Combined metabolome and transcriptome analysis reveal the mechanism of water stress in Ophiocordyceps sinensis.

Background: Ophiocordyceps sinensis (O. sinensis) is the dominant bacterium in the asexual stage of Chinese cordyceps, and its growth usually suffers from water stress. Thus, simulating its ecological growth environment is crucial for artificial cultivation.

Restraint-induced corticotrophin-releasing hormone elevation triggers apoptosis of ovarian cells and impairs oocyte competence via activation of the Fas/FasL system.

Mechanisms by which psychological stress damages oocytes are largely undetermined. Although a previous study showed that the stress-induced corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) elevation impaired oocyte competence by triggering apoptosis of ovarian cells, how CRH causes apoptosis in ovarian cells and oocytes is unknown. In this study, we have examined the hypothesis that restraint stress (RS)-induced CRH elevation triggers apoptosis of ovarian cells and impairs oocyte competence through activating the Fas/FasL system.

Role of autophagy in modulating post-maturation aging of mouse oocytes.

Mechanisms for post-maturation oocyte aging (PMOA) are not fully understood, and whether autophagy plays any role in PMOA is unknown. To explore the role of autophagy in PMOA, expression of autophagosomes and effects of the autophagy (macro-autophagy) activity on PMOA were observed in mouse oocytes. Oocyte activation rates and active caspase-3 levels increased continuously from 0 to 18 h of in vitro aging.

Parental life events cause behavioral difference among offspring: Adult pre-gestational restraint stress reduces anxiety across generations.

While effects of gestational, neonatal or adolescent stress on psychological alterations in progeny have been extensively studied, much less is known regarding the effects of adult pre-gestational life events on offspring behavior. Although full siblings often display behavioral differences, whether the different parental life events prior to different pregnancies contribute to these behavioral differences among siblings is worth studying. In this study, male and female adult mice were restrained for 60 days before mating with unstressed or stressed partners.

Transplantation of VEGF165-gene-transfected endothelial progenitor cells in the treatment of chronic venous thrombosis in rats.

Background: The organization and recanalization of thrombi is a dynamic and complex process. The aim of this research was to study the cotherapeutic effect of stem cell transplantation and gene transfection on chronic venous thrombosis.

Methods: We constructed a recombinant adenoviral vector carrying the vascular endothelial growth factor 165 (VEGF165) gene by using the pAdEasy system, which was subsequently identified and amplified.