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Jing Zhang

Bio: Jing Zhang is an academic researcher from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The author has contributed to research in topics: FGF21 & FGF19. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 6 publications receiving 151 citations.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Observations suggest that a daily intake of 40 g of RS is effective in modulating body fat, SCFAs, early-phase insulin and GLP-1 secretion and the gut microbiota in normal-weight subjects.
Abstract: Resistant starch (RS) has been reported to reduce body fat in obese mice. However, this effect has not been demonstrated in humans. In this study, we tested the effects of RS in 19 volunteers with normal body weights. A randomized, double-blinded and crossover design clinical trial was conducted. The study subjects were given either 40 g high amylose RS2 or energy-matched control starch with three identical diets per day throughout the study. The effect of RS was evaluated by monitoring body fat, glucose metabolism, gut hormones, gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and metabolites. The visceral and subcutaneous fat areas were significantly reduced following RS intake. Acetate and early-phase insulin, C-peptide and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion were increased, and the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels were decreased after the RS intervention. Based on 16S rRNA sequencing, certain gut microbes were significantly decreased after RS supplementation, whereas the genus Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005 showed an increase in abundance. Other potential signatures of the RS intervention included Akkermansia, Ruminococcus_2, Victivallis, and Comamonas. Moreover, the baseline abundance of the genera Streptococcus, Ruminococcus_torques_group, Eubacterium_hallii_group, and Eubacterium_eligens_group was significantly associated with the hormonal and metabolic effects of RS. These observations suggest that a daily intake of 40 g of RS is effective in modulating body fat, SCFAs, early-phase insulin and GLP-1 secretion and the gut microbiota in normal-weight subjects.

80 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Both the pharmacological actions and physiological roles make FGF21 attractive drug candidates for treating metabolic disease, but some questions remain to be answered.
Abstract: Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a member of the fibroblast growth factor family. It actually functions as endocrine hormones but does not regulate cell growth and differentiation. It is demonstrated that FGF21 acts on multiple tissue to coordinate carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, including enhancing insulin sensitivity, decreasing triglyceride concentrations, causing weight loss, ameliorating obesity-associated hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia. Moreover, FGF21 also plays important roles in some physiological processes, such as fasting and feeding, growth hormone axis and thermogenic function of brown adipose tissue. Clinical relevance of FGF21 in humans is still unclear, and the basis and consequences of increased FGF21 in metabolic disease remain to be determined. Both the pharmacological actions and physiological roles make FGF21 attractive drug candidates for treating metabolic disease, but some questions remain to be answered. This article concentrates on recent advances in our understanding of FGF21.

62 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Elevated circulating LCN2 level is an independent predictor of CVD events in men in a population-based cohort and adds to the prognostic value of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, which is currently the most extensively studied biomarker of CVC.
Abstract: Objective— Adipose tissue inflammation and perturbation of adipokine secretion may contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Lipocalin-2 (LCN2), mainly released from adipocytes, has been shown to be positively associated with CVD in cross-sectional studies. We aimed to evaluate the association of LCN2 with CVD involving a population-based cohort recruited from the Shanghai Diabetes Study. Approach and Results— Serum LCN2 levels were measured using ELISA. Independent predictors of CVD development were identified using Cox proportion hazards regression. The predictive performances of the various models were assessed by Kaplan–Meier analysis. At baseline, circulating LCN2 was significantly associated with a cluster of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Baseline LCN2 levels in male subjects who developed CVD events during follow-up were significantly higher than those who did not develop CVD events ( P =0.012). However, such difference was not significant in female subjects. LCN2 was a predictor of CVD in men, which remained statistically significant after adjustment for traditional cardiovascular risk factors (hazard ratio, 1.038 [95% confidence interval, 1.017–1.060]). LCN2 remained significantly associated with incident CVD even after adjustment for renal function, adiponectin, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels. Kaplan–Meier analysis suggested combination of LCN2 and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein might improve the prediction of CVD events in male subjects. Conclusions— Elevated circulating LCN2 level is an independent predictor of CVD events in men in a population-based cohort and adds to the prognostic value of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, which is currently the most extensively studied biomarker of CVD. Measurement of serum LCN2 might be useful for early detection and intervention of CVD.

50 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a metagenomic and targeted metabolomic analysis was conducted in 182 lean and abdominally obese individuals with and without newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and showed that the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila significantly decreases in lean individuals with type 2 diabetes than without T2D.
Abstract: Although obesity occurs in most of the patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), a fraction of patients with T2D are underweight or have normal weight Several studies have linked the gut microbiome to obesity and T2D, but the role of gut microbiota in lean individuals with T2D having unique clinical characteristics remains unclear A metagenomic and targeted metabolomic analysis is conducted in 182 lean and abdominally obese individuals with and without newly diagnosed T2D The abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila (A muciniphila) significantly decreases in lean individuals with T2D than without T2D, but not in the comparison of obese individuals with and without T2D Its abundance correlates inversely with serum 3β-chenodeoxycholic acid (βCDCA) levels and positively with insulin secretion and fibroblast growth factor 15/19 (FGF15/19) concentrations The supplementation with A muciniphila is sufficient to protect mice against high sucrose-induced impairment of glucose intolerance by decreasing βCDCA and increasing insulin secretion and FGF15/19 Furthermore, βCDCA inhibits insulin secretion and FGF15/19 expression These findings suggest that decreased abundance of A muciniphila is linked to the impairment of insulin secretion and glucose homeostasis in lean T2D, paving the way for new therapeutic options for the prevention or treatment of diabetes

49 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: FGF19 plays a key role in coordination of liver bile acid biosynthesis and gallbladder motility, and acts as a regulator of metabolic homeostasis, including strengthening the immune system.

10 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A short-term intervention with an isocaloric low-carbohydrate diet with increased protein content in obese subjects with NAFLD and the resulting alterations in metabolism and the gut microbiota are characterized using a multi-omics approach to highlight the potential of exploring diet-microbiota interactions for treatingNAFLD.

305 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: While LCN2 in the intestinal tract regulates the composition of the gut microbiota and shows anti-inflammatory activities, it also exhibits proinflammatory activities in other experimental settings.
Abstract: Lipocalin-2 (LCN2), also known as neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), is released by various cell types and is an attractive biomarker of inflammation, ischemia, infection, and kidney damage. Both intestinal and metabolic inflammation, as observed in obesity and related disorders, are associated with increased LCN2 synthesis. While LCN2 in the intestinal tract regulates the composition of the gut microbiota and shows anti-inflammatory activities, it also exhibits proinflammatory activities in other experimental settings. In animal models of metabolic inflammation, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), increased LCN2 expression favors inflammation via the recruitment of inflammatory cells, such as neutrophils, and the induction of proinflammatory cytokines. A better understanding of this crucial marker of innate immunity might pave the way for targeting this pathway in future therapies.

213 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
M.A. Costa1
TL;DR: This review proposes to revise and update the main pregnancy-related hormones, addressing their major characteristics, molecular targets, function throughout pregnancy, regulators of their expression and their potential clinical interest.
Abstract: During pregnancy, several tightly coordinated and regulated processes take place to enable proper fetal development and gestational success. The formation and development of the placenta is one of these critical pregnancy events. This organ plays essential roles during gestation, including fetal nourishment, support and protection, gas exchange and production of several hormones and other mediators. Placental hormones are mainly secreted by the syncytiotrophoblast, in a highly and tightly regulated way. These hormones are important for pregnancy establishment and maintenance, exerting autocrine and paracrine effects that regulate decidualization, placental development, angiogenesis, endometrial receptivity, embryo implantation, immunotolerance and fetal development. In addition, because they are released into maternal circulation, the profile of their blood levels throughout pregnancy has been the target of intense research towards finding potential robust and reliable biomarkers to predict and diagnose pregnancy-associated complications. In fact, altered levels of these hormones have been associated with some pathologies, such as chromosomal anomalies or pre-eclampsia. This review proposes to revise and update the main pregnancy-related hormones, addressing their major characteristics, molecular targets, function throughout pregnancy, regulators of their expression and their potential clinical interest.

211 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The diverse signaling mediators and mechanisms adipose tissue utilizes to relay information to other organs are reviewed and recently identified adipokines (proteins, lipids, and metabolites) are discussed and the contributions of noncoding RNAs and EVs to the ever-increasing complexities of adipose tissues inter-organ communication are outlined.

172 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Research on this interaction between resistant starch and the microbiota is using in vitro fermentations, cross-over design clinical trials and mouse studies with isotopically labeled starch, demonstrating that more personalized approaches are needed for finding resistant starch or other fiber that will promote a healthy gut.

147 citations