Hsa_circ_0000069 Accelerates Cervical Cancer Progression by Sponging miR-1270 to Facilitate CPEB4 Expression.

The critical importance of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in human cancers, including cervical cancer (CC), has been discovered in recent years. However, the function and mechanism of hsa_circ_0000069 (circ_0000069) in CC have been fully understood. The expression levels of circ_0000069, microRNAs (miR-1270, miR-1276 and miR-620) and cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 4 (CPEB4) mRNA were detected by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU), flow cytometry, wound healing, transwell and tube formation assays were used to clarify the effects of circ_0000069 on the functional behaviors of CC cells. The binding relationships among miR-1270, circ_0000069 and CPEB4 were detected by dual-luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays. A xenograft tumor model was established to explore the effect of circ_0000069 on tumor growth in vivo. Circ_0000069 was upregulated in CC clinical samples and cell lines, and its expression was associated with the clinical stage of CC patients. Circ_0000069 knockdown significantly decreased cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and tube formation and increased cell apoptosis in vitro. Moreover, miR-1270 was a direct target of circ_0000069, and CPEB4 was the downstream target of miR-1270. Knockdown of miR-1270 reversed the inhibitory effect of circ_0000069 knockdown on CC progression, and CPEB4 overexpression overturned the effect of miR-1270 on CC progression. In xenograft experiments, the oncogenic effect of circ_0000069 on tumor growth was verified. Altogether, circ_0000069 adsorbed miR-1270 to upregulate CPEB4 expression, thereby promoting the malignant phenotypes of CC cells. Circ_0000069 might be a potential target for treatment of CC.

A fluorescent probe based on aptamer gold nanoclusters for rapid detection of mercury ions.

The mercuric ion (Hg2+) is a hazardous pollutant that is widely distributed in living organisms, foods, and environments with highly toxic and bio-accumulative properties. In the present study, a fluorescent probe based on aptamer gold nanoclusters (apt-AuNCs) was prepared for the ultrasensitive detection of Hg2+ in food. The principle underlying the prepared probe was the quenching of the fluorescence of apt-AuNCs in the presence of Hg2+ due to the strong metallophilic interactions between the 5d10 centers of Hg2+ and Au+. Under optimal conditions, the proposed fluorescent probe exhibited a linear relationship with Hg2+ concentration within the range of 2-200 nM (R2 = 0.9960). In addition, the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.0158 nM, which is below the Chinese standard value of 25 nM for Hg2+ in food. Furthermore, the apt-AuNCs were applied to detect Hg2+ in spinach and crawfish samples, with recovery percentages of 91.99%∼108.06%, meaning that apt-AuNCs could be used as a promising probe to detect Hg2+ in complex food samples.

Evaluation of bacterial and fungal communities during the fermentation of pine needle.

To improve the quality and organoleptic properties of fermented pine needle, the physiological parameters and microbial communities must be explored. In this study, high-throughput sequencing was used to explore bacterial and fungal communities during the fermentation process of pine needle after adding starter culture of 0.8% activated dry yeast and Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716 and Bifidobacterium Breve M-16 V. During the fermentation, the total flavonoid (from 0.049 to 111.404 mg/L) and polyphenol (from 19.412 to 183.399 mg/L) contents increased rapidly from 0 to 15 days. The total sugar increased from 0 to 3 days fermentation with a range from 3.359 mg/mL to 45.502 mg/mL in yeast fermentation stage, and reached the maximum value on day 3. The content of total acid (39.167 g/L) and amino acid nitrogen (1.185 g/L) gradually increased during the entire fermentation process and reached a maximum on day 7 of bacterial fermentation. Firmicutes and Proteobacteria phyla were the predominant bacteria in all time periods. At the genus level, well-known Lactobacillus was the most abundant bacterial strain on day 3, followed by Gluconobacter. The Acetobacter constituted more than 50% of the total bacterial abundance on day 1, but it decreased with the fermentation process. Exploration of fermented pine needle microbial community structure will expand the knowledge about their microbiota to manipulate the microbial community and improve their quality and organoleptic properties using different microbial recipes.

[Effect of Yishen Tiaojing Recipe on hypogonadism induced by Tripterygium glycosides in women patients with nephropathy].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of Yishen Tiaojing Recipe (YSTJR) on sex gland and kidney in nephropathy patients with hypogonadism induced by Tripterygium glycosides (TG). METHODS: Fifty-eight women patients with chronic glomerular disease were assigned to two groups, the 34 patients in the treated group were given TP 20 mg three times a day plus YSTJR, one dose daily, while the 24 in the control group were given TP 20 mg three times a day alone. The course of treatment lasted for 3 months. Serum levels of estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteotrophic hormone (LH), as well as urinary protein and red blood cell (RBC) count in urine were determined before and after treatment. RESULTS: Level of E2 decreased, FSH and LH increased in the control group after treatment (P < 0.05), while those indexes unchanged in the treated group. Quantity of urinary protein decreased in both two groups after treatment (P < 0.05), but the decrement was more significant in the treated group than in the control group (P < 0.05). Differences of all the above-mentioned indexes between the two groups after treatment were significant (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: YSTJR could prevent the injury of TP on sex gland in women patients with nephropathy, and is benificial for the treatment of primary chronic renal glomerular diseases.

Microwave plasma treated carbon nanotubes and their electrochemical biosensing application.

A convenient microwave plasma treatment method with ammonia precursor was proposed to enhance the solubility of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The SEM, XRD and FTIR spectra clearly demonstrated that the carbon skeleton structure of the resultant ammonia plasma-treated CNTs (ammonia PT-CNTs) was not destroyed and amine groups of different forms were successfully coupled to CNTs in the MWP treatment process. The ammonia PT-CNTs have excellent solubility in water and are insoluble in nonpolar tetrahydrofuran, and the cyclic voltammograms suggest that the enhanced wetting properties clearly favor faster electron transfer kinetics on the ammonia PT-CNT electrodes. By choosing glucose oxidase as a model enzyme, the application of the ammonia PT-CNTs in construction of biosensors was further investigated. Due to the biocompatibility and electron transfer capability of the ammonia PT-CNTs, the resultant GOD biosensor displayed a good sensing performance. The biosensor has a fast response of less than 10s, and the response current linearly increases with the glucose concentration in the range of 1.2x10(-4) to 7.5x10(-3)M with a detection limit of 1.0x10(-5)M.