IL-17A-induced cancer-associated fibroblasts releases CXCL12 to promote lung adenocarcinoma progression via Wnt/ß-Catenin signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and their secretion, C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12), play an important role in the development of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Interleukin 17A (IL-17A) is also crucial in regulating tumor progression. Herein, we explored the specific relationships between these two factors and their mechanisms in the progression of LUAD. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was utilized to assess the differential expression levels of IL-17A and CXCL12 in tumor versus normal tissues of LUAD patients, followed by gene correlation analysis. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK8), wound-healing and transwell assays were performed to investigate the effect of IL-17A on the function of LUAD cells. qPCR, immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry and western blot analyses were conducted to elucidate the potential mechanism by which IL-17A facilitates the development of LUAD via CXCL12. Male BALB-C nude mice were used to explore the role of IL-17A in subcutaneous LUAD mouse models. RESULTS: Elevated expression levels of IL-17A and CXCL12 were observed in LUAD tissues, exhibiting a positive correlation. Further studies revealed that IL-17A could stimulate CAFs to enhance the release of CXCL12, thereby facilitating the growth, proliferation, and metastasis of LUAD. The binding of CXCL12 to its specific receptor influences the activation of the Wnt/ß-Catenin pathway, which in turn affects the progression of LUAD. In vivo experiments have demonstrated that IL-17A enhances the growth of LUAD tumors by facilitating the secretion of CXCL12. Conversely, inhibiting CXCL12 has been demonstrated to impede tumor growth. CONCLUSIONS: We discovered that IL-17A promotes the release of CAFs-derived CXCL12, which in turn facilitates the development of LUAD via the Wnt/ß-Catenin signaling pathway.

Highly transparent TiO2 nanowires as charge-balancing layers for assembling electrochromic devices: effect of thickness on electrode potentials and electrochromic performance.

TiO2 nanowires with high transparency and good ion storage capacity were explored as the charge-balancing layers for assembling electrochromic devices (ECDs). Increase thickness of TiO2 nanowires layer lowers the driving potential of the entire ECDs accompanied with reduced potential at the EC layer electrode, which further leads to decreased optical contrast and switching speed of the ECDs. Meanwhile, it can be found that the EC layer electrodes possess larger charge densities than those of TiO2 nanowire electrodes during the electrochemical redox process of these ECDs. However, the intrinsic injection and extraction charge densities of each single electrode are similar, which appears that the intrinsic charge balance of EC layer and TiO2 nanowires electrodes play more important role in the cycling stability of the ECDs. ECD with an optimum thickness of the TiO2 nanowires layer exhibits good electrochromic properties in term of high optical contrast (∼45%), fast switching speed (3.23 s) and excellent cycling stability (which has nearly no decay after 5000 cycles). This study explores the effects of thickness of TiO2 Nanowires layer on electrode potentials and electrochromic properties of electrochromic devices (ECDs), providing a potentially new direction for the preparation of ECDs with good integrated performance.

Functional analysis of a RING domain ankyrin repeat protein that is highly expressed during flower senescence.

A gene encoding a RING zinc finger ankyrin repeat protein (MjXB3), a putative E3 ubiquitin ligase, is highly expressed in petals of senescing four o'clock (Mirabilis jalapa) flowers, increasing >40,000-fold during the onset of visible senescence. The gene has homologues in many other species, and the Petunia homologue is strongly up-regulated in senescing Petunia corollas. Silencing the expression of this gene in Petunia, using virus-induced gene silencing, resulted in a 2 d extension in flower life. In Mirabilis, a 2 kb promoter region, 5' upstream of the MjXB3 gene, was isolated. The promoter sequence included putative binding sites for many DNA-binding proteins, including the bZIP, Myb, homeodomain-leucine zipper (HD-Zip), MADS-box, and WRKY transcription factors. The construct containing a 1 kb promoter region immediately upstream of the MjXB3 gene drove the strongest expression of the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene in a transient expression assay. In Petunia, GUS expression under the control of this heterologous promoter fragment was specific to senescing flowers. The Mirabilis promoter GUS construct was tested in other flower species; while GUS activity in carnation petals was high during senescence, no expression was detected in three monocotyledonous flowers--daylily (Hemerocallis 'Stella d'Oro'), daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus 'King Alfred'), and orchid (Dendrobium 'Emma White').

Genes associated with opening and senescence of Mirabilis jalapa flowers.

A modest ethylene climacteric accompanies flower senescence in Mirabilis jalapa L., and exogenous ethylene accelerates the process. However, inhibitors of ethylene action and synthesis have little effect on the life-span of these ephemeral flowers. Treatment with alpha-amanitin, an inhibitor of DNA-dependent RNA synthesis, substantially delays the onset of senescence. This effect falls linearly between 7 h and 8 h after the start of flower opening. Subtractive hybridization was used to isolate transcripts that were up- and down-regulated during this critical period. Eighty-two up-regulated and 65 down-regulated transcripts were isolated. The genes identified encode homologues of a range of transcription factors, and of proteins involved in protein turnover and degradation. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR was used to examine expression patterns of these genes during flower opening and senescence. Genes that were identified as being down-regulated during senescence showed a common pattern of very high expression during floral opening. These genes included a homologue of CCA1, a 'clock' gene identified in Arabidopsis thaliana and an aspartyl protease. Up-regulated genes commonly showed a pattern of increase during the critical period (4-9 h after opening), and some showed very strong up-regulation. For example, the abundance of transcripts encoding a RING zinc finger protein increased >40 000 fold during the critical period.