Catalpol ameliorates dexamethasone-induced osteoporosis by promoting osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells via the activation of PKD1 promoter.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of CA on glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) and lucubrate the underlying mechanism of CA via the activation of polycystic kidney disease-1(PKD1) in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). METHODS: In vivo, a GIOP model in mice treated with dexamethasone (Dex) was established. Biomechanical, micro-CT, immunofluorescence staining of OCN, ALP and PKD1 and others were severally determined. qRT-PCR and Western blot methods were adopted to elucidate the particular mechanisms of CA on GIOP. In addition, BMSCs cultured in vitro were also induced by Dex to verify the effects of CA. Finally, siRNA and luciferase activity assays were performed to confirm the mechanisms. RESULTS: We found that CA could restore the destroyed bone microarchitecture and increase the bone mass in GIOP mice. CA could also upregulate PKD1 protein expression, reduce oxidative stress, and promote mRNA expression of bone formation-associated markers in GIOP mice. Furthermore, it was also observed that CA reduced oxidative stress and promoted osteogenic differentiation in Dex-induced BMSCs. Mechanically, CA could promote protein expression via increasing the activity of PKD1 promoter. CONCLUSION: This study provides important evidences for CA in the further clinical treatment of GIOP, reveals the activation of PKD1 promoter as the underlying mechanism.

Identification of neutrophil extracellular traps and crosstalk genes linking inflammatory bowel disease and osteoporosis by integrated bioinformatics analysis and machine learning.

Musculoskeletal deficits are among the most common extra-intestinal manifestations and complications of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study aimed to identify crosstalk genes between IBD and osteoporosis (OP) and potential relationships between crosstalk and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs)-related genes. Three common hub genes from different compared groups are actually the same, namely HDAC6, IL-8, and PPIF. ROC showed that the combined diagnostic value of HDAC6, IL-8, and PPIF was higher than each of the three key hub genes. Immune infiltration results showed that HDAC6 and IL-8 key genes negatively correlated with CD65 bright natural killer cells. USF1 was the common upstream TFs between HDAC6 and PPIF, and MYC was the common upstream TFs between IL-8 and PPIF in RegNetwork. Taken together, this study shows a linked mechanism between IBD and OP via NETs and crosstalk genes. These findings may show light on better diagnosis and treatment of IBD complicated with OP.

Cross-Strait climate change and agricultural product loss.

The structure of agricultural industries at Cross-Strait differs as climate change is considered. In fact, its influence on their agriculture and other industries vary when the impact produced by natural disasters due to climate change are faced. To estimate direct and indirect losses caused by natural disasters, this study applies Inter-Country Input-Output (ICIO) analysis developed by Miller and Blair (2009) to discuss the development among Cross-Strait industries as they face disaster losses. The data sources used in this article are from Lin (2013), Cross-Strait ICIO table, and the statistics of agriculture in the periods 2005-2017 for Taiwan and Mainland China. The main results from our ICIO analysis are as follows: the value-added losses caused by natural disasters mainly involve agriculture, forestry, fishery, wholesale and retail trade, animal feed, and chemical fertilizer industries. These sectors account for 87.4% in Mainland China and 94.6% in Taiwan of total separately.

Achieve Sustainable development of rivers with water resource management - economic model of river chief system in China.

China has established the River Chief System (RCS) to develop mechanisms to achieve success in cross-regional negotiations of the Sustainable Water Resource Management Affairs (SWRMA). This paper aims to investigate the mechanisms developed by RCS and social welfare brought by RCS in China, and thereafter put forward suggestions for the future development of RCS. Therefore, a one-stage cooperation game was used to investigate cross-regional SWRMA negotiations with RCS. The results showed that RCS ensures that cooperative solutions are chosen in cross-regional SWRMA negotiations. Moreover, this paper used a two-stage game to explore cross-regional SWRMA negotiations without involving RCS. In this case, the involvement of the upper-level administrators and the probability of a successful negotiation are endogenously determined by local authorities. The results showed that in cross-regional SWRMA negotiations, both when the upper-level administrators are involved in the first stage and in the second stage, the cooperative solutions would be adopted. Thus, RCS is an inevitable outcome of the cross-regional SWRMA negotiations. In addition, RCS could help to avoid transactional costs and external costs in cross-regional SWRMA negotiations. Based on these results, this study provided the following suggestions: the river chief and local authorities of RCS should be stakeholders; the major members of RCS should be the local authorities influenced mostly by SWRMA quantities; RCS should actively advertise the benefits and the cost-down of SWRMA.