Soybean Isoflavones Ameliorates Lactation Performance in Postpartum Mice by Alleviating Oxidative Stress and Regulating Gut Microflora.

Postpartum dysgalactiae syndrome (PPDS) is one of the key issues affecting breastfeeding, usually occurring as breast swelling, a low milk yield, and at length a stop of breast milk secretion. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diet therapy in treating or preventing PPDS. This study aims to analyze the effect of soybean isoflavone (SIF), a natural estrogen found in plants, on postpartum lactation performance in mice and to evaluate its potential as a treatment for PPDS. Adult female BALB/c mice at 8 weeks of age (25 ± 3 g) are randomly divided into four groups fed with different levels of SIF and a normal diet for 14 days. SIF (0, 50, 100, 200 mg kg-1 BW) is provided via intra-gastric route to the experimental mice. Using a high-throughput sequencing of microbial diversity and mammary gland metabolites, it is found that SIF-treated mice potentially show an improved milk performance via enhanced antioxidant capacity and altered gut microbiota. SIF from plant sources at a high dosage promotes the lactation in normal postpartum mice.

Integrated ONT Full-Length Transcriptome and Metabolism Reveal the Mechanism Affecting Ovulation in Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata).

Ovulation is a complicated physiological process that is regulated by a multitude of different pathways. In comparison to mammalian studies, there are few reports of ovulation in Muscovy ducks, and the molecular mechanism of ovarian development remained unclear. In order to identify candidate genes and metabolites related to Muscovy duck follicular ovulation, the study combined Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) full-length transcriptome and metabolomics to analyze the differences in gene expression and metabolite accumulation in the ovaries between pre-ovulation (PO) and consecutive ovulation (CO) Muscovy ducks. 83 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were identified using metabolomics analysis, 33 of which are related to lipids. Combined with data from previous transcriptomic analyses found that DEGs and DAMs were particularly enriched in processes including the regulation of glycerophospholipid metabolism pathway, arachidonic acid metabolic pathway and the steroid biosynthetic pathway. In summary, the novel potential mechanisms that affect ovulation in Muscovy ducks may be related to lipid metabolism, and the findings provide new insights into the mechanisms of ovulation in waterfowl and will contribute to a better understanding of changes in the waterfowl ovarian development regulatory network.

Expression of FKBP prolyl isomerase 5 gene in tissues of muscovy duck at different growth stages and its association with muscovy duck weight.

OBJECTIVE: FKBP prolyl isomerase 5 (FKBP5) has been shown to play an important role in metabolically active tissues such as skeletal muscle. However, the expression of FKBP5 in Muscovy duck tissues and its association with body weight are still unclear. METHODS: In this study, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression of FKBP5 in different tissues of Muscovy duck at different growth stages. Further, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in the exon region of FKBP5 and were combined analyzed with the body weight of 334 Muscovy ducks. RESULTS: FKBP5 was highly expressed in various tissues of Muscovy duck at days 17, 19, 21, 24, and 27 of embryonic development. In addition, the expression of FKBP5 in the tissues of female adult Muscovy ducks was higher than that of male Muscovy ducks. Besides, an association analysis indicated that 3 SNPs were related to body weight trait. At the g.4819252 A>G, the body weight of AG genotype was significantly higher than that of the AA and the GG genotype. At the g.4821390 G>A, the genotype GA was extremely significantly related to body weight. At the g.4830622 T>G, the body weight of TT was significantly higher than GG and TG. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate the possible effects of expression levels in various tissues and the SNPs of FKBP5 on Muscovy duck body weight trait. FKBP5 could be used as molecular marker for muscle development trait using early marker-assisted selection of Muscovy ducks.

Nanopore-based full-length transcriptome sequencing of Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) ovary.

Unlike mammals, studies on mechanisms that regulate waterfowl ovulation have been rarely reported. To advance our understanding of the ovulation differences in Muscovy duck, we utilized the Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) to generate transcriptome data from 3 groups of female duck ovaries with ovulation differences (i.e., preovulation [PO], consecutive ovulation [CO], and inconsecutive ovulation [IO]). In this study, the full-length transcriptome data qualitative analysis showed that a total of 24,504 nonredundant full-length transcripts were generated, 19,060 new transcripts were discovered and 14,848 novel transcripts were successfully annotated. For the quantitative analysis, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the 3 groups were identified and functional properties were characterized. CTNNB1, IGF1, FOXO3, HSPA2, PTEN and SMC4 may be potential hub genes that regulate ovulation. Adhesion-related pathway, mTOR pathway, TGF-ß signaling pathway and FoxO signaling pathway have been considered as important pathways that affect follicular development and ovulation. These results provide a more complete data source of full-length transcriptome for the further study of gene expression and genetics in Muscovy duck. The hub genes and potential mechanisms that affect the ovulation of Muscovy duck have been screened out to provide a scientific basis for breeding work to improve the reproduction performance of Muscovy duck.

Characterization and Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis of Skeletal Muscle in Pekin Duck at Different Growth Stages Using RNA-Seq.

Skeletal muscle, accounting for approximately 50% of body weight, is the largest and most important tissue. In this study, the gene expression profiles and pathways in skeletal muscle of Pekin duck were investigated and compared at embryonic day 17, 21, and 27 and postnatally at 6 months of age. An average of 49,555,936 reads in each sample was obtained from the transcriptome libraries. Over 70.0% of alternative splicing (AS) in each sample was mainly alternative 5' first exon (transcription start site)-the first exon splicing (TSS) and alternative 3' last exon (transcription terminal site)-the last exon splicing (TTS), indicating that TSS and TTS were the most common AS event in Pekin ducks, and these AS events were closely related to the regulation of muscle development at different growth stages. The results provided a valuable genomic resource for selective breeding and functional studies of genes. A total of 299 novel genes with ≥2 exons were obtained. There were 294 to 2806 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in each pairwise comparison of Pekin duck. Notably, 90 DEGs in breast muscle and 9 DEGs in leg muscle were co-expressed at all developmental points. DEGs were validated by qPCR analysis, which confirmed the tendency of the expression. DEGs related to muscle development were involved in biological processes such as "endodermal cell differentiation", "muscle cell cellular homeostasis", "skeletal muscle tissue growth" and "skeletal muscle cell differentiation", and were involved in pathways such as oxidative phosphorylation, ECM-receptor (extracellular matrix receptor) interaction, focal adhesion, carbon metabolism, and biosynthesis of amino acids. Some DEGs, including MYL4, IGF2BP1, CSRP3, SPP1 and KLHL31, as well as LAMB2, LAMA2, ITGB1 and OPN, played crucial roles in muscle growth and development. This study provides valuable information about the expression profile of mRNAs and pathways from duck skeletal muscle at different growth stages, and further functional study of these mRNAs and pathways could provide new ideas for studying the molecular networks of growth and development in duck skeletal muscle.

Skeletal Muscle Transcriptome Analysis of Hanzhong Ma Duck at Different Growth Stages Using RNA-Seq.

As one of the most important poultry worldwide, ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) are raised mainly for meat and egg products, and muscle development in ducks is important for meat production. Therefore, an investigation of gene expression in duck skeletal muscle would significantly contribute to our understanding of muscle development. In this study, twenty-four cDNA libraries were constructed from breast and leg muscles of Hanzhong Ma ducks at day 17, 21, 27 of the embryo and postnatal at 6-month-old. High-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics were used to determine the abundances and characteristics of transcripts. A total of 632,172,628 (average 52,681,052) and 637,213,938 (average 53,101,162) reads were obtained from the sequencing data of breast and leg muscles, respectively. Over 71.63% and 77.36% of the reads could be mapped to the Anas platyrhynchos genome. In the skeletal muscle of Hanzhong duck, intron variant (INTRON), synonymous variant (SYNONYMOUS_CODING), and prime 3' UTR variant (UTR_3_PRIME) were the main single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) annotation information, and "INTRON", "UTR_3_PRIME", and downstream-gene variant (DOWNSTREAM) were the main insertion-deletion (InDel) annotation information. The predicted number of alternative splicing (AS) in all samples were mainly alternative 5' first exon (transcription start site)-the first exon splicing (TSS) and alternative 3' last exon (transcription terminal site)-the last exon splicing (TTS). Besides, there were 292 to 2801 annotated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in breast muscle and 304 to 1950 annotated DEGs in leg muscle from different databases. It is worth noting that 75 DEGs in breast muscle and 49 DEGs in leg muscle were co-expressed at all developmental points of comparison, respectively. The RNA-Seq data were confirmed to be reliable by qPCR. The identified DEGs, such as CREBL2, RHEB, GDF6, SHISA2, MYLK2, ACTN3, RYR3, and STMN1, were specially highlighted, indicating their strong associations with muscle development in the Hanzhong Ma duck. KEGG pathway analysis suggested that regulation of actin cytoskeleton, oxidative phosphorylation, and focal adhesion were involved in the development of skeletal muscle. The findings from this study can contribute to future investigations of the growth and development mechanism in duck skeletal muscle.

[Propionibacterium acnes induces the formation of granulomas via promoting Th1 and Th17 cell differentiation].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the immunostimulatory role of Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) in the differentiation of dendritic cell maturation and T helper (Th) subsets, and further explore the potential mechanism of its granuloma-inducing effect. METHODS: After the mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) were stimulated by P. acnes, the expressions of co-stimulatory molecules CD40, CD80, CD86 and major histocompatibility complex II (MHCII) on BMDCs were detected by flow cytometry, the mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-12, IL-6 and IL-23 were measured by real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR), and the protein concentrations of corresponding cytokines were analyzed by ELISA. Thereafter, BMDCs were cultured in the presence of P. acnes and CD4(+) T cells, and the percentages of Th1 and Th17 cells were detected by flow cytometry. In addition, murine model of liver granuloma was constructed by injecting heat-killed P. acnes through tail vein, and the mRNA levels of IL-17 and IFN-γ were measured by qRT-PCR. RESULTS: P. acnes up-regulated the expressions of CD40, CD80, CD86 and MHCII on BMDCs, and the mRNA and protein levels of the IL-12, IL-6 and IL-23 cytokines were also higher on P. acnes-treated BMDCs compared with non-stimulated BMDCs. Furthermore, the percentages of Th1 and Th17 cells in the co-culture system increased. In addition, the mRNA levels of IL-17 and IFN-γ were elevated obviously in the liver with abundant granulomas after P. acnes treatment. CONCLUSION: P. acnes could activate BMDCs, promote the differentiation of Th1 and Th17 cells, and further induce the formation of granulomas.

EBV associated lymphomas in 2008 WHO classification.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous γ-herpes virus that asymptomatically infects more than 90% of the world's population. The exact mechanism of EBV in oncogenesis is an area of active debate. However, EBV has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several kinds of lymphomas and lymphoproliferative disorders, including B-, T- and NK-cell derived. Subsequent studies have proven that the EBV gene expression product plays an activating and/or promoting role on lymphomagenesis, and paves the way for novel cellular therapies of EBV-associated lymphomas. This review concentrates on the pathology, morphology, treatment and prognosis of EBV-associated lymphomas in the 2008 WHO classification of tumors of hematopoietic and lymphoma tissues.