A meta-analysis of the therapeutic effect of probiotic intervention in obese or overweight adolescents.

Background & aims: Existing evidence on the possible effects of probiotics on obese or overweight adolescents has not been fully established. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the effects of probiotic supplementation on anthropometric indices, inflammatory markers and metabolic indices in obese or overweight adolescents. Methods: The literature up to March 2023 related to probiotic intervention in obese or overweight adolescents was searched and screened from multiple databases, including the CNKI(China national knowledge infrastructure), CBM(Chinese biomedical literature database), PubMed, EmBase, and Cochrane library databases. All randomized controlled trials using probiotic supplements in obese or overweight adolescents were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Results: A total of 8 studies that met the inclusion criteria were included in this study. There were 201 cases in the experimental group (probiotic treatment) and 190 cases in the control group. Compared to the control group, probiotic intervention in adolescents resulted in a decrease in body mass index, fasting blood glucose and C-reactive protein with WMD(Weighted mean difference) and 95% CI of -2.53 (-4.8 to -0.26) kg/m2, -0.80 (-1.13 to -0.47) mol/L and -0.24 (-0.43 to -0.05) mg/L, respectively. No significant changes were found in weight, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, insulin, Homeostatic Model Assessment of insulin resistance, interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor alpha and so on; however, an unfavorable elevated effect in total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoproteins was detected with WMD and 95% CI of 0.06 (0.02 to 0.09) mmol/L, 0.18 (0.14 to 0.21) mmol/L, and 0.19 (0.18 to 0.20) mmol/L, respectively. Conclusion: According to our results, probiotic supplementation was beneficial in managing metabolic indicators such as fasting blood glucose, body mass index and inflammation-related C-reactive protein in overweight or obese adolescents. Further large scale studies are warranted to confirm present findings and to identify the effects and mechanisms to provide more precise evidence for clinical intervention. Systematic review registration: doi: 10.37766/inplasy2024.1.0081, identifier INPLASY202410081.

Lentinan progress in inflammatory diseases and tumor diseases.

Shiitake mushrooms are a fungal food that has been recorded in Chinese medicine to nourish the blood and qi. Lentinan (lLNT) is an active substance extracted from shiitake mushrooms with powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor functions. Inflammatory diseases and cancers are the leading causes of death worldwide, posing a serious threat to human life and health and posing enormous challenges to global health systems. There is still a lack of effective treatments for inflammatory diseases and cancer. LNT has been approved as an adjunct to chemotherapy in China and Japan. Studies have shown that LNT plays an important role in the treatment of inflammatory diseases as well as oncological diseases. Moreover, clinical experiments have confirmed that LNT combined with chemotherapy drugs has a significant effect in improving the prognosis of patients, enhancing their immune function and reducing the side effects of chemotherapy in lung cancer, colorectal cancer and gastric cancer. However, the relevant mechanism of action of the LNT signaling pathway in inflammatory diseases and cancer. Therefore, this article reviews the mechanism and clinical research of LNT in inflammatory diseases and tumor diseases in recent years.

Interparental Conflict and Delinquency Among Chinese Adolescents: Parental Knowledge as a Mediator and Deviant Peer Affiliation as a Moderator.

Interparental conflict has been found to positively affect adolescent delinquency; however, the underlying mechanism that explains this association remains unclear. This study investigated whether parental knowledge mediates the association between interparental conflict and adolescent delinquency, and whether this mediating process is moderated by deviant peer affiliation. To examine this, a total of 3,129 Chinese adolescents (47.27% boys, Mean age = 14.94 years) completed a survey. Structural equation modeling indicated that the positive association between interparental conflict and adolescent delinquency is mediated by parental knowledge. Moreover, for adolescents with high deviant peer affiliation, interparental conflict was found to positively predict delinquency via parental knowledge; however, this indirect link was non-significant for adolescents with low deviant peer affiliation. These findings highlight the influence of parental knowledge and deviant peer affiliation on the association between interparental conflict and adolescent delinquency. This can provide guidance for the development of effective interventions that address the adverse effects of interparental conflict.

Dishevelled Associated Activator Of Morphogenesis (DAAM) Facilitates Invasion of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Upregulating Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1α (HIF-1α) Expression.

BACKGROUND The dishevelled associated activator of morphogenesis (DAAM) family, consisting of DAAM1 and DAAM2, is an important component of the Wnt signal pathway. Previous studies have suggested that DAAM2 reduces Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) expression by promoting its ubiquitination, but the correlation between DAAM and HIF-1alpha in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been studied. MATERIAL AND METHODS In our study, expression of DAAM1 and DAAM2 in HCCs and tumor-adjacent liver tissues was assessed with qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Correlations between DAAM1/2 and the clinicopathologic variables were evaluated with the Chi-square test. With univariate and multivariate analysis, we further evaluated the prognostic significance of DAAM1 and DAAM2. Using in vitro experiments, we assessed the functions of DAAM1 and DAAM2 in invasion and proliferation in different HCC cell lines and investigated their underlying mechanisms. RESULTS DAAM1 and 2 overexpression were 18.8% and 48.7%, respectively, of the whole cohort. mRNAs of DAAM2 in HCCs were substantially higher than mRNAs in liver tissues, while DAAM1 mRNA had no marked difference. High DAAM2 expression was notably associated with advanced T stage (P=0.032), TNM stage (P=0.032), and overall survival (OS) rate (P=0.004). DAAM 2 knockdown promoted VHL accumulation and subsequent HIF-1alpha down-regulation in HCC cells. In HCC specimens, DAAM2 expression was also negatively correlated with VHL and positively associated with HIF-1alpha. Moreover, HIF-1alpha was required in DAAM2-induced invasion of HCC cells. CONCLUSIONS DAAM2, rather than DAAM1, was able to predict prognosis of HCC. DAAM2 decreased VHL expression and consequently upregulated HIF-1alpha, eventually facilitating invasion of HCC.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells inhibit dendritic cells differentiation and maturation by microRNA-23b.

Research on regulation and its mechanism of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on dendritic cells (DCs), which is the initiating factor in immune response has applicable clinical value. Although BMSCs have a significant regulatory effect on the maturation of DCs, its molecular mechanism is still unclear. BMSCs and DCs, were co-cultured by different concentration ratios. Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of DC markers (CD83, CD11c). Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to measure the expression of related genes in RNA level. Expression of the target proteins was detected with using Western blot assay. miRNA inhibitor and miRNA mimic were used to suppress and up-regulate the expression of the target gene. In this research, our results demonstrated that BMSCs notably inhibited maturation of DCs in the co-culture system of BMSCs and DCs and confirmed that this inhibition is due to overexpression of miR-23b Furthermore, this research found that miR-23b overexpression inhibited the expression of p50/p65, thus blocked the activation of the NF-κB pathway. In conclusion, BMSCs affected the activation of NF-κB pathway through miR-23b overexpression resulting in inhibition of the maturation and differentiation of DCs.

Changes of Plasma Tumor Necrosis Factor α and C-Reactive Protein Levels in Patients with Hypertension Accompanied by Impaired Glucose Tolerance and their Clinical Significance.

BACKGROUND: Chronic inflammation could affect the occurrence and development of malignant tumors. To explore the levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients accompanied by impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and their clinical significance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 210 patients hospitalized in Affiliated Hospital of Taishan Medical University from Jun., 2013 to Dec., 2014 were selected, in which 92 cases were accompanied by IGT. Meanwhile, 80 randomly-selected healthy people by physical examination were as the control. The levels of routine biochemical indexes, plasma TNF-α and CRP in all subjects were measured. RESULTS: Both systolic and diastolic pressures in hypertension group and hypertension plus IGT group were significantly higher than in control group (p<0.01), but there was no statistical significance between these two groups (p>0.05). The levels of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and blood glucose 2 h after taking glucose in hypertension plus IGT group were markedly higher than other groups (p<0.01). Homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), TNF-α and CRP contents were on the progressive increase in control, hypertension and hypertension plus IGT groups, but significant differences were presented among each group (P<0.01). Hypertension accompanied by IGT had a significantly-positive association with CRP, TNF-α, FPG and blood glucose 2h after taking glucose. CONCLUSIONS: The levels of plasma TNF-α and CPR in patients with hypertension accompanied by IGT increase significantly, indicating that inflammatory reaction in these patient increases, thus suggesting that these patients should be focused regarding cancer prevention.

An effective strategy for species identification of avian meats using the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene fragment.

An effective DNA-based molecular method had been used to identify avian species from meats. The method combined the use of a pair of universal primers, which amplified about 440-bp fragment of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene. A total of 99 meat samples were tested and 17 haplotypes were identified by DNA sequencing, which representing 14 avian species. One avian species was listed as the national first-grade protected animal in China and the IUCN endangered species. Two avian species were under the national second-grade state protection. The proposed method represents a straightforward and robust method for the accurate identification of avian species that could be used by law enforcement agencies as a tool for the control of illegal trade of meat from protected species.

Cyclic expression of Lhx2 is involved in secondary hair follicle development in cashmere goat.

Lhx2, a member of LIM homeobox transcription factors, plays a key role in normal tissue development. However, the molecular mechanism of Lhx2 gene in the regulation of the secondary hair follicle cycling in cashmere goat remains largely unknown. In the present study, the Lhx2 gene was cloned and characterized in cashmere goat. The cloned cDNA of Lhx2 was 1233 bp in length, encoding for proteins of 406 amino acids which contained all functionally important domains conserved among vertebrate Lhx2 gene. Tissue distribution analysis showed that Lhx2 mRNA was highly expressed in the skin and low expressed in all other tissues. Immunohistochemical localization revealed that Lhx2 was expressed in secondary hair follicles. Analysis of expression profiles of Lhx2 mRNA during different development stages in secondary hair follicles showed that the highest expression was observed at the anagen stage, while the lowest expression was detected at the telogen stage. The expression tendency during the development stages was that it increased from telogen to anagen, decreased from anagen to catagen, and decreased from catagen to telogen. The expression pattern of Lhx2 protein and mRNA was similar. The mRNA and protein expression of Lhx2 were consistent throughout the development cycle in secondary hair follicles. These findings provided a better understanding of the function of Lhx2 and suggested that the cyclic expression of Lhx2 might play important roles during secondary hair follicle development in cashmere goat.

[Gene flow among sheep breeds of Mongolian group in China].

Gene flow was analyzed among four sheep breeds of Mongolian Group in China using structural gene loci and microsatellite markers.Results showed that genetic differentiation was 0.0164-0.0455 by using structural loci, and was 0.0107-0.0239 by using microsatellite loci.This illustrated that most variations existed within breeds and genetic differentiation level was very low among sheep breeds of Mongolian Group in China.There was substantial Gene flow among the breeds as estimated by the structural loci (Nm=7.971) or the microsatellite method(Nm=15.732).There was no direct relationship between genetic differences from breeds and geographical distances.It is concluded that genetic differentiation of sheep breeds of Mongolian Group in China is mainly the result of natural selection (different living conditions).

[Analysis of genetic co-adaptability of structural loci in Hu sheep].

Using the method of multiloci electrophoresis, genetic co-adaptability of Hu Sheep was analyzed according to allele frequencies in 14 structural loci. The results showed that no co-adaptability existed in the dominance-dominance model, while co-adaptability was observed in X-p-Cat combination locus of dominance-codominance model and in Po-CA, Po-Cat combination locus of codominance-codominance model. The findings demonstrated that co-adaptability occurred among neutral structural loci and played a key role in maintaining genetic situation, equilibrium or disequilibrium.

Genetic differentiation of native sheep populations in East and South Asia.

Variations of four sheep populations in China were examined by multiloci electrophoresis, and similar data are quoted to analyze the degree of genetic differentiation of native sheep populations in East and South Asia. Among 15 populations, the average heterozygosity is 0.2746, and the effective number of alleles is 1.559. Mongolian sheep possess the highest genetic diversity, and diversity decreases sequentially in the Chinese, Vietnamese, Bangladeshi, and Nepalese populations. Coefficients of genetic differentiation are 0.0126-0.3083, with an average of 0.148, demonstrating that the major genetic variation (85%) exists within populations. Genetic identity and genetic distance all show relatively low genetic differentiation. No relationship was found between geographic distance and genetic distance. Gene flow is common among the mass of populations, which leads to the inconsistency between geographic distance and genetic distance. The 15 native sheep populations in East and South Asia can be divided into two groups, one group including part of the Chinese and Mongolian populations and another including the Yunnan population of China and part of the Nepalese and Bangladeshi populations. Other populations did not separate into groups, merging instead into the two main groups.