A NOVEL CIRC_SUPT3/MIR-185-5P/G3BP2 CERNA NETWORK REGULATES HIGH GLUCOSE-INDUCED INJURY IN MOUSE PODOCYTE MPC5 CELLS.

ABSTRACT: Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a complication of diabetes that is the leading cause of death in diabetic patients. Circular RNA (circRNA) is a hot topic in the research of human diseases. However, the role of circ_Supt3 in DN remains unclear. Methods: High glucose (HG) treatment of mouse podocyte (MPC5) cells to mimic DN cell injury. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to detect the expression of circ_Supt3, microRNA-185-5p (miR-185-5p), and GTPase-activating protein-binding protein 2 (G3bp2). 5-Ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) and 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) assays were used to examine cell proliferation, and flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis. Western blot was used to assess the levels of relative proteins. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay detected the inflammation cytokines. Dual-luciferase reporter and RNA pull-down assays were used to confirm the interaction of miR-185-5p and circ_Supt3 or G3bp2. Results: Circ_Supt3 and G3bp2 were highly expressed and miR-185-5p expression was diminished in DN mice. HG treatment inhibited cell proliferation and accelerated cell apoptosis and inflammation response, and the knockdown of circ_Supt3 reversed these effects. Bioinformatics predicted that circ_Supt3 contained a binding site for miR-185-5p, and G3bp2 was a direct target of miR-185-5p. Circ_Supt3 regulated G3bp2 expression by miR-185-5p. Moreover, the circ_Supt3/miR-185-5p/G3bp2 axis regulated the cell behavior of HG-induced MPC5 cells. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the knockdown of circ_Supt3 protects mouse MPC5 cells against HG-induced cell injury via the miR-185-5p/G3bp2 axis.

Effectiveness and Safety of Umbilicus Treatment with Modified Dinggui Powder () in Patients with Chronic Nonbacterial Prostatitis: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal external umbilicus treatment with Modified Dinggui Powder (, MDGP) in patients with chronic nonbacterial prostatitis (CNP). METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted among 72 patients with CNP. Participants were randomly allocated to a treatment group and a placebo group using computer software in a 1:1 ratio, and received either MDGP external umbilicus treatment (MDGP group, 36 cases) or placebo control groupl (36 cases) at acupoints Shenque (CV 8), twice a week for 4 weeks. In addtion, patients all received herbal medicine treatment twice a day for 4 weeks. The primary outcomes was the US National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Scores Index (NIH-CPSI) with a questionnaire at weeks 2 and 4. The secondary outcomes including prostatic fluid examination (white blood cells and lecithin bodies), the clinical efficacy evaluation, and the adverse events were also assessed during the entire trial. RESULTS: The NIH-CPSI scores regarding pain or discomfort scores showed greater improvement in the MDGP group than placebo control group at weeks 2 (P0.001) and week 4 (P0.004), respectively. NIH-CPSI scores of symptom severity, total scores, the amount of leukocytes number in the prostatic fifluid in the MDGP group were significantly improved (P<0.05). There was no statistical difference in the urinary symptoms, quality of life, lecithin and other scores between two groups (P>0.05). The clinical effective rate was 73.53% (25/34) in the MDGP group, which was significally higher than the placebo control group with 48.39% (25/31, P<0.05). Patients were blinded successfully, and no serious adverse effects were found during the trial. CONCLUSION: A 4-week course of umbilicus treatment with modified Dinggui Powder seems to relieve pain and symptom severity effectively and increase the amount of leukocytes number in patients with CNP (Trial registration No. ChiCTR1800014687).

Effects of nonlinear parameter of fluid-solid coupling on acoustic field in porous media.

The purpose of this Letter to the Editor is to demonstrate the effects of the nonlinear parameter of fluid-solid coupling on the acoustic field in porous media. The nonlinear acoustic field excited by a one-dimensional finite-amplitude shear wave propagating in the uniform and infinite saturated porous media is studied. Researchers use the complete strain energy formula with third-order terms of strain in saturated porous media. The formula for calculating the fluid-solid coupling nonlinear parameter γ from the dynamic compatibility condition is given. To illustrate the effect of the fluid-solid coupling nonlinear term on the nonlinear acoustic field excited by the longitudinal and transverse waves, this study compares nonlinear acoustic fields excited by a finite amplitude wave with and without nonlinear parameter γ. The results show that the nonlinear parameter γ has an influence on the nonlinear acoustic field excited by the one-dimensional shear wave, but it has no influence on the nonlinear acoustic field excited by the one-dimensional longitudinal wave.

Ultrasonic characteristic of phase shift of layered structure and the determination of layer thickness.

For the ultrasonic normally-incident reflected method, the phase shift of the mid-layer in a multi-layered structure has been theoretically derived and expressed as a sum form of the measured phase shift and the crossing phase shift. Using the sum form, the characteristics of phase shifts of a linear-viscoelastic layer on the two different elastic substrates of half-space of the infinite extent are first analyzed. By the replacement of phase shift of the upper elastic substrate with the corresponding measured phase shift, the substitution function of the input acoustical impedance of a next inaccessible layer has been developed. It is concluded that the corresponding relation of the layer phase shift with the minima/maxima of the absolute value of the input acoustical impedance of the inaccessible layer is repeated by those of the substitution function. Without giving the substrate thickness and considering the introduced misalignment and distortion problems, based on the corresponding relation, the thickness of the inaccessible layer can be determined by searching the frequencies of the minima/ maxima of the absolute value of the substitution function.