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Summary: Solid‐state fermentation (SSF) is an economically viable processing technique to improve the bioactive content from agricultural by‐products. The impacts of SSF by Aspergillus niger (AN) and Lactobacillus plantarum (LP) on the physicochemical and functional properties of wheat bran and whole wheat bread were investigated in this study. Compared with unfermented wheat bran, the pH of fermented wheat bran decreased significantly, and the titrated acidity increased significantly. The water absorption index, water solubility index and swelling capacity of wheat bran were significantly increased after fermentation. Besides, the free‐radical scavenging activities for DPPH, ABTS and the total antioxidant capacity of wheat bran were notably increased after SSF. Moreover, the content of alkylresorcinols (ARs), total phenolics and flavonoids compounds in wheat bran were enhanced by 137.85%, 52.87% and 95.6%, respectively, after fermentation. The content of aflatoxin B1, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone and ochratoxin A were decreased by 76.34%, 18.67%, 34.48% and 20.46%, respectively. SSF enhanced the content of ARs, total phenols and flavonoids in the reconstituted whole wheat bread by 136.55%, 54.55% and 97.74%, respectively. Whereas, the hardness and chewiness of the bran‐rich bread were decreased by 75.2% and 92.41%, respectively. Additionally, the sensory evaluation score, specific volume and the overall score of reconstituted bread were significantly improved. Taken together, SSF by AN and LP could improve the processing value of wheat bran and might be a feasible solution to upgrade whole wheat product quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity and its related complications pose an increasing threat to human health; however, targetable obesity‐related membrane receptors are not yet elucidated. Here, the membrane receptor CD146 is demonstrated to play an essential role in obesity. In particular, CD146 acts as a new adipose receptor for angiopoietin‐like protein 2 (ANGPTL2), which is thought to act on endothelial cells to activate adipose inflammation. ANGPTL2 binds to CD146 to activate cAMP response element‐binding protein (CREB), which then upregulates CD146 during adipogenesis and adipose inflammation. CD146 is present in preadipocytes and mature adipocytes, where it is mediated by its ligands ANGPTL2 and galectin‐1. In preadipocytes, CD146 ablation suppresses adipogenesis, whereas the loss of CD146 in mature adipocytes suppresses lipid accumulation and enhances energy expenditure. Moreover, anti‐CD146 antibodies inhibit obesity by disrupting the interactions between CD146 and its ligands. Together, these findings demonstrate that ANGPTL2 directly affects adipocytes via CD146 to promote obesity, suggesting that CD146 can be a potential target for treating obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammation often induces regeneration to repair the tissue damage. However, chronic inflammation can transform temporary hyperplasia into a fertile ground for tumorigenesis. Here, we demonstrate that the microRNA miR-34a acts as a central safeguard to protect the inflammatory stem cell niche and reparative regeneration. Although playing little role in regular homeostasis, miR-34a deficiency leads to colon tumorigenesis after Citrobacter rodentium infection. miR-34a targets both immune and epithelial cells to restrain inflammation-induced stem cell proliferation. miR-34a targets Interleukin six receptor (IL-6R) and Interleukin 23 receptor (IL-23R) to suppress T helper 17 (Th17) cell differentiation and expansion, targets chemokine CCL22 to hinder Th17 cell recruitment to the colon epithelium, and targets an orphan receptor Interleukin 17 receptor D (IL-17RD) to inhibit IL-17-induced stem cell proliferation. Our study highlights the importance of microRNAs in protecting the stem cell niche during inflammation despite their lack of function in regular tissue homeostasis., Competing Interests: LW, EW, YW, RM, KX, ZS, GZ, KC, NR, SC, GY, ZW, HY, HS, JE, PB, XS No competing interests declared, (© 2018, Wang et al.)