Telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of a male goat reveals variants associated with cashmere traits.

A complete goat (Capra hircus) reference genome enhances analyses of genetic variation, thus providing insights into domestication and selection in goats and related species. Here, we assemble a telomere-to-telomere (T2T) gap-free genome (2.86 Gb) from a cashmere goat (T2T-goat1.

Role of inflammasomes in Toxoplasma and Plasmodium infections.

Background: The detection of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) or damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) by multimeric protein complexes, known as inflammasomes, triggers an inflammatory response, which is a critical component of the innate immune system. This inflammatory response plays a pivotal role in host resistance against parasitic infections, presenting a significant global health challenge.

Methods: We systematically searched for relevant articles from the Pubmed and the Web of Science database to summarize current insights into how inflammasomes function in preventing infections caused by the apicomplexan parasites Toxoplasma and Plasmodium.

Biochemical analyses reveal new insights into RCAN1/Rcn1 inhibition of calcineurin.

Calcineurin is a serine/threonine protein phosphatase that is highly conserved from yeast to human and plays a critical role in many physiological processes. Regulators of calcineurin (RCANs) are a family of endogenous calcineurin regulators, which are capable of inhibiting the catalytic activity of calcineurin in vivo and in vitro. In this study, we first characterized the biochemical properties of yeast calcineurin and its endogenous regulator Rcn1, a yeast homolog of RCAN1.

A sequence-based evolutionary distance method for Phylogenetic analysis of highly divergent proteins.

Because of the limited effectiveness of prevailing phylogenetic methods when applied to highly divergent protein sequences, the phylogenetic analysis problem remains challenging. Here, we propose a sequence-based evolutionary distance algorithm termed sequence distance (SD), which innovatively incorporates site-to-site correlation within protein sequences into the distance estimation. In protein superfamilies, SD can effectively distinguish evolutionary relationships both within and between protein families, producing phylogenetic trees that closely align with those based on structural information, even with sequence identity less than 20%.

Intranasal immunisation with recombinant Toxoplasma gondii uridine phosphorylase confers resistance against acute toxoplasmosis in mice.

Toxoplasmosis is caused by Toxoplasma gondii, which infects all warm-blooded animals, including humans. Currently, control measures for T. gondii infection are insufficient due to the lack of effective medications or vaccines.

Melatonin alleviates cisplatin-induced mice spermatogenesis defects.

Cisplatin (CDDP) is a chemotherapeutic drug that is used to treat many different types of tumors. However, it also has significant adverse effects on male reproduction, which are partially mediated oxidative damage. Melatonin (MLT) is a promising antioxidant that can be used for reproductive protection.

Host A-to-I RNA editing signatures in intracellular bacterial and single-strand RNA viral infections.

Background: Microbial infection is accompanied by remodeling of the host transcriptome. Involvement of A-to-I RNA editing has been reported during viral infection but remains to be elucidated during intracellular bacterial infections.

Results: Herein we analyzed A-to-I RNA editing during intracellular bacterial infections based on 18 RNA-Seq datasets of 210 mouse samples involving 7 tissue types and 8 intracellular bacterial pathogens (IBPs), and identified a consensus signature of RNA editing for IBP infections, mainly involving neutrophil-mediated innate immunity and lipid metabolism.

Causal effect of polyunsaturated fatty acids on bone mineral density and fracture.

Background: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are closely related to osteoporosis. To test their causal relationship, we conducted a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.

Methods: We analyzed the causal relationship between four PUFAs measures, n-3 PUFAs (n-3), n-6 PUFAs (n-6), the ratio of n-3 PUFAs to total fatty acids (n-3 pct), and the ratio of n-6 PUFAs to n-3 PUFAs (n-6 to n-3), and five measures of osteoporosis, including estimated bone mineral density (eBMD), forearm (FA) BMD, femoral neck (FN) BMD, lumbar spine (LS) BMD, and fracture, using two-sample MR analysis.

The detection rate and influencing factors of high-risk groups of cardiovascular disease in Anhui, China: A cross-sectional study of 99,821 residents.

Objective: To investigate the detection rate and influencing factors of high-risk population of cardiovascular disease in Anhui province.

Methods: From March 2017 to August 2019, the residents aged 35-75 years old were selected using the multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method in 8 counties and districts of Anhui Province, and questionnaire survey, anthropometric measurement, and collection of biological samples were carried out among them.

Results: A total of 99,821 residents in Anhui Province were finally investigated, and among them 21,426 residents were detected to be high-risk groups of cardiovascular disease.

COVID-19 and inflammatory bowel disease crosstalk: From emerging association to clinical proposal.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can cause coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an acute respiratory inflammation that has emerged worldwide since December 2019, and it quickly became a global epidemic. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of chronic nonspecific intestinal inflammatory diseases whose etiology has not been elucidated. The two have many overlapping symptoms in clinical presentation, such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, pneumonia, etc.

Protective effect of melatonin on alleviating early oxidative stress induced by DOX in mice spermatogenesis and sperm quality maintaining.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective chemotherapy drug, but its clinical use has adverse effects on male reproduction. However, there are few studies about the specific biological processes related to male reproduction or strategies for improving fertility protection. In this paper, we examined the effects of DOX on spermatogenesis and sperm function, and tested the possible protective role of melatonin (MLT) against DOX's reproductive toxicity.

ANKRD49 promotes the invasion and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma via a P38/ATF-2 signalling pathway.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most challenging neoplasm to treat in clinical practice. Ankyrin repeat domain 49 protein (ANKRD49) is highly expressed in several carcinomas; however, its pattern of expression and role in LUAD are not known. Tissue microarrays, immunohistochemistry, χ test, Spearman correlation analysis, Kaplan-Meier, log-rank test, and Cox's proportional hazard model were used to analyse the clinical cases.