Rhodobacter sphaeroides Extract Lycogen™ Attenuates Testosterone-Induced Benign Prostate Hyperplasia in Rats.

Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common urological problems in mid-aged to elderly men. Risk factors of BPH include family history, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high oxidative stress. The main medication classes for BPH management are alpha blockers and 5α-reductase inhibitors. However, these conventional medicines cause adverse effects. Lycogen™, extracted from Rhodobacter sphaeroides WL-APD911, is an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory compound. In this study, the effect of Lycogen™ was evaluated in rats with testosterone-induced benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). Testosterone injections and Lycogen™ administration were carried out for 28 days, and body weights were recorded twice per week. The testosterone injection successfully induced a prostate enlargement. BPH-induced rats treated with different doses of Lycogen™ exhibited a significantly decreased prostate index (PI). Moreover, the Lycogen™ administration recovered the histological abnormalities observed in the prostate of BPH rats. In conclusion, these findings support a dose-dependent preventing effect of Lycogen™ on testosterone-induced BPH in rats and suggest that Lycogen™ may be favorable to the prevention and management of benign prostate hyperplasia.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the marbled rockfish Sebastiscus marmoratus (Scorpaeniformes, Scorpaenidae): genome characterization and phylogenetic considerations.

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the marbled rockfish Sebastiscus marmoratus (Scorpaeniformes, Scorpaenidae) was determined and phylogenetic analysis was conducted to elucidate the evolutionary relationship of the marbled rockfish with other Sebastinae species. This mitochondrial genome, consisting of 17301 bp, is highly similar to that of most other vertebrates, containing the same gene order and an identical number of genes or regions, including 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, and one putative control region. Most of the genes are encoded on the H-strand, while the ND6 and seven tRNA genes (for Gln, Ala, Asn, Tyr, Ser (UCA), Glu, and Pro) are encoded on the L-strand. The reading frame of two pairs of genes overlapped on the same strand (the ATPase 8 and 6 genes overlapped by ten nucleotides; ND4L and ND4 genes overlapped by seven nucleotides). The possibly nonfunctional light-strand replication origin folded into a typical stem-loop secondary structure and a conserved motif (5'-GCCGG-3') was found at the base of the stem within the tRNA(Cys) gene. An extent termination-associated sequence (ETAS) and conserved sequence blocks (CSB) were identified in the control region, except for CSB-1; unusual long tandem repeats were found at the 3' end of the control region. Phylogenetic analyses supported the view that Sebastinae comprises four genera (Sebates, Hozukius, Helicolenus, and Sebasticus).

Effect of shikonin on the proliferation and apoptosis of human ovarian cancer cell SKOV3: A protocol of systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This study will investigate the effect of shikonin on the proliferation and apoptosis of human ovarian cancer cell SKOV3 (HOCC-SKOV3). METHODS: We will retrieve potential studies from inception to the March 1, 2020 in Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, WANGFANG, and China National Knowledge In-frastructure. There are not restrictions related to the language and publication status. This study will include case-controlled studies (CCSs) or randomized controlled studies (RCSs) that examine the effect of shikonin on the proliferation and apoptosis of HOCC-SKOV3. Two researchers will independently identify literatures, extract data, and appraise study quality. Any disagreements will be resolved by discussion with another researcher. RevMan 5.3 software will be placed to perform statistical analysis. RESULTS: This study will summarize the present evidence to test the effect of shikonin on the proliferation and apoptosis of HOCC-SKOV3. CONCLUSION: It will provide evidence to investigate the effect of shikonin on the proliferation and apoptosis of HOCC-SKOV3, and will supply reference for further study.Systematic review registration: INPLASY202040146.

Comparison of bacterial community structure and potential functions in hypoxic and non-hypoxic zones of the Changjiang Estuary.

Bacterioplankton play a key role in the global cycling of elements. To characterize the effects of hypoxia on bacterioplankton, bacterial community structure and function were investigated in the Changjiang Estuary. Water samples were collected from three layers (surface, middle, and bottom) at ten sampling sites in the Changjiang Estuary hypoxic and non-hypoxic zones. The community structure was analyzed using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rDNA genes, and the predictive metagenomic approach was used to investigate the functions of the bacterial community. Co-occurrence networks are constructed to investigate the relationship between different bacterioplankton. The results showed that community composition in hypoxic and non-hypoxic zones were markedly different. The diversity and richness of bacterial communities in the bottom layer (hypoxic zone) were remarkably higher than that of the surface layer (non-hypoxic). In the non-hypoxic zone, it was found that Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Flavobacteriia were the dominant groups while Alphaproteobacteria, SAR406 and Deltaproteobacteria were the dominant groups in the hypoxic zone. From the RDA analysis, it was shown that dissolved oxygen (DO) explained most of the bacterial community variation in the redundancy analysis targeting only hypoxia zones, whereas nutrients and salinity explained most of the variation across all samples in the Changjiang Estuary. To understand the genes involved in nitrogen metabolism, an analysis of the oxidation state of nitrogen was performed. The results showed that the bacterial community in the surface layer (non-hypoxic) had more genes involved in dissimilatory nitrate reduction, assimilatory nitrate reduction, denitrification, and anammox, while that in the middle and bottom layers (hypoxic zone) had more abundant genes associated with nitrogen fixation and nitrification. Co-occurrence networks revealed that microbial assemblages in the middle and bottom layers shared more niche spaces than in the surface layer (non-hypoxic zone). The environmental heterogeneity in the hypoxic and non-hypoxic zones might be important environmental factors that determine the bacterial composition in these two zones.

Phylogenetic analysis of bacterial community composition in sediments with organic contaminants from the Jiaojiang estuary in China.

The aim of this study was to investigate the bacterial community composition, the concentration of organic contaminants, and their relationship in the sediments of Jiaojiang estuary. Sediments were collected from seven stations and the environmental parameters were analyzed. The results showed that the site closest to the chemical industry zone was the most polluted. Bacterial communities were determined using 16S rRNA clone libraries and phylogenetic analysis. These results revealed that there were 13 known bacterial phyla in the sediments and that Proteobacteria were the dominant group. Using these data, we assessed the correlation between bacterial communities and organic contaminants using cluster, multidimensional scaling, and redundancy analyses. These showed that there was no simple relationship between organic contaminants and bacterial community diversity in the sediments, but polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were more influential than the other pollutants and negatively affected Chloroflexi.