Tomomi Komura

Abstract LPS-induced inflammation triggers metabolic reprogramming and nutritional decline. This study aimed to identify biomarkers for inflammatory and nutritional stress using GC-MS/MS-based metabolomic profiling. Male mice received LPS to induce systemic inflammation. Evaluations included liver histology (H&E, Gr-1), blood biochemistry, and metabolomic analysis of liver and plasma. LPS administration significantly increased hepatic neutrophil infiltration and liver enzymes, while decreasing nutritional markers (total protein, albumin, LDL-cholesterol). In the liver, LPS increased glycolytic and TCA cycle intermediates (e.g. 3-phosphoglycerate, citric acid) but decreased amino acids, including glutamine and tryptophan. Plasma analysis showed significant decreases in tryptophan, glucose, and succinic acid. Notably, tryptophan was significantly reduced in both compartments. Our findings demonstrate that tryptophan serves as a robust biomarker for monitoring the intersection of inflammatory response and nutritional status, reflecting synchronized metabolic shifts in the liver and plasma.

In Parkinson's disease (PD), α–synuclein (αSyn) accumulation drives neuropathological progression, establishing it as a potential therapeutic target. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) provide various health benefits to the host and are expected to offer protective effects on neurological functions through the brain–gut connection, as indicated by animal studies. However, the protective effects of LAB against αSyn are not well understood. We investigated whether LAB feeding could reduce αSyn accumulation and improve mobility in transgenicCaenorhabditis elegans, an invertebrate model organism that expresses human αSyn in muscle. Among the nine screened strains,Pediococcus pentosaceussuppressed αSyn accumulation and the decrease in bending counts, a locomotion index in nematodes. Additionally, feedingP. pentosaceustoOryzias latipes(medaka), a vertebrate model organism, alleviated PD–like behavioral defects induced by 1–methyl–4–phenyl–1,2,3,6–tetrahydropyridine.P. pentosaseusacts as a probiotic against PD, and PD model worms and medaka can be used to screen effective LAB for prevention.

Several approaches for regulating health and disease by intestinal bacteria, bacteria isolated from food products, and food factors have been investigated; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying the interactions between these bacteria and their hosts are still unknown. Caenorhabditis elegans is a crucial model for exploring various biological phenomena and has been used in studying intestinal bacteria, mainly in the field of antiaging, anti-amyloid β activity in Alzheimer's disease, and its interaction to hosts. The nematode model is expected to be increasingly utilized for elucidating the interactions of beneficial bacteria or food factors with hosts. Herein, we review anti-aging and suppression of amyloid-β expression in a C. elegans model fed lactic acid bacteria, and our developed methods for orally administering food factors and assessing advanced glycation end products as an aging indicator.