Early inoculation with caecal fermentation broth alters small intestine morphology,gene expression of tight junction proteins in the ileum,and the caecal metabolomic profiling of broilers

Background:The establishment of stable microbiota in early life is beneficial to the individual.Changes in the intestinal environment during early life play a crucial role in modulating the gut microbiota.Therefore,early intervention to change the intestinal environment can be regarded as a new regulation strategy for the growth and health of poultry.However,the effects of intestinal environmental changes on host physiology and metabolism are rarely reported.This study was conducted to investigate the effects of early inoculation with caecal fermentation broth on small intestine morphology,gene expression of tight junction proteins in the ileum,and cecum microbial metabolism of broilers.Results:Our data showed that early inoculation with caecal fermentation broth could improve intestine morphology.The small intestine villus height was significantly increased(P<0.05)in the intervened broilers compared to the control group,especially on day 28.A similar result was observed in the ratio of villus height to crypt depth(P<0.05).Meanwhile,we found early inoculation significantly increased(P<0.05)the expression levels of zonula occludens-1(ZO1)on days 14 and 28,claudin-1(CLDN1)on day 28,whereas the gene expression of claudin-2(CLDN2)was significantly decreased(P<0.05)on days 14 and 28.Gas chromatography time-of-flight/mass spectrometry(GC-TOF/MS)technology was further implemented to systematically evaluate the microbial metabolite profiles.Principal component analysis(PCA)and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA)displayed a distinct trend towards separation between the fermentation broth group(F group)and the control group(C group).The differentially expressed metabolites were identified,and they were mainly functionally enriched in beta-alanine metabolism and biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids.In addition,1,3-diaminopropane was selected as a key biomarker that responded to early inoculation with caecal fermentation broth.Conclusions:These results provide insight into intestinal metabolomics and confirm that early inoculation with caecal fermentation broth can be used as a potential strategy to improve intestinal health of broilers.

Transcriptome and metabolome profiling of unheading in F1 hybrid rice

Heading date is a crucial agronomic trait.However,rice usually delays heading due to the photoperiod,temperature,hormones or age.The present research was conducted to analyze the mechanism cotrlling heading date in F,hybrid rice.We constructed two test-crossing populations using two introgression lines(ILs),P20 and P21 coming from SH527/FH838 as the male parent,respectively,and male sterile line Jin23A as the female parent.Meanwhile,the F,hybrids of H20,obtained by mating P20 with Jin23A and having no heading,and H21,from the crossing between P21 and Jin23A having normal heading,were both observed under long days.Here,we analyzed the photoperiodic response of F,hybrids by transcriptome and metabolome profiling.The greater differences displayed in the transcriptome and the metabolome were caused by photoperiod(exogenous)instead of genes(endogenous).The coping mechanism resulted from long days(LD)in H20,leading to differences in the circadian rhythm and glutathione metabolism relative to other samples.The circadian oscillator and GSH/GSSG cycle typically regulate ROS homeostasis,and both of them are responsible for modulating ROS in H20 under LD condition.Both circadian rhythm genes and the reported genes related to heading date function via the DHD1/OsMFT1-Ehd1-RFT1-OsMADS14/OsMADS18 pathway and the glutathione metabolism pathway by regulating oxidative reduction processes.Both pathways are involved in the heading process and they interacted through the oxidative reduction process which was induced by photoperiod regulation,and all of them collectively modulated the heading process.The results of this study will be helpful for unraveling the mechanism of F,hybrid responses to unheading under LD condition.

Prediction of gastric cancer metastasis through urinary metabolomic investigation using GC/MS

AIM:To gain new insights into tumor metabolism and to identify possible biomarkers with potential diagnostic values to predict tumor metastasis.METHODS:Human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells were implanted into 24 severe combined immune deficiency (SCID) mice,which were randomly divided into metastasis group (n=8),non-metastasis group (n=8),and normal group (n=8).Urinary metabolomic information was obtained by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS).RESULTS:There were significant metabolic differences among the three groups (t test,P < 0.05).Ten selected metabolites were different between normal and cancer groups (non-metastasis and metastasis groups),and seven metabolites were also different between non-metastasis and metastasis groups.Two diagnostic models for gastric cancer and metastasis were constructed respectively by the principal component analysis (PCA).These PCA models were confirmed by corresponding receiver operating characteristic analysis (area under the curve=1.00).CONCLUSION:The urinary metabolomic profile is different,and the selected metabolites might be instructive to clinical diagnosis or screening metastasis for gastric cancer.

Metabolomic Profiling Reveals Distinct Patterns of Tricarboxylic Acid Disorders in Blood Stasis Syndrome Associated with Coronary Heart Disease

Objective： To investigate the underlying metabolomic profiling of coronary heart disease（CHD） with blood stasis syndrome（BSS）. Methods： CHD model was induced by a nameroid constrictor in Chinese miniature swine. Fifteen miniature swine were randomly divided into a model group（n=9） and a control group（n=6）, respectively according to arandom number table. After 4 weeks, plasma hemorheology was detected by automatic hemorheological analyzer, indices including hematocrit, plasma viscosity, blood viscosity, rigidity index and erythrocyte sedimentation rate; cardiac function was assessed by echocardiograph to detect left ventricular end-systolic diameter（LVED）, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter（LVEDd）, ejection fraction（EF）, fractional shortening（FS） and other indicators. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry（GC-MS） and bioinformatics were applied to analyze spectra of CHD plasma with BSS. Results： The results of hemorheology analysis showed significant changes in viscosity, with low shear whole blood viscosity being lower and plasma viscosity higher in the model group compared with the control group. Moreover, whole blood reduction viscosity at high shear rate and whole blood reduction viscosity at low shear rate increased significantly（P〈0.05）. The echocardiograph results demonstrated that cardiac EF and FS showed significant difference（P〈0.05）, with EF values being decreased to 50% or less. The GC-MS data showed that principal component analysis can clearly separate the animals with BSS from those in the control group. The enriched Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes biological pathways results suggested that the patterns involved were associated with dysfunction of energy metabolism including glucose and lipid disorders, especially in glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, galactose metabolism and adenosine-triphosphate-binding cassette transporters. Conclusion： Glucose metabolism and lipid metabolism disorders were the major contributors to the syndrome classification of CHD with BSS.

New insights into molecules and pathways of cancer metabolism and therapeutic implications

Cancer cells are abnormal cells that can reproduce and regenerate rapidly.They are characterized by unlimited proliferation,transformation and migration,and can destroy normal cells.To meet the needs for cell proliferation and migration,tumor cells acquire molecular materials and energy through unusual metabolic pathways as their metabolism is more vigorous than that of normal cells.Multiple carcinogenic signaling pathways eventually converge to regulate three major metabolic pathways in tumor cells,including glucose,lipid,and amino acid metabolism.The distinct metabolic signatures of cancer cells reflect that metabolic changes are indispensable for the genesis and development of tumor cells.In this review,we report the unique metabolic alterations in tumor cells which occur through various signaling axes,and present various modalities available for cancer diagnosis and clinical therapy.We further provide suggestions for the development of anti-tumor therapeutic drugs.

Metabolomic Study of Biochemical Changes Related to Toxicity Induced by Bupleurotoxin Using LC-MS Coupled with a Pattern Recognition Approach

The purpose of this study was to detect changes in urine of mice and to clarify the toxicity induced by bupleurotoxin(BETX) using liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(LC-Q-TOF-MS). A procedure for urine analysis using pattern recognition was proposed to evaluate the toxicity induced by BETX in male BALB/c mice. BETX at 2.5 mg/kg was administrated intraperitoneally(i.p.), and urine samples for the metabolomic study were collected from control and BETX experimental groups. Changes in the concentrations of some urine metabolites were detected exclusively in the experimental group. All results suggested that exposure to BETX might cause a disturbance in fatty acid metabolism and the oxidative stress system. These results may not only clarify the underlying mechanism of diverse intoxication effects of BETX but also provide the guidance in preclinical toxicity screening for new drugs.