Fecal Transplantation from db/db Mice Treated with Sodium Butyrate Attenuates Ischemic Stroke Injury.

The complication of type 2 diabetes (T2D) exacerbates brain infarction in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Because butyrate-producing bacteria are decreased in T2D and butyrate has been reported to be associated with attenuated brain injury in AIS, we hypothesize that administering butyrate could ameliorate T2D-associated exacerbation of brain infarction in AIS. Therefore, we first validated that Chinese AIS patients with T2D comorbidity have significantly lower levels of fecal butyrate-producing bacteria and butyrate than AIS patients without T2D. Then, we performed a 4-week intervention in T2D mice receiving either sodium butyrate (SB) or sodium chloride (NaCl) and found that SB improved the diabetic phenotype, altered the gut microbiota, and ameliorated brain injury after stroke. Fecal samples were collected from T2D mice after SB or NaCl treatment and were transplanted into antibiotic-treated C57BL/6 mice. After 2 weeks of transplantation, the gut microbiota profile and butyrate level of recipient mice were tested, and then the recipient mice were subjected to ischemic stroke. Stroke mice that received gut microbiota from SB-treated mice had a smaller cerebral infarct volume than mice that received gut microbiota from NaCl-treated mice. This protection was also associated with improvements in gut barrier function, reduced serum levels of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), LPS binding protein (LBP), and proinflammatory cytokines, and improvements in the blood-brain barrier. IMPORTANCE Ischemic stroke is a major global health burden, and T2D is a well-known comorbidity that aggravates brain injury after ischemic stroke. However, the underlying mechanism by which T2D exacerbates stroke injury has not been completely elucidated. A large amount of evidence suggests that the gut microbiota composition affects stroke outcomes. Our results showed that the gut microbiota of T2D aggravated brain injury after ischemic stroke and could be modified by SB to afford neuroprotection against stroke injury. These findings suggest that supplementation with SB is a potential therapeutic strategy for T2D patients with ischemic stroke.

[Study on the pollen viability and stigma receptivity of Chrysanthemum morifolium 'Fubaiju'].

OBJECTIVE: To study the blooming habits, pollen viability and stigma receptivity of Chrysanthemum morifolium and provide theoretical basis for its breeding. METHODS: Explored the blooming habits by dynamic observation on the process of blossom, evaluated the pollen viability by germination in vitro culture method and estimated stigma receptivity by benzidine-hydrogen peroxide method. RESULTS: About the pollen viability, there were no significant differences between the flowers which in the same round of the capitulum; Tubular flowers in the center of a capitulum were significantly higher than that on the edge; In the morning pollen vitality gradually raised, during 11: 00 - 14: 00 maintained the highest, and then gradually decreased; Tubular flower began to loose powder on the third day, during 4th - 6th day the pollen viability was highest, respectively was 35.12%, 39.89%, 38.12%, then gradually decreased, on the 15th day was only 7.41%, finally turned into wither. Regard to the stigma receptivity, the center of a capitulum were significantly higher than that on the edge, outer edge ligulate flower had no receptivity; Revealed the strongest during 13: 00 - 14:00 in one day; During the 5th - 7th day was the strongest after flowering. The regulation of the stigma secreted mucus existed great consistency with the stigma receptivity, namely the stigma receptivity usually was strong when it secreted large number mucus. CONCLUSION: Understand the blossom habits of Chrysanthemun morifolium, as well as the dynamic changes regulation of pollen viability and stigma receptivity during its blossom, which could be used to select the flowers in a capitulum which are on the more suitable period and position for artificial pollination and hybridization breeding research.

Obesity, metabolic syndrome, adipocytes and vascular function: A holistic viewpoint.

1. Obesity is a metabolic disease of pandemic proportions largely arising from positive energy balance, a consequence of sedentary lifestyle, conditioned by environmental and genetic factors. Several central and peripheral neurohumoral factors (the major ones being the anorectic adipokines leptin and adiponecin and the orexigenic gut hormone ghrelin) acting on the anorectic (pro-opiomelanocortin and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript) and orexigenic (neuropeptide Y and agouti gene-related protein) neurons regulate energy balance. These neurons, mainly in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus, project to parts of the brain modulating functions such as wakefulness, autonomic function and learning. A tilt in the anorectic-orexigenic balance, perhaps determined genetically, leads to obesity. 2. Excess fat deposition requires space, created by adipocyte (hypertrophy and hyperplasia) and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling. This process is regulated by several factors, including several adipocyte-derived Matrix metalloproteinases and the adipokine cathepsin, which degrades fibronectin, a key ECM protein. Excess fat, also deposited in visceral organs, generates chronic low-grade inflammation that eventually triggers insulin resistance and the associated comorbidities of metabolic syndrome (hypertension, atherosclerosis, dyslipidaemia and diabetes mellitus). 3. The perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) has conventionally been considered non-physiological structural tissue, but has recently been shown to serve a paracrine function, including the release of adipose-derived relaxant and contractile factors, akin to the role of the vascular endothelium. Thus, PVAT regulates vascular function in vivo and in vitro, contributing to the cardiovascular pathophysiology of the metabolic syndrome. Defining the mechanism of PVAT regulation of vascular reactivity requires more and better controlled investigations than currently seen in the literature.