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Background: The unique ability of brown adipocytes to increase metabolic rate suggests that they could be targeted as an obesity treatment. Objective: The objective of the study was to search for new dietary factors that may enhance brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity. Methods: The study group comprised 28 healthy non-smoking males, aged 21–42 years old. All volunteers underwent a physical examination and a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (75g-OGTT). Serum atrial and brain natriuretic peptide (ANP, BNP), PRD1-BF1-RIZ1 homologous domain containing 16 (PRDM16) and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) measurements were taken, and 3-day food intake diaries were completed. Body composition measurements were assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanning and bioimpedance methods. An fluorodeoxyglucose-18 (FDG-18) uptake in BAT was assessed by positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance (PET/MR) in all participants after 2 h cold exposure. The results were adjusted for age, daily energy intake, and DXA lean mass. Results: Subjects with detectable BAT (BAT(+)) were characterized by a higher percentage of energy obtained from dietary protein and fat and higher muscle mass (p = 0.01, p = 0.02 and p = 0.04, respectively). In the BAT(+) group, animal protein intake was positively associated (p= 0.04), whereas the plant protein intake negatively correlated with BAT activity (p = 0.03). Additionally, the presence of BAT was inversely associated with BNP concentration in the 2 h of cold exposure (p = 0.002). Conclusion: The outcomes of our study suggest that different macronutrient consumption may be a new way to modulate BAT activity leading to weight reduction.

Risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) consist of a combination of an unhealthy, imbalanced diet and genetic factors that may interact with each other. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the prospero homeobox 1 (PROX1) gene is a strong genetic susceptibility factor for this metabolic disorder and impaired β-cell function. As the role of this gene in T2DM development remains unclear, novel approaches are needed to advance the understanding of the mechanisms of T2DM development. Therefore, in this study, for the first time, postprandial changes in plasma metabolites were analysed by GC–MS in nondiabetic men with different PROX1 genotypes up to 5 years prior to prediabetes appearance. Eighteen contestants (12 with high risk (HR) and 6 with low risk (LR) genotype) participated in high-carbohydrate (HC) and normo-carbohydrate (NC) meal-challenge tests. Our study concluded that both meal-challenge tests provoked changes in 15 plasma metabolites (amino acids, carbohydrates, fatty acids and others) in HR, but not LR genotype carriers. Postprandial changes in the levels of some of the detected metabolites may be a source of potential specific early disturbances possibly associated with the future development of T2DM. Thus, accurate determination of these metabolites can be important for the early diagnosis of this metabolic disease.

Adipose tissue has been the subject of research for a very long time. Many studies perform a comprehensive analysis of different types of adipose tissue with an emphasis on brown adipose tissue. Mass spectrometry-based approaches are particularly useful in the exploration not only of the metabolic composition of adipose tissue but also its function. In the presented review, a complex and critical overview of publications devoted to the analysis of adipose tissue by means of mass spectrometry was performed. Detailed investigation of analytical aspects related to either untargeted or targeted analysis of adipose tissue was performed, leading to the formation of a collection of hints at the available analytical methods. Moreover, a profound analysis of the metabolic composition of brown adipose tissue was performed. Brown adipose tissue metabolome was characterized on structural and functional levels, providing information about its exact metabolic composition but also connecting these molecules and placing them into biochemical pathways. All our work resulted in a very broad picture of the analysis of adipose tissue, starting from the analytical aspects and finishing on the current knowledge about its composition.

Introduction: Pancreatic cancer is characterized by its aggressiveness and poor prognosis. Furthermore, mortality is one of the highest among all types of cancers. It has been observed that the expression of Fascin-1 (the actin-bundling protein which enables the motility of cells) is higher in cancer cells and is correlated with invasiveness and metastasis. Purpose: To investigate the expression of Fascin-1 in histopathological specimens from patients treated for pancreatic cancer and its relationship with histopathological parameters. Materials and methods: The study was performed on a group of 52 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the Medical University of Bialystok Clinical Hospital. The expression of Fascin-1 was evaluated in tissue samples using the immunohistochemical method and was rated as “present” or “absent”. The analysis of histopathological parameters was performed in correlation with Fascin-1 expression. Results: Fascin-1 expression was observed in the cytoplasm of cancer cells in 42/52 cases (80.8%). Fascin-1 expression occurred more frequently among patients with lymph node metastases (92.6%) than without this type of metastases (68%) (p=0.024). Likewise, the expression of the investigated protein was observed more often with the presence of distant metastases (100%) than without those metastases (74.4%) (p=0.043). There were no statistically significant differences about age, sex, histological type of cancer, grade of histological differentiation, desmoplasia, inflammatory infiltration, foci of hemorrhage, necrosis, and MVD. Conclusion: The expression of Fasicn-1 is correlated with the presence of metastases and can be a useful marker of pancreatic cancer involvement.

Introduction. Fascins are a group of proteins taking part in the maintenance of a proper structure of the cellular cytoskeleton. Fascin-1 is an actin-bundling protein present in neurons, fibroblasts, endothelial, smooth muscle, dendritic and mesenchymal cells whereas lack of its expression is characteristic of epithelial cells. Fascin-1 overexpression can be observed in neoplastic cells. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the expression of Fascin-1 protein in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and to analyze associations between Fascin-1 ex­pression and clinical-pathological parameters. Material and methods. The study material included postoperative samples (tumor and unchanged colon tissue) ob­tained from 51 CRC patients. Fascin-1 expression was assessed in the paraffin sections by immunohistochemistry. Results. A statistically significant correlation was found between the histological type of cancer and the expres­sion of Fascin-1 (p = 0.012). Increased expression of Fascin-1 in CRC was more frequent in adenocarcinoma type without the mucosal component with a better prognosis and decreased expression of this protein correlated with infiltration of cancer cells to blood and lymphatic vessels (p = 0.038). Conclusions. Our findings indicate a potential role of Fascin-1 in the pathogenesis of colon cancer; however, further studies will show whether this protein plays a role in the infiltration of colorectal cancer cells.

The major risk factors of T2DM (type 2 diabetes mellitus) development are still under investigation. We evaluate the possible risk factors associated with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in adult subjects during a five-year prospective cohort study. We recruited 1160 subjects who underwent oral glucose tolerance test, anthropometric measurements, and body composition and body fat distribution analysis at a baseline visit and again at follow-up after approximately five years. The conclusions of this study are based on observation of 219 subjects who attended both the first and follow-up visits. The fasting serum insulin was measured, and HOMA-IR (homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance) was calculated. During the follow-up period, T2DM was diagnosed in 7.4% of participants, impaired fasting glucose in 37.7%, and impaired glucose tolerance in 9.3%. Logistic regression models, adjusted for age, were constructed. The changes in glucose concentration, visceral fat tissue content, insulin resistance, and %loss of muscle mass were chosen as the potential predictors for T2DM development. A set of independent variables was extracted. The constructed feature set comprised change in HOMA-IR (OR (odds ratio) = 1.01, p &lt, 0.01) and change in %loss of muscle mass (OR = 0.84, p &lt, 0.03). With an aim to validate the prediction capability using the selected attributes, a support vector machine classifier and leave-one-out cross-validation procedure was applied, yielding 92.78% classification accuracy. Our results show the correlation between the %loss of muscle mass and T2DM development in adults, independent of changes in insulin resistance.