Thyroxine regulates pig Sertoli cell line proliferation and maturation through the IKK/NFκB and p38 MAPK signaling pathways.

The aim of this study was to investigate the signaling pathways involved in the proliferation and differentiation of pig Sertoli cells (SCs) mediated by thyroid hormone (T3) to provide a theoretical and practical basis for enhancing pig semen production. The effects of different concentrations of T3 on the proliferation of pig SCs were evaluated using the CCK8 assay. The impact of T3 on the proliferation and differentiation of pig SCs was further examined using RNA-seq, qPCR, and Western Blotting techniques. Additionally, the involvement of the p38 MAPK and NFκB pathways in mediating the effects of T3 on SCs proliferation and differentiation was investigated. Our findings revealed a strong correlation between the dosage of T3 and the inhibition of pig SCs proliferation and promotion of maturation. T3 regulated the activation state of the NFκB signaling pathway by upregulating IKKα, downregulating IKKß, and promoting IκB phosphorylation. Furthermore, T3 facilitated SCs maturation by upregulating AR and FSHR expression while downregulating KRT-18. In conclusion, T3 inhibits pig SCs proliferation and promote pig SCs maturation through the IKK/NFκB and p38 MAPK pathways. These findings provide valuable insights into the mechanisms by which T3 influences the proliferation and maturation of pig SCs.

Clinical study on microscopic syndrome differentiation and traditional Chinese medicine treatment for liver stomach disharmony in chronic gastritis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic gastritis (CG) is a common gastrointestinal disorder characterized by inflammation of the stomach lining. Liver-stomach disharmony (LSD) syndrome is believed to contribute to CG symptoms. AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of microcosmic syndrome differentiation and Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) treatment in patients with CG and LSD syndrome. METHODS: Sixty-four patients with CG and LSD syndrome were randomly divided into two groups: The treatment group received CHM based on microcosmic syndrome differentiation and the control group received conventional Western medicine. The treatment course lasted 12 wk. The primary outcome was improvement in dyspeptic symptoms, measured using the Nepean Dyspepsia Index. The secondary outcomes included the improvement rate of endoscopic findings, histopathological findings, and microcosmic syndrome scores and the incidence of adverse events. RESULTS: After 12 wk of treatment, the treatment group showed significantly greater improvement in dyspeptic symptoms than the control group (93.75% vs 65.63%, P < 0.01). The treatment group also showed a significantly higher improvement rate in endoscopic findings than the control group (81.25% vs 53.13%, P < 0.05). The improvement rates of histopathological findings and microcosmic syndrome scores were not significantly different between the two groups (P > 0.05). No serious adverse events were observed in either group. CONCLUSION: Microcosmic syndrome differentiation and CHM treatment can effectively improve dyspeptic symptoms and endoscopic findings in patients with CG and LSD syndrome and have a good safety profile. Further studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods are required to confirm the long-term efficacy and mechanism of action of this treatment.

Melatonin ameliorates cypermethrin-induced impairments by regulating oxidative stress, DNA damage and apoptosis in porcine Sertoli cells.

Cypermethrin (CYP) is a widely used insecticide that may be harmful to nontarget species. However, the toxicity of CYP to porcine Sertoli cells (SCs) and its associated mechanism is not known. We investigated the toxicity of CYP and showed that CYP induced cytotoxicity in porcine SCs in a dose-dependent manner. Mechanistic investigations revealed that CYP induced oxidative stress and DNA damage in porcine SCs, which provoked mitochondria-associated apoptosis. CYP also stimulated the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) to induce porcine SC apoptosis and inhibited cell proliferation via the inhibition of nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) expression. The natural antioxidant melatonin had an obvious protective effect against CYP-induced porcine SC toxicity. Overall, our results reveal that the mechanism underlying CYP-induced toxicity in porcine SCs involves oxidative stress, DNA damage, and apoptosis and suggest that melatonin may be used as a highly effective protective agent against oxidative stress.

Asiatic acid supplementation during the in vitro culture period improves early embryonic development of porcine embryos produced by parthenogenetic activation, somatic cell nuclear transfer and in vitro fertilization.

Asiatic acid is a pentacyclic triterpene enriched in the medicinal herb Centella asiatica, and it has been suggested to possess free radical scavenging and anti-apoptotic properties. The purpose of the current study was to explore the effects of asiatic acid on porcine early-stage embryonic development and the potential mechanisms for any observed effects. The results showed that 10 µM asiatic acid supplementation during the in vitro culture period dramatically improved developmental competence in porcine embryos derived from parthenogenetic activation (PA), somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) and in vitro fertilization (IVF). Further analysis revealed that asiatic acid attenuated H2O2-induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Notably, asiatic acid not only enhanced intracellular GSH levels but also attenuated mitochondrial dysfunction. Gene expression analysis revealed that asiatic acid upregulated expression of the antioxidant-related gene Sod-1 and the blastocyst formation related gene Cox-2, while downregulating expression of the apoptosis-related gene Caspase-9 in SCNT blastocysts. These results suggest that asiatic acid exerts beneficial effects on early embryonic development in porcine embryos and that asiatic acid may be useful for improving the in vitro production of porcine embryos.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the Spotted dove (Streptopelia chinensis).

The Spotted dove (Streptopelia chinensis) is a member of the bird family Columbidae. In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome of this species. The mitochondrial genome of Spotted dove is a circular molecule of 16,966 bp in size and contains 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and one control region. The total base composition is 30.1% for A, 32.1% for C, 13.9% for G, and 23.9% for T. These data will be useful for the phylogenetic and population diversity analyses of birds, especially Columbidae species.

The complete sequence of the mitochondrial genome of Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus).

In the present study, the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) was determined for the first time. It has a total length of 16,656 bp, and contains 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 ribosome RNA genes and 1 control region. The nucleotide composition is 31.3% for A, 26.2% for C, 14.8% for G and 27.7% for T, respectively. The D-loop region located between tRNAPro and tRNAPhe contains a (ACACGTACACGCAT)18 tandem repeat array. The data will be useful for the investigation of the genetic structure and diversity in the natural and farmed population of Arctic foxes.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the Common redpoll (Carduelis flammea).

The Common redpoll (Carduelis flammea) is one species of family Fringillidae. In the present study, we determined the complete mitochondrial DNA sequences of this species. The mitochondrial genome of Common redpoll is a circular molecule of 16 820 bp in size and contains 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and 1 control region. The total base composition is 31.35% for C, 14.14% for G, 30.57% for A and 23.94% for T, respectively. The phylogenetic tree of Common redpoll and 12 other closely related Fringillidae species was built. These data will be useful for studying the genetic diversity within the species of Common redpoll and phylogenetic relationships among different Fringillidae species.

[Observation on therapeutic effect of acupuncture of five Shu-points of the liver meridian combined with bloodletting for depression patients and concomitant changes of blood rheology].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture of five Shu-points of the Liver Meridian plus bloodletting for depression patients and its effect on hemorheology. METHODS: Thirty depression outpatients were randomly and equally divided into medication and acupuncture + bloodletting groups. Patients of the medication group were treated with Fluoxetine (20 mg/d, PO. in the morning) and those of the acupuncture + bloodletting group treated by acupuncture of Xingjian (LR 2), Taichong (LR 3), Zhongfeng (LR 4) and Ququan (LR 5) first, followed by pricking Dadun (LR 1) to let a little bit of blood out. The treatment was given once every other day, two months altogether. The therapeutic effect was assessed by using Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) and the Clinical Global Impression Scale for Severity of Illness (CGI-SI) before and 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after the treatment, respectively. Changes of hemorheology were detected by using a blood rheology detector. RESULTS: Of the 15 outpatients in both medication and acupuncture + bloodletting groups, 6 (40.00%) and 6 (40.00%) were cured basically, 5 (33.34%) and 4 (26.67%) experienced marked improvement, 2 (13.33%) and 3 (20.00%) were improved, and 2 (13.33%) and 2 (13.33%) invalid, respectively. No significant difference was found between the two groups in the therapeutic effect (P > 0.05). On the 6th and 8th weeks of the treatment, the CGI-SI score of the acupuncture + bloodletting group was significantly lower than that of the medication group (P < 0.05), suggesting a better therapeutic effect of the acupuncture + bloodletting group. The low and high shear viscosity of whole blood, erythrocyte aggregation index and rigidity index, and fibrinogen levels of the two groups were decreased significantly after the treatment (P < 0.05). No significant difference was found between the two groups in the changes of hemorheology indexes following the treatment (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture of the five Shu-points of the Liver Meridian combined with bloodletting is effective in relieving depression symptoms and improving blood rheology in depression patients.

[Effect of electroacupuncture on hypothalamic leptin and leptin receptor mRNA expression in rats with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on leptin and leptin receptor(Ob-rb) mRNA expression in the hypothalamus of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) rats, so as to reveal its underlying mechanism in the treatment of NAFLD inflammation. METHODS: Thirty-two male SD rats were randomly divided into control group (n = 10), model group (n = 11) and EA group (n = 11). NAFLD model was established by feeding the animals with high fat diet for 8 weeks. EA (10 Hz, 1.5 V, 30 min) was applied to unilateral "Fenglong" (ST 40) and "Zusanli" (ST 36), once daily for 4 weeks. After the treatment, all the rats were sacrificed for collecting the liver to make pathological observation after HE staining and for taking the hypothalamus tissue out to detect the leptin mRNA and leptin receptor (Ob-rb) mRNA expression by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Serum total cholesterol (TC) and triglyeride (TG) contents were detected by chromatometry. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, serum TC and TG levels increased significantly in the model group (P < 0.05). While compared with model group, both TC and TG levels in EA group were reduced considerably (P < 0.05). In comparison with control group, the expression of hypothalamic leptin mRNA and Ob-rb mRNA was down-regulated remarkably (P < 0.05), while 4 weeks after EA treatment, both leptin mRNA expression and Ob-rb mRNA expression were up-regulated obviously (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: EA can lower serum TG and TC contents in NAFLD rats, which is closely related to its effects in up-regulating the expression of hypothalamic leptin mRNA and Ob-rb mRNA.

[Study on regulatory mechanism of bovine early embryos development based on the analysis of gene expression data].

The death of early embryo development will bring huge economic losses in animal husbandry, especially for dairy production of cattle. Thus, it has an extremely important value to study the process of early embryonic development. In our study, one dataset of gene expression was chosen from the public database of GEO, which was related to bovine preimplantation development. Significance and clustering analyses were used to study the genome expression patterns of each stage during bovine preimplantation development. The whole process was assigned to three main groups. The waves of significant gene expression in each stage indicated that both 8-cell and 16-cell stages played an important role during the process of bovine preimplantation development. Further functional analysis and pathway analysis revealed that some major factors and related pathways are required for distinctive developmental stages.

[Influence of electroacupuncture on hippocampal somatostatin (SS) and SS mRNA expression in chronic stress-induced depression rats].

OBJECTIVE: To study the underlying mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) in relieving depression. METHODS: A total of 30 Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control group (n=10), model group (n=10) and EA group (n=10). Depression model was established by lonely raising and chronic unpredictable mild stress for 21 days. EA (2 Hz, 1 mA) was applied to "Baihui" (GV 20) and "Sanyinjiao" (SP 6) for 20 min, once daily for 14 days. The expression (option density) of hippocampal somatostatin (SS) and SS mRNA was detected by using immunohistochemistry and reversed transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) techniques respectively. RESULTS: Compared to normal control group, the crossing movement and rearing movement times of open-field test, and sucrose consumption in model group decreased significantly (P < 0.01), and hippocampal SS and SS mRNA expressions were downregulated remarkably (P < 0.05). Compared to model group, the crossing movement and rearing movement times in EA group increased considerably (P < 0.01), and hippocampal SS and SS mRNA expressions were upregulated remarkably (P < 0.05). No significant difference was found between EA and normal control groups in SS and SS mRNA expression. CONCLUSION: EA can effectively improve depression rats' behavior activity and upregulate hippocampal SS and SS mRNA expression.