The construction of genetics teaching resources related to colour blindness and their application in genetics teaching.

Red-green colour blindness is a classic example for the teaching of X-linked recessive inheritance in genetics course. However, there are lots of types of color vision deficiencies besides red-green colour blindness. Different color vision deficiencies caused by different genes may have different modes of inheritance. In recent years, many research achievements on colour blindness have been made. These achievements could be used as teaching resources in genetics course. Here, we summarize the construction of genetics teaching resources related to colour blindness and their application in genetics teaching in several chapters such as introduction, cellular and molecular basis of genetics, sex-linked inheritance, chromosomal aberration, gene mutation and advances in genetics. Teacher could use the resources in class or after class with different teaching methods such as questioning teaching method and task method. It may expand students' academic horizons and inspire students' interest in genetics besides grasping basic genetic knowledge.

Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic integration and resistance of tiamulin against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in an in vitro dynamic model.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is the major pathogen of enzootic pneumonia in pigs. We established an in vitro dynamic model to investigate the relationship between the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) parameters of tiamulin against M. hyopneumoniae. Static time-killing curves showed that mycoplasmacidal activity (reduced 3.0 log10 (CFU/mL)) was achieved during 48 h when the drug concentration was 8 MIC, and with a maximum kill rate of 0.072/h. In dynamic time-killing studies, only the dose-fractionated regimen achieved mycoplasmacidal activity when drug concentration was 1.44 and 1.92 mg/L. The duration of post antibiotic effect (PAE) at 1 × MIC was 6.27 ± 0.11 h, and prolonged as the concentration of tiamulin increased. The cumulative percentage of time over a 48-h period that the drug concentration exceeds the MIC (%T > MIC) was the best PK-PD parameter to predict the antimicrobial activity of tiamulin against M. hyopneumoniae (R2 = 0.98). Tiamulin showed time-dependent and prolonged PAE activity. Two strains of M. hyopneumoniae (M1, M2) had acquired resistance to tiamulin as well as to valnemulin, tylosin and amikacin. The genome of strain ATCC 25934 was used as a reference for gene-mutation analysis. For strains M1 and M2, a A2058C mutation occurred in domain V of 23S rRNA. These data showed that tiamulin had excellent efficacy and concentration-dependent characteristics against M. hyopneumoniae in vitro. The lower dose was not safe because it could lead to enrichment of resistant bacteria.

Comparison of the pharmacokinetics of tilmicosin in plasma and lung tissue in healthy chickens and chickens experimentally infected with Mycoplasma gallisepticum.

The objectives of this study were to compare the plasma and lung tissue pharmacokinetics of tilmicosin in healthy and Mycoplasma gallisepticum-infected chickens. Tilmicosin was orally administered at 4, 7.5 and 10 mg/kg body weight (b.w) for the infected and 7.5 mg/kg b.w for the uninfected control group. We found no significant differences in plasma tilmicosin pharmacokinetics between diseased and healthy control chickens. In contrast, the lung tissues in M. gallisepticum-infected chickens displayed a t1/2 (elimination half-life) 1.76 times longer than for healthy chickens. The Cmax (the maximum concentration of drug in samples) of tilmicosin in M. gallisepticum-infected chickens was lower than for controls at 7.5 mg/kg b.w (p < .05), and the AUCinf (the area under the concentration-time curve from time 0 extrapolated to infinity) in infected chickens was higher than for the healthy chickens (p < .05). The mean residence time of tilmicosin in infected chickens was also higher than the healthy chickens. These results indicated that the lungs of healthy chickens had greater absorption of tilmicosin than the infected chickens, and the rate of elimination of tilmicosin from infected lungs was slower.

The histone demethylase Jhdm1a regulates hepatic gluconeogenesis.

Hepatic gluconeogenesis is required for maintaining blood glucose homeostasis; yet, in diabetes mellitus, this process is unrestrained and is a major contributor to fasting hyperglycemia. To date, the impacts of chromatin modifying enzymes and chromatin landscape on gluconeogenesis are poorly understood. Through catalyzing the removal of methyl groups from specific lysine residues in the histone tail, histone demethylases modulate chromatin structure and, hence, gene expression. Here we perform an RNA interference screen against the known histone demethylases and identify a histone H3 lysine 36 (H3K36) demethylase, Jhdm1a, as a key negative regulator of gluconeogenic gene expression. In vivo, silencing of Jhdm1a promotes liver glucose synthesis, while its exogenous expression reduces blood glucose level. Importantly, the regulation of gluconeogenesis by Jhdm1a requires its demethylation activity. Mechanistically, we find that Jhdm1a regulates the expression of a major gluconeogenic regulator, C/EBPα. This is achieved, at least in part, by its USF1-dependent association with the C/EBPα promoter and its subsequent demethylation of dimethylated H3K36 on the C/EBPα locus. Our work provides compelling evidence that links histone demethylation to transcriptional regulation of gluconeogenesis and has important implications for the treatment of diabetes.

Analysis of the mutant selection window and killing of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae for doxycycline, tylosin, danofloxacin, tiamulin, and valnemulin.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is the major pathogenic microorganism causing enzootic pneumonia in pigs. With increasing resistance of M. hyopneumoniae to conventional antibiotics, treatment is becoming complicated. Herein, we investigated the mutant selection window (MSW) of doxycycline, tylosin, danofloxacin, tiamulin, and valnemulin for treating the M. hyopneumoniae type strain (ATCC 25934) to determine the likelihood of promoting resistance with continued use of these antibiotics. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against M. hyopneumoniae were determined for each antimicrobial agent based on microdilution broth and agar dilution methods (bacterial numbers ranged from 105 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL to 109 CFU/mL). The minimal concentration inhibiting colony formation by 99% (MIC99) and the mutant prevention concentration (MPC) were determined by the agar dilution method with three inoculum sizes. Antimicrobial killing was determined based on MIC99 and MPC values for all five agents. MIC values ranged from 0.001 to 0.25 µg/mL based on the microdilution broth method, and from 0.008 to 1.0 µg/mL based on the agar dilution method. MPC values ranged from 0.0016 to 10.24 µg/mL. MPC/MIC99 values were ordered tylosin > doxycycline > danofloxacin > tiamulin > valnemulin. MPC achieved better bactericidal action than MIC99. Based on pharmacodynamic analyses, danofloxacin, tylosin, and doxycycline are more likely to select resistant mutants than tiamulin and valnemulin.

Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Integration of Doxycycline Against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in an In Vitro Model.

Doxycycline is a broad-spectrum antibacterial drug. It is used widely to treat diseases caused by Mycoplasma species. We investigated the antibacterial activity of doxycycline against the Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae strain ATCC25934. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of doxycycline against M. hyopneumoniae determined by a microdilution method was 0.125 µg/ml. Static time-kill curves with constant drug concentrations (0-64 MIC) showed that a bacteriostatic effect occurred if the doxycycline concentration reached 4 MIC. Doxycycline produced a maximum antimycoplasmal effect (reduction of 2.76 log10CFU/ml) at 64 MIC within 48 h. The effect of doxycycline against M. hyopneumoniae was analyzed by a sigmoid E max model, and there was high correlation between the kill rate and doxycycline concentration (R 2 = 0.986). A one-compartment open model with first-order absorption was adopted and was used to simulate doxycycline pharmacokinetics in porcine plasma. The dynamic time-concentration curve showed that the area under the curve at 24 h (AUC24 h) and C max (peak concentration) after each drug administration was 1.78-48.4 µg h/ml and 0.16-3.41 µg/ml, respectively. The reduction of M. hyopneumoniae (log10CFU/ml) for 1, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 mg/kg body weight was 0.16, 1.29, 1.75, 2.94, 3.35, 3.91, 4.35, and 5.77, respectively, during the entire experiment, respectively. When the dose was >10 mg/kg body weight, continuous administration for 3 days could achieve a bactericidal effect. The correlation coefficient of AUC24 h/MIC, C max/MIC, and %T > MIC (the cumulative percentage of time over a 24-h period that the drug concentration exceeds the MIC) with antibacterial effect was 0.917, 0.923, and 0.823, respectively. Doxycycline showed concentration-dependent activity, and the value of AUC24 h/MIC and C max/MIC required to produce a drop of 1 log10CFU/ml was 164 h and 9.89, respectively.

MicroRNA-378 controls classical brown fat expansion to counteract obesity.

Both classical brown adipocytes and brown-like beige adipocytes are considered as promising therapeutic targets for obesity; however, their development, relative importance and functional coordination are not well understood. Here we show that a modest expression of miR-378/378* in adipose tissue specifically increases classical brown fat (BAT) mass, but not white fat (WAT) mass. Remarkably, BAT expansion, rather than miR-378 per se, suppresses formation of beige adipocytes in subcutaneous WAT. Despite this negative feedback, the expanded BAT depot is sufficient to prevent both genetic and high-fat diet-induced obesity. At the molecular level, we find that miR-378 targets phosphodiesterase Pde1b in BAT but not in WAT. Indeed, miR-378 and Pde1b inversely regulate brown adipogenesis in vitro in the absence of phosphodiesterase inhibitor isobutylmethylxanthine. Our work identifies miR-378 as a key regulatory component underlying classical BAT-specific expansion and obesity resistance, and adds novel insights into the physiological crosstalk between BAT and WAT.

Suppression of gluconeogenic gene expression by LSD1-mediated histone demethylation.

Aberrant gluconeogenic gene expression is associated with diabetes, glycogen storage disease, and liver cancer. However, little is known how these genes are regulated at the chromatin level. In this study, we investigated in HepG2 cells whether histone demethylation is a potential mechanism. We found that knockdown or pharmacological inhibition of histone demethylase LSD1 causes remarkable transcription activation of two gluconeogenic genes, FBP1 and G6Pase, and consequently leads to increased de novo glucose synthesis and decreased intracellular glycogen content. Mechanistically, LSD1 occupies the promoters of FBP1 and G6Pase, and modulates their H3K4 dimethylation levels. Thus, our work identifies an epigenetic pathway directly governing gluconeogenic gene expression, which might have important implications in metabolic physiology and diseases.

RNF34 is a cold-regulated E3 ubiquitin ligase for PGC-1α and modulates brown fat cell metabolism.

The transcriptional coactivator PGC-1α is a master regulator of energy metabolism and adaptive thermogenesis in the brown fat cell. PGC-1α is a short-lived protein, and the molecular components that control PGC-1α turnover and their functional importance in energy metabolism are largely unknown. Here we performed a luciferase-based overexpression screen and identified a Ring-finger-containing protein, RNF34, as a specific E3 ubiquitin ligase for PGC-1α. RNF34 is a nuclear protein that interacts with and ubiquitinates PGC-1α to promote its turnover. Interestingly, RNF34 binds to the C-terminal half of PGC-1α and targets it for degradation independently of the previously identified N-terminal phosphodegron motif. In brown fat cells, knockdown of RNF34 increases the endogenous PGC-1α protein level, uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) expression, and oxygen consumption, while the opposite effects are observed in brown fat cells ectopically expressing wild-type RNF34 but not in cells expressing the ligase activity-defective mutant. Moreover, cold exposure and ß3-adrenergic receptor signaling, conditions that induce PGC-1α expression, suppress RNF34 expression in the brown fat cell, indicating a physiological relevance of this E3 ligase in thermogenesis. Our results reveal that RNF34 is a bona fide E3 ubiquitin ligase for PGC-1α and negatively regulates brown fat cell metabolism.