Small nucleolar RNA host gene 22 (SNHG22) promotes the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by miR-429/SESN3 axis.

BACKGROUND: It has been observed that lncRNAs have been taking part in many cancer progressions, including non-small cell lung cancer and gastric cancer. Meanwhile, lncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 22 (SNHG22) has been studied, taking part in the progression of ovarian epithelial carcinoma. However, we know little about the function of SNHG22 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: In this study, we will explore the inner mechanism of SNHG22 in ESCC. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay was implemented in ESCC cells for detecting the expression of lncRNA, SNHG22, and miR-429. Also, functional experiments, including CCK8 and colony formation assay, were implemented to assess the growth of ESCC cells. Meanwhile, flow cytometry analysis was conducted to test the apoptosis of ESCC cells. The immunofluorescence (IF) assay and western blot were conducted to verify the autophagy of ESCC cells. RESULTS: Inhibition of SNHG22 was found that can inhibit the progression and promotes autophagy and apoptosis of ESCC cells. Meanwhile, as subcellular fraction assay and FISH assay found that SNHG22 mainly in the cytoplasm, miR-429 was found can bind to SNHG22 and SESN3 by RIP assay and luciferase reporter assay. SESN3 was found it can play the oncogene in ESCC cells. CONCLUSIONS: SNHG22 promotes the progression of ESCC by the miR-429/SESN3 axis.

[Effects of extremely-late sowing on the grain yield, nitrogen uptake and utilization, and grain protein content in winter wheat]. / æžç«¯æ™šæ’­å¯¹å°éº¦ç±½ç²’äº§é‡ã€æ°®ç´ å¸æ”¶åˆ©ç”¨å’Œç±½ç²’è›‹ç™½è´¨å«é‡çš„å½±å“.

In order to explore the cultivation techniques for high yield, quality and nitrogen use efficiency of wheat and guide the production practice of late sowing, a two-year experiment of different sowing times and plant densities in fixed plots was conducted from October 2012 to June 2014. Weak-spring cultivar of Yanzhan4110 (YZ4110) and semi-winter cultivar of Aikang58 (AK58) were sowed with two cropping patterns: Normal sowing (sowing in the middle of October, 2.4×106 plants·hm-2) and extremely-late sowing (sowing in the middle of November, 6.0×106 plants·hm-2). The nitrate-N content in 0-40 cm soil, the nitrogen (N) uptake and utilization, grain yield, grain protein content and N uptake efficiency in winter wheat were investigated. Compared with normal sowing, extremely-late sowing significantly increased the nitrate-N content in 0-40 cm soil at jointing and anthesis stages, which in turn promoted the N uptake and accumulation of plants after jointing stage and increased the N distribution ratio of spikes at maturity. As a result, the grains with extremely-late sowing had higher protein contentin both YZ4110 and AK58, and higher protein yield and N uptake efficiency in YZ4110 than that with normal sowing. However, the effects of extremely-late sowing on grain yield were different in the two cultivars. Compared with normal sowing, extremely-late sowing clearly raised the grain yield of YZ4110, but significantly decreased that of AK58. These results indicated that extremely-late sowing is an alternative cropping technique to increase grain yield and protein content for winter wheat in irrigation zones through maintaining the soil N supply after jointing stage and increasing N uptake efficiency.

Noninvasive evaluation of gastric emptying and gastric wall thickness in SLE patients.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to evaluate the gastric emptying in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with gastrointestinal involvement using three-dimensional (3D) ultrasonography. METHODS: The gastric emptying times at 25% (T1), 50% (T2), and 75% (T3) of SLE patients with gastrointestinal involvement (n = 40) and healthy controls (n = 80) were evaluated and compared. In addition, the correlations among the gastric wall thickness, SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI), and upper gastrointestinal symptoms were calculated. RESULTS: The gastric wall thickness was correlated with the SLEDAI (r = 0.928, p < 0.001) and the upper gastrointestinal symptom index (r = 0.848, p < 0.001). The emptying times T1, T2, and T3 of the SLE patients were 17.08 ± 2.65 min (mean ± standard deviation), 39.85 ± 6.54 min, and 83.58 ± 7.12 min, respectively. For healthy controls, they were 19.65 ± 5.39 min, 41.08 ± 7.51 min, and 70.34 ± 8.03 min. The T1 of the SLE patients was shorter (p < 0.01), while the T3 was longer (p < 0.001). Moreover, T3 in the SLE group had the best correlation with the upper gastrointestinal symptom index (r = 0.553, p < 0.001). T1 in the SLE group was anti-correlated with early satiety (r = -0.366, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Combining the emptying times T1 and T3, as well as the gastric wall thickness, the SLEDAI and the upper gastrointestinal symptoms index can provide accurate clinical diagnosis of SLE with gastric involvement.

Evaluation of gastric blood supply in diabetic patients with gastroparesis by contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

OBJECTIVE: Improvement in regional blood flow has been shown to ameliorate diabetic gastroparesis. We compared the gastric blood supply in patients with diabetes with gastroparesis with that in healthy subjects, by using contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). METHODS: 30 healthy subjects and 40 patients with diabetic gastroparesis were enrolled. The CEUS parameters of greater curvatures of the antrum (GCOA) and lesser curvatures of the antrum (LCOA), including peak intensity (PI) and the area under the curve (AUC), were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for PI in healthy subjects measured on CEUS were 0.831-0.857 and 0.803-0.823, respectively. Intra-ICC and inter-ICC values for AUC were 0.805-0.823 and 0.813-0.815, respectively. In both groups, no significant difference was observed in PI and AUC values of GCOA and LCOA (p > 0.05). The PI and AUC of GCOA and LCOA in the diabetes group were less than those in the normal group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: CEUS can assess stomach wall vascularity with a high reproducibility. Microcirculation in the antrum of patients with diabetic gastroparesis is poorer than that of normal group, which is consistent with the mechanisms of diabetic neuropathy. CEUS can be used for evaluation of microvascular perfusion in patients with stomach wall disease. Advances in knowledge: This was the first study to use CEUS for assessment of blood supply of the gastric wall and to compare microvascular perfusion between healthy individuals and patients with diabetes with gastroparesis.

PKD2L1/PKD1L3 channel complex with an alkali-activated mechanism and calcium-dependent inactivation.

Polycystic kidney disease-like (PKDL) genes that are expressed in sour taste cells have been proposed to be involved in the transduction of sourness by producing off-responses, which shows a large inward current after withdrawing the acid stimuli. However, the underlying mechanisms of off-responses are still unclear. Here, we demonstrate that an alkali-activated mechanism is responsible for eliciting off-responses, as evidenced by both experimental and theoretical analyses. In addition, we showed that the decaying phase of offset responses in PKD2L1/PKD1L3 channels was substantially accelerated by extracellular Ca(2+).

[Effects of tillage pattern on the flag leaf senescence and grain yield of winter wheat under dry farming].

A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of different tillage patterns, i.e., deep plowing once, no-tillage, subsoiling, and conventional tillage, on the flag leaf senescence and grain yield of winter wheat, as well as the soil moisture and nutrient status under dry farming. No-tillage and subsoiling increased the SOD and POD activities and the chlorophyll and soluble protein contents, decreased the MDA and O2(-.) contents, and postponed the senescence of flag leaf. Under non-tillage and subsoiling, the moisture content in 0-40 cm soil layer at anthesis and grain-filling stages was decreased by 4.13% and 6.23% and by 5.50% and 9.27%, respectively, and the contents of alkali-hydrolysable N, available P, and available K in this soil layer also increased significantly, compared with those under conventional tillage. Deep plowing once decreased the moisture content and increased the nutrients contents in 0-40 cm soil layer, but the decrement and increment were not significant. The post-anthesis biomass, post-anthesis dry matter translocation rate, and grain yield under no-tillage and subsoiling were 4.34% and 4.76%, 15.56% and 13.51%, and 10.22% and 9.26% higher than those under conventional tillage, respectively. It could be concluded that no-tillage and subsoiling provided better soil conditions for the post-anthesis growth of winter wheat, under which, the flag leaf senescence postponed, post-anthesis dry matter accumulation and translocation accelerated, and grain yield increased significantly, being the feasible tillage practices in dry farming winter wheat areas.