All-trans retinoic acid attenuates blood-brain barrier injury induced by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats through JNK/P38 MAPK signaling pathway

AIM: To investigate the effect of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) on blood-brain barrier after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (CIR) injury in rats and its possible role mechanism.METHODS: Male SD rats were randomly divided into sham group, model (CIR) group and CIR+ATRA (10, 30 and 90 mg/kg) groups. The rat model of CIR injury was established by MCAO thread occlusion method. After ischemia for 1.5 h and reperfusion for 24 h, the neurological functional behavioral score, cerebral infarction volume, brain water content and Evans blue content were determined. The activity of matrix metalloprotein-9 (MMP-9) was measured by gelatin zymography. The protein levels of claudin-5, occludin, ZO-1, JNK, p-JNK, P38, p-P38 and MMP-9 in the brain tissues were determined by Western blot.RESULTS: Compared with CIR model group, ATRA at 30 mg/kg significantly improved neurological function, and decreased cerebral infarction volume, brain water content, Evans blue content and the degradation of tight junction proteins in ischemic area (P<0.01). The activity and protein expression of MMP-9 in ischemic brain tissue were decreased (P<0.01). The phosphorylation of JNK and P38 was inhibited and the protein levels of p-JNK and p-P38 were decreased (P<0.01).CONCLUSION: ATRA reduces the damage of brain tissue and the destruction of blood-brain barrier induced by CIR in rats. The protective effect may be related to inhibiting the activation of JNK/P38 MAPK signaling pathway and MMP-9.     

Effect of FGFR1 expression knock-down on biological characteristics of infantile hemangioma endothelial cells

AIM: To study the effect of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) expression knock-down on the viability, apoptosis, invasion and migration of infantile hemangioma endothelial cells (HemECs). METHODS: FGFR1 was down-regulated by FGFR1 small interfering RNA (si-FGFR1) transfection. The viability of the cells was measured by CCK-8 assay. The apoptotic rate was analyzed by flow cytometry and the invasion and migration abilities were determined by Transwell assay. The protein levels of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (AKT), and phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT) were examined by Western blot. RESULTS: Transfection of si-FGFR1 into HemECs had significant effects on inhibiting cell viability (P<0.05), promoting apoptosis (P<0.05), and decreasing cell invasion and migration abilities (P<0.05). The results of Western blot showed that knockdown of FGFR1 gene expression in the cells reduced the protein levels of PI3K and p-AKT (P<0.05), and had no significant effect on AKT protein level. CONCLUSION: Knock-down of FGFR1 expression changes the biological characteristics of endothelial cells in infantile hemangiomas by regulating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.     

怀化地区强降水过程中的GPS可降水量特征分析

利用改进的天顶静力延迟（ZHD）模型和本地化水汽权重平均温度（Ts）模型反演怀化地区GPS可降水量（GPS-PWV），并结合自动气象站逐小时资料分析了2017年怀化地区大气水汽变化及汛期14次暴雨以上降水过程的GPS-PWV演变特征。结果表明：GPS-PWV可较好反映怀化地区大气水汽的变化特征。怀化地区可降水量-气压（PWV-P）分布月变化特征明显，冬季PWV较低且变化范围较小，降水发生时气压较夏季平均高14.75 hPa；春季PWV逐步增大，降水发生时气压较冬季有所降低；夏季PWV为全年最高，降水发生时气压则降至全年最低值；秋季PWV-P数据逐渐分散并向可降水量低值区移动，分布情况逐步趋近冬季。2017年汛期怀化地区14次强降水过程中PWV均高于各月均值，最大小时降水量与最大PWV存在较好对应关系；降水开始前，PWV出现较明显上升，且多伴随气压较明显下降，可为局地强降水短临预警提供较好参考。     

Effects of ZIP14 on biological behaviors of hepatocellular carcinoma cell line BEL-7404

AIM: To study the expression of zinc transporter ZRT/IRT-like protein 14 (ZIP14) in the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues, and to investigate the effects of ZIP14 over-expression on the biological behaviors of HCC cells. METHODS: The expression of ZIP14 at mRNA and protein levels in the HCC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues were detected by real-time PCR and immunohistochemical staining, respectively. The lentivirus expression system containing GV365-ZIP14 was constructed, and was used to infect the HCC cell line BEL-7404, which had relatively poor expression of ZIP14. The expression of ZIP14 at mRNA and protein levels in the transfected cells were detected by real-time PCR and Western blot, respectively. Under the conditions of zinc sulfate stimulation at different concentrations, the cell viability, the cell cycle, and the cell migration and invasion abilities were detected by MTT assay, DNA ploid detection, and Transwell assay, respectively. RESULTS: The mRNA expression level and the strong-positive rate of protein expression of ZIP14 in the HCC tissues were significantly lower than those in the adjacent non-tumor liver tissues (P<0.01). The expression of ZIP14 at mRNA and protein levels in the BEL7404 cells was significantly enhanced by infection of GV365-ZIP14 expression lentivirus. Compared with negative control group (transfected with negative control lentivirus), the cell viability, migration and invasion in ZIP14 over-expression group (transfected with GV365-ZIP14 expression lentivirus) were significantly reduced, and the percentage of the cells in G₂/M phase was significantly increased, all of which were more obvious with the elevation of zinc concentration in the culture medium. CONCLUSION: ZIP14 is low expressed in the HCC tissues. The ZIP14 over-expression has inhibitory effects on the viability, migration and invasion of HCC cells, and blocks the cell cycle in G₂/M phase, which might be closely related to the elevation of zinc concentration in cytoplasma of HCC cells due to enchanced zinc transport by ZIP14.     

Neuroprotective effect of novel Rho kinase inhibitor FSD-C10 on a mouse model of Alzheimer disease

AIM: To explore the neuroprotective effect of novel Rho kinase inhibitor FSD-C10 on Alzheimer disease (AD) model of APP/PS1 double transgenic (Tg) mice. METHODS: Male APP/PS1 Tg mice (n=20) at 8 months of age were randomly divided into 2 groups:model group and FSD-C10 treatment group. The mice were treated with normal saline or FSD-C10 (25 mg·kg^-1·d^-1) by intraperitoneal injection, once daily for 2 months. Age-and sex-matched wild-type (WT) mice without treatment were used as the control. The Morris water maze (MWM) test and SMART 3.0 behavioral record system were applied to examine and analyze the spatial cognitive function of the mice. The protein levels and distribution of Aβ, p-tau and synapse-associated proteins such as synaptophysin, α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPAR) and postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95) were determined by immunofluorescence staining. The protein levels of phosphorylated amyloid precursor protein at Thr668[p-APP(Thr668)], beta-site APP-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) and synapse-associated proteins in the brain were analyzed by Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with model group, FSD-C10 treatment significantly improved the cognitive function of the APP/PS1 Tg mice, accompanied by reduced Aβ deposition and p-tau level, increased protein level of p-APP (Thr668) in the central nervous system, decreased expression of BACE1, and increased expression of synapse-associated proteins in the brain of the mice (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: FSD-C10 has neuroprotective potential in the APP/PS1 Tg mice. The mechanism may be related to enhancing the non-amyloidogenic APP cleavage pathway, reducing the production of Aβ oligomers, the deposition of senile plaques and the amount of tau protein, up-regulating synapse-associated proteins, and increasing synaptic plasticity.     

CRISPR/Cas9介导的多基因编辑系统在大豆中的应用

自CRISPR/Cas9（clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9）基因 组编辑技术发现以来，迅速在作物中得到广泛应用。但是，CRISPR/Cas9多基因编辑系统在大豆中的研究尚待开 发。本文利用CRISPR/Cas9介导的多基因编辑系统，分别构建了两个载体，一个载体含6个靶点，编辑7个大豆基因 （4个Glycine max ASYMMETRIC LEAVES1（GmAS1）同源基因和3个GmAS2 同源基因），另一个载体含8个靶点，编辑 11个G. max AGAMOUS 家族同源基因（4个GmAG 同源基因，2个G. max SEEDSTICK（GmSTK）同源基因和5个G. max SHATTERPROOF1（GmSHP1/2）同源基因）。大豆遗传转化后，经表型鉴定和靶点检测发现，CRISPR/Cas9介导的多 基因编辑系统在大豆中成功实现了多基因编辑。当3个GmAS1 同源基因和3个GmAS2 同源基因同时突变时，导致 大豆叶片向远轴面弯曲、皱缩且叶柄变短的表型。当2个GmSHP1 同源基因和2个GmSTK 同源基因同时突变时，导 致豆荚停止发育的不育表型。     

CRISPR/Cas9技术敲除酿酒酵母gpd2基因对产2,3-丁二醇的影响

旨在利用CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术敲除酿酒酵母甘油-3-磷酸脱氢酶基因(gpd2),探究其对2,3-丁二醇产量的影响。根据酿酒酵母(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)W5甘油-3-磷酸脱氢酶基因(gpd2)设计供体片段及gRNA片段,将gRNA片段与可表达Cas9蛋白的敲除载体相连,之后将重组质粒及供体DNA片段转化到S. cerevisiae W5细胞中,根据表型筛选及PCR验证获得gpd2基因缺失菌株。结果表明目的基因gpd2敲除成功,基因缺失菌株与原始菌株经发酵实验相比,甘油产量下降22.01%,乙醇产量提高24.65%,2,3-丁二醇产量下降10.60%。gpd2基因的敲除并没有提高2,3-丁二醇的产量,原因可能是逐渐积累的NADH会优先被细胞内大量的乙醇脱氢酶所氧化,作用于乙醇的产生,而不是优先作用于2,3-丁二醇的合成。本实验构建了适用于酿酒酵母的基因敲除系统,该系统对进一步探究酿酒酵母其他代谢产物与2,3-丁二醇合成之间的关系具有实际的借鉴意义。     

Effect of dietary Moringa stem meal level on growth performance,slaughter performance and serum biochemical parameters in geese

Moringa stem meal (MSM) with a high level of crude fibre (CF) might be developed and utilized in herbivorous geese as an unconventional feedstuff. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the MSM level in the diet on the growth performance, slaughter performance, breast meat quality and serum biochemical parameters in geese from 22 to 70 days of age. A one-factor completely randomized design was adopted in our study. A total of one thousand eight 21-day-old geese were randomly divided into six groups, with six replicates per group and 28 birds per replicate. The geese were fed diets containing MSM levels of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 or 100 g/kg during day 22–70. The dietary MSM level had no effect (p > .05) on the final body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG) or average daily feed intake (ADFI). The feed/gain ratio (F/G) increased linearly (p < .001) as the dietary MSM level increased. No differences (p > .05) were observed in the slaughter performance, meat quality and the relative organ weight (except for thymus) of the geese (p > .05). The relative weight of the thymus in the geese fed diets with supplementation of MSM was higher than that in the non-supplemented MSM control group (p < .05). In addition, 100 g MSM/kg of diet decreased the serum glucose (GLU) level (p < .05) and increased the alanine transaminase (ALT) enzyme activity (p = .03). Dietary MSM levels of no more than 60 g/kg had no effects on the growth performance and slaughter performance, whereas diets with 100 g MSM/kg increased the F/G and serum ALT enzyme activity, as well as decreasing the serum GLU level. Therefore, MSM provided at a reasonable level could be developed as an unconventional feedstuff for geese at the finisher period.     

β-carotene attenuates weaning-induced apoptosis via inhibition of PERK-CHOP and IRE1-JNK/p38 MAPK signalling pathways in piglet jejunum

Weaning may cause oxidative injury, immune response impairment, apoptosis and other injuries in piglets. Oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) can elicit inflammatory responses, and persistent oxidative and ERS also may lead to apoptotic cascades, which is associated with the pathogenesis of multiple diseases. β-carotene, a natural carotenoid, has potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant functions. However, the effect of β-carotene on apoptosis in weaned piglets and the detailed molecular mechanism remain unclear. In this study, we found that β-carotene decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in piglet serum. β-carotene could inhibit the mRNA levels of caspase-3 significantly, but had no significant inhibitory effect of the mRNA levels of caspase-9 and caspase-12 in the piglet jejunum. In addition, β-carotene decreased the activation of GRP78, CHOP, and JNK/p38 MAPK and the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2. Furthermore, β-carotene had a significant influence on the activation of ERS and apoptosis-related signals in TG-induced IPEC-J2. In the present study, β-carotene pre-treatment attenuated the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 and prevented TG-induced increases in the level of PERK-CHOP and IRE1-JNK/p38 MAPK pathway activation in a dose-dependent manner. Overall, these findings indicate that β-carotene may protect weaning-induced apoptosis through inhibiting ERS.