Retraction.

The article "The circRNA-MYLK plays oncogenic roles in the Hep-2 cell line by sponging microRNA-145-5p" by Yao Chen, Yanmei Wang, Congcong Li, Xuechang Li, Tiejun Yuan, Shuqin Yang and Xiaoyan Sun, published in Gen. Physiol. Biophys. 39(3), 2020, pp. 229-237 (doi: 10.4149/gpb_2019060) has been retracted by agreement between the author(s) and journal's Editor in Chief, Prof. Dr. Lubica Lacinova, and AEPresss, s.r.o.. The corresponding author Xiaoyan Sun asked to retract this manuscript as there were some substantial problems in it, which needed more time and research to solve and can more fully re-examine and revise his research results.The authors were not available for a final confirmation of the retraction.

Nitrogen and Sulfur Co-doped Carbon Dots as a Turn-Off Fluorescence Probe for the Detection of Cerium and Iron.

Carbon dots has becoming one of the most promising fluorescence sensors to determine the trace level of heavy metals in environments because of their advantages in optical properties, response time, and convenient operation procedures. Herein, a novel nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon dots (NS-CDs) were prepared though microwave assisted approach using DL-malic acid and allyl thiourea for the first time. Due to the existence of nitrogen and sulfur, the as-prepared NS-CDs exhibited bright blue fluorescence at 430 nm upon 330 nm excitation, with a fluorescence quantum yield of 19.8%. The sensitivity study of NS-CDs against metal ions and organic molecules has approved that the fluorescence could be further quenched by Ce4+ and Fe3+ ions, with the same linear detection ranges varying from 10 to 90 µM. The limits of detection (LOD) were determined as low as 0.75 µM and 0.67 µM for Ce4+ and Fe3+ ions, respectively. The possible quenching mechanism is explained by inner filter effect and static quenching mechanism for Ce4+ ions, while the quenching effect caused by Fe3+ ions is attributed to the inner filter effect, static and dynamic quenching mechanisms. Additionally, the developed sensor was used for the detection of Ce4+ and Fe3+ ions in tap water with satisfactory recoveries. Finally, the designed NS-CDs sensor possesses good biocompatibility against MA104 cells, suggesting the sensor can be potentially applied to detect Ce4+ and Fe3+ ions in environment and biological systems.

The circRNA-MYLK plays oncogenic roles in the Hep-2 cell line by sponging microRNA-145-5p.

For the exploration of circular RNA light chain kinase (circRNA-MYLK), siRNA#1 and siRNA#2 targeting circRNA-MYLK as well as microRNA(miR)-145-5p inhibitor were transfected. Viability was valued with the CCK-8. The protein expression was examined relying on Western blot. The expression of circRNA-MYLK or miR-145-5p was tested depending on qRT-PCR. The apoptotic/migration/invasion rate was separately measured by the Annexin v-FITC/PI with flow cytometer or chambers assays. CircRNA-MYLK was overexpressed in tumor tissue. Silencing circRNA-MYLK induced the inhibitions of viability, invasion and migration, as well as the blocks of MEK/ERK and NF-κB cascades, however, silencing circRNA-MYLK led to provoking of apoptosis. Besides, circRNA-MYLK silencing stimulated the over-production of miR-145-5p, whose silencing abolished the effects of siRNA#1 and siRNA#2 of circRNA-MYLK on those factors above. The circRNA-MYLK had oncogenic roles via targeting miR-145-5p in the Hep-2 cell line via stimulating MEK/ERK and NF-κB cascades.

miR-100 inhibits the migration and invasion of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by targeting IGF1R.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a cancer pattern that often develops in the epithelial cells of the nasopharynx. miR-100 is a miRNA that has been identified in a number of cancers. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether miR-100 can affect cell migration and proliferation of NPC by targeting insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R). Western blot analysis was used to determine the protein levels of genes. The reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression level of miR-100 and IGF1R. Transwell assay was used to detect the migration and invasion of cell lines. The luciferase reporter assay was employed to confirm the target gene of miR-100. miR-100 expression was highly reduced in NPC tissues compared with non-cancerous tissues. Overexpression of miR-100 significantly inhibited the migration and invasion of NPC cell lines C666-1 and SUNE1. IGF1R was a downstream target of miR-100 and was downregulated by miR-100. Knockdown of IGF1R by siRNA suppressed cell proliferation of the C666-1 cell line. The newly identified miR-100/IGF1R axis offers novel biomarkers for the therapeutic intervention of NPC treatment. As a result, our findings suggest that miR-100 plays an important role in suppressing migration and invasion of NPC cells and suppresses IGF1R expression by directly targeting its 3'-UTR. It is suggested that miR-100 may be a novel therapeutic target of microRNA-mediated suppression of cell migration and invasion in NPC. However, the role of the miR-100/IGF1R axis in NPC progression needs further investigation.

Determination of total iron-reactive phenolics, anthocyanins and tannins in wine grapes of skins and seeds based on near-infrared hyperspectral imaging.

Phenolics contents in wine grapes are key indicators for assessing ripeness. Near-infrared hyperspectral images during ripening have been explored to achieve an effective method for predicting phenolics contents. Principal component regression (PCR), partial least squares regression (PLSR) and support vector regression (SVR) models were built, respectively. The results show that SVR behaves globally better than PLSR and PCR, except in predicting tannins content of seeds. For the best prediction results, the squared correlation coefficient and root mean square error reached 0.8960 and 0.1069g/L (+)-catechin equivalents (CE), respectively, for tannins in skins, 0.9065 and 0.1776 (g/L CE) for total iron-reactive phenolics (TIRP) in skins, 0.8789 and 0.1442 (g/L M3G) for anthocyanins in skins, 0.9243 and 0.2401 (g/L CE) for tannins in seeds, and 0.8790 and 0.5190 (g/L CE) for TIRP in seeds. Our results indicated that NIR hyperspectral imaging has good prospects for evaluation of phenolics in wine grapes.

[Study of biological markers for radiation pretreatment of hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients].

OBJECTIVE: To study the early biological parameter changes of blood and immune systems of mice after 60Co γ-ray irradiation in order to find sensitive and reliable biological dose markers for radiation pretreatment of hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. METHODS: Pure strain BALB/c male mice were randomly divided into control group and three irradiation groups and absorbed doses of total body irradiation by 6°Co γ-ray were 0, 2, 4, 6 Gy, respectively. In 24h after irradiation, WBC counts and lymphocyte percentages of peripheral blood were determined by blood cell counting; polychromatic erythrocyte micronucleus（mn- PCE） of peripheral blood and bone marrow were observed by microscope after Giemsa staining; apoptosis rates of bone marrow, spleen, thymus cells were assayed by flow cytometry using Annexin Ⅴ and PI double staining. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, WBC counts and lymphocyte percentages of peripheral blood in the irradiated groups significantly decreased with the increase of radiation doses（P<0.01），and their regression equations were E=0.1750D2-1.7440D+5.2020 and E=84.9390-3.4255D respectively. The mn-PCE of peripheral blood and bone marrow in the irradiated groups significantly increased with the increase of radiation doses（P<0.01）, bone marrow mn-PCE was positively correlated with the radiation dose with regression equation as E=3.9725D+2.9700. The early apoptosis rates of bone marrow cells, spleen and thymus cells significantly increased with the increase of radiation doses（P<0.01）, which were positively correlated with radiation doses, and their regression equations were E=3.42D + 8.36, E=3.0645D + 3.1840 and E=2.5620D + 2.5090 respectively. CONCLUSION: Peripheral blood lymphocyte count and bone marrow mn-PCE rate were linearly correlated to radiation doses, which could be used as sensitive and reliable early biological markers of the radiation pretreatment recipients, and the doses of the radiation pretreatment recipients could be accurately judged according to their regression equations. The early apoptosis rates of bone marrow, spleen and thymus cells were positive linear correlation with the radiation doses, and their regression equations could be used to judge the degree of inhibition of the immune system for radiation pretreatment recipients.

Bacterial extract OM-85 BV protects mice against experimental chronic rhinosinusitis.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the therapeutic effects of OM-85 BV as an adjunctive treatment on experimental chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) in mice. METHODOLOGY: Female BALB/c mice aged 8-12 weeks were sensitized and administrated by intranasal Aspergillus fumigatis (AF) three times per week for 1 week, 3 weeks, 2 months and 3 months (n = 10 each time point). The mice were randomly and equally assigned to four groups: normal control group, model group, OM-85-BV plus amoxicillin group, and isolated amoxicillin group. Inflammatory changes were determined by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The expression levels of suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) 1, SOCS3, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interferon (IFN)-γ in samples were assessed by using real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and Western blotting. RESULTS: There were significantly inflammatory and structural changes between the model and other groups. Compared to the model group, the mRNA expression levels of SOCS1, SOCS3, TNF-α, and IFN-γ were significantly decreased in OM-85-BV plus amoxicillin group and isolated amoxicillin group, along with the protein levels. CONCLUSION: The bacterial extract OM-85 BV is a low-cost alternatively adjunctive drug to treat CRS with simple oral administration, good safety, and few side effects.

Localization and translocation of RhoA protein in the human gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901.

AIM: To elucidate the localization of RhoA in gastric SGC-7901 cancer cells and its translocation by lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and/or 8-chlorophenylthio-cAMP (CPT-cAMP). METHODS: Immunofluorescence microscopy was used to determine the localization of RhoA. Western blotting was used to detect both endogenous and exogenous RhoA in different cellular compartments (membrane, cytosol, nucleus) and the translocation of RhoA following treatment with LPA, CPT-cAMP, or CPT-cAMP + LPA. RESULTS: Immunofluorescence staining revealed endogenous RhoA to be localized in the membrane, the cytosol, and the nucleus, and its precise localization within the nucleus to be the nucleolus. Western blotting identified both endogenous and exogenous RhoA within different cellular compartments (membrane, cytosol, nucleus, nucleolus). After stimulation with LPA, the amount of RhoA within membrane and nuclear extracts increased, while it decreased in the cytosol fractions. After treatment with CPT-cAMP the amount of RhoA within the membrane and the nuclear extracts decreased, while it increased within the cytosol fraction. Treatment with a combination of both substances led to a decrease in RhoA in the membrane and the nucleus but to an increase in the cytosol. CONCLUSION: In SGC-7901 cells RhoA was found to be localized within the membrane, the cytosol, and the nucleus. Within the nucleus its precise localization could be demonstrated to be the nucleolus. Stimulation with LPA caused a translocation of RhoA from the cytosol towards the membrane and the nucleus; treatment with CPT-cAMP caused the opposite effect. Furthermore, pre-treatment with CPT-cAMP was found to block the effect of LPA.