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1.
Cell ; 164(4): 681-94, 2016 Feb 11.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26853473

ABSTRACT

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is heterogeneous in the genetic and environmental parameters that influence cell metabolism in culture. Here, we assessed the impact of these factors on human NSCLC metabolism in vivo using intraoperative (13)C-glucose infusions in nine NSCLC patients to compare metabolism between tumors and benign lung. While enhanced glycolysis and glucose oxidation were common among these tumors, we observed evidence for oxidation of multiple nutrients in each of them, including lactate as a potential carbon source. Moreover, metabolically heterogeneous regions were identified within and between tumors, and surprisingly, our data suggested potential contributions of non-glucose nutrients in well-perfused tumor areas. Our findings not only demonstrate the heterogeneity in tumor metabolism in vivo but also highlight the strong influence of the microenvironment on this feature.


Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/metabolism , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/pathology , Lung Neoplasms/metabolism , Lung Neoplasms/pathology , Tumor Microenvironment , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/blood supply , Citric Acid Cycle , Female , Glycolysis , Humans , Lung Neoplasms/blood supply , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Middle Aged , Positron-Emission Tomography
2.
Mol Cell ; 81(5): 922-939.e9, 2021 03 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33434505

ABSTRACT

R-2-hydroxyglutarate (R-2HG), a metabolite produced by mutant isocitrate dehydrogenases (IDHs), was recently reported to exhibit anti-tumor activity. However, its effect on cancer metabolism remains largely elusive. Here we show that R-2HG effectively attenuates aerobic glycolysis, a hallmark of cancer metabolism, in (R-2HG-sensitive) leukemia cells. Mechanistically, R-2HG abrogates fat-mass- and obesity-associated protein (FTO)/N6-methyladenosine (m6A)/YTH N6-methyladenosine RNA binding protein 2 (YTHDF2)-mediated post-transcriptional upregulation of phosphofructokinase platelet (PFKP) and lactate dehydrogenase B (LDHB) (two critical glycolytic genes) expression and thereby suppresses aerobic glycolysis. Knockdown of FTO, PFKP, or LDHB recapitulates R-2HG-induced glycolytic inhibition in (R-2HG-sensitive) leukemia cells, but not in normal CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, and inhibits leukemogenesis in vivo; conversely, their overexpression reverses R-2HG-induced effects. R-2HG also suppresses glycolysis and downregulates FTO/PFKP/LDHB expression in human primary IDH-wild-type acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells, demonstrating the clinical relevance. Collectively, our study reveals previously unrecognized effects of R-2HG and RNA modification on aerobic glycolysis in leukemia, highlighting the therapeutic potential of targeting cancer epitranscriptomics and metabolism.


Subject(s)
Alpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTO/genetics , Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Glutarates/pharmacology , Glycolysis/genetics , Lactate Dehydrogenases/genetics , Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/drug therapy , Phosphofructokinase-1, Type C/genetics , Alpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTO/antagonists & inhibitors , Alpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTO/metabolism , Animals , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Female , Fluorouracil/pharmacology , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Glycolysis/drug effects , HEK293 Cells , Humans , K562 Cells , Lactate Dehydrogenases/antagonists & inhibitors , Lactate Dehydrogenases/metabolism , Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/genetics , Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/mortality , Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/pathology , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Mice, Transgenic , Oxidative Phosphorylation/drug effects , Phosphofructokinase-1, Type C/antagonists & inhibitors , Phosphofructokinase-1, Type C/metabolism , RNA, Small Interfering/genetics , RNA, Small Interfering/metabolism , RNA-Binding Proteins/genetics , RNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism , Signal Transduction , Survival Analysis , Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
3.
Genome Res ; 34(9): 1445-1454, 2024 Oct 11.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39060029

ABSTRACT

Signal peptides (SPs) play a crucial role in protein translocation in cells. The development of large protein language models (PLMs) and prompt-based learning provide a new opportunity for SP prediction, especially for the categories with limited annotated data. We present a parameter-efficient fine-tuning (PEFT) framework for SP prediction, PEFT-SP, to effectively utilize pretrained PLMs. We integrated low-rank adaptation (LoRA) into ESM-2 models to better leverage the protein sequence evolutionary knowledge of PLMs. Experiments show that PEFT-SP using LoRA enhances state-of-the-art results, leading to a maximum Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) gain of 87.3% for SPs with small training samples and an overall MCC gain of 6.1%. Furthermore, we also employed two other PEFT methods, prompt tuning and adapter tuning, in ESM-2 for SP prediction. More elaborate experiments show that PEFT-SP using adapter tuning can also improve the state-of-the-art results by up to 28.1% MCC gain for SPs with small training samples and an overall MCC gain of 3.8%. LoRA requires fewer computing resources and less memory than the adapter tuning during the training stage, making it possible to adapt larger and more powerful protein models for SP prediction.


Subject(s)
Protein Sorting Signals , Computational Biology/methods , Algorithms , Humans , Proteins/metabolism , Proteins/chemistry
4.
Plant Cell ; 36(6): 2393-2409, 2024 May 29.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38489602

ABSTRACT

Optimizing the root architecture of crops is an effective strategy for improving crop yields. Soil compaction is a serious global problem that limits crop productivity by restricting root growth, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unclear. Here, we show that ethylene stimulates rice (Oryza sativa) crown root development in response to soil compaction. First, we demonstrate that compacted soil promotes ethylene production and the accumulation of ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE 3-LIKE 1 (OsEIL1) in rice roots, stimulating crown root primordia initiation and development, thereby increasing crown root number in lower stem nodes. Through transcriptome profiling and molecular analyses, we reveal that OsEIL1 directly activates the expression of WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX 11 (OsWOX11), an activator of crown root emergence and growth, and that OsWOX11 mutations delay crown root development, thus impairing the plant's response to ethylene and soil compaction. Genetic analysis demonstrates that OsWOX11 functions downstream of OsEIL1. In summary, our results demonstrate that the OsEIL1-OsWOX11 module regulates ethylene action during crown root development in response to soil compaction, providing a strategy for the genetic modification of crop root architecture and grain agronomic traits.


Subject(s)
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant , Oryza , Plant Proteins , Plant Roots , Transcription Factors , Ethylenes/metabolism , Gene Expression Regulation, Plant/drug effects , Oryza/genetics , Oryza/growth & development , Oryza/metabolism , Plant Proteins/genetics , Plant Proteins/metabolism , Plant Roots/growth & development , Plant Roots/genetics , Plant Roots/metabolism , Soil/chemistry , Transcription Factors/metabolism , Transcription Factors/genetics
5.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 121(37): e2314337121, 2024 Sep 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39226363

ABSTRACT

Epidemiological studies have revealed an inverse relationship between the incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and various cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). We aimed to determine whether the incidence of CRC is reduced in AD-like mice and whether gut microbiota confers resistance to tumorigenesis through inducing inflammatory tolerance using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). AD-like mice experienced a significantly decreased incidence of CRC tumorigenesis induced by azoxymethane-dextran sodium sulfate as evidenced by suppressed intestinal inflammation compared with control mice. However, FMT from age-matched control mice reversed the inhibitory effects on the tumorigenesis of CRC and inflammatory response in AD-like mice. The key bacterial genera in gut microbiota, including Prevotella, were increased in both the AD-like mice and in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) but were decreased in patients with CRC. Pretreatment with low-dose Prevotella-derived lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induced inflammatory tolerance both in vivo and in vitro and inhibited CRC tumorigenesis in mice. Imbalanced gut microbiota increased intestinal barrier permeability, which facilitated LPS absorption from the gut into the blood, causing cognitive decline in AD-like mice and patients with aMCI. These data reveal that intestinal Prevotella-derived LPS exerts a resistant effect to CRC tumorigenesis via inducing inflammatory tolerance in the presence of AD. These findings provide biological evidence demonstrating the inverse relationship between the incidence of AD and CRC.


Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease , Colorectal Neoplasms , Fecal Microbiota Transplantation , Gastrointestinal Microbiome , Animals , Alzheimer Disease/microbiology , Colorectal Neoplasms/microbiology , Colorectal Neoplasms/immunology , Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology , Mice , Humans , Male , Inflammation , Cognitive Dysfunction , Female , Prevotella , Disease Models, Animal , Lipopolysaccharides , Carcinogenesis , Dextran Sulfate
6.
PLoS Pathog ; 20(8): e1012510, 2024 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39208401

ABSTRACT

Auxin is an important class of plant hormones that play an important role in plant growth development, biotic stress response, and viruses often suppress host plant auxin levels to promote infection. However, previous research on auxin-mediated disease resistance has focused mainly on signaling pathway, and the molecular mechanisms of how pathogenic proteins manipulate the biosynthetic pathway of auxin remain poorly understood. TCP is a class of plant-specific transcription factors, of which TCP17 is a member that binds to the promoter of YUCCAs, a key rate-limiting enzyme for auxin synthesis, and promotes the expression of YUCCAs, which is involved in auxin synthesis in plants. In this study, we reported that Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) infection suppressed the expression of YUCCAs through its interaction with TCP17. Further studies revealed that the NSs protein encoded by TSWV disrupts the dimerization of TCP17, thereby inhibit its transcriptional activation ability and reducing the auxin content in plants. Consequently, this interference inhibits the auxin response signal and promotes the TSWV infection. Transgenic plants overexpressing TCP17 exhibit resistance against TSWV infection, whereas plants knocking out TCP17 were more susceptible to TSWV infection. Additionally, proteins encoded by other RNA viruses (BSMV, RSV and TBSV) can also interact with TCP17 and interfere with its dimerization. Notably, overexpression of TCP17 enhanced resistance against BSMV. This suggests that TCP17 plays a crucial role in plant defense against different types of plant viruses that use viral proteins to target this key component of auxin synthesis and promote infection.


Subject(s)
Indoleacetic Acids , Plant Diseases , Transcription Factors , Indoleacetic Acids/metabolism , Plant Diseases/virology , Transcription Factors/metabolism , Transcription Factors/genetics , Tospovirus , Gene Expression Regulation, Plant , Plant Proteins/metabolism , Plant Proteins/genetics , Disease Resistance , Host-Pathogen Interactions , Plants, Genetically Modified , Nicotiana/virology , Nicotiana/metabolism , Nicotiana/genetics , Arabidopsis/virology , Arabidopsis/metabolism , Arabidopsis/genetics
7.
Nature ; 582(7811): E4, 2020 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32523122

ABSTRACT

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

8.
Nature ; 580(7802): 210-215, 2020 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32269352

ABSTRACT

Biological materials, such as bones, teeth and mollusc shells, are well known for their excellent strength, modulus and toughness1-3. Such properties are attributed to the elaborate layered microstructure of inorganic reinforcing nanofillers, especially two-dimensional nanosheets or nanoplatelets, within a ductile organic matrix4-6. Inspired by these biological structures, several assembly strategies-including layer-by-layer4,7,8, casting9,10, vacuum filtration11-13 and use of magnetic fields14,15-have been used to develop layered nanocomposites. However, how to produce ultrastrong layered nanocomposites in a universal, viable and scalable manner remains an open issue. Here we present a strategy to produce nanocomposites with highly ordered layered structures using shear-flow-induced alignment of two-dimensional nanosheets at an immiscible hydrogel/oil interface. For example, nanocomposites based on nanosheets of graphene oxide and clay exhibit a tensile strength of up to 1,215 ± 80 megapascals and a Young's modulus of 198.8 ± 6.5 gigapascals, which are 9.0 and 2.8 times higher, respectively, than those of natural nacre (mother of pearl). When nanosheets of clay are used, the toughness of the resulting nanocomposite can reach 36.7 ± 3.0 megajoules per cubic metre, which is 20.4 times higher than that of natural nacre; meanwhile, the tensile strength is 1,195 ± 60 megapascals. Quantitative analysis indicates that the well aligned nanosheets form a critical interphase, and this results in the observed mechanical properties. We consider that our strategy, which could be readily extended to align a variety of two-dimensional nanofillers, could be applied to a wide range of structural composites and lead to the development of high-performance composites.


Subject(s)
Biomimetic Materials/chemistry , Biomimetic Materials/chemical synthesis , Nanocomposites/chemistry , Tensile Strength , Elastic Modulus , Graphite/chemistry , Hydrogels/chemistry , Nacre/chemistry
9.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 120(9): e2207003120, 2023 02 28.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36812204

ABSTRACT

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder, and existing antipsychotic drugs show limited efficacy and cause unwanted side effects. The development of glutamatergic drugs for schizophrenia is currently challenging. Most functions of histamine in the brain are mediated by the histamine H1 receptor; however, the role of the H2 receptor (H2R) is not quite clear, especially in schizophrenia. Here, we found that expression of H2R in glutamatergic neurons of the frontal cortex was decreased in schizophrenia patients. Selective knockout of the H2R gene (Hrh2) in glutamatergic neurons (CaMKIIα-Cre; Hrh2 fl/fl) induced schizophrenia-like phenotypes including sensorimotor gating deficits, increased susceptibility to hyperactivity, social withdrawal, anhedonia, and impaired working memory, as well as decreased firing of glutamatergic neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in in vivo electrophysiological tests. Selective knockdown of H2R in glutamatergic neurons in the mPFC but not those in the hippocampus also mimicked these schizophrenia-like phenotypes. Furthermore, electrophysiology experiments established that H2R deficiency decreased the firing of glutamatergic neurons by enhancing the current through hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channels. In addition, either H2R overexpression in glutamatergic neurons or H2R agonism in the mPFC counteracted schizophrenia-like phenotypes in an MK-801-induced mouse model of schizophrenia. Taken together, our results suggest that deficit of H2R in mPFC glutamatergic neurons may be pivotal to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and that H2R agonists can be regarded as potentially efficacious medications for schizophrenia therapy. The findings also provide evidence for enriching the conventional glutamate hypothesis for the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and improve the understanding of the functional role of H2R in the brain, especially in glutamatergic neurons.


Subject(s)
Histamine , Schizophrenia , Mice , Animals , Histamine/metabolism , Neurons/metabolism , Receptors, Histamine H2 , Memory, Short-Term
10.
J Biol Chem ; 300(7): 107413, 2024 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38810698

ABSTRACT

Ataxin-2 (Atx2) is a polyglutamine (polyQ) tract-containing RNA-binding protein, while its polyQ expansion may cause protein aggregation that is implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2). However, the molecular mechanism underlying how Atx2 aggregation contributes to the proteinopathies remains elusive. Here, we investigated the influence of Atx2 aggregation on the assembly and functionality of cellular processing bodies (P-bodies) by using biochemical and fluorescence imaging approaches. We have revealed that polyQ-expanded (PQE) Atx2 sequesters the DEAD-box RNA helicase (DDX6), an essential component of P-bodies, into aggregates or puncta via some RNA sequences. The N-terminal like-Sm (LSm) domain of Atx2 (residues 82-184) and the C-terminal helicase domain of DDX6 are responsible for the interaction and specific sequestration. Moreover, sequestration of DDX6 may aggravate pre-mRNA mis-splicing, and interfere with the assembly of cellular P-bodies, releasing the endoribonuclease MARF1 that promotes mRNA decay and translational repression. Rescuing the DDX6 protein level can recover the assembly and functionality of P-bodies, preventing targeted mRNA from degradation. This study provides a line of evidence for sequestration of the P-body components and impairment of the P-body homeostasis in dysregulating RNA metabolism, which is implicated in the disease pathologies and a potential therapeutic target.


Subject(s)
Ataxin-2 , DEAD-box RNA Helicases , Homeostasis , Peptides , DEAD-box RNA Helicases/metabolism , DEAD-box RNA Helicases/genetics , Humans , Ataxin-2/metabolism , Ataxin-2/genetics , Peptides/metabolism , Peptides/chemistry , Proto-Oncogene Proteins/metabolism , Proto-Oncogene Proteins/genetics , HEK293 Cells , Spinocerebellar Ataxias/metabolism , Spinocerebellar Ataxias/genetics , Protein Aggregates , RNA Splicing , Protein Domains , RNA Precursors/metabolism , RNA Precursors/genetics
11.
Gastroenterology ; 166(1): 139-154, 2024 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37739089

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The dismal prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is linked to the presence of pancreatic cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) that respond poorly to current chemotherapy regimens. The epigenetic mechanisms regulating CSCs are currently insufficiently understood, which hampers the development of novel strategies for eliminating CSCs. METHODS: By small molecule compound screening targeting 142 epigenetic enzymes, we identified that bromodomain-containing protein BRD9, a component of the BAF histone remodeling complex, is a key chromatin regulator to orchestrate the stemness of pancreatic CSCs via cooperating with the TGFß/Activin-SMAD2/3 signaling pathway. RESULTS: Inhibition and genetic ablation of BRD9 block the self-renewal, cell cycle entry into G0 phase and invasiveness of CSCs, and improve the sensitivity of CSCs to gemcitabine treatment. In addition, pharmacological inhibition of BRD9 significantly reduced the tumorigenesis in patient-derived xenografts mouse models and eliminated CSCs in tumors from pancreatic cancer patients. Mechanistically, inhibition of BRD9 disrupts enhancer-promoter looping and transcription of stemness genes in CSCs. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, the data suggest BRD9 as a novel therapeutic target for PDAC treatment via modulation of CSC stemness.


Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal , Pancreatic Neoplasms , Animals , Humans , Mice , Bromodomain Containing Proteins , Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal/drug therapy , Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal/genetics , Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal/metabolism , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/pathology , Gemcitabine , Neoplastic Stem Cells/pathology , Pancreatic Neoplasms/drug therapy , Pancreatic Neoplasms/genetics , Pancreatic Neoplasms/metabolism , Smad2 Protein/metabolism , Transcription Factors/genetics , Transcription Factors/metabolism
12.
Plant Physiol ; 195(2): 1382-1400, 2024 May 31.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38345866

ABSTRACT

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are phytohormones that regulate stomatal development. In this study, we report that BR represses stomatal development in etiolated Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) cotyledons via transcription factors BRASSINAZOLE RESISTANT 1 (BZR1) and bri1-EMS SUPPRESSOR1 (BES1), which directly target MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE KINASE 9 (MKK9) and FAMA, 2 important genes for stomatal development. BZR1/BES1 bind MKK9 and FAMA promoters in vitro and in vivo, and mutation of the BZR1/BES1 binding motif in MKK9/FAMA promoters abolishes their transcription regulation by BZR1/BES1 in plants. Expression of a constitutively active MKK9 (MKK9DD) suppressed overproduction of stomata induced by BR deficiency, while expression of a constitutively inactive MKK9 (MKK9KR) induced high-density stomata in bzr1-1D. In addition, bzr-h, a sextuple mutant of the BZR1 family of proteins, produced overabundant stomata, and the dominant bzr1-1D and bes1-D mutants effectively suppressed the stomata-overproducing phenotype of brassinosteroid insensitive 1-116 (bri1-116) and brassinosteroid insensitive 2-1 (bin2-1). In conclusion, our results revealed important roles of BZR1/BES1 in stomatal development, and their transcriptional regulation of MKK9 and FAMA expression may contribute to BR-regulated stomatal development in etiolated Arabidopsis cotyledons.


Subject(s)
Arabidopsis Proteins , Arabidopsis , Brassinosteroids , Cotyledon , DNA-Binding Proteins , Gene Expression Regulation, Plant , Nuclear Proteins , Plant Stomata , Arabidopsis/genetics , Arabidopsis/growth & development , Arabidopsis/metabolism , Arabidopsis Proteins/metabolism , Arabidopsis Proteins/genetics , Brassinosteroids/metabolism , Plant Stomata/growth & development , Plant Stomata/genetics , Plant Stomata/drug effects , Cotyledon/genetics , Cotyledon/growth & development , Cotyledon/metabolism , Cotyledon/drug effects , Gene Expression Regulation, Plant/drug effects , DNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism , DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics , Nuclear Proteins/metabolism , Nuclear Proteins/genetics , Mutation/genetics , Promoter Regions, Genetic/genetics , Etiolation , Transcription Factors/metabolism , Transcription Factors/genetics , Protein Binding/drug effects , Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases/metabolism , Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases/genetics
13.
Stem Cells ; 42(4): 346-359, 2024 Apr 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38279981

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The use of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) has shown promise in improving the pathophysiological characteristics of rats with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, more research is needed to understand the exact mechanism behind their therapeutic effects and their impact on lung microbiota. METHODS: To investigate this, rats were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups: Control, COPD + vehicle, and COPD + UC-MSCs group. Lung function changes after UC-MSCs therapy were evaluated weekly for 6 weeks. Additionally, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), TNF (tumor necrosis factor)-α, IL (interleukin)-6, and IL-1ß level in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were analyzed. Arterial blood gas and weight were recorded. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to examine lung pathology, while changes in the lung microbiota were evaluated through 16S rRNA sequencing. RESULTS: The administration of UC-MSCs in rats led to a progressive amelioration of COPD, as demonstrated by enhanced lung function and reduced inflammatory response. UC-MSCs treatment significantly altered the structure and diversity of the lung microbiota, effectively preventing microbiota dysbiosis. This was achieved by increasing the abundance of Bacteroidetes and reducing the levels of Proteobacteria. Additionally, treatment with UC-MSCs reduced the activation of pathways associated with COPD, including microbial metabolism, ABC transporters, and Quorum sensing. The group of UC-MSCs showed increased metabolic pathways, such as amino acid biosynthesis, purine metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism, and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, compared to the COPD group. CONCLUSIONS: The use of UC-MSCs was found to reduce inflammation and improve lung function in rats with COPD. The mechanism may be related to the lung microbiota, as UC-MSCs improved the communities of lung microbiota and regulated dysregulated metabolic pathways.


Subject(s)
Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation , Mesenchymal Stem Cells , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive , Rats , Humans , Animals , RNA, Ribosomal, 16S , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Lung/pathology , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/therapy , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/pathology , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha , Interleukin-6 , Umbilical Cord
14.
Chem Rev ; 123(5): 2276-2310, 2023 Mar 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35522923

ABSTRACT

Liquid flowing around a solid edge, i.e., overflow, is a commonly observed flow behavior. Recent research into surface wetting properties and microstructure-controlled overflow behavior has attracted much attention. Achieving controllable macroscale liquid dynamics by manipulating the micro-nanoscale liquid overflow has stimulated diverse scientific interest and fostered widespread use in practical applications. In this review, we outline the evolution of overflow and present a critical survey of the mechanism of surface wetting properties and microstructure-controlled liquid overflow in multilength scales ranging from centimeter to micro and even nanoscale. We summarize the latest progress in utilizing the mechanisms to manipulate liquid overflow and achieve macroscale liquid dynamics and in emerging applications to manipulate overflow for sustainable development in various fields, along with challenges and perspectives.

15.
Mol Ther ; 32(7): 2248-2263, 2024 Jul 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38796708

ABSTRACT

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a major worldwide health concern that currently lacks effective medical treatments. PSMP is a damage-induced chemotactic cytokine that acts as a ligand of CCR2 and has an unknown role in AKI. We have observed a significant increase in PSMP levels in the renal tissue, urine, and plasma of patients with AKI. PSMP deficiency improved kidney function and decreased tubular damage and inflammation in AKI mouse models induced by kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury, glycerol, and cisplatin. Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis revealed that Ly6Chi or F4/80lo infiltrated macrophages (IMs) were a major group of proinflammatory macrophages with strong CCR2 expression in AKI. We observed that PSMP deficiency decreased CCR2+Ly6Chi or F4/80lo IMs and inhibited M1 polarization in the AKI mouse model. Moreover, overexpressed human PSMP in the mouse kidney could reverse the attenuation of kidney injury in a CCR2-dependent manner, and this effect could be achieved without CCL2 involvement. Extracellular PSMP played a crucial role, and treatment with a PSMP-neutralizing antibody significantly reduced kidney injury in vivo. Therefore, PSMP might be a therapeutic target for AKI, and its antibody is a promising therapeutic drug for the treatment of AKI.


Subject(s)
Acute Kidney Injury , Disease Models, Animal , Macrophages , Receptors, CCR2 , Animals , Humans , Male , Mice , Acute Kidney Injury/metabolism , Acute Kidney Injury/pathology , Kidney/metabolism , Kidney/pathology , Macrophages/metabolism , Mice, Knockout , Receptors, CCR2/metabolism , Receptors, CCR2/genetics , Reperfusion Injury/metabolism , Neoplasm Proteins
16.
Cell Mol Life Sci ; 81(1): 116, 2024 Mar 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38438808

ABSTRACT

Microglia regulate synaptic function in various ways, including the microglial displacement of the surrounding GABAergic synapses, which provides important neuroprotection from certain diseases. However, the physiological role and underlying mechanisms of microglial synaptic displacement remain unclear. In this study, we observed that microglia exhibited heterogeneity during the displacement of GABAergic synapses surrounding neuronal soma in different cortical regions under physiological conditions. Through three-dimensional reconstruction, in vitro co-culture, two-photon calcium imaging, and local field potentials recording, we found that IL-1ß negatively modulated microglial synaptic displacement to coordinate regional heterogeneity in the motor cortex, which impacted the homeostasis of the neural network and improved motor learning ability. We used the Cre-Loxp system and found that IL-1R1 on glutamatergic neurons, rather than that on microglia or GABAergic neurons, mediated the negative effect of IL-1ß on synaptic displacement. This study demonstrates that IL-1ß is critical for the regional heterogeneity of synaptic displacement by coordinating different actions of neurons and microglia via IL-1R1, which impacts both neural network homeostasis and motor learning ability. It provides a theoretical basis for elucidating the physiological role and mechanism of microglial displacement of GABAergic synapses.


Subject(s)
Learning , Microglia , Calcium , GABAergic Neurons , Interleukin-1beta , Synapses
17.
Nucleic Acids Res ; 51(W1): W343-W349, 2023 07 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37178004

ABSTRACT

Predicting protein localization and understanding its mechanisms are critical in biology and pathology. In this context, we propose a new web application of MULocDeep with improved performance, result interpretation, and visualization. By transferring the original model into species-specific models, MULocDeep achieved competitive prediction performance at the subcellular level against other state-of-the-art methods. It uniquely provides a comprehensive localization prediction at the suborganellar level. Besides prediction, our web service quantifies the contribution of single amino acids to localization for individual proteins; for a group of proteins, common motifs or potential targeting-related regions can be derived. Furthermore, the visualizations of targeting mechanism analyses can be downloaded for publication-ready figures. The MULocDeep web service is available at https://www.mu-loc.org/.


Subject(s)
Proteins , Software , Amino Acids/metabolism , Computational Biology/methods , Protein Transport , Proteins/chemistry , Internet
18.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 119(49): e2211458119, 2022 12 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36442101

ABSTRACT

Natural structural materials typically feature complex hierarchical anisotropic architectures, resulting in excellent damage tolerance. Such highly anisotropic structures, however, also provide an easy path for crack propagation, often leading to catastrophic fracture as evidenced, for example, by wood splitting. Here, we describe the weakly anisotropic structure of Ginkgo biloba (ginkgo) seed shell, which has excellent crack resistance in different directions. Ginkgo seed shell is composed of tightly packed polygonal sclereids with cell walls in which the cellulose microfibrils are oriented in a helicoidal pattern. We found that the sclereids contain distinct pits, special fine tubes like a "screw fastener," that interlock the helicoidal cell walls together. As a result, ginkgo seed shell demonstrates crack resistance in all directions, exhibiting specific fracture toughness that can rival other highly anisotropic natural materials, such as wood, bone, insect cuticle, and nacre. In situ characterization reveals ginkgo's unique toughening mechanism: pit-guided crack propagation. This mechanism forces the crack to depart from the weak compound middle lamella and enter into the sclereid, where the helicoidal cell wall significantly inhibits crack growth by the cleavage and breakage of the fibril-based cell walls. Ginkgo's toughening mechanism could provide guidelines for a new bioinspired strategy for the design of high-performance bulk materials.


Subject(s)
Fractures, Bone , Ginkgo biloba , Seeds , Cell Wall , Wood
19.
Genomics ; 116(2): 110806, 2024 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38325533

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cell differentiation agent II (CDA-II) exhibits potent anti-proliferative and apoptosis-inducing properties against a variety of cancer cells. However, its mechanism of action in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) remains unclear. METHODS: Cell counting Kit 8 (CCK-8) and flow cytometry were used to investigate the effects of CDA-II on the biological characteristics of K562 cells. Gene (mRNA and lncRNA) expression profiles were analyzed by bioinformatics to screen differentially expressed genes and to perform enrichment analysis. The Pearson correlation coefficients of lncRNAs and mRNAs were calculated using gene expression values, and a lncRNA/mRNA co-expression network was constructed. The MCODE and cytoHubba plugins were used to analyze the co-expression network. RESULTS: The Results, derived from CCK-8 and flow cytometry, indicated that CDA-II exerts dual effects on K562 cells: it inhibits their proliferation and induces apoptosis. From bioinformatics analysis, we identified 316 mRNAs and 32 lncRNAs. These mRNAs were predominantly related to the meiotic cell cycle, DNA methylation, transporter complex and peptidase regulator activity, complement and coagulation cascades, protein digestion and absorption, and cell adhesion molecule signaling pathways. The co-expression network comprised of 163 lncRNA/mRNA interaction pairs. Notably, our analysis results implicated clustered histone gene families and five lncRNAs in the biological effects of CDA-II on K562 cells. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the hub gene and lncRNA/mRNA co-expression network as crucial elements in the context of CDA-II treatment of CML. This insight not only enriches our understanding of CDA-II's mechanism of action but also might provide valuable clues for subsequent experimental studies of CDA-II, and potentially contribute to the discovery of new therapeutic targets for CML.


Subject(s)
Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive , Peptides , Phenylacetates , RNA, Long Noncoding , Humans , RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics , RNA, Long Noncoding/metabolism , Gene Expression Profiling , Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/drug therapy , Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/genetics , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Gene Regulatory Networks
20.
Chem Soc Rev ; 53(5): 2300-2325, 2024 Mar 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38284167

ABSTRACT

Bioinspired two-dimensional (2D) nanofluidic membranes have been explored for the creation of high-performance ion transport systems that can mimic the delicate transport functions of living organisms. Advanced energy devices made from these membranes show excellent energy storage and conversion capabilities. Further research and development in this area are essential to unlock the full potential of energy devices and facilitate the development of high-performance equipment toward real-world applications and a sustainable future. However, there has been minimal review and summarization of 2D nanofluidic membranes in recent years. Thus, it is necessary to carry out an extensive review to provide a survey library for researchers in related fields. In this review, the classification and the raw materials that are used to construct 2D nanofluidic membranes are first presented. Second, the top-down and bottom-up methods for constructing 2D membranes are introduced. Next, the applications of bioinspired 2D membranes in osmotic energy, hydraulic energy, mechanical energy, photoelectric conversion, lithium batteries, and flow batteries are discussed in detail. Finally, the opportunities and challenges that 2D nanofluidic membranes are likely to face in the future are envisioned. This review aims to provide a broad knowledge base for constructing high-performance bioinspired 2D nanofluidic membranes for advanced energy applications.

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