Publications by authors named "Dexiang Xu"

Article Synopsis
  • Serum testosterone levels in males have been declining, and this study investigates how exposure to 1-nitropyrene (1-NP) affects testosterone production and induces premature aging in testicular cells.
  • Adult male mice exposed to different doses of 1-NP showed reduced testosterone levels and downregulation of key enzymes responsible for testosterone synthesis in their testes.
  • The research indicates that 1-NP disrupts mitochondrial function, leading to increased aging-like features in testicular cells, and that using antioxidants can help mitigate these harmful effects.
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  • Cadmium (Cd) is a harmful metal that can cause lung damage and inflammation from both long-term and short-term exposure.
  • In this study, mice exposed to Cd aerosol showed increased levels of iron in their lungs and serum, along with markers of ferroptosis, a type of cell death linked to oxidative stress.
  • The exposure also activated the NLRP3 inflammasome, leading to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, indicating that ferroptosis may play a role in Cd-induced lung inflammation.
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  • Several studies have identified ferroptosis, a type of cell death, in renal cells during acute kidney injury caused by cisplatin, but the underlying mechanisms need more exploration.
  • In this research, it was found that oxidized arachidonic acid increases and pyrimidine biosynthesis is disrupted in mouse kidneys treated with cisplatin, affecting key enzymes like DHODH and CoQH.
  • The study indicates that improving mitochondrial health through interventions like SIRT3 overexpression or antioxidant treatment can help mitigate the adverse effects of cisplatin, highlighting the role of mitochondrial dysfunction and DHODH acetylation in renal cell ferroptosis.
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Background: Premature rupture of the membranes (PROM) is a key cause of preterm birth and represents a major cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity. Natural products N-acetyl-d-galactosamine (GalNAc), which are basic building blocks of important polysaccharides in biological cells or tissues, such as chitin, glycoproteins, and glycolipids, may improve possible effects of wound healing.

Methods: An in vitro inflammation and oxidative stress model was constructed using tumor necrosis-α (TNF-α) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) action on WISH cells.

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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) can disrupt lipid metabolism, and changes in cord blood fatty acid composition have been observed in small newborns. Emerging evidence suggests that exposure to PFASs during pregnancy is linked to decreased newborn size, although the evidence is not consistent. The modifying effect of fatty acids on the associations of gestational PFAS exposure with newborn size is still unknown.

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Strong evidence indicates that environmental stressors are the risk factors for male testosterone deficiency (TD). However, the mechanisms of environmental stress-induced TD remain unclear. Based on our all-cause male reproductive cohort, we found that serum ferrous iron (Fe⁺) levels were elevated in TD donors.

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  • Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) was tested for its efficacy in identifying pathogens in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP) in the ICU.
  • A multicenter trial compared outcomes between patients assessed with conventional microbiological tests (CMTs) alone and those assessed with both mNGS and CMTs.
  • Results showed that patients in the mNGS group had a faster clinical improvement (10 days) compared to the CMT group (13 days), with a higher percentage of patients improving within 14 days (62% vs 46.5%).
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Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, is known to cause teratogenesis. Environmental exposure of BaP has led to wide public concerns due to their potential risk of reproductive toxicity. However, the exact mechanism is still not clear.

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Article Synopsis
  • Adolescent exposure to cadmium (Cd) and a high-fat diet (HFD) in mice leads to significant cognitive decline and damage to hippocampal neurons.
  • The downregulation of Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) in the hippocampus is a key mechanism behind this cognitive decline, which can be reversed by a SIRT6 activator called UBCS039.
  • The study also reveals that combined exposure reduces levels of La ribonucleoprotein 7 (LARP7), disrupting its interaction with SIRT6 and leading to increased degradation of LARP7 mRNA through YTH domain family protein 2 (YTHDF2).
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An earlier study found that respiratory cadmium chloride (CdCl) exposure caused COPD-like lung injury. This study aimed to explore whether mitochondrial dysfunction-mediated alveolar epithelial senescence is involved in CdCl-induced COPD-like lung injury. Adult C57BL/6 mice were exposed to CdCl (10 mg/L) aerosol for six months.

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Human exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) has received considerable attention, particularly in pregnant women because of their dramatic changes in physiological status and dietary patterns. Predicting internal PFAS exposure in pregnant women, based on external and relevant parameters, has not been investigated. Here, machine learning (ML) models were developed to predict the serum concentrations of PFOA and PFOS in a large population of 588 pregnant participants.

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1-Nitropyrene (1-NP) is a neurodevelopmental toxicant. This study was to evaluate the impact of exposure to 1-NP after weaning on anxiety-like behavior. Five-week-old mice were administered with 1-NP (0.

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Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and its metabolic end product benzo(a)pyren-7,8-dihydrodiol-9,10-epoxide (BPDE), are known toxic environmental pollutants. This study aimed to analyze whether sub-chronic BPDE exposure initiated pulmonary fibrosis and the potential mechanisms. In this work, male C57BL6/J mice were exposed to BPDE by dynamic inhalation exposure for 8 weeks.

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by social communication disability and stereotypic behavior. This study aims to investigate the impact of prenatal exposure to 1-nitropyrene (1-NP), a key component of motor vehicle exhaust, on autism-like behaviors in a mouse model. Three-chamber test finds that prenatal 1-NP exposure causes autism-like behaviors during the weaning period.

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The developmental toxicity of fenvalerate, a representative pyrethroid insecticide, is well documented. The present study aimed to explore whether prenatal exposure to fenvalerate causes depression-like behavior in adulthood. Pregnant mice were orally administrated with either corn oil or fenvalerate (2 or 20 mg/kg) during pregnancy.

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Article Synopsis
  • Environmental stressors, like cadmium (Cd), significantly contribute to acute kidney injury (AKI) by inducing ferroptosis in renal cells.
  • Exposure to Cd disrupts the arachidonic acid metabolic pathway and increases harmful lipid peroxidation markers in mice kidneys, indicating oxidative stress.
  • Reduced levels of SIRT3 lead to increased acetylation of GPX4, exacerbating ferroptosis, but treatment with nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) helps mitigate these effects.
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Cadmium (Cd) is a widely distributed typical environmental pollutant and one of the most toxic heavy metals. It is well-known that environmental Cd causes testicular damage by inducing classic types of cell death such as cell apoptosis and necrosis. However, as a new type of cell death, the role and mechanism of pyroptosis in Cd-induced testicular injury remain unclear.

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Arsenic (As) is a notorious environmental toxicant widely present in various natural environments. As exposure has been correlated with the decline in sperm motility. Yet, the mechanism has not been fully elucidated.

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Ferroptosis has been shown to be involved in carbon tetrachloride (CCl)-induced acute liver injury (ALI). The mitochondrion-targeted antioxidant MitoQ can eliminate the production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS). This study investigated the role of MitoQ in CCl-induced hepatocytic ferroptosis and ALI.

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The reproduction toxicity of pubertal exposure to Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) and the underlying mechanism needs to be further investigated. In the current study, pubertal male ICR mice were intraperitoneally injected with 2 μg/kg MC-LR for four weeks. Pubertal exposure to MC-LR decreased epididymal sperm concentration and blocked spermatogonia proliferation.

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Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a common environmental contaminant that can cause a severe allergic reaction called TCE hypersensitivity syndrome, which often implicates the patient's kidneys. Our previous study revealed that C5b-9-induced tubular ferroptosis is involved in TCE-caused kidney damage. However, the study did not explain how tubule-specific C5b-9 causes free iron overload, a key event in ferroptosis.

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Attention has been drawn to the associations between PFASs and human cognitive decline. However, knowledge on the occurrence and permeability of PFASs in the brains of patients with cognitive impairment has not been reported. Here, we determined 30 PFASs in paired sera and cerebrospinal fluids (CSFs) from patients with cognitive impairment ( = 41) and controls without cognitive decline ( = 18).

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Our previous study revealed that 1-nitropyrene (1-NP) exposure evoked pulmonary fibrosis in mice. However, the exact mechanism remained elusive. We found that 1-NP induced telomere damage and cellular senescence in mice lungs, and two alveolar epithelial cells lines.

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Inorganic trivalent arsenic (iAs) at environmentally relevant levels has been found to cause developmental toxicity. Maternal exposure to iAs leads to enduring hepatic lipid deposition in later adult life. However, the exact mechanism in iAs induced hepatic developmental hazards is still unclear.

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