MiRNA-375 inhibits retinoblastoma progression through targeting ERBB2 and inhibiting MAPK1/MAPK3 signalling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence has shown that the dysregulation of miRNAs is involved in the pathogenesis of retinoblastoma (RB). This present study was aimed to investigate the significance of miR-375 in RB progression, and the underlying mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The miR-375 expression was detected by RT-PCR. CCK-8 assay and transwell assays were used to measure RB cell viability, migration, and invasion. The downstream gene of miR-375 was verified by luciferase reporter assay. Western blot was applied to detect the related proteins of MAPK1/MAPK3 signalling pathway. RESULTS: MiR-375 was decreased significantly in RB tissues, and its down-regulation was associated with the poor prognosis of RB patients. Over-expression of miR-375 inhibited RB cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. More importantly, miR-375 modulated ERBB2 expression negatively, and ERBB2 was confirmed as the target of miR-375. Moreover, ERBB2 overturned the inhibitory effect of miR-375 mimic on the progression of RB. MiR-375 mimic suppressed RB progression via inhibiting the activation of MAPK1/MAPK3 signalling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-375 inhibited RB progression through targeting ERBB2 and suppressing MAPK1/MAPK3 signalling pathway, which might be a new target for the clinical treatment strategy.

Palladium nanocrystals regulates scleral extracellular matrix remodeling in myopic progression by modulating the hypoxia signaling pathway Nrf-2/Ho-1.

Myopia represents a widespread global public health concern influenced by a combination of environmental and genetic factors. The prevailing theory explaining myopia development revolves around scleral extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, characterized by diminished Type I collagen (Col-1) synthesis and increased degradation, resulting in scleral thinning and eye axis elongation. Existing studies underscore the pivotal role of scleral hypoxia in myopic scleral remodeling. This study investigates the peroxidase-like activity and catalytic performance of octahedral Palladium (Pd) nanocrystals, recognized as nanozymes with antioxidative properties. We explore their potential in reducing oxidative stress and alleviating hypoxia in human scleral fibroblasts (HSF) and examine the associated molecular mechanisms. Our results demonstrate the significant peroxidase-like activity of Pd nanocrystals. Furthermore, we observe a substantial reduction in oxidative stress in HSF under hypoxia, mitigating cellular damage. These effects are linked to alterations in Nrf-2/Ho-1 expression, a pathway associated with hypoxic stress. Importantly, our findings indicate that Pd nanocrystals contribute to attenuated scleral matrix remodeling in myopic guinea pigs, effectively slowing myopia progression. This supports the hypothesis that Pd nanocrystals regulate myopia development by controlling oxidative stress associated with hypoxia. Based on these results, we propose that Pd nanocrystals represent a novel and potential treatment avenue for myopia through the modulation of scleral matrix remodeling. This study introduces innovative ideas and directions for the treatment and prevention of myopia.

Health-related quality of life after stroke: a 2-year prospective cohort study in Wuhan, China.

Little is known about health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after stroke in Chinese populations. We conducted the present study to evaluate HRQoL after stroke in a group of Chinese patients. We followed 114 patients diagnosed with a first-ever stroke for 2 years. The HRQoL at discharge, 1 year poststroke, and 2 years poststroke was evaluated with the medical outcome short form 36. After a 2-year follow-up, there were 92 (88.5%) survivors. All eight domains of the HRQoL had the lowest scores at discharge, greatly improved over the first year after discharge, and showed continuous improvement. The HRQoL of patients after stroke significantly improved in two mental health domains (social function and mental health) and all four physical health domains 2 years after discharge. However, patients with stroke still had significantly lower scores in every domain than an age-matched reference group even 2 years after discharge. Age, sex, and activities of daily living were associated with HRQoL in the mental or physical domain in patients with stroke. Our results suggest that HRQoL greatly improved 2 years after discharge in patients with stroke. This study also confirmed the usefulness of the HRQoL assessment for prognosis evaluation in patients after stroke. Further studies from Chinese populations are still warranted.

Removal of Mg2+ inhibition benefited the growth and isolation of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria: An inspiration from bacterial interaction.

Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) play an important role in the global nitrogen cycle and have broad applications in the nitrogen removal from wastewater. However, the AOB species are sensitive to environmental factors and usually form tight relationships with other microbes, making the AOB isolation and maintenance are difficult and time-consuming. In this study, the relationship that occurred between AOB and their bacterial partners was found to be able to improve the ammonia oxidation; during the co-cultivation, the magnesium ions (Mg2+) with removal rate as high as 36.7% was removed from culture medium by the concomitant bacterial species, which was regarded as the main reason for improving ammonia oxidation. During the pure cultivation of AOB isolate, when the concentration of Mg2+ reduced to low levels, the ammonia-oxidizing activity was more than 5 times and the amoA gene expression was more than 12 times higher than that grown in the initial culture medium. Based on a newly designed culture medium, the ammonia oxidation of AOB isolate grown in liquid culture was significantly promoted and the visible AOB colonies with much more number and larger diameter were observed to form on agar plates. With the addition of high concentration of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), AOB colonies could be easily and specifically identified by following the hydrolytic zones that formed around AOB colonies. Another AOB isolates were successively obtained from different samples and within a short time, suggesting the feasibility and effectivity of this culture medium and strategy on the AOB isolation from environments.