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Objective To observe the effect of Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) on cholesterol deposition in macrophages treated with high glucose, and to explore the mechanism related to macrophage autophagy. Methods Ten Balb/c mice were randomly divided into the normal control (NC, n=5) group and the DM group (n=5). A diabetic mouse model was established, and the expression level of KLF4 protein in aorta was detected after high fat diet. After induction of THP-1 monocytes into macrophages, they were divided into the LV-NC group, the LV-KLF4 group, the si-NC group and the si-KLF4 group. Changes of cholesterol content, cell apoptosis and the expression level of autophagy related proteins and AKT/mTOR signaling pathway related proteins in THP-1 macrophages were observed after overexpression or knockout of KLF4. Results The expression level of KLF4 protein in aorta of diabetic mice was lower in the DM group than that of the NC group (P＜0.05). Meanwhile, under high glucose concentration, overexpression of KLF4 in THP-1 macrophages significantly decreased cholesterol deposition, cell apoptosis and P62 expression, increased Beclin1 expression, LC3 fluorescence intensity and also inhibited AKT/mTOR signaling pathway related protein expression (P＜0.05). After knocking down KLF4 expression, the results were reversed. Conclusion KLF4 alleviates cholesterol deposition in THP-1 macrophages by promoting autophagy under high glucose concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The purpose of this experiment was to study the effect of sea buckthorn extract (SBE) supplementation on the production performance, serum biochemical indexes, egg quality, and cholesterol deposition of laying ducks. A total of 240 23-week-old laying ducks (female ducks) with similar body weight were randomly divided into four treatment groups with 6 replicates of 10 each. The experimental groups were fed diets supplemented with 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 g/kg of SBE, respectively. The results showed that the addition of 1.0 g/kg SBE to the diet had significant increase ( P < 0.05) in average egg weight and feed conversion ratio. The inclusion of SBE showed the significant improvement ( P < 0.05) in yolk weight, shell strength, egg white height and haugh unit. Ducks fed with 1.0 and 1.5 g/kg SBE displayed a significant decrease ( P < 0.05) in yolk cholesterol. The significant improvements were observed in the contents of total amino acid essential amino acids, non-essential amino acids, umami amino acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and docosahexenoic acids of eggs ( P < 0.05) when supplemented with SBE. However, the contents of total saturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in eggs showed decrease when ducks fed with SBE diets ( P < 0.05). SBE diets may reduce ( P < 0.05) the levels of serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, while increased ( P < 0.05) the levels of serum superoxide dismutase, total antioxidant capacity, and glutathione catalase compared to the control. The levels of serum immunoglobulin G, immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin M were improved in SBE diets ( P < 0.05) in comparation to the control. The addition of SBE to diets can improve feed nutrient utilization, increase egg weight, optimaze egg quality and amino acid content in eggs, reduce blood lipids, improve fatty acid profile and yolk cholesterol in eggs, and increase antioxidant capacity and immunity in laying ducks., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Yao, Liao, Yang, Liu, Wang, Zhu, Feng and Yang.) more...