Objective To compare the early embryonic developmental potential and clinical outcomes of oocytes matured in vivo and those matured by modified in vitro maturation(LVM)technology during the same controlled ovarian hyperstimulation(COH)cycle,and to explore the clinical application of melatonin-supplemented IVM technology.Methods 159 patients were recruited into the study.920 mature oocytes were collected during their COH cycles processed for conventional IVF/ICSI protocols,while 1 283 immature oocytes from the same cycles were matured in a melatonin-supplemented IVM medium before ICSI was performed.A retrospective analysis was conducted to compare the impact of conventional assisted reproductive technology and improved IVM technology on the outcomes of assisted reproductive therapy and pregnancy outcomes.Results Compared with mature oocytes collected from COH cycles treated with conventional IVF/ICSI,oocytes promoted by improved melatonin-supple-mented IVM technology had a lower rate of high-quality blastocyst formation.However,after embryo transfer,there was no significant difference in the clinical outcomes of mature oocytes obtained through two methods,including clinical pregnancy rate,full-term birth rate,neonatal length,and neonatal Apgar score.Conclusion The applica-tion of melatonin-supplemented IVM significantly increases the utilization of immature oocytes collected from COH cycles,improving the pregnancy outcomes of patients assisted by assisted reproductive technology.

Objective To investigate the protective effect of hyperoside(Hyp)on transverse aortic constriction-in-duced cardiac hypertrophy and its possible mechanism.Methods Forty 8-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into four groups:Sham group,TAC group,Hyp+TAC group and Hyp+ML385+TAC group.Four weeks after operation,cardiac function including left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),left ventricular fractional shortening(LVFS)and left ventricular end-diastolic posterior wall thickness(LVPWd)were measured with echocardiography.HE staining was used to evaluate the myocyte cross-sectional area.Masson staining was used to determine myocardial fibrosis.The ratio of heart weight/body weight was calculated.DHE staining was used to assess reactive oxygen species(ROS)production.The mRNA levels of atrial natriuretic peptide(ANP),brain natriuretic peptide(BNP)and β-myosin heavy chain(β-MHC)were detected by qRT-PCR.The protein levels of NF-E2-related factor 2(Nrf2),heme oxygenase-1(HO-1),superoxide dismutase2(SOD2)and NAD-PH-Oxidase 2(gp91phox)were detected by Western blot.Differences among groups were compared by one-way a-nalysis of variance,and LSD-t test was used for comparison between the two groups.Results Compared with the Sham group,the values of LVEF and LVFS in the TAC group decreased(P＜0.01).The value of LVPWd,the cross-sectional area,fibrosis and the ratio of HW/BW increased(P＜0.01).The mRNA levels of ANP,BNP andβ-MHC were upregulated(P＜0.01).The ROS production and gp91phox protein level were elevated in the TAC group(P＜0.01),while the protein levels of Nrf2,HO-1 and SOD2 decreased(P＜0.01).Compared with the TAC group,the values of LVEF and LVFS in the Hyp+TAC group increased(P＜0.01).The value of LVPWd,the cross-sectional area,fibrosis and the ratio of HW/BW decreased(P＜0.01).The mRNA levels of ANP,BNP and β-MHC were downregulated(P＜0.01).The ROS production and gp91 phox protein levels were reduced in the Hyp+TAC group(P＜0.01),while the protein levels of Nrf2,HO-1 and SOD2 increased(P＜0.01).However,ML385 could partially reverse the protective effects of Hyp on TAC-induced cardiac hypertrophy.Conclusion Hyp alleviates pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy by inhibiting oxidative stress and fibrosis,and its mechanism may be related to Nrf2/HO-1 signaling.

Objective:To analyze the mechanism of Jindan Tablets, Xiaoyan Lidan Tablets and ursodeoxycholic acid in the treatment of gallstone and cholecystitis based on network pharmacology; To conduct a comparative analysis.Methods:The chemical components of Jindan Tablets, Xiaoyan Lidan Tablets and ursodeoxycholic acid and their drug targets were collected from Traditional Chinese Medicine Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP). DAVID 6.8 database was used to search for the associated diseases of the drug targets. The disease targets of gallstone and cholecystitis were collected from GeneCards and other databases. The protein-protein interactions network was established based on the intersecting targets of three drugs and two diseases. KEGG enrichment analysis was performed based on the DAVID 6.8 database. Cytoscape 3.7.1 software was used to construct a complex network and topology analysis of component- target- disease between three drugs and diseases.Results:222 chemical components and 3 133 drug targets were collected for Jindan Tablets. 104 chemical components and 1 425 action targets were collected for Xiaoyan Lidan Tablets. 1 chemical component and 119 action targets were collected for ursodeoxycholic acid. The three drugs were associated with 31 diseases. 1 382 disease targets for gallstones and cholecystitis were collected. There were 237, 163 and 33 targets for gallstones and cholecystitis in the three drugs, of which 17 were shared by the three drugs and 20 were shared by Jindan Tablets and Xiaoyan Lidan Tablets. Based on the DAVID database, 113, 74 and 10 significant KEGG enrichment pathways were obtained for the three drugs respectively.Conclusions:The three drugs shared many targets and pathways in the treatment of gallstones and cholecystitis, which all had the function of regulating metabolism and inhibiting inflammatory response, while participating in apoptosis, oxidative stress and cancer pathology process. However, they had their own special effects, with Jindan Tablets favoring involving in the cancer process and inhibition of inflammation, and promoting angiogenesis. Xiaoyan Lidan Tablets and ursodeoxycholic acid focused on regulating cholesterol metabolism, and Xiaoyan Lidan Tablets also regulated steroid metabolism and inhibit inflammation, while ursodeoxycholic acid regulated bile acid metabolism.

L-theanine has been shown to have a therapeutic effect on depression.However,whether L-theanine has an excellent preventive effect on depression in children and adolescents and what its mechanism is have not been well explained.Given the complexity of the pathogenesis of depression,this study investigated the preventive effect and mechanism of L-theanine on depression in juvenile rats by combining serum and hippocampal metabolomic strategies.Behavioral tests,hippocampal tissue sections,and serum and hippocampal biochemical indexes were studied,and the results confirmed the preventive effect of L-theanine.Untargeted reversed-phase liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spec-trometry and targeted hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spec-trometry were developed to analyze the metabolism changes in the serum and hippocampus to screen for potential biomarkers related to L-theanine treatment.The results suggested that 28 abnormal me-tabolites in the serum and hippocampus that were considered as potential biomarkers returned to near-normal levels after L-theanine administration.These biomarkers were involved in various metabolic pathways,mainly including amino acid metabolism and lipid metabolism.The levels of amino acids and neurotransmitters in the phenylalanine,tryptophan,and glutamic acid pathways were significantly reduced after L-theanine administration compared with chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced rats.In summary,L-theanine had a significant preventive effect on depression and achieved its preventive results on depression by regulating various aspects of the body,such as amino acids,lipids,and inflammation.This research systematically analyzed the mechanism of L-theanine in preventing depression and laid the foundation for applying L-theanine to prevent depression in children and adolescents.

Objective To study the effects of three ferroptosis inducers Erastin (Era), sulfasalazine (SASP) and artesunate (Art) alone or combined with gemcitabine hydrochloride (hcGEM) on the proliferation inhibition of Human pancreatic cell line PANC -1. Methods The CCK-8 method was used to detect the inhibitory effects of different concentrations of Era, SASP and Art alone or combined with hcGEM on the proliferation of PANC-1, and the combination index (CI) was used to judge whether three ferroptosis inducers combined with hcGEM had synergistic inhibitory effect on PANC-1. Results The three ferroptosis inducers and hcGEM alone or in combination could significantly inhibit the activity of PANC-1. The inhibitory effects were enhanced with the concentration increasing. The CI values of hcGEM-Era 4∶1 or 1∶4 combination group and hcGEM-SASP 1∶400 combination group were less than 1.The CI values of hcGEM-Art 1∶4 or 1∶16 combination group were less than 1 only within a certain concentration range. Conclusion The inhibitory effects of the three ferroptosis inducers and hcGEM alone or in combination were dose-dependent. The combination of hcGEM and three ferroptosis inducers could synergistically inhibit the proliferation of PANC-1.

Cucurbitaceae is an important family of flowering plants containing multiple species of important food plants, such as melons, cucumbers, squashes, and pumpkins. However, a highly efficient genetic transformation system has not been established for most of these species (Nanasato and Tabei, 2020). Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), an economically important and globally cultivated fruit crop, is a model species for fruit quality research due to its rich diversity of fruit size, shape, flavor, aroma, texture, peel and flesh color, and nutritional composition (Guo et al., 2019). Through pan-genome sequencing, many candidate loci associated with fruit quality traits have been identified (Guo et al., 2019). However, few of these loci have been validated. The major barrier is the low transformation efficiency of the species, with only few successful cases of genetic transformation reported so far (Tian et al., 2017; Feng et al., 2021; Wang JF et al., 2021; Wang YP et al., 2021). For example, Tian et al. (2017) obtained only 16 transgenic lines from about 960 cotyledon fragments, yielding a transformation efficiency of 1.67%. Therefore, efficient genetic transformation could not only facilitate the functional genomic studies in watermelon as well as other horticultural species, but also speed up the transgenic and genome-editing breeding.
CRISPR-Cas Systems ; Citrullus/genetics* ; Cucurbitaceae/genetics* ; Gene Editing ; Plant Breeding ; Transformation, Genetic

Objective:To establish a multilocus sequence typing (MLST) assay for Corynebacterium ( C.) striatum, explore the population structure and evolution relationship of clinical isolates of C. striatum. Methods:Seven housekeeping genes ( gyrA, gyrB, hsp65, sodA, secA1, rpoB, 16S rRNA) were amplified with PCR by using self-designed specific primers and sequenced. Then, the sequences were assembled with software SeqMan. The gene diversity and gene recombination characteristics were evaluated by using software DnaSP 5.10.01 and Splits tree 4.14.2. The phylogenetic tree and the minimum spanning tree were constructed based on the sequence types (ST) characteristics by using software MEGA 7.0.14 and BioNumerics, respectively. In addition, the genetic evolutionary relationship among STs were analyzed by using software eBURST 3.0. Results:The expected amplification products of seven sites selected in all the test strains were obtained. Splits tree showed that the clustering of all C. striatum strains was consistent, suggesting that gene recombination is the potential driving force for the evolution of C. striatum. All of the 344 C.striatum strains were divided into 72 STs by MLST and 85.7% of the strains formed clonal complexes. CC19 was the predominant clonal complex, whereas ST16 in the clonal complex was detected in the most strains. ST had a certain geographic clustering and a certain correlation with the isolation time. Conclusions:C. striatum showed high genetic diversity in China and CC19 was the predominant clonal complex. The MLST assay established in this study can be used for the typing of C. striatum, but further improvement is needed.

Objective:To analyze the survival benefits and treatment related toxic effects of simultaneous integrated boost intensity-modulated radiotherapy (SIB-RT) for non-operative esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients.Methods:The data of 2 132 ESCC patients who were not suitable for surgery or rejected operation, and underwent radical radiotherapy from 2002 to 2016 in 10 hospitals of Jing-Jin-Ji Esophageal and Esophagogastric Cancer Radiotherapy Oncology Group (3JECROG) were analyzed. Among them, 518 (24.3%) cases underwent SIB (SIB group) and 1 614 (75.7%) cases did not receive SIB (No-SIB group). The two groups were matched with 1∶2 according to propensity score matching (PSM) method (caliper value=0.02). After PSM, 515 patients in SIB group and 977 patients in No-SIB group were enrolled. Prognosis and treatment related adverse effects of these two groups were compared and the independent prognostic factor were analyzed.Results:The median follow-up time was 61.7 months. Prior to PSM, the 1-, 3-, and 5-years overall survival (OS) rates of SIB group were 72.2%, 42.8%, 35.5%, while of No-SIB group were 74.3%, 41.4%, 31.9%, respectively ( P=0.549). After PSM, the 1-, 3-, and 5-years OS rates of the two groups were 72.5%, 43.4%, 36.4% and 75.3%, 41.7%, 31.6%, respectively ( P=0.690). The univariate survival analysis of samples after PSM showed that the lesion location, length, T stage, N stage, TNM stage, simultaneous chemoradiotherapy, gross tumor volume (GTV) and underwent SIB-RT or not were significantly associated with the prognosis of advanced esophageal carcinoma patients who underwent radical radiotherapy ( P<0.05). Cox model multivariate regression analysis showed lesion location, TNM stage, GTV and simultaneous chemoradiotherapy were independent prognostic factors of advanced esophageal carcinoma patients who underwent radical radiotherapy ( P<0.05). Stratified analysis showed that, in the patients whose GTV volume≤50 cm 3, the median survival time of SIB and No-SIB group was 34.7 and 30.3 months ( P=0.155), respectively. In the patients whose GTV volume>50 cm 3, the median survival time of SIB and No-SIB group was 16.1 and 20.1 months ( P=0.218). The incidence of radiation esophagitis and radiation pneumonitis above Grade 3 in SIB group were 4.3% and 2.5%, significantly lower than 13.1% and 11% of No-SIB group ( P<0.001). Conclusions:The survival benefit of SIB-RT in patients with locally advanced esophageal carcinoma is not inferior to non-SIB-RT, but without more adverse reactions, and shortens the treatment time. SIB-RT can be used as one option of the radical radiotherapy for locally advanced esophageal cancer.

Objective:To analyze the survival benefits and treatment related toxic effects of simultaneous integrated boost intensity-modulated radiotherapy (SIB-RT) for non-operative esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients.Methods:The data of 2 132 ESCC patients who were not suitable for surgery or rejected operation, and underwent radical radiotherapy from 2002 to 2016 in 10 hospitals of Jing-Jin-Ji Esophageal and Esophagogastric Cancer Radiotherapy Oncology Group (3JECROG) were analyzed. Among them, 518 (24.3%) cases underwent SIB (SIB group) and 1 614 (75.7%) cases did not receive SIB (No-SIB group). The two groups were matched with 1∶2 according to propensity score matching (PSM) method (caliper value=0.02). After PSM, 515 patients in SIB group and 977 patients in No-SIB group were enrolled. Prognosis and treatment related adverse effects of these two groups were compared and the independent prognostic factor were analyzed.Results:The median follow-up time was 61.7 months. Prior to PSM, the 1-, 3-, and 5-years overall survival (OS) rates of SIB group were 72.2%, 42.8%, 35.5%, while of No-SIB group were 74.3%, 41.4%, 31.9%, respectively ( P=0.549). After PSM, the 1-, 3-, and 5-years OS rates of the two groups were 72.5%, 43.4%, 36.4% and 75.3%, 41.7%, 31.6%, respectively ( P=0.690). The univariate survival analysis of samples after PSM showed that the lesion location, length, T stage, N stage, TNM stage, simultaneous chemoradiotherapy, gross tumor volume (GTV) and underwent SIB-RT or not were significantly associated with the prognosis of advanced esophageal carcinoma patients who underwent radical radiotherapy ( P<0.05). Cox model multivariate regression analysis showed lesion location, TNM stage, GTV and simultaneous chemoradiotherapy were independent prognostic factors of advanced esophageal carcinoma patients who underwent radical radiotherapy ( P<0.05). Stratified analysis showed that, in the patients whose GTV volume≤50 cm 3, the median survival time of SIB and No-SIB group was 34.7 and 30.3 months ( P=0.155), respectively. In the patients whose GTV volume>50 cm 3, the median survival time of SIB and No-SIB group was 16.1 and 20.1 months ( P=0.218). The incidence of radiation esophagitis and radiation pneumonitis above Grade 3 in SIB group were 4.3% and 2.5%, significantly lower than 13.1% and 11% of No-SIB group ( P<0.001). Conclusions:The survival benefit of SIB-RT in patients with locally advanced esophageal carcinoma is not inferior to non-SIB-RT, but without more adverse reactions, and shortens the treatment time. SIB-RT can be used as one option of the radical radiotherapy for locally advanced esophageal cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic factors of T1-2N0M0 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated with definitive radiotherapy. Methods: The clinical data of 196 patients with T1-2N0M0 ESCC who were treated with definitive radiotherapy in 10 hospitals were retrospectively analyzed. All sites were members of Jing-Jin-Ji Esophageal and Esophagogastric Cancer Radiotherapy Oncology Group (3JECROG). Radiochemotherapy were applied to 78 patients, while the other 118 patients received radiotherapy only. 96 patients were treated with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) and 100 treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). The median dose of plan target volume(PTV) and gross target volume(GTV) were both 60 Gy. The median follow-up time was 59.2 months. Log rank test and Cox regression analysis were used for univariat and multivariate analysis, respectively. Results: The percentage of normal lung receiving at least 20 Gy (V₂₀) was (18.65±7.20)%, with average dose of (10.81±42.05) Gy. The percentage of normal heart receiving at least 30 Gy (V₃₀) was (14.21±12.28)%. The maximum dose of exposure in spinal cord was (39.65±8.13) Gy. The incidence of radiation pneumonia and radiation esophagitis were 14.80%(29/196) and 65.82%(129/196), respectively. The adverse events were mostly grade 1-2, without grade 4 toxicity. Median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 70.1 months and 62.3 months, respectively. The 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates of all patients were 75.1%、57.4% and 53.2%, respectively. The 1-, 3- and 5-year PFS rates were 75.1%、57.4% and 53.2%, respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that patients′age (HR=1.023, P=0.038) and tumor diameter (HR=1.243, P=0.028)were the independent prognostic factors for OS, while tumor volume were the independent prognostic factor for PFS. Conclusions Definitive radiotherapy is a promising therapeutic method in patients with T1-2N0M0 ESCC. Patients′ age, tumor diameter and tumor volume may impact patients′ prognosis.