Category Health/Medical

Highlights
•SIDT2 is in endo-lysosomes and interacts with internalized double-stranded RNA
•SIDT2 promotes escape of endosomal dsRNA and cytoplasmic RLR signaling
•During HSV-1 infection, RLR signaling in bystander cells requires SIDT2
•Loss of SIDT2 impairs IFN-β production and survival after HSV-1 and EMCV infection

A discovery by Melbourne researchers has solved a longstanding mystery of how viruses trigger protective immunity within our body. A protein SIDT2 was crucial for cells to detect viral components in their environment, and initiate an immune response to reduce the virus’ spread...

Oleuropein promotes glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in β-cells. The effect is dose-dependent and stimulates the ERK/MAPK signaling pathway. We further demonstrated that oleuropein inhibits the cytotoxicity induced by amylin amyloids, a hallmark feature of type 2 diabetes.

A Virginia Tech team discovered that oleuropein from olive leaves helps the body secrete more insulin. The same compound also detoxifies another signaling molecule called amylin that over-produces and forms harmful aggregates in type 2 diabetes. In these two distinct ways, oleuropein helps prevent the onset of disease.

“Our work provides new mechanistic insights into the long-standing question of why olive products can be anti-diabetic,” said Bin Xu, assistant professor of biochemistry in the College of Agric...

The bacteria we all have in our gut may play a decisive role in personalized nutrition and the development of obesity. Credit: © aamulya / Fotolia

A ratio between 2 groups of intestinal bacteria is decisive for whether overweight people lose weight on a diet that follows the Danish national dietary recommendations and contains a lot of fruit, vegetables, fiber and whole grains. In the study 31 subjects ate the New Nordic Diet for 26 weeks and lost an average of 3.5 kg, whereas the 23 subjects eating an Average Danish Diet lost an average of 1.7 kg. Thus weight loss was on average 1.8 kilos greater in the subjects on the New Nordic Diet.

When the subjects were divided by their level of intestinal bacteria, it was found that people with a high proportion of Prevotella bacteria in relation t...