circ_SEPT9, a newly identified circular RNA,promotes oral squamous cell carcinoma progression through miR‐1225/PKN2 axis

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) represent a newly discovered class of endogenous non‐coding RNAs which are widely expressed and play important roles in disease progression. However, the function of circRNAs in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) still remains largely unknown. In this research, we found that circ_SEPT9 was highly expressed in OSCC cell lines and tumour tissues. Results showed that circ_SEPT9 promoted OSCC proliferation and tumour growth. And, circ_SEPT9 also enhanced the migration and invasion of OSCC cells. Mechanically, we found that circ_SEPT9 acted as a sponge for miR‐1225 to rescue PKN2 expression in OSCC cells. Inhibition of circ_SEPT9/miR‐1225/PKN2 pathway could effectively block the proliferation and metastasis of OSCC cells. Our study provides strong evidence that circ_SEPT9/miR‐1225/PKN2 axis is a promising target for OSCC treatment.     

幽门螺杆菌感染性胃癌组织中cyclinD1、MMP-9的表达及其临床意义

目的:探讨幽门螺杆菌(HP)感染性胃癌组织中细胞周期蛋白D1(cyclinD1)、基质金属蛋白酶-9(MMP-9)的表达及其临床意义。方法:选取2016年12月到2018年6月期间在兰州大学第一医院接受治疗的胃癌患者80例,收集其手术切除的病理组织。采用C-14呼气试验和改良Giemsa染色检测患者HP感染的情况,采用免疫组化法检测胃癌组织中cyclinD1、MMP-9表达情况。分析HP感染、cyclinD1、MMP-9表达与胃癌患者临床病理特征的关系,并分析胃癌患者HP感染与cyclinD1、MMP-9表达的相关性。结果:80例胃癌患者HP感染阳性56例(70.00%),阴性24例(30.00%)。有淋巴结转移、浸润深度为T3+T4的胃癌患者的HP感染阳性率高于无淋巴结转移、浸润深度为T1+T2的胃癌患者(P0.05)。80例胃癌患者cyclinD1阳性表达45例(56.25%),阴性表达35例(43.75%),MMP-9阳性表达65例(81.25%),阴性表达15例(18.75%),TNM临床分期为III+IV期、分化程度为低分化、有淋巴结转移、浸润深度为T3+T4的胃癌患者的cyclinD1、MMP-9阳性表达率明显高于TNM临床分期为I+II期、分化程度为中高分化、无淋巴结转移、浸润深度为T1+T2的胃癌患者(P0.05)。HP感染阳性患者的cyclinD1阳性表达率和MMP-9阳性表达率均明显高于HP感染阴性患者(P0.05)。Pearson相关分析显示,胃癌患者HP感染与cyclinD1、MMP-9表达均呈正相关(P0.05)。结论:胃癌患者的HP感染情况与淋巴结转移、浸润深度有关,cyclinD1和MMP-9的表达与TNM临床分期、分化程度、淋巴结转移、浸润深度有关,且胃癌患者HP感染与cyclinD1、MMP-9表达均呈正相关。     

Etk敲除及过表达细胞株构建并探讨Etk对细胞增殖的影响

目的:利用CRISPR-Cas9技术在人脐静脉内皮细胞(Human umbilical vein endothelial cells,HUVECs)中构建Etk(Epithelial and endothelial tyrosine kinase)敲除稳定细胞株以及利用慢病毒构建Etk过表达稳定细胞株,并初步探讨Etk基因对HUVECs细胞增殖的影响。方法:利用CRISPR-Cas9技术,使用在线工具设计针对Etk的sgRNA (https://chopchop.rc.fas.harvard.edu/)。将sgRNA利用连接酶整合到病毒载体中,包被病毒并感染HUVECs敲除HUVECs中的内源性Etk。利用嘌呤霉素筛选得到Etk敲除的稳定细胞株。PCR扩增Etk基因序列,将其整合到pLEX-MCS慢病毒过表达载体中构建Etk过表达重组质粒。包被病毒并感染HUVECs,在HUVECs中过表达Etk,利用嘌呤霉素筛选得到Etk过表达的稳定细胞株。利用qRT-PCR和Western-Blotting检测Etk的敲除和过表达情况。利用CCK-8盒子检测两种稳定细胞株细胞增殖情况。结果:利用CRISPR-Cas9技术有效的敲除HUVECs中内源性Etk,同对照相比,Etk的mRNA和蛋白水平显著地降低(P0.01)。同时利用慢病毒在HUVECs中过表达Etk,同对照相比,在过表达Etk稳定细胞株中Etk的mRNA和蛋白表达显著上调(P0.01)。CCK-8检测发现,Etk敲除降低细胞增殖能力;而Etk过表达增加细胞增殖能力。结论:通过CRISPR-Cas9技术成功在HUVECs中敲除Etk,利用慢病毒过表达系统成功的在HUVECs中过表达Etk,并且初步验证了Etk促进HUVECs细胞增殖。     

Defining endogenous barcoding sites for CRISPR/Cas9-based cell lineage tracing in zebrafish

There is a growing interest in developing experimental methods for tracking the developmental cell lineages of a complex organism.The recently developed CRISPR/Cas9-based barcoding method is,although highly promising,difficult to scale up because it relies on exogenous barcoding sequences that are engineered into the genome.In this study,we characterized 78 high-quality endogenous sites in the zebrafish genome that can be used as CRISPR/Cas9-based barcoding sites.The 78 sites are all highly expressed in most of the cell types according to single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNA-seq)data.Hence,the barcoding information of the 78 endogenous sites is recovered by the available scRNA-seq platforms,enabling simultaneous characterization of cell type and cell lineage information.     

Hotspots of biotic compositional change in lakes along vast latitudinal transects in northern Canada

Ecotones mark zones of rapid change in ecological structure at various spatial scales. They are believed to be particularly susceptible to shifts caused by environmental transformation, making them key regions for studying the effects of global change. Here, we explored the variation in assemblage structure of aquatic primary producer and consumer communities across latitudinal transects in northeastern North America (Québec‐Labrador) to identify spatial patterns in biodiversity that indicated the location of transition zones across the landscape. We analyzed species richness and the cumulative rate of compositional change (expressed as beta‐diversity) of diatoms and chironomids to detect any abrupt shifts in the rate of spatial taxonomic turnover. We used principal coordinates analysis to estimate community turnover with latitude, then applied piecewise linear regression to assess the position of ecotones. Statistically significant changes in assemblage composition occurred at 52 and 55°N, corresponding to the transition between closed‐ and open‐crown forest, and to the southern onset of the forest tundra (i.e., the forest limit), respectively. The spatial distribution of ecotones was most strongly related to air temperature for chironomids and to vegetation‐ and soil‐related chemical attributes of lake water for diatoms, including dissolved organic carbon content and water color. Lakes at mid‐ to high‐latitudes currently face pressures from rapidly rising temperatures, accompanied by large increases in organic carbon inputs from their catchments, often leading to browning and its associated effects. The biota at the base of food webs in lakes located in transition zones are disproportionately affected by the cascading effects of these multi‐factorial changes, concurrent with pronounced terrestrial greening observed in these regions. Similar patterns of biotic shifts have been observed along alpine aquatic transects, indicating the potential for widespread restructuring of cold, high‐altitude and high‐latitude freshwater communities due to global change.     

A Site‐Specific Integration Reporter System That Enables Rapid Evaluation of CRISPR/Cas9‐Mediated Genome Editing Strategies in CHO Cells

Targeted gene knockout and site‐specific integration (SSI) are powerful genome editing techniques to improve the development of industrially relevant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines. However, past efforts to perform SSI in CHO cells are characterized by low efficiencies. Moreover, numerous strategies proposed to boost SSI efficiency in mammalian cell types have yet to be evaluated head to head or in combination to appreciably boost efficiencies in CHO. To enable systematic and rapid optimization of genome editing methods, the SSIGNAL (s ite‐s pecific i ntegration and g en ome al teration) reporter system is developed. This tool can analyze CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats)/Cas9 (CRISPR‐associated protein 9)‐mediated disruption activity alone or in conjunction with SSI efficiency. The reporter system uses green and red dual‐fluorescence signals to indicate genotype states within four days following transfection, facilitating rapid data acquisition via standard flow cytometry instrumentation. In addition to describing the design and development of the system, two of its applications are demonstrated by first comparing transfection conditions to maximize CRISPR/Cas9 activity and subsequently assessing the efficiency of several promising SSI strategies. Due to its sensitivity and versatility, the SSIGNAL reporter system may serve as a tool to advance genome editing technology.     

A biotechnology‐based male‐sterility system for hybrid seed production in tomato

Incorporating male sterility into hybrid seed production reduces its cost and ensures high varietal purity. Despite these advantages, male‐sterile lines have not been widely used to produce tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) hybrid seeds. We describe the development of a biotechnology‐based breeding platform that utilized genic male sterility to produce hybrid seeds. In this platform, we generated a novel male‐sterile tomato line by clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR‐associated protein 9 (Cas9)‐mediated mutagenesis of a stamen‐specific gene SlSTR1 and devised a transgenic maintainer by transforming male‐sterile plants with a fertility‐restoration gene linked to a seedling‐colour gene. Offspring of crosses between a hemizygous maintainer and the homozygous male‐sterile plant segregated into 50% non‐transgenic male‐sterile plants and 50% male‐fertile maintainer plants, which could be easily distinguished by seedling colour. This system has great practical potential for hybrid seed breeding and production as it overcomes the problems intrinsic to other male‐sterility systems and can be easily adapted for a range of tomato cultivars and diverse vegetable crops.     

植酶Q9对大田遮阴夏玉米产量和衰老特性的调控作用

黄淮海夏季太阳辐射量降低以及种植密度增加引起了夏玉米冠层光照不足,产量大幅降低。本试验选用夏玉米品种‘登海605'(DH605)为试验材料,设置3个遮阴处理:花粒期遮阴(S₁)、穗期遮阴(S₂)和全生育期遮阴(S₃),以大田自然光照为对照(CK),并选用化控试剂植酶Q9(原液稀释100倍)对遮阴处理和CK进行外源调控,即花粒期遮阴-植酶Q9(S₁Q)、穗期遮阴-植酶Q9(S₂Q)、全生育期遮阴-植酶Q9(S₃Q)及大田自然光照-植酶Q9(CKQ),化控处理以同时期喷施清水为对照,探讨植酶Q9对大田遮阴夏玉米衰老特性的调控作用。结果表明: 遮阴显著降低了夏玉米的叶面积指数(LAI)、功能叶片叶绿素相对含量值(SPAD值)和净光合速率,进而显著降低了夏玉米产量。同时,遮阴夏玉米穗位叶的超氧物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化物酶(POD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性显著降低,丙二醛(MDA)、游离脯氨酸含量显著增加,可溶性蛋白含量显著降低。喷施植酶Q9后,S₃Q和S₂Q的LAI、功能叶片SPAD值和净光合速率显著提高;S₃Q、S₂Q、S₁Q的MDA和游离脯氨酸含量显著降低,可溶性蛋白含量和POD活性显著提高,S₂Q、S₃Q各时期的SOD和CAT活性显著提高;S₃Q、S₂Q、S₁Q的产量分别较S₃、S₂、S₁平均提高19%、8%、7%,CKQ与CK间无显著差异。因此,喷施植酶Q9通过提高弱光胁迫下夏玉米的光合能力,延缓叶片的衰老,增加产量,可有效缓解弱光胁迫导致的减产危害。