Maternal High-Fat Diet Multigenerationally Programs HPA Function and Behaviors in Male Rat Offspring.

Maternal environmental factors have been demonstrated to exert significant influences on the health of offspring. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is an important neuroendocrine stress system that can be influenced by early life challenges. Our previous research has revealed that the consumption of a high-fat diet (HFD) by pregnant and lactating rats leads to the programming of HPA axis activity in male offspring of the first generation (referred to as F1HFD/C).

Relaxation Effect of Lignans on the Isolated Tracheal Smooth Muscle in Rats and Its Mechanism.

() is one of the core drugs used for relieving cough and asthma in traditional Chinese medicine. However, there are few basic studies on the treatment of respiratory diseases with in modern pharmacology, and the material basis and mechanism of its antiasthmatic effect are still unclear. Lignans are the main active components of .

Schisantherin A causes endothelium-dependent and -independent vasorelaxation in isolated rat thoracic aorta.

Aims: Schisandra is a good choice in Traditional Chinese Medicine for the therapy of cardiovascular diseases, but whether it contains a or some specific component (s) responsible these effects are still unclear. In the present study, we explored whether Schisantherin A (SCA) causes vasorelaxation in isolated rat thoracic aorta.

Main Methods: We selected SCA, one of the main monomers of lignans from Schisandra, to examine its vasorelaxant effect on the isolated rat thoracic aorta and also exploited several tool inhibitors to probe its underlying mechanisms.

Maternal high fat diet programs hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function in adult rat offspring.

Maternal environmental factors such as diet have profound effects on offspring development and later health. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is an important stress neuroendocrine system that is subject to programming by early life challenges. The present study was further to investigate whether maternal high fat diet (HFD) exposure during rat pregnancy and lactation can alter the HPA axis activity in adult male offspring.

Maternal high-fat diet programs cerebrovascular remodeling in adult rat offspring.

Maternal environmental factors such as diet have consequences on later health of the offspring. We found that maternal high-fat diet (HFD) exposure renders adult offspring brain more susceptible to ischemic injury. The present study was further to investigate whether HFD consumption during rat pregnancy and lactation influences the cerebral vasculature in adult male offspring.

[The role of sub-transform of macrophages in renal ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats].

Objective: To investigate the role of sub-transform macrophage in ischemia/reperfusion renal injury in rats, as well as under-lying mechanisms.

Methods: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into ischemia/reperfusion (IRI, =24, renal artery was occluded for 45 min) group and sham-operation (Sham, =6) group. The kidneys in IRI group were collected at 0, 6, 24 and 72 h after operation (6 rats for each time point).

Maternal high-fat diet influences stroke outcome in adult rat offspring.

Diet-induced epigenetic modifications in early life could contribute to later health problem. However, it remains to be established whether high-fat diet (HFD) consumption during pregnancy and the suckling period could predispose the offspring to stroke. The present study investigated the influence of maternal HFD on stroke outcome in adult offspring.

Maternal high fat diet programs stress-induced behavioral disorder in adult offspring.

Early life exposure to specific environmental factors can contribute to development of behavioral disorders in adulthood. Although maternal high fat diet (HFD) consumption during the perinatal period has been reported to program offspring behavior, the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. The present study was designed to evaluate the influence of maternal HFD on offspring behavior under nonstressed and stressful conditions, using male Sprague-Dawley offspring, which mothers were fed with HFD or normal diet (ND), receiving chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) in the adulthood.

Increased p-cresyl sulfate level is independently associated with poor outcomes in patients with heart failure.

Amino acid-derived metabolites, including protein-bound uremic toxins, may have prognostic value for patients with heart failure (HF). The aim of this study was to investigate whether p-cresyl sulfate (PCS), indoxyl sulfate (IS), and arginine metabolites provided prognostic values in addition to the traditional biomarker, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), in patients with HF. Chromatography mass spectrometry was performed to measure tyrosine, tryptophan, arginine, PCS, IS, and asymmetric (ADMA) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) in the plasma from 51 normal controls and 136 HF patients.

Stress-induced inhibition of LH pulses in female rats: role of GABA in arcuate nucleus.

Stress exerts profound inhibitory effects on reproductive function by suppression of the pulsatile release of GnRH and therefore LH. Besides the corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF), this effect also might be mediated via GABAergic signaling within the arcuate nucleus (ARC) since its inhibitory effects on LH pulses and increased activity during stress. In the present study, we investigated the role of endogenous GABAergic signaling within the ARC in stress-induced suppression of LH pulses.

Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms and colorectal cancer risk: a systematic meta-analysis.

Aim: To investigate the relationship between polymorphisms present in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene and colorectal cancer risk, a systematic meta-analysis of population-based studies was performed.

Methods: A total of 38 relevant reports published between January 1990 and August 2010 were identified, of which only 23 qualified for this meta-analysis based on our selection criteria. Five polymorphic variants of the VDR gene, including Cdx-2 (intron 1e) and FokI (exon 2) present in the 5' region of the gene, and BsmI (intron 8), ApaI (intron 8), and TaqI (exon 9) sites present in the 3' untranslated region (UTR), were evaluated for possible associations with colorectal cancer risk.