Inhibition of the p62-Nrf2-GPX4 Pathway Confers Sensitivity to Butachlor-Induced Splenic Macrophage Ferroptosis.

Butachlor is widely used in agriculture around the world and therefore poses environmental and public health hazards due to persistent and poor biodegradability. Ferroptosis is a type of iron-mediated cell death controlled by glutathione (GSH) and GPX4 inhibition. P62 is an essential autophagy adaptor that regulates Keap1 to activate nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), which effectively suppresses lipid peroxidation, thereby relieving ferroptosis. Here, we found that butachlor caused changes in splenic macrophage structure, especially impaired mitochondrial morphology with disordered structure, which is suggestive of the occurrence of ferroptosis. This was further confirmed by the detection of iron metabolism, the GSH system, and lipid peroxidation. Mechanistically, butachlor suppressed the protein level of p62 and promoted Keap1-mediated degradation of Nrf2, which results in decreased GPX4 expression and accelerated splenic macrophage ferroptosis. These findings suggest that targeting the p62-Nrf2-GPX4 signaling axis may be a promising strategy for treating inflammatory diseases.

[Cloning and phylogenetic analysis of bovine prochymosin gene].

The cDNA sequence of bovine prochymosin gene was cloned and sequenced from the abomasums of suckling calf by RT-PCR. The sequence was aligned and bioinformatically analyzed with related sequences in GenBank. The result of sequence analysis revealed that the gene was determined to bovine prochymosin B gene and had the high level of homology with prochymosin gene of other known mammals. The base bias of 18 species of prochymosin gene reduced according to codon position, and the gene provided us with excellent material of phylogenetic research. Thus, the phylogenetic tree of 18 species of prochymosin gene was used to discuss and offer testimony to phylogenetic relationship of 11 mammals.

[Characteristics of and Factors Affecting Atmospheric CO2 Concentration in Hangzhou].

In situ measurement of CO2 concentration(volume fraction) was carried out in both urban and rural areas of Hangzhou from August 2015 to September 2016. The characteristics of CO2 concentration at the urban site were compared to those at the rural site, and the factors affecting CO2 concentration in Hangzhou were analyzed via wind direction, weekday-weekend difference in CO2 concentration, and evolution of CO2 concentration during the G20 summit. The results revealed that the diurnal variation of CO2 concentration in both the urban and rural areas presented a single peak curve most of the time, which resulted from the daily evolution of plant photosynthesis/respiration and atmospheric transport conditions. The diurnal variation of the difference in CO2 concentration observed at the urban and rural sites showed a bimodal peak curve, because anthropogenic emissions played a more important role. The diurnal amplitude of CO2 concentration in rural area was higher than that in urban area in spring and summer, but lower in autumn. The seasonal variation of CO2 concentration in both the urban and rural areas showed the same trend, with higher values appearing in winter and spring and lower values in summer. The difference in CO2 concentration observed at the urban and rural sites reached its highest level in winter, and dropped to its lowest in summer. The wind direction induction of high CO2 concentration was consistent with the location of the surrounding urban areas. A weekday-weekend difference in CO2 concentration was observed in Hangzhou, especially in urban area, as traffic emissions had an impact on the weekday-weekend difference in diurnal distribution of CO2 concentration. The average volume fraction of CO2 in urban area of Hangzhou was 9.3×10-6 higher than that in rural area, and the reduction of anthropogenic emissions during the G20 summit reduced the atmospheric CO2 concentration effectively, especially in urban area.

[Gene regulation to lactic acid bacteria for increasing production of flavor metabolite].

Abstract: The major flavor substances Lactic acid bacteria produced include the buttermilk aroma butanedione, the yoghurt flavor acetaldehyde and the amino acid. Metabolic engineering in LAB had focused primarily on rerouting of pyruvate metabolism towards butanedione or acetaldehyde to improve the flavor of fermented milk, which has considerable economic value. The typical yogurt flavor is caused by acetaldehyde produced through many different pathways. The attention was focused on one specific reaction for acetaldehyde formation catalyzed by serine hydroxymethyltransferase, which encoded by the glyA gene. In addition, the efficient conversion of glucose into acetaldehyde was achieved by over-expression of pyruvate decarboxylase and NADH oxidase in LAB. The concentration of acetaldehyde derived from this regulation is higher than the other strategy. As for the regulation of butanedione, it was focused on combinating inactivation of alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase with low lactate dehydrogenase activity, or with overproduction of NADH-oxidase, or with overproduction of alpha-acetolactate synthase. Then the possibility of co-regulation with certain three kinds of enzyme above was recommended.

Temporal and spatial variation in major ion chemistry and source identification of secondary inorganic aerosols in Northern Zhejiang Province, China.

To investigate the seasonal and spatial variations of ion chemistry of fine particles in Northern Zhejiang Province (NZP), China, one year-long field sampling was conducted at four representative sites (two urban, one suburb, and one rural sites) in both cities of Hangzhou and Ningbo from December 2014 to November 2015. Twelve water soluble inorganic ions (WSII) were characterized in this comprehensive study. The annual average of PM2.5 concentration in NZP as overall was 66.2 ± 37.7 µg m-3, and urban sites in NZP were observed with more severe PM2.5 pollution than the suburban and rural sites. The annual average concentration of total WSII at four sampling sites in NZP was 29.1 ± 19.9 µg m-3, dominated by SO42- (10.3 µg m-3), and followed by NO3- (8.9 µg m-3), NH4+ (6.6 µg m-3), Cl- (1.3 µg m-3) and K+ (0.7 µg m-3). Among all cations, NH4+ was the predominant neutralizing ion with the highest neutralization factor (NF), while the remaining cations showed limited neutralization capacity. The highest and lowest sulfur oxidation ratio (SOR) values in this region were found in summer and winter, respectively; while the seasonal patterns for nitrogen oxidation ratio (NOR) were opposite to that of SOR. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the significant sources of WSII in NZP were industrial emissions, biomass burning, and formation of secondary inorganic aerosols. In addition, contribution from transboundary transport of polluted aerosols was also confirmed from the assessment through air mass backward trajectory analysis.

Differences in the Biodiversity of the Fecal Microbiota of Infants With Rotaviral Diarrhea and Healthy Infants.

BACKGROUND: Rotaviral diarrhea (RD) has been associated with the biodiversity of the fecal microbiota in infants; however, the differences in the biodiversity of the fecal microbiota between infants with RD and healthy (H) infants have not been clearly elucidated. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to reveal the changes in the biodiversity of the fecal microbiota of infants with RD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: For this study, 30 fecal samples from 15 RD infants and 15 H infants were collected. The biodiversity of the fecal microbiota from the two groups was compared via polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and gene sequencing. RESULTS: The Shannon-Weaver index showed that the biodiversity of the fecal microbiota from the RD infants was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than that from the H infants. All fifteen RD infants were grouped into one cluster and were separated from the H infants by the un weighted-pair group method, with the arithmetic average (UPGMA) clustering algorithm. In addition, when compared with the healthy infants, the communities of the dominant microbes, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, in the fecal microbiota from the RD infants have obviously changed. CONCLUSIONS: With regard to improving the understanding of the differences in the biodiversity of the fecal microbiota between RD infants and H infants, the findings of this study can provide a possible basis to reveal the relationship between RD and intestinal microbiota.

Immunoregulatory effects on Caco-2 cells and mice of exopolysaccharides isolated from Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM.

On the basis of our previous results on potential immunoregulation of Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, the immunoregulatory effects of exopolysaccharides (EPS) isolated from L. acidophilus NCFM and their regulating mechanisms are further investigated in the current research. Stimulated by EPS preparations, four immune-related genes in the human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line Caco-2 cells, namely, interleukin-1α (IL-1α), chemokine C-C motif 2 (CCL2), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and pentraxin 3 (PTX3), first showed an increase at 2-4 h, peaked at 4 h, and then decreased at 4-12 h. Similar trends were observed in vivo: four genes showed transient expression (highest on the 4th day) in the cecum and colon of mice. Meanwhile, the organ coefficient, clearance index and phagocytic index all significantly increased with time extension and dose increase of EPS stimulation. EPS triggered NF-κB and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) signaling pathways in Caco-2 cells, and the activated pathways initiated the genes expression. EPS compounds from L. acidophilus NCFM may play an important role in host immunoregulation and might be applied as a new type of immunoregulatory agent in functional foods.