Genus Cynanchum L. belongs to the family Asclepiadaceae, which comprise more than 200 species distributed worldwide. In Chinese medical practice, numerous drugs (such as tablets and powders) containing different parts of plants of this genus are used to treat snake bites, bruises, osteoblasts, rheumatoid arthritis and tumors. A search for original articles published on the cynanchum genus was performed by using several resources, including Flora of China Official Website and various scientific databases, such as PubMed, SciFinder, the Web of Science, Science Direct, and China Knowledge Resource Integrated (CNKI). Advances in the botanical, ethnomedicinal, phytochemical, and pharmacological studies of this genus are reviewed in this paper. Results showed that more than 440 compounds, including C21 steroids, steroidal saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids and terpene, have been isolated and identified from Cynanchum plants up to now. In vivo and in vitro studies have shown that plants possess an array of biological activities, including anti-tumor, neuroprotective and anti-fungal effects. Popular traditional prescription of Cynanchum sp. was also summed up in this paper. However, many Cynanchum species have received little or no attention. Moreover, few reports on the clinical use and toxic effects of Cynanchum sp. are available. Further attention should be focused on the study of these species to gather information on their respective toxicology data and relevant quality-control measures and clinical value of the crude extracts, active compounds, and bioactive metabolites from this genus. Further research on Cynanchum sp. should be conducted, and bioactivity-guided isolation strategies should be emphasized. In addition, systematic studies of the chemical composition of plants should be enhanced.

Among the most common malignancies in humans, liver cancer ranks third in terms of mortality in the world. Seeking new anticancer drugs or adjuvant chemotherapy drugs from natural products has attracted the attention of many researchers. Lycium ruthenicum Murray (LR), a health food and traditional Chinese medicine, exerts extensive pharmacological properties, of which anthocyanins are one of the key active components. In this research, we explored the antitumor activity and autophagy regulation mechanism of anthocyanins from Lycium ruthenicum Murray (ALR) in HepG2 cells. Our results found that ALR profoundly reduced the cell viability, clone formation, migration, and invasion and promoted apoptosis and G2/M phase arrest of HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent pattern. Further studies confirmed that ALR treatment significantly increased the number of autophagic vacuoles and autophagosomes, upregulated the expression of Beclin-1, p62, LC3-II/LC3-I, and p-AMPK, and concomitantly downregulated the expression of p-mTOR. When autophagy was inhibited by 3-methyladenine (3-MA), ALR-induced proliferation inhibition, invasion, and migration capabilities, as well as apoptosis rate and G2/M phase arrest, were all reversed, and the activities of key proteins in the AMPK/mTOR pathway were all constrained. In summary, the results presented here indicate that ALR may be effective as a natural antitumor agent by activating AMPK and inhibiting the mTOR autophagy pathway in HepG2 cells.

Mycoplasma bovis is a global concern for the cattle industry owing to its high rates of infection and resulting morbidity, but its pathogenesis remains poorly understood. Metabolic pathways and characteristics of M. bovis clinical strain were elucidated by comparing the differential expression of metabolites between M. bovis clinical strain NX114 and M. bovis international reference strain PG45. Metabolites of M. bovis in the logarithmic stage were analyzed based on the non-targeted metabolomic technology of ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS). We found 596 metabolites with variable expression, of which, 190 had substantial differences. Differential metabolite analysis of M. bovis NX114 showed organic acids and their derivatives, nucleosides, and nucleotide analogs as important components. We found O-Phospho-L-serine (SEP) as a potential signature metabolite and indicator of pathogenicity. The difference in nucleic acid metabolites reflects the difference in growth phenotypes between both strains of M. bovis. According to KEGG enrichment analysis, the ABC transporter synthesis route had the most differential metabolites of the first 15 differential enrichment pathways. This study reflects the species-specific differences between two strains of M. bovis and further enriches our understanding of its metabolism, paving the way for further research into its pathogenesis.

Mycoplasma bovis is a global problem for the cattle industry due to its high infection rates and associated morbidity, although its pathophysiology is poorly understood. In this study, the M. bovis transcriptome and proteome were analyzed to further investigate the biology of clinical isolates of M. bovis. A differential analysis of M. bovis, a clinical isolate (NX114), and an international type strain (PG45) at the logarithmic stage of growth, was carried out using prokaryotic transcriptome and 4D-label-free quantitative non-labeled proteomics. Transcriptomics and proteomics identified 193 DEGs and 158 DEPs, respectively, with significant differences in 49 proteins/34 transcriptomic CDS post-translational protein sequences (15 jointly up-regulated and 21 jointly down-regulated). GO comments indicate membrane, cytoplasmic and ribosome proteins were important components of the total proteins of M. bovis NX114 clinical isolate. KEGG enrichment revealed that M. bovis NX114 is mainly associated with energy metabolism, the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, and the ABC transporters system. In addition, we annotated a novel adhesion protein that may be closely related to M. bovis infection. Triosephosphate isomerase (TpiA) and Pyruvate kinase (Pyk) genes may be the key enzymes that regulate the growth and maintenance of M. bovis and are involved in the pathogenic process as virulence factors. The results of the study revealed the biology of different isolates of M. bovis and may provide research ideas for the pathogenic mechanism of M. bovis.

Introduction: Beef cattle farming, a key industry in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, has intensified, raising public health concerns due to bioaerosol emissions. However, the distribution characteristics of these bioaerosols remain poorly understood.Methods: We characterized bacterial communities in bioaerosols from beef cattle pens across five Ningxia regions—Guyuan (G), Yinchuan (Y), Shizuishan (S), Zhongwei (Z), and Wuzhong (W)—and compared two rearing scales: smallholder farms (S) and large-scale farms (L). Using filter membrane sampling and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we analyzed bacterial abundance and diversity.Results and Discussion: Regional differences significantly influenced bacterial abundance (p < 0.05), whereas rearing scales had minimal impact. We identified 45,486 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), of which 423 were shared across all samples, constituting a core microbiome that accounted for 46% of total sequences. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed greater microbial interaction complexity in regionally distinct samples. Our results elucidate the distribution of bioaerosol-borne microbial communities in cattle farms, highlighting potential transmission pathways of airborne microorganisms and informing strategies to mitigate exposure risks for livestock and workers.

Mycoplasma bovis is one of the most important pathogens in animal husbandry, and the current infection and morbidity rates are increasing year by year, causing great losses to the farming industry and seriously affecting animal welfare. In this study, we took tracheal tissues from calves infected with M. bovis to make pathological tissue sections for observation, and selected tracheal tissues for transcriptome sequencing to screen differentially expressed genes based on the threshold |log2FoldChange| > 1 and Padjust < 0.05 and functional enrichment, to explore in depth the potential mechanisms of bovine tracheal damage caused by bovine tracheitis. Experiments were conducted to observe the changes in tracheal tissues after M. bovis infection through pathological sections of the trachea of M. bovis-infected calves. From the transcriptome sequencing results, we mined the main differential genes and important metabolic pathways of M. bovis causing damage to the trachea of calves. It was found that the cricoid cartilage tissue of the trachea was congested and hemorrhagic after M. bovis infection in calves, and the pathological sections showed localized necrosis of epithelial cells, disorganization, high inflammatory cell infiltration in the interepithelial and lamina propria, and some epithelial cell detachment. Transcriptome sequencing identified 4199 DEGs, including 1378 up-regulated genes and 2821 down-regulated genes. KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that the differential genes were enriched to 59 significantly differing signaling pathways, and a number of important metabolic pathways related to tracheitis induced by M. bovis-infected calves were unearthed. The major ones included IL-17, the Toll-like receptor, JAK/STAT, the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, etc. In this study, we found that M. bovis infection of calves caused inflammatory damage to the trachea, and transcriptome sequencing results also showed significant differences in the expression of key genes such as IL-6 inflammatory factor, CASP8, and APOA1.