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In this study, the bacterial flora structure, sensory quality and culturable lactic acid bacteria resources of sour porridge in Bayannur area were analyzed. Furthermore, these bacterial sequencing data were combined with the high-throughput sequencing data of Ordos sour porridge to analyze the microbiota differences. MiSeq results showed that Lactiplantibacillus , Acetobacter , Lacticaseibacillus , Lactobacillus , and Limosilactobacillus were the main bacterial genera in sour porridge. Further comparative analysis showed that the average relative abundance of 7 dominant bacteria genera was significantly higher in sour porridge from Bayannur area (P < 0.05). Electronic nose and electronic tongue demonstrated that the primary volatile flavor substances in sour porridge were terpene compounds, and the change in taste characteristics was mainly reflected in the sour taste index. Correlation showed that most of LAB genera and Acetobacter were positively correlated with the formation of aromatic compounds. Pure culture showed that Lacticaseibacillus paracasei and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum were the dominant LAB in sour porridge. Overall, certain differences in the bacterial flora of sour porridge from different regions were identified, with Lactiplantibacillus , Acetobacter , Lacticaseibacillus , Lactobacillus , and Limosilactobacillus being characteristic of sour porridge in Bayannur area. Moreover, some LAB genera and Acetobacter were found to have a positive effect on flavor formation in sour porridge. • Lactiplantibacillus , Acetobacter , Lacticaseibacillus , Lactobacillus , and Limosilactobacillus are the main bacterial genera. • Lacticaseibacillus paracasei and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum are the dominant LAB strains. • Lactiplantibacillus is a biomarker in Bayannur sour porridge, Limosilactobacillus is a biomarker in Ordos sour porridge. • LAB genera and Acetobacter have a positive effect on flavor formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence suggests a strong association between decreased lipid catabolism and the development of cancer. Solute carrier family 9 member A5 (SLC9A5) plays a regulatory role in colorectal function. However, the specific involvement of SLC9A5 in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear, as well as its potential connection to lipid catabolism. We found that SLC9A5 exhibited significantly higher expression in CRC tumor tissues compared to adjacent paratumor tissues, as confirmed through analysis of the TCGA database and validation on a CRC tissue chip using IHC. Furthermore, in vitro experiments showed that knockdown of SLC9A5 resulted in suppressed cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Then we performed bioinformatics analysis and found that SLC9A5 was significantly enriched in peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation (FAO) pathway and negatively correlated with its first rate-limiting enzyme acyl-CoA oxidases (ACOX). Interestingly, the expression of ACOX1, as well as FAO process indicated by changes in very long chain fatty acid levels, were enhanced upon SLC9A5 knockdown in CRC cells. Moreover, the attenuated tumor growth, migration, invasion, and increased FAO observed after SLC9A5 knockdown could be reversed by simultaneous knockdown of both SLC9A5 and ACOX1. In summary, these findings reveal the oncogenic role of SLC9A5 in CRC, particularly in relation to ACOX1-mediated peroxidation, and might serve as a promising therapeutic target for inhibiting the progression of colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging evidence has shown that metabolism, in particular the synthesis of fatty acids, has great significance for growth and metastasis of colorectal neoplasm. The previous results showed that RA-XII, a natural cyclopeptide isolated from Rubia yunnanensis , inhibits tumor growth and metastasis by AMPK/mTOR/P70S6K pathway and PI3K/AKT/NF-κB pathway. But if or not lipid metabolism involves the antitumor mechanism of RA-XII is not clear. Herein the results indicated that RA-XII reduced the cell motility by decreasing the expressions of β-catenin and β-catenin dependent proteins CD44 and MMP7 in HCT116 cells. Then RA-XII effectively reduced fatty acids levels by decreasing the expression of SREBP-1 and inhibiting the expressions of de novo fatty acid synthesis proteins FASN and SCD. Moreover the decreased cell motility caused by RA-XII was attenuated with the SREBP-1 knockdown. In addition, the in vivo experiments also demonstrated that RA-XII inhibited tumor growth and metastasis via restraining lipogenesis in colorectal neoplasm mouse models. Taken together, these results indicated that RA-XII suppressed the colorectal neoplasm growth and metastasis by inhibition of lipogenesis depended on SREBP-1 suppression. • Natural cyclopeptide RA-XII suppresses tumor growth and metastasis in colorectal cancer in vitro and in vivo. • RA-XII inhibits lipogenesis in colorectal cancer in vitro and in vivo. • SREBP-1 siRNA blocks the anti-tumor effects of RA-XII. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Heavy metal toxicity is one of the main factors that limit crop growth and yield in the world. Salicylic acid (SA) is thought to be a plant hormone that plays an important role in plant growth, development, and resistance to abiotic stresses. To uncover the toxic alleviation effects of SA on potato plants to cadmium (Cd) stress, the morphological, physiological, and biochemical indexes including antioxidant defense system were assayed in potato plants under 200 μM Cd stress in 1/2 Hoagland solution with foliar application of 600 μM SA concentration (10 ml/plant). Interestingly, exogenous SA treatment mitigated Cd toxicity by increasing the relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll, proline, and endogenous SA contents along with decline in malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2), and superoxide anion radicals (O 2 -). Correspondingly, our study also proved that SA may stimulate the antioxidant enzymatic mechanism pathway including superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1), catalase (CAT, EC 1.11.1.6), ascorbate peroxidase (APX, EC 1.11.1.11), and glutathione reductase (GR, EC 1.6.4.2) in potato plants subjected to Cd stress. Moreover, the expression level of selected genes relate to SA and reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism (StSABP2 , StSOD and StAPX) were enhanced in SA-treated potato plants under Cd stress, indicating that SA treatment regulated the expression of these genes, which in turn enhanced potato tolerance to Cd stress. Taken together, our results indicated that exogenous SA can play a positive regulatory role in alleviating Cd toxicity in potato plants. Highlights • Exogenous SA increased RWC and chlorophyll and proline contents under Cd stress. • Exogenous SA increased endogenous SA and improved plant growth under Cd stress. • Exogenous SA reduced MDA, H 2 O 2 , and O 2 - under Cd stress. • Exogenous SA induced the enzymatic antioxidant protection mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apelin and its receptor angiotensin receptor - like 1 (APJ) are closely related to renal fibrosis, but their specific roles in renal fibrosis are still controversial. In this article, we discussed the role of Apelin/APJ system in renal fibrosis and its mechanism. Chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) rat model was established to induce the environment of renal fibrosis and a competitive antagonist of the APJ receptor ML221 was administered to CIH rats. The rats were divided into Control, CIH and ML221 groups. HE staining was used to detect the inflammatory injury and fibrosis of renal tissue. The expressions of renal fibrosis-related indicators transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and Human type I collagen (Col-Ⅰ) were detected by immunohistochemistry. The levels of oxidative stress indexes reactive oxygen species (ROS), Malondialdehyde (MDA), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and inflammation-related indexes Interleukin (IL) −6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-1β were detected by ELISA. At the same time, the levels of Apelin-13 and AngiotensinII (AngⅡ) were also measured by ELISA. Finally, western blot was used to detect the expression of Apelin pathway and renal fibrosis-related proteins. In addition, at the cellular level, we divided the cells into Control, CIH, Apelin-13 and Apelin-13+ML-221 groups to further verify the specific mechanisms at the cellular level. The expression of Apeline-13 and its related pathways was significantly increased after the induction of CIH in rats. However, the degree of renal fibrosis in ML221 group was further significantly increased after inhibiting the expression of Apelin. At the cellular level, CIH model cells treated with Apelin-13 significantly reduced cell proliferation, oxidative stress and inflammatory response, and decreased the expression of fibrosis-related proteins, which can be reversed by ML221 administration. The increased reactivity of Apelin may be one of the protective mechanisms against renal fibrosis induced by CIH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we performed a comparative analysis of fungal communities and cultivable yeast isolates in rice wine from the Xiaogan and Dazhou regions using Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology and traditional culture-dependent methods. And we further explored the correlation between the sensory quality and fungal communities in rice wine. The results demonstrated no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the abundance and diversity of fungal communities and cultivable yeast isolates between Xiaogan and Dazhou rice wine. The dominant fungal genera were Rhizopus and Saccharomyces , with Saccharomyces cerevisiae accounting for the greatest proportion of yeast isolates. The rice wine samples could be divided into two types based on the composition of fungal communities. Type 1 mainly contained Rhizopus and Saccharomyces , while type 2 mainly contained Rhizopus. Properties such as lightness, blueness-yellowness, methane levels, ethanol levels, organic sulfide content, and soluble solids content accounted for the main differences between the two types of rice wine. In addition, Candida and Clavispora showed a significant positive correlation (P < 0.05) with the aromatic substances in rice wine. The findings of the study enrich our understanding of traditional rice wine, providing meaningful information for the improvement and development of the traditional rice wine industry. • Xiaogan and Dazhou rice wine were explored by various technological methods. • Clavispora and Mucor were biomarkers for rice wine samples from the Xiaogan and Dazhou regions, respectively. • S. cerevisiae accounted for the greatest proportion of yeast species in rice wine sample isolates from the two regions. • There were covariability between sensory quality of rice wine and Rhizopus , Saccharomyces , Candida , Clavispora , and Mucor. • We found a strongly positive correlation that the Candida and Clavispora with aromatic substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain inflammation plays an important role in the pathophysiology of many psychiatric and neurological diseases. During brain inflammation, microglia cells are activated, producing neurotoxic molecules and neurotrophic factors depending on their pro-inflammatory M1 and anti-inflammatory M2 phenotypes. It has been demonstrated that Angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers (ARBs) ameliorate brain inflammation and reduce M1 microglia activation. The ARB telmisartan suppresses glutamate-induced upregulation of inflammatory genes in cultured primary neurons. We wished to clarify whether telmisartan, in addition, prevents microglia activation through polarization to an anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype. We found that telmisartan promoted M2 polarization and reduced M1 polarization in LPS-stimulated BV2 and primary microglia cells, effects partially dependent on PPARγ activation. The promoting effects of telmisartan on M2 polarization, were attenuated by an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) inhibitor or AMPK knockdown, indicating that AMPK activation participates on telmisartan effects. Moreover, in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells, telmisartan enhancement of M2 gene expression was prevented by the inhibitor STO-609 and siRNA of calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase β (CaMKKβ), an upstream kinase of AMPK. Furthermore, telmisartan enhanced brain AMPK activation and M2 gene expression in a mouse model of LPS-induced neuroinflammation. In addition, telmisartan reduced the LPS-induced sickness behavior in this in vivo model, and this effect was prevented by prior administration of an AMPK inhibitor. Our results indicate that telmisartan can be considered as a novel AMPK activator, suppressing microglia activation by promoting M2 polarization. Telmisartan may provide a novel, safe therapeutic approach to treat brain disorders associated with enhanced inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we propose a simple method to analyze the similarity of biological sequences. By taking the average contents of biological sequences and their information entropies as the variables, the fuzzy method is used to cluster them. From the results of application, it finds that the method is relatively easy and rapid. Unlike other methods such as the graphical representation methods, which is usually very complex to compute some invariants of matric derived from graphical representation, our method pays more attention to the information of biological sequences themselves. Especially with the help of the software (SPSS), it seems to be very convenient. Therefore, it may be used to study the new biological sequences such as their evolution relationship and structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the bacterial profiles and taste characteristics of rice wine from the Xiaogan and Dazhou regions, this study employed a combination of High-throughput sequencing, traditional pure culture techniques, and bionics equipment. The findings revealed a significant difference (P < 0.05) in bacterial diversity and community structure between the rice wine from Xiaogan and Dazhou. In particular, Leuconostoc , Lactococcus , Lacticaseibacillus , Exiguobacterium , Gluconobacter , Streptococcus , and Pantoea were significantly enriched in Xiaogan rice wine, Limosilactobacillus , Pediococcus , and Lactobacillus were significantly enriched in Dazhou rice wine. Notably, the most dominant group of bacteria in rice wine was lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and the main culturable isolates were Limosilactobacillus fermentum and Pediococcus pentosaceus. Additionally, the dominant bacterial genera showed a significant correlation with the taste characteristics of rice wine. Limosilactobacillus , Pediococcus , Lactobacillus , and Pseudomonas were positively correlated with the lactic acid, citric acid, pH value, Ala, Ile, and Leu of rice wine. Meanwhile, Exiguobacterium , Lacticaseibacillus , and Streptococcus were positively correlated with the richness of rice wine. This study provides insights into the bacterial diversity and taste characteristics of rice wine from different regions of the Yangtze River Basin and highlights the potential of traditional fermented foods as resources for LAB. • Bacterial communities in rice wines from different regions differed significantly. • Mainly lactic acid bacteria were isolated from traditionally fermented rice wine. • A relationship was found between the bacteria and taste characteristics in rice wine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steam explosion (SE) was applied to modify the physicochemical properties and fermentation characteristics of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the dense structures of sorghum especially the starch granules were destroyed, and much more folds, crimps and holes appeared in sorghum starch. Cellulose, hemicellulose and proteins in sorghum tended to decrease when the SE pressure increased which were investigated by fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and SDS-PAGE. SE pretreatment increased the content of reducing sugar in sorghum, and the content of reducing sugar in sorghum pretreated by SE of 2.0 MPa increased over 19 times than the control. Moreover, fermentation results indicated that the ethanol yield was over 2 times higher than the control under the pressure of 1.5 MPa. The fermentation broth increased and the fermentation residue decreased obviously by SE pretreatment than the control. The kinds and the relative contents of esters increased, especially the ethyl acetate. This study suggested that SE pretreatment could reduce the waste content and promote the ethanol production in the liquor industry. Image 1 • Steam explosion pretreatment changed the physicochemical properties of sorghum. • The dense structure of sorghum starch granules were destroyed by SE pretreatment. • SE pretreatment accelerated the production of ethanol during fermentation. • The fermentation broth increased and the fermentation residue decreased obviously. • The kinds and the relative contents of esters increased, especially the ethyl acetate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenolic compounds have various nutritional and functional properties, especially antioxidant activity. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between the phenolic compound accumulation, antioxidant property and gene expression during maize kernel development. In this study, we explored the effects of developmental stage on the accumulation of phenolic compounds and their antioxidant activities. The expression levels of genes involved in phenolic biosynthesis were also studied. The results showed that the total phenolic content (TPC) and total anthocyanin content (TAC) were gradually increased from 15 to 48 days after pollination (DAP), whereas the total flavonoid content (TFC) decreased continuously. The antioxidant activity of maize kernels was increased gradually and positively associated with TPC. ZmCHS s in flavonoid biosynthetic pathway played important roles for total flavonoid accumulation at both early and later development stages. The expression pattern of ZmANS corresponded to the accumulation of total anthocyanin during kernel development. These results revealed that developmental stage affected the accumulation of different phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity and related gene expression. The antioxidant activity of maize kernels was dependent on the total phenolic accumulation which was related to the expression profiles of the genes participated in phenolic synthesis. Image 1 • Growth stage affects maize phenolic compound accumulation and antioxidant activity. • The antioxidant activity is positively and significantly correlated with TPC. • Two ZmCHS s are correlated with the total flavonoid accumulation. • ZmANS play important role in anthocyanin biosynthesis during kernel development. • Phenolic bio-fortification in maize may enhance health benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]