CCL4 participates in the reprogramming of glucose metabolism induced by ALV-J infection in chicken macrophages.

Interferon and chemokine-mediated immune responses are two general antiviral programs of the innate immune system in response to viral infections and have recently emerged as important players in systemic metabolism. This study found that the chemokine CCL4 is negatively regulated by glucose metabolism and avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) infection in chicken macrophages. Low expression levels of CCL4 define this immune response to high glucose treatment or ALV-J infection. Moreover, the ALV-J envelope protein is responsible for CCL4 inhibition. We confirmed that CCL4 could inhibit glucose metabolism and ALV-J replication in chicken macrophages. The present study provides novel insights into the antiviral defense mechanism and metabolic regulation of the chemokine CCL4 in chicken macrophages.

Formation, Application, and Significance of Chicken Primordial Germ Cells: A Review.

Chicken is one of the most widely consumed sources of protein globally. Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the precursors for ova and sperm. One of the early embryogenesis events in most animals is the segregation of the somatic and germ lineages. PGC cultures occur in the germline, and PGCs are less studied in many species. It is relatively challenging to separate, cultivate, and genetically alter chicken without mutating the basic germline. The present study aims to gather previous research about chicken PGCs and provide a customized review of studies and developments in the field of PGCs, especially for avian species. Furthermore, we show that the propagation of chicken PGCs into embryonic germ cells that contribute to somatic tissues may be produced in vitro. Primordial germ cells offer an ideal system in developmental biology, as these cells play a vital role in the genetic modification and treatment of infertility. Cryopreservation helps to maintain genetic resources and sustainable production in the poultry industry. Keeping in mind the significance of cryopreservation for storage and gametogenesis, we discuss its role in the preservation of primordial germ cells. Transgenesis and genetic modifications in chicken lead to the development of various medicinal chicken varieties and aid in improving their production and quality for consumption purposes. Additionally, these characteristics open up new possibilities for modifying the chicken genome for agricultural and medical purposes.

Activation of lnc-ALVE1-AS1 inhibited ALV-J replication through triggering the TLR3 pathway in chicken macrophage like cell line.

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are remnants of the historical retroviral infections, and their derived transcripts with viral signatures are important sources of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). We have previously shown that the chicken ERV-derived lncRNA lnc-ALVE1-AS1 exerts antiviral innate immunity in chicken embryo fibroblasts. However, it is not clear whether this endogenous retroviral RNA has a similar function in immune cells. Here, we found that lnc-ALVE1-AS1 was persistently inhibited in chicken macrophages after avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) infection. Furthermore, overexpression of lnc-ALVE1-AS1 significantly inhibited the replication of exogenous ALV-J, whereas knockdown of lnc-ALVE1-AS1 promoted the replication of ALV-J in chicken macrophages. This phenomenon is attributed to the induction of antiviral innate immunity by lnc-ALVE1-AS1 in macrophages, whereas knockdown of lnc-ALVE1-AS1 had the opposite effect. Mechanistically, lnc-ALVE1-AS1 can be sensed by the cytosolic pattern recognition receptor TLR3 and trigger the type I interferons response. The present study provides novel insights into the antiviral defense of ERV-derived lncRNAs in macrophages and offers new strategies for future antiviral solutions.

Global network mapping research landscape and trends of the endogenous retroviruses: a look through bibliometric analysis.

Endogenous retrovirus (ERV) research amalgamates host-retroviral coevolutionary, phylogenomic, infection, immunity, and cellular studies in various hosts ranging from fish to humans. Henceforth, a bibliometric analysis of these publications may aid in the identification of trends in ERV research. It was the foremost bibliographic study, with the key aim to conduct the bibliometric network analysis (e.g. co-authorship, co-occurrence, citation, bibliographic coupling, and co-citation analysis) to find the most prolific authors, organizations, and countries in ERV research, based on the mapping of bibliographic data. Second, the mapping based on text data comprised to chalk out the research trend over the time. The global literature about endogenous retroviruses published between 1985 and Sep 2021 was searched in the Web of Science (Core Collection) database using the "ENDOGENOUS RETROVIRUS" keyword. The bibliometric analysis of this dataset was carried out using VOSviewer version 1.6.17. According to findings, English was the de facto language of these publications, and 2157 were original articles. Among 2939 published documents, "endogenous retrovirus" was the most frequent keyword. Moreover, it revealed the United States as a core contributor to studies on the ERV. The Journal of Virology published a substantial amount of manuscripts in ERV. Robert Koch Institute and Harvard University were leading organizations for research in this field. The application of ERV research from China could be the research hotspot to follow in the coming years. Current bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive picture of ERV research progress and has highlighted the contribution of different stakeholders.

Temperature and precipitation gradients determine biomass in Birch (Betula spp.) and Fir (Abies spp.) in Eurasia.

Forest ecosystems are sinks of atmospheric carbon and maintain annual temperature. On the other hand, climate change entails changes in all the biota structures and functions, including forest cover and biomass. Temperature and precipitation are the main deterministic factors in species biomass change. Therefore, we compared the biomass of Betula spp. and Abies spp. at the stand level along trans-Eurasian hydrothermal gradients. We analyzed the biomass database of Betula and Abies forest stands in Eurasia. Climate variables explained about 14 and 16% of the total biomass variability in Betula and Abies, respectively. Our results showed that increasing temperature and precipitation positively impacted fir biomass. However, a negative impact was reported on needles and branches due to insufficient humidity. In birch forests, positive trends occur from cold to warm climate zones, but only when there is inadequate water supply. A negative correlation was reported in the moist areas. Most of the birch biomass components only increased in the precipitation gradient in cold climate zones. This positive trend transformed to negative in warm zones (except for branches). We modeled the possible temporal biomass change of tree species based on its territorial pattern in Eurasia using the principle of space-for-time substitution. The developments of models for the main forest-forming species of Eurasia allow us to predict changes in the productivity of the forest cover of Eurasia.

Global Maps of Avian Leukosis Viruses: Research Trends and Themes Based on Networking.

Avian leukosis virus (ALV) has a tremendous adverse impact on the poultry industry. Since its discovery, research on different aspects of ALV have been published. Due to the vast academic emphasis and economic importance of the ALV infection in poultry worldwide, this bibliometric analysis explored the scientific output associated with ALV utilizing the Web of Science (Core Collection) database. The relevant data were collected using the search query "AVIAN LEUKOSIS VIRUS", further refined by document types (article, book chapter, and proceedings paper). Finally, 1060 items with full records were imported in Plaintext and tab-delimited formats. The data analysis was carried out using MS Excel, VOS viewer, and R (Biblioshiny) software. Chinese and American research institutions produced the majority of papers during study time period. The Journal of Virology and Avian Diseases appeared as the favorite journal/source for publications. Apart from the avian leukosis virus and the ALV-J, the important keywords mentioned included avian leukosis virus subgroup j, chicken, and retrovirus. The analysis revealed substantial findings on ALV research, with a strong research response from the USA and China.

Biological activities of three medicinal plants from district Mirpur, AJK, Pakistan.

Present research work was aimed to investigate the biological activities i.e. antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, cytotoxic and antitumor activities of crude methanolic extract of Anagallis arvensis L., Butea monosperma (Lam.) Kuntze and Coronopus didymus (L.) Pers. against Gram positive strains (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus) and gram negative strains (Vibrio cholera, Enterobacter aerogenes, Klebsiella pneumonia, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Escherichia coli) were screened. Best activity was observed against K. pneumonia and S. aureus by A. arvensis compared with other strains. Butea monosperma exhibited considerable activity against S. aureus, V. cholera, E. aerogenes and K. pneumonia compared with other strains. Methanolic extract of A. arvensis L. inhibited fungal growth against A. niger up to 30.2%. B. monosperma inhibited the growth of A. niger up to 43.5% and against A. fumigatus 27.3%. C. didymus inhibited the A. fumigates up to 27.3% and against A. niger, it inhibited 48%. Brine shrimps lethality bioassay was used to evaluate the cytotoxic activity and LD50 value was calculated by using probit analysis. Potato disc bioassay was designed to screen antitumor activity and data was analyzed by one way ANOVA.