MiR-375-3p mediates reduced pineal function in hypoxia-ischemia brain damage.

The functional roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been studied in various diseases, including hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD). However, changes in the expression of miRNAs and the underlying mechanisms in the pineal gland during HIBD remain unknown. Based on the previous study by microRNA array, hundreds of miRNAs showed altered expression patterns in the pineal gland in a rat model of HIBD. MiR-375-3p was found to be significantly upregulated and abundant in the pineal gland. Further investigation in an in vitro HI model of pinealocytes showed that miRNA-375 exacerbated the damage to pineal function. After oxygen-glucose deprivation / reoxygenation (OGD/R), miR-375-3p expression increased, while aralkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) expression and melatonin (MT) secretion decreased. Overexpression of miRNA-375 in pinealocytes aggravated the influence of OGD/R on AANAT expression and MT secretion. Because miRNA-375 overexpression in pinealocytes induced decreased rasd1 mRNA and protein expression, rasd1 may mediate the effect of miR-375-3p on pineal function. Furthermore, miR-375-3p aggravated the cognitive impairment caused by HIBD in rats, as observed by Morris water maze test, and also affected emotion and circadian rhythm in HIBD-treated rats. Thus, miR-375-3p may be a key regulatory molecule in the pineal gland following HIBD, and targeting of miR-375-3p may represent a new strategy for the treatment of HIBD.

Identification of novel biomarkers for neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy using iTRAQ.

BACKGROUND: A prompt diagnosis of HIE remains a challenge clinically. This study aimed to identify potential biomarkers of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) via a novel proteomic approach, the isobaric tags for absolute and relative quantification (iTRAQ) method. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from neonates with mild (n = 4), moderate (n = 4), or severe (n = 4) HIE who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Children's Hospital of Soochow University between Oct 2015 and Oct 2017. iTRAQ was performed in HIE patients and healthy controls (n = 4). Bioinformatics analyses including Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were performed to evaluate the potential features and capabilities of the identified differentially expressed proteins. RESULTS: A total of 51 commonly differentially expressed proteins were identified among the comparisons between mild, moderate, and severe HIE as well as healthy controls. Haptoglobin (HP) and S100A8 were most significantly up-regulated in patients with HIE and further validated via real-time PCR and western blotting. The differentially expressed proteins represented multiple biological processes, cellular components and molecular functions and were markedly enriched in complement and coagulation cascades. CONCLUSIONS: HP and S100A8 may serve as a potential biomarker for neonatal HIE and reflects the severity of HIE. The complement and coagulation cascades play crucial roles in the development of neonatal HIE.

Facile synthesis of Ca2+-crosslinked sodium alginate/graphene oxide hybrids as electro- and pH-responsive drug carrier.

The design of stimuli-responsive drug carrier for controlled drug release is of significant importance in pharmaceutics, medicine and biology. Here, sodium alginate (SA) was integrated with graphene oxide (GO) by using Ca2+ as the crosslinker. The resultant SA-Ca2+-GO composites were freeze-dried to produce SA-Ca2+-GO hybrids, which were then examined by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The SA-Ca2+-GO hybrids were used as the drug carrier of methotrexate (MTX), and electro- and pH-responsive release of MTX was successfully achieved due to the excellent conductive ability of GO and the pH-sensitive property of SA. Finally, Higuchi model was employed to investigate the release kinetics of MTX from the SA-Ca2+-GO hybrids, and the results indicate that the release of MTX is controlled by Fickian diffusion.