[Intervention of traditional Chinese medicine in spermatogenic epithelium injury by regulating the ferroptosis pathway: Advances in studies].

The incidence of male infertility has been increasing year by year, and one of the major causes is testicular spermatogenic epithelial injury, which affects the spermatogenic function of the testis. Ferroptosis is a novel mode of cell death and plays an important role in testicular cell injury. Some traditional Chinese medicines can intervene in the progression of testicular injury by regulating the ferroptosis pathway in testicular spermatogenic epithelia. This paper focuses on the effect of traditional Chinese drugs in regulating the ferroptosis pathway in testicular cells, and summarizes the advances in the studies of traditional Chinese medicines in the treatment of testicular spermatogenic epithelial injury, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the selection of relevant medicines and their clinical application.

Consistency and synchronization of AMPK-glycogen in endometrial epithelial cells are critical to the embryo implantation.

Uterine receptivity to the embryo is crucial for successful implantation. The establishment of uterine receptivity requires a large amount of energy, and abnormal energy regulation causes implantation failure. Glucose metabolism in the endometrium is tissue specific. Glucose is largely stored in the form of glycogen, which is the main energy source for the endometrium. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an important energy-sensing molecule, is a key player in the regulation of glucose metabolism and its regulation is also tissue specific. However, the mechanism of energy regulation in the endometrium for the establishment of uterine receptivity remains to be elucidated. In this study, we aimed to investigate the energy regulation mechanism of mouse uterine receptivity and its significance in embryo implantation. The results showed that the AMPK, p-AMPK, glycogen synthase 1, and glycogen phosphorylase M levels and the glycogen content in mouse endometrial epithelium varied in a periodic manner under regulation by the ovarian hormone. Specifically, progesterone significantly activated AMPK, promoted glycogenolysis, and upregulated glycogen phosphorylase M expression. AMPK regulated glycogen phosphorylase M expression and promoted glycogenolysis. AMPK was also found to be activated by changes in the energy or glycogen of the endometrial epithelial cells. The inhibition of AMPK activity or glycogenolysis altered the uterine receptivity markers during the window of implantation and ultimately interfered with implantation. In summary, consistency and synchronization of AMPK and glycogen metabolism constitute the core regulatory mechanism in mouse endometrial epithelial cells involved in the establishment of uterine receptivity.

Lelliottia steviae sp. nov. isolated from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni.

A Gram-negative, aerobic, chemoheterotrophic, rod-shaped, and motile bacterium, designated as LST-1T, was isolated from wild Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic analysis. The LST-1 strain grew optimally at 37 °C and pH 6.0-7.0 in the presence of 0.5% (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rDNA sequence indicated that LST-1 is closely related to Lelliottia jeotgali PFL01T (99.85%), Lelliottia nimipressuralis LMG10245T (98.82%), and Lelliottia amnigena LMG2784T (98.54%). Multi-locus sequence typing of concatenated partial atpD, infB, gyrB, and rpoB genes was performed to improve the resolution, and clear distinctions between the closest related type strains were observed. The results of average nucleotide identify analyses and DNA-DNA hybridization with four species (16S rDNA similarity > 98.65%) were less than 90 and 40%, respectively, verifying the distinct characteristics from other species of Lelliottia. The cellular fatty acid profile of the strain consisted of C16:0, Summed Feature3, and Summed Feature8 (possibly 16:1 w6c/16:1 w7c and 18:1 w6c) as major components. The major polar lipids included phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, an aminophospholipid, three non-characteristic phospholipids, and a non-characteristic lipid. The genome of LST-1T was 4,611,055 bp in size, with a G + C content of 55.02%. The unique combination of several phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, and genomic characteristics proved that strain LST-1T belongs to a novel species, for which the name Lelliottia steviae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is LST-1T (= CGMCC 1.19175T = JCM 34938T).Repositories: The genbank accession numbers for the 16S rRNA gene and genome sequences of strain LST-1T are MZ497264 and CP063663, respectively.

[Neuroprotective mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine extracts in the treatment of diabetic ED by inhibiting the ferroptosis pathway].

Diabetic ED (DMED) is a sexual dysfunction disease accompanied by poor blood sugar control, which is a most common organic ED clinically, with the lesions of the nervous system as the most important pathological mechanism in the process of its occurrence. Ferroptosis is a new form of autophagy-dependent cell death involved in the development and progression of a variety of diseases and closely related to the death of nerve cells. The ferroptosis pathway has been conformed to be involved in the mechanism of neuromodulation of DMED, which can be used as an important basis for the treatment of the disease. Studies have shown that some herbal extracts can inhibit the ferroptosis pathway of nerve cells. This review summarizes the neuroprotective mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine extracts in the treatment of DMED by inhibiting the ferroptosis pathway of nerve cells, and provides a theoretical foundation for future clinical treatment of the disease.

[Alterations of regional homogeneity in patients with psychogenic erectile dysfunction: A study by resting-state functional MRI].

OBJECTIVE: To study the correlation between the brain regional homogeneity (ReHo) features and the clinical characteristics of the patients with psychogenic erectile dysfunction (pED). METHODS: Using IIEF-5 and the Self-Esteem and Relationship (SEAR) questionnaire, we evaluated the erectile function and psychosocial status of 32 pED patients and 28 healthy male subjects. Then, we compared the regional brain activity between the patients and healthy controls by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) and the ReHo method, analyzed the correlation of the ReHo value of the altered brain regions with the results of IIEF-5 and SEAR questionnaire investigation, and explored the relationship between the ReHo features and the symptoms of the pED patients. RESULTS: Compared with the healthy male subjects, the pED patients obtained significantly lower IIEF-5 scores (22.21 ± 0.98 vs 13.97 ± 3.60, P < 0.01) and SEAR scores (61.92 ± 3.73 vs 37.58 ± 7.96, P < 0.01), a higher ReHo value of the left lateral cerebellum, and a lower ReHo value of the right precentral gyrus. The ReHo value of the left lateral cerebellum was correlated negatively with the IIEF-5 scores (r= －0.51, P < 0.01) and SEAR scores (r = －0.54, P < 0.01), while that of the right precentral gyrus positively with the IIEF-5 scores (r = 0.57, P < 0.01) and SEAR scores (r = 0.66, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with pED had lateral cerebellum-mediated abnormal sensory integration and precentral gyrus-related dysfunction of motor imagery and motor execution.