Glutathione peroxidase (GPX1) - Selenocysteine metabolism preserves the follicular fluid's (FF) redox homeostasis via IGF-1- NMD cascade in follicular ovarian cysts (FOCs).

Follicular ovarian cysts (FOCs) are characterized by follicles in the ovaries that are >20 mm in diameter and persist for >10 days without the corpus luteum, leading to anovulation, dysregulation of folliculogenesis and subfertility in humans and livestock species. Despite their clinical significance, the precise impact of FOCs on oocyte reserve, maturation, and quality still needs to be explored. While FOCs are observed in both human and livestock populations, they are notably prevalent in livestock species. Consequently, livestock species serve as valuable models for investigating the molecular intricacies of FOCs. Thus, in this study, using goat FOCs, we performed integrated proteomic, metabolomic and functional analyses to demonstrate that oocyte maturation is hampered due to increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) in FOCs follicular fluid (FF) via downregulation of glutathione peroxidase (GPX1), a critical antioxidant seleno enzyme required to negate oxidative stress. Notably, GPX1 reduction was positively correlated with the FF's decline of free selenium and selenocysteine metabolic enzymes, O-phosphoryl-tRNA (Sec) selenium transferase (SEPSECS) and selenocysteine lyase (SCLY) levels. Adding GPX1, selenocysteine, or selenium to the culture media rescued the oocyte maturation abnormalities caused by FOCs FF by down-regulating the ROS. Additionally, we demonstrate that substituting GPX1 regulator, Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-1) in the in vitro maturation media improved the oocyte maturation in the cystic FF by down-regulating the ROS activity via suppressing Non-sense-mediated decay (NMD) of GPX1. In contrast, inhibition of IGF-1R and the target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) hampered the oocyte maturation via NMD up-regulation. These findings imply that the GPX1 regulation via selenocysteine metabolism and the IGF-1-mediated NMD may be critical for the redox homeostasis of FF. We propose that GPX1 enhancers hold promise as therapeutics for enhancing the competence of FOCs oocytes. However, further in vivo studies are necessary to validate these findings observed in vitro.

Bio oil production from microalgae via hydrothermal liquefaction technology under subcritical water conditions.

The upsurge in the concerning issues like global warming, environmental pollution and depletion of fossil fuel resources led to the thrust on third generation biofuels. Algal research has gained a lot of importance in the recent years. Effective utilization of algal biomass in a single step is necessary as it can produce Bio-oil (BO), gases and in addition to a variety of valuable products, along with nutrient recovery. Hydrothermal liquefaction technology does not require the energy intensive drying steps and is an attractive approach for the conversion of algae to liquid fuels. This study investigates direct hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of microalgae (Algal biomass) to produce bio-oil using a high-pressure batch reactor under subcritical water conditions. Three different micro algae samples namely, Chlorella vulgaris, Botryococcus braunii and Scenedesmus quadricauda have been examined under hydrothermal liquefaction with different water concentrations (1:6, 1:7, 1:8, 1:9 & 1:10 ratio) at certain temperature range (200-320 °C), pressure (60 bars) and reaction time (30 min). Through liquefaction, the highest BO yield achieved with S. quadricauda was 18 wt% at 1:9 ratio. The chemical components of the obtained bio-oil were analyzed via gas chromatography and the results indicated that the algal BO was composed of furan, phenol, acid, and ester derivatives. Moreover, it was found that by increasing the temperatures, the BO yields increased. This was due to the polymerization reactions that converted the small biomass components into heavier molecules. FTIR spectra showed high percentage of Aliphatic, Phenolic, alcoholic, Carboxylic and Hydroxyl groups for solid residues.