TGF-β induces GBM mesenchymal transition through upregulation of CLDN4 and nuclear translocation to activate TNF-α/NF-κB signal pathway

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary malignant brain tumor. The unregulated expression of Claudin-4 (CLDN4) plays an important role in tumor progression. However, the biological role of CLDN4 in GBM is still unknown. This study aimed to determine whether CLDN4 mediates glioma malignant progression, if so, it would further explore the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis. Our results revealed that CLDN4 was significantly upregulated in glioma specimens and cells. The inhibition of CLND4 expression could inhibit mesenchymal transformation, cell invasion, cell migration and tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, combined with in vitro analysis, we found that CLDN4 can modulate tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) signal pathway. Meanwhile, we also validated that the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signal pathway can upregulate the expression of CLDN4, and promote the invasion ability of GBM cells. Conversely, TGF-β signal pathway inhibitor ITD-1 can downregulate the expression of CLDN4, and inhibit the invasion ability of GBM cells. Furthermore, we found that TGF-β can promote the nuclear translocation of CLDN4. In summary, our findings indicated that the TGF-β/CLDN4/TNF-α/NF-κB signal axis plays a key role in the biological progression of glioma. Disrupting the function of this signal axis may represent a new treatment strategy for patients with GBM.Subject terms: CNS cancer, Epithelial-mesenchymal transition     

PIAS1-mediated SUMOylation of influenza A virus PB2 restricts viral replication and virulence

Host defense systems employ posttranslational modifications to protect against invading pathogens. Here, we found that protein inhibitor of activated STAT 1 (PIAS1) interacts with the nucleoprotein (NP), polymerase basic protein 1 (PB1), and polymerase basic protein 2 (PB2) of influenza A virus (IAV). Lentiviral-mediated stable overexpression of PIAS1 dramatically suppressed the replication of IAV, whereas siRNA knockdown or CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of PIAS1 expression significantly increased virus growth. The expression of PIAS1 was significantly induced upon IAV infection in both cell culture and mice, and PIAS1 was involved in the overall increase in cellular SUMOylation induced by IAV infection. We found that PIAS1 inhibited the activity of the viral RNP complex, whereas the C351S or W372A mutant of PIAS1, which lacks the SUMO E3 ligase activity, lost the ability to suppress the activity of the viral RNP complex. Notably, the SUMO E3 ligase activity of PIAS1 catalyzed robust SUMOylation of PB2, but had no role in PB1 SUMOylation and a minimal role in NP SUMOylation. Moreover, PIAS1-mediated SUMOylation remarkably reduced the stability of IAV PB2. When tested in vivo, we found that the downregulation of Pias1 expression in mice enhanced the growth and virulence of IAV. Together, our findings define PIAS1 as a restriction factor for the replication and pathogenesis of IAV.     

ERK-mediated Cytoplasmic Retention of USP11 Contributes to Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation by Stabilizing Cytoplasmic p21

Breast cancer ranks as the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women worldwide. Elevated cytoplasmic p21 levels are often found in breast cancer tissues and related to a poor prognosis. However, the underlying mechanisms that lead to the stabilization of cytoplasmic p21 protein, which normally has a very short half-life, remain obscure. In this study, we found that there was a strong correlation between p21 and USP11 in the cytoplasm of breast cancer tissues and cells. Furthermore, we revealed that ERK1/2 phosphorylated USP11 at the Ser905 site, which promoted the cytoplasmic localization of USP11. In the cytoplasm, USP11 colocalized and interacted with p21. As a result, USP11 catalyzed the removal of polyubiquitin chains bound to cytoplasmic p21 and resulted in its stabilization. Functionally, USP11-mediated stabilization of cytoplasmic p21 induced breast cancer cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Our findings provide the first evidence that ubiquitinated p21 in the cytoplasm can be recycled through USP11-mediated deubiquitination, and we identified the USP11-p21 axis in the cytoplasm as a potential therapeutic target for breast cancer control.     

几内亚甘蔗象Rhabdoscelus obscurus随进境原木传入扩散的风险分析

根据国际植物检疫措施标准(ISPM)规定的有害生物风险性分析程序,利用相关风险分析模型,从国内分布状况、潜在的危害性、受害寄主的经济重要性、传播和扩散的可能性及风险性管理难度5个方面对几内亚甘蔗象传入扩散风险进行定性、定量分析。结果表明其综合风险值R为2.57,属于高度危险的有害生物。据此提出了3条风险管理对策,以期使风险降低到可接受水平。     

Patient-level interventions to reduce alcohol-related harms in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-summary

BackgroundDisease and disability from alcohol use disproportionately impact people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While varied interventions have been shown to reduce alcohol use in high-income countries, their efficacy in LMICs has not been assessed. This systematic review describes current published literature on patient-level alcohol interventions in LMICs and specifically describes clinical trials evaluating interventions to reduce alcohol use in LMICs.Methods and findingsIn accordance with PRISMA, we performed a systematic review using an electronic search strategy from January 1, 1995 to December 1, 2020. Title, abstract, as well as full-text screening and extraction were performed in duplicate. A meta-summary was performed on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated alcohol-related outcomes. We searched the following electronic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, WHO Global Health Library, and PsycINFO. Articles that evaluated patient-level interventions targeting alcohol use and alcohol-related harm in LMICs were eligible for inclusion. No studies were excluded based on language.After screening 5,036 articles, 117 articles fit our inclusion criteria, 75 of which were RCTs. Of these RCTs, 93% were performed in 13 middle-income countries, while 7% were from 2 low-income countries. These RCTs evaluated brief interventions (24, defined as any intervention ranging from advice to counseling, lasting less than 1 hour per session up to 4 sessions), psychotherapy or counseling (15, defined as an interaction with a counselor longer than a brief intervention or that included a psychotherapeutic component), health promotion and education (20, defined as an intervention encouraged individuals’ agency of taking care of their health), or biologic treatments (19, defined as interventions where the biological function of alcohol use disorder (AUD) as the main nexus of intervention) with 3 mixing categories of intervention types. Due to high heterogeneity of intervention types, outcome measures, and follow-up times, we did not conduct meta-analysis to compare and contrast studies, but created a meta-summary of all 75 RCT studies. The most commonly evaluated intervention with the most consistent positive effect was a brief intervention; similarly, motivational interviewing (MI) techniques were most commonly utilized among the diverse array of interventions evaluated.ConclusionsOur review demonstrated numerous patient-level interventions that have the potential to be effective in LMICs, but further research to standardize interventions, populations, and outcome measures is necessary to accurately assess their effectiveness. Brief interventions and MI techniques were the most commonly evaluated and had the most consistent positive effect on alcohol-related outcomes.Trial registrationProtocol Registry: PROSPERO CRD42017055549

Catherine Staton and co-workers report on evidence about interventions against harmful alcohol use in low- and middle-income countries.     

大鼠胎儿期噪声暴露对成年后听觉目标探索行为的影响

环境噪声被认为是影响健康的重要因素之一,但有关胎儿期环境噪声对成年后听觉行为的影响缺少系统的研究。本研究对胎儿噪声暴露组、成年噪声暴露组和正常对照组大鼠在出生后第11周开始进行为期17d的听觉目标探索训练,观察其在水迷宫中寻找听觉目标的行为差异。以大鼠寻找平台的时间、成功率、运动轨迹为指标对其听觉目标探索行为进行比较。结果发现,噪声暴露可导致大鼠在水迷宫中的听觉目标探索行为的缺陷,在胎儿期噪声暴露比成年期噪声暴露对动物探索听觉目标的行为影响更大。该结果提示,孕期进行适当的噪声防护以保证优生优育是非常必要的。     

Carbon “quantum” dots for bioapplications

Carbon “quantum” dots or carbon dots (CDots) exploit and enhance the intrinsic photoexcited state properties and processes of small carbon nanoparticles via effective nanoparticle surface passivation by chemical functionalization with organic species. The optical properties and photoinduced redox characteristics of CDots are competitive to those of established conventional semiconductor quantum dots and also fullerenes and other carbon nanomaterials. Highlighted here are major advances in the exploration of CDots for their serving as high-performance yet nontoxic fluorescence probes for one- and multi-photon bioimaging in vitro and in vivo, and for their uniquely potent antimicrobial function to inactivate effectively and efficiently some of the toughest bacterial pathogens and viruses under visible/natural or ambient light conditions. Opportunities and challenges in the further development of the CDots platform and related technologies are discussed.     

新疆准噶尔盆地玛湖凹陷玛页1井宾夕法尼亚亚系至乌拉尔统风城组孢粉地层学研究

提要准噶尔盆地西北缘玛湖凹陷风城组主要形成于碱湖环境,含有优质生烃母岩。对玛页1井风城组岩心样品的孢粉分析建立了Protohaploxypinus perfectus–Lunatisporites tersus (PT)孢粉组合。该组合包括20属29种孢粉化石。PT组合以双气囊具肋花粉占主导,蕨类孢子含量很低为特征;孢粉母体植物类群以裸子植物门种子蕨盾籽目为主,其次为松柏纲松柏目。该组合与准噶尔盆地南缘塔什库拉组上部至乌拉泊组的Crustaesporites–Protohaploxypinus–Hamiapollenites孢粉组合可以对比,均以双气囊具肋花粉为主要特征,又同时出现重要的属种Gardenasporites bilabiatus,Triangulisaccites boleensis和Hamiapollenites saccatus。孢粉地层学和同位素年代学资料表明,玛页1井风城组PT组合的时代很可能属于石炭纪宾夕法尼亚亚纪卡西莫夫期至二叠纪乌拉尔世阿瑟尔期,玛湖凹陷区整个风城组沉积时代晚于宾夕法尼亚亚纪巴什基尔期,其上部可能包含部分乌拉尔世阿瑟尔期沉积。风城组黑色页岩中...     

Circular RNA circDVL1 inhibits clear cell renal cell carcinoma progression through the miR-412-3p/PCDH7 axis

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a primary kidney cancer with high aggressive phenotype and extremely poor prognosis. Accumulating evidence suggests that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play pivotal roles in the occurrence and development of various human cancers. However, the expression, clinical significance and regulatory role of circRNAs in ccRCC remain largely unclear. Here we report that circDVL1 to be reduced in the serums and tissues from ccRCC patients, and to negatively correlate with ccRCC malignant features. Overexpression of circDVL1 inhibits proliferation, induces G1/S arrest, triggers apoptosis, and reduces migration and invasion in different ccRCC cells in vitro. Correspondingly, circDVL1 overexpression suppresses ccRCC tumorigenicity in a mouse xenograft model. Mechanistically, circDVL1 serves as a sponge for oncogenic miR-412-3p, thereby preventing miR-412-3p-mediated repression of its target protocadherin 7 (PCDH7) in ccRCC cells. Collectively, our results demonstrate that circDVL1 exerts tumor-suppressive function during ccRCC progression through circDVL1/miR-412-3p/PCDH7 axis, and suggest that circDVL1 could be a novel diagnostic and prognositc marker and therapeutic target for ccRCC.     

Exosomes from adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells promote survival of fat grafts by regulating macrophage polarization via let-7c

The rate of fat graft survival is a critical aspect of successful surgery and has been a matter of concern for over 20 years.Owing to their anti-inflammatory ef...