Isolation of Streptococcus cuniculi from corneal lesion in laboratory-raised mice

Corneal lesions appearing as white mass beneath intact epithelium, with ocular discharge in one mouse, was observed in a batch of laboratory-raised BALB/c mice (n=9 of 56). The affected mice remained active, well-groomed and had normal appetite. Isolates recovered from swab cultures of the external and internal contents of the eye had partial 16S rRNA gene sequence of 99.1% similarity to Streptococcus cuniculi. No previous report of S. cuniculi infection in laboratory rodents has been presented. The isolate was susceptible to all antibiotics tested. We suggest S. cuniculi is an opportunistic bacteria in laboratory mice but are uncertain of its source. Our findings revealed that S. cuniculi is able to colonize laboratory mice and should be considered when mice present with eye lesion or ocular discharge.     

Vitrification of mouse two-cell and blastocyst stage embryos in simplified closed system using either a hemi-straw or a hollow fiber device

Two-cell stage and blastocyst stage mouse embryos were equilibrated in a medium containing 7.5% ethylene glycol (EG) and 7.5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) for 8–15 min. Vitrification was performed in a medium containing 0.5 M sucrose and either 15% EG + 15% DMSO, 17.5% EG + 17.5% DMSO, or 20% EG + 20% DMSO for 30 s. They were then placed either on a hemi-straw (HS) or a hollow fiber vitrification (HFV) device and vitrified by cooled air inside a 0.5-ml straw. In two-cell embryos, a 100% survival rate was obtained from all groups except the 20% HS group (P > .05). All vitrified two-cell groups showed similar rates of blastocyst development to that of fresh control group (P > .05), except 17.5% and 20% HFV groups, which were significantly lower than the other groups (P < .05). In the blastocyst embryos, the HFV groups were divided into two subgroups (non-collapsed; HFV-NC and collapsed; HFV-C blastocyst). Re-expansion rate in 15% HFV-NC, 17.5% HFV-NC, and 15% HFV-C groups was reduced (P < .05), whereas the rest were similar to control. In conclusion, we established a simplified, reliable, and closed system for HFV vitrification applying hemi-straw, which does not require skilled practitioners.     

马齿苋水提物对热应激小鼠空肠结构及吸收功能的影响

旨在探讨马齿苋水提物（aqueous extract of Portulaca oleracea L.）对热应激小鼠空肠结构及吸收功能的影响。将40只昆明种小鼠随机分为4组（n=10）：空白对照组（C）、热应激组（HS）、马齿苋水提物组（AEP）、维生素C组（Vc），HS、AEP和Vc组每天于（40±1）℃环境下处理0.5 h，连续热应激6 d后将小鼠转置于室温下给药治疗。给药7 d后眶窦采血，并采集小鼠空肠；测定小鼠血清中D-木糖、葡萄糖含量；HE染色观察空肠组织病理学变化；qRT-PCR法检测空肠黏膜ZO-1、SGLT1及GLUT2 mRNA的相对转录水平。结果显示，与C组比较，HS组小鼠空肠黏膜绒毛高度极显著降低（P<0.01）；血清中D-木糖的含量极显著降低（P<0.01）；空肠黏膜中ZO-1、SGLT1和GLUT2 mRNA的相对转录水平均极显著降低（P<0.01）；与HS组相比，AEP组小鼠空肠绒毛高度极显著提高（P<0.01）；血清中D-木糖及葡萄糖的含量均显著升高（P<0.01或P<0.05）；空肠黏膜中ZO-1、SGLT1和GLUT2 mRNA的相对转录水平均显著升高（P<0.05或P<0.01）。高温处理可导致小鼠空肠黏膜脱落及吸收功能下降，而在给予马齿苋水提物治疗后可通过提高空肠ZO-1 mRNA表达量修复空肠黏膜结构，通过促进空肠黏膜SGLT1和GLUT2 mRNA的转录量改善吸收功能。马齿苋水提物能在一定程度上修复热应激导致小鼠空肠黏膜结构损伤，改善热应激小鼠肠道的吸收能力。     

Effects of DHRS3 in C2C12 Myoblast Differentiation and Mouse Skeletal Muscle Injury

Myoblast differentiation is an essential process during skeletal muscle development. C2 C12 myoblast is a commonly used experimental model to study muscle cell differentiation in vitro. Dehydrogenase/reductase(SDR family) member 3(DHRS3) is a highly conserved member in short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase/reductase superfamily and has been shown to be involved in the metabolism of retinol. Previous experimental results showed that the expression of DHRS3 increased significantly during the differentiation of myoblasts differentiation. However, the effect of DHRS3 on mouse muscle cell differentiation was unclear. The objective of current study was to determine if DHRS3 affected muscle cell differentiation, and if DHRS3 was involved in muscle regeneration. Protein expression was determined by western blot and immunofluorescence analysis. The activation and inhibition of DHRS3 increased and decreased C2 C12 myoblast differentiation respectively, which indicated that DHRS3 could affect C2 C12 myoblast differentiation. DHRS3 expression was significantly changed during muscle regeneration, with the regeneration of muscle injury, the expression of DHRS3 tended to increase first and then decrease. It suggested that DHRS3 might be involved in muscle regeneration. In summary, this study confirmed the involvement of DHRS3 in C2 C12 myoblast differentiation and mouse skeletal muscle regeneration and provided a theoretical basis for further elucidating the molecular mechanism of muscle development.     

Protective effect of butylated hydroxylanisole against hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis in primary cultured mouse hepatocytes

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) is a synthetic phenolic compound consisting of a mixture of two isomeric organic compounds: 2-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole and 3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole. We examined the effect of BHA against hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-induced apoptosis in primary cultured mouse hepatocytes. Cell viability was significantly decreased by H₂O₂ in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, H₂O₂ treatment increased Bax, decreased Bcl-2, and promoted PARP-1 cleavage in a dose-dependent manner. Pretreatment with BHA before exposure to H₂O₂ significantly attenuated the H₂O₂-induced decrease of cell viability. H₂O₂ exposure resulted in an increase of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation that was significantly inhibited by pretreatment with BHA or N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC, an ROS scavenger). H₂O₂-induced decrease of cell viability was also attenuated by pretreatment with BHA and NAC. Furthermore, H₂O₂-induced increase of Bax, decrease of Bcl-2, and PARP-1 cleavage was also inhibited by BHA. Taken together, results of this investigation demonstrated that BHA protects primary cultured mouse hepatocytes against H₂O₂-induced apoptosis by inhibiting ROS generation.     

布鲁氏菌LPS对小鼠巨噬细胞中NLRP3炎症小体转录水平的影响

为研究布鲁氏菌LPS对巨噬细胞中NLRP3炎症小体的影响,本试验提取布鲁氏菌2308、RB51和△WbkA的LPS,以不同浓度与小鼠巨噬细胞相互作用,荧光定量PCR检测其对NLRP3、ASC、Caspase1、IL1-β、IL18转录水平的影响。结果显示RB51LPS和△WbkA LPS上调NLRP3炎症小体相关基因的转录水平,且呈浓度依赖性,而浓度对2308LPS调节NLRP3炎症小体相关基因转录的作用不大;且同一浓度下,RB51LPS和2308LPS比△WbkA LPS更好的调节Caspase1、IL1-β、IL18的转录水平。     

The Expression of Long Noncoding RNA (H19) in Mouse Skeletal Muscle Development

This experiment was intend to study the changes of long non-coding RNA (H19) expression levels in skeletal muscle development and regeneration,and lay the foundation of its mechanism reach in skeletal muscle development.C2C12 cell line and ICR mice were used as experimental material,bioinformatics assay was used to exploit its non-coding character and low conservatism in different species,and the expressions of H19 in C2C12 cell differentiation,skeletal muscle development and the phase of muscle regeneration were detected by quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR).The results showed that,H19 expression levels in postnatal mouse skeletal muscle decreased with increasing age;during C2C12 cell differentiation,H19 mRNA increased gradually,and then maintained a high level;The expression of H19 was maintained at a high level through days 4 to 6 after injury.In consideration of its express character in C2C12 cell differentiation and skeletal muscle damage repair model,H19 may play an important role in promoting myogenesis and skeletal muscle regeneration.     

Pathogenicity of a Strain of H5N6 Subtype Avian Influenza Virus in Ducks and Mice

To investigate the pathogenicity of A/Hero/Guangdong/C1/2013(H5N6), an AIV strain isolated from Heron on ducks and mice, pathogenicity of this new virus strain and changing of histopathology as well as a preliminary study on its biological characteristics were studied by virus challenges test via intranasal and eye-drop and in chicken via jugular vein injection.Results showed that the EID₅₀ of this strain of virus was 10^-8.16/0.1 mL in embryonated chicken eggs and the intravenous inoculation of pathogenic index (IVPI) was 2.76.In ducks and mice, the 50% lethal doses (LD₅₀) of it were determined to be 10^-4.0/0.2 mL and 10^-4.67/0.05 mL, respectively.Symptoms of infection included loss of appetite, depression, swollen head and tears after being infected with 10⁶ EID₅₀ per duck by intranasal and eye-drop administration.Most of ducks died 4 to 7 days post-infection, liver, lung and kidney still eliminated toxicants at day 7 post-infection.Anatomy showed symptoms of pericardial effusion, pulmonary congestion and kidney enlargement, while pathological section showed pathological change like karyopycnosis and inflammatory cell infiltration in heart, liver, kidney and spleen.Mice developed symptoms of infection like loss of appetite, depression, shaggy coat and ruffled coat after being infected with 5×10⁵ EID₅₀ per mouse by intranasal and eye-drop administration.Most of the infected mice died 5 to 7 days post-infection and only liver still eliminated toxicants at day 7 post-infection.Although organ anatomy showed no obvious pathological changes, pathological section showed pathological changes like karyopycnosis and inflammatory cell infiltration in heart, kidney and lung.Our research demonstrated that this H5N6 subtype AIV had a strong pathogenicity and could be defined as a highly pathogenic AIV strain as its IVPI was greater than 1.2.Our work laid a theory foundation for study, prevention and control of H5N6 subtype AIV.     

雷竹留笋养竹期鼠害的发生规律和防治技术

通过对黑线姬鼠和大家鼠生活习性的观察，了解其在雷竹园为害雷笋的症状和时期，并对其进行防啃试验，结果表明，烟壳套笋尖的防啃效果最好，防效达100%；尼龙薄膜包笋的效果其次，防效为97.9%；涂苦楝树果防效为63.8%。     

三种有机磷农药胚胎期暴露对新生鼠脑组织结构的影响

探讨了3种常用的有机磷农药胚胎期暴露对新生鼠脑组织结构的影响。在母鼠妊娠期7.5～11.5 d时,连续5 d每天分别经皮下注射2 mg/kg bw的二嗪磷(diazinon)、2 mg/kg bw的毒死蜱(chlorpyrifos)及50 mg/kg bw乙酰甲胺磷(acephate),显微镜下观察并计数大脑皮层S1区胶质细胞和神经元数量及比率,以及海马CA1、CA3区锥体细胞的数量及体积密度。结果表明,二嗪磷与毒死蜱处理分别使得大脑皮层S1区胶质细胞数减少了14.29%和21.43%;毒死蜱处理导致胶质细胞与神经元比率下降了24.19%;二嗪磷与毒死蜱处理后海马CA1区锥体细胞数量分别下降了9.30％与20.93％,毒死蜱处理后锥体细胞体积密度下降了27.05％;二嗪磷与毒死蜱处理后海马CA3区锥体细胞数量分别下降了22.22％和19.44％,锥体细胞体积密度分别下降了23.54％和18.98％;而乙酰甲胺磷对新生鼠大脑皮层与海马细胞均无明显影响。