Pitfalls and challenges of peptide nucleic acid immobilisation on carbon surfaces for sequence-specific capturing of nucleic acid biomarkers.

Nucleic acid sensors based on a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe have seen a surge in interest since their discovery in the 1990s, and after the patent protecting them expired in 2013. The appeal of PNA as capture and/or sensing probes as an alternative to standard DNA or RNA oligonucleotides originates from their superior chemical stability and affinity for complementary oligonucleotides, as well as their increased responsiveness to single base mismatches. The implementation of PNA probes onto optical and electrochemical sensors has showed great promise although progress has been hampered by issues mostly associated with surface chemistry, probe accessibility and non-specific binding. Herein, we report on a systematic comparison between various PNA immobilisation strategies on carbon substrates based on both covalent and non-covalent chemistries. Besides the use of standard electrochemical techniques to characterise the extent of surface modification, the ability of immobilised PNAs to engage in chemical interactions with freely diffusing molecules was also investigated. Using original chemical tags, this study provides a unique insight into the impact of immobilisation chemistries on PNA's (bio)availability. Rapid immobilisation of biotinylated PNA oligomers on screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) coated with adsorbed polystreptavidin (pSA) demonstrated highest efficiency and ease in the preparation process. An original nucleic acid sensor using this immobilisation chemistry is reported that is based on a sandwich assay between a surface bound PNA capture probe and a freely diffusing electrochemically active PNA sensing probe.

Exosomes derived from platelet-rich plasma promote diabetic wound healing via the JAK2/STAT3 pathway.

Diabetic non-healing wounds are bringing a heavy burden on patients and society. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been widely applied in tissue regenerating for containing various growth factors. Recently, PRP-derived exosomes (PRP-Exos) have been proved to be more effective than PRP in tissue regeneration. However, few studies have investigated the therapeutic potential of PRP-Exos in diabetic wound healing to date. Therefore, we extracted and identified exosomes derived from PRP and tested its promoting effect on diabetic wound healing in vivo and in vitro. We found that high glucose (HG) inhibited cell proliferation and migration and induced apoptosis through ROS-dependent activation of the JNK and p38 MAPK signaling pathways. PRP-Exos can stimulate fibroblast functions and accelerate diabetic wound healing. The benefits of PRP-Exos may be attributed to its capability to prevent HG-induced ROS-dependent apoptosis via the PDGF-BB/JAK2/STAT3/Bcl-2 signaling pathway. This illustrates the therapeutic potential of PRP-Exos in diabetic wounds.

Surface immobilization strategies for the development of electrochemical nucleic acid sensors.

Following the recent pandemic and with the emergence of cell-free nucleic acids in liquid biopsies as promising biomarkers for a broad range of pathologies, there is an increasing demand for a new generation of nucleic acid tests, with a particular focus on cost-effective, highly sensitive and specific biosensors. Easily miniaturized electrochemical sensors show the greatest promise and most typically rely on the chemical functionalization of conductive materials or electrodes with sequence-specific hybridization probes made of standard oligonucleotides (DNA or RNA) or synthetic analogues (e.g. Peptide Nucleic Acids or PNAs). The robustness of such sensors is mostly influenced by the ability to control the density and orientation of the probe at the surface of the electrode, making the chemistry used for this immobilization a key parameter. This exhaustive review will cover the various strategies to immobilize nucleic acid probes onto different solid electrode materials. Both physical and chemical immobilization techniques will be presented. Their applicability to specific electrode materials and surfaces will also be discussed as well as strategies for passivation of the electrode surface as a way of preventing electrode fouling and reducing nonspecific binding.

Robot-Assisted Versus Fluoroscopy-Assisted Kyphoplasty in the Treatment of Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fracture: A Retrospective Study.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study. OBJECTIVES: To compare the clinical and radiological outcomes of robot assisted (RA) and fluoroscopy assisted (FA) percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) in treating single/double segment osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF). METHODS: Patients with single/double segment OVCF receiving either RA or FA PKP were evaluated retrospectively at our spine center from April 2018 to October 2019. The operation time, fluoroscopy frequency, fluoroscopy exposure time, total radiation dose, visual analogue scale (VAS), local kyphosis angle (LKA), height of fractured vertebra (HFV) and complications were compared between the single/double RA group and the FA group. RESULTS: A total of 96 cases were included in this study, with 59 cases of single segment OVCF and 37 cases of double segment OVCF. For single/double segment OVCF, both RA and FA PKP could relieve pain and reduce fracture. The RA group showed lower fluoroscopy frequency, shorter fluoroscopy exposure time during operation for surgeons, better correction in LKA and HFV, lower rate of cement leakage, but more fluoroscopy frequency, fluoroscopy exposure time and radiation dose for patients compared with the FA group (P < 0.05), while the single RA group showed longer operation time compared with the FA group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: For single/double segment OVCF, RA has more advantages in correcting vertebra fracture, reducing intraoperative radiation exposure for surgeons, and reducing the cement leakage rate, but it increases intraoperative radiation for patients compared with FA PKP. And FA has shorter operation time in treating single segment OVCF than RA PKP.

Scale-up reactivation of spent S-Zorb adsorbents for gasoline desulfurization.

Reactivating and recycling spent S-Zorb adsorbents reduce fresh adsorbents consumption and hazardous wastes emissions. Though the spent adsorbents have been successfully reactivated in the laboratory, a pilot-scale practice is indispensable before the industrial production. Herein, the reactivation of spent adsorbents was performed at laboratory (1.0 L), middle (10 L) and pilot (3000 L) scale, respectively. The inert Zn2SiO4 and ZnS over the spent adsorbents are recovered to active ZnO, and the NiS is transformed into NiO. There is almost no amplification effect in pore structure and acidity of the reactivated adsorbents, while NiO particle size reduces slightly with the reactivation scales. The computational fluid dynamic simulation indicates that enhanced contact between spent adsorbents and acid/alkaline reagents at larger scale account for the smaller NiO particle. It provides more hydrogenolysis centers for CS bonds breakage after reduction, increasing initial desulfurization activity. More importantly, the adsorbent reactivated at pilot scale exhibits comparable activity to the fresh one in gasoline desulfurization. The sulfur content in the outlet decreases to less than 10 µg g-1 from 1 h of reaction. Thus, the reactivation of spent S-Zorb adsorbents is successfully scaled up to the pilot scale, accelerating industrial practice in recycling the spent adsorbents.

Erratum: MicroRNA-125b-1-3p mediates intervertebral disc degeneration in rats by targeting teashirt zinc finger homeobox 3.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3892/etm.2018.5715.].

[Corrigendum] Overexpression of septin­7 inhibits melatonin­induced cell apoptosis in human fetal osteoblastic cells via suppression of endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Subsequently to the publication of this paper, an interested reader drew to the authors' attention that Figs. 2 and 4, featured on p. 4820 and 4821 respectively, contained apparently matching control ß­actin western blots. The authors have consulted their original data, and realized that the control western blot images were inadvertently selected incorrectly for Fig. 2. The corrected version of Fig. 2, showing the relevant ß­actin bands for Fig. 2, is shown on the next page. Note that the errors in Fig. 2 did not significantly affect the results or the conclusions reported in this paper, and all the authors agree to this Corrigendum. The authors are grateful to the Editor of Molecular Medicine Reports for allowing them the opportunity to publish this corrigendum, and apologize to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [the original article was published in Molecular Medicine Reports 17: 4817­4822, 2018; DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2018.8449].

[Effectiveness of robot assisted percutaneous kyphoplasty for treatment of single/double-segment osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of robot assisted and C-arm assisted percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) in the treatment of single/double-segment osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF). METHODS: The clinical data of 108 cases of single/double-segment OVCF who met the selection criteria between May 2018 and October 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 65 cases of single-segment fractures, of which 38 cases underwent "TiRobot" orthopedic robot-assisted PKP (robot group), 27 cases underwent C-arm X-ray machine fluoroscopy-assisted PKP (C-arm group). There were 43 cases of double-segment fractures, including 21 cases in robot group and 22 cases in C-arm group. There was no significant difference in gender, age, T value of bone mineral density, fracture segment distribution, time from injury to operation, and preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score, vertebral kyphosis angle (VKA), and height of fractured vertebra (HFV) in the patients with single/double-segments fractures between robot group and C-arm group ( P>0.05). The operation time, the fluoroscopy frequency of the surgeons and the patient, the fluoroscopy exposure time of the surgeons and the patient, the radiation dose of the C-arm; the VAS scores, VKA, HFV before operation, at 1 day and 6 months after operation; and the complications in the two groups were recorded and compared. RESULTS: All patients underwent surgery successfully. The operation time of the single-segment robot group was significantly longer than that of the C-arm group ( t=5.514, P=0.000), while the operation time of the double-segment robot group was not significantly different from that of the C-arm group ( t=1.892, P=0.205). The single/double-segment robot group required three-dimensional scanning, so the fluoroscopy frequency, fluoroscopy exposure time, and radiation dose of C-arm received by the patient were significantly higher than those of the C-arm group ( P<0.05); the fluoroscopy frequency and the fluoroscopy exposure time received by the surgeons were significantly less than those of the C-arm group ( P<0.05). There was no infection, embolism, neurological injury, and adjacent segmental fractures. The single/double-segment robot group showed lower rate of cement leakage when compared with the C-arm group ( P<0.05), all the cases of cement leakage happened outside the spinal canal. The VAS score, VKA, and HFV of the single/double-segment robot group and the C-arm group were significantly improved at 1 day and 6 months after operation ( P<0.05), and the VAS score at 6 months after operation was further improved compared with that at 1 day after operation ( P<0.05). At 1 day and 6 months after operation, there was no significant difference in VAS score between the single/double-segment robot group and the C-arm group ( P>0.05). The VKA and HFV of robot group were significantly better than those of the C-arm group ( P<0.05). CONCLUSION: For single/double-segment OVCF, robot assisted PKP has more advantages in correcting VKA and HFV, reducing fluoroscopy exposure of surgeons and bone cement leakage rate; C-arm assisted PKP has more advantages in reducing the operation time of single-segment OVCF and fluoroscopy exposure of patients during operation.

Nucleic acid sensing via electrochemical oligonucleotide-templated reactions.

Short single-stranded nucleic acids as found in a variety of bodily fluids have recently emerged as minimally invasive biomarkers for a broad range of pathologies, most notably cancer. Because of their small size, low natural abundance and high sequence homology between family members they are challenging to detect using standard technologies suitable for use at the point-of-care. Herein we report the design, engineering and testing of a novel sensing strategy: electrochemically active molecular probes based on peptide nucleic acid (PNA) scaffolds for the detection of single-stranded oligonucleotides, in particular microRNAs (or miRs). As a proof-of-principle, a wide range of probes were designed and tested to detect miR-141, a known diagnostic biomarker for prostate cancer. Optimal quantitative sensing of miR-141 was achieved via the first example of an electrochemical oligonucleotide-templated reaction (EOTR), whereby two PNA probes - functionalized with an aniline and a 1,4-catechol respectively - preferentially react with each other upon simultaneous hybridization to the same RNA target strand, serving here as a template. Quantitative, electrochemical detection of the product of this bio-orthogonal reaction showed direct correlation between adduct formation and miR-141 concentration. Coupling the specificity of OTR with the speed and sensitivity of electrochemical sensing delivers EOTRs as a promising new technique for fast, low-cost, quantitative and sequence-specific detection of short nucleic acids from liquid biopsies.

[Cuscuta chinensis flavonoids reduce the expression of GM-CSF in the testis of oligozoospermia rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Cuscuta chinensis flavonoids (CCF) on the expression of the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in the testis of the rat with oligozoospermia (OZ). METHODS: Thirty SD male rats were randomly divided into three groups of equal number, blank control, OZ model control and CCF intervention. The OZ model was established in the latter two groups by intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide at 30 mg/kg qd for 5 successive days. From the 6th day, the rats in the CCF intervention group were treated intragastrically with mixed suspension of CCF at 5 mL/kg and those in the other two groups with normal saline, all for 4 weeks. The epididymal sperm concentration and motility and the testicular morphology were examined and the expression of GM-CSF in the testis tissue detected with the SELDI Protein Chip. RESULTS: Compared with the rats in the blank control and CCF intervention groups, the OZ model controls showed dramatically decreased epididymal sperm concentration and motility (both P < 0.01) and significant morphological changes in the testis with deformed seminiferous tubules and reduced number and disordered arrangement of spermatogenic cells. Normal testicular morphology was observed in the CCF intervention group and there were no statistically significant differences in sperm concentration and motility between the CCF intervention and blank control groups (P > 0.05). The expression of GM-CSF was significantly up-regulated in the testis tissue of the OZ model controls but lower than the minimum value obtained with the SELDI Protein Chip in the blank control and CCF intervention groups. CONCLUSIONS: Cuscuta chinensis flavonoids can significantly down-regulate the expression of GM-CSF in the testis of the rats with cyclophosphamide-induced oligozoospermia.

Learning Curve of Robot-Assisted Percutaneous Kyphoplasty for Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures.

OBJECTIVE: There are few reports on the robot-assisted percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF), and we aimed to explore the learning curve of the robot-assisted PKP for treating OVCF. METHODS: A total of 44 patients (71 vertebral fractures) with OVCF treated with robot-assisted PKP were divided into 4 groups, namely groups 1, 2, 3, and 4, according to the date of operation, with 11 cases in each group. Another 11 patients (18 vertebral fractures) treated with PKP without robot assistance were included in group 5. The success rate of robot-assisted puncture, total operation time, robot-assisted operation time, PKP operation time, and complications were analyzed. RESULTS: All patients underwent operation successfully. The success rates of puncture in the robot-assisted groups were 92.9%, 94.4%, 94.7%, and 100%, respectively, with no statistical difference (P > 0.05). The success rate of puncture in group 5 was 63.2%, with a statistical difference (P < 0.05) compared with groups 1-4. The total operation time and robotic operation time reduced significantly and remained relatively stable since the third group, and groups 1 and 2 showed a statistical significance compared with groups 3 and 4 (P < 0.05), but there was no difference among groups 3, 4, and 5 (P > 0.05). The main intraoperative complication was leakage of bone cement in the anterior vertebral space and intervertebral space, with an incidence of 8.5% in the robot-assisted groups and 26.3% in group 5. CONCLUSIONS: The puncture accuracy of robot-assisted PKP for treating OVCF does not change with the increase in the number of operations. The total operation time and robotic-assisted operation time decreases with the increase in the number of cases.

The application of barrier-based learning (BBL) method in histology learning from China / La aplicación del método de aprendizaje basado en barreras (BBL) en el aprendizaje de histología en China

Histology belongs to the discipline of medical morphology. The knowledge is scattered and abstract in this discipline. It is difficult to the medical students beginner. Leading to poor effect on histology teaching. This study aimed to introduce medical students to the histology using barrier-based learning (BBL) method or traditional teaching method. We recruited 4 clinical medical classes, including two 5-years classes and two 7-years clinical medical classes, each of these classes randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups. The control group received an introductory traditional teaching mode in histology. The experiment group received BBL method. Using final exam average scores, pass rate, excellent rates and phase tests to evaluate the teaching effect of these two teaching method. BBL teaching method is more effective than traditional teaching method, The application of BBL in histology is more easier to learning for the beginners of medical students.

La histología es una disciplina de la morfología médica. El conocimiento es disperso y abstracto en esta disciplina. Es una asignatura que resulta difícil para los estudiantes principiantes de medicina. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo presentar a los estudiantes de medicina la histología mediante el método de aprendizaje basado en barreras (BBL), comparándolo al método de enseñanza tradicional. Reclutamos estudiantes de 4 clases de medicina clínica, incluidas dos clases de quinto año y dos clases de medicina clínica de séptimo año, cada una de estas clases asignadas al azar a los grupos. El grupo de control recibió un método de enseñanza tradicional de introducción en histología. El grupo experimental recibió el método BBL. Usando los puntajes promedio del examen final, la tasa de aprobación, las tasas de excelencia y las pruebas de fase para evaluar el efecto de enseñanza de estos dos métodos de enseñanza, se determinó que el método de enseñanza de BBL es más efectivo que el método de enseñanza tradicional. La aplicación de BBL en histología permite un aprendizaje más sencillo para los estudiantes principiantes de medicina.

Analysis of the teaching effect of the normal human morphology with mixed teaching mode and formative evaluation in China / Análisis del efecto de la enseñanza de morfología humana normal con un modelo de enseñanza mixta y evaluación formativa en China

With the accumulation of teaching experience and the summary of the teaching process in the teaching of medical colleges and universities, the course "Normal Human Morphology" has been basically on the right track in undergraduate education. However, most of the colleges and universities in China still use the traditional teaching mode, and the evaluation of students' learning effects and teacher teaching still follows the method of final evaluation. This method is not conducive to students' timely understanding of self-stage learning effects. It will affect the teacher's adjustment (or solution) to the specific links (or problems) that appear in the teaching process. The establishment of the mixed teaching model and formative evaluation system can solve the problems of the two to some extent.

Con la mayor experiencia de los docentes y del proceso de aprendizaje en la enseñanza de facultades y universidades de medicina, el curso "Morfología Humana Normal" básicamente ha seguido una metodología correcta en la educación de pregrado. Sin embargo, la mayoría de los colegios y universidades en China aún utilizan el modelo de enseñanza tradicional, por lo cual, la evaluación de los efectos de aprendizaje de los estudiantes junto con la enseñanza docente, a la fecha, sigue el método de una evaluación final. Este método no es propicio para la comprensión oportuna por parte de los alumnos, en la etapa del auto-aprendizaje, ya que afecta la adaptación (o solución) del profesor a los enlaces (o problemas) específicos que aparecen en el proceso de enseñanza. El establecimiento de un modelo de enseñanza mixta y un sistema de evaluación formativa en cierta medida podrían resolver ambos problemas.

Antimonene Nanoflakes: Extraordinary Photoacoustic Performance for High-Contrast Imaging of Small Volume Tumors.

Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) has evolved to a stage that high-performance exogeneous contrast agents are urgently needed for imminent biomedical and clinical applications. Given that a material meets the basic criteria of efficient photoacoustic conversion, high biocompatibility, and fast excretion, great effort has been devoted to evaluating various materials for developing advantageous contrast agents to explore the full potentials of PAI. One focus is through modification of the current agents to boost their PA performance; whilst the other focus is to develop novel agents. Antimonene (AM) has emerged as a promising candidate for next generation of electronics among 2D materials due to its outstanding properties. Herein, it is reported that liquid-phase exfoliated antimonene exhibits extraordinary photoacoustic performance, which is not only more advantageous than other 2D materials, such as black phosphorus, graphene oxide, and transition metal dichalcogenides, but also superior to the commonly used PA contrast agents, such as ICG and gold nanorods. An insight analysis reveals that the unique thermal property of AM, including intrinsic low thermal conductivity and the morphology-related high interfacial thermal conductivity, might interpret the high photothermal conversion efficiency, and thus the excellent photoacoustic performance. The prodigious performance allows sensitive monitoring of intracellular events and high-quality in vivo tumor imaging.

Early versus late percutaneous kyphoplasty for treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture: A retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: Osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) is a common disease in the aged population that can greatly affect the quality of life. Percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) has become a mainstream approach for treating OVCF, but the optimal surgical timing for treating OVCF with PKP remains controversial. In the current study, we retrospectively studied patients with OVCF that underwent PKP, and aimed to find out whether surgical timing could affect the clinical and radiological outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied 62 patients who underwent PKP for OVCF. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on the timing of PKP: operation within 4 weeks (group A) and operation later than 4 weeks (group B). VAS, ODI, height of fracture vertebra, restored height rate, local kyphosis angle and complications were assessed preoperatively and throughout the follow-up. RESULTS: There were 36 cases (58 fracture vertebra) in the group A and 26 cases (40 fracture vertebra) in the group B. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding to the demographic data before surgery. In terms of the VAS and ODI, no statistical difference was observed before operation, after operation and at the 6th month follow-up between the two groups. The HRR after operation and at the 6th month follow-up in the group A was 17.5 ± 5.3% and 10.5 ± 3.7%, and that in the group B was 7.2 ± 3.2% and 3.6 ± 1.1%, and there is significant difference between the two groups (p < 0.05). The LKA (preoperatively / post-operatively / 6th month follow-up) was -12.7°, -7.3°, -11.4° in the group A and -17.6°, -14.4°, -16.1° in the group B. There was significant difference between the two groups at all the time points for local kyphosis angle (p < 0.01), with a lower rate of subsequent vertebral fracture in the group A (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Both surgical timings of PKP showed similar outcomes in terms of the VAS and ODI. Early PKP could result in better restoration of vertebral body height and reduced rate of subsequent fracture compared to late PKP.

Photoluminescence Lifetime of Black Phosphorus Nanoparticles and Their Applications in Live Cell Imaging.

Black phosphorus (BP) has attracted much attention as a new member of 2D materials due to its unique electronic and optical properties and a wide range of promising applications. Here, for the first time, we report the photoluminescence lifetime of BP nanomaterial and its applications as an efficient agent for live cell imaging. With a lateral size of ∼35 nm and a thickness of ∼6 nm, the fabricated BP nanoparticles (BPNPs) exhibited a unique photoluminescent (PL) emission at ∼690 nm. The photoluminescence lifetime (PLT) of BPNPs was determined to be 110.5 ps. Coating a layer of mesoporous silica on the surface of BPNPs (BPNPs@mSiO2) extended the lifetime to 267 ps, suggesting a change in the microenvironment. The lifetime was also influenced by ionic strength and intracellular microenvironment, which implies BPNPs as valuable probes for sensing variations in the microenvironment. Live cell imaging was achieved via directly probing the photoluminescence intensity or the photoluminescence lifetime. Our findings are significant, implying that BPNPs can be of large value in sensing variations of the cellular microenvironment and in probing cells with distinct cytosolic contents. This research leads to promising prospects for BPNPs in multiple biomedical applications.

miR-590-3p mediates melatonin-induced cell apoptosis by targeting septin 7 in the human osteoblast cell line hFOB 1.19.

The present study aimed to investigate the association between septin 7 (SEPT7) and melatonin-induced apoptosis in the human fetal osteoblastic cell line hFOB 1.19. MicroRNA (miR)­590­3p was identified by identifying overlapping miRNAs that target SEPT7, across different databases (miRDB, DIANA and Targetscan). Apoptosis was assessed via flow cytometric analysis. Small interfering RNA of SEPT7 and a miR­590­3p inhibitor were used for gene silencing and the efficiency was assessed by reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Western blotting was used to measure the expression of proteins associated with pathways mediating endoplasmic reticulum stress and melatonin­induced apoptosis. The present study identified that SEPT7 was a potential target of miR­590­3p and demonstrated that SEPT7 is associated with mediating the pro­apoptotic effect of miR­590­3p in human osteoblast cell line hFOB 1.19. High concentrations of melatonin may result in the inhibition of miR­590­3p expression, leading to the upregulation of target genes that promote apoptosis.

MicroRNA-125b-1-3p mediates intervertebral disc degeneration in rats by targeting teashirt zinc finger homeobox 3.

The present study aimed to investigate the association between Teashirt zinc finger homeobox 3 (TSHZ3) and the nucleus pulposus (NP) of intervertebral discs in rats. TSHZ3 was identified from the differentially expressed micro (mi)RNAs in the expression profile of GSE63492 by identifying the overlapped target genes of microRNA (miR)-125b-1-3p across different databases. TSHZ3 small interfering RNA (siRNA) and an miR-125b-1-3p inhibitor were used for gene silencing and gene silencing efficiency was assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Western blotting was performed to detect the cell cycle proteins cyclin D1 and B1 and the proteins associated with DNA damage in NP. The results revealed that in normal NPs, the expression of TSHZ3 increased following the inhibition of miR-125b-1-3p and in DNA damaged NPs, the expression of TSHZ3 was associated with the degree of DNA damage. The present study demonstrated that TSHZ3, as a target gene of miR-125b-1-3p, may serve a protective role in intervertebral disc degeneration and that this protective function may be inhibited by high levels of miR-125b-1-3p.

Overexpression of septin-7 inhibits melatonin-induced cell apoptosis in human fetal osteoblastic cells via suppression of endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Our previous study demonstrated that melatonin could induce apoptosis in the human fetal osteoblastic (hFOB) 1.19 cell line via induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), and recent studies have demonstrated that the expression of septin­7 (SEPT7) exhibits a positive correlation with the concentration of melatonin. Western blotting demonstrated the expression level of SEPT7 was significantly upregulated in a dose­dependent manner following treatment with differing concentrations of melatonin compared with the control groups, which did not receive any treatment. The expression of proteins associated with cell apoptosis and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS; pro-caspase­3, cleaved caspase­3, C/EBP­homologous protein, 78 kDa glucose­regulated protein and phosphorylated­eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α) were decreased following transfection with SEPT7 overexpression plasmid and increased following transfection with SEPT7 small interfering RNA compared with the control groups. The results of the present study suggest that SEPT7 inhibits melatonin­induced cell apoptosis via suppression of ERS.

Precise and label-free tumour cell recognition based on a black phosphorus nanoquenching platform.

Breast cancer is a type of heterogeneous disease, which manifests as different molecular subtypes due to the complex nature of tumour initiation, progression, and metastasis. Accurate identification of a breast cancer subtype plays crucial roles in breast cancer management. Herein, taking advantage of the efficient quenching properties of black phosphorus nanosheets (BPNSs), in combination with the high specificity of ssDNA (or RNA) aptamer, a fluorometric duplexed assay that is capable of the simultaneous detection of two tumour markers within one run is developed. When mixed with BPNSs, the fluorescence of both FAM and Cy3 labelled aptamers was quenched. The presence of different subtypes of breast cancer cells restored the FAM and Cy3 fluorescence in distinct patterns according to their intrinsic features. The proposed assay can precisely recognise label-free breast cancer subtypes, providing an efficient method for cell type identification and guidance for subsequent breast cancer treatment. The significance of the proposed study is two-fold. First, we provide a simple method for sensitive and specific tumour cell detection; secondly, and more importantly, the proposed dual assay allows precise recognition of tumour cells and thus opens a door for rapid characterization and sorting of a wide range of tumours without using expensive instruments.