[Sedum sarmentosun bunge extraction ameliorated severe acute pancreatitis-induced lung injury: an experimental research]].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of Sedum sarmentosum Bunge Extract (SSBE) on severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) induced acute lung injury (ALI) model rats and their excessive inflammatory reactions. METHODS: Forty-two healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 3 groups, the sham-operated control group (C), the SAP group (SAP), and the SSBE treated group (SSBE), 14 in each group. SAP induced ALl rat model was induced by retrograde injection of 5% sodium taurocholate (1 mL/kg) into the pancreatic duct. SSBE (100 m/kg) was administrated subcutaneously after the establishment of the SAP model. Equal dose of SSBE was injected again 12 h later. Equal volume of normal saline was administrated in the same way for rats in the C group and the SAP group. Rats were sacrificed after successful modeling and samples taken at 12 and 24 h. Pathological changes in the pancreas and the lung tissue were observed under light microscope. The ascites, serum amylase (AMS), wet/dry proportion (W/D) of the lung tissue, activities of myeloperoxidase (MPO), interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were also measured. RESULTS: Ascites and serum AMS activities significantly increased; MPO, IL-1, IL-6, TNF-alpha contents, and W/D ratio also significantly increased in the SAP group, when compared with the C group (P<0.05). Compared with the SAP group, those parameters were all attenuated in the SSBE group at 12 and 24 h (P<0.05, P<0.01). Pathological changes in the pancreas and the lung tissue were alleviated in the SSBE group under light microscope. The injury degree ranged between that of the C group and the SAP group. CONCLUSION: SSBE could relieve the ALl in SAP model rats, which could be achieved through alleviating inflammation responses of SAP rats.

A new species of the genus Triplophysa (Nemacheilinae), Triplophysa qilianensis sp. nov, from Qinghai, China.

A new nemacheilid loach species, Triplophysa qilianensis, is described from Heihe River in Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai, China. It can be distinguished from all other species of Triplophysa by the following combination of characters: body long and compressed; skin smooth, scaleless; head short (20.1-23.1% of stand length); head convex from the position of posterior nostrils; posterior chamber of air bladder completely degenerated; intestine short, bending in zig-zag patter posterior to stomach; unbranched rays of pelvic fin ii; caudal fin forked, upper lobe and lower lobe equal in length; and pointed fin tips. A key to the known species of Triplophysa from the Heihe River is provided. 

Codon 104 variation of p53 gene provides adaptive apoptotic responses to extreme environments in mammals of the Tibet plateau.

Mutational changes in p53 correlate well with tumorigenesis. Remarkably, however, relatively little is known about the role that p53 variations may play in environmental adaptation. Here we report that codon asparagine-104 (104N) and glutamic acid-104 (104E), respectively, of the p53 gene in the wild zokor (Myospalax baileyi) and root vole (Microtus oeconomus) are adaptively variable, meeting the environmental stresses of the Tibetan plateau. They differ from serine-104 (104S) seen in other rodents, including the lowland subterranean zokor Myospalax cansus, and from serine 106 (106S) in humans. Based on site-directed mutational analysis in human cell lines, the codon 104N variation in M. baileyi is responsible for the adaptive balance of the transactivation of apoptotic genes under hypoxia, cold, and acidic stresses. The 104E p53 variant in Microtus oeconomus suppresses apoptotic gene transactivation and cell apoptosis. Neither 104N nor 104E affects the cell-cycle genes. We propose that these variations in p53 codon 104 are an outcome of environmental adaptation and evolutionary selection that enhance cellular strategies for surviving the environmental stresses of hypoxia and cold (in M. baileyi and M. oeconomus) and hypercapnia (in M. baileyi) in the stressful environments of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau.

[Ecomorphological explanations of passerines coexistence in alpine meadow].

Species ecomorphological characteristics are the evolutionary results of selective pressures that have enabled individuals of a given species to survive and reproduce. Closely related species co-occurring in homogeneous environments should be morphologically distinct to partition limited resources, so as to minimize interspecific competition. From 1983 to 2012, we studied the ecomorphological characteristics of nine passerine species in alpine meadow. Results showed six ecomorphological characteristics of the nine species were significantly different. Approximately, 92.0% of samples were correctly classified and the correct rates ranged from 84.5% to 100.0%, except for the Oriental Skylark (Eremophila alpestris), which was 79.2%. Accordingly, the nine species were divided into five guilds based on their characteristics. Results indicated that the niches of all species were divergent, and the ecomorphological characteristics of the specific species in each guild were related to their habitats and foraging behaviors. These results also explained the possible mechanisms of different species coexistence in alpine meadow.

Growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor of naked carp (Gymnocypris przewalskii) in Lake Qinghai: expression in different water environments.

Here, we report the cloning and characterization of growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and IGF-II from naked carp (Gymnocypris przewalskii), a native teleost fish of Lake Qinghai in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China. The GH of naked carp encodes for a predicted amino acid sequence showing identities of 63%, 63%, 91% and 94% with cherry salmon, rainbow trout, zebrafish and grass carp, respectively. Compared to common carp and goldfish, evolutionary analysis showed that genome duplication has had less influence on the relaxation of purifying selection in the evolution of naked carp GH. Sequence analysis of naked carp IGF-I (ncIGF-I) and ncIGF-II showed a high degree of homology with known fish IGF-I and IGF-II. To investigate effects of salinity and ionic composition of the aquatic environment on the GH-IGF axis in naked carp, male fish held in river water were assigned randomly to 4 groups: RW (river-water), RW+Na (NaCl in RW), RW+Mg (MgCl(2) in RW) and LW (lake-water) groups. The concentrations of Na(+) in RW+Na and Mg(2+) in RW+Mg were equal to the concentrations of these ions in lake-water. After 2 days of exposure, the plasma IGF-I levels in the RW+Na and LW groups were significantly higher than the control group (RW), and the plasma GH levels of the LW group were also significantly higher than the RW group. The somatostatin (SS) levels in the hypothalamus significantly increased in the RW+Na group. After 5 days of exposure, these hormone levels did not differ significantly among groups. These results indicate that while the plasma GH and IGF-I levels are osmosensitive, the absence of a change in GH secretion in RW+Na might be partly due to a transiently increased release of hypothalamic SS induced by the stress of neutral-saline water. This is the first report of a salinity-induced increase of GH-IGF-I circulating levels in Cypriniformes.

Diversities in hepatic HIF-1, IGF-I/IGFBP-1, LDH/ICD, and their mRNA expressions induced by CoCl(2) in Qinghai-Tibetan plateau mammals and sea level mice.

Ochotona curzoniae and Microtus oeconomus are the native mammals living on the Qinghai-Tibetan-Plateau of China. The molecular mechanisms of their acclimatization to the Plateau-hypoxia remain unclear. Expressions of hepatic hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I)/IGF binding protein (BP)-1(IGFBP-1; including genes), and key metabolic enzymatic genes [lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)-A/isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICD)] are compared in Qinghai-Tibetan-Plateau mammals and sea-level mice after injection of CoCl(2) (20, 40, or 60 mg/kg) and normobaric hypoxia (16.0% O(2), 10.8% O(2), and 8.0% O(2)) for 6 h, tested by histochemistry, Western blot analysis, ELISA, and RT-PCR. Major results are CoCl(2) markedly increased 1) HIF-1alpha only in mice, 2) hepatic and circulatory IGF-I in M. oeconomus, 3) hepatic IGFBP-1 in mice and O. curzoniae, and 4) LDH-A but reduced ICD mRNA in mice (CoCl(2) 20 mg/kg) but were unchanged in the Tibetan mammals. Normobaric hypoxia markedly 1) increased HIF-1alpha and LDH-A mRNA in mice and M. oeconomus (8.0% O(2)) not in O. curzoniae, and 2) reduced ICD mRNA in mice and M. oeconomus (8.0% O(2)) not in O. curzoniae. Results suggest that 1) HIF-1alpha responsiveness to hypoxia is distinct in lowland mice and plateau mammals, reflecting a diverse tolerance of the three species to hypoxia; 2) CoCl(2) induces diversities in HIF-1, IGF-I/IGFBP-1 protein or genes in mice, M. oeconomus, and O. curzoniae. In contrast, HIF-1 mediates IGFBP-1 transcription only in mice and in M. oeconomus (subjected to severe hypoxia); 3) differences in IGF-I/IGFBP-1 expressions induced by CoCl(2) reflect significant diversities in hormone regulation and cell protection from damage; and 4) activation of anaerobic glycolysis and reduction of Krebs cycle represents strategies of lowland-animals vs. the stable metabolic homeostasis of plateau-acclimatized mammals.