Dietary Taurine Intake Affects the Growth Performance, Lipid Composition, and Antioxidant Defense of Juvenile Ivory Shell (Babylonia areolata).

In this study, an eight-week feeding trial was performed to investigate the effects of different taurine supplementation levels (0.0% as control, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%, 2.5%, and 3.0%) on the growth performance, lipid composition, and antioxidant ability in juvenile ivory shells Babylonia areolata. The results showed that taurine supplementation significantly improved the specific growth rates (SGRs) and survival rates of ivory shell (except the survival rate in the 3.0% taurine diet group) (p < 0.05). The SGRs showed an increasing and then decreasing tendency with increasing dietary taurine supplementation, and the highest value was observed in the 2.0% taurine diet (2.60%/d). The taurine content in the muscle of ivory shells fed taurine-supplemented diets significantly increased when compared to the control group (p < 0.05). The profiles of C22:2n6 in the muscle of ivory shells fed taurine-supplemented diets were significantly higher than in the control group (p < 0.05), and the highest values were observed in the 2.0% taurine supplementation group. The high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) content in the hepatopancreas showed an increasing and then decreasing tendency with increasing dietary taurine supplementation, while the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentration showed a decreasing tendency. Furthermore, the activities of pepsin and lipase in both the intestine and hepatopancreas significantly increased at moderate taurine supplementation levels compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Accordingly, obvious increases in the histological parameters in the intestine of ivory shells fed taurine-supplemented diets were also found. As for the antioxidant ability, the activities of the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) showed an increasing and then decreasing tendency with increasing dietary taurine supplementation, and the highest values were observed in the 1.0% and 1.0-2.0% taurine supplementation groups, respectively; the malondialdehyde (MDA) contents significantly decreased with increasing dietary taurine supplementation (p < 0.05). The taurine intake affected the expression of four appetite-related genes in the hepatopancreas, in which orexin and NPY showed an increasing and then decreasing tendency, while leptin and cholecyatoklnin decreased with increasing dietary taurine supplementation. In conclusion, moderate taurine supplementation in an artificial diet (about 1.5-2.0%) could improve the growth performance and antioxidant ability and change the lipid composition of juvenile ivory shells.

BMI, Blood Pressure, and Plasma Lipids among Centenarians and Their Offspring.

BACKGROUND: The burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is increasing substantially due to population growth and aging. Determining effective prevention and understanding the underlying mechanisms remain desirable pursuits for increasing the quality of life. As centenarians and their offspring may have genetic advantages, they may present with healthier cardiovascular-related profiles. METHODS: We launched a cross-sectional household-based survey of centenarian families, including 253 centenarians, 217 centenarian offspring, and 116 offspring spouses without centenarian parents from county-level Chinese longevity city Rugao. Among offspring and offspring spouses were the following arrangements: 101 paired offspring and offspring spouses who lived together, 116 unpaired offspring, and 16 unpaired spouses. We investigated their cardiovascular-related health status including waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and plasma lipids and compared results among centenarians, centenarian offspring, and offspring spouses. RESULTS: Centenarians ranged from 99 to 109 years with a median age of 100 years. Centenarian offspring, with a median age of 70 years, and offspring spouses, with a median age of 69 years, shared similar age. Results of blood pressure, plasma lipid levels, and BMI displayed no significant difference between centenarian offspring and offspring spouses. However, centenarians appeared to have lower waist circumference, BMI, TC, LDL-C, TG, and diastolic blood pressure but higher levels of systolic blood pressure (p < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed the prevalence of obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia was similar between centenarian offspring and offspring spouses, while centenarians appeared to have a lower prevalence of obesity and a higher prevalence of hypertension (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Centenarians and centenarian offspring did not present healthier BMI, blood pressure, or plasma lipids than offspring spouses. Further research on longevity and cardiovascular diseases are desirable.

Therapeutic effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells-derived exosomes on osteoarthritis.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown chondroprotective effects in clinical models of osteoarthritis (OA). However, effects of MSC-derived exosomes on OA remain unclear. The study aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of exosomes from human bone marrow MSCs (BM-MSCs) in alleviating OA. The anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) and destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) surgery were performed on the knee joints of a rat OA model, followed by intra-articular injection of BM-MSCs or their exosomes. In addition, BM-MSC-derived exosomes were administrated to primary human chondrocytes to observe the functional and molecular alterations. Both of BM-MSCs and BM-MSC-derived exosomes alleviated cartilage destruction and subchondral bone remodelling in OA rat model. Administration of BM-MSCs and exosomes could reduce joint damage and restore the trabecular bone volume fraction, trabecular number and connectivity density of OA rats. In addition, in vitro assays showed that BM-MSCs-exosomes could maintain the chondrocyte phenotype by increasing collagen type II synthesis and inhibiting IL-1ß-induced senescence and apoptosis. Furthermore, exosomal lncRNA MEG-3 also reduced the senescence and apoptosis of chondrocytes induced by IL-1ß, indicating that lncRNA MEG-3 might partially account the anti-OA effects of BM-MSC exosomes. The exosomes from BM-MSCs exerted beneficial therapeutic effects on OA by reducing the senescence and apoptosis of chondrocytes, suggesting that MSC-derived exosomes might provide a candidate therapy for OA treatment.

Prevalence, correlates, and impact of sleep disturbance in Chinese patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.

AIM: Sleep disturbances are common in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients and may lead to disease aggravation and decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL). There are currently no known reported studies related to the prevalence, correlates, and impact of sleep disturbance in pSS patients from China. Therefore, this study aims to assess the sleep quality in Chinese pSS patients and evaluate its relationship with the disease activity, quality of life and mood disorders. METHODS: A self-report survey was administered to 221 pSS patients and 198 healthy individuals using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for sleep quality. Disease activity and damage were evaluated with the European League Against Rheumatism Sjögren's syndrome disease activity index (ESSDAI). Independent samples t tests, Chi-square analysis, logistic regression were used to analyze these data. RESULTS: Our results found that the prevalence of poor sleep (PSQI ≥ 6) was 57.5% and the mean global score of PSQI was 6.57 (SD 3.19) in patients, which were significantly higher than the controls (32.3% and 4.93 [SD 2.86], respectively). When trying to fall asleep, patients with pSS had some sleep disturbances, reduced sleep efficiency, increased number of awakenings than controls. There were significant correlations among dryness, ocular surface disease, HRQoL, pain, disease activity, anxiety/depression and sleep quality in pSS patients. Meanwhile, logistic regression models identified depression and Short Form-36 mental composite score as predictors of poor sleep quality. CONCLUSIONS: Sleep disturbances are commonly reported in pSS patients and sleep quality is lower in pSS patients than in healthy controls. The data suggested the need for holistic assessment and management of pSS patients.

Dietary non-protein energy source regulates antioxidant status and immune response of barramundi (Lates calcarifer).

This study evaluates the effects of different dietary sources of non-protein energy on growth performance, histological structure, antioxidant status and immune response of barramundi Lates calcarifer. Fish were fed with isoenergetic diets (18 kJ/g) with two types of non-protein energy in the experimental groups and a regular diet was used as the control for 56 days. The specific growth rate and survival of fish were not significantly different between experimental diets. Hepatic histology did not reveal significant differences between dietary treatments at cellular level. The activity of most antioxidant enzymes in the lipid group significantly increased, and the antioxidant capacity in the carbohydrate group was significantly higher than that in other treatments. In the TOR pathway, LST8 homolog (mLST8) expression in the high lipid group was downregulated, and the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) expression in the high carbohydrate group was downregulated and eIF4E expression was upregulated. The C-reactive protein (CRP) expression in the high lipid and high carbohydrate groups was upregulated. The expression levels of heat shock protein genes in the high lipid group and the high carbohydrate group were significantly downregulated. This study indicates that the lipid diet have less effect in fish immunity but is more suitable as a non-protein ingredient for energy supply for barramundi.

Targeting HMGB1 by ethyl pyruvate ameliorates systemic lupus erythematosus and reverses the senescent phenotype of bone marrow-mesenchymal stem cells.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease involving multiple organs and systems. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from SLE patients have demonstrated defects such as impaired growth, senescence phenotype and immunomodulatory functions. Some studies have suggested the close connection between inflammation microenvironment and cellular senescence. In the current study, we detected cytokines levels in bone marrow supernatant by the quantitative proteomics analysis, and found the expression of HMGB1 was remarkably increased in bone marrow from SLE patients. Senescence associated-ß-galactosidase (SA-ß-gal) staining, F-actin staining and flow cytometry were used to detect the senescence of cells. After stimulation of HMGB1 in normal MSCs, the ratio of SA-ß-gal positive in BM-MSCs was increased, the organization of cytoskeleton was disordered, and TLR4-NF-κB signaling was activated. Finally, Ethyl pyruvate (EP) (40 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg, three times a week), a high security HMGB1 inhibitor, was injected intraperitoneally to treat MRL/lpr mice for 8 weeks. We demonstrated that EP alleviated the clinical aspects of lupus nephritis and prolonged survival of MRL/lpr mice. In the meantime, EP reversed the senescent phenotype of BM-MSCs from MRL/lpr mice. HMGB1 could be a promising target in SLE patients, and might be one of the reasons of recurrence after MSCs transplantation.

Sleep quality in Chinese patients with rheumatoid arthritis: contributing factors and effects on health-related quality of life.

BACKGROUND: Poor sleep quality is common in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and may lead to disease aggravation and decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The increasing prevalence of poor sleep in RA patients is associated with adverse demographic, clinical, and psychological characteristics. However, there are currently no known reported studies related to the effects of sleep quality on HRQoL in RA patients from China. This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the contributors of poor sleep and the effects of sleep quality on HRQoL in Chinese RA patients. METHODS: A self-report survey was administered to 131 RA patients and 104 healthy individuals using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for sleep quality. RA patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale for anxiety and depression, the 28-joint Disease Activity Score for disease activity, the 10 cm Visual Analog Scale for pain, the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index for functional capacity and the Short Form 36 health survey for HRQoL. Blood samples were taken to gain some biochemical indicators (e.g., erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, rheumatoid factor, and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide). Independent samples t-tests, Chi square analysis, logistic regression modeling and linear regression were used to analyze these data. RESULTS: Our results found that the prevalence of poor sleep (PSQI ≥ 5) was 78.6% and the mean global score of PSQI was 7.93 (SD 3.98) in patients, which were significantly higher than the controls (18.7% and 3.88 (SD 1.89), respectively). There were significant correlations among synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, pain, disease activity, functional capacity, anxiety/depression and sleep quality in RA patients. Meanwhile, logistic regression models identified disease activity and depression as predictors of poor sleep quality. Poor RA sleepers had impaired HRQoL than good RA sleepers, and sleep quality was independently and significantly associated with social function and mental components summary. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of Chinese RA patients suffered from poor sleep, which significantly impairs their HRQoL. The data suggested the need for holistic assessment and management of RA patients and the importance of objective interventions to improve their sleep quality and finally to improve their HRQoL.

Inhibition of urease by extracts derived from 15 Chinese medicinal herbs.

CONTEXT: Helicobacter pylori is a major causative factor in gastritis-like disorders, and urease plays a key role in Helicobacter pylori colonizing and persisting in the mucous layer of the human stomach. In China, a variety of Chinese medicinal herbs have been prescribed to attenuate or eradicate gastritis-like disorders. However, little is known about the urease inhibition of Chinese medicinal herbs. OBJECTIVE: The present study was conducted to investigate the urease inhibition activities of the ethanol and water extracts of 15 Chinese medicinal herbs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The ethanol and water extracts derived from 15 medicinal herbs, traditionally used for the treatment of gastritis-like disorders in China, were tested for urease-inhibition activity using the phenol red method. RESULTS: Screened at 10 µg/mL, 14 ethanol extracts and 10 water extracts showed urease inhibition. The ethanol extracts of Magnolia officinalis Rehd. et Wils. (Magnoliaceae) and Cassia obtusifolia L. (Leguminosae) possessed inhibition rates higher than 50% with IC50 values of 6.5 and 12.3 µg/mL, respectively. After fractionating successively, the petroleum ether fraction of the ethanol extracts of Magnolia officinalis showed the best activity with 90.8% urease inhibition at a concentration of 10 µg/mL. The bioautography of the petroleum ether fraction indicated the existence of the urease inhibitors in the herb. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The present results indicated that some Chinese medicinal herbs might treat gastritis-like disorders via the inhibition of Helicobacter pylori urease and the further possibility for discovering useful novel urease inhibitors from the Chinese medicinal herbs.