EA15, MIR22, LINC00472 as diagnostic markers for diabetic kidney disease

This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and to explore new potential therapeutic strategies and biomarkers for DKD. First we analyzed the differentially expressed changes between patients with DKD and the control group using the chip data in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Then the gene chip was subjected to be annotated again, so as to screen long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and study expression differences of these lncRNAs in DKD and controlled samples. At last, the function of the differential lncRNAs was analyzed. A total of 252 lncRNAs were identified, and 14 were differentially expressed. In addition, there were 1,629 differentially expressed messenger RNAs (mRNAs) genes, and proliferation and apoptosis adapter protein 15 (PEA15), MIR22, and long intergenic nonprotein coding RNA 472 ( LINC00472) were significantly differentially expressed in DKD samples. Through functional analysis of the encoding genes coexpressed by the three lncRNAs, we found these genes were mainly enriched in type 1 diabetes and autoimmune thyroid disease pathways, whereas in Gene Ontology (GO) function classification, they were also mainly enriched in the immune response, type I interferon signaling pathways, interferon-γ mediated signaling pathways, and so forth. To summary, we identified EA15, MIR22, and LINC00472 may serve as the potential diagnostic markers of DKD.     

Calcitonin administration improves endometrial receptivity via regulation of LIF,Muc-1 and microRNA Let-7a in mice

Calcitonin (CT) is one of the factors affecting the embryo implantation, but its effects on the implantation window have not been fully investigated. The current study investigated the effects of CT on the endometrium receptivity by morphological study and evaluation of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), mucin 1 (Muc-1), and microRNA (miRNA) Let-7a in the ovarian stimulation and the normal ovarian cycle. Then the mechanism of the CT effects through the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway was studied by using PP242. A total of 64 BALB/c mice were divided into the normal ovarian cycle and ovarian stimulation groups. Each group consisted of four subgroups: control, calcitonin, PP242, and calcitonin+PP242. CT and PP242 were injected on the fourth of pregnancy into the mice and 24 hr later all the mice were killed. The uterine tissue samples were used for morphological analysis, and endometrial cells were mechanically isolated for evaluation of gene and protein expression. The results showed that ovarian stimulation induced mTOR phosphorylation as well as increased expression of the Let-7a miRNA. In addition, CT injection increased the expression of LIF and miRNA Let-7a in ovarian stimulation similar to that in normal ovarian cycles. However, injection of PP242 reduced expression of miRNA Let-7a and increased Muc-1 expression in ovarian stimulation group. In conclusion, the administration of CT improved endometrial receptivity in mice. This phenomenon occurred by upregulation of LIF, miRNA Let-7a and downregulation of Muc-1 via mTOR signaling pathway.     

Exogenous carnitine application augments transport of fatty acids into mitochondria and stimulates mitochondrial respiration in maize seedlings grown under normal and cold conditions

This study aimed to investigate whether exogenous application of carnitine stimulates transportation of fatty acids into mitochondria, which is an important part of fatty acid trafficking in cells, and mitochondrial respiration in the leaves of maize seedlings grown under normal and cold conditions. Cold stress led to significant increases in lipase activity, which is responsible for the breakdown of triacylglycerols, and carnitine acyltransferase (carnitine acyltransferase I and II) activities, which are responsible for the transport of activated long-chain fatty acids into mitochondria. While exogenous application of carnitine has a similar promoting effect with cold stress on lipase activity, it resulted in further increases in the activity of carnitine acyltransferases compared to cold stress. The highest activity levels for these enzymes were recorded in the seedlings treated with cold plus carnitine. In addition, these increases were correlated with positive increases in the contents of free- and long-chain acylcarnitines (decanoyl-l-carnitine, lauroyl-l-carnitine, myristoyl-l-carnitine, and stearoyl-l-carnitine), and with decreases in the total lipid content. The highest values for free- and long-chain acylcarnitines and the lowest value for total lipid content were recorded in the seedlings treated with cold plus carnitine. On the other hand, carnitine with and without cold stress significantly upregulated the expression level of citrate synthase, which is responsible for catalysing the first reaction of the citric acid cycle, and cytochrome oxidase, which is the membrane-bound terminal enzyme in the electron transfer chain, as well as lipase. All these results revealed that on the one hand, carnitine enhanced transport of fatty acids into mitochondria by increasing the activities of lipase and carnitine acyltransferases, and, on the other hand, stimulated mitochondrial respiration in the leaves of maize seedlings grown under normal and cold conditions.     

Establishment of a novel testicular cell line from sterlet Acipenser ruthenus and evaluation of its applications

In this study, a cell line, designated as Acipenser ruthenus testis (ART), was successfully established from testis tissues of the sterlet Acipenser ruthenus and characterized by studying and comparing the expression of specific genes between the cell line and the parent gonad tissues. The results suggested that the developed ART cell line was composed of a mixture of germ cells and somatic cells. Ploidy analysis indicated that the cell line exhibited a high degree of genetic stability and that the cells remained in a good proliferating state after being subcultured to passage 80.     

Evaluation of reference genes for quantitative real-time PCR analysis of messenger RNAs and microRNAs in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss under heat stress

We assessed the expression stability of several messenger (m)RNAs and micro (mi)RNAs from liver and head kidney of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss using high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and miRNA-seq data. Additionally, four commonly used reference genes and one small non-coding RNA (u6) were also selected to identify ideal reference mRNAs and miRNAs for quantitative real-time (qrt)-PCR analysis of heat stress responses. GeNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper and comparative ΔC_t were employed for analysis of qrt-PCR data to systematically assess the expression stability of candidate mRNAs and miRNAs and stability was ranked using geometric means. β-actin and ef1-α were the most stably expressed reference mRNAs in liver and head kidney, respectively and ssa-mir-26a-5p and ssa-mir-462b-5p were the most stably expressed miRNAs in these tissues. This is the first identification of appropriate reference mRNAs and miRNAs for qrt-PCR analysis of O. mykiss under heat stress.