The suppression of ox-LDL-induced inflammatory response and apoptosis of HUVEC by lncRNA XIAT knockdown via regulating miR-30c-5p/PTEN axis.

OBJECTIVE: Exposure of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) could cause dysfunction of HUVEC, thus leading to atherosclerosis development, which is a common inflammatory vascular disease. Long noncoding RNA X-inactive specific transcript (XIST) has been reported to be implicated in atherosclerosis. However, the mechanism by which this lncRNA participates in the progression of atherosclerosis is poorly defined. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HUVEC challenged by ox-LDL were used as a cellular model of atherosclerosis. Cell viability, apoptosis, LDH release, and inflammatory cytokines secretion were detected by MTT, flow cytometry, and ELISA assays. The expression levels of XIST, microRNA (miR)-30c-5p, and phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) were measured by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction and Western blot. The target interaction between XIST and miR-30c-5p or miR-30c-5p and PTEN was validated by the Luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation. RESULTS: Treatment of ox-LDL induced cell apoptosis and inflammatory cytokines release in HUVEC. XIST expression was enhanced in HUVEC treated by ox-LDL, and its knockdown decreased cell apoptosis and inflammatory response in ox-LDL-treated cells. MiR-30c-5p was a target of XIST and its overexpression suppressed cell apoptosis and inflammatory response induced by ox-LDL, which was weakened by the introduction of XIST. PTEN was a target of miR-30c-5p, and its interference led to great inhibition of cell apoptosis and inflammatory response induced by ox-LDL in HUVEC, while this effect was attenuated by miR-30c-5p deficiency or XIST overexpression. CONCLUSIONS: XIST knockdown suppresses inflammatory response and apoptosis of HUVEC stimulated by ox-LDL by increasing miR-30c-5p and decreasing PTEN.

Effects of dietary gallic acid supplementation on performance, antioxidant status, and jejunum intestinal morphology in broiler chicks.

Gallic acid (GA), widely distributed in plants and feeds, is known to have a diverse range of activities such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-allergic, anti-mutagenic, and anti-carcinogenic. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of inclusion of dietary GA at levels 0, 25, 50, 75, 100, or 150 mg/kg on growth performance, antioxidant status, and jejunum intestinal morphology of broiler chicks. In total, 630 one-day-old Arbor Acres (AA) male broiler chicks were randomly allotted to 6 treatment groups for a period of 6 weeks. The results indicate that dietary addition of GA at 75 to 100 mg/kg improved feed conversion efficiency in both the grower (d 21 to 42, P = 0.045) and overall (d 1 to 42, P = 0.026) periods. Dietary addition of GA at a concentration ≥100 mg/kg was able to exhibit higher breast muscle ratio at 42 d (P = 0.043). Interestingly, dietary GA inclusion level from 50 to 100 mg/kg reduced the crypt depth (P = 0.009) and increased the villus height:crypt depth ratio (VCR) of the birds (P = 0.006). Dietary supplementation of GA at 100 mg/kg decreased plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) content at 42 d of age (P = 0.030). Moreover, dietary addition of GA linearly increased plasma total antioxidant capacity (P = 0.039) and plasma total superoxide dismutase activities (P = 0.049) at 21 d of age. However, analysis of plasma biochemical markers revealed that dietary supplementation of GA did not exhibit beneficial health effects. Overall, we conclude that 75 to 100 mg/kg of GA are suitable for enhanced growth performance and health benefits in a broiler diet.

Effects of feeding lutein on production performance, antioxidative status, and milk quality of high-yielding dairy cows.

This experiment was conducted to determine the influences of supplementing different levels of an additive containing lutein in the diet of Chinese Holstein lactating cows on production performance, antioxidative plasma metabolites, and milk quality. This study was performed on 60 multiparous Holstein dairy cows in peak lactation. The cows were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 homogeneous treatments, with lutein preparation (extracted from marigolds; effective lutein content was 2%) added at levels of 0, 100, 150, and 200 g/d per head, with the actual available amounts being 0, 2, 3, and 4 g of lutein/d per head, respectively. The experiment lasted for 13 wk, with the first week for adaptation. Milk yield and milk compositions were recorded weekly, and milk concentrations of lutein, dry matter intake, and antioxidative blood index were analyzed in the first, fourth, seventh, and thirteenth week of the study. The results showed that adding lutein in the diet had no effect on dry matter intake compared with the control group; however, it slowed down the trend of decline in milk yield, and had a linear incremental effect on milk yield with increasing concentration of lutein. Dietary lutein tended to quadratically increase the percentage of milk fat, and linearly increased milk lactose concentration, with the highest value when treated at 200 g of lutein preparation/d per head, and decreased somatic cell count, with the lowest values when treated with 150 and 200 g of lutein preparation/d per head. The concentration of lutein in milk linearly increased with the incorporation of the additive, with a value of 0.59, 0.70, 1.20, and 1.50 µg/100mL when treated with 0, 100, 150, and 200 g/d, respectively. Total plasma antioxidant capacity tended to linearly increase in cows fed lutein preparation, whereas plasma superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities did not differ significantly. In conclusion, addition of lutein in the diet could improve the production performance and health status of dairy cows.