MicroRNA‐29b‐3p suppresses oral squamous cell carcinoma cell migration and invasion via IL32/AKT signalling pathway

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is aggressive accompanied with poor prognosis. We previously isolated the most invasive cells resembling the invasive tumour front by microfluidic technology and explored their differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) in our previous work. Here, we verified the miR‐29b‐3p as a guarder that suppressed migration and invasion of OSCC cells and was down‐regulated in the most invasive cells. Besides that, the invasion suppression role of miR‐29b‐3p was achieved through the IL32/AKT pathway. Thus, miR‐29b‐3p and IL32 might serve as therapeutic targets for blocking the progression and improving the outcome of OSCC.     

Monophosphoryl lipid A alleviated radiation-induced testicular injury through TLR4-dependent exosomes

Radiation protection on male testis is an important task for ionizing radiation-related workers or people who receive radiotherapy for tumours near the testicle. In recent years, Toll-like receptors (TLRs), especially TLR4, have been widely studied as a radiation protection target. In this study, we detected that a low-toxicity TLR4 agonist monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) produced obvious radiation protection effects on mice testis. We found that MPLA effectively alleviated testis structure damage and cell apoptosis induced by ionizing radiation (IR). However, as the expression abundance differs a lot in distinct cells and tissues, MPLA seemed not to directly activate TLR4 singling pathway in mice testis. Here, we demonstrated a brand new mechanism for MPLA producing radiation protection effects on testis. We observed a significant activation of TLR4 pathway in macrophages after MPLA stimulation and identified significant changes in macrophage-derived exosomes protein expression. We proved that after MPLA treatment, macrophage-derived exosomes played an important role in testis radiation protection, and specially, G-CSF and MIP-2 in exosomes are the core molecules in this protection effect.     

Melatonin against acute ischaemic stroke dependently via suppressing both inflammatory and oxidative stress downstream signallings

This study tested the hypothesis that melatonin (Mel) therapy preserved the brain architectural and functional integrity against ischaemic stroke (IS) dependently through suppressing the inflammatory/oxidative stress downstream signalling pathways. Adult male B6 (n = 6 per each B6 group) and TLR4 knockout (ie TLR4^?/?) (n = 6 per each TLR4^?/? group) mice were categorized into sham control (SC^B6), SC^TLR4?/?, IS^B6, IS^TLR4?/?, IS^B6 + Mel (i.p. daily administration) and IS^TLR4?/? + Mel (i.p. daily administration). By day 28 after IS, the protein expressions of inflammatory (HMBG1/TLR2/TLR4/MAL/MyD88/RAM TRIF/TRAF6/IKK‐α/p‐NF‐κB/nuclear‐NF‐κB/nuclear‐IRF‐3&7/IL‐1β/IL‐6/TNF‐α/IFN‐γ) and oxidative stress (NOX‐1/NOX‐2/ASK1/p‐MKK4&7/p‐JNK/p‐c‐JUN) downstream pathways as well as mitochondrial‐damaged markers (cytosolic cytochrome C/cyclophilin D/SRP1/autophagy) were highest in group IS^B6, lowest in groups SC^B6 and SC^TLR4?/?, lower in group IS^TLR4?/? + Mel than in groups IS^TLR4?/? and IS^B6 + Mel and lower in group IS^B6 + Mel than in group IS^TLR4?/? (all P < .0001). The brain infarct volume, brain infarct area and the number of inflammatory cells in brain (CD14/F4‐88) and in circulation (MPO+//Ly6C+/CD11b+//Ly6G+/CD11b+) exhibited an identical pattern, whereas the neurological function displayed an opposite pattern of inflammatory protein expression among the six groups (all P < .0001). In conclusion, TLR inflammatory and oxidative stress signallings played crucial roles for brain damage and impaired neurological function after IS that were significantly reversed by Mel therapy.     

Loganin alleviates testicular damage and germ cell apoptosis induced by AGEs upon diabetes mellitus by suppressing the RAGE/p38MAPK/NF-κB pathway

Diabetes mellitus (DM) damages male reproduction at multiple levels, such as endocrine secretion, spermatogenesis and penile erection. We herein investigated the protective effects and mechanism of loganin targeting the advanced glycation end products (AGEs)/receptor for AGEs (RAGE)/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK)/NF-κB signalling pathway. Loganin relieved the general DM symptoms and decreased the blood glucose level of KK-Ay DM mice. Haematoxylin-eosin staining demonstrated that loganin ameliorated testicular histology and function and enhanced the activities of testis-specific markers lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), acid phosphatase (ACP) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (γ-GT). Loganin also showed evident anti-oxidative stress, anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects on DM-induced reproductive damage by restoring glutathione (GSH) level and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, as well as reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in vivo and in vitro. Western blotting exhibited that loganin significantly inhibited the AGEs/RAGE/p38MAPK/NF-κB signalling pathway. Acridine orange and ethidium bromide staining (AOEB) and Western blotting showed that loganin in combination with inhibitors of RAGE, p38MAPK and NF-κB exerted stronger anti-apoptotic effects on AGE-induced GC-2 cell damage compared with loganin alone. In conclusion, loganin can protect against DM-induced reproductive damage, probably by suppressing the AGEs/RAGE/p38MAPK/NF-κB pathway.     

Fibroblast growth factor 21 alleviates acute pancreatitis via activation of the Sirt1‐autophagy signalling pathway

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), a metabolic hormone with pleiotropic effects on glucose and lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity, alleviates the process of acute pancreatitis (AP). However, its mechanism remains elusive. The pathological and physiological characteristics of FGF21 are observed in both patients with AP and cerulein‐induced AP models, and the mechanisms of FGF21 in response to AP are investigated by evaluating the impact of autophagy in FGF21‐treated mice and cultured pancreatic cells. Circulating levels of FGF21 significantly increase in both AP patients and cerulein‐induced AP mice, which is accompanied by the change of pathology in pancreatic injury. Replenishment of FGF21 distinctly reverses cerulein‐induced pancreatic injury and improves cerulein‐induced autophagy damage in vivo and in vitro. Mechanically, FGF21 acts on pancreatic acinar cells to up‐regulate Sirtuin‐1 (Sirt1) expression, which in turn repairs impaired autophagy and removes damaged organs. In addition, blockage of Sirt1 accelerates cerulein‐induced pancreatic injury and weakens the regulative effect in FGF21‐activated autophagy in mice. These results showed that FGF21 protects against cerulein‐induced AP by activation of Sirtuin‐1‐autophagy axis.     

辛伐他汀对烟雾吸入性肺损伤大鼠炎性因子及氧化应激反应的影响

目的:研究辛伐他汀对烟雾吸入性肺损伤大鼠炎性因子及氧化应激反应的影响。方法:选取60只清洁级SD大鼠,将其按照随机抽签法分成正常组、盐水组以及辛伐他汀组,每组各20只。盐水组与辛伐他汀组大鼠均制备发烟罐烟雾吸入性肺损伤模型,建模成功后30 min,辛伐他汀组大鼠予以50 mg/kg剂量的辛伐他汀灌胃,盐水组则予以等量的生理盐水灌胃,正常大鼠予以正常饲养处理。采用酶联免疫法检测血清、肺泡灌洗液中炎症因子[包括白细胞介素-6(IL-6)、肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)]及氧化应激反应指标[包括超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、丙二醛(MDA)]水平。结果:盐水组、辛伐他汀组大鼠血清、肺泡灌洗液中IL-6、TNF-α水平均高于正常组,且辛伐他汀组大鼠上述各项指标低于盐水组(均P<0.05)。盐水组、辛伐他汀组大鼠血清、肺泡灌洗液中SOD水平低于正常组,辛伐他汀组明显高于盐水组(均P<0.05),盐水组、辛伐他汀组大鼠血清、肺泡灌洗液中MDA水平高于正常组,辛伐他汀组明显低于盐水组(均P<0.05)。结论:辛伐他汀对烟雾吸入性肺损伤大鼠的炎性因子具有明显的改善作用,且有利于减轻大鼠的氧化应激反应程度。     

Long-Term Existence of SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 Patients: Host Immunity,Viral Virulence,and Transmissibility

Virologica Sinica - COVID-19 patients can recover with a median SARS-CoV-2 clearance of 20&nbsp;days post initial symptoms (PIS). However, we observed some COVID-19 patients with existing...     

Shortened snRNA promoters for efficient CRISPR/Cas-based multiplex genome editing in monocot plants

正Dear Editor,CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas genome editing is a powerful tool for introducing specific mutations in organisms including plants. The system is composed of a nuclease such as Cas9 or Cas12a and an engineered single-guide RNA (sgRNA) incorporating a target sequence (Li et al., 2019). A Cas9/sgRNA complex re-     

Could urinary ACE2 protein level help identify individuals susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and complication?

Science China Life Sciences -