Astragalus polysaccharide enhances immunity and inhibits H9N2 avian influenza virus in vitro and in vivo

This study investigated the humoral immunization of Astragalus polysaccharide （APS） against HgN2 avian influenza virus （H9N2 AIV） infection in chickens. The effects of APS treatment on H9N2 infection was evaluated by an Mqq- [3（4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2, 3-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide] assay and analysis of MFIC and cytokine mRNA expression. The effect on lymphocyte and serum antibody titers in vivo was also investigated. IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, LITAF, IL-12 and antibody titers to H9N2 AIV wet enhanced in the first week after APS treatment. The results indicated that APS treatment reduces H9N2 AIV replication and promotes early humoral immune responses in young chickens.This study investigated the humoral immunization of Astragalus polysaccharide （APS） against HgN2 avian influenza virus （H9N2 AIV） infection in chickens. The effects of APS treatment on HgN2 infection was evaluated by an M]q- [3（4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2, 3-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide] assay and analysis of MHC and cytokine mRNA expression. The effect on lymphocyte and serum antibody titers in vivo was also investigated. IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, LITAF, IL-12 and antibody titers to PIgN2 AIV were enhanced in the first week after APS treatment. The results indicated that APS treatment reduces HgN2 AIV replication and promotes early humoral immune responses in young chickens.

Study on polarization properties of graphene coated D-shaped fiber

The optical properties of graphene coated D-shaped single mode fiber and photonic crystal fiber are numerically analyzed. Enhancement of the graphene-light interaction is found in graphene coated D-shaped photonic crystal fiber,which introduces a tunable polarization of the D-shaped fiber by changing the chemical potential of the coated graphene.An optimal polarizer model is demonstrated with the extinction ratio of 66.26 dB/mm and the insertion loss of 9.4 dB/mm.The modulator extinction ratios of the TE mode and TM mode are 11.5 dB and 5 dB, respectively, with a device length of100 μm. This paper provides a theoretical reference for the optical property research of the graphene fiber.

Application of high OLR-fed aerobic granules for the treatment of low-strength wastewater: Performance, granule morphology and microbial community

Aerobic granules, pre-cultivated at the organic loading rate （OLR） of 3.0 kg COD/（m3 ·day）, were used to treat low-strength wastewater in two sequencing batch reactors at low OLRs of 1.2 and 0.6 kg COD/（m3 ·day）, respectively. Reactor performance, evolution of granule morphology, structure and microbial community at low OLRs under long-term operation （130 days） were investigated. Results showed that low OLRs did not cause significant damage to granule structure as a dominant granule morphology with size over 540 μm was maintained throughout the operation. Aerobic granules at sizes of about 750 μm were finally obtained at the low OLRs. The granule reactors operated at low OLRs demonstrated effective COD and ammonia removals （above 90%）, smaller granule sizes and less biomass. The contents of extracellular polymeric substances in the granules were decreased while the ratios of exopolysaccharide/exoprotein were increased （above 1.0）. The granules cultivated at the low OLRs showed a smoother surface and more compact structure than the seeded granules. A significant shift in microbial community was observed but the microbial diversity remained relatively stable. Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy observation showed that the live cells were spread throughout the whole granule, while the dead cells were mainly concentrated in the outer layer of the granule, and the proteins, polysaccharides and lipids were mainly located in the central regime of the granule. In conclusion, granules cultivated at high OLRs show potential for treating low-strength organic wastewater steadily under long-term operation.

Identification of a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor CP-724714 inhibits SADS-CoV related swine diarrhea coronaviruses infection in vitro

The outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020 has caused unprecedented panic among all mankind,pointing the major importance of effective treatment.Since the emergence of the swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus(SADS-CoV)at the end of 2017,multiple reports have indicated that the bat-related SADS-CoV possesses a potential threat for cross-species transmission.Vaccines and antiviral drugs development deserve more attention.In this study,we found that the HER2 phosphorylation inhibitor(CP-724714)inhibited SADS-CoV infection in a dose-dependent manner.Further validation demonstrated that CP-724714 affected at the post-entry stage of SADS-CoV infection cycle.Also,efficient SADS-CoV infection required the activation of HER2 and its cascade Ras-Raf-Mek-Erk signaling pathway.In addition,CP-724714 has a broad-spectrum anti-swine diarrhea coronaviruses activity,and can dose-dependently combat SADS-CoV,porcine epidemic diarrhea virus(PEDV),porcine deltacoronavirus(PDCoV)and transmissible gastroenteritis virus(TGEV)infection in vitro with a specificity index of greater than 21.98,9.38,95.23 and 31.62,respectively.These results highlight the potential utility of CP-724714 or antiviral drugs targeting with HER2 and its cascade Ras-Raf-Mek-Erk signaling pathway as host-targeted SADS-CoV and other related coronaviruses therapeutics.

A CRISPR activation screen identifies genes that enhance SARS-CoV-2 infection

Dear Editor,Identifying the host factors that are utilized for virus infection and mapping their cell-type expression profile can help to understand the viral tissue/organ tropism and pathogenesis.Much effort has been devoted to the identification of SARS-CoV-2 infection-dependent host factors.CRISPR-based activation(Konermann et al.,2015).

Genomic Insight into the Antimicrobial Resistance of Streptococcus Suis-Six Countries,2011-2019

Summary What is already known on this topic?Streptococcus suis(S.suis)is a zoonotic pathogen causing disease in humans and animals,and the emergence of its increased resistance to antimicrobial agents has become a significant challenge in many countries.

Semen extracellular vesicles mediate vertical transmission of subgroup J avian leukosis virus

Subgroup J avian leukosis virus(ALV-J) is a highly oncogenic retrovirus that has been devastating the global poultry industry since the late 1990s. The major infection model of ALV-J is vertical transmission, which is responsible for the congenital infection of progeny from generation to generation. Increasing evidence has suggested that extracellular vesicles(EVs) derived from virus-infected cells or biological fluids have been thought to be vehicles of transmission for viruses. However, the role of EVs in infection and transmission of ALV-J remains obscure. In the present study, semen extracellular vesicles(SE) were isolated and purified from ALV-J-infected rooster seminal plasma(SE-ALV-J), which was shown to contain ALV-J genomic RNA and partial viral proteins, as determined by RNA sequencing, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and Western blotting. Furthermore, SE-ALV-J was proved to be able to transmit ALV-J infection to host cells and establish productive infection.More importantly, artificial insemination experiments showed that SE-ALV-J transmitted ALV-J infection to SPF hens, and subsequently mediated vertical transmission of ALV-J from the SPF hens to the progeny chicks. Taken together, the results of the present study suggested that ALV-J utilized host semen extracellular vesicles as a novel means for vertical transmission, enhancing our understanding on mechanisms underlying ALV-J transmission.

From “organs on a chip” to “patient on a chip”

CONVENTIONAL MODELS FOR DRUG SCREENING :The increasing cost of drug safety is attributed to the inappropriate pre-clinical models with unrepresentative pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles that blur drug efficacy and toxicity.Moreover,the commercial drugs designed by impromper disease models could cause potential multi-organ side effects.Even worse,in some cases,unqualified drug screening is the cause of unexpected hospitalization in clinical.These urgent yet unsolved issues push scholars to reform monolayer cell culture and traditional animal models for drug validation.1 Then,in vitro three-dimensional(3D)cell culture models followed,but these are mainly limited to cell capsulation in defined hydrogels,spheroid systems,and engineered scaffolds.Not surprisingly,the 3D cell aggregates are still far from real organs,invalidating the drug kinetics.