ABSTRACT
Resveratrol (3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene, RSV) has been widely used in mammalian cells, but whether it can be used during freezing boar semen is still unknown. The effects of RSV treatment during boar semen freezing on its anti-freezing ability, apoptosis, and possible apoptotic pathways were observed in this study. Sperm motility, mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-positive apoptotic state, and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels of apoptotic genes involved in different apoptotic pathways after freezing with or without RSV treatment were tested. The results showed that: (1) Compared with fresh sperm, the motility, normal acrosome rate, and plasma membrane integrity rate of frozen boar sperm decreased significantly (P0.05), but it did significantly improve the normal acrosome rate (57.65% vs. 47.00%, P<0.05) and plasma membrane integrity rate (46.67% vs. 38.85%, P<0.05). (2) After freezing, most boar sperm showed low mitochondrial ΔΨ. RSV treatment could increase the rate of high mitochondrial ΔΨ of boar sperm. (3) RSV treatment significantly decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels (58.65% vs. 88.41%, P<0.05) and increased the ATP content (0.49 μmol/L vs. 0.25 μmol/L, P<0.05) of boar sperm during freezing. (4) The apoptotic rate of the freezing group (80.41%) with TUNEL detection increased significantly compared to the fresh group (9.70%, P<0.05), and RSV treatment greatly decreased the apoptotic rate (68.32%, P<0.05). (5) Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) showed that not only the genes from the death receptor-mediated apoptotic pathway (tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), Fas ligand (FasL), and Caspase-8), but also the genes from the mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway (manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), and Caspase-9) were both significantly changed after freezing. RSV treatment during freezing greatly changed their expression levels. Although RSV treatment during boar semen freezing did not significantly increase motility after thawing, it still played an efficient antioxidant role, which could enhance the mitochondrial function and decrease the apoptotic level induced by both the death receptor- and mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathways.
ABSTRACT
@#Objective To explore the pathogen distribution, changes of cardiorespiratory function and changes of serum inflammatory factors in old patients with cardiac failure complicated with pulmonary infection. Methods A total of 153 cardiac failure patients hospitalized in our hospital from March 2014 to September 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into pulmonary infected group (n=76) and non-infected group (n=77). Another 82 healthy subjects were served as control group. The respiratory secretions were collected to detect pathogen distribution in infected group. The changes of cardiac and pulmonary functions and peripheral blood inflammatory factors were compared between the three groups. Results A total of 110 pathogens were isolated from infected group, which contained 81 (73.63%) gram negative strains, 27 (24.55%) gram positive strains and 2 (1.82%) fungus. Compared with the control group and non-infected group, the lung function index and pulmonary function decreased significantly in the infected group, containing forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC, carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLCO), maximum mid expiratory flow (MMEF), left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD) and left ventricular end-systolic dimension (LVESD). Meanwhile, the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) –α, interleukin (IL)-6 and procalcitonin (PCT) were significantly higher in the infected group than those in the non-infected group and the control group (P＜0.05). Conclusion Gram negative strains dominate in pulmonary infection of old patients with cardiac failure, and the cardiopulmonary function is significantly decreased due to the infection, whereas the serum levels of inflammatory factors are dramatically increased, which has an auxiliary value in the evaluation of pulmonary infection.