NeuN/Fox-3 is an intrinsic component of the neuronal nuclear matrix

NeuN is an antigen detected in the nucleus of neurons in a wide range of vertebrates and so it is widely used as a tool for detecting neuronal cells. NeuN has been recently identified as Fox-3, a new member of the Fox-1 gene family of splicing factors. The predominant localization of NeuN/Fox-3 to neuronal nuclei and its role in splicing pose the question of the nuclear compartmentalization of such a protein. Here we provide evidence that NeuN/Fox-3 is an intrinsic component of the neuronal nuclear matrix and a reliable marker of nuclear speckles in neurons.

Structured summary

MINT-7890176: Fox-3 (uniprotkb:B7ZC13) and Splicing factor SC35 (uniprotkb:Q6PDU1) colocalize (MI:0403) by fluorescence microscopy (MI:0416)     

Frequency equalized compounding for effective speckle reduction in medical ultrasound imaging

Frequency compounding (FC) is commonly used to reduce the speckle variance in order to enhance contrast resolution by averaging two or more uncorrelated sub-band images. However, due to the frequency dependent attenuation, the contrast resolution cannot be enhanced to the theoretical limit when imaging deep-lying tissue. In this paper, we propose the frequency equalized compounding (FEC) method to achieve contrast enhancement in the area of imaging as a whole. In this proposed method, a sub-band signal is divided into several zones along the imaging depth (or time), and the center frequencies and weighting factors for each zone are estimated; the estimated values are used in dynamic quadrature demodulation (DQDM) and image compounding respectively. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated through simulations and experiments. During the evaluation, the contrast resolution was quantified by speckle's signal-to-noise ratio (SSNR) in speckle regions and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in hyper- and hypoechoic regions. Theoretical values of the SSNR and the CNR by the FC were computed by multiplying the SSNR and CNR values measured from the original image by $\sqrt{N}$, where N is the number of sub-bands used in the compounding. From in vitro phantom experiments, it was learned that the SSNR and CNR values from the proposed method were similar to the theoretical values; the maximum and minimum errors from the theoretical value were 9% and 1% while those of the conventional FC (CFC) method were 25% and 7%. Similar results were obtained from the in vivo experiments with RF data acquired from the liver and the kidney. In addition, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement was measured. The SNR also improved due to the DQDM; maximum improvements for the in vitro and the in vivo experiments were 2.3 dB and 4.8 dB higher the results from the CFC method. These results demonstrate that the proposed FEC method can improve the contrast resolution up to a theoretically achievable value and may be useful in imaging technically difficult patients.     

New insights in LV torsion for the selection of cardiac resynchronisation therapy candidates

Recent literature indicates that torsion of the left ventricle (LV) is a promising predictor for response to cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT). Among patients with severe heart failure, 45 to 75% of patients show rigid body rotation, where the base and apex rotate in the same direction, instead of normal, opposite rotation. The occurrence of this phenomenon seems to be a good indicator for response to CRT. From this review, it can be concluded that LV torsion might be a welcome addition to current selection criteria.     

Effect of cisplatin treatment on speckled distribution of a serine/arginine-rich nuclear protein CROP/Luc7A

The C-half of cisplatin resistance-associated overexpressed protein (CROP), an SR-related protein, comprises domains rich in arginine and glutamate residues (RE domain), and is rich in arginine and serine residues (RS domain). We analyzed the role of the individual domains of CROP in cellular localization, subnuclear localization, and protein-protein interaction. CROP fused with green fluorescent protein, GFP-CROP, localized exclusively to the nucleus and showed a speckled intranuclear distribution. The yeast two-hybrid system revealed that CROP interacted with SF2/ASF, an SR protein involved in RNA splicing, as well as CROP itself. The RE and RS domains were necessary for both the intranuclear speckled distribution and the protein-protein interaction. CROP was phosphorylated by mSRPK1, mSRPK2, and Clk1 in vitro, and when cells were treated with cisplatin the subnuclear distribution of GFP-CROP was changed. These results suggest that cisplatin affects RNA splicing by changing the subnuclear distribution of SR proteins including CROP.     

激光诱发家蚕孤雌生殖的研究：Ⅲ单性一号及单性二号性状表现

采用CO_2激光扩束辐照诱发家蚕孤雌生殖,从获得的单性蚕中,选择出单性一号和单性二号两个类型,单性一号由血色限性突变为斑纹限性,体质强健好养,单性二号仍保持亲本的血色限性,但茧丝质有了提高。     

Including surrounding tissue improves ultrasound-based 3D mechanical characterization of abdominal aortic aneurysms

ObjectivesIn this study the influence of surrounding tissues including the presence of the spine on wall stress analysis and mechanical characterization of abdominal aortic aneurysms using ultrasound imaging has been investigated.MethodsGeometries of 7 AAA patients and 11 healthy volunteers were acquired using 3-D ultrasound and converted to finite element based models. Model complexity of externally unsupported (aorta-only) models was complemented with inclusion of both soft tissue around the aorta and a spine support dorsal to the aorta. Computed 3-D motion of the aortic wall was verified by means of ultrasound speckle tracking. Resulting stress, strain, and estimated shear moduli were analyzed to quantify the effect of adding surrounding material supports.ResultsAn improved agreement was shown between the ultrasound measurements and the finite element tissue and spine models compared to the aorta-only models. Peak and 99-percentile Von Mises stress showed an overall decrease of 23–30%, while estimated shear modulus decreased with 12–20% after addition of the soft tissue. Shear strains in the aortic wall were higher in areas close to the spine compared to the anterior region.ConclusionsImproving model complexity with surrounding tissue and spine showed a homogenization of wall stresses, reduction in homogeneity of shear strain at the posterior side of the AAA, and a decrease in estimated aortic wall shear modulus. Future research will focus on the importance of a patient-specific spine geometry and location.     

LncRNA ADAMTS9‐AS2 suppresses the proliferation of gastric cancer cells and the tumorigenicity of cancer stem cells through regulating SPOP

Nowadays, research on CSCs is still in an initial stage, and there are few studies reporting the successful isolation and identification of CSCs. In the present study, we attempted to isolate CSCs through cultivating the cell line MKN45 in defined serum‐free medium and study the expression of stem cell markers or related proteins (Oct3/4, Sox2, Nanog and CD44) in CSCs. Moreover, immunofluorescence staining was performed to validate the stem cell markers of spheroid body‐forming cells. Further experiments were used to evaluate the SPOP expression in tumorsphere cells. In addition, ADAMTS9‐AS2 is a lncRNA that contributes to the genesis and development of many cancers, including gastric cancer (GC). We found ADAMTS9‐AS2 functioned as an anti‐oncogene and positively correlated with the expression of SPOP in GC tissues by combining bioinformatics analyses. Furthermore, we reported that ADAMTS9‐AS2 regulated the expression of SPOP in GC cells and tumorsphere cells to inhibit GC progression. Together, our results demonstrated that SPOP and ADAMTS9‐AS2 can be potential targets for GC treatment.     

斑点追踪技术评价冠心病患者PCI术前后左室心肌力学改变

目的:探讨斑点追踪成像(speckle tracking imaging,STI)技术评价经皮冠状动脉介入(percutaneous coronary intervention,PCI)术对冠状动脉严重狭窄患者左室心肌力学的改变。方法:病变组(冠状动脉左前降支狭窄75%患者)30例,分别于PCI术前1天和术后3天、术后3个月接受超声心动图检查,测量的常规指标包括:左室射血分数(LVEF)、左室舒张末内径(LVDd)、左室舒张末容积(LVEd V),同时应用STI技术测量缺血心肌节段收缩期峰值应变参数:纵向、径向、圆周应变LS、RS、CS。体检健康者30例为对照组进行比较分析。结果:1与对照组比较,病变组PCI术前缺血心肌应变值(LS、RS、CS)均呈不同程度减低,差异均有统计学意义(P0.05);术后3天与术前比较均无统计学差异(P0.05);PCI术后3个月病变组LS、RS、CS较术前均不同程度提高,差异均有统计学意义(P0.05),与对照组比较,差异无统计学意义(P0.05);2病变组PCI术前后不同时间点与对照组比较,LVEF、LVDd、LVEd V均无统计学差异(P0.05)。结论:STI技术可定量敏感的评价冠状动脉严重狭窄患者缺血心肌力学改变,为评价PCI术对冠心病患者的疗效提供了客观依据。     

斑点追踪技术对非ST 段抬高急性冠脉综合征的研究进展

非ST段抬高急性冠脉综合征(Non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndrome,NSTE-ACS)是不稳定斑块基础上急性血栓形成,冠脉狭窄程度骤然加剧,冠脉血流减少导致心肌氧供应的直接减少为病理基础的一组临床综合征,好发于老年人,常累及多支血管,由于其心电图及常规超声心动图表现不典型,容易给临床带来困扰,斑点追踪成像(speckle tracking imaging,STI)无角度依赖性分别评价左室纵向、圆周、径向、扭转功能,为敏感评价左室功能早期改变提供了新的方法,本文对非ST段抬高急性冠脉综合征患者的临床特点以及斑点追踪技术的临床应用研究进展进行了综述。