建立胎儿生长受限动物模型的研究进展

动物模型法对于人类疾病病因学及病理生理学的研究有着独特的作用。将动物模型法引入对胎儿生长受限（fetal growth restriction,FGR）的探索,不仅可以让我们观察FGR患者及胎儿在不同孕期各自的表现,还可以让我们对发病胎儿在出生后不同年龄阶段的自然表现进行继续研究。人们在FGR动物模型的建立和利用方面已经积累了大量的宝贵经验,这为进一步阐明FGR的病因学及发病机制创造了条件。     

神经系统中的一氧化氮

一氧化氮(NO)是一种广泛存在的独特的生物信使因子和效应因子.NO参与脑内许多生理功能和病理生理过程.NO调节神经递质释放和脑血流,参与神经发育和基因表达调控.NO可能作为一种逆行信使物质参与海马的长时程突触传递增强和小脑的长时程突触传递抑制.过多的NO则具有神经毒性并与许多神经系统疾病有关.     

Epigenetics Beyond Fetal Growth Restriction: A Comprehensive Overview

Molecular Diagnosis & Therapy - Fetal growth restriction is a pathological condition occurring when the fetus does not reach the genetically determined growth potential. The etiology of fetal...     

Nitric Oxide Storage in the Cardiovascular System

Nitric oxide (NO) is a highly reactive substance with short lifetime. In conditions of a living organism NO can be bound by the complexes used for transport and intracellular storage of NO. The main biological forms of NO store include S-nitrosothiols and dinitrosyl iron complexes capable of interconversion. The NO store formed by these complexes in the vascular wall, on the one hand, provides for protection from excessive free NO after its overproduction and, on the other hand, can be an additional NO source when it is deficient. Apparently, the efficiency of NO storage is genetically determined and corresponds to the inherited level of NO production in the organism. Controlled modulation of formation and dissociation of the NO store is a promising trend for further investigation.     

一氧化氮与雄性生殖系统

一氧化氮是近年来发现的一种重要的生物信号分子和效应分子 ,在生物体内 ,L 精氨酸在一氧化氮合酶的作用下生成一氧化氮后 ,以自分泌或旁分泌形式作用于自身或邻近的细胞 ,发挥信号传导和细胞毒性等多种生理功能。近年来的研究表明 ,一氧化氮对雄性生殖系统上至下丘脑 ,下到性腺、附性器官都具有十分重要的生理调节作用。     

Lack of Thromboxane Synthase Prevents Hypertension and Fetal Growth Restriction after High Salt Treatment during Pregnancy

Preeclampsia (PE) is a potentially fatal pregnancy-related hypertensive disorder characterized by poor placenta development that can cause fetal growth restriction. PE-associated pathologies, including thrombosis, hypertension, and impaired placental development, may result from imbalances between thromboxane A₂ (TXA₂) and prostacyclin. Low-dose aspirin, which selectively inhibits TXA₂ production, is used to prevent high-risk PE. However, the role of TXA₂ in aspirin-mediated protective effects in women with PE is not understood fully. In this study, we examined the role of prostanoids in PE using human samples and an induced PE mouse model. We demonstrated that the administration of salted drinking water (2.7% NaCl) to wild-type mice resulted in elevated placental TXA₂ synthase (TXAS) and plasma TXA₂, but not prostacyclin, levels, which was also found in our clinical PE placenta samples. The high salt-treated wild-type pregnant mice had shown unchanged maternal body weight, hypertension (MAP increase 15 mmHg), and decreased pup weight (~50%) and size (~24%), but these adverse effects were ameliorated in TXAS knockout (KO) mice. Moreover, increased expression of interleukin-1β and downstream phosphorylated-p38-mitogen-activated protein kinase were concordant with apoptosis induction in the placentas of salt water-treated wild-type mice. These alterations were not observed in TXAS KO mice. Together, our data suggest that TXA₂ depletion has anti-PE effects due to the prevention of hypertension and placental damage through downregulation of the interleukin-1β pathway.     

一氧化氮:植物体内一种新的生长调控因子

一氧化氮是具有生物活性,自然界存在的10种最小分子之一。越来越多的证据显示,一氧化氮是生物体内一种广泛分布的信号传导分子。一氧化氮参与植物生长发育调控和对生物与非生物环境胁迫的应答反应。该文重点讨论一氧化氮在植物体内的产生,基本功能以及在信号传导网络系统中与Ca^2 的相互作用。     

NO对植物生长发育的调控机制

一氧化氮(NO)是具有生物活性和信号转导作用的易扩散分子,它不仅对植物的许多生命活动如种子萌发、叶片扩展、根系生长、逆境生理以及细胞的程序性死亡等具有直接的生理调节功能,而且作为防御反应中的关键信使．参与了植物对外界环境胁迫的应答。近期研究表明,NO与激素在调节植物的生理活动与信号转导方面有明显的协同作用,通过激素起作用可能是植物内源NO作用的机理之一。本文主要通过对NO的产生及其对生理活动的调节机制和在代谢中的信号转导作用等方面来阐述NO在植物生长发育中的作用。     

在437例高血压孕妇中胎儿生长受限的"权重"

目的:评价胎儿生长受限(FGR)对高血压和先兆子痫患者结局的影响.方法:对437例使用钙离子拮抗剂的妊高症患者进行回顾性研究,并将其分为四组:妊高症-适于胎龄儿组(GH-AGA)组:244例;妊高症-胎儿生长受限组(GH-FGR):78例;先兆子痫-适于胎龄儿组(PE-AGA):76例;先兆子痫-胎儿生长受限组(PE-FGR):39例.测定指标:是否需要二线治疗,是否延期妊娠,是否增加产褥期时间,分娩年龄,新生儿出生体重,围产期死亡率和是否发生新生儿畸形.结果:存在胎儿生长受限的妊高症和先兆子痫患者的二线治疗明显增加:GH-AGA组:15.4%;GH-FGR组:32.8%;PE-AGA组:28%;PE-FGR组:50%.在妊高症和先兆子痫的患者中与适于胎龄儿组相比,胎儿生长受限组延期妊娠上有统计学差异:(31.3±5.4vs20.7±3.4天和35.3±4.5vs22.2±3.1天;P＜0.001).分娩年龄(P＜0.001):35.5±2.3岁vs35.6±2.5岁和34.4±1.7岁vs33.1±2.3岁.出生体重明显不同:(P＜0.001):2,271±759.1克vs1,817.59±396.9克和2,196±685.17 vs1,465.80±441.7克.死亡率GH-FGR组2.56%(2例)和PE-FGR组10.2%(4例).没有新生儿畸形发生.结论:妊高症和先兆子痫增加了低出生体重的风险,另一方面FGR对高血压和先兆子痫患者的结局,围产期发病率和胎儿死亡率以及对孕妇进行有效的管理和治疗是一个决定性因素.     

胎儿生长受限模型及其胎盘的病理学观察

目的证实胎儿生长受限大鼠模型的建立方法;观察胎儿生长受限(FGR)大鼠胎盘的组织形态及超微结构特征。方法健康Wistar雌鼠24只,按妊娠先后顺序随机分为两组:正常对照组(正常组)、模型组(烟酒处理组),采用烟酒混合因素建立大鼠FGR模型;比较两组胎鼠的体重、鼻臀长度、体重系数及FGR发生率,两组胎盘组织行HE染色,并应用光镜和电镜观察其病理变化。结果①模型组胎仔平均体重、鼻臀长度、体重系数较正常组分别减轻46.0%、21.9%、35.0%(P0.01)。对照组FGR发生率仅为12.5%,模型组FGR发生率为79.3%,显著高于对照组(P0.01)。②模型组胎盘形态学明显改变。结论通过烟酒干预的方法,成功建立缺血缺氧性FGR孕鼠模型。烟酒可导致胎盘形态结构的改变,这种病理改变是造成FGR胎盘功能减退的形态学基础。     

Preface to Nitric Oxide Signalling: Plant Growth and Development

Interest in nitric oxide (NO) as an endogenous and potent regulatorof plant growth and development has grown exponentially in thelast few years. The Focus Section in this issue of Journal ofExperimental Botany (JXB) contains six papers based on invitedtalks from a session held at the Society for Experimental Biology(SEB) Annual Meeting in Barcelona, Spain, in     

一氧化氮缓解盐胁迫对玉米生长的抑制作用

研究了一氧化氮(nitric oxide,NO)对NaCl 100mmol/L胁迫下玉米幼苗生长的影响.结果表明:0.1～200μmol/L的NO供体硝普钠(sodium nitroprusside,SNP),特别是100μmol/L SNP处理可以显著提高盐胁迫下玉米幼苗的干物质积累速率.100μmol/L的SNP处理还显著提高了叶绿素含量、植株体内K /Na 比和(Spd Spm)/Put的比值,降低膜透性.推测NO对盐胁迫下玉米生长抑制的缓解作用是由于NO促进根系对K 的选择性吸收及其向地上部的运输,而降低对Na 的吸收及其向地上部的运输,并促进Put向Spd和Spm的转化.     

Upregulation of Unc-51-Like Kinase 1 by Nitric Oxide Stabilizes SIRT1, Independent of Autophagy

SIRT1 is central to the lifespan and vascular health, but undergoes degradation that contributes to several medical conditions, including diabetes. How SIRT1 turnover is regulated remains unclear. However, emerging evidence suggests that endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) positively regulates SIRT1 protein expression. We recently identified NO as an endogenous inhibitor of 26S proteasome functionality with a cellular reporter system. Here we extended this finding to a novel pathway that regulates SIRT1 protein breakdown. In cycloheximide (CHX)-treated endothelial cells, NONOate, an NO donor, and A23187, an eNOS activator, significantly stabilized SIRT1 protein. Similarly, NO enhanced SIRT1 protein, but not mRNA expression, in CHX-free cells. NO also stabilized an autophagy-related protein unc-51 like kinase (ULK1), but did not restore SIRT1 protein levels in ULK1-siRNA-treated cells or in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) from Ulk1^−/− mice. This suggests that ULK1 mediated the NO regulation of SIRT1. Furthermore, adenoviral overexpression of ULK1 increased SIRT1 protein expression, while ULK1 siRNA treatment decreased it. Rapamycin-induced autophagy did not mimic these effects, suggesting that the effects of ULK1 were autophagy-independent. Treatment with MG132, a proteasome inhibitor, or siRNA of β-TrCP1, an E3 ligase, prevented SIRT1 reduction induced by ULK1-siRNA. Mechanistically, ULK1 negatively regulated 26S proteasome functionality, which was at least partly mediated by O-linked-GlcNAc transferase (OGT), probably by increased O-GlcNAc modification of proteasomal subunit Rpt2. The NO-ULK1-SIRT1 axis was likely operative in the whole animal: both ULK1 and SIRT1 protein levels were significantly reduced in tissue homogenates in eNOS-knockout mice (lung) and in db/db mice where eNOS is downregulated (lung and heart). Taken together, the results show that NO stabilizes SIRT1 by regulating 26S proteasome functionality through ULK1 and OGT, but not autophagy, in endothelial cells.     

Sildenafil Citrate Increases Fetal Weight in a Mouse Model of Fetal Growth Restriction with a Normal Vascular Phenotype

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is defined as the inability of a fetus to achieve its genetic growth potential and is associated with a significantly increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Clinically, FGR is diagnosed as a fetus falling below the 5^th centile of customised growth charts. Sildenafil citrate (SC, Viagra™), a potent and selective phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor, corrects ex vivo placental vascular dysfunction in FGR, demonstrating potential as a therapy for this condition. However, many FGR cases present without an abnormal vascular phenotype, as assessed by Doppler measures of uterine/umbilical artery blood flow velocity. Thus, we hypothesized that SC would not increase fetal growth in a mouse model of FGR, the placental-specific Igf2 knockout mouse, which has altered placental exchange capacity but normal placental blood flow. Fetal weights were increased (by 8%) in P0 mice following maternal SC treatment (0.4 mg/ml) via drinking water. There was also a trend towards increased placental weight in treated P0 mice (P = 0.056). Additionally, 75% of the P0 fetal weights were below the 5^th centile, the criterion used to define human FGR, of the non-treated WT fetal weights; this was reduced to 51% when dams were treated with SC. Umbilical artery and vein blood flow velocity measures confirmed the lack of an abnormal vascular phenotype in the P0 mouse; and were unaffected by SC treatment. ¹⁴C-methylaminoisobutyric acid transfer (measured to assess effects on placental nutrient transporter activity) per g placenta was unaffected by SC, versus untreated, though total transfer was increased, commensurate with the trend towards larger placentas in this group. These data suggest that SC may improve fetal growth even in the absence of an abnormal placental blood flow, potentially affording use in multiple sub-populations of individuals presenting with FGR.     

Retinal Cell Death Induced by TRPV1 Activation Involves NMDA Signaling and Upregulation of Nitric Oxide Synthases

The activation of the transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 channel (TRPV1) has been correlated with oxidative and nitrosative stress and cell death in the nervous system. Our previous results indicate that TRPV1 activation in the adult retina can lead to constitutive and inducible nitric oxide synthase-dependent protein nitration and apoptosis. In this report, we have investigated the potential effects of TRPV1 channel activation on nitric oxide synthase (NOS) expression and function, and the putative participation of ionotropic glutamate receptors in retinal TRPV1-induced protein nitration, lipid peroxidation, and DNA fragmentation. Intravitreal injections of the classical TRPV1 agonist capsaicin up-regulated the protein expression of the inducible and endothelial NOS isoforms. Using 4,5-diaminofluorescein diacetate for nitric oxide (NO) imaging, we found that capsaicin also increased the production of NO in retinal blood vessels. Processes and perikarya of TRPV1-expressing neurons in the inner nuclear layer of the retina were found in the vicinity of nNOS-positive neurons, but those two proteins did not colocalize. Retinal explants exposed to capsaicin presented high protein nitration, lipid peroxidation, and cell death, which were observed in the inner nuclear and plexiform layers and in ganglion cells. This effect was partially blocked by AP-5, a NMDA glutamate receptor antagonist, but not by CNQX, an AMPA/kainate receptor antagonist. These data support a potential role for TRPV1 channels in physiopathological retinal processes mediated by NO, which at least in part involve glutamate release.     

A Computational Model of the Fetal Circulation to Quantify Blood Redistribution in Intrauterine Growth Restriction

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) due to placental insufficiency is associated with blood flow redistribution in order to maintain delivery of oxygenated blood to the brain. Given that, in the fetus the aortic isthmus (AoI) is a key arterial connection between the cerebral and placental circulations, quantifying AoI blood flow has been proposed to assess this brain sparing effect in clinical practice. While numerous clinical studies have studied this parameter, fundamental understanding of its determinant factors and its quantitative relation with other aspects of haemodynamic remodeling has been limited. Computational models of the cardiovascular circulation have been proposed for exactly this purpose since they allow both for studying the contributions from isolated parameters as well as estimating properties that cannot be directly assessed from clinical measurements. Therefore, a computational model of the fetal circulation was developed, including the key elements related to fetal blood redistribution and using measured cardiac outflow profiles to allow personalization. The model was first calibrated using patient-specific Doppler data from a healthy fetus. Next, in order to understand the contributions of the main parameters determining blood redistribution, AoI and middle cerebral artery (MCA) flow changes were studied by variation of cerebral and peripheral-placental resistances. Finally, to study how this affects an individual fetus, the model was fitted to three IUGR cases with different degrees of severity. In conclusion, the proposed computational model provides a good approximation to assess blood flow changes in the fetal circulation. The results support that while MCA flow is mainly determined by a fall in brain resistance, the AoI is influenced by a balance between increased peripheral-placental and decreased cerebral resistances. Personalizing the model allows for quantifying the balance between cerebral and peripheral-placental remodeling, thus providing potentially novel information to aid clinical follow up.     

外源NO对铝毒下水稻根系生长和抗氧化系统的影响

以水稻品种‘浙辐802’为材料,采用水培法研究铝毒下外源NO对幼苗根系生长、活性氧产生和抗氧化酶活性的影响,探讨外源NO提高水稻耐铝性的生理生化机制。结果显示:(1)0.05mmol/L Al显著抑制水稻根系生长,促使根尖Al、胼胝质、过氧化氢(H2O2)和超氧阴离子自由基(O-·2)含量显著增加;而外源0.1mmol/L的NO供体亚硝基铁氰化钠(sodium nitroprusside,SNP)预处理能使铝毒下水稻幼苗根相对伸长率及根尖NO含量分别增加34.96%和12.86%,根尖Al和相对胼胝质含量分别下降83.04%和31.93%,表明NO可部分缓解铝毒害,且这种作用与内源NO含量变化有关。(2)外源NO同时使铝毒下水稻幼苗根尖H2O2和O-·2含量分别下降15.43%和12.93%,使超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化物酶(POD)和过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性显著上升,且外源NO的该种作用可以被0.075mmol/L NO清除剂(carboxy-PTIO,cPTIO)所逆转。研究表明,外源NO在调节活性氧代谢以维持细胞膜结构稳定,进而有效减轻Al对水稻根系的损伤上起着重要作用。