Among them, the Clostridiales were found to be the most abundant, and Bacteroidales were present exclusive during the estrus phase. As faeces is a source of gut microbes and a non-invasive representative of the metabolic steroids and perceptible pheromones, the profiling of gut microbes during estrous cycle would provide clues towards the major microbes contributing to the perceptible pheromones during estrus stage. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ever report describing the faecal bacterial diversity during estrous cycle of any ruminant species. Although future studies are required to understand the role of Clostridiales and Bacteroidales in faecal pheromone metabolism.Brucellosis is a prevalent disease in Costa Rica (CR), with an increasing number of human infections. Close to half of homes in CR have one or more dogs, corresponding to ∼1.4 million canines, most of them in the Central Valley within or near the cities of San José, Heredia, and Alajuela. From 302 dog sera collected from this region, 19 were positive for Brucella canis antigens, and five had antibodies against smooth lipopolysaccharide, suggesting infections by both B. canis and other Brucella species. B. canis strains were isolated in the Central Valley from 26 kennel dogs and three pet dogs, all displaying clinical signs of canine brucellosis. We detected three recent introductions of different B. canis strains in kennels two traced from Mexico and one from Panama. Multiple locus-variable number tandem repeats (MLVA-16) and whole-genome sequencing (WGSA) analyses showed that B. canis CR strains comprise three main lineages. The tree topologies obtained by WGSA and MLVA-16 just partially agreed, indicating that the latter analysis is not suitable for phylogenetic studies. The fatty acid methyl ester analysis resolved five different B. canis groups, showing less resolution power than the MLVA-16 and WGSA. Lactobacillic acid was absent in linages I and II but present in linage III, supporting the recent introductions of B. canis strains from Mexico. B. canis displaying putative functional cyclopropane synthase for the synthesis of lactobacillic acid are phylogenetically intertwined with B. canis with non-functional protein, indicating that mutations have occurred independently in the various lineages.Rapidly proliferating cells such as vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) require metabolic programs to support increased energy and biomass production. Thus, targeting glutamine metabolism by inhibiting glutamine transport could be a promising strategy for vascular disorders such as atherosclerosis, stenosis, and restenosis. V-9302, a competitive antagonist targeting the glutamine transporter, has been investigated in the context of cancer; however, its role in VSMCs is unclear. Here, we examined the effects of blocking glutamine transport in fetal bovine serum (FBS)- or platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-stimulated VSMCs using V-9302. We found that V-9302 inhibited mTORC1 activity and mitochondrial respiration, thereby suppressing FBS- or PDGF-stimulated proliferation and migration of VSMCs. Moreover, V-9302 attenuated carotid artery ligation-induced neointima in mice. Collectively, the data suggest that targeting glutamine transport using V-9302 is a promising therapeutic strategy to ameliorate occlusive vascular disease.Accumulating evidence has been found that circular RNA (circRNA) plays a critical role in the initiation and development of various diseases by modulating gene expression in the cytoplasm. However, the role of circ_0044366 (termed circ29) in gastric cancer (GC) has yet to be elusive. We detected that exosomal circ29 was confirmed to be highly expressed in GC and can significantly impair the proliferation, migration, tube formation of HUVEC by exosomal communication. Interestingly, this effect could be blocked by the effect of miR-29a. In brief, we confirmed that circ29, as a sponge of miR-29a, plays a responsible role in the occurrence and development of GC by regulating the VEGF pathway. Therefore, it may be used as a potential target for the treatment of GC.Eleven genes, including prss59.1, were selected as candidate ovulation-inducing genes on the basis of microarray analysis and RNA sequencing in our previous study. To address the role of prss59.1, the prss59.1 gene knock-out zebrafish strain is currently being established by genome editing. In this study, for further phenotypic analysis of prss59.1, biochemical characterization of Prss59.1 was conducted using recombinant protein. A C-terminal histidine-tagged version of zebrafish Prss 59.1 was constructed. Although E. coli-produced recombinant Prss59.1 showed almost no activity, peptidase activities appeared after denaturation and renaturation. Zebrafish Prss59.1 showed the highest activity against Lys-MCA. The optimal temperature and pH of the activity toward Lys-MCA were 37 °C and pH 8.0, respectively. The Km value was 0.17 mM. Thus, zebrafish Prss59.1 possesses the closed character of trypsin, as expected from the DNA sequence.Clock genes express circadian rhythms in most organs. These rhythms are organized throughout the whole body, regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the brain. Disturbance of these clock gene expression rhythms is a risk factor for diseases such as obesity. In the present study, to explore the role of clock genes in developing diabetes, we examined the effect of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced high glucose on Period1 (Per1) gene expression rhythm in the liver and the olfactory bub (OB) in the brain. HCys(Trt)OH We found a drastic increase of Per1 expression in both tissues after STZ injection while blood glucose content was low. After a rapid expression peak, Per1 expression showed no rhythm. Associated with an increase of glucose content, behavior became arrhythmic. Finally, we succeeded in detecting an increase of Per1 expression in mice hair follicles on day 1 after STZ administration, before the onset of symptoms. These results show that elevated Per1 expression by STZ plays an important role in the aggravation of diabetes.Cancer immunotherapy, especially treatment with monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that block programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) signaling, has attracted attention as a new therapeutic option for cancer. However, only a limited number of patients have responded to this treatment approach. In this study, we searched for compounds that enhance the efficacy of anti-PD-1 mAb using mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR), which is a mixed culture system of the two key cells (dendritic and T cells) involved in tumor immunity. We found that amlexanox enhanced production of interferon (IFN)-γ, an indicator of T cell activation, by anti-PD-1 mAb. Amlexanox also induced PD-L1 expression in dendritic cells in MLR, whereas it did not stimulate interleukin-2 production by Jurkat T cells. These results suggest that amlexanox acts on dendritic cells, not T cells, in MLR. Furthermore, it enhanced the antitumor effect of the anti-PD-1 mAb in vivo in a mouse tumor-bearing model. The combination of amlexanox and anti-PD-1 mAb increased the expression of Ifng encoding IFN-γ, IFN-γ-related genes, Cd274 encoding PD-L1, and cytotoxic T cell-related genes in tumors.