[Research of Building 3D Model in External Fixator for Proximal Femoral Fracture Based on Locking Plate Shape].

The software of 3D-Modeling(UG NX 10.0) was used to design a new external fixator model for proximal femoral fracture, and fresh femoral cadaver specimens were used to simulate experimental operation. The results showed that the external fixator designed with the proximal femoral locking plate shape can improve the accuracy of Kirschner wire penetration into the femoral neck, reduce fluoroscopic and soft tissue incision injuries, and make a good stability and is easy to operate, which has a certain value for patients with proximal femoral fracture, such as intolerant surgery and poor physical condition.

Distant coupling between RNA editing and alternative splicing of the osmosensitive cation channel Tmem63b.

Post-transcriptional modifications of pre-mRNAs expand the diversity of proteomes in higher eukaryotes. In the brain, these modifications diversify the functional output of many critical neuronal signal molecules. In this study, we identified a brain-specific A-to-I RNA editing that changed glutamine to arginine (Q/R) at exon 20 and an alternative splicing of exon 4 in Tmem63b, which encodes a ubiquitously expressed osmosensitive cation channel. The channel isoforms lacking exon 4 occurred in ∼80% of Tmem63b mRNAs in the brain but were not detected in other tissues, suggesting a brain-specific splicing. We found that the Q/R editing was catalyzed by Adar2 (Adarb1) and required an editing site complementary sequence located in the proximal 5' end of intron 20. Moreover, the Q/R editing was almost exclusively identified in the splicing isoform lacking exon 4, indicating a coupling between the editing and the splicing. Elimination of the Q/R editing in brain-specific Adar2 knockout mice did not affect the splicing efficiency of exon 4. Furthermore, transfection with the splicing isoform containing exon 4 suppressed the Q/R editing in primary cultured cerebellar granule neurons. Thus, our study revealed a coupling between an RNA editing and a distant alternative splicing in the Tmem63b pre-mRNA, in which the splicing plays a dominant role. Finally, physiological analysis showed that the splicing and the editing coordinately regulate Ca2+ permeability and osmosensitivity of channel proteins, which may contribute to their functions in the brain.

Neto proteins regulate gating of the kainate-type glutamate receptor GluK2 through two binding sites.

The neuropilin and tolloid-like (Neto) proteins Neto1 and Neto2 are auxiliary subunits of kainate-type glutamate receptors (KARs) that regulate KAR trafficking and gating. However, how Netos bind and regulate the biophysical functions of KARs remains unclear. Here, we found that the N-terminal domain (NTD) of glutamate receptor ionotropic kainate 2 (GluK2) binds the first complement C1r/C1s-Uegf-BMP (CUB) domain of Neto proteins (i.e. NTD-CUB1 interaction) and that the core of GluK2 (GluK2ΔNTD) binds Netos through domains other than CUB1s (core-Neto interaction). Using electrophysiological analysis in HEK293T cells, we examined the effects of these interactions on GluK2 gating, including deactivation, desensitization, and recovery from desensitization. We found that NTD deletion does not affect GluK2 fast gating kinetics, the desensitization, and the deactivation. We also observed that Neto1 and Neto2 differentially regulate GluK2 fast gating kinetics, which largely rely on the NTD-CUB1 interactions. NTD removal facilitated GluK2 recovery from desensitization, indicating that the NTD stabilizes the GluK2 desensitization state. Co-expression with Neto1 or Neto2 also accelerated GluK2 recovery from desensitization, which fully relied on the NTD-CUB1 interactions. Moreover, we demonstrate that the NTD-CUB1 interaction involves electric attraction between positively charged residues in the GluK2_NTD and negatively charged ones in the CUB1 domains. Neutralization of these charges eliminated the regulatory effects of the NTD-CUB1 interaction on GluK2 gating. We conclude that KARs bind Netos through at least two sites and that the NTD-CUB1 interaction critically regulates Neto-mediated GluK2 gating.

Sulforaphane administration alleviates diffuse axonal injury (DAI) via regulation signaling pathway of NRF2 and HO-1.

BACKGROUND: Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) can alleviate diffuse axonal injury (DAI)-induced apoptosis by regulating expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), while sulforaphane (SFN) was shown to reduce oxidative stress by increasing the expression of Nrf2. Therefore, we aimed to investigate therapeutic effect of SFN in the treatment of DAI and the ability of SFN to reduce oxidative stress. METHODS: The 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to observe the effects of H2 O 2 and SFN on cell viability. Fluorometric assay, Western blot analysis, and flow cytometry were conducted to validate the protective role of SFN in an animal model of DAI. In addition, the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were measured in DAI rats treated by SFN, while Western blot, immunohistochemistry assay, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay were carried out to verify the effect of SFN in different animal groups. RESULTS: Cell viability was reduced by H2 O 2 in a dose-dependent manner, while the treatment by SFN significantly promoted cell growth. Meanwhile the administration of SFN effectively reduced the levels of caspase-3/poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) activity increased by the H 2 O 2 treatment, indicating that the protective effect of SFN could be mediated by its ability to suppress caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage. In addition, the SFN treatment reduced the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation induced by H 2 O 2 . Moreover, the MDA levels of SOD/GPx activity in various rat groups showed the protective effects of SFN in DAI rats. It is suspected that the protective effect of SFN was exerted via the activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway. In this study, DAI and DAI + phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) groups also showed the presence of more TUNEL-positive cells compared with the sham-operated group, while the SFN treatment reduced the extent of neuronal apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: By activating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway and reducing the activity of caspase-3, SFN reduces the apoptosis of neurons in brain trauma-induced DAI.

Suppression of microRNA-342-3p increases glutamate transporters and prevents dopaminergic neuron loss through activating the Wnt signaling pathway via p21-activated kinase 1 in mice with Parkinson's disease.

Development of effective therapeutic drugs for Parkinson's disease (PD) is of great importance. Aberrant microRNA (miRNA) expression has been identified in postmortem human PD brain samples, in vitro and in vivo PD models. However, the role of miR-342-3p in PD has been understudied. The study explores the effects of miR-342-3p on expression of glutamate (Glu) transporter, and dopaminergic neuron apoptosis and proliferation by targeting p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) through the Wnt signaling pathway in PD mice. After establishment of PD mouse models, gain- or loss-of-function assay was performed to explore the functional role of miR-342-3p in PD. Number of apoptotic neurons and Glu concentration was then determined. Subsequently, PC12 cells were treated with miR-342-3p mimic, miR-342-3p inhibitor, dickkopf-1 (DKK1), and miR-342-3p inhibitor + DKK1. The expression of miR-342-3p, PAK1, the Wnt signaling pathway-related and apoptosis-related genes, Glutamate transporter subtype 1 (GLT-1), l-glutamate/ l-aspartate transporter (GLAST), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) was measured. Also, cell viability and apoptosis were evaluated. PD mice exhibited increased miR-342-3p, while decreased expression of PAK1, GLT-1, GLAST, TH, and the Wnt signaling pathway-related and antiapoptosis genes. miR-342-3p downregulation could promote expression of PAK1, the Wnt signaling pathway-related and antiapoptosis genes. GLT-1, GLAST, and TH as well as cell viability, but reduce cell apoptosis rate. The results indicated that suppression of miR-342-3p improves expression of Glu transporter and promotes dopaminergic neuron proliferation while suppressing apoptosis through the Wnt signaling pathway by targeting PAK1 in mice with PD.

Retracted: The role of HOTAIR-induced downregulation of microRNA-126 and interleukin-13 in the development of bronchial hyperresponsiveness in neonates.

Long noncoding RNAs, including HOTAIR, are involved in the pathogenesis of a wide range of diseases. This study aimed to explore the mechanism underlying the involvement of HOTAIR in neonatal bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). A total of 105 newborns were recruited in this study to collect their peripheral blood mononuclear cell and serum samples, which were then divided into different genotype groups based on the genotypes of rs4759314, rs874945, and rs7958904. The real-time polymerase chain reaction, western blot analysis, computational analyses, and luciferase assays were performed to establish the regulatory relationships between the HOTAIR, microRNA-126 (miR-126), and interleukin-13 (IL-13). The level of HOTAIR, miR-126, and IL-13 among rs4759314 AA, AG, and GG groups, as well as among rs874945 GG, AG, and AA groups was similar. However, the level of HOTAIR was increased in the rs7958904 GG group, accompanied by a decreased level of miR-126 and IL-13. In addition, the level of airway responsiveness was comparable among rs4759314 AA, AG, and GG groups, as well as among rs874945 GG, AG, and AA groups. However, the airway responsiveness in the groups rs7958904 CG and CC was much stronger than that of the GG group. We also demonstrated that, by directly binding to miR-126, HOTAIR reduced the expression of miR-126, which in turn decreased the expression of IL-13. In summary, we demonstrated the role of HOTAIR-induced downregulation of miR-126 and IL-13 in the development of BHR in neonates.

Upregulation of miR-675-5p induced by lncRNA H19 was associated with tumor progression and development by targeting tumor suppressor p53 in non-small cell lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the main cause of cancer-related death, and the proportion of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) on lung cancer is 85%, while more than 80% lung cancer patients are diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this study, we aimed to explore the potential mechanism of COPD induced NSCLC. Luciferase assay and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were conducted to study the regulatory relationship between P53 and microRNA-675 (miR-675). Real-time PCR, Western-blot analysis, and MTT assay were performed to explore the impact of H19 and miR-675 in the signaling pathway involved in COPD induced NSCLC. In NSCLC patients with COPD, H19 and miR-675 levels were strikingly upregulated while P53 level was significantly downregulated. P53 was identified as a target gene of miR-675, and H19 remarkably upregulated miR-675, while H19 siRNA notably inhibited miR-675. In addition, miR-675 and H19 dramatically suppressed the expression of P53 and Bax while inducing the expression of Bcl-2. Finally, H19 and miR-675 induced proliferation of A549 and MRC-5 cells. These finding indicated that COPD (hypoxia)-induced H19 promoted expression of miR-675 associated with NSCLC though target apoptosis-related protein P53, BAX, and Bcl-2.

Highly Selective Capture of Monophosphopeptides by Two-Dimensional Metal-Organic Framework Nanosheets.

Separation of monophosphopeptides from multi-phosphopeptides in complex biological samples is significant in the study of protein kinase signal transduction pathways. To the best of our knowledge, very few materials have been reported that could selectively enrich monophosphopeptides because of the chemical difficulty in retaining the intermediate monophosphopeptides and excluding both non-phosphopeptides and multi-phosphopeptides in acidic conditions, which requires unique interactions to balance the metallic affinity and the hydrophobicity. With the large surface area, abundant accessible active sites, and ultrathin structures, two-dimensional (2-D) metal-organic framework (MOF) Hf-1,3,5-tris(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene (BTB) nanosheets were rationally selected. Due to the elongated organic ligands and the balance between metallic affinity of clusters and hydrophobicity from ligands, the 2-D Hf-BTB nanosheets exhibited unique enrichment selectivity toward monophosphopeptides. The 2-D MOF nanosheets demonstrated excellent sensitivity (detection limit of 0.4 fmol µL-1) and selectivity [1:1000 molar ratios of ß-casein/BSA (bovine serum albumin)] in model phosphopeptides enrichment. The nanosheets were implemented for the analysis of nonfat milk and human saliva samples as well as in situ isotope labeling for dysregulated phosphopeptides from patients' serum with anal canal inflammation, exhibiting 6.6-fold upregulation of serum phosphopeptide HS4 (ADpSGEGDFLAEGGGVR) compared to the control healthy serum. The proteomics analysis of mouse brain cortical samples associated with Alzheimer's disease, which were from Akt (protein kinase B) conditional knockout mouse and littermate control mouse, was further established with 2-D Hf-BTB nanosheets. With high capture efficiency for monophosphopeptides, this method was capable of distinguishing the difference of monophosphopeptides from microtubule-associated protein τ (MAPT/τ) between the Akt knockout sample and control sample.

Ablation of TFR1 in Purkinje Cells Inhibits mGlu1 Trafficking and Impairs Motor Coordination, But Not Autistic-Like Behaviors.

Group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGlu1/5s) are critical to synapse formation and participate in synaptic LTP and LTD in the brain. mGlu1/5 signaling alterations have been documented in cognitive impairment, neurodegenerative disorders, and psychiatric diseases, but underlying mechanisms for its modulation are not clear. Here, we report that transferrin receptor 1 (TFR1), a transmembrane protein of the clathrin complex, modulates the trafficking of mGlu1 in cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) from male mice. We show that conditional knock-out of TFR1 in PCs does not affect the cytoarchitecture of PCs, but reduces mGlu1 expression at synapses. This regulation by TFR1 acts in concert with that by Rab8 and Rab11, which modulate the internalization and recycling of mGlu1, respectively. TFR1 can bind to Rab proteins and facilitate their expression at synapses. PC ablation of TFR1 inhibits parallel fiber-PC LTD, whereas parallel fiber-LTP and PC intrinsic excitability are not affected. Finally, we demonstrate that PC ablation of TFR1 impairs motor coordination, but does not affect social behaviors in mice. Together, these findings underscore the importance of TFR1 in regulating mGlu1 trafficking and suggest that mGlu1- and mGlu1-dependent parallel fiber-LTD are associated with regulation of motor coordination, but not autistic behaviors.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGlu1/5) signaling alterations have been documented in cognitive impairment, neurodegenerative disorders, and psychiatric diseases. Recent work suggests that altered mGlu1 signaling in Purkinje cells (PCs) may be involved in not only motor learning, but also autistic-like behaviors. We find that conditional knock-out of transferrin receptor 1 (TFR1) in PCs reduces synaptic mGlu1 by tethering Rab8 and Rab11 in the cytosol. PC ablation of TFR1 inhibits parallel fiber-PC LTD, whereas parallel fiber-PC LTP and PC intrinsic excitability are intact. Motor coordination is impaired, but social behaviors are normal in TFR1flox/flox;pCP2-cre mice. Our data reveal a new regulator for trafficking and synaptic expression of mGlu1 and suggest that mGlu1-dependent LTD is associated with motor coordination, but not autistic-like behaviors.

Effect of microRNA-186 on oxidative stress injury of neuron by targeting interleukin 2 through the janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription pathway in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease.

Recent studies have proposed that microRNAs (miR) function as novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in Alzheimer's disease (AD), a common disease among the elderly. In the current study, we aim to explore the effect of miR-186 on oxidative stress injury of neuron in rat models of AD with the involvement of the interleukin-2 (IL2) and the Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK-STAT) pathways. AD rat models were established, and dual-luciferase reporter assay and online software were used to confirm the targeting relationship between miR-186 and IL2. Immunohistochemistry was used evaluating the positive rate of IL2. Afterward, to define the role of miR-186 in AD, miR-186, IL2, and JAK-STAT related protein (JAK2, STAT3) expressions were quantified. Cell proliferation was measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide, and cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. We observed downregulated miR-186 and IL2 and upregulated JAK-STAT signaling pathway related genes in AD. The overexpression of miR-186 was shown to significantly promote cell proliferation while suppressing cell apoptosis along with the expression of the IL2 and JAK-STAT signaling pathway related protein. Collectively, the key findings obtained from the current study define the potential role of miR-186 as an inhibitor of AD development by downregulation of IL2 through suppression of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway.

Enrichment of Phosphorylated Peptides with Metal-Organic Framework Nanosheets for Serum Profiling of Diabetes and Phosphoproteomics Analysis.

Capturing phosphopeptides from complicated biological samples is essential for the discovery of new post-translational modification sites and disease diagnostics. Although several two-dimensional (2-D) materials have been used for phosphopeptides capturing, metal-organic framework (MOF) nanosheets have not been reported. The Ti-based MOF nanosheets have well-defined 2-D morphology, high density of active sites, large surface area, and an ultrathin structure. Phosphopeptides can be efficiently extracted and superior detection limits of 0.1 fmol µL-1 can be achieved even for an extremely low molar ratio of phosphoprotein/nonphosphoprotein (1:10000) mixtures. The selectivity over nonphosphopeptides can be enhanced further by pretreatment with a 10 mM salt solution (ß-glycerophosphate disodium, NaCl, or KCl). The performance of 2-D Ti-based MOF nanosheets is much better than Zr-based MOF (Zr-BTB) nanosheets or any other Ti-based 3-D MOF counterpart, such as MIL-125 and NH2-MIL-125. The nanosheets were used for in situ isotope labeling for abnormally regulated phosphopeptides analysis from serum samples of type 2 diabetes patients. The relative quantitative results showed that three of the phosphorylated fibrinogen peptides A (FPA, DpSGEGDFLAEGGGV, DpSGEGDFLAEGGGVR, and ADpSGEGDFLAEGGGVR) were down-regulated, while the other isoform (ADpSGEGDFLAEGGGV) was up-regulated in the serum samples of type 2 diabetes patients compared with those of healthy volunteers. Finally, proteomics analysis showed selective enrichment of phosphopeptides with 2-D Ti-based MOF nanosheets from real samples, including tryptic digests of mouse brain neocortex lysate, mouse spinal cord lysate, and mouse testis lysate, followed by LC-MS/MS analysis. Total numbers of 2601, 3208, and 2866 phosphopeptides were successfully identified from the three samples, respectively. The 2-D Ti-based MOF nanosheets significantly improved sample preparation for mass spectrometric analysis in phosphopeptides and phosphoproteomics research.

An Exfoliated 2D Egyptian Blue Nanosheet for Highly Selective Enrichment of Multi-phosphorylated Peptides in Mass Spectrometric Analysis.

Phosphopeptide enrichment is essential for the phosphoprotein profiling, due to the low abundance in complex biological samples. Moreover, selective binding of multi-phosphopeptides over mono-phosphopeptides is rarely established, but strongly needed in real sample analysis, especially for the investigation of cell behaviors with the multisite phosphorylation cascades. Here two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets were synthesized of Egyptian blue (CaCuSi4 O10 ), the well-known ancient pigment, and its analogues (SrCuSi4 O10 and BaCuSi4 O10 ), which were employed in the enrichment of phosphopeptides for the first time. Surprisingly, the 2D CaCuSi4 O10 nanosheet was highly selective towards multi-phosphopeptides without enriching the mono-phosphorylated peptides in a wide range of acidic conditions or buffer compositions. Meanwhile, the SrCuSi4 O10 and BaCuSi4 O10 nanosheet analogues do not exhibit this unique selectivity. Moreover, the ultrathin and well-defined 2D morphology, with abundant CaII , of Egyptian blue nanosheet was applied in cortical samples of forebrain specific PDK1 conditional knockout mice and their age-matched littermate controls, that are associated with Alzheimer's disease. The as-prepared 2D CaCuSi4 O10 nanosheet not only showed specific selectivity, but also exhibited high sensitivity (detection limit of 4×10-7 m).

Endoscopic extraction of a submucosal esophageal foreign body piercing into the thoracic aorta: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Aorto-esophageal injury is a rare but life-threatening complication of esophageal foreign bodies, which typically requires open surgery. The best way to treat patients with this condition remains unclear. To date, few reports have described an aortic wall directly penetrated by a sharp foreign body. Here, we present a rare case of a fishbone completely embedded in the esophageal muscularis propria and directly piercing the aorta, which was successfully treated by endoscopy and thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). CASE SUMMARY: We report the case of a 71-year-old man with a 1-d history of retrosternal pain after eating fish. No abnormal findings were observed by the emergency esophagoscopy. Computed tomography showed a fishbone that had completely pierced through the esophageal mucosa and into the aorta. The patient refused to undergo surgery for personal reasons and was discharged. Five days after the onset of illness, he was readmitted to our hospital. Endoscopy examination showed a nodule with a smooth surface in the middle of the esophagus. Endoscopic ultrasonography confirmed a fishbone under the nodule. After performing TEVAR, we incised the esophageal mucosa under an endoscope and successfully removed the fishbone. The patient has remained in good condition for 1 year. CONCLUSION: Incising the esophageal wall under endoscope and extracting a foreign body after TEVAR may be a feasible option for cases such as ours.

Retraction Notice to: Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomal MicroRNA-126-3p Inhibits Pancreatic Cancer Development by Targeting ADAM9.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2019.02.022.].

Neuron-specific deletion of presenilin enhancer2 causes progressive astrogliosis and age-related neurodegeneration in the cortex independent of the Notch signaling.

INTRODUCTION: Presenilin enhancer2 (Pen-2) is an essential subunit of γ-secretase, which is a key protease responsible for the cleavage of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and Notch. Mutations on Pen-2 cause familial Alzheimer disease (AD). However, it remains unknown whether Pen-2 regulates neuronal survival and neuroinflammation in the adult brain. METHODS: Forebrain neuron-specific Pen-2 conditional knockout (Pen-2 cKO) mice were generated for this study. Pen-2 cKO mice expressing Notch1 intracellular domain (NICD) conditionally in cortical neurons were also generated. RESULTS: Loss of Pen-2 causes astrogliosis followed by age-dependent cortical atrophy and neuronal loss. Loss of Pen-2 results in microgliosis and enhanced inflammatory responses in the cortex. Expression of NICD in Pen-2 cKO cortices ameliorates neither neurodegeneration nor neuroinflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Pen-2 is required for neuronal survival in the adult cerebral cortex. The Notch signaling may not be involved in neurodegeneration caused by loss of Pen-2.

High-throughput screening of novel pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases inhibitors and biological evaluation of their in vitro and in vivo antiproliferative activity.

Overexpression of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases (PDKs) has been widely noticed in a variety of human solid tumors, which could be regarded as an attractive therapeutic target for cancer therapy. In this paper, we present an enzymatic screening assay and multiple biological evaluations for the identification of potential PDKs, especially PDK1 inhibitors. We identified 9 potential PDKs inhibitors from the screening of an in-house small molecule library, all of the identified inhibitors reduced pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex phosphorylation. Among which, 4, 5, and 9 displayed the most potent PDKs inhibitory activities, with EC50 values of 0.34, 1.4, and 1.6 µM in an enzymatic assay, respectively. A kinase inhibition assay suggested that 4, 5, and 9 were pan-isoform PDK inhibitors, but more sensitive to PDK1. Meanwhile, the three compounds inhibited HSP90, with IC50 values of 0.78, 3.58, and 2.70 µM, respectively. The cell viability assay indicated that 4 inhibited all of the tested cancer cells proliferation, with a GC50 value of 2.3 µM against NCIH1975 cell, but has little effect on human normal lung cell BEAS-2B cell. In the NCIH1975 xenograft models, 4 displayed strong antitumor activities at a dose of 10 and 20 mg/kg, but with no negative effect on the mice weight. In addition, 4 decreased the ECAR and lactate formation, increased OCR and ROS level in NCIH1975 cancer cell, which could be used as a promising modulator to reprogram the glucose metabolic pathways in NCIH1975 cancer cells.

Impact of serum omentin-1 levels on functional prognosis in nondiabetic patients with ischemic stroke.

OBJECTIVE: Omentin-1, an adipokine released from visceral fat tissue, is associated with diabetes and stroke. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of serum omentin-1 levels on functional prognosis in nondiabetic patients with ischemic stroke. METHODS: From March 2016 to December 2017, consecutive patients with first-ever ischemic stroke admitted to our hospital, China, were recorded. Functional impairment was evaluated at 3-month after admission using the modified Rankin scale (mRS). Uni-and multivariate analyses with Cox proportional hazard regression was used for assessing the relationship between serum level of omentin-1 and functional outcome. RESULTS: We recorded 209 stroke patients, 52 of them (24.9%) experienced as poor functional outcome. The obtained omentin-1 level in patients with poor outcome was lower than in those patients with good outcome [100.8 (80.9-131.6) ng/ml vs. 137.6 (IQR, 106.1-171.5) ng/ml; Z=4.692; P<0.001). Multivariate analysis models were used to assess stroke outcome according to omentin-1 quartiles (the highest quartile [Q4] as the reference), the 1st and 2nd quartile of omentin-1 were compared against the Q4, and the risks were increased by 505% (HR=6.05; 95% CI: 2.13-12.15; P=0.007) and 215% (31.5; 1.21-7.98; P=0.03), respectively. The inclusion of omentin-1 in the routine prediction model for the prediction of poor functional outcome, enhanced the NRI (P=0.006) and IDI (P=0.001) values, confirming the effective reclassification and discrimination. Kaplan-Meier analysis suggested that the patients with low serum omentin-1 levels had a higher risk of death than those patients with high levels of omentin-1 (log-rank test P=0.033). CONCLUSION: In this cohort of nondiabetic patients with ischemic stroke, a reduced baseline level of serum omentin-1 was related with an increased risk for poor functional outcome or death, independent of baseline variables.

Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomal MicroRNA-126-3p Inhibits Pancreatic Cancer Development by Targeting ADAM9.

Pancreatic cancer is a lethal malignancy with relatively few effective therapies. Recent investigations have highlighted the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) as crucial regulators in various tumor processes including tumor progression. Hence the current study aimed to investigate the role of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC)-derived exosomal microRNA-126-3p (miR-126-3p) in pancreatic cancer. Initially, miRNA candidates and related genes associated with pancreatic cancer were screened. PANC-1 cells were transfected with miR-126-3p or silenced a disintegrin and a metalloproteinase-9 (ADAM9) to examine their regulatory roles in pancreatic cancer cells. Additionally, exosomes derived from BMSCs were isolated and co-cultured with pancreatic cancer cells to elucidate the effects of exosomes in pancreatic cancer. Furthermore, the effects of overexpressed miR-126-3p derived from BMSCs exosomes on proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis, tumor growth, and metastasis of pancreatic cancer cells were analyzed in connection with lentiviral packaged miR-126-3p in vivo. Restored miR-126-3p was observed to suppress pancreatic cancer through downregulating ADAM9. Notably, overexpressed miR-126-3p derived from BMSCs exosomes inhibited the proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of pancreatic cancer cells, and promoted their apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, the key findings of the study indicated that overexpressed miR-126-3p derived from BMSCs exosomes inhibited the development of pancreatic cancer through the downregulation of ADAM9, highlighting the potential of miR-126-3p as a novel biomarker for pancreatic cancer treatment.

Association between plasma macrophage migration inhibitor factor and deep vein thrombosis in patients with spinal cord injuries.

The patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) suffered significantly higher risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) than normal population. The aim was to assess the clinical significance of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) as the risk factor for DVT in acute SCI patients. 207 Chinese patients were enrolled in this study, including thirty-nine (39) patients (18.8 %; 95 %CI: 13.5 %-24.2 %) diagnosed as DVT at the follow-up of 1 month. Nine (9) of the 39 patients (23.1%) were suspected of thrombosis before the screening. The MIF levels in plasma of DVT patients were significantly higher than DVT-free patients. The risks of DVT would be increased by 11 % (OR unadjusted: 1.11; 95% CI, 1.06-1.17, P<0.001) and 8 % (OR adjusted: 1.08; 1.03-1.14, P=0.001), for each additional 1 ng/ml of MIF level. Furthermore, after MIF was combined with established risk factors, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (standard error) was increased from 0.82(0.035) to 0.85(0.030). The results showed the potential association between the high MIF levels in plasma and elevated DVT risk in SCI patients, which may assist on early intervention.

Comprehensive RNA-Seq Data Analysis Identifies Key mRNAs and lncRNAs in Atrial Fibrillation.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are an emerging class of RNA species that may play a critical regulatory role in gene expression. However, the association between lncRNAs and atrial fibrillation (AF) is still not fully understood. In this study, we used RNA sequencing data to identify and quantify the both protein coding genes (PCGs) and lncRNAs. The high enrichment of these up-regulated genes in biological functions concerning response to virus and inflammatory response suggested that chronic viral infection may lead to activated inflammatory pathways, thereby alter the electrophysiology, structure, and autonomic remodeling of the atria. In contrast, the downregulated GO terms were related to the response to saccharides. To identify key lncRNAs involved in AF, we predicted lncRNAs regulating expression of the adjacent PCGs, and characterized biological function of the dysregulated lncRNAs. We found that two lncRNAs, ETF1P2, and AP001053.11, could interact with protein-coding genes (PCGs), which were implicated in AF. In conclusion, we identified key PCGs and lncRNAs, which may be implicated in AF, which not only improves our understanding of the roles of lncRNAs in AF, but also provides potentially functional lncRNAs for AF researchers.