Effects of hormone sources on developmental competence of oocytes by ovum pickup in Japanese black cattle.

Japanese Black (Wagyu) cattle donors were primed with different protocols and sources of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) for successive ovum pickup (OPU) and embryo development after in vitro fertilization (IVF). Following OPU, retrieved cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) were subjected to IVF, and resulting blastocysts were transferred into recipients to evaluate implantation capability. Experiment 1: The best blastocyst development (45.3 %) and embryo yields (5.0/donor/OPU) were found with oocytes retrieved from donors treated with FSH (STIMUFOL®, Belgium) at a dosage of 150 IU per donor, compared to two others commercial FSH sources. Experiment 2: There were no differences in embryo development or yield with STIMUFOL FSH (total FSH 150 IU/donor) at a priming duration of either 60-h (Regime 1, six FSH injections) or 36-h (Regime 2, four FSH injections). Experiment 3: Compacted COCs required 22-26-h maturation in vitro (IVM) before IVF for optimal blastocyst development (36.1-41.1 %); however, short (18-h) and prolonged (30-h) IVM duration resulted in lower embryonic development. In contrast, expanded COCs resulted in inferior blastocyst development compared to compacted COCs. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that the ratio of 89.8 % cumulus compacted COCs were at the germinal vesicle (pachytene) phase while 98.9 % cumulus expanded COCs went through spontaneous meiosis from meiotic metaphase I, anaphase I, telophase I to metaphase II upon OPU retrieval (P<0.05). Pregnancy rates were not different among three FSH sources or different FSH treatments as long as embryos reached the blastocyst stage. Our study found that different sources of FSH used for Wagyu donor priming prior to OPU resulted in differential embryo development potentials, but those embryos that reached out to blastocysts had a competent implantation ability.

SNAP-25, but not SNAP-23, is essential for photoreceptor development, survival, and function in mice.

SNARE-mediated vesicular transport is thought to play roles in photoreceptor glutamate exocytosis and photopigment delivery. However, the functions of Synaptosomal-associated protein (SNAP) isoforms in photoreceptors are unknown. Here, we revisit the expression of SNAP-23 and SNAP-25 and generate photoreceptor-specific knockout mice to investigate their roles. Although we find that SNAP-23 shows weak mRNA expression in photoreceptors, SNAP-23 removal does not affect retinal morphology or vision. SNAP-25 mRNA is developmentally regulated and undergoes mRNA trafficking to photoreceptor inner segments at postnatal day 9 (P9). SNAP-25 knockout photoreceptors develop normally until P9 but degenerate by P14 resulting in severe retinal thinning. Photoreceptor loss in SNAP-25 knockout mice is associated with abolished electroretinograms and vision loss. We find mistrafficked photopigments, enlarged synaptic vesicles, and abnormal synaptic ribbons which potentially underlie photoreceptor degeneration. Our results conclude that SNAP-25, but not SNAP-23, mediates photopigment delivery and synaptic functioning required for photoreceptor development, survival, and function.

Electron-deficient Fe3O4@AC-NH2@Cu-MOF nanoparticles for enhanced degradation of electron-rich benzene derivatives via synergistic adsorption and catalytic oxidation.

Benzene derivatives in wastewater have negative impacts on ecosystems and human health, making their removal prior to discharge imperative. In this study, Fe3O4@AC-NH2@Cu-opa (AC-NH2 = aminoclay, Cu-opa = [Cu(opa)(bipy)0.5(H2O)]n (H2opa = 3-(4-oxypyridinium-1-yl) phthalic acid)) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized as adsorbent and catalyst for phenolic compound removal from wastewater. Fe3O4@AC-NH2@Cu-opa NPs demonstrated outstanding performance in the adsorption of phenol, exhibiting a remarkable adsorption capacity of up to 166.39 mg g-1 according to the Langmuir model. The composite also exhibited higher Fenton activity toward the degradation of electron-rich organic phenolic pollutants, with a rate approximately 3.4 times higher than that of Fe3O4 alone. The high catalytic activity of the composite was attributed to the large surface area and abundant active sites of the 2D charge-separated Cu-MOF. Meanwhile, the superparamagnetism of the Fe3O4 core enabled magnetic recollection and reuse without any significant loss of activity. Therefore, use of Fe3O4@AC-NH2@Cu-opa/H2O2 shows potential in an efficient method for the removal of phenolic compounds from wastewater.

Progenitor division and cell autonomous neurosecretion are required for rod photoreceptor sublaminar positioning.

Migration is essential for the laminar stratification and connectivity of neurons in the central nervous system. In the retina, photoreceptors (PRs) migrate to positions according to birthdate, with early-born cells localizing to the basal-most side of the outer nuclear layer. It was proposed that apical progenitor mitoses physically drive these basal translocations non-cell autonomously, but direct evidence is lacking, and whether other mechanisms participate is unknown. Here, combining loss- or gain-of-function assays to manipulate cell cycle regulators (Sonic hedgehog, Cdkn1a/p21) with an in vivo lentiviral labelling strategy, we demonstrate that progenitor division is one of two forces driving basal translocation of rod soma. Indeed, replacing Shh activity rescues abnormal rod translocation in retinal explants. Unexpectedly, we show that rod differentiation also promotes rod soma translocation. While outer segment function or formation is dispensable, Crx and SNARE-dependent synaptic function are essential. Thus, both non-cell and cell autonomous mechanisms underpin PR soma sublaminar positioning in the mammalian retina.

Double mutation of open syntaxin and UNC-18 P334A leads to excitatory-inhibitory imbalance and impairs multiple aspects of C. elegans behavior.

SNARE and Sec/Munc18 proteins are essential in synaptic vesicle exocytosis. Open form t-SNARE syntaxin and UNC-18 P334A are well-studied exocytosis-enhancing mutants. Here we investigate the interrelationship between the two mutations by generating double mutants in various genetic backgrounds in C. elegans. While each single mutation rescued the motility of CAPS/unc-31 and synaptotagmin/snt-1 mutants significantly, double mutations unexpectedly worsened motility or lost their rescuing effects. Electrophysiological analyses revealed that simultaneous mutations of open syntaxin and gain-of-function P334A UNC-18 induces a strong imbalance of excitatory over inhibitory transmission. In liposome fusion assays performed with mammalian proteins, the enhancement of fusion caused by the two mutations individually was abolished when the two mutations were introduced simultaneously, consistent with what we observed in C. elegans. We conclude that open syntaxin and P334A UNC-18 do not have additive beneficial effects, and this extends to C. elegans' characteristics such as motility, growth, offspring bared, body size, and exocytosis, as well as liposome fusion in vitro. Our results also reveal unexpected differences between the regulation of exocytosis in excitatory versus inhibitory synapses.

The Role of Tomosyn in the Regulation of Neurotransmitter Release.

Soluble NSF attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins play a central role in synaptic vesicle (SV) exocytosis. These proteins include the vesicle-associated SNARE protein (v-SNARE) synaptobrevin and the target membrane-associated SNARE proteins (t-SNAREs) syntaxin and SNAP-25. Together, these proteins drive membrane fusion between synaptic vesicles (SV) and the presynaptic plasma membrane to generate SV exocytosis. In the presynaptic active zone, various proteins may either enhance or inhibit SV exocytosis by acting on the SNAREs. Among the inhibitory proteins, tomosyn, a syntaxin-binding protein, is of particular importance because it plays a critical and evolutionarily conserved role in controlling synaptic transmission. In this chapter, we describe how tomosyn was discovered, how it interacts with SNAREs and other presynaptic regulatory proteins to regulate SV exocytosis and synaptic plasticity, and how its various domains contribute to its synaptic functions.

Neuronal SNAP-23 is critical for synaptic plasticity and spatial memory independently of NMDA receptor regulation.

SNARE-mediated membrane fusion plays a crucial role in presynaptic vesicle exocytosis and also in postsynaptic receptor delivery. The latter is considered particularly important for synaptic plasticity and learning and memory, yet the identity of the key SNARE proteins remains elusive. Here, we investigate the role of neuronal synaptosomal-associated protein-23 (SNAP-23) by analyzing pyramidal-neuron specific SNAP-23 conditional knockout (cKO) mice. Electrophysiological analysis of SNAP-23 deficient neurons using acute hippocampal slices showed normal basal neurotransmission in CA3-CA1 synapses with unchanged AMPA and NMDA currents. Nevertheless, we found theta-burst stimulation-induced long-term potentiation (LTP) was vastly diminished in SNAP-23 cKO slices. Moreover, unlike syntaxin-4 cKO mice where both basal neurotransmission and LTP decrease manifested changes in a broad set of behavioral tasks, deficits of SNAP-23 cKO are more limited to spatial memory. Our data reveal that neuronal SNAP-23 is selectively crucial for synaptic plasticity and spatial memory without affecting basal glutamate receptor function.

Investigating a shared-dialect effect between raters and candidates in English speaking tests.

This study set out to examine existence of a shared-dialect effect, a phenomenon that when a rater shares the same dialect with a candidate, the rater is more likely to give the candidate a higher score in English speaking tests. Ten Cantonese-speaking raters and ten Mandarin-speaking raters were selected to assess forty Cantonese-accented and forty Mandarin-accented candidates' oral performance in the retelling task of the Computer-based English Listening and Speaking Test (CELST). Besides, seven raters from each group participated in the stimulated recall stage aiming to reveal their thought process. Quantitative results suggested that the two rater groups were comparable in terms of internal consistency. There were no significant differences in the scores of both candidate groups awarded by both rater groups. The effect of interaction between candidates' dialect and raters' dialect was not statistically significant, indicating non-existence of such effect. Qualitative results showed that some raters attended to candidates' accents, and indicated that awareness of accents and their familiarity with the accents affected their comprehension of the speech samples and potentially influenced their scoring process. The findings are discussed with reference to rater training, rating scale, raters' familiarity with candidates' accents, raters' attitudes toward candidates' accents and the task type. The main implication of this study is that recruiting both group raters in domestic English speaking tests is warranted if the shared-dialect effect could be duly managed.

Identification and validation of an inflammation-related lncRNAs signature for improving outcomes of patients in colorectal cancer.

Background: Colorectal cancer is the fourth most deadly cancer worldwide. Although current treatment regimens have prolonged the survival of patients, the prognosis is still unsatisfactory. Inflammation and lncRNAs are closely related to tumor occurrence and development in CRC. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a new prognostic signature based on inflammation-related lncRNAs to improve the prognosis of patients with CRC. Methods: LASSO-penalized Cox analysis was performed to construct a prognostic signature. Kaplan-Meier curves were used for survival analysis and ROC curves were used to measure the performance of the signature. Functional enrichment analysis was conducted to reveal the biological significance of the signature. The R package "maftool" and GISTIC2.0 algorithm were performed for analysis and visualization of genomic variations. The R package "pRRophetic", CMap analysis and submap analysis were performed to predict response to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Results: An effective and independent prognostic signature, IRLncSig, was constructed based on sixteen inflammation-related lncRNAs. The IRLncSig was proved to be an independent prognostic indicator in CRC and was superior to clinical variables and the other four published signatures. The nomograms were constructed based on inflammation-related lncRNAs and detected by calibration curves. All samples were classified into two groups according to the median value, and we found frequent mutations of the TP53 gene in the high-risk group. We also found some significantly amplificated regions in the high-risk group, 8q24.3, 20q12, 8q22.3, and 20q13.2, which may regulate the inflammatory activity of cancer cells in CRC. Finally, we identified chemotherapeutic agents for high-risk patients and found that these patients were more likely to respond to immunotherapy, especially anti-CTLA4 therapy. Conclusion: In short, we constructed a new signature based on sixteen inflammation-related lncRNAs to improve the outcomes of patients in CRC. Our findings have proved that the IRLncSig can be used as an effective and independent marker for predicting the survival of patients with CRC.

Multi-Omics Integrative Analysis of Lung Adenocarcinoma: An in silico Profiling for Precise Medicine.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is one of the most common histological subtypes of lung cancer. The aim of this study was to construct consensus clusters based on multi-omics data and multiple algorithms. In order to identify specific molecular characteristics and facilitate the use of precision medicine on patients we used gene expression, DNA methylation, gene mutations, copy number variation data, and clinical data of LUAD patients for clustering. Consensus clusters were obtained using a consensus ensemble of five multi-omics integrative algorithms. Four molecular subtypes were identified. The CS1 and CS2 subtypes had better prognosis. Based on the immune and drug sensitivity predictions, we inferred that CS1 may be less responsive to immunotherapy and less sensitive to chemotherapeutic drugs. The high immune infiltration of CS2 cells may respond well to immunotherapy. Additionally, the CS2 subtype may also respond to EGFR molecular targeted therapy. The CS3 and CS4 subtypes were associated with poor prognosis. These two subtypes had more mutations, especially TP53 ones, as well as higher sensitivity to chemotherapeutics for lung cancer. However, CS3 was enriched in immune-related pathways and may respond to anti-PD1 immunotherapy. In addition, CS1 and CS4 were less sensitive to ferroptosis inhibitors. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the five types of omics data using five clustering algorithms to reveal the molecular characteristics of LUAD patients. These findings provide new insights into LUAD subtypes and potential clinical treatment strategies to guide personalized management and treatment.

Identification of a DNA Damage Response and Repair-Related Gene-Pair Signature for Prognosis Stratification Analysis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background: Nowadays, although the cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) mortality and recurrence remains at a high level, the 5-year survival rate is still very low. The DNA damage response and repair (DDR) pathway may affect HCC patients' survival by influencing tumor development and therapeutic response. It is necessary to identify a prognostic DDR-related gene signature to predict the outcome of patients. Methods: Level 3 mRNA expression and clinical information were extracted from the TCGA website. The GSE14520 datasets, ICGC-LIRI datasets, and a Chinese HCC cohort were served as validation sets. Univariate Cox regression analysis and LASSO-penalized Cox regression analysis were performed to construct the DDR-related gene pair (DRGP) signature. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis curves were calculated to determine the predictive ability of this prognostic model. Then, a prognostic nomogram was established to help clinical management. We investigated the difference in biological processes between HRisk and LRisk by conducting several enrichment analyses. The TIDE algorithm and R package "pRRophetic" were applied to estimate the immunotherapeutic and chemotherapeutic response. Results: We constructed the prognostic signature based on 23 DDR-related gene pairs. The patients in the training datasets were divided into HRisk and LRisk groups at median cut-off. The HRisk group had significantly poorer OS than the LRisk group, and the signature was an independent prognostic indicator in HCC. Furthermore, a nomogram of the riskscore combined with TNM stage was constructed and detected by the calibration curve and decision curve. The LRisk group was associated with higher expression of HBV oncoproteins and metabolism pathways, while DDR-relevant pathways and cell cycle process were enriched in the HRisk group. Moreover, patients in the LRisk group may be more beneficial from immunotherapy. We also found that TP53 gene was more frequently mutated in the HRisk group. As for chemotherapeutic drugs commonly used in HCC, the HRisk group was highly sensitive to 5-fluorouracil, while the LRisk group presented with a significantly higher response to gefitinib and gemcitabine. Conclusion: Overall, we developed a novel DDR-related gene pair signature and nomogram to assist in predicting survival outcomes and clinical treatment of HCC patients. It also helps understand the underlying mechanisms of different DDR patterns in HCC.

Identification of Immune Function-Related Subtypes in Cutaneous Melanoma.

Tumour immunotherapy combined with molecular typing is a new therapy to help select patients. However, molecular typing algorithms related to tumour immune function have not been thoroughly explored. We herein proposed a single sample immune signature network (SING) method to identify new immune function-related subtypes of cutaneous melanoma of the skin. A sample-specific network and tumour microenvironment were constructed based on the immune annotation of cutaneous melanoma samples. Then, the differences and heterogeneity of immune function among different subtypes were analysed and verified. A total of 327 cases of cutaneous melanoma were divided into normal and immune classes; the immune class had more immune enrichment characteristics. After further subdividing the 327 cases into three immune-related subtypes, the degree of immune enrichment in the "high immune subtype" was greater than that in other subtypes. Similar results were validated in both tumour samples and cell lines. Sample-specific networks and the tumour microenvironment based on immune annotation contribute to the mining of cutaneous melanoma immune function-related subtypes. Mutations in B2M and PTEN are considered potential therapeutic targets that can improve the immune response. Patients with a high immune subtype can generally obtain a better immune prognosis effect, and the prognosis may be improved when combined with TGF-ß inhibitors.

Identification of Immune-Related Subtypes and Characterization of Tumor Microenvironment Infiltration in Bladder Cancer.

Tumors are closely related to the tumor microenvironment (TME). The complex interaction between tumor cells and the TME plays an indisputable role in tumor development. Tumor cells can affect the TME, promote tumor angiogenesis and induce immune tolerance by releasing cell signaling molecules. Immune cell infiltration (ICI) in the TME can affect the prognosis of patients with bladder cancer. However, the pattern of ICI of the TME in bladder cancer has not yet been elucidated. Herein, we identified three distinct ICI subtypes based on the TME immune infiltration pattern of 584 bladder cancer patients using the ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT algorithms. Then, we identified three gene clusters based on the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the three ICI subtypes. In addition, the ICI score was determined using single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA). The results suggested that patients in the high ICI score subgroup had a favorable prognosis and higher expression of checkpoint-related and immune activity-related genes. The high ICI score subgroup was also linked to increased tumor mutation burden (TMB) and neoantigen burden. A cohort treated with anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy confirmed the therapeutic advantage and clinical benefit of patients with higher ICI scores. In the end, our study also shows that the ICI score represents an effective prognostic predictor for evaluating the response to immunotherapy. In conclusion, our study deepened the understanding of the TME, and it provides new ideas for improving patients' response to immunotherapy and promoting individualized tumor immunotherapy in the future.

Open syntaxin overcomes exocytosis defects of diverse mutants in C. elegans.

Assembly of SNARE complexes that mediate neurotransmitter release requires opening of a 'closed' conformation of UNC-64/syntaxin. Rescue of unc-13/Munc13 mutant phenotypes by overexpressed open UNC-64/syntaxin suggested a specific function of UNC-13/Munc13 in opening UNC-64/ syntaxin. Here, we revisit the effects of open unc-64/syntaxin by generating knockin (KI) worms. The KI animals exhibit enhanced spontaneous and evoked exocytosis compared to WT animals. Unexpectedly, the open syntaxin KI partially suppresses exocytosis defects of various mutants, including snt-1/synaptotagmin, unc-2/P/Q/N-type Ca2+ channel alpha-subunit and unc-31/CAPS, in addition to unc-13/Munc13 and unc-10/RIM, and enhanced exocytosis in tom-1/Tomosyn mutants. However, open syntaxin aggravates the defects of unc-18/Munc18 mutants. Correspondingly, open syntaxin partially bypasses the requirement of Munc13 but not Munc18 for liposome fusion. Our results show that facilitating opening of syntaxin enhances exocytosis in a wide range of genetic backgrounds, and may provide a general means to enhance synaptic transmission in normal and disease states.

Syntaxin-3 is dispensable for basal neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity in postsynaptic hippocampal CA1 neurons.

Recent evidence suggests that SNARE fusion machinery play critical roles in postsynaptic neurotransmitter receptor trafficking, which is essential for synaptic plasticity. However, the key SNAREs involved remain highly controversial; syntaxin-3 and syntaxin-4 are leading candidates for the syntaxin isoform underlying postsynaptic plasticity. In a previous study, we showed that pyramidal-neuron specific conditional knockout (cKO) of syntaxin-4 significantly reduces basal transmission, synaptic plasticity and impairs postsynaptic receptor trafficking. However, this does not exclude a role for syntaxin-3 in such processes. Here, we generated and analyzed syntaxin-3 cKO mice. Extracellular field recordings in hippocampal slices showed that syntaxin-3 cKO did not exhibit significant changes in CA1 basal neurotransmission or in paired-pulse ratios. Importantly, there were no observed differences during LTP in comparison to control mice. Syntaxin-3 cKO mice performed similarly as the controls in spatial and contextual learning tasks. Consistent with the minimal effects of syntaxin-3 cKO, syntaxin-3 mRNA level was very low in hippocampal and cortex pyramidal neurons, but strongly expressed in the corpus callosum and caudate axon fibers. Together, our data suggest that syntaxin-3 is dispensable for hippocampal basal neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity, and further supports the notion that syntaxin-4 is the major isoform mediating these processes.

Investigating the Role of SNARE Proteins in Trafficking of Postsynaptic Receptors using Conditional Knockouts.

Trafficking or delivery of neurotransmitter receptors on postsynaptic membranes is critical for basal neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity. Importantly, dysfunction of such postsynaptic receptor trafficking can lead to severe brain diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease, autism spectrum disorder, and intellectual disability, yet underlying mechanisms remain elusive. One attractive hypothesis is that postsynaptic SNARE proteins play key roles in the delivery of receptors by mediating membrane fusion at postsynaptic neurons. However, the identities of the critical SNARE proteins mediating the delivery remain controversial. The lack of consensus in previous studies is partly due to differences in preparations and methodologies. In this review, we propose to employ a pyramidal-neuron specific conditional knockout (cKO) model to study the roles of candidate SNARE proteins in postsynaptic receptor trafficking. We highlight our recent results which we obtained from such approaches to syntaxin-4 protein. These results provide clear evidence on the critical role of syntaxin-4 in trafficking of ionotropic glutamate receptors which are essential for basal neurotransmission, synaptic plasticity and spatial memory.

Preparation of gelatin/genipin nanofibrous membrane for tympanic member repair.

The wound healing for tympanic membrane (TM) perforations is one of the most common clinical treatment in otomicrosurgery. Recently, tissue-engineered composites and grafts, also new designs of biomaterials are applied to the management of TM perforation. In this work, a series of gelatin/genipin nanofibrous films were prepared as a patch for repairing TM perforation. Gelatin, a type of biomaterial with excellent electrospinning performance, has been used for preparing the nanofibers. The genipin, as a crosslinking agent, has been blended into the gelatin nanofibers. The reaction between gelatin and genipin engender suitable tensile strength and water-resistance for TM patch. The survival rate of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and fibroblasts demonstrated that the gelatin/genipin nanofiber scaffolds had good biocompatibility, which indicated the genipin was a kind of effective and nontoxic crosslinking agent for improving the mechanical property and water-resistance of gelatin films. In short, our work provides a novel macromolecular material with good mechanical properties, water-tolerance and excellent biocompatibility which could be used as a potential patch for TM repair.