly, this production is impaired in diabetic mice...

A new study reveals that thymus atrophy may stem from a decline in its ability to protect against DNA damage from free radicals. The damage accelerates metabolic dysfunction in the organ, progressively reducing its production of pathogen-fighting T cells. Common antioxidants may slow thymus atrophy and be a Rx strategy for protecting elderly from infections.

“The thymus ages more rapidly than any other tissue in the body, diminishing the ability of older individuals to respond to new immunologic challenges, including evolving pathogens and the vaccines that may otherwise offer protection from them,” says Howard Petrie of SRI. Starting around puberty, the thymus rapidly decreases in size and loses capacity to produce enough new T cells...

Thylakoids are found in chloroplasts in stacks and help in ATP synthesis ie chemisomosis in plants generates ATP is by using a proton concentration gradient which is done in four steps. https://sites.google.com/site/apbiophotosynthesis/chemiosmosis

Thylakoids encourage the release of satiety hormones, which is very beneficial in slowing down fat digestion. The study examines the effect of consuming a single dose of concentrated extract of thylakoids from spinach on satiety, food intake, lipids, and glucose compared to a placebo. 30 males and 30 females, overweight or obese took part in a double-blind randomized crossover study. They consumed either the spinach extract or a placebo in random order at least a week apart...

Previous research looked at high doses of purified resveratrol to study its potential to prevent cancer. This is the first study to look at the effects of a lower daily dose – equivalent to the amount of resveratrol found in one large (approx. 250ml) glass of red wine vs dose 200X higher. Results from bowel cancer-prone mice given the smaller dose showed a 50% reduction in tumour size while the high dose showed a 25% reduction. Lower doses of resveratrol were twice as effective as the higher dose in stopping tumours growing, although this effect was only seen in animals fed a high-fat diet.

Samples of tumours from bowel cancer patients given different doses of resveratrol showed that even lower doses can get into cancer cells and potentially affect processes involved in tumour growth...