Human circBOULE RNAs as potential biomarkers for sperm quality and male infertility

Reliable molecular biomarkers to predict fertility remain scarce.The current study investigated the potential of testis-specific circBOULE RNAs as biomarkers for male infertility and sperm quality.Using reverse transcription-PCR and real-time reverse transcription-PCR assays,we identified seven circular RNAs from the human BOULE gene in human sperm.We observed that the expression level of circEx3-6 was significantly reduced in asthenozoospermia,while the expression levels of both circEx2-6 and circEx2-7 were decreased in terato-zoospermia,compared with the controls.Furthermore,we demonstrated that the expression level of circEx2-6 was negatively correlated with the sperm DNA fragmentation index,and the expression level of circEx2-7 was correlated with both fertilization and cleavage rates in those treated with the assisted reproductive technologies.Further functional analyses in a transgenic fly model supported the roles of circBOULE RNAs in sperm development and human male fertility.Collectively,our findings support that sperm circBOULE RNAs may serve as diagnostic biomarkers for assessing sperm motility and DNA quality.Therefore,clinical application and significance of sperm circBOULE RNAs in the assisted reproductive technologies warrant further investigation.

Citrus fruits are rich in flavonoids for immunoregulation and potential targeting ACE2

The most recent outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus,named as COVID-19,caused pneumonia epidemic in Wuhan with 2121 deaths cases as of February 20th 2020.Identification of effective antiviral agents to combat the novel coronavirus is urgently needed.Citrus fruit peel or wild citrus are rich in flavonoids,and clinically documented for roles in relief of cough and promotion of digestive health.Therefore,citrus fruits are assumed to possess antivirus activities or enhance the host immunity.A previous study found that hesperetin could act as a high potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV 3CLpro.We determined six flavonoid compounds’content in three citrus species by using LC-MS technique.The content of naringin and naringenin was at higher levels in pummelo.Hesperetin and hesperidin were highly accumulated in mandarin and sweet orange.The subsequent in vitro and in vivo experiments indicated that naringin could inhibit the expression of the proinflammatory cytokines(COX-2,iNOS,IL-1βand IL-6)induced by LPS in Raw macrophage cell line,and may restrain cytokine through inhibiting HMGB1 expression in a mouse model.The results revealed that naringin may have a potential application for preventing cytokine storm.We simulated molecular docking to predict the binding affinity of those flavonoids to bind Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2(ACE 2),which is a receptor of the coronavirus.Consideration of the potential anti-coronavirus and anti-inflammatory activity of flavonoids,the citrus fruit or its derived phytochemicals are promising in the use of prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The Expressions of P53, MDM2 in Trophoblasts of Spontaneous Abortion Mouse Model and the Relevant Researches

Objective: To explore the mRNA expression of the related genes of p53, MDM2, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia inducible transcription factors-1 a (HIF-la) in villous samples of spontaneous abortion mouse models and normal pregnancy models, and to discuss the effect of p53, MDM2 on the growth of villous trophoblast cells. Methods: The abortion-prone CBAXDBA/2 matings were established as the model of spontaneous abortion and the non-abortion-prone CBAXBALB/c matings as the model of normal pregnancy. Applied q Real-time PCR method to detect the mRNA expression levels of p53, MDM2, VEGF and HIF-la in villous samples of spontaneous abortion mouse models and normal pregnancy models. Results: The relationship of the mRNA expression level of p53, MDM2, VEGF and HIF-la in vinous samples of spontaneous abortion mouse models: in the villous samples of spontaneous abortion mouse models, the expression of p53 was positively correlated with the expression of MDM2, HIF-la (r = 0.35;r = 0.63), and the relationship was significant (P = 0.01;P < 0.001);but negatively correlated to the expression of VEGF (r = ?0.30), and the relationship was significant (P = 0.03). The expression of MDM2 was positively correlated with the expression of HIF-la (r = 0.28), and the relationship was significant (P = 0.04);and negatively correlated with the expression of VEGF (r = ?0.08), but the relationship was not significant (P = 0.57). The expression of HIF-la was negatively correlated with the expression of VEGF (r = ?0.37), and the relationship was significant (P = 0.007). The relationship of the mRNA expression level of p53,MDM2, VEGF and HIF-1 a in vinous samples of normal pregnancy models: in the vinous samples of normal pregnancy models, the expression of p53 was positively correlated with the expression of MDM2, VEGF and HIF-la (r = 0. 31;r = 0. 48;r = 0. 67), and the relationship was significant (P = 0.03;P = 0.003;P < 0.001). The expression of MDM2 was positively correlated with the expression of VEGF (r = 0. 23), but the relationship was not significant (P = 0.11);and negatively correlated with the expression of HIF-la (r = ?0.03), but the relationship was not significant (P = 0.84). The expression of HIF-la was positively correlated with the expression of VEGF (r = 0. 35), and the relationship was significant (P = 0.01). Conclusion: angiogenesis reduces in villous samples of spontaneous abortion mouse model, P53 and MDM2 involve in angiogenesis in villous samples, unlikely p53, and MDM2 have effects on normal early pregnancy villous angiogenesis and when the cell DNA damages or hypoxia exacerbates, it can induce high expression of p53, MDM2, inhibit angiogenesis in villous samples in early pregnancy. P53, MDM2 generegulate villous trophoblast cell growth by adjusting expression of HIF-1a and VEGF gene, finally influences pregnancy.

Activated carbon coated palygorskite as adsorbent by activation and its adsorption for methylene blue

An activation process for developing the surface and porous structure of palygorskite/carbon（PG/C） nanocomposite using ZnC l2 as activating agent was investigated. The obtained activated PG/C was characterized by X-ray diffraction（XRD）, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy（FTIR）, field-emission scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis（BET） techniques. The effects of activation conditions were examined,including activation temperature and impregnation ratio. With increased temperature and impregnation ratio, the collapse of the palygorskite crystal structure was found to accelerate and the carbon coated on the surface underwent further carbonization. XRD and SEM data confirmed that the palygorskite structure was destroyed and the carbon structure was developed during activation. The presence of the characteristic absorption peaks of C_C and C-H vibrations in the FTIR spectra suggested the occurrence of aromatization. The BET surface area improved by more than 11-fold（1201 m2/g for activated PG/C vs. 106 m2/g for PG/C） after activation, and the material appeared to be mainly microporous. The maximum adsorption capacity of methylene blue onto the activated PG/C reached 351 mg/g. The activated PG/C demonstrated better compressive strength than activated carbon without palygorskite clay.

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction of silver nanoparticles in water using ionic liquid1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate

Using the ionic liquid（IL）1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate as the extractant and methanol as the dispersion solvent,a dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction method was developed to extract silver nanoparticles（AgN Ps）from environmental water samples.Parameters that influenced the extraction efficiency such as IL concentration,pH and extraction time were optimized.Under the optimized conditions,the highest extraction efficiency for AgN Ps was above 90% with an enrichment factor of 〉90.The extracted AgN Ps in the IL phase were identified by transmission electron microscopy and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy,and quantified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry after microwave digestion,with a detection limit of 0.01 μg/L.The spiked recovery of AgN Ps was 84.4% with a relative standard deviation（RSD）of 3.8%（n = 6）at a spiked level of 5 μg/L,and 89.7% with a RSD of 2.2%（n = 6）at a spiked level of 300 μg/L,respectively.Commonly existed environmental ions had a very limited influence on the extraction efficiency.The developed method was successfully applied to the analysis of Ag NPs in river water,lake water,and the influent and effluent of a wastewater treatment plant,with recoveries in the range of 71.0%–90.9% at spiking levels of 0.11–4.7 μg/L.