Long non-coding RNA LINC00488 facilitates thyroid cancer cell progression through miR-376a-3p/PON2

Objective: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) recently have been identified as influential indicators in a variety of malignancies. The aim of the present study was to identify a functional lncRNA LINC00488 and its effects on thyroid cancer in the view of cell proliferation and apoptosis.Methods: In order to evaluate the effects of LINC00488 on the cellular process of thyroid cancer, we performed a series of in vitro experiments, including cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, EdU (5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine) assay, flow cytometry, transwell chamber assay, Western blot and RT-qPCR. The target gene of LINC00488 was then identified by bioinformatics analysis (DIANA and TargetScan). Finally, a series of rescue experiments was conducted to validate the effect of LINC00488 and its target genes on proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of thyroid cancer.Results: Our findings revealed that LINC00488 was highly expressed in thyroid cancer cell lines (BCPAP, BHP5-16, TPC-1 and CGTH-W3) and promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion, while inhibited the apoptosis of thyroid cancer cells (BCPAP and TPC-1). The results of bioinformatics analysis and dual luciferase reporter gene assay showed that LINC00488 could directly bind to miR-376a-3p and down-regulated the expression level of miR-376a-3p. In addition, Paraoxonase-2 (PON2) was a target gene of miR-376a-3p and negatively regulated by miR-376a-3p. Rescue experiment indicated that LINC00488 might enhance PON2 expression by sponging miR-376a-3p in thyroid cancer.Conclusion: Taken together, our study revealed that lncRNA LINC00488 acted as an oncogenic gene in the progression of thyroid cancer via regulating miR-376a-3p/PON2 axis, which indicated that LINC00488-miR-376a-3p-PON2 axis could serve as novel biomarkers or potential targets for the treatment of thyroid cancer.     

MicroRNA-222 alleviates radiation-induced apoptosis by targeting BCL2L11 in cochlea hair cells

Radiation-induced hair cell injury is detrimental for human health but the underlying mechanism is not clear. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have critical roles in various types of cellular biological processes. The present study investigated the role of miR-222 in the regulation of ionizing radiation (IR)-induced cell injury in auditory cells and its underlying mechanism. Real-time PCR was performed to identify the expression profile of miR-222 in the cochlea hair cell line HEI-OC1 after IR exposure. miRNA mimics or inhibitor-mediated up- or down-regulation of indicated miRNA was applied to characterize the biological effects of miR-222 using MTT, apoptosis and DNA damage assay. Bioinformatics analyses and luciferase reporter assays were applied to identify an miRNA target gene. Our study confirmed that IR treatment significantly suppressed miR-222 levels in a dose-dependent manner. Up-regulation of miR-222 enhances cell viability and alleviated IR-induced apoptosis and DNA damage in HEI-OC1 cells. In addition, BCL-2-like protein 11 (BCL2L11) was validated as a direct target of miR-222. Overexpression of BCL2L11 abolished the protective effects of miR-222 in IR-treated HEI-OC1 cells. Moreover, miR-222 alleviated IR-induced apoptosis and DNA damage by directly targeting BCL2L11. The present study demonstrates that miR-222 exhibits protective effects against irradiation-induced cell injury by directly targeting BCL2L11 in cochlear cells.     

Immunomodulatory effects of four polysaccharides purified from Erythronium sibiricum bulb on macrophages

Four neutral polysaccharides (ESBP1-1, ESBP1-2, ESBP2-1 and ESBP3-1) were successfully purified from the water extracted crude polysaccharides of Erythronium sibiricum bulbs through the combination of DEAE Sepharose CL-6B and Sephadex G-100 chromatography; their average molecular weights were 1.3?×?10⁴, 1.7?×?10⁴, 9.4?×?10⁵ and 4.1?×?10⁵ Da, respectively. Monosaccharide component analysis indicated that ESBP1-1 and ESBP1-2 were mainly composed of glucose (Glc). ESBP2-1 was composed of Glc, galactose (Gal) and arabinose, with a molar ratio of 24.3:1.1:1, whereas ESBP3-1 comprised Glc and Gal at a molar ratio of 14.8:1. In-vitro study showed that all of the four polysaccharides were able to considerably promote the proliferation and neutral red phagocytosis of RAW 264.7 macrophage cell. They could also stimulate the production of the cell lines’ secretory molecules [nitric oxide, tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β)] in a dose-dependent manner. However, ESBP1-2 was not included in IL-1β. Overall, these results suggested that polysaccharides from E. sibiricum bulbs can be developed as immunomodulatory ingredients for complementary medicines or functional foods. However, further animal or clinical studies are required.

     

Isoflurane promotes proliferation of squamous cervical cancer cells through mTOR-histone deacetylase 6 pathway

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - This study investigated the effect of isoflurane on the proliferation of squamous cervical cancer cells, with focus on histone deacetylase 6 that is closely...     

MicroRNA-197-3p mediates damage to human coronary artery endothelial cells via targeting TIMP3 in Kawasaki disease

Kawasaki disease (KD) causes cardiovascular system injury in children. However, the pathogenic mechanisms of KD have not been well defined. Recently, strong correlation between aberrant microRNAs and KD nosogenesis has been revealed. A role of microRNA-197-3p (miR-197-3p) in the pathogenesis of KD is identified in the present study. Cell proliferation assay showed human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) were suppressed by serum from KD patients, which was correlated with high levels of miR-197-3p in both KD serum and HCAECs cultured with KD serum. The inhibition of HCAECs by miR-197-3p was confirmed by cells expressing miR-197-3p mimic and miR-197-3p inhibitor. Comparative proteomics analysis and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) revealed TIMP3 as a potential target of miR-197-3p, which was demonstrated by western blot and dual-luciferase reporter assays. Subsequently, by detecting the endothelium damage markers THBS1, VWF, and HSPG2, the role of miR-197-3p/TIMP3 in KD-induced damage to HCAECs was confirmed, which was further validated by a KD mouse model in vivo. The expressions of miR-197-3p and its target, TIMP3, are dramatically variational in KD serum and HCAECs cultured with KD serum. Increased miR-197-3p induces HCAECs abnormal by restraining TIMP3 expression directly. Hence, dysregulation of miR-197-3p/TIMP3 expression in HCAECs may be an important mechanism in cardiovascular endothelium injury in KD patients, which offers a feasible therapeutic target for KD treatment.

     

Cell-type action specificity of auxin on Arabidopsis root growth

The plant hormone auxin plays a critical role in root growth and development; however, the contributions or specific roles of cell-type auxin signals in root growth and development are not well understood. Here, we mapped tissue and cell types that are important for auxin-mediated root growth and development by manipulating the local response and synthesis of auxin. Repressing auxin signaling in the epidermis, cortex, endodermis, pericycle or stele strongly inhibited root growth, with the largest effect observed in the endodermis. Enhancing auxin signaling in the epidermis, cortex, endodermis, pericycle or stele also caused reduced root growth, albeit to a lesser extent. Moreover, we established that root growth was inhibited by enhancement of auxin synthesis in specific cell types of the epidermis, cortex and endodermis, whereas increased auxin synthesis in the pericycle and stele had only minor effects on root growth. Our study thus establishes an association between cellular identity and cell type-specific auxin signaling that guides root growth and development.     

Microbulbifer hainanensis sp. nov., a moderately halopilic bacterium isolated from mangrove sediment

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek - A new bacterium was successfully isolated from a mangrove sediment sample in Haikou City, Hainan Province, China. The organism is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped, non-motile...     

Microcella flavibacter sp. nov., isolated from marine sediment,and reclassification of Chryseoglobus frigidaquae,Chryseoglobus indicus,and Yonghaparkia alkaliphila as Microcella frigidaquae comb. nov., Microcella indica nom. nov., and Microcella alkalica nom. nov.

A novel Gram-staining positive, aerobic, rod-shaped, non-motile and yellow-pigmented actinobacterium, designated strain WY83^T, was isolated from a marine sediment of Indian Ocean. Strain WY83^T grew optimally at 30–35 °C, pH 7–8 and with 0–3% (w/v) NaCl. The predominant menaquinones were MK-10, MK-11 and MK-12, and the major fatty acids were C_19:1 ω9c/C19:1 ω11c, anteiso-C_15:0, C_17:0 3OH, and iso-C_16:0. The polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and one unidentified glycolipid. The cell-wall peptidoglycan contained lysine as a diamino acid. The DNA G?+?C content was 72.3 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and ninety-two bacterial core genes indicated that strain WY83^T formed an evolutionary lineage with Chryseoglobus frigidaquae JCM 14730^T, Chryseoglobus indicus CTD02-10-2^T, Yonghaparkia alkaliphila JCM 15138^T, Microcella alkaliphila DSM 18851^T and Microcella putealis DSM 19627^T within the radiation enclosing members of the family Microbacteriaceae. All pairwise percentage of conserved proteins between strain WY83^T and the closely related phylogenetic neighbors were greater than 65%. The average nucleotide identity and in silico DNA–DNA hybridization values were both below the thresholds used for the delineation of a new species. On the basis of the evidence presented, strains WY83^T, Y. alkaliphila JCM 15138^T, C. frigidaquae JCM 14730^T, M. alkaliphila DSM 18851^T and M. putealis DSM 19627^T should belong to different species of the same genus. Strain WY83^T represents a novel species of the genus Microcella, for which the name Microcella flavibacter sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is WY83^T (=?KCTC 39637^T?=?MCCC 1A07099^T). Furthermore, Chryseoglobus frigidaquae, Chryseoglobus indicus, and Yonghaparkia alkaliphila were reclassified as Microcella frigidaquae comb. nov., Microcella indica nom. nov., and Microcella alkalica nom. nov., respectively.

     

Co‐suppression in Pyropia yezoensis (Rhodophyta) Reveals the Role of PyLHCI in Light Harvesting and Generation Switch

The red macroalga Pyropia yezoensis is an economically important seaweed widely cultured in Asian countries and is a model organism for molecular biological and commercial research. This species is unique in that it utilizes both phycobilisomes and transmembrane light‐harvesting proteins as its antenna system. Here, one of the genes of P. yezoensis (PyLHCI) was selected for introduction into its genome to overexpress PyLHCI. However, the co‐suppression phenomenon occurred. This is the first documentation of co‐suppression in algae, in which it exhibits a different mechanism from that in higher plants. The transformant (T1) was demonstrated to have higher phycobilisomes and lower LHC binding pigments, resulting in a redder color, higher sensitivity to salt stress, smaller in size, and slower growth rate than the wildtype (WT). The photosynthetic performances of T1 and WT showed similar characteristics; however, P700 reduction was slower in T1. Most importantly, T1 could release a high percentage of carpospores in young blades to switch generation during its life cycle, which was rarely seen in WT. The co‐suppression of PyLHCI revealed its key roles in light harvesting, stress resistance, and generation alternation (generation switch from gametophytes to sporophytes, and reproduction from asexual to sexual).