EcR/USP-1-mediated ecdysteroid signaling regulates wolf spider(Pardosa pseudoannulata) development and reproduction

Lycosidae females demonstrate meticulous maternal care of offspring by carrying egg sacs and juvenile spiderlings during the reproductive stage. Nuclear receptors(NRs), especially the ecdysone receptor(EcR) and ultraspiracle(USP), have attracted considerable attention in the regulation of arthropod development and reproduction due to their pivotal roles in ecdysteroid signaling cascades. In the present study, 23 NRs, including one EcR and two USPs, were identified in the genome of the predatory wolf spider Pardosa pseudoannulata. RNA interference(RNAi) targeting EcR and USP-1inhibited spiderling development and resulted in nonviable eggs in the egg sacs. EcR and USP-1responded to changes in ecdysteroid levels, and interference in ecdysteroid biosynthesis led to similar phenotypes as ds EcR and ds USP-1 treatments.These findings suggest that EcR/USP-1-mediated ecdysteroid signaling regulates P. pseudoannulata development and reproduction. The P.pseudoannulata females with suppressed ecdysteroid signaling proactively consumed their non-viable egg sacs, resulting in a 7.19 d shorter first reproductive cycle than the controls. Termination of the failed reproductive cycle enabled the spiders to produce a new egg sac more rapidly. This reproductive strategy may partially rescue the reduction in population growth due to non-viable eggs and compensate for the physiological expenditure of wasted maternal care, which would be beneficial for the conservation of P.pseudoannulata populations and their natural control of insect pests.

Chinese herbal formula Tongluo Jiunao injection protects against cerebral ischemia by activating neurotrophin 3/tropomyosin-related kinase C pathway

The Chinese herbal formula Tongluo fiunao, containing the active components Panax notogin- seng and Gardenia jasminoides, has recently been patented and is in use clinically. It is known to be neuroprotective in cerebral ischemia, but the underlying pathway remains poorly understood. In the present study, we established a rat model of cerebral ischemia by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery, and administered Tongluo Jiunao, a positive control （Xuesai Tong, containing Panax notoginseng） or saline intraperitoneally to investigate the pathway involved in the action of TongIuo fiunao injection. 2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium chloride （TTC） staining showed that the cerebral infarct area was significantly smaller in model rats that received Tongluo fiunao than in those that received saline. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed significantly greater expression of neurotrophin 3 and growth-associated protein 43 in ischemic cerebral tissue, and serum levels of neurotrophin 3, in the Tongluo Jiunao group than in the saline group. The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical staining showed that after treatment with Tongluo fiunao or Xuesai Tong, tropomyosin-related kinase C gene expression and immunoreactivity were significantly elevated compared with saline, with the greatest expression observed after Tongluo Jiunao treatment. These findings suggest that Tongluo Jiunao injection exerts a neuroprotective effect in rats with cerebral ischemia by activating the neurotrophin 3/ tropomyosin-related kinase C pathway.

Dimension-Controllable and Photo-Responsive Supramolecular Organic Framworks through Cucurbit[8]uril-based Self-Assembly

Dimension-controllable supramolecular organic frameworks(SOFs)with aggregation-enhanced fluorescence are hierarchically fabricated through the host-guest interactions of cucurbit[8]uril(CB[8])and coumarin-modified tetraphenylethylene derivatives(TPEC).The three-dimensional layered SOFs could be constructed from the further stacking of two-dimensional mono-layered structures via simply regulating the self-assembly conditions including the culturing time and concentration.Upon light irradiation under the wavelength of 365 nm,the photodimerization of coumarin moieties occurred,which resulted in the transformation of the resultant TPECn/CB[8]4n two-dimensional SOFs into robust covalently-connected 2D polymers with molecular thickness.Interestingly,the supramolecular system of TPEC/CB[8]exhibited intriguing multicolor fluorescence emission from yellow to blue in the time range of 0-24 h at 365 nm irradiation,possessing potential applicability for photochromic fluorescence ink.