Identification of up-regulated genes in human uterine leiomyoma by suppression subtractive hybridization

In searching for differentially expressed genes in human uterine leiomyomas (ULs), suppression sub-tractive hybridization was used to construct an UL up-regulated library, which turned out to represent 88genes. After two rounds of screening by reverse Northern analysis, twenty genes were proved to be up-regulated, including seventeen known genes and three genes with unknown function. All these genes werefirstly associated with UL. Three genes with notable difference were selected for Northern confirmationOur results proved the authenticity of the twenty genes. One gene named Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) showedup-regulation in 4/6 of the patients and investigation of tissue distribution indicated that it had obviousexpression in prostate, testis, liver, heart and skeletal muscle.     

Phosphorylation of RIAM by src promotes integrin activation by unmasking the PH domain of RIAM

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Diverse phylogeny and morphology of magnetite biomineralized by magnetotactic cocci

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are diverse prokaryotes that produce magnetic nanocrystals within intracellular membranes (magnetosomes). Here, we present a large-scale analysis of diversity and magnetosome biomineralization in modern magnetotactic cocci, which are the most abundant MTB morphotypes in nature. Nineteen novel magnetotactic cocci species are identified phylogenetically and structurally at the single-cell level. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrates that the cocci cluster into an independent branch from other Alphaproteobacteria MTB, that is, within the Etaproteobacteria class in the Proteobacteria phylum. Statistical analysis reveals species-specific biomineralization of magnetosomal magnetite morphologies. This further confirms that magnetosome biomineralization is controlled strictly by the MTB cell and differs among species or strains. The post-mortem remains of MTB are often preserved as magnetofossils within sediments or sedimentary rocks, yet paleobiological and geological interpretation of their fossil record remains challenging. Our results indicate that magnetofossil morphology could be a promising proxy for retrieving paleobiological information about ancient MTB.     

长非编码RNA-UCA1影响红细胞增殖

造血是一个高度协调、精密调控的过程。在正常造血分化过程中, lncRNA不仅调控造血干/祖细胞自我更新、分化、凋亡等过程,还决定造血谱系分化命运。关于lncRNA在人的不同造血谱系分化中的功能以及作用机制的研究已比较深入,但其在红系分化过程中的功能和机制的研究很少,仍处于建立差异基因表达谱的阶段。现有的研究表明, lncRNA-UCA 1(urothelial cancer associated 1)作为原癌基因与多种癌症的发生、发展、转移、产生化疗耐药性等密切相关。该研究发现,在体外诱导脐带血来源的CD34+干/祖细胞向红细胞分化的过程中,采用慢病毒感染的方法敲降UCA 1的表达抑制了红细胞的增殖及活力,对RNA-seq数据进一步分析发现,降低UCA 1的表达会影响与细胞周期相关基因的表达。     

Development of high‐resolution DNA barcodes for Dioscorea species discrimination and phylogenetic analysis

The genus Dioscorea is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, and is economically important in terms of food supply and pharmaceutical applications. However, DNA barcodes are relatively unsuccessful in discriminating between Dioscorea species, with the highest discrimination rate (23.26%) derived from matK sequences. In this study, we compared genic and intergenic regions of three Dioscorea chloroplast genomes and found that the density of SNPs and indels in intergenic sites was about twice and seven times higher than that of SNPs and indels in the genic regions, respectively. A total of 52 primer pairs covering highly variable regions were designed and seven pairs of primers had 80%–100% PCR success rate. PCR amplicons of 73 Dioscorea individuals and assembled sequences of 47 Dioscorea SRAs were used for estimating intraspecific and interspecific divergence for the seven loci: The rpoB‐trnC locus had the highest interspecific divergence. Automatic barcoding gap discovery (ABGD), Poisson tree processes (PTP), and generalized mixed Yule coalescence (GMYC) analysis were applied for species delimitation based on the seven loci and successfully identified the majority of species, except for species in the Enantiophyllum section. Phylogenetic analysis of 51 Dioscorea individuals (28 species) showed that most individuals belonging to the same species tended to cluster in the same group. Our results suggest that the variable loci derived from comparative analysis of plastid genome sequences could be good DNA barcode candidates for taxonomic analysis and species delimitation.     

患子宫内膜炎母猪产道致病菌谱分析及卟啉单胞菌的分离鉴定

【背景】子宫内膜炎是规模化养殖场母猪常患的生殖道疾病之一,对养殖业造成的经济损失较大,细菌感染是常见的病因之一,但具体病原及致病机制尚未完全明确。【目的】探究产道菌群对母猪子宫内膜炎的影响。【方法】采用第三代细菌16S rRNA基因全长高通量测序技术进行对比,研究健康和患有子宫内膜炎母猪产道菌群差异,并依据菌群分析结果对子宫内膜炎母猪产道分泌物进行细菌分离。建立荧光定量PCR计数方法测定母猪产道样品中的卟啉单胞菌数。【结果】健康和患子宫内膜炎母猪产道菌群的丰富度和多样性差异显著;与健康组母猪相比,患子宫内膜炎母猪产道菌群变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、拟杆菌门相对丰度显著增加(P<0.05)。在属分类水平上,健康母猪产道的主要优势菌属为金黄杆菌属、芽孢杆菌属、毛螺菌属等,这些优势属在患子宫内膜炎母猪产道丰度降低,患子宫内膜炎母猪产道丰度最高的菌属为埃希氏菌属(Escherichia)、Rodentibacter和卟啉单胞菌属(Porphyromonas)。在种水平上,Porphyromonas somerae是患子宫内膜炎母猪产道的主要条件性致病菌。依据菌群分析结果,本研究从子宫内膜炎母猪产道分泌物中分离到一株卟啉单胞菌,经鉴定该菌16S rRNA基因与Porphyromonas somerae DSM 23386 strain JCM 13867(NR_113090.1)相似性达99.04%。荧光定量PCR计数方法测定,子宫内膜炎母猪产道卟啉单胞菌数量显著高于健康母猪(P<0.05),推测卟啉单胞菌与该批次母猪子宫内膜炎病因有关。【结论】本研究为子宫内膜炎母猪的病因和发病机制奠定基础,并为其治疗提供理论依据。     

microRNA-140-5p from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells–released exosomes suppresses preeclampsia development

Functional & Integrative Genomics - This work unraveled the action of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells–released exosomes (huc-MSCs-EXO) transfer of miR-140-5p in preeclampsia...     

A Self-microemulsifying Drug Delivery System (SMEDDS) for a Novel Medicative Compound Against Depression: a Preparation and Bioavailability Study in Rats

AJS is the code name of an untitled novel medicative compound synthesized by the Tasly Holding Group Company (Tianjin, China) based on the structure of cinnamamide, which is one of the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) class II drugs. The drug has better antidepressant effect, achieved by acting on the 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor. However, the therapeutic effects of the drug are compromised due to its poor water solubility and lower bioavailability. Herein, a self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) was developed to improve its solubility and oral bioavailability. AJS-SMEDDS formulation was optimized in terms of drug solubility in the excipients, droplet size, stability, and drug precipitation using a pseudo-ternary diagram. The pharmacokinetic study was performed in rats, and the drug concentration in plasma samples was assayed using the high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method. The optimized formulation for SMEDDS has a composition of castor oil 24.5%, Labrasol 28.6%, Cremphor EL 40.8%, and Transcutol HP 2.7% (co-surfactant). No drug precipitation or phase separation was observed from the optimized formulation after 3 months of storing at 25°C. The droplet size of microemulsion formed by the optimized formulation was 26.08 ± 1.68 nm, and the zeta potential was −2.76 mV. The oral bioavailability of AJS-SMEDDS was increased by 3.4- and 35.9-fold, respectively, compared with the solid dispersion and cyclodextrin inclusion; meanwhile, the C_max of AJS-SMEDDS was about 2- and 40-fold as great as the two controls, respectively. In summary, the present SMEDDS enhanced oral bioavailability of AJS and was a promising strategy to orally deliver the drug.KEY WORDS: bioavailability, HPLC-MS/MS, self-microemulsifying drug delivery system, solubilization, stability     

Identification of Novel Small Molecule Inhibitors of Oncogenic RET Kinase

Oncogenic mutation of the RET receptor tyrosine kinase is observed in several human malignancies. Here, we describe three novel type II RET tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), ALW-II-41-27, XMD15-44 and HG-6-63-01, that inhibit the cellular activity of oncogenic RET mutants at two digit nanomolar concentration. These three compounds shared a 3-trifluoromethyl-4-methylpiperazinephenyl pharmacophore that stabilizes the ‘DFG-out’ inactive conformation of RET activation loop. They blocked RET-mediated signaling and proliferation with an IC50 in the nM range in fibroblasts transformed by the RET/C634R and RET/M918T oncogenes. They also inhibited autophosphorylation of several additional oncogenic RET-derived point mutants and chimeric oncogenes. At a concentration of 10 nM, ALW-II-41-27, XMD15-44 and HG-6-63-01 inhibited RET kinase and signaling in human thyroid cancer cell lines carrying oncogenic RET alleles; they also inhibited proliferation of cancer, but not non-tumoral Nthy-ori-3-1, thyroid cells, with an IC50 in the nM range. The three compounds were capable of inhibiting the ‘gatekeeper’ V804M mutant which confers substantial resistance to established RET inhibitors. In conclusion, we have identified a type II TKI scaffold, shared by ALW-II-41-27, XMD15-44 and HG-6-63-01, that may be used as novel lead for the development of novel agents for the treatment of cancers harboring oncogenic activation of RET.