The First Five Mitochondrial Genomes for the Family Nidulariaceae Reveal Novel Gene Rearrangements, Intron Dynamics, and Phylogeny of Agaricales.

The family Nidulariaceae, consisting of five genera including Cyathus, is a unique group of mushrooms commonly referred to as bird's nest fungi due to their striking resemblance to bird's nests. These mushrooms are considered medicinal mushrooms in Chinese medicine and have received attention in recent years for their anti-neurodegenerative properties. However, despite the interest in these mushrooms, very little is known about their mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes). This study is the first comprehensive investigation of the mitogenomes of five Nidulariaceae species with circular genome structures ranging in size from 114,236 bp to 129,263 bp. Comparative analyses based on gene content, gene length, tRNA, and codon usage indicate convergence within the family Nidulariaceae and heterogeneity within the order Agaricales. Phylogenetic analysis based on a combined mitochondrial conserved protein dataset provides a well-supported phylogenetic tree for the Basidiomycetes, which clearly demonstrates the evolutionary relationships between Nidulariaceae and other members of Agaricales. Furthermore, phylogenetic inferences based on four different gene sets reveal the stability and proximity of evolutionary relationships within Agaricales. These results reveal the uniqueness of the family Nidulariaceae and its similarity to other members of Agaricales; provide valuable insights into the origin, evolution, and genetics of Nidulariaceae species; and enrich the fungal mitogenome resource. This study will help to expand the knowledge and understanding of the mitogenomes in mushrooms.

Association Between the Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme I/D Polymorphism and Risk of Cerebral Small Vessel Disease: A Meta-Analysis Based on 7186 Subjects.

INTRODUCTION: Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) causes a quarter of all strokes and is the most common pathology underlying vascular dementia. However, the mechanism of CSVD remains unclear. Numerous studies have investigated whether the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) intersection/deletion (I/D) polymorphism influences the risk of CSVD, but the results are controversial. METHODS: We searched English and Chinese databases and calculated the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) to examine the existence of genetic associations between the ACE I/D polymorphism and the risk of CSVD. All relevant studies were screened and meta-analyzed using Review Manager 5.4. RESULTS: A total of 27 studies involving 7,186 subjects were identified for the meta-analysis. The results of five genetic models showed a significantly increased risk of CSVD (allelic, OR=1.30; recessive, OR=1.41; dominant, OR=1.34; homozygous, OR=1.55 and heterozygous OR=1.22) in the overall analysis. Furthermore, in subgroup analysis, increased CSVD risks were also observed in Asian and Caucasian populations. We also found no relationship between ACE I/D and leukoaraiosis (LA) in patients with lacunar infarction (LI). CONCLUSION: The ACE I/D polymorphism was positively associated with CSVD in both populations. However, this polymorphism did not increase the risk of LA in LI patients.

Neisseria meningitidis carriage and risk factors among teenagers in Suizhou city in China.

Teenagers are important carriers of Neisseria meningitidis, which is a leading cause of invasive meningococcal disease. In China, the carriage rate and risk factors among teenagers are unclear. The present study presents a retrospective analysis of epidemiological data for N. meningitidis carriage from 2013 to 2017 in Suizhou city, China. The carriage rates were 3.26%, 2.22%, 3.33%, 3.53% and 9.88% for 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively. From 2014 to 2017, the carriage rate in the 15- to 19-year-old age group (teenagers) was the highest and significantly higher than that in remain age groups. Subsequently, a larger scale survey (December 2017) for carriage rate and relative risk factors (population density, time spent in the classroom, gender and antibiotics use) were investigated on the teenagers (15- to 19-year-old age) at the same school. The carriage rate was still high at 33.48% (223/663) and varied greatly from 6.56% to 52.94% in a different class. Population density of the classroom was found to be a significant risk factor for carriage, and 1.4 persons/m2 is recommended as the maximum classroom density. Further, higher male gender ratio and more time spent in the classroom were also significantly associated with higher carriage. Finally, antibiotic use was associated with a significantly lower carriage rate. All the results imply that attention should be paid to the teenagers and various measures can be taken to reduce the N. meningitidis carriage, to prevent and control the outbreak of IMD.

Corn oligopeptides inhibit Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway and inflammatory factors to ameliorate CCl4 -induced hepatic fibrosis in mice.

In this study, the effect of corn oligopeptides (COPs) with liver protection activity on mice with hepatic fibrosis (HF) induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4 ) was studied. It was proved that COPs can ameliorate the liver injury and inflammation caused by CCl4 by histopathology and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in mice. The expression of Akt/NF-κB inflammatory pathway was determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blotting (WB). The results showed that COPs inhibited the expression of key proteins in the inflammatory pathway. In conclusion, the results of this study suggested that COPs could improve CCl4 -induced HF by improving liver injury, reducing the expression of inflammatory factors, and inhibiting the expression of inflammatory signaling pathways. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The corns around the world are mainly used as animal feed, and the liver protective activity of corn oligopeptides (COPs) is rarely applied to the market. The development of COPs liver protective food can prevent the occurrence of liver-related diseases such as hepatic fibrosis to a certain extent. Developing COPs liver protecting food can improve the utilization value of corn. It is hoped that this study can provide experimental support for the application of COPs in liver protection food.

Antioxidant properties and inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme by highly active peptides from wheat gluten.

This study aimed to focus on the high-value utilization of raw wheat gluten by determining the potent antioxidant peptides and angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides from wheat gluten oligopeptides (WOP). WOP were analyzed for in vitro antioxidant activity and inhibition of ACE, and the identification of active peptides was performed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Quantitative analysis was performed for highly active peptides. Five potent antioxidant peptides, Leu-Tyr, Pro-Tyr, Tyr-Gln, Ala-Pro-Ser-Tyr and Arg-Gly-Gly-Tyr (6.07 ± 0.38, 7.28 ± 0.29, 11.18 ± 1.02, 5.93 ± 0.20 and 9.04 ± 0.47 mmol 6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid (Trolox) equivalent/g sample, respectively), and five potent ACE inhibitory peptides, Leu-Tyr, Leu-Val-Ser, Tyr-Gln, Ala-Pro-Ser-Tyr and Arg-Gly-Gly-Tyr (half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values = 0.31 ± 0.02, 0.60 ± 0.03, 2.00 ± 0.13, 1.47 ± 0.08 and 1.48 ± 0.11 mmol/L, respectively), were observed. The contents of Leu-Tyr, Pro-Tyr, Tyr-Gln, Ala-Pro-Ser-Tyr, Arg-Gly-Gly-Tyr, and Leu-Val-Ser were 155.04 ± 8.36, 2.08 ± 0.12, 1.95 ± 0.06, 22.70 ± 1.35, 0.25 ± 0.01, and 53.01 ± 2.73 µg/g, respectively, in the WOP. Pro-Tyr, Tyr-Gln, Ala-Pro-Ser-Tyr, Arg-Gly-Gly-Tyr, and Leu-Val-Ser are novel antioxidative/ACE inhibitory peptides that have not been previously reported. The results suggest that WOP could potentially be applied in the food industry as a functional additive.

[Correlation of lymphoblastic PPAR-gamma mRNA expression with plasma IL-13 contents in children with acute idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura].

OBJECTIVE: PPAR-gamma is associated with the differentiation, apoptosis, proliferation and cytokine secretion of immunologic cells. This study investigated peripheral blood lymphoblastic PPAR-gamma mRNA expression and its correlation with plasma IL-13 contents in children with acute idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). METHODS: Fifty-three children with acute ITP who were in line with the standard test between September 2007 and July 2008 were enrolled. Fifty healthy children during the same period were used as the control group. PPAR-gamma mRNA expression in peripheral blood lymphocytes were detected by RT-PCR. Plasma IL-13 contents were detected using ELISA. RESULTS: PPAR-gamma mRNA expression in peripheral blood lymphocytes from acute ITP children were significantly higher than that in the control group (0.78 +/- 0.03 vs 0.52 +/- 0.05; P< 0.05). Plasma IL-13 contents in children with acute ITP were also significantly higher than those in the control group (160.21 +/- 34.26 pg/mL vs 121.42 +/- 12.69 pg/mL; P< 0.05). There was a positive correlation between plasma IL-13 level and lymphoblastic PPAR-gamma mRNA expression in children with ITP (r=0.89, P< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: PPAR-gamma mRNA expression in peripheral blood lymphocytes increased and were positively correlated with plasma IL-13 contents in children with acute ITP, suggesting that PPAR-gamma and IL-13 might participate in the pathogenesis of acute ITP.

Association of antibiotic resistance with SHV-12 extended-spectrum ß-lactamase in Enterobacter cloacae.

The association between antibiotic resistance and SHV-12 extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL) in Enterobacter cloacae remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of both chromosome- and plasmid-borne SHV-12 ESBL genes in Enterobacter cloacae. Transmission of the SHV-12 ESBL gene was explored, and the risk factors for antibiotic resistance in E. cloacae were analyzed. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results showed that 58 out of the 100 isolates carried the SHV-12 ESBL gene: 34.48% of them occurred in the chromosome, 48.28% were plasmid-borne and 17.24% appeared in both. Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-PCR tests detected 82 chromosomal genotypes. Conjugation assays showed that 70.00% of plasmid-borne SHV-12 ESBL genes were successfully transconjugated into E. coli C600 and that the antibiotic resistance phenotype of E. cloacae was partially (84%) or completely (10%) transferred. A significantly higher SHV-12 ESBL detection rate was found in patients with underlying conditions and/or complications compared with those without (P<0.05). The detection of SHV-12 ESBL-producing E. cloacae from vertical transmission varied significantly across clinical departments and age groups (P<0.05), with the highest rates in the intensive care unit and the group of patients aged ≥60 years. The present results indicate that the location and transmission efficiency of SHV-12 ESBL are closely correlated with the antibiotic resistance of E. cloacae.

[Preparation of drug-loaded polylactic acid nanospheres and drug-releasing performance evaluation].

The polylactic acid (PLA) nanospheres containing griseofulvin were prepared by a water-in-oil solvent evaporation method adopting an uniformly designed experiment, and the drug-releasing rates were compared between the microsphere and nanosphere. The results showed that the nanospheres was good in spherical shape with narrow distribution of the particle sizes. The particle diameter was about 114 nm, and the comprehensive score of the nanosphere was 95.59, with the error of 3.66% and the drug content of 13.55% by the linearity regression averaged from the results of the three repeat experiments. The drug-releasing rate of the microsphere was relatively slow, while that of the nanosphere can have an abrupt increase, indicating its function of solubilizing the drug.

An aqueous extract of Yunnan Baiyao inhibits the quorum-sensing-related virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Yunnan Baiyao is a famous Chinese medicine that has long been directly applied to wounds to reduce bleeding, pain, and swelling without causing infection. However, little is known about its ability to prevent infection. The present study aimed to assess in vitro the anti-virulence activity of an aqueous extract of Yunnan Baiyao (YBX) using Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a pathogenic model. We found that a sub-MIC (2.5 mg/ml) of YBX can efficiently interfere with the quorum-sensing (QS) signaling circuit. Real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that a sub-MIC of YBX down-regulated the transcriptions of lasR, lasI, rhlR, and rhlI, which resulted in global attenuation of QS-regulated virulence activities, such as biofilm formation, and secretion of LasA protease, LasB elastase and pyocyanin. Further, YBX reduced the motility of P. aeruginosa related to QS, and impaired the formation of biofilms. These results suggest that YBX may possess global inhibitory activity against the virulence of P. aeruginosa and that YBX may also exhibit antimicrobial activity in vivo. The present study suggests that Yunnan Baiyao represents a potential source for isolating novel, safe, and efficacious antimicrobial agents.

Antihyperglycemic effects of total flavonoids from Polygonatum odoratum in STZ and alloxan-induced diabetic rats.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Total flavonids of Polygonatum(P) odoratum (TFP) were tested for anti-diabetic activity in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rhizoma Polygonati Odorati, well-known Chinese traditional medicine, is widely used for treatment of diverse diseases for example diabetes. In our study, TFP was extracted by 70% ethanol and purified by macroreticular resin. The experiments were designed to detect the anti-diabetic activity of TFP by determination of blood glucose (BG) using one touch gluco-meter and insulin levels by using a radioimmunoassay kit in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice and alloxan-induced diabetic rats and alpha-amylase inhibitory activity by alpha-amylase inhibition assay in vitro. RESULTS: TFP had beneficial effects on regulation of blood glucose. Daily administration with 50-200 mg/kg body weight of TFP for 9 days can reduce significantly hyperglycemia in STZ-induced diabetic mice. Thirtieth day administration with TFP (50-200 mg/kg body weight) also decreased significantly fasting blood glucose in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. The hypoglycemic effect of TFP at 50 and 100 mg/kg is less than that of acarbose 20 mg/kg and gliclazide 15 mg/kg. The hypoglycemic effects of TFP at 200 mg/kg is similar to that of acarbose 20 mg/kg and gliclazide 15 mg/kg. TFP also could increase significantly the insulin level in alloxan-induced type 2 diabetic rats (P<0.05) compared with control. Alpha-amylase inhibition assay in vitro showed that TFP inhibited significantly alpha-amylase activity in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS: TFP possess significant dose-dependent anti-diabetic activity. TFP is one of the primary hypoglycemic active compounds of Polygonatum odoratum which would worth further study and development.

[The research of using TiN nanometer film to improve the anticorrosive property of FeCrMo alloy].

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to improve the anticorrosive property of the dental FeCrMo soft magnetic alloy covered with TiN film obtained by ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) technology in oral environment. METHODS: The magnetic force of the FECrMo soft magnetic alloy after TiN film treated were measured by Instron test machine. An advanced electro-chemical method was used to measure the electric potential of corrosion (Ecorr), passive potential (Ep), passive current density (Ip), current density of corrosion (Icorr), polarization resistance (Rp), of FeCrMo soft magnetic alloy in simulated oral environment before and after surface modification. RESULTS: There were no statistic changes of the magnetic force in 4 groups after alloy with TiN film treated. Comparing with the alloy without surface modified, the Ecorr, Rp of FeCrMo soft magnetic alloy was obviously higher, and the Icorr, Ip and Ep were obviously lower. CONCLUSIONS: The anticorrosive property of the dental FeCrMo soft magnetic alloy with TiN film is better than that without modified.