The aim of the present study was to evaluate differences in the expression of complement system genes, and serum levels of CH50, C3 and C4 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with myocardial infarction (AMI), stable angina pectoris (SA) and controls. A total of 100 patients with AMI, 100 with SA and 100 clinical controls were recruited in the present study. In each group, 20 randomly selected individuals were examined using whole human genome microarray analysis to detect the expression of genes of the complement system. The serum levels of CH50, C3 and C4 were measured in all 300 subjects. In the patients with AMI, the expression levels of genes encoding C1qα, C1qβ, C1qγ, C1r, Factor P, C5a (complement component), CR1, integrin αM, integrin αX, integrin β2, C5aR, CRIg (complement receptors) and CD46, CD55 and CD59 (complement regulators) were significantly higher, compared with the respective genes in the SA patients and controls (P<0.05), whereas the mRNA levels of C1s, C7, C8β and C9 were the lowest in this group (P<0.05). No statistically significant differences were found in the gene expression levels of complement components or regulators between the SA and control groups. The serum levels of CH50, C3 and C4 were significantly increased in the AMI and SA groups, compared with the controls. In the AMI and SA groups, the complement system was activated. However, the differential mRNA expression of complement components, receptors and regulators in the AMI group suggested the dysfunction of the C5b-9 complex. The depression of complement system immunity in the patients with AMI may be associated with the pathogenesis of AMI.

Background: Food deprivation is a severe stress across multiple fields and it might be a challenge to immune system.Methods: In the present study, adult male Sinibrama taeniatus were deprived of feed for 7 to 28 days. We explored the effects of starvation on immunity in S. taeniatus through hematological analysis, antioxidant capacity analysis, detection of the content or activity of immune factors in plasma, and transcriptomic analysis.Results: The results indicated that biometric indexes significantly decreased in the fish after starvation, the proportion of thrombocyte, neutrophil and monocyte increased and, conversely, the proportion of lymphocyte decreased. The antioxidant indexes (SOD and CAT) and innate immune parameters (LZM, C3) were upregulated in fish suffering from a short period of starvation, while adaptive immune parameter (IgM) conversely declined. The transcriptome analysis revealed the changes of various metabolic regulatory pathways involved in fatty acids and amino acids, as well as the immune responses and antioxidant capacity.Conclusions: Taken together, this research in the present study suggested an induced innate immunity while a partly suppressed adaptive immunity under a short period starvation.

Distant hybridization is a well-established technique in genetic breeding for cultivation of superior traits. Previous studies have shown that, hybrids derived from the cross between Schizothorax wangchiachii (♀) and Percocypris pingi (♂) are significantly different from their parents in terms of growth performance, feeding behavior and disease resistance. Both cellular and plasma components of blood are integral to immune system, and erythrocytes serve as the sole cells for transporting oxygen which makes energy available for the growth, development, immune responses and all other physiological activities. In order to understand ecological adaptive strategies and also the underlying physiological and biochemical mechanisms of fish with different characteristics, the present study used offsprings and hybrids produced by artificial reproduction of the same batch of domesticated S. wangchiachii, P. pingi broodstock as the experimental fish, and analyses of biochemical indexes, differential leucocytes counts and histological examination of liver sections were performed. Results showed that the proportions of lymphocytes and thrombocytes in P. pingi were significantly higher than those in S. wangchiachii (P<0.05), while the proportions of granulocytes and monocytes in S. wangchiachii were significantly higher than those in P. pingi (P<0.05). In contrast, all blood cell values of hybrids fell between those of its parent species, with the exception of the percentage of thrombocytes, which was the highest of the three. The erythrocyte area, perimeter and short diameter of hybrid fish were significantly higher than those of S. wangchiachii and P. pingi (P<0.0001), while P. pingi exhibited the smallest erythrocyte values. Hepatocyte area, perimeter and short diameter were also significantly higher in hybrids than in S. wangchiachii and P. pingi, and P. pingi had the smallest hepatocyte area, perimeter, long diameter and short diameter. However, size and perimeter of hepatic nucleus of hybrids were the smallest. The number of Kupffer cells per unit area of liver was significantly greater in S. wangchiachii than in hybrids and Percocypris pingi (P<0.05). In terms of biochemical markers, plasma C-reactive protein level was nearly undetectable in S. wangchiachii, but it could reach 10 mg/L in both P. pingi and hybrids. Besides, plasma total bile acids was significantly higher in S. wangchiachii than in P. pingi (P<0.01), and hybrids fell in intermediate level. These results suggest that there may be differences in the immune functions among S. wangchiachii, P. pingi, and their hybrids, as well as in their liver metabolism and protein synthesis capabilities. These findings here might provide some crucial clues in understanding the biodiversity and fish adaptation, further promote the development of wild fish cultivation.

(1) Background: Affected by multiple factors, the decline in fish species diversity in some aquatic ecosystems has become increasingly pronounced. At a broad spatial scale, economic development has been widely recognized as one of the key factors influencing the fish distribution pattern. However, at a small scale, within a single river basin, the effects of economic development on the freshwater fish distribution and communities remain largely uninvestigated. (2) Methods: environmental DNA (eDNA) samples were collected from 26 sampling sites of the Lixian River in both the summer (June) and winter (November). Economic data from the Lixian River basin were collected, and analyses, including multivariate regression tree analysis and generalized linear model fitting, were performed using R 4.3.2. (3) Results: A total of 65 fish species was characterized, and the Chao1 diversity indices in the upstream (13.42) and downstream (13.00) were significantly higher than those in the middle reaches (8.55, p < 0.01) of this river. The species communities exhibited an obvious gradient changing pattern from the upstream to the downstream reaches, with parameters of water quality, including transparency, pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature, and climatic factors functioning as the key variables. Furthermore, the generalized linear model analysis revealed significant positive correlations between agricultural population (p = 0.00106), total grain production (p = 0.00476), total population (p = 0.00192) and the Chao1 index. (4) Conclusions: Climatic factors are the key factors affecting the fish diversity in the Lixian River. In less economically developed areas, the development of local economic activities may enhance fish diversity.

(1) Background: Affected by multiple factors, the decline of fish species diversity in some aquatic ecosystems has become increasingly pronounced. At a broad spatial scale, economic development has been widely recognized as one of the key factors influencing the fish distribution pattern. However, at a small scale, within a single river basin, effects of economic development on the freshwater fish distribution and communities remain largely uninvestigated. (2) Methods: environmental DNA (eDNA) samples were collected from 26 sampling sites of the Lixian River in both the summer (June) and winter (November). Economic data from the Lixian River basin were collected, and analyses including multivariate regression tree analysis and generalized linear model fitting were performed using R software. (3) Results: A total of 65 fish species was characterized, and the Chao 1 diversity indices in the upstream (13.42) and downstream (13.00) were significantly higher than that in the middle reaches (8.55, P < 0.01) of this river. The species communities exhibited a obvious gradient changing pattern from the up- to the downstream, with parameters of water quality including transparency, pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature and climatic factors functioning as the key variables. Furthermore, the analysis of generalized linear model revealed significant positive correlations between agricultural population (P =0.00106), total grain production (P=0.00476), total population (P =0.00192) and Chao 1 index. (4) Conclusion: Climatic factors are the key factors affecting the fish diversity in the Lixian River. In less economically developed areas, the development of local economic activities may enhance fish diversity.