Psychological stress induces hair regenerative disorders through corticotropin-releasing hormone-mediated autophagy inhibition.

Psychosocial stress is increasing, causing a growing number of people to suffer from hair loss. Stress-related corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) is associated with hair loss, but the mechanism by which hair follicles respond to stress and CRH remain poorly understood. The aim of the study is to elucidate the association between CRH and stress-related hair regenerative disorders, and reveal the potential pathological mechanisms. A chronic unpredictable stress mouse model and a chronic social defeat stress mouse model were used to examine the role of CRH and stress-related hair regrowth. Chronic unpredictable stress and chronic social defeat stress increased the expression of CRH and CRH receptors (CRHRs), and contributed to the onset of hair-cycle abnormalities. Psychoemotional stress and stress-related CRH blocked hair follicle regrowth, which could be restored by astressin, a CRHR antagonist. Long-term exposure to either chronic unpredictable stress or CRH induced a decrease in autophagy, which could be partially rescued by astressin. Activating CRHR, by stress or CRH administration, decreased autophagy via the mTOR-ULK1 signaling pathway to mediate hair regenerative disorders, which could be partially reversed through enhancing autophagy by administration of brefeldin A. These findings indicate that CRH-mediated autophagy inhibition play an important role in stress-induced hair regenerative disorders. CRH regulates the local hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis of hair follicles, but also plays an independent pathogenic role in stress-related hair regenerative disorders through CRH-mediated autophagy inhibition. This work contributes to the present understanding of hair loss and suggests that enhancing autophagy may have a therapeutic effect on stress-induced hair loss.

Measurement of enzyme activity of insoluble substrates based on ordered porous layer interferometry and the application in evaluation of thrombolytic drugs.

The development of innovative methods for real-time surveillance of enzymatic activity determination processes is essential, particularly for insoluble substrate enzymatic assessments. In this work, a novel method for enzymatic activity determination was devised by assembling a 190 nm silica colloidal crystal (SCC) film onto a glass slide, coupled with Ordered Porous Layer Interferometry (OPLI) technology. By fixing the substrate of the enzyme on the surface of the silica sphere, a solid-liquid interface can be formed for monitoring enzymatic activity. The enzymatic activity is gauged by the change in the SCC film's thickness caused by the digestion of the loaded substrate. The procedure of chymotrypsin-mediated casein digestion was documented in real time, facilitating the examination of chymotrypsin's activity and kinetics. The newly-developed enzymatic activity determination method demonstrated exceptional sensitivity towards chymotrypsin activity, with a linear range spanning 0.0505-2.02 units per mg. Additionally, the method was extended to the assessment of fibrinolysis enzyme activity and kinetic analysis, yielding promising results. Therefore, this technique can serve as a real-time, user-friendly, cost-effective novel approach for enzymatic activity determination, providing fresh perspectives for enzymatic activity determination studies.

OUHP: an optimized universal hairpin primer system for cost-effective and high-throughput RT-qPCR-based quantification of microRNA (miRNA) expression.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are single-stranded, ∼22-nucleotide noncoding RNAs that regulate many cellular processes. While numerous miRNA quantification technologies are available, a recent analysis of 12 commercial platforms revealed high variations in reproducibility, sensitivity, accuracy, specificity and concordance within and/or between platforms. Here, we developed a universal hairpin primer (UHP) system that negates the use of miRNA-specific hairpin primers (MsHPs) for quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR)-based miRNA quantification. Specifically, we analyzed four UHPs that share the same hairpin structure but are anchored with two, three, four and six degenerate nucleotides at 3'-ends (namely UHP2, UHP3, UHP4 and UHP6), and found that the four UHPs yielded robust RT products and quantified miRNAs with high efficiency. UHP-based RT-qPCR miRNA quantification was not affected by long transcripts. By analyzing 14 miRNAs, we demonstrated that UHP4 closely mimicked MsHPs in miRNA quantification. Fine-tuning experiments identified an optimized UHP (OUHP) mix with a molar composition of UHP2:UHP4:UHP6 = 8:1:1, which closely recapitulated MsHPs in miRNA quantification. Using synthetic LET7 isomiRs, we demonstrated that the OUHP-based qPCR system exhibited high specificity and sensitivity. Collectively, our results demonstrate that the OUHP system can serve as a reliable and cost-effective surrogate of MsHPs for RT-qPCR-based miRNA quantification for basic research and precision medicine.

Assessment of the Diagnostic Performance of Clinical Examinations and High-Frequency Ultrasound in Patients With Pigmented Skin Tumors.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether the integration of high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) to routine clinical examinations could improve diagnostic performance and management decision for pigmented skin tumors. METHODS: Three general practitioners trained previously and a dermatologist independently assessed pigmented skin tumors and rendered management decision based on clinical examinations alone or clinical examinations integrating HFUS. RESULTS: After integrating HFUS, the diagnostic area under the curve (AUC) (0.658-0.693 versus 0.848, all P < .05) and specificity (46.6-58.6% versus 89.7%, all P < .05) for pigmented skin malignancies were improved for general practitioners, meanwhile unnecessary biopsy rate reduced (42.9-53.6% versus 10.7%, P < .001). To the dermatologist, the diagnostic AUC (0.822 versus 0.949, P < .001), sensitivity (81.7% versus 96.7%, P = .012) and specificity (0.828 versus 0.931, P = .031) improved significantly, meanwhile both missed biopsy rate (14.5% versus 4.8%, P = .031) and unnecessary biopsy rate (19.6% versus 7.1%, P = .016) decreased. Additionally, the diagnostic performance of the general practitioner with integrating HFUS could be comparable with the dermatologist based on clinical examinations alone (all P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: As a complementary tool of clinical examinations, HFUS could help physicians differentiate pigmented skin malignancies and manage decision.

H2 S works synergistically with rhizobia to modify photosynthetic carbon assimilation and metabolism in nitrogen-deficient soybeans.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2 S) performs a crucial role in plant development and abiotic stress responses by interacting with other signalling molecules. However, the synergistic involvement of H2 S and rhizobia in photosynthetic carbon (C) metabolism in soybean (Glycine max) under nitrogen (N) deficiency has been largely overlooked. Therefore, we scrutinised how H2 S drives photosynthetic C fixation, utilisation, and accumulation in soybean-rhizobia symbiotic systems. When soybeans encountered N deficiency, organ growth, grain output, and nodule N-fixation performance were considerably improved owing to H2 S and rhizobia. Furthermore, H2 S collaborated with rhizobia to actively govern assimilation product generation and transport, modulating C allocation, utilisation, and accumulation. Additionally, H2 S and rhizobia profoundly affected critical enzyme activities and coding gene expressions implicated in C fixation, transport, and metabolism. Furthermore, we observed substantial effects of H2 S and rhizobia on primary metabolism and C-N coupled metabolic networks in essential organs via C metabolic regulation. Consequently, H2 S synergy with rhizobia inspired complex primary metabolism and C-N coupled metabolic pathways by directing the expression of key enzymes and related coding genes involved in C metabolism, stimulating effective C fixation, transport, and distribution, and ultimately improving N fixation, growth, and grain yield in soybeans.

The Value of Ultra-High-Frequency Ultrasound for the Differentiation between Superficial Basal Cell Carcinoma and Bowen's Disease.

BACKGROUND: The similar visual appearance of superficial basal cell carcinoma (sBCC) and Bowen's disease (BD) may cause confusion for diagnosis. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the value of ultra-high-frequency ultrasound (uHFUS) in differentiating sBCC from BD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study included a pilot cohort of 110 patients (73 BDs and 37 sBCCs) from November 2016 to October 2020 and a validation cohort of 42 patients (30 BDs and 12 sBCCs) from July 2021 to December 2021. Clinical and uHFUS features of pathologically confirmed sBCC and BD were assessed. A predictive model was developed based on the uHFUS features of the pilot cohort. Subsequently, the model was validated and compared with clinical diagnosis in the validation cohort. RESULTS: uHFUS features with significant differences between sBCC and BD included lesion surface, skin layer involvement, hyperkeratosis, and hyperechoic spots (all p < 0.05). A prediction model based on the above features was established to identify sBCC and BD in the pilot and validation cohorts with areas under the curve (AUC) of 0.908 and 0.923, sensitivity of 82.3% and 83.3%, specificity of 91.9% and 91.7%, and accuracy of 85.5% and 85.7%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those obtained by clinical diagnosis based on photographic pictures of lesions, with the AUC of 0.692, sensitivity of 63.3%, specificity of 75.3%, and accuracy of 66.7% (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: uHFUS provides detailed internal features of sBCC and BD, which facilitates the differentiation between sBCC and BD, and its diagnostic performance is superior to clinical diagnosis.

Interactions between hydrogen sulphide and rhizobia modulate the physiological and metabolism process during water deficiency-induced oxidative defense in soybean.

Hydrogen sulphide (H2 S), a new gas signal molecule, participates in the regulation of various abiotic stresses in plants. However, how the tandem working of H2 S and rhizobia affects the adaptation of soybean to water deficiency is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the adaptation mechanism of H2 S and rhizobia in soybean to water deficiency. Our results revealed that H2 S and rhizobia jointly enhanced the leaf chlorophyll content and relative water content in plants, and caused an increase in the biomass of soybean seedlings under water deficiency. Besides, in the absence of water, H2 S enhanced the biomass by affecting the number of nodules and nitrogenase activity during vegetative growth. The expression of nodulation marker genes including early nodulin 40 (GmENOD40), ERF required for nodulation (GmERN) and nodulation inception genes (GmNIN1a, GmNIN2a and GmNIN2b) were upregulated by H2 S and rhizobia in the nodules. Moreover, the combined effect of H2 S and rhizobia was proved to affect the enzyme activities and gene expression level of antioxidants, as well as osmotic protective substance content and related gene expression levels under water deficiency in soybean seedlings. In addition, the metabolomic results suggested that the combined effect of H2 S and rhizobia remarkably promoted the contents of lipids and lipid-like molecules. Our results indicated that H2 S and rhizobia synergistically reduced the oxidative damage caused by water deficiency through increasing the accumulation of metabolites and strengthening the plant antioxidant capacity.

Evaluation of Minimal Change Lesions Using Linked Color Imaging in Patients With Nonerosive Reflux Esophagitis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: High prevalence of minimal change lesion (MCL) in nonerosive reflux esophagitis (NERD) patients is commonly recognized by many endoscopists. However, it is difficult to detect MCL with conventional white-light imaging (WLI) endoscopy. Linked color imaging (LCI), a novel image-enhanced endoscopy technology with strong, unique color enhancement, is used for easy recognition of early gastric cancer and detection of Helicobacter pylori infection. The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of LCI and WLI endoscopy in evaluating MCL in patients with NER. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-one patients with NERD and 38 subjects with nongastroesophageal reflux disease (non-GERD) were recruited in this study between August 2017 and July 2018. During upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, the distal 5 cm of the esophageal mucosal morphology at the squamocolumnar junction was visualized using WLI followed by LCI. MCL was defined as areas of erythema, blurring of the Z-line, friability, decreased vascularity, white turbid discoloration, and edema or accentuation of the mucosal folds. Three experienced endoscopists evaluated the color patterns for MCL on WLI images and on WLI combined with LCI images in both groups. A biopsy was taken 2 cm above the esophagogastric junction. Histologic slides were scored by a pathologist in a blinded manner. RESULTS: The proportion of MCL was higher in the patients with NERD (70.7%, 29/41) than in patients with non-GERD (39.5%, 15/38) using WLI combined with LCI. In 12 patients with NERD, both WLI and LCI showed normal mucosa. The MCL detection rate was significantly higher when using WLI combined with LCI than when using WLI (70.7% vs. 51.2%, P=0.039) in patients with NERD. The histopathologic score of MCL (+) was significantly higher than that of MCL (-) patients in both the NERD group (4.59±0.32 vs. 2.36±0.34, P<0.01) and the non-GERD group (3.47±0.50 vs. 2.00±0.28, P<0.01). The intraobserver reproducibility levels and interobserver agreement were better with LCI than with WLI alone. CONCLUSIONS: Frequency of MCL was higher in patients with NERD than in those with non-GERD. MCL can be identified by using WLI combined with LCI in patients with NERD. By enhancing endoscopic images, LCI is more sensitive in detecting MCL compared with WLI.

Fish TRIM21 exhibits antiviral activity against grouper iridovirus and nodavirus infection.

Growing evidences have demonstrated that multiple TRIM (tripartite motif) proteins exert critical roles in host defense against different microbial pathogens. Although mammalian TRIM21 has been reported to function as an important regulatory factor in antiviral immune and inflammatory response, the role of fish TRIM21 against virus infection still remains largely unknown. In the present study, we investigated the characteristics of TRIM21 gene (EcTRIM21) from orange spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides). The full-length EcTRIM21 cDNA encoded a 557 amino acid peptide with 92.1% and 31.14% identity with giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) and human (Homo sapiens), respectively. EcTRIM21 contained four conserved domains, including RING, B-Box, PRY and SPRY domain. EcTRIM21 expression was significantly up-regulated in response to Singapore grouper iridovirus (SGIV) and red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV) infection, suggesting that EcTRIM21 might be involved in host defense against fish virus infections. Subcellular localization showed that EcTRIM21 were distributed in the cytoplasm in a punctate manner. Overexpression of EcTRIM21 in vitro significantly inhibited RGNNV and SGIV replication, as evidenced by the decreased severity of cytopathic effect (CPE) and the reduced expression levels of viral core genes. Consistently, knockdown of EcTRIM21 by small interfering RNA (siRNA) promoted the replication of RGNNV and SGIV in vitro. Furthermore, EcTRIM21 overexpression increased both interferon (IFN) and interferon stimulated response element (ISRE) promoter activities. In addition, the transcription levels of IFN signaling related molecules were positively regulated by EcTRIM21 overexpression. Together, our data demonstrated that fish TRIM21 exerted antiviral activity against fish viruses through positive regulation of host interferon response.

Drug therapy for bone metastasis of malignant tumor: theory, progress, and potential.

Bone is a common metastatic site of malignancies, caused by the complex interaction between tumor cells and the bone microenvironment. The complicated procedure covers multiple targets for therapeutic strategies against bone metastasis. At the present, only bisphosphonates and denosumab are currently approved for the prevention of skeletal-related events. But it is still ineffective for some patients, and none of them are proven to prolong the overall survival of patients with bone metastasis. Thus, new bone-modifying agents and therapeutic strategies are required. The review aimed to generalize the basic theory of bone metastasis and major put emphasis on the development of fundamental and potential target drugs in the behavior of bone metastasis. The summary of the drug development process helps to provide ideas for finding new and effective treatments for bone metastasis.

Hope and symptom burden of women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: This research aimed to explore the level of hope and symptom burden of breast cancer women undergoing chemotherapy, and predictive factors of hope were also investigated. BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy brings physical and psychological stress to breast cancer patients. As an effective coping strategy, hope gives them the courage to overcome difficulties and improve prognosis and survival. Therefore, efforts are needed to raise hope. DESIGN/METHODS: A total of 450 women who were undergoing breast cancer chemotherapy participated in this cross-sectional study. Sociodemographic data, disease characteristics, and measures of hope and symptom burden were collected using questionnaires. Hope was assessed using the validated Herth Hope Index, and the previously validated Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale was used to assess symptom burden. This paper adhered to the STROBE guidelines. RESULTS: Chinese breast cancer chemotherapy women hope average scores of 30.15 ± 4.82 were in the medium range of the Hearth Hope Index as specified by Herth to be 24-35. Patients with age ≤45, religious beliefs and lighter symptom burden have a higher level of hope. These variables explained a total of 22.9% of the variation in hope. CONCLUSIONS: The level of hope for women undergoing breast cancer chemotherapy still needs to be further improved. Symptom burden can negatively predict hope. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: If nurses can decrease breast cancer chemotherapy women symptom burden, there is an impact on increasing levels of hope.

Singapore Grouper Iridovirus Disturbed Glycerophospholipids Homeostasis: Cytosolic Phospholipase A2 Was Essential for Virus Replication.

Singapore grouper iridovirus (SGIV), belonging to genus Ranavirus, family Iridoviridae, causes great economic losses in the aquaculture industry. Previous studies demonstrated the lipid composition of intracellular unenveloped viruses, but the changes in host-cell glyceophospholipids components and the roles of key enzymes during SGIV infection still remain largely unknown. Here, the whole cell lipidomic profiling during SGIV infection was analyzed using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS. The lipidomic data showed that glycerophospholipids (GPs), including phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylserine (PS), glycerophosphoinositols (PI) and fatty acids (FAs) were significantly elevated in SGIV-infected cells, indicating that SGIV infection disturbed GPs homeostasis, and then affected the metabolism of FAs, especially arachidonic acid (AA). The roles of key enzymes, such as cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2), 5-Lipoxygenase (5-LOX), and cyclooxygenase (COX) in SGIV infection were further investigated using the corresponding specific inhibitors. The inhibition of cPLA2 by AACOCF3 decreased SGIV replication, suggesting that cPLA2 might play important roles in the process of SGIV infection. Consistent with this result, the ectopic expression of EccPLA2α or knockdown significantly enhanced or suppressed viral replication in vitro, respectively. In addition, the inhibition of both 5-LOX and COX significantly suppressed SGIV replication, indicating that AA metabolism was essential for SGIV infection. Taken together, our results demonstrated for the first time that SGIV infection in vitro disturbed GPs homeostasis and cPLA2 exerted crucial roles in SGIV replication.

Hydrogen sulphide alleviates iron deficiency by promoting iron availability and plant hormone levels in Glycine max seedlings.

BACKGROUND: Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is involved in regulating physiological processes in plants. We investigated how H2S ameliorates iron (Fe) deficiency in soybean (Glycine max L.) seedlings. Multidisciplinary approaches including physiological, biochemical and molecular, and transcriptome methods were used to investigate the H2S role in regulating Fe availability in soybean seedlings. RESULTS: Our results showed that H2S completely prevented leaf interveinal chlorosis and caused an increase in soybean seedling biomass under Fe deficiency conditions. Moreover, H2S decreased the amount of root-bound apoplastic Fe and increased the Fe content in leaves and roots by regulating the ferric-chelate reductase (FCR) activities and Fe homeostasis- and sulphur metabolism-related gene expression levels, thereby promoting photosynthesis in soybean seedlings. In addition, H2S changed the plant hormone concentrations by modulating plant hormone-related gene expression abundances in soybean seedlings grown in Fe-deficient solution. Furthermore, organic acid biosynthesis and related genes expression also played a vital role in modulating the H2S-mediated alleviation of Fe deficiency in soybean seedlings. CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that Fe deficiency was alleviated by H2S through enhancement of Fe acquisition and assimilation, thereby regulating plant hormones and organic acid synthesis in plants.

Hydrogen sulfide and rhizobia synergistically regulate nitrogen (N) assimilation and remobilization during N deficiency-induced senescence in soybean.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2 S) is emerging as an important signalling molecule that regulates plant growth and abiotic stress responses. However, the roles of H2 S in symbiotic nitrogen (N) assimilation and remobilization have not been characterized. Therefore, we examined how H2 S influences the soybean (Glycine max)/rhizobia interaction in terms of symbiotic N fixation and mobilization during N deficiency-induced senescence. H2 S enhanced biomass accumulation and delayed leaf senescence through effects on nodule numbers, leaf chlorophyll contents, leaf N resorption efficiency, and the N contents in different tissues. Moreover, grain numbers and yield were regulated by H2 S and rhizobia, together with N accumulation in the organs, and N use efficiency. The synergistic effects of H2 S and rhizobia were also demonstrated by effects on the enzyme activities, protein abundances, and gene expressions associated with N metabolism, and senescence-associated genes (SAGs) expression in soybeans grown under conditions of N deficiency. Taken together, these results show that H2 S and rhizobia accelerate N assimilation and remobilization by regulation of the expression of SAGs during N deficiency-induced senescence. Thus, H2 S enhances the vegetative and reproductive growth of soybean, presumably through interactions with rhizobia under conditions of N deficiency.

Grouper ubiquitin-specific protease 14 promotes iridovirus replication through negatively regulating interferon response.

Ubiquitin-specific protease 14 (USP14), one of the USP family members which belong to deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs), plays a key role in maintaining cellular protein homeostasis by trimming ubiquitin chains from their substrates. However, the roles of USP14 in response to virus infection still remains largely unknown. In the current study, a USP14 homolog from orange spotted grouper (EcUSP14) was cloned and its roles in innate immune response were investigated. EcUSP14 was composed of 1479 base pairs encoding a 492-amino acid (aa) polypeptide. Sequence analysis indicated that EcUSP14 shared 96.14% and 81.30% identity to USP14 of bicolor damselfish (Stegastes partitus) and humans (homo sapiens), respectively. EcUSP14 contains conserved ubiquitin-like (UBL) domain (aa 3-76) and peptidase-C19A domain (aa 106-481). In response to Singapore grouper iridovirus (SGIV) infection in vitro, EcUSP14 was significantly up-regulated. Subcellular localization showed that EcUSP14 was predominantly localized in the cytoplasm of grouper spleen (GS) cells and mostly co-localized with the viral assembly sites after SGIV infection. The ectopic expression of EcUSP14 significantly promoted the replication of SGIV, as demonstrated by the accelerated progression of severity of cytopathic effect (CPE), the increased viral gene transcription and viral protein synthesis during infection. Consistently, treatment with IU1, a USP14 specific inhibitor, significantly inhibited the replication of SGIV, suggesting that USP14 function as a pro-viral factor during SGIV replication. Further analysis showed that EcUSP14 overexpression decreased the promoter activities of interferon (IFN)-1, IFN-3, IFN-stimulated response element (ISRE), and nuclear factor of kappa B (NF-κB). Furthermore, the ectopic expression of EcUSP14 decreased the activities of IFN-1 promoter evoked by TANK-binding kinase (TBK)-1 and melanoma differentiation-associated protein (MDA)-5, but not stimulator of interferon genes (STING). Thus, we speculated that EcUSP14 facilitated virus replication by negatively regulating the IFN response. Taken together, our results firstly demonstrated that fish USP14 functioned as a pro-viral factor by negatively regulating interferon response against virus infection.

Characterization of a Robust and pH-Stable Tannase from Mangrove-Derived Yeast Rhodosporidium diobovatum Q95.

Tannase plays a crucial role in many fields, such as the pharmaceutical industry, beverage processing, and brewing. Although many tannases derived from bacteria and fungi have been thoroughly studied, those with good pH stabilities are still less reported. In this work, a mangrove-derived yeast strain Rhodosporidium diobovatum Q95, capable of efficiently degrading tannin, was screened to induce tannase, which exhibited an activity of up to 26.4 U/mL after 48 h cultivation in the presence of 15 g/L tannic acid. The tannase coding gene TANRD was cloned and expressed in Yarrowia lipolytica. The activity of recombinant tannase (named TanRd) was as high as 27.3 U/mL. TanRd was purified by chromatography and analysed by SDS-PAGE, showing a molecular weight of 75.1 kDa. The specific activity of TanRd towards tannic acid was 676.4 U/mg. Its highest activity was obtained at 40 °C, with more than 70% of the activity observed at 25-60 °C. Furthermore, it possessed at least 60% of the activity in a broad pH range of 2.5-6.5. Notably, TanRd was excellently stable at a pH range from 3.0 to 8.0; over 65% of its maximum activity remained after incubation. Besides, the broad substrate specificity of TanRd to esters of gallic acid has attracted wide attention. In view of the above, tannase resources were developed from mangrove-derived yeasts for the first time in this study. This tannase can become a promising material in tannin biodegradation and gallic acid production.

Energy response and fatty acid metabolism in Onychostoma macrolepis exposed to low-temperature stress.

Temperature is a key environmental factor, and understanding how its fluctuations affect physiological and metabolic processes is critical for fish. The present study characterizes the energy response and fatty acid metabolism in Onychostoma macrolepis exposed to low temperature (10 °C). The results demonstrated that cold stress remarkably disrupted the energy homeostasis of O. macrolepis, then the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) could strategically mobilize carbohydrates and lipids. In particular, when the O. macrolepis were faced with cold stress, the lipolysis was stimulated along with the enhanced fatty acid ß-oxidation for energy, while the fatty acid synthesis was supressed in the early stage. Additionally, the fatty acid composition analysis suggested that saturated fatty acid (SFA) might accumulate while monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) in storage lipids (mainly containing non-polar lipid, NPL) could be utilized to supply energy during cold acclimation. Altogether, this study may provide some meritorious for understanding the cold-tolerant mechanism of fish in the viewpoint of energy balance combined with fatty acid metabolism, and thus to contribute to this species rearing in fish farms in the future.

Hydrogen Sulfide Promotes Nodulation and Nitrogen Fixation in Soybean-Rhizobia Symbiotic System.

The rhizobium-legume symbiotic system is crucial for nitrogen cycle balance in agriculture. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a gaseous signaling molecule, may regulate various physiological processes in plants. However, whether H2S has regulatory effect in this symbiotic system remains unknown. Herein, we investigated the possible role of H2S in the symbiosis between soybean (Glycine max) and rhizobium (Sinorhizobium fredii). Our results demonstrated that an exogenous H2S donor (sodium hydrosulfide [NaHS]) treatment promoted soybean growth, nodulation, and nitrogenase (Nase) activity. Western blotting analysis revealed that the abundance of Nase component nifH was increased by NaHS treatment in nodules. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction data showed that NaHS treatment upregulated the expressions of symbiosis-related genes nodA, nodC, and nodD of S. fredii. In addition, expression of soybean nodulation marker genes, including early nodulin 40 (GmENOD40), ERF required for nodulation (GmERN), nodulation signaling pathway 2b (GmNSP2b), and nodulation inception genes (GmNIN1a, GmNIN2a, and GmNIN2b), were upregulated. Moreover, the expressions of glutamate synthase (GmGOGAT), asparagine synthase (GmAS), nitrite reductase (GmNiR), ammonia transporter (GmSAT1), leghemoglobin (GmLb), and nifH involved in nitrogen metabolism were upregulated in NaHS-treated soybean roots and nodules. Together, our results suggested that H2S may act as a positive signaling molecule in the soybean-rhizobia symbiotic system and enhance the system's nitrogen fixation ability.

KLF7 promotes polyamine biosynthesis and glioma development through transcriptionally activating ASL.

Krüppel-like factors (KLFs) are zinc-finger transcriptional factors that regulate target gene expression. Recent studies have shown that KLFs play essential roles in cancer development, whereas the function of KLF7 in glioma remains unclear. In this study, we showed that KLF7 was up-regulated in glioma tissues and its expression was inversely correlated with the patients' survival. Functional experiments demonstrated that KLF7 promoted the proliferation, migration and tumorigenesis of glioma cells. Mechanistically, KLF7 transcriptionally activated argininosuccinate lyase (ASL), which was observed highly expressed in glioma tissues. The biosynthesis of polyamine, a urea cycle metabolite, was enhanced by KLF7 in glioma cells. In addition, ASL contributed to the growth of glioma cells triggered by KLF7. Our findings demonstrate KLF7 as an oncogene and link KLF7 to ASL-mediated polyamine metabolism in glioma.

Molecular characterization and tissue distribution of SREBP-1 and PPARα in Onychostoma macrolepis and their mRNA expressions in response to thermal exposure.

Fatty acid metabolism is crucial for maintaining energy homeostasis in aquatic vertebrates experiencing environmental stress. Both sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP-1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) are the key regulators of fatty acid metabolism. In this study, the coding sequences (CDS) of SREBP-1 and PPARα were firstly identified and characterized from Onychostoma macrolepis, encoding peptides of 1136 and 470 amino acids, respectively. The functional domains in O. macrolepis SREBP-1 and PPARα proteins retained the high similarity with those of other animals, at 74.69% and 77.29%, respectively. The mRNA encoding SREBP-1 was primarily expressed in the muscle and PPARα was highly expressed in the liver and intestine. Under thermal exposure, the content of non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) decreased gradually after 1 h in the liver and muscle of O. macrolepis, which might be due to that the organism meet more energy expenditure via fatty acid ß-oxidation. Furthermore, the mRNA expression level of SREBP-1 decreased, while the mRNA expression level of PPARα increased from 0 h to 6 h in the liver. And we found that the mRNA expression levels of both SREBP-1 and PPARα decreased significantly at 48 h (P < .05) in the muscle, which was in accordance with the significant decrease of target gene FAS and CPT1A mRNA expression levels, respectively. It might be the physiological adjustment that the fish adapted to thermal exposure at the end of experiment. These results illustrate that O. macrolepis SREBP-1 and PPARα-mediated fatty acid metabolism is a fundamental requirement for thermal adaptation.