Effects of different types of neonatal pain on somatosensory and cognitive development in male juvenile rats.

BACKGROUND: Premature infants are inevitably exposed to painful events, including repetitive procedures, inflammation, or mixed stimulation that may induce long-term behavioral outcomes. Here, we set up three neonatal painful models to investigate their long-term effect on somatosensation and cognition. METHODS: Three types of neonatal pain models in rat were set up. Rat pups were randomly assigned to four groups. The needling pain (NP) group received repetitive needle pricks on the paws from the day of birth (PD0) to postnatal day 7 (PD7) to mimic the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The inflammatory pain (IP) group received the injection of carrageenan into the left hindpaw at PD3 to induce IP in peripheral tissues. The mixed pain group received a combination of the NP and IP (NIP). The control (CON) group was untreated. We performed behavioral and biochemical testing of juvenile rats (PD21-PD26). RESULTS: The NIP group showed a longer hypersensitivity than the NP group, when given a secondary inflammatory stimulation. NP led to insensitivity to anxiety-causing stimuli and impairment of fear memory both aggravated by NIP. NP reduced the expression of synapse-related molecules (GluN1/PSD95/GFAP) in the medial prefrontal cortex, and NIP exacerbated this decrease. The corticosterone secretion in the NIP group increased after the behavioral task, compared with those in other three groups. CONCLUSION: A combination of NP with inflammation occurring in the neonatal period might aggravate the adverse effects of each on somatosensory and cognitive development of rats, the mechanism of which might be associated with the increase of corticosterone secretion and the dysregulation of synaptic molecules.

Platelet-rich plasma promotes peripheral nerve regeneration after sciatic nerve injury.

The effect of platelet-rich plasma on nerve regeneration remains controversial. In this study, we established a rabbit model of sciatic nerve small-gap defects with preserved epineurium and then filled the gaps with platelet-rich plasma. Twenty-eight rabbits were divided into the following groups (7 rabbits/group): model, low-concentration PRP (2.5-3.5-fold concentration of whole blood platelets), medium-concentration PRP (4.5-6.5-fold concentration of whole blood platelets), and high-concentration PRP (7.5-8.5-fold concentration of whole blood platelets). Electrophysiological and histomorphometrical assessments and proteomics analysis were used to evaluate regeneration of the sciatic nerve. Our results showed that platelet-rich plasma containing 4.5-6.5- and 7.5-8.5-fold concentrations of whole blood platelets promoted repair of sciatic nerve injury. Proteomics analysis was performed to investigate the possible mechanism by which platelet-rich plasma promoted nerve regeneration. Proteomics analysis showed that after sciatic nerve injury, platelet-rich plasma increased the expression of integrin subunit ß-8 (ITGB8), which participates in angiogenesis, and differentially expressed proteins were mainly enriched in focal adhesion pathways. Additionally, two key proteins, ribosomal protein S27a (RSP27a) and ubiquilin 1 (UBQLN1), which were selected after protein-protein interaction analysis, are involved in the regulation of ubiquitin levels in vivo. These data suggest that platelet-rich plasma promotes peripheral nerve regeneration after sciatic nerve injury by affecting angiogenesis and intracellular ubiquitin levels.

Evaluation of Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration: A Critical Review of Literature.

Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) is a common disease in clinic, and the regeneration process of peripheral nerve tissue is slow, and patients with PNI often suffer from the loss of nerve function. At present, related research on the mechanism of peripheral nerve regeneration has become a hot spot, and scholars are also seeking a method that can accelerate the regeneration of peripheral nerve. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a platelet concentrate extracted from autologous blood by centrifugation, which is a kind of bioactive substance. High concentration of platelets can release a variety of growth factors after activation, and can promote the proliferation and differentiation of tissue cells, which can accelerate the process of tissue regeneration. The application of PRP comes from the body, there is no immune rejection reaction, it can promote tissue regeneration with less cost, it is,therefore, widely used in various clinical fields. At present, there are relatively few studies on the application of PRP to peripheral nerve regeneration. This article summarizes the literature in recent years to illustrate the effect of PRP on peripheral nerve regeneration from mechanism to clinical application, and prospects for the application of PRP to peripheral nerve.

High Residual ß-cell Function in Chinese Patients With Autoimmune Type 1 Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: The destruction of pancreatic ß cells causes type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D), an autoimmune disease. Studies have demonstrated that there is heterogeneity in residual ß-cell function in Caucasians; therefore, we aimed to evaluate ß-cell function in Chinese autoimmune T1D patients. METHODS: ß-cell function was determined using oral glucose tolerance testing or standardized steamed bread meal tolerance test in 446 participants with autoantibody-positive T1D. Clinical factors, such as age onset, sex, duration, body mass index, autoantibodies, other autoimmune diseases, diabetic ketoacidosis, hypoglycemia events, glycosylated hemoglobin, and insulin dose, were retrieved. We also analyzed single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data for C-peptides from 144 participants enrolled in the Chinese-T1D genome-wide association study. RESULTS: Of 446 T1D patients, 98.5%, 97.4%, 86.9%, and 42.6% of individuals had detectable C-peptide values (≥ 0.003 nmol/L) at durations of < 1 year, 1 to 2 years, 3 to 6 years, and ≥ 7 years, respectively. A total of 60.7% of patients diagnosed at ≥ 18 years old and 15.8% of those diagnosed at < 18 years had detectable C-peptide after ≥ 7 years from the diagnosis. Furthermore, the patients diagnosed at ≥ 18 years old had higher absolute values of stimulated C-peptide (≥ 0.2 nmol/L). Diabetic ketoacidosis, hypoglycemia events, and insulin doses were shown to be associated with ß-cell function. SNPs rs1770 and rs55904 were associated with C-peptide levels. CONCLUSION: Our results have indicated that there are high residuals of ß-cell mass in Chinese patients with autoimmune T1D. These findings may aid in the consideration of therapeutic strategies seeking prevention and reversal of ß-cell function among Chinese T1D patients.

Dynamic Number and Function of IL-10-Producing Regulatory B Cells in the Immune Microenvironment at Distinct Stages of Type 1 Diabetes.

The critical role of IL-10-producing B cells (B10 cells) with a unique CD1dhiCD5+ phenotype in suppressing autoimmune responses and relieving inflammation has been demonstrated in several models of autoimmune diseases. However, the regulatory role of B10 cells in T cell-mediated autoimmune responses during the natural history of type 1 diabetes is unclear. In this study, we used the NOD mouse model of autoimmune diabetes to clarify the changes and potential mechanisms of B10 cells for disease. Compared with B10 cells present in the 4-wk-old normoglycemic NOD mice, the frequency of B10 cells was increased in the insulitis and diabetic NOD mice, with the highest proportion in the insulitis NOD mice. The changes in the relative number of B10 cells were most pronounced in the pancreas-draining lymph nodes. The pathogenic T cells, including Th1 and Th17 cells, remarkably increased. The assays in vitro showed that B10 cells in the NOD mice did not inhibit the proliferation of CD4+CD25- T cells. They also had no regulatory effect on IFN-γ and IL-4 secretion or on Foxp3 expression of T cells. B10 cells suppressed T cell-mediated autoimmune responses via an IL-10-dependent pathway. In contrast, B10 cells in the NOD mice exhibited a significant reduction in IL-10 production. In summary, a defect in the number and function of B10 cells may participate in the development and progression of type 1 diabetes.

Author Correction: Mutations in COMP cause familial carpal tunnel syndrome.

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

Mutations in COMP cause familial carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common peripheral nerve entrapment syndrome, affecting a large proportion of the general population. Genetic susceptibility has been implicated in CTS, but the causative genes remain elusive. Here, we report the identification of two mutations in cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) that segregate with CTS in two large families with or without multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED). Both mutations impair the secretion of COMP by tenocytes, but the mutation associated with MED also perturbs its secretion in chondrocytes. Further functional characterization of the CTS-specific mutation reveals similar histological and molecular changes of tendons/ligaments in patients' biopsies and the mouse models. The mutant COMP fails to oligomerize properly and is trapped in the ER, resulting in ER stress-induced unfolded protein response and cell death, leading to inflammation, progressive fibrosis and cell composition change in tendons/ligaments. The extracellular matrix (ECM) organization is also altered. Our studies uncover a previously unrecognized mechanism in CTS pathogenesis.

RETRACTED: Tetramethylpyrazine alleviates lipopolysaccharide-induced damage in ATDC5 cells via down-regulating MyD88.

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief and the authors. Following the concerns raised about the background pattern of the Western Blots from Figures 7A and 7C, the authors have contacted the journal to request the retraction of the article as they were reportedly not confident of the accuracy of the data and the conclusions of the article. Given the comments of Dr Elisabeth Bik regarding this article "This paper belongs to a set of over 400 papers (as per February 2020) that share very similar Western blots with tadpole-like shaped bands, the same background pattern, and striking similarities in title structures, paper layout, bar graph design, and - in a subset - flow cytometry panels", the journal requested the authors to provide the raw data. However, the authors were not able to fulfil this request and therefore the Editor-in-Chief decided to retract the article.

RETRACTED: Astragalus polysaccharide promotes proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of bone mesenchymal stem cells by down-regulation of microRNA-152.

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief and the authors. Given the comments regarding Figure 1B of this article https://pubpeer.com/publications/C7C586297DA52213799146DCD21CD4, the journal requested the corresponding authors to provide the raw data of the results presented by the article. While initially fulfilling the request, the authors eventually requested the retraction of the article as they were not able to confirm the accuracy of the data and the conclusions of the article.

Long Non-Coding RNA Urothelial Carcinoma Associated 1 Promotes Proliferation, Migration and Invasion of Osteosarcoma Cells by Regulating microRNA-182.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Previous studies demonstrated the oncogenic roles of lncRNA UCA1 in osteosarcoma. This study aimed to explore the internal molecular mechanism of UCA1 on promoting osteosarcoma cell proliferation, migration and invasion. METHODS: qRT-PCR was conducted to measure the expression levels of UCA1, miR-182 and TIMP2. Cell transfection was used to change the expression levels of UCA1, miR-182 and TIMP2. Cell viability, migration, invasion and apoptosis were measured using CCK-8 assay, two-chamber migration (invasion) assay and Guava Nexin assay, respectively. The associations between UCA1, miR-182 and iASPP were analyzed by dual luciferase activity assay. The protein expression levels of key factors involved in cell apoptosis, PI3K/AKT/GSK3ß pathway and NF-κB pathway, as well as p53, Rb, RECQ family and iASPP were evaluated by western blotting. RESULTS: UCA1 was highly expressed in osteosarcoma MG63 and OS-732 cells. Knockdown of UCA1 inhibited OS-732 cell viability, migration and invasion, but promoted cell apoptosis. miR-182 was up-regulated in OS-732 cells after UCA1 knockdown and participated in the effects of UCA1 on OS-732 cells. TIMP2 was downstream factor of miR-182 and involved in the regulatory roles of miR-182 on OS-732 cell viability, migration, invasion, apoptosis, as well as PI3K/AKT/GSK3ß and NF-κB pathways. UCA1 knockdown up-regulated p53, Rb and RECQL5 levels in OS-732 cells, while down-regulated the expression of iASPP. TGF-ß or TNF-α treatment could enhance the expression of UCA1 in OS-732 cells. CONCLUSION: Our research verified that UCA1 exerted oncogenic roles in osteosarcoma cells by regulating miR-182 and TIMP2, as well as PI3K/AKT/GSK3ß and NF-κB pathways.

Knockdown MiR-302b Alleviates LPS-Induced Injury by Targeting Smad3 in C28/I2 Chondrocytic Cells.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common chronic degenerative diseases. Many studies have demonstrated the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in OA; however, the role of miR-302b in OA remains elusive. The aim of this study was to identify the role of miR-302b in LPS-induced injury in chondrocytes. METHODS: Human OA chondrocytes (C28/12 cell line) were transfected with miR-302b inhibitor and miR-302b mimic to investigate the effects of miR-302b expression on chondrocyte apoptosis and inflammation, and to identify the miR-302b target proteins. RESULTS: LPS treatment of chondrocytes significantly reduced cell viability and increased apoptotic rate. LPS treatment also increased the expression of inflammatory cytokines compared to control. miR-302b was up-regulated in LPS-induced chondrocytes. miR-302b was either suppressed or overexpressed in LPS-induced chondrocytes by transient transfection. miR-302b mimic transfection accelerated the effects of LPS on cell viability, apoptosis and inflammation. Of contrast, miR-302b inhibition represented a reverse effect. Dual luciferase activity demonstrated that Smad3 is a direct target for miR-302b and its expression was negatively regulated by miR-302b. In addition, miR-302b inhibition suppressed inflammation in LPS treated chondrocytes by up-regulating Smad3 expression. Moreover, LPS induced down-regulation of Notch and mTOR signaling pathway-related protein expressions, and miR-302b inhibition increased the expressions of Notch and mTOR signaling pathway-related proteins. We further found that miR-302b negatively regulated Notch2 levels through direct targeting its 3'UTR. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that miR-302b suppression may function as a protector in suppressing the inflammation during the development and progression of OA by up-regulating the target Smad3 expression.

Meta-analysis of concurrent chemoradiotherapy in the treatment of locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: With radiotherapy (RT) alone, the five-year overall survival (OS) rate for advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) can only reach 40%, the ratio of distant metastasis (DM) is 36-40%. This meta-analysis was performed to compare the clinical efficacy of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with RT alone in the treatment of locoregionally advanced NPC. METHODS: The related literature were retrieved and reviewed by two independent investigators from the followed electronic databases: Review manager 5.3 software (Cochrane Collaboration, London, United Kingdom) was applied for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 16 trials with 2576 patients were recruited according to the criterion. The odds ratios of 3 and 5 years OS was 0.53 (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.44-0.64) and 0.58 (95% CI: 0.48-0.71), which confirmed the significant improvement of CCRT compared with RT alone (P < 0.001). CCRT also reduced the risk of locoregional control failure and DM in locoregionally advanced NPC patients. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that CCRT was more beneficial when compared with RT alone in locoregionally advanced NPC patients. Further study is needed to perform to confirm this effect.

TIMP-3 gene transfection suppresses invasive and metastatic capacity of human hepatocarcinoma cell line HCC-7721.

BACKGROUND: Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) can restrain the tumor growth by their protein property and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) inhibition. There are currently four known TIMP family members-TIMP-1, 2, 3, 4. We determined whether increasing levels of TIMP-3 expression could suppress the malignant phenotype of human hepatocarcinoma cell line HCC-7721. METHODS: A recombinant expression vector, which contained full-length cDNA of human TIMP-3, was constructed and transfected into the human hepatocarcinoma cell line HCC-7721 by the lipofectamine technique. In vitro and in vivo tests such as Western blotting, immunohistochemistry as well as xenografting in nude mice were used to analyze expression levels of TIMP and MMP, and changes in malignant phenotype after the gene transfection. RESULTS: TIMP-3 expression in TIMP-3 gene-transfected HCC-7721 cells was upregulated as assessed by Western blotting. The ability of in vitro invasion through a Boyden chamber was significantly decreased compared to controls. Following subcutaneous injection into nude mice, the TIMP-3 transfected cells suppressed primary tumor growth, as characterized by reduced tumor weight, size and microvasculature as well as maintaining the extracellular matrix. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that upregulation of TIMP-3 expression in HCC-7721 cells inhibits invasion capacity in vitro as well as tumorigenic and metastatic potential in nude mice.