Publications by authors named "Zixia Shen"
Rapid turnover of the intestinal epithelium is a critical strategy to balance the uptake of nutrients and defend against environmental insults, whereas inappropriate death promotes the spread of inflammation. PPAR is highly expressed in the small intestine and regulates the absorption of dietary lipids. However, as a key mediator of inflammation, the impact of intestinal PPAR signaling on cell death pathways is unknown.
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- The study explored how cholestasis affects sperm production in mice, revealing that it harms testicular structure and function by lowering key gene expressions related to testosterone synthesis.
- Researchers found that cholestasis disrupts liver metabolism of tryptophan, leading to reduced levels of important metabolites that influence androgen synthesis.
- They identified a gut microbiota-testis connection related to cholestasis that affects male fertility, suggesting that targeting this axis could help prevent or treat male infertility linked to cholestasis.
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- The study investigates the effects of Alpha-Ketoglutarate (AKG) on cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) during in vitro maturation (IVM), highlighting its dose-dependent benefits and drawbacks.
- At an optimal concentration of 30 µM, AKG enhances cumulus expansion, oocyte quality, and embryo development by reducing oxidative stress and improving mitochondrial function.
- Conversely, a higher concentration of 750 µM negatively impacts these processes, although GDF9 supplementation can counteract some of the adverse effects caused by higher AKG levels.
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- Porcine oocytes have low in vitro maturation efficiency, but melatonin, produced by mitochondria in these oocytes, may enhance their quality and maturation by reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and increasing ATP production.
- Knocking down melatonin production with siRNA leads to abnormal mitochondrial distribution and decreased ATP, hindering oocyte maturation, but these issues can be fixed with melatonin supplementation.
- The beneficial effects of melatonin are likely mediated by its membrane receptors, as indicated by the blocking effects of the antagonist Luzindole, highlighting the mitochondrial role in melatonin synthesis for improved oocyte maturation.
Aims: Excessive influx of manganese (Mn) into the brain across the blood-brain barrier induces neurodegeneration. CYP1B1 is involved in the metabolism of arachidonic acid (AA) that affects vascular homeostasis. We aimed to investigate the effect of brain CYP1B1 on Mn-induced neurotoxicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExcessive scar formation caused by cutaneous injury leads to pruritus, pain, contracture, dyskinesia, and unpleasant appearance. Functional wound dressings are designed to accelerate wound healing and reduce scar formation. In this study, we fabricated aligned or random polycaprolactone/silk fibroin electrospun nanofiber membranes with or without lovastatin loading, and then evaluated their scar-inhibitory effects on wounds under a specific tension direction.
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