A network pharmacology approach to investigate the mechanism of Shuxuening injection in the treatment of ischemic stroke.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Shuxuening injection (SXNI), a popular herbal medicine, is an extract of Ginkgo biloba leaves (GBE), and is used to treat ischemic stroke (IS) in China. However, its specific active ingredients and molecular mechanisms in IS remain unclear.

Aim Of The Study: The purpose of the research is to identify the main active ingredients in GBE and explore its molecular mechanisms in the treatment of IS.

Preliminary investigation of the effects of an FCF inhibitor interference with Septin in the early stage embryos in mice.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of for chlorfenuron (FCF) interference with the septin protein on early stage embryos in mice. The 1‑cell embryos were collected and divided into an FCF interference group and a control group. The FCF interference group was cultured in FCF media and the control group was cultured in dimethyl sulphoxide media at 37˚C with 5% CO2 until the desired phase was achieved.

[Research progress in obesity-induced low fertility in males].

The prevalence of obesity in men of reproductive age is globally increasing. Obesity alters the ratio of testosterone to estradiol and the homeostasis of leptin and other hormone levels by interfering with the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis. In addition, it may change epigenetic modifications and intergenerational transmission, which would affect the health of the offspring.

[Effects of obesity on global genome DNA methylation and gene imprinting in mouse spermatozoa].

Objective: To investigate the influence of high fat diet-induced obesity (HFDIO) on the differentially methylated region (DMR) of the imprinted gene and global genome methylation of sperm DNA.

Methods: We performed bisulfite sequencing on the DMR of the imprinted gene and global genome methylation of sperm DNA in the mouse model of HFDIO.

Results: No statistically significant differences were found between the HFDIO model and normal control mice in MEG3-IG (93.

Epigenetic dynamics and interplay during spermatogenesis and embryogenesis: implications for male fertility and offspring health.

Mapping epigenetic modifications and identifying their roles in the regulation of spermatogenesis and embryogenesis are essential for gaining fundamental medical understandings and for clinical applications. More and more evidence has shown that specific epigenetic modifications are established during spermatogenesis, which will be transferred into oocyte fertilisation, and play an important role in the early embryo development. Defects in epigenetic patterns may increase the risk of abnormal spermatogenesis, fertilisation failure, early embryogenesis abnormality and several other complications during pregnancy.

[Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) in Pygo2 coding gene with idiopathic oligospermia and azoospermia].

Male infertility is often associated with a decreased sperm count. Pygo2 gene is expressed in the elongating spermatid when chromatin remodeling occurs, thus it is possible that impairment of Pygo2 function could lead to spermatogenic arrest, reduction of sperm count and subsequent infertility. The aim of this study was to detect mutations in Pygo2 that lead to idiopathic oligospermia and azoospermia in human.

Sperm selection based on electrostatic charge.

Charge is a fundamental property of all forms of matter that exhibit attraction or repulsion in the presence of another charged particle. This electrokinetic property occurs when the particles exhibiting a net negative or positive charge are subjected to an external electric field that exerts an electrostatic force between them. Sperm surface membranes exhibit varying levels of electrostatic potential that are proportional to the levels of sialic acid residue acquired on the cell surface during maturation.

[Methylation and acetylation of histones during spermatogenesis].

Spermatogenesis is a highly complex and unique differentiation process. This process involves development of spermatogonia into spermatocytes, formation of haploid spermatids, and maturation of spermatozoa. It features stage- and testis-specific gene expression, mitotic and meiotic divisions, and the histone-protamine transition.

[The genetic and epigenetic defect from the sperm for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)].

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) can be applied to treat male infertility patients of oligospermia, asthenospermia, teratospermia, azoospermia and failure of the common in-vitro fertilization (IVF), which may overcome the sperm deficiency and even obtain sperms directly from percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA) and testicular sperm extraction (TESE). As for direct injection of a single sperm into an egg, the ICSI disobeys the biological laws of natural insemination, thus leading to high genetic and epigenetic risk for patients owing to genetic and epigenetic defect of sperm. By reviewing the genetic and epigenetic defects of ICSI sperm, as well as related diseases, this article aims at understanding of the risks resulting from the genetic and epigenetic defects of ICSI sperm at a molecular mechanism level.

Ultrasound-promoted access to Baylis-Hillman amines.

It is surveyed that the amination of the Baylis-Hillman acetates with primary amines can be dramatically promoted in improved yields and shortened reaction time under ultrasound irradiation than those under conventional stirring. The extensive scope of both amines and acetates are screened to investigate the relationship between substituents and their performance in such transformation.

Ultrasound-promoted synthesis of novel dispirocyclic frameworks from aza-Claisen rearrangements of Baylis-Hillman amines.

A novel tetracyclic frameworks of dispiropyrrolizidines can be obtained in moderate to good yields via the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides with dipolarophiles derived from aza-Claisen rearrangement of Baylis-Hillman amines. The transformations are highly regioselective and stereoselective, affording the desired compounds in reduced time and increased yields under ultrasound irradiation at room temperature. All the products are confirmed by 1H, 13C NMR, IR and MS spectra, while their molecular structures are elucidated by X-ray crystallography of a selected sample.

[Genes involved in spermatogenesis].

During mammalian spermatogenesis, primordial germ cells develop into spermatogonia, giving rise to spermatocytes that undergo two meiotic divisions to become round spermatids. These cells differentiate into spermatozoa during spermiogenesis. Spermatogenesis is a complex process of cell differentiation controlled by many factors, among which gene regulation in the spermatogenic cells plays a pivotal role.