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Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae (BSFL) have been regarded as one of the most promising animal protein sources suitable for replacing fishmeal. In this study, the effects of the different diet levels (0%, 1%, 3% and 5%) of zymolytic black soldier fly pulp (ZBSFP) were investigated on growth performance, biological parameters and the cumulative mortality challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). After the feeding trial lasted for 56 days, the results indicated that 1% ZBSFP had a significantly higher final body weight (FBW), weight gain rate (WGR), feed intake (FI), and specific growth rate (SGR) but a significantly lower hepatosomatic index (HIS) that improved growth, and decreased 72 h cumulative mortality rates after challenged with A. hydrophila. Meanwhile, 1% ZBSFP had improved antioxidant activity and decreased oxidative metabolites. Furthermore, comparison of the intestinal microbial composition with 0% and 1% ZBSFP revealed that the dominant phylum Tenericutes replaced with Fusobacteria, and the most abundant genus Mycoplasma of Tenericutes was replaced with Cetobacterium of Fusobacteria at the microbial composition level. At the microbial potential function level, the metabolism of amino acids, energy and nucleotides was increased, while the metabolism of glycans and lipids was decreased, and notably, α-N-acetylglucosaminidase increased. These results indicated that 1% ZBSFP was an appropriate additive ingredient for replacing fish meal and that excessive addition may lead to side effects on largemouth bass. This study is beneficial for defining the proper addition of ZBSFP to largemouth bass.

The annual seedlings of ten Toona Sinensis provenances were selected for the study of the relationship between cold resistance and fatty acid composition and content of leaves. The results indicated that the fatty acid composition was the same among different provenances. The main ones were Dodecanoic acid, Hexadecanoic acid, (Z,Z)-9,12-Octadecadienoic acid, (Z,Z,Z)-9,12,15-Octadecatrienoic acid, Octadecanoic acid and Eicosanoic acid. But there were evident differences in fatty acid content and index of unsaturated fatty acid (IUFA) among different provenances. The content of unsaturated fatty acid and the IUFA was smaller in southern provenances of Xiapu of Fujian, Qianxinan of Guizhou and Dongkou of Hunan than those of the other provenances from north .The fatty acid content and IUFA were higher in provenances whose cold resistance were stronger. And the results showed that the fatty acid content and IUFA had a positive correlation with cold resistance of Toona sinensis.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease, in which matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-13 plays an important role. This study aimed to investigate miRNA-140-mediated negative regulation of MMP-13 expression in interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-stimulated human cartilage cells.The human cartilage cell line C28/I2 was cultured in the presence of IL-1β to mimic an osteoarthritic environment. Expression of miRNA-140 and MMP-13 was analyzed after 48 h by real-time RT-PCR and western blot analyses. MiRNA-140 mediated regulation of MMP-13 expression was analyzed by luciferase reporter assays and anti-miRNA-140 oligonucleotide transfection. Furthermore, miRNA-140 and MMP-13 expression was analyzed following DHMEQ treatment.Expression of miRNA-140 and MMP-13 was elevated in IL-1β-stimulated C28/I2 cells. Bioinformatic prediction showed that the 3'-UTR of MMP-13 mRNA contained a potential binding miRNA-140 site and luciferase mRNA fused with 3'-UTR of MMP-13 mRNA was shown to be repressed by miRNA-140 in reporter assays. Expression of MMP-13 was elevated in IL-1β-stimulated C28/I2 cells following anti-miRNA-140 oligonucleotide transfection. NF-κB activity was inhibited in DHMEQ treated IL-1β-stimulated C28/I2 cells and was associated with decreased miRNA-140 and MMP-13 expression.Expression of miRNA-140 and MMP-13 was induced by IL-1β. Expression of miRNA-140 inhibited MMP-13 in C28/I2 cells. Expression of miRNA-140 and MMP-13 was shown to be NF-κB-dependent.

Accumulating evidence has shown that alterations in one carbon metabolism might play an important role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia (SZ). Nicotinamide-N-methyltransferase (NNMT) is one of the key enzymes of one-carbon metabolism. To examine whether NNMT gene was associated with SZ in Han Chinese population, we selected seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in NNMT gene, and investigated its association with SZ from a cohort of 42 SZ patients and 86 healthy controls by Mass-ARRAY technology. Statistical analyses revealed that one (rs694539) of the SNPs in the female subgroup showed significant difference between SZ patients and controls both in genotypic (p= 0.0170) and allelic frequencies (p = 0.0059). We also found that the frequency of haplotype 'A G G C T C T' in the female patients was significantly higher than in controls (p=0.0015). Our results suggest that NNMT rs694539 may have a role in the etiology of SZ in a Han Chinese female population.

Background Some inflammatory factors play an important role in recurrent oral ulceration (ROU). The genetics mechanism of expression level of inflammatory factors is not clear in ROU, but from genetics the expression level of inflammatory factors at least partly depend on the gene polymorphisms. Therfore, we decided to investigate inflammatory factors gene polymorphism and its association with the susceptibility of recurrent oral ulceration in Chinese. Methods Genomic DNA was obtained from 42 subjects with recurrent oral ulceration, 86 subjects of healthy control individuals.Genotypes and alleles of 10 genes and 17 polymorphisms sites were analyzed by Mass-ARRAY Analyzer method. Then, the differences in distribution of each genotype and allele were compared. Results The statistical differences in distribution of TNF-α (rs1800629 and rs1800630) genotype and allele were observed among the groups with recurrent oral ulceration and healthy control individuals (P

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a common autoimmune inflammatory disorder that is difficult to cure, and its pathogenesis is still largely unknown. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II transactivator (CIITA) gene has been reported to be an important candidate in some classical autoimmune diseases, and certain single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CIITA have been confirmed to be associated with susceptibility to some autoimmune diseases. We conducted this research to investigate the existence of any correlation between OLP and SNPs in CIITA. A case-control study was performed to genotype 15 SNPs in the CIITA gene from 42 patients with OLP and from 86 controls; this was carried out by the PCR and then by a locus-specific single-base extension reaction. Allele detection was performed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. The SNP rs4774 variant in exon 11 (+1614G/C, Gly500Ala) of CIITA is significantly associated with OLP in healthy persons, both in genotype frequency and in allele frequency. Another intronic SNP, rs6498122, showed significant differences only in allele frequency. In conclusion, our data show that the two SNPs rs4774 and rs6498122 are associated with OLP and could also indicate the autoimmune characteristics of OLP.

Objective Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a common inflammatory disorder with a higher prevalence among women than men. The pathogenesis of OLP is still unclear, and its heredity is not well characterized. Maternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) indicates its importance in human ethnic group classification as well disease susceptibility. So, this study was conducted to find whether mtDNA haplogroup associates with OLP susceptibility in Chinese, and determine the influence of C-stretch structure of mtDNA on OLP susceptibility. Subjects and methods We sequenced three hypervariable regions of mtDNA from 242 patients with OLP and 237 healthy controls. The association between mtDNA haplogroups and OLP is tested by chi-square test. Results Seventeen kinds of haplogroups were identified, and the frequency of haplogroup B4 was significantly higher in control group than that of the OLP group (P = 0.013, OR=0.429). In female samples, B4 declared even more significance (P = 0.003, OR=0.296). Meanwhile, the haplotypes of C-stretch in mtDNA did not have any significant difference between case-control groups. Conclusions Mitochondrial DNA haplogroup B4 might have a protective effect to OLP, and its protective effect resides predominantly in women. However, the association between C-stretch haplotype and OLP susceptibility still needs more patients for evaluation.

Previous studies have detected associations between mitochondrial haplogroups and schizophrenia (SZ). However, no study has examined the relationship between major mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups and SZ in the Chinese population. The aim of this study was to assess the association between mtDNA haplogroups and SZ genesis in the Chinese Han population. We used a case-control study and sequenced the mtDNA hypervariable regions (HVR1, HVR2, and HVR3) in the Han population. We analyzed mtDNA haplogroups and HVR polymorphisms in 298 SZ patients and 298 controls. The haplotypes were classified into 10 major haplogroups: A, B, CZ, D, F, G, M, N, N9a, and R. Statistical analysis revealed that only N9a showed a nominally significant association with protection from SZ [1.68% vs. 6.38%, p¼ 0.004, OR ¼ 0.251 (0.092–0.680); after adjustment for age and sex: p ¼ 0.006, OR ¼0.246 (0.090–0.669)]. Three HVR polymorphisms were found to be nominally significantly different between subjects with SZ and controls, and all except one (m.204T4 C) are linked to the N9a haplogroup. Our results indicate that mtDNA haplogroup N9a might be a protective factor for SZ. & 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

MicroRNA-10b (miR-10b) was recently reported to be dysregulated in some types of cancer and to play a role in invasion and metastasis. However, effects and potential mechanisms of action of miR-10b in the metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not been explored. In this study, we confirmed that miR-10b is highly expressed in metastatic HCC tissues and in metastatic HCC cell lines by qRT-PCR. Moreover, patients with higher miR-10b expression had significantly poorer overall survival, and high miR-10b expression was an independent predictor of poor prognosis. Inhibition of miR-10b reduced cell migration and invasion in MHCC97H cells, whereas over-expression of miR-10b in HepG2 cells increased cell migration and invasion. Bioinformatics and luciferase reporter assays revealed that miR-10b binds the 3′-UTR of CADM1 mRNA and represses its translation. Western blot and qRT-PCR showed that CADM1 is inhibited by miR-10b over-expression. Silencing of CADM1 resulted in substantially increased cell motility and invasion similar to that observed with over-expression of miR-10b in HepG2 cells. These results suggest that miR-10b may positively regulate the invasion and metastasis of HCC through targeting CADM1.

BACKGROUND: MtDNA haplogroups could have important implication for understanding of the relationship between the mutations of the mitochondrial genome and diseases. Distribution of a variety of diseases among these haplogroups showed that some of the mitochondrial haplogroups are predisposed to disease. To examine the susceptibility of mtDNA haplogroups to ROU, we sequenced the mtDNA HV1, HV2 and HV3 in Chinese ROU. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: MtDNA haplogroups were analyzed in the 249 cases of ROU patients and the 237 cases of healthy controls respectively by means of primer extension analysis and DNA sequencing. Haplogroups G1 and H were found significantly more abundant in ROU patients than in healthy persons, while haplogroups D5 and R showed a trend toward a higher frequency in control as compared to those in patients. The distribution of C-stretch sequences polymorphism in mtDNA HV1, HV2 and HV3 regions was found in diversity. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: For the first time, the relationship of mtDNA haplogroups and ROU in Chinese was investigated. Our results indicated that mtDNA haplogroups G1 and H might constitute a risk factor for ROU, which possibly increasing the susceptibility of ROU. Meanwhile, haplogroups D5 and R were indicated as protective factors for ROU. The polymorphisms of C-stretch sequences might being unstable and influence the mtDNA replication fidelity.