Synergistic stabilization of garlic essential oil nanoemulsions by carboxymethyl chitosan/Tween 80 and application for coating preservation of chilled fresh pork.

Garlic essential oil (GEO) is a potential natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agent for food preservation, but its intrinsic low water-solubility, high volatility and poor stability severely limit its application and promotion. In this work, we investigated the synergistic stabilization of the GEO-in-water nanoemulsion using carboxymethyl chitosan (CCS) and Tween 80 (TW 80). Additionally, the nanoemulsion was fabricated through high-pressure microfluidization and utilized for the coating-mediated preservation of chilled pork. The garlic essential oil nanoemulsion (GEON) with 3.0 % CCS and 3.0 % TW 80 exhibited more homogeneous droplet size (around 150 nm) and narrower size distribution, while maintained long-term stability with no significant change in size during 30 d storage. Compared with free GEO, the GEONs exhibited a higher scavenging capacity to DPPH and ABTS free radicals as well as higher inhibitory effects against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, suggesting that the encapsulation of GEO in nanoemulsion considerably improved its antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Furthermore, the results of coating preservation experiments showed that the GEON coating effectively expanded the shelf-life of chilled fresh pork for approximately one week. Altogether, this study would guide the development of GEO-loaded nanoemulsions, and promote GEON as a promising alternative for coating preservation of chilled fresh meat.

Programmable and Surface-Conformable Origami Design for Thermoelectric Devices.

Thermoelectric devices (TEDs) show great potential for waste heat energy recycling and sensing. However, existing TEDs cannot be self-adapted to the complex quadratic surface, leading to significant heat loss and restricting their working scenario. Here, surface-conformable origami-TEDs (o-TEGs) are developed through programmable crease-designed origami substrates and the screen-printing TE legs. Compared with "π" structured TEDs, the origami design (with heat conductive materials) changed the heat-transferring direction of the laminated TE legs, resulting in an enhancement in enlarging ΔT/THot and Vout by 5.02 and 3.51 times. Four o-TEDs with different creases designs are fabricated to verify the heat recycling ability on plane and central quadratic surfaces. Demonstrating a high Vout density (up to 0.98 -2 at ΔT of 50 K) and good surface conformability, o-TEDs are further used in thermal touch panels attached to multiple surfaces, allowing information to be wirelessly transferred on a remote display via finger-writing.

H3.3B controls aortic dissection progression by regulating vascular smooth muscle cells phenotypic transition and vascular inflammation.

Aortic dissection is a devastating cardiovascular disease with a high lethality. Histone variants maintain the genomic integrity and play important roles in development and diseases. However, the role of histone variants in aortic dissection has not been well identified. In the present study, H3f3b knockdown reduced the synthetic genes expression of VSMCs, while overexpressing H3f3b exacerbated the cellular immune response of VSMCs induced by inflammatory cytokines. Combined RNA-seq and ChIP-seq analyses revealed that histone variant H3.3B directly bound to the genes related to extracellular matrix, VSMC synthetic phenotype, cytokine responses and TGFß signaling pathway, and regulated their expressions. In addition, VSMC-specific H3f3b knockin aggravated aortic dissection development in mice, while H3f3b knockout significantly reduced the incidence of aortic dissection. In term of mechanisms, H3.3B regulated Spp1 and Ccl2 genes, inducing the apoptosis of VSMCs and recruiting macrophages. This study demonstrated the vital roles of H3.3B in phenotypic transition of VSMCs, loss of media VSMCs, and vascular inflammation in aortic dissection.

Spatial Multiplexed Protein Profiling of Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury.

BACKGROUND: Reperfusion therapy is critical to myocardial salvage in the event of a myocardial infarction but is complicated by ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). Limited understanding of the spatial organization of cardiac cells, which governs cellular interaction and function, has hindered the search for targeted interventions minimizing the deleterious effects of IRI. METHODS: We used imaging mass cytometry to characterize the spatial distribution and dynamics of cell phenotypes and communities in the mouse left ventricle following IRI. Heart sections were collected from 12 cardiac segments (basal, mid-cavity, apical, and apex of the anterior, lateral, and inferior wall) and 8 time points (before ischemia [I-0H], and postreperfusion [R-0H, R-2H, R-6H, R-12H, R-1D, R-3D, R-7D]), and stained with 29 metal-isotope-tagged antibodies. Cell community analysis was performed on reconstructed images, and the most disease-relevant cell type and target protein were selected for intervention of IRI. RESULTS: We obtained a total of 251 multiplexed images, and identified 197 063 single cells, which were grouped into 23 distinct cell communities based on the structure of cellular neighborhoods. The cellular architecture was heterogeneous throughout the ventricular wall and exhibited swift changes following IRI. Analysis of proteins with posttranslational modifications in single cells unveiled 13 posttranslational modification intensity clusters and highlighted increased H3K9me3 (tri-methylated lysine 9 of histone H3) as a key regulatory response in endothelial cells during the middle stage of IRI. Erasing H3K9 methylation, by silencing its methyltransferase Suv39h1 or overexpressing its demethylase Kdm4d in isolated endothelial cells, attenuated cardiac dysfunction and pathological remodeling following IRI. in vitro, H3K9me3 binding significantly increased at endothelial cell function-related genes upon hypoxia, suppressing tube formation, which was rescued by inhibiting H3K9me3. CONCLUSIONS: We mapped the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of cellular phenotypes in the adult heart upon IRI, and uncovered H3K9me3 in endothelial cells as a potential therapeutic target for alleviating pathological remodeling of the heart following myocardial IRI.

Stamp-Like Energy Harvester and Programmable Information Encrypted Display Based on Fully Printable Thermoelectric Devices.

Thermoelectric (TE) devices exhibit considerable application potential in Internet of Things and personal health monitoring systems. However, TE self-powered devices are expensive and their fabrication process is complex. Therefore, large-scale preparation of the TE devices remains challenging. In this work, simple screen-printing technology is used to fabricate a user-friendly and high-performance paper-based TE device, which can be used in both stamp-like paper-based TE generators and infrared displays. When used as a paper-based TE generator, an output power of 940.8 µW is achieved with a temperature difference of 40 K. The programmable infrared pattern based on the TE array display could be used to realize encryption and anti-counterfeiting properties. Moreover, a visual extraction algorithm is used to develop a mobile application for processing and decoding the infrared quick response code information. These findings offer an exciting approach to using paper-based TEGs in applications such as energy harvesting devices, optical encryption, anti-counterfeiting, and dynamic infrared display.

Bacterial Cellulose Nanofibril-Based Pickering Emulsions: Recent Trends and Applications in the Food Industry.

The Pickering emulsion stabilized by food-grade colloidal particles has developed rapidly in recent decades and attracts extensive attention for potential applications in the food industry. Bacterial cellulose nanofibrils (BCNFs), as green and sustainable colloidal nanoparticles derived from bacterial cellulose, have various advantages for Pickering emulsion stabilization and applications due to their unique properties, such as good amphiphilicity, a nanoscale fibrous network, a high aspect ratio, low toxicity, excellent biocompatibility, and sustainability. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advances in the Pickering emulsion stabilized by BCNF particles, including the classification, preparation method, and physicochemical properties of diverse BCNF-based particles as Pickering stabilizers, as well as surface modifications with other substances to improve their emulsifying performance and functionality. Additionally, this paper highlights the stabilization mechanisms and provides potential food applications of BCNF-based Pickering emulsions, such as nutrient encapsulation and delivery, edible coatings and films, fat substitutes, etc. Furthermore, the safety issues and future challenges for the development and food-related applications of BCNFs-based Pickering emulsions are also outlined. This work will provide new insights and more ideas on the development and application of nanofibril-based Pickering emulsions for researchers.

Bearing Fault Diagnosis of Hot-Rolling Mill Utilizing Intelligent Optimized Self-Adaptive Deep Belief Network with Limited Samples.

Given the complexity of the operating conditions of rolling bearings in the actual rolling process of a hot mill and the difficulty in collecting data pertinent to fault bearings comprehensively, this paper proposes an approach that diagnoses the faults of a rolling mill bearing by employing the improved sparrow search algorithm deep belief network (ISAA-DBN) with limited data samples. First, the fast spectral kurtosis approach is adopted to convert the non-stationary original vibration signals collected by the acceleration sensors installed at the axial and radial ends of the rolling mill bearings into two-dimensional (2D) spectral kurtosis time-frequency images with higher feature recognition, and the principal component analysis (PCA) technique is used to decrease the dimension of the data in order to achieve a high diagnosis rate with a limited number of samples. Subsequently, the sparrow search algorithm (SSA) is used to realize the intelligent optimized self-adaptive function of a deep belief network (DBN). Furthermore, the firefly disturbance algorithm is employed to improve the spatial search capability and robustness of SSA-DBN in order to achieve better performance of the ISSA-DBN method. Finally, the proposed approach is experimentally compared to other approaches used for diagnosis. The results show that the proposed approach not only retains the useful features of the data through dimension reduction but also improves the efficiency of the diagnosis and achieves the highest diagnosis accuracy with limited data samples. In addition, the optimal position of the sensor for diagnosing rolling mill roll faults is identified.

Disruption of adipocyte HIF-1α improves atherosclerosis through the inhibition of ceramide generation.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic multifactorial cardiovascular disease. Western diets have been reported to affect atherosclerosis through regulating adipose function. In high cholesterol diet-fed ApoE -/- mice, adipocyte HIF-1α deficiency or direct inhibition of HIF-1α by the selective pharmacological HIF-1α inhibitor PX-478 alleviates high cholesterol diet-induced atherosclerosis by reducing adipose ceramide generation, which lowers cholesterol levels and reduces inflammatory responses, resulting in improved dyslipidemia and atherogenesis. Smpd3, the gene encoding neutral sphingomyelinase, is identified as a new target gene directly regulated by HIF-1α that is involved in ceramide generation. Injection of lentivirus-SMPD3 in epididymal adipose tissue reverses the decrease in ceramides in adipocytes and eliminates the improvements on atherosclerosis in the adipocyte HIF-1α-deficient mice. Therefore, HIF-1α inhibition may constitute a novel approach to slow atherosclerotic progression.

The binding of autotaxin to integrins mediates hyperhomocysteinemia-potentiated platelet activation and thrombosis in mice and humans.

Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is associated with an exaggerated platelet thrombotic response at sites of vascular injury. In this study, human medical examination showed that elevated human plasma Hcy levels correlated positively with enhanced blood coagulation and platelet activity, suggesting that humans with HHcy are more prone to thrombus formation at the sites of vascular injury. Accordingly, we observed accelerated platelet activation, primary hemostasis, and thrombus formation in apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE-/-) mice with acute or chronic HHcy. Upon homocysteine (Hcy) administration in C57BL/6J mice, platelet aggregation, spreading and clot retraction were markedly induced. More important, Hcy increased the affinity of platelet integrin αIIbß3 with ligands and enhanced integrin outside-in signaling by promoting membrane phosphatidylserine exposure in vitro. Mechanistically, lipidomics analysis showed that lysophosphatidylcholines were the primary metabolites leading to clustering of HHcy-stimulated platelets. Cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) activity and autotaxin (ATX, a secreted lysophospholipase D) secretion were upregulated by Hcy, leading to membrane phospholipid hydrolysis and PS exposure. Moreover, secreted ATX directly interacted with integrin ß3. Inhibitors of cPLA2 and ATX activity blocked integrin αIIbß3 outside-in signaling and thrombosis in HHcy ApoE-/- mice. In this study, we identified a novel mechanism by which HHcy promotes platelet membrane phospholipid catabolism and extracellular ATX secretion to activate integrin outside-in signaling, consequently exacerbating thrombosis and the results revealed an innovative approach to treating HHcy-related thrombotic diseases.

Whole Fabric-Assisted Thermoelectric Devices for Wearable Electronics.

Flexible thermoelectric generators (f-TEGs) have demonstrated great potential in wearable self-powered health monitoring devices. However, the existing wearable f-TEGs are neither flexible enough to bend and stretch while maintaining the device's integrity with a good TE performance nor directly compatible with clothes materials. Here, ultraflexible fabric-based thermoelectric generators (uf-TEGs) are proposed with conductive cloth electrodes and elastic fabric substrate. The patterned elastic fabric substrate fits the rigid cuboids well, together with serpentine structured cloth electrodes, rendering uf-TEG with excellent integrity and flexibility, thereby achieving a highly functional TE performance when strain reaches 30% or on arbitrarily shaped heat sources. The uf-TEGs show a large peak power of 64.10 µW for a temperature difference of 33.24 K with a high voltage output of 111.49 mV, which is superior compared to previously reported fabric-based TEG devices, and it is still functional after the water immersion test. Besides the energy harvesting function, with both the temperature sensing ability and the touch perception, this uf-TEG is demonstrated as the electrical skin when mounted on a robot. Moreover, due to the wind-sensitive performance and self-power ability, the uf-TEGs are assembled on cloth as wearable health and motion monitoring devices.

Multi-Representation Domain Adaptation Network with Duplex Adversarial Learning for Hot-Rolling Mill Fault Diagnosis.

The multi-process manufacturing of steel rolling products requires the cooperation of complicated and variable rolling conditions. Such conditions pose challenges to the fault diagnosis of the key equipment of the rolling mill. The development of transfer learning has alleviated the problem of fault diagnosis under variable working conditions to a certain extent. However, existing diagnosis methods based on transfer learning only consider the distribution alignment from a single representation, which may only transfer part of the state knowledge and generate fuzzy decision boundaries. Therefore, this paper proposes a multi-representation domain adaptation network with duplex adversarial learning for hot rolling mill fault diagnosis. First, a multi-representation network structure is designed to extract rolling mill equipment status information from multiple perspectives. Then, the domain adversarial strategy is adopted to match the source and target domains of each pair of representations for learning domain-invariant features from multiple representation networks. In addition, the maximum classifier discrepancy adversarial algorithm is adopted to generate target features that are close to the source support, thereby forming a robust decision boundary. Finally, the average value of the predicted probabilities of the two classifiers is used as the final diagnostic result. Extensive experiments are conducted on an experimental platform of a four-high hot rolling mill to collect the fault state data of the reduction gearbox and roll bearing. The experimental results reveal that the method can effectively realize the fault diagnosis of rolling mill equipment under variable working conditions and can achieve average diagnostic rates of up to 99.15% and 99.40% on the data sets of the rolling mill gearbox and bearing, which are respectively 2.19% and 1.93% higher than the rates achieved by the most competitive method.

Edible coating based on beeswax-in-water Pickering emulsion stabilized by cellulose nanofibrils and carboxymethyl chitosan.

In this work, novel edible coating films based on beeswax-in-water (O/W) Pickering emulsions had been investigated. The Pickering emulsions were stabilized with cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs)/carboxymethyl chitosan (CCS). The emulsions with a droplet diameter of around 10 µm had uniform particle size distribution, and the creaming stability was improved with the increasing the contents of CNFs in the complexes, rheological analysis demonstrated that the Pickering emulsions had an elastic gel-like network. Furthermore, free-standing films were obtained when the emulsions were dried at ambient condition, the tensile strength of the coating films could be 5.0 MPa at a strain of 2.2%, and the water vapor permeability (WVP) value was lower than 2 × 10-7 g∙h-1∙m-1∙Pa-1. Moreover, the coating films could inhibit the growth of typical spoilage organisms such as S. aureus or E. coli, it indicated that the coatings films would have promising applications in antiseptic and fresh keeping for berry fruits.

Adipocyte Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 2α Suppresses Atherosclerosis by Promoting Adipose Ceramide Catabolism.

Obesity-induced adipose dysfunction is a major contributor to atherosclerosis. Cold exposure has been reported to affect atherosclerosis through regulation of adipose function, but the mechanism has not been well clarified. Here, adipocyte hypoxia-inducible factor 2α (HIF-2α) was upregulated after mild cold exposure at 16°C and mediated cold-induced thermogenesis. Adipocyte HIF-2α deficiency exacerbated Western-diet-induced atherosclerosis by increasing adipose ceramide levels, which blunted hepatocyte cholesterol elimination and thermogenesis. Mechanistically, Acer2, the gene encoding alkaline ceramidase 2, was identified as a novel target gene of HIF-2α, triggering ceramide catabolism. Adipose overexpression of ACER2 rescued adipocyte HIF-2α-deficiency-induced exacerbation of atherosclerosis. Furthermore, activation of adipose HIF-2α by the HIF prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor FG-4592 had protective effects on atherosclerosis, accompanied by a reduction in adipose and plasma ceramide and plasma cholesterol levels. This study highlights adipocyte HIF-2α as a putative drug target against atherosclerosis.

Miro2 Regulates Inter-Mitochondrial Communication in the Heart and Protects Against TAC-Induced Cardiac Dysfunction.

Rationale: The constrained mitochondria in cardiomyocytes communicate with each other, through mitochondrial kissing or nanotunneling, forming a dynamically continuous network to share content and transfer signals. However, the molecular mechanism of cardiac inter-mitochondrial communication is unclear. Objective: To determine the molecular mechanism underlying the robust inter-mitochondrial communication and its pathophysiological relevance in the heart. Methods and Results: By mitochondria-targeted expressing the photoactivatable green fluorescent protein, we revealed that most mitochondrial nanotubes bridge communicating mitochondrial pairs were associated with microtubules. Miro2 (mitochondrial Rho GTPase), the outer mitochondrial membrane protein which usually mediates mitochondrial transport within cells, accompanied with mitochondrial nanotubes along microtubules in adult cardiomyocytes. Adenovirus mediated expression of Miro2 in cardiomyocytes accelerated inter-mitochondrial communication through increasing mitochondrial nanotunneling and mitochondrial kissing between adjacent mitochondrial pairs. In transverse aortic constriction-induced hypertrophic mouse hearts Miro2 protein was declined, accompanied with decreased inter-mitochondrial communication. Miro2 transgenic mice showed ameliorated cardiac function, increased mitochondrial nanotube formation and inter-mitochondrial communication, and improved mitochondrial function after transverse aortic constriction. E3 ubiquitin ligase Parkin was increased in transverse aortic constriction mouse hearts and phenylephrine stimulation-induced hypertrophic cardiomyocytes. Inhibition of proteasome blocked phenylephrine-induced decrease of Miro2, and Parkin overexpression led to the decrease of Miro2. Conclusions: Mitochondrial Miro2 expression levels regulate inter-mitochondrial communication along microtubules in adult cardiomyocytes, and degradation of Miro2 through Parkin-mediated ubiquitination contributes to impaired inter-mitochondrial communication and cardiac dysfunction during hypertrophic heart diseases.Visual Overview: An online visual overview is available for this article.

Surface modification of microcrystalline cellulose: Physicochemical characterization and applications in the Stabilization of Pickering emulsions.

The phenomenon of polymer adsorption was applied to modify the surface of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The active polymer sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMCNa), having different molecular weight was used to produce modified MCCs. The average particle size of unmodified MCC was about 14.208 ±â€¯0.064 µm, and it was increased to 19.576 ±â€¯0.26 µm after modification. The modified MCCs exhibited a typical shear thinning behavior. It suggested that the molecular weight of active polymer had an amenable and significant influence on the physicochemical properties and stability of MCCs. The composites prepared from CMCNa with high molecular weight were more stable than others. Moreover, dried MCCs could be re-dispersed in water and could be used as a stabilizer for Pickering emulsions. The obtained emulsions (CMCNa-c) showed higher stability against pH changes, ionic strength and coalescence during storage. It suggested that the re-dispersible MCCs played a significant role in stabilization of emulsions. Furthermore, the re-dispersible MCCs preserved the original properties of un-dried composites and could also be used in other food allied sectors.

Cellulose-based peptidopolysaccharides as cationic antimicrobial package films.

The antimicrobial nisin peptide was grafted to the 2,3-dialdehyde cellulose through Schiff's base reaction. The obtained peptidopolysaccharide films had the denser microstructure, lower water holding capacity, and increased mechanical properties than the pristine cellulose film. The peptidopolysaccharide films exhibited promising antibacterial activity toward Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and the ability to induce bacteriostasis of the N-3 peptidopolysaccharide film was four orders of magnitude higher than that of pure cellulose film. In an extended application, the peptidopolysaccharide antibacterial films were used as packaging materials for fresh pork, the results indicated that the peptidopolysaccharide films readily killed the adhered bacteria upon contact, and the N-3 peptidopolysaccharide film extended the shelf-life of the fresh pork at least for six days as compared with polyethylene wrap. Therefore, these peptidopolysaccharides films represent good potential as a green food packaging material.

O/W Pickering Emulsion Templated Organo-hydrogels with Enhanced Mechanical Strength and Energy Storage Capacity.

The increased quantities of fat in plants could allow the cells to inhibit the growth of ice and thus prevent the damages of their tissue structure in winter. In view of the structural buildup of freezing tolerance mechanism, here we presented a facile way of employing O/W Pickering emulsion as a template to produce the freestanding organo-hydrogels with increased mechanical stability and energy storage capacity. The oil droplets stabilized by cellulose nanofibrils were dispersed in the alginate polymer network that cross-linked with Ca2+, which resulted in homogeneous and closely packed microstructures. The prepared organo-hydrogels could maintain original gel structure under frozen conditions and had extraordinary mechanical performance. It could endure compressive stress up to 35 KPa (at 50% strain) and the elastic modulus was around 72 KPa, while the solid content of polysaccharides was only about 0.75%. By using our comprehensive strategy, organo-hydrogels with higher volumes of oil phase exhibited an enhanced cold storage capacity. For alginate hydrogel, it took 8 min when the temperature rose from 0 to 5 °C, while for the organo-hydrogel with oil volume of 30%, it took about 24 min. After 34 min, the inner temperature of alginate hydrogel was close to 25 °C, and about 70 min were needed for the temperature of organo-hydrogel to reach 25 °C. This kind of gel materials with complementary heteronetworks not only will have potential applications in cold chain logistics, but also can be applied in other fields with unusual functions.

Computational characterization and identification of human polycystic ovary syndrome genes.

Human polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a highly heritable disease regulated by genetic and environmental factors. Identifying PCOS genes is time consuming and costly in wet-lab. Developing an algorithm to predict PCOS candidates will be helpful. In this study, for the first time, we systematically analyzed properties of human PCOS genes. Compared with genes not yet known to be involved in PCOS regulation, known PCOS genes display distinguishing characteristics: (i) they tend to be located at network center; (ii) they tend to interact with each other; (iii) they tend to enrich in certain biological processes. Based on these features, we developed a machine-learning algorithm to predict new PCOS genes. 233 PCOS candidates were predicted with a posterior probability >0.9. Evidence supporting 7 of the top 10 predictions has been found.

Adipocyte-derived Lysophosphatidylcholine Activates Adipocyte and Adipose Tissue Macrophage Nod-Like Receptor Protein 3 Inflammasomes Mediating Homocysteine-Induced Insulin Resistance.

The adipose Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome senses danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and initiates insulin resistance, but the mechanisms of adipose inflammasome activation remains elusive. In this study, Homocysteine (Hcy) is revealed to be a DAMP that activates adipocyte NLRP3 inflammasomes, participating in insulin resistance. Hcy-induced activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes were observed in both adipocytes and adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) and mediated insulin resistance. Lysophosphatidylcholine (lyso-PC) acted as a second signal activator, mediating Hcy-induced adipocyte NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Hcy elevated adipocyte lyso-PC generation in a hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1)-phospholipase A2 group 16 (PLA2G16) axis-dependent manner. Lyso-PC derived from the Hcy-induced adipocyte also activated ATM NLRP3 inflammasomes in a paracrine manner. This study demonstrated that Hcy activates adipose NLRP3 inflammasomes in an adipocyte lyso-PC-dependent manner and highlights the importance of the adipocyte NLRP3 inflammasome in insulin resistance.

Omega-3 PUFA ameliorates hyperhomocysteinemia-induced hepatic steatosis in mice by inhibiting hepatic ceramide synthesis.

Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is a key risk factor in hepatic steatosis. In this study, we applied a metabolomic approach to investigate the changes in the metabolite profile due to HHcy-induced hepatic steatosis and the effects of omega-3 PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acid) supplementation in mice. HHcy was induced in mice by giving DL-Hcy (1.8 g/L) in drinking water for 6 weeks, then the mice were sacrificed, and the metabolic profiles of the liver and plasma were analyzed through UPLC-ESI-QTOFMS-based lipidomics. Hepatic triglycerides and cholesterol were further assayed. The expression of ceramide metabolism-related genes was measured by quantitative PCR. Compared with control mice, HHcy mice exhibited hepatic steatosis with a notable increase in ceramide-related metabolites and subsequent upregulation of ceramide synthesis genes such as Sptlc3, Degs2, Cer4 and Smpd4. Omega-3 PUFA was simultaneously administered in HHcy mice through chow diet containing 3.3% omega-3 PUFA supplement for 6 weeks, which significantly ameliorated Hcy-induced hepatic steatosis. The decrease in hepatic lipid accumulation was mainly due to reduced hepatic levels of ceramides, which was partly the result of the lower expression of ceramide synthesis genes, Sptlc3 and Degs2. Similar beneficial effects of DHA were observed in Hcy-stimulated primary hepatocytes in vitro. In summary, Hcy-induced ceramide elevation in hepatocytes might contribute to the development of hepatic steatosis. Furthermore, downregulation of ceramide levels through omega-3 PUFA supplementation ameliorates hepatic lipid accumulation. Thus, ceramide is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of hepatic steatosis.