Chunlan Mu,Xiaoyong Li,Jiamei Yang,Geng G. Tian,Hepeng Bai,Wenhui Lin,Linhui Wang,Ji Wu
Ovarian dysfunction is a major factor leading to female infertility. Understanding how to improve or reshape ovarian function has become an important entry point for preventing and treating female infertility caused by ovarian dysfunction. Here, plant-derived compounds are screened for in vitro activity upon ovarian organoids derived from feeder-free female germline stem cells. Tetrahydroxy stilbene glucoside (TSG) is found to promote the development of ovarian organoids. Single nucleus transcriptome sequencing and spatial transcriptome sequencing are used to establish a comprehensive spatiotemporal map to elucidate the role of TSG in ovarian organoid development, encompassing cell types and subtypes, transcription factors, pseudo-time sequence, and cell communication dynamics. This analysis indicates that TSG promotes ovarian organoid development through the vascular endothelial growth factor A-Eph receptor B2 ligand-receptor pair between granulosa cells and oocytes. This study has enhanced the understanding of the mechanisms of ovarian organoid development, establishes a technical platform for screening compounds for treating infertility and related diseases, and lays a foundation for clinically applying plant-derived compounds.
Yang Xiu,Li Xu,Liu Le,Chen Yuan-Hao,You Yue,Gao Yin,Liu Yue-Ying,Yang Li,Tong Kun,Chen Di-Shi,Hao Jing-Ru,Sun Nan,Zhao Zi-Ming,Gao Can
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by aberrant accumulation of extracellular β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides in the brain. Soluble Aβ oligomers are thought to be the most neurotoxic species and are correlated with cognitive dysfunction in early AD. However, there is still no effective treatment so far. We determined that Pep63, a small peptide, had a neuroprotective effect on synaptic plasticity and memory in our previous study. Here, we developed novel and multifunctional liposomes targeting both Aβ oligomers and fibrils based on a liposome delivery system. Transferrin-Pep63-liposomes (Tf-Pep63-Lip), possessing the ability for blood-brain barrier targeting, were also incorporated with phosphatidic acid (PA) and loaded with neuroprotective Pep63. We discovered that administration of Tf-Pep63-Lip could significantly reduce the Aβ burden in the hippocampus, and improve cognitive deficits in 6-month-old APP/PS1 mice in the Morris-Water maze task and fear-conditioning test with the combined effects of PA and Pep63. Tf-Pep63-Lip could capture Aβ oligomers or fibrils and then facilitated microglial chemotaxis nearby for clearance. Simultaneously, Tf-Pep63-Lip hindered Aβ1-42 aggregation and disaggregated Aβ1-42 assembly due to multivalent PA-Aβ. Pep63 effectively inhibited the binding between EphB2 and Aβ oligomers after release from liposomes and rescued NMDA receptors trafficking, the basis of synaptic plasticity. No side effects were observed in either APP/PS1 or wild-type mice, indicating that Tf-Pep63-Lip might be safe under the dosing regimen used in our experiment. Taken together, our results suggested that Tf-Pep63-Lip may serve as a safe and efficient agent for AD combination therapy.