Gene polymorphisms and serum levels of TL1A in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Recent findings showed elevated expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-like ligand 1A (TL1A) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and arthritis mice. However, whether TL1A gene polymorphisms may correlate with RA susceptibility needs to be discussed. This case-control study was performed on 350 RA patients and 556 healthy subjects to identify TL1A genetic variants (rs3810936, rs6478109, and rs7848647) and their possible association with TL1A levels, susceptibility to and severity of RA. Odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were calculated to represent the correlation between TL1A polymorphisms and RA. The TL1A serum levels were evaluated. Results showed that frequencies of TC, TT + TC genotypes of rs3810936, rs7848647 in RA patients were significantly lower in RA patients compared with controls. Patients with C allele showed more severe disease course (disease activity index: erythrocyte sedimentation rate, rheumatoid factor) than in carriers of T allele. However, the allele or genotype frequencies of rs6478109 were not associated with RA. In addition, TL1A genetic variants conferred higher TL1A levels in RA patients compared with controls. In conclusion, these findings indicated an association between TL1A rs3810936, rs7848647 variation and the susceptibility of RA in a sample of Chinese individuals, and TL1A may correlate with severity of RA.     

Retracted: Prelamin A overexpression promotes detrusor calcification/aging in urinary incontinence via prelamin A accumulation

Urinary incontinence (UI) is known as a distressing condition particularly among older adults, and negatively associated with health-related quality of life in both males and females. Prelamin A accumulation has been found in all progeroid laminopathies and is obviously linked to cell and organism aging. Therefore, this study was expected to investigate the effect of prelamin A on detrusor on UI. Prelamin A expression in clinical and animal samples was detected. To investigate the degree of prelamin A accumulation and detrusor calcification/aging, the detrusor cells were subcultured separately into low and high passage. The low-passage subculture cells were treated with transfection of overexpressed prelamin A plasmid, and transfection of overexpressed prelamin A plasmid and application of farnesyl transferase inhibitor (FTIs) H-9279, respectively. Zmpste24, Icmt and lamin A/C expression were detected to explore how prelamin A affected detrusor calcification/aging. Prelamin A was overexpressed in aged detrusor cells, indicating prelamin A expression was positively related to the age of subjects. The degree of prelamin A accumulation and detrusor calcification/aging was higher in aged rats and high passage subculture cells. Zmpste24, Icmt and lamin A/C were poorly expressed in cells transfected with overexpressed prelamin A, as well as cell proliferation activity decreased and calcium deposition and apoptotic rate increased. Furthermore, we also found that the effect of overexpressed prelamin A was lost when cells were treated with H-9279. These findings provide evidence that prelamin A overexpression impairs degradation of its farnesylated form, thus causing prelamin A accumulation which induces detrusor calcification/aging in UI.     

Retracted: LncRNA-ROR alleviates hypoxia-triggered damages by downregulating miR-145 in rat cardiomyocytes H9c2 cells

Chronic hypoxic heart disease (CHD) is a common clinical type of congenital heart disease. Long noncoding RNA regulator of reprogramming (lncRNA-ROR) exerts an important regulating effect in cardiovascular diseases. In our study, we explored the effect of lncRNA-ROR and the possible mechanisms against hypoxia-caused apoptosis in H9c2 cells. H9c2 cells were exposed to hypoxia (1% O₂) to construct the in vitro model of CHD. The level of lncRNA-ROR and microRNA (miRNA/miR)-145 was detected. To upregulate the level of lncRNA-ROR and miR-145, transfection was carried out. Western blot assay was performed to quantified protein expression. The interaction of lncRNA-ROR with miR-145 was verified by RIP and Dual-luciferase reporter assays. The expression of p53 and Bax was largely elevated and Bcl-2 was suppressed by hypoxia induction. We found that lncRNA-ROR was elevated by hypoxia. LncRNA-ROR overexpression was able to relieve the damages of H9c2 cells induced by hypoxia through rescuing viability, suppressing apoptosis, and blocking Cytochrome c release. miR-145 was suppressed by overexpressed lncRNA-ROR and the combination of miR-145 mimic was able to abolish the protective effect of lncRNA-ROR. Moreover, we found that lncRNA-ROR activated Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT transduction cascades by suppressing miR-145. Besides, lncRNA-ROR directly targeted miR-145 and negatively modulated the level of miR-145. Our present study revealed that lncRNA-ROR protected H9c2 cells against hypoxia-caused damages by regulation of miR-145 through activating Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT.     

Helvolic acid attenuates osteoclast formation and function via suppressing RANKL-induced NFATc1 activation

Excessive osteoclast formation and function are considered as the main causes of bone lytic disorders such as osteoporosis and osteolysis. Therefore, the osteoclast is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of osteoporosis or other osteoclast-related diseases. Helvolic acid (HA), a mycotoxin originally isolated from Aspergillus fumigatus , has been discovered as an effective broad-spectrum antibacterial agent and has a wide range of pharmacological properties. Herein, for the first time, HA was demonstrated to be capable of significantly inhibiting receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption in vitro by suppressing nuclear factor of activated T cells 1 (NFATc1) activation. This inhibition was followed by the dramatically decreased expression of NFATc1-targeted genes including Ctr (encoding calcitonin receptor), Acp5 (encoding tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase [TRAcP]), Ctsk (encoding cathepsin K), Atp6v0d2 (encoding the vacuolar H+ ATPase V0 subunit d2 [V-ATPase-d2]) and Mmp9 (encoding matrix metallopeptidase 9) which are osteoclastic-specific genes required for osteoclast formation and function. Mechanistically, HA was shown to greatly attenuate multiple upstream pathways including extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation, c-Fos signaling, and intracellular Ca ²⁺ oscillation, but had little effect on nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation. In addition, HA also diminished the RANKL-induced generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species. Taken together, our study indicated HA effectively suppressed RANKL-induced osteoclast formation and function. Thus, we propose that HA can be potentially used in the development of a novel drug for osteoclast-related bone diseases.     

Comprehensive analysis of lncRNA-associated ceRNA network in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies and morbidity and mortality are increasing rapidly. Increasing evidence showed the close correlation between aberrant expression of certain RNAs and the occurrence and development of CRC. However, comprehensive analyses of differentially expressed profiles of linRNA in CRC based on large sample size have been lacking. In the present study, based on RNA-seq data obtained from the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) database, we identified 1176 lncRNAs, 245 miRNAs and 2083 mRNAs whichaberrantly expressed in the colorectal cancer tissues compared with the adjacent non-tumorous tissues. A Kaplan-Meier curve analysis was used to study the overall survival rate of the three RNA-related CRC patients. After constructing the ceRNA network, we performed the KEGG enrichment pathway analysis on ceRNA-related differentially expressed mRNAs and found that these mRNAs were remarkably enriched in the pathways associated with CRC. Combining the differentially expressed lncRNAs with clinical pathological variables of CRC patients, we also found that LINC00400 and LINC00355 not only contribute to the regulation of ceRNA network, but also show significantchanges in its expression in multiple CRC pathological stages, indicating that LINC00400 and LINC00355 can be considered as promising therapeutic targets for CRC.     

Gene microarray analysis of expression profiles in Suberoyllanilide hyroxamic acid-treated Dendritic cells

Objective

The purpose of this study is to provide a further theoretical basis for the role of Suberoyllanilide hyroxamic acid (SAHA) affect on Dendritic cells (DCs).

乙型肝炎病毒体外感染和复制的细胞模型

慢性乙型肝炎病毒(Hepatitis B virus,HBV)感染是严重威胁人类生命健康的世界性公共卫生问题。基于现有抗HBV药物的治疗策略,仅能在极少部分患者中实现慢性乙肝的功能性治愈。发展更为有效的抗HBV药物,需要更加透彻全面地认识各个病毒组分和关键宿主因子在HBV感染和复制生命周期中发挥的功能和机制,并在此基础上发现鉴定新的治疗靶点。支持HBV体外感染和复制的细胞模型,是研究HBV生活史的重要工具,并在治疗新靶点的发现和候选药物功效评估等研究工作中发挥关键作用。本文对支持HBV感染和复制细胞模型的新近研究进展进行梳理分析,并对这些模型的应用特点和局限性、新近研究进展和未来发展方向进行系统阐述和讨论。     

艾纳香内生真菌Diaporthe sp.次生代谢产物

【目的】从艾纳香内生菌J1中获得活性次生代谢产物。【方法】对菌株J1进行ITS序列分子鉴定,综合运用多种色谱技术对其发酵产物进行分离纯化,结合波谱学技术对其进行结构表征。【结果】经构建系统进化树,鉴定菌株J1为Diaporthe sp.,从该菌株大米培养基中分离得到7个单体化合物,经鉴定分别为Dicerandrol A (1)、Dicerandrol B (2)、4,6-dihydroxy-1H-isoindole1,3(2H)-dione (3)、Cytochalasin H (4)、Cytochalasin J (5)、4,6-dihydroxy-2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindol-1-one (6)、Cerebroside C (7)。所有化合物均为首次从该菌中分得,化合物1对枯草芽孢杆菌Bacillus subtilis KCTC 1021具有非常强的抑制活性,MIC值为0.125μg/mL。【结论】Diaporthe sp.富含抑菌活性化合物,具有开发成微生物源农药潜力。