Combined effects of Chinese medicine feed and ginger extract bath on co-infection of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis and Dactylogyrus ctenopharyngodonid in grass carp.

Dactylogyrus ctenopharyngodonid and Ichthyophthirius multifiliis are two important ectoparasites of freshwater fish. Co-infection by the two parasites leads to high fish mortality and results in heavy economic losses. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of medicated feed and a ginger extract bath against D. ctenopharyngodonid and I. multifiliis on grass carp and investigate the hematological response of grass carp co-infected by the two parasites. These results demonstrated that red blood cell (RBC) and thrombocyte percentage among leucocytes significantly decreased after grass carp were co-infected by D. ctenopharyngodonid and I. multifiliis. The monocyte and neutrophil percentages significantly increased with the increment of parasite mean intensities, while the lymphocyte percentage decreased. The activities of serum acid phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), lysozyme (LZM), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) significantly increased after co-infection. When grass carp treated with medicated feed containing 4% of Astragalus membranaceus, Allium sativum, Morus alba, and Glycyrrhiza uralensis, the activities of ACP, AKP, LZM, and SOD were significantly enhanced, and the mean intensities of D. ctenopharyngodonid and I. multifiliis were significantly decreased. When grass carp was treated with medicated feed and a 4-mg/L ginger extract bath, all parasites were eliminated during 28 days. The bath of ginger extract at a concentration of 4 mg/L kept a low mean intensity of I. multifiliis and D. ctenopharyngodonid, then the two parasites were eliminated by oral administration of the medicated feed with an immunostimulant (Chinese medicine compound).

Global Liver Proteome Analysis Using iTRAQ Reveals AMPK-mTOR-Autophagy Signaling Is Altered by Intrauterine Growth Restriction in Newborn Piglets.

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) impairs fetal growth and development, perturbs nutrient metabolism, and increases the risk of developing diseases in postnatal life. However, the underlying mechanisms by which IUGR affects fetal liver development and metabolism remain incompletely understood. Here, we applied a high-throughput proteomics approach and biochemical analysis to investigate the impact of IUGR on the liver of newborn piglets. As a result, we identified 78 differentially expressed proteins in the three biological replicates, including 31 significantly up-regulated proteins and 47 significantly down-regulated proteins. Among them, a majority of differentially expressed proteins were related to nutrient metabolism and mitochondrial function. Additionally, many significantly down-regulated proteins participated in the mTOR signaling pathway and the phagosome maturation signaling pathway. Further analysis suggested that glucose concentration and hepatic glycogen storage were both reduced in IUGR newborn piglets, which may contribute to AMPK activation and mTORC1 inhibition. However, AMPK activation and mTORC1 inhibition failed to induce autophagy in the liver of IUGR neonatal pigs. A possible reason is that PP2Ac, a potential candidate in autophagy regulation, is significantly down-regulated in the liver of IUGR newborn piglets. These findings may provide implications for preventing and treating IUGR in human beings and domestic animals.

Acute high intensity interval exercise is similarly effective as moderate intensity continuous exercise on plasma glucose control in type 2 diabetic men aged 30 to 50 years: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the acute effects of high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) versus moderate-intensity continuous exercise (MICE) on postprandial plasma glucose and insulin concentrations in men aged 30-50 years with type 2 diabetes (T2D), hoping to provide empirical evidence for the effects of different exercise types on glucose management in T2D patients. METHODS: Fourteen men with type 2 diabetes (T2D) underwent a randomized three crossover intervention: HIIE with cycling; energy expenditure matched MICE with cycling; and a sedentary control [CON]) in postprandial state. Plasma glucose and insulin levels were measured at pre-exercise, postexercise, 1 h postexercise, prelunch and 1 h postlunch, respectively. Responses of areas under the curve (AUC) during 4 h from pre-exercise to 1 h postlunch were also calculated. RESULTS: Both HIIE and MICE decreased plasma glucose and insulin levels during 4 h experimental period compared to CON, with significant intervention × time interaction effects for glucose (P=0.001) and insulin (P=0.006) values evolution. Area under curve (AUCs) for glucose and insulin were reduced in HIIE and MICE compared to CON (P<0.05), whereas no differences were found between HIIE and MICE. CONCLUSIONS: Acute HIIE and the matched MICE improve plasma glucose control in the same magnitude in type 2 diabetic men aged 30-50 years.

Comparative Proteomics Analysis Reveals L-Arginine Activates Ethanol Degradation Pathways in HepG2 Cells.

L-Arginine (Arg) is a versatile amino acid that plays crucial roles in a wide range of physiological and pathological processes. In this study, to investigate the alteration induced by Arg supplementation in proteome scale, isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) based proteomic approach was employed to comparatively characterize the differentially expressed proteins between Arg deprivation (Ctrl) and Arg supplementation (+Arg) treated human liver hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells. A total of 21 proteins were identified as differentially expressed proteins and these 21 proteins were all up-regulated by Arg supplementation. Six amino acid metabolism-related proteins, mostly metabolic enzymes, showed differential expressions. Intriguingly, Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) based pathway analysis suggested that the three ethanol degradation pathways were significantly altered between Ctrl and +Arg. Western blotting and enzymatic activity assays validated that the key enzymes ADH1C, ALDH1A1, and ALDH2, which are mainly involved in ethanol degradation pathways, were highly differentially expressed, and activated between Ctrl and +Arg in HepG2 cells. Furthermore, 10 mM Arg significantly attenuated the cytotoxicity induced by 100 mM ethanol treatment (P < 0.0001). This study is the first time to reveal that Arg activates ethanol degradation pathways in HepG2 cells.