ABSTRACT
The apicomplexan Eimeria ovinoidalis is distributed worldwide. It can cause clinical coccidiosis, which is one of the most pathogenic species in sheep, reducing growth rates and resulting in significant economic losses in the industry. Its principal clinical sign is profuse diarrhoea in young animals. In this study, we established a model of E. ovinoidalis infection in lambs to understand its pathogenicity and evaluate the gut microbiota and fecal metabolite profiles. Specifically, we observed a significant shift in the abundance of bacteria and disrupted metabolism in lambs. Especially during the peak period of excrete oocysts, it promoted the reproduction of some harmful bacteria in Proteobacteria and Actinobacteriota, and reduced the abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Lachnospiraceae and Rikenellaceae. In the later stage of the patent period, the abundance of harmful bacteria in the intestine decreased, the abundance of beneficial bacteria which could produce anti-inflammatory substances began to increase, and the abundance and diversity of intestinal flora also tended to parallel with the control group. Coccidia infection could lead to the increase of differential metabolites and metabolic pathways between infected and control group, but the difference decreased with time. During the peak period of excrete oocysts, although the antimicrobial metabolites such as Lividamine were up-regulated, the excess of these metabolites could still induce the production of endotoxin, while Butanoic acid and other anti-inflammatory metabolites decreased significantly. A metabolomics analysis showed that E. ovinoidalis infection altered metabolites and metabolic pathways, with biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, Teichoic acid biosynthesis and Butanoate metabolism as the major disrupted metabolic pathways. Details of the gut microbiota and the metabolome after infection with E. ovinoidalis may aid in the discovery of specific diagnostic markers and help us understand the changes in parasite metabolic pathways.
Subject(s)
Coccidiosis , Eimeria , Feces , Gastrointestinal Microbiome , Sheep Diseases , Animals , Eimeria/physiology , Coccidiosis/veterinary , Coccidiosis/parasitology , Sheep , Sheep Diseases/parasitology , Sheep Diseases/microbiology , Feces/parasitology , Feces/microbiologyABSTRACT
Buffalo colostrum is the initial mammary secretion after parturition, consisting of nutritional and bioactive components. In this study, we conducted a proteomic analysis of buffalo colostrum whey to identify bioactive proteins and peptides. A total of 107 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified in buffalo colostrum whey compared to those in mature milk. Gene Ontology analysis revealed that DEPs were primarily associated with immune response and tissue development. KEGG pathway enrichment suggested that colostrum actively enhances nascent immunity involved in interleukin and interferon signaling pathways. Furthermore, candidate antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) of whey protein hydrolysates from buffalo colostrum were characterized, which exhibits broad-spectrum activity against gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens. Overall, this study improves our understanding of protein variations in buffalo lactation, and contributes to the development of AMPs from buffalo colostrum.
Subject(s)
Antimicrobial Peptides , Buffaloes , Colostrum , Milk , Proteomics , Whey Proteins , Animals , Colostrum/chemistry , Colostrum/metabolism , Female , Antimicrobial Peptides/chemistry , Antimicrobial Peptides/analysis , Antimicrobial Peptides/pharmacology , Antimicrobial Peptides/metabolism , Milk/chemistry , Whey Proteins/chemistry , Whey Proteins/metabolism , Whey Proteins/analysis , Whey/chemistry , Whey/metabolismABSTRACT
Blastocystis sp., Enterocytozoon bieneusi, and Giardia duodenalis are three common zoonotic intestinal parasites, and cattle are important hosts of these three intestinal protozoa. In this study, 1632 fecal samples were collected from dairy farms in Heilongjiang Province, China, and screened for Blastocystis sp., E. bieneusi, and G. duodenalis using polymerase chain reaction. Of these, 149 (9.13%) were positive for three zoonotic pathogens, including 104 (6.40%), 22 (1.35%), and 23 (1.41%) for Blastocystis sp., E. bieneusi, and G. duodenalis, respectively. Based on partial SSU rRNA gene sequencing analysis, 104 positive samples of Blastocystis sp. were found, and a total of nine known subtypes were identified, including ST10 (61), ST3 (18), ST14 (6), ST26 (7), ST24 (3), ST25 (2), ST1 (2), ST5 (2), and ST21 (1). Among these, three subtypes (ST1, ST3, and ST5) were recognized as zoonotic subtypes, and two subtypes (ST10 and ST14) were specific to animals. All 23 Giardia duodenalis-positive samples belonged to assemblage E (n = 23) based on sequenced beta-giardin (bg) and triosephosphate isomerase (tpi) genes. Three known genotypes of E. bieneusi, namely J (n = 9), I (n = 6), and BEB4 (n = 7), were identified by sequence analysis of the internal transcriptional spacer region gene. Our study provides basic data for prevention and control in Heilongjiang Province; however, further research is required to better understand the prevalence and public health significance of these pathogens in the Heilongjiang region.
Subject(s)
Cryptosporidium , Enterocytozoon , Giardia lamblia , Giardiasis , Microsporidiosis , Animals , Cattle , Giardia lamblia/genetics , Giardiasis/epidemiology , Giardiasis/veterinary , Giardiasis/parasitology , Enterocytozoon/genetics , Microsporidiosis/epidemiology , Microsporidiosis/veterinary , China/epidemiology , Genotype , Feces/parasitology , Prevalence , Cryptosporidium/geneticsABSTRACT
Heat stress (HS) is a stressor that negatively affect female reproduction. Specially, oocytes are very sensitive to HS. It has been demonstrated that some active compounds can protect oocyte from HS. We previously found that Mogroside V (MV), extracted from Siraitia grosvenorii (Luo Han Guo), can protect oocyte from many kinds of stresses. However, how MV alleviates HS-induced disruption of oocyte maturation remains unknown. In this study, we treated the HS-induced porcine oocytes with MV to examine their maturation and quality. Our findings demonstrate that MV can effectively alleviate HS-induced porcine oocyte abnormal cumulus cell expansion, decrease of first polar body extrusion rate, spindle assembly and chromosome separation abnormalities, indicating MV attenuates oocyte mature defects. We further observed that MV can effectively alleviate HS-induced cortical granule distribution abnormality and decrease of blastocyst formation rate after parthenogenesis activation. In addition, MV treatment reversed mitochondrial dysfunction and lipid droplet content decrease, reduced reactive oxygen species levels, early apoptosis and DNA damage in porcine oocytes after HS. Collectively, this study suggests that MV can effectively protect porcine oocytes from HS.
Subject(s)
In Vitro Oocyte Maturation Techniques , Oocytes , Triterpenes , Swine , Female , Animals , In Vitro Oocyte Maturation Techniques/veterinary , Oogenesis , Reactive Oxygen Species/pharmacology , Heat-Shock ResponseABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: With the promotion of "One Health," the health of animals and their impact on the environment have become major concerns recently. Widely distributed in China, the whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus) and black swans (Cygnus atratus) are not only important to the ecological environment, but they may also potentially influence public health security. The metagenomic approach was adopted to uncover the impacts of the gut microbiota of swans on host and public health. RESULTS: In this study, the intestinal microbiome and resistome of migratory whooper swans and captive-bred black swans were identified. The results revealed similar gut microbes and functional compositions in whooper and black swans. Interestingly, different bacteria and probiotics were enriched by overwintering whooper swans. We also found that Acinetobacter and Escherichia were significantly enriched in early wintering period swans and that clinically important pathogens were more abundant in black swans. Whooper swans and black swans are potential reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and novel ARGs, and the abundance of novel ARGs in whooper swans was significantly higher than that in black swans. Metagenomic assembly-based host tracking revealed that most ARG-carrying contigs originated from Proteobacteria (mainly Gammaproteobacteria). CONCLUSIONS: The results revealed spatiotemporal changes in microbiome and resistome in swans, providing a reference for safeguarding public health security and preventing animal epidemics.
Subject(s)
Anseriformes , Gastrointestinal Microbiome , Microbiota , One Health , Animals , Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics , China , Ducks , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Fatigue, one of the most important factors affecting road safety, has attracted many researchers' attention. Most existing fatigue detection methods are based on feature engineering and classification models. The feature engineering is greatly influenced by researchers' domain knowledge, which will lead to a poor performance in fatigue detection, especially in cross-subject experiment design. In addition, fatigue detection is often simplified as a classification problem of several discrete states. Models based on deep learning can realize automatic feature extraction without the limitation of researcher's domain knowledge. Therefore, this paper proposes a regression model combined convolutional neural network and recurrent neural network for electroencephalogram-based (EEG-based) cross-subject fatigue detection. At the same time, a twofold random-offset zero-overlapping sampling method is proposed to train a bigger model and reduce overfitting. Compared with existing results, the proposed method achieves a much better result of 0.94 correlation coefficient (COR) and 0.09 root mean square error (RMSE) in a within-subject experiment design. What is more, there is no misclassification between awake and drowsy states. For cross-subject experiment design, the COR and RMSE are 0.79 and 0.15, respectively, which are close to the existing within-subject results and better than similar cross-subject results. The cross-subject regression model is very important for fatigue detection application since the fatigue indication is more precise than several discrete states and no model calibration is required for a new user. The twofold random-offset zero-overlapping sampling method can also be used as a reference by other EEG-based deep learning research.
Subject(s)
Electroencephalography , Neural Networks, Computer , CalibrationABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: A close connection between a protozoan parasite and the balance of the other gut microbes of the host has been demonstrated. The calves may be naturally co-infected with many parasites, and the co-effects of parasites on other intestinal microbes of calves remain unclear. This study aims to preliminarily reveal the relationship between intestinal parasites and other intestinal microbes in calves. METHODS: Fecal samples were collected from four calves with bloody diarrhea, four calves with watery diarrhea, and seven normal calves, and the microbial flora of the samples were analyzed by whole-genome sequencing. Protozoal parasites were detected in the metagenome sequences and identified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: Cryptosporidium, Eimeria, Giardia, Blastocystis, and Entamoeba were detected by metagenomic analysis, and the identified species were Giardia duodenalis assemblage E, Cryptosporidium bovis, Cryptosporidium ryanae, Eimeria bovis, Eimeria subspherica, Entamoeba bovis, and Blastocystis ST2 and ST10. Metagenomic analysis showed that the intestinal microbes of calves with diarrhea were disordered, especially in calves with bloody diarrhea. Furthermore, different parasites show distinct relationships with the intestinal microecology. Cryptosporidium, Eimeria, and Giardia were negatively correlated with various intestinal bacteria but positively correlated with some fungi. However, Blastocystis and Entamoeba were positively associated with other gut microbes. Twenty-seven biomarkers not only were significantly enriched in bloody diarrhea, watery diarrhea, and normal calves but were also associated with Eimeria, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia. Only Eimeria showed a distinct relationship with seven genera of bacteria, which were significantly enriched in the healthy calves. All 18 genera of fungi were positively correlated with Cryptosporidium, Eimeria, and Giardia, which were also significantly enriched in calves with bloody diarrhea. Functional genes related to parasites and diseases were found mainly in fungi. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed the relationship between intestinal protozoan parasites and the other calf gut microbiome. Different intestinal protozoan parasites have diametrically opposite effects on other gut microecology, which not only affects bacteria in the gut, but also is significantly related to fungi and archaea.
Subject(s)
Blastocystis , Cryptosporidiosis , Cryptosporidium , Eimeria , Entamoeba , Giardia lamblia , Giardiasis , Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic , Parasites , Animals , Cattle , Parasites/genetics , Cryptosporidiosis/parasitology , Cryptosporidium/genetics , Metagenome , Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/veterinary , Giardiasis/veterinary , Giardiasis/parasitology , Giardia/genetics , Giardia lamblia/genetics , Blastocystis/genetics , Eimeria/genetics , Entamoeba/genetics , Feces/parasitology , Diarrhea/veterinary , Diarrhea/parasitologyABSTRACT
Cryptosporidium is an important zoonotic pathogen that causes diarrhea in humans and animals, and a leading cause of diarrhea morbidity and mortality in children under 5 years old. However, the meta-analysis of Cryptosporidium infection in children in China has not been published. We searched the databases for articles published on the prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection in children in China since the inception of these databases to 31 October 2022. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection in children was estimated using a random effects model. The results showed that 111 datasets from 24 provinces were selected for the final quantitative analysis. The estimated pooled Cryptosporidium infection prevalence in children in China was 2.9% (3300/126,381). The highest prevalence rate was in southwestern China (4.8%, 365/7766). Subgroup analysis indicated that the Cryptosporidium infection rate in children aged < 3 years (4.9%, 330/8428) was significantly higher than that in children aged 3-6 years (2.5%, 609/26,080) and >6 years (2.6%, 647/27,586). Six Cryptosporidium species were detected in children in China from the selected studies. C. hominis was the dominant species (77.1%, 145/188) and the proportions of subgenotype IaA14R4 of C. hominis was highest (42.8%, 62/145). The findings suggest that Chinese children is in a low level of Cryptosporidium infection, however, the geographical distribution of the infection is extensive. We suggest that measures should be taken to ensure the healthy growth of Chinese children by improving the water environment, increasing public health facilities, strengthening children's health education, and developing sound Cryptosporidium infection control programs.
Subject(s)
Cryptosporidiosis , Cryptosporidium , Animals , Humans , Child , Child, Preschool , Cryptosporidiosis/epidemiology , Cryptosporidium/genetics , Prevalence , Diarrhea/epidemiology , China/epidemiology , FecesABSTRACT
Cryptosporidium spp. are significant opportunistic pathogens causing diarrhoea in humans and animals. Pigs are one of the most important potential hosts for Cryptosporidium. We evaluated the prevalence of Cryptosporidium in pigs globally using published information and a random-effects model. In total, 131 datasets from 36 countries were included in the final quantitative analysis. The global prevalence of Cryptosporidium in pigs was 16.3% (8560/64 809; 95% confidence interval [CI] 15.017.6%). The highest prevalence of Cryptosporidium in pigs was 40.8% (478/1271) in Africa. Post-weaned pigs had a significantly higher prevalence (25.8%; 2739/11 824) than pre-weaned, fattening and adult pigs. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium was higher in pigs with no diarrhoea (12.2%; 371/3501) than in pigs that had diarrhoea (8.0%; 348/4874). Seven Cryptosporidium species (Cryptosporidium scrofarum, Cryptosporidium suis, Cryptosporidium parvum, Cryptosporidium muris, Cryptosporidium tyzzeri, Cryptosporidium andersoni and Cryptosporidium struthioni) were detected in pigs globally. The proportion of C. scrofarum was 34.3% (1491/4351); the proportion of C. suis was 31.8% (1385/4351) and the proportion of C. parvum was 2.3% (98/4351). The influence of different geographic factors (latitude, longitude, mean yearly temperature, mean yearly relative humidity and mean yearly precipitation) on the infection rate of Cryptosporidium in pigs was also analysed. The results indicate that C. suis is the dominant species in pre-weaned pigs, while C. scrofarum is the dominant species in fattening and adult pigs. The findings highlight the role of pigs as possible potential hosts of zoonotic cryptosporidiosis and the need for additional studies on the prevalence, transmission and control of Cryptosporidium in pigs.
Subject(s)
Cryptosporidiosis , Cryptosporidium parvum , Cryptosporidium , Swine Diseases , Swine , Animals , Humans , Cryptosporidiosis/epidemiology , Prevalence , Swine Diseases/epidemiology , Feces , GenotypeABSTRACT
Blastocystis sp. is a common protist that colonizes the intestinal tract in both humans and animals worldwide. A total of 666 fecal samples of Rex rabbits were collected from 12 farms in three administrative regions in Henan, China. Blastocystis sp. was screened and subtyped by PCR amplification of the small subunit ribosomal DNA. The results indicated that 31 (4.7%, 31/666) rabbits were positive for Blastocystis sp. across three farms (25.0%, 3/12). The infection rate of Blastocystis sp. in Rex rabbits was highest in Jiyuan at 9.1% (30/331), followed by Luoyang (0.5%, 1/191), with no positive infections found in Zhengzhou. The Blastocystis sp. infection rate in adults (10.2%, 14/287) was higher than that in young rabbits (4.5%, 17/379) (χ2 = 0.0027, P > 0.50). Four Blastocystis sp. subtypes (ST1, ST3, ST4, and ST17) were identified in rabbits in the present study. Among them, the subtypes ST1 (n = 15) and ST3 (n = 14) were dominant, followed by ST4 (n = 1) and ST17 (n = 1). Blastocystis sp. ST1 was the dominant subtype in adult rabbits, and ST3 was the dominant subtype in young rabbits. This study enriches the data on the prevalence and subtype distributions of Blastocystis sp. in rabbits. More studies are needed among humans, domestic animals, and wild animals to obtain a better understanding of their role in the spread of Blastocystis sp.
Subject(s)
Blastocystis Infections , Blastocystis , Lagomorpha , Adult , Humans , Animals , Rabbits , Blastocystis/genetics , Genetic Variation , Blastocystis Infections/epidemiology , Blastocystis Infections/veterinary , Polymerase Chain Reaction , China/epidemiology , Feces , Prevalence , PhylogenyABSTRACT
With increasing attention on sibling relationship studies in China, one problem that has been neglected is the limited validation of instruments used to assess these relationships. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Sibling Inventory of Behavior to measure Chinese children's sibling relationships using a stratified random sample of 590 parents of three- to six-year-olds in three economic regions. The confirmatory factor analysis obtained an adequate fit, suggesting that the Chinese version of the instrument had a six-factor structure (i.e., Companionship, Empathy, Teaching, Rivalry, Aggression, and Avoidance). It demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency as well as test-retest reliability. Results of discriminant, convergent, and criterion-related validity test also fulfilled psychometric requirements. Furthermore, the residual measurement invariance across regions was discovered. Given the importance, emergence, and tendency of sibling studies in China, having a reliable and valid instrument with robust psychometric properties is essential and impactful.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Exosomes are nanosized membranous vesicles secreted by various types of cells, which facilitate intercellular communication by transporting bioactive compounds. Exosomes are abundant in biological fluids including semen, and their protein composition and the potential of seminal plasma exosomes (SPEs) as fertility biomarkers were elucidated in humans, however, little information is available regarding buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Here, we examined protein correlation between spermatozoa, seminal plasma (SP), and SPEs, and we compared and analyzed protein differences between high-motility (H-motility) and low-motility (L-motility) SPEs in buffalo. RESULTS: SPEs were concentrated and purified by ultracentrifugation combined with sucrose density gradient centrifugation, followed by verification using western blotting, nanoparticle tracking analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. Protein composition in spermatozoa, SP and SPEs, and protein difference in H- and L-motility SPEs were identified by LC-MS/MS proteomic analysis and were functionally analyzed through comprehensive bioinformatics. Many SPEs proteins originated from spermatozoa and SP, and nearly one third were also present in spermatozoa and SP. A series of proteins associated with reproductive processes including sperm capacitation, spermatid differentiation, fertilization, sperm-egg recognition, membrane fusion, and acrosome reaction were integrated in a functional network. Comparative proteomic analyses showed 119 down-regulated and 41 up-regulated proteins in L-motility SPEs, compared with H-motility SPEs. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment of differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) showed that most differential proteins were located in sperm and vesicles, with activities of hydrolase and metalloproteinase, and were involved in sperm-egg recognition, fertilization, single fertilization, and sperm-zona pellucida binding processes, etc. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that differential proteins were mainly involved in the PPRP signaling pathway, calcium signaling pathway, and cAMP signaling pathway, among others. Furthermore, 6 proteins associated with reproduction were validated by parallel reaction monitoring analysis. CONCLUSION: This study provides a comprehensive description of the seminal plasma exosome proteome and may be of use for further screening of biomarkers associated with male infertility.
Subject(s)
Exosomes , Semen , Animals , Male , Humans , Semen/metabolism , Buffaloes , Sperm Motility , Chromatography, Liquid , Exosomes/metabolism , Proteomics , Tandem Mass Spectrometry , Spermatozoa/metabolism , Proteome/metabolismABSTRACT
In hens, egg production depends on the development of germ cells in the ovary. Germ cells are established before birth, and their number gradually decreases during their lifespan. Therefore, it is essential to determine the time points of massive germ cell loss and the underlying mechanism. In this study, a gene-edited chicken with mCherry fluorescence specifically expressed in the germline was generated by the integration of the mCherry gene into the 3'-end of the DAZL locus, which facilitated the isolation of germ cells from the gonads of DAZL-mCherry embryos or chicks and quantification using flow cytometry based on the observation of red fluorescence. The results demonstrated the dynamics of germ cell development from embryos at 17 d of hatching (dh) to chickens at 7 d post-hatch (dph) and revealed a substantial loss of germ cells in the late embryonic stage (18 -19 dh) and post-hatch period (2 -3 dph). Additionally, the number of germ cells in DAZL × Guangxi Ma chicken was significantly higher than that in DAZL × Lohmann Pink chicken at 19 dh and 3 dph (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the numbers of germ cells positively correlated with the body weight in DAZL × Lohmann Pink chicken. In conclusion, our results showed the dynamics of germ cell development in chicken ovaries during peri-hatch periods and indicated the time point of substantial germ cell loss. The results provide evidence for further exploration of the underlying mechanism and serve as a reference for chicken breeding and management.
Subject(s)
Chickens , Gene Editing , Animals , Female , Chickens/genetics , Gene Editing/veterinary , China , Gonads , Germ CellsABSTRACT
Low anterior rectal resection is an effective way to treat rectal cancer at present, but it is easy to cause low anterior resection syndrome after surgery; so, a comprehensive diagnosis of defecation and pelvic floor function must be carried out. There are few studies on the classification of diagnoses in the field of intestinal diseases. In response to these outstanding problems, this research will focus on the design of the intestinal function diagnosis system and the image processing and classification algorithm of the intestinal wall to verify an efficient fusion method, which can be used to diagnose the intestinal diseases in clinical medicine. The diagnostic system designed in this paper makes up for the singleness of clinical monitoring methods. At the same time, the Res-SVDNet neural network model is used to solve the problems of small intestinal image samples and network overfitting, and achieve efficient fusion diagnosis of intestinal diseases in patients. Different models were used to compare experiments on the constructed datasets to verify the applicability of the Res-SVDNet model in intestinal image classification. The accuracy of the model was 99.54%, which is several percentage points higher than other algorithm models.
Subject(s)
Intestinal Diseases , Rectal Neoplasms , Humans , Rectal Neoplasms/complications , Rectal Neoplasms/surgery , Postoperative Complications/diagnosis , Postoperative Complications/etiology , Intestinal Diseases/complicationsABSTRACT
Retinal detachment (RD) and its special form of rhegmatogenous RD associated with choroidal detachment (RRDCD) feature similar pathological alterations, including enhanced retinal cell inflammation. Although the importance of the complement components C3a and C5a and their corresponding receptors in retinal maintenance has been demonstrated, the relevance of these molecules to the pathogenesis of RD or RRDCD remains to be investigated. The contents of C3a, C5a and inflammatory factors, such as TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6 and prostaglandin (PG)E2, in related clinical samples were examined by ELISA. Subsequently, human retinal pigment epithelial (HRPE) cells were subjected to challenge with the C3a and C5a recombinant proteins with or without C3a and C5a antagonists and NF-κB inhibitor, and the cell viability and inflammatory cytokines were then determined by a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and ELISA, respectively. In addition, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blot analyses were utilized to examine the mRNA or/and protein levels of C3a and its receptor C3aR, as well as C5a and its receptor C5aR, and NF-κB. In addition, the correlation of C3a and C5a with the aforementioned inflammatory factors was analyzed. The inflammatory factor levels of C3a and C5a were considerably elevated in patients with RRDCD compared to those in the controls. Consistently, C3a and C5a treatment led to increased cell viability and aggravated inflammation in HRPE cells. Accordingly, C3a and C5a induced upregulation of their corresponding receptors C3aR and C5aR, which was in turn observed to be linked to the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation of the complements C3a and C5a with individual TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6 and PGE2. Taken together, the C3a-C3aR and C5a-C5aR pathways were indicated to promote cell viability and inflammation of HRPE cells by targeting the NF-κB signaling pathway.
ABSTRACT
In wheat, a series of dwarf and semi-dwarf plant varieties have been developed and utilized worldwide since the 1960s and caused the 'Green Revolution'. To date, 25 reduced-height (Rht) genes have been identified, but only several genes for plant height (PH) have been isolated previously. In this study, we identified a candidate gene, ATP-dependent DNA helicase (TaDHL-7B), for PH via QTL mapping and genome-wide association study (GWAS) methods. We knocked out this gene using the CRISPR/Cas9 system in variety 'Fielder'. Two homozygous mutant genotypes, AAbbDD (-5 bp) and AAbbDD (-1 bp), were obtained in the T2 generation. The PH values of AAbbDD (-5 bp) and AAbbDD (-1 bp) were significantly reduced compared with the wild-type (WT, 'Fielder'), indicating that TaDHL-7B is a novel Rht gene that controls the PH. This is the first time that a PH gene of wheat has been isolated with a non-hormone pathway, providing a new insight into the genetic control of PH. The TaDHL gene reduced the PH without a yield penalty. It could be used to improve the lodging resistance and yield in wheat breeding programs.
Subject(s)
Plant Breeding , Triticum , DNA Helicases/genetics , Genes, Plant , Genome-Wide Association Study , Triticum/geneticsABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease is a rare but the most aggressive form of glomerulonephritis. To dissect the prognostic factors, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical features of a large cohort and compared the clinical features and prognosis during decades. METHODS: Data on clinical manifestation, treatment, and prognosis were collected. Cox models and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to investigate the predictors for outcomes. The Kaplan-Meier curve and log-rank test were used to compare kidney and patient survival. RESULTS: A total of 448 patients were enrolled. Patient survival and kidney survival at 1 year was 69.4% and 37.7%, respectively. During the past 3 decades, mortality at 3 months and 1 year significantly dropped from 37.5% and 57.1% in 1991-2000 to 2.8% and 6.9% in 2011-2020 (p < 0.001), respectively; kidney prognosis showed a tendency of improvement as well. Serum creatinine (Scr) on diagnosis (HR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.05-1.29) and crescent percentage (HR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.34-2.24) were independent predictors for end-stage kidney disease. ROC curve showed that the optimal cutoff point of Scr on diagnosis for prediction of dialysis dependency at 1 year was 536.4 µmol/L (sensitivity 88.3% and specificity 80.8%). Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs) positivity (HR, 4.43; 95% CI, 1.72-11.38) was a predictor for mortality. Plasma exchange was associated with a better patient prognosis (HR, 0.40; 95% CI 0.16-0.95). CONCLUSION: Scr on diagnosis and percentage of crescents were predictors for kidney outcomes. Positive ANCA was a predictor for mortality. Overall patient prognosis of anti-GBM disease was improved during the past 3 decades.