m6A modification of lncRNA PHKA1-AS1 enhances Actinin Alpha 4 stability and promotes non-small cell lung cancer metastasis.

Cancer is a disease with molecular heterogeneity that is closely related to gene mutations and epigenetic changes. The principal histological subtype of lung cancer is non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) is a kind of RNA that is without protein coding function, playing a critical role in the progression of cancer. In this research, the regulatory mechanisms of lncRNA phosphorylase kinase regulatory subunit alpha 1 antisense RNA 1 (PHKA1-AS1) in the progression of NSCLC were explored. The increased level of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification in NSCLC caused the high expression of PHKA1-AS1. Subsequently, high-expressed PHKA1-AS1 significantly facilitated the proliferation and metastasis of NSCLC cells, and these effects could be reversed upon the inhibition of PHKA1-AS1 expression, both in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, the target protein of PHKA1-AS1 was actinin alpha 4 (ACTN4), which is known as an oncogene. Herein, PHKA1-AS1 could enhance the protein stability of ACTN4 by inhibiting its ubiquitination degradation process, thus exerting the function of ACTN4 in promoting the progress of NSCLC. In conclusion, this research provided a theoretical basis for further exploring the potential mechanism of NSCLC metastasis and searching novel biomarkers related to the pathogenesis and progression of NSCLC.

Phosphoproteomic Analysis Reveals the Predominating Cellular Processes and the Involved Key Phosphoproteins Essential for the Proliferation of Toxoplasma gondii.

PURPOSE: To explore the essential roles of phosphorylation in mediating the proliferation of T. gondii in its cell lytic life. METHODS: We profiled the phosphoproteome data of T. gondii residing in HFF cells for 2 h and 6 h, representing the early- and late-stages of proliferation (ESP and LSP) within its first generation of division. RESULTS: We identified 70 phosphoproteins, among which 8 phosphoproteins were quantified with the phosphorylation level significantly regulated. While only two of the eight phosphoproteins, GRA7 and TGGT1_242070, were significantly down-regulated at the transcriptional level in the group of LSP vs. ESP. Moreover, GO terms correlated with host membrane component were significantly enriched in the category of cellular component, suggesting phosphoprotein played important roles in acquiring essential substance from host cell via manipulating host membrane. Further GO analysis in the categories of molecular function and biological process and pathway analysis revealed that the cellular processes of glucose and lipid metabolism were regulated by T. gondii phosphoproteins such as PMCAA1, LIPIN, Pyk1 and ALD. Additionally, several phosphoproteins were enriched at the central nodes in the protein-protein interaction network, which may have essential roles in T. gondii proliferation including GAP45, MLC1, fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase, GRAs and so on. CONCLUSION: This study revealed the main cellular processes and key phosphoproteins crucial for the intracellular proliferation of T. gondii, which would provide clues to explore the roles of phosphorylation in regulating the development of tachyzoites and new insight into the mechanism of T. gondii development in vitro.

Jaceosidin inhibits the progression and metastasis of NSCLC by regulating miR-34c-3p/Integrin α2ß1 axis.

Non-coding RNAs are crucial for cancer progression, among which miR-34c-3p has been demonstrated to be a tumor suppressor in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, we attempt to identify flavonoids that can up-regulate miR-34c-3p expression, evaluate the anticancer activity of the flavonoids and explore its underlying mechanism in NSCLC cells. Six flavonoids were screened by RT-qPCR and we found that jaceosidin significantly increased miR-34c-3p expression in A549 cells. We found that jaceosidin inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of A549 and H1975 cells in a dose-relevant manner, indicated by cell counting kit (CCK-8) assay, wound healing assay, transwell assay and EdU assay, we observed that jaceosidin inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of A549 and H1975 cells in a dose-relevant manner. Further research suggested that miR-34c-3p bound to the transcriptome of integrin α2ß1 and then inhibited its expression, leading to the inhibitory effect on the migration and invasion of NSCLC. Our study sheds some light on anti-tumor of jaceosidin and provides a potential lead compound for NSCLC therapy.

A Novel Anti-Cancer Therapy: CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing.

Cancer becomes one of the main causes of human deaths in the world due to the high incidence and mortality rate and produces serious economic burdens. With more and more attention is paid on cancer, its therapies are getting more of a concern. Previous research has shown that the occurrence, progression, and treatment prognosis of malignant tumors are closely related to genetic and gene mutation. CRISPR/Cas9 has emerged as a powerful method for making changes to the genome, which has extensively been applied in various cell lines. Establishing the cell and animal models by CRISPR/Cas9 laid the foundation for the clinical trials which possibly treated the tumor. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing technology brings a great promise for inhibiting migration, invasion, and even treatment of tumor. However, the potential off-target effect limits its clinical application, and the effective ethical review is necessary. The article reviews the molecular mechanisms of CRISPR/Cas9 and discusses the research and the limitation related to cancer clinical trials.

Toxoplasma gondii rhoptry protein (TgROP18) enhances the expression of pro-inflammatory factor in LPS/IFN-γ-induced murine BV2 microglia cells via NF-κB signal pathway.

Toxoplasma gondii, an opportunistic pathogenic protozoan, exhibits a strong predilection to infect the brain, causing severe neurological diseases, such as toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE), in immunocompromised patients. Microglia, the resident immune cells in the brain, is reported to play important roles in regulating the neuroinflammation mediated by T. gondii infection. Here we demonstrated that the tachyzoites of T. gondii RH strain could significantly upregulate the expression levels of microglial M1 phenotype markers including IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, iNOS and IL18 in activated murine BV2 microglia cells, which were regulated by T. gondii rhoptry protein 18 (TgROP18). Moreover, we found that TgROP18 could enhance the expression of M1 phenotype markers in activated murine BV2 microglia cells via activating NF-κB signal pathway. Additionally, TgROP18 was suggested to interact with the host p65 in activated murine BV2 microglia cells and induce the phosphorylation of p65 at S536. In summary, the present study demonstrated that TgROP18 could promote the activated microglia to polarize to M1 phenotype and enhanced the expression of pro-inflammatory factors via activating NF-κB signal pathway, which could contribute to elucidating the mechanism underlying the neuroinflammation mediated by activated microglia in the brain with T. gondii infection.

DNA barcoding of Gentiana crassicaulis in Lijiang and evaluation of root processing methods / 药学学报

The key factors for producing the best quality Chinese herbal medicines are high-quality germplasm, suitable cultivation area and the proper processing methods for herbal raw materials. Gentiana crassicaulis in Gentiana (Sect. Cruciata), Gentianaceae is one of the original plants of the Chinese herb Qinjiao (Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix), and its type specimen was collected in Lijiang, Yunnan. There is a long planting history of the herb in this area. In this study a sampling plot was designated in these traditional planting areas. G. crassicaulis was planted and herbal raw materials were harvested from the plot. The raw materials were prepared locally and at a pharmaceutical factory in Shanghai using processing methods such as "sweating" or "no sweating", "slicing" or "no slicing" (whole root), and "stoving" or "no stoving" (air drying). The quality of all processed samples was evaluated. In addition, molecular markers were determined for identifying cultivated and wild samples from Lijiang, Yunnan. The results are as follows: ① Samples from the sampling plot and the field are taxonomically identified as Gentiana crassicaulis. ② A total of 270 sequences of trnC-GCA-petN, atpB-rbcL, psbN, ndhB-rps7 and ycf1 were obtained, and three genotypes were determined from the cultivated samples; the type III was shared by both cultivated and wild plants. Based on the molecular markers, a DNA barcoding method to identify cultivated and wild samples of G. crassicaulis from Lijiang, Yunnan was established. ③ Total content of loganic acid and gentiopicroside in all samples was ≥ 2.5%, and above the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020) limit. ④ In HPLC fingerprinting, 9 common peaks were assigned and similarity between all samples was > 0.999; and ⑤ In a PCA score plot all slice samples were clustered, while whole root samples were scattered. Therefore, our studies could provide basic data for optimizing the processing method, producing best quality Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix, and evaluating the quality of different ecotype varieties and the multiple origin of herbal medicines.

Preparation of magnetic mesoporous epoxy resin by initiator-free ring-opening polymerization for extraction of bile acids from human serum.

In this work, we reported a simple two-step method for the synthesis of magnetic mesoporous epoxy resin (MMER), including one-pot template-free hydrothermal synthesis of nanoscale amine-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MN-NH2) and initiator-free ring-opening polymerization of epoxy resin. The resultant MMER was characterized in detail by transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetic analysis (TGA) and magnetization curves. These results demonstrated successful synthesis of MMER with sufficient magnetic property and excellent thermal stability. The epoxy resin was covalent bonding MN-NH2 on and synthesized by hydrophobic monomers, so the MMER exhibited excellent adsorption quantity for hydrophobic bile acids. The MMER was used as magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) sorbent, and combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to extract and monitor 11 kinds of bile acids from serum sample. The proposed MSPE combined with LC-MS/MS method exhibited low limit of detection between 0.1 and 5 ng mL-1. In blank serum sample, 9 kinds of bile acids were detected, and ranged from -2.29 ng mL-1 to 6.86 ng mL-1. In standard addition recovery test, the recovery values of detectable bile acids ranged 102.4% to 108.5%, 96.0% to 104.0% and 82.3% to 103.3% when spiked with 0.2, 2.0 and 20 ng mL-1, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precision (n = 6) ranged 3.7% to 5.9% and 7.0% to 9.5%, respectively. The above results demonstrated that the MSPE combined with LC-MS/MS method was accurate and effective for quantitative determination of bile acids from complex biological samples.

Preparation of phenyl-boronic acid polymer monolith by initiator-free ring-opening polymerization for microextraction of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim from animal-originated foodstuffs.

Boronate affinity materials are usually used for selective enrichment of cis-diol-containing compounds, mainly based on formation of pH-dependent cyclic ester between cis-diol and boronic acid. Recently, B-N coordination, or combined with hydrogen-bonding interaction, was employed as primary interaction for the extraction of nitrogen-containing compounds. However, there are no reports about the combination of hydrophobic (or π-π) interaction and B-N coordination for the extraction. Here, we prepared a novel hydrophobic phenyl-boronic acid polymer (PBAP) through initiator-free ring-opening polymerization. The adsorption experiment indicated that the PBAP could combine hydrophobic (or π-π) interaction and B-N coordination to enhance their adsorption capacity toward hydrophobic and nitrogen-containing compounds, for example sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and trimethoprim (TMP). In addition, the PBAP monolith synthesized in pipette tip was used as solid phase microextraction (SPME) sorbent with combination of ultra high performance liquid chromatography to extract and monitor SMX and TMP from animal-originated foodstuffs. The proposed method exhibited low limit of quantitation as 5.0 and 1.0 ng mL-1 for SMX and TMP, respectively. The recoveries at three spiked levels were between 92.4% to 100.5% for SMX, and 92.7% to 102.6% for TMP, with intra-day and inter-day relative standard deviations no more than 5.3% and 8.6%, respectively. These results well demonstrated that the combination of hydrophobic (or π-π) interaction and B-N coordination played an important role in the extraction of hydrophobic and nitrogen-containing compounds.