[Heritability of body weight and fork length for Oncorhynchus masou masou].

Body weight and body length have been considered as the most important production traits for the fish genetic improvement. For cold-water fish, body length was usually substituted by fork length. In order to estimate the heritability of body weight and fork length of the sixth generation Oncorhynchus masou masou, which was introduced into China, the method of unbalanced nest design and an artificial insemination technigue were used. Twenty-nine full-sib families and fourteen half-sib families were obtained. Body weight and fork length of O. masou masou were measured in 12 and 24 months after fertilization. Based on full-sib and half-sib families data, the causal components of phenotypic variance were calculated. The results showed that, (1) during the whole growth phase of O. masou masou, the coefficient variation (CV) of fork length was higher than body weight, and CV of 12-month old was higher than that of 24-month old; (2) body weight and fork length of O. masou masou among sires and dams among sires were significant difference (P<0.01) both at 12 months and at 24 months; (3) the maternal component estimates were significantly larger than those of paternal ones for body weight and fork length traits both at 12 months and at 24 months; (4) for 12 months of O. masou masou the heritabilities of body weight and fork length were 0.41~0.51 and 0.46~0.54, respectively. For 24 months the values were 0.55~0.60 and 0.53~0.59, respectively; and (5) it was concluded that the heritability of growth traits in O. masou masou was relatively high and this highlights the potential to improve its growth through selective breeding. This study shows important data supporting for further genetic improvement of O. masou masou.

2-methoxycinnamaldehyde from Cinnamomum cassia reduces rat myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury in vivo due to HO-1 induction.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Cinnamomum cassia Blume has been used as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine for alleviation of fever, inflammation, chronic bronchitis, and to improve blood circulation. AIM OF THE STUDY: We addressed whether 2-methoxycinnamaldehyde (2-MCA), one of active ingredients of Cinnamomum cassia, reduces vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)-activated endothelial cells and protects ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-injury due to heme oxygenase (HO)-1 induction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adult male rats were subjected to 30 min of ischemia by occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery followed by 24h of reperfusion. Rats were randomized to receive vehicle or 2-MCA (i.v.) 10 min before reperfusion. RESULTS: Administration of 2-MCA significantly improved I/R-induced myocardial dysfunction by increasing the values of the first derivative (±dp/dt) of left ventricular pressure and decreased infarct size. In addition, 2-MCA reduced the expression of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), an activator of the inflammatory cascade when released into the extracellular space, and VCAM-1 in I/R myocardium along with increase of HO-1 induction. The reduced injury was accompanied by significantly reduction of neutrophils infiltration and increased SOD activity in ischemic tissues and reduced serum level of cardiac troponin I (cTnI). Furthermore, 2-MCA significantly increased HO-1 induction by translocation of Nrf-2 from cytosol to nucleus in endothelial cells. Inhibition of VCAM-1 expression by 2-MCA was reversed both by SnPPIX, a HO-1 inhibitor and siHO-1 RNA trasfection in TNF-α-activated cells. In addition, 2-MCA significantly inhibited NF-κB luciferase activity in TNF-α-activated endothelial cells. As expected, 2-MCA significantly inhibited monocyte (U937) adhesion to endothelial cells. CONCLUSION: We concluded that 2-MCA protects of myocardial I/R-injury due to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action possibly by HO-1 induction which can be explained why Cinnamomum cassia has been used in inflammatory disorders.

Palmatine from Coptidis rhizoma reduces ischemia-reperfusion-mediated acute myocardial injury in the rat.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the protective effect of palmatine, one of active ingredients of Coptidis rhizoma, against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action. Adult male rats were subjected to 30 min of ischemia and 6 or 24h of reperfusion. Rats were randomized to receive vehicle or palmatine 1h before reperfusion. Infarct size, myocardial function, and the antioxidant enzyme activity, such as malonaldehyde (MDA), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine phosphokinase (CK), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were measured. Palmatine significantly improved I/R-induced myocardial dysfunction by increasing the values of the first derivative (+/-dp/dt) of left ventricular pressure and decreased infarct size by 50% (P<0.01 versus vehicle). As expected, palmatine markedly inhibited the increase of LDH, CK, and MDA contents in I/R rat serum, and it also significantly inhibited the decline of the activity of SOD and CAT in I/R cardiac tissues. In addition, COX-2 and iNOS expression in I/R myocardium was significantly reduced. Interestingly, palmatine increased heme oxygenase (HO)-1 induction in human aortic endothelial cells. We concluded that palmatine protects hearts from I/R injury in rats possibly by reducing oxidative stress and modulating inflammatory mediators.

[The genetic diversity of diploid and triploid crucian carp from six populations in Heilongjiang River System].

Twelve microsatellite markers from silver crucian carp were used to investigate the genetic structuring of the diploid and triploid crucian carp from six natural populations in Heilongjiang River System. In the six populations, the number of average allele (A) is from 5.8 to 6.8, the number of effective allele (Ne) is from 2.8 to 4.6, the expected heterozygosity value (He) is from 0.5592 to 0.6962 and the average PIC value is from 0.5962 to 0.648, which indicated that the genetic diversity of the populations investigated is rich. According to genetic deviation index (d), deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was found in these populations and all of them showed heterozygosity excess. Kruskal-Wallis test indicated that there was no significant variance in different ploid level and populations. No extra alleles that present with the increase of ploid level were found. The coefficient of gene differentiation between populations(GST)was 0.0398 which indicated low values of genetic differentiation between these populations. Genetic distance was calculated and cluster analysis was also carried out. The results showed that distance between polyploid and diploid in same water was the nearest. Among populations, Songhua River and Ussuri River were the nearest, Xinhuangpao Lake and Moon Bay Lake were nearer, and Shuangfeng reservoir has the largest genetic distance with others.

Ultra-structural changes and developmental potential of porcine oocytes following vitrification.

This study evaluated the effects of exposure and/or vitrification of porcine metaphase II (MII) oocytes on their in vitro viability and ultra-structural changes with two experiments. Experiment 1 examined the effect of vitrified oocytes on microtubule localization, mitochondrial morphology, chromosome organization and the developmental rate in IVF control and vitrified oocytes. Oocytes matured for 44 h were subjected to IVF (IVF control). Oocytes matured for 42 h were exposed to cryoprotectants (CPA control), followed by 2h culture, and subjected to IVF. Oocytes vitrified at 42 h post-maturation were warmed, cultured for 2h, and subjected to IVF (vitrified). Experiment 2 evaluated the effect of oocytes freezing on development of ICSI with and without activation and parthenotes. Fresh and vitrified oocytes were subjected to ICSI with and without electrical activation. Cleavage and blastocyst rates were significantly (P<0.05) lower in vitrified IVF, parthenote and ICSI embryos than those in fresh counterparts. Between ICSI embryos from fresh oocytes and vitrified oocytes, the rates of blastocyst were significantly higher (P<0.05) in activated group than the group without activation. Significant differences (P<0.05) were observed in normal spindle configuration of vitrified (43.5%) compared to control (81.0%) oocytes, but no significant difference was observed between CPA exposed and control groups. In conclusion, porcine oocytes at MII stage are very sensitive to vitrification with altered microtubule localization and mitochondrial organization thus resulting in impaired fertilization and embryo development.