Jinlu Jiang

SCOPE: Age-related degeneration is associated with imbalances of gut microbiota and its related immune system, thus gut microbiota dysbiosis is considered to be a key target to improve senescence. The potential roles of probiotics on physiological function and cognitive ability in aged mice are investigated in this study. METHODS AND RESULTS: Lactobacillus casei LC122 or Bifidobacterium longum BL986, are orally administrated for 12 weeks, and the anti-aging effects, as well as the composition and function of gut microbiota, are investigated in aged mice. Probiotics supplementation ameliorates hepatic lipid accumulation, enhances muscle strength and function, attenuates oxidative stress and inflammation in peripheral tissues, and improves gut barrier function. These results are associated with improved learning and memory ability as assessed by behavioral tests and upregulation of neurodegenerative and neurotrophic factors expressions in hippocampus. Moreover, the diversity and composition of gut microbiota are altered in aged mice, and both probiotics treatment display distinguished features of gut microbiota. Comparisons of two probiotic strains reveal significant differences in the taxa at family and genus level, leading to the functional profile change of the microbial community. CONCLUSION: L. casei LC122 and B. longum BL986 might be used as novel and promising anti-aging agents in human.

SCOPE: Irregular eating habits, such as late-night eating, will cause increased risk of obesity and other metabolic diseases. The aim of this study is to elucidate the impacts of late-night eating on physiological function and gut microbiota. METHODS AND RESULTS: Male Wistar rats under 16 h/8 h-light/dark cycle are divided into four groups with specific dietary habits, which mimicked breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night eating. Late-night eating, including skipping dinner for a night eating (BLN) and skipping breakfast and having a night eating (LDN), causes an increase of body weight, which is associated with decreased physical activity. Additionally, late-night eating results in hepatic lipid accumulation and systemic inflammation in peripheral tissues, compared to those of free feeding (FF) or breakfast, lunch, and dinner (BLD) groups. The phases of key clock genes are similar in FF, BLD, and BLN groups, while LDN feeding causes an overall 4 h phase delay in peripheral tissues. Moreover, late-night eating, especially LDN feeding, results in a significant alternation in the compositions and functions of gut microbiota, which further contributes to the development of metabolic disorder. CONCLUSION: Late-night eating causes physiological dysregulation and misalignment of circadian rhythm, together with microbial dysbiosis.

One-dimensional (1D) hexagonal-phase NaYF4 with various morphologies including nanowires, nanowire bundles, submicrorods, and hexagonal microprisms have been selectively synthesized via a facile complexing reagent-surfactant-assisted hydrothermal route. The effects of reaction temperature, the amount of SDBS (sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate) and citric acid, and the sorts of surfactants and complexing reagents on the morphology, size, and crystal phase purity of the as-synthesized products have been investigated in detail. By choosing NaYF4 nanowire as a candidate, its formation mechanism was proposed on the basis of XRD analysis and SEM observation of the products at the different reaction time periods. The studies on the up-conversion emission of hexagonal-phase Yb3+, Er3+ ions-codoped NaYF4 including nanowires, submicrorods, and hexagonal microprisms showed that the optical properties of the as-synthesized materials are morphology-dependent. It was found that NaYF4 : Yb, Er nanowires had the highest ratios between the intensities of green and red band emission whereas hexagonal NaYF4 : Yb, Er microprisms had the lowest ones. The synthesis of hexagonal-phase NaYF4 with controllable size and morphology, optical properties, together with the realization of self-assembly of NaYF4 nanowires reported in this work will be useful for further applications in the fabrication of optoelectronic nanodevices.

The anti-oxidative activity and oxidative damage repair potential of dietary AS in UVC irradiated mice was studied in present study. The activities of superdismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the liver and serum of mice increased dramatically at treatment with a dose of 100 mg/kg bodyweight AS during 10 days UVC light irradiation in comparison with the control group. Concurrently, the gene expression levels of sod1, sod2, gpx1 and gpx2, as determined by real-time quantitative PCR, were also up-regulated in the liver in the AS treated group during the UVC irradiation. For further understanding the oxidative damage repair potential of dietary AS in UVC irradiated mice, after 7 days AS and VE treatment, the SOD and GPx activities also increased significantly in liver and serum in mice fed with AS compared to the UVC light treated group. The results obtained here strongly suggested that AS reduces the UVC irradiation oxidative stress dramatically in short time.

Background: Citrullination is a post-translational protein modification linked to the occurrence and development of a variety of diseases. The detection of citrullinated proteins is predominately based on antibody detection although currently available reagents demonstrate detection bias according to the environmental context of the citrullinated residues. This study aimed to develop improved antibody reagents capable of detecting citrullinated residues in proteins in an unbiased manner. Methods: BALB/c mice were sequentially immunized using citrulline conjugates with different carrier proteins, and specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) identified by primary screening using citrulline-conjugated proteins unrelated to the immunogen. Secondary screening was performed to identify mAbs whose reactivity could be specifically blocked by free citrulline, followed by identification and performance assessment. Results: Two mAbs, 22F1 and 30G2, specifically recognizing a single citrulline residue were screened from 22 mAbs reacting with citrulline conjugates. Compared with commercially available anti-citrulline antibodies (AB6464, AB100932 and MABN328), 22F1 and 30G2 demonstrated significantly higher reactivity as well as a broader detection spectrum against different citrullinated proteins. 22F1 and 30G2 also had higher specificity than commercial antibodies and overall better applicability to a range of different immunoassays. Conclusion: Two mAbs specifically recognizing a single citrulline residue were successfully produced, each possessing good specificity against different citrullinated proteins. The improved utility of these reagents is expected to make a strong contribution to protein citrullination-related research.