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Research on interactions between grazers and toxigenic algae is fundamental for understanding toxin dynamics within aquatic ecosystems and developing biotic approaches to mitigate harmful algal blooms. The dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum is a well-known microalga responsible for paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) contamination in many coastal regions worldwide. This study investigated the impact of the ciliate Euplotes balteatus on cell density and PSTs transfer in simulated A. minutum blooms under controlled conditions. E. balteatus exhibited resistance to the PSTs produced by A. minutum with a density of up to 10,000 cells/mL, sustaining growth and reproduction while eliminating algal cells within a few days. The cellular PSTs content of A. minutum increased in response to the grazing pressure from E. balteatus. However, due to the substantial reduction in density, the overall toxicity of the algal population decreased to a negligible level. Most PSTs contained within algal cells were temporarily accumulated in E. balteatus before being released into the water column, suggesting unclear mechanisms for PSTs excretion in unicellular grazers. In principle, the grazing of E. balteatus on A. minutum promotes the transfer of the majority of intracellular PSTs into extracellular portions, thereby mitigating the risk of their accumulation and contamination through marine trophic pathways. However, this process also introduces an increase in the potential environmental hazards posed by extracellular PSTs to some extent.
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The transition toward hydrogen gas (H2) as an eco-friendly and renewable energy source necessitates advanced safety technologies, particularly robust sensors for H2 leak detection and concentration monitoring. Although palladium (Pd)-based materials are preferred for their strong H2 affinity, intense palladium-hydrogen (Pd-H) interactions lead to phase transitions to palladium hydride (PdHx), compromising sensors' durability and detection speeds after multiple uses. In response, this study introduces a high-performance H2 sensor designed from thiolate-protected Pd nanoclusters (Pd8SR16), which leverages the synergistic effect between the metal and protective ligands to form an intermediate palladium-hydrogen-sulfur (Pd-H-S) state during H2 adsorption. Striking a balance, it preserves Pd-H binding affinity while preventing excessive interaction, thus lowering the energy required for H2 desorption. The dynamic adsorption-dissociation-recombination-desorption process is efficiently and highly reversible with Pd8SR16, ensuring robust and rapid H2 sensing at parts per million (ppm). The Pd8SR16-based sensor demonstrates exceptional stability (50 cycles; 0.11% standard deviation in response), prompt response/recovery (t90 = 0.95 s/6 s), low limit of detection (LoD, 1 ppm), and ambient temperature operability, ranking it among the most sensitive Pd-based H2 sensors. Furthermore, a multifunctional prototype demonstrates the practicality of real-world gas sensing using ligand-protected metal nanoclusters.
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Asymmetric Pd-catalyzed three-component carboamination reactions of dienes to construct chiral cyclohexenylamines, which are of great importance in many fields of chemistry, have remained largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate a highly enantio- and regioselective Pd/Ming-Phos-catalyzed carboamination reactions of 1,3-cyclohexadiene with readily available aryl iodides and anilines for facile access to diverse valuable chiral cyclohexenylamines. The process shows excellent functional group tolerance, easy scalability, and mild conditions. Moreover, mechanistic studies suggest that this reaction has a first-order dependence on the concentration of the palladium catalyst and aniline.
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The effects of Lactobacillus plantarum in microencapsulation (LPM) on intestinal development in layer chicks were investigated in this study, as well as the colonization of L. plantarum in the gut. A total of 480 healthy Hy-Line Brown layer chicks at 0 d old were randomly divided into 4 groups (8 replicates each treatment), and the diets of these birds were supplemented with nothing (control), L. plantarum (0.02 g/kg feed; 109 CFU/kg feed), LPM (1.0 g/kg feed; 109 CFU/kg feed) and wall material of LPM (WM; 0.98 g/kg feed), respectively. Compared to control, LPM improved growth performance and intestinal development of layer chicks, evidenced by significantly increased body weight, average daily gain, average daily feed intake, villus height, villus height/crypt depth, as well as weight and length of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum (P < 0.05). These results could be attributed to the increased colonization of L. plantarum in the gut, which was verified by significant increases in lactic acid content, viable counts in chyme and mucosa (P < 0.05), as well as a visible rise in number of strains labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate. Meanwhile, the relative abundances of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium significantly increased in response to microencapsulated L. plantarum supplementation (P < 0.05), accompanied by the significant up-regulation of colonization related genes (P < 0.05), encoding solute carrier family, monocarboxylate transporter, activin A receptor, succinate receptor and secretogranin II. To sum up, microencapsulated L. plantarum supplementation promoted intestinal development, which could be attributed to the enhancement of L. plantarum colonization in the intestine through the mutual assistance of Bifidobacterium and interactions with colonization related transmembrane proteins.
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The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dietary crude protein (CP) levels on intestinal antioxidant status, tight junction proteins expression, and amino acids transporters levels in squabs. A total of 180 pairs of White King parent pigeons approximately 10 mo old were randomly assigned to 5 groups with 6 replications of 6 pairs of parental pigeons each, and were fed with 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18% CP diets for 46 d, respectively. Dietary increasing CP levels increased final body weight (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05), serum urea nitrogen (linear, P<0.05) and triglyceride levels (quadratic, P < 0.05), and reduced kidney relative weight (quadratic, P < 0.05) in squabs. Final body weight of squabs in the 18% CP diet group was higher than that of the 14, 15, and 16% CP diet groups (P < 0.05) but was similar to that of the 17% CP diet group (P > 0.05). Increasing dietary CP levels reduced intestinal malondialdehyde contents (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05) and jejunal total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activity (linear, P < 0.05), and enhanced (linear and quadratic, P<0.05) ileal catalase and T-SOD activities in squabs, and these effects were more prominent in the 17% CP diet group. Graded CP levels up-regulated the mRNA expression of intestinal zonula occludens 1 (linear, P < 0.05), solute carrier family 7 members 9 (linear, P < 0.05) and claudin 1 (CLDN1, linear and quadratic, P < 0.05), ileal CLDN3 and solute carrier family 6 members 14 (linear, P < 0.05) but lowered jejunal solute carrier family 6 member 14 (quadratic, P<0.05) mRNA expression in squabs. The effects of dietary CP levels on intestinal tight junction proteins expression were more apparent when its supplemental levels were 18%. These results suggested that increasing parental dietary CP levels ranged from 14 to 18% during breeding period improved growth and intestinal function of squabs, with its recommended level being 17%.
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Ração Animal , Columbidae , Dieta , Proteínas Alimentares , Animais , Columbidae/fisiologia , Dieta/veterinária , Ração Animal/análise , Proteínas Alimentares/administração & dosagem , Distribuição Aleatória , Masculino , Intestinos/efeitos dos fármacos , Intestinos/fisiologia , Proteínas Aviárias/metabolismo , Proteínas Aviárias/genética , Relação Dose-Resposta a Droga , Fenômenos Fisiológicos da Nutrição Animal , Proteínas de Junções Íntimas/metabolismo , Proteínas de Junções Íntimas/genética , Mucosa Intestinal/metabolismoRESUMO
Objective: During in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) treatment, the reproductive endocrine regulatory mechanisms hold pivotal importance. Specifically, the serum estradiol (E 2) level during ovulation emerges as a critical factor influencing pregnancy outcomes. This retrospective study aimed to comprehensively compare two common clinical regimens based on the grouping of serum E 2 levels and the number of oocytes retrieved on the trigger day. Our objective was to evaluate the pregnancy outcomes in IVF-ET patients across different ovarian response groups, exploring the efficacy of the dual-trigger and single-trigger regimens to provide valuable insights for optimizing clinical strategies in the context of IVF-ET. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 2778 infertile patients who underwent ART (IVF/ICSI). Subsequently, a detailed statistical analysis was performed on 1032 patients following an antagonist regimen. Participants were categorized into single-trigger and dual-trigger groups based on real-world trigger protocols, considering different ovarian responses. Comprehensive statistical assessments were conducted on baseline characteristics, ovulation induction, and pregnancy outcomes. Results: Baseline characteristics and cycle parameters among the three patient groups (high ovarian response, normal response, and poor response) exhibited no significant differences between the dual-trigger and single-trigger regimen groups. Despite the dual-trigger regimen utilizing a significantly lower HCG dose, no notable discrepancies were observed in laboratory results and pregnancy outcomes (embryo transfer rate, pregnancy rate, and live birth rate) for normal and high responders. Remarkably, E 2 levels were higher in the dual-trigger group compared to the single-trigger group. In high and normal responders, the dual-trigger regimen demonstrated increased oocyte counts and oocyte acquisition rates, coupled with decreased transfer cancellation rates attributed to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Intriguingly, patients with a poor ovarian response experienced no graft cancellations due to OHSS prevention in either group. Conclusion: For patients with high and normal ovarian responses, the utilization of a dual-trigger regimen on the trigger day effectively mitigates the risk of OHSS. Our large sample study supports the substitutability of the dual-trigger regimen over the single-trigger regimen without compromising pregnancy outcomes. However, this conclusion is not applicable to patients with poor ovarian responses. The results of this study highlight the necessity of adopting a customized and individualized treatment approach that should be based on the patient's ovarian response. Additionally, recognizing the pivotal role of the endocrine environment in influencing pregnancy outcomes and the occurrence of OHSS, further exploration of the effects of different triggering regimens on endocrine parameters is warranted. Such investigations will contribute to enhancing the reproductive outcomes of IVF-ET technology.
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Efficient semantic segmentation of large-scale point cloud scenes is a fundamental and essential task for perception or understanding the surrounding 3d environments. However, due to the vast amount of point cloud data, it is always a challenging to train deep neural networks efficiently and also difficult to establish a unified model to represent different shapes effectively due to their variety and occlusions of scene objects. Taking scene super-patch as data representation and guided by its contextual information, we propose a novel multiscale super-patch transformer network (MSSPTNet) for point cloud segmentation, which consists of a multiscale super-patch local aggregation (MSSPLA) module and a super-patch transformer (SPT) module. Given large-scale point cloud data as input, a dynamic region-growing algorithm is first adopted to extract scene super-patches from the sampling points with consistent geometric features. Then, the MSSPLA module aggregates local features and their contextual information of adjacent super-patches at different scales. Owing to the self-attention mechanism, the SPT module exploits the similarity among scene super-patches in high-level feature space. By combining these two modules, our MSSPTNet can effectively learn both local and global features from the input point clouds. Finally, the interpolating upsampling and multi-layer perceptrons are exploited to generate semantic labels for the original point cloud data. Experimental results on the public S3DIS dataset demonstrate its efficiency of the proposed network for segmenting large-scale point cloud scenes, especially for those indoor scenes with a large number of repetitive structures, i.e., the network training of our MSSPTNet is much faster than other segmentation networks by a factor of tens to hundreds.
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Starch, as a primary component of wheat, plays a crucial role in determining the quality of noodles and pasta. A deep understanding of the impact of starch on the quality of noodles and pasta is fundamentally important for the industrial progression of these products. The starch structure exerts an influence on the quality of noodles and pasta by affecting its functional attributes and the interaction of starch-gluten proteins. The effects of starch structure (amylopectin structure, amylose content, granules size, damaged starch content) on the quality of noodles and pasta is discussed. The relationship between the functional properties of starch, particularly its swelling power and pasting properties, and the texture of noodles and pasta is discussed. It is important to note that the functional properties of starch can be modified during the processing of noodles and pasta, potentially impacting the quality of the end product, However, this aspect is often overlooked. Additionally, the interaction between starch and gluten is addressed in relation to its impact on the quality of noodles and pasta. Finally, the application of exogenous starch in improving the quality of noodles and pasta is highlighted.
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A reliable strategy for improving the stability and shelf life of protein-stabilized systems is by covalently attaching the protein onto a polysaccharide. In this study, ovalbumin (OVA) was modified with dextran (DEX) of different molecular weights by the Maillard reaction, and was used to enhance the stability of emulsions loaded with resveratrol. The surface hydrophobicity, thermal stability, and FT-IR spectroscopy of the OVA-DEX conjugates were evaluated. The results showed that the surface hydrophobicity of OVA decreased, while the thermal stability of OVA was significantly improved after DEX covalent modification. The OVA-DEX1k-stabilized emulsion exhibited high encapsulation efficiency of resveratrol, with the value of 89.0%. In addition, OVA-DEX was considerably more effective in droplet stabilization against different environmental stresses (heat, pH, and ionic strength). After 28 days of storage at 25 °C, the OVA-stabilized emulsion showed faster decomposition of resveratrol, whereas the OVA-DEX-conjugate-stabilized emulsion had approximately 73% retention of resveratrol. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of resveratrol-loaded emulsions stabilized by OVA-DEX was higher during storage under different temperatures. These results proved that the OVA-DEX conjugates had the potential to form stable, food-grade emulsion-based delivery systems against environmental stresses, which strongly supports their potential in the field of food and biomedical applications.
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Background: There is no consensus on the effect of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) inhibitors on lipid profiles in patients with psoriasis. This study aimed to investigate the effects of TNF-alpha inhibitors on lipid profiles (triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, or high-density lipoprotein) in patients with psoriasis. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases for articles published before October 17, 2023. Four TNF-alpha inhibitors (infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab, and certolizumab) were included in our study. (PROSPERO ID: CRD42023469703). Results: A total of twenty trials were included. Overall results revealed that TNF-alpha inhibitors elevated high-density lipoprotein levels in patients with psoriasis (WMD = 2.31; 95% CI: 0.96, 3.67; P = 0.001), which was supported by the results of sensitivity analyses excluding the effect of lipid-lowering drugs. Subgroup analyses indicated that high-density lipoprotein levels were significantly increased in the less than or equal to 3 months group (WMD = 2.88; 95% CI: 1.37, 4.4; P < 0.001), the etanercept group (WMD = 3.4; 95% CI = 1.71, 5.09, P < 0.001), and the psoriasis group (WMD = 2.52; 95% CI = 0.57, 4.48, P = 0.011). Triglyceride levels were significantly increased in the 3 to 6-month group (WMD = 4.98; 95% CI = 1.97, 7.99, P = 0.001) and significantly decreased in the 6-month and older group (WMD = -19.84; 95% CI = -23.97, -15.7, P < 0.001). Additionally, Triglyceride levels were significantly increased in the psoriasis group (WMD = 5.22; 95% CI = 2.23, 8.21, P = 0.001). Conclusion: Our results revealed that TNF-alpha inhibitors might temporarily increase high-density lipoprotein levels in patients with psoriasis. However, changes in triglycerides were not consistent among the different durations of treatment, with significant increases after 3 to 6 months of treatment. Future prospective trials with long-term follow-up contribute to confirming and extending our findings. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42023469703.
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Psoríase , Fator de Necrose Tumoral alfa , Humanos , Etanercepte/farmacologia , Etanercepte/uso terapêutico , Fator de Necrose Tumoral alfa/uso terapêutico , Anticorpos Monoclonais/uso terapêutico , Anticorpos Monoclonais Humanizados/uso terapêutico , Psoríase/tratamento farmacológico , Fatores Imunológicos/uso terapêutico , Triglicerídeos , Lipoproteínas HDLRESUMO
Disease-causing microorganisms such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) are among the primary contributors to morbidity and mortality of diarrhea in humans. Considering the challenges associated with antibiotic use, including antimicrobial resistance, this study aimed to develop a novel zinc-based agent for bacterial inactivation. To this end, zinc caproate (ZnCA) was synthesized using caproic acid (CA) and zinc oxide (ZnO) in anhydrous ethanol via the solvothermal method. Structural characterization techniques, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, revealed the bidentate bridging coordination of zinc atoms with CA. The resulting two-dimensional ZnCA network was found to be composed of a distinct lamellar pattern, without any evident inter-layer interactions. Powder X-ray diffraction analysis, elemental analysis, and melting point analysis confirmed that ZnCA had an average particle size of 1.320 µm, a melting point of 147.2 °C, and a purity exceeding 98 %. Remarkably, ZnCA demonstrated potent antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus, which exceeded the antibacterial efficacy of ZnO. ZnCA exerted its antibacterial effects by inhibiting biofilm formation, disrupting cell membrane integrity, increasing cell membrane permeability, and altering intracellular Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase activity. These findings highlight the potential of ZnCA as a promising antibiotic substitute for the treatment of diarrhea in humans.
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Nanopartículas Metálicas , Óxido de Zinco , Humanos , Zinco , Óxido de Zinco/farmacologia , Óxido de Zinco/química , Caproatos , Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli , Difração de Raios X , Antibacterianos/química , Espectroscopia de Infravermelho com Transformada de Fourier , Testes de Sensibilidade Microbiana , Nanopartículas Metálicas/química , DiarreiaRESUMO
Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) are the most common reproductive system malignancies in men aged 15-44 years, accounting for 95 % of all testicular tumors. Our previous studies have been shown that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), such as LINC00313, TTTY14 and RFPL3S, were associated with development of TGCT. Subgrouping TGCT according to differential expressed lncRNAs and immunological characteristics is helpful to comprehensively describe the characteristics of TGCT and implement precise treatment. In this study, the TGCT transcriptome data in The Cancer Genome Atlas Program (TCGA) database was used to perform consensus clustering analysis to construct a prognostic model for TGCT. TGCT was divided into 3 subtypes C1, C2, and C3 based on the differentially expressed lncRNAs. C1 subtype was sensitive to chemotherapy drugs, while the C2 subtype was not sensitive to chemotherapy drugs, and C3 subtype may benefit from immunotherapy. We defined the C1 subtype as epidermal progression subtype, the C2 subtype as mesenchymal progression subtype, and the C3 subtype as T cell activation subtype. Subgrouping based on differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and immunological characteristics is helpful for the precise treatment of TGCT.
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The aim of this paper is to study iterative learning control for differential inclusion systems with random fading channels between the plant and the controller. In reality, the phenomenon of fading will inevitably occur in network transmission, which will greatly affect the tracking ability of output trajectory. This study discusses the impact of fading channel on tracking performance at the input and output sides, respectively. First, a set-valued mapping in a differential inclusion system with uncertainty is converted into a single-valued mapping by means of a Steiner-type selector. Then, to offset the effect of the fading channel and improve the tracking ability, a variable local average operator is constructed. The convergence of the learning control algorithm designed by the average operator is proved. The results show that the parameters in the varying local average operator can be adjusted to trade-off between the learning rate and the fading offset rate. Finally, the theoretical results are verified by numerical simulation of the switched reluctance motors.
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The rise of touchless technology, driven by the recent pandemic, has transformed human-machine interaction (HMI). Projections indicate a substantial growth in the touchless technology market, nearly tripling from $13.6 billion in 2021 to an estimated $37.6 billion by 2026. In response to the pandemic-driven shift towards touchless technology, here we show an organic cage-based humidity sensor with remarkable humidity responsiveness, forming the basis for advanced touchless platforms in potential future HMI systems. This cage sensor boasts an ultrafast response/recovery time (1 s/3 s) and exceptional stability (over 800 cycles) across relative humidity (RH) changes from 11% to 95%. The crystal structure's 3D pore network and luxuriant water-absorbing functional groups both inside and outside of the cage contribute synergistically to superior humidity sensing. Demonstrating versatility, we showcase this cage in smart touchless control screens and touchless password managers, presenting cost-effective and easily processable applications of molecularly porous materials in touchless HMI.
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HACE1 is a member of the HECT domain-containing E3 ligases with 909 amino acid residues, containing N-terminal ankyrin-repeats (ANK) and C-terminal HECT domain. Previously, it was shown that HACE1 is inactive in human tumors and plays a crucial role in the initiation, progression, and invasion of malignant tumors. Recent studies indicated that HACE1 might be closely involved in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. HACE1 interacts with its substrates, including Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1), nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR), and optineurin (OPTN), through which participates in several pathophysiological processes, such as oxidative stress, autophagy and inflammation. Therefore, in this review, we elaborately describe the essential substrates of HACE1 and illuminate the pathophysiological processes by which HACE1 is involved in neurodegenerative diseases. We provide a new molecular target for neurodegenerative diseases.
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Doenças Neurodegenerativas , Ubiquitina-Proteína Ligases , Humanos , Doença de Alzheimer , Aminoácidos , Doença de Huntington , Doenças Neurodegenerativas/tratamento farmacológico , Doenças Neurodegenerativas/metabolismo , Doenças Neurodegenerativas/patologia , Doença de Parkinson , Ubiquitina-Proteína Ligases/antagonistas & inibidoresRESUMO
Bladder cancer (BC) is a prevalent and deadly disease. circCD2AP was suggested to be highly expressed in BC. However, the exact mechanism needs further investigation. In this study, circCD2AP was observed to be upregulated in BC and linked to poor prognosis in individuals. Functionally, circCD2AP or USP21 knockdown inhibited BC cell EMT and stemness both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, circCD2AP interacted with ELAVL1 to enhance the stability of USP21 mRNA, which, in turn, inhibited the ubiquitination degradation of FOXQ1. Through rescue assay, USP21 or FOXQ1 knockdown was found to abolish the promoting effects of circCD2AP or USP21 overexpression on BC cell EMT and stemness. Overall, this study has unveiled the role of circCD2AP/ELAVL1/USP21/FOXQ1 axis in BC EMT and stemness regulation, offering insights into the mechanisms underlying BC progression, with potential implications for therapeutic strategies.
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Two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with uniform pores and large surface areas are ideal candidates for constructing advanced molecular sieving membranes. However, a fabrication strategy to synthesize a free-standing COF membrane with a high permselectivity has not been fully explored yet. Herein, we prepared a free-standing TpPa-SO3H COF membrane with vertically aligned one-dimensional nanochannels. The introduction of the sulfonic acid groups on the COF membrane provides abundant negative charge sites in its pore wall, which achieve a high water flux and an excellent sieving performance toward water-soluble drugs and dyes with different charges and sizes. Furthermore, the COF membrane exhibited long-term stability, fouling resistance, and recyclability in rejection performance. We envisage that this work provides new insights into the effect of ionic ligands on the design of a broad range of COF membranes for advanced separation applications.
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This paper studies the quantized iterative learning control with encoding-decoding mechanism of a class of impulsive differential inclusion systems with random data dropouts. First, the set-valued mappings in the differential inclusion systems are transformed into single-valued mappings by using the Steiner-type selector. Then, a learning algorithm based on the intermittent update principle is designed to address the data asynchronism problem caused by two-sided data dropouts. If the data are successfully transmitted at the actuator and measurement sides, then the control input is effectively updated. Furthermore, a suitable scaling sequence is introduced to ensure the system output to achieve zero-error tracking performance for a desired trajectory. An upper bound of the quantization level is determined such that the quantization error is always bounded. The results show that the quantization method reduces the burden of network communication at the cost of increasing the amount of computation, and the learning algorithm does not require the data dropouts to satisfy a certain probability distribution. Finally, the effectiveness of the learning algorithm is verified by numerical simulations of the switched reluctance motor system.
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Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a chronic disorder with a high malignant transformation rate. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and angiogenesis are key events in OSF. The Notch signaling plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of various fibrotic diseases, including OSF. Our study aimed to explore the effects of Notch on the EMT and angiogenesis processes during the development of OSF. The expression of Notch in OSF tissues versus normal buccal mucosa samples was compared. Arecoline was used to induce myofibroblast transdifferentiation of buccal mucosal fibroblasts (BMFs). Short hairpin RNA technique was used to knockdown Notch in BMFs. Pirfenidone and SRI-011381 were used to inhibit and activate the TGF-ß1 signaling pathway in BMFs, respectively. The expression of Notch was markedly upregulated in OSF tissues and fibrotic BMFs. Knockdown of Notch significantly decreased the viability and promoted apoptosis in BMFs subjected to arecoline stimulation. Downregulation of Notch also significantly suppressed the EMT process, as shown by the reduction of N-cadherin and vimentin with concomitant upregulation of E-cadherin. In addition, knockdown of Notch upregulated VEGF and enhanced the angiogenic activity of fBMFs. Moreover, inhibition of TGF-ß1 suppressed viability and EMT, promoted apoptosis, and induced angiogenesis of fBMFs, while activation of TGF-ß1 significantly diminished the effects of Notch knockdown on fBMFs. Knockdown of Notch suppressed EMT and induced angiogenesis in OSF by regulating TGF-ß1, suggesting that the Notch-TGF-ß1 pathway may serve as a therapeutic intervention target for OSF.
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The alleviating effects of Lactobacillus plantarum in microencapsulation (LPM) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced intestinal inflammatory injury were investigated in layer chicks. A total of 252 healthy Hy-Line Brown layer chicks were randomly divided into six groups. Birds were injected with saline or LPS except for the control, and the diets of birds subjected to LPS were supplemented with nothing, L. plantarum, LPM, and wall material of LPM, respectively. The viable counts of LPM reached 109 CFU/g, and the supplemental levels of L. plantarum, LPM, and WM were 0.02 g (109 CFU), 1.0 g, and 0.98 g, per kilogram feed, respectively. LPS administration caused intestinal damage in layer chicks, evidenced by increased proinflammatory factors accompanied by poor intestinal development and morphology (p < 0.05). LPM/LPS significantly increased body weight, small intestine weight and length, villus height, villus height/crypt depth, and mRNA relative expression of tight junction protein genes (p < 0.05) and performed better than free L. plantarum. These findings could be attributed to the significant increase in viable counts of L. plantarum in the small intestine (p < 0.05), as well as the enhanced levels of Actinobacteriota, Lactobacillaceae, and Lactobacillus in intestinal microbiota (p < 0.05). Such results could further significantly increase goblet and PCNA+ cell percentage (p < 0.05); the mRNA relative expressions of epithelial cell, fast-cycling stem cell, quiescent stem cell, endocrine cell, and Paneth cell; and goblet and proliferative cell marker genes, including E-cadherin, Lgr-5, Bmi-1, ChA, Lysozome, Mucin-2, and PCNA (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the mRNA relative expressions of key genes involved in epithelial cell proliferation, namely, c-Myc, Cyclin-1, Wnt-3, Lrp-5, and Olfm-4, exhibited significant upregulation compared with the LPS treatment, as well as the differentiating genes Notch-1 and Hes-1 (p < 0.05). To sum up, microencapsulated L. plantarum supplementation could alleviate intestinal injury in layer chicks induced by LPS by promoting the proliferation and differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells, which could be attributed to the increase in viable count of L. plantarum in the gut and optimization in intestinal microbial flora.