Novel Stereo-Induction Pattern in Pudovik Addition/Phospha-Brook Rearrangement Towards Chiral Trisubstituted Allenes.

Despite the significance of chiral allene skeletons in catalysis, organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry et al., there is a scarcity of reports on axially chiral allenyl phosphorus compounds. Here, we disclosed an efficient and straightforward cascade reaction between ethynyl ketones and phosphine oxides, resulting in a broad array of trisubstituted allenes incorporating a phosphorus moiety in high yields with excellent stereoselectivities facilitated by peptide-mimic phosphonium salt (PPS) catalysis, Additionally, comprehensive series of mechanistic experiments have been conducted to elucidate that this cascade reaction proceeds via an asymmetric Pudovik addition reaction followed by a subsequent phospha-Brook rearrangement that occurs concomitantly with kinetic resolution, representing a stereospecific rearrangement and protonation process facilitating central-to-axial chirality transfer in a cascade manner. We anticipate that our research will pave the way for a promising exploration of novel stereo-induction pattern in the Pudovik addition/phospha-Brook rearrangement cascade reaction.

Microbe community composition differences of hand skin on similar lifestyle volunteers: a small-scale study.

AIMS: Human skin is the first barrier against pathogens and environmental hazards and the highest contact frequency occurs with the hands. Environmental and personal metabolic factors may affect skin microbes. This study was conducted to clarify the diversity in the skin microbial community that was mainly due to individual skin metabolites rather than lifestyle and environmental factors. METHODS AND RESULTS: Skin microbiota samples were collected from 11 volunteers who met similar lifestyle inclusion criteria. The V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified. After library construction and sequencing, we compared the composition and diversity of the hand skin microbiota in different sexes and BMI groups with bioinformation analysis. The whole sequence data were annotated as 42 phyla, 538 families, and 1215 genera. Four dominant phyla accounted for 97% of the total including Actinobacteriota (50.18%), Firmicutes (23.85%), Proteobacteria (21.64%) and Bacteroidota (2.05%). The genera that were detected in all subjects with high relative abundance were Cutibacterium, Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, Streptococcus, Lawsonella, Enhydrobacter, Escherichia-Shigella, Asaia and Micrococcus. CONCLUSIONS: The diversity and richness of the microbiota of male hand skin in our study was higher than that of females. Interestingly, Cutibacterium, Staphylococcus, and Corynebacterium might serve as important skin microbiota to distinguish sexes.

Towards Axially Chiral Pyrazole-Based Phosphorus Scaffolds by Dipeptide-Phosphonium Salt Catalysis.

Given the comparatively lower rotational barriers, the catalytic asymmetric construction of axially chiral biaryl structures, especially those containing a five-membered heterocycle, still remains a challenge. Herein, we described a general and modular protocol to access atropisomeric arylpyrazole scaffolds containing a phosphorus unit by a dipeptide phosphonium salt catalyzed reaction involving an oxidative central-to-axial chirality conversion. This reaction features excellent yields and enantioselectivities, broad substrate scope, and a low catalyst loading, delivering axially chiral phosphine compounds.

Organocatalytic Dynamic Kinetic Resolution Enabled Asymmetric Synthesis of Phosphorus-Containing Chiral Helicenes.

The catalytic asymmetric synthesis of phosphorus-containing helicenes remains a formidable challenge, presumably due to the lack of rational design of substrates, right choice of reactions together with highly effective catalysis systems. Herein, we disclosed an efficient and practical DKR-involving (dynamic kinetic resolution) cascade strategy toward synthesizing a novel family of phosphorus-installing helicenes by peptide-mimic phosphonium salt (PPS) catalysis. The sequential process of PPS-catalyzed phospha-Michael attack and copper salt-facilitated aromatization led to the formation of unprecedented phosphorus-containing oxa[5]helicene scaffolds. A wide variety of substrates bearing an assortment of functional groups were compatible with this protocol, furnishing the expected helical compounds in high yields and excellent stereoselectivities. Additionally, the helical products could be conveniently elaborated to promising phosphine ligands with perfectly retained helical chirality, which turned out to be highly efficient chiral ligands in transition metal-catalyzed reactions. These findings not only expand the current library of phosphorus-containing helicenes but also offer insights to explore other challenging scaffolds with molecular chirality.

Enantioselective Synthesis of Atropisomeric Biaryl Phosphorus Compounds by Chiral-Phosphonium-Salt-Enabled Cascade Arene Formation.

Axially chiral biaryl monophosphorus molecules, exemplified by atropisomeric 1,1'-biaryl aminophosphines, are significant motifs in numerous chiral ligands/catalysts. Developing efficient methods for preparing phosphorus compounds with these privileged motifs is an important endeavor in synthetic chemistry. Herein, we develop an effective, modular method by a chiral-phosphonium-salt-catalyzed novel cascade between phosphorus-containing nitroolefins and α,α-dicyanoolefins, leading to a great diversity of atropisomeric biaryls bearing phosphorus groups in high yields with excellent stereoselectivities. The reaction features include a Thorpe-type cycloaddition/oxidative hydroxylation/aromatization cascade pathway with a central-to-axial chirality transfer process. Insight gained from our studies is expected to advance general efforts towards the catalytic synthesis of atropisomeric biaryl phosphorus compounds, offering a platform for developing new efficient chiral ligands and catalysts.

Flavobacterium lotistagni sp. nov. and Flavobacterium celericrescens sp. nov., isolated from freshwater habitats.

This study presents taxonomic descriptions of strains CYK-4T and TWA-26T isolated from freshwater habitats in Taiwan. Both strains were Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, motile by gliding and rod-shaped. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and coding sequences of 92 protein clusters indicated that both strains belonged to the genus Flavobacterium. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strains CYK-4T and TWA-26T shared 92.7 % sequence similarity and were most closely related to Flavobacterium ovatum W201ET (95.6 %) and Flavobacterium aquaticum JC164T (96.7 %), respectively. Both strains shared common chemotaxonomic characteristics comprising MK-6 as the main isoprenoid quinone, iso-C15 : 0 and iso-C15 : 1 G as the predominant fatty acids, phosphatidylethanolamine as the principal polar lipid, and homospermidine as the major polyamine. The DNA G+C contents of strains CYK-4T and TWA-26T were 41.5 and 31.8 mol%, respectively. The average nucleotide identity, average amino acid identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between these two novel isolates and their closest relatives were below the cut-off values of 95-96, 90 and 70 %, respectively, used for species demarcation. On the basis of phenotypic and genotypic properties and phylogenetic inference, both strains should be classified as novel species within the genus Flavobacterium, for which the names Flavobacterium lotistagni sp. nov. (type strain CYK-4T=BCRC 81192T=LMG 31330T) and Flavobacterium celericrescens sp. nov. (type strain TWA-26T=BCRC 81200T=LMG 31333T) are proposed.

Highly Enantioselective Synthesis of Fused Tri- and Tetrasubstituted Aziridines: aza-Darzens Reaction of Cyclic Imines with α-Halogenated Ketones Catalyzed by Bifunctional Phosphonium Salt.

The first enantioselective aza-Darzens reaction of cyclic imines with α-halogenated ketones was realized under mild reaction conditions by using amino-acid-derived bifunctional phosphonium salts as phase-transfer promoters. A variety of structurally dense tri- and tetrasubstituted aziridine derivatives, containing benzofused heterocycles as well as spiro-structures, were readily synthesized in high yields with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities (up to >20:1 d.r. and >99.9 % ee). The highly functionalized aziridine products could be easily transformed into different classes of biologically active compounds.

[Identification and Expression of the yellow Gene Family in Aedes aegypti].

Objective: To identify the yellow family genes in Aedes aegypti and analyze the gene structure, phylogenetic evolution and their expression at various developmental stages and in different tissues. Methods: The yellow gene family was identified in Ae. aegypti by blasting the Ae. aegypti genome database with the amino acid sequence of the MRJP domain of Dm-yellow gene of Drosophila melanogaster（GenBank No. AAF45497）. The physico-chemical property and domains were analyzed with the on-line ExPaSy software. The signal peptide was predicted using SignalP4.1 software. Sequence alignment and the phylogenetic tree were made through combined use of DNAstar, MEGA6.0 and GeneDoc. Total RNA was extracted from Ae. aegypti, cDNA was generated, and expression of the yellow family genes at various developmental stages （egg, first to fourth instar, pupa, non-blood-fed female and male mosquitoes） and in different tissues （salivary gland, midgut, fat body, and ovary） was quantified using qRT-PCR. Results: Twelve yellow genes were identified from Ae. aegypti genome: Aa-yellow, Aa-yellow-b, Aa-yellow-c, Aa-yellow-d, Aa-yellow-e, Aa-yellow-f2, Aa-yellow-fb, Aa-yellow-fc, Aa-yellow-g, Aa-yellow-g2, Aa-yellow-h, and Aa-yellow-x. Bioinformatics demonstrated that all covered the MRJP domain and a signal peptide sequence. Sequence alignment revealed low （15%-49%） homology among the proteins, but high homology（60%） in the conserved domain. According to the phylogenetic tree analysis, the encoded 12 YELLOW proteins were classified into 5 subfamilies, and 11 had orthologues in D. melanogaster. qRT-PCR revealed high expression of Aa-yellow-d （0.018 9） and Aa-yellow-x （0.023 5） in male Ae. aegypti （P<0.01 or P<0.05）; high expression of Aa-yellow-fc （0.024 8, 0.034 9） in female Ae. aegypti and in the salivary gland （P<0.01）; high expression of Aa-yellow-f2 （0.093 4） in the second instar stage （P<0.01）; high expression of Aa-yellow （0.562 1）, Aa-yellow-e （0.004 4）, and Aa-yellow-fb （0.008 4） in the third instar stage （P<0.05）; and high expression of Aa-yellow （0.569 4）, Aa-yellow-e （0.027 0）, Aa-yellow-f2 （0.006 5）, Aa-yellow-fb （0.001 0）, Aa-yellow-h （0.084 8） and Aa-yellow-x （0.015 1） in the ovary. Genes other than Aa-yellow-c （0.004 0） and Aa-yellow-x （0.007 4） were hardly expressed in the midgut. Conclusion: The 12 yellow genes identified in the Ae. aegypti genome have low homology, and are differentially expressed at different developmental stages and in tissues.

[Cloning and expression of the mucin-related protein1 (Aamucin1) from salivary gland of Aedes albopictus].

OBJECTIVE: To clone the mucin-related protein (Aamucin1) gene from salivary gland of Aedes albopictus Guangzhou isolate, and analyze the expression difference due to blood-feeding. METHODS: Total RNA was extracted from the salivary gland. The coding region of Aamucin1 was amplified with a pair of specific primers by RT-PCR. The product was sequenced and analyzed by bioinformatics. Expression analysis was conducted by real-time RT-PCR. RESULTS: The product of RT-PCR was 849 bp with encoding 283 amino acids. To compare with that from Ae. albopictus Rome strain, 13 amino acids were deleted at the C end, and Aamucin1 in Guangzhou isolate shared 58% identity in amino acids with that of Rome isolate. In addition, an alternative splicing was found in Aamucin1 and located in a proline enrich area by Protscan. To compare with that of non-blood-feeding (group SG), Aamucin1 was significantly down-regulated with 0.39 fold expression at zero time after engorged (group BSG_0, mosquitoes with abdominal distention from the first 2 hours after blood-feeding, P < 0.01) and 0.61 fold expression at the 24th hour after engorged (group BSG_24,mosquitoes from the 24th hours after blood-feeding, P > 005). CONCLUSION: The full length of Aamucin1 gene of Ae. albopictus is cloned and it can be modulated by blood-feeding.

[Study on hepatocyte apoptosis of domestic pigs experimentally infected with Taenia asiatica and Taenia saginata].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate apoptosis in liver tissue of the domestic pigs infected with eggs of Taenia asiatica and Taenia saginata. METHODS: The adult worms of T. asiatica and T. saginata were collected and identified from the taeniasis patients in Dunyun and Congjiang districts, Guizhou province. Eggs were collected from gravid proglottids and prepared by washing and centrifugation. Nineteen 20-day hybrid domestic pigs (Duroc-Yorkshire-Landrace strain) were randomly divided into T. asiatica group (6 pigs), T. saginata group (8 pigs) and control group (5 pigs). Each animal of experimental groups was infected with 1.5 x 10(5) eggs by stomach injection. On day 15, 32, 46 and 74 after infection, animals were sacrificed and liver samples were collected for further experiments. The liver tissues were sliced for glass slides and prepared for ultrathin sections. The apoptosis of hepatocytes was identified by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick and labeling. The morphological features of liver tissue were observed under transmission electron microscope. RESULTS: The infection rate of two experiment groups reached 100%. Better developed cysticerci were found in liver of T. asiatica group than that of T. saginata group, but the liver pathological changes caused by cysticerci were similar. On day 15 and 32 after infection, hydropic degeneration, obvious vacuolization and some balloon-like degeneration were found in hepatocytes, and focal hepatic necrosis was observed. On day 46, spotty necrosis occurred in some local liver tissues. On day 74, main damages were granulomatous reactions surrounding cysticercus and focal liver fibrosis. On day 46, apoptosis index in T. asiatica group [(15.07 +/- 3.42)6%] and T. saginata group [(17.13 +/- 1.62)5%] was considerably higher than that in the control [(9.53 +/- 1.06)%] (P < 0.05). On day 74, apoptosis index in T. asiatica group [(27.33 +/- 0.92)5%] and T. saginata group [(34.20 +/- 0.73)%] was higher than that in the control [(13.60 +/- 2.26)%] (P < 0.05), and the apoptosis index in T. saginata group was significantly higher than that of T. asiatica group (P < 0.05). Simultaneously, morphological characteristics of apoptosis were clearly observed in hepatocytes in two experimental groups, showing shrunken, wrinkled and deformed nucleus with consolidation of chromosomes and appearance of apoptotic body. CONCLUSION: The hepatocyte apoptosis of domestic pig is induced in the middle and late stages of infection by the cysticerci of T. asiatica and T. saginata, indicating that hepatic apoptosis might be related to focal liver fibrosis of the host caused by the cysticerci.

[Effect of electroacupuncture preconditioning on expression of Gasdermin D, Caspase-1 and IL-1ß in rats with myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture(EA) preconditioning on expression of Caspase-1, Gasdermin D(GSDMD) and interleukin-1ß(IL-1ß) in myocardial tissue of myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (MIRI) rats in order to explore its underlying mechanisms in resisting MIRI. METHODS: Forty male rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: normal control (normal), sham operation (sham), MIRI model and EA groups. The MIRI model was established by ligation of the left anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery for 30 min and perfusion. EA (2 Hz/100 Hz, 1 mA) was applied to bilateral "Neiguan" (PC6) for 20 min, once a day for 3 consecutive days. The echocardiography was used to analyze the left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD), left ventricular end-systolic dimension (LVESD) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF, by using Teichholz formula) 4 h after modeling. The myocardial TTC staining was used to observe the proportion of the infarct area, and Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of GSDMD, Caspase-1, IL-1ß proteins in the myocardium. RESULTS: Compared with the normal group, the immunoactivity of GSDMD was increased in the sham group (P<0.05). Compared with the sham group, the LVEF was significantly decreased (P<0.000 1), while the myocardial infarction area, immunoactivity of GSDMD, and the expression levels of Caspase-1, GSDMD and IL-1ß proteins were considerably increased in the model group (P<0.000 1, P<0.001). In comparison with the model group, the decreased ejection fraction and the increased myocardial infarction area, and Caspase-1, GSDMD and IL-1ß expression were reversed in the EA group (P<0.001, P<0.000 1, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: EA preconditioning may ameliorate myocardial injury in MIRI rats which may be associated with its function in down-regulating the expression of myocardial Caspase-1 protein to reduce cardiomyocyte pyroptosis.

Deltamethrin interacts with Culex quinquefasciatus odorant-binding protein: a novel potential resistance mechanism.

BACKGROUND: Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) play important roles in many physiological processes of mosquitoes. Previous high-throughput sequencing studies have revealed that some OBPs of Culex quinquefasciatus might be involved in the development of resistance to insecticides. METHODS: Based on the results of sequencing analyses, the OBP28 gene was selected for evaluation in this study. Three laboratory strains of Cx. quinquefasciatus [susceptible strain (SS), deltamethrin-resistant strain 1 (HN) and deltamethrin-resistant strain 2 (RR)] were first examined by using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bottle bioassay, after which the expression level of the OBP28 gene in the susceptible and deltamethrin-resistant strains was determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The OBP28 gene in deltamethrin-resistant strain RR was silenced using RNA interference technology. The expression level of OBP28 and the resistance level were tested in the silenced strain and control strain after microinjection of double-stranded RNA for a 48-h interference period. Four field-collected strains (henceforth 'field strains') of Cx. quinquefasciatus were also examined for their resistance to deltamethrin and levels of OBP28 expression. Finally, a correlation analysis between deltamethrin resistance and gene expression was carried out for all seven strains, i.e. the four field strains and the three laboratory strains. RESULTS: In the bioassay, the mortality of SS, HN and RR was 100%, 21.33% and 1.67%, respectively. The relative expression levels of OBP28 in strains HN and RR were 6.30- and 6.86-fold higher, respectively, than that of strain SS. After silencing of the OBP28 gene, the mortality of strain RR was 72.20% and that of the control strain 26.32%. The mortality of strain RR increased significantly after interference compared to that of the control strain. There was a negative correlation between OBP28 gene expression and mortality in adult mosquitoes after exposure to deltamethrin. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this study shows for the first time a correlation between the expression of a gene coding for OBP and insecticide resistance in mosquitoes. The potential resistance mechanism that was elucidated provides a new target gene for the surveillance of resistance in mosquitoes.

Effects of constant temperature and daily fluctuating temperature on the transovarial transmission and life cycle of Aedes albopictus infected with Zika virus.

Introduction: Numerous studies on the mosquito life cycle and transmission efficacy were performed under constant temperatures. Mosquito in wild, however, is not exposed to constant temperature but is faced with temperature variation on a daily basis. Methods: In the present study, the mosquito life cycle and Zika virus transmission efficiency were conducted at daily fluctuating temperatures and constant temperatures. Aedes albopictus was infected with the Zika virus orally. The oviposition and survival of the infected mosquitoes and hatching rate, the growth cycle of larvae at each stage, and the infection rate (IR) of the progeny mosquitoes were performed at two constant temperatures (23°C and 31°C) and a daily temperature range (DTR, 23-31°C). Results: It showed that the biological parameters of mosquitoes under DTR conditions were significantly different from that under constant temperatures. Mosquitoes in DTR survived longer, laid more eggs (mean number: 36.5 vs. 24.2), and had a higher hatching rate (72.3% vs. 46.5%) but a lower pupation rate (37.9% vs. 81.1%) and emergence rate (72.7% vs. 91.7%) than that in the high-temperature group (constant 31°C). When compared to the low-temperature group (constant 23°C), larvae mosquitoes in DTR developed faster (median days: 9 vs. 23.5) and adult mosquitoes carried higher Zika viral RNA load (median log10 RNA copies/µl: 5.28 vs. 3.86). However, the temperature or temperature pattern has no effect on transovarial transmission. Discussion: Those results indicated that there are significant differences between mosquito development and reproductive cycles under fluctuating and constant temperature conditions, and fluctuating temperature is more favorable for mosquitos' survival and reproduction. The data would support mapping and predicting the distribution of Aedes mosquitoes in the future and establishing an early warning system for Zika virus epidemics.

Genetic screening for hypertension and COVID-19 reveals functional variation of SPEG potentially associated with severe COVID-19 in women.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has led to more than 6.4 million deaths worldwide. The prevalent comorbidity between hypertension and severe COVID-19 suggests common genetic factors may affect the outcome of both diseases. As both hypertension and severe COVID-19 demonstrate sex-biased prevalence, common genetic factors between the two diseases may display sex-biased differential associations. By evaluating COVID-19 association signals of 172-candidate hypertension single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) derived from more than 1 million European individuals in two sex-stratified severe COVID-19 genome-wide association studies from UK BioBank with European ancestry, we revealed one functional cis expression quantitative trait locus of SPEG (rs12474050) showing sex-biased association with severe COVID-19 in women. The risk allele rs12474050*T associates with higher blood pressure. In our study, we found it is significantly correlated with lower SPEG expression in muscle-skeletal but with higher expression in both brain cerebellum and cerebellar hemisphere. Additionally, nominal significances were detected for the association between rs12474050*T and lower SPEG expression in both heart left ventricle and atrial appendage; among these tissues, the SPEG expression is nominally significantly higher in females than in males. Further analysis revealed SPEG is mainly expressed in cardiomyocytes in heart and is upregulated upon SARS-CoV-2 infection, with significantly higher upregulation of SPEG only observed in female but not in male COVID-19 patients compared to both normal female and male individuals, suggesting upregulation of SPEG is a female-specific protective mechanism against COVID-19 induced heart damage. Taken together, our analyses suggest the involvement of SPEG in both hypertension and severe COVID-19 in women, which provides new insights for sex-biased effect of severe COVID-19 in women.

H2B ubiquitylation is part of chromatin architecture that marks exon-intron structure in budding yeast.

BACKGROUND: The packaging of DNA into chromatin regulates transcription from initiation through 3' end processing. One aspect of transcription in which chromatin plays a poorly understood role is the co-transcriptional splicing of pre-mRNA. RESULTS: Here we provide evidence that H2B monoubiquitylation (H2BK123ub1) marks introns in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A genome-wide map of H2BK123ub1 in this organism reveals that this modification is enriched in coding regions and that its levels peak at the transcribed regions of two characteristic subgroups of genes. First, long genes are more likely to have higher levels of H2BK123ub1, correlating with the postulated role of this modification in preventing cryptic transcription initiation in ORFs. Second, genes that are highly transcribed also have high levels of H2BK123ub1, including the ribosomal protein genes, which comprise the majority of intron-containing genes in yeast. H2BK123ub1 is also a feature of introns in the yeast genome, and the disruption of this modification alters the intragenic distribution of H3 trimethylation on lysine 36 (H3K36me3), which functionally correlates with alternative RNA splicing in humans. In addition, the deletion of genes encoding the U2 snRNP subunits, Lea1 or Msl1, in combination with an htb-K123R mutation, leads to synthetic lethality. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that H2BK123ub1 facilitates cross talk between chromatin and pre-mRNA splicing by modulating the distribution of intronic and exonic histone modifications.

WebPARE: web-computing for inferring genetic or transcriptional interactions.

SUMMARY: Inferring genetic or transcriptional interactions, when done successfully, may provide insights into biological processes or biochemical pathways of interest. Unfortunately, most computational algorithms require a certain level of programming expertise. To provide a simple web interface for users to infer interactions from time course gene expression data, we present WebPARE, which is based on the pattern recognition algorithm (PARE). For expression data, in which each type of interaction (e.g. activator target) and the corresponding paired gene expression pattern are significantly associated, PARE uses a non-linear score to classify gene pairs of interest into a few subclasses of various time lags. In each subclass, PARE learns the parameters in the decision score using known interactions from biological experiments or published literature. Subsequently, the trained algorithm predicts interactions of a similar nature. Previously, PARE was shown to infer two sets of interactions in yeast successfully. Moreover, several predicted genetic interactions coincided with existing pathways; this indicates the potential of PARE in predicting partial pathway components. Given a list of gene pairs or genes of interest and expression data, WebPARE invokes PARE and outputs predicted interactions and their networks in directed graphs.

[Effect of electroacupuncture at "Neiguan" (PC 6) on cardiac function and inflammatory factors of acupoint area in rats with acute myocardial ischemia].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Neiguan" (PC 6) on cardiac function and cardiomyocyte apoptosis in rats with acute myocardial ischemia (AMI), and to explore the correlation between myocardial protective effect of EA and inflammatory factors i.e. interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) and interleukin-17 (IL-17) of "Neiguan" (PC 6) area. METHODS: A total of 40 male SD rats with normal ultrasonic cardiogram were randomized into a sham-operation group, a sham-operation plus EA group, a model group and an EA group, 10 rats in each group. The AMI model was established by ligating the left anterior descending (LAD) branch of the coronary artery in the model group and the EA group, while the threading without ligating was adopted in the sham-operation group and the sham-operation plus EA group. In the sham-operation plus EA group and the EA group, EA at bilateral "Neiguan" (PC 6) was applied, with disperse-dense wave, 2 Hz/100 Hz in frequency and 2 mA in density, once a day, 20 min a time for 3 days. The cardiac ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) were measured by ultrasonic cardiogram to evaluate the cardiac function, the cardiomyocyte apoptosis was detected by TUNEL staining, the infiltration of inflammatory factors of "Neiguan" (PC 6) area was observed by H.E. staining, the expression of inflammatory factors IL-1ß and IL-17 of "Neiguan" (PC 6) area was detected by immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: Compared with the sham-operation group, EF and FS were decreased (P<0.001), the average optical density of cardiomyocyte apoptosis was increased (P<0.001), the infiltration of inflammatory factors was obvious in skin dermis of "Neiguan" (PC 6) area in the model group; the positive expression of IL-1ß and IL-17 of "Neiguan" (PC 6) area was increased in the model group and the sham-operation plus EA group (P<0.001, P<0.01). Compared with the model group, EF and FS were increased (P<0.01), the average optical density of cardiomyocyte apoptosis was decreased (P<0.01), the infiltration of inflammatory factors was aggravating in skin dermis of "Neiguan" (PC 6) area, and the positive expression of IL-1ß and IL-17 of "Neiguan" (PC 6) area was increased in the EA group (P<0.001, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Electroacupuncture at "Neiguan" (PC 6) can improve the cardiac function and reduce the apoptosis of cardiomyocyte in rats with acute myocardial ischemia, its mechanism may be related to the regulation of the inflammatory factors of "Neiguan" (PC 6) area.

Genetic Diversity and Selection of Plasmodium vivax Apical Membrane Antigen-1 in China-Myanmar Border of Yunnan Province, China, 2009-2016.

Plasmodium vivax apical membrane antigen-1 (PvAMA-1) is an important vaccine candidate for vivax malaria. However, antigenic variation within PvAMA-1 is a major obstacle to the design of a global protective malaria vaccine. In this study, we analyzed the genetic polymorphism and selection of the PvAMA-1 gene from 152 P. vivax isolates from imported cases to China, collected in the China-Myanmar border (CMB) area in Yunnan Province (YP) during 2009-2011 (n = 71) and 2014-2016 (n = 81), in comparison with PvAMA-1 gene information from Myanmar (n = 73), collected from public data. The overall nucleotide diversity of the PvAMA-1 gene from the 152 YP isolates was 0.007 with 76 haplotypes identified (Hd = 0.958). Results from the population structure suggested three groups among the YP and Myanmar isolates with optimized clusters value of K = 7. In addition, YP (2014-2016) isolates generally lacked some K components that were commonly found in YP (2009-2011) and Myanmar. Meanwhile, PvAMA-1 domain I is found to be the dominant target of positive diversifying selection and most mutation loci were found in this domain. The mutation frequencies of D107N/A, R112K/T, K120R, E145A, E277K, and R438H in PvAMA-1 were more than 70% in the YP isolates. In conclusion, high genetic diversity and positive selection were found in the PvAMA-1 gene from YP isolates, which are significant findings for the design and development of PvAMA-1-based malaria vaccine.

[Effect of electroacupuncture on expression of IL-23/IL-17 axis and TLR4 in infarcted tissue in rats with myocardial infarction].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on expression of interleukin (IL) -23/IL-17 axis and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in the infarcted tissue in rats with myocardial infarction (MI), and to explore the mechanism of EA on alleviating MI injury. METHODS: Forty male SD rats were randomly divided into a sham-operation group, a sham-operation plus EA group, a model group and an EA group, 10 rats in each group. The MI models were established by ligation of left anterior descending coronary artery in the model group and EA group, while only threading was performed in the sham-operation group and sham-operation plus EA group. The rats in the sham-operation plus EA group and EA group were treated with EA at "Neiguan" (PC 6), disperse-dense wave, 2 Hz/100 Hz, 2 mA, once a day, 20 min each time, for 3 days. After the intervention, the ejection fraction (EF) was measured by echocardiography to evaluate the cardiac function; the infarct area was measured by TTC staining; the HE staining was used to observe the morphological changes of myocardial tissue; the levels of IL-23 and IL-17 in infarcted tissue were detected by ELISA; the protein expression of TLR4 in infarcted tissue was detected by Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with the sham-operation group, the EF was decreased (P<0.01), the infarct area was increased (P<0.01), the myocardial fiber injury was obvious, accompanied by inflammatory cell infiltration, and the contents of IL-23, IL-17 and the expression of TLR4 in infarcted tissue were increased in the model group (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the EF was increased (P<0.05), the infarct area was reduced (P<0.05), the myocardial fiber injury was significantly improved, the inflammatory cell infiltration was reduced, and the contents of IL-23, IL-17 and TLR4 expression in infarcted tissue were decreased in the EA group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: EA may alleviate the excessive inflammatory response after MI by inhibiting the expression of IL-23/IL-17 axis in MI rats, and TLR4 may be involved during the process.

Metagenome Sequencing Reveals the Midgut Microbiota Makeup of Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus and Its Possible Relationship With Insecticide Resistance.

Midgut microbiota can participate in the detoxification and metabolism processes in insects, but there are few reports on the relationship between midgut microbiota and insecticide resistance in mosquitoes. In this study, we performed metagenomic sequencing on a susceptible strain (SS), a field-collected Hainan strain (HN), and a deltamethrin-resistant strain (RR) of Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus to understand the diversity and functions of their midgut microbiota. The results revealed differences in midgut microbiota among the three strains of Cx. pipiens quinquefasciatus. At the phylum level, Proteobacteria was the most prominent, accounting for nearly 70% of their midgut microbes. At the genus level, Aeromonas made up the highest proportion. In addition, Aeromonas, Morganella, Elizabethkingia, Enterobacter, Cedecea, and Thorsellia showed significant differences between strains. At the species level, Bacillus cereus, Enterobacter cloacae complex sp. 4DZ3-17B2, Streptomyces sp. CNQ329, and some species of Pseudomonas and Wolbachia were more abundant in the two resistant strains. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the SS strain had significantly different metagenomic functions than the two deltamethrin-resistant strains (HN and RR strain). The HN and RR strains differed from the SS strain in more than 10 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. The analysis of species abundance and functional diversity can provide directions for future studies.