Transcriptome reveals the important role of metabolic imbalances, immune disorders and apoptosis in the treatment of Procambarus clarkii at super high temperature

Effects of Different Salinity Stress on the Transcriptomic Responses of Freshwater Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii, Girard, 1852)

Salinization of freshwater ecosystems is a pressing global issue. Changes in salinity can exert severe pressure on aquatic animals and jeopardize their survival. Procambarus clarkii is a valuable freshwater aquaculture species that exhibits some degree of salinity tolerance, making it an excellent research model for freshwater aquaculture species facing salinity stress. In the present study, crayfish were exposed to acute low salt (6 ppt) and high salt (18 ppt) conditions. The organisms were continuously monitored at 6, 24, and 72 h using RNA-Seq to investigate the mechanisms of salt stress resistance. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the crayfish responded to salinity stress with numerous differentially expressed genes, and most of different expression genes was observed in high salinity group for 24h. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses indicated that metabolic pathways were the primary response pathways in crayfish under salinity stress. This suggests that crayfish may use metabolic pathways to compensate for energy loss caused by osmotic stress. Furthermore, gene expression analysis revealed the differential expression of immune and antioxidant-related pathway genes under salinity stress, implying that salinity stress induces immune disorders in crayfish. More genes related to cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, such as the Foxo, Wnt, Hippo, and Notch signaling pathways, responded to high-salinity stress. This suggests that regulating the cellular replication cycle and accelerating apoptosis may be necessary for crayfish to cope with high-salinity stress. Additionally, we identified 36 solute carrier family (SLC) genes related to ion transport, depicting possible ion exchange mechanisms in crayfish under salinity stress. These findings aimed to establish a foundation for understanding crustacean responses to salinity stress and their osmoregulatory mechanisms.

Efficacy of mFOLFOX6 plus bevacizumab regimen in advanced colorectal cancer after deep hyperthermia: a single-center retrospective study

Background

This study aimed to explore the clinical efficacy and safety of a modified FOLFOX6 (oxaliplatin + leucovorin + 5-fluorouracil) plus bevacizumab regimen after deep hyperthermia in advanced colorectal cancer.

Methods

A total of 80 colorectal cancer patients treated at our hospital were selected as research subjects. According to the random number table method, patients were divided into a control group (mFOLFOX6 plus bevacizumab) and a combination group (mFOLFOX6 plus bevacizumab after deep hyperthermia treatment), with 40 patients in each group. After six cycles of treatment, the objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), levels of serum tumor markers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), vascular epidermal growth factor (VEGF), Karnofsky performance status (KPS) scores, and the occurrence of adverse events were compared between the two groups.

Results

After six cycles of treatment, the ORR in the combination group was higher than that in the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The DCR in the combination group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). The serum CEA levels in the control and combination groups after treatment were significantly lower than those before treatment, and the serum CEA and VEGF levels in the combination group were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.001). The KPS scores in both groups after treatment were higher than those before treatment, and the KPS scores in the combination group after treatment were significantly higher than those in the control group (all P<0.001). The incidence of fatigue and pain in the combination group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05).

Conclusion

mFOLFOX6 plus bevacizumab after deep hyperthermia is effective in advanced colorectal cancer patients, which can effectively improve their quality of life, and the adverse events are controllable and tolerable. A randomized or prospective trial will be required to further prove these data and explore its potentiality, especially if compared to conventional treatment.

Integration of Transcriptomics and Proteomics Analysis Reveals the Molecular Mechanism of Eriocheir sinensis Gills Exposed to Heat Stress

Heat stress is an increasingly concerning topic under global warming. Heat stress can induce organisms to produce excess reactive oxygen species, which will lead to cell damage and destroy the antioxidant defense of aquatic animals. Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis, is sensitive to the change in water temperature, and parent crabs are more vulnerable during the breeding stage. In the present study, the multi-omics responses of parent E. sinensis gills to heat stress (24 h) were determined via transcriptome and proteome. The integrative analysis revealed that heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and glutathione s-transferase (GST) were significantly up-regulated at gene and protein levels after heat stress, indicating that HSP70 and the antioxidant system participated in the regulatory mechanism of heat stress to resist oxidative damage. Moreover, the "Relaxin signaling pathway" was also activated at gene and protein levels under 30 °C stress, which implied that relaxin may be essential and responsible for reducing the oxidative damage of gills caused by extreme heat stress. These findings provided an understanding of the regulation mechanism in E. sinensis under heat stress at gene and protein levels. The mining of key functional genes, proteins, and pathways can also provide a basis for the cultivation of new varieties resistant to oxidative stress.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of differentially expressed genes and pathways in Procambarus clarkii (Louisiana crawfish) at different acute temperature stress

Procambarus clarkii is an important economic species in China, and exhibit heat and cold tolerance in the main culture regions. To understand the mechanisms, we analyzed the hepatopancreas transcriptome of P. clarkii treated at 10 °C, 25 °C, and 30 °C, then 2092 DEGs and 6929 DEGs were found in 30 °C stress group and 10 °C stress group, respectively. KEGG pathway enrichment results showed that immune pathway is the main stress pathway for 10 °C treatment and metabolic pathway is the main response pathway for 30 °C treatment, which implies low temperature stress induces the damage of the immune system and increases the susceptibility of bacteria while the body response to high temperature stress through metabolic adjustment. In addition, flow cytometry proved that both high and low temperature stress caused different degrees of apoptosis of hemocytes, and dynamic transcription heat map analysis also identified the differential expression of HSPs family genes and apoptosis pathway genes under different heat stresses. This indicates that preventing damaged protein misfolding and accelerating cell apoptosis are necessary mechanisms for P. clarkii to cope with high and low temperature stress. Our research has deepened our understanding of the complex molecular mechanisms of P. clarkii in response to acute temperature stress, and provided a potential strategy for aquatic animals to relieve environmental duress.

Dynamic transcriptome analysis of the muscles in high-fat diet-induced obese zebrafish (Danio rerio) under 5-HT treatment

Peripheral 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, also called serotonin) is reportedly a potential therapeutic target in obesity-related metabolic diseases due to its regulatory role in energy homeostasis in mammals. However, information on the detailed effect of peripheral 5-HT on the energy metabolism in fishes, especially the lipid metabolism, and the underlying mechanism remains elusive. In this study, a diet-induced obesity model was developed in the zebrafish (Danio rerio), a prototypical animal model for metabolic disorders. The zebrafish were fed a high-fat diet for 8 weeks and were simultaneously injected with PBS, 0.1 mM and 10 mM 5-HT, intraperitoneally. The body weight was significantly lower in the zebrafish injected with 0.1 mM 5-HT (P < 0.05), however, there was no change in body length (P > 0.05) at the end of the 8-week treatment. The muscle tissues from the zebrafish treated with PBS and 5-HT were collected for transcriptomic analysis and the RNA-seq revealed 1134, 3713, and 2535 genes were screened out compared to the muscular DEGs among three groups. The enrichment analysis revealed DEGs to be significantly associated with multiple metabolic pathways, including ribosome, oxidative phosphorylation, proteasome, PPAR signaling pathway, and ferroptosis. Additionally, the qRT-PCR validated 12 DEGs out of which 10 genes exhibited consistent trends. Taken together, this data provided useful information on the transcriptional characteristics of the muscle tissue in the obese zebrafish exposed to 5-HT, offering important insights into the regulatory effect of peripheral 5-HT in teleosts, as well as novel approaches for preventing and treating obesity-related metabolic dysfunction.