Mining, expression, and phylogenetic analysis of volatile terpenoid biosynthesis-related genes in different tissues of ten Elsholtzia species based on transcriptomic analysis.

We sequenced the leaf and inflorescence transcriptomes of 10 Elsholtzia species to mine genes related to the volatile terpenoid metabolic pathway. A total of 184.68 GB data and 1,231,162,678 clean reads were obtained from 20 Elsholtzia samples, and 333,848 unigenes with an average length of at least 1440 bp were obtained by Trinity assembly. KEGG pathway analysis showed that there were three pathways related to volatile terpene metabolism: terpenoid backbone biosynthesis (No. ko00900), monoterpenoid biosynthesis (No. ko00902), and sesquiterpenoid and triterpenoid biosynthesis (No. ko00909), with 437, 125, and 121 related unigenes, respectively. The essential oil content and composition in 20 Elsholtzia samples were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results showed that there were obvious interspecific differences among the 10 Elsholtzia species, but there were no significant differences between the different tissues among species. The expression levels of seven candidate genes involved in volatile terpenoid biosynthesis in Elsholtzia were further analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. The results showed that HMGS had the highest expression among all genes, followed by GGPS4. In addition, there was not a significant correlation between the seven genes and the components with high essential oil contents. Combined with the essential oil components detected in this study, the possible biosynthetic pathway of the characteristic components in Elsholtzia plants was speculated to be a metabolic pathway with geraniol as the starting point and elsholtzione as the end product. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted using the nucleotide sequences of the geranyl diphosphate synthase candidate genes, and the results showed that genes related to the volatile terpenoid biosynthetic pathway may be more suitable gene fragments for resolving the Elsholtzia phylogeny.

Cyanidin-3-O-Glucoside Supplementation Ameliorates Metabolic Insulin Resistance via Restoration of Nitric Oxide-Mediated Endothelial Insulin Transport.

SCOPE: Anthocyanin cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (Cy3G) possesses a great potential in prevention of diabetes and its vascular complications while the underlying mechanisms are still far from clear. Accumulating evidence suggests that endothelial insulin transport plays a critical role in regulating metabolic insulin sensitivity. Whether Cy3G can modulate metabolic insulin resistance via regulating endothelial insulin transport is not reported yet. METHODS AND RESULTS: Palmitic acid (PA)-treated mouse aortic endothelial cells (MAECs) model and high-fat diet (HFD) fed mice model are used. Compared with HFD mice, Cy3G supplementation decrease exogenous insulin content in skeletal muscle and ameliorate metabolic insulin resistance. In culture, Cy3G can directly ameliorate PA-induced impairment on FITC-insulin uptake in MAECs. Mechanistically, Cy3G can effectively decrease inflammatory cytokines and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor-kappa-B inhibitor alpha (IκBα) activation, and restore the attenuated Akt/eNOS signaling pathway. Blunted nitric oxide (NO) synthase with N-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) can effectively abolish the protective role of Cy3G on endothelial insulin transport and insulin-stimulated glucose utilization in HFD-fed mice. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that Cy3G supplementation can directly restore the attenuated nitic oxide-mediated endothelial insulin transport and thereby ameliorate metabolic insulin resistance. Our finding can provide a novel explanation for the anti-diabetic effects of Cy3G.

Antenatal Antibiotic Exposure Affects Enteral Feeding, Body Growth, and Neonatal Infection in Preterm Infants: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Antibiotics are widely prescribed by obstetricians, which exposes a large number of infants to antenatal antibiotics (AAB). The effect of AAB on various aspects of neonatal development of preterm infants remains unclear. Methods: In this retrospective study, infants born with gestational age (GA) between 22 +0 and 36 +6 weeks at our unit from 2017 to 2019 were included. Multivariable analysis was adopted to examine the associations between AAB exposure and various outcomes related to enteral feeding process, body growth, and neonatal infection after adjusting for potential confounders. Further subanalysis on the exposure level of AAB and stratified analysis by GA (<34 vs. ≥34 weeks) were also conducted. Results: In this cohort comprising 2,543 preterm infants, AAB was associated with decreased risks of feeding intolerance (odds ratio [OR]: 0.63, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.48-0.82) and neonatal infection (OR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.41-0.94). Higher AAB exposure level was associated with higher Z scores of birth weight (ß = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.27-0.47), but lower Δbodyweight Z-scores (ß = -0.20, 95% CI: -0.27 to -0.13). AAB was positively associated with the parameters related to body growth in infants with GA <34 weeks but negatively associated in those with GA ≥34 weeks. Conclusions: AAB exposure affects the enteral feeding process and neonatal infection. The effects on body growth vary by the exposure level of AAB and GA of infants. A well-designed prospective and preferably multi-centre study with predefined parameters is required to confirm our findings.

Survival benefit of gastrectomy for gastric cancer with peritoneal carcinomatosis: a propensity score-matched analysis.

Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) is the most frequent pattern of metastasis in stage IV gastric cancer (GC). The study aims to investigate the efficacy of gastrectomy in GC with PC. Clinicopathological data of 518 stage IV GC patients were retrospectively collected in Nanfang Hospital. Among all cases, 312 GC patients with PC (without other site of metastasis) were eligible. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the independent prognostic factors. Propensity score matching analysis was performed to balance the characteristics and treatment-related factors. There was a significantly improved overall survival in gastrectomy group (148 patients) compared with nonresection group (164 patients) (P < 0.001). The 1-year and 2-year survival rates were 49.8% and 21.5% in gastrectomy group, whereas 28.8% and 9.7% in nonresection group, respectively. Further analysis showed that gastrectomy had also improved survival in P1 (P = 0.017) and P2 stage patients (P < 0.001), but not P3 stage (P = 0.495). The modality of gastrectomy plus chemotherapy plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) showed an optimum survival. In addition, P3 disease, nongastrectomy, nonchemotherapy, non-HIPEC, and age ≥ 60 years were independently associated with poor survival. The gastrectomy plus chemotherapy plus HIPEC modality showed a significant survival benefit for gastric adenocarcinoma patients, particularly in those with P1 and P2 diseases.