Ultrastructural study on human placentae from women subjected to assisted reproductive technology treatments

This study compared the ultrastructural differences of term placentae from human pregnancies resulting from assisted reproductive technology (ART) with term placentae from spontaneous human pregnancies. Term placentae were taken from women who had undergone an ART procedure (n = 8) and matched with term placentae from women who had had a spontaneous pregnancy (controls, n = 15). Using light microscopy (LM) and transmission-electron microscopy (TEM), terminal villi were evaluated with respect to the placental blood barrier, fetal capillaries, villous stroma, as well as cytotrophoblasts and syncytiotrophoblasts (ST) along with their substructures. No obvious differences were found between the ART-derived and control placentae when LM was used. With TEM, however, differences in the ultrastructural features were seen in the ART-derived placentae, specifically degenerative alterations of the terminal villi, mainly in ST, including a thicker placental barrier, decreased apical microvilli, and increased multiple vacuoles. The results demonstrate that some ultrastructural differences exist between ART-derived and control placentae with respect to the placental blood barrier, which may suggest maternofetal traffic downregulation following ART treatment. Further studies are required to understand the ultrastructural changes and their potential functional aspects in ART pregnancies.     

铁核桃叶片矿质元素和内源激素含量与雌花芽分化的关系

以铁核桃(Juglans sigillata Dode)叶片和花芽为材料,采用石蜡切片法确定铁核桃雌花芽生理分化和形态分化期,并采用分光光度法、凯氏定氮法、钼锑抗比色法以及ASS法测定花芽分化期叶片中叶绿素和主要矿物质含量,运用液质联用法(HPLC-MS)对花芽分化期雌花芽、雄花芽和叶片中内源激素含量进行分析,探讨铁核桃叶绿素、矿物质和内源激素含量与雌花芽分化的关系。结果表明:(1)铁核桃叶片中叶绿素a和叶绿素b的含量在雌花芽生理分化前增加,在形态分化期呈现高峰值。(2)从生理分化到形态分化转换期,铁核桃叶片中Ca、Mg含量降低,K含量升高;在花芽分化过程中,叶片中P含量呈持续下降趋势,Fe含量呈先下降后上升趋势,Zn含量呈‘M’型变化。(3)铁核桃叶片、雌花芽和雄花芽中GA_4含量在生理分化期急剧下降,而在形态分化期呈现高峰值;雌花芽、雄花芽中ABA和ZR含量在花芽分化过程中均呈‘M’型双峰曲线,而叶片中ZR浓度持续呈现低含量水平,并在雌花芽分化的生理分化期有峰值;形态分化期花芽中IAA浓度较低。4月底~5月中旬是贵州铁核桃雌花芽由生理分化向形态分化转化的关键期;叶片中高含量的叶绿素和雌花芽中低浓度的IAA、GA_4利于雌花芽初期发育;雌花芽分化过程中消耗大量P,叶片中高含量的K与雌花芽分化关键期关系密切,而Ca、Mg、Zn与雌花芽形态分化关系密切;雌花芽中高浓度的ABA、ZR对生理和形态分化均有显著作用,高含量的GA_4参与花原基的形态建成。     

Nitrogen Modulates the Effects of Heat,Drought, and Combined Stresses on Photosynthesis,Antioxidant Capacity,Cell Osmoregulation,and Grain Yield in Winter Wheat

Longer and more intense heat and drought stresses will occur in terrestrial ecosystems in the future. Although the effects of individual heat or drought stress on wheat plants have been largely explored, the regulatory effect of nitrogen (N) on winter wheat under heat, drought, and combined stresses and whether N alleviates damage to wheat plants caused by these stresses remain unclear. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to investigate the growth, photosynthesis, antioxidant enzyme and N metabolism-related enzyme activity, cell membrane system, osmoregulatory substance, and yield responses to heat, drought, and combined stresses in wheat plants and to clarify the regulatory effects of N on the growth, physiological and biochemical characteristics, and yield of wheat plants under stress conditions. The results showed that wheat plant exposure to individual heat or drought stress reduced photosynthesis and N metabolism-related enzyme activities and increased antioxidant enzyme activities, electrolyte leakage (EL), and the contents of MDA (malondialdehyde) and O₂^? (superoxide anion). The above parameters showed typical superposition effects under combined stress. Under individual heat or drought stress, wheat plants treated with a medium (N₂) or high (N₃) N supply maintained higher photosynthesis and N metabolism-related enzyme activities than did those treated with a low N supply (N₁). Enhanced heat and drought tolerance in wheat plants under an appropriate N supply may be attributed to improved antioxidant capacity, as exemplified by increased activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and to enhanced osmoregulation capacity, as signified by increased contents of soluble sugar (SS), soluble protein (SP), and proline (Pro). Variable importance in projection (VIP) analysis indicated that efficient SOD, POD, CAT, and GR activities and an increased Pro content had superior potential to alleviate heat, drought, and combined stress stresses in wheat plants, and the improvements in growth and grain yield in wheat plants further confirmed the oxidative stress alleviation and stress tolerance enhancement. However, positive effects of N on wheat growth and grain yield under combined stress were usually observed under a low N supply. These results may facilitate future research on the effects of N fertilizer on the stress resistance of winter wheat.

Graphical Abstract