scholarly journals The Increased Expression of an Engrailed to Sustain Shell Formation in Response to Ocean Acidification

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukun Zhang ◽  
Zhaoqun Liu ◽  
Yanan Zong ◽  
Yan Zheng ◽  
Yinan Li ◽  
...  

Engrailed is a transcription factor required in numerous species for important developmental steps such as neurogenesis, segment formation, preblastoderm organization, and compartment formation. Recent study has proved that engrailed is also a key gene related to shell formation in marine bivalves. In the present study, the expression pattern of an engrailed gene (Cgengrailed-1) in Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas under CO2-driven acidification was investigated to understand its possible role in the regulation of shell formation and adaptation to ocean acidification (OA). The open reading frame (ORF) of Cgengrailed-1 was obtained, which was of 690 bp encoding a polypeptide of 229 amino acids with a HOX domain. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the deduced amino acid sequence of Cgengrailed-1 shared high homology with other engraileds from Drosophila melanogaster, Mizuhopecten yessoensi, and Crassostrea virginica. The mRNA transcripts of Cgengrailed-1 were constitutively expressed in various tissues with the highest expression levels detected in labial palp and mantle, which were 86.83-fold (p < 0.05) and 75.87-fold (p < 0.05) higher than that in hepatopancreas. The mRNA expression of Cgengrailed-1 in mantle decreased dramatically after moderate (pH 7.8) and severe (pH 7.4) acidification treatment (0.75- and 0.15-fold of that in control group, p < 0.05). The results of immunofluorescence assay demonstrated that the expression level of Cgengrailed-1 in the middle fold of mantle increased significantly upon moderate and severe acidification treatment. Moreover, after the oyster larvae received acidification treatment at trochophore stage, the mRNA expression levels of Cgengrailed-1 increased significantly in D-shape larvae stages, which was 3.11- (pH 7.8) and 4.39-fold (pH 7.4) of that in control group (p < 0.05). The whole-mount immunofluorescence assay showed that Cgengrailed-1 was mainly expressed on the margin of shell gland, and the periostracum in trochophore, early D-shape larvae and D-shape larvae in both control and acidification treatment groups, and the intensity of positive signals in early D-shape larvae and D-shape larvae increased dramatically under acidification treatment. These results collectively suggested that the expression of Cgengrailed-1 could be triggered by CO2-driven acidification treatment, which might contribute to induce the initial shell formation in oyster larvae and the formation of periostracum in adult oyster to adapt to the acidifying marine environment.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Youyou Wang ◽  
Huijun Ren ◽  
Zhaohu Pan ◽  
Ben Liu ◽  
Fan Lin

Objective. To investigate the expression of miR-338-3p in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its relationship with STAT3 mRNA expression as well as their relationship with clinical pathological parameters and prognosis of patients. Methods. From September 2016 to September 2018, 71 patients with NPC were selected as the NPC group, and 71 samples of NPC tissues were collected during the operation. A total of 23 patients who underwent biopsy due to chronic nasopharyngitis were selected as the control group and 23 nasopharyngeal mucosal tissues were collected. The expressions of miR-338-3p and STAT3 mRNA in nasopharyngeal tissue of two groups were detected by real-time quantitative PCR, and the relationship between the two was analyzed. To collect clinical data of NPC patients and analyze the relationship between the expressions of miR-338-3p and STAT3 in NPC tissues and clinical pathological parameters of the patients, we followed up the patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma for three years to observe the relationship between miR-338-3p, STAT3, and the prognosis of the patients. Results. The relative expression levels of miR-338-3p in nasopharyngeal tissues of the NPC group and the control group were 0.39 ± 0.05 and 1.01 ± 0.09, respectively ( P  < 0.05). The relative expression levels of STAT3 mRNA in nasopharyngeal tissues of the NPC group and the control group were 3.82 ± 0.21 and 1.04 ± 0.11, respectively ( P  > 0.05). miR-338-3p was negatively correlated with the relative expression of STAT3 mRNA in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (r = 0.038, P  > 0.05). The expression of miR-338-3p was related to the age of the patient, clinical TNM stage, T stage, and distant metastasis (all P  < 0.05). STAT3 expression was correlated with clinical TNM stage, T stage, and distant metastasis in our patient ( P  < 0.05). The expressions of miR-338-3p and STAT3 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues from different gender, histological type, N stage, M stage, and degree of differentiation showed no statistical differences ( P  > 0.05). The survival rate of the group with low miR-338-3p expression was significantly lower than that of the group with high miR-338-3p expression ( P  > 0.05). The survival rate of patients with the high STAT3 expression group was significantly lower than that of patients with the low STAT3 expression group ( P  > 0.05). Conclusion. There is a negative correlation between the low expression of miR-338-3p and the high expression of STAT3 in NPC, which are all related to the TNM stage, T stage, and prognosis of the patient.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Fahami Nur Azlina ◽  
Yusof Kamisah ◽  
Kien Hui Chua ◽  
Hj Mohd Saad Qodriyah

The present study aims to distinguish the effect of tocotrienol on an important gastric protective factor, prostaglandin E2(PGE2), in stress-induced gastric injury. Twenty-eight Wistar rats were divided into four groups of seven rats each. Two control groups were fed commercial rat diet, and two treatment groups were fed the same diet but with additional dose of omeprazole (20 mg/kg) or tocotrienol (60 mg/kg). After 28 days, rats from one control group and both treated groups were subjected to water-immersion restraint stress for 3.5 hours once. The rats were then sacrificed, their stomach isolated and gastric juice collected, lesions examined, and gastric PGE2content and cyclooxygenase (COX) mRNA expression were determined. Both the regimes significantly attenuated the total lesion area in the stomach compared to the control. Gastric acidity, which was increased in stress, was significantly reduced in rats supplemented with omeprazole and tocotrienol. The PGE2content was also significantly higher in the rats given tocotrienol supplementation compared to the control followed by an increase in COX-1 mRNA expression. We conclude that tocotrienol supplementation protected rat gastric mucosa against stress-induced lesions possibly by reducing gastric acidity and preserving gastric PGE2by increasing COX-1 mRNA.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukiko Shiraki ◽  
Jun Shoji ◽  
Noriko Inada

Purpose. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of using expression levels ofCCL24(eotaxin-2) mRNA on the ocular surface as a biomarker in patients with vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) and atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC).Methods. Eighteen patients with VKC or AKC (VKC/AKC group) and 12 control subjects (control group) were enrolled in this study. The VKC/AKC clinical score was determined by objective findings in patients by using the 5-5-5 exacerbation grading scale. All subjects underwent modified impression cytology and specimens were obtained from the upper tarsal conjunctiva. Expression levels ofCCL24(eotaxin-2) mRNA on the ocular surface were determined using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.Results. The VKC group was divided into two subgroups, depending on the clinical score: the active stage subgroup with 100 points or more of clinical scores and the stable stage subgroup with 100 points or less.CCL24(eotaxin-2) mRNA expression levels in the active VKC/AKC stage subgroup were significantly higher than those in the stable VKC/AKC subgroup and the control group. Clinical scores correlated significantly withCCL24(eotaxin-2) mRNA expression levels in the VKC group.Conclusions.CCL24(eotaxin-2) mRNA expression levels on the ocular surface are a useful biomarker for clinical severity of VKC/AKC.


2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 497-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Guo ◽  
YB Sun ◽  
L Su ◽  
S Li ◽  
ZF Liu ◽  
...  

Paraquat (PQ) is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world and can cause pulmonary fibrosis in the cases with intoxication. Losartan, an angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist, has beneficial effects on the treatment of fibrosis. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of losartan on pulmonary fibrosis in PQ-intoxicated rats. Adult male Sprague Dawley rats ( n = 32, 180–220 g) were randomly assigned to four groups: (i) control group; (ii) PQ group; (iii) PQ + losartan 7d group; and (iv) PQ + losartan 14d group. Losartan treatment (intragastrically (i.g.), 10 mg/kg) was performed for 7 and 14 days after a single i.g. dose of 40 mg/kg PQ. All rats were killed on the 16th day, and hematoxylin–eosin and Masson’s trichrome staining were used to examine lung injury and fibrosis. The levels of hydroxyproline and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), matrix metallopeptidase 9 (Mmp9), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) messenger RNA (mRNA) expression and relative expression levels of collagen type I and III were also detected. PQ caused a significant increase in hydroxyproline content, mRNA expression of TGF-β1, Mmp9, and TIMP-1, and relative expression levels of collagen type I and III (  p < 0.05), while losartan significantly decreased the amount of hydroxyproline and downregulated TGF-β1, Mmp9, and TIMP-1 mRNA and collagen type I and III expressions (  p < 0.05). Histological examination of PQ-treated rats showed lung injury and widespread inflammatory cell infiltration in the alveolar space and pulmonary fibrosis, while losartan could markedly reduce such damage and prevent pulmonary fibrosis. The results of this study indicated that losartan could reduce lung damage and prevent pulmonary fibrosis induced by PQ.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 3847-3847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunfeng Cheng ◽  
Shanhua Zou ◽  
Feng Li

Abstract Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an autoimmune disease characterized by platelet destruction resulting from autoantibodies against self-antigens and T-cell mediated cytotoxicity. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are pattern recognition receptors important in mediating the immune response and their activation can lead to production of cytokines. Recent data suggest that TLR2 and TLR4 are crucial for the production of inflammatory cytokines and play central role in autoimmune diseases, yet little is known about their roles in ITP. Here we examined the gene expressions of TLR2 and TLR4 in ITP patients. We hypothesize that significant differences will exist between pre-treatment and post-treatment in ITP patients with similar changes reflected in the plasma concentration of cytokines. Total RNA was extracted from mononuclear cells obtained from 12 ITP patients and 15 healthy subjects. TLR2 and TLR4 mRNA expression levels were analyzed using a quantitative real-time PCR method and their protein expressions were validated by western blot. Plasma concentrations of cytokines IL-2, IFN-γ and TNF-α were measured by ELISA. Correlation analyses were carried out between the mRNA expression levels of TLR2 or TLR4 and the plasma levels of IL-2, IFN-γ and TNF-α. The gene expression of TLR2 and TLR4 were significantly increased in ITP patients comparing to healthy control group (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively). In addition their mRNA expression levels were decreased back into normal range after remission in 8 patients (p > 0.05, compared to healthy control group). Significantly positive correlations were found between the TLR2 mRNA expression level and the plasma concentration of IFN-γ or TNF-α (R = 0.75, p < 0.05; R = 0.83, p < 0.05, respectively). Changes in the gene expression of TLR4 and in the plasma concentration of IFN-γ or TNF-α were also significantly correlated (R = 0.82, p < 0.05; R = 0.88, p < 0.05, respectively). Directional changes in TLR2 / TLR4 and IFN-γ /TNF-α expression were concordant. However, there was no correlation found between TLR2 / TLR4 and IL-2. Differences in TLR2 and TLR4 expression strongly correlated with changes in IFN-γ and TNF-α suggest that the increased gene expressions of TLR2 and TLR4 in ITP patients may contribute to the pathophysiological progression of this disease by increasing the secretion of IFN-γ and TNF-α. Additional studies need to be performed to further clarify the role of TLRs -cytokines pathway in ITP.


Author(s):  
Liushu Jia ◽  
Bianhua Zhou ◽  
Hongwei Wang ◽  
Fan Yang ◽  
Guoyong Wang ◽  
...  

To explore the effect of Eimeria tenella infection on the cytokines gene expression and IgA production in the spleen of chickens, the morphological characteristics of the spleen were observed through optical and transmission electron microscopy. The IgA production was determined through immunohistochemistry. The mRNA expression levels of splenic cytokines were detected through real-time PCR. Compared to the control group, along with the infection of E. tenella, the splenic lymphocytes exhibited irregular and cracked membranes, mitochondria swelled even vacuolization, the IgA expression in spleen tissue was decreased by 55.57% (p lessthan 0.01). Likewise, the mRNA expression levels of IL-2 and IL-1â decreased by 40% (plessthan 0.01) and 43% p lessthan 0.05), respectively. By contrast, the IL-6, IFN-g and IL-10 levels increased by 158% (p lessthan 0.01), 464% (p lessthan 0.05) and 379% p lessthan 0.01), respectively. These results indicated that the spleen implement an important function in the antagonism of E. tenella, which suggest a new strategy to control coccidiosis by improving the peripheral immunity of chickens.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-54
Author(s):  
Hong Zhang

Abstract Objective: To observe the expression levels of serum high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) , nicotinic acetylcholine receptor α7 (α7 nAChR) and nuclear factor kappa-B mRNA(NF-κB mRNA) in colon tissue after electroacupuncture (EA) on Shangjuxu, Zusanli, Xiajuxu,Yanglingquan and Chengjin points, by comparison of the different effects we could thus explore the relative specificity of Shangjuxu on treating its corresponding viscera’ s disease. Methods: Seventy SD rats were randomly assigned to seven groups labeled by blank control (A), Model (B), Shang Ju Xu (C), Zu San Li (D), Xia Ju Xu (E), Yang Ling Quan (F), Cheng Jin (G), ten (half males and half females) in each group. Except for the blank control group, animals in other groups were modeled to ulcerative colitis (UC) by lavation of 2-4-6 trinitro-benzene-sulfonic acid (TNBS)/ethanol solution. After successful modeling animals in the five treatment groups were respectively treated with electroaccupuncture at corresponding acupoint for 10 consecutive days. Then histological changes in the colon were observed by light microscopy. ELISA method was used to check models’serum HMGB1 content, and α7 nAChR in the colon were detected by western blot , RT-PCR was used to detecte NF-κB mRNA. Results: ① Compared with the model group, the tissue injury changes in 5 treatment groups improved to a certain extent, and the colon tissue NF-κB mRNA expression of them decreasd signifcantly(P<0.01),as well, the α7 nAChR expression of Shang Ju Xu group, Zu San Li group and Xia Ju Xu group increased signifcantly (P<0.01 or P<0.05), and their serum HMGB1 content made obvious decrease(P<0.01 or P<0.05), the α7 nAChR expression in Yang Ling Quan group was also increased significantly(P<0.01). ② Compared with Shang Ju Xu group, the tissue injury changes of groups including Xia Ju Xu,Yang Ling Quan and Cheng Jin are much severe under light microscope, and the α7 nAChR expression of them decreased with significance(P<0.01),both serum HMGB1 content and colon tissue NF-κB mRNA expression increased significantly as well(P<0.01),the serum HMGB1 content of Zu San Li group also increased significantly(P<0.01). Conclusion: ① Electroacupuncture on all five different acupoints can improve the UC through regulating HMGB1, α7 nAChR and NF-κB mRNA, and effectively inhibiting the immune response, reducing inflammatory response of colon and improving pathological changes of colonic mucosa. ②The effect of treating UC inflammation in rats when electroacupuncture at Shang Ju Xu was better than Zu San Li, Xiajuxu, Yang Ling Quan and Cheng Jin, which demonstrated that Shangjuxu treating UC has some relative specificity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1309-1316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nova Sylviana ◽  
Christina Natalia ◽  
Hanna Goenawan ◽  
Yuni Susanti Pratiwi ◽  
Iwan Setiawan ◽  
...  

Endurance exercise induces specific skeletal muscle adaptation by increasing mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation eficiency and mitochondrial biogenesis. Many previous studies suggesting both PGC-1a and COX IV as a potential biomarker of skeletal muscle adaptation induced by exercise. But most of them only studied the effect of long-term endurance exercise, whereas the effect of short-term exercise remains unclear. To investigate short-term physiological adaptation induced by endurance exercise on expression of COX IV and PGC-1a mRNA in rat skeletal muscle. Twenty healthy male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus) aged 10-11 weeks old were used in this experiment. Rats were randomly assigned into 4 groups based on the time period of exercise: 1) control (C; n=5), 2) three days of exercise (E3; n=5), 3) six days of exercise (E6; n=5), 4) fifteen days of exercise (E15; n=5). The exercise groups were run at 20m/s for 30 minutes on the rat treadmill and the stationary control group was only placed inside treadmill with the machines turned off. On the last day of exercise, the rats were sacrificed then RNA from skeletal muscle was extracted. COX IV and PGC-1a mRNA expressions were measured by Reverse Transcriptase PCR. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences of PGC-1a mRNA expression levels in both soleus (F(3,16)=3.740, ps=0.033) and gastrocnemius (F(3,16)=3.969, pg=0.027) muscles. The COX IV mRNA expression levels in soleus (F(3,16)=3.801, ps=0.031) and gastrocnemius (F(3,16)=5.429, ps=0.009) muscles were also significantly increased. There were significant increases of PGC-1a and COX IV expressions in fifteen days of exercise group compared to control group in both muscles. Short-term endurance exercise induced mitochondrial biogenesis marker and mitochondrial activity marker by increasing the PGC-1a and COX IV mRNA expression levels in rat skeletal muscle significantly following the time periods of exercise.


2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kateřina Zadinová ◽  
Antonín Stratil ◽  
Mario Van Poucke ◽  
Luc J. Peelman ◽  
Jaroslav Čítek ◽  
...  

AbstractThe objective of this study was to investigate the effect of diets containing different levels of dried tuber of Jerusalem artichoke, Helianthus tuberosus, on skatole levels in back fat and on the CYP2E1 mRNA expression in the liver of commercial crossbred pigs. A total of 23 uncastrated male pigs from 10 litters of a commercial crossbred population of Large White × (Landrace × Large White), were used in this study. Boars were randomly divided into four different dietary treatment groups - a control group (K1; 5 boars; without supplementation of Jerusalem artichoke,) and three experimental groups (6 boars each) that were fed with the diet containing different levels of dried Jerusalem artichoke (K2 – 4.1%; K3 – 8.2%; K4 – 12.2%) for 14 days before slaughter. Significant effects of diet on skatole levels were observed between the control group and the experimental groups (P = 0.0078). The lowest level of skatole was in the K3 group with 8.2% of Jerusalem artichoke. As for CYP2E1, a negative correlation was observed between the levels of skatole and CYP2E1 mRNA expression. Significant effect (P = 0.0055) was found in all experimental groups compared to the K1 group, and most pronounced in the K2 and K3 groups. The supplementation with Jerusalem artichoke resulted in lower level of skatole and higher CYP2E1 mRNA expression. The results suggest that affecting the expression of CYP2E1 by feed supplements could be an option to effectively reduce the levels of skatole in adipose tissue of entire male pigs.


2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 123-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farhad Ghadiri Soufi ◽  
Ali Akbar Poursadegh Zonouzi ◽  
Ebrahim Eftekhar ◽  
Kamila Kamali ◽  
Sara Aghakhani Chegeni ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectives. It has been shown that dysregulation of miRNAs expression contributes to the pathogenesis and progression of the diabetes and diabetes-related complications. Drosha, DGCR8, Dicer, and Ago-2 are involved in the miRNA maturation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mRNA expression levels of these genes in the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) under hyperglycemic condition.Methods. HUVECs were cultured in normo-(5 mM) and hyperglycemic (25 mM) conditions for 24 h. As osmotic control, cells were treated with D-mannitol (25 mM, for 24 h). The mRNA expression levels of Drosha, DGCR8, Dicer and Ago-2 were evaluated using quantitative real-time PCR.Results. The expression level of Drosha, DGCR8, Dicer, and Ago-2 were increased in hyperglycemic HUVECs compared to the control group.Conclusion. Our results show that under hyperglycemic condition, expression of genes involved in the miRNA maturation was significantly increased in HUVECs. Upregulation of these genes may have role in diabetic complications through the dysregulation of the miRNA expression.


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