CT-Guided Stellate Ganglion Pulsed Radiofrequency Stimulation for Facial and Upper Limb Postherpetic Neuralgia

Objective: Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most common complication of herpes zoster, manifesting as a persistent, spontaneous, knife-like pain or paroxysmal burning that seriously affects a patient’s quality of life. An effective treatment of PHN is lacking. This retrospective study examined the efficacy and safety of stellate ganglion (SG) pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) on facial and upper limb PHN.Methods: Eighty-four patients with PHN on the face or upper limbs were enrolled for the study. Patients were randomly divided into two surgical groups according to the order of enrollment; one group underwent SG block (SG-B group, n = 42) and the other underwent SG pulsed radiofrequency (SG-P group, n = 42). After surgery, patients were followed at 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months. Observation at each follow-up included basic patient characteristics, visual analog scale (VAS), quality of life (QOL) using Physical Component Summary (PCS), and Mental Component Summary (MCS) to assess, total effective rate, complications and side effects.Results: Compared with preoperative values, VAS decreased in both groups after surgery (P < 0.05). In the SG-B group, VAS increased after 1 month, while in the SG-P group, VAS gradually decreased at later follow-up time points. VAS decreased more significantly in the SG-P group after 1 month (P < 0.05). PCS and MCS increased in both groups after the operation, and the difference was significant compared with preoperative values (P < 0.05). The total effective rates of the SG-B and SG-P groups were 64.3 and 83.3%, respectively. The total effective rate of the SG-P group was higher than that of the SG-B group (P < 0.05). The incidence of complications and side effects in the SG-B group was higher than that in the SG-P group (P < 0.05).Conclusion: SG pulsed radiofrequency treatment of facial and upper limb PHN is safe and effective. It is a treatment method worth promoting

Oocyte stage-specific effects of MTOR determine granulosa cell fate and oocyte quality in mice.

MTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) is a widely recognized integrator of signals and pathways key for cellular metabolism, proliferation, and differentiation. Here we show that conditional knockout (cKO) of Mtor in either primordial or growing oocytes caused infertility but differentially affected oocyte quality, granulosa cell fate, and follicular development. cKO of Mtor in nongrowing primordial oocytes caused defective follicular development leading to progressive degeneration of oocytes and loss of granulosa cell identity coincident with the acquisition of immature Sertoli cell-like characteristics. Although Mtor was deleted at the primordial oocyte stage, DNA damage accumulated in oocytes during their later growth, and there was a marked alteration of the transcriptome in the few oocytes that achieved the fully grown stage. Although oocyte quality and fertility were also compromised when Mtor was deleted after oocytes had begun to grow, these occurred without overtly affecting folliculogenesis or the oocyte transcriptome. Nevertheless, there was a significant change in a cohort of proteins in mature oocytes. In particular, down-regulation of PRC1 (protein regulator of cytokinesis 1) impaired completion of the first meiotic division. Therefore, MTOR-dependent pathways in primordial or growing oocytes differentially affected downstream processes including follicular development, sex-specific identity of early granulosa cells, maintenance of oocyte genome integrity, oocyte gene expression, meiosis, and preimplantation developmental competence. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018 Jun 5; 115(23):E5326-E5333

Single-Cell Atlas of the Chinese Tongue Sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) Ovary Reveals Transcriptional Programs of Oogenesis in Fish

16 pages, 6 figures, supplementary material https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2022.828124/full#supplementary-material.-- Data Availability Statement: According to national legislation/guidelines, specifically the Administrative Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Human Genetic Resources (http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2019-06/10/content_5398829.htm, http://english.www.gov.cn/policies/latest_releases/2019/06/10/content_281476708945462.htm), no additional raw data is available at this time. Data of this project can be accessed after an approval application to the China National Genebank (CNGB, https://db.cngb.org/cnsa/). Please refer to https://db.cngb.org/, or email: [email protected] for detailed application guidance. The accession code CNP0002319 should be included in the applicationOogenesis is a highly orchestrated process that depends on regulation by autocrine/paracrine hormones and growth factors. However, many details of the molecular mechanisms that regulate fish oogenesis remain elusive. Here, we performed a single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis of the molecular signatures of distinct ovarian cell categories in adult Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis). We characterized the successive stepwise development of three germ cell subtypes. Notably, we identified the cellular composition of fish follicle walls, including four granulosa cell types and one theca cell type, and we proposed important transcription factors (TFs) showing high activity in the regulation of cell identity. Moreover, we found that the extensive niche–germline bidirectional communications regulate fish oogenesis, whereas ovulation in fish is accompanied by the coordination of simultaneous and tightly sequential processes across different granulosa cells. Additionally, a systems biology analysis of the homologous genes shared by Chinese tongue sole and macaques revealed remarkably conserved biological processes in germ cells and granulosa cells across vertebrates. Our results provide key insights into the cell-type-specific mechanisms underlying fish oogenesis at a single-cell resolution, which offers important clues for exploring fish breeding mechanisms and the evolution of vertebrate reproductive systemsThis work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (31722058, 31802275 and 31472269); the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFD0900301); the AoShan Talents Cultivation Program Supported by Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (2017ASTCP-ES06); the Taishan Scholar Project Fund of Shandong of China to C.S.; the National Ten-Thousands Talents Special Support Program to C.S.; the Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund, CAFS (No.2020TD19); and the China Agriculture Research System (CARS-47-G03)With the institutional support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S)Peer reviewe

Effects of water stress on starch synthesis and accumulation of two rice cultivars at different growth stages

Rice is a water intensive crop and soil water conditions affect rice yield and quality. However, there is limited research on the starch synthesis and accumulation of rice under different soil water conditions at different growth stages. Thus, a pot experiment was conducted to explore the effects of IR72 (indica) and Nanjing (NJ) 9108 (japonica) rice cultivars under flood-irrigated treatment (CK, 0 kPa), light water stress treatment (L, -20 ± 5 kPa), moderate water stress treatment (M, -40 ± 5 kPa) and severe water stress treatment (S, -60 ± 5 kPa) on the starch synthesis and accumulation and rice yield at booting stage (T1), flowering stage (T2) and filling stage (T3), respectively. Under LT treatment, the total soluble sugar and sucrose contents of both cultivars decreased while the amylose and total starch contents increased. Starch synthesis-related enzyme activities and their peak activities at mid-late growth stage increased as well. However, applying MT and ST treatments produced the opposite effects. The 1000-grain weight of both cultivars increased under LT treatment while the seed setting rate increased only under LT3 treatment. Compared with CK, water stress at booting stage decreased grain yield. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed that LT3 got the highest comprehensive score while ST1 got lowest for both cultivars. Furthermore, the comprehensive score of both cultivars under the same water stress treatment followed the trend of T3 > T2 > T1, and NJ 9108 had a better drought-resistant ability than IR72. Compared with CK, the grain yield under LT3 increased by 11.59% for IR72 and 16.01% for NJ 9108, respectively. Overall, these results suggested that light water stress at filling stage could be an effective method to enhance starch synthesis-related enzyme activities, promote starch synthesis and accumulation and increase grain yield

Mudskipper genomes provide insights into the terrestrial adaptation of amphibious fishes

Mudskippers are amphibious fishes that have developed morphological and physiological adaptations to match their unique lifestyles. Here we perform whole-genome sequencing of four representative mudskippers to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying these adaptations. We discover an expansion of innate immune system genes in the mudskippers that may provide defence against terrestrial pathogens. Several genes of the ammonia excretion pathway in the gills have experienced positive selection, suggesting their important roles in mudskippers’ tolerance to environmental ammonia. Some vision-related genes are differentially lost or mutated, illustrating genomic changes associated with aerial vision. Transcriptomic analyses of mudskippers exposed to air highlight regulatory pathways that are up- or down-regulated in response to hypoxia. The present study provides a valuable resource for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying water-to-land transition of vertebrates

The enormous repetitive Antarctic krill genome reveals environmental adaptations and population insights

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is Earth’smost abundant wild animal, and its enormous biomass is vital to the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Here, we report a 48.01-Gb chromosome-level Antarctic krill genome, whose large genome size appears to have resulted from inter-genic transposable element expansions. Our assembly reveals the molecular architecture of the Antarctic krill circadian clock and uncovers expanded gene families associated with molting and energy metabolism, providing insights into adaptations to the cold and highly seasonal Antarctic environment. Population-level genome re-sequencing from four geographical sites around the Antarctic continent reveals no clear population structure but highlights natural selection associated with environmental variables. An apparent drastic reduction in krill population size 10 mya and a subsequent rebound 100 thousand years ago coincides with climate change events. Our findings uncover the genomic basis of Antarctic krill adaptations to the Southern Ocean and provide valuable resources for future Antarctic research

Single-cell-resolution transcriptome map revealed novel genes involved in testicular germ cell progression and somatic cells specification in Chinese tongue sole with sex reversal

19 pages, 7 figures, supporting information https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-021-2236-4.-- Data availability: The data reported in this study are available in the CNGB Nucleotide Sequence Archive (CNSA: https://db.cngb.org/cnsa; accession number CNP0002135).Female-to-male sex reversals (pseudomales) are common in lower vertebrates and have been found in natural populations, which is a concern under rapid changes in environmental conditions. Pseudomales can exhibit altered spermatogenesis. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying pseudomale spermatogenesis remain unclear. Here, we characterized spermatogenesis in Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis), a species with genetic and environmental sex determination, based on a high-resolution single-cell RNA-seq atlas of cells derived from the testes of genotypic males and pseudomales. We identified five germ cell types and six somatic cell types and obtained a single-cell atlas of dynamic changes in gene expression during spermatogenesis in Chinese tongue sole, including alterations in pseudomales. We detected decreased levels of Ca2+ signaling pathway-related genes in spermatogonia, insufficient meiotic initiation in spermatocytes, and a malfunction of somatic niche cells in pseudomales. However, a cluster of CaSR genes and MAPK signaling factors were upregulated in undifferentiated spermatogonia of pseudomales. Additionally, we revealed that Z chromosome-specific genes, such as piwil2, dhx37, and ehmt1, were important for spermatogenesis. These results improve our understanding of reproduction after female-to-male sex-reversal and provide new insights into the adaptability of reproductive strategies in lower vertebratesThis work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFD0900301), the National Nature Science Foundation of China (31722058, 31802275, 31472269), the AoShan Talents Cultivation Program Supported by Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (2017ASTCP-ES06), the Taishan Scholar Project Fund of Shandong of China to C.S., the National Ten-Thousands Talents Special Support Program to C.S., the Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund, CAFS (2020TD19) and the China Agriculture Research System (CARS-47-G03)With the institutional support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S)Peer reviewe