Anti-inflammatory Steroids from the South China Sea Sponge Spongia officinalis.

One new highly degraded steroid, namely 21-nor-4-ene-chaxine A (1) furnishing a 5/6/5-tricyclic, along with one known related analogue (2), were isolated from the South China Sea sponge Spongia officinalis. Their structures including absolute configurations were established by extensive spectroscopic data analysis, TDDFT-ECD calculation, and comparison with the spectral data previously reported in the literature. Compound 1 represent the new member of incisterols family with a highly degradation in ring B. In vitro bioassays revealed compound 2 exhibited significant anti-microglial inflammatory effect on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in BV-2 microglial cells.

Congenital thrombophilia in East-Asian venous thromboembolism population: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Various inherited traits contribute to the overall risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). In addition, the epidemiology of thrombophilia in the East-Asian VTE population remains unclear; thus, we aimed to assess the proportion of hereditary thrombophilia via a meta-analysis. Methods: Publications from PubMed, EMBASE, web of science, and Cochrane before December 30, 2022, were searched. Studies from Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia were included. Congenital thrombophilia was described as diseases including protein C (PC) deficiency, protein S (PS) deficiency, antithrombin (AT) deficiency, factor (F)V Leiden (FVL), and prothrombin G20210A mutations. Studies were selected by 2 reviewers for methodological quality analysis. A random-effects model was used for the meta-analysis, assuming that estimated effects in the different studies are not identical. Results: Forty-four studies involving 6453 patients from 7 counties/regions were included in the meta-analysis. The prevalence of PC, PS, and AT deficiencies were 7.1%, 8.3%, and 3.8%, respectively. Among 2924 patients from 22 studies, 5 patients were carriers of FVL mutation. Among 2196 patients from 10 studies, 2 patients were carriers of prothrombin G20210A mutation in a Thailand study. Conclusion: The prevalence of PC, PS, and AT deficiencies was relatively high, while a much lower prevalence of FVL and prothrombin G20210A mutations were identified in East-Asian patients with VTE. Our data stress the relative higher prevalence of PC, PS, and AT deficiencies for thrombophilia in the East-Asian VTE population.

Effect of melatonin on ATG2B-mediated autophagy regulation in sheep granulosa cells with different FecB genotypes.

Melatonin (MLT) protects cells by reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, which are key for inducing cellular autophagy. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying MLT regulation of autophagy in granulosa cells (GCs) with BMPR-1B homozygous (FecB BB) and wild type (FecB ++) mutations. GCs collected from small-tailed Han sheep with different FecB genotypes were typed using a TaqMan probe assay, and autophagy levels were found to be significantly higher in GCs with FecB BB than the levels in those with FecB ++. Autophagy-related 2 homolog B (ATG2B) was associated with cell autophagy and was highly expressed in GCs with the FecB BB genotype in small-tailed Han sheep. Overexpression of ATG2B in the GCs of sheep with both FecB genotypes promoted GC autophagy, and the contrary was observed after the inhibition of ATG2B expression. Subsequently, treatment of GCs with different genotypes of FecB and MLT revealed a significant decrease in cellular autophagy and an increase in ATG2B expression. Addition of MLT to GCs with inhibited ATG2B expression revealed that MLT could protect GCs by decreasing ROS levels, especially in GCs with FecB ++ genotype. In conclusion, this study determined that autophagy levels were significantly higher in sheep GCs with FecB BB genotype than the levels in those with FecB ++ genotype, which may have contributed to the difference in lambing numbers between the two FecB genotypes. Autophagy was regulated by ATG2B and was able to protect GCs by reducing the high levels of ROS produced following inhibition of ATG2B through the addition of MLT in vitro.

The role of tracheal wall injury in the development of benign airway stenosis in rabbits.

To investigate the role of tracheal wall injury in the development of benign airway stenosis in rabbits. Prospective study. We injured the tracheal walls of 28 New Zealand white rabbits using four different methods. Experimental group: Group A (n = 7, mild injury of tracheal mucosa by ordinary brush under bronchoscopy); Group B (n = 7, severe injury of tracheal mucosa by nylon brush under tracheotomy); Group C (n = 7, tracheal cartilage was injured by vascular clamp after tracheotomy); Group D (n = 7, the tracheal cartilage was injured with vascular forceps and the tracheal mucosa was injured with a nylon brush after tracheotomy). Bronchoscopy was performed on each experimental rabbit at 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks after operation. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and endobronchial optical coherence tomography (EB-OCT) were performed at 4 weeks, and the rabbits were sacrificed after the examination. Their gross and histological findings were comparatively determined whether the experimental rabbit stenosis was established. No airway stenosis was observed in group A. In group B, 28.57% of experimental rabbits developed tracheal stenosis (granulation tissue proliferation was observed in rabbits No. 2 and No. 6 at 1, 2 and 3 weeks after operation, and the tracheal scar contracture was observed in No.6 rabbit at 4 weeks after operation). Fourteen rabbits in group C and group D had tracheal stenosis caused by granulation tissue proliferation at 1, 2 and 3 weeks after operation. At the fourth week after operation, 71.43% of experimental rabbits had tracheal stenosis due to granulation tissue hyperplasia, 7.14% of experimental rabbits had tracheal stenosis due to scar contracture and granulation hyperplasia, and 21.43% of experimental rabbits had tracheal stenosis due to scar contracture. EB-OCT scan showed that the cartilage layer with low signal reflection band was discontinuous. The injury of cartilage is the key factor of benign airway stenosis. Acute injury of airway mucosa alone is unlikely to cause airway stenosis, but combined with cartilage injury may aggravate airway stenosis. EB-OCT can clearly identify the airway layers of rabbits, which is helpful to evaluate the damage of tracheal cartilage and mucosa. The diagnostic potential of this technique makes EB-OCT a promising approach for the study and monitoring of airway diseases.

Redox signaling in diabetic retinopathy and opportunity for therapeutic intervention through natural products.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common serious complication of diabetes that accounts for the leading cause of blindness among the working-age population in developed countries. Despite substantial progress in therapeutic approaches, DR remains highly prevalent, indicating deeper pathomechanism studies are urgently needed. Nowadays, natural products with outstanding safety and efficacy play an increasingly vital role in drug discovery research, and some of them have the potential to facilitate the treatment of DR. In this review, we primarily revisit the contribution of redox signaling and its mediators that might be amenable to targeting DR, including Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2), advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) as well as microRNAs. Ultimately, we summarize and evaluate the use of natural products to regulate these signaling pathways, which may increase our understanding and ability to target these important molecules and may help to achieve further clinical benefits.

Transarterial Chemoembolization Combined with Apatinib for Treatment of Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Analysis of Survival and Prognostic Factors.

OBJECTIVE: Apatinib is a novel inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2. The goal of this study was to evaluate overall survival (OS) after a combination of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and apatinib in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to identify the factors affecting patient survival. METHODS: Fifty-one patients with advanced HCC who received TACE in combination with apatinib in our hospital from June 2015 to May 2017 were enrolled. The OS and progression-free survival (PFS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The log-rank test and Cox regression model were used to determine the factors affecting OS. RESULTS: The median OS and PFS of the patients were 15 months and 10 months, respectively. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates were 64.7%, 23.5%, and 1.8%, respectively. Univariate survival analysis showed that patients with Child-Pugh A (P=0.006), reduction rate of proper hepatic artery (P=0.016), hand-foot syndrome (P=0.005), secondary hypertension (P=0.050), and without ascites (P=0.010) had a better OS. Multivariate analysis showed that hand-foot syndrome (P=0.014), secondary hypertension (P=0.017), and reduction rate of proper hepatic artery (P=0.025) were independent predictors of better OS. CONCLUSION: TACE combined with apatinib is a promising treatment for advanced HCC. Hand-foot syndrome, secondary hypertension, and the reduction rate of proper hepatic artery were associated with a better OS.

Effect of hydrogen intervention on refractory wounds after radiotherapy: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Patients with keloids who receive radiotherapy (RT) after surgery can develop refractory wounds that cannot be healed by the patient's own repair system. Such chronic wounds are uneven and complex due to persistent abscess and ulceration. Without external intervention, they can easily result in local tissue necrosis or, in severe cases, large area tissue resection, amputation, and even death. CASE SUMMARY: This article describes the use of hydrogen to treat a 42-year-old female patient with a chronic wound on her left shoulder. The patient had a skin graft that involved implanting a dilator under the skin of her left shoulder, and then transferring excess skin from her shoulder onto scar tissue on her chest. The skin grafting was followed by two rounds of RT, after which the shoulder wound had difficulty healing. For six months, the patient was treated with 2 h of hydrogen inhalation (HI) therapy per day, in addition to application of sterile gauze on the wound and periodic debridement. We also performed one deep, large, sharp debridement to enlarge the wound area. The wound healed completely within 6 mo of beginning the HI treatment. CONCLUSION: After HI therapy, the patient showed superior progress in reepithelialization and wound repair, with eventual wound closure in 6 mo, in comparison with the previous failures of hyperbaric oxygen and recombinant bovine basic fibroblast growth factor therapies. Our work showed that HI therapy could be a new strategy for wound healing that is cleaner, more convenient, and less expensive than other therapies, as well as easily accessible for further application in clinical wound care.

Nocardioides nematodiphilus sp. nov., isolated from rhizosphere of Arabidopsis thaliana.

An actinobacterial strain, designated R-N-C8T, was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Arabidopsis thaliana collected in Yunnan Province, south-west China. Based on the results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain R-N-C8T had highest similarity to Nocardioides terrae CGMCC 1.7056T (96.5%), Nocardioides opuntiae KCTC 19804T (96.3%) and Nocardioides currus IB-3T (96.1%), and lower than 96.0 % similarity to other members of the genus Nocardioides. Phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain R-N-C8T formed an isolated branch with N. terrae CGMCC 1.7056T and N. opuntiae KCTC 19804T. The polar lipids contained phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, one unidentified phosphoglycolipid and four unidentified phospholipids in the cellular membrane. The major fatty acids were identified as iso-C16 : 0, anteiso-C17 : 0, iso-C17 : 0, summed feature 9 (iso-C17 : 1 ω9c and/or C16 : 0 10-methyl) and iso-C15 : 0. The predominant respiratory quinone was MK-8(H4) and ll-diaminopimelic acid was the diagnostic diamino acid in the cell-wall peptidoglycan. The genomic DNA G+C content was 70.9 mol%. The orthologous average nucleotide identiy values between N. terrae CGMCC 1.7056T, N. currus IB-3T and strain R-N-C8T were 77.1 and 75.1 %, respectively. DNA-DNA hybridization values between N. terrae CGMCC 1.7056T, N. currus IB-3T and strain R-N-C8T were 20.7 and 19.9 % respectively. Data from phenotypic and genotypic analyses supported that strain R-N-C8T represents a new species of Nocardioides, for which the name Nocardioides nematodiphilus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is R-N-C8T (=CGMCC 1.18723T= KCTC 49528T).

Synthesis of 1-substituted phenazines as novel antichlamydial agents.

A novel series of 1-substituted phenazines 4a-4l were designed and synthesized via Palladium-catalyzed reactions from 1-phenazine trifluoromethanesulfonate. These phenazines showed antichlamydial activity with IC50 values from 1 to 10 µM. Among them, compounds 4c and 4i exhibited the best antichlamydial activity with IC50 values from 2.06 to 2.74 µM without apparent cytotoxicity to host cells.

Association Between Anticoagulation Outcomes and Venous Thromboembolism History in Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension.

Background: The association between anticoagulation outcomes and prior history of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) has not been established. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of anticoagulation treatment in CTEPH patients with and without prior history of VTE. Methods: A total of 333 CTEPH patients prescribed anticoagulants were retrospectively included from May 2013 to April 2019. The clinical characteristics were collected at their first admission. Incidental recurrent VTE and clinically relevant bleeding were recorded during follow-up. The Cox proportional regression models were used to identify potential factors associated with recurrent VTE and clinically relevant bleeding. Results: Seventy patients (21%) without a prior history of VTE did not experience recurrent VTE during anticoagulation. Compared to CTEPH patients without a prior history of VTE, those with a prior history of VTE had an increased risk of recurrent VTE [2.27/100 person-year vs. 0/100 person-year; hazard ratio (HR), 8.92; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.18-1142.00; P = 0.029] but a similar risk of clinically relevant bleeding (3.90/100 person-year vs. 4.59/100 person-year; HR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.38-1.78; P = 0.623). Multivariate Cox analyses suggested that a prior history of VTE and interruption of anticoagulation treatments were significantly associated with an increased risk of recurrent VTE, while anemia and glucocorticoid use were significantly associated with a higher risk of clinically relevant bleeding. Conclusions: This study is the first to reveal that a prior history of VTE significantly increases the risk of recurrent VTE in CTEPH patients during anticoagulation treatment. This finding should be further evaluated in prospective studies.

Methylglyoxal Has Different Impacts on the Fungistatic Roles of Ammonia and Benzaldehyde, and Lactoylglutathione Lyase Is Necessary for the Resistance of Arthrobotrys oligospora to Soil Fungistasis.

Biocontrol of root-knot nematode has attracted increasing attention over the past two decades. The inconsistent field performance of biocontrol agents, which is caused by soil fungistasis, often restricts their commercial application. There is still a lack of research on the genes involved in biocontrol fungi response to soil fungistasis, which is important for optimizing practical applications of biocontrol fungi. In this study, the lactoylglutathione lyase-encoding AOL_s00004g335 in the nematophagous fungi Arthrobotrys oligospora was knocked out, and three mutant strains were obtained. The hyphal growth of mutants on the three media was almost the same as that of the wild-type strain, but mutants had slightly higher resistance to NaCl, SDS, and H2O2. Methylglyoxal (MG) significantly increased the resistance of A. oligospora to ammonia, but decreased the resistance to benzaldehyde. Furthermore, the resistance of the mutants to soil fungistasis was largely weakened and MG could not increase the resistance of A. oligospora to soil fungistasis. Our results revealed that MG has different effects on the fungistatic roles of ammonia and benzaldehyde and that lactoylglutathione lyase is very important for A. oligospora to resist soil fungistasis.

Nocardioides stalactiti sp. nov., isolated from a cave stalactite surface.

An aerobic, rod-shaped, Gram-stain-positive, actinobacterial strain, designated 1.0914T, was isolated from a stalactite sample collected from a cave located in Guizhou Province, southwest PR China. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain 1.0914T shared highest similarities values with Nocardioides pelophilus CGMCC 4.7388T (97.7 %), Nocardioides immobilis CCTCC AB 2017083T (97.5 %) and Nocardioides silvaticus CCTCC AB 2018079T (97.3 %) and values lower than 97.0 % to other members of the genus Nocardioides. Phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain 1.0914T formed an isolated branch with N. pelophilus CGMCC 4.7388T, N. immobilis CCTCC AB 2017083T and N. silvaticus CCTCC AB 2018079T. The polar lipids contained phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol and one unidentified phospholipid in the cellular membrane. The major fatty acids were identified as iso-C16 : 0, C18 : 1 ω9c, C17 : 1 ω8c and C16 : 0. The predominant respiratory quinone was MK-8(H4) and ll-diaminopimelic acid was the diagnostic diamino acid in the cell-wall peptidoglycan. The genomic DNA G+C content was 71.1 mol%. The orthologous average nucleotide identiy values between N. pelophilus CGMCC 4.7388T, N. immobilis CCTCC AB 2017083T, N. silvaticus CCTCC 2018079T and strain 1.0914T were 82.3, 81.7 and 81.9 % respectively. DNA-DNA hybridization values between N. pelophilus CGMCC 4.7388T, N. immobilis CCTCC AB 2017083T, N. silvaticus CCTCC 2018079T and strain 1.0914T were 25.2, 24.6 and 24.5 % respectively. The phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data supported the classification of strain 1.0914T as representing a new species of Nocardioides, for which the name Nocardioides stalactiti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 1.0914T (=CCTCC AB 2018266T=KCTC 49243T).

[Effects of repeated immobilization stress on hypothalamic-pituitary- ovarian axis in female rats].

Objective: To explore the effects of repeated immobilization stress on hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis in female rats. Methods: Forty female SD rats were randomly divided into two groups: control group (n=20) and experimental group (n=20). One group was fed normally, the other group was subjected to incremental load restraint stress. Brake stress once a day in the retainer (starting at 9: 00 a.m.), braking for 2 hours on the first day, increasing load by 0.5 hours a day for two weeks. Body weight, estrous cycle, sex hormone, organ coefficient, pathology and expression of related genes were detected to explore the harm of hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. Results: Repeated immobilization stress caused weight loss, prolonged estrous cycle, and changed the organ coefficient and morphology of ovaries and uterus. QPCR technique was used to detect the related genes. It was found that the expressions of gonadotropin releasing hormone, pituitary gonadotropin releasing hormone receptor, follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone mRNA were decreased significantly, while the expressions of ovarian follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone receptor mRNA were increased significantly. The expression of estrogen receptor mRNA in ovary and uterus was decreased significantly. Conclusion: Repeated immobilization stress may disrupt the estrous cycle by interfering with the endocrine regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, thus damaging the gonadal and reproductive endocrine function of female animals.

[Regional Air Pollution Process in Winter over the Yangtze River Delta and Its Influence on Typical Northern Cities].

In this study, we analyzed several pollution episodes that occurred in the autumn and winter of 2018-2019 using multiple methods including the hierarchical clustering analysis, backward trajectory, and potential source contribution analysis based on monitored air quality and meteorological data. Bengbu, being a representative city to the north of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region and located in a heavily polluted area during these two pollution processes, is the focus of this work. The results indicated that the northern part of the YRD region is affected because of unfavorable meteorological conditions such as weak ground pressure, high humidity, low temperature, low wind speeds, and regional transport. The regional pollution processes over the YRD region in the autumn and winter seasons exhibit characteristics of wide influence and long duration with mainly two types of pollution:regional transport and intra-regional accumulation. During the two selected pollution episodes, the average PM2.5 concentration in the northern YRD region reached 131.6 µg·m-3 and 115.4 µg·m-3, respectively. The former type had a shorter duration but exhibited rapid accumulation of pollutants in a short period of time with greater pollution intensity, wider pollution range, and deeper pollution intrusion. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the potential sources of PM2.5 based on PSCF and CWT showed that the PM2.5 concentration during EP1 was due to transport from cities such as Linyi, Xuzhou, Suqian, and Lianyungang to the pollution trajectory. The CWT value generally exceeded 80 with the highest value near 200. In contrast, EP2 was affected by the neighboring cities such as Suqian, Suzhou, and Xuzhou, and the CWT value was over 60 with the highest approaching 160, indicating that the interaction among cities in the study area is significant. This study shows that cross-regional air pollution control strategies are particularly important for alleviating the pollution situation in the northern part of the YRD region.

Sphingobacterium cavernae sp. nov., a novel bacterium isolated from soil sampled at Tiandong Cave.

A Gram-stain-negative, non-motile and rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain 5.0403-2T, was isolated from a cave soil sample collected from Tiandong Cave, Guizhou Province, south-west PR China. Cells showed positive oxidase and catalase reactions. The predominant isoprenoid quinone was MK-7. The major fatty acids were identified as iso-C15 : 0, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1 ω7c and/or C16 : 1 ω6c), iso-C17 : 0 3OH and summed feature 9 (iso-C17 : 1 ω9c or C16 : 0 10-methyl). The cellular polar lipids contained phosphatidylethanolamine, one unidentified phospholipid, three unidentified phosphoglycolipids and four unidentified lipids. The genomic DNA G+C content was 36.0 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain 5.0403-2T should be assigned to the genus Sphingobacterium. Results of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity analysis showed that strain 5.0403-2T was most similar to Sphingobacterium bovisgrunnientis KCTC 52685T (98.7 %), Sphingobacterium composti KCTC 12578T (98.0 %) and Sphingobacterium alimentarium DSM 22362T (97.3 %) and less than 95.0 % similar to other species of the genus Sphingobacterium. The average nucleotide identity values between strain 5.0403-2T and S. bovisgrunnientis KCTC 52685T, S. composti KCTC 12578T and S. alimentarium DSM 22362T were 94.2, 82.3 and 77.2 % respectively. The digitalDNA-DNA hybridization values between strain 5.0403-2T and S. bovisgrunnientis KCTC 52685T, S. composti KCTC 12578T and S. alimentarium DSM 22362T were 68.4, 25.6 and 20.7 %. These results indicated that the isolate represented a novel genomic species. The polyphasic taxonomic characteristics indicated that strain 5.0304-2T represents a novel species of the genus Sphingobacterium, for which the name Sphingobacterium cavernae sp. nov. (type strain 5.0403-2T=KCTC 62981T=CCTCC AB 2019257T) is proposed.

Sodium fluoride exposure triggered the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps.

In recent years, numerous studies paid more attention to the molecular mechanisms associated with fluoride toxicity. However, the detailed mechanisms of fluoride immunotoxicity in bovine neutrophils remain unclear. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) is a novel immune mechanism of neutrophils. We hypothesized that sodium fluoride (NaF) can trigger NETs activation and release, and investigate the related molecular mechanisms during the process. We exposed peripheral blood neutrophils to 1 mM NaF for 120 min in bovine neutrophils. The results showed that NaF exposure triggered NET-like structures decorated with histones and granule proteins. Quantitative measurement of NETs content correlated positively with the concentration of NaF. Mechanistically, NaF exposure increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and phosphorylation levels of ERK, p38, whereas inhibiting the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) compared with control neutrophils. NETs formation is induced by NaF and this effect was inhibited by the inhibitors diphenyleneiodonium chloride (DPI), U0126 and SB202190. Our findings described the potential importance of NaF-triggered NETs related molecules, which might help to extend the current understanding of NaF immunotoxicity.

Luteimonas lumbrici sp. nov., a novel bacterium isolated from wormcast.

A Gram-stain-negative, yellow-green bacterium, designated 1.1416T, was isolated from wormcast of Eisenia foetida. The strain was non-motile, rod-shaped, and grew optimally on NA medium at 30 °C, pH 7.0 and with 0 % (w/v) NaCl. On the basis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence and phylogenetic analysis, 1.1416T showed the highest degree of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Luteimonas arsenica 26-35T (96.2 %), followed by Luteimonas lutimaris G3T (96.1 %). The respiratory quinone of 1.1416T was ubiquinone-8 (Q-8), and its major cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0 (39.8 %), summed feature 9 (iso-C17 : 1 ω9c or C16 : 0 10-methyl) (18.6 %). The major polar lipids of 1.1416T were phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and six unidentified phospholipids. The genomic DNA G+C content of 1.1416T was 71.0 mol%. According to the results of the phenotypic and chemotaxonomic phylogenetic analyses, strain 1.1416T represents a novel species of the genus Luteimonas, for which the name Luteimonas lumbrici sp. nov. is proposed, with strain 1.1416T (=KCTC 62979T=CCTCC AB 2018348T) as the type strain.

Asticcacaulis tiandongensis sp. nov., a new member of the genus Asticcacaulis, isolated from a cave soil sample.

A Gram-stain negative, aerobic, motile and rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain 3.1105T, was isolated from a karst district soil sample collected from Tiandong cave, Guizhou province, south-west PR China. The isolate grew at 10-40 °C and pH 5.0-8.0 and tolerated up to 1 % NaCl (w/v) on R2A medium, with optimal growth at 25-30 °C, pH 7.0 and 0 % NaCl (w/v). Cells showed oxidase-positive and catalase-positive reactions. The respiratory quinone was Q-10. The predominant cellular fatty acids contained C18 : 1ω7c 11-methyl, summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c or C18 : 1ω6c), C16 : 0 and C17 : 0. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylglycerol and monoglycosyldiglycerides. The genomic DNA G+C content was 56.0 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that 3.1105T should be affiliated to the genus Asticcacaulis and showed highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity values with Asticcacaulis excentricus CB 48T (96.0 %), Asticcacaulis endophyticus ZFGT-14T (95.3 %) and lower than 95.3 % similarity to other species of the genus Asticcacaulis. The polyphasic taxonomic characteristics indicated that strain 3.1105T represents a novel species of the genus Asticcacaulis, for which the name Asticcacaulis tiandongensis sp. nov., (type strain 3.1105T=KCTC 62978T=CCTCC AB 2018268T) is proposed.

Zearalenone Induces Estrogen-Receptor-Independent Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Release in Vitro.

Zearalenone (ZEA) is a non-steroidal estrogenic mycotoxin synthesized in Fusarium species, mainly Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium culmorum, and it has strong estrogenic activity and causes genotoxic effects, reproductive disorders, and immunosuppressive effects. Neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) has been studied for many years. Initially, NET was considered a form of the innate response that combats invading microorganisms. However, NET is involved in a series of pathophysiological mechanisms, including thrombosis, tissue necrosis, autoinflammation, and even autoimmunity. We recently found that polymorphonuclear neutrophils response to ZEA exposure by undergoing NET formation. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in this process remain poorly characterized. Here, we analyze whether estrogen receptors (ERs) can affect NET formation after ZEA stimulation. The involvement of ERs is investigated with the selective ER antagonists. Moreover, we investigate the mechanisms of NET formation using immunofluorescence staining, fluorescence microplate, and western blot analysis. Our results show that ERs (ERα and ERß) are not involved in ZEA-induced NET formation, but reactive oxygen species (ROS), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and p38 are postulated to be involved. Specifically, we provide data demonstrating that ZEA-induced ROS may promote activation of ERK and p38 as well as subsequent NET release. We are the first to demonstrate this new mechanism of ZEA-induced NET formation, which may help in understanding the role of ZEA in overexposure diseases and provide a relevant basis for therapeutic applications.