Arginine Alters miRNA Expression Involved in Development and Proliferation of Rat Mammary Tissue

This study was designed to determine the effects of dietary arginine on development and proliferation in rat mammary tissue through changes in miRNA profiles. Twelve pregnant Wistar rats were allocated randomly to two groups. A basal diet containing arginine or the control diet containing glutamate on an equal nitrogen basis as the arginine supplemented diet were used. The experiment included a pre-experimental period of four days before parturition and an experimental period of 17 days after parturition. Mammary tissue was collected for histology, RNA extraction and high-throughput sequencing analysis. The greater mammary acinar area indicated that arginine supplementation enhanced mammary tissue development (p < 0.01). MicroRNA profiling indicated that seven miRNA (miR-206-3p, miR-133a-5p, miR-133b-3p, miR-1-3p, miR-133a-3p, miR-1b and miR-486) were differentially expressed in response to Arginine when compared with the glutamate-based control group. In silico gene ontology enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis revealed between 240 and 535 putative target genes among the miRNA. Further verification by qPCR revealed concordance with the differential expression from the sequencing results: 17 of 28 target genes were differentially expressed (15 were highly expressed in arginine and 2 in control) and 11 target genes did not have significant difference in expression. In conclusion, our study suggests that arginine may potentially regulate the development of rat mammary glands through regulating miRNAs

Vascular endothelial growth factor and the risk of venous thromboembolism: A genetic correlation and two-sample Mendelian randomization study

Background: The relationship between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) has always been one of the concerns in the medical field. However, the causal inferences from published observational studies on this issue may be affected by confounders or reverse causality. We performed a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) to infer the associations between VEGF and VTE. Methods: Summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for VEGF and VTE were obtained from published meta-analysis studies and the FinnGen consortium, respectively. Independent genetic variables significantly associated with exposure were selected as instrumental variables. Linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) and five robust MR analytical approaches were conducted to estimate the genetic correlations and causal inference. The MR-Egger intercept, Cochran’s Q, and MR pleiotropy residual sum and outlier (MR-PRESSO) were performed to evaluate the horizontal pleiotropy, heterogeneities, and stability of these genetic variants on outcomes. Notably, replication analyses were performed using different subgroups of VTE. Results: LDSC failed to identify genetic correlations between VEGF and VTE. Based on 9 SNPs, the circulating VEGF level was positively related to the risk of VTE using inverse variance weighting (IVW) method (odds ratio (OR) = 1.064, 95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.009 – 1.122). Reverse MR analyses showed that genetic liability for VTE was not associated with increased VEGF level (β = -0.021, 95 % CI, -0.087-0.045). Pleiotropy-robust methods indicated no bias in any estimates. Conclusions: Our findings failed to detect coheritability between VEGF and VTE. The suggestive positive effect of the higher VEGF level on the VTE risk may have clinical implications, suggesting that VEGF as a possible predictor and therapeutic target for VTE prevention need to be further warranted

Using Maxwell’s Theory to model and quantify the fracture evolution of cyclothymic deposition phosphate rock

The evolution and stability of fracturing in the cyclothymic deposition of phosphate rocks are strongly affected by the viscoelasticity and structural form of the rock-forming minerals. Presently, there is no standardized method that has been widely accepted to accurately quantify the elastic-plastic deformation and fracturing of such striped structural rock nor reflect the role of the different lithogenous minerals in phosphate rocks when subjected to viscoelastic strain loading. In this study, integrated mathematical equations were formulated for modelling the mechanical and fracture behaviour of cyclothymic deposition in structured phosphate rocks. These constitutive equations were developed based on Maxwell’s Theory after the elastic modulus and damping coefficient of the rock-forming mineral from the mechanical testing were substituted into the derived-equations. In these new models, the apatite stripes and dolomite stripes were incorporated into the transverse isotropic model through the analysis of structural characteristics of the phosphate rock. Through experimental validation, the response curves of the creep and stress relaxation tests were found to be consistent with the deformation curves generated by modelling using the mathematical equations. Overall, the formulated model along with the corresponding equations was found to exhibit good applicability properties to describe phosphate’s mechanical and fracture behaviour under low horizontal compressive stresses. In the study, the creep mechanism in phosphate rocks were satisfactorily analysed from the angles of microscopic morphology, cracks evolution, and inter-crystalline strength. The hard brittle apatite was found to be surrounded and separated by high creep variant dolomite. Furthermore, the analysis showed that dolomite crystals possessing high creep properties dominated the distribution and evolution of secondary structures in the phosphate rock, under the condition of long-term low-stress loading

Avian Influenza (H5N1) Virus in Waterfowl and Chickens, Central China

In 2004, 3 and 4 strains of avian influenza virus (subtype H5N1) were isolated from waterfowl and chickens, respectively, in central People’s Republic of China. Viral replication and pathogenicity were evaluated in chickens, quails, pigeons, and mice. We analyzed the sequences of the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase genes of the isolates and found broad diversity among them

In vitro expression and analysis of the 826 human G protein-coupled receptors

ABSTRACT G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are involved in all human physiological systems where they are responsible for transducing extracellular signals into cells. GPCRs signal in response to a diverse array of stimuli including light, hormones, and lipids, where these signals affect downstream cascades to impact both health and disease states. Yet, despite their importance as therapeutic targets, detailed molecular structures of only 30 GPCRs have been determined to date. A key challenge to their structure determination is adequate protein expression. Here we report the quantification of protein expression in an insect cell expression system for all 826 human GPCRs using two different fusion constructs. Expression characteristics are analyzed in aggregate and among each of the five distinct subfamilies. These data can be used to identify trends related to GPCR expression between different fusion constructs and between different GPCR families, and to prioritize lead candidates for future structure determination feasibility