Spatio-temporal transcriptome dynamics coordinate rapid transition of core crop functions in 'lactating' pigeon.

Pigeons (Columba livia) are among a select few avian species that have developed a specialized reproductive mode wherein the parents produce a 'milk' in their crop to feed newborn squabs. Nonetheless, the transcriptomic dynamics and role in the rapid transition of core crop functions during 'lactation' remain largely unexplored. Here, we generated a de novo pigeon genome assembly to construct a high resolution spatio-temporal transcriptomic landscape of the crop epithelium across the entire breeding stage. This multi-omics analysis identified a set of 'lactation'-related genes involved in lipid and protein metabolism, which contribute to the rapid functional transitions in the crop. Analysis of in situ high-throughput chromatin conformation capture (Hi-C) sequencing revealed extensive reorganization of promoter-enhancer interactions linked to the dynamic expression of these 'lactation'-related genes between stages. Moreover, their expression is spatially localized in specific epithelial layers, and can be correlated with phenotypic changes in the crop. These results illustrate the preferential de novo synthesis of 'milk' lipids and proteins in the crop, and provides candidate enhancer loci for further investigation of the regulatory elements controlling pigeon 'lactation'.

Evaluation of the activity and mechanisms of oregano essential oil against PRV in vivo and in vitro.

BACKGROUND: The Pseudorabies Virus (PRV) leading to pseudorabies and causes huge economic losses in pig industry. The development of novel PRV variations has diminished the efficacy of traditional vaccinations, and there is yet no medication that can stop the spread of PRV infection. Therefore, PRV eradication is challenging. Oregano essential oil, the plant-based ingredient for medication feed have been shown to has strong anti-herpesvirus activity, but no anti-PRV function has been reported. RESULTS: The current study assessed the anti-pseudorabies virus (PRV) activity of oregano essential oil and explored its mechanisms and most effective components against PRV. Our in vivo findings demonstrated that oregano essential oil could decrease the PRV load in tissues, mitigate tissue lesions, and enhance the survival rate of mice. The potential antiviral mechanism involves augmenting humoral and cellular immune responses in PRV-infected mice. To further investigate the most effective components of oregano essential oil against PRV, an in vitro study was conducted, revealing that oregano essential oil and its main constituents, carvacrol and thymol, all diminished PRV intracellular proliferation in vitro. Carvacrol exhibited the most potent anti-PRV effect, serving as the primary contributor to oregano essential oil's anti-PRV activity. The mechanisms underlying carvacrol's anti-PRV properties include the upregulation of cytokines TNF-α, IFN-ß, IFN-γ, IL-12, and the inhibition of PRV-induced apoptosis in BHK-21 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides an effective drug for the prevention and control of PRV infection.

Effects of meloxicam on the welfare of Holstein calves from 6 weeks to 6 months old undergoing amputation dehorning.

Amputation dehorning (AD) is a common practice performed on calves, causing harmful effects such as pain, distress, anxiety, and fear. These effects extend to behavioral, physiological, and hematological responses, prompting serious ethical concerns regarding animal welfare, even when performed with local anesthesia. Meloxicam, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, has been widely used to mitigate the side effects of dehorning and disbudding in calves. However, there is a notable gap in research regarding the effects of meloxicam on calves aged 6 wk to 6 mo undergoing AD procedures. This study was designed to assess the effectiveness of co-administering meloxicam with lidocaine, a cornual nerve anesthetic, in alleviating the adverse effects caused by the AD procedure in calves within this age range, compared with the use of lidocaine alone. Thirty Holstein calves were enrolled and randomly divided into 2 groups. The first group received a subcutaneous injection of 5 mL of lidocaine in the horn area and a subcutaneous injection of 0.9% saline at a dose of 0.025 mL/kg in the neck, administered 10 min before the AD procedure. The second group received a combination of lidocaine and meloxicam: a subcutaneous injection of 5 mL of lidocaine in the horn area and a subcutaneous injection of 20 mg/mL meloxicam at a dose of 0.025 mL/kg in the neck, also administered 10 min before the AD procedure. To avoid subjective bias, the researchers were blinded to the treatment groups. Pain-related behaviors, including tail flicking, head shaking, ear flicking, head rubbing, head crossing bar, and kicking, were observed, and physiological parameters, including heart rate, rectal temperature, respiration rate, mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT), daily active steps, and food intake were monitored. Hematological conditions were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and routine blood tests. The data were processed using a generalized linear mixed model. The outcomes demonstrated that the AD procedure increased the frequencies of ear flicking and resulted in rises in the respiration rate, heart rate, rectal temperature, and daily active steps. It also led to decreases in total food intake, forage intake, hay intake, MNT, and increased concentrations of prostaglandin E2 (PgE2), IL-1ß, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), nitric oxide (NO), and malondialdehyde, as well as glutathione peroxidase activity. However, calves that received meloxicam treatment showed significant improvements in response to the AD procedure, including lower respiration rates, heart rates, and rectal temperatures; higher MNT; and lower intermediate cell ratio. They also had higher red blood counts, hemoglobin levels, hematocrit values; larger mean platelet volumes; and lower concentrations of PgE2, IL-1ß, TNF-α, and NO. These results suggest that co-administration of lidocaine and meloxicam may aid in mitigating the adverse effects induced by the AD procedure on these calves, thereby supporting the use of meloxicam in conjunction with a local anesthetic in AD procedures for calves aged 6 wk to 6 mo.

The mechanism of nickel-induced autophagy and its role in nephrotoxicity.

Nickel (Ni), an environmental health hazard, is nephrotoxic to humans, but the exact mechanism is unknown. This study aims to identify whether nephrotoxicity is associated with autophagy. Here, nickel chloride (NiCl2) increased autophagy in TCMK-1 cells. NiCl2 induces autophagy through Akt and AMPK/mTOR pathways. Next, oxidative stress was investigated in NiCl2-induced autophagy. The findings demonstrated that the antioxidant (NAC) or mitochondrial targeted antioxidant (Mito-TEMPO) attenuated NiCl2-induced autophagy, reversed the influence on AMPK-mTOR and Akt pathways. Additionally, our study examined the role of autophagy in NiCl2-induced nephrotoxicity. Autophagy inhibition with 3-MA could inhibit cell viability and increase apoptosis in the TCMK-1 cells, however, autophagy promotion with rapamycin relieved cytotoxicity and decreased apoptosis. Additionally, co-treatment with Z-VAD-FMK reduced cytotoxicity, but did not affect autophagy. Besides, NiCl2 can increase the level of mitophagy in vivo and vitro. Mitophagy inhibition could inhibit cell viability and increase apoptosis in the TCMK-1 cells, whereas, promotion of mitophagy could increase cell viability and decrease apoptosis. In summary, above-mentioned results showed that NiCl2 induces autophagy in TCMK-1 cells through oxidative stress-dependent AMPK/AKT-mTOR pathway, autophagy plays a role in reducing NiCl2-induced renal toxicity, and a major mechanism in autophagy's inhibitory effect on NiCl2-induced apoptosis may be mitophagy.

Effects of CuSO4 on hepatic mitochondrial function, biogenesis and dynamics in mice.

Copper is an essential trace element for animal. Excessive intake of copper will cause a large accumulation of copper in the body, especially in the liver, and induce hepatotoxicity, however, there are few studies on the effects of copper on hepatic mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondrial dynamics. In this study, mice were treated with different doses of CuSO4 (0, 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg) for 21 and 42 days by gavage. The results verified that CuSO4 decreased the content of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes I-IV in mouse liver. CuSO4 treatment resulted the decrease in the protein and mRNA expression levels of PGC-1α, TFAM, and NRF1, which were the mitochondrial biogenesis regulator proteins. Meanwhile, the proteins involved in mitochondrial fusion were reduced by CuSO4 , such as Mfn1 and Mfn2, however, mitochondrial fission proteins Drip1 and Fis1 were significantly increased. Abovementioned results show that CuSO4 could induce mitochondria damage in the liver of mice, and mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondrial dynamics are involved in the molecular mechanism of CuSO4 -induced hepatotoxicity.

[Precise measurement of human heart rate based on multi-channel radar data fusion].

To achieve non-contact measurement of human heart rate and improve its accuracy, this paper proposes a method for measuring human heart rate based on multi-channel radar data fusion. The radar data were firstly extracted by human body position identification, phase extraction and unwinding, phase difference, band-pass filtering optimized by power spectrum entropy, and fast independent component analysis for each channel data. After overlaying and fusing the four-channel data, the heartbeat signal was separated using frost-optimized variational modal decomposition. Finally, a chirp Z-transform was introduced for heart rate estimation. After validation with 40 sets of data, the average root mean square error of the proposed method was 2.35 beats per minute, with an average error rate of 2.39%, a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.97, a confidence interval of [-4.78, 4.78] beats per minute, and a consistency error of -0.04. The experimental results show that the proposed measurement method performs well in terms of accuracy, correlation, and consistency, enabling precise measurement of human heart rate.

Identification of a tumour immune barrier in the HCC microenvironment that determines the efficacy of immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The tumour microenvironment (TME) is a crucial mediator of cancer progression and therapeutic outcome. The TME subtype correlates with patient response to immunotherapy in multiple cancers. Most previous studies have focused on the role of different cellular components in the TME associated with immunotherapy efficacy. However, the specific structure of the TME and its role in immunotherapy efficacy remain largely unknown. METHODS: We combined spatial transcriptomics with single-cell RNA-sequencing and multiplexed immunofluorescence to identify the specific spatial structures in the TME that determine the efficacy of immunotherapy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receiving anti-PD-1 treatment. RESULTS: We identified a tumour immune barrier (TIB) structure, a spatial niche composed of SPP1+ macrophages and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) located near the tumour boundary, which is associated with the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade. Furthermore, we dissected ligand‒receptor networks among malignant cells, SPP1+ macrophages, and CAFs; that is, the hypoxic microenvironment promotes SPP1 expression, and SPP1+ macrophages interact with CAFs to stimulate extracellular matrix remodelling and promote TIB structure formation, thereby limiting immune infiltration in the tumour core. Preclinically, the blockade of SPP1 or macrophage-specific deletion of Spp1 in mice led to enhanced efficacy of anti-PD-1 treatment in mouse liver cancer, accompanied by reduced CAF infiltration and increased cytotoxic T-cell infiltration. CONCLUSIONS: We identified that the TIB structure formed by the interaction of SPP1+ macrophages and CAFs is related to immunotherapy efficacy. Therefore, disruption of the TIB structure by blocking SPP1 may be considered a relevant therapeutic approach to enhance the therapeutic effect of immune checkpoint blockade in HCC. IMPACT AND IMPLICATIONS: Only a limited number of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) benefit from tumour immunotherapy, which significantly hinders its application. Herein, we used multiomics to identify the spatial structure of the tumour immune barrier (TIB), which is formed by the interaction of SPP1+ macrophages and cancer-associated fibroblasts in the HCC microenvironment. This structure constrains immunotherapy efficacy by limiting immune cell infiltration into malignant regions. Preclinically, we revealed that blocking SPP1 or macrophage-specific deletion of Spp1 in mice could destroy the TIB structure and sensitize HCC cells to immunotherapy. These results provide the first key steps towards finding more effective therapies for HCC and have implications for physicians, scientists, and drug developers in the field of HCC.

Unraveling extracellular protein signatures to enhance live attenuated vaccine development through type II secretion system disruption in Vibriomimicus.

Type II secretion systems (T2SS) are important molecular machines used by bacteria to transport a wide range of proteins across the outer membrane from the periplasm. Vibrio mimicus is an epidemic pathogen threats to both aquatic animals and human health. Our previous study demonstrates that T2SS deletion reduced virulence by 307.26 times in yellow catfish. However, the specific effects of T2SS-mediated extracellular protein secretion in V. mimicus, including its potential role in exotoxin secretion or other mechanisms, require further investigation. Through proteomics and phenotypic analyses, this study observed that the ΔT2SS strain exhibited significant self-aggregation and dynamic deficiency, with a notable negative correlation with subsequent biofilm formation. The proteomics analysis revealed 239 different abundances of extracellular proteins after T2SS deletion, including 19 proteins with higher abundance and 220 proteins with lower and even absent in the ΔT2SS strain. These extracellular proteins are involved in various pathways, such as metabolism, virulence factors expression, and enzymes. Among them, purine, pyruvate, and pyrimidine metabolism, and the Citrate cycle, were the primary pathways affected by T2SS. Our phenotypic analysis is consistent with these findings, suggesting that the decreased virulence of ΔT2SS strains is due to the effect of T2SS on these proteins, which negatively impacts growth, biofilm formation, auto-aggregation, and motility of V. mimicus. These results provide valuable insights for designing deletion targets for attenuated vaccines development against V. mimicus and expand our understanding of the biological functions of T2SS.

PDLIM2 can inactivate the TGF-ß/Smad pathway to inhibit the malignant behavior of ovarian cancer cells.

PDZ-LIM domain-containing Protein 2 (PDLIM2) has been reported to be downregulated in ovarian cancer. However, its exact function and mechanism in regulating ovarian cancer progression have not been elucidated. This work researched the exert effect and mechanism of PDLIM2 on ovarian cancer progression. Briefly, PDLIM2 expression in clinical tissues of ovarian cancer patients and cells was investigated by qRT-PCR and Western blot. The function of PDLIM2 on the proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion of ovarian cancer cells was explored via cell counting kit-8, colony formation and Transwell assays. To verify whether PDLIM2 regulates ovarian cancer progression via regulating the transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß)/Smad pathway, exogenous TGF-ß (10 ng/mL) treatment was performed on the PDLIM2-overexpressed ovarian cancer cells. PDLIM2 effect on the in vivo growth of ovarian cancer cells was researched by establishing a xenograft tumor model. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were performed to protein expression in cells and tissues. As a result, PDLIM2 was low-expressed in ovarian cancer tissues/cells. PDLIM2 upregulation attenuated the proliferation, colony formation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of ovarian cancer cells, and inactivated the TGF-ß/Smad pathway. The opposite results were found in the PDLIM2-silenced ovarian cancer cells. Exogenous TGF-ß treatment abrogated the inhibition of PDLIM2 on the malignant behavior of ovarian cancer cells. PDLIM2 upregulation attenuated the in vivo growth and EMT of ovarian cancer cells. Thus, PDLIM2 attenuates the proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT of ovarian cancer cells via inactivating the TGF-ß/Smad pathway. PDLIM2 may be a usefully target for ovarian cancer treatment.

Apoptosis and DNA damage mediated by ROS involved in male reproductive toxicity in mice induced by Nickel.

Nickel (Ni) is the most important environmental pollution in the world. Ni has been confirmed to have multi-organ toxicology and carcinogenicity. Recently, Ni also can impair the male reproductive system, however, its precious mechanism still has not been clarified. The current work found that nickel chloride (NiCl2) induced histopathological lesions in testis. And, the Johnsen's score, seminiferous tubule diameter, and spermatogenic epithelium thickness were decreased in NiCl2-treated mice. The number of spermatogonium, primary spermatocyte, and round spermatid also were significantly reduced after Ni treatment. Next the potential molecular mechanism was measured. NiCl2 treatment elevated ROS production in the testis. Additionally, NiCl2 was found to induce apoptosis with features including up-regulation of Bax, cleaved-caspase-3, cleaved-caspase-8, caspase-9, and caspase-12, while down-regulation of Bcl-2 expression. In the meantime, the marker protein of DNA damage γ-H2AX was significantly increased in NiCl2-primed mice testis. To clarify effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in apoptosis and DNA damage induced by NiCl2, NiCl2 was used to co-treat antioxidant NAC (N-Acetyl-L-cysteine). NAC weakened ROS production induced by NiCl2, and played an inhibition role in apoptosis and DNA damage. Moreover, co-treatment using NiCl2 and NAC group also eliminated spermatogenesis disorders. In summary, research results reveal the relations of spermatogenesis disorder induced by NiCl2 with apoptosis and DNA damage mediated by ROS and apoptosis in the testis.

Ferric citrate-induced colonic mucosal damage associated with oxidative stress, inflammation responses, apoptosis, and the changes of gut microbial composition.

Ferric citrate (FC) has been used as an iron fortifier and nutritional supplement, which is reported to induce colitis in rats, however the underlying mechanism remains to be elucidated. We performed a 16-week study of FC in male healthy C57BL/6 mice (nine-month-old) with oral administration of Ctr (0.9 % NaCl), 1.25 % FC (71 mg/kg/bw), 2.5 % FC (143 mg/kg/bw) and 5 % FC (286 mg/kg/bw). FC-exposure resulted in colon iron accumulation, histological alteration and reduce antioxidant enzyme activities, such as glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), together with enhanced lipid peroxidation level, including malondialdehyde (MDA) level and 4-Hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) protein expression. Exposure to FC was associated with upregulated levels of the interleukin (IL)- 6, IL-1ß, IL-18, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), while down-regulated levels of IL-4 and IL-10. Exposure to FC was positively associated with the mRNA and protein expressions of cysteine-aspartic proteases (Caspase)- 9, Caspase-3, Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), while negatively associated with B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2) in mitochondrial apoptosis signaling pathway. FC-exposure changed the diversity and composition of gut microbes. Additionally, the serum lipopolysaccharide (LPS) contents increased in FC-exposed groups when compared with the control group, while the expression of colonic tight junction proteins (TJPs), such as Claudin-1 and Occludin were decreased. These findings indicate that the colonic mucosal injury induced by FC-exposure are associated with oxidative stress generation, inflammation response and cell apoptosis, as well as the changes in gut microbes diversity and composition.

Autophagy-mediated ferroptosis involved in nickel-induced nephrotoxicity in the mice.

Nickel, as a widely polluted metal, has been shown nephrotoxicity. Ferroptosis is a new type of cell death driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. Our study found that nickel chloride (NiCl2) induced ferroptosis in mouse kidney and TCMK-1 cells. The iron content was significantly increased in the kidney and TCMK-1 cells after NiCl2 treatment. Lipid peroxidation and MDA content were significantly increased, and GSH content and T-SOD activity were significantly decreased after exposure to NiCl2. Moreover, NiCl2 increased COX-2 protein levels, decreased SLC7A11 and GPX4 protein levels, and elevated Ptgs2 mRNA levels. Next, the mechanism of Ni-induced ferroptosis was investigated. The results showed that NiCl2 induced autophagy in TCMK-1 cells, which promoted ferroptosis induced by NiCl2. Furthermore, the data of autophagy activation or inhibition experiment showed that autophagy facilitated ferroptosis through the degradation of the iron regulation protein NCOA4 and FTH1. Otherwise, iron chelator DFOM treatment inhibited ferroptosis induced by NiCl2. Finally, ferroptosis inhibitor Fer-1 treatment significantly alleviated cytotoxicity induced by NiCl2. To sum up, our above results showed that ferroptosis is involved in NiCl2-induced nephrotoxicity, and NiCl2 induces autophagy-dependent ferritin degradation, releases iron ions, leads to iron overload, and induces ferroptosis. This study supplies a new theoretical foundation for the study of nickel and renal toxicity.

Nickel induces hepatotoxicity by mitochondrial biogenesis, mitochondrial dynamics, and mitophagy dysfunction.

Nickel (Ni) is an important and widely hazardous chemical industrial waste. Excessive Ni exposure could cause multi-organs toxicity in human and animals. Liver is the major target organ of Ni accumulation and toxicity, however, the precise mechanism is still unclear. In this study, nickel chloride (NiCl2 )-treatment induced hepatic histopathological changes in the mice, and, transmission electron microscopy results showed mitochondrial swollen and deformed of hepatocyte. Next, the mitochondrial damages including mitochondrial biogenesis, mitochondrial dynamics, and mitophagy were measured after NiCl2 administration. The results showed that NiCl2 suppressed mitochondrial biogenesis by decreasing PGC-1α, TFAM, and NRF1 protein and mRNA expression levels. Meanwhile, the proteins involved in mitochondrial fusion were reduced by NiCl2 , such as Mfn1 and Mfn2, however, mitochondrial fission proteins Drip1 and Fis1 were significantly increased. The up-regulation of mitochondrial p62 and LC3II expression indicated that NiCl2 increased mitophagy in the liver. Moreover, the receptor-mediated mitophagy and ubiquitin (Ub)-dependent mitophagy were detected. NiCl2 promoted PINK1 accumulation and Parkin recruitment on mitochondria. And, the receptor proteins of mitophagy Bnip3 and FUNDC1 were increased in the NiCl2 -treated mice liver. Overall, these results show that NiCl2 could induce mitochondria damage in the liver of mice, and, dysfunction of mitochondrial biogenesis, mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy involved in the molecular mechanism of NiCl2 -induced hepatotoxicity.

RAGE-TLR4 Crosstalk Is the Key Mechanism by Which High Glucose Enhances the Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammatory Response in Primary Bovine Alveolar Macrophages.

The receptor of advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) are important receptors for inflammatory responses induced by high glucose (HG) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and show crosstalk phenomena in inflammatory responses. However, it is unknown whether RAGE and TLR4 can influence each other's expression through a crosstalk mechanism and whether the RAGE-TLR4 crosstalk related to the molecular mechanism of HG enhances the LPS-induced inflammatory response. In this study, the implications of LPS with multiple concentrations (0, 1, 5, and 10 µg/mL) at various treatment times (0, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h) in primary bovine alveolar macrophages (BAMs) were explored. The results showed that a 5 µg/mL LPS treatment at 12 h had the most significant increment on the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels in BAMs (p < 0.05) and that the levels of TLR4, RAGE, MyD88, and NF-κB p65 mRNA and protein expression were upregulated (p < 0.05). Then, the effect of LPS (5 µg/mL) and HG (25.5 mM) co-treatment in BAMs was explored. The results further showed that HG significantly enhanced the release of IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α caused by LPS in the supernatant (p < 0.01) and significantly increased the levels of RAGE, TLR4, MyD88, and NF-κB p65 mRNA and protein expression (p < 0.01). Pretreatment with FPS-ZM1 and TAK-242, the inhibitors of RAGE and TLR4, significantly alleviated the HG + LPS-induced increment of RAGE, TLR4, MyD88, and NF-κB p65 mRNA and protein expression in the presence of HG and LPS (p < 0.01). This study showed that RAGE and TLR4 affect each other's expression through crosstalk during the combined usage of HG and LPS and synergistically activate the MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway to promote the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines in BAMs.

Low Glucose plus ß-Hydroxybutyrate Induces an Enhanced Inflammatory Response in Yak Alveolar Macrophages via Activating the GPR109A/NF-κB Signaling Pathway.

Yaks are often subject to long-term starvation and a high prevalence of respiratory diseases and mortality in the withered season, yet the mechanisms that cause this remain unclear. Research has demonstrated that ß-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) plays a significant role in regulating the immune system. Hence, we hypothesize that the low glucose and high BHB condition induced by severe starvation might have an effect on the pro-inflammatory response of the alveolar macrophages (AMs) in yaks. To validate our hypothesis, we isolated and identified primary AMs from freshly slaughtered yaks and cultured them in a medium with 5.5 mM of glucose or 2.8 mM of glucose plus 1-4 mM of BHB. Utilizing a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), immunoblot assay, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), we evaluated the gene and protein expression levels of GPR109A (G-protein-coupled receptor 109A), NF-κB p65, p38, and PPARγ and the concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1ß and IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in the supernatant. The results demonstrated that AMs exposed to low glucose plus BHB had significantly higher levels of IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α (p < 0.05) and higher activity of the GPR109A/NF-κB signaling pathway. A pretreatment of either pertussis toxin (PTX, inhibitor of GPR109A) or pyrrolidinedithiocarbamic (PDTC, inhibitor of NF-κB p65) was effective in preventing the elevated secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines induced by low glucose plus BHB (p < 0.05). These results indicated that the low glucose plus BHB condition would induce an enhanced pro-inflammatory response through the activation of the GPR109A/NF-κB signaling pathway in primary yak AMs, which is probably the reason why yaks experience a higher rate of respiratory diseases and mortality. This study will offer new insight into the prevention and treatment of bovine respiratory diseases.

Protective effect of cinnamaldehyde on channel catfish infected by drug-resistant Aeromonas hydrophila.

The protective effect of cinnamaldehyde on channel catfish infected by drug-resistant Aeromonas hydrophila CW strain was explored by observing the clinical signs and histopathology, measuring the cumulative mortality, serum biochemical and non-specific immune indicators, and intestinal microbiota in this study. The cumulative survival rate of the cinnamaldehyde within 14 days was significantly higher than that of the challenge group, which was 70% and 20%, respectively. Compared with the challenge group, the activities of lysozyme, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase in the treatment group were increased, while there was no significant difference in catalase activity. Compared with the challenge group, the histopathology results showed that the injury of liver, spleen, and kidney was significantly alleviated after cinnamaldehyde treatment. The results of intestinal microbiota showed that the proportion of Proteobacteria in the challenge group was significantly increased, and the proportion of Aeromonas sp. reached 30% based on the analysis of species classification level. The composition of dominant species in the treatment group was similar to the control group. In conclusion, cinnamaldehyde increased the cumulative survival rate of channel catfish infected by A. hydrophila. It could protect channel catfish through improving the non-specific immune function of channel catfish, alleviating the pathological lesions of liver, spleen, kidney, and intestine, and maintaining the relative balance of the intestinal microbiota. Therefore, cinnamaldehyde could be a candidate drug for the treatment of A. hydrophila infection.

Autophagy induced by largemouth bass virus inhibits virus replication and apoptosis in epithelioma papulosum cyprini cells.

Autophagy and apoptosis play important roles in the occurrence and development of diseases. Largemouth bass virus (LMBV) is a primary agent that causes infectious skin ulcerative syndrome in largemouth bass and threatens the aquaculture of the species. We investigated the relationship between LMBV and autophagy, as well as the effect of autophagy on apoptosis induced by LMBV. Results showed that LMBV could induce autophagy in epithelioma papulosum cyprinid (EPC) cells. There was also an increase in LC3-II protein and decrease in p62 protein, along with autophagosome-like membranous vesicles and punctate autophagosomes fluorescent spots being observed in EPC cells. Enhancing autophagy inhibited the replication of LMBV and apoptosis in EPC cells while inhibiting autophagy produced the opposite effect. These results offer new insights into the pathogenesis of LMBV and anti-LMBV strategies.

The combination of high glucose and LPS induces autophagy in bovine kidney epithelial cells via the Notch3/mTOR signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Aside respiratory diseases, beef cattle may also suffer from serious kidney diseases after transportation. Hyperglycemia and gram-negative bacterial infection may be the main reasons why bovine is prone to severe kidney disease during transportation stress, however, the precise mechanism is still unclear. The purpose of the current study is to explore whether the combined treatment of high glucose (HG) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) could induce madin-darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells injury and autophagy, as well as investigate the potential molecular mechanisms involved. RESULTS: As we discovered, the combined effect of HG and LPS decreased MDBK cells viability. And, HG and LPS combination also induced autophagy in MDBK cells, which was characterized by increasing the expression of LC3-II/I and Beclin1 and decreasing p62 expression. LC3 fluorescence signal formation was also significantly increased by HG and LPS combination treatment. Furthermore, we measured whether the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and the Notch3 signaling pathways were involved in HG and LPS-induced autophagy. The results showed that the combination of HG and LPS significantly increased the protein expression of Notch3 and decreased protein expression of p-mTOR, indicating that Notch3 and mTOR signaling pathways were activated. However, co-treatment with the Notch3 inhibitor (DAPT) could reverse the induction of autophagy, and increased the protein expression of p-mTOR. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that the combination effect of HG and LPS could induce autophagy in MDBK cells, and the Notch3/mTOR signaling pathway was involved in HG and LPS-induced autophagy.

Epitheliocystis caused by a novel Chlamydia emerging in Spinibarbus denticulatus in China.

Epitheliocystis is an emerging and global aquaculture disease caused by a diverse range of bacteria of the order Chlamydiales. Here we report a case of epitheliocystis caused by a novel Chlamydia bacterium, which resulted in 40% mortality in cultured cyprinids (Spinibarbus denticulatus). The affected fish exhibited lethargy, were observed swimming near the oxygen pump and subsequently died. Histopathology analysis revealed that lesions were concentrated mainly on the gills. The epithelial cells of the damaged gill lamellae showed hyperplasia, fusion and adhesion, and were characterized by inflammation and necrosis. Inclusion bodies were observed in some proliferating epithelial cells at the tips of the gill lamellae and were accompanied by different degrees of mucous cell proliferation. Transmission electron microscopy examination clearly showed the morphological characteristics of chlamydia-like bacteria in epithelial cells. In addition, 16S rRNA sequencing (752 bp) and molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that epitheliocystis agents detected in S. denticulatus belonged to a novel family, Chlamydiaceae. This is the first report of epitheliocystis in cultured fish in China, and the findings in this study increase the range of hosts affected by epitheliocystis.

Autophagy and apoptosis mediated nano-copper-induced testicular damage.

Nano-copper has been increasingly employed in various products. In previous studies, we showed that nano-copper caused damage in the rat testis, but it remains unclear whether the toxic reaction can affect the reproductive function. In this study, following 28 d of exposure to nano-copper at a dose of 44, 88, and 175 mg/kg/day, there was a decrease in sperm quality, fructose content, and the secretion of sex hormones. Nano-copper also increased the level of oxidative stress, sperm malformation rate, and induced abnormal structural changes in testicular tissue. Moreover, Nano-copper upregulated the expression of apoptosis-related protein Bax and autophagy-related protein Beclin, and downregulated the expression of Bcl2 and p62. Furthermore, nano-copper (175 mg/kg) downregulated the protein expression of AMPK, p-AKT, mTOR, p-mTOR, p-4E-BP1, p70S6K, and p-p70S6K, and upregulated the protein expression of p-AMPK. Therefore, nano-copper induced damage in testicular tissues and spermatogenesis is highly related to cell apoptosis and autophagy by regulating the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. In summary, excess exposure to nano-copper may induce testicular apoptosis and autophagy through AKT/mTOR signaling pathways, and damage the reproductive system in adult males, which is associated with oxidative stress in the testes.