Inflammatory & Apoptotic Factor Fluctuations Associated with Japanese Encephalitis Virus Infection in Transgenic IFNAR1-/- Mice.

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is an orthoflavivirus that causes Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito-borne viral infection that primarily affects humans and animals. JEV is a major cause of encephalitis in many parts of Asia, particularly in rural and agricultural areas. In this study, we used the IFNAR1-/- mice model to investigate alterations in cytokine and apoptotic factor levels in IFNAR1-/- mice upon JEV infection. A 5-week-adult female C57BL/6 IFN-α/ß receptor knockout (IFNAR1-/-) transgenic mice were intramuscularly inoculated with several viral titers and monitored within 10 dpi. The weight changes and survival rates were evaluated during the study period. Gene expression analysis was performed using RT-qPCR, targeting genes related to specific cytokines and apoptotic factors, to identify the inflammatory factors fluctuations associated with JEV strain KBPV-VR-27 infection in IFNAR1-/- mice. The expression of cytokine genes was enhanced in IFNAR1-/- mice infected with JEV KBPV-VR-27. Notably, a significant induction of cytokines, such as IL-13, IL-17α, IFN-ß, and IFN-γ, was observed in the brain, while upregulation of IL-6, IFN-ß, and IFN-γ was exhibited in the lung. In addition, among the targeted apoptotic factors, only significant induction of Bak was observed in the brain. We also found that the spleen exhibited a higher viral load compared to the brain and lungs. In conclusion, the findings of this study shed light on the varying viral loads across targeted organs, with the brain exhibiting a lower viral load but pronounced expression of targeted pro-inflammatory cytokines in IFNAR1-/- mice.

Bivalent Hemagglutinin Cleavage-Site Peptide Vaccines Protect Chickens from Lethal Infections with Highly Pathogenic H5N1 and H5N6 Avian Influenza Viruses.

BACKGROUND: Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses cause huge economic losses to the poultry industry worldwide. Vaccines that can protect chickens from infections caused by various variants of highly pathogenic H5Nx avian influenza viruses are needed owing to the continuous emergence of new variants. We previously showed that vaccines containing the H5 cleavage-site peptide from clade 2.3.4.4. H5N6 avian influenza virus protects chickens from infection with homologous clade 2.3.4.4. H5N6 avian influenza virus, but not from infection with the heterologous clade 1 H5N1 avian influenza virus. Therefore, we developed bivalent peptide vaccines containing H5 cleavage sites of viruses from both clades to protect chickens from both H5N1 and H5N6 avian influenza viruses. METHODS: Chickens were vaccinated with two doses of a combined peptide vaccine containing cleavage-site peptides from clade 1 and clade 2.3.4.4. highly pathogenic H5N1 and H5N6 avian influenza viruses and then challenged with both viruses. The infected chickens were monitored for survival and their tracheae and cloacae were sampled to check for viral shedding based on the median tissue culture infectious dose of 50 (log10TCID50/mL) in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. RESULTS: Antibody production was induced at similar levels in the sera of chickens immunized with two doses of the combined peptide vaccines containing cleavage-site peptides from highly pathogenic H5N1 and H5N6 avian influenza viruses. The immunized chickens were protected from infection with both H5N1 and H5N6 avian influenza viruses without viral shedding in the tracheae and cloacae. CONCLUSIONS: Dual-peptide vaccines containing cleavage-site peptides of both clades can protect chickens from highly pathogenic avian influenza virus infections.

SIK2 represses AKT/GSK3ß/ß-catenin signaling and suppresses gastric cancer by inhibiting autophagic degradation of protein phosphatases.

Salt-inducible kinase 2 (SIK2) is an important regulator in various intracellular signaling pathways related to apoptosis, tumorigenesis and metastasis. However, the involvement of SIK2 in gastric tumorigenesis and the functional linkage with gastric cancer (GC) progression remain to be defined. Here, we report that SIK2 was significantly downregulated in human GC tissues, and reduced SIK2 expression was associated with poor prognosis of patients. Overexpression of SIK2 suppressed the migration and invasion of GC cells, whereas knockdown of SIK2 enhanced cell migratory and invasive capability as well as metastatic potential. These changes in the malignant phenotype resulted from the ability of SIK2 to suppress epithelial-mesenchymal transition via inhibition of AKT/GSK3ß/ß-catenin signaling. The inhibitory effect of SIK2 on AKT/GSK3ß/ß-catenin signaling was mediated primarily through inactivation of AKT, due to its enhanced dephosphorylation by the upregulated protein phosphatases PHLPP2 and PP2A. The upregulation of PHLPP2 and PP2A was attributable to SIK2 phosphorylation and activation of mTORC1, which inhibited autophagic degradation of these two phosphatases. These results suggest that SIK2 acts as a tumor suppressor in GC and may serve as a novel prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for this tumor.

[Shang Ring versus disposable circumcision suture device in the treatment of phimosis or redundant prepuce].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficiency of Shang Ring with that of the disposable circumcision suture device (DCSD) in the treatment of phimosis or redundant prepuce. METHODS: From June 2013 to March 2015, we treated 320 patients with phimosis or redundant prepuce using Shang Ring (n=158) or DCSD (n=162). We compared the operation time, intra-operative blood loss, incision healing time, postoperative complications, postoperative satisfaction, and treatment cost between the two groups of patients. RESULTS: Comparison between the Shang Ring and DCSD groups showed that the operation time was (5.6±1.3) vs (5.4±1.2) min, intra-operative blood loss (1.2±0.8) vs (1.3±0.9) ml, postoperative delayed hemorrhage 3.16% (5/158) vs 4.32% (7/162), incision healing time (16.1±7.2) vs (7.5±2.3) d, wound infection 15.82% (25/158) vs 7.41% (12/162), 1-month postoperative incision edema 29.11% (46/158) vs 9.26% (15/162), overall postoperative satisfaction rate 63.92% (101/158) vs 90.12% (146/162), and treatment cost (1121.2±15.6) vs (2142.6±10.8) RMB ¥. There were statistically significant differences between the two groups in the latter five parameters (P<0.05 ), but not in the first three (P>0.05 ). CONCLUSIONS: The DSCD has an obvious superiority over Shang Ring for its relatively lower complication rate, shorter incision healing time, and better cosmetic appearance.

[High-throughput pyrosequencing of the complete chloroplast genome of Magnolia officinalis and its application in species identification].

Chloroplast genome sequences have comprehensive application prospects in DNA barcoding and chloroplast engineering in traditional Chinese medicine. The complete chloroplast genome of Magnolia officinalis sequenced by high-throughput pyrosequencing and a sequencing procedure was established. Fourteen contigs were obtained after de nove assembly. The sequencing percent of coverage was 99.99%. The chloroplast genome is 160 183 bp in size, and has a typical quadripartite structure with the large (LSC, 88 210 bp) and small copy (SSC, 18 843 bp) regions separated by two copies of an inverted repeat (IRs, 26 565 bp each). chloroplast genes were successfully annotated, of which 17 genes located in each IR region. The chloroplast genome features in Magnolia officinalis are nearly identical to those from other Magnoliid chloroplast genomes. Phylogenetic analyses were performed based on 81 shared coding-genes for a total of 9 Magnolia samples of 5 closely related species. Results showed that distinguishing among species was generally straightforward at the species and population level. This study confirmed the effectiveness of our chloroplast genome sequencing procedure. The chloroplast genome can provide distinguishing differences to help identify Magnolia officinalis and its closely related plants.