BACKGROUND Nickel(Ni)may accumulate in the human body and has biological toxicity and carcinogenicity.Ni has an extensive impact on the health of pregnant women and fetuses during gestation.AIM To evaluate Ni exposure...BACKGROUND Nickel(Ni)may accumulate in the human body and has biological toxicity and carcinogenicity.Ni has an extensive impact on the health of pregnant women and fetuses during gestation.AIM To evaluate Ni exposure in pregnant women in Kunming,Yunnan Province,China;to describe the distribution of Ni in the maternal-fetal system and placental barrier function;and to investigate the effect of Ni exposure on fetal health in mothers with pregnancy complications.METHODS Seventy-two pregnant women were selected using a case-control design.The women were divided into two groups:The control group(no disease;n=29)and the disease group[gestational diabetes(GDM),hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy(HDCP),or both;n=43].The pregnant women in the disease group were further divided as follows:14 cases with GDM(GDM group),13 cases with HDCP(HDCP group)and 16 cases with both GDM and HDCP(disease combination group).Basic information on the pregnant women was collected by questionnaire survey.Maternal blood,placenta blood and cord blood were collected immediately after delivery.The Ni content in paired samples was determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.RESULTS Compared to the control group,age was higher and body mass index was greater in pregnant women in the disease groups(28.14±2.54 vs 28.42±13.89,P<0.05;25.90±3.86 vs 31.49±5.30,P<0.05).The birth weights of newborns in the HDCP group and the control group were significantly different(2.52±0.74 vs 3.18±0.41,P<0.05).The content of Ni in umbilical cord blood in the entire disease group was higher than that in the control group(0.10±0.16 vs 0.05±0.07,P<0.05).CONCLUSION In the maternal-fetal system of women with pregnancy complications,the barrier effect of the placenta against Ni is weakened,thus affecting healthy growth of the fetus in the uterus.展开更多
Joubert syndrome is characterized by unique malformation of the cerebellar vermis.More than thirty Joubert syndrome genes have been identified,including ARL13 B.However,its role in cerebellar development remains unexp...Joubert syndrome is characterized by unique malformation of the cerebellar vermis.More than thirty Joubert syndrome genes have been identified,including ARL13 B.However,its role in cerebellar development remains unexplored.We found that knockdown or knockout of arl13b impaired balance and locomotion in zebrafish larvae.Granule cells were selectively reduced in the corpus cerebelli,a structure homologous to the mammalian vermis.Purkinje cell progenitors were also selectively disturbed dorsomedially.The expression of atoh1 and ptf1,proneural genes of granule and Purkinje cells,respectively,were selectively down-regulated along the dorsal midline of the cerebellum.Moreover,wnt1,which is transiently expressed early in cerebellar development,was selectively reduced.Intriguingly,activating Wnt signaling partially rescued the granule cell defects in arl13b mutants.These findings suggested that Arl13 b is necessary for the early development of cerebellar granule and Purkinje cells.The arl13b-deficient zebrafish can serve as a model organism for studying Joubert syndrome.展开更多
基金Yunnan Provincial Health Committee Senior Talent Project,No.L-2018006 and No.H-2018045International Science and Technology Cooperation Special Key Research and Development Plan,No.2017IB004and Academician Expert Workstation of Yunnan Province,No.202005AF150033.
文摘BACKGROUND Nickel(Ni)may accumulate in the human body and has biological toxicity and carcinogenicity.Ni has an extensive impact on the health of pregnant women and fetuses during gestation.AIM To evaluate Ni exposure in pregnant women in Kunming,Yunnan Province,China;to describe the distribution of Ni in the maternal-fetal system and placental barrier function;and to investigate the effect of Ni exposure on fetal health in mothers with pregnancy complications.METHODS Seventy-two pregnant women were selected using a case-control design.The women were divided into two groups:The control group(no disease;n=29)and the disease group[gestational diabetes(GDM),hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy(HDCP),or both;n=43].The pregnant women in the disease group were further divided as follows:14 cases with GDM(GDM group),13 cases with HDCP(HDCP group)and 16 cases with both GDM and HDCP(disease combination group).Basic information on the pregnant women was collected by questionnaire survey.Maternal blood,placenta blood and cord blood were collected immediately after delivery.The Ni content in paired samples was determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.RESULTS Compared to the control group,age was higher and body mass index was greater in pregnant women in the disease groups(28.14±2.54 vs 28.42±13.89,P<0.05;25.90±3.86 vs 31.49±5.30,P<0.05).The birth weights of newborns in the HDCP group and the control group were significantly different(2.52±0.74 vs 3.18±0.41,P<0.05).The content of Ni in umbilical cord blood in the entire disease group was higher than that in the control group(0.10±0.16 vs 0.05±0.07,P<0.05).CONCLUSION In the maternal-fetal system of women with pregnancy complications,the barrier effect of the placenta against Ni is weakened,thus affecting healthy growth of the fetus in the uterus.
基金supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31171044,81160144, and 81760216)the Young Scientist Project of Jiangxi Province, China (20122BCB23007)。
文摘Joubert syndrome is characterized by unique malformation of the cerebellar vermis.More than thirty Joubert syndrome genes have been identified,including ARL13 B.However,its role in cerebellar development remains unexplored.We found that knockdown or knockout of arl13b impaired balance and locomotion in zebrafish larvae.Granule cells were selectively reduced in the corpus cerebelli,a structure homologous to the mammalian vermis.Purkinje cell progenitors were also selectively disturbed dorsomedially.The expression of atoh1 and ptf1,proneural genes of granule and Purkinje cells,respectively,were selectively down-regulated along the dorsal midline of the cerebellum.Moreover,wnt1,which is transiently expressed early in cerebellar development,was selectively reduced.Intriguingly,activating Wnt signaling partially rescued the granule cell defects in arl13b mutants.These findings suggested that Arl13 b is necessary for the early development of cerebellar granule and Purkinje cells.The arl13b-deficient zebrafish can serve as a model organism for studying Joubert syndrome.
