circRNA THBS1 silencing inhibits the malignant biological behavior of cervical cancer cells via the regulation of miR-543/HMGB2 axis.

Circular RNA (circRNA) THBS1 has been shown to exist as an oncogene in non-small-cell lung cancer, but its role in cervical cancer is still unclear. Our experiment aimed to uncover the functions and specific mechanism of circRNA THBS1 in cervical cancer cells. Levels of circRNA THBS1 and miR-543 in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines were assessed by RT-qPCR. starBase and dual luciferase reporter gene assay were applied for investigating the correlation between miR-543 and circRNA THBS1/HMGB2. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated by MTT and flow cytometry, respectively. Furthermore, the levels of HMGB2, E-cadherin, and N-cadherin in HeLa cells were determined by RT-qPCR and western blot analysis. Our data revealed that circRNA THBS1 was significantly upregulated and miR-543 was low expressed in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines. circRNA THBS1 interacted with miR-543 and negatively regulated miR-543 expression in HeLa cells. Silencing of circRNA THBS1 remarkably suppressed HeLa cells' viability, accelerated cells' apoptosis, and inhibited the EMT of HeLa cells, while these changes were reversed by miR-543 inhibitor. Moreover, miR-543 affected HeLa cells by targeting HMGB2. In conclusion, circRNA THBS1 silencing inhibited the malignant biological behaviors of cervical cancer cells via the regulation of miR-543/HMGB2 axis.

Effect of environmental factors on the aggregation behavior of astaxanthin in water.

Molecular aggregation is a common phenomenon widely found in natural organisms, which is crucial for some specific functions of biological systems. To study the aggregating behavior of hydrophobic carotenoids in water, astaxanthin was employed and dispersed under different surroundings to induce aggregation. The results showed that astaxanthin tended to form J- or H-type aggregates when the water content was higher than 60%. Both hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) were beneficial for the formation of astaxanthin J-aggregates, but they were not good for inducing H-aggregates. Small-molecule electrolytes, like sodium salts, mostly played an enormous hindrance role to the formation of astaxanthin H- and J-aggregates, except for sodium chloride (NaCl) which helped astaxanthin to form J-aggregates. Both sodium periodate (NaIO4) and sodium acetate (CH3COONa) could prevent the formation of astaxanthin H- and J-aggregates, but sodium chloride (NaCl) could only hinder the formation of H-aggregates. As for polyelectrolytes chitosan and DNA, the difference of chain structure led to different aggregation effects. The soft single chain of chitosan tended to induce J-aggregates formation, while double-stranded DNA preferred to guide the formation of H-aggregates. By choosing and integrating the advantageous environmental factors that facilitate each type of astaxanthin aggregates, J- and H-type astaxanthin aggregates were stably loaded in DNA/CS nanoparticles with distinct particle sizes. Controlled preparation of either H- or J-type aggregates is of great significance for further studies concerning the structure-activity relationship of carotenoid aggregates.

miRNA-214-5p inhibits prostate cancer cell proliferation by targeting SOX4.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is the most common malignant tumor in men. Due to the lack of theoretical research on its pathogenic mechanism, the current cure rate is still low. miRNAs play an important role in the pathogenesis of various cancers. miRNA-214-5p plays an important role in the development of a variety of cancers. This study aims to explore the expression level of miR-214-5p in prostate cancer and make a preliminary study of its molecular mechanism in the development of prostate cancer to provide effective new strategies for the treatment of prostate cancer. METHODS: The target genes of miRNA-214-5p were predicted with bioinformatics technology, and the target relationship between miRNA-214-5p and its target genes was verified with dual luciferase reporter assay. RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to detect the expression levels of miRNA-214-5p and target genes in 50 clinical samples and two common prostate continuous cell lines, respectively. The targeting relationship between miRNA-214-5p and its target genes was verified with clinical data. miRNA-214-5p and miRNA-214-5p inhibitor was over-expressed in DU-145 cell lines to verify the effect of miRNA-214-5p on prostate cancer cell proliferation and SOX4 gene expression. And the mechanism of miRNA-214-5p inhibiting the proliferation of prostate cancer cells were analyzed by detecting the expression difference of downstream factors of SOX4 pathway. Bioinformatics analysis showed that miRNA-214-5p combined with SOX4 3'UTR region, and dual luciferase reporter assay further verified the reliability of the predicted results. The low expression of miRNA-214-5p was observed in prostate cancer tissues and cells, while high expression of SOX4 was observed in prostate cancer tissues and cells. RESULTS: Overexpression of miRNA-214-5p to prostate cancer cells significantly inhibited the proliferation of cancer cells, and the expression of SOX4 was inhibited in the transfected cell line. After transfection of miRNA-214-5p inhibitor into prostate cancer cells, the cell proliferation rate further increased. Meanwhile, overexpression of miRNA-214-5p effectively inhibited the expression of SOX4 downstream factors, including c-Myc, eIF4E, and CDK4. However, the specific knockdown of SOX4 through SOX4 shRNA significantly reduced the proliferation of prostate cancer cell lines. CONCLUSIONS: miRNA-214-5 can inhibit the proliferation of prostate cancer cells by specifically targeting S0X4 and inhibiting the expression of growth factors downstream of this pathway.

Energetic-Materials-Driven Synthesis of Graphene-Encapsulated Tin Oxide Nanoparticles for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

By evenly mixing polytetrafluoroethylene-silicon energetic materials (PTFE-Si EMs) with tin oxide (SnO2) particles, we demonstrate a direct synthesis of graphene-encapsulated SnO2 (Gr-SnO2) nanoparticles through the self-propagated exothermic reaction of the EMs. The highly exothermic reaction of the PTFE-Si EMs released a huge amount of heat that induced an instantaneous temperature rise at the reaction zone, and the rapid expansion of the gaseous SiF4 product provided a high-speed gas flow for dispersing the molten particles into finer nanoscale particles. Furthermore, the reaction of the PTFE-NPs with Si resulted in a simultaneous synthesis of graphene that encapsulated the SnO2 nanoparticles in order to form the core-shell nanostructure. As sodium storage material, the graphene-encapsulated SnO2 nanoparticles exhibit a good cycling performance, superior rate capability, and a high initial Coulombic efficiency of 85.3%. This proves the effectiveness of our approach for the scalable synthesis of core-shell-structured graphene-encapsulated nanomaterials.

Effects of Static Magnetic Field on Compression Properties of Mg-Al-Gd Alloys Containing Gd-Rich Ferromagnetic Phase.

The Mg-0.6Al-20.8Gd (wt.%) alloys were homogenized at 620 °C for 20 min under 0 T and 1 T, followed by furnace cooling, quenching, and air cooling, respectively. The effects of the magnetic field on the phase constituent, microstructure, secondary phase precipitation, and mechanical properties of the Mg-Al-Gd alloys were investigated. The Mg-Al-Gd alloys contained α-Mg, Mg5Gd, Al2Gd, and GdH2 phases, and the phase constituents were hardly influenced by the applied magnetic field. However, the precipitation of the paramagnetic Mg5Gd upon cooling was accelerated by the magnetic field, and that of the ferromagnetic Al2Gd phases was inhibited. In addition, the Al2Gd phase was significantly refined and driven to segregate at the grain boundaries by the magnetic field, and the resultant pinning effect led to the microstructure change from dendritic α-Mg grains to rosette-like ones. When the magnetic field was only applied to the homogenization stage, the content of the Mg5Gd phase remained unchanged in the quenched alloy, whereas the Mg5Gd laths were significantly refined. By contrast, the contents of the Al2Gd and GdH2 phases were increased, while the precipitation sites were still within the α-Mg grains. The Mg5Gd laths were incapable of providing precipitation strengthening, while the Al2Gd and GdH2 particles brought positive effects on the enhancement of the mechanical properties. In the quenching condition, the hardness, compression strength, and ductility can be improved by the magnetic treatment, whereas these mechanical properties can be suppressed in the furnace cooled condition by the magnetic treatment.

Low-grade Myofibroblastic sarcoma: clinical and imaging findings.

BACKGROUND: Low-grade myofibroblastic sarcoma (LGMS) is a rare type of tumor. Previous research has paid much attention to reporting pathological analyses of LGMS. However, only few systematic clinical and/or radiological studies have been conducted. METHODS: This study recruited 14 cases (8 males and 6 females) of LGMS. X-ray or computer tomography (CT) scan were performed on 11 cases. MRI was performed on 5 cases. RESULTS: X-Ray and CT scan: Five cases developed LGMS in bones, including 3 cases in the distal femur, 1 in the right shoulder blade, and another 1 in the right inferior ramus. Massive infiltrative and vermiform bone destruction with poorly-circumscribed lesion margins and partial soft tissue masses were observed. The other 9 cases were developed in soft tissues. Out of them, 4 cases presented slightly irregular hyper- or lower-density masses with poorly-circumscribed margins. 2 cases presented massive calcification and ossification. Significant enhancement was observed in 1 case, while no obvious enhancement was seen in the other 2 cases. MRI: MR images of 5 cases revealed homogeneous iso- or hyper-signal intensity on T1WI and homogeneous or heterogeneous hyper-signal intensity on T2WI. Enhanced MRI revealed homogeneous enhancement in 2 cases and rim enhancement in 1 case. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that LGMS is characterized by invasiveness, metastases and calcification. Different radiological tools should be employed to make an accurate diagnosis.

Lnc­IL7R promotes the growth of fibroblast­like synoviocytes through interaction with enhancer of zeste homolog 2 in rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory and autoimmune disease that affects ~1% of the world's population. Although the precise mechanism of RA has yet to be elucidated, accumulating evidence suggests that fibroblast­like synoviocytes (FLSs) serve critical roles in the initiation and progression of RA. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of FLS proliferation have yet to be elucidated. Long noncoding­interleukin­7 receptor (lnc­IL7R) has been recently identified, which is activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation and diminishes the LPS­induced inflammatory response. In the present study, gain­ and loss­of­function assays were performed in order to investigate the role of lnc­IL7R in FLS. It is demonstrated, to the best of the authors' knowledge for the first time, that lnc­IL7R promotes cell proliferation, cell cycle progression and inhibits apoptosis in FLS. Further investigation identified that lnc­IL7 interacts with enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) and is required for polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2)­mediated suppression, including cyclin­dependent kinase inhibitor 1A and cyclin­dependent kinase inhibitor 2A. Lnc­IL7R may be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of RA.

Expression of TNF-α, IFN-γ, TGF-ß, and IL-4 in the spinal tuberculous focus and its impact on the disease.

To investigate the expression of TNF-α, IFN-γ, TGF-ß, and IL-4 in the spinal tuberculous focus and its relationship with the lesions type, severity, and bone destruction. The pathological samples of patients with spinal tuberculosis (TB) were divided into hyperplasia group and necrosis group according to their intra-operative and post-operative pathological findings. Normal bone tissues were taken as the control group. Pathology and expression of TNF-α, IFN-γ, TGF-ß, and IL-4 in different tissues were compared among these three groups using immunohistochemical staining, quantitative image analysis, and measurement of bone tissue. 286 granulomas observed in the 14 samples in the hyperplasia group, which included 84 necrotizing and 202 non-necrotizing granulomas. As for the 20 samples in the necrosis group, there were 356 necrotizing and 186 non-necrotizing granulomas among all the 542 granulomas. The proportion of necrotizing granulomas in the necrosis group was significantly higher than that of the hyperplasia group. By inter-group comparison, expression of TNF-α, IFN-γ of granulomas in the hyperplasia group was significantly higher than that of the necrosis group, while the expression of TGF-ß, IL-4 of granulomas in the necrosis group was significantly higher than that of the hyperplasia group. Also, expression of IFN-γ of non-necrotizing granulomas was significantly higher than that of necrotizing granulomas in the hyperplasia group, and expression of TGF-ß in necrotizing granulomas was significantly higher than that of non-necrotizing granulomas in the necrosis group. The lesions were mainly bone resorption in the hyperplasia group, whereas mostly necrotic bones accompanied by local fibrosis in the necrosis group. Expression levels of TNF-α, IFN-γ in the hyperplasia group have a positive correlation to bone loss, whereas expression levels of TGF-ß, IL-4 in the necrosis group have a positive correlation to the bone formation. The high expressions of TNF-α, IFN-γ in the spinal tuberculous focus were associated with protective immune cells. TGF-ß and IL-4 were related to allergic lesions, fibrosis and osteogenesis. Expression imbalance of TNF-α, IFN-γ, TGF-ß, and IL-4 might aggravate the allergy of TB.

Endogenous sulfur dioxide aggravates myocardial injury in isolated rat heart with ischemia and reperfusion.

BACKGROUND: Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is an important clinical problem. This article investigated the role of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the regulation of cardiac function and in the pathogenesis of cardiac I/R injury in isolated rat heart. METHODS: Rat hearts isolated on a Langendorff apparatus were divided into control, I/R, I/R+SO2, and I/R+hydroxamate groups. Hydroxamate is an inhibitor of SO2 synthetase. I/R treatment was ischemia for 2 hr in hypothermic solution (4 degrees C), then reperfusion/rewarming (37 degrees C) for 60 min. Cardiac function was monitored by MacLab analog to a digital converter. Determination of sulfite content involved reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Myoglobin content of coronary perfusate was determined at 410 nm. Myocardial malondialdehyde (MDA) was determined by thiobarbituric acid method, and conjugated diene (CD) was extracted by chloroform. 5,50-Dithiobis-2-nitrobenzoic acid was used to determine glutathione (GSH). RESULTS: The results showed that I/R treatment obviously increased myocardial sulfite content, and sulfite content of myocardium was negatively correlated with the recovery rate of left-ventricle developed pressure and positively correlated with the leakage of myoglobin. In postreperfusion, myocardial function recovery was decreased by SO2. During reperfusion, myocardium-released enzymes, MDA and CD level were increased but myocardial GSH content was depressed with the treatment of SO2 donor. Incubation of myocardial tissue with SO2 significantly increased MDA and CD generation. CONCLUSIONS: Endogenous SO2 might be involved in the pathogenesis of myocardial I/R injury, and its mechanism might be associated with an increase in lipid peroxide level and a decrease in GSH generation.

Present status of serum lipid levels in Beijing professional populations and its trend of changes over 15 years--a collaborative study of seven research and clinical laboratories in Beijing.

BACKGROUND: China's economy has been growing rapidly since 1980, which may have affected blood lipid levels. We carried out a study on serum lipid levels and prevalence of lipid abnormalities in Beijing professional populations in 2001-2002 and assessed the changing trends of lipid levels by comparing the results with that of a similar study in 1984-1986. METHODS: The study population included 31,068 government employees, medical and educational workers and scientific research personnel (male/female 6:4). All participants had physical examination and blood chemistry tests. Lipid parameters analyzed included total cholesterol, low- and high-density lipoprotein (LDL and HDL) cholesterol and triglyceride. RESULTS: Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations increased significantly as compared with the 1984-1986 study, but the variations of lipid levels with age and sex remained unchanged. Age-adjusted prevalence of dyslipidemia and its distribution in different sexes and age groups were statistically analyzed. Comparing the results with the data of the US in the 1990s, total cholesterol concentration was lower by 16 mg/dl in men and 18 mg/dl in women, whereas LDL cholesterol concentration was lower by 20 mg/dl in men and 15 mg/dl in women. HDL cholesterol was significantly higher than the US in both genders. CONCLUSIONS: The mean levels of total cholesterol (LDL cholesterol ) increased rapidly in the 1980s, stabilized and descended slightly in 1990s. Coronary lipid risk level in Beijing professional populations is significantly lower than in the US.