Liver Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Energy Regulation and Functional Impairment of Onychostoma sima During Starvation.

Releasing juvenile fish into resource-depleted waters is regarded as an effective way to restore fishery resources. However, during this stage, released fish are most vulnerable to long-term food deprivation due to environmental changes and low adaptability. Therefore, research regarding the energy regulation of fish under starvation stress is crucial to the optimization of release strategies. In this study, we performed a transcriptome analysis of the liver of Onychostoma sima subjected to starvation for 14 days. The results showed that, under long-term starvation, the liver regulated glucose homeostasis by activating the gluconeogenesis pathway. Meanwhile, the fatty acid metabolism pathway was activated to supply acetyl-coA to the TCA cycle, thus increasing mitochondrial ATP production and maintaining the balance of energy metabolism. Nevertheless, the activation of energy metabolism could not completely compensate for the role of exogenous nutrients, as evidenced by the downregulation of many genes involved in antioxidant defenses (e.g., cat, gpx3, mgst1, and mgst2) and immune response (e.g., c3, cd22, trnfrsf14, and a2ml). In summary, our data reveal the effects of long-term starvation on the energy metabolism and defensive regulation of starved juvenile fish, and these findings will provide important reference for the optimization of artificial release.

Prevalence and Mortality due to COVID-19 in HIV Co-Infected Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was defined as a species of beta coronavirus causing atypical respiratory disease in humans. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented health and economic crisis worldwide. Little is known about the specifics of its influence on people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (PLWHA). In this study, we aim to investigate the prevalence and mortality in PLWHA co-infected with COVID-19. METHODS: The databases PUBMED, EMBASE, BioRxiv, and medRxiv were searched up to 9 March 2021 to explore the prevalence and mortality rate of COVID-19 in PLWHA. Cohort studies and case series meeting the inclusion criteria were included in this review. RESULTS: We identified 14 eligible studies, 9 of which were cohort and 5 were case series. A total of 203,761 patients with COVID-19 were identified (7718 PLWHA vs. 196,043 non-PLWHA). Meta-analyses estimated the prevalence and mortality rate of COVID-19 in PLWHA was 0.774% [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.00393-0.01517] and 8.814% (95% CI 0.05766-0.13245) respectively. COVID-19 co-infected PLWHA do not seem to be associated with higher mortality, as compared to non-PLWHA [relative risk (RR) 0.96 (95% CI 0.88-1.06)]. The presence of comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus, RR 5.2 (95% CI 4.25-6.36), hypertension and chronic cardiac disease, RR 4.2 (95% CI 1.09-16.10), and chronic kidney disease, RR 8.43 (95% CI 5.49-12.93) were associated with an increased mortality in COVID-19 co-infected PLWHA. CONCLUSION: The estimated prevalence and mortality rate of COVID-19 in PLWHA were 0.774% and 8.814%, respectively. Since most of the included studies used unmatched populations, comparisons between PLWHA and non-PLWHA should be interpreted with caution. Further investigations are needed for a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between cluster of differentiation 4 cell count, HIV viral load, antiretroviral therapy, and COVID-19 related prognosis in PLWHA.

Pulmonary nocardiosis in a patient with pemphigus foliaceus: case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Nocardiosis is an uncommon opportunistic infection seen in immunocompromised patients or those with a dysfunctional immune system. Nocardia asteroides infection in patients with Pemphigus foliaceus (PF) has never been reported. CASE PRESENTATION: We report an interesting case of nocardiosis-characterized by pulmonary intra-cavitary infection, in a 54-year-old man with PF and diabetes mellitus. The man finally recovered from the infection. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first case reporting pulmonary nocardiosis in a patient with PF. We recommend that physicians be aware of nocardiosis in patients with pemphigus as a possible cause of underlying infectious disease to avoid misdiagnoses and mismanagement.

Acitretin modulates HaCaT cells proliferation through STAT1- and STAT3-dependent signaling.

Acitretin has been a valuable option for the treatment of psoriasis, however, the molecular events of acitretin leading to the normalization of keratinocytes differentiation on psoriasis patients have not been fully explored. To investigate whether there were certain relationship between keratinocytes proliferation and JAK/STAT signaling pathways in psoriasis, and how acitretin modulated the signaling pathways. HaCaT cells, an in vitro immortal human keratinocyte cell line, was chosen as a in vitro model of psoriasis. The small interfering RNA targeting STAT1 (siRNA-STAT1) and STAT3 (siRNA-STAT3) were subsequently transfected into the HaCaT cells which were treated with or without acitretin. We found that HaCaT cells proliferation and the expression of STAT1 or STAT3 were inhibited by acitretin, siRNA-STAT1 and siRNA-STAT3. Our experimental data shows that acitretin might inhibit HaCaT cells proliferation in psoriasis by decreasing the expression of STAT- and STAT3-dependent mechanism.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Schizothorax prenanti (Tchang) (Teleostei, Cyprinidae, Schizothoracinae).

The ya-fish, Schizothorax prenanti, is a well-known commercial cold-water fish species with the hexaploid karyotype distributed in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and its tributaries on the western Sichuan Plateau in China. The complete mitogenome of S. prenanti is 16,587 bp in length, containing 37 genes of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes and a control region (D-loop). The gene nucleotide composition of S. prenanti is 29.6% A, 25.4% T, 27.1% C and 17.9% G, with a slight AT bias of 55.0%. The complete mitogenome sequence of S. prenanti could provide useful data for further studies on genetic structure and diversity, as well as the artificial cultivation and breeding of S. prenanti.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Gymnodiptychus pachycheilus (Teleostei, Cyprinidae, Schizothoracinae).

Gymnodiptychus pachycheilus, an endangered cold-water fish belonging to the specialized schizothoracins, is distributed in plateau lakes and the upper reaches of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China. In this study, we determined the complete mitogenome sequence of G. pachycheilus. Its complete mitochondrial genome is 16,675 bp in size, and includes 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes and 1 control region, which has identical genomic organization and structure to other vertebrates, with the exception of 86 bp non-coding region between tRNA(Thr) and tRNA(Pro). This new complete mitogenome could provide useful data for further studies on stock evaluation and conservation genetics of this species.