Gene Expression Changes and Variability in Response to Dietary Bioactives: Molecular Mechanisms Associated with Disease Prevention?

Dear Colleagues,

Numerous nutrigenomic studies have pointed to the modulation of gene expression in cells and tissues as a potential molecular mechanism of action underlying the health benefits attributed to specific dietary components. A thorough revision of the literature in the area clearly shows considerable changes occurring at the level of specific or multiple mRNAs following in vivo and in vitro exposure to specific (micro)nutrients and dietary compounds.

However, and in addition to potential methodological and experimental design flaws, there are several important issues that need to be further addressed before we can fully clarify the molecular mechanisms to dietary components: 1) we need to further elucidate which gene expression changes are functionally associated with a particular cell/tissue and diseases that are susceptible of becoming biomarkers of response to diet; 2) we need to establish what can be considered a true molecular effect (change size) by exploring and best addressing intra- and inter-individual variability in gene (and protein) expression; 3) we need to improve our knowledge on how nutrigenomic effects interrelate with (epi)genetic signatures; 4) we have to translate this knowledge into human trials related to the effects of nutrients and dietary bioactive compounds on human health.

Overall, keeping into account that the genetic makeup of a particular individual co-ordinates his or her response to various dietary nutrients, we need to improve the design and objectives of nutrigenomic studies to improve our knowledge of the genes whose expression is susceptible to nutrient actions and further progress in disclosing the genes-nutrients interaction, and the mechanisms of action of dietary compounds with the final aim to both individualize strategies to preserve individual health and improve community nutrition. 

This Special Issue of Nutrients encourages the submission of original research or reviews, dealing principally with novel approaches (e.g. pre-clinical experimental designs and models such as organoids and bacteria), as well as of human clinical studies looking at the biological effects of (micro)nutrients and dietary bioactive compounds (or derived metabolites) with special effort towards the understanding of gene expression regulation by those compounds and their association with human health maintenance or disease prevention.

We hope that this Special Issue will collect a significant number of articles trying to answer some of the issues raised above, and that it will contribute to enhancing the evidence of the benefits of nutrients and dietary compounds for human health.

Dr. María-Teresa García Conesa
Dr. Marika Massaro
Guest Editors

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• Bioactive compounds of plant and animal origin 
• Micronutrients and fatty acids 
• Gene expression, mRNA, microRNAs 
• Disease molecular biomarkers 
• Molecular mechanisms of action 
• Human health related intervention studies 
• Intra- and interindividual variability 
• Novel experimental models 
• Organoids 
• Bacterial cells