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.

     

A prognostic eight-gene expression signature for patients with breast cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy

Breast cancer is a popularly diagnosed malignant tumor. Genomic profiling studies suggest that breast cancer is a disease with heterogeneity. Chemotherapy is one of the chief means to treat breast cancer, while its responses and clinical outcomes vary largely due to the conventional clinicopathological factors and inherent chemosensitivity of breast cancer. Using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression model, our study established a multi-mRNA-based signature model and constructed a relative nomogram in predicting distant-recurrence-free survival for patients receiving surgery and following chemotherapy. We constructed a signature of eight mRNAs (IPCEF1, SYNDIG1, TIGIT, SPESP1, C2CD4A, CLCA2, RLN2, and CCL19) with the LASSO model, which was employed to separate subjects into groups with high- and low-risk scores. Obvious differences of distant-recurrence-free survival were found between these two groups. This eight-mRNA-based signature was independently associated with the prognosis and had better prognostic value than classical clinicopathologic factors according to multivariate Cox regression results. Receiver operating characteristic results demonstrated excellent performance in diagnosing 3-year distant-recurrence by the eight-mRNA signature. A nomogram that combined both the eight-mRNA-based signature and clinicopathological risk factors was constructed. Comparing with an ideal model, the nomograms worked well both in the training and validation sets. Through the results that the eight-mRNA signature effectively classified patients into low- and high-risk of distant recurrence, we concluded that this eight-mRNA-based signature played a promising predictive role in prognosis and could be clinically applied in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy.     

Actinoplanes hulinensis sp. nov., a novel actinomycete isolated from soybean root (Glycine max (L.) Merr)

A novel actinomycete, designated strain NEAU-M9^T, was isolated from soybean root (Glycine max (L.) Merr) and characterized using a polyphasic approach. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity studies showed that strain NEAU-M9^T belonged to the genus Actinoplanes, being most closely related to Actinoplanes campanulatus DSM 43148^T (98.85 %), Actinoplanes capillaceus DSM 44859^T (98.70 %), Actinoplanes lobatus DSM 43150^T (98.30 %), Actinoplanes auranticolor DSM 43031^T (98.23 %) and Actinoplanes sichuanensis 03-723^T (98.06 %); similarity to other type strains of the genus Actinoplanes ranged from 95.87 to 97.56 %. The neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolate formed a distinct phyletic line with A. campanulatus DSM 43148^T and A. capillaceus DSM 44859^T. This branching pattern was also supported by the tree constructed with the maximum-likelihood method. However, the low level of DNA–DNA relatedness allowed the isolate to be differentiated from the above-mentioned two Actinoplanes species. Moreover, strain NEAU-M9^T could also be distinguished from the most closely related species by morphological, physiological and characteristics. Therefore, it is proposed that strain NEAU-M9^T represents a novel Actinoplanes species, Actinoplanes hulinensis sp. nov. The type strain of Actinoplanes hulinensis is NEAU-M9^T (= CGMCC 4.7036^T = DSM 45728^T).     

Genome-wide identification of novel microRNAs from genome sequences using computational approach in the mudskipper (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Boleophthalmus pectinirostris</Emphasis>)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), approximately 22 nucleotides (nt) long, are small, non-coding RNA molecules with important regulatory functions in gene expression. They are mostly conserved among the organisms and this conservation makes them a good source for the identification of novel miRNAs by computational genomic homology. The miRNA repertoire of a major aquaculture species, Boleophthalmus pectinirostris, has been unknown until recently. Currently, the B. pectinirostris whole-genome sequences have been completed, making it more convenient for us to focus on computational prediction for novel miRNA homologs. Following a range of strict filtering criteria, a total of 62 potential miRNAs were identified for the first time; they belong to 39 different miRNA families. All these miRNAs were observed in the stem portion of the stable stem–loop structures. The minimum free energy (MFE) of the predicted miRNAs ranged from ?21.6 to ?62.7 kcal/mol with an average of ?39.2 kcal/mol. The A + U ranged from 32.5 to 69.1% with an average value of 52.2%. The phylogenetic analysis of predicted miRNAs revealed that miR-23a-3p, miR-184-3p, miR-214-5p, and miR-338-3p from B. pectinirostris are evolutionary highly conserved showing more similarity with other fish species. To verify the predicted miRNAs, selected miRNAs representing 16 of the 39 families were confirmed by stem–loop RT-PCR, indicating that the computational approach that we used to identify the miRNAs is a highly efficient and affordable alternative method. Taken together, these findings provide a reference point for further research on miRNAs identification in fish species, meanwhile, our study also will be useful for further insight into biological functions of miRNAs and improved understanding of genome in B. pectinirostris.     

高温季节控温诱导池养鳗鲡性腺发育的研究

在高温季节(6～9月),采用人工控温的方法,通过注射外源激素hCG和CPE,对日本鳗鲡进行了催熟试验.结果表明,在人工控制温度(18±2℃)条件下,雌性和雄性日本鳗鲡均可达到性成熟,诱导成熟率分别为73.33%和67.77%,而常温条件下(25～32℃)的诱导成熟率分别为0和33.33%.同时对控温条件下诱导成熟的部分雌性鳗鲡进行了催产,其排卵率为70%,受精率为32%,均接近或达到了低温季节相应的指标(平均分别为62.1%和3.2%).对胚胎发育过程也进行了观察,受精卵能正常发育,在22和2℃下,分别经过39 h 15 min和3 h 9 min孵化出膜.试验证明,在高温季节采用人工控温的方法诱导日本鳗鲡性成熟是可能的.     

川金丝猴柯萨奇病毒的分离鉴定

利用细胞培养方法从长春某动物园送检的死亡川金丝猴心脏中分离获得1株柯萨奇病毒,经系统的形态学、理化学、动物回归试验和RT-PCR扩增,符合柯萨奇B型病毒特征;进而对其VP1基因部分序列和特异性血清抗体分析,证明所分离的病毒为柯萨奇B3型病毒.这是国内外首次从金丝猴分离到该病毒,暂命名为CVB/SGM-05.     

混杂试验的多元分析

本文首次提出混杂试验的多元统计分析方法,并以香茅肥料试验为实例,论述平方和与乘积和矩阵的分解及总自由度的裂分方法,各种WilksA统计量的构造及其显著性测验法．最后给出了笔者编制的SAS统计分析程序．     

临床死亡川金丝猴心肌炎病例的诊断及病因分析

对临床送检的急性死亡川金丝猴进行解剖,观察各组织脏器的大体病理变化并对其进行中性甲醛固定、石蜡包埋切片和病理组织学分析;无菌操作进行肉汤法分离培养细菌和细胞培养法分离病毒,通过形态学、动物回归试验和RT-PCR 方法对分离的病原进行培养、鉴定。结果,眼观心肌呈局灶性坏死,镜下心肌纤维断裂、崩解,肌间有大量炎性细胞浸润,呈典型的病毒性心肌炎变化;从肺脏中分离获得大肠杆菌;电镜负染可见心肌组织匀浆液和心包积液以及其Vero 细胞培养物中均有直径在20 ～ 25 nm,形似小RNA 病毒的粒子存在;RTPCR检测结果说明所分离病毒为柯萨奇B 型病毒;动物回归试验证实,分离的大肠杆菌对昆明种小鼠无致病性,而分离的病毒对小鼠有致病性,且病理组织学变化与金丝猴相似。根据临床症状、病理剖检和病理组织学变化特征,结合病原分离结果综合分析,推测该金丝猴死亡的原因可能与该病毒感染有关。