Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading global cause of morbidity and mortality, placing an escalating burden on health care systems and economies. While the gut microbiota is well recognized in atherosclerosis and cardiometabolic disorders, its influence on myocardial injury, repair, and regeneration is only beginning to emerge. Growing evidence reveals that gut microbes and their metabolites regulate myocardial health through intricate cross-organ networks, including the gut-brain-heart, gut-liver-heart, and gut-lung-heart axes. These findings suggest that the heart plays a key role in systemic host-microbe communication. Advances in metagenomics, metabolomics, and single-cell transcriptomics are now defining the molecular and cellular pathways by which microbial metabolites modulate immune tone, endothelial integrity, metabolic resilience, and cardiomyocyte survival. Studies in gnotobiotic models have established causal links between specific microbial taxa and myocardial outcomes while illuminating their roles in fibrosis resolution, angiogenesis, and regeneration. In this review, we synthesize current knowledge on the bidirectional gut-heart dialogue, emphasizing immunometabolic signaling, cross-organ integration, and regenerative mechanisms. We propose that coupling high-resolution multiomics with mechanistic modeling in controlled microbial systems will be pivotal for next-generation, microbiota-informed diagnostics, and therapeutics. We explore the emerging role of the gut-myocardium axis as both a driver of disease and as a promising modifiable therapeutic target and highlight a new frontier in precision cardiovascular medicine, with the potential to transform strategies for prevention, repair, and tissue regeneration.

BackgroundChildhood overweight or obesity has become one of the world’s most concerning health problems. Teleinterventions that deliver health information and behavioral strategies through telephone calls, websites, apps, newsletters, or emails can help manage children’s weight-related conditions.ObjectiveThis study aimed to systematically evaluate the effects of teleinterventions versus nonteleinterventions on anthropometric outcomes in children with overweight or obesity.MethodsRandomized controlled trials investigating weight control using teleinterventions in children with overweight or obesity published in the Cochrane Library (including CENTRAL), Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science databases were selected. The outcomes included changes in BMI, BMI z score, body fat, and waist circumference. Two reviewers independently performed evidence selection, data extraction, and risk of bias evaluation. Data were pooled using a random-effects model. Results were presented as the mean difference (MD) with 95% CI.ResultsA total of 26 randomized controlled trials involving 2866 children living with overweight or obesity met the eligibility criteria. The pooled results showed that teleinterventions significantly reduced the BMI z score between the fourth and sixth months (MD −0.15, 95% CI −0.23 to −0.08; I2=94%) and between the seventh and twelfth months (MD −0.19, 95% CI −0.34 to −0.03; I2=98%). Similarly, BMI (MD −2.48, 95% CI −4.15 to −0.82; I2=96%) and waist circumference (MD −0.59, 95% CI −1.05 to −0.14; I2=80%) were significantly reduced between the fourth and the sixth months but were nonsignificant between the seventh and twelfth months. Moreover, teleinterventions with family involvement or professional interaction between the fourth and the sixth months provided significant benefits, including reductions in BMI z score (MD −0.16, 95% CI −0.23 to −0.09; I2=96% and MD −0.13, 95% CI −0.20 to −0.05; I2=96%) and BMI (MD −2.50, 95% CI −4.32 to −0.69; I2=96% and MD −2.48, 95% CI −4.15 to −0.82; I2=96%). In addition, teleinterventions with family involvement could significantly reduce waist circumference between the fourth and sixth months (MD −0.75, 95% CI −1.25 to −0.25; I2=52%). Teleinterventions led to a significant reduction in waist circumference in children between the fourth and sixth months (MD −0.88, 95% CI −1.45 to −0.30; I2=75%). However, teleinterventions did not lead to a significant reduction in body fat among children or adolescents with overweight or obesity, even when family members were involved in the intervention.ConclusionsTeleinterventions, particularly when incorporating family engagement and structured professional interaction, yielded significant short- to medium-term improvements in weight control for children and adolescents living with overweight or obesity compared to nonteleinterventions. These findings highlight the promising role of telemedicine as a valuable modality for addressing the public health challenge of childhood obesity.

Sexual dimorphism has been implied to certain human physiology and diseases. This topic has recently garnered more attention, highlighting individual variances in precision medicine and individualized clinical trials. It is recognized that individual gene expression variations in males and females could have profound physiological impacts. Tissue specific expression profiles determine protein-coding gene activities and contribute additional physiological variations. Therefore, tissue specific gene expression profiles should be comprehensively analyzed among individual human subjects. In this report, we developed a user-friendly bioinformatic tool to visualize gene expression levels and variances across tissue samples, aiming to facilitate research into potential sexual dimorphism genes. The Gini coefficient metric was used with the most recent GTEx V10 datasets to examine variations in the expression profiles of human protein-coding genes across 43 tissue subtypes. Next, these variations were specifically evaluated using the Gini coefficient index for male and female individuals across all tissue subtypes. Our web-based visualization tool generated tissue specific expression profiles for individual male and female samples. It concurrently illustrates expression levels and variation comparisons between male and female groups across all tissue subtypes. Although most protein-coding genes had similar expression variation patterns between the two sexes, several genes exhibited distinct variations for some tissue subtypes, as indicated by their significant Z-scores in Gini index disparities. Users can explore differentially expressed protein-coding genes across tissue subtypes or search for genes of interest in the Tissue Prominent Sexual Dimorphism Gene database (https://tpsdg.ibms.sinica.edu.tw). This database can be employed to visualize expression levels and variations among individual samples within specific tissues, thereby facilitating future research into divergently expressed protein-coding genes in the human population.

Background: Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a potent green tea polyphenol, possesses significant therapeutic potential, but its clinical application is limited by poor gastrointestinal stability and low oral bioavailability. To address this, a novel herbal nanomedicine-based delivery system was developed utilizing D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS) and Poloxamer 407. Objectives: This study aims to develop and characterize EGCG-loaded TPGS/Poloxamer 407 micelles, evaluating their physicochemical properties, storage stability, in vitro drug release profile, in vivo oral bioavailability, and preliminary tolerability observation. Methods: The micelles were prepared using the film hydration method followed by lyophilization. Results: The optimized 2:2 TPGS-to-poloxamer 407 weight ratio yielded EGCG-loaded micelles, displaying a mean particle size of 15.4 nm, a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.16, a zeta potential of −17.7 mV, an encapsulation efficiency of 82.7%, and a drug loading capacity of 7.6%. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) was determined to be 0.00125% w/v. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the micelles’ uniform spherical morphology. In vitro release studies demonstrated a sustained release profile in both simulated gastric and intestinal fluids. EGCG formulation remained stable for at least six months when stored at 4 °C. No adverse clinical signs were noted during the 28-day tolerability observation. In vivo pharmacokinetic evaluation in mice revealed a significant elevation in oral bioavailability, achieving a 2.27-fold increase in area under the curve (AUC) and a 1.8-fold increase in peak plasma concentration (Cmax) compared to free EGCG. Conclusions: Collectively, these findings underscore the potential of the TPGS/poloxamer 407-based micelle system as a promising oral delivery platform for EGCG, enhancing its stability and pharmacokinetic performance.

This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) combined with computational tools for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) carrier screening and disease diagnosis in Taiwan. WGS data from 1492 Taiwan Biobank participants and two patients with SMA were analysed to determine the SMN1 and SMN2 copy numbers using Illumina DRAGEN SMN Caller and validated by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). Among 1480 samples analysed, 23 SMA carriers were identified, yielding a carrier frequency of 1.55%. MLPA confirmed the accuracy of SMN1 and SMN2 copy number results detected using WGS. Both patients with SMA presented compound heterozygous variants with one SMN1 copy loss and the other SMN1 variant, specifically SMN1,c.815A>G, and SMN1,c.81+2_81+3delTG, respectively. Taken together, combining WGS with advanced bioinformatics tools is a feasible and promising approach for SMA carrier screening and disease diagnosis.

Correction to: Nature Communicationshttps://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12675, published online 7 September 2016 In this article the author name Rikki Cannioto was incorrectly written as Rikki Canniotto. The original article has been corrected.