Revealing the Orbital Interactions between Dissimilar Metal Sites during Oxygen Reduction Process.

A FeCo/DA@NC catalyst with the well-defined FeCoN6 moiety is customized through a novel and ultrafast Joule heating technique. This catalyst demonstrates superior oxygen reduction reaction activity and stability in an alkaline environment. The power density and charge-discharge cycling of znic-air batteries driven by FeCo/DA@NC also surpass those of Pt/C catalyst. The source of the excellent oxygen reduction reaction activity of FeCo/DA@NC originates from the significantly changed charge environment and 3d orbital spin state. These not only improve the bonding strength between active sites and oxygen-containing intermediates, but also provide spare reaction sites for oxygen-containing intermediates. Moreover, various in situ detection techniques reveal that the rate-determining step in the four-electron oxygen reduction reaction is *O2 protonation. This work provides strong support for the precise design and rapid preparation of bimetallic catalysts and opens up new ideas for understanding orbital interactions during oxygen reduction reactions.

Inferring regulatory element landscapes and gene regulatory networks from integrated analysis in eight hulless barley varieties under abiotic stress.

BACKGROUND: The cis-regulatory element became increasingly important for resistance breeding. There were many DNA variations identified by resequencing. To investigate the links between the DNA variations and cis-regulatory element was the fundamental work. DNA variations in cis-regulatory elements caused phenotype variations in general. RESULTS: We used WGBS, ChIP-seq and RNA-seq technology to decipher the regulatory element landscape from eight hulless barley varieties under four kinds of abiotic stresses. We discovered 231,440 lowly methylated regions (LMRs) from the methylome data of eight varieties. The LMRs mainly distributed in the intergenic regions. A total of 97,909 enhancer-gene pairs were identified from the correlation analysis between methylation degree and expression level. A lot of enriched motifs were recognized from the tolerant-specific LMRs. The key transcription factors were screened out and the transcription factor regulatory network was inferred from the enhancer-gene pairs data for drought stress. The NAC transcription factor was predicted to target to TCP, bHLH, bZIP transcription factor genes. We concluded that the H3K27me3 modification regions overlapped with the LMRs more than the H3K4me3. The variation of single nucleotide polymorphism was more abundant in LMRs than the remain regions of the genome. CONCLUSIONS: Epigenetic regulation is an important mechanism for organisms to adapt to complex environments. Through the study of DNA methylation and histone modification, we found that many changes had taken place in enhancers and transcription factors in the abiotic stress of hulless barley. For example, transcription factors including NAC may play an important role. This enriched the molecular basis of highland barley stress response.

Discovery of a novel antibacterial protein CB6-C to target methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Given a serious threat of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens to global healthcare, there is an urgent need to find effective antibacterial compounds to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections. In our previous studies, Bacillus velezensis CB6 with broad-spectrum antibacterial activity was obtained from the soil of Changbaishan, China. In this study, with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus as an indicator bacterium, an antibacterial protein was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, Sephadex G-75 column, QAE-Sephadex A 25 column and RP-HPLC, which demonstrated a molecular weight of 31.405 kDa by SDS-PAGE. LC-MS/MS analysis indicated that the compound was an antibacterial protein CB6-C, which had 88.5% identity with chitosanase (Csn) produced by Bacillus subtilis 168. An antibacterial protein CB6-C showed an effective antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteria (in particular, the MIC for MRSA was 16 µg/mL), low toxicity, thermostability, stability in different organic reagents and pH values, and an additive effect with conventionally used antibiotics. Mechanistic studies showed that an antibacterial protein CB6-C exerted anti-MRSA activity through destruction of lipoteichoic acid (LTA) on the cell wall. In addition, an antibacterial protein CB6-C was efficient in preventing MRSA infections in in vivo models. In conclusion, this protein CB6-C is a newly discovered antibacterial protein and has the potential to become an effective antibacterial agent due to its high therapeutic index, safety, nontoxicity and great stability.

Combination therapy for bulky auricular keloids: a clinical experience.

Auricular keloids are common following ear piercing, infection, trauma, burns, or spontaneously, and they are highly resistant for treatment and are followed by severe cosmetic problems, especially for patients with bulky auricular keloids. The risk of recurrence and the need to return to the normal anatomy of external ear following resection is a challenge to the plastic surgeon. The authors present their experience of treating bulky auricular keloids with surgical excision, followed by immediate postoperative radiotherapy and intralesional steroid injection.

The draft genome of Tibetan hulless barley reveals adaptive patterns to the high stressful Tibetan Plateau.

The Tibetan hulless barley (Hordeum vulgare L. var. nudum), also called "Qingke" in Chinese and "Ne" in Tibetan, is the staple food for Tibetans and an important livestock feed in the Tibetan Plateau. The diploid nature and adaptation to diverse environments of the highland give it unique resources for genetic research and crop improvement. Here we produced a 3.89-Gb draft assembly of Tibetan hulless barley with 36,151 predicted protein-coding genes. Comparative analyses revealed the divergence times and synteny between barley and other representative Poaceae genomes. The expansion of the gene family related to stress responses was found in Tibetan hulless barley. Resequencing of 10 barley accessions uncovered high levels of genetic variation in Tibetan wild barley and genetic divergence between Tibetan and non-Tibetan barley genomes. Selective sweep analyses demonstrate adaptive correlations of genes under selection with extensive environmental variables. Our results not only construct a genomic framework for crop improvement but also provide evolutionary insights of highland adaptation of Tibetan hulless barley.

Transcriptomics analysis of hulless barley during grain development with a focus on starch biosynthesis.

Hulless barley, with its unique nutritional value and potential health benefits, has increasingly attracted attentions in recent years. However, the transcription dynamics during hulless barley grain development is not well understood. In the present study, we investigated the transcriptome changes during barley grain development using Illumina paired-end RNA-sequencing. Two datasets of the developing grain transcriptomes from two barley landraces with the differential seed starch synthesis traits were generated, and comparative transcriptome approach in both genotypes was performed. The results showed that 38 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found co-modulated in both genotypes during the barley grain development. Of those, the proteins encoded by most of those DGEs were found, such as alpha-amylase-related proteins, lipid-transfer protein, homeodomain leucine zipper (HD-Zip), NUCLEAR FACTOR-Y, subunit B (NF-YBs), as well as MYB transcription factors. More interestingly, two genes Hvulgare_GLEAN_10012370 and Hvulgare_GLEAN_10021199 encoding SuSy, AGPase (Hvulgare_GLEAN_10033640 and Hvulgare_GLEAN_10056301), as well as SBE2b (Hvulgare_GLEAN_10018352) were found to significantly contribute to the regulatory mechanism during grain development in both genotypes. Moreover, six co-expression modules associated with specific biological processes or pathways (M1 to M6) were identified by consensus co-expression network. Significantly enriched pathways of those module genes showed difference in both genotypes. These results will expand our understanding of the complex molecular mechanism of starch synthesis during barley grain development.

A microsatellite diversity analysis and the development of core-set germplasm in a large hulless barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) collection.

BACKGROUND: Clarifying genetic diversity in a large germplasm resource plays important roles in experimental designs that provides flexible utility in fundamental research and breeding in crops. However, the work is limited due to small collections of barley that are insufficient representatives. RESULTS: In the present study, we collected 562 hulless barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) accessions with worldwide geographic origins and evaluated their genetic variability and relatedness based on 93 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. In an integrated analysis of the population structure, analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and pairwise F ST, the 562 barley accessions exhibited a strong stratification that allowed for them to be divided into two major subpopulations (p1 and p2) and an admixture subpopulation, with 93, 408 and 61 accessions, respectively. In a neutral test, considerable proportions of SSR alleles expressed the strong non-neutrality in specific subpopulations (44 and 37), which are probably responsible for population differentiation. To reduce the diversity redundancy in large barley collections, we delicately selected a core set of 200 barley accessions as a tradeoff between diversity and representativeness in an easily handled population. In comparing the 562 barley accessions, the core barley set accounted for 96.2% of allelic diversity and 93% to 95% of phenotypic variability, whereas it exhibited a significant enhancement in minor allelic frequencies, which probably benefit association mapping in the barley core set. CONCLUSIONS: The results provided additional insight into the genetic structure in a large barley germplasm resource, from which an easily manageable barley core set was identified, demonstrating the great potential for discovering key QTLs and ultimately facilitating barley breeding progress.

Transcriptome analysis revealed the drought-responsive genes in Tibetan hulless barley.

BACKGROUND: Hulless barley, also called naked barley, is an important cereal crop worldwide, serving as a healthy food both for human consumption and animal feed. Nevertheless, it often suffered from drought stress during its growth and development, resulting in a drastic reduction in barley yields. Therefore, study on molecular mechanism of hulless barley drought-tolerance is very important for increasing barley production. To investigate molecular mechanism of barley drought-resistance, this study examined co-regulated mRNAs that show a change in expression pattern under early well water, later water deficit and finally water recovery treatments, and to identify mRNAs specific to water limiting conditions. RESULTS: Total of 853 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected and categorized into nine clusters, in which VI and VIII were apparently up-regulated under low relative soil moisture content (RSMC) level. The majority of genes in these two clusters was relevant to abiotic stress responses in abscisic acid (ABA) dependent and independent signaling pathway, including NCED, PYR/PYL/RCAR, SnRK2, ABF, MYB/MYC, AP2/ERF family, LEA and DHN. In contrast, genes within clusters II and IV were generally down-regulated under water stress; cluster IX genes were up-regulated during water recovery response to both low and high RSMC levels. Genes in implicated in tetrapyrrole binding, photosystem and photosynthetic membrane were the most affected in cluster IX. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our findings indicate that the responses of hulless barley to drought stress shows differences in the pathways and genes activated. Furthermore, all these genes displayed different sensitivities to soil water deficit and might be profitable for future drought tolerance improvement in barley and other crops.

Stromal-epithelial cell interactions and alteration of branching morphogenesis in macromastic mammary glands.

True macromastia is a rare but disabling condition characterized by massive breast growth. The aetiology and pathogenic mechanisms for this disorder remain largely unexplored because of the lack of in vivo or in vitro models. Previous studies suggested that regulation of epithelial cell growth and development by oestrogen was dependent on paracrine growth factors from the stroma. In this study, a co-culture model containing epithelial and stromal cells was used to investigate the interactions of these cells in macromastia. Epithelial cell proliferation and branching morphogenesis were measured to assess the effect of macromastic stromal cells on epithelial cells. We analysed the cytokines secreted by stromal cells and identified molecules that were critical for effects on epithelial cells. Our results indicated a significant increase in cell proliferation and branching morphogenesis of macromastic and non-macromastic epithelial cells when co-cultured with macromastic stromal cells or in conditioned medium from macromastic stromal cells. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a key factor in epithelial-stromal interactions of macromastia-derived cell cultures. Blockade of HGF with neutralizing antibodies dramatically attenuated epithelial cell proliferation in conditioned medium from macromastic stromal cells. The epithelial-stromal cell co-culture model demonstrated reliability for studying interactions of mammary stromal and epithelial cells in macromastia. In this model, HGF secreted by macromastic stromal cells was found to play an important role in modifying the behaviour of co-cultured epithelial cells. This model allows further studies to investigate basic cellular and molecular mechanisms in tissue from patients with true breast hypertrophy.

Transcriptome sequencing in a Tibetan barley landrace with high resistance to powdery mildew.

Hulless barley is an important cereal crop worldwide, especially in Tibet of China. However, this crop is usually susceptible to powdery mildew caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei. In this study, we aimed to understand the functions and pathways of genes involved in the disease resistance by transcriptome sequencing of a Tibetan barley landrace with high resistance to powdery mildew. A total of 831 significant differentially expressed genes were found in the infected seedlings, covering 19 functions. Either "cell," "cell part," and "extracellular region" in the cellular component category or "binding" and "catalytic" in the category of molecular function as well as "metabolic process" and "cellular process" in the biological process category together demonstrated that these functions may be involved in the resistance to powdery mildew of the hulless barley. In addition, 330 KEGG pathways were found using BLASTx with an E-value cut-off of <10(-5). Among them, three pathways, namely, "photosynthesis," "plant-pathogen interaction," and "photosynthesis-antenna proteins" had significant matches in the database. Significant expressions of the three pathways were detected at 24 h, 48 h, and 96 h after infection, respectively. These results indicated a complex process of barley response to powdery mildew infection.

Functional analysis of the kinome of the wheat scab fungus Fusarium graminearum.

As in other eukaryotes, protein kinases play major regulatory roles in filamentous fungi. Although the genomes of many plant pathogenic fungi have been sequenced, systematic characterization of their kinomes has not been reported. The wheat scab fungus Fusarium graminearum has 116 protein kinases (PK) genes. Although twenty of them appeared to be essential, we generated deletion mutants for the other 96 PK genes, including 12 orthologs of essential genes in yeast. All of the PK mutants were assayed for changes in 17 phenotypes, including growth, conidiation, pathogenesis, stress responses, and sexual reproduction. Overall, deletion of 64 PK genes resulted in at least one of the phenotypes examined, including three mutants blocked in conidiation and five mutants with increased tolerance to hyperosmotic stress. In total, 42 PK mutants were significantly reduced in virulence or non-pathogenic, including mutants deleted of key components of the cAMP signaling and three MAPK pathways. A number of these PK genes, including Fg03146 and Fg04770 that are unique to filamentous fungi, are dispensable for hyphal growth and likely encode novel fungal virulence factors. Ascospores play a critical role in the initiation of wheat scab. Twenty-six PK mutants were blocked in perithecia formation or aborted in ascosporogenesis. Additional 19 mutants were defective in ascospore release or morphology. Interestingly, F. graminearum contains two aurora kinase genes with distinct functions, which has not been reported in fungi. In addition, we used the interlog approach to predict the PK-PK and PK-protein interaction networks of F. graminearum. Several predicted interactions were verified with yeast two-hybrid or co-immunoprecipitation assays. To our knowledge, this is the first functional characterization of the kinome in plant pathogenic fungi. Protein kinase genes important for various aspects of growth, developmental, and infection processes in F. graminearum were identified in this study.

Downregulated miR-181a alleviates H2O2-induced oxidative stress and cellular senescence by targeting PDIA6 in human foreskin fibroblasts.

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress is strongly associated with cellular senescence. Numerous studies have indicated that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical part in cellular senescence. MiR-181a was reported to induce cellular senescence, however, the potential mechanism of miR-181a in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced cellular senescence remains obscure. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the role and regulatory mechanism of miR-181a in H2O2-induced cellular senescence. METHODS: Human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF) transfected with miR-181a inhibitor/miR-NC with or without H2O2 treatment were divided into four groups: control + miR-NC/miR-181a inhibitor, H2O2 + miR-NC/miR-181a inhibitor. CCK-8 assay was utilized to evaluate the viability of HFF. RT-qPCR was used to measure the expression of miR-181a and its target genes. Protein levels of protein disulfide isomerase family A member 6 (PDIA6) and senescence markers were assessed by western blotting. Senescence-associated ß-galactosidase (SA-ß-gal) staining was applied for detecting SA-ß-gal activity. The activities of SOD, GPx, and CAT were detected by corresponding assay kits. The binding relation between PDIA6 and miR-181a was identified by luciferase reporter assay. RESULTS: MiR-181a inhibition suppressed H2O2-induced oxidative stress and cellular senescence in HFF. PDIA6 was targeted by miR-181a and lowly expressed in H2O2-treated HFF. Knocking down PDIA6 reversed miR-181a inhibition-mediated suppressive impact on H2O2-induced oxidative stress and cellular senescence in HFF. STUDY LIMITATIONS: Signaling pathways that might be mediated by miR-181a/PDIA6 axis were not investigated. CONCLUSION: Downregulated miR-181a attenuates H2O2-induced oxidative stress and cellular senescence in HFF by targeting PDIA6.

Regulating the Lithium Ions' Local Coordination Environment through Designing a COF with Single Atomic Co Site to Achieve Dendrite-Free Lithium-Metal Batteries.

The detrimental growth of lithium dendrites and unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) inhibit the practical application of lithium-metal batteries. Herein, atomically dispersed cobalt coordinate conjugated bipyridine-rich covalent organic framework (sp2 c-COF) is explored as an artificial SEI on the surface of the Li-metal anode to resolve these issues. The single Co atoms confined in the structure of COF enhance the number of active sites and promote electron transfer to the COF. The synergistic effects of the Co─N coordination and strong electron-withdrawing cyano-group can adsorb the electron from the donor (Co) at a maximum and create an electron-rich environment, hence further regulating the Li+ local coordination environment and achieving uniform Li-nucleation behavior. Furthermore, in situ technology and density functional theory calculations reveal the mechanism of the sp2 c-COF-Co inducing Li uniform deposition and promoting Li+ rapid migration. Based on these advantages, the sp2 c-COF-Co modified Li anode exhibits a low Li-nucleation barrier of 8 mV, and excellent cycling stability of 6000 h.

Antibiotic synergist OM19r reverses aminoglycoside resistance in multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli.

Introduction: The continued emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial pathogens require a new strategy to improve the efficacy of existing antibiotics. Proline-rich antimicrobial peptides (PrAMPs) could also be used as antibacterial synergists due to their unique mechanism of action. Methods: Utilizing a series of experiments on membrane permeability, In vitro protein synthesis, In vitro transcription and mRNA translation, to further elucidate the synergistic mechanism of OM19r combined with gentamicin. Results: A proline-rich antimicrobial peptide OM19r was identified in this study and its efficacy against Escherichia coli B2 (E. coli B2) was evaluated on multiple aspects. OM19r increased antibacterial activity of gentamicin against multidrug-resistance E. coli B2 by 64 folds, when used in combination with aminoglycoside antibiotics. Mechanistically, OM19r induced change of inner membrane permeability and inhibited translational elongation of protein synthesis by entering to E. coli B2 via intimal transporter SbmA. OM19r also facilitated the accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). In animal models, OM19r significantly improved the efficacy of gentamicin against E. coli B2. Discussion: Our study reveals that OM19r combined with GEN had a strong synergistic inhibitory effect against multi-drug resistant E. coli B2. OM19r and GEN inhibited translation elongation and initiation, respectively, and ultimately affected the normal protein synthesis of bacteria. These findings provide a potential therapeutic option against multidrug-resistant E. coli.

A MADS-box transcription factor MoMcm1 is required for male fertility, microconidium production and virulence in Magnaporthe oryzae.

Appressorium formation is a key step in the infection cycle of Magnaporthe oryzae. Mst12 is a transcription factor essential for appressorium penetration and invasive growth. In this study we used the affinity purification approach to identify proteins that physically associate with Mst12. One of the Mst12-interacting genes identified was MoMCM1, which encodes a MADS-box protein orthologous to yeast Mcm1. MoMcm1 interacted with both Mst12 and Mata-1 in yeast two-hybrid assays. Deletion of MoMCM1 resulted in the loss of male fertility and microconidium production. The Momcm1 mutant was defective in appressorium penetration and formed narrower invasive hyphae, which may be responsible for its reduced virulence. In transformants expressing MoMCM1-eGFP fusion, GFP signals were observed in the nucleus. We also generated the Momcm1 mst12 double mutant, which was defective in penetration and non-pathogenic. On hydrophilic surfaces, germ tubes produced by the double mutant were severely curved, and 20% of them formed appressoria. In contrast, the Momcm1 or mst12 mutant did not form appressoria on hydrophilic surfaces. These results suggest that MoMCM1 and MST12 have overlapping functions to suppress appressorium formation under non-conducive conditions. MoMcm1 may interact with Mst12 and MatA-1 to regulate germ tube identity and male fertility respectively.

Resistance to Powdery Mildew in Qingke Involves the Accumulation of Aromatic Phenolamides Through Jasmonate-Mediated Activation of Defense-Related Genes.

Powdery mildew (PM) leads to severe yield reduction in qingke (Hordeum vulgare L. var. nudum). Although studies have focused on identifying PM-related resistance genes, mechanistic insights into the metabolic regulation networks of resistance against PM have rarely been explored in qingke. Here, we integrated transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic data using PM-susceptible (G72) and PM-resistant (K69) accessions to systemically explore the mechanisms of PM resistance. The integrated results show that a rapidly transduction of jasmonic acid (JA) and (+)-7-iso-jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine (JA-Ile), and importantly, a inducing accumulation of aromatic PAs conferred qingke-specific resistance for PM stress. Functional analysis revealed that the four BAHD N-acyltransferase genes were responsible for the synthesis of aliphatic and aromatic PAs. The expression of the four genes are induced by methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and PM treatment. Co-expression network analysis shows that a histone lysine demethylase, JMJ705 gene, also induced by MeJA and PM treatment, had highly correlation with PAs biosynthesis. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-seq assays revealed that the level of trimethylated histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) of the four genes in MeJA and PM-treated plants was significantly reduced. Overall, our results suggest that a novel strategy for jasmonic acid signal-mediated demethylation controlling the accumulation of aromatic PAs to enhance plant immune resistance through removal of H3K27me3 and activating defense-related gene expression.

Endolymphatic Hydrop Phenotype in Familial Norrie Disease Caused by Large Fragment Deletion of NDP.

Norrie disease (ND; OMIM 310600), a rare X-linked recessive genetic disorder, is characterized by congenital blindness and occasionally, sensorineural hearing loss, and developmental delay. The congenital blindness of ND patients is almost untreatable; thus, hearing is particularly important for them. However, the mechanism of hearing loss of ND patients is unclear, and no good treatment is available except wearing hearing-aid. Therefore, revealing the mechanism of hearing loss in ND patients and exploring effective treatment methods are greatly important. In addition, as a serious monogenic genetic disease, convenient gene identification method is important for ND patients and their family members, as well as prenatal diagnosis and preimplantation genetic diagnosis to block intergenerational transmission of pathogenic genes. In this study, a Norrie family with two male patients was reported. This pedigree was ND caused by large fragment deletion of NDP (norrin cystine knot growth factor NDP) gene. In addition to typical severe ophthalmologic and audiologic defects, the patients showed new pathological features of endolymphatic hydrops (EH), and they also showed acoustic nerves abnormal as described in a very recent report. PCR methods were developed to analyze and diagnose the variation of the family members. This study expands the understanding of the clinical manifestation and pathogenesis of ND and provides a new idea for the treatment of patients in this family and a convenient method for the genetic screen for this ND family.

miR-194-5p serves a suppressive role in human keloid fibroblasts via targeting NR2F2.

Keloids are a skin fibrotic disease that cause a number of problems for reconstructive surgeons. MicroRNAs (miRs) are crucial for the development of keloids. The present study aimed to investigate the function of the miR­194­5p/nuclear receptor subfamily 2 group F member 2 (NR2F2) interactome in human keloid fibroblasts. Microarray analysis was performed to identify key genes that may participate in keloid progression. The expression levels of miR­194­5p and NR2F2 mRNA in normal human skin fibroblasts (HSFs) and human keloid fibroblasts (KEL­FIBs) were measured via reverse transcription­quantitative PCR. Furthermore, cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion were assessed in KEL­FIB cells. Following NR2F2 knockdown and miR­194­5p inhibition, NR2F2 expression was measured via western blotting. The microarray analysis identified NR2F2 as a key gene related to keloids. The regulatory association between miR­194­5p and NR2F2 was identified using TargetScan Human (version 7.2) and verified by performing a dual­luciferase reporter assay. miR­194­5p expression was decreased in KEL­FIB cells compared with HSF cells, and miR­194­5p overexpression inhibited the aggressive phenotypes of KEL­FIB cells compared with the negative control group. Meanwhile, NR2F2 expression was negatively correlated with miR­194­5p expression. NR2F2 knockdown and miR­194­5p overexpression displayed similar effects on KEL­FIB cells. Moreover, NR2F2 knockdown effectively reversed miR­194­5p inhibitor­mediated effects in keloid fibroblasts. The present study indicated that the novel miR/194­5p/NR2F2 interactome might be involved in the progression of keloid aggression and may serve as a potential therapeutic target for human keloid in the future.

Magnetic resonance imaging differentiates locoregional flaps from free flaps after reconstructive surgical treatment of tongue cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of reconstruction with locoregional flaps (LRFs) with free flaps (FFs) after surgical treatment for tongue cancer. STUDY DESIGN: In total, 115 cases of postoperative tongue carcinoma (67 cases of LRF surgery and 48 cases of FF surgery) were retrospectively reviewed. All patients had undergone nonenhanced and contrast-enhanced MRI at 0-4, 5-12, and 13-48 months after surgery. Signal intensity, margins, maximal size, contrast enhancement, change in the hyoglossus and mylohyoid muscles, recurrence, lymph node metastasis, and complications were evaluated. RESULTS: Significant differences were found between LRF and FF for signal intensity (P < .001) in all 3 periods, with LRF mostly isointense with muscle on T1-weighted images (T1WIs) and FF producing mixed hyperintensity with muscular striations in all cases in T1WIs and T2-weighted images (T2 WIs). Margin definition was similar between groups in the early period, but sharp margins were more common in FF after 4 months (P ≤ .018). LRF was significantly smaller than FF in all periods (P ≤ .017). Both mylohyoid and hyoglossus enlargements were common in the early period in both groups, but all cases became atrophic later. CONCLUSIONS: MRI can differentiate LRFs from FFs in a variety of parameters after flap reconstructive surgery for tongue cancer.