Invulnerability of bromelain against oxidative degeneration and cholinergic deficits imposed by dichlorvos in mice brains

Background

The present study elucidates the protective potential of bromelain against dichlorvos intoxication in mice brains. Dichlorvos induces the oxidative stress by disproportionating the balance between free radicals generation and their scavenging in neurons which leads to neuronal degeneration.

Methods

In this study, mice were divided into four groups-group I (control), group II (dichlorvos treated), group III (bromelain treated) and group IV (exposed to both bromelain and dichlorvos both).

Results

Dichlorvos treatment increased the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and protein carbonyl content (PCC) which indicate the increased oxidative stress. Meanwhile, brain endogenous antioxidants and cholinesterases level was decreased after dichlorvos exposure. Levels of TBARS and PCC decreased whereas cholinesterases level was recorded to be elevated after bromelain exposure.

Conclusion

Bromelain offered neuroprotection by decreasing oxidative stress and augmenting cholinesterases in mice brains. This study highlights the invulnerability of bromelain against oxidative and cholinergic deficits in mice brains.

     

Optimization of fecal sample preparation for untargeted LC-HRMS based metabolomics

Introduction

Collecting feces is easy. It offers direct outcome to endogenous and microbial metabolites.

Objectives

In a context of lack of consensus about fecal sample preparation, especially in animal species, we developed a robust protocol allowing untargeted LC-HRMS fingerprinting.

Methods

The conditions of extraction (quantity, preparation, solvents, dilutions) were investigated in bovine feces.

Results

A rapid and simple protocol involving feces extraction with methanol (1/3, M/V) followed by centrifugation and a step filtration (10 kDa) was developed.

Conclusion

The workflow generated repeatable and informative fingerprints for robust metabolome characterization.

     

A lost opportunity for science: journals promote data sharing in metabolomics but do not enforce it

Introduction

Data sharing is being increasingly required by journals and has been heralded as a solution to the ‘replication crisis’.

Objectives

(i) Review data sharing policies of journals publishing the most metabolomics papers associated with open data and (ii) compare these journals’ policies to those that publish the most metabolomics papers.

Methods

A PubMed search was used to identify metabolomics papers. Metabolomics data repositories were manually searched for linked publications.

Results

Journals that support data sharing are not necessarily those with the most papers associated to open metabolomics data.

Conclusion

Further efforts are required to improve data sharing in metabolomics.

     

Eg5 orchestrates porcine oocyte maturational progression by maintaining meiotic organelle arrangement

Background

Kinesin superfamily proteins are microtubule-based molecular motors essential for the intracellular transport of various cargos, including organelles, proteins, and RNAs. However, their exact roles during mammalian oocyte meiosis have not been fully clarified.

Results

Herein, we investigated the critical events during porcine oocyte meiotic maturation with the treatment of Eg5-specific inhibitor monastrol. We found that Eg5 inhibition resulted in oocyte meiotic failure by displaying the poor expansion of cumulus cells and reduced rate of polar body extrusion. In the meantime, the spindle assembly and chromosome alignment were compromised, accompanied by the decreased level of acetylated α-tubulin, indicative of less stable microtubules. Impaired actin dynamics and mitochondria integrity were also observed in Eg5-inhibited oocytes. Additionally, inhibition of Eg5 caused the abnormal distribution of cortical granules and ovastacin, a cortical granule component, potentially leading to the fertilization failure.

Conclusions

Our findings reveal that Eg5 possesses an important function in porcine oocyte meiotic progression by regulating the organelle dynamics and arrangement.

     

Determinants of fatigue and stress

Background

Fatigue can be triggered by previous perceived stress which may lead to impairment of performance and function. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between fatigue and perceived stress.

Method

Health determinants including sociodemographic factors for associations between fatigue and perceived stress in the general population (N = 2,483) are outlined. Fatigue and stress were assessed with the Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFS) and the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ).

Results

Within the general population, 25.9% of male and 34.5% of female respondents reported moderate fatigue during the last six months; 9.7% of subjects reported substantial fatigue lasting six months or longer. An adjusted regression analysis (R²corr = .28, p < .001) showed that fatigue is highest associated with perceived stress and self-perceived health status. The following factors were correlated with increased rates of fatigue and perceived stress: female gender, divorce/separation, low social class and poor health status.

Conclusion

We conclude that the two conditions overlap most in terms of socio-economic status and self-perceived health status.

     

Artery buckling affects the mechanical stress in atherosclerotic plaques

Background

Tortuous arteries are often seen in patients with hypertension and atherosclerosis. While the mechanical stress in atherosclerotic plaque under lumen pressure has been studied extensively, the mechanical stability of atherosclerotic arteries and subsequent effect on the plaque stress remain unknown. To this end, we investigated the buckling and post-buckling behavior of model stenotic coronary arteries with symmetric and asymmetric plaque.

Methods

Buckling analysis for a model coronary artery with symmetric and asymmetric plaque was conducted using finite element analysis based on the dimensions and nonlinear anisotropic materials properties reported in the literature.

Results

Artery with asymmetric plaque had lower critical buckling pressure compared to the artery with symmetric plaque and control artery. Buckling increased the peak stress in the plaque and led to the development of a high stress concentration in artery with asymmetric plaque. Stiffer calcified tissue and severe stenosis increased the critical buckling pressure of the artery with asymmetric plaque.

Conclusions

Arteries with atherosclerotic plaques are prone to mechanical buckling which leads to a high stress concentration in the plaques that can possibly make the plaques prone to rupture.

     

Untargeted metabolomics suffers from incomplete raw data processing

Introduction

Untargeted metabolomics is a powerful tool for biological discoveries. To analyze the complex raw data, significant advances in computational approaches have been made, yet it is not clear how exhaustive and reliable the data analysis results are.

Objectives

Assessment of the quality of raw data processing in untargeted metabolomics.

Methods

Five published untargeted metabolomics studies, were reanalyzed.

Results

Omissions of at least 50 relevant compounds from the original results as well as examples of representative mistakes were reported for each study.

Conclusion

Incomplete raw data processing shows unexplored potential of current and legacy data.

     

Plant growth-promoting bacterium <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas fluorescens</Emphasis> FR1 secrets a novel type of extracellular polyhydroxybutyrate polymerase involved in abiotic stress response in plants

Objectives

Identification of novel microbial factors contributing to plant protection against abiotic stress.

Results

The genome of plant growth-promoting bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens FR1 contains a short mobile element encoding a novel type of extracellular polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) polymerase (PhbC) associated with a type I secretion system. Genetic analysis using a phbC mutant strain and plants showed that this novel extracellular enzyme is related to the PHB production in planta and suggests that PHB could be a beneficial microbial compound synthesized during plant adaptation to cold stress.

Conclusion

Extracellular PhbC can be used as a new tool for improve crop production under abiotic stress.

     

Extraction of natural products from bark of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Betula pendula</Emphasis> using ionic liquids

Introduction

Aqueous–methanol mixtures have successfully been applied to extract a broad range of metabolites from plant tissue. However, a certain amount of material remains insoluble.

Objectives

To enlarge the metabolic compendium, two ionic liquids were selected to extract the methanol insoluble part of trunk from Betula pendula.

Methods

The extracted compounds were analyzed by LC/MS and GC/MS.

Results

The results show that 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (IL-Ac) predominantly resulted in fatty acids, whereas 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tosylate (IL-Tos) mostly yielded phenolic structures. Interestingly, bark yielded more ionic liquid soluble metabolites compared to interior wood.

Conclusion

From this one can conclude that the application of ionic liquids may expand the metabolic snapshot.

     

KniMet: a pipeline for the processing of chromatography–mass spectrometry metabolomics data

Introduction

Data processing is one of the biggest problems in metabolomics, given the high number of samples analyzed and the need of multiple software packages for each step of the processing workflow.

Objectives

Merge in the same platform the steps required for metabolomics data processing.

Methods

KniMet is a workflow for the processing of mass spectrometry-metabolomics data based on the KNIME Analytics platform.

Results

The approach includes key steps to follow in metabolomics data processing: feature filtering, missing value imputation, normalization, batch correction and annotation.

Conclusion

KniMet provides the user with a local, modular and customizable workflow for the processing of both GC–MS and LC–MS open profiling data.

     

A methodology for elucidating regulatory mechanisms leading to changes in lipid profiles

Introduction

It is difficult to elucidate the metabolic and regulatory factors causing lipidome perturbations.

Objectives

This work simplifies this process.

Methods

A method has been developed to query an online holistic lipid metabolic network (of 7923 metabolites) to extract the pathways that connect the input list of lipids.

Results

The output enables pathway visualisation and the querying of other databases to identify potential regulators. When used to a study a plasma lipidome dataset of polycystic ovary syndrome, 14 enzymes were identified, of which 3 are linked to ELAVL1—an mRNA stabiliser.

Conclusion

This method provides a simplified approach to identifying potential regulators causing lipid-profile perturbations.

     

Pseudo current density maps of electrophysiological heart,nerve or brain function and their physical basis

Background

In recent years the visualization of biomagnetic measurement data by so-called pseudo current density maps or Hosaka-Cohen (HC) transformations became popular.

Methods

The physical basis of these intuitive maps is clarified by means of analytically solvable problems.

Results

Examples in magnetocardiography, magnetoencephalography and magnetoneurography demonstrate the usefulness of this method.

Conclusion

Hardware realizations of the HC-transformation and some similar transformations are discussed which could advantageously support cross-platform comparability of biomagnetic measurements.

     

The Association Between Depression,Suicidal Ideation and Psychological Strains in College Students: A Cross-National Study

Objective

This study examined the differences of psychological strains between Chinese and American college students and discussed how strains may influence individuals’ suicidal ideation and depression.

Participants/methods

A total of 539 college students (298 from China and 241 from the U.S.) were recruited in March 2016 to complete the survey study. Multiple linear regressions were used in data analysis.

Results

Students in America had higher scores on depression and stress than students in China, while students in China rated higher on suicidal ideation than students in America. In contrast of students in America facing more coping strains, students in China were confronting more value strains in their life.

Conclusion

The cross-cultural variations in the effect of psychological strains have been substantiated in current study, indicating that understanding the psychological strains in different cultural contexts is necessary for the early intervention and prevention in college aged populations.

     

Metabolomic profiling of maternal hair suggests rapid development of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

Introduction

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a common maternal liver disease; development can result in devastating consequences, including sudden fetal death and stillbirth. Currently, recognition of ICP only occurs following onset of clinical symptoms.

Objective

Investigate the maternal hair metabolome for predictive biomarkers of ICP.

Methods

The maternal hair metabolome (gestational age of sampling between 17 and 41 weeks) of 38 Chinese women with ICP and 46 pregnant controls was analysed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry.

Results

Of 105 metabolites detected in hair, none were significantly associated with ICP.

Conclusion

Hair samples represent accumulative environmental exposure over time. Samples collected at the onset of ICP did not reveal any metabolic shifts, suggesting rapid development of the disease.

     

Monitoring spatial and temporal metabolic dynamics of woody poplar root under mechanical stress conditions by NMR-based metabolomics

Introduction

Molecular factors are differentially observed in various bent sectors of poplar (Populus nigra) woody taproots. Responses to stress are modulated by a complex interplay among different hormones and signal transduction pathways. In recent years, metabolomics has been recognized as a powerful tool to characterize metabolic network regulation, and it has been widely applied to investigate plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses.

Objectives

In this paper we used metabolomics to understand if long term-bending stress induces a “spatial” and a “temporal” metabolic reprogramming in woody poplar roots.

Methods

By NMR spectroscopy and statistical analysis we investigated the unstressed and three portions of stressed root (above-bent, bent, and below-bent) sectors collected at 12 (T₀), 13 (T₁) and 14 (T₂) months after stress induction.

Results

The data indicate a clear between-class separation of control and stressed regions, based on the metabolites regulation, during both spatial and temporal changes. We found that taproots, as a consequence of the stress, try to restore homeostasis and normal metabolic fluxes thorough the synthesis and/or accumulation of specific compounds related to mechanical forces distribution along the bent taproot.

Conclusion

The data demonstrate that the impact of mechanical stress on plant biology can efficiently be studied by NMR-based metabolomics.

     

Quantitative analysis of tetrahydrofolate metabolites from <Emphasis Type="Italic">clostridium autoethanogenum</Emphasis>

Introduction

Quantification of tetrahydrofolates (THFs), important metabolites in the Wood–Ljungdahl pathway (WLP) of acetogens, is challenging given their sensitivity to oxygen.

Objective

To develop a simple anaerobic protocol to enable reliable THFs quantification from bioreactors.

Methods

Anaerobic cultures were mixed with anaerobic acetonitrile for extraction. Targeted LC–MS/MS was used for quantification.

Results

Tetrahydrofolates can only be quantified if sampled anaerobically. THF levels showed a strong correlation to acetyl-CoA, the end product of the WLP.

Conclusion

Our method is useful for relative quantification of THFs across different growth conditions. Absolute quantification of THFs requires the use of labelled standards.

     

The chemotherapeutic agent bortezomib induces the formation of stress granules

Background

Cytoplasmic stress granules (SGs) are specialized storage sites of untranslated mRNAs whose formation occurs under different stress conditions and is often associated with cell survival. SGs-inducing stresses include radiations, hypoxia, viral infections, and chemical inhibitors of specific translation initiation factors. The FDA-approved drug bortezomib (Velcade^®) is a peptide boronate inhibitor of the 26S proteasome that is very efficient for the treatment of myelomas and other hematological tumors. Solid tumors are largely refractory to bortezomib. In the present study, we investigated the formation of SGs following bortezomib treatment.

Results

We show that bortezomib efficiently induces the formation of SGs in cancer cells. This process involves the phosphorylation of translation initiation factor eIF2α by heme-regulated inhibitor kinase (HRI). Depletion of HRI prevents bortezomib-induced formation of SGs and promotes apoptosis.

Conclusions

This is the first study describing the formation of SGs by a chemotherapeutic compound. We speculate that the activation of HRI and the formation of SGs might constitute a mechanism by which cancer cells resist bortezomib-mediated apoptosis.

     

Stress amplifies sex differences in primate prefrontal profiles of gene expression

Background

Stress is a recognized risk factor for mood and anxiety disorders that occur more often in women than men. Prefrontal brain regions mediate stress coping, cognitive control, and emotion. Here, we investigate sex differences and stress effects on prefrontal cortical profiles of gene expression in squirrel monkey adults.

Methods

Dorsolateral, ventrolateral, and ventromedial prefrontal cortical regions from 18 females and 12 males were collected after stress or no-stress treatment conditions. Gene expression profiles were acquired using HumanHT-12v4.0 Expression BeadChip arrays adapted for squirrel monkeys.

Results

Extensive variation between prefrontal cortical regions was discerned in the expression of numerous autosomal and sex chromosome genes. Robust sex differences were also identified across prefrontal cortical regions in the expression of mostly autosomal genes. Genes with increased expression in females compared to males were overrepresented in mitogen-activated protein kinase and neurotrophin signaling pathways. Many fewer genes with increased expression in males compared to females were discerned, and no molecular pathways were identified. Effect sizes for sex differences were greater in stress compared to no-stress conditions for ventromedial and ventrolateral prefrontal cortical regions but not dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Conclusions

Stress amplifies sex differences in gene expression profiles for prefrontal cortical regions involved in stress coping and emotion regulation. Results suggest molecular targets for new treatments of stress disorders in human mental health.

     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">massPix</Emphasis>: an R package for annotation and interpretation of mass spectrometry imaging data for lipidomics

Introduction

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) experiments result in complex multi-dimensional datasets, which require specialist data analysis tools.

Objectives

We have developed massPix—an R package for analysing and interpreting data from MSI of lipids in tissue.

Methods

massPix produces single ion images, performs multivariate statistics and provides putative lipid annotations based on accurate mass matching against generated lipid libraries.

Results

Classification of tissue regions with high spectral similarly can be carried out by principal components analysis (PCA) or k-means clustering.

Conclusion

massPix is an open-source tool for the analysis and statistical interpretation of MSI data, and is particularly useful for lipidomics applications.

     

Crosstalk between catecholamines and erythropoiesis

Background

Erythropoiesis is regulated by a range of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, including different cytokines. Recently, the role of catecholamines has been highlighted in the development of erythroid cell lineages.

Objective

This study focuses on the biological links interconnecting erythroid development and the sympathetic nervous system. The emerging evidence that underscores the role of catecholamines in the regulation of erythropoietin and other erythropoiesis cytokines are thoroughly reviewed, in addition to elements such as iron and the leptin hormone that are involved in erythropoiesis.

Methods

Relevant English-language studies were identified and retrieved from the PubMed search engine (1981–2017) using the following keywords: “Erythropoiesis”, “Catecholamines”, “Nervous system”, and “Cytokines.”

Results

Chronic social stress alters and suppresses erythroid development. However, the physiological release of catecholamines is an additional stimulator of erythropoiesis in the setting of anemia. Therefore, the severity and timing of catecholamine secretion might distinctly regulate erythroid homeostasis.

Conclusion

Understanding the relationship of catecholamines with different elements of the erythroid islands will be essential to find the tightly regulated production of red blood cells (RBCs) in both chronic and physiological catecholamine activation.