ABSTRACT
Objective@#To explore the protective effect of Yishen Tongluo Recipe (YTR) against aberrant sperm DNA methylation in male rats exposed to benzo(a)pyrene (BaP).@*METHODS@#Thirty male SD rats of the SPF grade were randomly divided into three groups of equal number: solvent control, BaP exposure and YTR intervention. The animals of the solvent control group were injected intraperitoneally with 0.5% DMSO while those of the other two groups with BaP at 0.1 mg/kg/d, all for 60 days, and at 31 days of BaP exposure, those of the YTR group were treated intragastrically with YTR for 30 days. Then, the left epididymides were harvested from all the rats and sperm suspensions collected and centrifuged for extraction of sperm DNA. The methylated DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeDIP-seq) technique was used to detect the whole-genome DNA methylation in different groups.@*RESULTS@#Exposure to BaP induced the up-regulation of 828 genes encoding mRNA in the sperm DNA, while YTR intervention produced a significant protective effect on the transforming growth factor β3 (TGF-β3), cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) and recombination activating gene 1 (RAG1), and down-regulated the expressions of 3 227 genes. BaP exposure also caused the up-regulation of 783 genes encoding lncRNA in the sperm DNA, and YTR treatment exhibited an evident protective effect on 62 of the up-regulated genes, induced the down-regulation of 3 378 genes, and showed a protective effect on 56 of the down-regulated genes.@*CONCLUSIONS@#YTR has a protective effect against aberrant sperm DNA methylation in male rats exposed to BaP, which may be associated with lncRNA.
ABSTRACT
With the globalisation of Chinese medicine (CM), the local CM education institutions were established in many other countries outside of China. These CM education institutions have formed a new mode in CM education after integrating with local culture, law and national conditions. This article takes New Zealand CM education institutions as an example to discuss the characteristics of CM education under the British education system, aiming to provide ideas on CM education in China and other countries.
ABSTRACT
In recent years, the incidences of male infertility and recurrent abortion are increasing. The causes of the conditions are varied and complex, but the affected stability of the genetic material in the sperm is an important etiological factor. Environmental pollutants may invade the body through respiration, diet and other channels, resulting in infertility and abortion or even affecting the reproductive system development of the offspring by changing the epigenetics of sperm DNA. In this paper, we propose the idea of using traditional Chinese medicine to prevent environmental pollutant-induced epigenetic changes of sperm DNA, hoping to provide a new insight into the protection against genetic material damage, male infertility, and recurrent abortion caused by environmental pollutants.