The potential protectivity of honey and olive oil in methotrexate induced renal damage in rats

Methotrexate (MTX) is an antimetabolite used to treat inflammatory diseases, autoimmune disorders and some malignancies. However, it has some life-threatening side effects such as nephrotoxicity which limit its clinical applications. That motivated the attention to seek for a defensive material to improve the outcomes of methotrexate while minimizing both renal and non-renal toxicity. Both honey (H) and olive oil (OO) are bioactive substances widely used as nutraceuticals that exhibited a potent therapeutic and antioxidant properties. This study aimed to assess the possible protective effect of H and OO intake either singly or together against the biochemical and structural Methotrexate-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. The study was conducted on 56 adult albino rats, they were divided into seven groups (n = 8): group 1 received only distelled water (negative control), group 2 received H (1.2 g/kg/day), group 3 received OO (1.25 ml/kg/day), group 4 received a single intraperitoneal injection of MTX (20 mg/kg), group 5 received MTX and H, group 6 received MTX and OO, group 7 received MTX, H and OO together. At the end of the experiment (2 weeks), all rats were sacrificed, and blood samples were assessed for kidney function tests. Kidney tissues were evaluated for several antioxidant parameters including Malondialdehyde (MDA), Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities. Tissues were also processed for histological and immunohistochemical assessments. Results revealed that both H and OO improved the kidney function markers, histopathological and immunohistological changes due to Methotrexate-induced renal damage. Additionally, both substances also redeemed the oxidative damage of the kidney by decreasing MDA and increasing anti-oxidant enzymatic activities. Such effects were more apparent when the two substances were given together. Ultimately, our results proof that H and OO amiolerate the Methotrexate-induced nephrotoxicity in rats, thus they can be used as an adjuvant supplements for patients requiring methotrexate therapy.

GAMT Deficiency Among Pediatric Population: Clinical and Molecular Characteristics and Management

Objective: Analyze the treatment modalities used in real practice by synthesizing available literature. Methods: We reviewed and evaluated 52 cases of GAMT deficiency including 4 novel cases from Saudi Arabia diagnosed using whole-exome sequencing. All data utilized graphical presentation in the form of line charts and illustrated graphs. Results: The mean current age of was 117 months (±29.03) (range 12-372 months). The mean age of disease onset was 28.32 months (±13.68) (range 8 days - 252 months). The most prevalent symptom was developmental delays, mainly speech and motor, seizures, and intellectual disability. The male-to-female ratio was 3:1. Multiple treatments were used, with 54 pharmacological interventions, valproic acid being the most common. Creatinine monohydrate was the prevalent dietary intervention, with 25 patients reporting an improvement. Conclusion: The study suggests that efficient treatment with appropriate dietary intervention can improve patients' health, stressing that personalized treatment programs are essential in managing this disorder.

Roles of MEF2A and MyoG in the transcriptional regulation of bovine LATS2 gene

As an important downstream effector gene in the hippo signaling pathway, large tumor suppressor gene 2 (LATS2) is involved in cell proliferation and differentiation, organ size and tissue regeneration, and plays an important role in regulating the growth and development of animal muscles. The purpose of this study is to explore the temporal expression of bovine LATS2 gene, and determine the key transcription factors for regulating bovine LATS2 gene. The result showed that bovine LATS2 gene was highly expressed in liver and longissimus dorsi, and was up-regulated in infancy muscle. In addition, it was highly expressed on the 2th day during the differentiation stage of myoblast. The upstream 1.7 Kb sequence of the 5 'translation region of bovine LATS2 gene was cloned, and 7 different deletion fragments were amplified by the upstream primers. These fragments were constructed into double luciferase reporter vectors and transfected into myoblasts and myotubes cells, respectively to detect the core promoter regions. In addition, the key transcription factors of the core promoter sequence of the bovine LATS2 gene were analyzed and predicted by online software. Combining with site-directed mutations, siRNA interference and chromatin immunoprecipitation technology, it was identified that MEF2A and MyoG combined in core promoter region (-248/-56) to regulate the transcription activity of bovine LATS2 gene. The results have laid a theoretical foundation for exploring the molecular regulation mechanism of LATS2 gene in the process of muscle growth.

Structural and compositional segregation of the gut microbiota in HCV and liver cirrhotic patients: A clinical pilot study

Gut microbial dysbiosis during the development of Hepatitis C virus and liver-related diseases is not well studied. Nowadays, HCV and liver cirrhosis are the major concerns that cause gut bacterial alteration, which leads to dysbiosis. For this purpose, the present study was aimed at correlating the gut bacterial community of the control group in comparison to HCV and liver cirrhotic patients. A total of 23 stool samples were collected, including control (9), liver cirrhotic (8), and HCV (6). The collected samples were subjected to 16S rRNA Illumina gene sequencing. In comparison with control, a significant gut bacterial alteration was observed in the progression of HCV and liver cirrhosis. Overall, Firmicutes were significantly abundant in the whole study. No significant difference was observed in the alpha diversity of the control and patient studies. Additionally, the beta diversity based on non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) has a significant difference (p = 0.005) (ANOSIM R² = 0.14) in all groups. The discriminative results based on the LEfSe tool revealed that the HCV-infected patients had higher Enterobacteriaceae and Enterobacterial, as well as Lactobacillus and Bacilli in comparison than the liver-cirrhotic patients. These taxa were significantly different from the control group (p < 0.05). Regarding prospects, a detailed analysis of the function through metagenomics and transcriptomics is needed.

Research progress of m6A regulation during animal growth and development

Environmental factors, genetic factors, and epigenetics are involved in animal growth and development. Among them, methylation is one of the abundant modifications of epigenetics. N6-methyladenosine(m⁶A) is extensive in cellular RNA, of which mRNA is the most common internal modification. m⁶A modification regulates life activities dynamically and reversibly, including expressed genes, RNA metabolism, and protein translation. The m⁶A modifications are closely related to human diseases involving heart failure, tumors, and cancer. It is relatively in-depth in the medical field. However, there are few studies on its biochemical function in animals. We summarized the latest paper related to the chemical structure and role of the writers, the erasers, and the readers to study exerting dynamic regulation of m⁶A modification of animal growth and development. Furthermore, the key roles of m⁶A modification were reported in the process of RNA metabolism. Finally, the dynamic regulation of m⁶A modification in animal growth and development was reviewed, including brain development, fertility, fat deposition, and muscle production. It reveals the key roles of m⁶A modification and the regulation of gene expression, aiming to provide new ideas for m⁶A methylation in animal growth and development.

Krüppel-like factors family regulation of adipogenic markers genes in bovine cattle adipogenesis

Intramuscular fat (IMF) content is a crucial determinant of meat quality traits in livestock. A network of transcription factors act in concert to regulate adipocyte formation and differentiation, which in turn influences intramuscular fat. Several genes and associated transcription factors have been reported to influence lipogenesis and adipogenesis during fetal and subsequent growth stage. Specifically in cattle, Krüppel-like factors (KLFs), which represents a family of transcription factors, have been reported to be involved in adipogenic differentiation and development. KLFs are a relatively large group of zinc-finger transcription factors that have a variety of functions in addition to adipogenesis. In mammals, the participation of KLFs in cell development and differentiation is well known. Specifically in the context of adipogenesis, KLFs function either as positive (KLF4, KLF5, KLF6, KLF8, KLF9, KLF10, KLF11, KLF12, KLF13, KLF14 and KLF15) or negative organizers (KLF2, KLF3 and KLF7), by a variety of different mechanisms such as crosstalk with C/EBP and PPARγ. In this review, we aim to summarize the potential functions of KLFs in regulating adipogenesis and associated pathways in cattle. Furthermore, the function of known bovine adipogenic marker genes, and associated transcription factors that regulate the expression of these marker genes is also summarized. Overall, this review will provide an overview of marker genes known to influence bovine adipogenesis and regulation of expression of these genes, to provide insights into leveraging these genes and transcription factors to enhance breeding programs, especially in the context of IMF deposition and meat quality.