Latest Issue
Issue 7 ， 2019
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Recent advances in the neural regulation of feeding behavior in adult
Drosophila Abstract：The ability to maintain metabolic homeostasis is a key capability critical for the survival and well-being of animals living in constantly changing environments. Metabolic homeostasis depends on neuromodulators, such as biogenic amines, neuropeptides, and hormones, to signal changes in animals’ internal metabolic status and to orchestrate their behaviors accordingly. An important example is the regulation of feeding behavior by conserved molecular and cellular mechanisms across the animal kingdom. Its relatively simple brain coupled with well-characterized genetics and behavioral paradigms makes the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster an excellent model for investigating the neuromodulatory regulation of feeding behavior. In this review we discuss the neuromodulators and neural circuits that integrate the internal physiological status with external sensory cues and modulate feeding behavior in adult fruit flies. Studies show that various specific aspects of feeding behavior are subjected to unique neuromodulatory regulation, which permits fruit flies to maintain metabolic homeostasis effectively.Keywords：Feeding behavior;Drosophila melanogaster;Neuromodulatory regulation;Internal status;Sensory processing- 115
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Published：2022-01-05 -
Epigenetics recording varied environment and complex cell events represents the origin of cellular aging
Abstract：Although a relationship between epigenetics and aging phenotypic changes has been established, a theoretical explanation of the intrinsic connection between the epigenetics and aging is lacking. In this essay, we propose that epigenetic recording of varied cell environment and complex history could be an origin of cellular aging. Through epigenetic modifications, the environment and historical events can induce the chromatin template into an activated or repressive accessible structure, thereby shaping the DNA template into a spectrum of chromatin states. The inner nature of diversity and conflicts born by the cell environment and its historical events are hence recorded into the chromatin template. This could result in a dissipated spectrum of the chromatin state and chaos in overall gene expression. An unavoidable degradation of epigenome entropy, similar to Shannon entropy, would be consequently induced. The resultant disorder in epigenome, characterized by corrosion of epigenome entropy as reflected in chromatin template, can be stably memorized and propagated through cell division. Furthermore, the hysteretic nature of epigenetics responding to the emerging environment could exacerbate the degradation of epigenome entropy. As well as stochastic errors, we propose that outside entropy (or chaos) derived from the varied environment and complex cell history, gradually input and imprinted into the chromatin via epigenetic modifications, would lead inevitably to cellular aging, the extent of which could be aggravated by hysteresis of epigenetics without error erasing and correction.Keywords：Epigenetics;Environment;Cell event;Cellular aging;Epigenome entropy;DNA methylation- 118
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Published：2022-01-05
Review
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Comparison of volatile profiles and bioactive components of sun-dried Pu-erh tea leaves from ancient tea plants on Bulang Mountain measured by GC-MS and HPLC#
Abstract：To explore the volatile profiles and the contents of ten bioactive components (polyphenols and caffeine) of sun-dried Pu-erh tea leaves from ancient tea plants on Bulang Mountain, 17 samples of three tea varieties were analyzed by headspace-solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A total of 75 volatile components were tentatively identified. Laomaner (LME), Laobanzhang (LBZ), and other teas on Bulang Mountain (BL) contained 70, 53, and 71 volatile compounds, respectively. Among the volatile compounds, alcohols (30.2%–45.8%), hydrocarbons (13.7%–17.5%), and ketones (12.4%–23.4%) were qualitatively the most dominant volatile compounds in the different tea varieties. The average content of polyphenol was highest in LME (102.1 mg/g), followed by BL (98.7 mg/g) and LBZ (88.0 mg/g), while caffeine showed the opposite trend, 27.3 mg/g in LME, 33.5 mg/g in BL, and 38.1 mg/g in LBZ. Principal component analysis applied to both the volatile compounds and ten bioactive components showed a poor separation of samples according to varieties, while partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) showed satisfactory discrimination. Thirty-four volatile components and five bioactive compounds were selected as major discriminators (variable importance in projection (VIP) >1) among the tea varieties. These results suggest that chromatographic data combined with multivariate analysis could provide a useful technique to characterize and distinguish the sun-dried Pu-erh tea leaves from ancient tea varieties on Bulang Mountain.Keywords：Sun-dried Pu-erh tea;Ancient tea plant;Bulang Mountain;Volatile compound;Bioactive component- 15
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Published：2022-01-05 -
Improvement in post-partum uterine involution in rats treated with
Apios americana Abstract：Objective:Apios americana, a plant used as a staple ingredient of native American diets, has various properties, including anti-cancer, anti-hyperglycemic, hypotensive, and anti-inflammatory activity. In Japan, Apios is used as a post-natal medication. After parturition, women undergo a period of recovery as they return to pre-pregnancy conditions. However, few health products that aid post-partum recovery are on the market. We explored whether Apios can accelerate the post-partum recovery process, in particular the involution of the uterus.Methods:Female rats kept in individual cages were mated with two male rats, with the exception of the control group (female rats without mating, on basal diet; n=6). After delivery, rats were divided into five groups based on their diet: basal diet (model; n=6); basal diet+oral intake at 5.4 g/kg of Chanfukang granules (a Chinese patent medicine preparation for post-partum lochia) (positive; n=6); basal diet containing 10% Apios powder (low; n=6); basal diet containing 20% Apios powder (medium; n=6); basal diet containing 40% Apios powder (high; n=6). Five days later, uteri and spleens were weighed. Uterus and spleen indices for each rat were calculated by dividing visceral weight by the total weight. Hormone and cytokine concentrations were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Histological analysis of uteri was completed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Expression of matrix metalloproteinases and inhibitors in uteri was measured by western blotting.Results:Our results showed that Apios treatment reduced the post-partum uterus index and regulated the hormone concentrations. Moreover, we found that the process of uterine involution was accelerated, based on morphological changes in the uterus. In addition, our results indicated that Apios alleviated the inflammatory response induced by the involution process. Transforming growth factor β was also found to be regulated by Apios. There were significant downregulation of matrix metalloproteinases and upregulation of their inhibitors by Apios, which suggested that Apios increased the rate of the collagen clearance process.Conclusions:These results, based on experimental observations at the molecular and protein levels, verified our hypothesis that Apios can improve uterine involution, and demonstrated the potential application of Apios in post-partum care.Keywords：Apios americana;Uterine involution;Cytokine;Matrix metalloproteinase- 12
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Published：2022-01-05 -
Systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy and safety of immunosuppressive pulse therapy in the treatment of paraquat poisoning
Abstract：Paraquat (PQ), a highly effective herbicide, is widely used worldwide. PQ poisoning can cause multiple organ failure, in which the lung is the primary target organ. After PQ poisoning, the patient mortality rate is as high as 90%, and there is currently no specific antidote. The main clinical treatment is the use of glucocorticoids and cyclophosphamide for pulse therapy, but its effectiveness and safety are still uncertain. We investigated the effectiveness and safety of immunosuppressive pulse therapy with glucocorticoids and cyclophosphamide to evaluate the treatment value in patients with acute PQ poisoning. This meta-analysis, combined with seven trials that enrolled a total of 426 patients, showed that immunosuppressive pulse therapy with glucocorticoids and cyclophosphamide for PQ poisoning significantly reduced mortality of the study group (59.3%, 134/226) compared with the control group (81.0%, 162/200). There was no significant difference of hepatitis or renal failure between the control and study groups, indicating that immunosuppressive pulse therapy was relatively safe. Several patients were reported to have leukopenia and returned to normal after 1–2 weeks without any abnormalities. Two cases of non-fatal sepsis were reported and considered to be a side effect of the immunosuppressive pulse therapy. Thus, immunosuppressive pulse therapy can efficiently reduce the mortality of PQ poisoning and it is relatively safe.Keywords：Paraquat;Glucocorticoids;Cyclophosphamide;Immunosuppressive pulse therapy;Meta-analysis- 14
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Published：2022-01-05 -
Relationship between genetic variation in the α2A-adrenergic receptor and the cardiovascular effects of dexmedetomidine in the Chinese Han population
Abstract：There are differences in individual cardiovascular responses to the administration of dexmedetomidine, a highly selective α2A-adrenergic receptor (ADRA2A) agonist. The aim of this study was to investigate ADRA2A gene polymorphisms in the Chinese Han population and their association with the cardiovascular response to intravenous dexmedetomidine infusion. Sixty elective surgery patients of Chinese Han nationality were administered 1 µg/kg dexmedetomidine intravenously over 10 min as a premedication. ADRA2A C-1291G and A1780G polymorphism status was determined in these patients, and their relationships to changes in blood pressure and heart rate after dexmedetomidine administration were analyzed. There were neither significant differences in systolic or diastolic blood pressure changes in individuals with different A1780G and C-1291G genotypes after dexmedetomidine administration, nor in heart rates among the different A1780G genotypes. However, there were significant differences in changes in heart rates in patients with different C-1291G genotypes. There were no significant differences in the sedative effects of dexmedetomidine among different A1780G and C-1291G genotypes. Logistic regression revealed that the C-1291G polymorphism was associated with differential decreases in heart rate after intravenous infusion of dexmedetomidine. These findings indicate that the ADRA2A C-1291G polymorphism can affect heart rate changes in patients after intravenous infusion of dexmedetomidine.Keywords：Dexmedetomidine;α2A-Adrenergic receptor;Polymorphism;Blood pressure;Heart rate- 128
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Published：2022-01-05 -
Exosome-derived galectin-9 may be a novel predictor of rejection and prognosis after liver transplantation
Abstract：Acute cellular rejection (ACR) remains a major concern after liver transplantation. Predicting and monitoring acute rejection by non-invasive methods are very important for guiding the use of immunosuppressive drugs. Many studies have shown that exosomes and their contents are potential biomarkers for various liver diseases. Here, we identify and validate the role of exosomes and galectin-9 in ACR after liver transplantation. Exosomes were isolated from three sets of paired patients, with and without ACR, and the proteins within the exosomes were isolated and identified. Candidate proteins were then validated using a tissue microarray containing resected liver samples from 73 ACR and 63 non-rejection patients. Finally, protein expression and clinical manifestations were included in Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox regression analyses. Circulating exosomes were isolated from ACR and non-rejection patients and characterized using transmission electron microscopy and western blotting for CD63/CD81. Western blotting experiments revealed higher levels of galectin-9 protein in circulating exosomes from ACR recipients. Immunohistochemical analysis of the tissue microarray showed that the expression of galectin-9 in resected liver was significantly higher in the ACR group than in the non-rejection group (P<0.05). Higher levels of galectin-9 expression in resected livers were associated with poorer prognosis (P<0.05). Exosome-derived galectin-9 may be a novel predictor of rejection and prognosis after liver transplantation.Keywords：Liver transplantation;Acute cellular rejection;Exosome;Galectin-9- 120
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Published：2022-01-05
Article
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Hypolipidemic activity of low-cholesterol ovum oil of
Rana chensinensis and phytosterol (stigmasterol) in rats#Abstract：The ovum oil of forest frog has various health beneficial functions. In the current research, we evaluated the hypolipidemic effects of the low-cholesterol ovum oil from the forest frog and its combination with stigmasterol in rats.Keywords：Ovum oil of Rana chensinensis;Forest frog;Hyperlipidemia- 17
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Published：2022-01-05
Correspondence
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