Fertility and reproductive lifespan in humans decrease dramatically with age. Prospective female parents of advanced age may experience increased risk of infertility, spontaneous miscarriages, perinatal mortality and congenital anomaly. Although assisted reproductive technologies can compensate for human suboptimal reproductive outcome to some extent, the success rate of assisted reproductive technology cycles declines with advanced age as well. This tendency is mainly associated with age-related deterioration of ovarian reserve and oocyte quality, along with a higher aneuploidy rate.On October 16, 2023,Bo Xiong, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University......2023-11-17

Acute lung injury (ALI) and its more severe form, the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), are life threatening, inflammatory disease syndromes of the lung in which its function is critically compromised. ALI is characterized by an acute onset of respiratory distress, edema formation and severe hypoxemia associated with high mortality despite improved treatment regimen, and is normally caused by direct or indirect injury to the lung (i.e., infections, trauma, pneumonia, hemorrhagic shock, among others).Once the lung is injured, there is significant upregulation of proinflammatory pathways, with marked recruitment of neutrophils, and significant secretion of proinflammatory cytok......2023-11-13

Atherosclerosis is characterized by lipid accumulation, inflammatory response, cell death and fibrosis in the arterial wall, which is the pathological basis for ischemic coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. Major risk factors for atherosclerosis include high plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and low plasma concentrations of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Intervention studies with statins have shown to reduce plasma LDL cholesterol concentrations and subsequently the risk of developing CHD. However, not all the aggressive statin therapy could decrease the risk of developing CHD. Therefore, additional therapeutic interventions beyond statins are ......2023-11-06

The liver is a complex, functionally heterogeneous organ, which performs hundreds of functions including detoxification, nutrient metabolism, and secretion of serum proteins. Though the liver has an excellent ability to alleviate the effects of ongoing damage and regenerate, the healing mechanism is impaired during chronic injuries. Mainly, the prolonged activation of otherwise quiescent, retinoid-storing hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) during chronic liver diseases (CLDs) causes an excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) components in the liver. This dynamic condition is called hepatic fibrosis. If unchecked, liver fibrosis can lead to portal hypertension, cirrhosis, hepatoce......2023-11-02

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a life-threatening, inflammatory disease affecting premature infants with intestinal necrosis, but the mechanism remains unclear. Neonatal macrophages are thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of NEC through the production of proinflammatory cytokines. Restriction of cytokine expression in macrophages of NEC tissues may be beneficial. In adult macrophages, interfering with Rac1 has been shown to influence the expression of cytokines. Here, we investigated whether interfering with Rac1 in neonatal macrophages affects their inflammatory responses. First, we found that Rac1-activation was upregulated in the macrophages of rats with NEC mo......2023-11-02

Leydig cells (LCs), which are located in the interstitial compartment of the testes and nestled among the seminiferous tubules, are primarily responsible for the production of testosterone. Thus, LCs are indispensable for the development and maintenance of the masculine phenotype, endocrine homeostasis, and reproductive function. Hereditary primary hypogonadism (HPH) is caused by malfunction at the level of the testes due to genetic causes which impair LCs function. This condition is characterized by low or absent testosterone levels and high gonadotropins levels, underdeveloped masculine phenotype, and severely impaired spermatogenesis. Luteinizing hormone/choriogonadotropin receptor ......2023-10-25