Study on the Mechanism of Action of Different Acupuncture Regimens on Premature Ovarian Failure Model Rats.

Objective: To study the mechanism of acupuncture on premature ovarian failure (POF) through the apoptosis pathway mediated by Bcl-2/Bax. Methods: POF rats were successfully obtained by cyclophosphamide. They were divided into five groups. After that, acupuncture was performed. The blank group and model group were not treated. The routine acupuncture group was acupuncture at Guanyuan, Sanyinjiao, Zhongji, and Guilai four points. The Neck-seven-acupuncture group was selected from Fengchi, Fengfu, Tianzhu, and Wangu four acupoints; the three-viscera simultaneous treatment group selected Guanyuan, Shenshu, Sanyinjiao, Taichong, and Baihui five points; and the data mining group selected Guanyuan and Sanyinjiao two points for 14 days of treatment. During the treatment, some rats were shed one after another due to the side effects of bone marrow suppression caused by mold-making. After treatment, serum estradiol (E2), follicle forming hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) were detected by radioimmunoassay, Bcl-2 and Bax proteins were analyzed by Western blot method, and Bcl-2 and Bax RNA were analyzed by PCR method. Results: Bcl-2 increased and Bax decreased in rats with premature ovarian failure treated with acupuncture. It shows that acupuncture can affect the secretion of ovarian-related hormones and the expression of apoptosis-related proteins, which is more significant in the conventional acupuncture point group. Conclusion: Acupuncture can inhibit the apoptosis of granulosa cells in ovarian tissue of rats with premature ovarian failure and improve ovarian function. The mechanism of its effect is to promote Bcl-2 gene expression and protein synthesis and inhibit Bax gene expression and protein synthesis. The conventional treatment group works best. This provides an experimental basis for the clinical use of acupuncture to intervene in the treatment of premature ovarian failure.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the cryptic species (Form II) in kuruma shrimp Marsupenaeus japonicus (Decapoda: Penaeidae).

The Kuruma shrimp M. japonicus is economic important species in the shrimp fishery and aquaculture. However, it is a species complex consisting of two cryptic species (Form I and Form II), which can be difficult to identify based on morphology. Here, we report the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of M. japonicus (Form II) from Beibu Bay. The mitogenome has 15,966 base pairs and made up of total of 37 genes (13 protein-coding, 22 transfer RNAs and 2 ribosomal RNAs), and a putative control region. There were 1029 mutations sites between these two cryptic species, and the most variable sites were putative control region. This study adds a distinct mitogenome of M. japonicus (Form II) and will provide useful genetic information for future genetic variation identification and genetic diversity evaluation of this economic valuable shrimp.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Lutraria maxima Jonas (Veneroida: Mactridae).

The snout otter clam Lutraria maxima Jonas (Veneroida: Mactridae) is an economically important species in the marine bivalves fishery and aquaculture in China. However, the genetic information of this species remains unavailable. In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of L. maxima. The mitogenome has 17,082 base pairs (63.9% A + T content) and made up of a total of 37 genes (13 protein-coding, 22 transfer RNAs and two ribosomal RNAs), and a 1045 bp non-coding control region. The presence of a gene coding for ATPase subunit 8 was also noted. However, as expected in Mactridae, the gene arrangements showed variations with that of the related species. This study adds to the repository of available mitogenomes of various Mactridae and will provide useful genetic information for future fishery management and aquaculture development of Mactridae.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Scylla paramamosain (Decapoda: Portunidae).

The mud crab Scylla paramamosain (Decapoda:Portunidae) is a commercially important crustacean species in China, which is broadly distributed along the southeastern coastal regions of China. In previous studies, the population from Beibu Bay showed distinct genetic lineage. Here, we report the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of S. paramamosain from Beibu Bay. The mitogenome has 15,816 base pairs and made up of total of 37 genes (13 protein-coding, 22 transfer RNAs and 2 ribosomal RNAs), and a putative control region. The complete mitogenome in the Beibu Bay population was shorter than that in the Shenzhen population, because the non-coding region between tRNA-Glu and tRNA-His was shorter in the former, and there were 59 mutations sites between these two populations. This study adds a distinct mitogenomes of S. paramamosain and will provide useful genetic information for future genetic variation identification and genetic diversity evaluation of this economic valuable crab.

The complete mitochondrial genome of moonfish Mene maculata (Perciformes: Menidae).

The moonfish M. maculata is economic important species in the marine fishery in China. However, the genetic information of this species remains unavailable. In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of M. maculata. The mitogenome has 16,733 base pairs (53.8% A + T content) and made up of total of 37 genes (13 protein-coding, 22 transfer RNAs, and two ribosomal RNAs), and a putative noncoding control region. This study reports the first available complete mitogenome of Menidae and will provide useful genetic information for future fishery management and aquaculture development of Menidae.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Indothais lacera (Neogastropoda: Muricidae).

The rock shells Thais is the most important genera of Muricidae. However, the systemically classification and phylogenetic studies have so far been limited. In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Indothais lacera. The mitogenome has 15,272 base pairs (68.1% A + T content) and made up of a total of 37 genes (13 protein-coding, 22 transfer RNAs and two ribosomal RNAs), but no control region. This study was the first available complete mitogenomes of Indothais and will provide useful genetic information for future phylogenetic and evolutionary classification of Thais.

Two HSPs gene from juvenile Amur sturgeon (Acipenser schrenckii): cloning, characterization and expression pattern to crowding and hypoxia stress.

In this study, the cDNA sequences of HSP70 and HSP90 were isolated from the special chondr-ganoid scale, Amur sturgeon, for the first time. Homology analysis indicated that amino acid sequences of HSP70 and HSP90 shared high identity with other species (82.68-99.07 and 90.19-98.07%, respectively). The tissue expression analysis showed that the asHSP70 and asHSP90 mRNA were ubiquitously expressed in all the examined tissues under unstressed condition. The expression pattern of HSP70 and HSP90 under chronic (crowding) and acute (hypoxia) stress was examined by q-PCR in liver, spleen and kidney. Results showed that stocking density could significantly influence the expression of HSP70 at day 20 and/or day 40. In contrast to stocking density, levels of HSP70 transcripts indicated a remarkable increase in all examined tissues after hypoxia stress. HSP90 levels in liver and spleen increased significantly in high stocking density. By comparison, significant increase of asHSP90 in kidney was only found in high stocking density at day 40. Similar to HSP70, the levels of HSP90 transcripts showed significant increases after hypoxia stress except the transcript of liver in H2 group 6 h after hypoxia. The assessment of asHSP70 and asHSP90 mRNA levels under crowding and hypoxia stresses indicated that asHSP70 and asHSP90 gene might be good indicators of stressful situations for Amur sturgeon. Taking serum globulin and electrolytes account, we suggest that crowding and hypoxia stress can result in considerable stress for Amur sturgeon.

The physiological performance and immune responses of juvenile Amur sturgeon (Acipenser schrenckii) to stocking density and hypoxia stress.

Stocking density and hypoxia are considered priority issues in aquaculture research. In this study, two experiments were carried out in order to investigate the effects of chronic stress (stocking density) and acute stress (hypoxia) on the immune physiology responses (hematology, serum cortisol, glucose, total protein and the mRNA expression of CYP 1A) of juvenile Amur sturgeon (Acipenser schrenckii). In the chronic stress study, three triplicate groups of Amur sturgeon (42.0 ± 2.3 g) were reared in nine square concrete ponds (4.4 × 4.4 × 0.45 m³) at three stocking densities (3.7, 6.9 and 9.0 kg/m³) for 50 days. In the acute stress study, three triplicate groups: normal group (7 mg/l), hypoxia group 1 (5 mg/l) and hypoxia group 2 (3 mg/l) were used in nine 100 L indoor tanks. Sampling was performed at the end of the stocking density experiment (50 days) and at 0, 0.5, 1.5, 3 and 6 h after hypoxia stress. The results showed that increased stocking density reduced the morphological indexes (hepatosomatic index, spleen-somatic index and kidney-somatic index), while total protein and hemoglobin increased significantly in the stressed group. In response to hypoxia, the levels of cortisol, glucose and hematological parameters elevated significantly after this stress. As for spleen-somatic index, there was a decline after hypoxia though H1 group returned to the normal level at 3 h and 6 h after hypoxia stress. Additionally, In order to better understand the immune response of Amur sturgeon to chronic and acute stressors, we cloned the complete coding sequence of Amur sturgeon CYP 1A for the first time and investigated its tissue-specific expression and stress-induced expression. CYP 1A mRNA in liver showed over expressions both in crowding condition and in hypoxia stress. The same trend was also found in spleen and kidney which may provide evidence that CYP 1A could serve as a good indicator of immune response in Amur sturgeon. In addition, the result suggested a typical immune response both in high stocking density and hypoxia stress. But the chronically stressed fish might have an adaptation capability to survive under a stable crowding condition without a change in some immune parameters (cortisol, glucose, WBCs and RBCs).