Astrocyte-Derived Sonic Hedgehog Contributes to Angiogenesis in Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells via RhoA/ROCK Pathway After Oxygen–Glucose Deprivation

The human adult brain possesses intriguing plasticity, including neurogenesis and angiogenesis, which may be mediated by the activated sonic hedgehog (Shh). By employing a coculture system, brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) cocultured with astrocytes, which were incubated under oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD) condition, we tested the hypothesis that Shh secreted by OGD-activated astrocytes promotes cerebral angiogenesis following ischemia. The results of this study demonstrated that Shh was mainly secreted by astrocytes and the secretion was significantly upregulated after OGD. The proliferation, migration, and tube formation of BMECs cocultured with astrocytes after OGD were significantly enhanced, but cyclopamine (a Shh antagonist) or 5E1 (an antibody of Shh) reversed the change. Furthermore, silencing Ras homolog gene family, member A (RhoA) of BMECs by RNAi and blocking Rho-dependent kinase (ROCK) by Y27632, a specific antagonist of ROCK, suppressed the upregulation of proliferation, migration, and tube formation of BMECs after OGD. These findings suggested that Shh derived from activated astrocytes stimulated RhoA/ROCK pathway in BMECs after OGD, which might be involved in angiogenesis in vitro.     

益生菌调控胃肠道菌群改善肉品质的研究进展

胃肠道菌群对动物健康和生产性能起到重要作用。将益生菌应用于畜禽养殖可调节肠道微生态平衡,调控脂肪代谢,提高饲料利用率以及促进风味物质形成等多种途径提高畜禽肉的品质。本文综述了不同益生菌调节胃肠道微生态的机理,并通过改善肠道菌群结构来改善畜禽肉的品质,为进一步研究开发以胃肠道菌群为靶点的益生菌饲料提供参考。