Developmental Patterns of Fecal Bile Acids in Healthy Neonates and Children.

BACKGROUND Normal profiles of FBAs in healthy neonates and children in Kunming city and surrounding areas in China have not been previously determined. The objective of this study was to determine a developmental pattern of fecal bile acids (FBAs) in healthy neonates and children. MATERIAL AND METHODS A cross-sectional study was performed on 238 healthy neonates and children recruited in the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, China from October 2015 to September 2016. Secreted primary and secondary FBAs in fresh feces were quantitated by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Amounts of FBAs in feces were compared among various age groups. RESULTS Trace amounts of cholic acid and chenodiol acid of primary FBAs were detectable at day 3 after birth, with a significant increase from day 3 to day 7. The primary FBAs gradually decreased from day 25 to the age of 6 years old. In contrast, a significant amount of glycochenodeoxycholic acid was detected on day 3 but decreased to a trace amount by day 7 and onwards. Primary FBAs appeared to maintain a high level, accounting for 98% of total FBAs, with no significant changes from day 7 to day 25 after birth. They gradually decreased from 90% to 10% from age 6 months to 6 years old. While the secondary FBAs were barely detected in neonates, only accounting for 2% of total FBAs, they were gradually elevated to 90% of total FBAs from age 6 months to 6 years old. CONCLUSIONS The liver can effectively synthesize primary bile acids 7 days after birth, and fecal primary bile acids tend to be stable after the neonate stage. Secondary bile acids continuously increase along with the maturation of intestinal flora, which reaches a relatively stable level at around 3 years old.

[Levels of short-chain fatty acids in enterobacteria-related metabolites in the feces of infants with cholestatic hepatopathy].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the levels of short-chain fatty acids in enterobacteria-related metabolites in feces between infants with cholestatic hepatopathy and healthy infants. METHODS: Thirty infants with cholestatic hepatopathy were enrolled in this study as the disease group, while 30 healthy infants were enrolled as the control group. Fecal specimens were collected from the disease group before and after treatment and from the control group. Gas chromatography was used to quantitatively determine the content of short-chain fatty acids in the feces of both groups including acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, isobutyric acid, and isovaleric acid. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the concentrations of acetic acid and propionic acid between the control and disease groups before and after treatment, as well as no significant changes in the two markers in the disease group after treatment (P>0.05). The disease group had a significantly increased concentration of butyric acid after treatment (P<0.05). The concentrations of isobutyric acid and isovaleric acid in the control group were significantly higher than those in the disease group before and after treatment (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Intestinal protein metabolites in infants with cholestatic hepatopathy are significantly different from those in healthy infants, whereas there is no significant difference with respect to carbohydrate metabolites.

Using drug-loaded pH-responsive poly(4-vinylpyridine) microspheres as a new strategy for intelligent controlling of Lactobacillus plantarum contamination in bioethanol fermentation.

Bioethanol fermentation is usually contaminated by bacteria, especially lactic acid bacteria (LAB), thereby leading to decrease of bioethanol yield and serious economic losses. Nisin is safer for controlling of bacterial contamination than antibiotics that are widely applied in industry. Moreover, in LAB contaminative bioethanol fermentation system, consistently decreased pH value provides opportunity to realize pH value responsive material-based release of anti-bacteria substances for intelligent and persistent controlling of bacterial contamination. In this study, nisin was embedded into pH-sensitive poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) microspheres synthesized by suspension polymerization to realize intelligent controlling of Lactobacillus plantarum contamination in bioethanol fermentation. Chloramphenicol with the highest antimicrobial activity and excellent stability was chosen as the model drug to be embedded into P4VP microspheres to test the drug release behavior. The drug release curve of chloramphenicol-loaded P4VP microspheres showed sustained and pH-responsive release properties. The diameters of the microspheres ranged from 40 to 100 µm. The encapsulation efficiency of nisin into P4VP microspheres was 47.67% and the drug-loading capacity of nisin was 2.5%. Nisin-loaded P4VP microspheres were added into the simulated contaminative fermentation system, and successfully reversed the decline of bioethanol yield secondary to L. plantarum contamination. The results in this study indicated that L. plantarum contamination in bioethanol fermentation could be effectively controlled by nisin-loaded P4VP microspheres.

[Significance of detection of biomarker fecal bile acids in the diagnosis and treatment of childhood Henoch-Schönlein purpura].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes and clinical significance of biomarker fecal bile acids (BA) in children with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP). METHODS: Nineteen children with HSP and twenty-seven healthy children were enrolled in this study. The stool samples were obtained at the acute and remission phases. Fecal BA levels were measured by high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). RESULTS: The fecal cholic acid level in the HSP remission group was significantly higher than in the HSP acute group and the healthy control group (P<0.016). The fecal chenodeoxycholic acid level in the HSP remission group was significantly higher than in the healthy control group (P<0.016). The levels of fecal secondary colonic bile acids, deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid, in the HSP acute and remission groups were significantly lower than in the healthy control group(P<0.05, P<0.016 respectively). No significant differences were found in the levels of fecal urosodeoxycholic acid among the three groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Fecal secondary colonic bile acids, deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid, are in decrease in children with HSP at the acute stage, which may be involved in the pathogenesis and treatment outcomes of HSP.

The bioconcentration and degradation of nonylphenol and nonylphenol polyethoxylates by Chlorella vulgaris.

Nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPnEOs), a major class of nonionic surfactants, can easily enter into aquatic environments through various pathways due to their wide applications, which leads to the extensive existence of their relative stable metabolites, namely nonylphenol (NP) and mono- to tri-ethoxylates. This study investigated the bioconcentration and degradation of NP and NPnEO oligomers (n = 1-12) by a green algae, Chlorella vulgaris. Experimental results showed that C. vulgaris can remove NP from water phase efficiently, and bioconcentration and degradation accounted for approximately half of its loss, respectively, with a 48 h BCF (bioconcentration factor) of 2.42 × 10(3). Moreover, C. vulgaris could concentrate and degrade NPnEOs, distribution profiles of the series homologues of the NPnEOs in algae and water phase were quite different from the initial homologue profile. The 48 h BCF of the NPnEO homologues increased with the length of the EO chain. Degradation extent of total NPnEOs by C. vulgaris was 95.7%, and only 1.1% remained in water phase, and the other 3.2% remained in the algal cells. The algae removed the NPnEOs mainly through degradation. Due to rapid degradation, concentrations of the long chain NPnEO homologous in both water (n ≥ 2) and the algal phase (n ≥ 5) was quite low at the end of a 48 h experiment.

Endothelial cell-derived RSPO3 activates Gαi1/3-Erk signaling and protects neurons from ischemia/reperfusion injury.

The current study explores the potential function and the underlying mechanisms of endothelial cell-derived R-spondin 3 (RSPO3) neuroprotection against ischemia/reperfusion-induced neuronal cell injury. In both neuronal cells (Neuro-2a) and primary murine cortical neurons, pretreatment with RSPO3 ameliorated oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD)/re-oxygenation (OGD/R)-induced neuronal cell death and oxidative injury. In neurons RSPO3 activated the Akt, Erk and ß-Catenin signaling cascade, but only Erk inhibitors reversed RSPO3-induced neuroprotection against OGD/R. In mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and neuronal cells, RSPO3-induced LGR4-Gab1-Gαi1/3 association was required for Erk activation, and either silencing or knockout of Gαi1 and Gαi3 abolished RSPO3-induced neuroprotection. In mice, middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) increased RSPO3 expression and Erk activation in ischemic penumbra brain tissues. Endothelial knockdown or knockout of RSPO3 inhibited Erk activation in the ischemic penumbra brain tissues and increased MCAO-induced cerebral ischemic injury in mice. Conversely, endothelial overexpression of RSPO3 ameliorated MCAO-induced cerebral ischemic injury. We conclude that RSPO3 activates Gαi1/3-Erk signaling to protect neuronal cells from ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Role of hydrogen in traumatic brain injury: a narrative review.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious global public health problem. Survivors of TBI often suffer from long-term disability, which puts a heavy burden on society and families. Unfortunately, up to now, there is no efficacious treatment for TBI patients in clinical practice. As a reducing gas, hydrogen has been shown to be neuroprotective in multiple cerebral disease models; however, its efficacy in TBI remains controversial. In this review, we will focus on the results of hydrogen in experimental TBI, elaborate the potential mechanisms, and put forward for future researches based on our current understanding and views.

LRP/amyloid beta-peptide interaction mediates differential brain efflux of Abeta isoforms.

LRP (low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein) is linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we report amyloid beta-peptide Abeta40 binds to immobilized LRP clusters II and IV with high affinity (Kd = 0.6-1.2 nM) compared to Abeta42 and mutant Abeta, and LRP-mediated Abeta brain capillary binding, endocytosis, and transcytosis across the mouse blood-brain barrier are substantially reduced by the high beta sheet content in Abeta and deletion of the receptor-associated protein gene. Despite low Abeta production in the brain, transgenic mice expressing low LRP-clearance mutant Abeta develop robust Abeta cerebral accumulations much earlier than Tg-2576 Abeta-overproducing mice. While Abeta does not affect LRP internalization and synthesis, it promotes proteasome-dependent LRP degradation in endothelium at concentrations > 1 microM, consistent with reduced brain capillary LRP levels in Abeta-accumulating transgenic mice, AD, and patients with cerebrovascular beta-amyloidosis. Thus, low-affinity LRP/Abeta interaction and/or Abeta-induced LRP loss at the BBB mediate brain accumulation of neurotoxic Abeta.

Perfusion-decellularized skeletal muscle as a three-dimensional scaffold with a vascular network template.

There exists a great need for repair grafts with similar volume to human skeletal muscle that can promote the innate ability of muscle to regenerate following volumetric muscle loss. Perfusion decellularization is an attractive technique for extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffold from intact mammalian organ or tissue which has been successfully used in tissue reconstruction. The perfusion-decellularization of skeletal muscle has been poorly assessed and characterized, but the bioactivity and functional capacity of the obtained perfusion skeletal muscle ECM (pM-ECM) to remodel in vivo is unknown. In the present study, pM-ECM was prepared from porcine rectus abdominis (RA). Perfusion-decellularization of porcine RA effectively removed cellular and nuclear material while retaining the intricate three-dimensional microarchitecture and vasculature networks of the native RA, and many of the bioactive ECM components and mechanical properties. In vivo, partial-thickness abdominal wall defects in rats repaired with pM-ECM showed improved neovascularization, myogenesis and functional recellularization compared to porcine-derived small intestinal submucosa (SIS). These findings show the biologic potential of RA pM-ECM as a scaffold for supporting site appropriate, tissue reconstruction, and provide a better understanding of the importance maintaining the tissue-specific complex three-dimensional architecture of ECM during decellularization and regeneration.