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Abstract Despite the record speed of developing vaccines and therapeutics against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it is not a given that such success can be secured in future pandemics. In addition, COVID-19 vaccination and application of therapeutics remain low in developing countries. Rapid and low cost mass production of antiviral IgY antibodies could be an attractive alternative or complementary option for vaccine and therapeutic development. In this article, we rapidly produced SARS-CoV-2 antigens, immunized hens and purified IgY antibodies in 2 months after the SARS-CoV-2 gene sequence became public. We further demonstrated that the IgY antibodies competitively block RBD binding to ACE2, neutralize authentic SARS-CoV-2 virus and effectively protect hamsters from SARS-CoV-2 challenge by preventing weight loss and lung pathology, representing the first comprehensive study with IgY antibodies. The process of mass production can be easily implemented in most developing countries and hence could become a new vital option in our toolbox for combating viral pandemics. This study could stimulate further studies, optimization and potential applications of IgY antibodies as therapeutics and prophylactics for human and animals.

Acute liver injury (ALI) is an abnormal liver function caused by oxidative stress, inflammation and other mechanisms.The interaction between intestine and liver plays an important role in ALI, and natural polysaccharides can participate in the regulation of ALI by regulating the composition of intestinal flora. In this study, Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide was used as the research object, and ICR mice were used to construct an acute liver injury model induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). 16S rRNA sequencing technology was used to analyze the flora structure abundance and detect the changes of intestinal flora. The effective reading of 8 samples was obtained by 16S rRNA sequencing technology, and a total of 1233 samples were obtained. The results of alpha diversity analysis showed that the sequencing depth was sufficient, the abundance of species in the samples was high and the distribution was uniform, and the sequencing data of the samples was reasonable. Nine species with significant differences were screened out by abundence analysis of intestinal flora structure at genus level. Beta diversity analysis showed that species composition was different between the model group and the treatment group. Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide can maintain the integrity of mucosal barrier by promoting the proliferation of intestinal epithelial cells and anti-oxidative stress injury, thereby improving the intestinal mucosal inflammation of mice, regulating intestinal flora, and effectively alleviating CCl4-induced acute liver injury.

Absorption-dominant electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials are promising in reducing electromagnetic radiation pollution, but their preparation processes are usually difficult and unsuitable for large-scale preparation. In this work, multiple folded Bi2Se3/PVDF nanocomposite films were fabricated by using a convenient tape-casting method and multiple folding, which can be easily extended in industrial applications. The EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of the composite materials was investigated, which shows typical absorption-dominant behavior and can substantially reduce secondary reflections. Specifically, for the 35%(in volume) Bi2Se3/PVDF nanocomposite film, the SEA of single-layered film with a thickness of 60 μm reaches 20 dB while SER is lower than 5 dB. After folding the film into eight layers, the SEA increased to 50 dB while SER remains below 5 dB. This method provides an effective way to the fabrication of absorption-dominant electromagnetic absorption (EMA) and EMI shielding material.

Acute liver injury (ALI) is a global health problem associated with high mortality and has attracted clinical attention. Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) is an extract from dried Ginkgo leaves that has many pharmacological effects because of its various ingredients and has been shown to be hepatoprotective. We investigated the hepatoprotective effect of GBE on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced acute liver injury in vitro. The components of Ginkgo biloba extract are analyzed by LC-MS, and the key targets of ''liver injury-Ginkgo biloba'' are identified based on bioinformatics analysis. The signaling pathways such as PI3K/AKT are mainly enriched with high correlation in KEGG. The results of in vitro experiments showed that compared with the Model group, except that the ALT activity level and MDA content in EGB-L group were not significantly decreased (P > 0.05), the activity of ALT, AST and MDA content in other EGB groups were significantly decreased (P 0.05), while the contents of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in other EGB groups were significantly decreased (P

Type 2 diabetes mellitus arising from obesity is one of the most serious noncommunicable diseases which currently have serious impacts on human health. Chronic inflammation in adipose tissue is the key to developing type 2 diabetes mellitus in obese people. This paper firstly reviews the progress in the relationship between obesity mediated by inflammation and type 2 diabetes mellitus from the cellular and molecular levels, focusing on immune cells and signaling pathways. Secondly, it summarizes the results of dietary intervention in targeting immunocytes and signaling pathways, which can adjust the polarization of macrophages, the function of T cells and the activities of various signaling pathways in order to seek the special medical purposes with safe, healthy and efficient lowering blood glucose, so as to provide ideas and programs for the dietary intervention of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Early bovine embryo sexing both increases the number of offspring of the desired sex, and reduces the subsequent costs of processing unwanted offspring of the opposite sex. The need for cattle of different sexes varies from industry to industry, and a range of tools have been set up to meet this need, but most are energy- and time-consuming, hence it is important to establish a fast and convenient method for bovine embryo determination. Herein, we established a recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) method combined with CFI dye (RPA-CFI) for sexing of bovine embryos. The assay is highly sensitive, specific, rapid and simple; it can be carried out in only 5 min at 37 °C in a metal bath, and results are visualised using a fluorescent colorimeter. Highly specific male-female common and male-specific primers were designed based on the 1399 bp repeating unit of bovine 1.715 satellite DNA and the male-specific S4 repeating sequence, respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) of RPA-CFI with male-female common primers was 1 pg/μL, and the LOD with male-specific primers was 2 pg/μL. RPA-CFI could determine the sex of bovine embryos from only two cells. This is the first report using RPA-CFI for sex determination of bovine embryos. The assay could be applied to other economically important animals to improve efficiency in livestock industries. Additionally, the assay could relieve pressure on food demand due to human population growth, and contribute to economic development of global stockbreeding.

PurposeTuberculosis is common infectious diseases, characterized by infectivity, concealment and chronicity, and the early diagnosis is helpful to block the spread of tuberculosis and reduce the resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to anti-tuberculosis drugs. At present, there are obvious limitations in the application of clinical detection methods used for the early diagnosis of tuberculosis. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) has become an economical and accurate gene sequencing method for quantifying transcripts and detecting unknown RNA species.MethodsA peripheral blood mRNA sequencing was used to screen the differentially expressed genes between healthy people and tuberculosis patients. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of differentially expressed genes was constructed through Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) database. The potential diagnostic targets of tuberculosis were screened by the calculation of degree, betweenness and closeness in Cytoscape 3.9.1 software. Finally, the functional pathways and the molecular mechanism of tuberculosis were clarified in combination of the prediction results of key gene miRNAs, and by Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and the Kyoto Encyclopedia Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway annotation analysis.Results556 Differential genes of tuberculosis were screened out by mRNA sequencing. Six key genes (AKT1, TP53, EGF, ARF1, CD274 and PRKCZ) were screened as the potential diagnostic targets for tuberculosis by analyzing the PPI regulatory network and using three algorithms. Three pathways related to the pathogenesis of tuberculosis were identified by KEGG pathway analysis, and two key miRNAs (has-miR-150-5p and has-miR-25-3p) that might participate in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis were screened out by constructing a miRNA-mRNA pathway regulatory network.ConclusionSix key genes and two important miRNAs that could regulate them were screened out by mRNA sequencing. The 6 key genes and 2 important miRNAs may participate in the pathogenesis of infection and invasion of Mycobacterium tuberculosis through herpes simplex virus 1 infection, endocytosis and B cell receptor signaling pathways.

In this study, we investigated the effects of Ganoderma lucidum aqueous extract (GLW) on improving learning and memory impairment (LMI) and analyzed the key genes and pathways involved. GLW can improve LMI in mice by increasing the activities of SOD and GSH-Px, increasing the contents of GLU and ACH, and reducing the contents of MDA and GABA. 644 differential expressed genes were screened by mRNA sequencing technology, and KEGG pathway analysis showed that Cholinergic synapse pathway was an important pathway for GLW to improve LMI in mice. Gnb1 and Adcy2 genes are the key genes in GLW pathway to improve LMI in mice. Gnb1 gene is positively regulated by M2 protein, which inhibits Cav-1 protein and promotes MAPK pathway. Adcy2 gene is promoted by nAChR protein and inhibited by Gnb1 gene, but it itself plays a positive regulatory role in CAMP pathway.

One of the supporting factors behind the biomolecules recently used in anti-aging and skin nourishment is their antioxidant properties. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a well-known small molecule oxidant that induces apoptosis in human skin fibroblast (HSF) cells through the synthesis of inflammatory cytokines. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the antioxidant activities of protein hydrolysates prepared from Iris squid (Symplectoteuthis oualaniensis) (PHCSO) in vitro. Firstly, two peptides with MWs more than 10 kDa (PHCSO-1) and less than 10 kDa (PHCSO-2) were obtained through ultrafiltration and were characterized (molecular pattern amino acid composition, FTIR) before testing the antioxidant activity (DPPH radical scavenging activity and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity). Then, the effects of PHCSOs on HSF cell viability, H2O2-induced oxidative stress model of HSF cells, ROS fluorescence staining, level of cytokines (IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α) and cellular antioxidant properties (SOD activity, CAT activity, GSH and MDA content) were investigated. The cell morphology was examined through fluorescence staining and inflammatory factors and antioxidant activity analysis showed that superior properties were observed in PHCSO-2 peptide compared to PHCSO-1 and PHCSO. Among the peptides, PHCSO-2 (5 mg/mL) had higher DPPH and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities of 58% and 57%, respectively. On the other hand, the PHCSO-2 treatment reduced the TNF-α activity by 25%, which indicated the effective protection of PHCSO-2 from oxidative stress damage in the skin. These findings proved that peptides with less than 10 kDa were more suitable for therapeutic purposes, with good antioxidant properties. Accordingly, the protein hydrolysate from S. oualaniensis proved to be an excellent marine-based antioxidant peptide, which could be applied in cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries.