Vaspin protects mouse mesenchymal stem cells from oxidative stress-induced apoptosis through the MAPK/p38 pathway

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - The aim of the work was to study the influence of vaspin on oxidative stress-induced apoptosis of mouse mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). MSCs originated from...     

Identifying UBA2 as a proliferation and cell cycle regulator in lung cancer A549 cells

Ubiquitin activating enzyme 2 (UBA2) is a basic component of E1-activating enzyme in the SUMOylation system. Expression and function of UBA2 in human cancers are largely unknown. In this study we investigate UBA2 expression the function in human non–small-cell lung cancer. Immunochemistry study showed that UBA2 was overexpressed in cancer tissues (53.3%, 40 of 75) compared with normal lung tissues (14.3%, 4 of 28) (P < 0.05). Immunostaining of UBA2 was mainly detected in nucleus. Overexpression of UBA2 in cancer tissues was significantly associated with poor differentiation, large tumor size ( > 5.0 cm), higher T stages (T3 + 4), lymph node metastasis and advanced TNM stages (III + IV). In vitro study showed that UBA2 was expressed in A549, 95D, H1975, and H1299 cells. Knockdown of UBA2 in A549 cells significantly inhibited cancer cell proliferation and upregulated cancer cell apoptosis (P < 0.05). Cell cycle analysis showed that knockdown of UBA2 in A549 cell significantly increased the G1 and G2/M phase cells and reduced the S phase cells (P < 0.05). Gene expression profile after knockdown of UBA2 in A549 cells showed that the most related function was cell cycle, cell death and survival, and cellular growth and proliferation. Western blot analysis study showed that knockdown of UBA2 significantly inhibited expression of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1, mini-chromosome maintenance 7 (MCM7), MCM2, MCM3 and MCM7. These results indicated that UBA2 was a critical cell cycle and proliferation regulator and may be a novel cancer marker in this malignant tumor.     

Saussurea balangshanensis sp. nov. (Asteraceae), from the Hengduan Mountains region,SW China

Saussurea balangshanensis, based on populations from Balang Mountain in the Hengduan Mountains region, SW China, is described and illustrated as a new species of Asteraceae. It can be distinguished from other species in Saussurea by its concolorous leaves, swollen and hollow upper stems, articulate hairs and stipitate glandular hairs, laciniate margins of uppermost stem leaves, numerous and sessile capitula, and narrow involucre. Based on nucleotide sequence data from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), phylogenetic analyses also support the recognition of these populations as representing a new species. The new species is known only from a single location in Balang Mountain, at elevations of 4500–4700 m. Its habitat can be easily disturbed or destroyed by a tourist arterial highway and the over grazing. We propose that the species should be listed as Critically Endangered based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List Categories and Criteria B2a.     

Identification of novel interactors and potential phosphorylation substrates of GsSnRK1 from wild soybean (Glycine soja)

The plant sucrose nonfermenting kinase 1 (SnRK1) kinases play the central roles in the processes of energy balance, hormone perception, stress resistance, metabolism, growth, and development. However, the functions of these kinases are still elusive. In this study, we used GsSnRK1 of wild soybean as bait to perform library‐scale screens by the means of yeast two‐hybrid to identify its interacting proteins. The putative interactions were verified by yeast retransformation and β‐galactosidase assays, and the selected interactions were further confirmed in planta by bimolecular fluorescence complementation and biochemical Co‐IP assays. Protein phosphorylation analyses were carried out by phos‐tag assay and anti‐phospho‐(Ser/Thr) substrate antibodies. Finally, we obtained 24 GsSnRK1 interactors and several putative substrates that can be categorized into SnRK1 regulatory β subunit, protein modification, biotic and abiotic stress‐related, hormone perception and signalling, gene expression regulation, water and nitrogen transport, metabolism, and unknown proteins. Intriguingly, we first discovered that GsSnRK1 interacted with and phosphorylated the components of soybean nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The interactions and potential functions of GsSnRK1 and its associated proteins were extensively discussed and analysed. This work provides plausible clues to elucidate the novel functions of SnRK1 in response to variable environmental, metabolic, and physiological requirements.     

Long non‐coding RNA SNHG16 regulates human aortic smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration via sponging miR‐205 and modulating Smad2

The present study investigated the role of long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA) small nucleolar RNA host gene 16 (SNHG16) in the human aortic smooth muscle cell (HASMC) proliferation and migration and explored the potential link between SNHG16 and atherosclerosis. Our results showed that platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF)‐bb treatment promoted cell proliferation and migration with concurrent up‐regulation of SNHG16 in HASMCs. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 16 overexpression promoted HASMC proliferation and migration, while SNHG16 knockdown suppressed cell proliferation and migration in PDGF‐bb‐stimulated HASMCs. The bioinformatic analyses showed that SNHG16 possessed the complementary binding sequence with miR‐205, where the interaction was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay and RNA pull‐down assay in HASMCs, and SNHG16 inversely regulated miR‐205 expression. MiR‐205 overexpression attenuated the enhanced effects of PDGF‐bb treatment on HASMC proliferation and migration. Moreover, Smad2 was targeted and inversely regulated by miR‐205, while being positively regulated by SNHG16 in HASMCs. Smad2 knockdown attenuated PDGF‐bb‐mediated actions on HASMC proliferation and migration. Both miR‐205 overexpression and Smad2 knockdown partially reversed the effects of SNHG16 overexpression on HASMC proliferation and migration. Moreover, SNHG16 and Smad2 mRNA were up‐regulated, while miR‐205 was down‐regulated in the plasma from patients with atherosclerosis. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 16 expression was inversely correlated with miR‐205 expression and positively correlated with Smad2 expression in the plasma from atherosclerotic patients. In conclusion, our data showed the up‐regulation of SNHG16 in pathogenic‐stimulated HASMCs and clinical samples from atherosclerotic patients. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 16 regulated HASMC proliferation and migration possibly via regulating Smad2 expression by acting as a competing endogenous RNA for miR‐205.     

BZW2 gene knockdown induces cell growth inhibition,G1 arrest and apoptosis in muscle‐invasive bladder cancers: A microarray pathway analysis

Bladder cancer is among the most common cancers all over the world. The function of basic leucine zipper and W2 domains 2 (BZW2) in tumour progression has been reported. However, the biological function of BZW2 in muscle‐invasive bladder cancers (MIBCs) remains to be determined. The aim of the present study was to reveal the expression and roles of BZW2 in human MIBCs and to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying these functions. Clinically, BZW2 expression was higher in MIBC tissues than the adjacent non‐tumour tissues. Knocking down BZW2 using shRNA inhibited cell proliferation and G1/S cell cycle progression in vitro, and induced apoptosis in both 5637 and T24 cells. Moreover, in vivo studies with mice xenograft models confirmed the anti‐proliferative effects of BZW2‐knockdown, providing a future therapeutic target. We also performed biochemical microarray analysis to identify the potential signalling pathways, disease states and functions which could be affected by suppressing BZW2 in MIBC cells. Collectively, our findings suggest BZW2 has an oncogenic role in MIBCs and serves as a promising target for molecular diagnosis and gene therapy.     

Facile Synthesis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH)–Based Acceptors with Fine‐Tuned Optoelectronic Properties: Toward Efficient Additive‐Free Nonfullerene Organic Solar Cells

A series of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with extended π‐conjugated cores (from naphthalene, anthracene, pyrene, to perylene) are incorporated into nonfullerene acceptors for the first time. Four different fused‐ring electron acceptors (FREAs), i.e., DTN‐IC‐2Ph , DTA‐IC‐3Ph , DTP‐IC‐4Ph , and DTPy‐IC‐5Ph , are prepared via simple and facile synthetic procedures, yielding a remarkable platform to study the structure–property relationship for nonfullerene solar cells. With the PAH core being extended systematically, the gradually redshifted absorption with enhanced molar extinction coefficient (ε) is realized, the energy level of the highest occupied molecular orbital is up‐shifted, and the electron mobility is greatly enhanced. Meanwhile, the solubility decreases and the molecular packing becomes strengthened. As a result, with an optimized combination of these characteristics, DTP‐IC‐4Ph attains good solubility, high molar extinction coefficient, complementary absorption, suitable morphology, well‐matched energy levels, as well as efficient charge dissociation and transport in blend film. Consequently, the DTP‐IC‐4Ph ‐based solar cells with a donor polymer, poly[(2,6‐(4,8‐bis(5‐(2‐ethylhexyl)thiophen‐2‐yl)‐benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene))‐alt‐(5,5‐(1′,3′‐di‐2‐thienyl‐5′,7′‐bis(2‐ethylhexyl)benzo[1′,2′‐c:4′,5′‐c′]dithiophene‐4,8‐dione))] (PBDB‐T) exhibit a promising power conversion efficiency of 10.37% without any additives, which is close to the best performance achieved in additive‐free nonfullerene solar cells (NFSCs). The results demonstrate that the PAH building blocks have great potential for the construction of novel FREAs for efficient additive‐free NFSCs.     

Directed Self‐Assembly of MOF‐Derived Nanoparticles toward Hierarchical Structures for Enhanced Catalytic Activity in CO Oxidation

The controllable self‐assembly of nanomaterials remains a great challenge in nanotechnological applications, especially for the hierarchical structure with high complexity. Herein, by taking the advantage of highly dispersed metal nodes and mild thermal stability of metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs), the self‐assembly of nanoparticles is directed from MOFs to construct CuO hierarchical structures, which have an inherited octahedral framework consisting of the microspheres, nanowires, and polyhedrons, respectively. Unlike the conventional self‐assembly in a solution media (such as solvent and molten solid), the assembly in this work is the first demonstration through a solution‐free approach. Moreover, compared to the general MOF‐derived CuO octahedron, the assembled hierarchical CuO structure exhibits much enhanced catalytic activity in CO oxidation thanks to the exposure of more active sites during the assembly.