Research progress on the protective effect of hormones and hormone drugs in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is a condition where the heart muscle does not receive enough blood flow, leading to cardiac dysfunction. Restoring blood flow to the coronary artery is an effective clinical therapy for myocardial ischemia. This strategy helps lower the size of the myocardial infarction and improves the prognosis of patients. Nevertheless, if the disrupted blood flow to the heart muscle is restored within a specific timeframe, it leads to more severe harm to the previously deprived heart tissue. This condition is referred to as myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI). Until now, there is a dearth of efficacious strategies to prevent and manage MIRI. Hormones are specialized substances that are produced directly into the circulation by endocrine organs or tissues in humans and animals, and they have particular effects on the body. Hormonal medications utilize human or animal hormones as their active components, encompassing sex hormones, adrenaline medications, thyroid hormone medications, and others. While several studies have examined the preventive properties of different endocrine hormones, such as estrogen and hormone analogs, on myocardial injury caused by ischemia-reperfusion, there are other hormone analogs whose mechanisms of action remain unexplained and whose safety cannot be assured. The current study is on hormones and hormone medications, elucidating the mechanism of hormone pharmaceuticals and emphasizing the cardioprotective effects of different endocrine hormones. It aims to provide guidance for the therapeutic use of drugs and offer direction for the examination of MIRI in clinical therapy.

A mixed acid treatment for the prevention of Ulva prolifera attachment to Neopyropia aquaculture rafts: Laboratory experimentation.

The sessile green macroalgae in the Neopyropia aquaculture areas of the Subei Shoal are a confirmed source of green tides in the Southern Yellow Sea (SYS) of China. The green tides have a significant impact on local economic development (tourism, aquaculture, etc.) and ecological stability. In order to develop an effective method for eliminating the green macroalgae attached to Neopyropia aquaculture rafts, this study investigated the effects of mixed acid solutions (0.0475 % hydrochloric acid [HCl] and pH 2.0 citric acid) on cell damage, chlorophyll composition, phycobiliprotein content, and the photosynthetic fluorescence characteristics of Ulva prolifera and Neopyropia yezoensis. The chlorophyll contents of U. prolifera and N. yezoensis were significantly affected by the mixed acid solutions. After treatment with a mixed acid solution (4:3 volume ratio of HCl to citric acid) for 5 s, the photosynthetic pigment content of U. prolifera was significantly different from that of normal U. prolifera. However, photosynthetic pigment content in the treated N. yezoensis increased significantly. In addition, mixed acid solution treatment had a significant effect on the Fv/Fm of U. prolifera and N. yezoensis. After mixed acid treatment (4:3 HCl to citric acid), U. prolifera completely died, but the Fv/Fm of N. yezoensis was restored after 3 d. Therefore, a mixed acid solution comprising 0.0475 % HCl and pH 2.0 citric acid (at a volume ratio of 4:3) can be used as an agent for the removal of green macroalgae from Neopyropia aquaculture areas.

Prevention strategies for green tides at source in the Southern Yellow Sea.

As global ecological disasters, green tide outbreaks have been observed in the Southern Yellow Sea (SYS) of China since 2007, resulting in considerable economic losses and environmental damage to the coastal cities of Jiangsu and Shandong Provinces. Therefore, prevention of green tides is crucial. Previous studies have revealed that a relatively small green tide outbreak scale in the SYS was observed in 2018 and 2020, with the green tides covering areas of 193 km2 and 192 km2 and durations of 91 days and 64 days, respectively. Killing green macroalgae attached to cultivation ropes in Neopyropia aquaculture areas, which has been considered a primary source of the blooms, early removal of Neopyropia aquaculture rafts, and green tide prevention in the SYS are the key reasons for the decrease in green tides in 2018 and 2020. Furthermore, to address the challenges associated with the current green tide source prevention measures, we proposed a comprehensive control method that combines ecological farming, early green tide prevention, and resource utilization. Potential secondary pollution caused by the chemicals used to control Ulva prolifera can be minimized. Conversely, Neopyropia yezoensis quality may be enhanced through continuous improvement of its culturing process, which in turn, could reduce the green tide blooming scale.

Controlling the main source of green tides in the Yellow Sea through the method of biological competition.

Macroalgal blooms have become a serious threat to public health, fisheries, ecosystems, and global economies. Since 2007, in the Yellow Sea, China, Ulva green tides have occurred for 15 consecutive years. However, effective control methods are limited. Ulva prolifera attached to Neopyropia aquaculture rafts are believed to be the main source of blooms, therefore eliminating Ulva from rafts could effectively prevent and control blooms. We investigated this phenomenon and showed that macroalgae germination was significantly inhibited by dried Neopyropia yezoensis at concentrations of 1.2, 2.4, and 4.8 g DW-1. Also, the inhibitory effects of dried N. yezoensis toward U. prolifera gametes at 2.4 and 4.8 g DW-1 were >90% at day 21. N. yezoensis culture filtrates and thalli were also used to determine dose-dependent inhibition effects on U. prolifera gamete germination. Both were potent and significantly inhibited germination at 1.75-7 g FW-1; the inhibitory effect 7 g FW-1 was >90% at day 21. As N. yezoensis thalli exhibited high inhibitory effects in laboratory experiments, we also performed field studies. N. yezoensis on ropes displayed high inhibitory effects on Ulva attachment and growth. Thus N. yezoensis powder, culture filtrates, and thalli displayed strong inhibitory effects on U. prolifera gametes, suggesting N. yezoensis attachment to ropes could be used to control green tides at the source.

Complete chloroplast genome of Ulva compressa (Ulvales: Ulvaceae).

Ulva compressa is one of the causal green macroalgae in many countries. In this study, complete chloroplast genome sequence of U. compressa was reported, and the total length of this species was 94,226 bp (GenBank accession number MT916929). The overall base composition of chloroplast genome was A (37.2%), T (37.0%), C (12.7%) and G (13.1%), and the percentage of A + T (74.2%) was higher than C + G (25.8%). U. compressa chloroplast genome encoded 90 genes, including 63 protein-coding genes, 23 transfer RNAs genes, and 4 ribosomal RNAs genes. The maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis showed that U. compressa is the closest sister species of U. linza. This study will be helpful to understand the genetic diversity of Ulva species.

The complete mitochondrial genome of a Green macroalgae species: Ulva meridionalis (Ulvales: Ulvaceae).

Ulva meridionalis, a green macroalgae, is one of the causal species for green tides in Japan and spread into the coast of China. During this research, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of U. meridionalis. The mitogenome is 62,887 bp in length, including 28 encoding genes and 29 tRNA genes. Compared with the Ulva species from mitogenome, the gene order and organization of this mitogenome are similar to most of other determined Ulva mitogenomes, with the nucleotide base composition of A 33.6%, T 32.2%, C 16.2%, and G 18.0%. Phylogenetic analysis shows U. meridionalis is closely related to Ulva flexuosa.