Proteomic Analysis of Human Follicular Fluid Reveals the Pharmacological Mechanisms of the Chinese Patent Drug Kunling Pill for Improving Diminished Ovarian Reserve.

Objective: To explore the pharmacological mechanism of a Chinese patent drug (Kunling Pill (KLP)) on improving diminished ovarian reserve based on proteomic analysis. Methods: A total of 18 patients divided into three groups (the normal ovary reserve (NOR), diminished ovary reserve (DOR), and KLP groups) undergoing assisted reproductive technology by standard ovarian stimulation protocols were recruited to collect follicular fluid. Data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry was used to identify differentially expressed proteins by nano-LC-MS/MS. Bioinformatic analysis was conducted to predict the functions and pathways of the identified proteins. Clinical, hormonal, and biochemical parameters were also analyzed in the three groups. Results: A total of 144 differentially expressed proteins were screened out, including 56 proteins that were downregulated and 88 proteins that were upregulated in the DOR group compared with the NOR group, while 27 proteins were shared in the KLP-treated group. Among them, 10 proteins were upregulated and 17 proteins were downregulated in the KLP-treated group compared with the DOR group. The most enriched biological processes accounted for 28 GO terms, including cellular process, biological regulation, metabolic process, and regulation of biological process. Significant pathways were associated with fatty acid elongation, fatty acid degradation, fatty acid metabolism, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, and valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation. Conclusion: Our study provides the proteome profiles of human follicular fluid from DOR patients treated by KLP. Functional analyses of proteome datasets revealed that core proteins (SAA1, MIF, and PRDX5) and related pathways (fatty acid metabolism, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, and tyrosine and purine metabolism) are possible pharmacological mechanisms through which KLP improves DOR. Therefore, these findings may help better understand the complex mechanisms through which DOR is treated by the Chinese patent drug KLP.

Unintended pregnancy-related factors and the occurrence of offspring congenital heart disease: a multi-site case-control study in China.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore the association between unintended pregnancy and related factors among congenital heart defects (CHDs) in infants. METHODS: A total of 1197 cases with isolated CHDs and 1125 controls without any abnormalities were analysed in this multicentre study at seven hospitals in China. According to the pregnancy intention, cases were divided into two groups: planned and unintended pregnancies. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) was calculated by logistic regression analysis to assess the association between unintended pregnancy and CHD occurrence. The time to prepare for pregnancy and the influencing factors were also compared in this article. RESULTS: The risk for CHD occurrence was significantly associated with unintended pregnancy (AOR: 1.42; 95%CI: 1.16-1.73), which may increase the risks for each subtype of CHD occurrence. Risks such as parental smoking, housing renovation, accidental alcohol consumption, lack of health check-ups, and no folic acid supplementation before pregnancy were distributed differently among the planned and unintended pregnancy groups and were associated with CHD occurrence. However, there was no significant association between the duration of planned pregnancy and the risk of CHDs. CONCLUSIONS: Unintended pregnancy increased the risk of CHDs in infants. This risk may be related to some known and unknown factors. SYNOPSIS: Some unintended pregnancy related factors may increase the risk for foetal CHDs. The duration of planning pregnancy may not be associated with the risk of CHDs.

Cloning and characterization of the Bombyx mori ecdysone oxidase.

The physiological titer of molting hormones in insects depends on relative activities of synthesis and degradation pathways. Ecdysone oxidase (EO) is a key enzyme in the inactivation of ecdysteroid. However, there are only a few reports on ecdysteroid inactivation and its enzymes in silkworm. In this study, we cloned and characterized the Bombyx mori EO (BmEO). The BmEO cDNA contains an ORF of 1,695 bp and the deduced protein sequence contains 564 amino acid residues. The deduced protein sequence contains two functional domains of glucose-methanol-choline oxidoreductase in N-terminal and C-terminal. Comparing the expression levels of BmEO in different tissues, high transcription was mainly present in hemocytes. Reduced expression of this enzyme is expected to lead to pathological accumulation of ecdysone in the hemolymph of silkworm larvae or pupae. Our data show that RNA inference of BmEO transcripts resulted in the accumulation of ecdysteroid and death of larvae or pupae. We infer that EO is a crucial element in the physiology of insect development.