Development and properties evaluation of multi-strain probiotic with cholesterol-lowering potential in vitro.

Probiotics have a cholesterol-lowering effect. Multi-strain probiotics (MSPs) outperformed single-strain probiotics due to the interaction of strains. Hence, we expect to develop a high-efficiency MSP for lowering cholesterol. Three strains, including Lactobacillus caseiS1, Enterococcus faeciumS4, and L. harbinensisS6, were used to develop the MSPs. To evaluate their effect, gastrointestinal tolerance, bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity, cholesterol-lowering rate, antioxidant ability, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) production, and antibiotic sensitivity were determined. The triple lactic acid bacteria probiotic (TLP) was the most efficient one. After 24 h treatment with artificial gastric fluid, 47.88% of TLP survived. TLP exhibited the highest BSH activity (149.40 U·ml-1) and cholesterol-lowering rate (75.05%) in vitro, with co-precipitation reducing the majority of cholesterol. The reducing power and superoxide radical scavenging rate of the cell-free supernatant and the hydroxyl radical scavenging rate in viable cells were 1.52, 85.03%, and 89.66%, respectively, and the GABA production was 0.67 mg·ml-1, which enhanced the health benefit effects. By fuzzy mathematical analysis, TLP was the optimal probiotic and was competitive with commercial probiotics. The three strains were susceptible to 13 antibiotics. Therefore, TLP has the potential to develop into a cholesterol-lowering probiotic preparation.

Assessment of passive human exposure to tobacco smoke by environmental and biological monitoring in different public places in Wuhan, central China.

Passive exposure to tobacco smoke is a global public health problem, while there are few data on public place monitoring and general population exposure assessment in central China. This study aimed to examine the levels of airborne nicotine (n = 256) in ten kinds of different public places in Wuhan, central China, and assess short-term and long-term smoke exposure in 340 non-smokers aged 18-67 who worked in these public places using tobacco biomarkers [i.e., cotinine and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL), respectively]. The highest median concentration of airborne nicotine (17.0 µg/m3) was observed in internet cafes, approximately 304-fold of the lowest value found in nurseries (55.9 ng/m3). Among the other studied public places, restaurants had the highest median concentrations (ng/m3) of airborne nicotine (3,120), followed by subway stations (810), hotels (624), government officess (286), middle schools (269), health institutions (268), public institutions (190), and primary schools (140). Urinary cotinine and NNAL were found in almost all the participants, and the highest concentrations were found in non-smokers from the internet cafes [specific gravity (SG)-corrected urinary median concentrations: 23.1 ng/mL, geometric mean (GM): 24.1 ng/mL, range: 0.62-1679 ng/mL] for cotinine and 104 pg/mL (GM: 97.6 pg/mL, range: 32.3-236 pg/mL) for NNAL, respectively]. Urinary cotinine concentrations in male non-smokers (median: 2.02 ng/mL) were significantly higher than those in female non-smokers (1.44) (P < 0.01). Participants aged 18-27 were detected with the highest urinary cotinine and NNAL concentrations. Urinary cotinine and NNAL concentrations were significantly correlated with daily and monthly working hours, respectively. Besides, a positive correlation was observed between log-transformed urinary concentrations of cotinine and NNAL (r = 0.32, P < 0.001). This is the first time to report matched data on airborne nicotine and urinary cotinine/NNAL among employees in different public places. This study demonstrated ubiquitous exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in the studied public places.

Exploring health literacy in Wuhan, China: a cross-sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, research on health literacy has become increasingly focused on the health care system and public health. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate health literacy and analyse the risk factors that affect health literacy in Wuhan, China. METHODS: Multistage stratified random sampling was used to select 5304 urban and rural residents aged 15 to 69 years from 204 monitoring points in 15 districts of Wuhan. Using the Chinese Citizen Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) (2018 edition), a face-to-face survey was conducted from November to December 2018. Risk factors that may affect health literacy were assessed using the Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: The knowledge rate of health literacy was relatively low (19.3%). The knowledge rate of health-related behaviour and lifestyle (BAL, 17.3%) was the lowest of the three aspects of health literacy, and the knowledge rate of chronic diseases (CD, 19.0%) was the lowest of the six dimensions of health literacy. Respondents who lived in urban areas, had higher education levels, worked as medical staff, had a higher household income and did not suffer from chronic diseases were likely to have higher health literacy. CONCLUSIONS: The health literacy levels of citizens in Wuhan are insufficient and need to improve.

Health-related behaviors preventing COVID-19 and associated factors in primary school students in Wuhan / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To understand the level of health behaviors related to prevention and control of Corona Virus Disease 2019, COVID-19 among primary school students in Wuhan during the epidemic, and to provide a basis for further targeted health education and promotion.@*Methods@#Stratified random sampling was used to select 12 primary schools in Wuhan. Relying on the "questionnaire star", the head teacher of the selected school sent the questionnaire link to students through the QQ or WeChat group, and all students participated in the survey voluntarily.@*Results@#A total of 8 569 valid questionnaires were collected. The rate of prevention and control of COVID-19 among primary school students in Wuhan was 39.3%. Among them, wearing masks, hand hygiene and other healthy behavior accounted for 53.4%, 42.0% and 75.2%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that girl, grade 3-4 and 5-6, higher maternal education (>graduate degree) were more likely to have overall health behaviors in the prevention and control of COVID-19, and the OR values were 1.13(95%CI=1.04-1.24), 1.18(95%CI=1.06-1.31) 1.58(95%CI=1.41-1.75) and 1.62(95%CI=1.00-2.62)(P<0.05), respectively. Compared with fathers whose occupations were state agencies, managers of enterprises and institutions, students whose fathers’ occupations were professional technicians and ordinary employees were less likely to have level of overall health behaviors in the prevention and control of COVID-19, and the OR values were 0.78(95%CI=0.61-0.99) and 0.72(95%CI=0.58-0.90)(P<0.05), respectively.@*Conclusion@#The level of health behaviors of primary school children in Wuhan against COVID-19 was not high and targeted health education and promotion should be provided.

C1q/TNF-related protein-3 exerts the chondroprotective effects in IL-1ß-treated SW1353 cells by regulating the FGFR1 signaling.

Cartilage degeneration is known as a major cause of osteoarthritis (OA). C1q/TNF-related protein-3 (CTRP3) is an adipokine relative to chondrogenesis in vitro. However, its effect on cartilage degeneration in OA remains unclearly. In the present study, SW1353 cells were treated with IL-1ß to imitate the microenvironment of OA for vitro research. Then, an obvious down-regulation of CTRP3 were validated in IL-1ß-treated SW1353 cells. In addition, CTRP3 overexpression significantly attenuated the decrease in cell proliferation and increase in cell apoptosis triggered by IL-1ß. Moreover, CTRP3 up-regulation significantly inhibited the expression of FGFR1, but with slight decrease in FGFR3 levels. Further analysis corroborated that FGFR1 overexpression markedly ameliorated the pro-proliferation and anti-apoptotic effects of CTRP3 elevation in cells upon IL-1ß. Down-regulation of FGFR1 attenuated the increase in Ras-GTP expression caused by IL-1ß stimulation. Moreover, EGFR1 elevation also abated the inhibitory effect of CTRP3 on Ras expression and the CRTP3-induced activation of PI3K/AKT in cells upon IL-1ß. Furthermore, Ras inhibitor manumycin A antagonized the decrease in phosphorylation of PI3K and Akt caused by IL-1ß treatment. Both Manumycin A and PI3K/Akt agonist FGF-1 attenuated the inhibitory effect of IL-1ß on cell growth. Together, this research suggested that CTRP3 might protect chondrocytes against IL-1ß-induced injury by suppressing the FGFR1- Ras/PI3K/Akt signaling-mediated growth inhibitory pathway, indicating a potential agent against osteoarthritis.

ST1926 Attenuates Steroid-Induced Osteoporosis in Rats by Inhibiting Inflammation Response.

Steroid, also known as glucocorticoid, induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head in young adults, which has been a challenging disorder for the frequent incidence of collapse of femoral head, leading to dysfunction of hip joint and impairing life quality of human. Bioavailable and less toxic synthetic retinoids, such as the atypical adamantyl retinoid ST1926, have been developed and investigated in clinical trials for many diseases. Serum lipid-related indicators were assessed to elucidate the role of ST1926 in regulating lipid metabolism. Microfocal computed tomography (Micro-CT) was included to explore the effects of ST1926 treatment on microstructure and bone mass. Then, the role of ST1926 treatment in regulating osteoclast differentiation was also evaluated in vivo and in vitro. In addition, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteoprotegerin (OPG), bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP) and bone morphogenic protein (BMP) expression in serum and cells were detected at protein or mRNA levels. The ratio of empty lacuna in the bone tissue samples was significantly low in ST1926-treated groups than in the control group. Micro-CT evaluation suggested that ST1926 treatment could ameliorate the microstructure of the bone and up-regulate bone mineral density in steroid-induced rats. Moreover, ST1926 treatment suppressed osteoclast differentiation and promoted bone formation markers. Also, OPG, ALP, and Wnt3a/ß-catenin down-regulation as well as inflammation up-regulation could be reversed by ST1926 administration through NFκB inhibition. Hence, ST1926 may inhibit steroid-induced osteoporosis and promote steroid-induced bone remodeling by regulating the Wnt3a/ß-catenin/NFκB signaling pathway. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 2072-2086, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

ClpR protein-like regulator specifically recognizes RecA protein-independent promoter motif and broadly regulates expression of DNA damage-inducible genes in mycobacteria.

The RecA-dependent DNA damage response pathway (SOS response) appears to be the major DNA repair mechanism in most bacteria, but it has been suggested that a RecA-independent mechanism is responsible for controlling expression of most damage-inducible DNA repair genes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The specific reparative responses and molecular mediators involved in the DNA repair mechanism remain largely unclear in this pathogen and its related species. In this study, a mycobacterial ClpR-like regulator, corresponding to Rv2745c in M. tuberculosis and to Ms2694 in M. smegmatis mc(2)155, was found to interact with the promoter regions of multiple damage-inducible DNA repair genes. Specific binding of the ClpR-like factor to the conserved RecA-independent promoter RecA-NDp motif was then confirmed using in vitro electrophoretic mobility shift assays as well as in vivo chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments. The ClpR knock-out experiments, in combination with quantitative real time PCR assays, demonstrated that the expression of these RecA-independent genes were significantly down-regulated in the mutant strain of M. smegmatis in response to a DNA-damaging agent compared with the wild type strain. Furthermore, the ClpR-like factor was shown to contribute to mycobacterial genomic stability. These results enhance our understanding of the function of the ClpR regulator and the regulatory mechanism of RecA-independent DNA repair in mycobacteria.

Global protein-protein interaction network in the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv.

Analysis of the protein-protein interaction network of a pathogen is a powerful approach for dissecting gene function, potential signal transduction, and virulence pathways. This study looks at the construction of a global protein-protein interaction (PPI) network for the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, based on a high-throughput bacterial two-hybrid method. Almost the entire ORFeome was cloned, and more than 8000 novel interactions were identified. The overall quality of the PPI network was validated through two independent methods, and a high success rate of more than 60% was obtained. The parameters of PPI networks were calculated. The average shortest path length was 4.31. The topological coefficient of the M. tuberculosis B2H network perfectly followed a power law distribution (correlation = 0.999; R-squared = 0.999) and represented the best fit in all currently available PPI networks. A cross-species PPI network comparison revealed 94 conserved subnetworks between M. tuberculosis and several prokaryotic organism PPI networks. The global network was linked to the protein secretion pathway. Two WhiB-like regulators were found to be highly connected proteins in the global network. This is the first systematic noncomputational PPI data for the human pathogen, and it provides a useful resource for studies of infection mechanisms, new signaling pathways, and novel antituberculosis drug development.