Effects of MCI-186 on intracellular calcium ion concentration and membrane fluidity of hippocampal neurons in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease

The present study observed the effects of MCI-186 on the intracellular calcium ion concentration （[Ca2＋]i） and membrane fluidity of hippocampal neurons in Alzheimer＇s disease （AD） model rats to validate the neuroprotective effects of MCI-186. Compared with normal and sham-operated rats, the escape latency was obviously prolonged, spanning platform times were obviously reduced, [Ca2＋]i was increased, and microviscosity η value was increased in AD rats. MCI-186 at 0.5 mg/mL and 0.2 mg/mL obviously shortened escape latency, increased spanning platform times and decreased [Ca2＋]i and microviscosity η values in AD rats at 7 and 17 days after induction of the model. The differences in the above-mentioned indices between normal and MCI-186-treated rats were statistically significant. MCI-186 at 0.2 mg/mL yielded better curative effects than 0.5 mg/mL MCI-186. These findings suggest that MCI-186 improves learning and memory abilities in AD rats by decreasing [Ca2＋]i and increasing membrane fluidity of hippocampal neurons.

Genome-wide characterization of graft-transmissible mRNA-coding P450 genes of cucumber(Cucumis sativus L.)

P450(cytochrome P450)is a supergene family,which is involved in various metabolic pathways in plants.Based on previous study,we found some of cucumber P450 mRNAs were systemic mobile in cucumber/pumpkin grafts.However,the reason that why P450 mRNAs were endorsed as signaling,and what specific motif(s)did they harbored is not clear yet.Here,we first identified 221 CsaP450 genes in cucumber genomewide level.Combining with graft-transmissiblemRNAs datasets in cucumber,we elucidated 15mobile-CsaP450-coding genes,of which 5 and 10 belonged to A-type and non-A type respectively.Compared with Arabidopsis and pumpkin(Cucubit moschata)graft-induced-transmissible P450 mRNAs,a phylogenetic treewas constructed and divided into eight clans by usingmultiple-sequence alignment.Gene ontology(GO)enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)annotations indicated that the expression patterns of the mobile-mRNA-coding CsaP450 genes in different tissues of cucumber was specifically enriched in oxidoreductase activity and secondary metabolic pathways.The structures and motifs of these 15 mobile-mRNA-coding CsaP450 genes and their types of regulatory elements told that the proportion of CU-rich motifs was higher than nonmobile-mRNA-coding CsaP450 genes.The integrated analysis of mobility direction and mRNA abundance of 15 mobilemRNA-coding CsaP450 genes allowed to conclude that there was rarely relationship between them.The study provided a new insight into the relationship between the motifs and functional characterization of mobile-mRNA-coding P450 genes of cucumber in genome-wide levels.

First Trimester Preeclampsia Screening and Prevention:Perspective in Chinese Mainland

Preeclampsia(PE),a multisystem disorder in pregnancy,is one of the leading causes of perinatal morbidity and mortality that poses financial and physical burdens worldwide.Preterm PE with delivery at<37 weeks of gestation is associated with a higher risk of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes than term PE with delivery at≥37 weeks of gestation.A myriad of first trimester screening models have been developed to identifying women at risk of preterm PE.In fact,the Fetal Medicine Foundation(FMF)first trimester prediction model has undergone successful internal and external validation.The FMF triple test enables the estimation of patient-specific risks,using Bayes theorem to combine maternal characteristics and medical history together with measurements of mean arterial pressure,uterine artery pulsatility index,and serum placental growth factor.Establishing a quality control process for regular monitoring and to ensure data standardization,reliability,and accuracy is key to maintaining optimal screening performance.The rate of preterm PE can be reduced by 62%by using the FMF prediction model,followed by the administration of low-dose aspirin.Recent evidence has also demonstrated that metformin has the potential for preventing PE in patients at high-risk of the disorder.In this article,we will summarize the existing literature on the different screening methods,different components of risk assessment,therapeutic interventions,and clinical implementation of the first trimester screening and prevention program for PE with specific considerations for Chinese mainland.