Thoracic endometriosis presented as catamental hemoptysis: a case series of a rare disease.

OBJECTIVE: Thoracic endometriosis syndrome (TES) is a rare disease in which a functioning endometrial tissue is observed in the pleura, lung, parenchyma, airways, and/or diaphragm. The optimal management of this disease remains a matter of debate. We aimed to report TES cases and their effective hormonal treatment and management. METHODS: In this retrospective study, women presented as catamenial hemoptysis (CH) diagnosed with thoracic endometriosis were included. The main outcome of measure was cessation or recurrence of the clinical manifestations of thoracic endometriosis. RESULTS: The mean onset age of the 14 patients was 30.21 ± 5.40 years. CH was characteristic symptom of these patients. All patients underwent chest computed tomography (CT) scan during menstruation and 2 or 3 weeks after menstruation, which showed the obvious shrinking or disappearance of the lesions. All of the patients were given Gonadotropin releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa) for 3 to 6 months, eleven of them were administered with combined oral contraceptives (COC) cyclically after GnRHa. The median follow-up duration was 24 months. Hemoptysis recurrence was observed in one patient. CONCLUSIONS: CH is a rare clinical entity of thoracic endometriosis, the change of CT images during and after menstruation or the response to GnRHa were helpful for accurate diagnosis. Hormonal treatment with GnRHa followed by COCs cyclically could be employed for efficient management of thoracic endometriosis.

PCTR1 improves pulmonary edema fluid clearance through activating the sodium channel and lymphatic drainage in lipopolysaccharide-induced ARDS.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a lethal clinical syndrome characterized by damage of the epithelial barriers and accumulation of pulmonary edema fluid. Protectin conjugates in tissue regeneration 1 (PCTR1), an endogenously produced lipid mediator, are believed to exert anti-inflammatory and pro-resolution effects. PCTR1 (1 µg/kg) was injected at 8 hr after lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 14 mg/kg) administration, and the rate of pulmonary fluid clearance was measured in live rats at 1 hr after PCTR1 treatment. The primary type II alveolar epithelial cells were cultured with PCTR1 (10 nmol/ml) and LPS (1 µg/ml) for 8 hr. PCTR1 effectively improved pulmonary fluid clearance and ameliorated morphological damage and reduced inflammation of lung tissue, as well as improved the survival rate in the LPS-induced acute lung injury (ALI) model. Moreover, PCTR1 markedly increased sodium channel expression as well as Na, K-ATPase expression and activity in vivo and in vitro. In addition, PCTR1i also upregulated the expression of LYVE-1 in vivo. Besides that, BOC-2, HK7, and LY294002 blocked the promoted effect of PCTR1 on pulmonary fluid clearance. Taken together, PCTR1 upregulates sodium channels' expression via activating the ALX/cAMP/P-Akt/Nedd4-2 pathway and increases Na, K-ATPase expression and activity to promote alveolar fluid clearance. Moreover, PCTR1 also promotes the expression of LYVE-1 to recover the lymphatic drainage resulting in the increase of lung interstitial fluid clearance. In summary, these results highlight a novel systematic mechanism for PCTR1 in pulmonary edema fluid clearance after ALI/ARDS, suggesting its potential role in a therapeutic approach for ALI/ARDS.

Improvement of growth, intestinal short-chain fatty acids, non-specific immunity and ammonia resistance in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) fed dietary water-soluble chitosan and mixed probiotics.

This study was to explore the impacts of water-soluble chitosan and mixed probiotics on growth performance, intestinal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and immunity and ammonia resistance in Litopenaeus vannamei. Shrimp were fed one of four experimental diets including basal diet (CON), 0.10% water-soluble chitosan diet (WSC), 0.30% mixed probiotics (MP) and 0.10% water-soluble chitosan +0.30% mixed probiotics (SYN) for 8 weeks. Results showed shrimp fed with dietary MP and SYN diets could significantly improve growth performance and feed utilization in comparison with those of shrimp fed with CON diet (P < 0.05). Acetic acid content was significantly higher in shrimp fed with all supplemented diets compared to that in shrimp fed with CON diet (P < 0.05). Compared to shrimp fed with CON diet, dietary WSC and MP significantly influenced the contents and/or activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total protein (TP), superoxide dismutase (SOD), lysozyme (LZM) in serum, SOD, malondialdehyde (MDA), acid phosphatase (ACP) in hepatopancreas and SOD and MDA in intestine. In addition, the gene expression levels of prophenoloxidase (proPO), penaiedin 3a (Pen-3a), crustin (Crustin), serine proteinase (SP), GPX and SOD in hepatopancreas, were significantly upregulated compared to those in CON diet at some time points (P < 0.05). Significantly higher survival rate in all supplemented diets were observed after ammonia challenge (P < 0.05). Therefore, the above results indicated dietary WSC and MP or SYN could enhance intestinal SCFAs content, stimulated antioxidant capacity and immune response, and increase the ammonia resistance of Litopenaeus vannamei. Besides, the growth performance was also improved by dietary MP and SYN.

Changes in growth performance, aflatoxin B1 residues, immune response and antioxidant status of Litopenaeus vannamei fed with AFB1-contaminated diets and the regulating effect of dietary myo-inositol supplementation.

This study aimed to investigate if myo-inositol (MI) supplementation could alleviate adverse effects caused by aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) with respect to growth performance, AFB1 residues, immune response and antioxidant status of Litopenaeus vannamei. 800 shrimp (initial weight: 1.1 g) were divided into five groups: MI0 (basal diet); MI0 + LA, MI0 + HA, MI200 + LA and MI200 + HA fed with AFB1-contaminated diets (LA, low concentration AFB1; HA, high concentration AFB1; MI200, adding 200 mg MI kg-1 diet). The results showed that HA significantly decreased growth performance, systemic inositol content and lipid content. AFB1 residues were detected in the hepatopancreas of shrimp, but not the muscle. Histological lesions were observed in MI0 + LA and MI0 + HA groups. HA supplementation raised malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl content and reduced some antioxidant enzyme activities and immune-related genes expression, which was slightly ameliorated by MI supplementation. Our results suggest that myo-inositol may slightly mitigate negative impacts caused by AFB1 in L. vannamei.

Maresin Conjugates in Tissue Regeneration 1 improves alveolar fluid clearance by up-regulating alveolar ENaC, Na, K-ATPase in lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury.

Maresin Conjugates in Tissue Regeneration 1 (MCTR1) is a newly identified macrophage-derived sulfido-conjugated mediator that stimulates the resolution of inflammation. This study assessed the role of MCTR1 in alveolar fluid clearance (AFC) in a rat model of acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Rats were intravenously injected with MCTR1 at a dose of 200 ng/rat, 8 hours after administration of 14 mg/kg LPS. The level of AFC was then determined in live rats. Primary rat ATII (Alveolar Type II) epithelial cells were also treated with MCTR1 (100 nmol/L) in a culture medium containing LPS for 8 hours. MCTR1 treatment improved AFC (18.85 ± 2.07 vs 10.11 ± 1.08, P < .0001) and ameliorated ALI in rats. MCTR1 also significantly promoted AFC by up-regulating epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) and Na+ -K+ -adenosine triphosphatase (Na, K-ATPase) expressions in vivo. MCTR1 also activated Na, K-ATPase and elevated phosphorylated-Akt (P-Akt) by up-regulating the expression of phosphorylated Nedd4-2 (P-Nedd4-2) in vivo and in vitro. However, BOC-2 (ALX inhibitor), KH7 (cAMP inhibitor) and LY294002 (PI3K inhibitor) abrogated the improved AFC induced by MCTR1. Based on the findings of this study, MCTR1 may be a novel therapeutic approach to improve reabsorption of pulmonary oedema during ALI/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

PCTR1 ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute inflammation and multiple organ damage via regulation of linoleic acid metabolism by promoting FADS1/FASDS2/ELOV2 expression and reducing PLA2 expression.

Gram-negative bacterial infection causes an excessive inflammatory response and acute organ damage or dysfunction due to its outer membrane component, lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Protectin conjugates in tissue regeneration 1 (PCTR1), an endogenous lipid mediator, exerts fundamental anti-inflammation and pro-resolution during infection. In the present study, we examined the properties of PCTR1 on the systemic inflammatory response, organic morphological damage and dysfunction, and serum metabolic biomarkers in an LPS-induced acute inflammatory mouse model. The results show that PCTR1 reduced serum inflammatory factors and ameliorated morphological damage and dysfunction of the lung, liver, kidney, and ultimately improved the survival rate of LPS-induced acute inflammation in mice. In addition, metabolomics analysis and high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed that LPS-stimulated serum linoleic acid (LA), arachidonic acid (AA), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels were significantly altered by PCTR1. Moreover, PCTR1 upregulated LPS-inhibited fatty acid desaturase 1 (FADS1), fatty acid desaturase 2 (FADS2), and elongase of very long chain fatty acids 2 (ELOVL2) expression, and downregulated LPS-stimulated phospholipase A2 (PLA2) expression to increase the intrahepatic content of AA. However, these effects of PCTR1 were partially abrogated by a lipoxin A4 receptor (ALX) antagonist (BOC-2). In summary, via the activation of ALX, PCTR1 promotes the conversion of LA to AA through upregulation of FADS1, FADS2, and ELOVL2 expression, and inhibits the conversion of bound AA into free AA through downregulation of PLA2 expression to decrease the serum AA and PGE2 levels.

MCTR1 alleviates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury by protecting lung endothelial glycocalyx.

Endothelial glycocalyx degradation, critical for increased pulmonary vascular permeability, is thought to facilitate the development of sepsis into the multiple organ failure. Maresin conjugates in tissue regeneration 1 (MCTR1), a macrophage-derived lipid mediator, which exhibits potentially beneficial effects via the regulation of bacterial phagocytosis, promotion of inflammation resolution, and regeneration of tissue. In this study, we show that MCTR1 (100 ng/mouse) enhances the survival of mice with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced (15 mg/kg) sepsis. MCTR1 alleviates LPS (10 mg/kg)-induced lung dysfunction and lung tissue inflammatory response by decreasing inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1ß [IL-1ß], and IL-6) expression in serum and reducing the serum levels of heparan sulfate (HS) and syndecan-1. In human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) experiments, MCTR1 (100 nM) was added to the culture medium with LPS for 6 hr. MCTR1 treatment markedly inhibited HS degradation by downregulating heparanase (HPA) protein expression in vivo and in vitro. Further analyses indicated that MCTR1 upregulates sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) expression and decreases NF-κB p65 phosphorylation. In the presence of BOC-2 or EX527, the above effects of MCTR1 were abolished. These results suggest that MCTR1 protects against LPS-induced sepsis in mice by attenuating pulmonary endothelial glycocalyx injury via the ALX/SIRT1/NF-κB/HPA pathway.

Effects of dietary mixed probiotics on growth, non-specific immunity, intestinal morphology and microbiota of juvenile pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei.

This study was conducted to elucidate the effects of dietary mixed probiotics on growth, non-specific immunity, intestinal morphology and microbiota of juvenile pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Juvenile shrimp (initial body weight 1.21 ±â€¯0.01 g) were fed diets containing graded probiotics (F1: 0 mg/kg probiotics; F2: 1000 mg/kg probiotics; F3: 2000 mg/kg probiotics; F4: 4000 mg/kg compound probiotics; F5: 6000 mg/kg probiotics; F6: 8000 mg/kg probiotics) for 8 weeks. The result of this trial showed that the growth performance (SGR, WG, FBW) of shrimp fed diets containing probiotics (F2∼F6) were significantly higher than that of shrimp fed diet without supplemental probiotics (F1) (P < 0.05), and the highest values of the growth performance (SGR, WG, FBW) and lowest FCR were found in shrimp fed the diet containing 2000 mg/kg probiotics. Total antioxidant capacity of shrimp fed diet F2 and F3 were significantly higher than that of shrimp fed the basal diets (P < 0.05). Superoxide dismutase in F4 treatment was significantly higher than that of basal treatment (P < 0.05). Catalase of shrimp in all probiotics supplemented (F2∼F6) treatments were significantly higher than that of the control one (F1) (P < 0.05). Malondialdehyde in F5 groups was significantly lower than that of F1 groups (P < 0.05). Alkline phosphatase and acid phosphatase in F3 treatments were significantly higher than those of the basal one (P < 0.05). Lysozyme of shrimp fed F2∼F6 were significantly higher than that of shrimp fed F1 diet (P < 0.05). The lipase and amylase activities in 2000 mg/kg probiotics groups showed the highest activities and were significantly higher than that of control one (P < 0.05). Intestinal villi height in F3∼F6 treatments were significantly higher than that of control one (P < 0.05). Alpha diversity indices including observed species, chao1, ACE and shannon indices showed that F2 and F3 groups had higher microbial diversity in their intestines, both richness and evenness. PCA plot showed that there was a clear shift of F2 and F3 groups from the control groups in microbial community structure. The dominant phyla in pacific white shrimp are proteobacteria, bacteroidetes and actinobacteria, the dominant genus were algoriphagus and vibrio. As the probiotics increased, the gemmatimonadetes, acidobacteria, deltaproteobacteria and xanthomonadales firstly increased and then decreased, with the highest content in F2 group, which was no significant difference to F3 group (P > 0.05) while significantly higher than other groups (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the supplement of mixed species probiotics can promote growth performance, enhance the non-specific immunity, influence the microbiota of the pacific white shrimps and the recommended optimum dosage in diet of Litopenaeus vannamei was 2000 mg/kg.

Cerebral arterial air embolism after computed tomography-guided hook-wire localization of a pulmonary nodule: A case report.

RATIONALE: Cranial arterial air embolism is a rare but potentially fatal complication after computed tomography (CT)-guided pulmonary interventions. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 64-year-old man was diagnosed with a pulmonary nodule (diameter: approximately 1 cm) in the right lower lobe. The patient developed convulsions after CT-guided hook-wire localization. DIAGNOSIS: Cranial CT revealed arborizing/linearly distributed gas in the territory of the right middle cerebral artery. INTERVENTIONS: The patient was administered hyperbaric oxygen, antiplatelet aggregation therapy, and dehydration treatment. OUTCOMES: Clinical death occurred 55 hours after air embolism. LESSONS: Systemic air embolism is a serious complication of lung puncture. Clinicians should improve their understanding of this complication and remain vigilant against air embolism.

Copper-Catalyzed Reaction of C60 with Tertiary Amines for the Preparation of Spiro-Linked Methanofullerenes and Fullerenoalkanals.

CuI-catalyzed reaction of C60 with tertiary amines by using air as the sole oxidant has been developed. Spiro-linked methanofullerenes bearing cyclic amides and fullerenoalkanals can be obtained selectively using the cyclic and acyclic amines as starting materials, respectively. The reactions show a wide functional group tolerance. In addition, four ([6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester) analogues can be easily prepared through the developed method.

Effects of dietary hydrolyzed yeast (Rhodotorula mucilaginosa) on growth performance, immune response, antioxidant capacity and histomorphology of juvenile Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).

An 8 weeks feeding experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with hydrolyzed yeast (HY) (Rhodotorula mucilaginosa) on growth performance, hematological parameters, immune response and antioxidant ability of juvenile Nile tilapia. Five isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets (32% protein and 4% lipid) with different levels (0%, 0.125%, 0.25%, 0.5%, 1%) of HY were formulated. Each diet was randomly assigned to quadruplicate groups of fish (initial body weight 19.1 ±â€¯0.01 g). Results indicated that significantly higher specific growth rate (SGR) and lower feed conversion rate (FCR) were obtained in fish fed 1% HY diet than that of fish fed 0% HY diet (P < 0.05). Fish fed 0.25% HY diet showed the lowest value of hepatopancreas somatic indices (HSI) and significantly lower than that of fish fed 0% HY diet (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, protein and ash in the whole-body content of fish fed 1% HY diet was significantly higher than that of fish fed 0%-0.5% HY diets. Serum immunological parameters showed that the lysozyme (LZM) activity and Complement C3 content were significantly increased by dietary supplementation of 0.5%-1% HY (P < 0.05). However, dietary supplementation with 0.125%-1% HY significantly decreased the activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO) (P < 0.05). Antioxidant status in serum and liver was significantly enhanced by dietary supplementation of 0.25%-1% HY through the remarkably improved superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity both in serum and liver, the raised total antioxidative capacity (T-AOC) of serum as well as the notably reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the liver (P < 0.05). However, T-AOC in the liver was not significantly influenced among all diet treatments (P > 0.05). Villi height and intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEFs) of mid-intestine were significantly higher in fish fed 0.5%-1% HY diets (P < 0.05). The challenge test demonstrated the enhanced protection against Streptococcus iniae strain by the obtained higher cumulative survival rate. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of 1% HY could maintain the better growth performance, nutrient composition as well as immune response and antioxidant capacity for juvenile Nile tilapia.

Maresin1 Alleviates Metabolic Dysfunction in Septic Mice: A 1H NMR-Based Metabolomics Analysis.

Maresin1 (MaR1), a new anti-inflammatory and proresolving lipid mediator, has been proven to exert organ-protective effects in septic animal models. However, the potential mechanisms are still not fully elucidated. In this study, we sought to explore the impact of MaR1 on metabolic dysfunction in cecal ligation and puncture- (CLP-) induced septic mice. We found that MaR1 significantly increased the overall survival rate and attenuated lung and liver injuries in septic mice. In addition, MaR1 markedly reduced the levels of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6) and alleviated mitochondrial damage. Based on a 1H NMR-based metabolomics analysis, CLP-induced septic mice had increased levels of acetate, pyruvate, and lactate in serum and decreased levels of alanine, aspartate, glutamate, and fumarate in lungs. However, these metabolic disorders, mainly involving energy and amino acid metabolism, can be recovered by MaR1 treatment. Therefore, our results suggest that the protective effects of MaR1 on sepsis could be related to the recovery of metabolic dysfunction and the alleviation of inflammation and mitochondrial damage.

Dietary values of macroalgae Porphyra haitanensis in Litopenaeus vannamei under normal rearing and WSSV challenge conditions: Effect on growth, immune response and intestinal microbiota.

Two trials were conducted to determine the effects of dietary macroalgae Porphyra haitanensis on growth, immunity and intestinal microbiota of Litopenaeus vannamei. In trial 1, shrimp (mean initial wet weight about 0.64 g) were fed with seven diets (P0, P1, P2, P3, P4, P5 and P6) containing 0% (basal diet), 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5% and 6% P. haitanensis in triplicate for 60 days. Growth performance (weight gain, WG; specific growth rate, SGR) of shrimp fed the P4 diet were significantly higher than that of shrimp fed P0, P5 and P6 diets (P < 0.05) but without significant differences with shrimp fed P1-P3 diets (P > 0.05). Hepatopancreas phenoloxidase (PO) activity of shrimp fed the P. haitanensis containing diets was significantly higher than that of shrimp fed the basal diet (P0) (P < 0.05). Total haemocyte count (THC) of shrimp fed basal diet (P0) was significantly lower than that of shrimp fed diets containing P. haitanensis. Our results declared that dietary P. haitanensis supplementation increases the abundance of beneficial bacterials such as Nitrosopumilus, Marinobacter or Bifidobacterium and reduces the abundance of harmful bacterias such as Vibrio, and especially pronounced in P4 diet treatment. In trial 2, a WSSV injection challenge test was conducted for 7-day after the rearing trial and shrimp survival was also compared among treatments. A sudden shrimp death was found from the 4th day, and values of survival of shrimp fed the P3-P4 diets were higher than that of shrimp fed other diets during 4-7 days challenge test. The immune response in trial 2 were characterized by higher superoxide dismutase activity (SOD) and PO activities, lower THC and higher HCT compared to levels found in trial 1. In conclusion, suitable dietary P. haitanensis could enhance the growth performance, antioxidant capacity and alter total bacterial numbers or microbial diversity of L. vannamei and furthermore reduce oxidative stress and immune depression challenged by WSSV injection stress, and the level of P. haitanensis supplemented in the diet should be between 2.51% and 3.14%.

Detoxification and immunoprotection of Zn(II)-curcumin in juvenile Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) feed with aflatoxin B1.

Aflatoxins, which was produced by Aspergillus flavus or Aspergillus parasiticus fungi during grain and feed processing or storage, could cause severe health problems and reduction of yield during shrimp cultures. To evaluate toxic effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in juvenile Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) and potential protective effect of Zn(II)-curcumin (Zn-CM), four experimental diets (control, 500 µg/kg AFB1, 500 µg/kg AFB1+100 mg/kg Zn-CM, 500 µg/kg AFB1+200 mg/kg Zn-CM) were formulated in quadruplicate to feed the shrimp for 8 weeks. The results revealed that AFB1 could induce significant decrease in final body weight (FBW), weight gain (WG, %) and visible variations of the hepatopancreas structures in L.vannamei. Compared with AFB1 group, AFB1+100 mg/kg Zn-CM group significantly ameliorated the toxic effects of AFB1 on growth performance, while AFB1+100 mg/kg Zn-CM group had no effect on growth performance. Dietary AFB1+100 mg/kg Zn-CM enhanced phenoloxidase (PO) (P < 0.05) activity. Both dietary AFB1+100 mg/kg Zn-CM and AFB1+200 mg/kg Zn-CM reduced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity and glutathione (GSH) level, decreased the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) (P < 0.05) in hepatopancreas compared with AFB1 group. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis demonstrated that Zn-CM could relieve the microvilli transformation and mitochondria accumulation reduction caused by AFB1. Consequently, the results demonstrated that suitable Zn-CM could mitigate the AFB1-induced hepatotoxicity and immunotoxicity effects on L.vannamei.

Dietary values of Forsythia suspensa extract in Penaeus monodon under normal rearing and Vibrio parahaemolyticus 3HP (VP3HP) challenge conditions: Effect on growth, intestinal barrier function, immune response and immune related gene expression.

Two trials were conducted to determine the effects of dietary Forsythia suspensa extract (FSE) on shrimp, Penaeus monodon, first on growth performance, second on the immune response and immune related gene expression of shrimp. In trial 1, shrimp (mean initial wet weight about 3.02 g) were fed with five diets containing 0% (basal diet), 0.01%, 0.02%, 0.04% and 0.06% FSE in triplicate for 60 days. Growth performance (final body wet weight, FBW; weight gain, WG; biomass gain, BG) of shrimp fed FSE diets were higher (P < 0.05) than that of shrimp fed the basal diet. The survival among all the diets treatments were above 90% and no significant difference was revealed among them (P > 0.05). The antioxidant capacity (total antioxidant status, TAS; glutathione peroxidase, GSH-Px) appears in the trend of firstly increasing then decreasing with the increasing of dietary FSE levels. The highest value of TAS and GSH-Px were found in shrimp fed 0.02% FSE diet and were significantly higher than that of shrimp fed the basal and 0.06% FSE diets (P < 0.05). Hepatopancreas malondialdehyde (MDA) of shrimp fed FSE diets were lower (P < 0.05) than that of shrimp fed the basal diet. Total haemocyte count of shrimp fed the basal diet was lower (P < 0.05) than that of shrimp fed FSE diets. Haemolymph clotting time of shrimp had the opposite trend with the total haemocyte count of shrimp. No significant differences were found in haemolymph biomarkers of intestinal permeability (endotoxin and diamine oxidase) and in molecular gene expression profiles of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp 70) mRNA and hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) mRNA in haemolymph of shrimp among all diet treatments (P > 0.05). In trial 2, a pathogenic strain of Vibrio parahaemolyticus 3HP (VP3HP) injection challenge test was conducted for 6-day after the rearing trial and shrimp survival were also compared among treatments. Survival of shrimp fed diets supplemented with 0.01%-0.02% FSE were higher than that of shrimp fed the basal and 0.06% FSE diets (P < 0.05). Dietary FSE supplementation produced stronger hepatopancreas antioxidant capacity (TAS, GSH-Px) (P < 0.05) and higher glutathione (GSH) level (P < 0.05), lower superoxide dismutase activity (SOD) (P < 0.05), higher total haemocyte count (P < 0.05), lower haemolymph clotting time (P < 0.05), lower MDA and carbonyl protein concentration (P < 0.05), lower haemolymph biomarkers of intestinal permeability (endotoxin and diamine oxidase) (P < 0.05), generated lower molecular gene expression profiles of HSP 70 mRNA and higher HIF-1α mRNA (P < 0.05) than the basal diet. The immune response were characterized by lower TAS and higher antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, GSH-Px) and higher oxidative stress level (MDA and carbonyl protein) and higher haemolymph biomarkers of intestinal permeability (endotoxin and diamine oxidase) compared to levels found in trail 1. However, the total haemocyte counts and haemolymph clotting times were not changed in 0.01%-0.02% FSE diets treatments between trial 1 and trial 2 (P > 0.05). The molecular gene expression profile of Hsp 70 mRNA was increased while HIF-1α mRNA was decreased when compared to trial 1. In conclusion, results suggested that dietary intake containing FSE could enhance the growth performance and antioxidant capacity of P. monodon and furthermore reduce oxidative stress and immune depression challenged by a pathogenic strain of Vibrio parahaemolyticus stress. Considering the effect of FSE on both growth performance and immune response of P. monodon, the level of FSE supplemented in the diet should be between 0.01% and 0.02%.

Distinctive roles of Rac1 and Rab29 in LRRK2 mediated membrane trafficking and neurite outgrowth.

Parkinson's disease (PD) associated leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) mutants have shown pathogenic effects on variety of subcellular processes.Two small GTPases Rac1 and Rab29 have been indicated as possible downstream effectors participating in LRRK2 signaling but their detail mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we have used biochemical and cell biology approaches to address whether two GTPases interact with LRRK2 and hence function differently in LRRK2 mediated pathogenesis.Here we show thatRac1 and Rab29 specifically interact with LRRK2with higher affinity for Rab29and with different preference in functional domain binding. Mutant Rab29 but not Rac1 alters theendosome-to-TGN retrograde trafficking of a cargo protein cation-independent mannose-6-phosphate receptor (CI-M6PR) and its stability. On the other hand, overexpressedwild type Rab29 but not Rac1 rescue the altered retrograde membrane trafficking induced by the pathogenic mutant LRRK2G2019S. Furthermore, both Rac1 and Rab29 can rescue the neurite shortening in differentiated SH-SY5Y cells induced by LRRK2G2019S. Our study strongly suggests that Rac1 and Rab29 are involved in the distinct functions as downstream effectors in LRRK2 signaling pathways.

Comparison and Evaluation of Four Species of Macro-Algaes as Dietary Ingredients in Litopenaeus vannamei Under Normal Rearing and WSSV Challenge Conditions: Effect on Growth, Immune Response, and Intestinal Microbiota.

The study was conducted to compare and evaluate effects of four different macro-algaes on growth, immune response, and intestinal microbiota of Litopenaeus vannamei. In the rearing trial 1, shrimp were fed five diets containing four sources of macro-algaes for 8 weeks, named D1 (without macro-algae), D2 (Porphyra haitanensis), D3 (Undaria pinnatifida), D4 (Saccharina japonica), and D5 (Gracilaria lemaneiformis), respectively. Growth performance of shrimp in D5 diet was significantly higher than that of shrimp fed the control and D4 diet (P < 0.05); however, there is no significant difference among D2, D3, and D5 diets (P > 0.05). Apparent digestibility coefficients of dry matter from the D2, D3, and D5 diets were significantly higher than that from the control and D4 diets (P < 0.05). Supplementary macro-algaes enhanced hepatopancreas immunity through positively increasing total antioxidant status (TAS) and prophenoloxidase activity (ProPO), as well as up-regulating the hepatopancreas RNA expression of ProPO and IκBα and down-regulating the expression of transforming growth factor ß. Furthermore, dietary macro-algaes modified intestinal microbiota of L. vannamei, boosting the relative abundance of beneficial bacterial such as Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Bacillaceae, and decreasing those detrimental bacterial such as Gammaproteobacteria and Vibrionaceae. In the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) challenge trial, shrimps were injected for 6-day after the rearing trial. On the fourth day, shrimp death started to occur, and the mortality in D2, D3, and D5 diets was significantly lower than that in control and SJ diets during 4-6 challenged days (P < 0.05). Dietary macro-algaes ameliorated hepatopancreas damage in L. vannamei by increasing TAS and ProPO activities and decreasing SOD activity, inhibiting the lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde), as well as regulating the immune-related genes expression. Taken together, dietary macro-algaes availably relieved enterohepatic oxidative damage by improving antioxidant ability and immunity and regulated intestinal microbiota in L. vannamei. These results indicated that G. lemaneiformis is the most suitable macro-algae and then followed by U. pinnatifida and P. haitanensis as the feed ingredient for L. vannamei.

Protective effect of the microcatheter placed at the normal vertebral artery in intracranial stent-assisted angioplasty for vertebral artery stenosis: A case report.

RATIONALE: A carefully designed intracranial stent-assisted angioplasty (SAA) is presented here that may prevent subsequent branch artery occlusion. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 72-year-old man with a 3-month history of progressive and intermittent vertigo without any obvious trigger, accompanied by nausea. DIAGNOSES: Intracranial atherosclerotic disease. INTERVENTIONS: the patient underwent intracranial SAA in accordance with the procedure described here. OUTCOMES: The patient's paroxysmal vertigo completely subsided, with no complications during the short-term follow-up. LESSONS: This novel intracranial SAA procedure is safe and may reduce the risk of subsequent artery occlusion.

Reversal of the Apoptotic Resistance of Non-Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma towards TRAIL by Natural Product Toosendanin.

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) selectively triggers cancer cell death via its association with death receptors on the cell membrane, but exerts negligible side effects on normal cells. However, some non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) patients exhibited resistance to TRAIL treatment in clinical trials, and the mechanism varies. In this study, we described for the first time that toosendanin (TSN), a triterpenoid derivative used in Chinese medicine for pain management, could significantly sensitize human primary NSCLC cells or NSCLC cell lines to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo, while showing low toxicity against human primary cells or tissues. The underlying apoptotic mechanisms involved upregulation of death receptor 5 (DR5) and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein, which is related to the endoplasmic reticulum stress response, and is further associated with reactive oxygen species generation and Ca2+ accumulation. Surprisingly, TSN also induced autophagy in NSCLC cells, which recruited membrane DR5, and subsequently antagonized the apoptosis-sensitizing effect of TSN. Taken together, TSN can be used to sensitize tumors and the combination of TRAIL and TSN may represent a useful strategy for NSCLC therapy; moreover, autophagy serves as an important drug resistance mechanism for TSN.

High-level phylogeny of the Coleoptera inferred with mitochondrial genome sequences.

The Coleoptera (beetles) exhibits tremendous morphological, ecological, and behavioral diversity. To better understand the phylogenetics and evolution of beetles, we sequenced three complete mitogenomes from two families (Cleridae and Meloidae), which share conserved mitogenomic features with other completely sequenced beetles. We assessed the influence of six datasets and three inference methods on topology and nodal support within the Coleoptera. We found that both Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood with homogeneous-site models were greatly affected by nucleotide compositional heterogeneity, while the heterogeneous-site mixture model in PhyloBayes could provide better phylogenetic signals for the Coleoptera. The amino acid dataset generated more reliable tree topology at the higher taxonomic levels (i.e. suborders and series), where the inclusion of rRNA genes and the third positions of protein-coding genes improved phylogenetic inference at the superfamily level, especially under a heterogeneous-site model. We recovered the suborder relationships as (Archostemata+Adephaga)+(Myxophaga+Polyphaga). The series relationships within Polyphaga were recovered as (Scirtiformia+(Elateriformia+((Bostrichiformia+Scarabaeiformia+Staphyliniformia)+Cucujiformia))). All superfamilies within Cucujiformia were recovered as monophyletic. We obtained a cucujiform phylogeny of (Cleroidea+(Coccinelloidea+((Lymexyloidea+Tenebrionoidea)+(Cucujoidea+(Chrysomeloidea+Curculionoidea))))). This study showed that although tree topologies were sensitive to data types and inference methods, mitogenomic data could provide useful information for resolving the Coleoptera phylogeny at various taxonomic levels by using suitable datasets and heterogeneous-site models.