FOXM1 Participates in Scleral Remodeling in Myopia by Upregulating APOA1 Expression Through METTL3/YTHDF2.

Purpose: Apolipoprotein A1 (APOA1) is a potential crucial protein and treatment goal for pathological myopia in humans. This study set out to discover the function of APOA1 in scleral remodeling in myopia and its underlying mechanisms. Methods: A myopic cell model was induced using hypoxia. Following loss- and gain-of function experiments, the expression of the myofibroblast transdifferentiation-related and collagen production-related factors Forkhead box M1 (FOXM1), APOA1, and methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) in the myopic cell model was examined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blotting. The proliferation and apoptosis were determined by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was employed to examine FOXM1 enrichment in the METTL3 promoter, methylated RNA immunoprecipitation (Me-RIP) to examine the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification level of APOA1, and photoactivatable ribonucleoside-enhanced crosslinking and immunoprecipitation (PAR-CLIP) to examine the binding between METTL3 and APOA1. Results: Hypoxia-induced human scleral fibroblasts (HSFs) had high APOA1 and FOXM1 expression and low METTL3 expression. FOXM1 knockdown elevated METTL3 expression and downregulated APOA1 expression. FOXM1 was enriched in METTL3 promoter. APOA1 or FOXM1 knockdown or METTL3 overexpression reversed the hypoxia-induced elevation in vinculin, paxillin, and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) levels and apoptosis and the reduction in collagen, type I, alpha 1 (COL1A1) level and cell proliferation in HSFs. METTL3 or YTH N6-methyladenosine RNA binding protein F2 (YTHDF2) knockdown or APOA1 overexpression reversed the impacts of FOXM1 knockdown on vinculin, paxillin, α-SMA, and COL1A1 expression and cell proliferation and apoptosis. Conclusions: FOXM1 elevated the m6A methylation level of APOA1 by repressing METTL3 transcription and enhanced APOA1 mRNA stability and transcription by reducing the YTHDF2-recognized m6A methylated transcripts.

Fabrication of 3D graphene anode for improving performance of miniaturized microbial fuel cells.

A three-dimensional graphene (3D GR) grown by chemical vapor deposition method was used as the anode of a miniaturized microbial fuel cell (mini-MFC), which was to be embedded in a 56-µL anode chamber for the formation of a thicker biofilm from Shewanella bacterial culture to promote high efficient extracellular electron transfer. Such 3D GR structure had fewer defects with few layers, and the framework showed significant high REDOX peak current density, high charge storage and low charge transfer resistance. Besides, the electron transport rate of 3D GR electrode was 0.0176 s-1, which was about two times faster than that of GR electrode with nickel foam substrate (GR/NF). Benefiting from the macroporous networks, high electron transfer rate and electrocatalytic activity, 3D GR anode facilitated efficient mass transfer and effective electron transport, further forming denser biofilm on the 3D GR. The maximum output voltage and power density of this mini-MFC were 820 mV and 23.8 mW/m2, which were much higher than those of the GR/NF anode at 590 mV and 12.8 mW/m2 and the bare NF anode at 450 mV and 4.6 mW/m2. The study demonstrated that 3D GR can be a promising anode material for improving MFC performance.

Epidemiological Characteristics of Inpatients Undergoing Surgery for Glaucoma at Tianjin Eye Hospital from 2013 to 2017.

PURPOSE: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of inpatients who underwent surgery for glaucoma at Tianjin Eye Hospital from 2013 to 2017. METHODS: All glaucoma inpatients who underwent surgery at Tianjin Eye Hospital from 2013 to 2017 were evaluated. The relationships of age and sex with different types of glaucoma were analyzed. The differences in the prevalence and family history of glaucoma among patients with different systemic diseases were compared. Additionally, the effects of different surgical methods for primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) were compared. RESULTS: A total of 4539 patients with glaucoma were retrospectively analyzed. The most prevalent type was PACG (60.15%), followed by secondary glaucoma (SG, 25.53%), POAG (7.6%), uncontrollable intraocular pressure (IOP) after antiglaucoma surgery (4.71%), mixed glaucoma (MG, 10%), and congenital glaucoma (CG, 0.9%). The main surgical methods were phacoemulsification (phaco), phacotrabeculectomy (phaco-trab), and trabeculectomy (trab). The rate of phaco-trab increased, while that of trab decreased. The proportion of women in the PACG group was higher than those in the POAG and SG groups, and there was a pronounced tendency for family clustering (P < 0.001), while in the POAG and SG groups, the proportions of men and those with diabetes were higher (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In Tianjin Eye Hospital from 2013 to 2017, the main type of glaucoma was PACG. Female sex and a family history of glaucoma were risk factors for PACG, while male sex and hyperglycemia were risk factors for POAG and SG. Among the antiglaucoma surgery methods, the proportion of phaco-trab increased, while the proportion of trab decreased.