Radioprotective Effect of Grape Seed Proanthocyanidins In Vitro and In Vivo

We have demonstrated that grape seed proanthocyanidins (GSPs) could effectively scavenge hydroxyl radical (•OH) in a dose-dependent manner. Since most of the ionizing radiation- (IR-) induced injuries were caused by •OH, this study was to investigate whether GSPs would mitigate IR-induced injuries in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrated that GSPs could significantly reduce IR-induced DNA strand breaks (DSBs) and apoptosis of human lymphocyte AHH-1 cells. This study also showed that GSPs could protect white blood cells (WBC) from IR-induced injuries, speed up the weight of mice back, and decrease plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), thus improving the survival rates of mice after ionizing radiation. It is suggested that GSPs have a potential as an effective and safe radioprotective agent

Recent Progress in Phage Therapy to Modulate Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, Including in Human and Poultry

Acinetobacter baumannii is a multidrug-resistant and invasive pathogen associated with the etiopathology of both an increasing number of nosocomial infections and is of relevance to poultry production systems. Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii has been reported in connection to severe challenges to clinical treatment, mostly due to an increased rate of resistance to carbapenems. Amid the possible strategies aiming to reduce the insurgence of antimicrobial resistance, phage therapy has gained particular importance for the treatment of bacterial infections. This review summarizes the different phage-therapy approaches currently in use for multiple-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, including single phage therapy, phage cocktails, phage–antibiotic combination therapy, phage-derived enzymes active on Acinetobacter baumannii and some novel technologies based on phage interventions. Although phage therapy represents a potential treatment solution for multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, further research is needed to unravel some unanswered questions, especially in regard to its in vivo applications, before possible routine clinical use

Molecular Cloning and Expression Profiling of CncC in Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel

The cap ‘n’ collar isoform C (CncC) transcription factor is thought to be a regulator associated with antioxidant and detoxification genes that can enhance pest resistance by regulating the expression of detoxification enzyme genes. However, this transcription factor has not been well studied in the important agricultural pest Bactrocera dorsalis. In this study, the cDNA sequence of CncC in B. dorsalis was cloned, and the complete ORF sequence was obtained; it had a sequence length of 3378 bp, encoding a total of 1125 amino acids. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that B. dorsalis CncC belonged to the CNC family and that its amino acid sequence showed the closest relationship with B. tryoni. The conserved structural region of BdCncC was analyzed and was found to include a conserved bZIP superfamily structural domain. Spatiotemporal expression analysis revealed that BdCncC was most highly expressed in the adult Malpighian tubules, followed by the antennae, foregut, and midgut, and then the brain, hemolymph, hindgut, and fat body. BdCncC was expressed at every developmental stage, and the highest expression was found in mature males. This study provides a theoretical basis for an in-depth investigation of the function of BdCncC in regulating pesticide resistance in B. dorsalis

Additional file 1 of The morphokinetic signature of human blastocysts with mosaicism and the clinical outcomes following transfer of embryos with low-level mosaicism

Additional file 1: Supplementary table 4. Clinical outcomes of the genotype of mosaicism after blastocyst transfers

Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in Dog Faecal Samples from Public Environments in Qinghai Province, China

Dogs are popular companions in our daily lives for company, hunting, protection or shepherding, but they also serve as reservoirs for zoonotic parasites. We analysed faecal samples from urban and rural environments in Qinghai Province on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites. A total of 682 faecal samples were collected from four urban and two rural environments from October 2019 to December 2020. The samples were analysed for common intestinal parasites using a species-specific PCR approach. The total number of samples with parasites was 40 (5.87%): 23 (3.37%) were positive for helminths, and 17 (2.49%) were positive for protozoa. The following parasites were identified, and their respective prevalence rates were calculated: Cryptosporidium canis (1.32%), Giardia duodenalis (1.17%, assemblages D (n = 6) and C (n = 2)), Taenia hydatigena (1.03%), Taenia multiceps (0.59%), Toxocara canis (0.59%), Echinococcus shiquicus (0.29%), Dipylidium caninum (0.29%), Taenia pisiformis (0.15%), Mesocestoides lineatus (0.15%), Trichuris vulpis (0.15%), and Ancylostoma spp. (0.15%). The overall prevalence was significantly higher in dog faecal samples from rural environments than in those from urban environments (16.19% vs. 3.99%). E. shiquicus, T. pisiformis, M. lineatus, T. vulpis, and Ancylostoma spp. were only found in dog faecal samples from rural environments. The results of the present study indicate that intestinal parasite-positive dogs are important sources of environmental contamination, suggesting a significant zoonotic infection risk in humans and other animals. This has implications for the ongoing control of intestinal parasite infections in dogs in Qinghai Province, China

Whole Body Irradiation Induces Cutaneous Dendritic Cells Depletion via NF-κB Activation

Background: Effect of ionizing radiation on cutaneous dendritic cells (cDC) is critical to its influence on immune status of the skin, which plays an important role in the progression and recovery of radiation skin sickness. This study was to study the influence of whole body irradiation (WBI) on the cDC. Methods: Density of epidermal and dermal DC was determined with a fluorescent microscopy and the DC numbers in lymph node were measured by flow cytometry. A FITC induced migration assay was also used to study the migration of DC. The expressions of cytokines and chemokines were evaluated by Realtime PCR, and the protein level of was measured by Western blot. Results: WBI caused depletion of cDC in epidermal as well as dermal and augmented FITC-induced migration of DC to the draining lymph node (LN). The number of DC migrated from ear explants to the CCL19-containing medium also increased after exposure to WBI. It was also found that WBI increased mRNA level of CCL19/CCL21 as well as CCR7 in LN and skin tissue. The expressions of TNFa, IL-1a, IL-1ß, and IL-6 in skin tissues were also greatly induced by WBI in a dose dependent manner. Finally, we found that WBI induced translocation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and that the radiation-induced migration of DC was blocked by NF-κB inhibitor or TLR4 knockout. Conclusion: WBI caused cDC depletion through induction of DC migration to the draining LN, which might result from the activation of NF-κB and the induction of inflammatory microenvironment within the skin

The establishment and application of preimplantation genetic haplotyping in embryo diagnosis for reciprocal and Robertsonian translocation carriers

Abstract Background Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is now widely used to select embryos free of chromosomal copy number variations (CNV) from chromosome balanced translocation carriers. However, it remains a difficulty to distinguish in embryos between balanced and structurally normal chromosomes efficiently. Methods For this purpose, genome wide preimplantation genetic haplotyping (PGH) analysis was utilized based on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray. SNPs that are heterozygous in the carrier and, homozygous in the carrier’s partner and carrier’s family member are defined as informative SNPs. The haplotypes including the breakpoint regions, the whole chromosomes involved in the translocation and the corresponding homologous chromosomes are established with these informative SNPs in the couple, reference and embryos. In order to perform this analysis, a reference either a translocation carrier’s family member or one unbalanced embryo is required. The positions of translocation breakpoints are identified by molecular karyotypes of unbalanced embryos. The recombination of breakpoint regions in embryos could be identified. Results Eleven translocation families were enrolled. 68 blastocysts were analyzed, in which 42 were unbalanced or aneuploid and the other 26 were balanced or normal chromosomes. Thirteen embryos were transferred back to patients. Prenatal cytogenetic analysis of amniotic fluid cells was performed. The results predicted by PGH and karyotypes were totally consistent. Conclusions With the successful clinical application, we demonstrate that PGH was a simple, efficient, and popularized method to distinguish between balanced and structurally normal chromosome embryos

Short-Term Hyperosmolality Pretreatment on Cells Can Reduce the Radiosensitivity via RVI and Akt1 Activation

Background/Aims: The ionizing radiation (IR) has been applied in clinical treatment for many years and the radiosensitivity is crucial to the treatment. Radiosensitivity of cells is subjected to many environmental factors, such as hypoxia and temperature. Hyperosmolality as a common environmental factor has been demonstrated to be associated with survival and apoptosis of cells in many studies. Thus we investigated the influence of hyperosmolality on cells radiosensitivity. Methods: We examined the viability and surviving fraction of L-O2 cells of irradiated L-O2 cells, and detected the effect on AHH-1 cells by flow cytometry, in order to investigate the effect of short-term hyperosmolality pretreatment on cells radiosensitivity. Comet assay was used to assess the DNA strand breaks. Then the detection of Akt1 by western blot and the process of regulatory volume increase by CYSY-TT were involved in the mechanism. Result: We demonstrated that a short-term hyperosmolality pretreatment on cells could reduce their radiosensitivity. Further research indicated that the short-term hypertonic condition could induce regulatory volume increase (RVI), which activated Akt1 and degenerated the IκB-a. This process was associated with reduced cells radiosensitivity. Finally, we used the flufenamic acid (FFA), a blocker to cation channels (HICCs) to inhabit RVI and consequently inhabit the protective effect of hyperosmolality on irradiated cells. Conclusion: a short-term hyperosmolality pretreatment could reduce the cells radiosensitivity by RVI and following activation of Akt1