Ligands for Melanocortin Receptors: Beyond Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormones and Adrenocorticotropin.

The discovery of melanocortins in 1916 has resulted in more than 100 years of research focused on these peptides. Extensive studies have elucidated well-established functions of melanocortins mediated by cell surface receptors, including MSHR (melanocyte-stimulating hormone receptor) and ACTHR (adrenocorticotropin receptor). Subsequently, three additional melanocortin receptors (MCRs) were identified.

The feedback regulation of carbohydrates intake on food intake and appetite in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella).

Improving carbohydrate utilization can contribute to sustainability of aquaculture. In order to explore the feedback mechanism of glucose homeostasis in fish, one control diet (25% carbohydrate and 40% protein), one relatively high carbohydrate diet named HG (42% carbohydrate and 40% protein), and one high dietary carbohydrate coupled with relatively low protein diet named HGP (42% carbohydrate and 25% protein) were fed to grass carp for 40 days. After the feeding trial, HG group impeded the food intake and growth performance of fish compared with the other two groups.

Differential Roles of Two Leptin Gene Paralogues on Food Intake and Hepatic Metabolism Regulation in Mandarin Fish.

Leptin affects food intake regulation and energy homeostasis in mammals, as opposed to mammals who have a single leptin gene, fish have duplicated leptin gene paralogues. Until now, most functional studies on fish focused on the first reported paralogue without much explanation on specific gene paralogue. This study successfully expressed two homologous recombinant mandarin fish leptin genes (LepA and LepB) for the first time.

Changes of DNA Methylation Pattern in Metabolic Pathways Induced by High-Carbohydrate Diet Contribute to Hyperglycemia and Fat Deposition in Grass Carp ().

Although studies have determined that epigenetics plays an essential role in regulating metabolism in mammals, research on nutrition-related DNA methylation remains to be lacking in teleosts. In the present study, we provided a hepatic whole-genome DNA methylation analysis in grass carp fed with moderate- or excessive-carbohydrate-level diet. Although a high-carbohydrate (HC) diet significantly changed the mRNA expression levels of metabolic genes, it did not affect the global genomic DNA methylation levels in grass carp liver.

Self-preservation strategy for approaching global warming targets in the post-Paris Agreement era.

A strategy that informs on countries' potential losses due to lack of climate action may facilitate global climate governance. Here, we quantify a distribution of mitigation effort whereby each country is economically better off than under current climate pledges. This effort-sharing optimizing approach applied to a 1.

Expansion of sweet taste receptor genes in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) coincided with vegetarian adaptation.

Background: Taste is fundamental to diet selection in vertebrates. Genetic basis of sweet taste receptor in the shaping of food habits has been extensively studied in mammals and birds, but scarcely studied in fishes. Grass carp is an excellent model for studying vegetarian adaptation, as it exhibits food habit transition from carnivory to herbivory.

Fenoprofen-An Old Drug Rediscovered as a Biased Allosteric Enhancer for Melanocortin Receptors.

It is time-consuming and costly to bring new drugs to market, making it necessary and urgent to exploit existing drugs for new uses. Recently, fenoprofen was demonstrated as an allosteric modulator at melanocortin receptors (MCRs), although the exact mode of action has not been clarified. MCRs regulate multiple functions, including pigmentation, adrenal steroidogenesis, inflammation, energy homeostasis, and exocrine gland secretion.

Electroacupuncture at (GV14) and (GV4) protects against spinal cord injury: the role of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Electroacupuncture at (GV14) and (GV4) on the Governor Vessel has been shown to exhibit curative effects on spinal cord injury; however, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. In this study, we established rat models of spinal cord injury using a modified Allen's weight-drop method. Ninety-nine male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three equal groups: sham (only laminectomy), SCI (induction of spinal cord injury at T), and EA (induction of spinal cord injury at T and electroacupuncture intervention at GV14 and GV4 for 20 minutes once a day).

Effects of Electroacupuncture at Governor Vessel Acupoints on Neurotrophin-3 in Rats with Experimental Spinal Cord Injury.

In an effort to explore new, noninvasive treatment options for spinal cord injuries (SCI), this study investigated the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) for SCI rat models. SCI was induced by a modified Allen's weight-drop method. We investigated the response of EA at Dazhui (GV 14) and Mingmen (GV 4) acupoints to understand the effects and mechanisms of EA in neuroprotection and neuronal function recovery after SCI.

Molecular cloning, expression and single nucleotide polymorphisms of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) in mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi).

In the wild, mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi) only feed on live prey fish, refusing dead prey. When reared in ponds, training will result in some mandarin fish accepting artificial diets. However, little is currently known about the molecular mechanism of the individual difference.

Effects of glucose, insulin and triiodothyroxine on leptin and leptin receptor expression and the effects of leptin on activities of enzymes related to glucose metabolism in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) hepatocytes.

Leptin is an important regulator of appetite and energy expenditure in mammals, but its role in fish metabolism control is poorly understood. Our previous studies demonstrated that leptin has an effect on the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure as well as lipid metabolism (stimulation of lipolysis and inhibition of adipogenesis) in the grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella. To further investigate the role of leptin in fish, the effects of glucose, insulin and triiodothyroxine (T3) on the expression levels of leptin and leptin receptor (Lepr) and the effects of leptin on the activities of critical glucose metabolism enzymes in grass carp hepatocytes were evaluated in the present study.

Transcriptome analysis of food habit transition from carnivory to herbivory in a typical vertebrate herbivore, grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella.

Background: Although feeding behavior and food habit are ecologically and economically important properties, little is known about formation and evolution of herbivory. Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) is an ecologically appealing model of vertebrate herbivore, widely cultivated in the world as edible fish or as biological control agents for aquatic weeds. Grass carp exhibits food habit transition from carnivory to herbivory during development.

Sequence, genomic organization and expression of ghrelin receptor in grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idellus.

The growth hormone secretagogue-receptor (GHS-R) is an endogenous receptor for the gut hormone ghrelin. Here we report the identification and characterization of GHS-R1a in grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idellus. The full-length GHS-R1a cDNA contained a 1803-bp coding domain sequence which encoded a peptide of 360 amino acid residues.

Digital image forgery detection using JPEG features and local noise discrepancies.

Wide availability of image processing software makes counterfeiting become an easy and low-cost way to distort or conceal facts. Driven by great needs for valid forensic technique, many methods have been proposed to expose such forgeries. In this paper, we proposed an integrated algorithm which was able to detect two commonly used fraud practices: copy-move and splicing forgery in digital picture.

Programming effects of high-carbohydrate feeding of larvae on adult glucose metabolism in zebrafish, Danio rerio.

The aim of the present study was to determine the potential long-term metabolic effects of early nutritional programming on carbohydrate utilisation in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). High-carbohydrate diets were fed to fish during four ontogenetic stages: from the first-feeding stage to the end of the yolk-sac larval stage; from the first-feeding stage to 2 d after yolk-sac exhaustion; after yolk-sac exhaustion for 3 or 5 d. The carbohydrate stimuli significantly increased the body weight of the first-feeding groups in the short term.

Murine embryonic stem cell-derived hepatocytes correct metabolic liver disease after serial liver repopulation.

Although embryonic stem (ES) cell-derived hepatocytes have the capacity for liver engraftment and repopulation, their in vivo hepatic function has not been analyzed yet. We aimed to determine the metabolic function and therapeutic action of ES cell-derived hepatocytes after serial liver repopulations in fumaryl acetoacetate hydrolase knockout (Fah(-/-)) mice. Albumin expressing (Alb(+)) cells were obtained by hepatic differentiation of ES cells using two frequently reported methods.

[Proteome analysis on the mechanism of electroacupuncture in relieving acute spinal cord injury at different time courses in rats].

Objective: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on the differentially expressed proteins in the spinal cord at different time courses after acute spinal cord injury (ASCI) in the rat, so as to study its underlying mechanism in im-proving spinal traumatic injury.

Methods: A total of 105 male SD rats were randomized into normal control, model-6 h, EA-6 h, model-24 h, EA-24 h, model-48 h, EA-48 h groups, with 15 cases in each. ASCI model was established by using modified Allen's method.

[Role of peroxisome proliferators activated receptor gamma in mediating proliferation of rat vascular smooth muscle cells induced by advanced glycation end products].

Objective: To observe the effect of pioglitazone on advanced glycation end products (AGEs)-induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and expression of peroxisome proliferators activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma). To investigate the possible role of PPARgamma in mediating AGEs induced proliferation of VSMCs.

Methods: Primary cultures of smooth muscle cells from rat aorta were exposed to AGEs of different concentrations and different times prior to co-treatment with pioglitazone and AGEs.

Expression and cytotoxicity of EGFP-labeled D-amino acid oxidase in HeLa cells.

To observe the expression of R. gracilis D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) gene labeled by EGFP in HeLa cells and how it mediates cytotoxicity, DAAO cDNA and EGFP gene were cloned into Eukaryotic expression vector pIRES to construct DAAO gene expression vector pIRES-DAAO. HeLa cells were transfected with pIRES-DAAO in vitro.