Cryptosporidium spp. in captive snakes from 26 provinces in China: Prevalence, molecular characterization, and symptoms.

Snakes are sometimes regarded as pets and are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Cryptosporidium spp. are frequently identified in snakes, representing an important pathogen and causing gastrointestinal diseases.

Functional characterization of three novel dense granule proteins in Neospora caninum using the CRISPR-Cas9 system.

Neospora caninum is an obligate intracellular parasite that infects a wide range of mammalian species, and particularly causes abortions in cattle and nervous system dysfunction in dogs. Dense granule proteins (GRAs) are thought to play an important role in the mediation of host-parasite interactions and facilitating parasitism. However, a large number of potential GRAs remain uncharacterized, and the functions of most of the identified GRAs have not been elucidated.

Prevalence and molecular characterization of Trichomonas gallinae from pigeons in Anhui, China.

Trichomonas gallinae, a protozoan parasite causing avian trichomonosis, exhibits a widespread global prevalence. It primarily affects the upper digestive tract of birds and has resulted in significant ecological problems worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and genotypes of T.

Epidemiological survey of tick-borne pathogens in dogs in Anhui Province, China.

Tick-borne diseases have continued to increase worldwide in both developing and many developed countries due to the widespread of different tick species and tick's adaptability to different climatic weather. In order to investigate the prevalence of the tick-borne pathogens, EDTA-anticoagulated whole blood samples were aseptically collected from 765 pet dogs in twenty veterinary clinics located in sixteen prefecture-level cities in Anhui Province, China, and the samples were examined and analyzed for tick-borne pathogens using both microscopy and PCR. Our result analysis revealed 17(2.

Development and validation of a machine learning algorithm prediction for dense granule proteins in Apicomplexa.

Background: Apicomplexa consist of numerous pathogenic parasitic protistan genera that invade host cells and reside and replicate within the parasitophorous vacuole (PV). Through this interface, the parasite exchanges nutrients and affects transport and immune modulation. During the intracellular life-cycle, the specialized secretory organelles of the parasite secrete an array of proteins, among which dense granule proteins (GRAs) play a major role in the modification of the PV.

Development and application of an indirect ELISA to detect antibodies to in cattle based on a chimeric protein rSRS2-SAG1-GRA7.

is an important apicomplexan parasite causing neosporosis in cattle. The disease is recognized as one of the most important cause of reproductive problems and abortion in cattle worldwide. In this context, we developed an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) with chimeric protein rSRS2-SAG1-GRA7 to diagnose antibodies to -infection.

GRA-GCN: Dense Granule Protein Prediction in Apicomplexa Protozoa Through Graph Convolutional Network.

Dense granule proteins (GRAs) are secreted by Apicomplexa protozoa, which are closely related to an extensive variety of farm animal diseases. Predicting GRAs is an integral part in prevention and treatment of parasitic diseases. Considering that biological experiment approach is time-consuming and labor-intensive, computational method is a superior choice.

DGPD: a knowledge database of dense granule proteins of the Apicomplexa.

Apicomplexan parasites cause severe diseases in human and livestock. Dense granule proteins (GRAs), specific to the Apicomplexa, participate in the maintenance of intracellular parasitism of host cells. GRAs have better immunogenicity and they can be emerged as important players in vaccine development.

Generation of Multicellular Human Primary Endometrial Organoids.

The human endometrium is one of the most hormonally responsive tissues in the body and is essential for the establishment of pregnancy. This tissue can also become diseased and cause morbidity and even death. Model systems to study human endometrial biology have been limited to in vitro culture systems of single cell types.

Scaffold-Free Endometrial Organoids Respond to Excess Androgens Associated With Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

Context: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent disorder in reproductive aged women associated with a number of endocrine and metabolic complications, including increased risk of endometrial cancer.

Objective: To study the effect of the characteristic increased androgen levels in PCOS on the endometrium, a novel scaffold-free multicellular endometrial organoid was established.

Design: Human endometrial organoids were constructed using primary endometrial epithelial and stromal cells from endometrial tissues.

Low Thermal Conductivity and Optimized Thermoelectric Properties of p-Type Te-SbSe: Synergistic Effect of Doping and Defect Engineering.

Elemental tellurium exhibits a promising thermoelectric performance, largely due to the optimization of the carrier concentration stemming from effective chemical doping. In this study, we demonstrate a novel approach to realize the collaborative manipulation of the electrical and thermal transport properties in the Te system via introduction of SbSe. A series of p-type Te(SbSe) (0 ≤ ≤ 0.

Rayleigh-Instability-Induced Bismuth Nanorod@Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotubes as A Long Cycling and High Rate Anode for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Sodium-ion battery (SIB) as one of the most promising large-scale energy storage devices has drawn great attention in recent years. However, the development of SIBs is limited by the lacking of proper anodes with long cycling lifespans and large reversible capacities. Here we present rational synthesis of Rayleigh-instability-induced bismuth nanorods encapsulated in N-doped carbon nanotubes (Bi@N-C) using BiS nanobelts as the template for high-performance SIB.

Inactivation of AKT induces cellular senescence in uterine leiomyoma.

Uterine leiomyomas (fibroids) are a major public health problem. Current medical treatments with GnRH analogs do not provide long-term benefit. Thus, permanent shrinkage or inhibition of fibroid growth via medical means remains a challenge.

Increased AKT or MEK1/2 activity influences progesterone receptor levels and localization in endometriosis.

Context: Endometriosis is characterized by progesterone resistance and hyperactivity of the AKT and MAPK pathways. Kinases can cause posttranslational modifications of the progesterone receptor (PR) to influence cellular localization and protein stability.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether the increased AKT or MAPK kinase-1/2 (MEK1/2) activity observed in endometriotic stromal cells (OSIS) from ovarian endometriomas influences levels of PR protein.

Inhibition of AKT with the orally active allosteric AKT inhibitor, MK-2206, sensitizes endometrial cancer cells to progestin.

Progestin resistance is a major obstacle to treating early stage, well-differentiated endometrial cancer as well as recurrent endometrial cancer. The mechanism behind the suboptimal response to progestin is not well understood. The PTEN tumor suppressor gene is frequently mutated in type I endometrial cancers and this mutation results in hyperactivation of the PI3K/AKT pathway.

Increased activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway compromises decidualization of stromal cells from endometriosis.

Context: Endometriosis affects approximately 10% of women in the United States and causes pain and infertility. Decidualization of endometrial stromal cells from women with endometriosis is aberrant.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate a potential mechanism for the inadequate decidual response in stromal cells from ovarian endometriomas.

Progesterone receptor-B induction of BIRC3 protects endometrial cancer cells from AP1-59-mediated apoptosis.

Progesterone is a growth inhibitory hormone in the endometrium. While progestins can be used for the treatment of well-differentiated endometrial cancers, resistance to progestin therapy occurs for reasons that remain unclear. We have previously demonstrated that progesterone receptors (PR) A and B differentially regulate apoptosis in response to overexpression of the forkhead transcription factor, FOXO1.

Progestins activate the AKT pathway in leiomyoma cells and promote survival.

Context: Progesterone has been associated with promoting growth of uterine leiomyomas. The mechanisms involved remain unclear.

Objective: In this study we investigated the activation of the AKT pathway and its downstream effectors, glycogen synthase kinase-3b and Forkhead box O (FOXO)-1 by progesterone as a mechanism of proliferation and survival of leiomyoma cells.

Transcriptional cross talk between the forkhead transcription factor forkhead box O1A and the progesterone receptor coordinates cell cycle regulation and differentiation in human endometrial stromal cells.

Differentiation of human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) into decidual cells is associated with induction of the forkhead transcription factor forkhead box O1A (FOXO1). We performed a genomic screen to identify decidua-specific genes under FOXO1 control. Primary HESCs were transfected with small interfering RNA targeting FOXO1 or with nontargeting control small interfering RNA before treatment with a cAMP analogue and the progestin, medroxyprogesterone acetate for 72 h.

FOXO1A differentially regulates genes of decidualization.

The forkhead box O1A (FOXO1A) has been identified as one gene that is up-regulated early in the decidualization process. To further investigate the role of FOXO1A during this process, six genes, IGFBP1, PRL, TIMP3, LAMB1, CNR1, and DCN, shown to be up-regulated during decidualization, were chosen as potential targets of FOXO1A action. Treatment of human endometrial stromal cells with hormones (estradiol and medroxyprogesterone acetate) plus dibutyryl cAMP (H+dbcAMP) for 48 h increased expression of IGFBP1, PRL, TIMP3, CNR1, and DCN but not LAMB1, as measured by real-time PCR.

Protein phosphorylation in amyloplasts regulates starch branching enzyme activity and protein-protein interactions.

Protein phosphorylation in amyloplasts and chloroplasts of Triticum aestivum (wheat) was investigated after the incubation of intact plastids with gamma-(32)P-ATP. Among the soluble phosphoproteins detected in plastids, three forms of starch branching enzyme (SBE) were phosphorylated in amyloplasts (SBEI, SBEIIa, and SBEIIb), and both forms of SBE in chloroplasts (SBEI and SBEIIa) were shown to be phosphorylated after sequencing of the immunoprecipitated (32)P-labeled phosphoproteins using quadrupole-orthogonal acceleration time of flight mass spectrometry. Phosphoamino acid analysis of the phosphorylated SBE forms indicated that the proteins are all phosphorylated on Ser residues.