Electro-acupuncture therapy to improve spatial learning and memory in APPswe/ PS1dE9 transgenic mice through the inhibition of the TLR4/MyD88 signaling pathway

Objective:To determine whether electro-acupuncture (EA) therapy could improve the cognitive functions of amyloid precursor protein Swedish mutation (APPswe)/presenilin 1 deleted in exon 9 (PS1dE9) mice and examine whether EA treatment could attenuate neuroinflammation by targeting the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/myeloid differentiation primary response factor 88 (MyD88) signaling pathway.Methods:Twenty-seven double transgenic APPswe/PS1dE9 mice were randomly allocated into three groups:an Alzheimer's disease model group (AD group),a medication group (M group) and an EA treatment group (EA group).Each group contained nine mice,and nine wild-type mice were used in a normal group (N group).The animals in the M group were treated with oral administrations of 0.92 mg/kg donepezil hydrochloride for 15 days.For animals in the EA group,EA treatments were used on the Yintang (GV 29) and Baihui (GV 20) acupoints for 20 minutes,and the Shuigou (GV 26) acupoint was pricked without needle retention following EA treatments.Following treatments,the spatial learning and memory of the mice were measured using the Morris water maze test.The expression levels of TLR4,MyD88,nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were analyzed by immunohistochemical staining and western blot.Results:The escape latencies of the M and EA groups were significantly lower than those of the AD group (vs M,P =.002;vs EA,P <.001).Moreover,compared with the AD group,the numbers of platform crossings was higher (vs M,P =.038;vs EA,P =.008) and the latency time for target quadrants was longer (vs M,P =.002;vs EA,P =.001) in the M and EA groups (P <.05).Furthermore,in the M and EA groups,the expression levels of TLR4,MyD88,NF-κB and iNOS decreased significantly compared with those of the AD group (all P <.01).Conclusion:EA treatment enhanced the memory and learning abilities of APPswe/PS1dE9 mice by regulating the TLR4/MyD88 inflammatory signaling pathway.

矿区复合污染土壤真菌多样性及其对稀土-重金属离子的吸附特征

大量的稀土-重金属通过尾矿坝的浮尘、地表径流和渗滤液排放到周边土壤中,影响了土壤中的微生物群落结构。【目的】分析稀土和重金属复合污染土壤真菌群落结构并分离具有同时吸附稀土和重金属的菌株。【方法】本研究基于ITS基因,采用Illumina-Hiseq测序技术分析了包头稀土尾矿坝周边5份稀土-重金属污染土壤样品和距尾矿区20 km的1份相对未受污染的土壤样品的真菌群落特征,同时采用富集培养法从污染样品中筛选出金属耐性真菌,并对其进行吸附稀土-重金属的特性分析。【结果】群落结构为:在门水平,除了未分类门真菌(unclassified Fungi)外,子囊菌门(Ascomycota)真菌在所有土壤中占比较大(13.5%–90.5%);在纲水平上,除了未分类纲真菌外,粪壳菌纲(Sordariomycetes)真菌在B2 (73.1%)、B3 (28.4%)和B4 (20.8%)的丰度显著高于对照样点C (7.4%),而座囊菌纲(Dothideomycetes)在B5 (11.8%)的丰度明显高于B1 (3.5%);在属水平,除了未分类属,足孢子虫属(Podospora)是C(0.9%)和B3(23.6%)样点的优势种。曲霉属(Aspergillus)、未分类的格孢腔菌目(unclassified Pleosporales)和未分类的戴维迪科(unclassified Davidiellaceae)分别为B1 (3.0%)、B4 (10.5%)和B5(5.8%)的优势种,而蜡蚧属(Lecanicillium)真菌只在B2样点土壤存在且占优(51.6%)。Zn污染对真菌群落结构的影响大于稀土元素污染,且其浓度与优势的未分类真菌相对丰度呈负相关。从污染样品中共分离出6株真菌,它们分属于曲霉属(Aspergillus)(5株)和镰刀霉菌属(Fusarium)(1株)。所有分离菌株对镧(La^3+)的吸附率均显著高于锌(Zn^2+),其中Aspergillus sp. B6-3对La^3+和锌Zn^2+的吸附率最高,分别为19.7%和3.9%。【结论】该研究为利用真菌去除稀土和重金属以优化生物吸附过程导向的环境生物修复和保护策略提供了机制基础。