Radix Rehmanniae Praeparata promoted zebrafish fin regeneration through aryl hydrocarbon receptor-dependent autophagy.

Headings Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata (RRP), a staple in traditional Chinese medicine, is derived from Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch and is renowned for its wound-healing properties. Despite its clinical prevalence, the molecular mechanisms underlying RRP's wound-healing effects have not been fully elucidated.

Aim Of The Study: This research endeavored to delineate the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of RRP on wound healing, utilizing a zebrafish model.

Development a high-throughput zebrafish embryo acute toxicity testing method based on OECD TG 236.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD）Test Guideline (TG) 236 for zebrafish embryo acute toxicity testing was adopted for chemical toxicity assessment in 2013. Due to the increasing demand for prediction and evaluation of the acute toxicity using zebrafish embryos, we developed a method based on OECD 236 test guideline with the aim to improve the testing efficiency. We used 4-128 cell stage zebrafish embryos and performed an exposure assay in a 96-well microtiter plate, observing the lethality endpoints of embryos at 48-h postexposure.

Metformin accelerates zebrafish heart regeneration by inducing autophagy.

Metformin is one of the most widely used drugs for type 2 diabetes and it also exhibits cardiovascular protective activity. However, the underlying mechanism of its action is not well understood. Here, we used an adult zebrafish model of heart cryoinjury, which mimics myocardial infarction in humans, and demonstrated that autophagy was significantly induced in the injured area.

Pre-validation of choriogenin H transgenic medaka eleutheroembryos as a quantitative estrogenic activity test method.

The choriogenin H - EGFP transgenic medaka (Oryzias melastigma) has been used to test estrogenic substances and quantify estrogenic activity into 17β-estradiol (E2) equivalency (EEQ). The method uses 8 eleutheroembryos in 2 ml solution per well and 3 wells per treatment in 24-well plates at 26 ± 1 °C for 24 ± 2 h, with subsequent measurements of induced GFP signal intensity. EEQ measurements are calculated using a E2 probit regression model with a coefficient of determination (R) > 0.

Spectroscopic and microscopic examination of teeth exposed to green tea at different temperatures.

Tea is a popular beverage consumed at different temperatures. The effect of tea on teeth at different temperatures has not been studied previously. The present study used an in vitro green tea immersed tooth model at different tea temperatures (hot and cold) compared to an in vivo tea administration model allowing rats to drink tea over the course of a week.

Estrogen accelerates heart regeneration by promoting the inflammatory response in zebrafish.

Sexual differences have been observed in the onset and prognosis of human cardiovascular diseases, but the underlying mechanisms are not clear. Here, we found that zebrafish heart regeneration is faster in females, can be accelerated by estrogen and is suppressed by the estrogen-antagonist tamoxifen. Injuries to the zebrafish heart, but not other tissues, increased plasma estrogen levels and the expression of estrogen receptors, especially esr2a.

Precise Drug Delivery by Using PLGA-Based Microspheres and Optical Manipulators.

The accurate delivery of precise amounts of drugs to a specific location can considerably affect various clinical applications. The precise control of drug amount and position is crucial to a successful drug delivery. This paper proposes the use of poly(lactide-co-glycolicacid) (PLGA)-based microspheres to contain precise amounts of drugs and an optical tweezer manipulator to transport these drug-containing microspheres to their targeted sites in vivo.

Prolonged neutrophil retention in the wound impairs zebrafish heart regeneration after cryoinjury.

Neutrophils are the first line defenders in the innate immune response, and rapidly migrate to an infected or injured area. Recently, bidirectional migration of neutrophils to the wound and the corresponding functions have become popular research pursuits. In zebrafish larvae, CXCR1/CXCL8 is the predominant chemoattractant pathway to recruit neutrophil to wound, while CXCR2/CXCL8 pathway mediate neutrophil dispersal in wound after injury.

Excessive inflammation impairs heart regeneration in zebrafish breakdance mutant after cryoinjury.

Inflammation plays a crucial role in cardiac regeneration. Numerous advantages, including a robust regenerative ability, make the zebrafish a popular model to study cardiovascular diseases. The zebrafish breakdance (bre) mutant shares several key features with human long QT syndrome that predisposes to ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death.

Spectroscopic examination of enamel staining by coffee indicates dentin erosion by sequestration of elements.

The mechanism of coffee eliciting erosion on teeth is unclear as few studies have investigated the direct effect of coffee on enamel and dentin structures. The present study identified how coffee, the most popular beverage worldwide, induces staining and erosion on teeth. We show the grade of erosion of molars and incisors in Sprague Dawley rats from two different age groups, young (four weeks) and old (six months).

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) mediate leukocyte recruitment during the inflammatory phase of zebrafish heart regeneration.

In zebrafish, the role of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in the inflammatory phase of heart regeneration following cryoinjury remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrated an increase in MMP enzymatic activity and elevated expression of mmp9 and mmp13 in the injured area (IA) of hearts from as early as 1 day post-cryoinjury (dpc). Treatment with the broad-spectrum MMP inhibitor, GM6001, during the first week after cryoinjury resulted in impaired heart regeneration, as indicated by the larger scar and reduced numbers of proliferating cardiomyocytes.

Mechanistic Study of Bakuchiol-Induced Anti-breast Cancer Stem Cell and Anti-metastasis Effects.

Cancer stem cells are involved in cancer establishment, progression, and resistance to current treatments. We demonstrated the and anti-breast cancer effect of bakuchiol in a previous study. However, the ability of bakuchiol to target breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) and inhibit breast cancer metastasis remains unknown.

Toxicity and estrogenic endocrine disrupting activity of phthalates and their mixtures.

Phthalates, widely used in flexible plastics and consumer products, have become ubiquitous contaminants worldwide. This study evaluated the acute toxicity and estrogenic endocrine disrupting activity of butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), di(n-butyl) phthalate (DBP), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), diisononyl phthalate (DINP), di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP) and their mixtures. Using a 72 h zebrafish embryo toxicity test, the LC50 values of BBP, DBP and a mixture of the six phthalates were found to be 0.

[Cloning and expression of D-like aspartic protease of Anisakis simplex].

Objective: To clone and express the full length of D-like aspartic protease gene (AsAP) of the third stage larvae of Anisakis simplex.

Methods: According to the partial information of D-like aspartic protease encoding gene of A. simplex from GenBank, specific primers were designed to amplify 3'end and 5' end of AsAP gene using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE), and the full length of the D-like aspartic protease gene was obtained.

Anisakis pegreffii: a quantitative fluorescence PCR assay for detection in situ.

To facilitate improved diagnosis and detection of the third stage larva (L3) of Anisakis pegreffii from the Minnan-Taiwan bank fishing ground in Taiwan Strait, a real-time PCR method for the detection in situ and differentiation was developed to amplify a region of the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) of this parasite. The real-time PCR assay was capable of detecting 1/3 of a single L3 in 30 mg of marine fish tissue, and also exhibited a high level of specificity for A. pegreffii, no fluorescence signals were observed in other five major larval anisakid species found in commercial marine fishes caught in this fishing ground.

[Detection of anisakid nematodes by an SYBR green I real-time PCR].

Objective: To establish an SYBR Green I real-time quantitative PCR method for the detection of anisakid nematodes with zoonotic potential from Taiwan Strait.

Methods: Anisakid larvae of six species (Anisakis simplex, A. physeteris, Raphidascaris trichiura, Contracaecum aduncum, C.

[Cloning and expression of L-like cysteine protease of Anisakis simplex].

Objective: To clone and express the full lenth of L-like cysteine protease gene of Anisakis simplex (AsCP).

Methods: According to L-like cysteine protease encoding gene of A. simplex from GenBank EST database, specific primers were designed to amplify 3'-end of AsCP gene using rapid-amplification of cDNA ends (RACE), and the full lenth of the L-like cysteine protease gene was obtained.

ES proteins analysis of Angiostrongylus cantonensis: products of the potential parasitism genes?

The expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of Angiostrongylus cantonensis were analyzed in an attempt to gain further insight into its genomic expression patterns. A total of 1,277 ESTs of A. cantonensis were randomly downloaded from NCBI databank.

[Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) analysis of Angiostrongylus cantonensis].

A total of 1,277 ESTs of Angiostrongylus cantonensis were downloaded from GenBank and analyzed with BlastX. SignalP V3.0 analysis was applied to predict potential putative antigen or allergen relative proteins with N-terminal secreted signal peptides or signal anchors.

Multiple primer PCR for the identification of anisakid nematodes from Taiwan Strait.

There were six major larval anisakid species found in commercial marine fishes caught in the Minnan fishing ground in the Taiwan Strait: Anisakis physeteris, Anisakis pegreffii, Raphidascaris trichiuri, Contracaecum aduncum, Contracaecum muraenesoxi, Contracaecum sp. For rapid identification of the parasite species above, a single and a multiple primer PCR (multiplex PCR) method, using specific primers based on aligned sequences of the internal transcribed spacer ITS-1, 5.8S, and ITS-2 of nuclear ribosomal DNA, were jointly used for the rapid identification of these anisakid larvae.