OBJECTIVE: High-altitude hypoxia exposure often damages hippocampus-dependent learning and memory. Nogo-A is an important axonal growth inhibitory factor. However, its function in high-altitude hypoxia and its mechanism of action remain unclear. METHODS: In an in vivo study, a low-pressure oxygen chamber was used to simulate high-altitude hypoxia, and genetic or pharmacological intervention was used to block the Nogo-A/NgR1 signaling pathway. Contextual fear conditioning and Morris water maze behavioral tests were used to assess learning and memory in rats, and synaptic damage in the hippocampus and changes in oxidative stress levels were observed. In vitro, SH-SY5Y cells were used to assess oxidative stress and mitochondrial function with or without Nogo-A knockdown in Oxygen Glucose-Deprivation/Reperfusion (OGD/R) models. RESULTS: Exposure to acute high-altitude hypoxia for 3 or 7 days impaired learning and memory in rats, triggered oxidative stress in the hippocampal tissue, and reduced the dendritic spine density of hippocampal neurons. Blocking the Nogo-A/NgR1 pathway ameliorated oxidative stress, synaptic damage, and the learning and memory impairment induced by high-altitude exposure. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate the detrimental role of Nogo-A protein in mediating learning and memory impairment under high-altitude hypoxia and suggest the potential of the Nogo-A/NgR1 signaling pathway as a crucial therapeutic target for alleviating learning and memory dysfunction induced by high-altitude exposure. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT available in www.besjournal.com.
Animals ; Oxidative Stress ; Hippocampus/metabolism* ; Rats ; Nogo Proteins/genetics* ; Male ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Hypoxia/metabolism* ; Altitude ; Synapses ; Humans ; Altitude Sickness/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: Poxviruses are zoonotic pathogens that infect humans, mammals, vertebrates, and arthropods. However, the specific role of ticks in transmission and evolution of these viruses remains unclear. METHODS: Transcriptomic and metatranscriptomic raw data from 329 sampling pools of seven tick species across five continents were mined to assess the diversity and abundance of poxviruses. Chordopoxviral sequences were assembled and subjected to phylogenetic analysis to trace the origins of the unblasted fragments within these sequences. RESULTS: Fifty-eight poxvirus species, representing two subfamilies and 20 genera, were identified, with 212 poxviral sequences assembled. A substantial proportion of AT-rich fragments were detected in the assembled poxviral genomes. These genomic sequences contained fragments originating from rodents, archaea, and arthropods. CONCLUSION Our findings indicate that ticks play a significant role in the transmission and evolution of poxviruses. These viruses demonstrate the capacity to modulate virulence and adaptability through horizontal gene transfer, gene recombination, and gene mutations, thereby promoting co-existence and co-evolution with their hosts. This study advances understanding of the ecological dynamics of poxvirus transmission and evolution and highlights the potential role of ticks as vectors and vessels in these processes.
Animals ; Poxviridae/physiology* ; Ticks/virology* ; Phylogeny ; Transcriptome ; Evolution, Molecular ; Poxviridae Infections/virology* ; Genome, Viral

Objective:To investigate the heterogeneity of peripheral blood neutrophils in sepsis and provide reference for the diagnosis of sepsis.Methods:Twenty-four male C57BL/6 mice were divided into two groups, control and sepsis groups, with 12 mice in each group using a completely randomized design. The mice in the control group were injected with 100 μl saline through the tail vein, while the mice in the sepsis group were injected with an equal amount of Escherichia coli solution (3.33 McFarland turbidity standards) through the tail vein to establish the sepsis model. Peripheral blood samples were collected, and the proportions of neutrophils expressing different surface markers were detected using mass cytometry. GO and KEGG analyses were performed on neutrophil subsets with high CD62L expression, and public datasets were used for verification. The protein-protein interaction networks of CD62L were investigated to assess the value of neutrophil heterogeneity in the diagnosis of sepsis. Results:There were significant differences in the expression of markers in peripheral blood samples between the sepsis group and the control group. CD62L + neutrophil subsets were found in mice with sepsis. GO and KEGG analyses showed that CD62L + neutrophil subsets were associated with multiple biological processes and signaling pathways such as cell adhesion, migration, surface receptor activation, and immune regulation. Clinical results confirmed the correlation of neutrophil CD62L expression with the severity and prognosis of sepsis. The number of subpopulations expressing CD62L in peripheral blood neutrophils in the sepsis group was higher than that in the control group, but the expression level of CD62L in single cells in the sepsis group was significantly lower than that in the control group ( P<0.01). Protein-protein interaction network analysis showed strong interaction between CD62L and multiple important proteins such as P-selectin, P-selectin ligand, E-selectin, and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. Conclusion:There is heterogeneity in the surface markers of neutrophils between sepsis mice and control mice, which may be a potential indicator for the diagnosis of sepsis.

The angiogenic response is essential for the repair of ischemic brain tissue. Integrin α6 (Itga6) expression has been shown to increase under hypoxic conditions and is expressed exclusively in vascular structures; however, its role in post-ischemic angiogenesis remains poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate that mice with endothelial cell-specific knockout of Itga6 exhibit reduced neovascularization, reduced pericyte coverage on microvessels, and accelerated breakdown of microvascular integrity in the peri-infarct area. In vitro, endothelial cells with ITGA6 knockdown display reduced proliferation, migration, and tube-formation. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that ITGA6 regulates post-stroke angiogenesis through the PI3K/Akt-eNOS-VEGFA axis. Importantly, the specific overexpression of Itga6 in endothelial cells significantly enhanced neovascularization and enhanced the integrity of microvessels, leading to improved functional recovery. Our results suggest that endothelial cell Itga6 plays a crucial role in key steps of post-stroke angiogenesis, and may represent a promising therapeutic target for promoting recovery after stroke.
Animals ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III/metabolism* ; Mice ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; Integrin alpha6/genetics* ; Endothelial Cells/metabolism* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Stroke/pathology* ; Vascular Remodeling/physiology* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/metabolism* ; Mice, Knockout ; Signal Transduction/physiology* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Male ; Neovascularization, Physiologic/physiology*

Nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA), one of the most severe types of male infertility, etiology often remains unclear in most cases. Therefore, this study aimed to detect four biallelic detrimental variants (0.5%) in the minichromosome maintenance domain containing 2 ( MCMDC2 ) genes in 768 NOA patients by whole-exome sequencing (WES). Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) demonstrated that MCMDC2 deleterious variants caused meiotic arrest in three patients (c.1360G>T, c.1956G>T, and c.685C>T) and hypospermatogenesis in one patient (c.94G>T), as further confirmed through immunofluorescence (IF) staining. The single-cell RNA sequencing data indicated that MCMDC2 was substantially expressed during spermatogenesis. The variants were confirmed as deleterious and responsible for patient infertility through bioinformatics and in vitro experimental analyses. The results revealed four MCMDC2 variants related to NOA, which contributes to the current perception of the function of MCMDC2 in male fertility and presents new perspectives on the genetic etiology of NOA.
Humans ; Male ; Azoospermia/genetics* ; Meiosis/genetics* ; Spermatogenesis/genetics* ; Adult ; Exome Sequencing ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins/genetics* ; Alleles ; Infertility, Male/genetics*

Objective To investigate the correlation between the expression of microRNA-4319(miRNA-4319)and microRNA-4262(miRNA-4262)in early gastric carcinoma tissue and postoperative recurrence after endoscopic submucosal dissection(ESD).Methods From May 2018 to March 2020,396 patients with early gastric carcinoma who underwent ESD were regarded as the disease group,meantime,98 patients with normal gastric mucosa gastritis confirmed by pathological examination were as the control group.Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR)method was applied to detect the relative expression levels of miRNA-4319 and miRNA-4262 in tissues;follow up on postoperative recurrence of early gastric carcinoma patients,and the expression levels and clinical pathological characteristics of miRNA-4319 and miRNA-4262 were compared between recurrent and non recurrent patients.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze the influencing factors of recurrence in early gastric carcinoma patients after ESD;receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC curve)was applied to analyze the predictive value of miRNA-4319 and miRNA-4262 in early gastric carcinoma tissue for recurrence after ESD.Results The expression levels of miRNA-4319 and miRNA-4262 in the disease group were lower than those in the control group,the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05);The expression levels of miRNA-4319 and miRNA-4262 in the recurrence group were decreased,and the proportion of submucosal invasion was increased,the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).The depth of invasion to the submucosal level(OR=3.158,95％CI:1.395～7.151)was a risk factor for recurrence after ESD in patients with early gastric carcinoma(P＜0.05),and miRNA-4262 ≥ 0.76(OR=0.561,95％CI:0.370～0.852)and miRNA-4319 ≥ 0.69(OR=0.482,95％CI:0.255～0.911)were protective factors for recurrence after ESD in patients with early gastric carcinoma(P＜0.05);The area under the curve(AUC)of miRNA-4319,miRNA-4262 and their combination for predicting recurrence after ESD in patients with early gastric carcinoma was 0.889(95％CI:0.854～0.918),0.914(95％CI:0.882～0.940)and 0.964(95％CI:0.940～0.980),respectively,which was superior to the individual predictions of miRNA-4319 and miRNA-4262 respectively(P＜0.05).Conclusion MiRNA-4319 and miRNA-4262 are low expressed in tissues of early gastric carcinoma patients,they are closely related to postoperative recurrence after ESD.

Objective To investigate the correlation between the expression of microRNA-4319(miRNA-4319)and microRNA-4262(miRNA-4262)in early gastric carcinoma tissue and postoperative recurrence after endoscopic submucosal dissection(ESD).Methods From May 2018 to March 2020,396 patients with early gastric carcinoma who underwent ESD were regarded as the disease group,meantime,98 patients with normal gastric mucosa gastritis confirmed by pathological examination were as the control group.Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR)method was applied to detect the relative expression levels of miRNA-4319 and miRNA-4262 in tissues;follow up on postoperative recurrence of early gastric carcinoma patients,and the expression levels and clinical pathological characteristics of miRNA-4319 and miRNA-4262 were compared between recurrent and non recurrent patients.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze the influencing factors of recurrence in early gastric carcinoma patients after ESD;receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC curve)was applied to analyze the predictive value of miRNA-4319 and miRNA-4262 in early gastric carcinoma tissue for recurrence after ESD.Results The expression levels of miRNA-4319 and miRNA-4262 in the disease group were lower than those in the control group,the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05);The expression levels of miRNA-4319 and miRNA-4262 in the recurrence group were decreased,and the proportion of submucosal invasion was increased,the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).The depth of invasion to the submucosal level(OR=3.158,95％CI:1.395～7.151)was a risk factor for recurrence after ESD in patients with early gastric carcinoma(P＜0.05),and miRNA-4262 ≥ 0.76(OR=0.561,95％CI:0.370～0.852)and miRNA-4319 ≥ 0.69(OR=0.482,95％CI:0.255～0.911)were protective factors for recurrence after ESD in patients with early gastric carcinoma(P＜0.05);The area under the curve(AUC)of miRNA-4319,miRNA-4262 and their combination for predicting recurrence after ESD in patients with early gastric carcinoma was 0.889(95％CI:0.854～0.918),0.914(95％CI:0.882～0.940)and 0.964(95％CI:0.940～0.980),respectively,which was superior to the individual predictions of miRNA-4319 and miRNA-4262 respectively(P＜0.05).Conclusion MiRNA-4319 and miRNA-4262 are low expressed in tissues of early gastric carcinoma patients,they are closely related to postoperative recurrence after ESD.

Objective:To investigate the heterogeneity of peripheral blood neutrophils in sepsis and provide reference for the diagnosis of sepsis.Methods:Twenty-four male C57BL/6 mice were divided into two groups, control and sepsis groups, with 12 mice in each group using a completely randomized design. The mice in the control group were injected with 100 μl saline through the tail vein, while the mice in the sepsis group were injected with an equal amount of Escherichia coli solution (3.33 McFarland turbidity standards) through the tail vein to establish the sepsis model. Peripheral blood samples were collected, and the proportions of neutrophils expressing different surface markers were detected using mass cytometry. GO and KEGG analyses were performed on neutrophil subsets with high CD62L expression, and public datasets were used for verification. The protein-protein interaction networks of CD62L were investigated to assess the value of neutrophil heterogeneity in the diagnosis of sepsis. Results:There were significant differences in the expression of markers in peripheral blood samples between the sepsis group and the control group. CD62L + neutrophil subsets were found in mice with sepsis. GO and KEGG analyses showed that CD62L + neutrophil subsets were associated with multiple biological processes and signaling pathways such as cell adhesion, migration, surface receptor activation, and immune regulation. Clinical results confirmed the correlation of neutrophil CD62L expression with the severity and prognosis of sepsis. The number of subpopulations expressing CD62L in peripheral blood neutrophils in the sepsis group was higher than that in the control group, but the expression level of CD62L in single cells in the sepsis group was significantly lower than that in the control group ( P<0.01). Protein-protein interaction network analysis showed strong interaction between CD62L and multiple important proteins such as P-selectin, P-selectin ligand, E-selectin, and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. Conclusion:There is heterogeneity in the surface markers of neutrophils between sepsis mice and control mice, which may be a potential indicator for the diagnosis of sepsis.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a diabetic ocular complication that can lead to poor vision and blindness. This experiment aimed to investigate the ameliorative effect and its mechanism of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) eye drops on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) in rats. All experiments were approved by the Animal Research Committee of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Animal welfare and the animal experimental protocols were strictly consistent with related ethics regulations of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (No. PZSHUTCM 211115004). Diabetes mellitus was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ into rats. Two months later, PNS solution was dropped binocular twice per day at 6 h intervals at dose of 20, 40, and 80 mg·kg^-1 continuously for 1 month. The morphological structure and activation of microglia of the retina were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunohistochemical assay. The disruption of the blood-retina barrier (BRB) was conducted by the Evans blue dye leakage assay. The number of acellular capillaries in the retina was assessed by digesting and hematoxylin-eosin staining assay. The number of retinal leukocyte adhesion was observed by fluorescein isothiocyanate-coupled concanavalin A lectin labeling assay. The serum expression of inflammatory factors was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Western blot experiments were used to detect the expression of relevant proteins in retinal tissue and transcriptional activation of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB). The results revealed that PNS eye drops significantly increased the thickness of the retina, decreased the number of acellular capillaries, and up-regulated the expression of the tight junction proteins claudin-1 and occludin, thereby alleviating BRB damage. In addition, PNS eye drops were also able to significantly reduce leukocyte adhesion and microglia activation, the expression of inflammatory factors in serum, and the nuclear translocation of retinal p65 proteins, effectively inhibiting the occurrence of retinal inflammation. The above results showed that PNS eye drops played a role in improving NPDR by inhibiting the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway and reducing inflammation.

Objective The volume and cortical thickness of gray matter in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica (NMO) were compared and analyzed by voxel⁃based morphometry (VBM) and surface⁃based morphometry (SBM), and the differences in the structural changes of gray matter in the two diseases were discussed. Methods A total of 21 MS patients, 16 NMO patients and 19 healthy controls were scanned by routine MRI sequence. The data were processed and analyzed by VBM and SBM method based on the statistical parameter tool SPM12 of Matlab2014a platform and the small tool CAT12 under SPM12. Results Compared with the normal control group (NC), after Gaussian random field (GRF) correction, the gray matter volume in MS group was significantly reduced in left superior occipital, left cuneus, left calcarine, left precuneus, left postcentral, left central paracentral lobule, right cuneus, left middle frontal, left superior frontal and left superior medial frontal (P<0. 05). After family wise error (FWE) correction, the thickness of left paracentral, left superiorfrontal and left precuneus cortex in MS group was significantly reduced (P<0. 05). Compared with the NC group, after GRF correction, the gray matter volume in the left postcentral, left precentral, left inferior parietal, right precentral and right middle frontal in NMO group was significantly increased (P<0. 05). In NMO group, the volume of gray matter in left middle occipital, left superior occipital, left inferior temporal, right middle occipital, left superior frontal orbital, right middle cingulum, left anterior cingulum, right angular and left precuneus were significantly decreased (P<0. 05). Brain regions showed no significant differences in cortical thickness between NMO groups after FWE correction. Compared with the NMO group, after GRF correction, the gray matter volume in the right fusiform and right middle frontal in MS group was increased significantly(P<0. 05). In MS group, the gray matter volume of left thalamus, left pallidum, left precentral, left middle frontal, left middle temporal, right pallidum, left inferior parietal and right superior parietal were significantly decreased (P<0. 05). After FWE correction, the thickness of left inferiorparietal, left superiorparietal, left supramarginal, left paracentral, left superiorfrontal and left precuneus cortex in MS group decreased significantly (P<0. 05). Conclusion The atrophy of brain gray matter structure in MS patients mainly involves the left parietal region, while NMO patients are not sensitive to the change of brain gray matter structure. The significant difference in brain gray matter volume between MS patients and NMO patients is mainly located in the deep cerebral nucleus mass.