Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Colistin Sulfate in the Treatment of Carbapenem-Resistant Organism Infections in Patients with Hematological Diseases.

INTRODUCTION: Carbapenem-resistant organisms (CRO) have emerged as a significant worldwide issue. However, the availability of efficacious antibiotics for treating CRO infections remains limited. Polymyxins, including colistin sulfate, represent the last-line therapeutic option against CRO infections. This study aims to retrospectively evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of colistin sulfate in managing CRO infections among patients with hematological diseases. METHODS: Between April 2022 and January 2023, a total of 118 hematological patients diagnosed with CRO infection were treated with colistin sulfate at Suzhou Hongci Hospital of Hematology. The assessment encompassed the clinical efficacy, bacterial clearance rate, adverse reactions, and 30-day all-cause mortality. RESULTS: The study found that the total effective rate of colistin sulfate in the treatment of CRO infection was 74.6%, with a bacterial clearance rate of 72.6%. Throughout the treatment, nephrotoxicity occurred in 7.6% of cases, neurotoxicity in 2.5% of cases, and the 30-day all-cause mortality rate was 22.9%. Multivariate logistic analysis revealed that the treatment course and combination medication with other antimicrobials were independent factors affecting the clinical efficacy of colistin sulfate. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that the treatment of colistin sulfate can achieve high clinical efficacy and microbial responses, with a low risk of nephrotoxicity. This study provides evidence of the positive clinical efficacy and safety of colistin sulfate treatment in these patients. High-quality randomized controlled trials are still needed to further confirm the beneficial role of colistin sulfate.

[Clinical Analysis of Colistin Sulfate in the Treatment of Hematonosis Infected by Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy and safety of colistin sulfate in the treatment of hematonosis patients infected by multidrug-resistant (MDR) gram-negative bacteria (GNB), and discuss the possible factors that affect the efficacy of colistin sulfate. METHODS: The clinical data of 85 hematologic patients infected with MDR GNB in the Soochow Hopes Hematonosis Hospital from April 2022 to November 2022 were collected and divided into clinically effective group with 71 cases and ineffective group with 14 cases according to the therapeutic efficacy of colistin sulfate. The age, gender, type of hematologic disease, status of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, infection sites, type of pathogen, timing of administration, daily dose and duration of colistin sulfate, and combination with other antibacterial agents of patients in two groups were compared. Logistic regression was used to analyze on the meaningful variables to study the influencing factors of colistin sulfate. The adverse reactions of colistin sulfate were also evaluated. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, gender, type of hematologic disease, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation status, infection sites and pathogen type between the effective group and the ineffective group (P>0.05). Compared with the medication time more than 7 days, meropenem used within 7 days in the clinical effective group, and timely replacement with colistin sulfate could obtain better efficacy, the difference was statistically significant (P=0.018). The duration of tigacycline before colistin sulfate did not affect the efficacy, and there was no significant difference in efficacy between the effective and ineffective groups. The therapeutic effect of colistin sulfate at daily dose of 500 000 U q8h was better than that of 500 000 U q12h, the difference was statistically significant (P=0.035). The time of colistin sulfate use in the clinically effective group was longer than that in the ineffective group, which had a statistical difference (P=0.003). Compared with the clinical ineffective group, the efficacy of combination regimens with colistin sulfate was better than that of colistin sulfate monotherapy, and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.013). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed on the indicators with statistical differences in the two groups of patients, which suggested that the use time of colistin sulfate (B: 2.358; OR: 10.573; CI: 1.567-71.361; P=0.015) and the combination of colistin sulfate (B: 1.720; OR: 5.586; CI: 1.210-25.787; P=0.028) were influential factors in the efficacy of colistin sulfate. During the treatment, the incidence of nephrotoxicity, hepatotoxicity and peripheral neurotoxicity were 5.9%, 1.2% and 1.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The use of colistin sulfate improves the clinical efficacy of MDR GNB infections in hematological patients, and the timing of colistin sulfate administration and the combination of drugs are independent factors affecting its clinical efficacy, and the safety during treatment is high.

Chitosan-Based Sustained Expression of Sterol Regulatory Element-Binding Protein 1a Stimulates Hepatic Glucose Oxidation and Growth in Sparus aurata.

The administration of a single dose of chitosan nanoparticles driving the expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1a (SREBP1a) was recently associated with the enhanced conversion of carbohydrates into lipids. To address the effects of the long-lasting expression of SREBP1a on the growth and liver intermediary metabolism of carnivorous fish, chitosan-tripolyphosphate (TPP) nanoparticles complexed with a plasmid expressing the N terminal active domain of hamster SREBP1a (pSG5-SREBP1a) were injected intraperitoneally every 4 weeks (three doses in total) to gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) fed high-protein-low-carbohydrate and low-protein-high-carbohydrate diets. Following 70 days of treatment, chitosan-TPP-pSG5-SREBP1a nanoparticles led to the sustained upregulation of SREBP1a in the liver of S. aurata. Independently of the diet, SREBP1a overexpression significantly increased their weight gain, specific growth rate, and protein efficiency ratio but decreased their feed conversion ratio. In agreement with an improved conversion of dietary carbohydrates into lipids, SREBP1a expression increased serum triglycerides and cholesterol as well as hepatic glucose oxidation via glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway, while not affecting gluconeogenesis and transamination. Our findings support that the periodical administration of chitosan-TPP-DNA nanoparticles to overexpress SREBP1a in the liver enhanced the growth performance of S. aurata through a mechanism that enabled protein sparing by enhancing dietary carbohydrate metabolisation.

Ghrelin-Ghrelin receptor (GSHR) pathway via endocannabinoid signal affects the expression of NPY to promote the food intake of Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii).

Previous data suggested that activation of endocannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) was necessary for the orexigenic effect of Ghrelin in rodents, but the information is limited in teleosts. To investigate the feeding regulation pathway of Ghrelin and CB1 in Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii), this study first identified the Ghrelin (345 bp, complete coding sequence) and Ghrelin receptor (GHSR, 500 bp, partial coding sequence) sequences, and then detected their tissue distribution patterns, which showed that Ghrelin is mainly distribution in peripheral tissues, while GSHR is mainly in different brain divisions. Besides, the qPCR before and after feeding showed that the mRNA expressions of Ghrelin and GHSR were inhibited after feeding in telencephalon, diencephalon and mesencephalon. Subsequently, the food intake and appetite factor expressions were measured by i.c.v. co-injection of Ghrelin and GSHR antagonist. The results showed that Ghrelin promoted the food intake of Siberian sturgeon, which was reversed by its receptor antagonist. Besides, i.c.v. injection of Ghrelin decreased telencephalon CART expression while increased NPY expression in the three brain regions. In addition, to further explore the relationship of Ghrelin and CB1 signal regulating feeding, the co-injection of Ghrelin and CB1 antagonists was performed. The results showed that AM6545 (CB1 peripheral restricted antagonist) failed to affect the orexigenic effect of Ghrelin and the expression pattern of NPY mRNA in the telencephalon. While in the diencephalon, the increase of food intake and NPY mRNA expression induced by Ghrelin was completely reversed by Rimonabant (CB1 global antagonist). These results indicate Ghrelin-GSHR pathway promotes the food intake of Siberian sturgeon by inducing the expression of NPY in the diencephalon, and the stimulating effect will be reversed by cannabinoid receptor antagonism. This study provides a foundation for understanding the pathways Ghrelin and CB1 signals in appetite regulation of the teleost.

Chitosan-Based Drug Delivery System: Applications in Fish Biotechnology.

Chitosan is increasingly used for safe nucleic acid delivery in gene therapy studies, due to well-known properties such as bioadhesion, low toxicity, biodegradability and biocompatibility. Furthermore, chitosan derivatization can be easily performed to improve the solubility and stability of chitosan-nucleic acid polyplexes, and enhance efficient target cell drug delivery, cell uptake, intracellular endosomal escape, unpacking and nuclear import of expression plasmids. As in other fields, chitosan is a promising drug delivery vector with great potential for the fish farming industry. This review highlights state-of-the-art assays using chitosan-based methodologies for delivering nucleic acids into cells, and focuses attention on recent advances in chitosan-mediated gene delivery for fish biotechnology applications. The efficiency of chitosan for gene therapy studies in fish biotechnology is discussed in fields such as fish vaccination against bacterial and viral infection, control of gonadal development and gene overexpression and silencing for overcoming metabolic limitations, such as dependence on protein-rich diets and the low glucose tolerance of farmed fish. Finally, challenges and perspectives on the future developments of chitosan-based gene delivery in fish are also discussed.

NPY and NPY receptors in the central control of feeding and interactions with CART and MC4R in Siberian sturgeon.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is the most powerful central neuropeptide implicated in feeding regulation via its receptors. Understanding the role of NPY system is critical to elucidate animal feeding regulation. Unlike mammal, the possible mechanisms of NPY system in the food intake of teleost fish are mostly unknown. Therefore, we investigated the regulatory mechanism of NPY and NPY receptors in Siberian sturgeon. In this study, we cloned the cDNA encoding NPY, and assessed the effects of different energy status on npy mRNAs abundance. The expression of npy was decreased in the brain after feeding 1 and 3 h. Besides, the expression of npy was increased after fasting within 15 days, while exhibiting significant decrease after refeeding. In order to further characterize the role of NPY receptor in fish, we performed acute intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of NPY Y1 and Y2 receptor agonists, which is [Leu 31, Pro 34] NPY and NPY13-36 respectively. The results showed that the food intake of Siberian sturgeon was increased within 30 mins after injection of both Y1 and Y2 receptor agonist. To explore the relationship between NPY, NPY receptors and another appetite peptides, we examined the level of npy, cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (cart) and melanocortin-4 receptor (mc4r) by injected Y1 and Y2 receptor agonist. The results suggested that cart expression was regulated by NPY which acts on Y1 receptor or Y2 receptor. While mc4r expression just was mediated by NPY and Y1 receptor.

UCN3 suppresses food intake in coordination with CCK and the CCK2R in Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii).

Urocortin-3 (UCN3) as a brain-gut peptide inhibits food intake of animal, but the underlying mechanism is not clear. To explore the appetite mechanism about the action of UCN3 in fish, intraperitoneal injection of UCN3 with CCK8, Lorglumide (CCK1R antagonist) or LY225910 (CCK2R antagonist) were conducted. Siberian sturgeon administrated with UCN3 and CCK8 showed a drastic reduction in food intake. The anorectic effect of UCN3 was significantly blocked by LY225910, but not affected by Lorglumide. Furthermore, LY225910 could effectively reverse appetite factor mRNA expressions, including cck, pyy, cart, npy, ucn3, apelin and nucb2 in the whole brain, stomach and intestinum valvula, but Lorglumide could only partially reverse these effects, suggesting the anorectic effect of UCN3 may be primarily mediated CCK2R in Siberian sturgeon. This study indicates for the first time in fish that UCN3 may inhibit food intake in coordination with CCK and CCK2R.

Intraperitoneal injection of nesfatin-1 primarily through the CCK-CCK1R signal pathway affects expression of appetite factors to inhibit the food intake of Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii).

Nesfatin-1 is an 82-amino acid protein derived from nucleobindin 2 (NUCB2), which could inhibit food intake in fish and mammals. However, the neuroendocrine mechanism of nesfatin-1 in animal appetite regulation is unclear. To explore the feeding mechanism of nesfatin-1 in Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii), intraperitoneal injections of nesfatin-1 and sulfated cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK8), Lorglumide (CCK1R selective antagonist), or LY 225,910 (CCK2R selective antagonist) were performed. Co-injection of nesfatin-1 and CCK8 synergistically significantly decreased the food intake in 1 h. Lorglumide reversed the anorectic effect of nesfatin-1, but LY 225,910 had no effect. Moreover, Lorglumide could also reverse the expressions of appetite factors including nucb2, cck, unc3, cart, apelin, pyy, and npy induced by nesfatin-1 in the brain, stomach, and liver, while LY 225,910 partially reversed these changes. These results indicate that nesfatin-1 inhibits the appetite of Siberian sturgeon mainly through the CCK-CCK1R signaling pathway.

Effects of the intestinal microbial metabolite butyrate on the development of colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the major health threats in developed countries. Changes in dietary components, such as more protein and lipid intake, can increase the risk of CRC. Diet affects CRC in many ways. They regulate the composition and function of gut microbiota, which have an amazing metabolic capacity and can produce short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as propionate, acetate, and butyrate. Butyrate is a principal energy source for colonic epithelial cells and plays an important role in maintaining the stability of gut microbiota and the integrity of intestinal epithelium. However, there are few studies reviewing the anti-CRC potentials of butyrate. This review summarizes the recent research progresses in the effect of gut microbiota imbalance and the decrease in intestinal microbial metabolite butyrate caused by unbalanced diet on CRC development, and discusses the mechanisms of butyrate-induced anti-CRC activities, which may guide people to prevent CRC by improving diet structures.

The inhibitory effect of NUCB2/nesfatin-1 on appetite regulation of Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii Brandt).

Since NUCB2 was discovered, the information about NUCB2/nesfatin-1 in appetite regulation in both mammals and teleost has been still limited. The present study aims to determine the effects of nesfatin-1 on food intake and to explore the appetite mechanism in Siberian sturgeon. In this study, nucb2 cDNA sequence of 1571 bp was obtained, and the mRNA expression of nucb2 was abundant in brain and liver. Levels of nucb2 were appreciably increased in brain after feeding 1 and 3 h, while significantly decreased within fasting 15 days. Except for fasting 1 day, the expression pattern of nucb2 in the liver was similar to the brain. Acute intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of nesfatin-1 inhibited the food intake during 0-1 h in a dose-dependent manner and 50 or 100 ng/g BW nesfatin-1 significantly decreased the cumulative food intake during 3 h. The daily food intake and cumulative food intake were remarkably reduced post chronic (7 days) i.p. injection. Moreover, chronic i.p. injection of nesfatin-1 affected the expression of appetite factors including cart, apelin and pyy in the brain, stomach and liver with the consistent pattern of change, while the levels of cck, ucn3 and nucb2 in these have different patterns. This study demonstrates that nesfatin-1 acts as a satiety factor in reducing the short-term and long-term food intake of Siberian sturgeon. Therefore, the data suggesting nesfatin-1 inhibits the appetite through different signal pathways in the central and peripheral endocrine systems of Siberian sturgeon.

One evidence of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) has the bidirectional effects on appetite in Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii).

Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART), discovered in 1995, with various biological functions, has received much attention recently due to its role in the regulation of appetite in mammals. However, the function of CART on the appetite control in fish species is still not very clear. In this study, Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii Brandt) cart gene was cloned for the first time, and the cart mRNA levels in 11 feeding-related tissues was investigated. The Siberian sturgeon cart gene sequence was 1459 base pairs (bp), including a 3'-terminal untranslated region (3'-UTR) of 39 bp, a 5'-terminal untranslated region (5'-UTR) of 52 bp, and an open reading frame (ORF) of 348 bp encoding 115 amino acids. Siberian sturgeon cart gene has three exons and two introns including 341 bp intron 1 and 679 bp intron 2. The result of tissue distribution showed that cart was widely distributed in 11 tissues with the highest expression in the whole brain. The effects of periprandial (pre- and post-feeding), fasting, and re-feeding on cart mRNA abundance in the whole brain were assessed. Periprandial result showed the expression of cart mRNA in the whole brain significantly elevated after feeding for 3 h. However, fasting experiment showed that the level of cart significantly decreased after 1 day of fasting, but that significantly increased after 3-17 days of food deprivation and returned to the basic level after 3 days of re-feeding in the fishes which were fasted for 15 days. In conclusion, this study suggests that CART has the bidirectional effects on appetite, which acts as a satiety factor in short-term feeding regulation but as a starvation factor in long-term appetite regulation in Siberian sturgeon.

CCK reduces the food intake mainly through CCK1R in Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii Brandt).

To explore the effect of CCK on food intake in Siberian sturgeon, cck cDNA sequence of 1005 bp was obtained, and cck mRNA possessed the highest expression in brain. The expressions of cck were significantly increased after feeding 1 and 3 h, while displaying significant decrease after fasting within 15 days in brain and duodenum. Re-feeding for 3 days induced cck level returned to basic level. Acute i.p. injection experiment showed 100 and 200 ng/g BW CCK8 inhibited the food intake in 0-1 h together with the cumulative food intake within 3 h. 7 days chronic i.p. injection of 100 and 200 ng/g BW CCK8, both daily food intake and cumulative food intake were significantly decreased. In addition, chronic i.p injection of CCK8 induced the expression of feeding related factors changes including cck, ucn3, cart, apelin, pyy and npy in respective organization. Moreover, as revealed by the results, Lorglumide, the CCK1R selective antagonist, effectively reversed the inhibitory effects of CCK8 on food intake and the levels of feeding related factors. On the other hand, LY 225910, the CCK2R selective antagonist, partially reversed these effects. These results indicate CCK is a satiety factor inhibits the feeding of Siberian sturgeon primarily through CCK1R.

The anticancer functions of RIG-I-like receptors, RIG-I and MDA5, and their applications in cancer therapy.

Cancer is a major cause of death worldwide, and its incidence and mortality continuously increase in China. Nowadays, cancer heavily influences our health and constitutes enormous burden on society and families. Although there are many tools for cancer treatment, but the overall therapeutic effect is poor. In addition, cancer cells often develop resistance to therapy due to defective cell death or immune escape mechanisms. Therefore, it is a promising way for cancer treatment to effectively activate apoptosis and conquer immunosuppression. RIG-I-like receptors (RLRs) belong to RNA-sensing pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), one of the major subsets of PRRs, and play a critical role in sensing RNA viruses and initiate host antiviral responses such as the production of type I interferons (IFNs), proinflammatory cytokines, and other immune response molecules. Recent studies have demonstrated that tumor cells could mimic viral infection to activate viral recognition of immune system and the activation of interferon response pathway. RIG-I and MDA5, two members of RLRs family, could induce growth inhibition or apoptosis of multiple types of cancer cells on the activation by RNA ligands in IFN-dependent or IFN-independent approach. Previous studies have reviewed PRRs as promising immunotherapy targets for colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer. However, until now, a comprehensive review on the role of RLRs in the development and treatment of various cancers is still lacking. In this article, we reviewed the latest studies on the roles as well as the mechanisms of RIG-I and MDA5 in the development of various cancers and therapeutic potentials of targeting RIG-I and MDA5 for cancer treatment.

The evidence of apelin has the bidirectional effects on feeding regulation in Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii).

Apelin is a peptide, mainly produced in the brain, which participates in several physiologic effects. However, knowledge about the mechanism of appetite regulation in teleosts, including the role of apelin is not well understood. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of feeding status on the expression of apelin mRNA in the whole brain and the effects of injection of apelin on food intake in Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii). In this study, we first cloned the apelin cDNA sequence of the Siberian sturgeon. We obtained a 1046-bp cDNA fragment, including a 237-bp open reading frame (ORF) that encoded 78 amino acids. Apelin was widely distributed in 11 tissues related to feeding regulation, with the highest expression in thewhole brain, followed by the spleen and trunk kidney. In addition, we measured the effects of periprandial (preprandial and postprandial) change, fasting and re-feeding on apelin mRNA expression in whole brain. The level of apelin mRNA was significantly decreased 1h after feeding. The results of the fasting experiment showed that the expression of apelin mRNA in the brain was significantly reduced after 1day of fasting but consistently increased throughout the 15-day food deprivation period. When the 15-day fasted fish were re-fed, apelin mRNA expression in the brain was significantly increased as compared to that of the control. These results suggest that apelin may play a bidirectional role in the regulation of food intake in the Siberian sturgeon. In order to further examine the effect of apelin on feeding regulation in Siberian sturgeons, acute and chronic intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection experiments were performed and food intakes were recorded. Results showed that acute i.p. injection of apelin-13 reduced food intake, however, chronic i.p. injection apelin-13 increased the food intake for 7days in Siberian sturgeons. In conclusion, our results show that apelin has a bidirectional effect on feeding regulation in Siberian sturgeons by acting as a satiety factor in short-term feeding regulation and a starvation factor in long-term feeding regulation.

Nucleic acid sensing pattern recognition receptors in the development of colorectal cancer and colitis.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths that is often associated with inflammation initiated by activation of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). Nucleic acid sensing PRRs are one of the major subsets of PRRs that sense nucleic acid (DNA and RNA), mainly including some members of Toll-like receptors (TLR3, 7, 8, 9), AIM2-like receptors (AIM2, IFI16), STING, cGAS, RNA polymerase III, and DExD/H box nucleic acid helicases (such as RIG-I like receptors (RIG-I, MDA5, LPG2), DDX1, 3, 5, 7, 17, 21, 41, 60, and DHX9, 36). Activation of these receptors eventually leads to the release of cytokines and activation of immune cells, which are well known to play crucial roles in host defense against intracellular bacterial and virus infection. However, the functions of these nucleic acid sensing PRRs in the other diseases such as CRC and colitis remain largely unknown. Recent studies indicated that nucleic acid sensing PRRs contribute to CRC and/or colitis development, and therapeutic modulation of nucleic acid sensing PRRs may reduce the risk of CRC development. However, until now, a comprehensive review on the role of nucleic acid sensing PRRs in CRC and colitis is still lacking. This review provided an overview of the roles as well as the mechanisms of these nucleic acid sensing PRRs (AIM2, STING, cGAS, RIG-I and its downstream molecules, DDX3, 5, 6,17, and DHX9, 36) in CRC and colitis, which may aid the diagnosis, therapy, and prognostic prediction of CRC and colitis.

Intraperitoneal injection urocortin-3 reduces the food intake of Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii).

Urocortin-3 (UCN3), one of the corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) family peptides, which was discovered in 2001, has a variety of biological functions. However, the researches of UCN3 in fish were scarce. In order to understand whether UCN3 play a role in regulating food intake in fish, we first cloned the ucn3 cDNAs sequence of Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii Brandt), and investigated the ucn3 mRNA levels in 11 tissues. The Siberian sturgeon ucn3 cDNA sequence was 1044bp, including an open reading frame (ORF) of 447bp that encoded 148 amino acids with a mature peptide of 40 amino acids, a 5'-terminal untranslated region (5'-UTR) of 162bp and a 3'-terminal untranslated region (3'-UTR) of 435bp. The result of tissue distribution showed that ucn3 widely distributed in 11 tissues with highest expression in brain. We also assessed the effects of periprandial (pre- and post-feeding), fasting and re-feeding on ucn3 mRNAs abundance in brain. The results showed the expression of ucn3 mRNA in brain was significantly elevated after feeding, decreased after fasting 17 days and increased after re-feeding. To further investigate the food intake role of UCN3 in Siberian sturgeon, we performed intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of Siberian sturgeon UCN3 (SsUCN3) with three doses (60, 120 or 240ng/g) and recorded the food intake. Acute and chronic i.p. injection SsUCN3 reduced the food intake in a dose-dependent pattern. In conclusion, this study indicates that SsUCN3 acts as a satiety factor to inhibit the food intake of Siberian sturgeon.

Appetite regulation in Schizothorax prenanti by three CART genes.

In recent years, cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) has received much attention as mediators of appetite regulation in mammals. However, the involvement of CART in the feeding behavior of teleosts has not been well understood. In this study, three distinct CARTs were cloned from the Schizothorax prenanti (S. prenanti). Real-time quantitative PCR were applied to characterize the tissue distribution and appetite regulatory effects of CARTs in S. prenanti. The S. prenanti CART-1, CART-2 and CART-3 full-length cDNA sequences were 597 bp, 694 bp and 749 bp in length, encoding the peptides of 125, 120 and 104 amino acid residues, respectively. All the S. prenanti CARTs consisted of three exons and two introns. Tissue distribution analysis showed that the high mRNA levels of S. prenanti CART-1 were observed in the telencephalon and eye, followed by the hypothalamus, myelencephalon, and mesencephalon. The S. prenanti CART-2 mRNA was mainly found in the mesencephalon, hypothalamus, telencephalon and myelencephalon. The S. prenanti CART-3 mRNA was widely distributed among the tissues, with the high levels in the hypothalamus and foregut. In the periprandial experiment, all three CARTs mRNA expressions in the hypothalamus were highly elevated after a meal, suggesting that CARTs are postprandial satiety signals. In the fasting experiment, all three CARTs mRNA expressions decreased after fasting and increased after refeeding, suggesting that CARTs might be involved in regulation of appetite in the S. prenanti.