Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0240066 (iron deficiency)
 7,156 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Many factors are involved in infants' health; one of the most important of them may be the kind of early feeding. Recent evidences suggest that breastfeeding, in addition to its well-established beneficial effects during lactation period, provides also beneficial long-term effects, like the protection against infectious and immune-related diseases, a better cognitive development, a decreased risk of metabolic syndrome and of obesity. It has been reported that the early feeding mode affects growth and body composition and it could be considered a critical factor for metabolic development. Human milk is a source of different nutrients and bioactive factors, especially hormones and growth factors like leptin, ghrelin, insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) playing a role in food intake regulation, metabolism and body composition. In particular breast milk leptin may provide a physiological explanation for a number of advantages seen in reaching proper growth and energy balance in breast-fed infants compared with formula fed ones. Etiopathogenesis and therapeutic approach in common minor gastrointestinal diseases in infants are important subject of study for pediatricians. Colic, constipation and regurgitation can be considered feeding problems and they might benefit from dietary treatment. Regarding infantile colic, dietary modifications seem to be more suitable than pharmacological treatment in resolving symptoms; also prebiotics and probiotics are useful for this aim. The occurence of constipation is related to the kind of feeding and it is lower in breastfed infants. Moreover formulas with probiotics and beta-palmitic acid could promote a regression of symptoms. A dietary approach may be useful also in regurgitation. Anyway we have to remember that breastfeeding require a supplementation of vitamin D and K for some months and a correct weaning program is needed from the 5th-6th months of life to prevent iron deficiency.
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PMID:[Breast milk: biological constituents for health and well-being in infancy]. 1726 42

Acyl carrier proteins (ACPs) are a group of small acidic proteins functioning as important cofactors in the de novo synthesis of fatty acids. In Arabidopsis, ACPs are encoded by a small gene family comprising five plastid members, AtACP1 to AtACP5, and three mitochondrial members. The biological functions and the transcriptional responses to abiotic stresses of most AtACPs have yet to be elucidated. The present study extends previous findings and provides new knowledge on the function of ACPs by examining the responses of AtACP-encoding genes to several abiotic stresses and, in particular, the role of AtACP5 in the adaptation to salt stress. Phylogenetic analysis showed that AtACP1, AtACP2, AtACP3, and AtACP5 can be classified into one group and separated from a group comprising AtACP4 and ACP homologs from related species. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that the expression of AtACP1, AtACP2, and AtACP3 was induced by drought. Both iron deficiency and nitrogen starvation resulted in down-regulation of AtACP4. The most pronounced response was observed for AtACP5, the expression of which was dramatically decreased by salt stress. Knock-out of AtACP5 showed increased sensitivity to NaCl stress, whereas transgenic lines overexpressing AtACP5 displayed increased salt tolerance relative to the wild-type. Overexpression of AtACP5 further led to an altered composition of fatty acids, mainly a decrease of oleic acid (C18:1) and an increase of palmitic acid (C16:0), and to a lower Na+/K+ ratio when compared to the salt stressed wild-type. The comprehensive transcriptional information on the small plastid AtACP gene family in response to various abiotic stresses and the further investigation of the AtACP5 indicate that AtACP5 might be critical for salt tolerance through alterations of the composition of fatty acids and, subsequently, the Na+/K+ ratio.
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PMID:Genes of ACYL CARRIER PROTEIN Family Show Different Expression Profiles and Overexpression of ACYL CARRIER PROTEIN 5 Modulates Fatty Acid Composition and Enhances Salt Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis. 2864 82