Lignans from Mosla scabra Ameliorated Influenza A Virus-Induced Pneumonia via Inhibiting Macrophage Activation.

The lower respiratory tract infection, induced by influenza virus, coronaviruses, and respiratory syncytial virus, remains a serious threat to human health that can cause a global pandemic. Thus, finding effective chemicals and therapeutic measures to advance the functional restoration of the respiratory tract after infection has been the emphasis of the studies on the subjects. Mosla scabra is a natural medicinal plant used for treating various lung and gastrointestinal diseases, including viral infection, cough, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute gastroenteritis, and diarrhoea. In this study, the antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects of total lignans (MSTL) extracted from the plant were investigated in influenza A virus (IAV)-infected mice and RAW 264.7 macrophages. MSTL could not only protect the macrophages against IAV-induced pyroptosis but also could lighten the lung inflammation induced by IAV in vivo and in vitro. The network pharmacology analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes, mainly involving in EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance, endocrine resistance, HIF-1 signaling pathway, C-type lectin receptor signaling pathway, and FOXO signaling pathway, contributed to the IAV-induced alveolar macrophage dysfunction. It indicated that MSTL enhanced the function of alveolar macrophages and improved IAV-induced lung injury in mice.

Developmental neurotoxicity and toxic mechanisms induced by olaquindox in zebrafish.

Olaquindox (OLA) has been widely used as an animal feed additive in China for decades; however, its toxicity and toxic mechanisms have not been well investigated. In this study, the developmental neurotoxicity and toxic mechanisms of OLA were evaluated in zebrafish. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to different concentrations of OLA (25-1,000 mg/L) from 6 to 120 hours post fertilization (hpf). OLA exposure resulted in many abnormal phenotypes in zebrafish, including shortened body length, notochord degeneration, spinal curvature, brain apoptosis, damage of axon and peripheral motor neuron, and hepatotoxicity. Interestingly, OLA increased zebrafish spontaneous tail coiling, while reduced locomotor capacity. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) showed that the expression levels of nine marker genes for nervous system functions or development, namely, α1-tubulin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (gfap), myelin basic protein (mbp), synapsinII a (syn2a), sonic hedgehog a (shha), encoding HuC (elavl3), mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (manf) growth associated protein 43 (gap43), and acetylcholinesterase (ache) were all down-regulated significantly in zebrafish after treated with OLA. Besides, the anti-apoptotic and pro-apoptotic genes bcl-2/bax ratio was reduced. These results show that OLA exposure could cause severe developmental neurotoxicity in the early stages of zebrafish life and OLA might induce neurotoxicity by inhibiting the expression of neuro-developmental genes and promoting apoptosis.

[Microsatellite marker linked with stripe rust resistant gene Yr9 in wheat].

SSR analysis was performed using a wheat near-isogenic line (NIL) Taichuang29 * 6/ Lovrin13, which carried the resistance gene Yr9 against wheat stripe rust and its recurrent parent Taichung29 as materials. After screening with 32 SSR primers on 1B chromosome, reproducible polymorphic DNA fragment amplified by Xgwm582 was identified. Genetic linkage was tested in 177 segregating F2 plants. The results indicated that microsatellite marker Xgwm582 was linked with gene Yr9 resistant to wheat stripe rust. A genetic distance of 3. 7 cM was calculated.

[RAPD markers linked to the stripe rust resistance gene Yr5 in the wheat variety Triticum spelta album].

A total of 520 10-mer random primers were used to identify the RAPD markers linked to the Yr5 gene between the near-isogenic line Yr5/6 x Avocet S and recurrent parent Avocet S. Three polymorphic DNA fragments, S1496(761), S1453(880) and S1418(1950), were found linked to the Yr5 gene. In which the genetic distance between S1496(761) and Yr5 gene was 2.7 cM. The fragment S1496(761) was recovered from the gel and cloned and sequenced. A pair of specific PCR primers was designed based on the sequence. The specific primers amplified the same fragment about 761bp as the random primer S1496 did. Because the primers could amplify another non-specific fragment, the PCR products must be analyzed by electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels.