Posted on 10/15/2023 8:54:47 AM PDT by ConservativeMind
A study has unveiled a previously unrecognized role for an essential nutrient in shaping the cellular landscape for one of the body's first lines of defense against infection, immune cells called macrophages.
The findings identifying a role for the nutrient choline under normal conditions and in response to an intestinal worm infection in mice could potentially have significant implications for other models of human infection, perhaps even cancer immunity.
Dr. Morgan Fullerton explains that by blocking a specific part of metabolism the research team saw an unexpected defect emerge in macrophages—sentinel cells that are one of the immune system's star players. Macrophages are known for their Pac Man-like capacity to gobble up microbes and cellular debris amid a coordinated immune response, ultimately repairing injured tissue.
"When we take away the ability of these cells to use a nutrient called choline, their regular response is blunted. We also found that blocking the use of choline with a drug, made the number and type of immune cells in mice were very different—with and without a parasite infection," says Dr. Fullerton.
Dr. Peyman Ghorbani says this finding may be related to changes in macrophages' ability to generate energy through its mitochondria
While exploring the links between metabolism and immunity, one goal of Dr. Fullerton's lab is to expand global knowledge regarding choline metabolism in immune cells. Choline is an essential nutrient found in a wide variety of foods including eggs, wheat germ and meats. And in the body, it's converted into a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine and is also metabolized in the liver.
For this specific work, mice infected with an intestinal worm were treated with an inhibitor of choline metabolism in vivo. The team found that there was a "tremendous reprogramming of the immune profile in the mice," according to Dr. Fullerton.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
I was thinking chicken meat had a lot of choline, but I’m not sure.
Bkmk
Interesting...
Let’s be very clear about what this means.
It means that choline is necessary for proper function. It does NOT mean that consuming massive quantities of choline will have special protective effects.
Like most nutrients, either you get enough or you don’t. There is no benefit to consuming massive excess quantities. Excess can be as harmful as inadequacy.
I agree, but what is interesting is that getting adequate choline from the diet is not as easy as one would think, when we are told to limit foods for cholesterol (egg yolks and liver) or other purposes like saturated fat and high iron issues (beef).
The NIH says men need to eat 550 mg a day and women need to eat 425 mg a day.
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Choline-HealthProfessional/
The following foods are some of the highest in choline (from the NIH website):
356 mg - Beef liver, pan fried, 3 ounces
147 mg- Egg, hard boiled, 1 large
117 mg - Beef top round, separable lean only, braised, 3 ounces
107 mg - Soybeans, roasted, ½ cup
72 mg - Chicken breast, roasted, 3 ounces
A man would need 23 ounces of chicken breast a day, if skipping yolks and beef, or, instead, munch down over two and a half cups of roasted soybeans.
I know I don’t eat 23 ounces of chicken a day, but I try to get at least an egg a day. My wife and I don’t eat a lot of beef, any more, but we do eat chicken often and have fish a time or two a week.
Consequently, my wife and I actually supplement choline as citicholine or get in some lecithin, to get ourselves up to just the official “Adequate” level doctors say we need every day.
There is only so much choline in broccoli, peas, cauliflower, celery, and other veggies. For vegetarians or vegans, they have a similar problem.
choline bkmk
“Choline is an essential nutrient found in a wide variety of foods including eggs, wheat germ and meats.”
bkmk
Yes, mommy
I eat 3 large eggs, sunny side up everyday. I have for 15 years or so. there is no better breakfast, unless you get fancy and soft boil eggs and put them over a microwaved potato. The soft boil is the hardest thing in cookingdom I swear.
For this specific work, mice infected with an intestinal worm were treated with an inhibitor of choline metabolism in vivo. The team found that there was a “tremendous reprogramming of the immune profile in the mice,” according to Dr. Fullerton.
~~~~~
Choline is required for quelling inflammation all over the body. As I understand it the body’s “inhibitor of choline” is cholinesterase. Cholinesterase is produced in the liver, and released in the lower intestines. That’s because cholinesterase is also the body’s method of reabsorbing and neutralizing bile acid. So there is an interplay among choline, cholinesterase and bile acid which is not addressed here.
Thanks.
bkmk
There are nutritional differences in the nutrition profile of chicken white and dark meat. I think it was the Vitamin Ks, among others.
I may have injured my right optic nerve last Jan to mid April with a severe bronchitis and violent coughing. One of the issues is loosing the myalin sheath around the optic nerves. Would lecethin or choline improve the possibility of healing my optic nerve’s myalin sheath or nervous tissue. I also read that Alpha Lipoic Acid and NAC might be useful. ANy ideas, anyone? I don’t want to go blind.
https://freerepublic.com/tag/myelin/index
The top one, N-acetylglucosamine, is available as a supplement.
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