Peng KeMei

The Physiological Role of Boron on Health

Boron is an essential mineral that plays an important role in several biological processes. Boron is required for growth of plants, animals, and humans. There are increasing evidences of this nutrient showing a variety of pleiotropic effects, ranging from anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects to the modulation of different body systems. In the past few years, the trials showed disease-related polymorphisms of boron in different species, which has drawn attention of scientists to the significance of boron to health. Low boron profile has been related with poor immune function, increased risk of mortality, osteoporosis, and cognitive deterioration. High boron status revealed injury to cell and toxicity in different animals and humans. Some studies have shown some benefits of higher boron status, but findings have been generally mixed, which perhaps accentuates the fact that dietary intake will benefit only if supplemental amount is appropriate. The health benefits of boron are numerous in animals and humans; for instance, it affects the growth at safe intake. Central nervous system shows improvement and immune organs exhibit enhanced immunity with boron supplementation. Hepatic metabolism also shows positive changes in response to dietary boron intake. Furthermore, animals and human fed diets supplemented with boron reveal improved bone density and other benefits including embryonic development, wound healing, and cancer therapy. It has also been reported that boron affects the metabolism of several enzymes and minerals. In the background of these health benefits, low or high boron status is giving cause for concern. Additionally, researches are needed to further elucidate the mechanisms of boron effects, and determine the requirements in different species.

Expression of somatostatin and cDNA cloning in the thymus of the African ostrich.

The thymus in addition to being a central lymphoid organ is also an endocrine organ which produces various neuropeptides that influence the function of this gland. Somatostatin is a neuropeptide that was isolated initially in the hypothalamus and which inhibits the release of growth hormone. The distribution of somatostatin-producing cells and the sequence of somatostatin have been determined in many species. In the present study, we investigated the expression of somatostatin in the thymus of the African ostrich and its sequence by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. The results showed that somatostatin mRNA was expressed in the thymus and somatostatin immunoreative cells were distributed in both the cortical and medullary regions of the thymus. Results of cDNA cloning revealed that the nucleotide sequence and the encoded protein of African ostrich somatostatin were 348 bases and 116 amino acids in length and that it is highly conserved to that of other reported species. These findings indicated that the somatostatin expressed in the thymus of ostrich might play an important role in the function of the gland. In addition, this research has provided novel molecular data allowing further study of somatostatin in the ostrich.