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Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an interstitial disease of unknown origin, characterized by tissue fibrosis, for which currently there is no effective treatment. Macrophages, the main immune cells in lung tissue, are involved in the whole process of pulmonary fibrosis. In recent years, intercellular transformation has led to wide spread concern among pulmonary fibrosis researchers. Macrophages with flexible heterogeneity and plasticity participate in different physiological processes in the body. Cell chemokine receptor 8 (CCR8) is expressed in a variety of cells and plays a significant chemotactic role in the induction of cell activation and migration. It can also promote the differentiation of macrophages under certain environmental conditions. The current study is intended to explore the role of CCR8 in macrophage to myofibroblast transdifferentiation (MMT) in IPF. Methods: We conducted experiments using CCR8-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA), an autophagy inhibitor (3-methyladenine, 3-MA), and an agonist (rapamycin) to explore the underlying mechanisms of macrophage transdifferentiation into myofibroblast cells in transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β)-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Results: TGF-β treatment increased the CCR8 protein level in a time- and dose-dependent manner in mouse alveolar macrophages, as well as macrophage transdifferentiation-related markers, including vimentin, collagen 1, and a-SMA, and cell migration. In addition, the levels of autophagy were enhanced in macrophages treated with TGF-β. We found that 3-MA, an autophagy inhibitor, decreased the expression levels of macrophage transdifferentiation-related markers and attenuated cell migration. Furthermore, the inhibition of CCR8 via CCR8-specific siRNA reduced the levels of autophagy and macrophage transdifferentiation-related markers, and inhibited the cell migration. Enhancing autophagy with rapamycin attenuated the inhibition effect of CCR8-specific siRNA on macrophage migration and the increase in myofibroblast marker proteins. Conclusions: Our findings showed that the macrophages exposed to TGF-β had the potential to transdifferentiate into myofibroblasts and CCR8 was involved in the process. The effect of CCR8 on TGF-β-induced macrophage transdifferentiation occurs mainly through autophagy. Targeting CCR8 may be a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of IPF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial community shifts of a freshwater wetland with crude oil pressure were investigated fully as a function of cultivation time, using the enrichment procedure and high-throughput sequencing. Bacterial structures and biodegradation capabilities were apparently altered over different cultivation periods. Flavobacterium was the dominant genus in the original water sample, followed by hgcl_clade and Limnobabitans. However, during a long-term successional cultivation with crude oil, a potential microbial consortium was successfully rebuilt that was mainly composed of hydrocarbon-degrading genera, such as Pseudomonas, Rhodococcus, and Nocardia. Furthermore, the cultivation time was a significant factor that contributed to the complexity and relative stability of the bacterial community. Additionally, the majority of crude oil fractions were degraded by the enriched consortium. For example, n-alkanes (m/z 85) in the crude oil were fully depleted, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, such as naphthalenes, decalins, fluorenes, phenanthrenes, dibenzothiophenes, and chrysenes, were partially degraded from 10% to 100%. Moreover, the degree of biodegradation varied during different cultivation periods and within compound families. The microbial consortium of hydrocarbon degradation can be constructed from the freshwater wetland and this finding is useful when considering bioremediation of petroleum contamination in natural wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the anti-inflammatory activity of endogenous produced melatonin, a melatonin-enriched animal model (goat) with AANAT transfer was successfully generated with somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technology. Basically, a pIRES2-EGFP-AANAT expression vector was constructed and was transferred into the female fetal fibroblast cells (FFCs) via electrotransfection and then the nuclear of the transgenic FFC was transferred to the eggs of the donor goats. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of the transgenic offspring expressed significantly higher levels of AANAT and melatonin synthetic function than those PBMCs from the wild-type (WT) animals. After challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the transgenic PBMCs had increased autophagosomes and LC3B expression while they exhibited suppressed production of the proinflammatory cytokines, IL1B and IL12 (IL12A-IL12B/p70), compared to their WT. The mechanistic analysis indicated that the anti-inflammatory activity of endogenous melatonin was mediated by MTNR1B (melatonin receptor 1B). MTNR1B stimulation activated the MAPK14 signaling pathway to promote cellular macroautophagy/autophagy, thus, suppressing the excessive inflammatory response of cellular. However, when the intact animals challenged with LPS, the serum proinflammatory cytokines were significantly higher in the transgenic goats than that in the WT. The results indicated that endogenous melatonin inhibited the MAPK1/3 signaling pathway and ROS production, subsequently downregulated gene expression of BECN1, ATG5 in PMBCs and then suppressed the autophagy activity of PBMCs and finally elevated levels of serum proinflammatory cytokines in transgenic animals, Herein we provided a novel melatonin-enriched animal model to study the potential effects of endogenously produced melatonin on inflammatory responses and autophagy activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microwave foam drying (MFD) is a novel drying technology particularly for the drying of agricultural products with high viscosity and thermal-sensitive components. The effect of dissipation of microwave energy on the drying process of berry puree was investigated in MFD conditions. The results show that the dissipation of microwave energy induces the vapor pressure inside the berry puree to improve the formation of bubbles. The changes of pressure inside bubbles of berry puree follow Sine equations. The favorable conditions of bubbles formation inside berry puree are the temperature of 70-80°C with the corresponding viscosity of 70-80 pa s and moisture content of 80-85% (wb). The dissipation of microwave energy in berry puree tends to decaying trend due to the changes of dielectric properties. Moisture content has the most significant positive effect on both dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor of berry puree, followed by the density, and the drying temperature has the least but significant effect on both indicators. The focusing phenomenon of microwave irradiation depended on the dielectric properties determines the distribution of temperature of berry puree. The findings in current work contribute to a better understanding the MFD behavior of berry puree and will help to optimize the drying conditions of MFD for enhancing energy efficiency and drying quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerobic acclimatization cultures of oil production water from two adjacent oil production wells (Xi15-14 and Xi51-5) in one block of Dagang oilfield were generated depending on crude oil as the sole carbon source and energy. Both cultures revealed a high degrading efficiency for a wide range of hydrocarbons, but degradation trend were striking different, and surface tension of two phases of oil and water decreased from 60 to 30 mN/m approximately by virtue of indigenous microbial metabolic activities. Meanwhile, cultured indigenous bacteria of wellXi15-14 mainly includedHydrocarboniphaga, Pseudomonas, andEctothiorhodospiraceae bacterium, while wellXi51-5 containedSphingomonasandPseudomonas. Furthermore, abundance of alkane hydroxylase genesalk Bandalk Mfrom the two samples also showed an apparent difference. These findings are important that microbial diversity tightly tallies with the fact of a highly compartmentalized stratigraphy of this oilfield, suggesting that it is better to recover oil from extreme reservoirs with the targeted stimulating indigenous microorganisms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The microwave energy absorption behavior of foamed berry puree was studied considering the variations in the physical properties of the material. The absorptions of microwave energy within foamed berry puree indicated fluctuating trends in decay as microwave drying progressed, which were attributed to the effects of temperature, moisture content, and density of the material. Mathematical models of the dielectric constant ϵ′ and dielectric loss factor ϵ″ as a function of temperature and moisture content were developed using second-order functions. During microwave drying of foamed berry puree, moisture content had the most important negative influence on the dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor, followed by temperature and porosity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In order to clarify the mechanism of influence of independent variables in terms of microwave power, vacuum degree, initial moisture content, and puffing time on the objective indexes, in terms of moisture ratio and expansion ratio, a series of single-factor experiments was performed during microwave vacuum puffing of raspberry leathers. The results showed that microwave power, vacuum, and initial moisture content had a significant influence on the dehydration and texture quality of raspberry snacks in terms of expansion ratio, hardness, and porosity. The change in both moisture content and volume obeyed a sigmoid function as microwave power, vacuum pressure, and initial moisture content, respectively. Both microwave power and initial moisture content had a positive influence on the puffing kinetics up to a certain value followed by negative trends, with the exception of vacuum pressure in the selected range of 15–45 kPa which was insignificant. Texture evolution, including hardness and porosity index processes, has three distinct stages during microwave vacuum puffing of raspberry leathers. But the change in temperature of raspberry leather lags behind that in the texture of hardness and porosity. Raspberry snacks with a high expansion ratio may be obtained under the following conditions: microwave intensity 28 Wg−1, vacuum pressure 30 kPa, and initial moisture content 20.0% (wb). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To investigate comparative proteomics of the pufferfish kidney exposed to excessive fluoride, the authors randomly put 16 fish into the control and treated groups that were raised in softwater alone (F− = 0.4 mg/L) or with sodium fluoride of 35 mg/L for 3 days, respectively. Then proteins of the fish kidneys were profiled by two-dimensional electrophoresis, and the matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF MS) was applied to identify the spots on the gel with altered densities. On average, 547 and 516 protein spots were detected in the control and the treated groups, respectively. Among them, 32 protein spots showed significant alteration ( p < 0.05) between the fluoride-treated and the control groups, and 22 differentially expressed protein spots were identified by MALDI TOF-TOF MS. Consistent with their previously annotated functions, these proteins appear to be involved in the biological functions associated with fluorosis. These results will greatly advance one’s understanding of the effects of fluoride exposure on the physiological and biochemical functions of takifugu kidney as well as the toxicological mechanism of fluoride-causing fluorosis in both fish and humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparative proteomics was performed to identify proteins in the cardiac muscle of Takifugu rubripes in initial response to excessive fluoride. Sixteen fish were randomly divided into a control group and an experimental group. The control group was raised in softwater alone ( F− = 0.4 mg/L), and the experimental group was raised in the same water with sodium fluoride at a high concentration of 35 mg/L. After 3 days, proteins were extracted from the fish cardiac muscle and then were subjected to 2D PAGE analysis. The matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (Maldi TOF MS) was applied to identify the proteins that were differentially expressed from the two groups of fish. Average of 318 and 275 proteins detected in the control and the experimental group, respectively, 167 spots were matched and 21 highly differentially expressed proteins were further analyzed by Maldi TOF-TOF MS, and 15 were identified by MASCOT. These 15 proteins include Telomerase reverse transcriptase, 4SNc-Tudor domain protein, protein disulfide isomerase ER-60, Tuba1 protein, mitogen-activated protein kinase 10, and SMC4 protein. Consistent with their previously known functions, these identified proteins seem to be involved in apoptosis and other functions associated with fluorosis. These results will contribute to our understanding for the effects of fluoride exposure on the physiological and biochemical functions of takifugu, and the toxicological mechanism of fluoride causing fluorosis in both fish and human. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]