The first report and biological characterization of Avian Orthoavulavirus 16 in wild migratory waterfowl and domestic poultry in China reveal a potential threat to birds.

AbstractThe Avulavirus within the family Paramyxoviridae includes at least 22 different species, and is known to cause different types of infections and even be fatal in multiple avian species. There is limited knowledge of the genetic and biological information of Avulavirus species -2 to 22 in domestic and wild birds and the disease significance of these viruses in birds is not fully determined, although as many as 10 new distinct species have been identified from wild birds and domestic poultry around the world in the last decade. This study aimed to use PCR, virus isolation, and sequencing to genetically and biologically characterize Avian Orthoavulavirus 16 (AOAV-16) in wild birds and domestic poultry collected from different locations in China between 2014 and 2022. Of five isolated AOAV-16 strains (Y1 to Y5), only the Y4 strain had a hemagglutination (HA)-negative result. All of these isolates were low virulent viruses for chickens, except Y3 which was detected simultaneously with avian influenza virus (AIV) of H9N2 subtype. Furthermore, at least four different types of intergenic sequences (IGS) between the HN and L genes junction, and the recombination event as well as interspecific transmission by wild migratory birds, existed within the species AOAV-16. These findings and results of other reported AOAV-16 strains recommend strict control measures to limit contact between wild migratory birds and domestic poultry and imply potential threats to commercial poultry and even public health challenges worldwide.

Expanding the horizons of levan: from microbial biosynthesis to applications and advanced detection methods.

Levan, a ß-(2,6)-linked fructose polymer, exhibits diverse properties that impart versatility, rendering it a highly sought-after biopolymer with various industrial applications. Levan can be produced by various microorganisms using sucrose, food industry byproducts and agricultural wastes. Microbial levan represents the most potent cost-effective process for commercial-scale levan production. This study reviews the optimization of levan production by understanding its biosynthesis, physicochemical properties and the fermentation process. In addition, genetic and protein engineering for its increased production and emerging methods for its detection are introduced and discussed. All of these comprehensive studies could serve as powerful tools to optimize levan production and broaden its applications across various industries.

Long Non-Coding RNA Analysis: Severe Pathogenicity in Chicken Embryonic Visceral Tissues Infected with Highly Virulent Newcastle Disease Virus-A Comparison to the Avirulent Vaccine Virus.

There are significant variations in pathogenicity among different virulent strains of the Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Virulent NDV typically induces severe pathological changes and high mortality rates in infected birds, while avirulent NDV usually results in asymptomatic infection. Currently, the understanding of the specific mechanisms underlying the differences in host pathological responses and symptoms caused by various virulent NDV strains remains limited. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) can participate in a range of biological processes and plays a crucial role in viral infection and replication. Therefore, this study employed RNA-Seq to investigate the transcriptional profiles of chicken embryos' visceral tissues (CEVTs) infected with either the virulent NA-1 strain or avirulent LaSota strain at 24 hpi and 36 hpi. Using bioinformatic methods, we obtained a total of 2532 lncRNAs, of which there were 52 and 85 differentially expressed lncRNAs at 24 hpi and 36 hpi, respectively. LncRNA analysis revealed that the severe pathological changes and symptoms induced by virulent NDV infection may be partially attributed to related target genes, regulated by differentially expressed lncRNAs such as MSTRG.1545.5, MSTRG.14601.6, MSTRG.7150.1, and MSTRG.4481.1. Taken together, these findings suggest that virulent NDV infection exploits the host's metabolic resources and exerts an influence on the host's metabolic processes, accompanied by excessive activation of the immune response. This impacts the growth and development of each system of CEVTs, breaches the blood-brain barrier, inflicts severe damage on the nervous system, and induces significant lesions. These observations may be attributed to variations in pathology. Consequently, novel insights were obtained into the intricate regulatory mechanisms governing NDV and host interactions. This will aid in unraveling the molecular mechanisms underlying both virulent and avirulent forms of NDV infection.

Prevalence and genetic diversity of rotavirus among children under 5 years of age in China: a meta-analysis.

Background: This meta-analysis was performed to assess the prevalence and circulating strains of rotavirus (RV) among Chinese children under 5 years of age after the implantation of the RV vaccine. Material and methods: Studies published between 2019 and 2023, focused on RV-based diarrhea among children less than 5 years were systematically reviewed using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang and SinoMed Data. We synthesized their findings to examine prevalence and genetic diversity of RV after the RV vaccine implementation using a fixed-effects or random-effects model. Results: Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis. The overall prevalence of RV was found to be 19.00%. The highest infection rate was noted in children aged 12-23months (25.79%), followed by those aged 24-35 months (23.91%), and 6-11 months (22.08%). The serotype G9 emerged as the most predominant RV genotype, accounting for 85.48% of infections, followed by G2 (7.70%), G8 (5.74%), G1 (4.86%), and G3 (3.21%). The most common P type was P[8], representing 64.02% of RV cases. Among G-P combinations, G9P[8] was the most frequent, responsible for 78.46% of RV infections, succeeded by G8P[8] (31.22%) and G3P[8] (8.11%). Conclusion: Despite the variation of serotypes observed in China, the G1, G2, G3, G8 and G9 serotypes accounted for most RV strains. The genetic diversity analysis highlights the dynamic nature of RV genotypes, necessitating ongoing surveillance to monitor changes in strain distribution and inform future vaccine strategies.

Overexpression of sweetpotato glutamylcysteine synthetase (IbGCS) in Arabidopsis confers tolerance to drought and salt stresses.

Various environmental stresses induce the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which have deleterious effects on plant cells. Glutathione (GSH) is an antioxidant used to counteract reactive oxygen species. Glutathione is produced by glutamylcysteine synthetase (GCS) and glutathione synthetase (GS). However, evidence for the GCS gene in sweetpotato remains scarce. In this study, the full-length cDNA sequence of IbGCS isolated from sweetpotato cultivar Xu18 was 1566 bp in length, which encodes 521 amino acids. The qRT-PCR analysis revealed a significantly higher expression of the IbGCS in sweetpotato flowers, and the gene was induced by salinity, abscisic acid (ABA), drought, extreme temperature and heavy metal stresses. The seed germination rate, root elongation and fresh weight were promoted in T3 Arabidopsis IbGCS-overexpressing lines (OEs) in contrast to wild type (WT) plants under mannitol and salt stresses. In addition, the soil drought and salt stress experiment results indicated that IbGCS overexpression in Arabidopsis reduced the malondialdehyde (MDA) content, enhanced the levels of GCS activity, GSH and AsA content, and antioxidant enzyme activity. In summary, overexpressing IbGCS in Arabidopsis showed improved salt and drought tolerance.

METTL14 downregulation drives S100A4+ monocyte-derived macrophages via MyD88/NF-κB pathway to promote MAFLD progression.

Without intervention, a considerable proportion of patients with metabolism-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) will progress from simple steatosis to metabolism-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), liver fibrosis, and even hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the molecular mechanisms that control progressive MAFLD have yet to be fully determined. Here, we unraveled that the expression of the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methyltransferase METTL14 is remarkably downregulated in the livers of both patients and several murine models of MAFLD, whereas hepatocyte-specific depletion of this methyltransferase aggravated lipid accumulation, liver injury, and fibrosis. Conversely, hepatic Mettl14 overexpression alleviated the above pathophysiological changes in mice fed on a high-fat diet (HFD). Notably, in vivo and in vitro mechanistic studies indicated that METTL14 downregulation decreased the level of GLS2 by affecting the translation efficiency mediated by YTHDF1 in an m6A-depedent manner, which might help to form an oxidative stress microenvironment and accordingly recruit Cx3cr1+Ccr2+ monocyte-derived macrophages (Mo-macs). In detail, Cx3cr1+Ccr2+ Mo-macs can be categorized into M1-like macrophages and S100A4-positive macrophages and then further activate hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) to promote liver fibrosis. Further experiments revealed that CX3CR1 can activate the transcription of S100A4 via CX3CR1/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway in Cx3cr1+Ccr2+ Mo-macs. Restoration of METTL14 or GLS2, or interfering with this signal transduction pathway such as inhibiting MyD88 could ameliorate liver injuries and fibrosis. Taken together, these findings indicate potential therapies for the treatment of MAFLD progression.

Cadaverine and putrescine exposure influence carbon and nitrogen cycling genes in water and sediment of the Yellow River.

The response patterns of microbial functional genes involved in biogeochemical cycles to cadaver decay is a central topic of recent environmental sciences. However, the response mechanisms and pathways of the functional genes associated with the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling to cadaveric substances such as cadaverine and putrescine remain unclear. This study explored the variation of functional genes associated with C fixation, C degradation and N cycling and their influencing factors under cadaverine, putrescine and mixed treatments. Our results showed only putrescine significantly increased the alpha diversity of C fixation genes, while reducing the alpha diversity of N cycling genes in sediment. For the C cycling, the mixed treatment significantly decreased the total abundance of reductive acetyl-CoA pathway genes (i.e., acsB and acsE) and lig gene linked to lignin degradation in water, while only significantly increasing the hydroxypropionate-hydroxybutylate cycle (i.e., accA) gene abundance in sediment. For the N cycling, mixed treatment significantly decreased the abundance of the nitrification (i.e., amoB), denitrification (i.e., nirS3) genes in water and the assimilation pathway gene (i.e., gdhA) in sediment. Environmental factors (i.e., total carbon and total nitrogen) were all negatively associated with the genes of C and N cycling. Therefore, cadaverine and putrescine exposure may inhibit the pathway in C fixation and N cycling, while promoting C degradation. These findings can offer some new insight for the management of amine pollution caused by animal cadavers.

Additive manufacturing of dental ceramics in prosthodontics: The status quo and the future.

PURPOSE: This review aims to summarize the available technologies, material categories, and prosthodontic applications of additive manufacturing (AM) dental ceramics, evaluate the achievable accuracy and mechanical properties in comparison with current mainstream computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) subtractive manufacturing (SM) methods, and discuss future prospects and directions. STUDY SELECTION: This paper is based on the latest reviews, state-of-the-art research, and existing ISO standards on AM technologies and prosthodontic applications of dental ceramics. PubMed, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect were amongst the sources searched for narrative reviews. RESULTS: Relatively few AM technologies are available and their applications are limited to crowns and fixed partial dentures. Although the accuracy and strength of AM dental ceramics are comparable to those of SM, they have the limitations of relatively inferior curved surface accuracy and low strength reliability. Furthermore, functionally graded additive manufacturing (FGAM), a potential direction for AM, enables the realization of biomimetic structures, such as natural teeth; however, specific studies are currently lacking. CONCLUSIONS: AM dental ceramics are not sufficiently developed for large-scale clinical applications. However, with additional research, it may be possible for AM to replace SM as the mainstream manufacturing technology for ceramic restorations.

Similarity of Chinese and Pakistani oral microbiome.

Oral microbiota is vital for human health and can be affected by various factors (i.e. diets, ethnicity). However, few studies have compared oral microbiota of individuals from different nationalities in the same environment. Here, we explored the assembly and interaction of oral microbial communities of Chinese and Pakistanis in one university. Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the predominant microorganisms in the oral cavity of Chinese and Pakistanis. Streptococcus and Neisseria were the dominant genera of China, while Streptococcus and Haemophilus were the dominant genera of Pakistanis. In addition, the oral community membership and structure were not influenced by season, Chinese/Pakistani student and gender, reflecting the stability of the human oral microbiome. The beta diversity of oral microbiomes between Chinese and Pakistanis significantly differed in winter, but not in spring. The alpha diversity of Chinese students and Pakistani students was similar. Moreover, oral microbial community of both Chinese and Pakistani students was mainly driven by stochastic processes. The microbial network of Chinese was more complexity and stability than that of Pakistanis. Our study uncovers the characteristics of human oral microbiota, which is of great significance for oral and human health.

Development of Oxadiazolone Activity-Based Probes Targeting FphE for Specific Detection of Staphylococcus aureus Infections.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a major human pathogen that is responsible for a wide range of systemic infections. Since its propensity to form biofilms in vivo poses formidable challenges for both detection and treatment, tools that can be used to specifically image S. aureus biofilms are highly valuable for clinical management. Here, we describe the development of oxadiazolone-based activity-based probes to target the S. aureus-specific serine hydrolase FphE. Because this enzyme lacks homologues in other bacteria, it is an ideal target for selective imaging of S. aureus infections. Using X-ray crystallography, direct cell labeling, and mouse models of infection, we demonstrate that oxadiazolone-based probes enable specific labeling of S. aureus bacteria through the direct covalent modification of the FphE active site serine. These results demonstrate the utility of the oxadizolone electrophile for activity-based probes and validate FphE as a target for the development of imaging contrast agents for the rapid detection of S. aureus infections.

Effects of cadmium exposure on gut microbiota and antibiotic resistance genes in Haliotis diversicolor abalone.

Heavy metals in soil, water, and industrial production can affect the antibiotic resistance of bacteria. Antibiotic resistance in gut microbiota has been extensively researched. The effects of cadmium (Cd) was investigated on the gut microbiota and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) of Haliotis diversicolor, a commercially important abalone species. By exposing H. diversicolor to four concentrations of Cd (0 µg L-1 (control), 6.5 µg L-1 (low), 42.25 µg L-1 (medium), and 274.63 µg L-1 (high)) for 30 and 60 days, 16 types of ARG (aadA-01, aadA-02, cfr, dfrA1, ermB, floR, folA, mecA, sul2, tetB-01, tetC-01, tetD-01, tetG-01, tetM-02, tetQ, vanC-01), and 1213 genus and 27 phylum microbiomes were detected. ARGs can be resistant to aminoglycoside, beta-lactamase, macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B, multidrug, florfenicol, macrolide, sulfonamides, tetracyclines, and vancomycin. Cadmium exposure significantly alters the abundance of tetC-01, tetB-01, tetQ, sul2, and aadA-01. About 5% (61) of genus-level microorganisms were significantly affected by Cd exposure. Microbiota alpha and beta diversities in the 60-day 42.25 µg L-1 Cd treatment differed significantly from those in other treatments. In addition, 26 pathogens were detected, and two pathogens (Vibrio and Legionella) were significantly affected by Cd exposure. Significant correlations between pathogens and ARGs increased with increased Cd concentration after 60 days of Cd exposure. Cadmium exposure may cause gut microbiota disturbance in H. diversicolor and increase the likelihood of ARG transfer to pathogens, increasing potential ecological and economic risks.

Toxic effect of chromium on nonspecific immune, bioaccumulation, and tissue structure of Urechis unicinctus.

The contamination of toxic heavy metals in aquatic environments has garnered significant global attention due to its detrimental effects on marine organisms and human health. Hexavalent chromium is a typical environmental and occupational heavy metal pollutant, identified as carcinogenic heavy metal. This study aimed to assess the impact of different Cr (VI) concentrations (0.05-2.5 mg/L) on Urechis unicinctus (U. unicinctus) by investigating bioaccumulation, antioxidant defense system, expression of resistance-related genes, and histological issues. A clear concentration-effect relationship was observed in the bioaccumulation of Cr (VI) in muscle tissues of U. unicinctus. Moreover, exposure to Cr (VI) can alter the activities of lysozyme (LSZ), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) to enhance cellular defense mechanisms in U. unicinctus. Likewise, maintained the normal protein structure and functional stability by regulating protein folding. The heat shock cognitive protein (HSC70) gene showed an upward and then downward trend after Cr (VI) exposure. At 12 h, the HSC70 gene expression reached the maximum values of 4.75 and 4.61-fold in the 0.1 and 1.5 mg/L groups, respectively. The organism produced a large number of free radicals, and elevated level of metallothionein (MT) was used to scavenge free radicals and alleviate oxidative stress. Additionally, histopathological examination revealed disorganization in the midgut, atrophic changes in intestinal connective tissue, uneven distribution in respiratory tissues, and irregular shape with a significant reduction in epithelial cells within the gastric cavity. These findings can serve as a valuable reference for elucidating the toxicity mechanisms of heavy metals towards marine benthic organisms and enhancing water environment monitoring strategies.

A nanoemulsion targeting adipose hypertrophy and hyperplasia shows anti-obesity efficiency in female mice.

Obesity often leads to severe medical complications. However, existing FDA-approved medications to combat obesity have limited effectiveness in reducing adiposity and often cause side effects. These medications primarily act on the central nervous system or disrupt fat absorption through the gastrointestinal tract. Adipose tissue enlargement involves adipose hyperplasia and hypertrophy, both of which correlate with increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and hyperactivated X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1) in (pre)adipocytes. In this study, we demonstrate that KT-NE, a nanoemulsion loaded with the XBP1 inhibitor KIRA6 and α-Tocopherol, simultaneously alleviates aberrant endoplasmic reticulum stress and oxidative stress in (pre)adipocytes. As a result, KT-NE significantly inhibits abnormal adipogenic differentiation, reduces lipid droplet accumulation, restricts lipid droplet transfer, impedes obesity progression, and lowers the risk of obesity-associated non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in female mice with obesity. Furthermore, diverse administration routes of KT-NE impact its in vivo biodistribution and contribute to localized and/or systemic anti-obesity effectiveness.

Nonspecific immune, histology and accumulation of marine worm, Urechis unicinctus in response to bisphenol A (BPA).

Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the environmental endocrine disruptors, due to its chemical stability it exists in abundant concentrations in water and soil consequently accumulating in the food chain and causing many endocrine-related health problems. So far, studies on the effects of BPA on marine invertebrates have focused on acute toxicity, endocrine regulation, reproduction, and development. However, fewer studies have been conducted on marine benthos. The current study aimed to detect the accumulation of BPA and its impact on tissue structure, antioxidant capacity, and immune indexes in marine worm, Urechis unicinctus. U. unicinctus, as a common marine benthic animal, were exposed to different concentrations of BPA. Blood cells and intestinal tract were taken for tissue structure inspection, and supernatant of the coelomic fluid was collected for oxidative and antioxidant biomarkers. Results showed that the accumulation of BPA in muscles of U. unicinctus tended to increase with exposure time. BPA induced a rise in H2O2 and MDA content, and altered the activities of CAT, T-SOD, GST, LSZ and ACP, weaken the immune system functions. Moreover, pathological observation showed that BPA caused severe histopathology in the respiratory intestine, stomach, and midgut. These results will be helpful to understand the response mechanism of U. unicinctus under BPA exposure and provide a reference for controlling the aquaculture conditions and marine water quality of U. unicinctus.

Aldehyde modified nanocellulose-based fluorescent hydrogel toward multistage data security encryption.

In view of the insecurity of encode information storage based on fluorescence switch single-stage encryption, a fluorescent hydrogel for multistage data security encryption were proposed, named as polyvinyl alcohol/dialdehyde cellulose nanofibrils/carbon quantum dots hydrogel. Herein, the interpenetrating network was formed by chemically crosslinking between polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and dialdehyde cellulose nanofibrils (DACNF). Additionally, nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (CDs) synthesized by one-step hydrothermal method were introduced into the above hydrogel system by hydrogen bonds. The resultant fluorescent hydrogels possessed high stretchability up to 530 %, good strength of 0.96 MPa, Fe3+-responsive fluorescence quenching, fluorescence recovery triggered by ascorbic acid and borax-triggered shape memory. Moreover, various complex 3D hydrogel geometries were fabricated by folding/assembling 2D fluorescent hydrogel sheets, extending data encryption capability from 2D plane to 3D space. More remarkably, the 3D data encryption-erasing process of fluorescent hydrogel was realized by the strategy of alternating treatment of Fe3+ solution and ascorbic acid solution. This work provided a facile and general strategy for constructing high security important information encryption and protection.

Effect of rosin based quaternary ammonium salt on mechanical, hydrophily, antibacterial of cornstarch/polydopamine film for food packaging.

Food packaging made of biobased materials is environmentally friendly, among which starch film is a type of biobased packaging with great development value. Some existing studies have attempted to add polydopamine (PDA) to enhance cross-linking, but there are still problems such as weakness and hydrophilicity, which greatly limit its application. Therefore, this study synthesized rosin based quaternary ammonium salt-modified cornstarch (ST-B), which was used to replace part of unmodified cornstarch (ST). In the prepared ST/PDA0.5/ST-B5 film, the introduction of a rigid rosin structure increased the stress and water contact angle of the ST/PDA0.5 film by 62 % and 26 %, respectively, while reducing its wettability and WVP; thus, further enhancing its antioxidant activity. Due to the antibacterial ability of rosin quaternary ammonium cations, the packaging film containing 7 wt% ST-B can kill >94.6 % of S. aureus and 99.9 % of E. coli, and can also extend the shelf life of strawberries. In addition, it is proven that the packaging film has good biocompatibility and high safety within cytotoxicity tests and 30-day gavage tests in mice. Therefore, the prepared ST/PDA/ST-B film has more potential for application in food preservation.

Gut diazotrophs in lagomorphs are associated with season but not altitude and host phylogeny.

Invertebrates such as termites feeding on nutrient-poor substrate receive essential nitrogen by biological nitrogen fixation of gut diazotrophs. However, the diversity and composition of gut diazotrophs of vertebrates such as Plateau pikas living in nutrient-poor Qinghai-Tibet Plateau remain unknown. To fill this knowledge gap, we studied gut diazotrophs of Plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) and its related species, Daurian pikas (Ochotona daurica), Hares (Lepus europaeus) and Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) by high-throughput amplicon sequencing methods. We analyzed whether the gut diazotrophs of Plateau pikas are affected by season, altitude, and species, and explored the relationship between gut diazotrophs and whole gut microbiomes. Our study showed that Firmicutes, Spirochaetes, and Euryarchaeota were the dominant gut diazotrophs of Plateau pikas. The beta diversity of gut diazotrophs of Plateau pikas was significantly different from the other three lagomorphs, but the alpha diversity did not show a significant difference among the four lagomorphs. The gut diazotrophs of Plateau pikas were the most similarly to that of Rabbits, followed by Daurian pikas and Hares, which was inconsistent with gut microbiomes or animal phylogeny. The dominant gut diazotrophs of the four lagomorphs may reflect their living environment and dietary habits. Season significantly affected the alpha diversity and abundance of dominant gut diazotrophs. Altitude had no significant effect on the gut diazotrophs of Plateau pikas. In addition, the congruence between gut microbiomes and gut diazotrophs was low. Our results proved that the gut of Plateau pikas was rich in gut diazotrophs, which is of great significance for the study of ecology and evolution of lagomorphs.

Gender dimorphism in hepatocarcinogenesis-DNA methylation modification regulated X-chromosome inactivation escape molecule XIST.

BACKGROUND: Sex disparities constitute a significant issue in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the mechanism of gender dimorphism in HCC is still not completely understood. METHODS: 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC)-Seal technology was utilised to detect the global 5hmC levels from four female and four male HCC samples. Methylation of XIST was detected by Sequenom MassARRAY methylation profiling between HCC tissues (T) and adjacent normal liver tissues (L). The role of Tet methylcytosine dioxygenase 2 (TET2) was investigated using diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-administered Tet2-/- female mice, which regulated XIST in hepatocarcinogenesis. All statistical analyses were carried out by GraphPad Prism 9.0 and SPSS version 19.0 software. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that the numbers of 5hmC reads in the first exon of XIST from female HCC tissues (T) were remarkably lower than that in female adjacent normal liver tissues (L). Correspondingly, DNA methylation level of XIST first exon region was significantly increased in female T than in L. By contrast, no significant change was observed in male HCC patients. Compared to L, the expression of XIST in T was also significantly downregulated. Female patients with higher XIST in HCC had a higher overall survival (OS) and more extended recurrence-free survival (RFS). Moreover, TET2 can interact with YY1 binding to the promoter region of XIST and maintain the hypomethylation state of XIST. In addition, DEN-administered Tet2-/- mice developed more tumours than controls in female mice. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provided that YY1 and TET2 could interact to form protein complexes binding to the promoter region of XIST, regulating the methylation level of XIST and then affecting the expression of XIST. This research will provide a new clue for studying sex disparities in hepatocarcinogenesis. HIGHLIGHTS: XIST was significantly downregulated in HCC tissues and had gender disparity. Methylation levels in the XIST first exon were higher in female HCC tissues, but no significant change in male HCC patients. The TET2-YY1 complex regulate XIST expression in female hepatocytes. Other ways regulate XIST expression in male hepatocytes.

Distraction osteogenesis promotes temporomandibular joint self-remodeling in the treatment of mandibular deviation caused by condylar ankylosis.

Craniofacial deformity and malocclusion are primary concerns following temporomandibular joint ankylosis (TMJa) in growing patients, and they pose even greater challenges in adult patients. The treatment objectives always involve restoring proper jawbone structure, achieving stable occlusion, and attaining satisfactory joint mobility. This report presents a 4-year follow-up of an adult patient with TMJa-induced mandibular deviation, who underwent a combined treatment approach involving distraction osteogenesis (DO) and orthodontic-orthognathic surgery. Orthodontic treatment resulted in favorable occlusion and improved facial esthetics. A new condyle with a reconstructed glenoid fossa in a forward position was established after mandibular DO and the damaged TMJ experienced self-remodeling owing to functional improvement. Thus, this case demonstrates the efficacy of DO in promoting adaptive TMJ self-remodeling with long-term stability when treating mandibular deviation caused by condylar ankylosis in adult patients.