α‐ketoglutarate delays age‐related fertility decline in mammals

The fecundity reduction with aging is referred as the reproductive aging which comes earlier than that of chronological aging. Since humans have postponed their childbearing age, to prolong the reproductive age becomes urgent agenda for reproductive biologists. In the current study, we examined the potential associations of α‐ketoglutarate (α‐KG) and reproductive aging in mammals including mice, swine, and humans. There is a clear tendency of reduced α‐KG level with aging in the follicle fluids of human. To explore the mechanisms, mice were selected as the convenient animal model. It is observed that a long term of α‐KG administration preserves the ovarian function, the quality and quantity of oocytes as well as the telomere maintaining system in mice. α‐KG suppresses ATP synthase and alterations of the energy metabolism trigger the nutritional sensors to down‐regulate mTOR pathway. These events not only benefit the general aging process but also maintain ovarian function and delay the reproductive decline. Considering the safety of the α‐KG as a naturally occurring molecule in energy metabolism, its utility in reproduction of large mammals including humans deserves further investigation.     

A Human Active Lower Limb Model for Chinese Pedestrian Safety Evaluation

A subsystem impactor test for pedestrian lower limb injury evaluation has been brought in China New Car Assessment Protocol(CNCAP).Concerning large anthropometr...     

河口盐沼植物对大型底栖动物群落的影响

通过对长江口崇明东滩盐沼海三棱燕草带大型底栖无脊椎动物进行取样调查,研究了不同盐沼底栖动物群落结构及其多样性特征,分析了盐沼植物群落特征与底栖动物群落的关系。研究发现。（1）沿着河口盐沼海拔梯度,从低位盐沼到高位盐沼,底栖动物群落结构及多样性具有明显的梯度变化;（2）盐沼植被与底栖动物群落有密切的关系,尤其是植株高度,地下部分生物量与底栖动物密度,Shannon-Weiner多样性指数,物种丰度的相关性最显著。（3）盐沼植被影响底栖动物群落,是由于植物的地下部分和地下部分结构导致盐沼生境结构复杂,增加了沉积物表层环境的结构异质性,使生境多样化,给底栖动物提供大量生活空间,（4）不同盐沼带海三陵蔗草群落的差异,提供了盐沼表层地貌的变化,这种变化及植物结构的复杂化,在这一些动物提供拓殖地的同时,也为底栖动物躲避捕食者提供了避护所;（5）盐沼植被可以改变口潮滩生境中的沉积环境,并通过消浪、缓流及调节有机质的输入动态和沉积作用而影响底栖动物群落的组成和结构。     

TEB/POLQ plays dual roles in protecting Arabidopsis from NO-induced DNA damage

Nitric oxide (NO) is a key player in numerous physiological processes. Excessive NO induces DNA damage, but how plants respond to this damage remains unclear. We screened and identified an Arabidopsis NO hypersensitive mutant and found it to be allelic to TEBICHI/POLQ, encoding DNA polymerase θ. The teb mutant plants were preferentially sensitive to NO- and its derivative peroxynitrite-induced DNA damage and subsequent double-strand breaks (DSBs). Inactivation of TEB caused the accumulation of spontaneous DSBs largely attributed to endogenous NO and was synergistic to DSB repair pathway mutations with respect to growth. These effects were manifested in the presence of NO-inducing agents and relieved by NO scavengers. NO induced G2/M cell cycle arrest in the teb mutant, indicative of stalled replication forks. Genetic analyses indicate that Polθ is required for translesion DNA synthesis across NO-induced lesions, but not oxidation-induced lesions. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that Polθ bypasses NO-induced base adducts in an error-free manner and generates mutations characteristic of Polθ-mediated end joining. Our experimental data collectively suggests that Polθ plays dual roles in protecting plants from NO-induced DNA damage. Since Polθ is conserved in higher eukaryotes, mammalian Polθ may also be required for balancing NO physiological signaling and genotoxicity.     

Osteoimmunology: The correlation between osteoclasts and the Th17/Treg balance in osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a bone disease that is caused by disorder of the skeletal microenvironment, and it characterized by a high disability rate and the occurrence of low energy fractures. Studies on osteoporosis and related treatment options have always been hot spots in the field of bone biology. In the past, the understanding of osteoporosis has been rather limited; research has only shown that osteoporosis involves the imbalance of bone resorption and bone formation, and recent studies have not provided cutting‐edge theories of the basic understanding of osteoporosis. Recent studies have shown crosstalk between bone and immune responses. RANKL, an essential factor for osteoclasts (OCs), is associated with the immune system. T helper (Th17)/regulatory T (Treg) cells are two different kinds of T cells that can self‐interact and regulate the differentiation and formation of OCs. Therefore, understanding the correlation between the skeletal and immune systems and further revealing the roles and the cooperation between RANKL and the Th17/Treg balance will help to provide new insights for the treatment of osteoporosis.     

Caveolin-1 identified as a key mediator of acute lung injury using bioinformatics and functional research

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a potentially life-threatening, devastating disease with an extremely high rate of mortality. The underlying mechanism of ALI is currently unclear. In this study, we aimed to confirm the hub genes associated with ALI and explore their functions and molecular mechanisms using bioinformatics methods. Five microarray datasets available in GEO were used to perform Robust Rank Aggregation (RRA) to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and the key genes were identified via the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Lipopolysaccharide intraperitoneal injection was administered to establish an ALI model. Overall, 40 robust DEGs, which are mainly involved in the inflammatory response, protein catabolic process, and NF-κB signaling pathway were identified. Among these DEGs, we identified two genes associated with ALI, of which the CAV-1/NF-κB axis was significantly upregulated in ALI, and was identified as one of the most effective targets for ALI prevention. Subsequently, the expression of CAV-1 was knocked down using AAV-shCAV-1 or CAV-1-siRNA to study its effect on the pathogenesis of ALI in vivo and in vitro. The results of this study indicated that CAV-1/NF-κB axis levels were elevated in vivo and in vitro, accompanied by an increase in lung inflammation and autophagy. The knockdown of CAV-1 may improve ALI. Mechanistically, inflammation was reduced mainly by decreasing the expression levels of CD3 and F4/80, and activating autophagy by inhibiting AKT/mTOR and promoting the AMPK signaling pathway. Taken together, this study provides crucial evidence that CAV-1 knockdown inhibits the occurrence of ALI, suggesting that the CAV-1/NF-κB axis may be a promising therapeutic target for ALI treatment.Subject terms: Cell signalling, Respiratory tract diseases     

携带blaNDM-1的质粒pNDM-BJ01在鲁氏不动杆菌中的适应度代价

[目的]了解编码新德里金属-β-内酰胺酶-1(blaNDM-1)的质粒pNDM-BJ01在鲁氏不动杆菌10621菌株中的适应度代价,进而评估该质粒在鲁氏不动杆菌群体中存续和扩散的潜能.[方法]通过不含亚胺培南的液体培养基连续传代培养,获得抗性质粒丢失的10621衍生菌株,利用生长曲线、生物被膜、无营养生存时间等体外适应度测量实验,分析10621NDM-1(+)及质粒缺失的10621NDM-1(-)之间的适应度差异.[结果]pNDM-BJ01在10621菌株中不稳定,连续传代11次即在群体中完全丢失.在26℃和37℃下,10621NDM-1( -)与10621NDM-1(+)菌株的生长曲线无显著性差异.在26℃条件下,10621NDM-1( -)菌株形成生物被膜的能力明显强于10621NDM-1(+),而在37℃条件下,10621 NDM-1(+)强于10621NDM-1(-).在无营养的PBS缓冲液中,10621NDM-1(-)菌株生存能力明显高于10621NDM-1(+).[结论]编码blaNDM-1的质粒pNDM-BJ01在鲁氏不动杆菌中具有较大的适应度代价,缺失这一质粒的菌株在外界环境中的生存能力强于抗性菌株,pNDM-BJ01在鲁氏不动杆菌存续与扩散的能力有限.