Association between tea consumption and semen quality among 1385 healthy Chinese men.

Information on the association between tea drinking and semen quality is limited. Little is reported on whether tea drinking is benefit to sperm quality. This cross-sectional and longitudinal study was conducted between April 2017 and July 2018. Participants were healthy men who were screened as potential sperm donors recruited at the Hubei Province Human Sperm Bank of China. A structured questionnaires containing sociodemographic information, daily habits, sperm collection-related information was completed for each participant at interview. Repeated semen samples were taken to examine the sperm parameters, including sperm volume, sperm concentration, sperm count, progressive motility, and total motility. A total of 1385 men with 6466 sperm samples were included in this study. Two groups were compared: tea drinking men (389, 28.1%) and non-tea drinking men (996, 71.9%). Compared with subjects who never drink tea, the analyses showed that sperm concentration and total sperm count were higher in tea-consuming subjects. A 10-year period or more duration of tea drinking significantly increased semen concentrations by 16.27% (P < 0.05). Sperm concentration was increased in subjects with a frequency of tea drinking of 3 days or more per week (P < 0.05) or, among men who were occasional alcohol drinkers, when tea concentration was weak (P < 0.05). No evidence of trend effects (P for trend > 0.05) or interaction effects (P for interaction > 0.05) between tea consumption and sperm quality, respectively. Our findings provide evidence that tea drinking may improve male reproductive health. Long-term, frequent, weak tea drinking tends to increase sperm quality among men with low BMI or health-related behaviors like smoking or alcohol intake.

Identification of C3 and FN1 as potential biomarkers associated with progression and prognosis for clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is one of the most lethal urological malignancies, but the pathogenesis and prognosis of ccRCC remain obscure, which need to be better understand. METHODS: Differentially expressed genes were identified and function enrichment analyses were performed using three publicly available ccRCC gene expression profiles downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The protein-protein interaction and the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks were visualized by Cytoscape. Multivariate Cox analysis was used to predict an optimal risk mode, and the survival analysis was performed with the Kaplan-Meier curve and log-rank test. Protein expression data were downloaded from Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium database and Human Protein Atlas database, and the clinical information as well as the corresponding lncRNA and miRNA expression data were obtained via The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The co-expressed genes and potential function of candidate genes were explored using data exacted from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia database. RESULTS: Of the 1044 differentially expressed genes shared across the three datasets, 461 were upregulated, and 583 were downregulated, which significantly enriched in multiple immunoregulatory-related biological process and tumor-associated pathways, such as HIF-1, PI3K-AKT, P53 and Rap1 signaling pathways. In the most significant module, 36 hub genes were identified and were predominantly enriched in inflammatory response and immune and biotic stimulus pathways. Survival analysis and validation of the hub genes at the mRNA and protein expression levels suggested that these genes, particularly complement component 3 (C3) and fibronectin 1 (FN1), were primarily responsible for ccRCC tumorigenesis and progression. Increased expression of C3 or FN1 was also associated with advanced clinical stage, high pathological grade, and poor survival in patients with ccRCC. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis qualified the expression levels of the two genes as candidate biomarkers for predicting poor survival. FN1 was potentially regulated by miR-429, miR-216b and miR-217, and constructed a bridge to C3 and C3AR1 in the ceRNA network, indicating a critical position of FN1. CONCLUSIONS: The biomarkers C3 and FN1 could provide theoretical support for the development of a novel prognostic tool to advance ccRCC diagnosis and targeted therapy.

[Isolation and Nitrogen Removal Characteristics of Salt-tolerant Heterotrophic Nitrification and Aerobic Denitrification Bacteria Zobellella sp. B307].

A heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification strain, B307, was isolated from the sediment of Jiaozhou Bay. The strain was identified by 16S rRNA sequence analysis, and its optimization condition and salt-tolerance characteristics were studied by single factor experiment. The denitrification effect in single or mixed nitrogen sources was investigated under optimum conditions. The results allowed the strain to be identified as Zobellella sp., based on 16S rRNA sequence analysis. The best carbon source was sodium succinate, and the optimum C/N was 5, the optimal initial pH was 9, and the optimal temperature was 35-40℃ respectively. After 12 hours, the NH4+-N and the NO3--N removal efficiencies were 98.35% and 99.75% in a mixed nitrogen source system. The removal efficiencies for NH4+-N and NO3--N were 97.67% and 94.39% within 24 hours when salinity was 75 g·L-1. The strain has highly efficient heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification ability and strong salt tolerance, which demonstrated that the strain has potential for extensive application for nitrogen removal in high salt wastewater.

Breviscapine (BVP) inhibits prostate cancer progression through damaging DNA by minichromosome maintenance protein-7 (MCM-7) modulation.

Naturally occurring compounds are reported as effective candidates for prevention and treatment of various cancers. Breviscapine (BVP) is a mixture of flavonoid glycosides, derived from the Chinese herbs. Previous researches have indicated that BVP has comprehensive pharmacological functions. However, little is known about whether BVP has preventive effects on human prostate cancer. Here, we attempted to explore if BVP inhibits human prostate cancer in vitro and in vivo in a comprehensive manner. We found that BVP triggered cytotoxicity in prostate cancer cell lines dose-dependently. BVP-induced DNA damage caused the cell cycle arrest and apoptosis and further induced cell death. High expression of MCM-7 was reduced in BVP-treated cancer cells and tumor tissues, and also the DNA damage response marker of γH2AX is down-regulated by BVP, associated with MCM-7 expression through regulating retinoblastoma protein (Rb) and checkpoint control proteins expression. Additionally, BVP induced apoptotic response in prostate cancer cells and tumors via activating Caspase-3 and PARP. In vivo studies indicated that BVP impeded tumor growth in xenograft animal models. In conclusion, our data indicates that breviscapine (BVP) can be further explored for its potential, which might be used in human prostate cancer therapeutics.

[Association between single nucleotide polymorphisms in -88 and -123 loci of MxA gene promoter region and HCV susceptibility and IFN-α efficacy].

AIM: To investigate the association between the single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNP) in -88 and -123 loci of myxovirus resistance 1(MxA) gene promoter region and the susceptibility to heptaitis C virus(HCV) in Han Chinese, and evaluate the relationship between all of the genotypes and the treatment response to IFN-α. METHODS: Genotypes of -88(G/T) and -123(C/A) loci of the MxA promoter were examined by the polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP) in 46 patients with chronic hepatitis C(CHC group) and 50 healthy controls(HC group). The indexes for evaluating the curative effect were the biochemical and virological response rates(RVR/EVR/ETVR/SVR). RESULTS: There was no statistical significance in frequency distribution difference of the genotypes and alleles of -88/-123 loci between CHC and CH groups(P>0.05): the T-alleles of MxA-88 locus and the A-alleles of MxA-123 locus may be not associated with the susceptibility to HCV(OR95%CI: 0.60-1.96, 0.35-1.14, respectively). The level of ALT increased and was positively correlated with HCV-RNA load(r=0.931). No significant difference was discovered in terms of the HCV viral load and the ALT levels among different genotypes of -88 or -123 loci(P>0.05). IFN-α treatment response rates were also not significantly different among -88G/T, -123C/A and MxA-88/-123(P>0.05). CONCLUSION: There is no distinct correlation between the SNP of MxA-88G/T and MxA-123C/A loci and HCV susceptibility, but the MxA-88T/-123A gene variants may indirectly increase the risk for HCV infection, and the MxA-88T gene mutation may be related to IFN-α antiviral efficacy and the outcomes of HCV infection.

In situ absorption in rat intestinal tract of solid dispersion of annonaceous acetogenins.

Isolated from Annona squamosa L, Annonaceous acetogenins (ACGs) exhibit a broad range of biological properties yet absorbed badly due to the low solubility. Solid dispersion in polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG 4000) has been developed to increase the solubility and oral absorption of ACGs. The formulation of ACGS-solid dispersion was optimized by a simplex lattice experiment design and carried out by a solvent-fusion method. We studied the absorption property of ACGs in rat's intestine, which showed there was a good absorption and uptake percentages with solid dispersion. The study on uptake percentage in different regions of rat's intestine attested that the duodenum had the best permeability, followed by jejunum, ileum, and colon in order with no significant differences. So the paper drew the conclusion that solid dispersion could improve the solubility and oral absorption of annonaceous acetogenins.

[The dissemination of CMV in urine of different group from Guangxi and the relationship between CMV infection and renal disease].

OBJECTIVE: To detect Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) DNA in urine samples from the following groups: pregnant women, sick newborns, hospitalized nephropathy patients, renal transplant recipients and normal population. Preliminarily study the relationship of HCMV infection and renal disease. METHODS: To detect HCMV DNA in morning urine samples by Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (FQ-PCR). RESULTS: The positive rates of HCMV DNA in the urine of pregnant women,sick newborns, hospitalized nephropathy patients, renal transplant recipients and normal population are 8.18%, 3.45%, 18.54%, 25.42%, 0.56%. CONCLUSION: The infection rates of HCMV in the urine of pregnant women and sick newborns are very high in Guangxi, it should take serious measures to prevent and control the situation. HCMV probably participate in the injury of kidney, and worsen the disease. It should be one of the causes of renal disease.