Heat enhances the inhibitory effect of lipopolysaccharide on duck granulosa cell proliferation and steroid biosynthesis in vitro.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) reduces the reproductive performance of laying ducks, especially during the hot summer months. To study the underlying mechanisms, we investigated the effects of different LPS concentrations and heat on duck granulosa cell (GC) proliferation and steroid biosynthesis in vitro. We investigated GC proliferation, secretion, and activation of the MAPK pathway. The cell cycle results showed that LPS treatment alone did not significantly affect cell proliferation, whereas the mRNA expression levels of IGF2, IGFBP2, and CyclinD1 were downregulated and p27kip1 was significantly upregulated after 2000 ng/mL LPS treatment when compared to untreated cells. In steroid hormone synthesis, although LPS increased the expression of most steroid biosynthesis genes, it inhibited the expression of CYP11A1 at high LPS concentrations. High temperatures enhanced the inhibitory effect of LPS on the expression of proliferation-promoting genes. Heat significantly reduced CYP11A1 and CYP19A1 expression. In addition, the phosphorylation of P38 was significantly upregulated by high temperatures combined with LPS, whereas the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and JNK was downregulated. The relative protein expression of Bax/BCL-2 was upregulated at high temperatures in combination with LPS. Heat treatment enhanced the inhibitory effects of LPS on the proliferation and hormone biosynthesis of duck GCs in vitro.

Resveratrol sustains intestinal barrier integrity, improves antioxidant capacity, and alleviates inflammation in the jejunum of ducks exposed to acute heat stress.

Resveratrol, a natural antioxidant, anti-inflammatory plant extract, was found to have a protective effect in poultry subjected to heat stress. In this study, we strove to characterize resveratrol on intestinal of duck exposed to acute heat stress and investigate the underlying mechanism. A total of 120 Shan-ma ducks (60 days old) were randomly divided into 2 groups. The control group was fed a basal diet, and the resveratrol group was fed a basal diet supplemented with 400 mg/kg resveratrol. Animals in 2 groups were kept at a temperature of 24°C ± 2°C for 15 d. Then, animals of both groups were placed in an artificial climate room at 39°C. Twelve ducks of each group were sacrificed for sampling at 0, 30, and 60 min, respectively. Results indicated that resveratrol increased the ratio of villus height to crypt depth, increased the number of goblet cells, and reduced the histopathological damage of jejunum caused by acute heat stress. Furthermore, the gene expression of heat shock proteins (HSP60, HSP70, and HSP90) and tight junction proteins (CLDN1 and OCLN) was significantly increased in the resveratrol group compared to that in the control groups. Simultaneously, resveratrol significantly activated the SIRT1-NRF1/NRF2 signaling pathways, improved ATP level of jejunum, and increased SOD and CAT antioxidant enzymes activities. In addition, we found that the NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathways were repressed under acute heat stress. Meanwhile, supplement resveratrol further inhibited the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway, decreased protein level of NLRP3 and caspase1 p20, reduced the secretion of IL-1ß. Taken together, our results indicate that resveratrol against the oxidative damage and inflammation injury in duck jejunum induced by heat stress via active SIRT1 signaling pathways.

Systemic Expression Analysis Reveals Prognostic Significance of WIPI3 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: WD repeat domain phosphoinositide-interacting protein 3 (WIPI3) is a member of the WIPI protein family, autophagy marker, that is associated with the malignant progression of various human cancers, but its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Firstly, we collected the mRNA expression of WIPI3 in HCC through the platform of Oncomine, as well as the DNA copy number variations (CNVs), and verified it on human HCC cell line and the GEO database. Then, the subgroups and prognosis of HCC were performed by the UALCAN web tool. The mutation of WIPI3 was analyzed by cBioPortal. The coexpression of WIPI3 in HCC was identified from the LinkedOmics database, and function enrichment analysis was done using the LinkFinder module in LinkedOmics. Coexpression gene network was constructed through the STRING database, and the MCODE plug-in of which was used to build the gene modules; both of them were visualized by the Cytoscape software. Finally, the top modular genes in the same patient cohort were constructed through data mining in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) by using the UCSC Xena browser. RESULTS: The results indicated that WIPI3 was frequently overexpressed in HCC, which could lead to a poor prognosis through the Kaplan-Meier (KM) analysis. Moreover, there existed mutations of WIPI3 in HCC, and the prognosis of WIPI3-altered group was significantly poor based on KM plotter data. Coexpression analysis showed that the coexpression gene of WIPI3 was associated with cell cycle and spliceosome. Further analysis suggested that WIPI3 and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4A3 (EIF4A3) coordinately regulated the cancer cell cycle by spliceosome as a result of the strong positive correlation between them. CONCLUSION: In summary, WIPI3 is constantly overexpressed in HCC tissues, resulting in a poor prognosis; therefore, we can identify it as an effective target for the treatment of HCC.

Quantitative index imaging of coculture cells by scanning focused refractive index microscopy.

We report the quantitative refractive index (RI) imaging of cocultured cells in their living environment by scanning focused refractive index microscopy (SFRIM). Mouse microglial cells and synovial cells are cocultured on the top surface of a trapezoid prism. The RI imaging of living cells is obtained in a reflection-type method. The RI information is deduced with the simple derivative total internal reflection method, where a complex retrieval algorithm or reconstruction process is unnecessary. The outline of each cell is determined according to the RI value compared with that of the immersion liquid. The cocultured cells can be discriminated in the RI image. The measurement is nondestructive and label-free. The experimental results prove that SFRIM is a promising tool in the field of biological optics.

Measurement of complex refractive index of turbid media by scanning focused refractive index.

We present the application of scanning focused refractive index microscopy in the complex refractive index measurement of turbid media. An extra standard scattering layer is placed in front of the detector to perform scattering transformation on the reflected light. The principle of the scattering transformation is elaborated theoretically. The influence of the sample scattering is deeply and effectively suppressed experimentally. As a proof of the feasibility and accuracy of the proposed method, we demonstrate experimental data of 20% and 30% Intralipid solutions that are commonly used as phantom media for light propagation studies.

Scanning focused refractive-index microscopy.

We present a novel scanning focused refractive-index microscopy (SFRIM) technique to obtain the refractive index (RI) profiles of objects. The method uses a focused laser as the light source, and combines the derivative total reflection method (DTRM), projection magnification, and scanning technique together. SFRIM is able to determine RIs with an accuracy of 0.002, and the central spatial resolution achieved is 1 µm, which is smaller than the size of the focal spot. The results of measurements carried out on cedar oil and a gradient-refractive-index (GRIN) lens agree well with theoretical expectations, verifying the accuracy of SFRIM. Furthermore, using SFRIM, to the best of our knowledge we have extracted for the first time the RI profile of a periodically modulated photosensitive gelatin sample. SFRIM is the first RI profile-resolved reflected light microscopy technique that can be applied to scattering and absorbing samples. SFRIM enables the possibility of performing RI profile measurements in a variety of applications, including optical waveguides, photosensitive materials and devices, photorefractive effect studies, and RI imaging in biomedical fields.

Sensitive real-time monitoring of refractive indexes using a novel graphene-based optical sensor.

Based on the polarization-sensitive absorption of graphene under conditions of total internal reflection, a novel optical sensor combining graphene and a microfluidic structure was constructed to achieve the sensitive real-time monitoring of refractive indexes. The atomic thickness and strong broadband absorption of graphene cause it to exhibit very different reflectivity for transverse electric and transverse magnetic modes in the context of a total internal reflection structure, which is sensitive to the media in contact with the graphene. A graphene refractive index sensor can quickly and sensitively monitor changes in the local refractive index with a fast response time and broad dynamic range. These results indicate that graphene, used in a simple and efficient total internal reflection structure and combined with microfluidic techniques, is an ideal material for fabricating refractive index sensors and biosensor devices, which are in high demand.

Effect of tissue fluid on accurate determination of the complex refractive index of animal tissue.

We investigate the effect of tissue fluid on the measurement of complex refractive index (RI) of animal tissue. A new model is proposed and verified through experimental results of simulation samples made of glycerol and methyl-red-doped poly(methyl methacrylate). Coupled with polarized optical reflectance measurements performed on several kinds of animal muscle tissues, RIs were resolved using the new model. We find that the tissue fluid existing at the prism-sample interface is unavoidable. We also find that with a change of proportion of the tissue fluid, the RI of muscle tissue can still be measured using the new model.

Measurement of the complex refractive index of tissue-mimicking phantoms and biotissue by extended differential total reflection method.

Refractive index of biotissue is a useful optical parameter in the biomedical field. An extended differential total reflection method is introduced to determine the complex refractive index. The real part is directly determined by differential of the reflectance curve, and the imaginary part is obtained from nonlinear fitting. The method is verified by a series of tissue-mimicking phantoms, porcine muscle and porcine adipose.