The mesopancreas and pancreatic head plexus: morphological, developmental, and clinical perspectives.

PURPOSE: Total mesopancreas excision has been found to be helpful for increasing no residual tumor resection rate and improving the prognosis of pancreatic cancer. This study analyzed the relationships among the mesopancreas and pancreatic head plexus from the morphological, developmental, and clinical perspectives. METHODS: Twenty-four cadavers were employed. The upper abdominal viscera were resected en-bloc with the hepatoduodenal ligament, abdominal aorta, and nerve plexuses, and the innervation of the pancreas was dissected. Ten additional cadavers were used for histological examination of the pancreatic head and neck, part of the duodenum, the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and its surrounding tissues, and the related arteries and veins. RESULTS: As results, cross-sections of the SMA revealed 6-9 layers of membranous structures resembling the layers of an onion, and the nerve fibers of the superior mesenteric plexus ran between the layers. Loose areolar tissue, adipose tissue, and lymphatics existed between the SMA and the pancreatic head/uncinate process, along with abundant thin blood vessels and capillaries, but very few nerves were found approaching the pancreas. Several parallel layers of collagen fibers (so-called Treitz's fusion fascia) existed between the dorsal aspect of the pancreatic head and the aortocaval plane. CONCLUSION: The mesopancreas was continuous and connected with the para-aortic area. It may be better termed the mesopancreatoduodenum than the mesopancreas, as the duodenum-pancreas-SMA forms a complex morphological, developmental, functional, and pathological structure.

Tamarix chinensis Lour inhibits chronic ethanol-induced liver injury in mice.

BACKGROUND: Tamarix chinensis Lour (TCL) is a shrub that usually grows in arid or semiarid desert areas and saline-alkali fields. It is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine with hepatoprotective, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antitumor activities. AIM: To investigate the possible protective effects of TCL against liver injury induced by chronic ethanol intake. METHODS: C57BL/6J male mice were fed a Lieber-DeCarli lipid diet containing alcohol and received (by gavage) a water-alcohol extract (80%) of TCL (100 and 200 mg/kg BW) or distilled water for 4 wk. After euthanasia, liver tissues were observed histologically with hematoxylin and eosin staining and Oil red O staining, and the levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate transaminase, hepatic lipids, reactive oxygen species, malondialdehyde, and superoxide dismutase were measured. In addition, expression of the NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and downstream proinflammatory cytokines were determined. RESULTS: Compared with the ethanol group, mice in the TCL-treated group (200 mg/kg) had significantly lower serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (mean, 34.1 IU/L vs 45.3 IU/L, P < 0.01) and aspartate transaminase (mean, 89.6 IU/L vs 115.7 IU/L, P < 0.01), as well as marked reduction of hepatic tissue reactive oxygen species (decreased by 27.5%, P < 0.01) and malondialdehyde (decreased by 76.6%, P < 0.01) levels, with a significant increase of superoxide dismutase (Increased by 73.2%, P < 0.01). Expression of the NLRP3 inflammasome and its downstream cytokines [interleukin (IL)-1ß, tumor necrosis factor-α, and IL-6], and recruitment of natural killer T cells to the liver, were reduced in the TCL-treated incubation with a Lieber-DeCaril ethanol lipid diet group. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that a TCL extract (200 mg/kg) protects against chronic ethanol-induced liver injury, probably by inhibiting the NLRP3-caspase-1-IL-1ß signaling pathway and suppressing oxidative stress.

RNA-seq analysis provides insight into reprogramming of culm development in Zizania latifolia induced by Ustilago esculenta.

KEY MESSAGE: We report a transcriptome assembly and expression profiles from RNA-Seq data and identify genes responsible for culm gall formation in Zizania latifolia induced by Ustilago esculenta. The smut fungus Ustilago esculenta can induce culm gall in Zizania latifolia, which is used as a vegetable in Asian countries. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of culm gall formation is still unclear. To characterize the processes underlying this host-fungus association, we performed transcriptomic and expression profiling analyses of culms from Z. latifolia infected by the fungus U. esculenta. Transcriptomic analysis detected U. esculenta induced differential expression of 19,033 and 17,669 genes in Jiaobai (JB) and Huijiao (HJ) type of gall, respectively. Additionally, to detect the potential gall inducing genes, expression profiles of infected culms collected at -7, 1 and 10 DAS of culm gall development were  analyzed. Compared to control, we detected 8089 genes (4389 up-regulated, 3700 down-regulated) and 5251 genes (3121 up-regulated, 2130 down-regulated) were differentially expressed in JB and HJ, respectively. And we identified 376 host and 187 fungal candidate genes that showed stage-specific expression pattern, which are  possibly responsible for gall formation at the initial and later phases, respectively. Our results indicated that cytokinins play more prominent roles in regulating gall formation than do auxins. Together, our work provides general implications for the understanding of gene regulatory networks for culm gall development in Z. latifolia, and potential targets for genetic manipulation to improve the future yield   of  this crop.

Regulation of photosynthetic performance and antioxidant capacity by 6°Co γ-irradiation in Zizania latifolia plants.

The aim of the present work was to investigate the photosynthetic performance and antioxidant enzyme activities in response to γ-irradiation of an aquatic plant Zizania latifolia. The Z. latifolia seedlings at 6-leaf stage were exposed to 25, 50 and 100 Gy of γ rays from a (60)Co source. The growth parameters, chlorophyll contents, photosynthetic gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, antioxidant enzyme activities and antioxidant contents were examined at 1-5 weeks post-irradiation (WPI). The results showed that plant height, leaf number and tiller (branch close to ground) number were significantly suppressed by 50 and 100 Gy irradiation at 5, 3-5 and 4-5 WPI, respectively, but they were not significantly different from control by 25 Gy irradiation. Chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll contents were also found to be significantly decreased by irradiation. The net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) and transpiration rate (Tr) generally declined in a dose-dependent manner. As for the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, maximum quantum efficiency of PSII photochemistry (Fv/Fm), actual photochemical efficiency of PSII (Φ(PSII)) and photochemical quenching (qP) were observed to be significantly decreased compared to the control at 3 WPI, while non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) significantly increased by 100 Gy. γ-irradiation induced substantial increase in MDA content, ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity, reduced ascorbate (AsA) content and reduced glutathione (GSH) content, suggesting a protective mechanism of Z. latifolia plant against oxidative stress when exposed to γ-irradiation.