A pan-cancer analysis of Dyskeratosis congenita 1 (DKC1) as a prognostic biomarker.

BACKGROUND: Dyskeratosis congenita 1 (DKC1), a critical component of telomerase complex, is highly expressed in a variety of human cancers. However, the association of DKC1 with cancer occurrence and development stages is not clear, making a pan-cancer analysis crucial. METHODS: We conducted a study using various bioinformatic databases such as TIMER, GEPIA, UALCAN, and KM plotter Analysis to examine the different expressions of DKC1 in multiple tissues and its correlation with pathological stages. Through KEGG analysis, GO enrichment analysis and Venn analysis, we were able to reveal DKC1-associated genes and signaling pathways. In addition, we performed several tests including the CCK, wound healing assay, cell cycle arrest assay, transwell assay and Sa-ß-gal staining on DKC1-deleted MDA-231 cells. RESULTS: Our study demonstrates that DKC1 has relatively low expression specificity in different tissues. Furthermore, we found that in ACC, KICH, KIRP and LIHC, the expression level of DKC1 is positively correlated with pathological stages. Conversely, in NHSC, KIRP, LGG, LIHC, MESO and SARC, we observed a negative influence of DKC1 expression level on the overall survival rate. We also found a significant positive correlation between DKC1 expression and Tumor Mutational Burden in 14 tumors. Additionally, we observed a significantly negative impact of DKC1 DNA methylation on gene expression at the promoter region in BRCA. We also identified numerous phosphorylation sites concentrated at the C-terminus of the DKC1 protein. Our GO analysis revealed a correlation between DKC1 and ribosomal biosynthesis pathways, and the common element UTP14A was identified. We also observed decreased rates of cell proliferation, migration and invasion abilities in DKC1-knockout MDA-MB-231 cell lines. Furthermore, DKC1-knockout induced cell cycle arrest and caused cell senescence. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the precise expression of DKC1 is closely associated with the occurrence and developmental stages of cancer in multiple tissues. Depletion of DKC1 can inhibit the abilities of cancer cells to proliferate, migrate, and invade by arresting the cell cycle and inducing cell senescence. Therefore, DKC1 may be a valuable prognostic biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in various tissues.

Effect of La2 O3 and CeO2 on anaerobic methanogenesis process: Kinetics analysis and process mechanism study.

La2 O3 and CeO2 , as main rare earth oxides, with unique physical and chemical properties have been widely used in catalyst and grinding industry. In this study, the effects of La2 O3 and CeO2 on the anaerobic process were investigated. The biological methane production tests showed that 0-0.05 g/L La2 O3 and 0-0.05 g/L CeO2 enhanced anaerobic methanogenesis process. The result showed maximum specific methanogenic rates of La2 O3 and CeO2 were 56.26 mL/(h·gVSS) and 49.43 mL/(h·gVSS) and, compared with the control, increased 4% and 3%, respectively. La2 O3 significantly reduced the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), whereas CeO2 had no similar effect. Dissolution experiments demonstrated that the content of extracellular La in the anaerobic granular sludge reached 404 µg-La/g volatile suspended solid (VSS), which was 134 times higher than that of extracellular Ce (3 µg-Ce/gVSS). The content of intracellular La reached 206 µg-La/gVSS, which was 19 times higher than that of intracellular Ce (11 µg-Ce/gVSS). The different stimulation between La3+ and Ce3+ could be attributed to the different dissolution of La2 O3 and CeO2 . The result of this work is helpful to optimize anaerobic processes and to develop novel additives. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Novel anaerobic additives were developed. La2O3 and CeO2 in 0-0.05 g/L enhanced organics degradation and methane production. The addition of La2O3 significantly reduced the accumulation of volatile fatty acids. The solubilization of La2O3 was stronger than CeO2. The promoting effects of low concentrations of La2O3 and CeO2 were derived from dissolved La and Ce.

Arabidopsis thaliana NOP10 is required for gametophyte formation.

The female gametophyte is crucial for sexual reproduction of higher plants, yet little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying its development. Here, we report that Arabidopsis thaliana NOP10 (AtNOP10) is required for female gametophyte formation. AtNOP10 was expressed predominantly in the seedling and reproductive tissues, including anthers, pollen grains, and ovules. Mutations in AtNOP10 interrupted mitosis of the functional megaspore during early development and prevented polar nuclear fusion in the embryo sacs. AtNOP10 shares a high level of amino acid sequence similarity with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) NOP10 (ScNOP10), an important component of the H/ACA small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein particles (H/ACA snoRNPs) implicated in 18S rRNA synthesis and rRNA pseudouridylation. Heterologous expression of ScNOP10 complemented the mutant phenotype of Atnop10. Thus, AtNOP10 influences functional megaspore mitosis and polar nuclear fusion during gametophyte formation in Arabidopsis.