Clinical relevance of miR-423-5p levels in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine changes in miRNAs expression profile of COPD patients. METHODS: Thirty-six COPD patients as well as thirty-three healthy volunteers were recruited. Total RNAs were collected from the plasma of each participant. The differentially expressed miRNAs in COPD were screened from the GEO database. RT-qPCR was carried out to detect miRNA expression. RESULTS: In total, 9 out of 55 miRNAs were expressed differentially in COPD patients. Confirmed by RT-qPCR validation, 6 miRNAs increased while 3 miRNAs decreased. Further analysis of miR-423-5p, which has not been reported in COPD, showed that AUC for the diagnosis of COPD was 0.9651, and miR-423-5p levels was inversely correlated with the duration of smoking. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that miR-423-5p is a potential marker for identifying COPD patients.

Patterns and Determinants of Antibiotic Use Behaviors among Rural Community Residents in Eastern China.

Inappropriate antibiotic use may lead to antibiotic resistance, which has become a serious global crisis. Addressing suboptimal antibiotic use in the general population can play a significant role in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. This study aims to describe antibiotic use and sources of acquisition, and to identify factors influencing antibiotic access among rural community residents in Eastern China. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from July to August 2020, and 1494 participants from two villages in Eastern China were enrolled. Information was obtained using face-to-face interviews with a structured electronic questionnaire. Chi-squared and multinominal logistic regression analysis were used to explore possible determinants. In total, 1379 participants were eligible for the analysis. In the past 12 months, nearly half the respondents had taken any antibiotic (48.4%), and this proportion varied across marital status and age group. Two thirds of them (59.9%) obtained antibiotics from medical facilities with a prescription when they last took antibiotics, while 17.7% and 22.4% chose retail pharmacies and other sources, respectively. Multinominal analysis found that a higher proportion obtained antibiotics outside medical facilities among those aged 15 to 44 years, unmarried, non-white collar workers, with more years of education, lower annual household income per capita and lower levels of antibiotic knowledge. The antibiotic use behavior of rural community residents in Eastern China remains suboptimal. Antibiotic use and access behaviors need to be further addressed. Effective antibiotic stewardship in non-medical facility sources and training programs targeted for rural Chinese is warranted in future.

Associations of Dietary Patterns and Incident Type 2 Diabetes in a Community Population Cohort From Southwest China.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is rising rapidly worldwide, but there are scant empirical data on the association between diet and diabetes in Southwest China. METHODS: In this prospective community-population cohort study from Guizhou Province, China since 2010, 7,023 eligible adults were included. Dietary information was obtained by face-to-face interviews with a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, and dietary patterns were derived by factor analysis. The hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated for the associations between various dietary patterns and incident T2D risk by cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS: Until 2020, a total of 749 new T2D cases were identified during the average follow-up of 7.05 years and the incidence was 14.75/1,000 person-years. Two main dietary patterns from the food frequency questionnaire were identified by factor analysis, i.e., vegetable-grain pattern and junk food pattern. In the multivariate analysis, 28 and 20% lower risks of T2D were observed at the low intake of junk food pattern (HR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.61, 0.87) and the high intake of vegetable-grain pattern (HR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.67, 0.95) after adjustment for potential confounding factors, compared with the medium intake of such patterns, respectively. Positive linear relationships were found between fasting plasma glucose (FPG) at follow-up and its change with junk food pattern, while there were inverse linear associations with vegetable-grain pattern. CONCLUSION: Higher adherence to vegetable-grain patterns and lower adherence to junk food patterns significantly lowered T2D incidence among the population in Southwest China. Moving toward a healthier dietary model deserves more attention to develop interventions for the prevention of T2D.

Clinical relevance of miR-423-5p levels in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to examine changes in miRNAs expression profile of COPD patients. Methods: Thirty-six COPD patients as well as thirty-three healthy volunteers were recruited. Total RNAs were collected from the plasma of each participant. The differentially expressed miRNAs in COPD were screened from the GEO database. RT-qPCR was carried out to detect miRNA expression. Results: In total, 9 out of 55 miRNAs were expressed differentially in COPD patients. Confirmed by RT-qPCR validation, 6 miRNAs increased while 3 miRNAs decreased. Further analysis of miR-423-5p, which has not been reported in COPD, showed that AUC for the diagnosis of COPD was 0.9651, and miR-423-5p levels was inversely correlated with the duration of smoking. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that miR-423-5p is a potential marker for identifying COPD patients.

Associations of Dietary Patterns and Risk of Hypertension in Southwest China: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Empirical data on the association between diet and incident hypertension in Southwest China is lacking. We examined the associations between various dietary patterns and the risk of incident hypertension in this prospective population cohort of Southwest China. A total of 5442 eligible adults were included from Guizhou Province, China, since 2010. Dietary information was obtained using face-to-face interviews with a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, and dietary patterns were characterized using factor analysis. The hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated for the associations between various dietary patterns and incident hypertension risk using a Cox proportional hazard model. Until 2020, a total of 1177 new hypertension cases were identified during an average follow-up of 6.97 years. In the multivariable-adjusted analysis, a low intake of the junk food pattern was significantly associated with the reducing risk of incident hypertension (HR: 0.772, 95% CI: 0.671, 0.887) and a high intake of the vegetable-grain pattern statistically lowered the risk of incident hypertension (HR: 0.774, 95% CI: 0.669, 0.894) compared with the medium intake of such patterns. Higher adherence to the vegetable-grain pattern and lower adherence to the junk food pattern significantly lowered the hypertension incidence among the population in Southwest China. Those findings suggested healthy diet guidelines should be developed for the prevention of hypertension.

Vaccine bidding, procurement and distribution management practices in mainland China: A nationwide study.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a nationwide evaluation of vaccine bidding, procurement and distribution management for understanding and improving the current situation well in mainland China. METHODS: An institution survey was carried out to collect information on tendering, procurement, distribution and related issues to vaccines by structured questionnaires administered to 31 provinces in mainland China from April to July 2019. RESULTS: In 13 (41.9%) of 31 provinces, centralized bidding of National Immunization Program (NIP) vaccines was accomplished, and others conducted independent tendering and purchasing in 2018. For non-NIP vaccines, all provinces implemented unified bidding at the provincial level and over half (18, 58.1%) of them chose provincial public resource trading platforms, but their modes varied over provinces. Then procurement was undertaken by the district-level centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) while they were unable to choose the best option of too many vaccines targeted by the province-level CDC for local populations. The distribution modes of NIP and non-National Immunization Program (non-NIP) vaccines were similar overall in a province but very different over provinces. Main mode was that CDCs at different levels delivered about two thirds (64.5%) of NIP vaccines distribution and more than one third (35.5%) of non-NIP vaccines. Another distribution mode was occupied as fully buying the service from third parties in 3 municipalities. Some provinces mixed both modes, too. The total distribution volume of vaccines was 430.7 million doses in 2018. The top five non-NIP vaccines delivered in 2018 were human rabies vaccine, varicella vaccine, EV71 hand foot mouth disease vaccine, hepatitis B vaccine and influenza vaccine. CONCLUSION: The vaccine biding, procurement and distribution management varied over provinces in mainland China in 2018, especially for non-NIP vaccines. Specific policies and measures should be developed for different regions to improve the immunization management better.

A Zfp609 circular RNA regulates myoblast differentiation by sponging miR-194-5p.

Skeletal muscle development and growth regulatory mechanism is the focus of both animal genetics and medicine. The recent studies indicate that covalently closed circular RNAs (circRNAs) also play important role on muscle development through sequestering specific miRNAs. The present study was conducted to determine the functional roles of circZfp609, a recently identified circRNA, in the regulation of myogenesis in mouse myoblast cell line (C2C12). circZfp609 is predicted to has binding sites of miR-194-5p. circZfp609 knockdown increased the expression of Myf5 and MyoG, which indicated that circZfp609 suppressed myogenic differentiation. Via a luciferase screening assay, circZfp609 is observed to sponge to miR-194-5p with four potential binding sites. Specifically, we show that circZfp609 can sponge miR-194-5p to sequester its inhibition on BCLAF1 so as to repress the myogenic differentiation. Modulation of circZfp609 expression in muscle tissue may emerge as a potential target in breeding strategies attempting to control muscle development.

MiR-499 regulates myoblast proliferation and differentiation by targeting transforming growth factor ß receptor 1.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are small noncoding RNAs that play critical roles in muscle cell proliferation and differentiation via post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Here, based on our previous high-throughput sequencing results, we evaluated miRNA-499 (miR-499) functions during myoblast proliferation and differentiation. In addition, we analyzed miR-499 expression profiles and characterized the associated functional roles. MiR-499 is known to be a skeletal muscle fiber-type-associated miRNA. However, its roles in skeletal myoblast proliferation and differentiation are poorly understood. MiR-499 overexpression promoted C2C12 cell proliferation and significantly attenuated C2C12 cell myogenic differentiation. Furthermore, miR-499 inhibition enhanced C2C12 cell proliferation and suppressed C2C12 cell differentiation. Using dual-luciferase reporter assays and western blot analysis, we confirmed that miR-499 targeted transforming growth factor ß receptor 1 (TGFßR1), a known regulator of skeletal myoblast development. Additionally, our RNA interference analysis, in which TGFßR1 was downregulated, showed that TGFßR1 significantly promoted the differentiation of C2C12 cells and inhibited their proliferation.

Milk protein synthesis is regulated by T1R1/T1R3, a G protein-coupled taste receptor, through the mTOR pathway in the mouse mammary gland.

SCOPE: Understanding the regulatory mechanism of milk protein synthesis is important to develop strategies to improve milk protein and enhance lactation performance. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is a crucial modulator of protein synthesis. In this study, we want to investigate if T1R1/T1R3 can regulate milk protein synthesis and mediate the mTOR pathway in the mice mammary gland in vivo. METHODS AND RESULTS: T1R1 knockout mice, WT mice, and mammary explants were used. The weigh-suckle-weigh method was used to quantify the milk yield. The expression level of ß-casein and AA transporter mRNA were analyzed by qPCR. Western blot was used to analyze protein abundance of members of the mTOR pathway. As expected, the knockout of T1R1 not only reduced the total milk yield in the mice mammary glands, but also repressed ß-casein synthesis. Additionally, the phosphorylation of 4EBP1 and S6K was significantly decreased in T1R1 knockout mice. The T1R1 knockout also increased the protein abundance of the AA transporter SLC3A2 and mRNA expression of SLC7A5/SLC3A2 and SLC1A5. Activation of the mTOR pathway was repressed by inhibition of T1R3 or T1R1 knockout in mammary gland explants. CONCLUSION: T1R1/T1R3 modulates the mTOR pathway to regulate milk protein synthesis in the mouse mammary gland in vivo.

Anchored but not internalized: shape dependent endocytosis of nanodiamond.

Nanoparticle-cell interactions begin with the cellular uptake of the nanoparticles, a process that eventually determines their cellular fate. In the present work, we show that the morphological features of nanodiamonds (NDs) affect both the anchoring and internalization stages of their endocytosis. While a prickly ND (with sharp edges/corners) has no trouble of anchoring onto the plasma membrane, it suffers from difficult internalization afterwards. In comparison, the internalization of a round ND (obtained by selective etching of the prickly ND) is not limited by its lower anchoring amount and presents a much higher endocytosis amount. Molecular dynamics simulation and continuum modelling results suggest that the observed difference in the anchoring of round and prickly NDs likely results from the reduced contact surface area with the cell membrane of the former, while the energy penalty associated with membrane curvature generation, which is lower for a round ND, may explain its higher probability of the subsequent internalization.

Combined Haplotypes of CaSR Gene Sequence Variants and Their Associations with Growth Traits in Cattle.

The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is a Class C G-protein coupled receptor that regulates food intake and assimilation. However, studies on the relationship between CaSR gene and growth traits in cattle are deficient. The aim of this study was to examine the association of the CaSR polymorphism with growth traits in cattle breeds. Four novel single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and one previously reported SNP (NC_007299.5: g.67630865T>C, 67638409G>C, 67660395G>C, 67661546C>G, and 67661892A>C) were identified in the bovine CaSR gene using DNA sequencing and PCR-SSCP methods in 520 individuals from three representative breeds. The three SNP P4_2, P7_1, and P7_4 in LX, QC, and JX cattle populations belonged to intermediate genetic diversity (0.25 < PIC < 0.5). In addition, we evaluated the haplotype frequency and linkage disequilibrium coefficient of five sequence variants in the three cattle breeds. LD and haplotype structure of CaSR were different between breeds. LD analysis showed that the P4_2 and P7_4 loci were in complete LD in JX cattle population (r2 = 0.99 and D' = 1). Only 11 haplotypes were listed except for those with a frequency of <0.03. Hap1 (-TGGGC-) had the highest haplotype frequencies in LX (27.30%), Hap6(-TGGCC-) had the highest haplotype frequencies in QC (21.70%) and JX (32.30%). Association analysis indicated that P2, P4_2, and P7_4 loci were all significantly associated with growth traits and combined genotype TTGCGC was highly significantly associated with Chest circumference and body weight than the other genotype in JX cattle population. The results of this study suggest that the CaSR gene possibly is a strong candidate gene that affects growth traits in the Chinese cattle breeding program.

Expression Profiles Analysis and Functional Characterization of MicroRNA-660 in Skeletal Muscle Differentiation.

MicroRNA are a series of small non-coding RNAs that have emerged as critical regulators of skeletal muscle development. Here, we concentrated on the function of miR-660 during bovine skeletal myogenesis from our previous high-throughput sequencing results, then analyzed its expression profiles and characterized related functional roles. Overexpression of miR-660 significantly attenuated myogenic differentiation of C2C12 cells, whereas miR-660 inhibition enhanced C2C12 differentiation. Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay went for demonstrating that miR-660 directly targeted the 3'-UTR of Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor 12 (ARHGEF-12). Furthermore, we found an inverse relationship between the expression of miR-660 and ARHGEF12 in both gain- and loss-of-function studies: overexpression of miR-660 declined the mRNA and protein expressions of ARHGEF12 in C2C12 cells differentiation; however, knockdown of miR-660 had completely opposite results. Taken together, these results offered a new perspective for miR-660 in skeletal muscle differentiation. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 2387-2394, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Constructing Biopolymer-Inorganic Nanocomposite through a Biomimetic Mineralization Process for Enzyme Immobilization.

Inspired by biosilicification, biomimetic polymer-silica nanocomposite has aroused a lot of interest from the viewpoints of both scientific research and technological applications. In this study, a novel dual functional polymer, NH2-Alginate, is synthesized through an oxidation-amination-reduction process. The "catalysis function" ensures the as-prepared NH2-Alginate inducing biomimetic mineralization of silica from low concentration precursor (Na2SiO3), and the "template function" cause microscopic phase separation in aqueous solution. The diameter of resultant NH2-Alginate micelles in aqueous solution distributed from 100 nm to 1.5 µm, and is influenced by the synthetic process of NH2-Alginate. The size and morphology of obtained NH2-Alginate/silica nanocomposite are correlated with the micelles. NH2-Alginate/silica nanocomposite was subsequently utilized to immobilize ß-Glucuronidase (GUS). The harsh condition tolerance and long-term storage stability of the immobilized GUS are notably improved due to the buffering effect of NH2-Alginate and cage effect of silica matrix.