SHU9119 and MBP10 are biased ligands at the human melanocortin-4 receptor.

The melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R), a G protein-coupled receptor, is critically involved in regulating energy homeostasis as well as modulation of reproduction and sexual function. Two peptide antagonists (SHU9119 and MBP10) were derived from the endogenous agonist α-melanocyte stimulating hormone. But their pharmacology at human MC4R is not fully understood.

L-Citrulline Ameliorates Iron Metabolism and Mitochondrial Quality Control via Activating AMPK Pathway in Intestine and Improves Microbiota in Mice with Iron Overload.

Scope: Oxidative stress caused by iron overload tends to result in intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction and intestinal microbiota imbalance. As a neutral and nonprotein amino acid, L-Citrulline (L-cit) has been implicated in antioxidant and mitochondrial amelioration properties. This study investigates whether L-cit can alleviate iron overload-induced intestinal injury and explores the underlying mechanisms.

Innate immune escape and adaptive immune evasion of African swine fever virus: A review.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) causes hemorrhagic fever in domestic and wild pigs. The continued spread of the virus in Africa, Europe and Asia threatens the global pig industry. The lack of an effective vaccine limits disease control.

CXCR3 Inhibition Blocks the NF-κB Signaling Pathway by Elevating Autophagy to Ameliorate Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Intestinal Dysfunction in Mice.

Autophagy is a cellular catabolic process in the evolutionarily conservative turnover of intracellular substances in eukaryotes, which is involved in both immune homeostasis and injury repairment. CXCR3 is an interferon-induced chemokine receptor that participates in immune regulation and inflammatory responses. However, CXCR3 regulating intestine injury via autophagy along with the precise underlying mechanism have yet to be elucidated.

L-Citrulline Supplementation Restrains Ferritinophagy-Mediated Ferroptosis to Alleviate Iron Overload-Induced Thymus Oxidative Damage and Immune Dysfunction.

L-citrulline (L-cit) is a key intermediate in the urea cycle and is known to possess antioxidant and anti-inflammation characteristics. However, the role of L-cit in ameliorating oxidative damage and immune dysfunction against iron overload in the thymus remains unclear. This study explored the underlying mechanism of the antioxidant and anti-inflammation qualities of L-cit on iron overload induced in the thymus.

Pharmacological Applications and Action Mechanisms of Phytochemicals as Alternatives to Antibiotics in Pig Production.

Antibiotics are widely used for infectious diseases and feed additives for animal health and growth. Antibiotic resistant caused by overuse of antibiotics poses a global health threat. It is urgent to choose safe and environment-friendly alternatives to antibiotics to promote the ecological sustainable development of the pig industry.

Recent advances in cell homeostasis by African swine fever virus-host interactions.

African swine fever (ASF) is an acute hemorrhagic disease caused by the infection of domestic swine and wild boar by the African swine fever virus (ASFV), with a mortality rate close to 90-100%. ASFV has been spreading in the world and poses a severe economic threat to the swine industry. There is no high effective vaccine commercially available or drug for this disease.

New substrates and determinants for tRNA recognition of RNA methyltransferase DNMT2/TRDMT1.

Methylation is a common post-transcriptional modification of tRNAs, particularly in the anticodon loop region. The cytosine 38 (C38) in tRNAs, such as tRNA, tRNA, tRNA, and tRNA, can be methylated by human DNMT2/TRDMT1 and some homologs found in bacteria, plants, and animals. However, the substrate properties and recognition mechanism of DNMT2/TRDMT1 remain to be explored.

African Swine Fever Virus MGF360-12L Inhibits Type I Interferon Production by Blocking the Interaction of Importin α and NF-κB Signaling Pathway.

African swine fever (ASF) is an infectious transboundary disease of domestic pigs and wild boar and spreading throughout Eurasia. There is no vaccine and treatment available. Complex immune escape strategies of African swine fever virus (ASFV) are crucial factors affecting immune prevention and vaccine development.

NOX1 down-regulation attenuated the autophagy and oxidative damage in pig intestinal epithelial cell following transcriptome analysis of transport stress.

The previous study indicated that transport stress resulted in oxidative damage and autophagy/mitophagy elevation, companied by NOX1 over- expression in the jejunal tissues of pigs. However, the transportation-related gene expression profile and NOX1 function in intestine remain to be explicated. In the current study, differentially expressed genes involved in PI3K-Akt and NF-κB pathways, oxidative stress and autophagy process have been identified in pig jejunal tissues after transcriptome analysis following transportation.

SIRT1/PGC-1 pathway activation triggers autophagy/mitophagy and attenuates oxidative damage in intestinal epithelial cells.

Oxidative stress leads to intestinal epithelial cells damage, which induces tight junction injury and systemic endogenous stress syndrome. The evidence suggests that SIRT1/PGC-1α pathway is closely associated with oxidative damage. However, the mechanism in protecting intestinal epithelial cells against oxidative stress dependant on autopahgy/mitophagy remains to be elucidated.

Transport stress induces pig jejunum tissue oxidative damage and results in autophagy/mitophagy activation.

Pig transportation is associated with intestinal oxidative stress and results in destruction of intestinal integrity. Autophagy has been contributed to maintain cell homeostasis under stresses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of transport stress on morphology, intestinal mucosal barrier and autophagy/mitophagy levels in pig jejunum.

Knockdown of long noncoding RNA urothelial carcinoma associated 1 inhibits colorectal cancer cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis via modulating autophagy.

Long noncoding RNA urothelial carcinoma associated 1 (UCA1) has been implicated in the growth and metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC), and autophagy contributes to tumorigenesis and cancer cell survival. However, the regulatory role of UCA1 in CRC cell viability by modulating autophagy remains unclear. In the present study, a significant positive correlation was observed between UCA1 and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) levels, and the elevated UCA1 was negatively correlated with the PKB/protein kinase B (AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway in 293T cells.

Knockdown of Long Non-Coding RNA GAS5 Increases miR-23a by Targeting ATG3 Involved in Autophagy and Cell Viability.

Background/aims: Autophagy is a process of evolutionarily conservative degradation, which could maintain cellular homeostasis and cope with various types of stress. LncRNAs are considered as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) contributing to autophagy. GAS5 has been suggested as a new potential factor to mediate autophagy pathway and the underlying mechanism remains to be further confirmed.

MicroRNA-322 inhibits inflammatory cytokine expression and promotes cell proliferation in LPS-stimulated murine macrophages by targeting NF-κB1 (p50).

Inflammation is the body's normal self-protection mechanism to eliminate pathogens and resist pathogen invasion. The excessive inflammatory response may lead to inflammatory lesions. The mechanisms accounting for inflammation remain hazy.

Influence of squalene feeding on plasma leptin, testosterone & blood pressure in rats.

Background & Objectives: Obesity, hyperlipidaemia and hypercholesterolaemia are known risk factors in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Squalene has been shown to reduce serum cholesterol and triglycerides in dogs although its therapeutic use in high BP and obese patients has not been established. This study evaluates the effect of feeding high doses of squalene on plasma leptin, glucose, testosterone, blood pressure (BP) and body fat in rats.

Feeding with supplemental squalene enhances the productive performance in boars.

In the present study, we investigated whether squalene could enhance the reproductive performance of boars. Boars at 12 months of age (weighting at 130+/-5 kg) were randomly allocated into four groups and treated with basal diet (control) or with basal diet supplemental squalene at 10, 20 or 40 mg squalene/kg/day for 60 days. The impact of squalene feeding on the reproductive performance and the levels of serum leptin and testosterone were evaluated before and after feeding.

Characterization and immunomodulating activities of polysaccharide from Lentinus edodes.

The polysaccharide L-II was isolated and purified from the fruiting body of Lentinus edodes, which consisted of d-glucopyranose and had the molecular weight of 2.03 x 10(5) Da. We evaluated the effects of the polysaccharide L-II on the cellular immune response of Sarcoma 180-bearing mice.