Estrogen receptors (ER) include ER alpha, ER beta and new membrane receptor G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30). Estrogen receptors are key receptors to maintain ovarian granulosa cell ...differentiation, follicle and oocyte growth and development, and ovulation function. The abnormal functions of estrogen, its receptors, and estradiol synthesis-related enzymes are closely related to clinical reproductive endocrine diseases, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis (EMS). At present, hormone therapy is the main treatment for ovarian-related diseases, and a stable hormone environment is established by regulating ovarian function. In recent years, some estrogen-related drugs have made great progress, such as clomiphene, which is a nonsteroidal antiestrogen drug in clinical application. This article elaborates on the regulatory role of estrogen and its nuclear receptors and membrane receptors in oocyte development, especially female reproductive diseases related to the abnormal expression of estrogen and its receptors. We also highlighted the latest advances of treatment strategy for these diseases and the application of related targeted small molecule drugs in clinical research and treatment, so as to provide reference for the treatment of female reproductive diseases.
Studies have identified that mating induces a series of physiological changes in animals. In this period, males tending to invest more energy, immune peptides, and other substances to reduce the cost ...of living for females. This results in lower survival rates in later life than females. Meanwhile, both males and females shorten lifespans due to reproduction. However, the reasons why termites' queens and kings are both extremely long-lived and highly fecund are unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effects of mating on the expression of immune and DNA repair genes for lifespan extension in termite queens and kings. Here, we reported that mated queens show relatively higher expression of immune genes (phenoloxidase, denfensin, termicin, transferrin), antioxidant genes (CAT, SOD), detoxification genes (GST, CYP450) than virgin queens in the Reticulitermes chinensis. In addition, mated kings also highly expressed these genes, except for termicin, transferrin, GST, and CYP450. After mating, both queens and kings significantly upregulated the expression of DNA repair genes (MLH1, BRCA1, XRCC3, RAD54-like). Mismatch repair genes (MMR) MSH2, MSH4, MSH6 were considerably increased in mated queens, while MSH4, MSH5, MSH6 were upregulated in mated kings. Our results suggest that mating increases the expression of immune and DNA repair genes in the termite queens and kings, and thus possibly improving their survival during reproductive span due to the omnipresent pathogens.
•Immune and repair gene expression was significantly upregulated in mated queens and kings than in virgin.•The antioxidant capacity of reproductives were up-regulated with mating.•Unlike the Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps), the termite kings of the Isoptera also benefit from mating.
•Short-term frozen storage of chicken led to an increase in the EUC of broth.•4 weeks of frozen storage of chicken improved the meaty and fatty traits of broth.•The aldehydes and 2-pentyl furan were ...responsible for the enhanced aroma.
This study investigated the effect of frozen storage periods (0, 2, 4, 6, or 8 weeks) of raw meat and stewing on the flavor of chicken broth. With the increased storage duration of frozen raw material, the contents of the free amino acids, nucleotides and mineral elements in the broth decreased significantly, especially within the first 4 weeks, and then increased significantly. Meanwhile, the volatile compounds showed the reverse trend. The results from the E-nose, E-tongue and sensory evaluation indicated a progressive difference in overall flavor profiles between the samples. The sensory scores of the meaty and fatty traits reached a maximum as raw chicken meat was stored for 4 weeks at −18 °C, which should be related to the increased contents of aldehydes and 2-pentyl furan. Overall, the limited storage duration of frozen raw meat can enhance the flavor of chicken broth.
The effects of NaCl, temperature, pH, light intensity and a simulated gastro-intestinal digestion were assessed to determine the stability of antioxidant peptides extracted from Chinese Jinhua ham. ...Antioxidant peptides showed good stabilities when NaCl content was less than 6%, temperature was lower than 60°C and they were not exposed to light directly. However, the antioxidant peptides lost antioxidant activities rapidly under alkaline condition. The results of a simulated two-stage digestion system showed that antioxidant activity increased with pepsin treatment but declined with further hydrolysis with trypsin. Pepsin was effective to hydrolyze peptides into smaller fractions leading to the increased exposure of internal hydrophobic amino acids, but trypsin could hydrolyze peptides into more free amino acids resulting in the decline in surface hydrophobicity which affected antioxidant activity of peptides. These suggest that antioxidant peptides extracted from Jinhua ham could maintain their antioxidant activity under the proper conditions.
The effects of sugarcane dietary fiber (SDF) on the gelation properties of porcine myofibrillar proteins (MP) were studied to understand its mechanism of action in improving gel functionality. ...Rheological tests on all composite gels (MP with SDF) showed the visco-elastic nature of MP, but the G′ significantly increased with contents of SDF and with particle size (P<0.05). However, the δ exhibited the opposite effect. Light microscopy suggested that SDF affected moisture distribution in the gel by drawing water from MP and homogenously embedded in gelation. It is proposed that during the heating the more concentrated MP promoted the unfolding of MP chains and facilitated the formation of β-sheet instead of α-helices, leading to a compact and homogenous three-dimensioned network. These results indicated that the SDF changed the water distribution and resulted in the enhanced gelation which reacted to firmly bind SDF and form a synergistic interaction system.
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•SDF significantly improves the physiochemical properties of MP gelation.•SDF affected moisture distribution in the gel by drawing water from MP.•The concentrated MP promoted the formation of β-sheet instead of α-helices, leading a compact microstructure.
•A disease occurrence characterized by fever and rash was monitored in China.•The etiological and epidemiological investigation was initiated.•We proved that a novel species of genus Ehrlichia was ...its pathogen.•We named the new species as “Candidatus Ehrlichia erythraense”.
From March to June 2021, the reported number of clinically diagnosed endemic typhus in Anhui and Hubei provinces of China nearly increased four-fold compared with the monthly average numbers in last 5 years. An etiological and epidemiological investigation was initiated.
The clinical specimens from the reported patients and the potential vector ticks were collected for molecular and serological detection, as well as cell culturing assay to identify the potential pathogen.
Polymerase chain reaction and sequence analysis of rrs and groEL showed that the pathogen from these patients was Ehrlichia sp., isolated from Haemaphysalis longicornis attached to these patients. The phylogenetic analysis based on 39 Ehrlichia genomes suggested that it should be taxonomically classified as a novel species, tentatively named “Candidatus Ehrlichia erythraense”. A total of 19 of 106 cases were confirmed as Candidatus Ehrlichia erythraense infections by polymerase chain reaction, sequencing, and/or serological tests. The most frequent symptoms were fever (100%), rashes (100%), asthenia (100%), anorexia (100%), and myalgia (79%).
The occurrence of the disease presenting with fever and rashes in Anhui and Hubei provinces was caused by a novel species of the genus Ehrlichia; physicians need to be aware of this newly-discovered pathogen to ensure appropriate testing, treatment, and regional surveillance.
•Thermally treated gelatin increased the interfacial pressure of the W/O interface.•The particle size of emulsions stabilized by pre-heated gelatin reduced.•Exogenous addition of gelatin can enhance ...the flavor strength of chicken broth.
The mechanism of flavor retention in chicken broth from the perspective of gelatin affecting the flavor-binding ability of emulsions was investigated. Results showed that fat was the important reservoir for aroma compounds in the emulsion. The particle sizes of emulsions significantly decreased with prolonged stewing time of gelatin, which was consistent with the results from confocal laser scanning microscopy and interfacial tension. The ability of pre-heated gelatin emulsions to bind volatile compounds with higher hydrophobicity was enhanced. When 0.1% gelatin was added into chicken broth, the total amount of the main volatile compounds (OAV > 1) increased from 458.83 ng/g to 1218.42 ng/g. In summary, the pre-heated gelatin increased the interfacial pressure of water/oil interface, resulting in a smaller particle size of oil droplets, and these further increased the binding area between oil droplets and flavor compounds. This appears to be the mechanism that gelatin enhances the flavor intensity of chicken broth.
The effects of different concentrations (0, 0.05, 0.25, and 1.25 mM) of rosmarinic acid (RosA) on the gelling characterization of porcine myofibrillar protein (MP) were evaluated. Supplementation of ...RosA significantly decreased the contents of α-helix and β-sheet, while increased the contents of β-turn and random coil. The rheological and gelation properties with0.05 and 0.25 mM RosA-treated samples were improved, while 1.25 mM RosA was detrimental to MP gelation. Three hydrolytic adducts were identified by UPLC-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectroscopy including 3,4-dihydroxy,5-N6-argininocinnamic acid, 3,4-dihydroxy,5-N4-histidinocinnamic acid and 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl,5-cystein-S-yl. In the presence of low concentrations of RosA (0.05, 0.25 mM), both RosA-Cys and Arg/His-RosA-Cys adducts formed, which exerted positive effects on the protein gelation properties. With high concentration of RosA (1.25 mM), RosA-Cys became the dominant adduct and blocked the thiol groups on MP from forming disulfide cross-link, which reduced water holding capacity and weakened gel strength by undermining protein gelation.
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•For the first time RosA-protein adducts were identified and quantified by UPLC-Q-TOF.•The regulation of adducts formation with different RosA concentrations was revealed.•The influence of adducts formation on MP gelation properties was investigated.
Insulin is a protein hormone that controls the metabolism of sugar, fat and protein via signal transduction in cells, influencing growth and developmental processes such as reproduction and ageing. ...From nematodes to fruit flies, rodents and other animals, glucose signalling mechanisms are highly conserved. Reproductive termites (queens and kings) exhibit an extraordinarily long lifespan relative to non-reproductive individuals such as workers, despite being generated from the same genome, thus providing a unique model for the investigation of longevity. The key reason for this molecular mechanism, however, remains unclear. To clarify the molecular mechanism underlying this phenomenon, we sequenced the transcriptomes of the primary kings (PKs), primary queens (PQs), male (WMs) and female (WFs) workers of the lower subterranean termite Reticulitermes chinensis. We performed RNA sequencing and identified 33 insulin signalling pathway-related genes in R. chinensis. RT-qPCR analyses revealed that EIF4E and RPS6 genes were highly expressed in WMs and WFs workers, while mTOR expression was lower in PKs and PQs than in WMs and WFs. PQs and PKs exhibited lower expression of akt2-a than female workers. As the highly conserved insulin signalling pathway can significantly prolong the healthspan and lifespan, so we infer that the insulin signalling pathway regulates ageing in the subterranean termite R. chinensis. Further studies are recommended to reveal the biological function of insulin signalling pathway-related genes in the survival of termites to provide new insights into biomolecular homeostasis maintenance and its relationship to remarkable longevity.
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