Exosomes derived from hypoxic alveolar epithelial cells promote the phenotypic transformation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells via the Rap1 pathway.

Background: Hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH) is one of the important pathophysiological changes in chronic pulmonary heart disease. Hypoxia promotes the phenotypic transformation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). Extracellular exosomes regulate vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotypic switch. Aim: Given the importance of exosomes and alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) in HPH, the present study aimed to address the issue of whether AEC-derived exosomes promote HPH by triggering PASMC phenotypic switch. Methods: Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), TRITC-phalloidin staining, and Western blotting were used to examine the effects of AEC-derived exosomes on cell proliferation, intracellular actin backbone distribution, and expression of phenotypic marker proteins in PASMCs. Transcriptomics sequencing was used to analyze differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between groups. Results: Hypoxia-induced exosomes (H-exos) could promote the proliferation of PASMCs, cause the reduction of cellular actin microfilaments, promote the expression of synthetic marker proteins (ELN and OPN), reduce the expression of contractile phenotypic marker proteins (SM22-α and α-SMA), and induce the phenotypic transformation of PASMCs. Transcriptomics sequencing analysis showed that the Rap1 signaling pathway was involved in the phenotypic transformation of PASMCs induced by H-exos. Conclusion: The present study identified that hypoxia-induced AEC-derived exosomes promote the phenotypic transformation of PASMCs and its mechanism is related to the Rap1 signaling pathway.

Characterization and expression analysis of a chitinase gene (PmChi-4) from black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) under pathogen infection and ambient ammonia nitrogen stress.

Chitinase is a multi-gene family, which play important physiological roles in crustaceans, involved in several biological processes, including digestion, molting and defense against viruses. In the present study, a chitinase-4 gene (PmChi-4) was cloned from Penaeus monodon by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The full length of PmChi-4 cDNA was 2178 bp, including an 1815 bp open reading frame (ORF) which encoded 604 amino acid residues. The predicted PmChi-4 protein was 67.7 kDa and shared 61%-88% identity with the type of Chi-4s from other crustaceans. Quantitative real-time (qRT-PCR) analysis indicated that PmChi-4 was expressed ubiquitously with the high expression level in hepatopancreas. PmChi-4 was expressed throughout the whole larvae stages, and the highest level of PmChi-4 transcripts was detected at Mysis3 stage, which indicated that PmChi-4 may be involved in larval metamorphosis. In order to know whether PmChi-4 was related to the immune response of shrimp, Streptococcus agalactiae and Vibrio harveyi were chosen to challenge the shrimp, PmChi-4 transcripts were significantly increased and reached to the maximum at 6 h in hepatopancreas and at 12 h in gill, respectively. The results suggested that PmChi-4 participated in the immune defenses to pathogen infection. Besides, the ammonia nitrogen stress treatment was also carried out, PmChi-4 transcripts were significantly decreased in hepatopancreas and gill and the result showed that PmChi-4 may be involved in ammonia nitrogen stress in P. monodon. Overall, our present study lay a foundation for further research into the biological function and regulation of chitinase in P. monodon.

[Study on preparaion of nongsuo danggui dispersible tablets and determination of its dissolution].

OBJECTIVE: To prepare nongsuo danggui dispersible tablets and determine its dissolution. METHODS: The dissolution of the tablets was determined by HPLC. RESULTS: The linear range of ferulic acid was 0.0557 - 0.557 microg (r = 0.9998). The average recoveries met the requirement. Phosphate solution of pH 6. 8 was the dissolution medium. CONCLUSION: The method is simple, accurate and has stronge specificity and can be used for the quality control of nongsuo danggui dissolveing tablets.

Muscle quality is negatively related to hypertension prevalence in adults: Results from NHANES 2011-2014.

Resistance training could counter hypertension and improve muscle quality (MQ), but current evidence about the correlation between MQ and hypertension is limited. The authors aimed to explore this correlation using the data of participants aged 20-59 from NHANES 2011-2014 via a cross-sectional study. The MQ was quantified as handgrip strength (kg)/lean soft tissue mass (kg) of the dominant arm. Weighted multivariate logistic regression models were mainly utilized to investigate the MQ-hypertension association; linear trend tests and subgroup analysis were also conducted. Moreover, the authors employed weighted multivariate linear regression models to uncover the association between blood pressure (BP) and MQ. Four thousand four hundred and sixty-nine individuals were enrolled, and 1167 were hypertensive. Hypertensive participants had a lower MQ than normotensive participants. In the totally adjusted model, each unit elevation in MQ was related to a 7% reduction in hypertension prevalence (p =.002). There was a decreasing trend in hypertension prevalence and in systolic BP as the MQ increased from the bottom to the top quartile across all three models (p for trend ≤.01), with a 28% difference (OR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.54, 0.95) in hypertension prevalence and a 1.88 mm Hg (95% CI: -3.56, -0.20) difference in SBP between the top and bottom quartiles in the fully adjusted model. Subgroup analysis further confirmed the MQ-hypertension inverse association. In conclusions, the MQ was negatively associated with hypertension prevalence and systolic BP, which suggests the MQ may be a protective factor for hypertension and need to be improved.

A macrophage migration inhibitory factor like oxidoreductase from pearl oyster Pinctada fucata involved in innate immune responses.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is an important cytokine and plays a crucial role as a pivotal regulator of innate immunity. In this study, a MIF cDNA was identified and characterized from the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata (designated as PoMIF). The full-length of PoMIF was 1544 bp and consisted of a 5'-untranslated region (UTR) of 45 bp, a 3'-UTR of 1139 bp with a polyadenylation signal (AATAAA) at 12 nucleotides upstream of the poly (A) tail. The open reading frame (ORF) of PoMIF was 360 bp which encoded a polypeptide of 120 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 13.3 kDa and a predicted pI of 6.1. SMART analysis showed that PoMIF contained the catalytic-sites P² and K³³ for tautomerase activity, a motif C57GSV6° for oxidoreductase activity and a MIF family signature D55PCGSVEVYSIGALG69. Homology analysis revealed that the PoMIF shared 40.3-65.5% similarity and 26.9-45.0% identity to other known MIF sequences. PoMIF mRNA was constitutively expressed in seven selected tissues of healthy pearl oysters, with the highest expression level in digestive gland. Eight hours after P. fucata was injected with Vibrio alginolyticus, the expression of PoMIF mRNA was significantly up-regulated in digestive gland, gills, hemocytes and intestine. The cDNA fragment encoding mature protein of PoMIF was subcloned to expression vector pRSET and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The recombinant PoMIF (rPoMIF) was expressed and purified under optimized conditions. Function analysis showed that rPoMIF had oxidoreductase activity and could utilize dithiothreitol (DTT) as reductant to reduce insulin.

Therapeutic potential of puerarin against methionine-choline-deficient diet-induced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis determined by combination of 1H NMR spectroscopy-based metabonomics and 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

Previously published studies have revealed the protective effect of puerarin against non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), but the definite mechanism of this effect still remains unclear. The present work was an attempt to assess the beneficial effects and the underlying mechanisms of puerarin on methionine-choline-deficient (MCD) diet-induced NASH in C57BL/6 mice by using a combination of metabonomics and 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabonomics showed significant hepatic and urinary metabolic phenotype changes between MCD-diet fed mice and the healthy controls. A total of eight and thirteen metabolites were identified as differential metabolites associated with NASH in liver tissue and urine of mice, respectively. The proposed pathways mainly included pyrimidine metabolism, one-carbon metabolism, amino acid metabolism, glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and synthesis and degradation of ketone bodies. Furthermore, 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis delineated remarkable variations in gut microbiota profiles in response to MCD diet in mice and forty differential bacterial taxa related to NASH were found between the control and model group. Puerarin could improve hepatic steatosis and inflammation in NASH mice via partially ameliorating metabolic disorders and rebalancing the gut flora. Specifically, puerarin could inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-producing genus Helicobacter, and promote butyrate-producing genus Roseburia. These findings offered novel insights into the in-depth understanding of the pathogenesis of NASH and provided further evidence for the potential use of puerarin as an anti-NASH agent.

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of lipopolysaccharide and ß-1,3-glucan-binding protein (LGBP) from pearl oyster Pinctada fucata.

The lipopolysaccharide and ß-1,3-glucan-binding protein (LGBP) plays an important function in the innate immune response of invertebrates as a pattern recognition receptor (PRR). Herein, we described the isolation and characterization of pearl oyster Pinctada fucata LGBP (designated as poLGBP). The poLGBP cDNA was 2,075 bp long and consisted of a 5'-untranslated region (UTR) of 18 bp, a 3'-UTR of 299 bp with one cytokine RNA instability motifs (ATTTA), and an open reading frame (ORF) of 1,758 bp encoding a polypeptide of 585 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 65.1 kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point of 5.80. Homology analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of the poLGBP with other known LGBP sequences by MatGAT software revealed that the poLGBP shared 26.3-56.7% identity and 40.5-70.9% similarity to the other known LGBP sequences. SMART and alignment analysis revealed that the poLGBP possessed a potential polysaccharide-binding motif, a glucanase motif, a LPS-binding site, a ß-1,3-linkage of polysaccharide, a glycine-rich region, a threonine-rich region and two N-glycosylation sites. In healthy pearl oyster, the poLGBP mRNA was specifically expressed in digestive gland, and not detected in gill, adductor muscle, gonad, intestine, mantle and hemocytes. However, after bacteria stimulation, the expression of the poLGBP mRNA was significantly up-regulated in digestive gland and also weakly detected in haemocytes, gonad and intestine. After LPS stimulation, the poLGBP mRNA expression was significantly up-regulated at 8 and 12 h in digestive gland, and the expression level was 10.7-fold higher than the PBS group at 12 h. After bacteria stimulation, the expression level of the poLGBP mRNA was also significantly up-regulated in digestive gland and was 12.9-fold higher than the PBS group at 8 h. However, during the experiment, the poLGBP mRNA expression was not detected in gill after LPS or bacteria stimulation. The tissue-specific expression and the expression up-regulation after LPS or bacteria stimulation in digestive gland suggested that the poLGBP was an inducible acute-phase protein and might play an important function in digestion as digestive enzyme and pattern recognition receptor.

Increase in CD4+FOXP3+ regulatory T cell number and upregulation of the HGF/c-Met signaling pathway during the liver metastasis of colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third and second most common type of cancer diagnosed in males and females, respectively, and is the fourth leading cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. Liver metastasis is the primary cause of mortality in patients with CRC, and therefore requires therapeutic focus. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are potentially involved in regulating the immune response during liver metastasis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of CD4+ forkhead box p3 (Foxp3)+ Tregs and the HGF/c-Met signaling pathway in the liver metastasis of CRC. A model of the latter was established using Balb/c mice via splenic injection of human CRC cells (CT-26 line). The mice were monitored for 3 weeks after being injected, and the spleens and livers were removed on day 22 for further analysis. Moreover, the single-cell suspensions were labeled with CD4 and Foxp3 antibodies, and were analyzed using flow cytometry. Expression levels of α-smooth muscle actin (SMA), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and hepatocyte growth factor receptor (c-Met) were analyzed using immunohistochemistry. Mice injected with CT-26 cells exhibited signs of illness and significant weight loss, compared with the control mice (P=0.013), and they also developed liver metastases, at an average of 20.5 tumors per mouse. Pathological evaluation using hematoxylin and eosin staining confirmed the tumors as liver metastases of CRC. The numbers of CD4+ T cells were significantly decreased in the spleen (P<0.001) and liver (P=0.003) of tumor-bearing mice, while the proportions of CD4+FOXP3+ Tregs increased significantly in the spleen (P<0.001) and liver (P=0.026) compared with that in the controls. Additionally, α-SMA, HGF and c-Met levels increased significantly during metastatic growth in the liver. In conclusion, CD4+FOXP3+ Treg levels increased and the HGF/c-Met pathway was upregulated during the liver metastasis of CRC in mice, indicating the presence of potential therapeutic targets.

Antitumor immunity of low-dose cyclophosphamide: changes in T cells and cytokines TGF-beta and IL-10 in mice with colon-cancer liver metastasis.

BACKGROUND: The tumor immune microenvironment is one of the most important prognostic factors in liver metastasis from colorectal cancer. Low-dose cyclophosphamide (CTX) is widely believed to be involved in the modulation of the immune system. However, the underlying mechanism of low-dose CTX remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the antitumor immunity of low-dose CTX in the treatment of colon-cancer liver metastasis. METHODS: Thirty mice were randomly divided into five groups. After liver metastasis was established in colon-cancer models, mice in the treatment groups were injected with low-dose CTX (20 mg/kg) at different time points. Liver and spleen tissues were examined for T-cell markers via flow cytometry. Interleukin (IL)-10 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß1 expression levels in liver tissues were analysed by immunohistochemistry. Serum interferon (IFN)-γ and IL-10 levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. An additional 20 mice were randomly allocated into two groups and the survival times were recorded. RESULTS: The expression levels of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and IFN-γ were down-regulated, whereas those of IL-10 and TGF-ß1 were up-regulated in liver metastasis from colon cancer in mice. Furthermore, the local and systemic microenvironments of the liver were altered, which led to reduced antitumor immune responses and subsequently liver metastasis. However, treatment with low-dose CTX reversed these effects. The survival times of mice treated with low-dose CTX were significantly longer than those of the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: Low-dose CTX exerts its antitumor activity by changing the systemic and local immune microenvironments and enhancing immune regulation in mice. CTX could be used as a drug to prevent and treat liver metastasis from colon cancer.

Molecular cloning and mRNA expression of cyclophilin A gene in black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon).

The techniques of homology cloning and anchored PCR were used to clone the cyclophilin A (CypA) gene from black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon). The full-length cDNA of black tiger shrimp CypA (btsCypA) contained a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 81 bp, an ORF (open reading frame) of 495 bp encoding a polypeptide of 164 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 17.68 kDa and a 3' UTR of 308 bp. The predicted amino acid sequence of btsCypA shared high identity with CypA in other organisms. A quantitative reverse transcriptase Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay was developed to assess the mRNA expression of btsCypA in different tissues and the temporal expression of btsCypA in the hepatopancreas challenged by lipopolyssacharide (LPS). Higher-level mRNA expression of btsCypA was detected in the tissues of hepatopancreas and blood. The expression of btsCypA in the hepatopancreas was up regulated after stimulated by LPS. The results indicated that btsCypA was a constitutive and inducible expressed protein and could be induced by LPS.

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of a putative LPS-induced TNF-alpha factor (LITAF) from pearl oyster Pinctada fucata.

The lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF-alpha factor (LITAF) is a novel transcription factor, which plays an important role in regulating the expression of TNF-alpha and various inflammatory cytokines in response to LPS stimulation and forms a dependent signaling pathway separated from NF-kappaB. Herein, we described the identification and characterization of pearl oyster Pinctada fucata LPS-induced TNF-alpha factor gene (designated as poLITAF). The poLITAF cDNA was 932 bp long and consisted of a 5'-untranslated region (UTR) of 45 bp, a 3'-UTR of 497 bp with two cytokine RNA instability motifs (ATTTA), and an open reading frame (ORF) of 390 bp encoding a polypeptide of 129 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 13.5 kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point of 8.36. A LITAF domain at C-terminal was identified in the poLITAF using SMART analysis, which contained two conserved CXXC motifs. Homology analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of the poLITAF with other known LITAF sequences by MatGAT software revealed that the poLITAF shared 44.2-67.4% similarity and 35.4-50.0% identity to the other known LITAF sequences. The expression level of poLITAF mRNA was the highest in digestive gland and gill, moderate in adductor muscle, gonad, intestine and mantle, the lowest in haemocytes. The poLITAF mRNA expression was significantly up-regulated at 24 h in gill and at 12 h in digestive gland after LPS stimulation respectively. These results suggested that the poLITAF was a constitutive and inducible acute-phase protein that perhaps involved in the innate immune response of pearl oyster.

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of the IkappaB gene from pearl oyster Pinctada fucata.

Inhibitor of NF-kappaB (IkappaB) is one important member of NF-kappaB signal pathway and plays a pivotal role in regulating the innate immune response of invertebrate. Herein, we described the isolation and characterization of pearl oyster Pinctada fucata IkappaB gene (designated as poIkappaB). The poIkappaB cDNA was 1975 bp long and consisted of a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 73 bp, a 3' UTR of 807 bp with three RNA instability motifs (ATTTA) and a polyadenylation signal (AATAAA) at 13 nucleotides upstream of the poly (A) tail, and an open reading frame (ORF) of 1095 bp encoding a polypeptide of 364 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 40.11 kDa and theoretical isoelectric point of 4.61. A conserved degradation motif (DS(35)GFSS(39)) and six ankyrin repeats were identified in the poIkappaB by SMART analysis. Homology analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of the poIkappaB with other known IkappaB sequences by MatGAT software revealed that the poIkappaB shared 23.5-63.3% similarities with other known IkappaB isoforms. The poIkappaB mRNA was constitutively expressed in all studied tissues with the most abundant mRNA in the haemocyte. The poIkappaB mRNA was up-regulated and increased 4.13- and 5.28-fold after LPS and Vibrio alginolyticus stimulation, respectively. These results suggested that the poIkappaB was a constitutive and inducible acute-phase protein that perhaps involved in the immune defense of pearl oyster.

Complete mitochondrial genome sequence of golden pompano Trachinotus ovatus.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Trachinotus ovatus was determined by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The mitogenome is 16,564 bp long and has the typical vertebrate mitochondrial gene arrangement, including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes and one control region. The overall base composition of mitogenome is estimated to be 29.0% for A, 28.9% for C, 26.2% for T, 15.9% for G, respectively, with a high A + T content (55.2%). With the exception of ND6 and eight tRNA genes, all other mitochondrial genes are encoded on the heavy strand. The control region contains a dinucleotide repeat motif, (AT)5. This mitogenome sequence would play an important role in population genetics and the molecular taxonomy of T. ovatus.

The complete mitochondrial genome of mud carp Cirrhinus molitorella (Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae).

The complete mitochondrial genome of Cirrhinus molitorella was determined using the polymerase chain reaction. The complete mitochondrial DNA sequence is 16,602 bp in length. It consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 rRNA genes and 2 non-coding regions. Overall base composition of mitogenome is estimated to be 32.32% for A, 15.26% for G, 25.00% for T, 27.41% for C, respectively, with a high A + T content (57.32%). The control region contains a dinucleotide repeat motif, (TA)12, a termination-associated sequence and three conserved sequence blocks. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of C. molitorella can provide a basic data for the studies on population structure, molecular systematic, stock evaluation and conservation genetics. It is also helpful to develop the rational management strategies for C. molitorella resource.

A preliminary study for identification of candidate AFLP markers under artificial selection for shell color in pearl oyster Pinctada fucata.

Pearl oyster Pinctada fucata is widely cultured to produce seawater pearl in South China, and the quality of pearl is significantly affected by its shell color. Thus the Pearl Oyster Selective Breeding Program (POSBP) was carried out for the shell color and growth traits. The black (B), gold (G), red (R) and white (W) shell strains with fast growth trait were achieved after five successive generation selection. In this study, AFLP technique was used to scan genome of four strains with different shell colors to identify the candidate markers under artificial selection. Eight AFLP primer combinations were screened and yielded 688 loci, 676 (98.26%) of which were polymorphic. In black, gold, red and white strains, the percentage of polymorphic loci was 90.41%, 87.79%, 93.60% and 93.31%, respectively, Nei's gene diversity was 0.3225, 0.2829, 0.3221 and 0.3292, Shannon's information index was 0.4801, 0.4271, 0.4825 and 0.4923, and the value of FST was 0.1805. These results suggested that the four different shell color strains had high genetic diversity and great genetic differentiation among strains, which had been subjected to the continuous selective pressures during the artificial selective breeding. Furthermore, six outlier loci were considered as the candidate markers under artificial selection for shell color. This study provides a molecular evidence for the inheritance of shell color of P. fucata.

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of interferon-gamma-inducible lysosomal thiol reductase (GILT) gene from pearl oyster Pinctada fucata.

Interferon-gamma-inducible lysosomal thiol reductase (GILT) is an important thiol reductase, involved in class, MHC-restricted antigen processing by catalyzing disulfide bond reduction in mammals. Herein, we describe the identification and characterization of pearl oyster Pinctada fucata GILT (designated as poGILT). The poGILT cDNA was 1273bp long and consisted of a 5'-untranslated region (UTR) of 24bp, a 3'-UTR of 484bp with two cytokine RNA instability motifs (ATTTA), and an open reading frame (ORF) of 765bp encoding a polypeptide of 254 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 28.9kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point of 7.4. The N-terminus of the poGILT was found to have a putative signal peptide with a cleavage site amino acid position at 19-20. SMART analysis showed that the poGILT contained a GILT active-site C(69)PDC(72) motif and a GILT signature motif C(115)QHGKEECIGNLIETC(130). Homology analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of the poGILT with other known GILT sequences by MatGAT software revealed that the poGILT shared 42.9-67.3% similarity and 22.9-49.8% identity to the other known GILT sequences. The expression level of poGILT mRNA was higher in digestive gland, moderate in adductor muscle, gills, gonad, intestine and mantle, and lower in hemocytes. The poGILT mRNA expression was significantly up-regulated in gill and digestive gland after LPS or V. alginolyticus stimulation, respectively. These results suggested that the poGILT was a constitutively expressed acute-phase protein, the expression of which can be enhanced after LPS or V. algrinolyticus stimulation, perhaps involved in the innate immune response of pearl oyster.