Beta-alanine

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia in the elderly. It is a progressive degenerative disorder that may begin to develop up to 15 years before clinical symptoms appear. The identification of early biomarkers is crucial to enable a prompt diagnosis and to start effective interventions. In this work, we conducted a metabolomic study using proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1 H NMR) spectroscopy in serum samples from patients with neuropathologically confirmed Alzheimer's disease (AD, n = 51), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 27), and cognitively healthy controls (HC, n = 50) to search for metabolites that could be used as biomarkers...

INTRODUCTION: Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid that has been a focus of increasing research by its role as ergogenic aid to improve muscle performance. METHODS: A randomized, double-blind and controlled trial was conducted to determine the effect of a nutritional supplement of a sustained-release formulation of β-alanine in recreational trained men. The active product was an innovative sustained-release β-alanine microgranules powder blend, administered at high doses (15 g/day) divided into 3 intakes during 30 days...

Drug resistance continues to be a significant problem in cancer therapy, leading to relapse and associated mortality. Although substantial progress has been made in understanding drug resistance, significant knowledge gaps remain concerning the molecular underpinnings that drive drug resistance and which processes are unique to certain drug classes. The NCI-60 cell line panel program has evaluated the activity of numerous anticancer agents against many common cancer cell line models and represents a highly valuable resource to study intrinsic drug resistance...

Using nutritional interventions to cure and manage psychiatric disorders is a promising tool. In this regard, accumulating documents support strong relationships between the diet and brain health throughout the lifespan. Evidence from animal and human studies demonstrated that β-alanine (Beta-alanine; BA), a natural amino acid, provides several benefits in fight against cognitive decline promoting mental health. This review summarizes and reports state-of-the-art evidence on how BA affects cognitive health and argues existence of potential unrevealed biochemical mechanisms and signaling cascades...

BACKGROUND: There is increasing interest in the use of Bacillus species as probiotics since their spore-forming ability favors their survival in the acidic gastric environment over other probiotic species. The subsequent germination of B. subtilis to their vegetative form allows for their growth in the small intestine and may increase their beneficial effect on the host. B. subtilis strains have also previously been shown to have beneficial effects in humans and production animals, however, no reports are available so far on their use in companion animals...

Multiple regulatory pathways of T. chinensis to salt stress were identified through transcriptome data analysis. Tamarix chinensis (Tamarix chinensis Lour.) is a typical halophyte capable of completing its life cycle in soils with medium to high salinity. However, the mechanisms underlying its resistance to high salt stress are still largely unclear. In this study, transcriptome profiling analyses in different organs of T. chinensis plants in response to salt stress were carried out. A total number of 2280, 689, and 489 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were, respectively, identified in roots, stems, and leaves, with more DEGs detected in roots than in stems and leaves...

Methylmercury (MeHg) readily accumulates in aquatic organisms while transferring and amplifying in the aquatic food chains. This study firstly explores the in vivo accumulation sites and metabolic regulation of MeHg in the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis by aggregation-induced emission fluorogen (AIEgen) and metabolomics. Fluorescent image analysis by AIEgen showed that MeHg in B. plicatilis mainly occured in the ciliary corona, esophagus, mastax, stomach and intestine in the direct absorption group. In the other group, where B...

Probiotic supplementation has become a prominent method of decreasing ammonia emissions in poultry production. The present study was conducted to investigate the influence of Lactobacillus plantarum on ammonia emission, immune responses, antioxidant capacity, cecal microflora and short chain fatty acids, and serum metabolites in broilers challenged with ammonia. A total of 360 1-day-old yellow-feathered broilers were randomly divided into three treatment groups: birds fed with a basal diet (CON), a basal diet supplemented with ammonia (AN), and a basal diet supplemented with 2...

Food safety and environmental pollution are the hotspots of general concern globally. Notably, long-term accumulation of trace toxic heavy metals, such as cadmium (Cd), in animals may endanger human health via the food chain. The mechanism of Cd toxicity in the goat, a popular farmed animal, has not been extensively investigated to date. Therefore, in this study, ten male goats (Nubian black goat × native black goat) were exposed to Cd via drinking water containing CdCl2 (20 mg Cd·kg-1 ·BW) for 30 days (five male goats per group)...

OBJECTIVES: Approximately one-third of major depressive disorder (MDD) patients do not respond to standard antidepressants and develop treatment-resistant depression (TRD). We aimed to reveal metabolic differences and discover promising potential biomarkers in TRD. METHODS: Our study recruited 108 participants including healthy controls (n = 40) and patients with TRD (n = 35) and first-episode drug-naive MDD (DN-MDD) (n = 33)...

OBJECTIVE: Genomic profiling previously classified melanoma into distinct subtypes based on the presence or absence of mutations in driver genes, but metabolic differences between and within these groups have yet to be thoroughly analyzed. Thus, the objective of the present study is to provide the first effort to holistically characterize the metabolic landscape of qualified melanoma genomic subtypes at single-cell resolution. METHODS: Expression data for a total of 1145 malignant cells sourced from NRAS(Q61L), BRAF(V600E), and NRAS/BRAF WT melanomas were retrieved from the Broad Single Cell Portal...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this opinion paper is to provide current-day and evidence-based information regarding dietary supplements that support resistance training adaptations or acutely enhance strength-power or endurance performance. RECENT FINDINGS: Several independent lines of evidence support that higher protein diets, which can be readily achieved through animal-based protein supplements, optimize muscle mass during periods of resistance training, and this likely facilitates strength increases...

UNLABELLED: We aimed to compare the effects of beta-alanine on Traditional Resistance Training (TRAD) or Blood Flow Restriction Training (BFR). METHODS: 19 subjects were randomly allocated to a Placebo ( n = 10) or beta-alanine ( n = 9) group. Subjects from both groups were trained unilaterally (unilateral arm curl) for six weeks, and each arm was trained using a different paradigm (BFR or TRAD). One repetition maximum (1RM) test measurements were performed before and after the strength training program...

High rates of early pregnancy loss are a critical issue in dairy herds, particularly in seasonal, grazing systems. Components of the uterine luminal fluid (ULF), on which the early embryo depends for sustenance and growth, partly determine early pregnancy losses. Here, changes in ULF from early to mid-postpartum in crossbred dairy cows were explored, linking them with divergent embryo development. For this, the uteri of 87 cows at Day 7 of pregnancy at first and third estrus postpartum were flushed to collect ULF...

BACKGROUND: Thyroid eye disease (TED) is the most frequent orbital disease in adults and is characterized by the accumulation of orbital adipose tissue (OAT). It can lead to eyelid retraction or even vision loss. Orbital decompression surgery serves as the primary treatment for inactive TED by removing the excess OAT. However, there is a lack of alternative treatments to surgery due to the unclear understanding of the pathogenesis, particularly the metabolic features. Accordingly, our study was implemented to explore the content and features of metabolites of OATs from TED patients...

Tea plants are highly susceptible to the adverse effects of a high-temperature climate, which can cause reduced yield and quality and even lead to plant death in severe cases. Therefore, reducing the damage caused by high-temperature stress and maintaining the photosynthetic capacity of tea plants is a critical technical challenge. In this study, we investigated the impact of small oligopeptides (small peptides) and surfactants on the high-temperature-stress tolerance of tea plants. Our findings demonstrated that the use of small peptides and surfactants enhances the antioxidant capacity of tea plants and protects their photosynthetic system...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate alterations in serum metabolites during endometrial transformation and possible associations with recurrent implantation failure (RIF) in hormonal replacement therapy (HRT)-frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles. METHODS: We performed a prospective study involving 100 patients scheduled for HRT-FET cycles during January 2022 to April 2022. Blood serum samples were collected on the day of progesterone administration (dPA) and on the third day of progesterone administration (d3PA)...

BACKGROUND: Osmolytes are naturally occurring compounds that protect cells from osmotic stress in high-osmolarity tissues, such as the kidney medulla. Some amino acids, including taurine, betaine, glycine, alanine, and sarcosine, are known to act as osmolytes. This study aimed to establish the levels of these amino acids in body fluids and tissues of laboratory animals used as models for human diseases in biomedical research. METHODS: Liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was used to quantify taurine, glycine, betaine, alanine, beta-alanine, and sarcosine in plasma, urine, and tissues of adult, male mice, rats and guinea pigs...

This study aimed to investigate metabolic changes following the acquisition of resistance to doxorubicin in the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line MDA-MB-231. Two drug-resistant cell lines, DOX-RES-50 and DOX-RES-100, were generated by treating MDA-MB-231 cells with doxorubicin for 24 h and allowing them to recover for six weeks. Both drug-resistant cell lines demonstrated an increase in doxorubicin IC50 values, indicating acquired drug resistance. Metabolomics analysis showed clear separation between the parental MDA-MB-231 cell line and the drug-resistant cell lines...

Atrazine, a widely used herbicide, has adverse effects on the growth and metabolism of amphibians. Due to the cyclical application use of the pesticide atrazine in agricultural production, atrazine concentrations in water occur in the form of pulses. However, knowledge of the effects of atrazine pulse exposure on the gut microbiota and metabolism of amphibians is limited. In this study, Pelophylax nigromaculatus tadpoles (Gs 26) were exposed to continuous and pulse atrazine (100 μg/L) for 60 days...