Chinese shrimp(Fenneropenaeus chinensis)is distributed mainly along Chinese inshore areas,and is one of the most important farmed shrimp in China.The studies on innate immune responses of shrimps,especially on immune defense against the main crustacean pathogens,will provide more knowledge of shrimp immunity to prevent infectious diseases.Invertebrates do not possess an adaptive immune system based on highly specific antibodies and antigen receptors.They must rely on efficient immune defenses capable of protecting them against invading microorganisms.The chief issue of crustacean immunity should concern non-self-recognition mechanisms.Proteins that specifically bind to certain carbohydrate components on the surface of microorganisms play an important role in non-self-recognition and cleaning up of the invading microorganisms.Such proteins are known as pattern recognition receptors(PRRs).Lectins exist in almost all living organisms.Due to their ability of binding to terminal sugars on glycoproteins and glycolipids,lectins are primary candidates for pattern recognition receptors in innate immunity.C type Lectin is regarded as a potential molecule involved in immune recognition and phagocytosis through opsonization in crustacean.In the preliminary study,a novel C-type lectin was cloned from hemocytes of Chinese shrimp,(Fenneropenaeus chinensis).It contains two tandem carbohydrate recognition domains(CRDs)/C-type lectin-like domains.Both of the CRDs contain a QPD(Gln-Pro-Asp)motif that has a predicted binding specificity for galactose-type sugar.In this research,two recombinant target proteins(rFclectin-CRD1 and rFclectin-CRD2)were expressed by prokaryotic expression system.The result showed that fusion protein was expressed in the form of inclusion bodies.The LC-ESI-MS analysis showed that two peptide fragments of rFclectin-CRD1 and rFclectin-CRD2 were identical with the corresponding sequence of F.chinensis C-type lectin.Recombinant protein was purified by immobilized-metal affinity chromatography and Ni-NTA technology.The concentrations of purified target proteins were 0.4 g/L.rFclectin-CRD1 and rFclectin-CRD2 had agglutinating and antimicrobial activity against main pathogens in aquaculture in a calcium-dependent manner.The agglutinating activity can be inhibited by multiple carbohydrates,such as galactose,peptidoglycan and lipopolysaccharide.These results suggest that Fclectin,as a Ca2+dependent carbohydrate-recognition protein,is one of the important PRRs.It might play a crucial role in the innate immunity of the shrimp and is expected to be applied in disease control.
Although the Bushen Huoxue (BSHX) recipe is commonly used for the effective treatment of the prethrombotic state of recurrent abortions, its mechanism of action is unclear. In this article, we investigated the therapeutic effects of BSHX on anti-cardiolipin antibody (ACA) positive recurrent miscarriage mice and the molecular mechanism involved in the treatment of the prethrombotic state of ACA-positive recurrent miscarriages based on the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, to provide a scientific basis for clinical practice.An ACA-positive recurrent miscarriage mouse model and normal pregnancy mouse model were adopted in this experiment. Seventy CBA/J female mice were induced to establish the ACA-positive recurrent model; the mice were mated with DBA/2 male mice. Of these mice, 50 became pregnant, which were randomly divided into a BSHX high-dose group (BH, 2.52 g/kg), BSHX medium-dose group (BM, 1.26 g/kg), BSHX low-dose group (BL, 0.63 g/kg), model group (M, distilled water), and an aspirin enteric-coated tablet group; each group had 10 mice. In addition, 16 CBA/J female mice were induced to establish the normal pregnant mouse model; the mice were mated with BALB/C male mice. Of these mice, 10 became pregnant, which were used as the blank control group (C) and received distilled water by gavage. Stillbirth and abortion rates were recorded for each group, and the uterine tissue, urine, and serum were collected. The serum expression levels of ACA, interleukin-6 (IL-6), progesterone ,estradiol, and endometrial histological changes were compared between the groups. Metabolomics was performed on the urine and uterine tissues of both groups using UHPLC-QTOF/MS, and the expression levels of PI3K, p-PI3K, AKT, and p-AKT proteins in the uterine tissues were detected using Western blot.Compared with the model pregnancy group, the BSHX high-dose group, BSHX medium-dose group, and BSHX low-dose group all had a lower absorption rate of mouse embryos, improved uterine histopathological morphology, significantly reduced serum levels of ACA and IL-6, increased serum levels of progesterone and estradiol, and significantly upregulated uterine levels of p-AKT, PI3K, and p-PI3K proteins. The metabolomic results showed that the metabolic levels in the urine and uterine tissues were significantly altered in the mouse model of ACA-positive recurrent abortion. The results also suggested that the pathogenesis of ACA-positive recurrent abortion may be associated with metabolic pathways, such as pentose, glucuronide, lysine degradation, and steroid hormone biosynthesis.The BSHX recipe improved the uterine histopathological morphology of pregnant mice and promoted vascular formation in uterine tissues. The mechanisms involved the reduction in serum ACA and IL-6 levels, the increment in serumprogesterone and estradiol levels, the upregulation of the levels of p-AKT, PI3K, and p-PI3K proteins, and the activation of the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. These data will be useful for effective drug research and development.
Abstract Previous studies have shown that clock genes are expressed in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, other brain regions, and peripheral tissues. Various peripheral oscillators can run independently of the SCN. However, no published studies have reported changes in the expression of clock genes in the rat central nervous system and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) after withdrawal from chronic morphine treatment. Rats were administered with morphine twice daily at progressively increasing doses for 7 days; spontaneous withdrawal signs were recorded 14 h after the last morphine administration. Then, brain and blood samples were collected at each of eight time points (every 3 h: ZT 9; ZT 12; ZT 15; ZT 18; ZT 21; ZT 0; ZT 3; ZT 6) to examine expression of rPER1 and rPER2 and rCLOCK . Rats presented obvious morphine withdrawal signs, such as teeth chattering, shaking, exploring, ptosis, and weight loss. In morphine‐treated rats, rPER1 and rPER2 expression in the SCN, basolateral amygdala, and nucleus accumbens shell showed robust circadian rhythms that were essentially identical to those in control rats. However, robust circadian rhythm in rPER1 expression in the ventral tegmental area was completely phase‐reversed in morphine‐treated rats. A blunting of circadian oscillations of rPER1 expression occurred in the central amygdala, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens core, and PBMCs and rPER2 expression occurred in the central amygdala, prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens core , and PBMCs in morphine‐treated rats compared with controls. rCLOCK expression in morphine‐treated rats showed no rhythmic change, identical to control rats. These findings indicate that withdrawal from chronic morphine treatment resulted in desynchronization from the SCN rhythm, with blunting of rPER1 and rPER2 expression in reward‐related neurocircuits and PBMCs.