Nystose attenuates bone loss and promotes BMSCs differentiation to osteoblasts through BMP and Wnt/β-catenin pathway in ovariectomized mice

Increasing the osteogenic differentiation ability and decreasing the adipogenic differentiation ability of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs)is a potential strategy for the treatment of osteoporosis(OP).Naturally derived oligosaccharides have shown significant anti-osteoporotic effects.Nystose(NST),an oligosaccharide,was isolated from the roots of Morinda officinalis How.(MO).The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of NST on bone loss in ovariectomized mice,and explore the underlying mechanism of NST in promoting differentiation of BMSCs to osteoblasts.Administration of NST(40,80 and 160 mg/kg)and the positive control of estradiol valerate(0.2 mg/kg)for 8 weeks significantly prevented bone loss induced by ovariectomy(OVX),increased the bone mass density(BMD),improved the bone microarchitecture and reduced urine calcium and deoxypyridinoline(DPD)in ovariectomized mice,while inhibited the increase of body weight without significantly affecting the uterus weight.Furthermore,we found that NST increased osteogenic differentiation,inhibited adipogenic differentiation of BMSCs in vitro,and upregulated the expression of the key proteins of BMP and Wnt/β-catenin pathways.In addition,Noggin and Dickkopf-related protein-1(DKK-1)reversed the effect of NST on osteogenic differentiation and expression of the key proteins in BMP and Wnt/β-catenin pathway.The luciferase activities and the molecular docking analysis further supported the mechanism of NST.In conclusion,these results indicating that NST can be clinically used as a potential alternative medicine for the prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Peak shrinking and interpolating for PAPR reduction in M-IFoF-based mobile fronthaul

We apply a Peak Shrinking and Interpolating(PSI)scheme to improve the Peak-to-Average Power Ratio(PAPR)performance in Multiple Intermediate-Frequency-over-Fiber(M-IFoF)based mobile fronthaul.The key idea is to detect the high peaks of the signal and shrink them,and then the shrunk peak values are interpolated into the original signal to reduce the PAPR.We also compare the PSI technique with the previous Tone-Reservation(TR)technique and Phase Pre-Distortion(PPD)technique in terms of PAPR reduction effect and computational complexity.The simulation results indicate that the PSI scheme can reduce the PAPR by more than 4.3 dB at 0.1%CCDF,which outperforms the two previous schemes with lower computational complexity.Furthermore,we find that altering M-IFoF system parameters has little effect on the performance of the PSI technique.

Roles of endophytic fungi in medicinal plant abiotic stress response and TCM quality development

Medicinal plants,as medicinal materials and important drug components,have been used in traditional and folk medicine for ages.However,being sessile organisms,they are seriously affected by extreme environmental conditions and abiotic stresses such as salt,heavy metal,temperature,and water stresses.Medicinal plants usually produce specific secondary metabolites to survive such stresses,and these metabolites can often be used for treating human diseases.Recently,medicinal plants have been found to partner with endophytic fungi to form a long-term,stable,and win-win symbiotic relationship.Endophytic fungi can promote secondary metabolite accumulation in medicinal plants.The close relationship can improve host plant resistance to the abiotic stresses of soil salinity,drought,and extreme temperatures.Their symbiosis also sheds light on plant growth and active compound production.Here,we show that endophytic fungi can improve the host medicinal plant resistance to abiotic stress by regulating active compounds,reducing oxidative stress,and regulating the cell ion balance.We also identify the deficiencies and burning issues of available studies and present promising research topics for the future.This review provides guidance for endophytic fungi research to improve the ability of medicinal plants to resist abiotic stress.It also suggests ideas and methods for active compound accumulation in medicinal plants and medicinal material development during the response to abiotic stress.

Microbial interactions within Chinese traditional medicinal plants

Plants harbor diverse microbes(including bacteria,fungi,archaea,protists,and viruses)both inside and outside their tissues,so called the plant-associated microbiome.Decades of research have demonstrated the importance of plant microbiome in promoting the productivity and health of the plant in natural environment because of their essential functions in improving plant nutrition and plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses(Trivedi,Leach,Tringe,Sa,&Singh,2020).Thus,a plant can be regarded as a holobiont comprising the host plant and the associated microbiota(Hassani,Durán,&Hacquard,2018).Within the plant microbiota,mutualistic fungal and bacterial symbionts(e.g.mycorrhizal fungi and Rhizobia)are striking examples of microorganisms playing crucial roles in nutrient acquisition(Martin&van der Heijden,2024)and non-symbitic plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria or fungi(PGPR or PGPF)also have drawn interest due to their ability to improve soil properties and confer stress tolerance in plants(Upadhyay et al.,2023).