Peptide derived from RAGE efficiently improves oocyte development through attenuating oxidative stress in oocytes of mice with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common and complex endocrine disorder in reproductive-aged women that frequently leads to infertility due to poor oocyte quality. In this study, we identified a new active peptide (advanced glycation end products receptors RAGE344-355 ) from PCOS follicular fluid using mass spectrometry. We found that supplementing PCOS-like mouse oocytes with RAGE344-355 attenuated both meiotic defects and oxidative stress levels, ultimately preventing developmental defects. Additionally, our results suggest that RAGE344-355 may interact with eEF1a1 to mitigate oxidative meiotic defects in PCOS-like mouse oocytes. These findings highlight the potential for further clinical development of RAGE344-355 as a potent supplement and therapeutic option for women with PCOS. This research addresses an important clinical problem and offers promising opportunities for improving oocyte quality in PCOS patients.

Virome Analysis of Aconitum carmichaelii Reveals Infection by Eleven Viruses, including Two Potentially New Species.

Aconitum carmichaelii is a herbaceous herb indigenous to China that has been cultivated for traditional medicine for centuries. Virus-like symptoms of A. carmichaelii plants were observed on leaves in some A. carmichaelii plantations in Zhanyi and Wuding Counties, Yunnan Province, southwest China. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) was performed on 28 symptomatic plants, and the results revealed infection with 11 viruses, including 2 novel viruses and 9 previously described viruses: Aconitum amalgavirus 1 (AcoAV-1), aconite virus A (AcVA), cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), currant latent virus (CuLV), apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), chilli veinal mottle virus (ChiVMV), tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV), tobacco vein distorting virus (TVDV), and potato leafroll virus (PLRV). Two novel viruses tentatively named Aconitum potyvirus 1 and Aconitum betapartitivirus 1, were supported by sequence and phylogenetic analysis results of their genomes. We proposed the names Potyvirus aconiti and Betapartitivirus aconiti. RT-PCR assays of 142 plants revealed the predominance and widespread distribution of CMV, AcVA, and AcoPV-1 in plantations. The detection of isolates of CuLV, ASGV, ChiVMV, TSWV, TVDV, and PLRV infections for the first time in A. carmichaelii expands their known host ranges.

Protective effect and mechanism of Polygonatum kingianum against hypoxia-induced injury.

Background: Hypoxia is an essential cause of fatigue and aging, and is associated with the occurrence and development of many diseases. Polygonatum kingianum (PK) is a deficiency-nourishing Chinese herbal medicine utilized as both medicine and food, and it has long been used to ameliorate human conditions associated with fatigue and aging over 2000 years in China. PK is an important genuine-medicinal-materials cultivated in Yunnan, China, and is used by the Bai, Wa, and Zhuang nationalities as a traditional medicine for enhancing immunity, anti-fatigue, and anti-aging, while the preventive effect of PK on hypoxia-induced injury and the underlying mechanism are indefinite. Aim of the study: The present study aimed to evaluate the anti-hypoxia efficacy and understand the corresponding mechanism of PK water extract. Materials and methods: The main active ingredients and targets of PK were predicted using network pharmacology, and the anti-hypoxia activities of Gracillin and Liquiritigenin were verified by in vitro experiments. The pharmacodynamic experiments were conducted to evaluate the major signal pathways of PK for detecting anti-hypoxia activity. Results: Fifty active ingredients and 371 potential targets were screened by network pharmacology, then, we confirmed that Gracillin and Liquiritigenin were the main active components of PK to exert anti-hypoxia effect in vitro. The pharmacodynamic experiments revealed that PK enhanced the extension rate of the survival time (ERST) and regulated the targets-related biochemical parameters of rats under hypoxia, showing significant anti-hypoxia effects on rats. Conclusion: The network pharmacology results suggested that PK exerts its anti-hypoxia effect through a multi-component and multi-target manner. Simultaneously, we also observed that Gracillin (saponins) and Liquiritigenin (flavonoids) are the main active components of PK to play a role in anti-hypoxia. The anti-hypoxia effect of PK could be associated with scavenging excess free radicals, maintaining the activities of antioxidant enzymes, and inhibiting oxidative stress due to lipid peroxidation. These findings provide insight into the Polygonatum kingianum as promising medicines or healthcare products for preventing and treating hypoxia.

Extracts of Knoxia roxburghii (Spreng.) M. A. Rau Induce Apoptosis in Human MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells via Mitochondrial Pathways.

Knoxia roxburghii (Spreng.) M. A. Rau (KR) is a plant clinically used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of cancer. The study objectives were to examine the effects of KR extracts, petroleum ether (PET), ethyl acetate (EtoAc), butanol (n-BuOH), and H2O-soluble fractions (HSF) of the 75% EtOH extraction on A549 (non-small cell lung cancer), HepG2 (liver cancer), HeLa (cervical cancer), MCF-7 (breast cancer), and L02 (normal hepatocyte) cells. It was found that HSF exhibited the strongest cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 cells, and was accompanied by reduced mitochondrial transmembrane potential, increased levels of intra-cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and activated caspases, and upregulated pro-apoptotic and downregulated anti-apoptotic proteins. LC-MS analysis further showed that HSF primarily consisted of calycosin, aloe emodin, rein, maackiain, asperuloside, orientin, vicenin-2, and kaempferide, which have been mostly reported for anti-tumor activity in previous studies. In summary, the current study illustrated the effect, mechanism, and the potential major active components of KR against breast cancer.

High-throughput sequencing reveals the presence of novel and known viruses in diseased Paris yunnanensis.

Paris spp. are important medicinal plant and main raw material for many Chinese patent medicines, but viral diseases have became serious problems in cultivation of this group of important medicinal plants in China. In this study, eight viruses were identified in the diseased plants of Paris yunnanensis by high-throughput sequencing (HTS) and RT-PCR. These viruses include three novel viruses (two potyviruses and one nepovirus), Hippeastrum chlorotic ringspot virus (HCRV), Lychnis mottle virus (LycMoV), Paris mosaic necrosis virus (PMNV), Paris virus 1 and pepper mild mottle virus. The three new viruses were tentatively named Paris potyvirus 3 (ParPV-3), Paris potyvirus 4 (ParPV-4), Paris nepovirus 1 (ParNV-1) and their complete genome sequences were determined. Sequence analyses showed ParPV-3 and ParPV-4 shared the highest amino acid (aa) sequence identities of 54.3% to each other and 53.0-57.8% to other known potyviruses. ParNV-1 had aa sequence identities of 28.8-63.7% at protease-polymerase (Pro-Pol) with other nepoviruses. Phylogenetic analyses further support that the three viruses are new members of their corresponding genera. Analyses of the partial sequences of HCRV and LycMoV infecting P. yunnanensis revealed they diverged from existing isolates by aa sequence identities of 97.1% at glycoprotein precursor of HCRV and 93.3% at polyprotein of LycMoV. These two viruses are reported for the first time in Paris spp. A total of 123 field samples collected from P. yunnanensis in four counties of Yunnan, Southwest China were tested by RT-PCR for detecting each of the eight viruses. Results showed that nearly half of the samples were positive for at least one of the eight viruses. Two potyviruses, ParPV-3 (26.8%) and PMNV (24.4%), were predominant and widely distributed in the fields, while other viruses occurred in low rates and/or had limited distribution. This study insights into the virome infecting P. yunnanensis and provides valuable information for diagnosis and control of viral diseases in P. yunnanensis.

Development of a novel massage platform for medical training.

BACKGROUND: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) massage has a better effect on treating infant diarrhea compared to medical treatment. The TCM doctors need to be trained to master professional massage techniques. Traditional Chinese massage training relies on the students' understanding ability, and cannot accurately record the students' operating information. This situation leads to insufficient clinical massage skills of the students. OBJECTIVE: This paper proposes a novel massage training platform to quantitatively perceive the massage techniques of students. METHODS: The paper proposed two types of flexible array sensors, which are arranged and placed into the bionic baby according to the position of the human acupoints. The massage techniques of the training object can be analyzed and evaluated during the massage process by studying the voltage from pressure sensors when the participants massage the bionic infant. RESULTS: A medical student was invited to conduct the massage training experiment, and the massage information included the operating strength, massage frequency and the massage direction, which were recorded and analyzed through the training platform. CONCLUSION: The platform can perceive the parameters related to the massage technique of students and can be used for medical training.