Developmental Neurotoxicity of Trichlorfon in Zebrafish Larvae.

Trichlorfon is an organophosphorus pesticide widely used in aquaculture and has potential neurotoxicity, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, zebrafish embryos were exposed to trichlorfon at concentrations (0, 0.1, 2 and 5 mg/L) used in aquaculture from 2 to 144 h post fertilization. Trichlorfon exposure reduced the survival rate, hatching rate, heartbeat and body length and increased the malformation rate of zebrafish larvae. The locomotor activity of larvae was significantly reduced. The results of molecular docking revealed that trichlorfon could bind to acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Furthermore, trichlorfon significantly inhibited AChE activity, accompanied by decreased acetylcholine, dopamine and serotonin content in larvae. The transcription patterns of genes related to acetylcholine (e.g., ache, chrna7, chata, hact and vacht), dopamine (e.g., drd4a and drd4b) and serotonin systems (e.g., tph1, tph2, tphr, serta, sertb, htrlaa and htrlab) were consistent with the changes in acetylcholine, dopamine, serotonin content and AChE activity. The genes related to the central nervous system (CNS) (e.g., a1-tubulin, mbp, syn2a, shha and gap-43) were downregulated. Our results indicate that the developmental neurotoxicity of trichlorfon might be attributed to disorders of cholinergic, dopaminergic and serotonergic signaling and the development of the CNS.

A novel mutation in the ABCC8 gene causing maturity-onset diabetes of the young: A case report.

A 34-year-old woman was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus and treated with insulin for 24 years. The patient has a family history of diabetes in three consecutive generations. Her Whole exon sequencing showed a heterozygous mutation in the ABCC8 gene, and it also found some of her relatives to carry this mutation. She was diagnosed with MODY12 and received glimepiride therapy with the achievement of good glycaemic control.

Effect of Acute Exposure to the Ionic Liquid 1-Methyl-3-octylimidazolium Chloride on the Embryonic Development and Larval Thyroid System of Zebrafish.

Previous studies have shown that ILs can induce toxicity in animals, plants, and cells. However, the effect of imidazolium-based ILs on the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis of fish remains unknown. The present study aimed to evaluate the acute effect of [C8mim]Cl on the embryonic development and thyroid-controlled internal secretion system of zebrafish by determining the thyroid hormone level and the expression of HPT-related genes. The results obtained for embryonic developmental toxicity showed the survival rate, heart beats, and body length of fish had decreased 96 h after exposure to [C8mim]Cl, but the hatching rate had increased by the 48 h time point. The transcription levels of HTP-related genes showed that the genes dio3, tg, ttr, tsh, trhrα, trhrß, trhr2, and tpo were up-regulated, while the expression levels of dio1, trh, tshr, and nis were significantly suppressed. Furthermore, we found that exposure to [C8mim]Cl induced an alteration in the levels of thyroid hormones that increased the T3 but decreased the T4 content. In conclusion, our study indicated that acute exposure to [C8mim]Cl altered the expression of HTP-related genes and disturbed the thyroid hormone level, suggesting that the ionic liquid [C8mim]Cl might pose an aquatic environmental threat to fish.

Effects of Health Literacy Intervention on Health Literacy Level and Glucolipid Metabolism of Diabetic Patients in Mainland China: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate the effects of health literacy intervention on health literacy level and glycolipid metabolism of people with diabetes in mainland China. METHODS: A systematic review of journal articles discussing diabetes and health literacy was performed by searching PubMed, Embase, the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) database of Web of Science, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database, the Chinese Scientific and Technical Journals database (CQVIP), and the Wanfang database. Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care Review Group (EPOC) standards were applied for quality assessment. A meta-analysis was performed using Stata 12.0 software. RESULTS: A total of 44 articles, including seven controlled before-and-after trials (CBAs), 27 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and 10 nonrandomized controlled trials (non-RCTs), were included. The results showed that (1) health literacy level in the intervention group was improved compared with the preintervention and the control group; (2) fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (standardized mean difference (SMD) = -1.85, 95% CI: -2.28, -1.42), 2-hour plasma glucose (2hPG) (SMD = -2.18, 95% CI: -2.68, -1.68), and HbA1c (weighted mean difference (WMD) = -1.21, 95% CI: -1.48, -0.94) were significantly reduced in the intervention group; (3) total cholesterol (TC) (WMD = -0.43, 95% CI: -0.64, -0.23) was significantly reduced in the intervention group, although there were no statistically significant differences for triglycerides (TG) (WMD = -0.34, 95% CI: -0.73, 0.05), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (WMD = -0.20, 95% CI: -0.46, 0.07), or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (WMD = -0.06, 95% CI: -0.29, 0.17). CONCLUSION: Intervention based on health literacy can effectively improve health literacy levels and reduce glucose metabolism and TC level among people with diabetes mellitus, although it has no significant effect on TG, LDL-C, or HDL-C.

Exogenous obestatin decreases beta-cell apoptosis and alfa-cell proliferation in high fat diet and streptozotocin induced type 2 diabetic rats.

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by progressive decrease of islet cell function. Delaying the process of islet failure remains a challenging goal in diabetes care. Previous studies have confirmed the role of obestatin, a gut peptide that belongs to ghrelin family, in the mediation of glucose metabolism. This study aimed to observe the long term effects of exogenous obestatin on glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetes rat model. Type 2 diabetic rat model was set up by high-fat diet (60%) followed by a low dose of streptozotocin intra-peritoneal injection. Exogenous obestatin was administered at a dose of 20 nmol/kg for 12 weeks by intraperitoneal injection. Compared to placebo group (saline intraperitoneal injection), obestatin treatment decreased the glucagon levels and increased the c-peptide levels. Furthermore, obestatin treatment led to a significant restoration of islet morphology, increasing insulin and reducing glucagon expressions. Apoptosis assay showed a reduction in the number of TUNEL positive-cells. The up-regulation of Akt and GSK3ß in pancreas was confirmed by Real-Time PCR. These results demonstrated that obestatin might have a potential therapeutic relevance in improving islet cell function, including increasing insulin secretion through inhibiting beta cell apoptosis and decreasing glucagon secretion by inhibiting alfa cell proliferation in type 2 diabetes. In spite of its role in these phenomena, it is necessary to further discuss, especially regarding the role of obestatin on glucagon.