Salidroside Improves Oocyte Competence of Reproductively Old Mice by Enhancing Mitophagy.

The decline of oocyte quality with advanced maternal age has a detrimental effect on female fertility. However, there is limited knowledge of therapeutic options and their mechanisms to improve oocyte quality in reproductively older women. In this study, we demonstrated that supplementation of salidroside improves the oocyte quality of reproductively old mice.

Construction of A Smart Hospital Innovation Platform Using the Internet + Technology.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the practical application of "Internet + technology" leveraging medical big data to enhance the development of a smart hospital platform. Specifically, the focus is on optimizing patient care processes, refining medical data management systems, and enhancing operational efficiency within the hospital setting.

Methods: With the help of traditional Internet and mobile Internet technology, we analyzed the patient behavior big data accumulated in our hospital for many years, simplified the diagnosis and treatment links, refined the service connotation, and improved patient satisfaction before, during and after diagnosis; With the help of barcode, RFID and 5G networks, the links that are easy to produce medical security incidents can be monitored to improve medical quality, such as digital operating room system, establishment of multidisciplinary consultation center (MDT), electronic medical record system based on digital signature, etc.

ClpP/ClpX deficiency impairs mitochondrial functions and mTORC1 signaling during spermatogenesis.

Caseinolytic protease proteolytic subunit (ClpP) and caseinolytic protease X (ClpX) are mitochondrial matrix peptidases that activate mitochondrial unfolded protein response to maintain protein homeostasis in the mitochondria. However, the role of ClpP and ClpX in spermatogenesis remains largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrated the importance of ClpP/ClpX for meiosis and spermatogenesis with two conditional knockout (cKO) mouse models.

Maternal Kdm2a-mediated PI3K/Akt signaling and E-cadherin stimulate the morula-to-blastocyst transition revealing crucial roles in early embryonic development.

Histone methylation plays an essential role in oocyte growth and preimplantation embryonic development. The modification relies on histone methyl-transferases and demethylases, and one of these, lysine-specific demethylase 2a (Kdm2a), is responsible for modulating histone methylation during oocyte and early embryonic development. The mechanism of how Kdm2a deficiency disrupts early embryonic development and fertility remains elusive.

Testis-specific knockout of Kdm2a reveals nonessential roles in male fertility but partially compromises spermatogenesis.

Lysine-specific histone demethylase 2 (Kdm2a) is a regulatory factor of histone modifications that participates in gametogenesis and embryonic development. The mis-regulation of Kdm2a can lead to aberrant gene expression, thereby contributing to abnormal cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and tumorigenesis. However, due to the potential confounding effects that are secondary to the loss of Kdm2a function from the soma in existing whole-animal mutants, the in vivo function of Kdm2a in spermatogenesis for male fertility remains unknown.

Development of an Open Microfluidic Platform for Oocyte One-Stop Vitrification with Cryotop Method.

Oocyte vitrification technology is widely used for assisted reproduction and fertility preservation, which requires precise washing sequences and timings of cryoprotectant agents (CPAs) treatment to relieve the osmotic shock to cells. The gold standard Cryotop method is extensively used in oocyte vitrification and is currently the most commonly used method in reproductive centers. However, the Cryotop method requires precise and complex manual manipulation by an embryologist, whose proficiency directly determines the effect of vitrification.

MFN2 Deficiency Impairs Mitochondrial Functions and PPAR Pathway During Spermatogenesis and Meiosis in Mice.

Mitochondria are highly dynamic organelles and their activity is known to be regulated by changes in morphology via fusion and fission events. However, the role of mitochondrial dynamics on cellular differentiation remains largely unknown. Here, we explored the molecular mechanism of mitochondrial fusion during spermatogenesis by generating an (mitofusin 2) conditional knock-out (cKO) mouse model.

Heparanase Facilitates PMA-Induced Megakaryocytic Differentiation in K562 Cells via Interleukin 6/STAT3 Pathway.

Heparanase (HPSE) is an endo-β-D-glucuronidase that cleaves heparan sulfate and hence participates in remodeling of the extracellular matrix, leading to release of cytokines that are immobilized by binding to heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs), and consequently activating signaling pathways. This function of HPSE is correlated to its expression level that is normally very low in majority of the tissues. Exceptionally, human platelets express high level of HPSE, suggesting a unique physiological role in this cell.