Microalgae possess high photosynthetic efficiency, robust adaptability, and substantial biomass, serving as excellent biological resources for large-scale cultivation. Malic enzyme (ME), a ubiquitous metabolic enzyme in living organisms, catalyzes the decarboxylation of malate to produce pyruvate, CO₂, and NAD(P)H, playing a role in multiple metabolic pathways including energy metabolism, photosynthesis, respiration, and biosynthesis. In this study, we identified the Scenedesmus quadricauda malic enzyme gene (SqME) and its biological functions, aiming to provide excellent target genes for the genetic improvement of higher plants. Based on the RNA-seq data from S. quadricauda under the biofilm cultivation mode with high CO₂ and light energy transfer efficiency and small water use, a highly expressed gene (SqME) functionally annotated as ME was cloned. The physicochemical properties of the SqME-encoded protein were systematically analyzed by bioinformatics tools. The subcellular localization of SqME was determined via transient transformation in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. The biological functions of SqME were identified via genetic transformation in Nicotiana tabacum, and the potential of SqME in the genetic improvement of higher plants was evaluated. The ORF of SqME was 1 770 bp, encoding 590 amino acid residues, and the encoded protein was located in chloroplasts. SqME was a NADP-ME, with the typical structural characteristics of ME. The ME activity in the transgenic N. tabacum plant was 1.8 folds of that in the wild-type control. Heterologous expression of SqME increased the content of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll by 20.9%, 26.9%, and 25.2%, respectively, compared with the control. The transgenic tobacco leaves showed an increase of 54.0% in the fluorescence parameter NPQ and a decrease of 30.1% in Fo compared with the control. Moreover, the biomass, total lipids, and soluble sugars in the transgenic tobacco leaves enhanced by 20.5%, 25.7%, and 9.5%, respectively. On the contrary, the starch and protein content in the transgenic tobacco leaves decreased by 22.4% and 12.2%, respectively. Collectively, the SqME-encoded protein exhibited a strong enzymatic activity. Heterologous expressing of SqME could significantly enhance photosynthetic protection, photosynthesis, and biomass accumulation in the host. Additionally, SqME can facilitate carbon metabolism remodeling in the host, driving more carbon flux towards lipid synthesis. Therefore, SqME can be applied in the genetic improvement of higher plants for enhancing photosynthetic carbon fixation and lipid accumulation. These findings provide scientific references for mining of functional genes from S. quadricauda and application of these genes in the genetic engineering of higher plants.
Nicotiana/genetics* ; Photosynthesis/physiology* ; Malate Dehydrogenase/biosynthesis* ; Plant Leaves/genetics* ; Scenedesmus/enzymology* ; Carbon Cycle/genetics* ; Lipid Metabolism/genetics* ; Plants, Genetically Modified/metabolism*

Objective:To investigate the neuroprotective effect of vanillin on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis(EAE)rats by regulating C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12(CXCL12)/chemokine(C-X-C motif)receptor(CXCR4)signaling path-way.Methods:A total of 50 rats were injected with 400 μl guinea pig spinal cord and water in oil mixture of complete Freund's adju-vant to establish EAE rat model,and were divided into model group,low-dose vanillin group(50 mg/kg),medium-dose vanillin group(100 mg/kg),high-dose vanillin group(200 mg/kg)and positive drug group(5 mg/kg prednisone acetate),another 10 rats were only injected with the mixture of the same amount of normal saline and complete Freud adjuvant as control group,since the first day of mod-eling,all rats were given corresponding drugs by gavage for 16 consecutive days,and after modeling,rats in each group were scored for neurological function every day;HE and LFB staining were used to observe the pathology and demyelination of spinal cord in rats;levels of serum TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 were detected by ELISA;immunohistochemistry was used to detect expressions of CD68 and Iba-1 in spinal cord of rats;Western blot was used to detect expressions of CXCL12 and CXCR4 proteins in spinal cord of rats.Results:Compared with control group,rats in model group showed obvious infiltration of inflammatory cells,a large number of inflammatory cells gathered around the small blood vessels,and the structure of myelin sheath in spinal cord of rats was abnormal,accompanied by a large number of myelin sheath loss,the neurological function score,inflammatory infiltration score and demyelination score of spinal cord,serum TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 levels,spinal cord CD68 and Iba-1 proteins,CXCL12 and CXCR4 proteins expressions in-creased obviously(P<0.05);compared with model group,inflammatory cell infiltration and myelin sheath loss of rats in low,medium and high doses groups and positive drug group were obviously alleviated,neurological function score,inflammatory infiltration score and demyelination score of spinal cord,serum TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 levels,and expressions of CD68 and Iba-1 proteins in spinal cord decreased obviously(P<0.05),while expressions of CXCL12 and CXCR4 proteins in spinal cord further increased(P<0.05).Conclusion:Vanillin inhibits inflammatory response and alleviates nerve injury in EAE rats,and its mechanism may be related to acti-vation of CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling pathway.

Objective:To investigate effect of andrographolide(AG)on neuroinflammation in young epileptic rats by regulating cyclic adenosine monophosphate(cAMP)/protein kinase A(PKA)/cAMP response element binding protein(CREB)signaling pathway.Methods:SPF grade young SD rats were randomly divided into Control group,Model group,low-dose AG group(AG-L,125 mg/kg),high-dose AG group(AG-H,250 mg/kg)and high-dose AG+PKA inhibitor H-89 group(AG-H+H-89,250 mg/kg AG+2 mg/kg H-89),with 12 rats in each group.Epilepsy model of young rats was established by intraperitoneal injection of kainic acid(KA).Morris water maze test was used to detect learning and memory functions of rats.ELISA was used to detect levels of TNF-α,IL-10,malondialdehyde(MDA),superoxide dismutase(SOD)and cAMP in hippocampus of rats in each group.Histomorphology of hippo-campus was detected by Nissl staining.TUNEL test was usd to determine apoptosis rate of neurons in rat hippocampus.PKA and CREB mRNA expressions in hippocampus of rats in each group were detected by RT-qPCR.Western blot was used to detect protein expressions of PKA,Bax,Caspase-3,CREB,p-CREB and brain derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)in hippocampus of rats in each group.Results:Compared with control group,escape latency,TNF-α and MDA levels in hippocampus,apoptosis rate of nerve cells,Bax and Caspase-3 protein expressions in Model group were obviously increased(P<0.05),target quadrant residence time,SOD,IL-10,cAMP levels,PKA,CREB mRNA and protein expressions,BDNF protein expression in hippocampus were decreased obviously(P<0.05),hippocampal tissue showed pathological damage and a large number of Nissl bodies were lost.Compared with Model group,cor-responding indexes of rats in AG-H group were contrary to the above(P<0.05),loss of Nissl corpuscles was reduced.H-89 alleviated improvement of AG on neuroinflammation in young epileptic rats.Conclusion:AG may reduce neuroinflammation in young epileptic rats by activating cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling pathway.

Objective:To investigate the neuroprotective effect of vanillin on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis(EAE)rats by regulating C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12(CXCL12)/chemokine(C-X-C motif)receptor(CXCR4)signaling path-way.Methods:A total of 50 rats were injected with 400 μl guinea pig spinal cord and water in oil mixture of complete Freund's adju-vant to establish EAE rat model,and were divided into model group,low-dose vanillin group(50 mg/kg),medium-dose vanillin group(100 mg/kg),high-dose vanillin group(200 mg/kg)and positive drug group(5 mg/kg prednisone acetate),another 10 rats were only injected with the mixture of the same amount of normal saline and complete Freud adjuvant as control group,since the first day of mod-eling,all rats were given corresponding drugs by gavage for 16 consecutive days,and after modeling,rats in each group were scored for neurological function every day;HE and LFB staining were used to observe the pathology and demyelination of spinal cord in rats;levels of serum TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 were detected by ELISA;immunohistochemistry was used to detect expressions of CD68 and Iba-1 in spinal cord of rats;Western blot was used to detect expressions of CXCL12 and CXCR4 proteins in spinal cord of rats.Results:Compared with control group,rats in model group showed obvious infiltration of inflammatory cells,a large number of inflammatory cells gathered around the small blood vessels,and the structure of myelin sheath in spinal cord of rats was abnormal,accompanied by a large number of myelin sheath loss,the neurological function score,inflammatory infiltration score and demyelination score of spinal cord,serum TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 levels,spinal cord CD68 and Iba-1 proteins,CXCL12 and CXCR4 proteins expressions in-creased obviously(P<0.05);compared with model group,inflammatory cell infiltration and myelin sheath loss of rats in low,medium and high doses groups and positive drug group were obviously alleviated,neurological function score,inflammatory infiltration score and demyelination score of spinal cord,serum TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 levels,and expressions of CD68 and Iba-1 proteins in spinal cord decreased obviously(P<0.05),while expressions of CXCL12 and CXCR4 proteins in spinal cord further increased(P<0.05).Conclusion:Vanillin inhibits inflammatory response and alleviates nerve injury in EAE rats,and its mechanism may be related to acti-vation of CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling pathway.

Objective:To investigate effect of andrographolide(AG)on neuroinflammation in young epileptic rats by regulating cyclic adenosine monophosphate(cAMP)/protein kinase A(PKA)/cAMP response element binding protein(CREB)signaling pathway.Methods:SPF grade young SD rats were randomly divided into Control group,Model group,low-dose AG group(AG-L,125 mg/kg),high-dose AG group(AG-H,250 mg/kg)and high-dose AG+PKA inhibitor H-89 group(AG-H+H-89,250 mg/kg AG+2 mg/kg H-89),with 12 rats in each group.Epilepsy model of young rats was established by intraperitoneal injection of kainic acid(KA).Morris water maze test was used to detect learning and memory functions of rats.ELISA was used to detect levels of TNF-α,IL-10,malondialdehyde(MDA),superoxide dismutase(SOD)and cAMP in hippocampus of rats in each group.Histomorphology of hippo-campus was detected by Nissl staining.TUNEL test was usd to determine apoptosis rate of neurons in rat hippocampus.PKA and CREB mRNA expressions in hippocampus of rats in each group were detected by RT-qPCR.Western blot was used to detect protein expressions of PKA,Bax,Caspase-3,CREB,p-CREB and brain derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)in hippocampus of rats in each group.Results:Compared with control group,escape latency,TNF-α and MDA levels in hippocampus,apoptosis rate of nerve cells,Bax and Caspase-3 protein expressions in Model group were obviously increased(P<0.05),target quadrant residence time,SOD,IL-10,cAMP levels,PKA,CREB mRNA and protein expressions,BDNF protein expression in hippocampus were decreased obviously(P<0.05),hippocampal tissue showed pathological damage and a large number of Nissl bodies were lost.Compared with Model group,cor-responding indexes of rats in AG-H group were contrary to the above(P<0.05),loss of Nissl corpuscles was reduced.H-89 alleviated improvement of AG on neuroinflammation in young epileptic rats.Conclusion:AG may reduce neuroinflammation in young epileptic rats by activating cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling pathway.

Objective:To compare the differences in surgical safety and postoperative cosmetic effects between endoscopic nipple-sparing mastectomy with immediate prepectoral prosthesis breast reconstruction and conventional nipple-sparing mastectomy with immediate subpectoral prosthesis breast reconstruction.Methods:The clinical data of early breast cancer patients admitted to the Department of Breast Surgery of Peking University Peoples Hospital from Oct 1, 2022 to Sep 13, 2023 was retrospectively analyzed.Results:According to the surgical method, the patients were divided into endoscopic surgery group (30 cases) and traditional surgery group (46 cases). There were no significant differences in the basic clinicopathological data, and the number of sentinel lymph nodes taken and axillary lymph nodes dissected between the patients in two groups (all P>0.05). Compared with that in traditional surgery group, the patients in endoscopic surgery group had longer operation time and more wound drainage volumes 3 days after surgery (all P<0.05). There was no significant differences in the probability of postoperative complications between the patients in two groups (all P>0.05), however, the proportion of nipple-areola complex necrosis in patients of endoscopic surgery group (10.0%) was lower than that of traditional surgery group (26.1%). Conclusions:The single-port insufflation technique-assisted endoscopic nipple-sparing mastectomy with immediate prepectoral prosthesis breast reconstruction maximize the cosmetic effect. Under the premise of strict selection of indications, it can be an optional surgical method.

Objective To explore the relationship between serum iron(SI)metabolism and glucose and lipid metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods A total of 170 T2DM patients hospitalized in the Department of Endocrinology,Lanzhou University First Hospital from 2019 to 2021 were included.During the same period,30 healthy individuals from physical examination center were selected as the normal control(NC)group.Based on HbA1c control,T2DM patients were divided into subgroups with good blood glucose control(H1,HbA1c＜7%,n=39),poor glucose control(H2,7%＜HbA1c＜9%,n=63)and very poor glucose control(H3,HbA1c＞9%,n=68).According to the level of blood lipids,T2DM patients were divided into subgroups with normal blood lipids(L1,n=36)and high blood lipids(L2,n=134).Results Compared with NC group,age,SBP,DBP,BMI,serum ferritin(SF),FPG,FIns,HOMA-IR,TyG,TG,LDL-C and SUA increased inT2DM group(P＜0.05),while SI,TF,total iron binding capacity(TIBC),DI,HDL-C and eGFR decreased(P＜0.05).The levels of TF and TIBC in H3 subgroup were lower than those in H1 subgroup(P＜0.05).LDL-C of L2 subgroup was higher than that of L1 subgroup(P＜0.05),while HDL-C was lower than that of L1 subgroup(P＜0.05).Pearson correlation analysis showed that SF was positively correlated with HbA1c,TyG,TG and SUA(P＜0.05),and negatively correlated with HDL-C and eGFR(P＜0.05).TF was positively correlated with HDL-C and eGFR(P＜0.05),but negatively correlated with age,SBP,DBP,TyG and SUA(P＜0.05).Multiple linear regression analysis showed that SF and FPG were influencing factors for HbA1c in T2DM patients.Conclusion SI metabolism is closely related to glucose and lipid metabolism in T2DM patients.

Objective:To study the association of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) and advanced liver fibrosis with osteoporosis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods:Data was collected from 391 in-patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) from September 2019 to September 2020 at the Department of Endocrinology and Geriatric Medicine, Affiliated Huai′an First Hospital of Nanjing Medical University in this cross-sectional study. Participants were divided into T2DM with coexistent NAFLD(TCN) and with no NAFLD(TON) group via liver B-mode ultrasound.Also, the patients were divided into low and middle-high risk group via fibrosis index based on 4 factors index(FIB-4). Participant characteristics, laboratory results, and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry were obtained and analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association of NAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis with osteoporosis in T2DM. Interaction and stratified analyses were conducted according to age, sex, body mass index(BMI) and duration of diabetes(DD).Results:There was no significant difference in risk of osteoporosis and bone mineral density(BMD) loss between TCN and TON group(all P>0.05). After adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and DD, total hip BMD( β=-0.044, 95% CI -0.087--0.001, P=0.046) and lumbar L 1-L 4BMD( β=-0.044, 95% CI -0.087--0.002, P=0.044) were significantly reduced, and the risk of osteoporosis was significantly increased( OR=2.428, 95% CI 1.124-5.244, P=0.024) in FIB-4 middle-high risk group compared with low risk group. The subgroup analysis showed that overweight patients with T2DM had a significantly increased risk of osteoporosis( OR=4.240, 95% CI 1.637-10.987, interaction P=0.018) in FIB-4 middle-high risk group compared with low risk group. Conclusion:There was no significant difference in risk of osteoporosis and BMD loss between TCN and TON group. However, among T2DM patients who were overweight, NAFLD-related progressive liver fibrosis emerged as an independent risk factor for both BMD decline and the development of osteoporosis.

Recent studies have shown that the occurrence and development of common liver diseases, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer, are related to liver aging(LA). Therefore, to explore the effect and mechanism of Dahuang Zhechong Pills(DHZCP), a traditional classic prescription in improving LA with multiple targets, the present study randomly divided 24 rats into a normal group, a model group, a DHZCP group, and a vitamin E(VE) group, with six rats in each group. The LA model was induced by continuous intraperitoneal injection of D-galactose(D-gal) in rats. For the LA model rats, the general situation was evaluated by aging phenotype and body weight(BW). LA was assessed by the pathological characteristics of hepatocyte senescence, hepatic function indexes, the staining characteristics of phosphorylated histone family 2A variant(γ-H2AX), and the expression levels of cell cycle arrest proteins(P21, P53, P16) and senescence-associated secretory phenotype(SASP) in the liver. The activation of the reactive oxygen species(ROS)-mediated phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(Akt)/forkhead box protein O4(FoxO4) signaling pathway was estimated by hepatic ROS expression feature and the protein expression levels of the key signaling molecules in the PI3K/Akt/FoxO4 signaling pathway. The results showed that after the treatment with DHZCP or VE for 12 weeks, for the DHZCP and VE groups, the characterized aging phenotype, BW, pathological characteristics of hepatocyte senescence, hepatic function indexes, relative expression of ROS in the liver, protein expression levels of key signaling molecules including p-PI3K, p-Akt, and FoxO4 in the liver, staining characteristics of γ-H2AX, and the protein expression levels of P16, P21, P53, interleukin-6(IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in the liver were improved, and the effects of DHZCP and VE were similar. Based on the D-gal-induced LA model in rats, this study demonstrates that DHZCP can ameliorate LA with multiple targets in vivo, and its effects and mechanism are related to regulating the activation of the ROS-mediated PI3K/Akt/FoxO4 signaling pathway in the liver. These findings are expected to provide new pharmacological evidence for the treatment of DHZCP in aging-related liver diseases.
Animals ; Rats ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/genetics* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/genetics* ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/genetics* ; Signal Transduction ; Liver ; Aging ; Cell Cycle Proteins ; Interleukin-6

Objective:To analyze the preliminary explorations and practical effects of strengthening the process management of nursing special projects in a tertiary general hospital, so as to explore the refined management strategy of hospital projects and provide reference for improving the management level of the research project.Methods:This article takes a series of refined measures taken by the hospital in the process management of nursing special projects from August 2016 to August 2021 as the research example, including setting up subject directions around key disciplines, setting application conditions at different levels, standardizing selection procedures, strengthening mid-term assessments, strictly controlling final acceptance, establishing integrity files, and promoting the transformation of scientific achievements, etc. and these measures are deeply analyzed and discussed.Results:Through a series of measures, the hospital nursing team has significantly improved in terms of research paper publication, patent authorization, approval of projects above the bureau level, and nursing specialties ranking of Chinese hospital Science and Technology Evaluation Metrics (STEM) in the past six years.Conclusions:By strengthening the process management of nursing special research project, the construction level of nursing disciplines has been significantly improved, and the development of nursing disciplines has been greatly promoted.