Matching Items (6)
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- All Subjects: Bone
- All Subjects: Microbiome
- Creators: Whisner, Corrie
- Resource Type: Text
Description
Osteoporosis is a medical condition that leads to decreased bone mineral density, resulting in increased fracture risk.1 Research regarding the relationship between sleep and bone mass is limited and has primarily been studied in elderly adults. While this population is most affected by osteoporosis, adolescents are the most proactive population in terms of prevention. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between sleep efficiency and serum osteocalcin in college-aged individuals as a means of osteoporosis prevention. Thirty participants ages 18-25 years (22 females, 8 males) at Arizona State University were involved in this cross-sectional study. Data were collected during one week via self-recorded sleep diaries, quantitative ActiWatch, DEXA imaging, and serum blood draws to measure the bone biomarker osteocalcin. Three participants were excluded from the study as outliers. The median (IQR) for osteocalcin measured by ELISA was 11.6 (9.7, 14.5) ng/mL. The average sleep efficiency measured by actigraphy was 88.3% ± 3.0%. Regression models of sleep efficiency and osteocalcin concentration were not statistically significant. While the addition of covariates helped explain more of the variation in serum osteocalcin concentration, the results remained insignificant. There was a trend between osteocalcin and age, suggesting that as age increases, osteocalcin decreases. This was a limited study, and further investigation regarding the relationship between sleep efficiency and osteocalcin is warranted.
ContributorsMarsh, Courtney Nicole (Author) / Whisner, Corrie (Thesis director) / Mahmood, Tara (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The distribution and transport of mercury in the human body are poorly constrained. For instance, the long-term persistence and intra-individual distribution of mercury in bones from dental amalgams or environmental exposure have not been studied. A robust method validated for accuracy and precision specifically for mercury in human bones would facilitate studies of mercury in anthropological, forensic, and medical studies. I present a highly precise, accurate mercury concentration analytical method targeted to human bone samples. This method uses commercially commonly available and reliable instruments that are not limited to elemental Hg analysis. This method requires significantly lower sample amounts than existing methods because it has a much lower limit of detection compared to the best mercury analyzers on the market and other analytical methods. With the low limit of detection achieved, this mercury concentration protocol is an excellent fit for studies with a limited amount of samples for destructive analysis. I then use this method to analyze the mercury concentration distribution in modern skeletal collections provided by three U.S. anthropological research facilities. Mercury concentration and distribution were analyzed from 35 donors’ skeletons with 18 different skeletal elements (bones) per donor to evaluate both the intra-individual and inter-individual variation in mercury concentration. Considered factors include geological differences in decomposition sites and the presence of dental amalgam filling. Geological differences in decomposition sites did not statistically affect the mercury concentration in the donor’s skeleton. The presence of dental amalgam significantly affected the inter-individual and intra-individual mercury concentration variation in donors’ skeletal samples. Individuals who had dental amalgam had significantly higher mercury concentration in their skeleton compared to individuals who did not have dental amalgam (p-value <0.01). Mercury concentration in the mandible, occipital bone, patella, and proximal phalanx (foot) was significantly affected by the presence of dental amalgam.
ContributorsRen, Yi (Author) / Gordon, Gwyneth GG (Thesis advisor) / Anbar, Ariel AD (Thesis advisor) / Shock, Everett ES (Committee member) / Knudson, Kelly KJ (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Obesity increases the risk for colorectal cancer. In mice, a pro-obesity high-fat-diet (HFD) leads to an intestinal phenotype characterized by enhanced proliferation, numbers, function and tumor-initiating capacity of stem cells, the cell-of-origin for many intestinal cancers. This phenotype is driven by a lipid metabolism program facilitated by an intrinsic Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor/Fatty Acid Oxidation (PPAR/FAO) axis that senses and utilizes cellular lipids. However, the microbiome is a known regulator of lipid metabolism in the gut, but little is understood about how the gut commensals affect access to the lipids and alter stem cell function. Here, we use the long term HFD-fed mouse model to analyze the phenotypic changes in the intestinal stem cells (ISCs) after depletion of the gut microbiota. We find that the loss of the gut microbiome after four weeks of antibiotic treatment imposes significant changes in ISC function leading to reduced HFD ISC regenerative potential. These results indicate that the gut microbiome plays a crucial role in the lipid metabolic process which regulates and maintains the HFD ISC phenotype, and further suggests that the gut microbiome may augment the diet-induced tumor initiating capacity by altering the stem cell function.
ContributorsSantos Molina, Pablo (Author) / Mana, Miyeko (Thesis director) / Whisner, Corrie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, Sch (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
The prevalence of obesity and obesity-related disorders have increased world-wide. In the last decade, the intestinal microbiome has become a major indicator of metabolic and gastrointestinal health. Previous research has shown that high-fat diet (HFD) consumption can alter the microbial composition of the gut by increasing the abundance of gram-positive bacteria associated with the onset of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Although, the most common form of obesity and metabolic syndrome intervention is exercise and diet, these recommendations may not improve severe cases of obesity. Thus, an important relevance of my project was to investigate whether the intake of an organometallic complex (OMC) would prevent the onset of metabolic and gastrointestinal complications associated with high-fat diet intake. I hypothesized that the consumption of a HFD for 6 weeks would promote the development of metabolic and gastrointestinal disease risk factors. Next, it was hypothesized that OMC treatment would decrease metabolic risk factors by improving insulin sensitivity and decreasing weight gain. Finally, I hypothesized that HFD-intake would increase the abundance of gram-positive bacteria associated with gastrointestinal disease. My preliminary data investigated the effects of a 6-week HFD on the development of hepatic steatosis, intestinal permeability and inflammation in male Sprague Dawley rats. I found that a 6-week HFD increases hepatic triglyceride concentrations, plasma endotoxins and promotes the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the cecum wall. I then investigated whether OMC treatment could prevent metabolic risk factors in male Sprague-Dawley rats fed a HFD for 10 weeks and found that OMC can mitigate risk factors such hyperglycemia, liver disease, impaired endothelial function, and inflammation. Lastly, I investigated the effects of a 10-week HFD on the gastrointestinal system and found an increase in liver triglycerides and free glycerol and alterations of the distal gut microbiome. My results support the hypothesis that a HFD can promote metabolic risk factors, alter the gut microbiome and increase systemic inflammation and that OMC treatment may help mitigate some of these effects. Together, these studies are among the first to demonstrate the effects of a soil-derived compound on metabolic complications. Additionally, these conclusions also provide an essential basis for future gastrointestinal and microbiome studies of OMC treatment.
ContributorsCrawford, Meli'sa Shaunte (Author) / Sweazea, Karen L (Thesis advisor) / Deviche, Pierre (Thesis advisor) / Al-Nakkash, Layla (Committee member) / Whisner, Corrie (Committee member) / Hyatt, Jon-Philippe (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
College students are a niche of young adults, characterized by abnormal sleeping habits and inactive lifestyles. Many students entering college are as young as 18 years old and graduate by 22 years old, a window of time in which their bones are still accruing mineral. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine whether sleep patterns and physical activity observed in college students (N= 52) 18-25 years old at Arizona State University influenced bone biomarkers, osteocalcin (OC) and N-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen (NTX-1) concentrations. Students completed various dietary and health history questionnaires including the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form. Students wore an actigraphy watch for 7 consecutive nights to record sleep events including total sleep time, sleep onset latency and wake after sleep onset. Total sleep time had a significant, negative correlation with OC (r = -0.298, p-value =0.036) while sleep onset latency had a significant, positive correlation with NTX-1 serum concentration (r = 0.293, p-value = 0.037). Despite correlational findings, only sleep percent was found to be significant (beta coefficient = 0.271 p-value = 0.788) among all the sleep components assessed, after adjusting for gender, race, BMI and calcium intake in multivariate regression models. Physical activity alone was not associated with either bone biomarker. Physical activity*sleep onset latency interactions were significantly correlated with osteocalcin (r = 0.308, p-value =0.006) and NTX-1 (r = 0.286, p-value = 0.042) serum concentrations. Sleep percent*physical activity interactions were significantly correlated with osteocalcin (r = 0.280, p-value = 0.049) but not with NTX-1 serum concentrations. Interaction effects were no longer significant after adjusting for covariates in the regression models. While sleep percent was a significant component in the regression model for NTX-1, it was not clinically significant. Overall, sleep patterns and physical activity did not explain OC and NTX-1 serum concentrations in college students 18-25 years old. Future studies may need to consider objective physical activity devices including accelerometers to measure activity levels. At this time, college students should review sleep and physical activity recommendations to ensure optimal healthy habits are practiced.
ContributorsMahmood, Tara Nabil (Author) / Whisner, Corrie (Thesis advisor) / Dickinson, Jared (Committee member) / Petrov, Megan (Committee member) / Adams, Marc (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
College weight gain and obesity are significant problems impacting our society, leading to a considerable number of comorbidities during and after college. Gut microbiota are increasingly recognized for their role in obesity and weight gain. Currently, research exploring the gut microbiome and its associations with dietary intake and body mass index (BMI) is limited among this population. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess associations between the gut microbiome, BMI, and dietary intake in a population of healthy college students living in two dorms at Arizona State University (n=90). Cross-sectional analyses were undertaken including 24-hour dietary recalls and anthropometrics (height, weight and BMI). High throughput Bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequencing of fecal samples was performed to quantify the gut microbiome and analyses were performed at phyla and family levels. Within this population, the mean BMI was 24.4 ± 5.3 kg/m2 and mean caloric intake was 1684 ± 947 kcals/day. Bacterial community analysis revealed that there were four predominant phyla and 12 predominant families accounting for 99.3% and 97.1% of overall microbial communities, respectively. Results of this study suggested that a significant association occurred between one principal component (impacted most by 22 microbial genera primarily within Firmicutes) and BMI (R2=0.053, p=0.0301). No significant correlations or group differences were observed when assessing the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio in relation to BMI or habitual dietary intake. These results provide a basis for gut microbiome research in college populations. Although, findings suggest that groups of microbial genera may be most influential in obesity, further longitudinal research is necessary to more accurately describe these associations over me. Findings from future research may be used to develop interventions to shift the gut microbiome to help moderate or prevent excess weight gain during this important life stage.
ContributorsHotz, Ricci-Lee (Author) / Whisner, Corrie (Thesis advisor) / Bruening, Meredith (Committee member) / Vega-Lopez, Sonia (Committee member) / Lespron, Christy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016