Intraspinal Tumors in Children

Thirty cases of intraspinal neoplasms occurring during the first two decades of life are reviewed. Histologic examination showed 13 of these to be astrocytomas, 6 neuroblastomas, 5 sarcomas, 3 ependymomas, 2 neurofibromas and 1 a schwannoma. Orthopedic deformities developed or worsened in 60 percent of patients surviving longer than a year after diagnosis. In five patients some form of endocrine deficiency developed after irradiation. For treatment of radiosensitive extradural malignant lesions, biopsy followed by irradiation is advocated.     

LncRNA Bmp1 promotes the healing of intestinal mucosal lesions via the miR-128-3p/PHF6/PI3K/AKT pathway

Intestinal mucosal injuries are directly or indirectly related to many common acute and chronic diseases. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are expressed in many diseases, including intestinal mucosal injury. However, the relationship between lncRNAs and intestinal mucosal injury has not been determined. Here, we investigated the functions and mechanisms of action of lncRNA Bmp1 on damaged intestinal mucosa. We found that Bmp1 was increased in damaged intestinal mucosal tissue and Bmp1 overexpression was able to alleviate intestinal mucosal injury. Bmp1 overexpression was found to influence cell proliferation, colony formation, and migration in IEC-6 or HIEC-6 cells. Moreover, miR-128-3p was downregulated after Bmp1 overexpression, and upregulation of miR-128-3p reversed the effects of Bmp1 overexpression in IEC-6 cells. Phf6 was observed to be a target of miR-128-3p. Furthermore, PHF6 overexpression affected IEC-6 cells by activating PI3K/AKT signaling which was mediated by the miR-128-3p/PHF6 axis. In conclusion, Bmp1 was found to promote the expression of PHF6 through the sponge miR-128-3p, activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway to promote cell migration and proliferation.Subject terms: Cell growth, Cell migration     

An iso-random Bi Bi mechanism for adenylate kinase.

An iso-random Bi Bi mechanism has been proposed for adenylate kinase. In this mechanism, one of the enzyme forms can bind the substrates MgATP and AMP, whereas the other form can bind the products MgADP and ADP. In a catalytic cycle, the conformational changes of the free enzyme and the ternary complexes are the rate-limiting steps. The AP(5)A inhibition equations derived from this mechanism show theoretically that AP(5)A acts as a competitive inhibitor for the forward reaction and a mixed noncompetitive inhibitor for the backward reaction.     

CANCER OF THE LUNG—What Should Be the Present Approach?

The best opportunities at present for improving the results in the treatment of patients with cancer of the lung are by way of (a) utilizing the information obtained on routine x-ray examination of the chest, (b) decreasing the delay between the time of the first symptoms and the time the patient consults a physician, and (c) decreasing the delay between the time the patient first consults a physician and the time the cancer is surgically removed.The medical profession must increase its index of suspicion of cancer of the lung and persist in efforts to make a diagnosis when lung cancer is suspected.Exploratory thoracotomy should be used in suspicious cases when the diagnosis cannot be established by other methods.     

Functional analysis of a miRNA‐like small RNA derived from Bombyx mori cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus

Bombyx mori cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (BmCPV) is a major pathogen of the economic insect silkworm, Bombyx mori. Virus‐encoded microRNAs (miRNAs) have been proven to play important roles in host–pathogen interactions. In this study we identified a BmCPV‐derived miRNA‐like 21 nt small RNA, BmCPV‐miR‐1, from the small RNA deep sequencing of BmCPV‐infected silkworm larvae by stem‐loop quantitative real‐time PCR (qPCR) and investigated its functions with qPCR and lentiviral expression systems. Bombyx mori inhibitor of apoptosis protein (BmIAP) gene was predicted by both target prediction software miRanda and Targetscan to be one of its target genes with a binding site for BmCPV‐miR‐1 at the 5′ untranslated region. It was found that the expression of BmCPV‐miR‐1 and its target gene BmIAP were both up‐regulated in BmCPV‐infected larvae. At the same time, it was confirmed that BmCPV‐miR‐1 could up‐regulate the expression of BmIAP gene in HEK293T cells with lentiviral expression systems and in BmN cells by transfecting mimics. Furthermore, BmCPV‐miR‐1 mimics could up‐regulate the expression level of BmIAP gene in midgut and fat body in the silkworm. In the midgut of BmCPV‐infected larvae, BmCPV‐miR‐1 mimics could be further up‐regulated and inhibitors could lower the virus‐mediated expression of BmIAP gene. With the viral genomic RNA segments S1 and S10 as indicators, BmCPV‐miR‐1 mimics could up‐regulate and inhibitors down‐regulate their replication in the infected silkworm. These results implied that BmCPV‐miR‐1 could inhibit cell apoptosis in the infected silkworm through up‐regulating BmIAP expression, providing the virus with a better cell circumstance for its replication.     

Drugs,genes and screens: The ethics of preventing and treating spinal muscular atrophy

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the most common genetic disease that causes infant mortality. Its treatment and prevention represent the paradigmatic example of the ethical dilemmas of 21st-century medicine. New therapies (nusinersen and AVXS-101) hold the promise of being able to treat, but not cure, the condition. Alternatively, genomic analysis could identify carriers, and carriers could be offered in vitro fertilization and preimplantation genetic diagnosis. In the future, gene editing could prevent the condition at the embryonic stage. How should these different options be evaluated and compared within a health system? In this paper, we discuss the ethical considerations that bear on the question of how to prioritize the different treatments and preventive options for SMA, at a policy level. We argue that despite the tremendous value of what we call ‘ex-post’ approaches to treating SMA (such as using pharmacological agents or gene therapy), there is a moral imperative to pursue ‘ex-ante’ interventions (such as carrier screening in combination with prenatal testing and preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or gene editing) to reduce the incidence of SMA. There are moral reasons relating to autonomy, beneficence and justice to prioritize ex-ante methods over ex-post methods.     

On the classification of Calligonum juochiangense and C. pumilum (Polygonaceae)

After observing specimens of Calligonum pumilum Losinsk. and C. juochiangense Y. X. Liou in both the field and in herbarium collections, it was found that the morphological characters of these two species are quite different, especially with respect of the twisted direction of fruit ribs, number of bristle rows along each rib, rigidity and degree of interweaving of bristles, as well as their geographic distribution. Therefore, it is concluded that C. pumilum and C. juochiangense should be accepted as two independent species.     

Co-segregation of a gene encoding a deletion ligand for Tcrb-V3+ T cells with Mtv-3

A gene encoding the endogenous superantigen Mls^c, which deletes Tcrb-V3⁺ T cells in the NOD inbred mouse strain, was found to co-segregate with Mtv-3 on chromosome 11. This identifies a fourth gene encoding a deletion ligand for Tcrb-V3⁺ T cells and extends recently published observations in support of the hypothesis that a number of endogenous superantigens are the products of Mtv proviruses. Address correspondence and offprint requests to : K. Tomonari.     

The Unique Chemistry of Eastern Mediterranean Water Masses Selects for Distinct Microbial Communities by Depth

The waters of the Eastern Mediterranean are characterized by unique physical and chemical properties within separate water masses occupying different depths. Distinct water masses are present throughout the oceans, which drive thermohaline circulation. These water masses may contain specific microbial assemblages. The goal of this study was to examine the effect of physical and geological phenomena on the microbial community of the Eastern Mediterranean water column. Chemical measurements were combined with phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing to characterize the microbial community in the water column at five sites. We demonstrate that the chemistry and microbial community of the water column were stratified into three distinct water masses. The salinity and nutrient concentrations vary between these water masses. Nutrient concentrations increased with depth, and salinity was highest in the intermediate water mass. Our PLFA analysis indicated different lipid classes were abundant in each water mass, suggesting that distinct groups of microbes inhabit these water masses. 16S rRNA gene sequencing confirmed the presence of distinct microbial communities in each water mass. Taxa involved in autotrophic nitrogen cycling were enriched in the intermediate water mass suggesting that microbes in this water mass may be important to the nitrogen cycle of the Eastern Mediterranean. The Eastern Mediterranean also contains numerous active hydrocarbon seeps. We sampled above the North Alex Mud Volcano, in order to test the effect of these geological features on the microbial community in the adjacent water column. The community in the waters overlaying the mud volcano was distinct from other communities collected at similar depths and was enriched in known hydrocarbon degrading taxa. Our results demonstrate that physical phenomena such stratification as well as geological phenomena such as mud volcanoes strongly affect microbial community structure in the Eastern Mediterranean water column.     

Antioxidant action of acteoside and its analogs on lipid peroxidation

Summary

We have investigated antioxidant actions of acteoside (ACT) and another natural phenylpropanoid glycoside, cistanoside F (CIS-F) on lipid peroxidation in rat liver mitochondria (RLM) and rat liver mitochondrial lipid (RLML) liposomes induced by Fe²⁺/ADP. A synthetic ACT analogue, TX-1847, was also examined. Oxygen consumption, the formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs) and glutathione concentration were determined simultaneously during lipid peroxidation. The radical scavenging activity of the compounds was evaluated by using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl. ACT and its analogs produced dose-dependent inhibitions of mitochondrial and liposomal lipid peroxidation (ACT ≈ CIS-F > TX-1847). Their radical scavenging activities were ranked as follows: TX-1847 > ACT > CIS-F. ACT, CIS-F, and TX-1847 spared reduced glutathione (GSH) during mitochondrial lipid peroxidation. The radical scavenging activities of the compounds did not parallel their anti-peroxidative activities. The data are consistent with the idea that the inhibitory activities of phenylpropanoids were primarily due to a radical chain-breaking mechanism. The sugar moieties in ACT and CIS-F, and/or the conformational structure of the compounds, also seem to play an important role in their inhibitory effects on lipid peroxidation.