Overexpression of lncRNA H19 changes basic characteristics and affects immune response of bovine mammary epithelial cells

The function of long non-coding RNA H19 (H19) on cell proliferation has been observed in various cell types, and the increased expression of H19 was also found in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory bovine mammary epithelial cells (MAC-T). However, the roles of H19 in the inflammatory response and physiological functions of bovine mammary epithelial cell are not clear. In the present study, we found that overexpression of H19 in MAC-T cells significantly promoted cell proliferation, increased the protein and mRNA level of β-casein, and enhanced the expression of tight junction (TJ)-related proteins while inhibited staphylococcus aureus adhesion to cells. In addition, results demonstrated that overexpression of H19 affected the LPS-induced immune response of MAC-T cells by promoting expressions of inflammatory factors, including TNF-α, IL-6, CXCL2 and CCL5, and activating the NF-κB signal pathway. Our findings indicate that H19 is likely to play an important role in maintaining normal functions and regulating immune response of bovine mammary epithelial cells

Review on the Analysis and Testing Method of Typical Plant Growth Regulators in Environment

Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are defined as naturally occurring or artificially synthesized compounds. The functions of PGRs mainly include accelerating or delaying seed germination, breaking plant dormancy, stimulating or reducing bud elongation, inducing flowering and fruiting, and affecting the aging process. The application of PGRs has effectively promoted the growth of plants. However, the application concentration of PGRs is more than one millionth. The large amount of abuse and misuse of PGRs in the process of use not only reduces the yield of crops, but also exacerbates their residues in the environment, especially in agricultural products such as fruits and vegetables. So, they are detected in many environmental media like fruits, vegetables, and water. In addition, most PGRs are toxic, and some of them will undergo adsorption, desorption, hydrolysis, photolysis, microbial degradation, and other environmental behaviors after entering the soil. The decomposition products produced by this process are more toxic.In order to comprehensively understand the current status of PGRs pretreatment, analysis and test method, the common pretreatment methods of solid phase extraction and liquid-liquid extraction for typical PGRs in solid substrates such as fruits and vegetables, fertilizers and soil, and in liquid substrates such as water, edible oil and nutrient solution are summarized in this paper, as well as the analysis and testing techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). Moreover, to reduce the detection limit, high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) is also frequently used. At the same time, considering the strong natural attenuation ability of PGRs and the high toxicity of their intermediates, the advantages, disadvantages and applicability of different testing techniques are systematically summarized, taking into account the special structure and nature of PGRs, in order to fully understand the current status of pretreatment and analytical testing of PGRs and provide literature support for subsequent research on analytical testing, migration transformation, pollution evaluation and treatment of PGRs.Due to many impurities in the sample that can interfere with the detection, the appropriate pretreatment method can improve the accuracy of the test results. However, the sample pretreatment process accounts for more than 70% of the total analysis and test work, and about 50% of the error in the final test results comes from pretreatment. Therefore, establishing a fast, simple, and stable pretreatment method can effectively improve the efficiency and accuracy of analysis and detection. At present, the forms of environmental media detected for PGRs are mainly divided into two types: solid matrix samples (such as fruits, vegetables, fertilizers and soil, etc.) and liquid matrix samples (water, oil and nutrient solution, etc.). The related pretreatment methods are also mostly targeted at these two different forms of environmental media.Solid substrates involving PGRs mainly include fruits and vegetables, fertilizers and soil. Among them, fruits and vegetables are the most frequently detected solid substrates of PGRs, and some PGRs have also been detected in fertilizers, soil and other substrates. The pretreatment process of solid matrix samples can be divided into two parts: extraction and purification. Among them, solid phase extraction is the most commonly used extraction technology, and QuEChERS method is the most widely used purification method.Water, edible oil, and nutrient solution are the most frequently detected liquid substrates of PGRs. At present, liquid-liquid extraction is the most commonly used extraction method for liquid matrix. For the selection of extractants, the octanol-water partition coefficient of PGRs such as gibberellic acid and ethephon is less than 1, which is a strong polar compound and can be extracted by hydrophilic organic solvents such as methanol, ethanol and acetone; the polarity of most other PGRs such as forchlorfenuron and paclobutrazol is relatively weak, but it still belongs to the category of strong polarity compared with other kinds of compounds such as benzene and chloroethane (n-octanol-water partition coefficient>10). Therefore, the extractant can not only use methanol, but also use polar organic solvents such as ethyl acetate and chloroform that are insoluble in water. Although liquid-liquid extraction requires a lot of extractants, the high-water solubility of most PGRs makes them often directly detected by HPLC-MS/MS, which eliminates the complex pretreatment steps such as extraction and purification. In addition, because some PGRs have poor chromatographic characteristics or are not easily detected, the derivatization is also required to convert the components into derivatives suitable for analysis.Analytical and testing technologies mainly include gas chromatography (GC), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), HPLC/UPLC, HPLC-MS/MS, ion chromatography (IC), spectrophotometry (SP), capillary electrophoresis (CE), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and electrochemical sensor method.At present, the solubility of most PGRs in water (20℃) is 0.50-10g/L, and the octanol-water partition coefficient of most PGRs is 0-4, with strong hydrophilicity. Therefore, HPLC-MS/MS are applicable to the detection of almost all PGRs. However, HPLC-MS/MS are often used to detect the residues of PGRs in fruits and vegetables, followed by soil and fertilizer, while there are few related studies in natural water. This may be due to the rapid natural decay rate of PGRs in the natural environment, resulting in extremely small amounts of residues in natural water bodies such as surface water and groundwater that cannot be directly detected.GC has the advantages of low cost and easy maintenance, and GC-MS has become a conventional testing technology. However, GC-MS are greatly affected by sample matrix interference and require high pretreatment methods. In addition, due to the influence of the physical and chemical properties of different PGRs (such as abscisic acid and indole acetic acid with a boiling point over 400℃, or forchlorfenuron and cinnamic acid with hydroxyl and carboxyl groups), most PGRs have poor gas chromatographic characteristics and are not easily detected.The order of detection limits of PGRs is GC>HPLC>chromatography-mass spectrometry, and the lowest instrumental detection limit of chromatography-mass spectrometry is 10-5mg/kg. However, the higher solubility and the larger natural attenuation rate of most PGRs lead to the lower detection concentrations in complex environmental substrates such as soil and water, so there is still an urgent need to solve the problem of analytical testing of trace PGRs and its intermediates.In future, PGRs analysis and test method will focus on the analysis and detection of trace PGRs and their intermediates, as well as the development of new materials and technology-based methodologies

Sources and Eco-toxicological Effects of Ultrafine Particle Matters

Environmental air pollution has become an important threat to human health. As one of the major air pollutants, atmospheric particulates have received attention widely. In which, ultrafine particulate matters (UPM) with diameter below 0.1μm have become the main components of ambient air particulates, posing a serious threat to the health of the organism. Therefore, this paper investigated and summarized the research on ultrafine particles at home and abroad, systematically analysed the sources of UPM in ambient air, investigated its toxicological effects of ultrafine particles on the respiratory system, cardiovascular system, and central nervous system of organisms. This study will provide a theoretical reference for environmental air protection and pollution control in China

CYP1A1 Relieves Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammatory Responses in Bovine Mammary Epithelial Cells

The expression of cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) enzyme is changed in various organs during the host response to inflammation or infection, leading to alterations in the metabolism of endogenous and exogenous compounds. Results of this study showed that CYP1A1 expression was significantly downregulated in the mammary tissue of bovine with mastitis, in inflammatory epithelial cells (INEs) extracted from the tissue, and in lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced INEs compared with their corresponding counterparts. Overexpression of CYP1A1 in bovine mammary epithelial cells alleviated the LPS-induced inhibition of epithelial proliferation, abated the LPS-induced increase of gene expression and protein secretion of inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6, and attenuated the LPS-induced activation of NF-κB signaling. These findings suggest that CYP1A1 has immense potential in the regulation of inflammatory responses in bovine mammary epithelial cells during mastitis and may serve as a useful therapeutic target in mitigating injuries caused by inflammatory overreaction

Design, synthesis and anticancer activities evaluation of novel pyrazole modified catalpol derivatives

Abstract Catalpol, a natural product mainly existed in plenty of Chinese traditional medicines, is an iridoid compound with the comprehensive effects on neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, choleretic, hypoglycemic and anticancer. However, there are some disadvantages for catalpol such as a short half-life in vivo, low druggability, stingy binding efficiency to target proteins and so on. It is necessary to make structural modification and optimization which enhance its performance on disease treatments and clinic applications. Pyrazole compounds have been reported to have excellent anticancer activities. Based on the previous research foundation of our research group on iridoids and the anticancer activities of catalpol and pyrazole, a series of pyrazole modified catalpol compounds were synthesized by principle of drug combination for serving as potential cancer inhibitors. These derivatives are characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and HRMS. The efficacy of anti-esophageal cancer and anti-pancreatic cancer activities were evaluated by the MTT assay on two esophageal cancer cells Eca-109 and EC-9706, and two pancreatic cancer cells PANC-1, BxPC-3 and normal pancreatic cell line HPDE6-C7, which showed that the compound 3e had strong inhibitory activity against esophageal cancer cells, this providing a theoretical basis for the discovery of catalpol-containing drugs

TGF-β1 Induces EMT in Bovine Mammary Epithelial Cells Through the TGFβ1/Smad Signaling Pathway

Background/Aims: Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) plays a crucial role in chronic inflammation in various tissues, and is related to inflammation-caused organ fibrogenesis associated with the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the deposition of the extracellular matrix (ECM). However, the effect of TGF-β1 on bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs) with mastitis, and its mechanism, remain unknown. Methods: We analyzed the level of TGF-β1 in inflamed mammary tissues and cells using western blotting. BMECs were treated with TGF-β1, and EMT-related gene and protein expression changes were evaluated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), western blotting, and immunofluorescence. We also inhibited the TGF/Smad signaling pathway using a receptor inhibitor, and analyzed EMT-related protein expression by western blotting. In addition, we injected TGF-β1 into mice mammary glands to investigate whether it can cause mammary fibrosis in vivo. Results: The TGF-β1 level was up-regulated in mammary tissues with mastitis and in inducible inflammatory BMECs. TGF-β1 treatment activated the TGF/ Smad signaling pathway in BMECs during their transition to the EMT phenotype, as indicated by morphological changes from a cobblestone-like shape to a spindle-like one. TGF-β1 treatment also up-regulated the expression of α-smooth muscle actin, vimentin, and collagen I, albumin, and down-regulated the expression of E-cadherin both in mRNA level and protein level. Furthermore, TGF-β1 enhanced the gene expressions of MMP2, MMP7, and fibronectin in BMECs. TGF-β1 injection induced mice mammary infection and fibrosis. Conclusion: These findings suggested that aberrant up-regulation of TGF-β1 in bovine mastitic mammary glands might play an important role in bovine mammary fibrosis caused by unresolved inflammation

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of JAZ Family Involved in Hormone and Abiotic Stress in Sweet Potato and Its Two Diploid Relatives

Jasmonate ZIM-domain (JAZ) proteins are key repressors of a jasmonic acid signaling pathway. They play essential roles in the regulation of plant growth and development, as well as environmental stress responses. However, this gene family has not been explored in sweet potato. In this study, we identified 14, 15, and 14 JAZs in cultivated hexaploid sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas, 2n = 6x = 90), and its two diploid relatives Ipomoea trifida (2n = 2x = 30) and Ipomoea triloba (2n = 2x = 30), respectively. These JAZs were divided into five subgroups according to their phylogenetic relationships with Arabidopsis. The protein physiological properties, chromosome localization, phylogenetic relationship, gene structure, promoter cis-elements, protein interaction network, and expression pattern of these 43 JAZs were systematically investigated. The results suggested that there was a differentiation between homologous JAZs, and each JAZ gene played different vital roles in growth and development, hormone crosstalk, and abiotic stress response between sweet potato and its two diploid relatives. Our work provided comprehensive comparison and understanding of the JAZ genes in sweet potato and its two diploid relatives, supplied a theoretical foundation for their functional study, and further facilitated the molecular breeding of sweet potato