High‐fat diet‐induced dysbiosis mediates MCP‐1/CCR2 axis‐dependent M2 macrophage polarization and promotes intestinal adenoma‐adenocarcinoma sequence

High‐fat diet (HFD) is a well‐known risk factor for gut microbiota dysbiosis and colorectal cancer (CRC). However, evidence relating HFD, gut microbiota and carcinogenesis is limited. Our study aimed to demonstrate that HFD‐induced gut dysbiosis promoted intestinal adenoma‐adenocarcinoma sequence. In clinical study, we found that HFD increased the incidence of advanced colorectal neoplasia (AN). The expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP‐1), CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) and CD163 in CRC patients with HFD was significantly higher than that in CRC patients with normal diet. When it comes to the Apc^min/+ mice, HFD consumption could induce gut dysbiosis and promote intestinal carcinogenesis, accompanying with activation of MCP‐1/CCR2 axis that recruited and polarized M2 tumour‐associated macrophages. Interestingly, transfer of faecal microbiota from HFD‐fed mice to another batch of Apc^min/+ mice in the absence of HFD could also enhance carcinogenesis without significant body weight gain and induced MCP‐1/CCR2 axis activation. HFD‐induced dysbiosis could also be transmitted. Meanwhile, antibiotics cocktail treatment was sufficient to inhibit HFD‐induced carcinogenesis, indicating the vital role of dysbiosis in cancer development. Conclusively, these data indicated that HFD‐induced dysbiosis accelerated intestinal adenoma‐adenocarcinoma sequence through activation of MCP‐1/CCR2 axis, which would provide new insight into better understanding of the mechanisms and prevention for HFD‐related CRC.     

Roles of intracerebral activin,inhibin, and follistatin in the regulation of Kiss-1 gene expression: Studies using primary cultures of fetal rat neuronal cells

Hypothalamic kisspeptin, encoded by the Kiss-1 gene, governs the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis by directly regulating the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone. In this study, we examined the roles of activin, inhibin, and follistatin in the regulation of Kiss-1 gene expression using primary cultures of fetal rat neuronal cells, which express the Kiss-1 gene and kisspeptin. Stimulation with activin significantly increased Kiss-1 gene expression in these cultures by 2.02 ± 0.39-fold. In contrast, a significant decrease in Kiss-1 gene expression was observed with inhibin A and follistatin treatment. Inhibin B did not modulate Kiss-1 gene expression. Activin, inhibin, and follistatin were also expressed in fetal rat brain cultures and their expression was controlled by estradiol (E2). The inhibin α, βA, and βB subunits were upregulated by E2. Similarly, follistatin gene expression was significantly increased by E2 in these cells. Our results suggest the possibility that activin, inhibin, and follistatin expressed in the brain participate in the E2-induced feedback control of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.     

Gene-environment interactions between CRHR1 variants and physical assault in suicide attempts

Risk factors for suicidal behaviors are partly heritable, including genetic variants that drive diathesis-stress in addition to, or by interaction with, exposure to certain stressful life events (SLEs). Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulatory genes are candidates for association with suicide as well as its endophenotypes. Using a family-based design of offspring who attempted suicide (SA) and both parents, we investigated gene-environment interactions (G×Es) of SLE exposures with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor-1 (CRHR1), a major HPA axis regulatory gene. We observed a novel G×E among predominantly female SA between 5'-SNP rs7209436 and childhood/adolescence physical assault or attack (PA), as well as a second novel and male-specific G×E between 3'-SNP rs16940665 and adulthood PA exposure. A third male-specific G×E previously reported by us among depressed SA, between SNP rs4792887 and cumulative SLEs, was also further confirmed. The two novel G×Es presented here shared the SA characteristic of aggression, while showing differences on other aspects of SA heterogeneity. We conclude that different SA subjects were observed to differentially associate with two novel G×Es involving exposures to PA with different life timing and SNPs located in opposite ends of CRHR1. Concerning sex differences, we observed three subsets of distinct male SA that associated with each of the three observed G×Es, whereas female SAs were affected by only one of the G×Es. These results are consistent with a diathesis-stress model of suicidal behavior and may help to explain SA heterogeneity.     

维吾尔药神香草调节哮喘大鼠下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴功能紊乱的实验研究

目的：观察维吾尔药（维药）神香草对哮喘大鼠模型神经内分泌免疫网络若干组分的影响。方法：取雄性健康Wistar大鼠50只,随机分为正常对照组,哮喘模型组,神香草低、中、高剂量治疗组。采用致敏和雾化的方法制备哮喘模型。采用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）方法检测血清中白介素-4（IL^4）、白介素-6（IL-6）、干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）、皮质酮（CORT）水平;放免法检测血浆中促肾上腺皮质激素（ACTH）的含量;采用实时定量-聚合酶链反应（RT—PCR）法测定下丘脑促肾上腺皮质激素释放激素（CRH）mRNA表达水平。结果：哮喘反复发作时,大鼠下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴紊乱,哮喘大鼠下丘脑CRHmRNA表达和血浆ACTH无明显变化,实验各组血清CORT水平升高（P〈0．05）,神香草高剂量组血清CORT含量高于低剂量组（P〈0．05）。细胞因子IFN-γ无明显变化,IL-6、IL-4有下降趋势（P〈0．05）。结论：哮喘反复发作的大鼠存在NEI网络的紊乱;神香草可以增强下丘脑．垂体．肾上腺皮质（HPA）轴的功能,改善细胞因子的平衡。这些可能是其治疗哮喘的机制之一。     

升温诱发高血压大鼠脑梗塞发病的神经内分泌机制

目的：研究气温骤升导致高血压大鼠发生脑梗塞的神经内分泌机制。方法：采用易卒中型肾血管性高血压（RHRSP）模型,放置于人工模拟气温骤升的高温环境中诱发脑梗塞,检测高温刺激前后大鼠ACTH、CORT、TSH、T3、T4的变化。结果：突然升温使生理组大鼠ACTH和CORT水平表现升高的趋势。模型组高血压大鼠CORT、TSH、T3、T4水平在升温中均呈现升高趋势,但是ACTH水平却明显降低（P〈0.05）。升温后发生脑梗塞大鼠的ACTH和T4水平与升温前比明显下降（P〈0.01）,而TSH水平明显高于升温前水平（P〈0.05）,T3水平不变。结论：高血压机体应激反应系统紊乱,甲状腺刺激素和肾上腺皮质激素的异常波动,是突然高温促发高血压机体脑梗塞发病的重要神经内分泌机制。     

Maternal care and development of stress responses in baboons

The ability to mount a successful response to threats is critical for an organism's survival. A key element of the stress response is its nonspecificity toward the stress source, with similar endocrine and behavioral changes expected under a variety of stressors. In this project we utilized an experimental design that accounts for multiple sources of variation to further understand the nature of stress responsivity and its relationship to the early rearing environment. A sample of baboons (n=73) was observed during the early phase of life in their social group, and then tested as juveniles in a challenging situation. Maternal cortisol levels were measured during the peripartum period. The challenging situation (individuals were isolated for a few minutes in a single cage) was designed to be a moderate source of psychological stress. Patterns in individual differences during the stress test were "mapped" by means of multidimensional scaling (MDS). After the observation was made, the subject was sedated and a blood sample was taken to measure cortisol levels. Our results indicate that when juvenile baboons are confronted with a source of psychological stress, they show a multidimensional behavioral response, probably mediated by the activation and synergic interaction among different neurohormonal systems that, ultimately, act on the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Different components of the multidimensional, or nonspecific, behavioral response are associated with the quality and quantity of interactions with their mothers during early life. Juveniles whose mothers displayed higher levels of positive interaction were characterized by vigilant but less active reactions to the stress test, whereas juveniles of mothers that displayed high levels of stress-related behaviors had higher cortisol and locomotion levels.     

Formation of spacing pattern and morphogenesis of chick feather buds is regulated by cytoskeletal structures

Chick feather buds develop sequentially in a hexagonal array. Each feather bud develops with anterior posterior polarity, which is thought to develop in response to signals derived from specialized regions of mesenchymal condensation and epithelial thickening. These developmental processes are performed by cellular mechanisms, such as cell proliferation and migration, which occur during chick feather bud development. In order to understand the mechanisms regulating the formation of mesenchymal condensation and their role in feather bud development, we explanted chick dorsal skin at stage HH29+ with cytochalasin D, which inhibits cytoskeletal formation. We show that the aggregation of mesenchymal cells can be prevented by cytochalasin D treatment in a concentration-dependent manner. Subsequently, cytochalasin D disrupts the spacing pattern and inhibits feather bud axis formation as well. In addition, expression patterns of Bmp-4 and Msx-2, key molecules for early feather bud development, were disturbed by cytochalasin D treatment. Our results fully indicate that both the cytoskeletal structure and cell activity via gene regulation are of fundamental importance in mesenchymal condensation leading to proper morphogenesis of feather bud and spacing pattern formation.     

The relationship between nuclear DNA content and leaf strategy in seed plants

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Species' 2C-values (mass of DNA in G(1) phase 2n nuclei) vary by at least four orders of magnitude among seed plants. The 2C-value has been shown to be co-ordinated with a number of other species traits, and with environmental variables. A prediction that species 2C-values are negatively related to leaf life span (LL) and leaf mass per area (LMA) is tested. These leaf traits are components of a major dimension of ecological variation among plant species. METHODS: Flow cytometry was used to measure the 2C-values for 41 Australian seed plant species, 40 of which were new to the literature. Where possible, LL and LMA data from the global literature were combined with 2C-values from our data set and online C-value databases. KEY RESULTS: Across all species, weak positive relationships were found between 2C-values and both LL and LMA; however, these did not reflect the relationships within either angiosperms or gymnosperms. Across 59 angiosperm species, there were weak negative relationships between 2C-values and both LL (r2 = 0.13, P = 0.005) and LMA (r2 = 0.15, P = 0.002). These relationships were the result of shifts to longer LL and greater LMA in woody compared with herbaceous growth forms, with no relationships present within growth forms. It was not possible to explain a positive relationship between 2C-values and LMA (r2 = 0.30, P = 0.024) across 17 gymnosperm species. The 2C-value was not related to LL or LMA either across species within orders (except for LMA among Pinales), or as radiation divergences in a model phylogeny. CONCLUSIONS: Gymnosperms appear to vary along a spectrum different from angiosperms. Among angiosperms, weak negative cross-species relationships were associated with growth form differences, and traced to a few divergences deep in the model phylogeny. These results suggest that among angiosperms, nuclear DNA content and leaf strategy are unrelated.     

Order parameters of unsaturated phospholipids in membranes and the effect of cholesterol: a 1H–13C solid-state NMR study at natural abundance

Most biological phospholipids contain at least one unsaturated alkyl chain. However, few order parameters of unsaturated lipids have been determined because of the difficulty associated with isotopic labeling of a double bond. Dipolar recoupling on axis with scaling and shape preservation (DROSS) is a solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance technique optimized for measuring ¹H–¹³C dipolar couplings and order parameters in lipid membranes in the fluid phase. It has been used to determine the order profile of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine hydrated membranes. Here, we show an application for the measurement of local order parameters in multilamellar vesicles containing unsaturated lipids. Taking advantage of the very good ¹³C chemical shift dispersion, one can easily follow the segmental order along the acyl chains and, particularly, around the double bonds where we have been able to determine the previously misassigned order parameters of each acyl chain of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC). We have followed the variation of such order profiles with temperature, unsaturation content and cholesterol addition. We have found that the phase formed by DOPC with 30% cholesterol is analogous to the liquid-ordered (l_o) phase. Because these experiments do not require isotopic enrichment, this technique can, in principle, be applied to natural lipids and biomembranes.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at .     

Insect appendages and comparative ontogenetics

It is arguable that the evolutionary and ecological success of insects is due in large part to the versatility of their articulated appendages. Recent advances in our understanding of appendage development in Drosophila melanogaster, as well as functional and expression studies in other insect species have begun to frame the general themes of appendage development in the insects. Here, we review current studies that provide for a comparison of limb developmental mechanisms acting at five levels: (1) the specification of ventral appendage primordia; (2) specification of the limb axes; (3) regulation and interactions of genes expressed in specific domains of the proximal-distal axis, such as Distal-less; (4) the specification of appendage identity; and (5) genetic regulation of appendage allometry.