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Hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) is a well-known environmental toxic metal that causes reprotoxicity in pregnant females. There are currently no appropriate interventions or treatments for Cr(VI) exposure during pregnancy. Herein, the protective effect of melatonin (MLT) against Cr(VI)-induced reprotoxicity is investigated by administrating MLT to pregnant mice exposed to Cr(VI). The results indicate that MLT effectively alleviates Cr(VI)-induced adverse pregnancy outcomes, restoring the decreased fetal weight and increased fetal resorption and malformation caused by Cr(VI) exposure to normal levels. MLT reduces the negative effects of Cr(VI) on follicular atresia and the development of primordial follicle in the maternal ovarian, thereby mitigating the decline in the reserve of primordial follicles. MLT alleviates Cr(VI)-induced oxidative stress, hence reducing the excessive accumulation of malondialdehyde in the maternal ovary. MLT inhibits Cr(VI)-induced apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells and the expression of cleaved caspase-3 in the ovary. MLT reduces the increase in serum follicle-stimulating hormone caused by Cr(VI) exposure, while elevating anti-Mullerian hormone levels. We demonstrate that MLT reverses Cr(VI)-induced reprotoxicity in pregnant mice, opening up a new avenue for treating reproductive defects caused by environmental stress.

AIM: To explore the modulation effects of 17-β estradiol(E2)and tamoxifen(TAM)in chronic intraocular hypertension mouse model. METHODS: We performed anterior chamber injection of magnetic beads to induced chronic ocular hypertension models. Adult C57BL/6 male mice were used in the experiments and randomly divided into four groups: control, Beads group, E2 group and E2+TAM group. The intraocular pressure(IOP)were measured by Tonolab tonometer. Central retinal thickness was evaluated by HE staining. Brn3a as a specific marker of retinal ganglion cells(RGCs), were stained and counted by immunohistochemistry(IHC)staining. Glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP)as a marker of proliferation of astrocytes, was quantified using western blotting. RESULTS: The IOP level was significantly elevated after anterior chamber injection of magnetic beads compared to control group(PPvs Beads group), especially in E2+TAM group in 2wk. The RGCs happened to degenerated in Beads group after 2wk, while the effects were reversed by E2+TAM(PP>0.05). The expression level of GFAP increased caused via beads injection, however, decreased in E2 and E2+TAM group(PCONCLUSION: E2 and E2+TAM could both effectively decrease the IOP level in chronic intraocular hypertension mouse model, increase the survival of RGCs from high intraocular pressure, suppress expression of GFAP, which indicated neuroprotective effects of E2 and TAM in glaucoma through an anti-inflammatory effects.

Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy(FEVR)is a hereditary disease associated with abnormal angiogenesis in the pediatric period. The most prominent finding of the disease is avascularity in the peripheral retina.Whereas, the phenotypic features are variable. In some minor cases, missed diagnosis would happened due to asymptom, while, in severe FEVR, neovascularization, retinal exudation, retinal folds, macular heterotopy and retinal detachment may occur and give rise to extremely poor vision or even blindness. Mutations in the FZD4, LRP5, NDP, TSPAN12, ZNF408, and KIF11 genes have been reported to contribute to FEVR with X-linked recessive, autosomal dominant, and autosomal recessive inheritance manners. We have summarized aspects of pathogenesis, clinical features and classification, mutations genes as well as diagnosis and treatment of FEVR in this review.

Abstract The association between cooking fuel and hearing loss still needs more research to clarify, and two longitudinal cohort studies were explored to find if solid fuel use for cooking affected hearing in Chinese adults. The data from Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS) and Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) were analyzed. Participants (older than 18) without hearing loss at baseline and follow-up visits were included, which were divided into clean fuel and solid fuel groups. Hearing loss rate was from follow-up visits (both in year 2011) until the recent one (year 2018 in CHARLS and 2019 in CLHLS). Cox regressions were applied to examine the associations with adjustment for potential confounders. Fixed-effect meta-analysis was used to pool the results. A total of 9049 participants (average age 8.34 ± 9.12 [mean ± SD] years; 4247 [46.93%] males) were included in CHARLS cohort study and 2265 participants (average age, 78.75 ± 9.23 [mean ± SD] years; 1148 [49.32%] males) in CLHLS cohort study. There were 1518 (16.78%) participants in CHARLS cohort and 451 (19.91%) participants in CLHLS cohort who developed hearing loss. The group of using solid fuel for cooking had a higher risk of hearing loss (CHARLS: HR, 1.16; 95% CI 1.03–1.30; CLHLS: HR, 1.43; 95% CI 1.11–1.84) compared with the one of using clean fuel. Pooled hazard ratio showed the incidence of hearing loss in the solid fuel users was 1.17 (1.03, 1.29) times higher than that of clean fuel users. Hearing loss was associated with solid fuel use and older people were at higher risk. It is advised to replace solid fuel by clean fuel that may promote health equity.