Zinc mediates the SREBP-SCD axis to regulate lipid metabolism in .

Maintenance of lipid homeostasis is crucial for cells in response to lipid requirements or surplus. The SREBP transcription factors play essential roles in regulating lipid metabolism and are associated with many metabolic diseases. However, SREBP regulation of lipid metabolism is still not completely understood.

Transcriptome Profile Reveals that Pu-Erh Tea Represses the Expression of Vitellogenin Family to Reduce Fat Accumulation in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Due to misbalanced energy surplus and expenditure, obesity has become a common chronic disorder that is highly associated with many metabolic diseases. Pu-erh tea, a traditional Chinese beverage, has been believed to have numerous health benefits, such as anti-obesity. However, the underlying mechanisms of its anti-obesity effect are yet to be understood.

Pu-erh tea down-regulates sterol regulatory element-binding protein and stearyol-CoA desaturase to reduce fat storage in Caenorhaditis elegans.

Consumption of Pu-erh has been reported to result in numerous health benefits, but the mechanisms underlying purported weight-loss and lowering of lipid are poorly understood. Here, we used the nematode Caenorhaditis elegans to explore the water extract of Pu-erh tea (PTE) functions to reduce fat storage. We found that PTE down-regulates the expression of the master fat regulator SBP-1, a homologue of sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) and its target stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD), a key enzyme in fat biosynthesis, leading to an increased ratio of stearic acid (C18:0) to oleic acid (C18:1n-9), and subsequently decreased fat storage.

A lysosome-targeted fluorescent chemodosimeter for monitoring endogenous and exogenous hydrogen sulfide by in vivo imaging.

A lysosome-targeted fluorescent chemodosimeter, 1, was developed for monitoring endogenous and exogenous H2S by in vivo imaging of HeLa cells, D. melanogaster and C. elegans.

A pyrene derivative for Hg(2+) -selective fluorescent sensing and its application in in vivo imaging.

An Hg(2+) -selective fluorescent sensor (1) bearing pyrene as a fluorophore was synthesized. A sandwich-stacking binding mode was formed during the binding process, which increased the excimer fluorescence 22-fold at 490 nm. Compound 1 was successfully applied in in vivo imaging to trace the enrichment and distribution of mercury in the nervous system, digestive system, and reproductive system of Caenorhabditis elegans, as well as the organs of zebrafish.

mtDNA data indicate a single origin for dogs south of Yangtze River, less than 16,300 years ago, from numerous wolves.

There is no generally accepted picture of where, when, and how the domestic dog originated. Previous studies of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have failed to establish the time and precise place of origin because of lack of phylogenetic resolution in the so far studied control region (CR), and inadequate sampling. We therefore analyzed entire mitochondrial genomes for 169 dogs to obtain maximal phylogenetic resolution and the CR for 1,543 dogs across the Old World for a comprehensive picture of geographical diversity.

Independent origin of the growth hormone gene family in New World monkeys and Old World monkeys/hominoids.

The growth hormone (GH) gene family represents an erratic and complex evolutionary pattern, involving many evolutionary events, such as multiple gene duplications, positive selection, the birth-and-death process and gene conversions. In the present study, we cloned and sequenced GH-like genes from three species of New World monkeys (NWM). Phylogenetic analysis strongly suggest monophyly for NWM GH-like genes with respect to those of Old World monkeys (OWM) and hominoids, indicating that independent gene duplications have occurred in NWM GH-like genes.