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International audience; Endurance exercise has a dramatic impact on the functionality of mitochondria and on the composition of the intestinal microbiome, but the mechanisms regulating the crosstalk between these two components are still largely unknown. Here, we sampled 20 elite horses before and after an endurance race and used blood transcriptome, blood metabolome and fecal microbiome to describe the gut-mitochondria crosstalk. A subset of mitochondria-related differentially expressed genes involved in pathways such as energy metabolism, oxidative stress and inflammation was discovered and then shown to be associated with butyrate-producing bacteria of the Lachnospiraceae family, especially Eubacterium. The mechanisms involved were not fully understood, but through the action of their metabolites likely acted on PPARc, the FRX-CREB axis and their downstream targets to delay the onset of hypoglycemia, inflammation and extend running time. Our results also suggested that circulating free fatty acids may act not merely as fuel but drive mitochondrial inflammatory responses triggered by the translocation of gut bacterial polysaccharides following endurance. Targeting the gut-mitochondria axis therefore appears to be a potential strategy to enhance athletic performance.

The quantities and proportions of protein fractions have notable effects on the nutritional and technological value of milk. Although much is known about the effects of genetic variants on milk proteins, the complex relationships among the set of genes and pathways regulating the different protein fractions synthesis and secretion into milk in dairy cows are still not completely understood. We conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for milk nitrogen fractions in a cohort of 1,011 Brown Swiss cows, which uncovered 170 significant single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs), mostly located on BTA6 and BTA11. Gene-set analysis and the network-based Associated Weight Matrix approach revealed that the milk proteins associated genes were involved in several biological functions, particularly ion and cation transmembrane transporter activity and neuronal and hormone signalling, according to the structure and function of casein micelles. Deeper analysis of the transcription factors and their predicted target genes within the network revealed that GFI1B, ZNF407 and NR5A1 might act as master regulators of milk protein synthesis and secretion. The information acquired provides novel insight into the regulatory mechanisms controlling milk protein synthesis and secretion in bovine mammary gland and may be useful in breeding programmes aimed at improving milk nutritional and/or technological properties.

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National audience; Our objectives were to estimate genetic parameters of the gut microbiota composition in French Large White pigs, and to uncover co-variations between the abundances of microbial communities and immunity or growth parameters of the host. In the framework of the Sus-Flora project, we characterized the diversity of the faecal microbiota of 518 60 day-old piglets by sequencing a variable region of the ribosomal 16S gene. Our first results have shown that the genera Prevotella, followed by Oscillibacter, Dialister, Roseburia or Treponema are dominant in the porcine faecal microbiota. Heritability values ranging from 0.13 0.08 to 0.55 0.16 were estimated for the relative abundance of 19 of the most common bacterial genera, highlighting the contribution of the host genome to the shaping of the gut microbial ecosystem. Regularized canonical correlations and sparse Partial Least Squares analyses highlighted both positive and negative correlations between immunity traits (e.g. monocytes, eosinophils, platelets) and genera such as Prevotella, Roseburia and Dialister. The establishment of microbial diversity in the gut was assessed by following a subset of 31 piglets at 14, 36, 48, 60 and 70 days of age. We showed that the gut microbiota composition was stabilized after 36 days of age. In addition, a stratification of the 31 piglets in two groups was observed after weaning, suggesting the existence of enterotypes as observed in humans. These two enterotype-like clusters were primarily distinguished by the levels of unclassified Ruminococcaceae and Prevotella, respectively. These two enterotype-like clusters were also found in the cohort of 518 60 day-old piglets.; L’objectif de cette étude est d’estimer les paramètres génétiques de la composition du microbiote intestinal chez le porc Large White et d’étudier les covariations entre cette composition et des paramètres immunitaires et de croissance. Dans le cadre du projet Sus-Flora, nous avons caractérisé la diversité du microbiote fécal pour 518 porcelets âgés de 60 jours, par séquençage d’une région variable du gène bactérien codant l’ARNr 16S. Nos premiers résultats ont mis en évidence une prédominance des genres bactériens Prevotella puis Oscillibacter, Dialister, Roseburia et Treponema. Des valeurs d’héritabilité comprises entre 0,13 0,08 et 0,55 0,16 ont été estimées pour l’abondance relative de 19 genres bactériens parmi les plus fréquents, démontrant ainsi une part génétique significative de la composition du microbiote intestinal chez le porc. Des corrélations génétiques positives et négatives sont identifiées entre abondances des taxons bactériens. Des covariations positives et négatives ont été trouvées entre des paramètres de formule sanguine (taux de monocytes, éosinophiles, plaquettes) et l’abondance des genres Prevotella, Roseburia, Dialister. Nous montrons également, pour un sous-groupe de 31 animaux, que la composition du microbiote intestinal se stabilise après 36 jours d’âge et que les animaux se séparent en deux groupes sur la base de la composition de leur microbiote intestinal, évoquant les entérotypes identifiés chez l’homme. Ces deux groupes, dominés par le genre Prevotella ou les Ruminococcaceae, sont retrouvés à 60 jours d’âge, avec la cohorte des 518 porcelets.

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Introducción: La enfermedad de Crohn (EC) pediátrica es un desorden caracterizado por presentar inflamación crónica que puede afectar cualquier segmento del tracto gastrointestinal. La disbiosis intestinal es un factor implicado en la patogénesis multifactorial de esta enfermedad. Diferentes suplementos dietarios se han propuesto como terapia alternativa para inducir o mantener la remisión de la EC. Objetivo: Revisar las evidencias científicas publicadas sobre disbiosis intestinal en pacientes de Crohn pediátricos y la eficacia de la terapia con suplementos dietarios (especialmente probióticos). Material y métodos: Se ha realizado una extensa búsqueda de publicaciones científicas en las principales bases de datos electrónicas especializadas: NCBI, Elsevier, Scielo, Scirus y Science Direct. Resultados y Discusión: Se ha observado en la población pediátrica de EC un aumento de Proteobacteria y una reducción de Firmicutes. Los resultados referentes a los phyla Bacteroidetes y Actinobacteria son divergentes. Referente al uso de suplementos dietarios, el uso de probióticos no ha mostrado ningún impacto positivo en la EC pediátrica. Conclusiones: Los resultados publicados hasta la fecha referentes a la disbiosis intestinal en pacientes pediátricos de Crohn, contribuyen al mejor conocimiento y entendimiento de las modificaciones en la flora bacteriana. Sin embargo, no es posible definir una microbiota asociada o causante de la EC. Además, los resultados publicados hasta la fecha no aportan evidencias sólidas de la eficacia de los probióticos como terapia en dichos pacientes., Introduction: Paediatric Crohn’s disease is a disorder characterised by a chronic inflammation that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract. Intestinal dysbiosis is a key factor in the multifactorial pathogenesis of this disease. Different dietary supplements have been proposed as alternative therapy both on induction and on maintaining remission of this disease. Objective: To review current scientific evidence of intestinal dysbiosis in paediatric Crohn’s disease patients, as well as efficacy of dietary supplement therapy (especially probiotics). Materials and Methods: Extensive search of scientific publications was performed in specialized electronic databases: NBCI, Elsevier, Scielo, Scirus and Science Direct. Results and discussion: An increase of Proteobacteria and a reduction of Firmicutes were observed in Crohn’s disease paediatric patients. However the results referring to phyla Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria are disperse. Referring the use of dietary supplements, the use of probiotics did not show any positive impact in paediatric Crohn’s disease patients. Conclusions: A better knowledge and understanding of the bacterial flora modifications in paediatric Crohn’s disease patients is possible with the current published results. However, it is not possible to define the precise microbiota associated or causing this disease. In addition, current results do not bring solid evidence of the efficacy of probiotic therapy in those patients.

Sequence capture is a widespread and cost effective approach to resequence specific genomic regions on large sets of individuals. To date, this approach has mainly been used to target orthologous loci within the same species ('homologous' capture). Our aim was to test the efficiency of this method across closely or distantly related species ('heterologous' capture). Specifically, we focused on the MHC locus, which is one of the most dynamic regions of mammalian genomes, and a model to study host-pathogen coevolution. A 385K solid phase array (NimbleGen) encompassing the MHC was designed using the Sus scrofa Hp1a.0 haplotype as a reference (http://vega.sanger.ac.uk/index.html). Individuals from 9 species of Suidae (n=69) and 2 species of Tayassuidae (n=19) were selected for the study. Sets of 12 uniquely indexed sequencing libraries were prepared using Illumina kits, pooled, enriched, and sequenced on a HiSeq platform. In Suidae, the average values of coverage and specificity (% on target sequences) were respectively 86x and 32%. Results varied significantly across libraries, e.g. decreasing the number of cycles during PCR steps reduced the percentage of duplicate reads, but without improving specificity. On the other hand, in Tayassuidae both the coverage and the specificity showed lower efficiency. We can conclude that heterologous capture is a reliable technique at the level of Suidae, while in the case of Tayassuidae further optimization will be required to achieve better results. Other analyses are ongoing to test if this method could be suitable to study structural variation.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between the nutritional status and the risk of pressure ulcers (PU) in patients within home care programs (ATDOM). We also evaluated the relationship between the level of cognitive impairment, physical dependence, underlying diseases and the nutritional status. SCOPE: Patients in home care program in Primary Health Care. PATIENTS: 100 home care patients. MAIN VARIABLES: age, sex, caregiver, illness, BMI, haemoglobin, haematocrit, lymphocyte count, albumin, cholesterol, Barthel index, Pfeiffer, nutritional assessment (MNA) and Braden scale. RESULTS: Fourteen percent of the ATDOM patients had malnutrition and 46% a high risk of malnutrition. The degree of dependency, and the level of cognitive impairment increased (P

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Pas de résumé; Pas de résumé

Fifty-four Holstein bulls were blocked by initial BW (301 +/- 7.4 kg) and randomly assigned to 6 treatments following a 3 x 2 factorial arrangement, with 3 concentrate lipid levels (5, 8, and 11% of DM) and 2 lipid sources (whole canola seed and whole linseed), with the objective of evaluating the possibility of increasing the content of n-3 fatty acids in meat. Concentrates (mostly corn meal) were isonitrogenous and isocaloric. Concentrate and straw were both fed ad libitum. Animal BW was recorded every 2 wk, and feed consumption was recorded weekly. Ruminal pH and VFA concentrations were determined monthly. Bulls were transported to the slaughterhouse when they achieved the target slaughter weight of 443 kg (after 105 +/- 4 d of fattening). After slaughter, a sample of LM from the sixth to the eighth ribs was dissected and analyzed for intramuscular fat content and fatty acid profile. Dietary lipid source did not affect overall animal performance, rumen fermentation, or carcass quality. Rumen pH was >6.0 despite consumption by the bulls of large amounts of concentrate. In bulls fed linseed, the percentage of n-3 fatty acids in LM increased linearly with lipid level, whereas in bulls fed canola seed it remained constant. The ratio of n-6:n-3 fatty acids was lower (P < 0.01) in the LM of bulls fed linseed (10.0) than in those fed canola seed (26.0). The content of cis-9, trans-11-CLA in the LM tended (P = 0.06) to be greater in the bulls fed linseed than in those fed canola seed (62.9 vs. 49.2 mg/kg of LM, respectively). Concentration of n-3 fatty acids in meat of bulls fed high-concentrate diets can be enhanced by whole linseed supplementation without affecting animal performance, ruminal fermentation, or carcass quality.

Basic knowledge on the biology and epidemiology of equine strongylid species remains insufficient although it would contribute to the design of better parasite control strategies. Nemabiome is a convenient tool to quantify and to identify species in bulk samples that could overcome the hurdle that cyathostomin morphological identification represents. To date, this approach has relied on the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS-2) of the ribosomal RNA cistron and its predictive performance and associated biases both remain unaddressed.This study aimed to bridge this knowledge gap using cyathostomin mock communities and comparing performances of the ITS-2 and a cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) barcode newly developed in this study. The effects of bioinformatic parameters were investigated to determine the best analytical pipelines. Subsequently, barcode predictive abilities were compared across various mock community compositions. The replicability of the approach and the amplification biases of each barcode were estimated. Results were also compared between various types of biological samples, i.e. eggs, infective larvae or adults.Overall, the proposed COI barcode was suboptimal relative to the ITS-2 rDNA region, because of PCR amplification biases, a reduced sensitivity and higher divergence from the expected community composition. Metabarcoding yielded consistent community composition across the three sample types, although infective larvae may remain the most tractable in the field. Additional strategies to improve the COI barcode performances are discussed. These results underscore the critical need of mock communities for metabarcoding purposes.

The nature and strength of interactions entertained among helminths and their host gut microbiota remain largely unexplored. Using 40 naturally infected Welsh ponies, we tracked the gut microbiota-cyathostomin temporal dynamics during parasite community removal and reassembly, and the associated host immune response. Infected ponies harboured 14 species of cyathostomins, overwhelmed by the abundance of Cylicocyclus nassatus. Parasite carriers exhibited gut environment modifications, higher Shannon entropy and orderly rearrangements of prokaryotic assemblages, with protective Clostridia species contributing to the successional nemabiome-microbiota crosstalk. Yet, the gut ecosystem was remarkably stable, and the host systemic response defined enrichment for B-cell activation and IgA production without corresponding changes in parasite burdens. Therefore, Clostridia microbial protection likely reduced fluctuating dynamics between the microbiota-parasite-host triad and favoured parasite tolerance. The system stability was disrupted by pyrantel treatment and parasite removal, with dire early consequences on the gut environment, microbiota diversity, and cytokine networks while highlighting the detrimental effect of cyathostomin burdens on Enterococcus spp. Both ecological communities were highly resilient to disturbance and recovered their pre-treatment compositions but for Cylicostephanus longibursatus in the parasite community. However, gut microbiotas failed to restore their original stability and shifted towards an interacting unstable state, with transient coexistence between Clostridia and core bacterial taxa, e.g. Fibrobacter and Prevotella, evoking their crucial role as stabilising forces for this new equilibrium. These observations highlight how anthelmintic treatment alters the gut microbiota stability and open new perspectives for adding nutritional intervention to current parasite management strategies in the field.

Emerging evidence indicates that the gut microbiome contributes to endurance exercise performance. Still, the extent of its functional and metabolic potential remains unknown. Using elite endurance horses as a model system for exercise responsiveness, we built an integrated horse gut gene catalog comprising ~25 million unique genes and 372 metagenome-assembled genomes. This catalog represents 4179 genera spanning 95 phyla and functional capacities primed to exploit energy from dietary, microbial, and host resources. The holo-omics approach shows that gut microbiomes enriched in Lachnospiraceae taxa are negatively associated with cardiovascular capacity. Conversely, more complex and functionally diverse microbiomes are associated with higher glucose concentrations and reduced accumulation of long-chain acylcarnitines and non-esterified fatty acids in plasma, suggesting increased ß-oxidation capacity in the mitochondria. In line with this hypothesis, more fit athletes show upregulation of mitochondrial-related genes involved in energy metabolism, biogenesis, and Ca2+ cytosolic transport, all of which are necessary to improve aerobic work power, spare glycogen usage, and enhance cardiovascular capacity. The results identify an associative link between endurance performance and gut microbiome composition and gene function, laying the basis for nutritional interventions that could benefit horse athletes.

Emerging evidence indicates that S. agalactiae and Prototheca are two of the most frequent mastitis-causing pathogens in dairy cows, but the extent of their pathogenesis and underlying mechanisms in regulating the immune systems remain elusive. In this study, we performed RNA-Seq-based transcriptome profiling of the milk somatic cell and milk cytometry analysis of healthy cows and cows naturally infected by S. agalactiae or Prototheca. Bacteriological screening on 188 Holstein cows reared in one herd under similar conditions was made to select (i) healthy individuals with no history of mastitis (n=9); ii) infected animals for S. agalactiae (n=11), and iii) infected animals for Prototheca (n=11). Milk production (P

Endurance exercise in horses requires adaptive processes involving physiological, biochemical, and cognitive-behavioral responses in an attempt to regain homeostasis. We hypothesized that the identification of the relationships between blood metabolome, transcriptome, and miRNome during endurance exercise in horses could provide significant insights into the molecular response to endurance exercise. For this reason, the serum metabolome and whole-blood transcriptome and miRNome data were obtained from ten horses before and after a 160 km endurance competition. We obtained a global regulatory network based on 11 unique metabolites, 263 metabolic genes and 5 miRNAs whose expression was significantly altered at T1 (post-endurance competition) relative to T0 (baseline, pre-endurance competition). This network provided new insights into the cross talk between the distinct molecular pathways (e.g. energy and oxygen sensing, oxidative stress, and inflammation) that were not detectable when analyzing single metabolites or transcripts alone. Single metabolites and transcripts were carrying out multiple roles and thus sharing several biochemical pathways. Using a regulatory impact factor metric analysis, this regulatory network was further confirmed at the transcription factor and miRNA levels. In an extended cohort of 31 independent animals, multiple factor analysis confirmed the strong associations between lactate, methylene derivatives, miR-21-5p, miR-16-5p, let-7 family and genes that coded proteins involved in metabolic reactions primarily related to energy, ubiquitin proteasome and lipopolysaccharide immune responses after the endurance competition. Multiple factor analysis also identified potential biomarkers at T0 for an increased likelihood for failure to finish an endurance competition. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to provide a comprehensive and integrated overview of the metabolome, transcriptome, and miRNome co-regulatory networks that may have a key role in regulating the metabolic and immune response to endurance exercise in horses. El ejercicio de resistencia en caballos requiere procesos adaptativos que involucren respuestas fisiológicas, bioquímicas y cognitivo-conductuales en un intento de recuperar la homeostasis. Nuestra hipótesis fue que la identificación de las relaciones entre el metaboloma de la sangre, el transcriptoma y miRNome durante el ejercicio de resistencia en caballos podría proporcionar información importante sobre la respuesta molecular al ejercicio de resistencia. Por esta razón, el metaboloma sérico y los datos de transcriptoma de sangre completa y miRNome se obtuvieron de diez caballos antes y después de una competición de resistencia de 160 km. L'exercici de resistència en cavalls requereix processos adaptatius que involucrin respostes fisiològiques, bioquímiques i cognitiu-conductuals en un intent de recuperar l'homeòstasi. La nostra hipòtesi va ser que la identificació de les relacions entre el metaboloma de la sang, el transcriptoma i miRNome durant l'exercici de resistència en cavalls podria proporcionar informació important sobre la resposta molecular a l'exercici de resistència. Per aquesta raó, el metaboloma sèric i les dades de transcriptoma de sang completa i miRNome es van obtenir de deu cavalls abans i després d'una competició de resistència de 160 km.

Los componentes fitoquímicos como las catequinas del té verde pueden modificar el epigenoma y transcriptoma de las células tumorales. El objetivo del presente estudio es hacer un análisis retrospectivo de lo que se ha publicado hasta la actualidad sobre los mecanismos mediante los cuales el consumo de té verde podría tener un efecto protector en el riesgo de cáncer de mama. En este trabajo, se analizan más de 100 artículos publicados en los últimos 15 años que relacionan el consumo de té verde y la prevalencia y desarrollo del cáncer de mama. Los polifenoles del té verde pueden reducir el riesgo de cáncer de mama mediante la inhibición estrogénica y quimiotóxica en hígado, estimulando la ruta metabólica de conjugación con glutatión, mejorando el síndrome metabólico, además de la regulación del sistema inmune y estrés oxidativo y la inhibición de la metilación del ADN. Pese a que los estudios in vitro y en modelos animales muestran la capacidad potencial de los polifenoles del té verde para actuar frente al riesgo de padecer cáncer de mama, la falta de más estudios clínicos en humanos, impide actualmente poder realizar recomendaciones dietéticas con certitud en pacientes con cáncer de mama.

Introducción: la infertilidad es un problema global en aumento. Se estima que aproximadamente un 15% de las parejas en edad reproductiva tiene dificultades a la hora de concebir. De estas, alrededor de la mitad presentan uno o varios factores masculinos asociados a infertilidad o subfertilidad, aislados o en combinación con problemas de origen femenino. Durante la última década se ha empezado a estudiar la infertilidad desde una perspectiva multifactorial, considerando las interacciones y conexiones entre diferentes situaciones genéticas, epigenéticas, bioquímicas y fisiológicas del paciente.Objetivo: la presente revisión pretende describir mecanismos epigenéticos que pueden ser modulados mediante aspectos nutricionales y que están relacionados con la etiología de la infertilidad masculina y con la herencia transgeneracional de este fenotipo.Material y métodos: se ha realizado una extensa búsqueda de publicaciones científicas en las principales bases de datos electrónicas especializadas: NBCI, Elsevier, Scielo, Scirus y Science Direct.Resultados y conclusión: varios trabajos que muestran la importancia del estado nutricional en la fertilidad del hombre y, más específicamente, la capacidad de los componentes de la dieta para modificar los perfiles epigenéticos que no únicamente pueden afectar a su fertilidad, sino que también pueden ser transmitidos a la descendencia mediante lo que se ha denominado herencia transgeneracional, ocasionándoles problemas de salud diversos entre los que también se hallan problemas en la fertilidad., Introduction: Infertility rate is globally increasing. It is estimated that approximately 15% of couples in reproductive age have troubles conceiving. Half of these couples present with problems related to male infertility or subfertility, alone or in combination with female problems. During the last decade, infertility has been studied from a multifactorial perspective, which includes interactions between different genetics, epigenetics, biochemical and physiological situations of the patients.[br/] Objective: The present review aims to describe epigenetic mechanisms that can be modulated by nutritional aspects and which are related to the aetiology of male infertility and transgenerational inheritance. Materials and method: Extensive search of scientific publications was performed in specialized electronic databases: NBCI, Elsevier, Scielo, Scirus and Science Direct.[br/] Results and conclusion: Several published works have shown the importance of nutritional status in man's fertility, and more specifically, the ability of diet components to modify the epigenetic profiles, affecting not only their fertility, but also increasing the possibility to be transmitted to the offspring. This mechanism has been called transgenerational inheritance.

The increasing number of aging people in our society has led to a rise in the prevalence of some diseases, the ethiological base of which are inflammatory processes or lipid metabolic disorders, inducing cardiovascular risk. Currently, the medicine in the developed countries, due to a patient assistance and pharmaceutical industry pressure, is prone to act in an aggressive way in front of any symptomatology. As a consequence we have a polymedicated elderly population. Up to the present, the negative influence of the diet on several chronic diseases that devastate the western societies is well known, whereas the knowledge about the beneficial effects on health of the Mediterranean diet has grown in parallel (ie., dietetic fibre or olive oil). A particular case are the omega 3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are known by its anti-inflammatory effects, as well as its lipid metabolism regulatory role, consequently reducing the cardiovascular events risk. At the same time, the traditional Eastern kitchen can bring ingredients containing active substances which are being explored for the possible synergies in the prevention and even treatment of some chronic diseases. Therefore, in this review, we address some of the molecular mechanisms of the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and their role in health and diseases benefits. Furthermore, we describe some of the natural ingredients used in the traditional oriental kitchen and their beneficial action, postulating that they could be used to reduce drug charge from the aging patients.

The objective of the present review is to evaluate the possible association between phenolic compounds and cardiovascular disease, proposing that their regular consumption in Western diets could be beneficial for protecting patients against cardiovascular disease. An extensive research of scientific literature was performed in the following electronic specialized databases (PubMed central (PMC)-NBCI, Elsevier Journal, Scielo Spain, Scirus, Science Direct, Web of Science), including studies in animals, cells, and humans, to establish the effect of polyphenols in the prevention and development of cardiovascular disease was conducted. The in vitro , animal and human studies show the potential ability of polyphenols to act against cardiovascular disease as a result of their antioxidant effect and vasodilatation and their capacity to improve lipid profile while reducing the concentration of low-density lipoproteins. Polyphenols consumption in Western diets could be beneficial for protecting patients against cardiovascular disease.

Background Immune traits (ITs) are potentially relevant criteria to characterize an individual's immune response. Our aim was to investigate whether the peripheral blood transcriptome can provide a significant and comprehensive view of IT variations in pig. Results Sixty-day-old Large White pigs classified as extreme for in vitro production of IL2, IL10, IFNγ and TNFα, phagocytosis activity, in vivo CD4⁻/CD8⁺ or TCRγδ + cell counts, and anti-Mycoplasma antibody levels were chosen to perform a blood transcriptome analysis with a porcine generic array enriched with immunity-related genes. Differentially expressed (DE) genes for in vitro production of IL2 and IL10, phagocytosis activity and CD4⁻/CD8⁺ cell counts were identified. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed a significant over-representation of immune response functions. To validate the microarray-based results, a subset of DE genes was confirmed by RT-qPCR. An independent set of 74 animals was used to validate the covariation between gene expression levels and ITs. Five potential gene biomarkers were found for prediction of IL2 (RALGDS), phagocytosis (ALOX12) or CD4⁻/CD8⁺ cell count (GNLY, KLRG1 and CX3CR1). On average, these biomarkers performed with a sensitivity of 79% and a specificity of 86%. Conclusions Our results confirmed that gene expression profiling in blood represents a relevant molecular phenotype to refine ITs in pig and to identify potential biomarkers that can provide new insights into immune response analysis.

Experimental studies in vitro and with animals provide scientifi c evidence that the ingestion of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n3-FA) leads to a reduction in the risk and the growth of colorectal cancer. n3-FA may also increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatment and reduce its side effects. However, the epidemiological studies that link colorectal cancer to the ingestion of n-3 FA, show a wide disparity of results, therefore there is not suffi cient evidence to confi rm that n-3 FA ingestion leads to a reduction in the growth of colorectal cancer. The aim of this study is to presents a review of the recent literature that associates cancer of the colon and n-3 FA. It also attempts to contribute to a better understanding of the reasons for the heterogeneity of the results in the epidemiological studies. Despite there being no conclusive evidence in current studies, the results of these studies have led to the making of dietary recommendations aimed at the improving the survival of patients and also of preventing the cancer. These patient dietary recommendations involve increasing the intake of unsaturated fat acids from blue fish 2 or 3 times per week, or concentrated fish oil to a maximum level of 3 g/day.