Lipocalin-2 variants and their relationship with cardio-renal risk factors

Objectives: To investigate the serum, plasma and urine levels of lipocalin-2 (LCN2) variants in healthy humans and their associations with risk factors for cardiometabolic (CMD) and chronic kidney (CKD) diseases. Methods: Fifty-nine males and 41 females participated in the study. Blood and urine were collected following an overnight fasting. LCN2 variants were analyzed using validated in-house ELISA kits. Heart rate, blood pressure, lipids profile, glucose, adiponectin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), creatinine, cystatin C, and biomarkers for kidney function were assessed. Results: The levels of hLcn2, C87A and R81E in serum and urine, but not plasma, were significantly higher in men than women. Increased levels of LCN2 variants, as well as their relative ratios, in serum and plasma were positively associated with body mass index, blood pressure, triglyceride and hsCRP (P \u3c 0.05). No significant correlations were found between these measures and hLcn2, C87A or R81E in urine. However, LCN2 variants in urine, but not plasma or serum, were correlated with biomarkers of kidney function (P \u3c 0.05). Conclusions: Both the serum and plasma levels of LCN2 variants, as well as their ratios are associated with increased cardiometabolic risk, whereas those in urine are correlated with renal dysfunction. LCN2 variants represent promising biomarkers for CMD and CKD

Differential Gene Expression during Larval Metamorphic Development in the Pearl Oyster, Pinctada fucata

P. fucata experiences a series of transformations in appearance, from swimming larvae to sessile juveniles, during which significant changes in gene expression likely occur. Thus, P. fucata could be an ideal model in which to study the molecular mechanisms of larval metamorphosis during development in invertebrates. To study the molecular driving force behind metamorphic development in larvae of P. fucata, transcriptomes of five larval stages (trochophore, D-shape, umbonal, eyespots, and spats) were sequenced using an Illumina HiSeq™ 2000 system and assembled and characterized with the transcripts of six tissues. As a result, a total of 174,126 unique transcripts were assembled and 60,999 were annotated. The number of unigenes varied among the five larval stages. Expression profiles were distinctly different between trochophore, D-shape, umbonal, eyespots, and spats larvae. As a result, 29 expression trends were sorted, of which eight were significant. Among others, 80 development-related, differentially expressed unigenes (DEGs) were identified, of which the majority were homeobox-containing genes. Most DEGs occurred among trochophore, D-shaped, and UES (umbonal, eyespots, and spats) larvae as verified by qPCR. Principal component analysis (PCA) also revealed significant differences in expression among trochophore, D-shaped, and UES larvae with ten transcripts identified but no matching annotations

Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals immune-related genes involved in allograft and xenograft transplantation in Pinctada fucata

BackgroundThe marine pearl culture industry is a key industry in the Beibu Gulf of China that achieves large-scale pearl production by artificial nucleus insertion in pearls. High-quality pearls can produced by xenotransplantation, but allotransplantation or xenotransplantation can lead to various immune responses, resulting in nucleus rejection or even the recipient shell death and thereby causing significant losses in pearl production.MethodsFew studies have investigated the immune defenses of oysters related to allografts and xenografts. In this study, transcriptomic comparisons of allograft and xenograft Pinctada fucata haemocytes were conducted to identify genes associated with immune responses.ResultsA total of 33.11 Gbp of clean reads were generated from five P. fucata haemocytes. De-novo assembly of quality-filtered reads generated a total of 26,526 unigenes, with 22,002 known genes and 4,524 predicted novel genes. In addition, 34,904 novel transcripts were detected, with 15,620 novel alternative splicing isoforms of known protein coding genes and 4,605 belonging to novel protein coding genes, with the remaining 14,679 comprising long non-coding RNA transcripts. Functional enrichment analysis of immune-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases revealed 36–44 significantly enriched GO terms and 34 significantly enriched KEGG pathways. Ten DEGs were subjected to validation of expression levels using RT-q PCR analysis, revealing generally consistent values as the high-throughput sequencing data.ConclusionOyster haemocytes were comprehensively evaluated in this study using transcriptomic comparisons and with a focus on immune-related functional genes and pathways. The results revealed numerous DEGs related to immune function that can serve as the basis for subsequent immune response analysis of allotransplantation and xenotransplantation

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Molecular cloning and expression profiles of an insulin-like growth factor binding protein IGFBP5 in the pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata

The insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP) family participates in transportation, localization, and biological regulation of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs). In the present study, IGFBP5 gene from the Pinctada fucata (PfIGFBP5) was cloned and characterized. The full-length cDNA sequence (1319 bp) contained an open reading frame of 399 bp encoding a predicted protein of 132 amino acids. The amino acid sequence of PfIGFBP5 included an IGF binding domain and multiple cysteine residues. The genomic sequence of PfIGFBP5 consisted of three exons and two introns. PfIGFBP5 was found to be expressed in all tissues and developmental stages investigated, although the expression level was significantly higher in the pearl sac and in trochophore larvae than in other tissues or developmental stages (P < 0.05). Expression of PfIGFBP5 was induced by notching the oyster shell margin; the gene was mainly expressed in the outer epithelium of the mantle, and to a lesser extent in the whole pearl sac, including connective tissues. These findings suggest that PfIGFBP5 is very likely to be involved in modulating biomineralization in the mantle and pearl sac of P. fucata since they are the main organs for shell or pearl formation

High-flux and bright betatron X-ray source generated from femtosecond laser pulse interaction with sub-critical density plasma

Recent progress on betatron X-ray source enables the exploration of new physics in fundamental science; however, the application range is still limited by the source flux and brightness. In this Letter, we show the generation of more than 1 × 1012 photons (energy &gt; 1 keV) with a peak brightness of 7.8 × 1022 photons/(s mm2 mrad2) at 0.1% bandwidth (BW) at 10 keV, driven by a femtosecond laser pulse of ≈5.5 J and a sub-critical density plasma (SCDP). The source flux is more than two orders of magnitude higher than that from typical laser wakefield electron acceleration. This method to produce high-flux and bright X-ray source would open a wide range of applications. © 2023 Optica Publishing Group.11Nsciescopu

Differential Gene Expression during Larval Metamorphic Development in the Pearl Oyster, Pinctada fucata, Based on Transcriptome Analysis

P. fucata experiences a series of transformations in appearance, from swimming larvae to sessile juveniles, during which significant changes in gene expression likely occur. Thus, P. fucata could be an ideal model in which to study the molecular mechanisms of larval metamorphosis during development in invertebrates. To study the molecular driving force behind metamorphic development in larvae of P. fucata, transcriptomes of five larval stages (trochophore, D-shape, umbonal, eyespots, and spats) were sequenced using an Illumina HiSeq™ 2000 system and assembled and characterized with the transcripts of six tissues. As a result, a total of 174,126 unique transcripts were assembled and 60,999 were annotated. The number of unigenes varied among the five larval stages. Expression profiles were distinctly different between trochophore, D-shape, umbonal, eyespots, and spats larvae. As a result, 29 expression trends were sorted, of which eight were significant. Among others, 80 development-related, differentially expressed unigenes (DEGs) were identified, of which the majority were homeobox-containing genes. Most DEGs occurred among trochophore, D-shaped, and UES (umbonal, eyespots, and spats) larvae as verified by qPCR. Principal component analysis (PCA) also revealed significant differences in expression among trochophore, D-shaped, and UES larvae with ten transcripts identified but no matching annotations

The mitochondrial genome of Erronea caurica (Cypraeidae)

The mitochondrial genome of Erronea caurica from the South China Sea has been determined (GenBank Accession No. MT522622), which was the second report of mitochondrial genome in the superfamily Cypraeoidea. It is 16,053 bp long and consists of 21 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, and 1 control region. As previously reported mitochondrial genome in Cypraeoidea, all protein-coding genes of E. caurica use a typical start codon (ATN) and a complete stop codon (TAA or TAG). Phylogenetic tree demonstrated that E. caurica belongs to the family Cypraeoidea and closer to the superfamily Tonnoidea

Differential Gene Expression during Larval Metamorphic Development in the Pearl Oyster, Pinctada fucata, Based on Transcriptome Analysis

P. fucata experiences a series of transformations in appearance, from swimming larvae to sessile juveniles, during which significant changes in gene expression likely occur. Thus, P. fucata could be an ideal model in which to study the molecular mechanisms of larval metamorphosis during development in invertebrates. To study the molecular driving force behind metamorphic development in larvae of P. fucata, transcriptomes of five larval stages (trochophore, D-shape, umbonal, eyespots, and spats) were sequenced using an Illumina HiSeq™ 2000 system and assembled and characterized with the transcripts of six tissues. As a result, a total of 174,126 unique transcripts were assembled and 60,999 were annotated. The number of unigenes varied among the five larval stages. Expression profiles were distinctly different between trochophore, D-shape, umbonal, eyespots, and spats larvae. As a result, 29 expression trends were sorted, of which eight were significant. Among others, 80 development-related, differentially expressed unigenes (DEGs) were identified, of which the majority were homeobox-containing genes. Most DEGs occurred among trochophore, D-shaped, and UES (umbonal, eyespots, and spats) larvae as verified by qPCR. Principal component analysis (PCA) also revealed significant differences in expression among trochophore, D-shaped, and UES larvae with ten transcripts identified but no matching annotations

Table_1_Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals immune-related genes involved in allograft and xenograft transplantation in Pinctada fucata.xls

BackgroundThe marine pearl culture industry is a key industry in the Beibu Gulf of China that achieves large-scale pearl production by artificial nucleus insertion in pearls. High-quality pearls can produced by xenotransplantation, but allotransplantation or xenotransplantation can lead to various immune responses, resulting in nucleus rejection or even the recipient shell death and thereby causing significant losses in pearl production.MethodsFew studies have investigated the immune defenses of oysters related to allografts and xenografts. In this study, transcriptomic comparisons of allograft and xenograft Pinctada fucata haemocytes were conducted to identify genes associated with immune responses.ResultsA total of 33.11 Gbp of clean reads were generated from five P. fucata haemocytes. De-novo assembly of quality-filtered reads generated a total of 26,526 unigenes, with 22,002 known genes and 4,524 predicted novel genes. In addition, 34,904 novel transcripts were detected, with 15,620 novel alternative splicing isoforms of known protein coding genes and 4,605 belonging to novel protein coding genes, with the remaining 14,679 comprising long non-coding RNA transcripts. Functional enrichment analysis of immune-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases revealed 36–44 significantly enriched GO terms and 34 significantly enriched KEGG pathways. Ten DEGs were subjected to validation of expression levels using RT-q PCR analysis, revealing generally consistent values as the high-throughput sequencing data.ConclusionOyster haemocytes were comprehensively evaluated in this study using transcriptomic comparisons and with a focus on immune-related functional genes and pathways. The results revealed numerous DEGs related to immune function that can serve as the basis for subsequent immune response analysis of allotransplantation and xenotransplantation.</p