Impaired nitrergic relaxation in pyloric sphincter of the 6-OHDA Parkinson's disease rat.

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) often suffer from delayed gastric emptying, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. We have shown previously that a PD rat model comprising bilateral substantia nigra destruction by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA rats) exhibits gastroparesis with alteration of neural nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and acetylcholine in gastric corpus. However, changes in pyloric motility in the 6-OHDA rats have not been characterized. Solid gastric emptying test, immunofluorescence, Western blot, and in vitro pyloric motility recordings were used to assess pyloric motor function in the 6-OHDA rats. The 6-OHDA-treated rats displayed delayed solid gastric emptying and a lower basal pyloric motility index. In the 6-OHDA rats, high K+-induced transient contractions were weaker in pyloric sphincters. Electric field stimulation (EFS)-induced pyloric sphincter relaxation was lower in the 6-OHDA rats. NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME), a nonselective inhibitor of NOS, markedly inhibited the EFS-induced relaxation in both control and 6-OHDA rats. Pretreatment of tetrodotoxin abolished the effect of EFS on the pyloric motility. In addition, nNOS-positive neurons were extensively distributed in the pyloric myenteric plexus, whereas the number of nNOS-immunoreactive neurons and the protein expression of nNOS were significantly decreased in the pyloric muscularis of 6-OHDA rats. However, sodium nitroprusside-induced pyloric relaxations were similar between the control and 6-OHDA rats. These results indicate that the pyloric sphincters of 6-OHDA rats exhibit both weakened contraction and relaxation. The latter may be due to reduced nNOS in the pyloric myenteric plexus. The dysfunction of the pyloric sphincter might be involved in the delayed gastric emptying.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Reduced nitrergic neurons in pyloric myenteric plexus potently contributed to the attenuated relaxation in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) rats, subsequently affecting gastric emptying. SNP could well improve the relaxation of pylori in 6-OHDA rats. The present study provides new insight into the diagnosis and treatment of delayed gastric emptying in patients with PD.

Volatile organic compounds from second-hand smoke may increase susceptibility of children through oxidative stress damage.

Although humans are generally exposed to second-hand smoke (SHS), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) exposure derived from SHS and its health hazard to non-smokers are rarely investigated. Thus, we examined the effects of SHS on VOCs exposure and oxidative stress damage via a passive smoking simulation experiment in 6 children and 7 adults. To further validate the studied urinary VOC metabolites as biomarkers for passive smoking, 259 children were recruited. The levels of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), malonaldehyde (MDA), trans-3'-hydroxycotinine (OH-Cot) and 31 VOC metabolites in urine were determined. The results showed that the geomean concentrations of 17 VOC metabolites in urine of children were 26.5%-138% higher than those of adults after passive smoking. The levels of urinary 8-OHdG, MDA and OH-Cot increased by 24.6%, 18.8% and 600% in children, but only 1.25%, 10.3% and 116% in adults, respectively. Therefore, children are more vulnerable to SHS than adults. After exposure to SHS, the levels of 8 urinary VOC metabolites of benzene, acrylonitrile, 1-bromopropane, propylene oxide, toluene, methyl methacrylate and cyanide increased by 60.9%-538% within 23 h. These 8 VOC metabolites were also significantly associated with 8-OHdG or MDA in urine (p < 0.01). Therefore, exposure to VOCs caused by SHS increases body oxidative stress damage. OH-Cot level higher than 2.00 µg/g Cr can be used as a threshold of passive smoking. The levels of urinary s-benzylmercapturic acid (BMA) and s-phenylmercapturic acid (PMA) in children increased by 494% and 728% within 6 h after passive smoking, respectively. Population validation study indicated that BMA and PMA levels were significantly elevated in children exposed to SHS. Therefore, in addition to OH-Cot, urinary BMA and PMA are potentially useful short-term biomarkers of passive smoking. Future studies should focus on the differences in VOC metabolism and detoxification mechanisms between children and adults.

Identification, Phylogenetic and Expression Analyses of the AAAP Gene Family in Liriodendron chinense Reveal Their Putative Functions in Response to Organ and Multiple Abiotic Stresses.

In this study, 52 AAAP genes were identified in the L. chinense genome and divided into eight subgroups based on phylogenetic relationships, gene structure, and conserved motif. A total of 48 LcAAAP genes were located on the 14 chromosomes, and the remaining four genes were mapped in the contigs. Multispecies phylogenetic tree and codon usage bias analysis show that the LcAAAP gene family is closer to the AAAP of Amborella trichopoda, indicating that the LcAAAP gene family is relatively primitive in angiosperms. Gene duplication events revealed six pairs of segmental duplications and one pair of tandem duplications, in which many paralogous genes diverged in function before monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants differentiation and were strongly purification selected. Gene expression pattern analysis showed that the LcAAAP gene plays a certain role in the development of Liriodendron nectary and somatic embryogenesis. Low temperature, drought, and heat stresses may activate some WRKY/MYB transcription factors to positively regulate the expression of LcAAAP genes to achieve long-distance transport of amino acids in plants to resist the unfavorable external environment. In addition, the GAT and PorT subgroups could involve gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transport under aluminum poisoning. These findings could lay a solid foundation for further study of the biological role of LcAAAP and improvement of the stress resistance of Liriodendron.

Identifying Dermal Uptake as a Significant Pathway for Human Exposure to Typical Semivolatile Organic Compounds in an E-Waste Dismantling Site: The Relationship of Contaminant Levels in Handwipes and Urine Metabolites.

Dermal exposure to semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) has recently attracted widespread attention; understanding these exposures is particularly important for people whose skin is frequently exposed to different pollution surfaces. In this study, handwipes were collected from exposed occupational workers and local residents near a typical electronic waste (e-waste) dismantling area; urine samples were also sampled. The wipes were analyzed for three typical SVOCs: polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs). The median levels of PAHs, OPFRs, and PBDEs in handwipes from e-waste dismantlers were 96.0, 183, and 238 ng, respectively. The analytes were higher in the handwipes collected from workers than those from residents, indicating that they were subjected to greater dermal exposure during primitive e-waste dismantling activities. Among the three SVOCs, the strongest correlation was found between triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) in handwipes and diphenyl phosphate (DPhP) in paired urine; the next strongest correlations were between PAHs and PBDEs and their corresponding urinary metabolites. The results showed that TPhP contributed the highest exposure to e-waste dismantlers via dermal exposure. Our research highlights the importance of dermal exposure to TPhP, which should be considered in future exposure risk assessments.

Influence of Bisphenol Compounds at Nanomolar Concentrations on Chromosome Damage Induced by Metabolically Activated Carcinogens in HepG2 Cells.

Bisphenol (BP) compounds are endocrine-disrupting organic pollutants. BPs may increase the messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts of nuclear receptors (NRs) regulating the expression of xenobiotic-metabolizing cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. Their impact on the genotoxicity of metabolically activated carcinogens, however, remains unknown. In this study, effects of the bisphenols A, F, S, and AF on the expression of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), the pregnane X receptor (PXR), the constitutive androstane receptor, and individual xenobiotic-metabolizing CYP enzymes in a human hepatoma (HepG2) cell line were investigated, along with in silico binding studies of BPs to each receptor. The results indicated that each BP at 1 to 100 nM concentrations increased the mRNA transcripts and protein levels of AhR, PXR, CYP1A1, 1A2, 1B1, 2E1, and 3A4. The predicted affinities of the BPs for binding AhR were comparable to those of potent agonists. Pretreatment of HepG2 cells with each BP potentiated the induction of micronuclei by benzo[a]pyrene, aflatoxin B1, benzene, and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone; this effect was abolished/reduced by inhibitors of NRs and/or CYPs. Our study suggests that BPs at human exposure levels may aggravate chromosome damage by several impactful carcinogens in human cells by inducing relevant CYP enzymes, mostly via NR modulation.

Bisphenol A(BPA), BPS and BPB-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis mediated by mitochondria in human neuroblastoma cell lines.

The analogues of biphenol A (BPA), including bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol B (BPB), are commonly used to replace the application of BPA in containers and wrappers of daily life. However, their safeties are questioned due to their similar chemical structure and possible physiological effects as BPA. To investigate the neurotoxic effects of BPA, BPS, and BPB as well as their underlying mechanism, IMR-32 cell line from male and SK-N-SH cell line from female were exposed respectively to BPA, BPS and BPB with concentrations of 1 nM, 10 nM, 100 nM, 1 µM, 10 µM, and 100 µM for 24 h. Additionally, 24 h exposure of BPA combining epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) (4 µM and 8 µM for IMR-32 and SK-N-SH respectively) were conducted. Results demonstrated that BPs exposure could promote reactive oxygen species production and increase level of malondialdehyde (MDA) while decrease levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Intensive study revealed that after exposure to BPA mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) dropped down and the protein expression levels of Bak-1, Bax, cytochrome c and Caspase-3 were up-regulated but Bcl-2 were down-regulated significantly. Moreover, apoptosis rate was raised and cell activity declined remarkably in the neuroblastoma cells. All the effects induced by BPA could be alleviated by the adding of EGCG, which similar alleviations could be inferred in IMR-32 and SK-N-SH cells induced by BPS and BPB. Furthermore, BPS showed lower neurotoxic effects compared to BPA and BPB. Interestingly, the neurotoxic effects of BPA on IMR-32 cells were significantly higher than those on SK-N-SH cells. In conclusion, the results suggested that BPA, BPS and BPB could induce oxidative stress and apoptosis via mitochondrial pathway in the neuroblastoma cells and male is more susceptible to BPs than female.

Exposure to volatile organic compounds may be associated with oxidative DNA damage-mediated childhood asthma.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important and ubiquitous air pollutants, which may lead to a significant increase in the prevalence of respiratory diseases. To investigate the relationships between VOCs exposure and childhood asthma, 252 asthmatic children and 69 healthy children were recruited. Urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG, a biomarker of oxidative DNA damage), trans-3'-hydroxycotinine (OH-Cot, a biomarker of passive smoking) and 27 VOC metabolites were simultaneously determined by an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer. Results showed that levels of 8-OHdG and most VOC metabolites in asthmatic children were significantly higher than those in healthy children. More than half of the VOC metabolites were significantly and positively associated with OH-Cot with maximal ß coefficient of 0.169, suggesting that second-hand smoking is one important source of VOCs exposure for children in Guangzhou. Significant dose-response relationships between most VOC metabolites and 8-OHdG were observed. Each unit increase in ln-transformed VOC metabolite levels was significantly associated with 5.5-32% increase in ln-transformed 8-OHdG level. Moreover, each unit increase in ln-transformed 8-OHdG level was associated with an 896% increased odd ratios (OR) of asthma in children (OR = 9.96, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 4.75, 20.9), indicating that oxidative stress induced by VOCs exposure may have a significant impact on childhood asthma. Urinary 3-&4-Methylhippuric acid (3-&4-MHA, OR: 5.78, 95% CI: 3.50, 9.54), rac 2-Aminothiazoline-4-carboxylic acid (ATCA, OR: 2.90, 95% CI: 1.69, 4.99) and N-Acetyl-S-(3,4-dihydroxybutyl)-L-cysteine (DHBMA, OR: 2.76, 95% CI: 1.73, 4.43) which may derive from m/p-xylene, cyanide and 1,3-butadiene exposure, respectively, could significantly and maximally increase the odds of asthma. Interestingly, they also had the strongest associations with 8-OHdG among all investigated VOC metabolites. Moreover, DHBMA strongly correlated with most VOC metabolites. Hence, DHBMA is a suitable biomarker to indicate not only VOCs exposure profile, but also the DNA damage-mediated asthma induced by VOCs.

Association among blood BPDE-DNA adduct, serum interleukin-8 (IL-8) and DNA strand breaks for children with pulmonary diseases.

Exposure to benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) may be a risk factor for pulmonary diseases. To investigate the correlations among B[a]P exposure level, DNA strand breaks and pulmonary inflammation, we recruited 83 children diagnosed with pulmonary diseases and 63 healthy children from Guangzhou, China. Results showed that the levels of Benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide (BPDE) DNA adduct in blood and IL-8 in serum in case group were significantly higher than those in control group (p < 0.01). Moreover, levels of atmospheric B[a]P in case group was about twice of those in control group, which was consistent with the levels of BPDE-DNA adduct in blood. Significant positive correlations were observed among the levels of BPDE-DNA adduct, IL-8 and DNA strand breaks (p < 0.05). Our findings indicate that environmental air is an important exposure source of B[a]P and higher B[a]P exposure may contribute to the occurrence of pulmonary inflammation and lead to high health risks.

Simultaneous determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their hydroxylated metabolites in human hair: a potential methodology to distinguish external from internal exposure.

A new method for the simultaneous detection of 20 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 4 hydroxyl PBDEs (OH-PBDEs) and 10 hydroxyl PAHs (OH-PAHs) in human hair has been developed for the first time. External target analytes from hair (hair-Ex) were ultrasonically extracted with acetone, while the internal target analytes (hair-In) were obtained with further digestion and liquid-liquid extraction of washed hair. Alkaline digestion with liquid-liquid extraction under alkaline and re-acidification combination conditions was the key procedure to successfully extract both parent and metabolic compounds from hair. Both external and internal extracts were purified with gel permeation chromatography, and the parent compounds were subsequently separated from their hydroxylated metabolites with a silica solid phase extraction column prior to instrumental analysis. GC-MS-MS, GC-MS and HPLC-MS-MS were used to analyze PAHs, PBDEs and their hydroxylated metabolites, respectively. The method showed satisfactory accuracy as well as precision, and the recoveries of PBDEs, PAHs, OH-PBDEs and OH-PAHs ranged from 62%-145%, 48%-135%, 60%-146% and 60%-88%, respectively. The developed method was validated in a pilot biomonitoring campaign. All parent analytes were approximately 100% detected in both hair-In and hair-Ex, while no OH-PBDEs were detected in hair-In and hair-Ex. All OH-PAHs were approximately 100% detected in hair-In with a mean Σ10OH-PAHs concentration of 174.7 ng per g dry weight (dw), and the concentration in hair-Ex was 18 times lower than that in hair-In with a relatively lower detection frequency. Both partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and Spearman correlation analysis with the concentration of analytes confirmed that the developed method performed well to distinguish the internal from external exposure to target analytes in hair.

Simultaneous determination of urinary 31 metabolites of VOCs, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine, and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine by UPLC-MS/MS: 13C- and 15N-labeled isotoped internal standards are more effective on reduction of matrix effect.

Human beings are inevitably exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of anthropogenic emissions as they are ubiquitous atmospheric pollutants. Smoking is an important exposure route of VOCs for the general population. Health effects induced by VOC exposure raise more concerns as they are identified with carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity. trans-3'-Hydroxycotinine (OH-Cot) is a urinary biomarker of smoking, and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHDG) is a urinary biomarker of DNA oxidative damage. To develop a method for quantifying VOC exposure levels of the general population and assessing the health risks induced by VOCs from second-hand smoking, an effective, rapid, and high-throughput method for the simultaneous determination of 31 metabolites of VOCs, 8-OHDG, and OH-Cot using solid-phase extraction coupled with UPLC-MS/MS was developed and validated. Method precision and accuracy, extraction recoveries, matrix effects, and storage stabilities of most analytes met the criterion (80-120%). Extraction recoveries increased from 85.1 to 100% after adjustment by isotoped internal standards (ISs). Furthermore, 13C- and 15N-labeled ISs were more effective to reduce the influence of matrix effects on recoveries and precisions than the deuterated analogs (73.0-116% vs. 53.6-140%). This developed method was successfully applied to determine urine samples collected from children. Results showed that N-acetyl-S-(3,4-dihydrobutyl)-L-cysteine, 2,2'-thiodiacetic acid (TGA), and N-acetyl-S-(3-hydroxypropyl-1-methyl)-L-cysteine (HPMMA) were well correlated with 8-OHDG with coefficients higher than 0.82, indicating those VOCs might easily lead to DNA damage. In conclusion, our co-monitoring of metabolites of VOCs with 8-OHDG and OH-Cot in one method provides a robust analytical method, which not only suggests the potential adverse health effects induced by VOCs but also discriminates and evaluates the contribution of passive smoking in human VOC exposure. Graphical abstract.

Altered expression of dopamine receptors in cholinergic motoneurons of the hypoglossal nucleus in a 6-OHDA-induced Parkinson's disease rat model.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder that is often associated with weak tongue motility. However, the link between the degenerated dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) and lingual dysfunction remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the localization of dopamine receptor 1 (D1) and dopamine receptor 2 (D2) and alternations in their expression in cholinergic motoneurons of the hypoglossal nucleus (HN) using double-label immunofluorescence, Western blotting and semi-quantitative reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (SqRT-PCR) in rats that received microinjections of 6-hydroxydopamine bilaterally into the SN (6-OHDA rats). The results revealed that a large population of choline acetyltransferase immunoreactive (ChAT-IR) neurons was distributed throughout HN and that almost all of the ChAT-IR motoneurons were also D1-IR and D2-IR. Several tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-IR profiles were observed in a nonuniform pattern near the ChAT-IR, D1-IR or D2-IR somas, suggesting potent dopaminergic innervation. In the 6-OHDA rats, TH immunoreactivity in the SN was significantly decreased, but food residue was increased and treadmill occupancy time was shortened. In the HN, protein expression of TH and D2 was increased, whereas that of ChAT and D1 was decreased. A similar pattern was observed in mRNA levels. The present study suggests that dopamine may modulate the activity of cholinergic neurons via binding with D1 and D2 in the HN. Changes in the expression of ChAT, TH, D1 and D2 in the HN of 6-OHDA rats might be associated with the impaired tongue motility in PD. These findings should be further investigated.

Distinctive expression and cellular distribution of dopamine receptors in the pancreatic islets of rats.

Activation of the dopamine (DA) D2 receptor inhibits glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in isolated rodent islets in vitro; however, no information is available regarding the cellular localization of DA receptors (DRs, including D1-D5 receptors) in pancreatic islets in situ. We investigate the protein expression and cellular localization of five types of DRs in pancreatic islets by means of Western blotting and double-labeling immunofluorescence in both normal control and alloxan-induced type 1 diabetes model (T1DM) rats. In control rats, D1 immunoreactivity (-IR) was distributed in the core of the islet and co-localized with insulin-IR, D2-IR was peripherally distributed and found only in somatostatin-immunoreactive cells and D5-IR was co-localized with glucagon-IR and pancreatic polypeptide-IR. No IR for either the D3 or D4 receptor was observed in rat islets. The protein level of the D1 receptor was reduced in T1DM rats (D1/D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase [GAPDH], 0.63 ± 0.05 in control rats compared with 0.16 ± 0.03 in T1DM rats, n = 8, P < 0.05) but no significant alteration was detected in the protein expression of either the D2 receptor (D2/GAPDH, 0.48 ± 0.04 compared with 0.43 ± 0.04, n = 8, P = 0.42) or the D5 receptor (D5/GAPDH, 0.50 ± 0.04 compared with 0.47 ± 0.04, n = 8, P = 0.58). The present study is the first clear demonstration of the protein expression and cellular localization of the D1, D2 and D5 receptors in rat pancreatic islets and provides crucial morphological evidence for further investigations of the underlying mechanism regarding the DA regulation of pancreatic endocrine function.

Biomass fuels and coke plants are important sources of human exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene and toluene.

Large amounts of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), benzene and toluene (BT) might be emitted from incomplete combustion reactions in both coal tar factories and biomass fuels in rural China. The health effects arising from exposure to PAHs and BT are a concern for residents of rural areas close to coal tar plants. To assess the environmental risk and major exposure sources, 100 coke plant workers and 25 farmers in Qujing, China were recruited. The levels of 10 mono-hydroxylated PAHs (OH-PAHs), four BT metabolites and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in the urine collected from the subjects were measured. The 8-OHdG levels in the urine were determined to evaluate the oxidative DNA damage induced by the PAHs and BT. The results showed that the levels of the OH-PAHs, particularly those of 1-hydroxynathalene and 1-hydroxypyrene, in the farmers were 1-7 times higher than those in the workers. The concentrations of the BT metabolites were comparable between the workers and farmers. Although the exact work location within a coke oven plant might affect the levels of the OH-PAHs, one-way ANOVA revealed no significant differences for either the OH-PAHs levels or the BT concentrations among the three groups working at different work sites. The geometric mean concentration (9.17 µg/g creatinine) of 8-OHdG was significantly higher in the farmers than in the plant workers (6.27 µg/g creatinine). The levels of 8-OHdG did not correlate with the total concentrations of OH-PAHs and the total levels of BT metabolites. Incompletely combusted biomass fuels might be the major exposure source, contributing more PAHs and BT to the local residents of Qujing. The estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of naphthalene and fluorene for all of the workers and most of the farmers were below the reference doses (RfDs) recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), except for the pyrene levels in two farmers. However, the EDIs of benzene in the workers and local farmers ranged from 590 to 7239 µg/day, and these levels were 2- to 30-fold higher than the RfDs recommended by the EPA. Biomass fuel combustion and industrial activities related to coal tar were the major sources of the PAH and BT exposure in the local residents. Using biomass fuels for household cooking and heating explains the higher exposure levels observed in the farmers relative to the workers at the nearby coal tar-related industrial facility.

Urinary monohydroxylated metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in children living in city and rural residences in Southern China.

Urinary 2-hydroxynaphthalene, 2-hydoxyfluorene, 9-hydroxyphenanthrene, 1-hydroxypyrene and 3-hydroxybenz[a]pyrene concentrations in 179 randomly selected voluntary students were determined in the Southern China, aged 14-16 and living in four areas with different levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil, water and ambient air. The excretion of 1-hydroxypyrene is significantly higher in students of the urban than in students of the rural, while there are no significant differences of urinary 2-hydroxynaphthalene, 2-hydoxyfluorene and 9-hydroxyphenanthrene between urban and rural children. Mean concentrations of 1-hydroxypyrene (0.54-0.80 µmol/mol creatinine) in the study are much higher than those in the children of Denmark, Germany, Spain, USA, Korea, Japan and Taiwan, and a little higher than those in the children of Ukraine and Thailand. Urinary 2-hydroxynaphthalene concentrations in the study are a little higher than those in the children of USA, and similar to that in non-occupational exposure residences in Korea. Urinary 9-hydroxyphenanthrene concentrations in China are much higher than those in the children of USA. Differences between children with smoking parents and non-smoking parents are not significant in the study.

A high-throughput method for the determination of 14 UV-filters in human plasma by LC-MS/MS: Minimize interferences from proteins and phospholipids in the matrix.

Accurate monitoring of UV-filters exposure levels in human plasma is a challenge because of the significant differences in the physicochemical properties of UV-filters, as well as the matrix effect caused by abundant proteins and phospholipids in plasma. Therefore, an effective and rapid method for simultaneous determination of 14 UV-filters in human plasma using protein precipitation-solid phase extraction (SPE) coupled with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed. Acetonitrile with 0.1 % formic acid and 10 % isopropanol (v/v) were used as mobile phases. A gradient elution on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH-C18 column at 30 °C and 0.3 mL/min flow rate was applied for separation. The electrospray ionization positive or negative modes were selected to determine the corresponding analyte to increase selectivity and sensitivity. Results showed that acetonitrile-tetrahydrofuran (v/v, 8:2) as the extraction solvent can effectively precipitate protein in plasma and improve the solubility of UV-filters. The HybridSPE cartridge improved the removal efficiency of phospholipids, while 1 mL of methanol elution increased the extraction recoveries of targets. Fourteen UV-filters achieved good linearities, low detection limits (0.050 to 0.10 µg/L) and quantification limits (0.10 to 1.0 µg/L). Method accuracy and precision, extraction recoveries, and storage stabilities of all analytes met the criterion of 80-120 %. Moreover, this method was successfully applied for the determination of UV-filters in plasma randomly collected from adults. Nine of 14 UV-filters were determined and their concentrations were distributed widely, suggesting a big variation of individual UV-filters exposure.

Low-dose BPA-induced neuronal energy metabolism dysfunction and apoptosis mediated by PINK1/parkin mitophagy pathway in juvenile rats.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is related to neurological disorders involving mitochondrial dysfunction, while the mechanism remains elusive. Therefore, we explored it through in vitro and in vivo experiments. In vitro, hippocampal neurons derived from neonatal rats of different genders were exposed to 1-100 nM and 100 µM BPA, autophagy activator Rapa and inhibitor 3-MA for 7 d. The results suggested that even nanomolar BPA (1-100 nM) disturbed Ca2+ homeostasis and damaged the integrity of mitochondrial cristae in neurons (p < 0.05). Furthermore, BPA increased the number of autophagic lysosomes, LC3II/LC3I ratio, and p62 expression, and decreased parkin expression (p < 0.05), suggesting that the entry of damaged mitochondria into autophagic pathway was prompted, while the autophagic degradation pathway was blocked. This further disrupts neuronal energy metabolism and promotes neuronal apoptosis. However, Rapa attenuated the adverse effects caused by BPA, while 3-MA exacerbated these reactions. In vivo, exposure of juvenile rats to 0.5, 50, 5000 µg/kg‧bw/day BPA during PND 7-21 markedly impaired the structure of hippocampal mitochondria, increased the number of autophagosomes, the rate of neuronal apoptosis, and the expression levels of pro-apoptotic proteins Cyt C, Bax, Bak1, and Caspase3, and decreased the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl2 (p < 0.05). Particularly, male rats are more sensitive to low-dose BPA than females. Overall, environmental-doses BPA can induce the imbalance of energy metabolism in hippocampal neurons via PINK1/parkin mitophagy, thereby inducing their apoptosis. Importantly, this study provides a theoretical basis for attenuating BPA-related neurological diseases.

Environmental dose of 16 priority-controlled PAHs induce endothelial dysfunction: An in vivo and in vitro study.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure is related to the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Endothelial dysfunction is considered an initial event of CVDs. To confirm the relationship of PAHs exposure with endothelial dysfunction, 8-week-old male SD rats and primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were co-treated with environmental doses of 16 priority-controlled PAHs for 90 d and 48 h, respectively. Results showed that 10× PAHs exposure remarkably raised tumor necrosis factor-α and malonaldehyde levels in rat serum (p < 0.05), but had no effects on interleukin-8 levels and superoxide dismutase activity. The expressions of SIRT1 in HUVECs and rat aorta were attenuated after PAHs treatment. Interestingly, PAHs exposure did not activate the expression of total endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), but 10× PAHs exposure significantly elevated the expression of phosphorylated eNOS (Ser1177) in HUVECs and repressed it in aortas, accompanied with raised nitrite level both in serum and HUVECs by 48.50-253.70 %. PAHs exposure also led to the augment of endothelin-1 (ET-1) levels by 19.76-38.54 %, angiotensin (Ang II) levels by 20.09-39.69 % in HUVECs, but had no effects on ET-1 and Ang II levels in serum. Additionally, PAHs exposure improved endocan levels both in HUVECs and serum by 305.05-620.48 % and stimulated the THP-1 cells adhered to HUVECs (p < 0.05). After PAHs treatment, the smooth muscle alignment was disordered and the vascular smooth muscle locally proliferated in rat aorta. Notably, the systolic blood pressure of rats exposed to 10× PAHs increased significantly compared with the control ones (131.28 ± 5.20 vs 116.75 ± 5.33 mmHg). In summary, environmental chronic PAHs exposure may result in endothelial dysfunction in SD rats and primary HUVECs. Our research can confirm the cardiovascular damage caused by chronic exposure to PAHs and provide ideas for the prevention or intervention of CVDs affected by environmental factors.

Multi-sequence generative adversarial network: better generation for enhanced magnetic resonance imaging images.

Introduction: MRI is one of the commonly used diagnostic methods in clinical practice, especially in brain diseases. There are many sequences in MRI, but T1CE images can only be obtained by using contrast agents. Many patients (such as cancer patients) must undergo alignment of multiple MRI sequences for diagnosis, especially the contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance sequence. However, some patients such as pregnant women, children, etc. find it difficult to use contrast agents to obtain enhanced sequences, and contrast agents have many adverse reactions, which can pose a significant risk. With the continuous development of deep learning, the emergence of generative adversarial networks makes it possible to extract features from one type of image to generate another type of image. Methods: We propose a generative adversarial network model with multimodal inputs and end-to-end decoding based on the pix2pix model. For the pix2pix model, we used four evaluation metrics: NMSE, RMSE, SSIM, and PNSR to assess the effectiveness of our generated model. Results: Through statistical analysis, we compared our proposed new model with pix2pix and found significant differences between the two. Our model outperformed pix2pix, with higher SSIM and PNSR, lower NMSE and RMSE. We also found that the input of T1W images and T2W images had better effects than other combinations, providing new ideas for subsequent work on generating magnetic resonance enhancement sequence images. By using our model, it is possible to generate magnetic resonance enhanced sequence images based on magnetic resonance non-enhanced sequence images. Discussion: This has significant implications as it can greatly reduce the use of contrast agents to protect populations such as pregnant women and children who are contraindicated for contrast agents. Additionally, contrast agents are relatively expensive, and this generation method may bring about substantial economic benefits.

Bisphenol a accelerates the glucolipotoxicity-induced dysfunction of rat insulinoma cell lines: An implication for a potential risk of environmental bisphenol a exposure for individuals susceptible to type 2 diabetes.

Epidemiological studies have suggested a correlation between bisphenol A (BPA) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The effects of BPA on ß-cell dysfunction may reveal the risks from an in vitro perspective. We used the rat insulinoma (INS-1) cell lines (a type of ß-cells) to set up normal or damaged models (DM), which were exposed to various concentrations of BPA (0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 µM). An increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis, and a decrease in cell viability were observed in INS-1 cells exposed to high doses of BPA for 48 h. Interestingly, exposure to lower doses of BPA for 24 h resulted in increased ROS levels and apoptosis rates in INS-1 in the DM group, along with decreased cell viability, suggesting that BPA exerts toxicity to INS-1 cells, particularly to the DM group. Insulin levels and Glut2 expression, glucose consumption, intracellular Ca2+ and insulin secretion were increased in INS-1 cells after 48 h exposure to high dose of BPA. Stronger effects were observed in the DM group, even those exposed to low doses of BPA for 24 h. Moreover, BPA inhibited high glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in these cells. Our research suggests that low doses of BPA exacerbate the dysfunction caused by glucolipotoxicity, implying environmental BPA exposure poses a risk for individuals with prediabetes or T2DM.

Primary Robotic Versus Conventional Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass in Morbidly Obese Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Robotic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RRYGB) and conventional laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) are commonly performed as primary bariatric procedures. The aim of this article was to assess the role of RRYGB in patients undergoing primary bariatric procedures. METHODS: All of the qualified studies were selected from the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases, etc. We mainly compared the outcomes and safety between RRYGB and LRYGB. The outcomes evaluation included surgical effect and surgical safety. RESULT: In total, 35 studies containing 426,463 patients were selected. The mortalities of patients adopting these 2 bariatric procedures were similar (RRYGB: 59/28,023, 0.21%; LRYGB: 612/397,945, 0.15%). We found no significant difference between RRYGB and LRYGB in the incidence of postoperative complications (30-day: OR=1.06, P=0.18; 1-y: OR=1.06, P=0.92). The incidence of 30-day readmission after the operation was higher in RRYGB patients (OR=1.24, P=0.003). However, we found that the RRYGB group had a lower incidence of anastomotic stricture 1 year after the operation when compared with LRYGB (OR=0.35, P=0.0004). The 1-year %EBMIL of these 2 groups was similar (78.53% vs. 76.02%). There was no significant difference in length of hospital stay (LOS) (WMD=-0.03d, P=0.59), conversion rate (OR=0.84, P=0.75), or anastomotic leak (OR=1.00, P=0.99) between these 2 groups. The mean hospital charges were higher in the RRYGB group ($11234.75 vs. $9468.58). CONCLUSION: This systematic review and meta-analysis showed no significant advantage of RRYGB in surgical effect or reduction of intraoperative complications. RRYGB may reduce the incidence of some postoperative long-term complications. The mean hospital charges of RRYGB were higher.