The novel probiotic preparation based on Lactobacillus spp. mixture on the intestinal bacterial community structure of Cherry Valley duck.

The development and utilization of probiotics have many environmental benefits when they are used to replace antibiotics in animal production. In this study, intestinal lactic acid bacteria were isolated from the intestines of Cherry Valley ducks. Probiotic lactic acid bacterial strains were screened for antibacterial activity and tolerance to produce a Lactobacillus spp. mixture. The effects of the compound on the growth performance and intestinal flora of Cherry Valley ducks were studied. Based on the results of the antibacterial activity and tolerance tests, the highly active strains Lactobacillus casei 1.2435, L. salivarius L621, and L. salivarius L4 from the intestines of Cherry Valley ducks were selected. The optimum ratio of L. casei 1.2435, L. salivarius L621, and L. salivarius L4 was 1:1:2, the amount of inoculum used was 1%, and the fermentation time was 14 h. In vivo experiments showed that compared with the control group, the relative abundances of intestinal Lactobacillus and Blautia were significantly increased in the experimental group fed the lactobacilli compound (P < 0.05); the relative abundances of Parabacteroides, [Ruminococcus]_torques_group, and Enterococcus were significantly reduced (P < 0.05), and the growth and development of the dominant intestinal flora were promoted in the Cherry Valley ducks. This study will provide more opportunities for Cherry Valley ducks to choose microecological agents for green and healthy breeding.

Knockdown of PROM2 Enhances Paclitaxel Sensitivity in Endometrial Cancer Cells by Regulating the AKT/FOXO1 Pathway.

BACKGROUND: Endometrial cancer is a very common and highly lethal reproductive malignant tumour in women. Paclitaxel (PTX) is a usual drug utilized in chemotherapy for endometrial cancer. It has been uncovered that PROM2 participates in the progression of various cancers through playing a promoter. However, the regulatory function of PROM2 in PTX treatment for endometrial cancer remains unclear. METHODS: The cell viability (IC50) was examined through CCK8 assay. The mRNA and protein expressions of genes were measured through RT-qPCR and western blot. The proliferation was evaluated through colony formation and EdU assays. The cell apoptosis was assessed through flow cytometry. RESULTS: In this work, through bioinformatic analysis on online websites, it is found that the up-regulated expression of PROM2 existed in endometrial cancer. In addition, the survival probability of UCEC patients with high PROM2 expression was worse. This study adopted PTX treatment for obtaining the PTX-resistant cells (HEC-1A/PTX and KLE/PTX). Furthermore, suppression of PROM2 enhanced PTX sensitivity through decreasing IC50 and proliferation in endometrial cancer. Additionally, knockdown of PROM2 facilitated cell apoptosis in HEC-1A/PTX and KLE/PTX cells. Next, we found that silencing of PROM2 retards the AKT/FOXO1 pathway. At last, rescue assays reversed the strengthened PTX sensitivity mediated by PROM2 inhibition after SC79 treatment (AKT activator). CONCLUSION: Knockdown of PROM2 enhanced PTX sensitivity in endometrial cancer through modulating the AKT/FOXO1 pathway. This study hinted that PROM2 may be a useful therapeutic target for PTX treatment in endometrial cancer.

Ethanol Extracts of Solanum lyratum Thunb Regulate Ovarian Cancer Cell Proliferation, Apoptosis, and Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) via the ROS-Mediated p53 Pathway.

Ovarian cancer is a type of common gynecological tumors with high incidence and poor survival. The anticancer effects of the traditional Chinese medicine Solanum lyratum Thunb (SLT) have been intensively investigated in various cancers but in ovarian cancer is rare. The current study is aimed at investigating the effect of SLT on ovarian cancer cells. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and MTT assays indicated that SLT concentrations of 0.25 and 0.5 µg/mL were not cytotoxic and had significant inhibitory effects on the cell viabilities of A2780 and SKOV3 cells, hence were used for subsequent experiments. Flow cytometric and western blot analysis revealed that SLT effectively suppressed ovarian cancer cell proliferation via inducing cell cycle arrest and increasing apoptosis. Cell cycle and apoptosis-related protein expressions were also regulated in SLT-treated cells. Moreover, DCFH-DA and western blot assays demonstrated that SLT enhanced ROS accumulation and subsequently activated the p53 signaling pathway. However, SLT-regulated ovarian cancer cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, and EMT were significantly reversed by an ROS inhibitor (NAC, N-acetyl-L-cysteine). Furthermore, A2780 and SKOV3 cells cocultured with M0 macrophages showed that SLT activated the polarization of M0 macrophages to M1 macrophages and inhibited the polarization to M2 macrophages, with the increased percentage of CD86+ cells and decreased percentage of CD206+ cells were detected. In summary, this study illustrated the anticancer effects of SLT on ovarian cancer cells, suggesting that SLT may have the potential to provide basic evidence for the discovery of antiovarian cancer agents.

A new strategy for the fluorescence discrimination of Cys/Hcy and GSH/H2S simultaneously colorimetric detection for H2S.

The development of fluorescent probes enabling distinguishable detection Cys, Hcy, GSH and H2S is still a considerable challenge owing to their similar functional group with comparable reactivity. In this work, a novel fluorescent probe FHC-O-NBD has been synthesized, and a practicable strategy for the fluorescence discrimination of Cys/Hcy and GSH/H2S, especially the colorimetric detection for H2S have been presented. FHC-O-NBD reacted with Cys/Hcy to produce two fluorescent emissions at 486 nm and 550 nm, while for GSH/H2S, only one fluorescent signal at 486 nm appeared. And, only upon addition of H2S, the color of the system changed from colorless to pink. So it can serve as a colorimetric probe for H2S by "naked eye". Furthermore, FHC-O-NBD can selectively distinguish Cys/Hcy and GSH/H2S in living cells, meaning it has great potential in biological applications.

Simultaneous detection and comparative pharmacokinetics of amoxicillin, clavulanic acid and prednisolone in cows' milk by UPLC-MS/MS.

Amoxicillin (AMOX), clavulanic acid (CLAV) and prednisolone (PSL) are widely used in combination for the treatment of mastitis in lactating dairy cows. However, no method has been reported to detect these three chemicals in milk in a single assay. In the present work, a reliable and sensitive UPLC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of AMOX, CLAV and PSL in cow's milk. The analytes were determined by a positive and negative ionization electrospray mass spectrometer via multiple reaction monitoring. The linear ranges of AMOX, CLAV and PSL were from 2 to 1000ng/mL, 20-1000ng/mL and 1-1000ng/mL, respectively, with the correlation coefficients greater than 0.999. The limits of quantification (LOQs) were 2ng/mL (AMOX), 20ng/mL (CLAV) and 1ng/mL (PSL). Recoveries of the analytes of interest in milk samples were in the ranges of 84.2-101.4%. The intra-day and inter-day precisions ranged from 1.8% to 11.9%. This method was successfully applied to investigate the pharmacokinetics of AMOX, CLAV and PSL in milk from healthy and mastitic cows. The elimination times of AMOX and PSL in mastitic cows were longer than that in healthy cows, but the elimination times of CLAV did not show significant difference.

Triterpenoid resinous metabolites from the genus Boswellia: pharmacological activities and potential species-identifying properties.

The resinous metabolites commonly known as frankincense or olibanum are produced by trees of the genus Boswellia and have attracted increasing popularity in Western countries in the last decade for their various pharmacological activities. This review described the pharmacological specific details mainly on anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, anti-bacterial and apoptosis-regulating activities of individual triterpenoid together with the relevant mechanism. In addition, species-characterizing triterpenic markers with the methods for their detection, bioavailability, safety and other significant properties were reviewed for further research.