Oral magnesium prevents acetaminophen-induced acute liver injury by modulating microbial metabolism.

Acetaminophen overuse is a common cause of acute liver failure (ALF). During ALF, toxins are metabolized by enzymes such as CYP2E1 and transformed into reactive species, leading to oxidative damage and liver failure. Here, we found that oral magnesium (Mg) alleviated acetaminophen-induced ALF through metabolic changes in gut microbiota that inhibit CYP2E1. The gut microbiota from Mg-supplemented humans prevented acetaminophen-induced ALF in mice. Mg exposure modulated Bifidobacterium metabolism and enriched indole-3-carboxylic acid (I3C) levels. Formate C-acetyltransferase (pflB) was identified as a key Bifidobacterium enzyme involved in I3C generation. Accordingly, a Bifidobacterium pflB knockout showed diminished I3C generation and reduced the beneficial effects of Mg. Conversely, treatment with I3C or an engineered bacteria overexpressing Bifidobacterium pflB protected against ALF. Mechanistically, I3C bound and inactivated CYP2E1, thus suppressing formation of harmful reactive intermediates and diminishing hepatocyte oxidative damage. These findings highlight how interactions between Mg and gut microbiota may help combat ALF.

Pre-Implantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy on a Semiconductor Based Next-Generation Sequencing Platform.

Next-generation sequencing has gained increasing importance in the clinical application in the determination of genetic variants. In the pre-implantation genetic test, this technique has its unique advantages in scalability, throughput, and cost. For the pre-implantation genetic test for aneuploidy analysis, the semiconductor-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) system presented here provides a comprehensive approach to determine structural genetic variants at a minimum resolution of 8 Mb. From sample acquisition to the final report, the working process requires multiple steps with close adherence to protocols. Since various critical steps could determine the outcome of amplification, quality of the library, coverage of reads, and output of data, descriptive information with visual demonstration other than words could offer more detail to the operation and manipulation, which may have a great impact on the results of all critical steps. The methods presented herein will display the procedures involved in whole genome amplification (WGA) of biopsied Trophectoderm (TE) cells, genomic library construction, sequencer management, and finally, generating copy number variants' reports.