Deciphering RNA m6A regulation in aging: Perspectives on current advances and future directions

N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) is a dynamic and reversible RNA modification that has emerged as a crucial player in the life cycle of RNA, thus playing a pivotal role in various biological processes. In recent years, the potential involvement of RNA m⁶A modification in aging and age-related diseases has gained increasing attention, making it a promising target for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying aging and developing new therapeutic strategies. This Perspective article will summarize the current advances in aging-related m⁶A regulation, highlighting the most significant findings and their implications for our understanding of cellular senescence and aging, and the potential for targeting RNA m⁶A regulation as a therapeutic strategy. We will also discuss the limitations and challenges in this field and provide insights into future research directions. By providing a comprehensive overview of the current state of the field, this Perspective article aims to facilitate further advances in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying aging and to identify new therapeutic targets for aging-related diseases.     

微生物在镉污染土壤修复中的应用及其作用机理

土壤中镉（Cd）含量的超标导致了土壤生态系统的恶性发展,微生物作为土壤中的常见组分之一在缓解土壤镉污染中展现出巨大潜力。本文总结了微生物、微生物-植物和微生物-生物炭在镉污染土壤修复中的应用并阐述了相关的作用机理。芽孢杆菌（Bacillus）、不动杆菌（Acinetobacter）、荧光假单胞菌（Pseudomonas fluorescence）、丛枝菌根真菌（arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi,AMF）等微生物可以通过吸附、矿化、沉淀、溶解等方式改变镉的生物有效性,从而达到缓解镉污染的目的。pH值、温度、微生物生物量、镉初始浓度以及时间等对微生物降低镉的生物有效性方面有着显著的影响。假单胞菌、伯克霍尔德菌（Burkholderia）、黄杆菌（flavobacterium）等微生物可以通过促生、活化等作用促进超富集植物对Cd²⁺的吸收。生物炭作为一种土壤改良剂,其独有的理化性质可以作为微生物的庇护所。微生物-生物炭联合使用与单用生物炭相比可以进一步促进镉的残渣态的增加,降低土壤中有效态的比例。     

Comparative Transcriptome Analyses Reveal Genes Related to Spine Development in Cucumber (<i>Cucumis sativus</i>)

Fruit spine is an important quality trait of cucumber. To better understand the molecular basis of cucumber spine development and function, RNA-Seq was performed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in fruit spines of different development stages, namely, 8 days before anthesis (SpBA8), anthesis (SpA) and 8 days after anthesis (SpAA8). Stage-wise comparisons obtained 2,259 (SpBA8 vs. SpA), 4,551 (SpA vs. SpAA8), and 5,290 (SpBA8 vs. SpAA8) DEGs. All the DEGs were classified into eight expression clusters by trend analysis. Among these DEGs, in addition to the Mict, Tril, CsTTG1, CsMYB6, NS, and Tu genes that have been reported to regulate fruit spine formation, we found that the CsHDG11, CsSCL8, CsSPL8, CsZFP6 and CsZFP8 may also be involved in spine development in cucumber. Our study provides a theoretical basis for further research on molecular mechanisms of spine development in cucumber.     

Characterization of phosphoinositide kinases in normal and sickle anaemia red cells

PtdIns and PtdInsP kinases from normal erythrocyte (AA) membranes and sickle cell anaemia erythrocyte (SS) membranes have been characterized. PtdIns kinase was studied in native membranes under conditions in which PtdInsP kinase and PtdInsP phosphatase do not express any activity. Kinetic analysis of the AA and SS PtdIns kinases indicate similar K_m values for PtdIns and ATP but higher V_max values for SS PtdIns kinase. PtdInsP kinase was partially purified from erythrocyte ghosts by NaCl extraction. The kinetic parameters of PtdInsP kinase determined under these conditions were similar in AA and SS NaCl extracts. These data suggest the presence of some effector of PtdIns kinase in SS cell membranes, resulting in a greater activity of the enzyme. This leads consequently, to increase the PtdInsP pool and to activate PtdInsP kinase, in agreement with our previous observations of a greater [³²P]Pi incorporation in both polyphosphoinositides in SS cells relatively to AA cells.     

非编码小RNA对细菌毒力及耐药性的调控作用研究进展

近年来的研究发现,细菌非编码小RNA (small non-coding RNA, sRNA)对其不同生理进程起到了重要的调控作用。随着大量sRNA被发现并鉴定,细菌sRNA的功能被逐步阐明,其可在转录后水平广泛调控细菌的生理代谢、毒力及耐药性等。本文综述了sRNA对细菌毒力和耐药性调控作用的研究进展,对揭示细菌转录后水平毒力及耐药性调控机制具有一定意义。     

Thioredoxin 1 overexpression attenuated diabetes-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress in Müller cells via apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1

As one of the common and serious chronic complications of diabetes mellitus (DM), the related mechanism of diabetic retinopathy (DR) has not been fully understood. Müller cell reactive gliosis is one of the early pathophysiological features of DR. Therefore, exploring the manner to reduce diabetes-induced Müller cell damage is essential to delay DR. Thioredoxin 1 (Trx1), one of the ubiquitous redox enzymes, plays a vital role in redox homeostasis via protein–protein interactions, including apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1). Previous studies have shown that upregulation of Trx by some drugs can attenuate endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) in DR, but the related mechanism was unclear. In this study, we used DM mouse and high glucose (HG)-cultured human Müller cells as models to clarify the effect of Trx1 on ERS and the underlying mechanism. The data showed that the diabetes-induced Müller cell damage was increased significantly. Moreover, the expression of ERS and reactive gliosis was also upregulated in diabetes in vivo and in vitro. However, it was reversed after Trx1 overexpression. Besides, ERS-related protein expression, reactive gliosis, and apoptosis were decreased after transfection with ASK1 small-interfering RNA in stable Trx1 overexpression Müller cells after HG treatment. Taken together, Trx1 could protect Müller cells from diabetes-induced damage, and the underlying mechanism was related to inhibited ERS via ASK1.     

pH对生物合成超声分子影像探针气囊充放气的调控

气囊（gas vesicles,GVs）是一种存在于蓝藻及古菌等微生物中调节浮力的类细胞器纳米结构,由蛋白质外壳包裹气体组成。近年来的研究表明,气囊具有作为超声分子影像探针的潜力。然而,气囊的充放气机制并不明确,限制了生物合成超声分子影像探针的保存和气体更换。本研究发现环境pH值是调节气囊充放气的一个重要因素。其不仅可以调节藻细胞内的气囊充放气进而使微囊藻呈现不同的漂浮状态,还可对提纯的气囊充放气进行体外调节,且该调节过程可逆。该机制的阐明为生物合成超声分子影像探针的大规模生产和保存,特别对气囊中的气体进行更换以满足不同的诊疗需求提供了技术支持,助力生物合成超声造影剂在疾病诊疗中的应用。     

自由飞行蜜蜂对静止目标形状和颜色的综合识别能力

研究了蜜蜂对相同颜色和不同颜色目标图对的形状以及颜色的综合识别能力实验过程中,蜜蜂始终处于自由飞行状态.做为刺激目标使用的图对分别有相同颜色不同几何形状、相同颜色不同拓扑结构和不同颜色几何形状三组.主要结果有三点:(1)在相同颜色的条件下,蜜蜂可以分辨出图形的几何形状,并且识别能力与图对的相似程度成反比(2)在刺激图形为环形时,蜜蜂对图形平均亮度敏感;在平均亮度相同的情况下,对环形细节变和尺寸大小不敏感.(3)在不同颜色不同几何形状的刺激条件下.蜜蜂视觉信息加工过程中颜色因素会抑制几何形状因素而起主要作用.这三个结果可以视为深入研究颜色加工通道和几何形状加工通道之间内在关系的基础.     

猪眼角膜的生物力学特性

对猪眼角膜进行了有系统的单轴拉伸实验,通过实验来确定其极限强度,断裂能、显著非线性的应力-应变关系和滞后环.在不同的应变水平下进行了应为松弛实验并确定了连续松弛谱的各参数.从极限强度、断裂能和应力松弛来看,角膜的纵向和横向之间无重大的差异,据此,各向同性假定可用于初步的角膜力学模型.     

Picroside III,an Active Ingredient of Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora,Ameliorates Experimental Colitis by Protecting Intestinal Barrier Integrity

This study aims to explore the protective effects of Picroside III, an active ingredient of Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora, on the intestinal epithelial barrier in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) induced Caco-2 cells and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) induced colitis in mice. Results show that Picroside III significantly alleviated clinical signs of colitis including body weight loss, disease activity index increase, colon shortening, and colon tissue damage. It also increased claudin-3, ZO-1 and occludin expressions and decreased claudin-2 expression in the colon tissues of mice with colitis. In vitro, Picroside III also significantly promoted wound healing, decreased the permeability of cell monolayer, upregulated the expressions of claudin-3, ZO-1 and occludin and downregulated the expression of claudin-2 in TNF-α treated Caco-2 cells. Mechanism studies show that Picroside III significantly promoted AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation in vitro and in vivo, and blockade with AMPK could significantly attenuate the upregulation of Picroside III in ZO-1 and occludin expressions and the downregulation of claudin-2 expression in TNF-α treated Caco-2 cells. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that Picroside III attenuated DSS-induced colitis by promoting colonic mucosal wound healing and epithelial barrier function recovery via the activation of AMPK.