NDUFB11 and NDUFS3 regulate arterial atherosclerosis and venous thrombosis: Potential markers of atherosclerosis and venous thrombosis.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic disease that thickens the blood vessel walls and narrows the lumen. Venous thrombosis is a blood clot that forms in the body's deep veins or pulmonary arteries. However, the relationship between NDUFB11 and NDUFS3 and atherosclerosis and venous thrombosis is unclear. We employed data files that combined atherosclerosis and chronic stress groups. Subsequently, we conducted differential gene expression analysis (DEGs) and performed weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). We constructed and analyzed a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Further analyses included functional enrichment analysis, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), gene expression heatmaps, immune infiltration analysis, and mRNA analysis. By comparing our findings with the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD), we identified the most relevant diseases associated with the core genes. Additionally, we utilized TargetScan to screen for miRNAs regulating the central DEGs. To validate our results, we conducted Western Blot experiments at the cellular level. A total of 1747 DEGs were co-identified. According to the Gene Ontology (GO) analysis of differentially expressed genes, they were primarily enriched in mitochondrial gene expression, mitochondrial envelope, organelle membrane, and mitochondrial inner membrane categories. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that the target cells were mainly enriched in metabolic pathways, ribosomes, and histidine metabolism. The intersection of enriched terms from both GO and KEGG analyses showed significant enrichment in mitochondrial gene expression, mitochondrial envelope, organelle inner membrane, ribosomal structural constituents, histidine metabolism, and oxidative phosphorylation. Eight core genes were identified, including NDUFS5, UQCRQ, COX6C, COX7B, ATP5ME, NDUFS3, NDUFA3, and NDUFB11. The gene expression heatmap demonstrated that core genes (NDUFB11 and NDUFS3) were downregulated in atherosclerosis with venous thrombosis samples and upregulated in normal samples. CTD analysis revealed that the core genes NDUFB11 and NDUFS3 were associated with pain, arterial diseases, atherosclerosis, arteritis, venous thrombosis formation, and venous thromboembolism. We added Western Blot basic cell experiment for verification. NDUFB11 and NDUFS3 are downregulated in atherosclerosis and venous thrombosis, associated with poorer prognosis, and may serve as potential biomarkers for both diseases.

The immunogenicity and protection effect of the BPL-inactivated CA16 vaccine in different animal systems.

We evaluated the effect of a ß-propiolactone (BPL)-inactivated coxsackievirus A16 (CA16) vaccine, using three immunogenicity evaluation and two animal challenge systems. A CA16 virus strain, named 419, was used as the production strain. Another CA16 strain, named 1131, was isolated and used as the challenge strain in intracerebral inoculation of neonatal mice for the calculation of median lethal dose (LD 50). In the passive and maternal antibody-protection challenge systems, all results indicated that the vaccine could protect mouse pups from lethal challenge with the CA16 virus. In the immunogenicity systems, three types of animal (mouse, rat, and cynomolgus monkey), were immunized with the 419/CA16 vaccine. The dose-effect relationship and the antibody-generation routine were described. The CA16 vaccine induced a more potent serum antibody effect in rat than in mouse. The serum antibody titer was detectable more than 63 days after the initial vaccination. We also identified tools to evaluate the effect of the BPL-inactivated CA16 vaccine.

Effects of simulated acid rain on fertility of litchi.

The regulatory role of calcium in fertility of pollen and pistil under simulated acid rain was investigated. The germination percentage of pollen treated with acid rain of pH 4.5 was 9.42% lower than that of control, and that of pH 3.5, pH 2.5 and pH 1.5 were 22.47%, 45.49% and 71.62%, respectively. Simultaneously, the injury character of pollen was obviously observed when flowers were treated with acid rain of pH 3.5. The difference in fruit setting rate between the female flower treated with acid rain of pH 4.0 and the control was significant at p < 0.05. Ca(NO3)2 of 0.2-0.4 mmol/L could promote pollen germination under the stress of acid rain. The beneficial function was reduced when calcium concentration surpassed 0.8 mmol/L. Spraying 2 mmol/L Ca(NO3)2 reduced the injury of acid rain to pistil and increased fruit-setting rate significantly. The physiological importance of calcium during pollen germination and pistil development was also discussed.