0000000000540259
AUTHOR
Elina Mäkinen
showing 9 related works from this author
Prebiotic Xylo-Oligosaccharides Ameliorate High-Fat-Diet-Induced Hepatic Steatosis in Rats
2020
Understanding the importance of the gut microbiota (GM) in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has raised the hope for therapeutic microbes. We have shown that high hepatic fat content associated with low abundance of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in humans and, further, the administration of F. prausnitzii prevented NAFLD in mice. Here, we aimed at targeting F. prausnitzii by prebiotic xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) to treat NAFLD. First, the effect of XOS on F. prausnitzii growth was assessed in vitro. Then, XOS was supplemented or not with high (HFD, 60% of energy from fat) or low (LFD) fat diet for 12 weeks in Wistar rats (n = 10/group). XOS increased F. prausnitzii growth, having onl…
Xylo-Oligosaccharides in Prevention of Hepatic Steatosis and Adipose Tissue Inflammation: Associating Taxonomic and Metabolomic Patterns in Fecal Mic…
2021
We have shown that prebiotic xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) increased beneficial gut microbiota (GM) and prevented high fat diet-induced hepatic steatosis, but the mechanisms associated with these effects are not clear. We studied whether XOS affects adipose tissue inflammation and insulin signaling, and whether the GM and fecal metabolome explain associated patterns. XOS was supplemented or not with high (HFD) or low (LFD) fat diet for 12 weeks in male Wistar rats (n = 10/group). Previously analyzed GM and fecal metabolites were biclustered to reduce data dimensionality and identify interpretable groups of co-occurring genera and metabolites. Based on our findings, biclustering provides a use…
Prebiotic Xylo-oligosaccharides Targeting Faecalibacterium prausnitzii Prevent High Fat Diet-induced Hepatic Steatosis in Rats
2020
Understanding the importance of gut microbiota (GM) in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has raised the hope for therapeutic microbes. We have shown that high hepatic fat associated with low abundance of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in humans and further, administration of F. prausnitzii prevented NAFLD in mice. Here, we aimed to target F. prausnitzii by prebiotic xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) to treat NAFLD. First, the effect of XOS on F. prausnitzii growth was assessed in vitro. Then, XOS was supplemented or not with high (HFD) or low (LFD) fat-diet for 12-weeks in Wistar rats (n=10/group). XOS increased F. prausnitzii growth having only minor impact on the GM composition. When supp…
Genotype determining aerobic exercise capacity associates with behavioral plasticity in middle-aged rats
2023
Good aerobic fitness associates positively with cognitive performance and brain health and conversely, low aerobic fitness predisposes to neurodegenerative diseases. To study how genotype together with exercise, started at older age, affects brain and behavior, we utilized rats that differ in inherited aerobic fitness. Rats bred for Low Capacity for Running (LCR) are shown to display less synaptic plasticity and more inflammation in the hippocampus and perform worse than rats bred for a High Capacity for Running (HCR) in tasks requiring flexible cognition. Here we used middle-aged (∼ 16 months) HCR and LCR rats to study how genotype and sex associate with anxiety and neural information filt…
Rats with elevated genetic risk for metabolic syndrome exhibit cognitive deficiencies when young
2021
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a known risk factor for cognitive decline. Using polygenic rat models selectively bred for high and low intrinsic exercise capacity and simultaneously modelling as low and high innate risk factor for MetS respectively, we have previously shown that adult animals with lower exercise capacity/higher MetS risk perform poorly in tasks requiring flexible cognition. However, it is not known whether these deficits in cognition are present already at young age. Also, it is unclear whether the high risk genome is related also to lower-level cognition, such as sensory gating measured as prepulse inhibition. In this study, young and adult (5-8 weeks and ∼9 months) rats sel…
Irradiation of the head reduces adult hippocampal neurogenesis and impairs spatial memory, but leaves overall health intact in rats.
2021
Treatment of brain cancer, glioma, can cause cognitive impairment as a side‐effect, possibly because it disrupts the integrity of the hippocampus, a structure vital for normal memory. Radiotherapy is commonly used to treat glioma, but the effects of irradiation on the brain are still poorly understood, and other biological effects have not been extensively studied. Here we exposed healthy adult male rats to small and moderate‐dose irradiation of the head. We found no effect of irradiation on systemic inflammation, weight gain or gut microbiota diversity, although it increased the abundance of Bacteroidaceae family, namely Bacteroides genus in the gut microbiota. Irradiation had no effect on…
Identification of Gut Microbial Lysine and Histidine Degradation and CYP-Dependent Metabolites as Biomarkers of Fatty Liver Disease
2023
Numerous studies have described specific metabolites as biomarkers ofsevere liver diseases, but very few have measured gut microbiota (GM)-produced metab-olites in fatty liver disease. We aimed atfinding GM signatures and metabolite markersin plasma and feces related to high liver fat content. Based on imaging, we dividedstudy participants into low (,5%, LF,n= 25) and high (.5%, HF,n= 39) liver fatgroups. Fecal (LFn= 14, HFn= 25) and plasma (LFn= 11, HFn= 7) metabolomes ofsubsets of participants were studied using liquid chromatography/high resolution massspectrometry. The GM were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Additionally,blood clinical variables and diet were studied. Dyslipide…
Rats bred for low intrinsic aerobic exercise capacity link obesity with brain inflammation and reduced structural plasticity of the hippocampus.
2021
Abstract BACKGROUND Increasing evidence shows obesity and poor metabolic health are associated with cognitive deficits, but the mechanistic connections have yet to be resolved. We studied rats selectively bred for low and high intrinsic aerobic capacity in order to test the association between low physical fitness, a genetic predisposition for obesity, and brain health. We hypothesized that low-capacity runner (LCR) rats with concurrently greater levels of adiposity would have increased hippocampal inflammation and reduced plasticity compared to the more physically fit high-capacity runner (HCR) rats. METHODS We examined markers for inflammation and brain plasticity in the hippocampi of LCR…
Oppimisen tukea, yhteisöllisyyttä ja tekstilajien kirjoa : Lukiloki innostaa oppimaan ja opettamaan
2020
Nuoret ideoimassa kirjallisuus-vlogia Zoomissa. Tiimi, joka riimittelee räpit someen koko koulun iloksi. Oppilaskunnan uutisvartti kerran viikossa tai luokan yhteinen lukuhetki aamun aluksi. Mikä saa oppilaasi liikkeelle, mikä innostaa, mikä motivoi ajassa, jossa tutkimukset kertovat lukemisen ja kirjoittamisen taitojen heikkenemisestä? Mistä syntyvät lukemisen ja kirjoittamisen tähtihetket? nonPeerReviewed