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Abstract Background Gout is caused by monosodium urate (MSU) crystals deposition to trigger immune response. A recent study suggested that inhibition of Class I Histone deacetylases (HDACs) can significantly reduce MSU crystals-induced inflammation. However, which one of HDACs members in response to MSU crystals was still unknown. Here, we investigated the roles of HDAC3 in MSU crystals-induced gouty inflammation. Methods Macrophage specific HDAC3 knockout (KO) mice were used to investigate inflammatory profiles of gout in mouse models in vivo, including ankle arthritis, foot pad arthritis and subcutaneous air pouch model. In the in vitro experiments, bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) from mice were treated with MSU crystals to assess cytokines, potential target gene and protein. Results Deficiency of HDAC3 in macrophage not only reduced MSU-induced foot pad and ankle joint swelling but also decreased neutrophils trafficking and IL-1β release in air pouch models. In addition, the levels of inflammatory genes related to TLR2/4/NF-κB/IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway were significantly decreased in BMDMs from HDAC3 KO mice after MSU treatment. Moreover, RGFP966, selective inhibitor of HDAC3, inhibited IL-6 and TNF-α production in BMDMs treated with MSU crystals. Besides, HDAC3 deficiency shifted gene expression from pro-inflammatory macrophage (M1) to anti-inflammatory macrophage (M2) in BMDMs after MSU challenge. Conclusions Deficiency of HDAC3 in macrophage alleviates MSU crystals-induced gouty inflammation through inhibition of TLR2/4 driven IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway, suggesting that HDAC3 could contribute to a potential therapeutic target of gout.

There has been no specific review on the secondary metabolites from soft corals of the genus Capnella till now. In this work, all secondary metabolites from different species of the title genus were described. It covered the first work from 1974 to May 2024, spanning five decades. In the viewpoint of the general structural features, these chemical constituents were classified into four groups: sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, steroids, and lipids. Additionally, the 1H and 13C NMR data of these metabolites were provided when available in the literature. Among them, sesquiterpenes were the most abundant chemical compositions from soft corals of the genus Capnella. A variety of pharmacological activities of these compounds were evaluated, such as cytotoxic, antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory activities. In addition, the chemical synthesis works of several representative sesquiterpenes were provided. This review aims to provide an up-to-date knowledge of the chemical structures, pharmacological activities, and chemical synthesis of the chemical constituents from soft corals of the genus Capnella.

Salinization of freshwater ecosystems is a pressing global issue. Changes in salinity can exert severe pressure on aquatic animals and jeopardize their survival. Procambarus clarkii is a valuable freshwater aquaculture species that exhibits some degree of salinity tolerance, making it an excellent research model for freshwater aquaculture species facing salinity stress. In the present study, crayfish were exposed to acute low salt (6 ppt) and high salt (18 ppt) conditions. The organisms were continuously monitored at 6, 24, and 72 h using RNA-Seq to investigate the mechanisms of salt stress resistance. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the crayfish responded to salinity stress with numerous differentially expressed genes, and most of different expression genes was observed in high salinity group for 24h. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses indicated that metabolic pathways were the primary response pathways in crayfish under salinity stress. This suggests that crayfish may use metabolic pathways to compensate for energy loss caused by osmotic stress. Furthermore, gene expression analysis revealed the differential expression of immune and antioxidant-related pathway genes under salinity stress, implying that salinity stress induces immune disorders in crayfish. More genes related to cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, such as the Foxo, Wnt, Hippo, and Notch signaling pathways, responded to high-salinity stress. This suggests that regulating the cellular replication cycle and accelerating apoptosis may be necessary for crayfish to cope with high-salinity stress. Additionally, we identified 36 solute carrier family (SLC) genes related to ion transport, depicting possible ion exchange mechanisms in crayfish under salinity stress. These findings aimed to establish a foundation for understanding crustacean responses to salinity stress and their osmoregulatory mechanisms.

Marine sponges of the genus Spongia have proven to be unabated sources of novel secondary metabolites with remarkable scaffold diversities and significant bioactivities. The discovery of chemical substances from Spongia sponges has continued to increase over the last few years. The current work provides an up-to-date literature survey and comprehensive insight into the reported metabolites from the members of the genus Spongia, as well as their structural features, biological activities, and structure–activity relationships when available. In this review, 222 metabolites are discussed based on published data from the period from mid-2015 to the beginning of 2024. The compounds are categorized into sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, sesterterpenes, meroterpenes, linear furanoterpenes, steroids, alkaloids, and other miscellaneous substances. The biological effects of these chemical compositions on a vast array of pharmacological assays including cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, neuroprotective, protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B)-inhibitory, and phytoregulating activities are also presented.

Background: Salinity is one of the main influencing factors in the culture environment and is extremely important for the survival, growth, development and reproduction of aquatic animals.Methods: In this study, a comparative transcriptome analysis (maintained for 45 days in three different salinities, 30 psu (HC group), 18 psu (MC group) and 3 psu (LC group)) was performed by high-throughput sequencing of economically cultured Penaeus monodon. P. monodon gill tissues from each treatment were collected for RNA-seq analysis to identify potential genes and pathways in response to low salinity stress.Results: A total of 64,475 unigenes were annotated in this study. There were 1,140 upregulated genes and 1,531 downregulated genes observed in the LC vs. HC group and 1,000 upregulated genes and 1,062 downregulated genes observed in the MC vs. HC group. In the LC vs. HC group, 583 DEGs significantly mapped to 37 signaling pathways, such as the NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway; in the MC vs. HC group, 444 DEGs significantly mapped to 28 signaling pathways, such as the MAPK signaling pathway, Hippo signaling pathway and calcium signaling pathway. These pathways were significantly associated mainly with signal transduction, immunity and metabolism.Conclusions: These results suggest that low salinity stress may affect regulatory mechanisms such as metabolism, immunity, and signal transduction in addition to osmolarity in P. monodon. The greater the difference in salinity, the more significant the difference in genes. This study provides some guidance for understanding the low-salt domestication culture of P. monodon.

Marine soft corals are prolific sources of various natural products that have served as a wealthy reservoir of diverse chemical scaffolds with potential as new drug leads. The genus Litophyton contains almost 100 species but only a small proportion of them has been chemically investigated, which calls for more attentions from global researchers. In the current work, 175 secondary metabolites have been discussed, drawing from published data spanning almost five decades, up to July 2023. The studied species of the genus Litophyton resided in various tropical and temperate regions and encompassed a broad range of biologically active natural products including terpenes, steroids, nitrogen-containing metabolites, lipids, and other metabolites. A wide spectrum of pharmacological effects of these compounds had been evaluated, such as cytotoxic, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-malarial, antifeedant, anti-inflammatory, molluscicidal, PTP1B inhibitory, insect growth inhibitory, and neuroprotective activities. This review aims to offer an up-to-date survey of the literature and provide a comprehensive understanding of the chemical structures, taxonomical distributions, and biological activities of the reported metabolites from the title genus whenever available.

As a highly conserved transcription factor family, DMRTs (Doublesex and Mab-3-related transcription factors) are involved in sex determination and sexual differentiation in numerous animals. In the present study, we identified a DM (Doublesex/Mab-3)-domain gene in Penaeus monodon, which we named PmDMRT11E because it shared many similarities with DMRT11E homologs and has a close relationship in the phylogeny of different species. The three-dimensional structure and amino acid alignments indicated the stability and conservation of the DM domain. Real-time PCR analysis revealed that PmDMRT11E was highly and preferentially expressed in the testis of sub-adult shrimp. During embryogenesis, the expression level of PmDMRT11E was higher at the nauplius than at other periods. PmDMRT11E dsRNA injection significantly decreased the transcription factor Sox9 and increased ovarian marker Foxl2 expression, implying its important regulatory role in the mechanism of male determination. Moreover, dsDMRT11E caused abnormal sperm development, indicating that PmDMRT11E may be closely related to gonadal development and spermatogenesis.

The soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum, which was frequently encountered on Indo-Pacific and Red Sea coral reefs, furnished a wealth of secondary metabolites. Notably, terpenoids dominated the chemical profile of this species. In this review, we summarized the discovery of 156 terpenoids from the soft coral S. trocheliophorum specimens in different geographical areas. The structures comprised 13 terpenoidal classes with various functionalities. We covered the era from the first report of S. trocheliophorum-derived metabolites in 1976 up to October 2022. The biological effects of these chemical compositions on a vast array of potential pharmacological activities such as protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibitory, neuroprotective, cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antivirus, and immunomodulatory activities were also presented. This review also revealed an immense demand to explore the terpene biosynthetic gene clusters of this species besides the chemo- and bio-investigations.

Doublesex (Dsx) is a polymorphic transcription factor of the DMRTs family, which is involved in male sex trait development and controls sexual dimorphism at different developmental stages in arthropods. However, the transcriptional regulation of the Dsx gene is largely unknown in decapods. In this study, we reported the cDNA sequence of PmDsx in Penaeus monodon, which encodes a 257 amino acid polypeptide. It shared many similarities with Dsx homologs and has a close relationship in the phylogeny of different species. We demonstrated that the expression of the male sex differentiation gene Dsx was predominantly expressed in the P. monodon testis, and that PmDsx dsRNA injection significantly decreased the expression of the insulin-like androgenic gland hormone (IAG) and male sex-determining gene while increasing the expression of the female sex-determining gene. We also identified a 5′-flanking region of PmIAG that had two potential cis-regulatory elements (CREs) for the PmDsx transcription. Further, the dual-luciferase reporter analysis and truncated mutagenesis revealed that PmDsx overexpression significantly promoted the transcriptional activity of the PmIAG promoter via a specific CRE. These results suggest that PmDsx is engaged in male reproductive development and positively regulates the transcription of the PmIAG by specifically binding upstream of the promoter of the PmIAG. It provides a theoretical basis for exploring the sexual regulation pathway and evolutionary dynamics of Dmrt family genes in P. monodon.

The experiment simulated the logistical transportation of Penaeus monodon. It set four distinct gradient Vitamin C (Vc) addition levels, including 0mg/L, 111mg/L, 222mg/L, and 333mg/L, to investigate the impact of Vc on the anti-stress ability of P. monodon during transportation. And the survival rate following transportation and a 15-day interim rearing period were recorded. Moreover, the alterations in tissue structure and activity of the enzymes alkaline phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), and total superoxide dismutase (T-AOC) were checked. The results showed that with the increase of Vc supplemental level, the survival rate of P. monodon after transportation and after 15 days of temporary rearing increased to varying degrees. ACP and AKP in the hepatopancreas increased first and then decreased. T-SOD activity in the 0mg/L group was the lowest and then decreased gradually. The activity of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in the 0mg/L group was the lowest and then stabilized. The branchial tissue structure also changed. The branchial tissue blood cell disorder decreased, the diaphragm gradually narrowed, the cornered cortex gradually recovered, and the swelling decreased. In conclusion, Vc positively affects the survival rate of P. monodon after transportation and temporary cultivation and alleviates the stress of P. monodon. The amount of Vc added at about 333mg/Lin, the transportation of P. monodon could play a positive role. The experimental results provide primary data for the transportation of P. monodon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, three genes, PmATP synthase, PmNa+-K+-ATPase and PmToll receptor gene, were selected to study their relative expression in different tissues of Penaeus monodon. The results showed that the mRNA level of PmATP synthase gene was not significantly up-regulated under low salt stimulation (P> 0.05),while under high salinity stimulation, the transcription level of PmATP synthase mRNA reached the maximum at 16th h (P<0.05).The expression level of PmNa+-K+-ATPase mRNA increased at 4th h and 16th h, which was significantly higher than that in the beginning under low salt stimulation (P<0.05) and then decreased at 32nd h,,while under high salinity stimulation, the expression level of PmNa+-K+- ATPase mRNA reached the highest at 8th h and 32nd h. The expression level of PmToll receptor mRNA reached the highest at 4th h after low salinity stimulation (P<0.05), and then down-regulated after 16th h, while under high salinity stress, the expression level was up-regulated and reached the maximum at 8th h, which was 2.4 times of that the in the control group (P<0.05) and decreased at 16th h after stress. PmATP synthase gene was relatively high expression, while PmNa+-K+-ATPase and PmToll receptor gene expression were low, so we guess that the large amounts of ATP of the body synthesis mainly use for the growth of the body. PmNa+-K+-ATPase and PmToll receptor gene expression are relatively high, which indicate that the body osmotic pressure regulation and the body’s immune process consume a lot of energy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional broodstock diets, being susceptible to virus attacks or carrying the virus to parent shrimps, bring a huge bio-security risk to shrimp breeding. This study was carried out to determine the feasibility of Pheretima tschiliensis as a replacement of traditional bait to accelerate the maturity of parent shrimps of Penaeus monodon, which was verified by the dynamics of vitellogenin gene expression in hepatopancreas and ovary of P. monodon. The parent shrimps fed on four different diets including commercial parent shrimps feed (Diet A), Pheretima tschiliensis combination bait (Diet B), Pheretima tschiliensis (Diet C) and Nereis succinea combination bait (Diet D), and the effect of each diet on the maturity of parent shrimps was evaluated by testing the gonad weight increase rate, eggs amount, average spawning time and levels of VTG mRNA expression. The results showed that P. tschiliensis, as a closely related terrestrial species of N. succinea, had the best effect on maturation of parent shrimps. The highest gonad weight increase rate of 1845.28% and the largest consecutive spawning rate with average value of 70.66% were both in groups fed on P. tschiliensis, with no significant difference from the groups fed on N. succinea combination bait. The dynamics of VTG mRNA level were observed in hepatopancreas and ovary of P. monodon with the trend of increasing firstly and then decreasing, which reflected reproductive performance of the parent shrimps and was suggested to be an indicator of reproductive performance for selective breeding. As a result, P. tschiliensis is a suitable substitute of N. succinea based on its effect on the reproductive traits and VTG mRNA expression level in parent shrimps of P. monodon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]