SLF2 Interacts with the SMC5/6 Complex to Direct Hepatitis B Virus Episomal DNA to Promyelocytic Leukemia Bodies for Transcriptional Repression.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) chronically infects approximately 300 million people worldwide, and permanently repressing transcription of covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), the episomal viral DNA reservoir, is an attractive approach toward curing HBV. However, the mechanism underlying cccDNA transcription is only partially understood. In this study, by illuminating cccDNA of wild-type HBV (HBV-WT) and transcriptionally inactive HBV that bears a deficient HBV X gene (HBV-ΔX), we found that the HBV-ΔX cccDNA more frequently colocalizes with promyelocytic leukemia (PML) bodies than that of HBV-WT cccDNA. A small interfering RNA (siRNA) screen targeting 91 PML body-related proteins identified SMC5-SMC6 localization factor 2 (SLF2) as a host restriction factor of cccDNA transcription, and subsequent studies showed that SLF2 mediates HBV cccDNA entrapment in PML bodies by interacting with the SMC5/6 complex. We further showed that the region of SLF2 comprising residues 590 to 710 interacts with and recruits the SMC5/6 complex to PML bodies, and the C-terminal domain of SLF2 containing this region is necessary for repression of cccDNA transcription. Our findings shed new light on cellular mechanisms that inhibit HBV infection and lend further support for targeting the HBx pathway to repress HBV activity. IMPORTANCE Chronic HBV infection remains a major public health problem worldwide. Current antiviral treatments rarely cure the infection, as they cannot clear the viral reservoir, cccDNA, in the nucleus. Therefore, permanently silencing HBV cccDNA transcription represents a promising approach for a cure of HBV infection. Our study provides new insights into the cellular mechanisms that restrict HBV infection, revealing the role of SLF2 in directing HBV cccDNA to PML bodies for transcriptional repression. These findings have important implications for the development of antiviral therapies against HBV.

MIG-6 is essential for promoting glucose metabolic reprogramming and tumor growth in triple-negative breast cancer.

Treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains challenging due to a lack of effective targeted therapies. Dysregulated glucose uptake and metabolism are essential for TNBC growth. Identifying the molecular drivers and mechanisms underlying the metabolic vulnerability of TNBC is key to exploiting dysregulated cancer metabolism for therapeutic applications. Mitogen-inducible gene-6 (MIG-6) has long been thought of as a feedback inhibitor that targets activated EGFR and suppresses the growth of tumors driven by constitutive activated mutant EGFR. Here, our bioinformatics and histological analyses uncover that MIG-6 is upregulated in TNBC and that MIG-6 upregulation is positively correlated with poorer clinical outcomes in TNBC. Metabolic arrays and functional assays reveal that MIG-6 drives glucose metabolism reprogramming toward glycolysis. Mechanistically, MIG-6 recruits HAUSP deubiquitinase for stabilizing HIF1α protein expression and the subsequent upregulation of GLUT1 and other HIF1α-regulated glycolytic genes, substantiating the comprehensive regulation of MIG-6 in glucose metabolism. Moreover, our mouse studies demonstrate that MIG-6 regulates GLUT1 expression in tumors and subsequent tumor growth in vivo. Collectively, this work reveals that MIG-6 is a novel prognosis biomarker, metabolism regulator, and molecular driver of TNBC.

Low-dose nifedipine rescues impaired endothelial progenitor cell-mediated angiogenesis in diabetic mice.

It is of great clinical significance to develop potential novel strategies to prevent diabetic cardiovascular complications. Endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) dysfunction is a key contributor to diabetic vascular complications. In the present study we evaluated whether low-dose nifedipine could rescue impaired EPC-mediated angiogenesis and prevent cardiovascular complications in diabetic mice. Diabetes was induced in mice by five consecutive injections of streptozotocin (STZ, 60 mg·kg-1·d-1, i.p.). Diabetic mice were treated with low-dose nifedipine (1.5 mg·kg-1·d-1, i.g.) for six weeks. Then, circulating EPCs in the peripheral blood were quantified, and bone marrow-derived EPCs (BM-EPCs) were prepared. We showed that administration of low-dose nifedipine significantly increased circulating EPCs, improved BM-EPCs function, promoted angiogenesis, and reduced the cerebral ischemic injury in diabetic mice. Furthermore, we found that low-dose nifedipine significantly increased endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) expression and intracellular NO levels, and decreased the levels of intracellular O2.- and thrombospondin-1/2 (TSP-1/2, a potent angiogenesis inhibitor) in BM-EPCs of diabetic mice. In cultured BM-EPCs, co-treatment with nifedipine (0.1, 1 µM) dose-dependently protected against high-glucose-induced impairment of migration, and suppressed high-glucose-induced TSP-1 secretion and superoxide overproduction. In mice with middle cerebral artery occlusion, intravenous injection of diabetic BM-EPCs treated with nifedipine displayed a greater ability to promote local angiogenesis and reduce cerebral ischemic injury compared to injection of diabetic BM-EPCs treated with vehicle, and the donor-derived BM-EPCs homed to the recipient ischemic brain. In conclusion, low-dose nifedipine can enhance EPCs' angiogenic potential and protect against cerebral ischemic injury in diabetic mice. It is implied that chronic treatment with low-dose nifedipine may be a safe and economic manner to prevent ischemic diseases (including stroke) in diabetes.

Homeobox D9 drives the malignant phenotypes and enhances the Programmed death ligand-1 expression in non-small cell lung cancer cells via binding to Angiopoietin-2 promoter.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Homeobox D9 (HOXD9), a member of the HOX family of transcription factors, plays a driver role in development of multiple cancers. Angiopoietin-2 (ANGPT2) is reportedly to facilitate angiogenesis, growth and metastasis in various cancers, including lung cancer. In addition, blocking ANGPT2 can effectively improve cancer immunotherapy via downregulation of Programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1). The purpose of this study was to elucidate the role of HOXD9 in NSCLC and whether ANGPT2 is required for HOXD9-mediated malignant behaviors of NSCLC cells. By performing a series of in vitro functional experiments, we found that knockdown of HOXD9 induced proliferative inhibition, cell cycle G1 arrest, apoptosis, migratory suppression and invasive repression of NSCLC cells. Reduced PD-L1 expression in NSCLC cells was observed after HOXD9 silencing. Besides, HOXD9 deletion decreased the expression of ANGPT2 in NSCLC cells. In line with this, HOXD9 overexpression led to opposite alteration in NSCLC cells. Mechanistically, ANGPT2 was transcriptionally activated by HOXD9. Forced expression of ANGPT2 significantly regulated HOXD9-mediated malignant phenotypes, and enhanced PD-L1 expression of NSCLC cells. Our results expressing HOXD9 may function as an oncogene in NSCLC via trans-activation of ANGPT2.

Transverse differences between cleft lip and palate and non-cleft palate with skeletal Class III malocclusion using buccolingual inclination: a cone-beam computed tomography retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the differences between buccolingual inclination (BI) of maxillary posterior teeth in patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP) and non-cleft palate with skeletal Class III malocclusion. We propose a method of maxillary expansion which is more suitable for patients with CLP. METHODS: For this retrospective study, 40 patients with CLP and 21 patients with skeletal Class III malocclusion were selected. The CLP group was divided into the unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) and bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP) groups. The BI of the maxillary first premolar (BI4), maxillary second premolar (BI5) and first molar (BI6) were measured using cone-beam computed tomography, and the differences between them were compared and analyzed by Student's t-test. RESULTS: There were significant differences between cleft side BI4 and non-cleft side BI4 in the UCLP group, BI5 in the BCLP group, BI4 and BI5 in all CLP groups and the skeletal Class III malocclusion group. BI6 was similar across all three groups. CONCLUSIONS: The premolars of patients with CLP do not exhibit the same regularity as those with Class III malocclusion; this may be related to surgical scarring of the cleft palate. Greater attention should be paid to the correction of BI in the maxillary expansion of patients with CLP.

Detection of crown-like structures in breast adipose tissue and clinical outcomes among African-American and White women with breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Crown-like structures in breast adipose tissue (CLS-B), composed of necrotic adipocytes encircled by macrophages, are associated with obesity and hypothesized to worsen breast cancer prognosis; however, data are sparse, particularly in multi-racial populations. METHODS: We assessed specimens for CLS-B from 174 African-American and 168 White women with stage I-III breast cancer treated by mastectomy. Benign breast tissue from an uninvolved quadrant was immunohistochemically stained for CD68 to determine CLS-B presence and density (per cm2 of adipose tissue). Demographic and lifestyle factors, collected via medical record review, were analyzed for associations with CLS-B using logistic regression. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to compute hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between CLS-B and overall (OS) or progression-free (PFS) survival. RESULTS: Detection of any CLS-B was similar between African-American (32%) and White (29%) patients with no evidence of an association between race and CLS-B in multivariable models (OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.49-1.36). Detection of CLS-B was associated with obesity (OR = 4.73, 95% CI = 2.48-9.01) and age ≥ 60 years at diagnosis (OR = 1.78, 95% CI = 0.99-3.21). There was some evidence of associations with parity and current smoking status. Detection of CLS-B was not associated with OS (HR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.55-1.87) or PFS (HR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.59-1.67). CONCLUSIONS: Our results show a strong, positive association between BMI and CLS-B in non-tumor tissue similar to previous findings. Detection of CLS-B did not vary by race and was not associated with worse OS or PFS.

Tobramycin suppresses HUWE1 degradation to control MCL-1 stability during tumour development.

HUWE1 is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that is involved in cancer cell proliferation by regulating MCL-1 stability. The HECT domain has been shown to be required for the ubiquitin ligase activity of HUWE1. To identify efficient drugs that impair the activity of HUWE1, and thus decrease MCL-1 accumulation, we screened 2000 candidate compounds that might suppress HUWE1 activity. To evaluate these 2000 candidates, the HECT domain of HUWE1, which is the catalytic domain responsible for MCL1 ubiquitination, was selected as a conjugation site, and putative binding candidates were filtrated. Tobramycin emerged as one of the compounds that show efficient binding ability with the HECT domain of HUWE1. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) results validated the specific binding of Tobramycin with the HECT domain. Subsequent analyses demonstrated its potential to inhibit cancer cell proliferation by binding to the HECT domain of HUWE1 and impeding the HUWE1-mediated ubiquitination of MCL-1. Consequently, the accumulation of MCL-1 inhibited the proliferation of tumour cells, while the apoptosis rates were not significantly altered after Tobramycin treatment. In vitro experiments showed that Tobramycin could inhibit cell proliferation by regulating the G2/M transition in cancer cell models, including A549 and HeLaCaco2 cell lines. Our results indicated that Tobramycin could be a potential new probe to develop targeted therapies for the prevention or treatment of HUWE1-overexpressing cancers.

CFTR mutation compromises spermatogenesis by enhancing miR-15b maturation and suppressing its regulatory target CDC25A†.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have recently been shown to be important for spermatogenesis; both DROSHA and Dicer1 KO mice exhibit infertility due to abnormal miRNA expression. However, the roles of individual miRNAs in spermatogenesis remain elusive. Here we demonstrated that miR-15b, a member of the miR-15/16 family, is primarily expressed in testis. A miR-15b transgenic mouse model was constructed to investigate the role of miR-15b in spermatogenesis. Impaired spermatogenesis was observed in miR-15b transgenic mice, suggesting that appropriate expression of miR-15b is vital for spermatogenesis. Furthermore, we demonstrated that overexpression of miR-15b reduced CDC25A gene post-transcriptional activity by targeting the 3'-UTR region of CDC25A, thus regulating spermatogenesis. In vitro results further demonstrated that a mutation in CFTR could affect the interaction between Ago2 with Dicer1 and that Dicer1 activity regulates miR-15b expression. We extended our study to azoospermia patients and found that infertile patients have a significantly higher level of miR-15b in semen and plasma samples. Taken together, we propose that CFTR regulation of miR-15b could be involved in the post-transcriptional regulation of CDC25A in mammalian testis and that miR-15b is important for spermatogenesis.

Dose selection of central or peripheral administration of sufentanil affect opioid induced cough?: a prospective, randomized, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Opioid-induced cough (OIC) is one of the most common complications of opioids during anesthesia induction. This study was designed to assess the incidence of OIC mediated by different intravenous route. METHODS: A total of 102(ASA I-II) scheduled for elective surgery under general anesthesia were randomly allocated into two groups: central vein group (group CV, n = 51) and peripheral vein group (group PV, n = 51). The incidence, onset time and severity of OIC were evaluated within 1 min just after sufentanil injection during induction. Meanwhile, heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were also recorded to assess the hemodynamic changes. RESULTS: The incidence of OIC was 10/51 (20.4%) in group CV and 16/51 (32%) in group PV, patients received central venous administration of sufentanil experienced less OIC compared with those injected by peripheral venous route (P < 0.05), as well as a significantly lower incidence of severe OIC (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, the onset of OIC and hemodynamic data were comparable between two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that sufentanil administration by central venous route reduces the incidence and severity of OIC, but without significant changes in hemodynamic status. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry with registration number ChiCTR-IOR-15006075 . Registered 28 February 2015.

Redox-responsive polymer-drug conjugates based on doxorubicin and chitosan oligosaccharide-g-stearic acid for cancer therapy.

Here, a biodegradable polymer-drug conjugate of doxorubicin (DOX) conjugated with a stearic acid-grafted chitosan oligosaccharide (CSO-SA) was synthesized via disulfide linkers. The obtained polymer-drug conjugate DOX-SS-CSO-SA could self-assemble into nanosized micelles in aqueous medium with a low critical micelle concentration. The size of the micelles was 62.8 nm with a narrow size distribution. In reducing environments, the DOX-SS-CSO-SA could rapidly disassemble result from the cleavage of the disulfide linkers and release the DOX. DOX-SS-CSO-SA had high efficiency for cellular uptake and rapidly released DOX in reductive intracellular environments. In vitro antitumor activity tests showed that the DOX-SS-CSO-SA had higher cytotoxicity against DOX-resistant cells than free DOX, with reversal ability up to 34.8-fold. DOX-SS-CSO-SA altered the drug distribution in vivo, which showed selectively accumulation in tumor and reduced nonspecific accumulation in hearts. In vivo antitumor studies demonstrated that DOX-SS-CSO-SA showed efficient suppression on tumor growth and relieved the DOX-induced cardiac injury. Therefore, DOX-SS-CSO-SA is a potential drug delivery system for safe and effective cancer therapy.

Circular Chromosome Conformation Capture (4C-Seq) Analysis of HBV-Host Chromosome DNA Interactome.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infects hepatocytes that are in the G0/G1 phase with intact nuclear membrane and organized chromosome architecture. In the nucleus of the infected cells, HBV covalently closed circular (ccc) DNA, an episomal minichromosome, serves as the template for all viral transcripts and the reservoir of persistent infection. Nuclear positioning of cccDNA can be assessed by the spatial distance between viral DNA and host chromosomal DNA through Circular Chromosome Conformation Capture (4C) combined with high-throughput sequencing (4C-seq). The 4C-seq analysis relies on proximity ligation and is commonly used for mapping genomic DNA regions that communicate within a host chromosome. The method has been tailored for studying nuclear localization of HBV episomal cccDNA in relation to the host chromosomes. In this study, we present a step-by-step protocol for 4C-seq analysis of HBV infection, including sample collection and fixation, 4C DNA library preparation, sequence library preparation, and data analysis. Although limited by proximity ligation of DNA fragments, 4C-seq analysis provides useful information of HBV localization in 3D genome, and aids the understanding of viral transcription in light of host chromatin conformation.

Out-of-plane pressure and electron doping inducing phase and magnetic transitions in GeC/CrS2/GeC van der Waals heterostructure.

Out-of-plane pressure and electron doping can affect interlayer interactions in van der Waals materials, modifying their crystal structure and physical and chemical properties. In this study, we used magnetic monolayer 1T/1T'-CrS2 and high symmetry 2D-honeycomb material GeC to construct a GeC/CrS2/GeC triple layered van der Waals heterostructure (vdWH). Based on density functional theory calculations, we found that applying out-of-plane strain and doping with electrons could induce a 1T'-to-1T phase transition and consequently the ferromagnetic (FM)-to-antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition in the CrS2 layer. Such a phase and magnetic transition arises from the pressure and electron-induced interlayer interaction enhancement. The electron doping can effectively decrease the critical compressive stress from ∼4.3 GPa (charge neutrality) to ∼664 MPa (Q = 9 × 10-3 e- per atom) for the FM-to-AFM transition. These properties could be used to fabricate and program the 2D lateral FM/AFM heterostructures for artificial controlled spin texture and miniaturized spintronic devices.

Sodium dichloroacetate improves migration ability by suppressing LPS-induced inflammation in HTR-8/SVneo cells via the TLR4/NF-κB pathway.

Objectives: Inadequate cytotrophoblast migration and invasion are speculated to result in preeclampsia, which is a pro-inflammatory condition. Sodium dichloroacetate (DCA) exerts anti-inflammatory actions. Thus,we sought to investigate the effect of DCA on the migration function of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human-trophoblast-derived cell line (HTR-8/SVneo). Materials and Methods: HTR-8/SVneo cells were treated with LPS to suppress cell migration. Cell migration was examined by both scratch wound healing assay and transwell migration assay. Western blotting was used to analyze the expression levels of toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4), nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 in the cells. Results: DCA reversed LPS-induced inhibition of migration in HTR-8/SVneo cells. Furthermore, DCA significantly suppressed LPS-induced activation of TLR4, phosphorylation of NF-κB (p65), translocation of p65 into the nucleus, and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6). Treatment with inhibitors of TLR4 signal transduction (CLI095 or MD2-TLR-4-IN-1) reduced LPS-induced overexpression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and a synergistic effect was found between TLR4 inhibitors and DCA in HTR-8/SVneo cells. Conclusion: DCA improved trophoblast cell migration function by suppressing LPS-induced inflammation, at least in part, via the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. This result indicates that DCA might be a potential therapeutic candidate for human pregnancy-related complications associated with trophoblast disorder.

The interplay between H19 and HIF-1α in mitochondrial dysfunction in myocardial infarction.

Myocardial infarction(MI) causes prolonged ischemia of infarcted myocardial tissue, which triggers a wide range of hypoxia cellular responses in cardiomyocytes. Emerging evidence has indicated the critical roles of long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs) in cardiovascular diseases, including MI. The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles of lncRNA H19 and H19/HIF-1α pathway during MI. Results showed that cell injury and mitochondrial dysfunction were induced in hypoxia-treated H9c2 cells, accompanied by an increase in the expression of H19. H19 silencing remarkably diminishes cell injury, inhibits the dysfunctional degree of mitochondria, and decreases the injury of MI rats. Bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase assays revealed that H19 was the hypoxia-responsive lncRNA, and HIF-1α induced H19 transcription through direct binding to the H19 promoter. Moreover, H19 participates in the HIF-1α pathway by stabilizing the HIF-1α protein. These results indicated that H19 might be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for myocardial infarction.

A spatiotemporally controlled recombinant cccDNA mouse model for studying HBV and developing drugs against the virus.

Covalently closed circular (ccc) DNA is the template for hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication. The lack of small animal models for characterizing chronic HBV infection has hampered research progress in HBV pathogenesis and drug development. Here, we generated a spatiotemporally controlled recombinant cccDNA (rcccDNA) mouse model by combining Cre/loxP-mediated DNA recombination with the liver-specific "Tet-on/Cre" system. The mouse model harbors three transgenes: a single copy of the HBV genome (integrated at the Rosa26 locus, RHBV), H11-albumin-rtTA (spatiotemporal conditional module), and (tetO)7-Cre (tetracycline response element), and is named as RHTC mouse. By supplying the RHTC mice with doxycycline (DOX)-containing drinking water for two days, the animals generate rcccDNA in hepatocytes, and the rcccDNA supports active HBV gene expression and can maintain HBV viremia persistence for over 60 weeks. Persistent HBV gene expression induces intrahepatic inflammation, fibrosis, and dysplastic pathology, which closely mirrors the disease progression in clinical patients. Bepirovirsen, an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) targeting all HBV RNA species, showed dose-dependent antiviral effects in the RHTC mouse model. The spatiotemporally controlled rcccDNA mouse is convenient and reliable, providing versatile small animal model for studying cccDNA-centric HBV biology as well as evaluating antiviral therapeutics.

Berberine hydrochloride inhibits migration ability via increasing inducible NO synthase and peroxynitrite in HTR-8/SVneo cells.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Inadequate trophoblasts migration and invasion is considered as an initial event resulting in preeclampsia, which is closely related to oxidative stress. Berberine hydrochloride (BBR), extracted from the traditional medicinal plant Coptis chinensis Franch., exerts a diversity of pharmacological effects, and the crude drug has been widely taken by most Chinese women to treat nausea and vomit during pregnancy. But there is no research regarding its effects on trophoblast cell function. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to investigate the effect of BBR on human-trophoblast-derived cell line (HTR-8/SVneo) migration ability and its mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay. The effect of BBR on cells migration function was examined by scratch wound healing assay and transwell migration assay. Intracellular nitric oxide (NO), superoxide (O2-) and peroxynitrite (ONOO-) levels were measured by flow cytometry. The expression levels of inducible NO synthase (iNOS), eNOS, p-eNOS, MnSOD, CuZnSOD, Rac1, NOX1, TLR4, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), p-NFκB, pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1ß and IL-6) in cells were analyzed by Western blotting. Uric acid sodium salt (UA), the scavenger of ONOO-, PEG-SOD (a specific superoxide scavenger), L-NAME (a NOS inhibitor) and antioxidants (Vit E and DFO) were further used to characterize the pathway of BBR action. RESULTS: 5 µM BBR decreased both the migration distance and the number of migrated cells without affecting cells viability in HTR-8/SVneo cells after 24 h treatment. BBR could increase the level of NO in HTR-8/SVneo cells, and the over-production of NO might be attributable to iNOS, but not eNOS. BBR could increase intracellular O2- levels, and the over-production of O2- is closely related with Rac1 in HTR-8/SVneo cells. The excessive production of NO and O2- further react to form ONOO-, and the increased ONOO- level induced by BBR was blunted by UA. Moreover, UA improved the impaired migration function caused by BBR in HTR-8/SVneo cells. The depressed migration function stimulated by BBR in HTR-8/SVneo cells was diminished by PEG-SOD and L-NAME. Furthermore, BBR increased the expression of IL-6 in HTR-8/SVneo cells, and antioxidants (Vit E and DFO) could decrease the expression of IL-6 and iNOS induced by BBR. CONCLUSIONS: BBR inhibits the cell migration ability through increasing inducible NO synthase and peroxynitrite in HTR-8/SVneo cells, indicating that BBR and traditional Chinese medicines containing a high proportion of BBR should be used with caution in pregnant women.

Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation to Reveal the Pharmacological Mechanisms of Chongcaoyishen Decoction Against Chronic Kidney Disease.

Objective: To explore the pharmacological mechanisms of Chongcaoyishen decoction (CCYSD) against chronic kidney disease (CKD) via network pharmacology analysis combined with experimental validation. Methods: The bioactive components and potential regulatory targets of CCYSD were extracted from the TCMSP database, and the putative CKD-related target proteins were collected from the GeneCards and OMIM database. We matched the active ingredients with gene targets and conducted regulatory networks through Perl5 and R 3.6.1. The network visualization analysis was performed by Cytoscape 3.7.1, which contains ClueGO plug-in for GO and KEGG analysis. In vivo experiments were performed on 40 male SD rats, which were randomly divided into the control group (n = 10), sham group (n = 10), UUO group (n = 10), and CCYSD group (n = 10). A tubulointerstitial fibrosis model was constructed by unilateral ureteral obstruction through surgery and treated for seven consecutive days with CCYSD (0.00657 g/g/d). At the end of treatment, the rats were euthanized and the serum and kidney were collected for further detection. Results: In total, 53 chemical compounds from CCYSD were identified and 12,348 CKD-related targets were collected from the OMIM and GeneCards. A total of 130 shared targets of CCYSD and CKD were acquired by Venn diagram analysis. Functional enrichment analysis suggested that CCYSD might exert its pharmacological effects in multiple biological processes, including oxidative stress, apoptosis, inflammatory response, autophagy, and fiber synthesis, and the potential targets might be associated with JAK-STAT and PI3K-AKT, as well as other signaling pathways. The results of the experiments revealed that the oxidative stress in the UUO group was significantly higher than that in normal state and was accompanied by severe tubulointerstitial fibrosis (TIF), which could be effectively reversed by CCYSD (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, aggravated mitochondrial injury and autophagy was observed in the epithelial cells of the renal tubule in the UUO group, compared to the normal ones (p < 0.05), while the intervention of CCYSD could further activate the autophagy and reduce the mitochondrial injury (p < 0.05). Conclusion: We provide an integrative network pharmacology approach combined with in vivo experiments to explore the underlying mechanisms governing the CCYSD treatment of CKD, which indicates that the relationship between CCYSD and CKD is related to its activation of autophagy, promotion of mitochondrial degradation, and reduction of tissue oxidative stress injury, promoting the explanation and understanding of the biological mechanism of CCYSD in the treatment of CKD.

Risk Model and Immune Signature of m7G-Related lncRNA Based on Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Lung cancer is a major cause of cancer-related deaths globally, with a dismal prognosis. N7-methylguanosine (m7G) is essential for the transcriptional phenotypic modification of messenger RNA (mRNA) and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA). However, research on m7G-related lncRNAs involved in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) regulation is still limited. Herein, we aim to establish a prognostic model of m7G-related lncRNAs and investigate their immune properties. Eight prognostic m7G-related lncRNAs were identified using univariate Cox analysis. Six m7G-related lncRNAs were identified using LASSO-Cox regression analysis to construct risk models, and all LUAD patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort was divided into low-risk and high-risk subgroups. The accuracy of the model was verified by Kaplan-Meier analysis, time-dependent receiver operating characteristic, principal component analysis, independent prognostic analysis, nomogram, and calibration curve. Further studies were conducted on the gene set enrichment and disease ontology enrichment analyses. The gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed that the high-risk group enriched for cancer proliferation pathways, and the enrichment analysis of disease ontology (DO) revealed that lung disease was enriched, rationally explaining the superiority of the risk model. Finally, we found that the low-risk group had higher immune infiltration and checkpoint expression. It can be speculated that the low-risk group has a better effect on immunotherapy. Susceptibility to antitumor drugs in different risk subgroups was assessed, and it found that the high-risk group showed high sensitivity to first-line treatment drugs for non-small cell lung cancer. In conclusion, a risk model based on 6 m7G-related lncRNAs can not only predict the overall survival (OS) rate of LUAD patients but also guide individualized treatment for these patients.

Synthesis of Hydrogels and Their Progress in Environmental Remediation and Antimicrobial Application.

As a kind of efficient adsorptive material, hydrogel has a wide application prospect within different fields, owing to its unique 3D network structures composed of polymers. In this paper, different synthetic strategies, crosslinking methods and their corresponding limitations and outstanding contributions of applications in the fields of removing environmental pollutants are reviewed to further provide a prospective view of their applications in water resources sustainability. Furthermore, the applications within the biomedical field, especially in wound dressing, are also reviewed in this paper, mainly due to their unique water retention ability, antibacterial ability, and good biocompatibility. Finally, the development direction of hydrogels in the fields of environmental remediation and biomedicine were summarized and prospected.