[Reconstruction of zygomatico-orbtial and maxillary bone defects using three-dimensional printed customized prosthesis].

Objective: To reconstruct zygomatico-orbtial and maxillary bone defects using three-dimensional (3D) printing technology, so as to provide the basis for complicated maxillofacial bone defects. Methods: Five patients diagnosed with in zygomatico-orbtial and maxillary neoplasm in Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, General Hospital of Chinese PLA, who need bone defect reconstruction after surgery. Two different customized prosthesis were fabricated by computer aided design and 3D printing techonology, and the length of orbital floor extension in the customized prosthesis were different: Design 1, 9-10 mm orbital floor extension; Design 2, 10-15 mm orbital floor extension. The clinical outcome were evaluated during operation and matching condition of two different designed prosthesis were carried out after scanning for analysis. Results: The results indicated that the deviation value were 2-3 mm located at fixed structure during clinical evaluaton, and the deviation value were about 1 mm after prosthesis scanning. Finally, prothesis of Design 1 were applied for clinical use, and satisfactory reconstruction contour was achieved in all patients. Conclusions: The results suggest that zygomatico-orbtial and maxillary bone defects reconstruction can be conducted with satisfactory effect using 3D printing technology, and design and fabrication factors should be taken into consideration in complicated structure design with multi-protuberance.

[Effects of pressure steam sterilization times on the accuracy of the digital intraoral scanning data].

Objective: To provide a scientific basis for the standardized operation of clinical disinfection by comparing and analyzing the influence of disinfection times on the accuracy of digital intraoral scanning. Methods: The author prepared 10 brand-new intraoral scanning heads (Trios, 3Shape, Denmark), scan the same plaster standard dentition model after 1, 20, 40, and 60 times of pressure steam sterilization, and obtained the data of four groups of experimental groups A, B, C, D, and scan the model 5 times repeatedly after each disinfection cycle of each scanning head. A model scanner (D2000, 3Shape, Denmark) was used to scan the standard dentition model, and the scan results were used as the control group data. Vernier calipers and measurement software were used to measure the arch length (the distance between the mesial cheek tips of the first molars on both sides of the maxillary) and the front and back length (the distance from the tongue protrusion of the right incisor to the buccal tip of the first molar on the right of the upper jaw) of the plaster model and the data of the 4 experimental groups. The line distance results of the 4 groups of experimental groups were compared for statistical analysis, and the trueness and precision values of the 4 groups of experimental groups were compared for statistical analysis. Results: The length of the arch across the 4 experimental groups increased with the increase in the number of disinfection (P<0.05), and there were statistical differences compared with the measurement results of the plaster model (P<0.05); the differences in the length of the dental arch were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The treness of the 4 experimental groups is statistically significant (P<0.05), and the trueness was from high to low in order of group A [(114.85±3.75) µm], group B [(124.65±3.85) µm], group C [(131.45±3.04) µm] and group D [(144.64±3.34) µm]; the precision of the 4 experimental groups was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusions: The number of times of pressure steam sterilization can affect the accuracy of the scanning results of the digital intraoral scanner, and with the increase of the number of sterilizations, the error of the scanning results also tends to increase. The number of sterilizations has no effect on the repeatability of the digital scanning results. The increase in the number of times of pressure steam sterilization affects the accross of the arch but has no effect on the length of the dental arch, and the range of change of the length of the arch is within the clinically acceptable range. After 60 times of pressure steam sterilization, the accuracy of digital scan data can still meet clinical needs.

[Meta-analysis of laparoscopic versus open surgery for palliative resection of the primary tumor in stage IV colorectal cancer].

Objective: To systematically evaluate the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic versus open surgery for palliative resection of the primary tumor in stage IV colorectal cancer. Methods: The databases of CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library were searched to retrieve randomized controlled trials (RCT) or clinical controlled trials (CCT) comparing laparoscopic surgery with open surgery for palliative resection of the primary tumor in stage IV colorectal cancer published from January 1991 to May 2019. Chinese search terms included "colorectum/colon/rectum" , "cancer/malignant tumor" , "laparoscopy" , "metastasis" , " IV" ; English search terms included "laparoscop*" , "colo*" , "rect*" , "cancer/tumor/carcinoma/neoplasm" , " IV" , "metasta*" . Inclusion criteria: (1) RCT or CCT, with or without allocation concealment or blinding; (2) patients with stage IV colorectal cancer that was diagnosed preoperatively and would receive resection of the primary tumor; (3) the primary tumor that was palliatively resected by laparoscopic or open procedure. Exclusion criteria: (1) no valid data available in the literature; (2) single study sample size ≤20; (3) subjects with colorectal benign disease; (4) metastatic resection or lymph node dissection was performed intraoperatively in an attempt to perform radical surgery; (5) duplicate publication of the literature. Two researchers independently evaluated the quality of the included studies. In case of disagreement, the evaluation was performed by discussion or a third researcher was invited to participate. The data were extracted from the included studies, and the Cochrane Collaboration RevMan 5.1.0 version software was used for this meta-analysis. Results: Four CCTs with a total of 864 patients were included in this study, including 216 patients in the laparoscopic group and 648 patients in the open group. Compared with the open group, except for longer operation time (WMD=37.60, 95% CI: 26.11 to 49.08, P<0.05), laparoscopic group had less intraoperative blood loss (WMD=-74.89, 95% CI: -144.78 to -5.00, P<0.05), earlier first flatus and food intake after surgery (WMD=-1.00, 95% CI: -1.12 to -0.87, P<0.05; WMD=-1.61, 95%CI: -2.16 to -1.06, P<0.05), shorter hospital stay (WMD=-2.01, 95% CI: -2.21 to -1.80, P<0.05) and lower morbidity of postoperative complication (OR=0.52, 95% CI: 0.35 to 0.77, P<0.05). However, no significant differences were found in time to start postoperative chemotherapy, postoperative chemotherapy rate, and mortality (P > all 0.05). Conclusion: Laparoscopic surgery for palliative resection of the primary tumor is safe and feasible to enhance recovery after surgery by promoting postoperative bowel function recovery, shortening hospital stay and reducing postoperative complication in stage IV colorectal cancer.

Satb1 promotes Schwann cell viability and migration via activation of PI3K/AKT pathway.

OBJECTIVE: Satb1 regulates chromatin structure and gene expression, and is aberrantly expressed in many tumors. However, there is still no report about Satb1 functions in peripheral nerve injury until now. In this study, we explored the regulatory effect of Satb1 on Schwann cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MTT assay, transwell assay, and flow cytometry assay were respectively used to determine Schwann cell viability, migration, and apoptosis. The mRNA and phosphorylation levels of Satb1 and SHIP1 were assessed by RT-PCR and Western blotting analysis, respectively. The correlation between Satb1 and SHIP1 was examined by ChIP assay. The expressions of PI3K/AKT pathway related factors were detected by Western blotting. RESULTS: In the present study, we found that knock-out of Satb1 significantly inhibited cell viability and migration, and promoted Schwann cells apoptosis. Conversely, over-expression of Satb1 promoted cell viability, migration, and inhibited apoptosis. Satb1 inhibited SHIP1 expression by recruiting HDAC1. Furthermore, results showed that Satb1 activated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway by inhibiting the expression of SHIP1. SHIP1 showed significant reversal effects on the regulatory roles of Satb1 in Schwann cells. Over-expression of Satb1 and SHIP1 inhibited cell viability, migration, and promoted apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that the Satb1 knock-out could inhibit the activation of PI3K/AKT pathway by up-regulating SHIP1, thus inhibiting cell viability and migration, and promoting Schwann cell apoptosis.

Molecular microdeletion analysis of infertile men with karyotypic Y chromosome abnormalities.

Objectives To investigate azoospermic factor (AZF) microdeletions in infertile men from northeastern China with karyotypic Y chromosome abnormalities. Methods G-banding of metaphase chromosomes and karyotype analysis were performed in all infertile male patients. Genomic DNA was isolated and used to analyze classical AZF microdeletions by PCR. The regions and sequence-tagged sites of AZFa (SY86, SY84), AZFb (SY127, SY134, SY143), and AZFc (SY152, SY254, SY255, SY157) were sequenced by multiplex PCR. Results A total of 190 Y chromosome abnormality carriers were found, of whom 35 had AZF microdeletions. These were most common in 46,X,Yqh- patients, followed by 45,X/46,XY patients. Most microdeletions were detected in the AZFb + c region, including 48.57% of all AZF microdeletion cases. AZF partial deletions were also seen in these patients. Overall, AZF microdeletions were detected in 38.5% Y chromosome abnormality carriers, and most were observed in 46,X,Yqh- individuals. Loss of SY152 was seen in all 35 patients, with SY254/SY255 detected in 34 of 35 patients. Conclusions AZF microdeletions were detected in 38.5% of Y chromosome abnormality carriers. This indicates that AZF microdeletion screening is advisable for individuals with karyotypic Y chromosome abnormalities.

Effects of Moringa oleifera silage on milk yield, nutrient digestibility and serum biochemical indexes of lactating dairy cows.

This study investigated the effects of Moringa oleifera (MO) as a partial substitute of alfalfa hay on milk yield, nutrient apparent digestibility and serum biochemical indexes of dairy cows. MO was harvested at 120 days post-seeding. Fresh MO was cut, mixed with chopped oat hay (425:575 on a DM basis), ensiled and stored for 60 days. Sixty healthy Holstein dairy cows were allocated to one of three groups: NM (no MO or control), LM (low MO; 25% alfalfa hay and 50% maize silage were replaced by MO silage) or HM (high MO; 50% alfalfa hay and 100% maize silage were replaced by MO silage). The feeding trial lasted 35 days. The LM and HM diets did not affect dry matter (DM) intake, milk yield or milk composition (lactose, milk fat, milk protein and somatic cell count). The apparent digestibility of DM and NDF was lower for HM group than NM group. Additionally, there were no significant differences in serum biochemical indexes between the LM and NM groups. The HM group had lower serum concentrations of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and higher serum concentrations of urea than the NM group. The partial replacement of alfalfa hay (≤50%) and maize silage with MO silage had no negative effects on milk yield, in vivo nutrient apparent digestibility or serum biochemical indexes of lactating cows.

Effects of Moringa oleifera leaves as a substitute for alfalfa meal on nutrient digestibility, growth performance, carcass trait, meat quality, antioxidant capacity and biochemical parameters of rabbits.

This contribution reports the effects of Moringa oleifera leaves (MOLs) meal on the growth performances, nutrient digestibility, carcass trait, meat quality, antioxidant capacity and biochemical parameters of growing New Zealand white rabbits. The MOL was substituted for alfalfa meal at levels of 0, 10%, 20% and 30% to obtain respective diets MOL0, MOL10, MOL20 and MOL30. Each treatment was replicated five times with 10 rabbits per replicate. Results showed the average daily weight gain (ADWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of rabbits fed MOL20 diet were significantly better (p < 0.05) than those of other three dietary groups. Liver and spleen index of rabbits fed MOL20 and MOL30 diets was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of the groups fed with lower M. oleifera leaves (MOL0, MOL10). The meat drip loss of rabbits fed with diet MOL10 was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than that of rabbits fed other diets. All rabbits fed MOL dietary groups had lower (p < 0.05) shear force of longissimus dorsi than the group without M. oleifera leaves. No significant differences were found in the digestibility of crude fibre (CF), crude fat (EE), ash, crude protein (CP) and nitrogen-free extract (NFE) among the dietary groups. Moringa oleifera leaves also have a significant impact on serum albumin (ALB), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), triiodothyroxine (T3 ) and tetraiodothyroxine (T4 ) values and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in serum and liver. The results indicated that M. oleifera leaves could be developed as a good feed source, and it not only could substitute for alfalfa meal well but also has a significant effect on growth performance, meat quality, antioxidant and biochemical parameters of rabbits.

Research on application value of combined detection of serum CA125, HE4 and TK1 in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the diagnostic value of joint examination of cancer antigen 125 (CA125), thymidine kinase-1 (TK1) and human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) in the serum of patients with ovarian cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 75 ovarian cancer specimens (ovarian cancer group), 40 benign ovarian specimens (benign group) and 35 ovarian specimens of healthy women (normal control group) were collected. The serum levels of HE4, CA125 and TK1 and the positive detection rates in the three groups were compared. Meanwhile, the sensitivity and specificity of the three tumor markers in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer in the three groups were compared. RESULTS: The levels of HE4, CA125 and TK1 in the ovarian cancer group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p<0.05), and those in the ovarian cancer group were significantly higher than those in the benign group (p<0.05). The positive rates of CA125 as well as TK1 in the ovarian cancer group and the benign group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p<0.05), and those in the ovarian cancer group were significantly higher than those in the benign group (p<0.05). In the detection of an individual tumor marker, the sensitivity of CA125 was the highest, followed by HE4. The specificity of HE4 was the highest, followed by TK1. For the combination of two tumor markers, the sensitivity of CA125+HE4 ranked the first (92.18%), and the specificity of TK1+HE4 ranked the first (88.37%). The sensitivity and specificity of the joint detection of CA125+HE4+TK1 were 94.18% and 79.53%, respectively. The sensitivity of the joint detection of CA125+HE4+TK1 was significantly higher than that of the detection of a single tumor marker and that of joint detection of two tumor markers (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Combined detection of CA125, HE4 and TK1 can significantly improve the sensitivity in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

Isoflurane enhances the malignant potential of glioblastoma stem cells by promoting their viability, mobility in vitro and migratory capacity in vivo.

BACKGROUND: Isoflurane is one of the most common general anaesthetics used during surgical procedures, including tumour resection. However, the effects of isoflurane on the viability and migration capacity of cancer cells, specifically in the context of brain cancer cells, remain unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence that isoflurane has on the function of glioblastoma stem cells (GCSs) in regards to cell proliferation, survival and migration. METHOD: U251-GSCs were exposed to isoflurane at clinically relevant concentrations and incubation times. The effects on proliferation, survival and migration capacities of the cells were evaluated in vitro. The potential risk was assessed in mice by intracranial injection of U251-GSCs pretreated with isoflurane. Furthermore, the average tumour volume and migration distance of U251-GSCs from the tumour centre were calculated. RESULTS: Exposure of U251-GSCs to 1.2% isoflurane for 6 h resulted in increased proliferation (P<0.05) and decreased apoptosis rate (P<0.05) when compared with the control group. In addition, isoflurane exposure caused increased migration capacity in vitro (P<0.05) and the distance migrated was increased in vivo (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Clinically relevant concentrations and incubation times of isoflurane could promote the viability and mobility of U251-GSCs, suggesting this general anaesthetic may have detrimental effects in glioblastoma by facilitating its growth and migration.

Critical role of miR-125b in lipogenesis by targeting stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1).

Alteration of gene expression tightly regulates lipogenesis. Stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1), a key enzyme in lipogenesis, catalyzes the conversion of SFA to MUFA, and inhibition of its activity impairs lipid synthesis. As posttranscriptional regulators, microRNAs are involved in many pathways of lipid metabolism; however, their effect on SCD-1 has not been reported. In this study, miR-125b was identified as a potential regulator of SCD-1 using bioinformatics analysis. Here, we validated SCD-1 as the target of miR-125b using a dual luciferase assay. During adipogenesis, a synthetic mimic or inhibitor was used to overexpress or reduce the expression of miR-125b in porcine adipocytes. Overexpression of miR-125b reduced the accumulation of lipid droplets and triglycerides concentration and repressed SCD-1 protein expression and MUFA composition. The inhibitor had the reverse effect. Small interfering RNA against tested in adipocytes further proved the direct correlation between miR-125b and SCD-1. Moreover, in vivo experiments in mice showed that injection of miR-125b expression vector decreased the hepatic triglycerides concentration relative to saline. This study indicated that miR-125b regulates lipogenesis by targeting SCD-1; therefore, miR-125b might be applied in therapy of lipid metabolism disorders.

Copy number variations in spermatogenic failure patients with chromosomal abnormalities and unexplained azoospermia.

Male infertility is mostly caused by spermatogenic failure. Currently, routine genetic analyses of unexplained azoospermia or oligozoospermia are limited to the investigation of Y chromosomal microdeletions and chromosome karyotype analyses. The aim of this study was to find spermatogenic failure genes in patients with chromosomal abnormalities and unexplained azoospermia caused by copy number variations in order to provide a theoretical basis for further research. Spermatogenic failure patients consisting of 13 males with chromosomal abnormalities and 20 with unexplained azoospermia were enrolled. The subjects underwent high-throughput genome-wide sequencing to find copy number variants (CNVs), and the results were analyzed using the Database of Genomic Variants, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man database, and PubMed. The results showed that 16 CNVs were detected in 11 patients with chromosome abnormalities, and 26 CNVs were found in 16 males with azoospermia. Our data showed CNV-involved loci including: three times on 11p11.12 and 14q11.2 and twice on 6p21.32, 13q11, 15q11.11, 16p12.2, and 21q22.3. Some CNVs may involve changes in genetic structure and function or gene mutations, which may affect gene expression in testicular tissues and lead to spermatogenic failure. The involved genes include EDDM3A, EDDM3B, HLA-DRB1, HLA-DQA1, POTE B, GOLGA8C, DNMT3L, ALF, NPHP1, NRG1, RID2, ADAMTS20, TWF1, COX10, MAK, and DNEL1. By applying high throughput genome-wide sequencing to determine CNVs, we provide a number of candidate genes possibly contributing to spermatogenic failure.

Varicocele and male infertility in Northeast China: Y chromosome microdeletion as an underlying cause.

The prevalence of Y chromosome microdeletions among azoospermic, severe oligozoospermic, moderate oligozoospermic, and mild oligozoospermic patients with varicocele-related and idiopathic infertility shows conflicting data in Asian countries. We aimed to detect this frequency in Northeast China, and investigated spermatogenic defects whether associated with varicocele or Y chromosome microdeletions. All samples underwent a thorough physical examination, semen analysis, and PCR analyses for Y chromosome microdeletions. We randomly selected 150 infertile non-obstructive azoospermic patients with left varicocele (Group 1), 150 idiopathic non-obstructive azoospermic infertility patients (Group 2), 150 infertile severe oligozoospermic patients with left varicocele (Group 3), 150 idiopathic severe oligozoospermic infertility patients (Group 4), 150 infertile moderate oligozoospermic patients with left varicocele (Group 5), 150 idiopathic moderate oligozoospermic infertility patients (Group 6), 150 infertile mild oligozoospermic patients with left varicocele (Group 7), 150 idiopathic mild oligozoospermic infertility patients (Group 8), and 60 healthy unrelated men with proven fertility were recruited as control subjects (Group 9). We observed that our samples from Northeastern China had a higher frequency of microdeletions among the non-obstructive azoospermic individuals with varicocele, as compared with other Asian countries. Furthermore, the spermatogenic defect is due to the underlying Y chromosome microdeletion, and not the varicocele itself. Although varicocele is not the cause of male infertility, it may be associated with male infertility in the Northeastern Chinese population.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of testes and ovaries for the discovery of novel genes from Amur sturgeon (Acipenser schrenckii).

Sturgeons (Acipenser schrenckii) are of high evolutionary, economic, and conservation value, and caviar isone of the most valuable animal food products in the world. The Illumina HiSeq2000 sequencing platform was used to construct testicular and ovarian transcriptomes to identify genes involved in reproduction and sex determination in A. schrenckii. A total of 122,381 and 114,527 unigenes were obtained in the testicular and ovarian transcriptomes, respectively, with average lengths of 748 and 697 bp. A total of 46,179 genes were matched to the non-redundant nr database. GO (31,266), KEGG (39,712), and COG analyses (20,126) were performed to identify potential genes and their functions. Twenty-six gene families involved in reproduction and sex determination were identified from the A. schrenckii testicular and ovarian transcriptomes based on functional annotation of non-redundant transcripts and comparisons with the published literature. Furthermore, 1309 unigenes showed significant differences between the testes and ovaries, including 782 genes that were up-regulated in the testes and 527 that were up-regulated in the ovaries. Eleven genes were involved in reproduction and sex determination mechanisms. Furthermore, 19,065 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified in the expressed sequence tagged dataset, and 190,863 and 193,258 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were obtained from the testicular and ovarian transcriptomic databases, respectively. This study provides new sequence information about A. schrenckii, which will provide a basis for the further study of reproduction and sex determination mechanisms in Acipenser species. The potential SSR and SNP markers isolated from the transcriptome may shed light on the evolution and molecular ecology of Acipenser species.

Decorin-induced proliferation of avian myoblasts involves the myostatin/Smad signaling pathway.

Decorin, a small leucine-rich proteoglycan as a component of the extracellular matrix, plays an important role in the skeletal muscle development. It has been reported that decorin promoted proliferation and differentiation of muscle cells by restraining myostatin activity in rodents. However, the effects and mechanisms of decorin on avian myoblast proliferation are not understood clearly. Thus, in our research, decorin overexpressing and knocking-down quail myoblast-7 (QM7) myoblasts were established to explore the effects of decorin on avian myoblast proliferation by flow cytometry. The results showed that overexpression of decorin enhanced the proliferation of QM7 myoblasts, which was accompanied by the upregulation of follistatin and primary muscle regulatory factors (i.e., myogenic factor 5, myogenic factor 1, myogenin), and downregulation of myostatin expression, as well as the decreased phosphorylation level of SMAD family member 3 (Smad3). In line with expectations, decorin RNAi displayed an opposite effect on the proliferation and gene expression pattern of QM7 cells. In conclusion, our in vitro studies suggested the decorin-mediated myostatin/Smad signaling pathway might be involved in the regulation of avian myoblast proliferation.

Relationship between 5' UTR length and gene expression pattern in chicken.

The chicken (Gallus gallus) is an important model organism that bridges the evolutionary gap between mammals and non-amniote vertebrates. Here, we carried out a systematic study of the relationship between 5' UTR length and gene expression pattern in the chicken genome. We found that gene 5' UTRs lengths show a negative correlation with gene expression levels and gene expression breadths significantly. The relevance of 5' UTR length to expression pattern can not be a consequence of transcription-associated mutations. We also found that gene 5' UTR length shows a weakly positive correlation with gene tissue specificity. Another intriguing finding is that genes with 5' UTR length <30 bp have highest expression level, highest expression breadth, and lowest tissue specificity in chicken. We argued that selection is likely involved in shaping 5' UTR length in the chicken genome.

A clinical study on insomnia in patients with cancer during chemotherapy containing high-dose glucocorticoids.

In this prospective, open-labeled study, 240 cancer patients were assigned to either a high-dose glucocorticoids (HDG) group that received chemotherapy containing HDG, or a control group that received chemotherapy without glucocorticoids. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was chosen to assess insomnia. The results of the study showed that dimensions of sleep latency, sleep duration, and sleep efficiency had the three largest differences in values and numbers of patients, with a score increase in the HDG group compared to the control group (p < 0.001). After chemotherapy in the HDG group, the PSQI score significantly increased in patients with stage II cancer (both p < 0.05), and patients diagnosed with lymphoma (p < 0.01), whereas the complete response and partial response rates (p < 0.05) had the smallest elevations. The average score of each dimension did not significantly decrease after hypnotics (p > 0.05). Our study suggests that the major clinical manifestations of insomnia in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy containing HDG include difficulty falling asleep, short sleep duration, and low sleep efficiency. however, we cannot definitively state that hypnotics can improve poor sleep quality.

Developmental hypothyroxinaemia induced by maternal mild iodine deficiency delays hippocampal axonal growth in the rat offspring.

Iodine is essential for the biosynthesis of thyroid hormones, including triiodothyronine and thyroxine. Thyroid hormones are important for central nervous system development. Mild maternal iodine deficiency (ID)-induced hypothyroxinaemia causes neurological deficits and mental retardation of the foetus. However, the detailed mechanism underlying these deficits is still largely unknown. Given that the growth-associated protein of 43 kDa (GAP-43), semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) and the glycogen synthase kinase 3ß (GSK3ß)/collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP2) pathway are essential for axonal development, we hypothesise that hippocampal axonal growth-related proteins may be impaired, which may contribute to hippocampal axonal growth delay in rat offspring exposed to maternal hypothyroxinaemia. To test this hypothesis, maternal hypothyroxinaemia models were established in Wistar rats using a mild ID diet. Besides a negative control group, two maternal hypothyroidism models were created with either a severe ID diet or methimazole in the water. Our results showed that maternal hypothyroxinaemia exposure delayed offspring axonal growth on gestational day 19, postnatal day (PN) 7, PN14 and PN21. Consistent with this, the mean intensity of hippocampal CRMP2 and Tau1 immunofluorescence axonal protein was reduced in the mild ID group. Moreover, maternal hypothyroxinaemia disrupted expressions of GAP-43 and Sema3A. Furthermore, the phosphorylation of GSK3ß and CRMP2 was also affected in the treated offspring, implying a potential mechanism by which hypothyroxinaemia-exposure affects neurodevelopment. Taken together, our data support the hypothesis that maternal hypothyroxinaemia may impair axonal growth of the offspring.

Selective transport of long-chain fatty acids by FAT/CD36 in skeletal muscle of broilers.

Fatty acid translocase (FAT/CD36) is a membrane receptor that facilitates long-chain fatty acid uptake. To investigate its role in the regulation of long-chain fatty acid composition in muscle tissue, we studied and compared FAT/CD36 gene expression in muscle tissues of commercial broiler chickens and Chinese local Silky fowls. The results from gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of muscle samples demonstrated that Chinese local Silky fowls had significantly higher (P < 0.05) proportions of linoleic acid (LA) and palmitic acid, lower proportions (P < 0.05) of arachidonic acid (AA) and oleic acid than the commercial broiler chickens. The mRNA expression levels of fatty acid (FA) transporters (FA transport protein-1, membrane FA-binding protein, FAT/CD36 and caveolin-1) in the m. ipsilateral pectoralis and biceps femoris were analyzed by Q-PCR, and FAT/CD36 expression levels showed significant differences between these types of chickens (P < 0.01). Interestingly, the levels of FAT/CD36 expression are positively correlated with LA content (r = 0.567, P < 0.01) but negatively correlated with palmitic acid content (r = -0.568, P < 0.01). Further experiments in the stably transfected Chinese hamster oocytes cells with chicken FAT/CD36 cDNA demonstrated that overexpression of FAT/CD36 improves total FA uptake with a significant increase in the proportion of LA and AA, and a decreased proportion of palmitic acid. These results suggest that chicken FAT/CD36 may selectively transport LA and AA, which may lead to the higher LA deposition in muscle tissue.