Five‐week endurance exercise significantly decreased the relative abundance of Clostridium difficile and increased the relative abundance of Oscillospira in elderly men. PICRUSt analysis revealed tha...

Context: Age-related hepatic fat accumulation increases the risk of cardiometabolic diseases, and the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 21-resistant state caused by fatty liver underlies the pathogenesis of these diseases. Objective: Previous studies suggested that a higher level of cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with both lower hepatic fat content and serum FGF21 levels; however, the effect of endurance exercise on hepatic fat content and serum FGF21 concentration has not been studied. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate whether endurance exercise reduced hepatic fat content and serum FGF21 levels. Design: Randomized crossover trial. Setting: Institutional practice. Patients: Thirty-three elderly Japanese men. Intervention: A 5-week endurance exercise program that comprised of three cycle ergometer sessions per week. Main Outcome Measures: Hepatic fat content was assessed by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and serum FGF21 level was determined by ELISA. Results: A 5-week endurance exercise pro...

Metagenomic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene is generally performed to examine the diversity and abundance of commensal bacteria in feces, which is now recognized to be associated with human health and diseases. Guanidine thiocyanate (GuSCN) solution is used as a less onerous way compared with a frozen method to transport and stock fecal samples at room temperature for DNA analysis; however, optimal methods to measure fecal bacterial composition in GuSCN solution remain to be investigated. Here, we examined the influence of various factors such as pretreatment (e.g., removing GuSCN solution and washing feces with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) before mechanical lysis), fecal concentration in the GuSCN solution, storage time, and position of fecal subsampling on the 16S rRNA-based analysis of fecal bacteria in GuSCN solution. We found that pretreatment and fecal concentration affected the bacterial composition, and a little change was noted with subsampling position. Based on these results, we propose a basic protocol, including fecal sampling, sample storage, and DNA extraction, for the 16S rRNA-based analysis of bacterial composition in feces suspended in GuSCN solution.

Rapid advances in technologies in the field of genomics such as high throughput DNA sequencing, big data processing by machine learning algorithms and gene-editing techniques are expected to make precision medicine and gene-therapy a greater reality. However, this development will raise many important new issues, including ethical, moral, social and privacy issues. The field of exercise genomics has also advanced by incorporating these innovative technologies. There is therefore an urgent need for guiding references for sport and exercise genomics to allow the necessary advancements in this field of sport and exercise medicine, while protecting athletes from any invasion of privacy and misuse of their genomic information. Here, we update a previous consensus and develop a guiding reference for sport and exercise genomics based on a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. This SWOT analysis and the developed guiding reference highlight the need for scientists/clinicians to be well-versed in ethics and data protection policy to advance sport and exercise genomics without compromising the privacy of athletes and the efforts of international sports federations. Conducting research based on the present guiding reference will mitigate to a great extent the risks brought about by inappropriate use of genomic information and allow further development of sport and exercise genomics in accordance with best ethical standards and international data protection principles and policies. This guiding reference should regularly be updated on the basis of new information emerging from the area of sport and exercise medicine as well as from the developments and challenges in genomics of health and disease in general in order to best protect the athletes, patients and all other relevant stakeholders.

The gut microbiota is closely related to good health; thus, there have been extensive efforts dedicated to improving health by controlling the gut microbial environment. Probiotics and prebiotics are being developed to support a healthier intestinal environment. However, much work remains to be performed to provide effective solutions to overcome individual differences in the gut microbial community. This study examined the importance of nutrients, other than dietary fiber, on the survival of gut bacteria in high-health-conscious populations. We found that vitamin B1, which is an essential nutrient for humans, had a significant effect on the survival and competition of bacteria in the symbiotic gut microbiota. In particular, sufficient dietary vitamin B1 intake affects the relative abundance of Ruminococcaceae, and these bacteria have proven to require dietary vitamin B1 because they lack the de novo vitamin B1 synthetic pathway. Moreover, we demonstrated that vitamin B1 is involved in the production of butyrate, along with the amount of acetate in the intestinal environment. We established the causality of possible associations and obtained mechanical insight, through in vivo murine experiments and in silico pathway analyses. These findings serve as a reference to support the development of methods to establish optimal intestinal environment conditions for healthy lifestyles.

Context Regular exercise or high physical activity levels are associated with higher serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations; however, the effect of acute exercise on serum 25(OH)D concentrations remains unclear. Objective We aimed to clarify whether acute endurance exercise has a direct effect on the circulating 25(OH)D concentrations in young adults. Setting Institutional practice. Design Exercise intervention trial. Patients Twenty young active adults (male, n = 10; female, n = 10). Interventions Participants were asked to perform a cycling exercise for 30 min at 70% maximal oxygen uptake. Main outcome measures The serum concentrations of 25(OH)D and other blood parameters were assessed before exercise and at 0 h, 0.5 h, 1 h, 3 h, and 24 h after exercise. Results The serum 25(OH)D concentrations were significantly increased not only at 0 h (P < 0.01), 1 h (P < 0.05), and 3 h (P < 0.01) after exercise, but they were also increased at 24 h (P < 0.05) after acute endurance exercise in young adults. A significant gender × time interaction effect was observed (P <0.05), and the incremental area under the curve for the 25(OH)D concentrations were significantly higher in men than in the women (P < 0.01). Conclusions There is a direct effect of endurance exercise on serum 25(OH)D concentrations. In addition, gender disparity was observed in the serum 25(OH)D response to acute endurance exercise, and the increase in 25(OH)D concentrations was greater in men than in women.