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Background Acute thyrotoxic myopathy (ATM) is a rare and potentially lethal complication of thyrotoxicosis. The typical clinical symptoms of ATM are characterized by bulbar paralysis. Reports of the successful treatment of ATM are sporadic due to its low incidence. Subacute thyroiditis (SAT) is one of the etiology of hyperthyroidism. The intrathyroidal injection of glucocorticoids is a novel administration route to treat subacute thyroiditis and reduce the resulting adverse reactions. However, no English literature has reported Chinese with ATM and SAT overlap. Here, we report a Chinese rare with ATM and SAT that recovered from a different and novel route of glucocorticoid administration. Case presentation A 23-year-old woman visited our hospital with a two-year history of progressive weakness of her bulbar muscles, hoarseness, cough when swallowing, dysphagia, and a one-month history of recurrent painful swelling of the thyroid gland. She was diagnosed with ATM, chronic thyrotoxic myopathy (CTM), Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) due to Graves' disease (GD), and (SAT). After she was treated with a combination of low-dose glucocorticoids, antithyroid drugs (ATDs), propranolol, and ultrasound-guided percutaneous intrathyroidal injection of glucocorticoids, the bulbar paralysis, proximal myopathy, and neck pain simultaneously improved without recurrence during follow-up. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of a patient with ATM, CTM, GD, and GO treated by administering a combination of low-dose glucocorticoids and antithyroid agents. Conclusions Clinicians should consider ATM and intervene with aggressive glucocorticoid therapy was the key to reversing the progression of ATM when a patient has bulbar paralysis and thyrotoxic symptoms. Ultrasound-guided percutaneous intrathyroidal injection of glucocorticoids is a feasible and operable method of curing SAT. Our case report references the clinical diagnosis and treatment of such cases.

Fruit intake is beneficial to several chronic diseases, but controversial in diabetes. We aimed to investigate prospectively the associations of whole fresh fruit intake with risk of incident type 2 diabetes (T2D) in subjects with different glucose regulation capacities.The present study included 79,922 non-diabetic participants aged ≥ 40 years from an ongoing nationwide prospective cohort in China. Baseline fruit intake information was collected by a validated food frequency questionnaire. Plasma HbA1c, fasting and 2 h post-loading glucose levels were measured at both baseline and follow-up examinations. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for incident diabetes among participants with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and prediabetes, after adjusted for multiple confounders. Restricted cubic spline analysis was applied for dose-response relation.During a median 3.8-year follow-up, 5886 (7.36%) participants developed diabetes. Overall, we identified a linear and dose-dependent inverse association between dietary whole fresh fruit intake and risk of incident T2D. Each 100 g/d higher fruit intake was associated with 2.8% lower risk of diabetes (HR 0.972, 95%CI [0.949-0.996], P = 0.0217), majorly benefiting NGT subjects with 15.2% lower risk (HR 0.848, 95%CI [0.766-0.940], P = 0.0017), while not significant in prediabetes (HR 0.981, 95%CI 0.957-4.005, P = 0.1268). Similarly, the inverse association was present in normoglycemia individuals with a 48.6% lower risk of diabetes when consuming fruits 7 times/week comparing to those 1 time/week (HR 0.514, 95% CI [0.368-0.948]), but not in prediabetes (HR 0.883, 95% CI [0.762-1.023]).These findings suggest that higher frequency and amount of fresh fruit intake may protect against incident T2D, especially in NGT, but not in prediabetes, highlighting the dietary recommendation of higher fresh fruit consumption to prevent T2D in normoglycemia population.

Cyanobacterial blooms have been a global environmental problem for decades. Bioconversion by black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) has been widely reported to be a clean and efficient method to remove organic pollutants. In this study, BSFL bioconversion was used to treat cyanobacterial blooms. Antioxidants (a mixture of l-ascorbic acid [180 mg/kg fresh feed] and α-tocopherol [360 mg/kg fresh feed]) were added to compare bioconversion performance against a non-supplemented group. With increasing proportions of cyanobacteria (0%-25% dry mass), the bioconversion efficiency of the antioxidant group improved significantly compared to the control group, and the survival rate of larvae rose from 96.50-45.50% to 98.00-55.83% with antioxidant addition. The toxic effects of exogenous anti-nutrients could be reduced by the antioxidants through inactivation of trypsin inhibitor and enhancement of the microcystin-LR degradation rate. Overall, the BSFL bioremediation capacity was improved with addition of exogenous antioxidants, verifying both the effects and mechanism of antioxidant addition in promoting the bioconversion of cyanobacteria by BSFL and providing a basis for future application and study.

The human microbiota provides tonic signals that calibrate the host immune response1,2, but their identity is unknown. Bacterial peptidoglycan (PGN) subunits are likely candidates since they are well-known immunity-enhancing adjuvants, released by most bacteria during growth, and have been found in the blood of healthy people3-7. We developed a monoclonal antibody (mAb), 2E7, that targets muramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine (MDP), a conserved and minimal immunostimulatory structure of PGN. Using 2E7-based assays, we detected PGN ubiquitously in human blood at a broad range of concentrations that is relatively stable in each individual. We also detected PGN in the serum of several warm-blooded animals. However, PGN is barely detectable in the serum of germ-free mice, indicating that its origin is the host microbiota. Neutralization of circulating PGN via intraperitoneal administration of 2E7 suppressed the development of autoimmune arthritis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice. Arthritic NOD2-/- mice lacking the MDP sensor did not respond to 2E7, indicating that 2E7 dampens inflammation by blocking nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 2 (NOD2)-mediated pathways. We propose that circulating PGN acts as a natural immune potentiator that tunes the host immune response; altering its level is a promising therapeutic strategy for immune-mediated diseases. National Medical Research Council (NMRC) This work was supported by National Medical Research Council grant no. BMRC/ BnB/0001b/2012 awarded to Y.W., L.C., and N.P.

Algal organic matter (AOM) and natural organic matter (NOM) from a typical eutrophic lake were comprehensively investigated in terms of their physico-chemical property, components and disinfection byproduct formation potentials (DBPFPs). The relationships between specific chemical properties of AOM and NOM with their corresponding DBPFPs were further evaluated during chlorination. Results indicated that AOM had lower specific UV absorbance (SUVA) but richer organic nitrogen contents than NOM. Fluorescence excitation emission matrix spectroscopy further demonstrated that AOM were chiefly composed of aromatic protein-like and soluble microbial byproduct-like matters, while NOM were mainly contributed from humic acid-like and soluble microbial byproduct-like substances. Although the molecular weight (MW) distribution of AOM and NOM showed no significant difference, size-exclusion chromatography with organic carbon as well as organic nitrogen detection (LC-OCD-OND) revealed that AOM were concentrated with the fraction of building blocks and NOM had higher concentrations of biopolymers and humics (HS). Moreover, AOM displayed higher DBPFPs than NOM, especially for nitrogenous DBPFP (N-DBPFP). MW < 1 kDa fractions both in AOM and NOM contributed the largest proportion to the formation of carbonaceous disinfection byproducts (C-DBPs). In addition, Pearson correlation analysis showed that bulk parameter SUVA was significantly relevant to the formation potentials of trihalomethane both in AOM and NOM, but was ineffective for carbonaceous DBPFP (C-DBPFP) prediction. Dissolved organic nitrogen contents in biopolymer and HS characterized by LC-OCD-OND had strong correlations with N-DBPFPs from AOM and NOM, indicating that LC-OCD-OND quantitative analysis could improve the prediction accuracy of the DBP formation than bulk parameters during NOM and AOM chlorination.

To survey the status of iodine nutrition and the prevalence of thyroid diseases in Guangxi, China, and to explore the risk factors for positive thyroid antibody.We used the multistage stratified cluster random sampling method to select a total of 2488 subjects from an urban and a rural location. All the subjects completed a questionnaire survey, blood and urine samples were also collected, and B-mode thyroid ultrasound was used to determine thyroid function and detect thyroid antibodies.1) The median level of urinary iodine was 148.53 μg/L in school-age children in Guangxi, China. 2) The prevalence rates for thyroid diseases were as follows: hyperthyroidism, 0.89 %; subclinical hyperthyroidism, 1.05 %; hypothyroidism, 0.69 %; and subclinical hypothyroidism, 8.87 %. The rates of thyroid antibody positivity were as follows: thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb), 13.60 %; thyroglobulin antibody (TGAb), 13.60 %; thyroid antibodies, 18.2 %; and thyroid nodules, 16.94 %. 3) The rate of TPOAb positivity was significantly higher in women aged 18-29, 30-39, 40-49, or 60-69 years than in men in the same age groups (P0.05), and the TGAb positivity rate was significantly higher in women than in men of the same age group (P0.05). 4) The rate of thyroid antibody positivity was significantly higher in individuals with iodine deficiency than in individuals with adequate iodine (21.6 % vs 18.4 %) or excess iodine (21.6 % vs 15.5 %) (both P0.05). 5) The female sex and a family history of thyroid diseases were the major risk factors for thyroid antibody positivity (odds ratio [OR] 3.010, P0.05; OR 2.486, P0.05).The overall level of iodine is adequate in Guangxi, China; this level should be maintained to prevent the thyroid diseases related with iodine deficiency or excess of iodine. Female sex and a family history of thyroid diseases are independent risk factors for thyroid antibody positivity.

Septins are a component of the cytoskeleton and play important roles in diverse cellular processes including cell cycle control, cytokinesis and polarized growth. In fungi, septin organization, dynamics and function are regulated by phosphorylation, and several kinases responsible for the phosphorylation of several septins have been identified. However, little is known about the phosphatases that dephosphorylate septins. Here, we report the characterization of Tpd3, a structural subunit of the PP2A family of phosphatases, in the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans. We found that tpd3Δ/Δ cells are defective in hyphal growth and grow as pseudohyphae under yeast growth conditions with aberrant septin organization. Western blotting detected hyperphosphorylation of the septin Sep7 in cells lacking Tpd3. Tpd3 and Sep7 colocalize at the bud neck and can coimmunoprecipitate. Furthermore, we discovered similar defects in cells lacking Pph21, a catalytic subunit of the PP2A family, and its physical association with Tpd3. Importantly, purified Tpd3-Pph21 complexes can dephosphorylate Sep7 in vitro. Together, our findings strongly support the idea that the Tpd3-Pph21 complex dephosphorylates Sep7 and regulates morphogenesis and cytokinesis. The tpd3Δ/Δ mutant is greatly reduced in virulence in mice, providing a potential antifungal target.

Polarisome is a protein complex that plays an important role in polarized growth in fungi by assembling actin cables towards the site of cell growth. For proper morphogenesis, the polarisome must localize to the right place at the right time. However, the mechanisms that control polarisome localization remain poorly understood. In this study, using the polymorphic fungus Candida albicans as a model, we have discovered that the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) Cdc28 phosphorylates the polarisome scaffold protein Spa2 to govern polarisome localization during both yeast and hyphal growth. In a yeast cell cycle, Cdc28-Clb2 phosphorylates Spa2 and controls the timing of polarisome translocation from the bud tip to the bud neck. And during hyphal development, Cdc28-Clb2 and the hyphal-specific Cdc28-Hgc1 cooperate to enhance Spa2 phosphorylation to maintain the polarisome at the hyphal tip. Blocking the CDK phosphorylation causes premature tip-to-neck translocation of Spa2 during yeast growth and inappropriate septal localization of Spa2 in hyphae and abnormal hyphal morphology under certain inducing conditions. Together, our results generate new insights into the mechanisms by which fungi regulate polarisome localization in the control of polarized growth.

The model of high solid anaerobic digestion was used by improving the degree of homogeneity of the reaction system and biogas slurry reflux to gradually increase the material load. The vinegar residue-efficient anaerobic digestion system was successfully constructed without pretreatment.The optimum anaerobic digestibility was observed when the material loading of the reaction system reached 6.15 g·(L·d)

Disinfection byproduct(DBP) precursors during the wastewater regeneration processes were separated into hydrophilic fraction(HPI), hydrophobic fraction(HPO) and transphilic fraction(TPI) with macroporous resin. DBP precursors in these water samples were characterized with fluorescence excitation emission matrix, Fourier transformation infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance, and were further tested for their DBP formation potential(DBPFP) after chlorination. The results indicated that main DBP precursors in sewage were humic acid and aliphatic hydrocarbons, and were mainly dominated by HPI. Primary treatment(sedimentation) could effectively remove hydrophobic humic acid through the mutual exclusion between HPO and water. The removal of humic acid would lead to the obvious reduction of carbonaceous disinfection byproduct formation potential(C-DBPFP). In addition, nitrogenous disinfection byproduct formation potential(N-DBPFP) was found to be increased due to the increase of DON/DOC value. Although secondary treatment(biotreatment) was effective in removing humic acid and aliphatic hydrocarbons, it could produce a large amount of soluble microbial products(SMP), which led to the enhancement of HPO percentage. And the accumulation of SMP resulted in the significant increase of C-DBPFP and N-DBPFP. Humic acid and hydrophobic SMP could be removed by the advanced treatment(cloth filtration), leading to the reduction of HPO percentage and the increase of HPI percentage. The decrease of humic acid and hydrophobic SMP would cause the reduction of C-DBPFP and N-DBPFP in the advanced treatment.

Background The relation between the ABCB1 and CYP7A1 genes and serum lipid levels and lipid-lowering efficacy of statin treatment is inconsistent. Objective The purpose of this meta-analysis was to explore the associations between the ABCB1 and CYP7A1 genes and serum lipid levels and lipid-lowering efficacy of statin treatment. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched systematically for studies of associations between relevant single nucleotide polymorphisms C3435 T ( ABCB1 ), G2677 A/T ( ABCB1 ), and A-204C ( CYP7A1 ) and serum lipid levels or statin treatment. Associations were assessed in pooled data by calculating mean difference with 95% confidence intervals. Results Seventeen studies with 4890 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The "AA" group at A-204C ( CYP7A1 ) had lower serum total cholesterol (TC) levels than "AC + CC" group. The "AA" group at A-204C ( CYP7A1 ) had greater reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) with statin treatment than "AC + CC" group. The "GG" group at G2677 A/T ( ABCB1 ) had less reduction in TC and LDL-C with statin treatment than "non-GG" group. Conclusions The A-204C ( CYP7A1 ) polymorphism was associated with the level of TC and the lipid-lowering efficacy of statin treatment in the level of LDL-C. The G2677 A/T ( ABCB1) polymorphism was associated with the lipid-lowering efficacy of statin treatment in the levels of LDL-C and TC.

Successful pathogens must be able to swiftly respond to and repair DNA damages inflicted by the host defence. The replication protein A (RPA) complex plays multiple roles in DNA damage response and is regulated by phosphorylation. However, the regulators of RPA phosphorylation remain unclear. Here, we investigated Rfa2 phosphorylation in the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans. Rfa2, a RFA subunit, is phosphorylated when DNA replication is inhibited by hydroxyurea and dephosphorylated during the recovery. By screening a phosphatase mutant library, we found that Pph3 associates with different regulatory subunits to differentially control Rfa2 dephosphorylation in stressed and unstressed cells. Site-directed mutagenesis revealed T11, S18, S29, and S30 being critical for Rfa2 phosphorylation in response to genotoxic insult. We obtained evidence that the genome integrity checkpoint kinase Mec1 and the cyclin-dependent kinase Clb2-Cdc28 mediate Rfa2 phosphorylation. Although cells expressing either a phosphomimetic or a non-phosphorylatable version of Rfa2 had defects, the latter exhibited greater sensitivity to genotoxic challenge, failure to repair DNA damages and to deactivate Rad53-mediated checkpoint pathways in a dosage-dependent manner. These mutants were also less virulent in mice. Our results provide important new insights into the regulatory mechanism and biological significance of Rfa2 phosphorylation in C. albicans.

In view of the drawback of current crane torque monitoring system in real-time performance and anti-jamming performance, a new crane intelligent monitoring device based on ARM and Windows CE operating system is proposed, including its working theory, hardware circuit and software design. Taking the versatility and anti-jamming performance of the system into account, the design and implementation of input signal conditioning modules and output execution modules are elaborated in detail. The application shows that this system is stable and reliable, and can effectively guarantee safe operation of crane, its easy-operation and versatility make it a good application prospect.

Polarisome is a protein complex that plays an important role in polarized growth in fungi by assembling actin cables towards the site of cell growth. For proper morphogenesis, the polarisome must localize to the right place at the right time. However, the mechanisms that control polarisome localization remain poorly understood. In this study, using the polymorphic fungus Candida albicans as a model, we have discovered that the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) Cdc28 phosphorylates the polarisome scaffold protein Spa2 to govern polarisome localization during both yeast and hyphal growth. In a yeast cell cycle, Cdc28-Clb2 phosphorylates Spa2 and controls the timing of polarisome translocation from the bud tip to the bud neck. And during hyphal development, Cdc28-Clb2 and the hyphal-specific Cdc28-Hgc1 cooperate to enhance Spa2 phosphorylation to maintain the polarisome at the hyphal tip. Blocking the CDK phosphorylation causes premature tip-to-neck translocation of Spa2 during yeast growth and inappropriate septal localization of Spa2 in hyphae and abnormal hyphal morphology under certain inducing conditions. Together, our results generate new insights into the mechanisms by which fungi regulate polarisome localization in the control of polarized growth.

The mechanism for the basal targeting of the Miranda (Mira) complex during the asymmetric division of Drosophila neuroblasts (NBs) is yet to be fully understood. We have identified conserved Phosphotyrosyl phosphatase activator (PTPA) as a novel mediator for the basal localization of the Mira complex in larval brain NBs. In mutant Ptpa NBs, Mira remains cytoplasmic during early mitosis and its basal localization is delayed until anaphase. Detailed analyses indicate that PTPA acts independent of and before aPKC to localize Mira. Mechanistically, our data show that the phosphorylation status of the T591 residue determines the subcellular localization of Mira and that PTPA facilitates the dephosphorylation of T591. Furthermore, PTPA associates with the Protein phosphatase 4 complex to mediate localization of Mira. On the basis of these results, a two-step process for the basal localization of Mira during NB division is revealed: cortical association of Mira mediated by the PTPA-PP4 complex is followed by apical aPKC-mediated basal restriction.

The mechanism for the basal targeting of the Miranda (Mira) complex during the asymmetric division of Drosophila neuroblasts (NBs) is yet to be fully understood. We have identified conserved Phosphotyrosyl phosphatase activator (PTPA) as a novel mediator for the basal localization of the Mira complex in larval brain NBs. In mutant Ptpa NBs, Mira remains cytoplasmic during early mitosis and its basal localization is delayed until anaphase. Detailed analyses indicate that PTPA acts independent of and before aPKC to localize Mira. Mechanistically, our data show that the phosphorylation status of the T591 residue determines the subcellular localization of Mira and that PTPA facilitates the dephosphorylation of T591. Furthermore, PTPA associates with the Protein phosphatase 4 complex to mediate localization of Mira. On the basis of these results, a two-step process for the basal localization of Mira during NB division is revealed: cortical association of Mira mediated by the PTPA-PP4 complex is followed by apical aPKC-mediated basal restriction.

The cyclic AMP (cAMP)-protein kinase A (PKA) signaling activates virulence expression during hyphal development in the fungal human pathogen Candida albicans . The hyphal growth is characterized by Golgi polarization toward the hyphal tips, which is thought to enhance directional vesicle transport. However, how the hypha-induction signal regulates Golgi polarization is unknown. Gyp1, a Golgi-associated protein and the first GTPase-activating protein (GAP) in the Rab GAP cascade, critically regulates membrane trafficking from the endoplasmic reticulum to the plasma membrane. Here, we report a novel pathway by which the cAMP-PKA signaling triggers Golgi polarization during hyphal growth. We demonstrate that Gyp1 plays a crucial role in actin-dependent Golgi polarization. Hyphal induction activates PKA, which in turn phosphorylates Gyp1. Phosphomimetic mutation of four PKA sites identified by mass spectrometry (Gyp1 4E ) caused strong Gyp1 polarization to hyphal tips, whereas nonphosphorylatable mutations (Gyp1 4A ) abolished it. Gyp1 4E exhibited enhanced association with the actin motor Myo2, while Gyp1 4A showed the opposite effect, providing a possible mechanism for Golgi polarization. A GAP-dead Gyp1 (Gyp1 R292K ) showed strong polarization similar to that seen with Gyp1 4E , indicating a role for the GAP activity. Mutating the PKA sites on Gyp1 also impaired the recruitment of a late Golgi marker, Sec7. Furthermore, proper PKA phosphorylation and GAP activity of Gyp1 are required for virulence in mice. We propose that the cAMP-PKA signaling directly targets Gyp1 to promote Golgi polarization in the yeast-to-hypha transition, an event crucial for C. albicans infection.

Nap1 has long been identified as a potential septin regulator in yeasts. However, its function and regulation remain poorly defined. Here, we report functional characterization of Nap1 in the human-pathogenic fungus Candida albicans. We find that deletion of NAP1 causes constitutive filamentous growth and changes of septin dynamics. We present evidence that Nap1’s cellular localization and function are regulated by phosphorylation. Phos-tag gel electrophoresis revealed that Nap1 phosphorylation is cell cycle dependent, exhibiting the lowest level around the time of bud emergence. Mass spectrometry identified 10 phosphoserine and phosphothreonine residues in a cluster near the N terminus, and mutation of these residues affected Nap1’s localization to the septin ring and cellular function. Nap1 phosphorylation involves two septin ring-associated kinases, Cla4 and Gin4, and its dephosphorylation occurs at the septin ring in a manner dependent on the phosphatases PP2A and Cdc14. Furthermore, the nap1Δ/Δ mutant and alleles carrying mutations of the phosphorylation sites exhibited greatly reduced virulence in a mouse model of systemic candidiasis. Together, our findings not only provide new mechanistic insights into Nap1’s function and regulation but also suggest the potential to target Nap1 in future therapeutic design., IMPORTANCE Septins are conserved filament-forming GTPases involved in a wide range of cellular events, such as cytokinesis, exocytosis, and morphogenesis. In Candida albicans, the most prevalent human fungal pathogen, septin functions are indispensable for its virulence. However, the molecular mechanisms by which septin structures are regulated are poorly understood. In this study, we deleted NAP1, a gene encoding a putative septin regulator, in C. albicans and found that cells lacking NAP1 showed abnormalities in morphology, invasive growth, and septin ring dynamics. We identified a conserved N-terminal phosphorylation cluster on Nap1 and demonstrated that phosphorylation at these sites regulates Nap1 localization and function. Importantly, deletion of NAP1 or mutation in the N-terminal phosphorylation cluster strongly reduced the virulence of C. albicans in a mouse model of systemic infection. Thus, this study not only provides mechanistic insights into septin regulation but also suggests Nap1 as a potential antifungal target.

A lab-scale internal circulation reactor (IC) fed by artificial brewery wastewater was operated with increasing volumetric loading rate under 35 degrees C continuously. The reactor performance and the relationship between microbial community structure and bioactivity in the anaerobic sludge were investigated during the operation. The COD removal efficiency was above 85%, furthermore, the maximum volumetric loading rate (VLR) and the maximum specific methanogenic activity (SMA) of the reactor could be up to 20 kg x (m3 x d)(-1) and 210 mL x (g x d)(-1) respectively. The results from the dehydrogenase and the bacteria DGGE experiments demonstrated that the dehydrogenase variation tendency was positively correlated to total light intensity of the whole bacteria DGGE bands for each sample. The total light intensity of the whole bacteria DGGE bands can use as a referential index for biomass liveweight in anaerobic system. Moreover, the coenzyme F420 content related to the relative abundance of Methanosaeta based on coenzyme F420 and archaebacteria DGGE analysis. As the volumetric loading rate increased, Methanomsaeta became significantly dominant, which was accompanied by the coenzyme F420 content increasing. The content could be up to 0.16 micromol x g(-1), meanwhile, the superiority of Methanosaeta became significantly obvious; UPGAMA analysis and Shannon index also confirmed the dynamic changes of microbial community structure during the operation.

It has been established that hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment reduces brain edema, decreases infarct volume, contributes to neurological functional recovery and suppresses apoptosis in suture-induced focal cerebral ischemic animal models. In the present study, we evaluated the therapeutic effect of HBO in an endothelin-1-induced focal cerebral ischemia in rats and explored the associated mechanisms of HBO-induced brain protection. One hundred twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats (280 to 320 g) were randomly assigned to sham, focal cerebral ischemia and focal cerebral ischemia treated with HBO groups. Brain water content, neurological function, morphology and molecular biological markers were assessed. HBO (100% O2, 2.5 atmosphere absolute for 2 h) was initiated at 1 h after focal cerebral ischemia. Rats were killed at 24 h to harvest tissues for Western blot or for histology. In HBO-treated animals, an enhanced ratio of Bcl-2 and Bax and a reduced expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) in the hippocampus after focal cerebral ischemia were observed. These results indicate that HBO provides brain protection that is probably associated with the inhibition of HIF-1alpha and the elevation of Bcl-2.