Anti-aging compound improves muscle glucose metabolism

Researchers have found that the compound NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) previously demonstrated to counteract aspects of aging and improve metabolic health in mice also has clinically relevant effects in people. A small clinical trial of postmenopausal women with prediabetes shows that the compound NMN improved the ability of insulin to increase glucose uptake in skeletal muscle, which often is abnormal in people with obesity, prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes. NMN also improved expression of genes that are involved in muscle structure and remodeling. However, the treatment did not lower blood glucose or blood pressure, improve blood lipid profile, increase insulin sensitivity in the liver, reduce fat in the liver or decrease circulating markers of inflammation as seen in mice. NMN is involved in producing an important compound in all cells, called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). NAD plays a vital role in keeping animals healthy. Levels of NAD decline with age in a broad range of animals, including humans, and the compound has been shown to contribute to a variety of aging-associated problems, including insulin resistance in studies conducted in mice. Supplementing animals with NMN slows and ameliorates age-related decline in the function of many tissues in the body. Although study shows a beneficial effect of NMN in skeletal muscle but the researchers caution that more studies are needed to determine whether NMN has beneficial effects in the prevention or management of prediabetes or diabetes in people.

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                        'Undruggable' cancer protein becomes druggable

Researcher has found a way to synthesize a compound to fight a previously "undruggable" cancer protein with benefits across a myriad of cancer types. The compound curcusone D has the potential to help combat a protein found in many cancers, including some forms of breast, brain, colorectal, prostate, lung and liver cancers, among others. The protein, dubbed BRAT1, had previously been deemed "undruggable" for its chemical properties. Researchers linked curcusone D to BRAT1 and validated curcusone D as the first BRAT1 inhibitor. Curcusones are compounds that come from a shrub named Jatropha curcas, also called the purging nut. Native to the Americas, it has spread to other continents, including Africa and Asia. The plant has long been used for medicinal properties including the treatment of cancer as well as being a proposed inexpensive source of biodiesel. Researchers tested the compounds on breast cancer cells and found curcusone D to be extremely effective at shutting down cancer cells. One difficulty in studying curcusones as potential cancer treatments is that, while the shrub they come from is common and inexpensive, it takes massive amounts of the shrub to yield even a small amount of the compounds. Even then, it is difficult to separate the compounds from the rest of the chemicals in the shrub's roots. In nature, the plant doesn't produce a lot of this compound, that's why a new synthesis is so important. The next step will be to test the compound to ensure that it is not toxic to humans, something the researchers are optimistic about since the shrub it came from has been used as a traditional medicine in a number of cultures. Already, researchers from other entities have reached out to test the compound on the cancers they study, bringing hope for renewed therapeutics for treating the disease.

SOURCE: Science Daily News, April 2021

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                              Endocrine disruptors threatens semen quality

A growing number of studies show that the environmental factors and lifestyle habits of pregnant women play an important role in the health of their child. Endocrine disrupters are chemical substances of natural or synthetic origin which can interfere with the endocrine system and causes adverse health effects in an organism, or its progeny, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Several animal studies have already shown that gestational exposure to certain endocrine disruptors can influence the development of the male reproductive system, as well as the sperm production and semen quality in adulthood. Researcher has evaluated semen quality of around 3000 conscripts, 1045 out of which had their mother working during pregnancy. This allowed for the analysis of semen parameters of men whose mothers were employed during their pregnancy. The results of this study show that young men exposed in utero to endocrine disruptors are twice as likely to have values below the reference values established by the WHO, both in terms of the semen volume. These observations do not determine the future fertility of young men, and only a follow-up over time will make it possible to assess the consequences. The results of this study suggest an association between the mother's occupational exposure to endocrine disruptors and a decrease in several semen parameters in their children during adulthood. It therefore appears necessary to inform women planning to conceive and during their early stages of pregnancy of the potential hazards of exposure to these substances, which could alter their children's fertility. It would be interesting to carry out a similar study in women, in order to evaluate whether the impact of endocrine disruptors is the same on the female reproductive system, although this is much more complex to carry out. Since then, the professions exerted by women have greatly evolved, as has the presence of endocrine disruptors in the products used.

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          Female protective effect clues to sex differences in autism

It is well established that autism occurs much more frequently in boys than in girls, and that girls seem to have a greater resilience to developing the condition. It has been unclear, however, why that is. In a new study, researchers find that autism may develop in different regions of the brain in girls than boys and that girls with autism have a larger number of genetic mutations than boys, suggesting that they require a larger "genetic hit" to develop the disorder. One of the reasons that researchers don't know more about why autism tends to affect boys more frequently than girls is the fact that most studies have been based on male-predominant samples. For this study, the researchers studied a balanced sample of boys and girls ages 8 to 17 including 45 girls and 47 boys with autism, and 45 typically developing girls and 47 typically developing boys. The researchers focused on how the brains of young people with and without ASD process human motion. Children with autism do not pick up on social cues easily, and have difficulty reading reactions. Past studies which relied largely on male subjects found that a part of the brain called the posterior superior temporal sulcus which is thought to be involved in processing auditory and visual stimuli is active in the social perception in typical kids but less responsive for those with ASD. Using a brain imaging technology called functional magnetic resonance imaging, the researchers found that the accepted wisdom that the posterior superior temporal sulcus region constitutes a "neural signature" for autism was primarily true for boys. Genetic analysis allowed the researchers to probe even further into these differences. After examining data from the Simons Simplex Collection a genetic database drawn from more than 2,000 families with at least one child with ASD they again found that there was a larger number of copy number variations containing genes expressed in the same region of the brain the striatum among girls with autism. Researcher said, the findings provide a clue into what is driving the female autism neural profile and may also reveal what drives the "female protective effect.

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