Evodiamine (1), a biologically active alkaloid isolated from Evodia rutaecarpa (known in Chinese as Wu-Chu-Yu), has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. It has recently been demonstrated that the cytotoxic activities of 1 might be due to its ability to inhibit cell growth and induce apoptosis. In this study, we investigated the effects of 1 on growth and apoptosis in COLO-205 cells by MTT assay, fluorescence microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, DNA fragmentation assay, flow cytometry, immunohistochemical analysis, Western blotting, and caspase-3 activity assay. Our data revealed that 1 could significantly inhibit COLO-205 cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner, and 1-treated COLO-205 cells displayed typical morphological apoptotic characteristics and formation of DNA ladders in agarose gel electrophoresis. The COLO-205 cell cycle was arrested in G(2)/M phase by 1. Meanwhile, 1 increased the expression of Bax and p53, decreased the expression of Bcl-2, lowered the mitochondrial transmembrane potential, and induced the activation of caspase-3. These activities may contribute to the anticarcinogenic action of 1.
Fish oil supplies worldwide have declined sharply over the years. To reduce the use of fish oil in aquaculture, many studies have explored the effects of fish oil substitutions on aquatic animals. To illustrate the effects of dietary lipids on Chinese mitten crab and to improve the use of vegetable oils in the diet of the crabs, 60 male juvenile Chinese mitten crabs were fed one of five diets for 116 days: fish oil (FO), soybean oil (SO), linseed oil (LO), FO + SO (1:1, FSO), and FO + LO (1:1, FLO). Changes in the crab hepatopancreas transcriptome were analyzed using RNA sequencing. There were a total 55,167 unigenes obtained from the transcriptome, of which the expression of 3030 was significantly altered in the FLO vs. FO groups, but the expression of only 412 unigenes was altered in the FSO vs. FO groups. The diets significantly altered the expression of many enzymes involved in lipid metabolism, such as pancreatic lipase, long-chain acyl-CoA synthetases, carnitine palmitoyltransferase I, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, and fatty acyl Δ9-desaturase. The dietary lipids also affected the Toll-like receptor and Janus activated kinase-signal transducers and activators of transcription signaling pathways. Our results indicate that substituting fish oil with vegetable oils in the diet of Chinese mitten crabs might decrease the digestion and absorption of dietary lipids, fatty acids biosynthesis, and immunologic viral defense, and increase β-oxidation by altering the expression of the relevant genes. Our results lay the foundation for further understanding of lipid nutrition in Chinese mitten crab.
Growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) is a member of the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) superfamily with a key role in regulating follicle development. In this study, the GDF9 full-length genomic DNA and cDNA were isolated and characterized from the gibel carp ovary using rapid-amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) and LD-PCR. The full-length genomic DNA and cDNA sequences of GDF9 are 3979 and 2044 bp which code 428 amino acid residues with a specific RKKR protease cleavage site of TGF-β superfamily. Sequence analysis showed that gibel carp was similar to zebrafish and other fish species. Spatio-temporal expression analysis using real-time quantitative PCR revealed that GDF9 mRNA was largely expressed in ovary and testis. GDF9 is mainly present at stage I follicles indicating its important role in early follicles development. The same result was obtained in immunohistochemistry localization of GDF9 protein. Within the follicle, the follicle layer cells were barely expressed whereas GDF9 mRNA was mostly expressed in the oocytes. Supplemented with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in isolated follicles, the expression of GDF9 mRNA was increased firstly and then decreased. The results of this study indicated that GDF9 gene played a role in fish during development of follicles, especially in the early stage follicles.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.