The expression of galanin and galanin receptor-2 in hippocampus and dorsal raphe nucleus of depression model was studied. The chronic stress rat model was adopted as the modal of depression. Open-field test was used to observe the transformation of their behavior and HPLC-EC was employed to analysis the level of blood serum cortisol. The method of in situ hybridization was used for testing the expression of Galanin and galanin receptor-2 in hippocampus and dorsal raphe nucleus and the method of RT-PCR was used to further analysis of the expression. The results showed that the locomotion activity decreased extremely after chronic stress, but the level of serum cortisol increased evidently. The expression of Galanin and its receptor-2 in hippocampus and dorsal raphe nucleus increased obviously. The higher expression for galanin and galanin receptor-2 in some brain area suggested that galanin probably takes part in the modulation of the function of neurons during the stress process.
Abstract Background Neovasculogenesis is a characteristic of degenerative lumbar discs, which makes extruded tissues exposed to heme-iron cytotoxicity (increased oxidative stress by ferroptosis). However, the present analyses for neovascularization are very complicated, and its mechanism of action is rarely reported. Methods Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was performed to analyze human degenerative lumbar discs. Then, clinical relevance was analyzed between MALDI-TOF MS results and Pfirrmann classification of degenerative discs. In order to explore the mechanism, a heme-induced ferroptosis effect was evaluated both at tissue and cell levels using high-resolution MALDI-TOF MS and molecular biology methods. Results The spectra revealed that hemoglobin (Hb) and heme signals were highly increased, thus serving as biomarkers of vasculogenesis in degenerative tissues. Clinical relevance analysis demonstrated that the intensity of Hb and heme peaks was closely related to Pfirrmann classification of degenerative discs. Mechanically, increased heme catabolism and down-regulation of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) levels were detected in degenerative discs, reflecting a iron-dependent cell death or ferroptosis. Further, accuracy mass measurements confirmed that the levels of ferroptosis-related metabolites such as glutathione, arachidonic acid (AA), sphinganine, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle were significantly different between the degenerative and normal tissues, indicating the interior of degenerative tissues was a prooxidant environment. Moreover, the heme-induced ferroptosis was verified in human nucleus pulposus cells, and the underlying mechanism might be associated with the Notch pathway. Conclusions The neovascularization in degenerative discs may expose the tissues to high heme toxicity, which further induces the ferroptosis effect within the tissues and accelerates the degeneration progression of discs. This study is beneficial for the pathological mechanism in degenerative discs and facilitate the development of non-operative intervention for lumbar disc herniation (LDH).
Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to establish optimum conditions for Flaxseed Oil (FO), soy lecithin and xanthan gum to yield stable Flaxseed Oil Droplet (FOD) and high Microencapsulation Efficiency (M.E.E). Gum arabic and maltodextrin were used at constant ratio of 1:1 . Flaxseed oil loading (20-35%), lecithin (1-2%) and xanthan gum (0.1-0.4%) were studied regarding their effects on emulsion and the spray dried powder. Results indicated response surface models significantly fitted to all response variables studied. Regression models describing variations of responses of FOD and M.E.E showed high coefficient of determination (R ) of 0.9963 and 0.9944 respectively. Overall numerical 2 optimization predicted desirable system attainable by combined 10% (w/w) each arabic gum and maltodextrins, 22.78% (w/w) flaxseed oil loading, 1.14% (w/w) soy lecithin and 0.10% (w/w) xanthan gum, which in turn resulted into FOD of 446.9 nm, M.E.E of 92.3% and strong physical barrier towards oxidation during 10 weeks of storage tests.
Marine isopod Ligia cinerascens (♂1:1♀) was collected to determine the distribution and accumulation of cadmium (Cd) in their bodies or tissues and its consequent effect on the ultrastructure of the hepatopancreas. Field investigation and Cd exposure experiments indicated that male and female animals consistently bioaccumulated Cd. The hepatopancreas possessed the highest level of Cd, followed by the exoskeleton and pereiopod. The Cd concentration of exposure group in hepatopancreas was 46-fold in male and 41-fold in female higher than the control group, indicating that the hepatopancreas is a reservoir pool of Cd. The excessive Cd resulted in the disorganization of cellular structures such as microvilli, basal labyrinth, mitochondria and rough endoplasmic reticulum, and with Cd accumulated as insoluble granules in the vesicles and/or lysosomes. Based on qualitative and quantitative analysis, the ultrastructural alteration of the hepatopancreas could be used as biomarkers when utilizing the species L. cinerascens to monitor marine metal pollution.
Biliary atresia (BA) is a severe neonatal progressive cholangiopathy of unknown etiology. A timely Kasai portoenterostomy (KPE) improves survival of the native liver in patients with BA, although liver transplantation remains the ultimate treatment for most (60%-80%) patients. However, postoperative adverse effects of liver transplantation may be significant. In addition, patients require lifelong immunosuppressive therapy after liver transplantation.
Neural stem cells (NSCs) are important cellular sources of transplantation therapies for Parkinson's disease. This study aimed to determine the effects of extracts of radix astragali on the proliferation and differentiation into dopamine (DA) neurons in NSCs. NSCs were dealt with astragaloside IV (ASI), astragalus polysaccharide (APS), and astraisoflavan (ASF), the main active ingredients of radix astragali. First, the results from cell-count kit-8 (CCK-8) assay showed that ASI, ASF, and APS had positive effects on the proliferation of NSCs. Next, we also confirmed the effects of ASI, APS, and ASF on BrdU and nestin by immunocytochemistry. Moreover, results from quantitative RT-PCR showed ASI, APS, and ASF could promote the expressions of tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine transporter mRNA, which are specifically expressed in DA neurons. Simultaneously, sonic hedgehog (Shh), orphan nuclear hormone 1 (Nurr1), and pituitary homeobox 3 (Ptx3) are considered to motivate the formation of DA neurons. Our result showed ASI, APS, and ASF can also promote the expressions of Shh, Nurr1, and Ptx3 mRNAs. In conclusion, our study verifies that the active ingredients of radix astragali can promote the proliferation of NSCs and induce NSC differentiation toward DA neurons in vitro. These phenomena may occur through upregulation of Shh, Nurr1, and Ptx3 in the process of drug treatment.
The method of primary hippocampal nerve cell culture was used to study the injury effect of H2O2 and the protective effect of galanin (GAL) and GAL receptor agonists. Result demonstrated that H2O2 has obvious dose relative toxicity to hippocampal cells in vitro. GAL and GAL's nonselective agonist GAL1-11, GalR2's selective agonist GAL2-11 can increase the survival rate of hippocampal cells suffered form H2O2. All the protective effects can be blocked by nonselective antagonist M35. The result indicates that GAL can protect hippocampal cells from oxidative injury in vitro, which is most probably mediated by GalR2.
'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(23.036 .093 25.536)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(45.87 1.273 16.18)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(69.945 .996 12.078)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(20.66 -19.689 31.932)'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)
