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Background/Objectives: The Mediterranean diet has been widely suggested to exert significant beneficial effects on endothelial oxidative status and cardiometabolic health. Greek Orthodox monasteries, due to their specific nutritional and sartorial habits, comprise a population thatstrictly adheres to nutritional patterns with restricted eating and a plant-based subset of the Mediterranean diet, often accompanied by profound hypovitaminosis D. Time-restricted eating (TRE) is also adopted bya large part of the general lay Greek population for health-promoting reasons, without restrictions on animal product consumption, as imposed by Orthodox religious fasting. However, the comparative effects of these nutritional patterns on oxidative stress markers remain scarce. Methods: The present study attempted to evaluate the effects of Christian Orthodox fasting (COF) in a group of vitamin D-deficient and overweight Orthodox nuns from Central and Northern Greece compared to the implementation of TRE, a 16:8 dietary regimen (16 h of food abstinence and 8 h of feeding) in a cohort of adult women from the general population from the same region with regard to markers of endothelial oxidative status. A group of 50 women from two Orthodox monasteries in Northern Greece and one group of 50 healthy lay women were included. During the enrollment, a detailed recording of their dietary habits was performed, along with a scientific registry of their demographic and anthropometric characteristics (via bioimpedance). The Orthodox nuns followed a typical Orthodox fasting regimen [daily feeding window (8 a.m.–4 p.m.)], whereas the lay women followed a TRE 16:8 regimen with the same feeding time-window with a recommendation to follow a low-fat diet, without characteristics of the Mediterranean diet. We included a complete biochemical analysis, as well as calciotropic profiles [calcium—Ca, albumin, parathyroid hormone—PTH, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D—25(OH)D] and markers of TAC (total antioxidant capacity), GSH (glutathione),and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARSs) concentrations as markers of oxidative status. Results: All the groups were compared at the baseline regarding their calcium, PTH, and 25(OH)D concentrations, with no statistically significant differences between the groups apart from higher PTH levels in the nuns due to lower 25(OH)D levels. The Orthodox nuns manifested a lower median GSH compared to the controls (6.0 vs. 7.2, p 0.04) and a higher median TAC (0.92 vs. 0.77, p < 0.001). The TBARS comparisons showed no significant difference between the two groups. No significant associations of oxidative status with 25(OH)D, PTH, and the markers of glucose homeostasis were evident. Conclusions: The results of this small pilot study indicate that both dietary regimens have advantages over the oxidative markers compared to each other, with increased TAC in the group of Orthodox nuns after a 16-week period of COF compared to a 16:8 TRE and increased GSH concentrations in the lay women group. Future randomized trials are required to investigate the superiority or non-inferiority between these dietary patterns in the daily clinical setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Apart from the well-established skeletal effects, vitamin D has been explored as a secretagogue influencing various adipokines, including adiponectin and irisin. Recent evidence suggests that specific forms of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D (25(OHD), such as free and bioavailable 25(OH)D, may provide more accurate measurements of vitamin D status. The relationship between vitamin D status and serum irisin and adiponectin concentrations remains largely unexplored, particularly during pregnancy. Methods: We analyzed data from 67 healthy maternal-neonatal pairs from Northern Greece at birth. Biochemical and hormonal tests were conducted on each maternal-neonatal pair. The vitamin D forms were estimated using validated mathematical models. Subsequently, regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between the vitamin D forms and adipokine levels. Results: Bioavailable maternal 25(OH)D was inversely associated with neonatal irisin concentrations [b=-73.46 (-140.573 to -6.341), p=0.034]. No other associations were observed between maternal vitamin D status and neonatal adipokine concentrations. Conclusion: In conclusion, maternal bioavailable vitamin D concentrations are inversely associated with neonatal serum irisin concentrations, warranting further studies to evaluate the underlying mechanisms for this finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) protein-specific affinity chromatography and mass spectrometry, we have isolated the protein product of the oncogene znf217, which is a transcription factor and a component [...]

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Background. One of the principle symptoms of lead poisoning is the development of neurological disorders. Neuronal response is closely related to DNA methylation changes. Aim. In this study, we estimated p16 methylation in nine individuals exposed to lead using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction followed by analysis of the methylated cytosine content of the product by thermal denaturation. Results. We found that, based on lead blood concentration, lead-exposed individuals were divided into two groups. Among highly exposed individuals (blood Pb2+ concentration = 51–100 μg/dL), we observed complete CpG methylation, whereas for low Pb2+ concentrations (blood Pb2+ concentration = 6–11 μg/dL), we observed partial methylation. Conclusion. Our results show that among lead-overexposed individuals, p16 methylation is frequent and extensive, and suggest that DNA methylation could be involved in the mechanism by which lead induces neurotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sufficient vitamin D status is crucial for successful pregnancy and fetal development. The assessment of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations is commonly used to evaluate vitamin D status. Our objective was to examine the interrelated biodynamics of maternal and neonatal total, free and bioavailable 25(OH)D in maternal-neonatal dyads at birth and their associations with homeostasis and neonatal birth anthropometry. We analysed a cohort of seventy full-term mother-child pairs. We found positive associations between all neonatal measures of vitamin D status. Maternal forms exhibited a similar pattern of association, except for the bioavailable maternal form. In multivariate analysis, both total and free maternal 25(OH)D concentrations were correlated with all neonatal forms (neonatal total 25(OH)D: 1·29 (95 % CI, 1·12, 1·46) for maternal total 25(OH)D, 10·89 (8·16, 13·63) for maternal free 25(OH)D), (neonatal free 25(OH)D: 0·15 for maternal total 25(OH)D, 1·28 (95 % CI, 0·89, 1·68) for maternal free 25(OH)D) and (0·13 (95 % CI, 0·10, 0·16), 1·06 (95 % CI, 0·68, 1·43) for maternal free 25(OH)D), respectively, with the exclusion of the bioavailable maternal form. We observed no significant interactions within or between groups regarding maternal and neonatal vitamin D parameters and maternal calcium and parathyroid hormone concentrations, and neonatal birth anthropometry. Our study indicates that bioavailable maternal and neonatal 25(OH)D have no significant effects on vitamin D equilibrium, Ca homeostasis and neonatal anthropometry at birth. However, we observed an interaction between maternal and neonatal total and free 25(OH)D concentrations at the maternal-neonatal interface, with no associations observed with other calciotropic or anthropometric outcomes.