Integrated machine learning-driven disulfidptosis profiling: CYFIP1 and EMILIN1 as therapeutic nodes in neuroblastoma.

BACKGROUND: Neuroblastoma (NB), a prevalent pediatric solid tumor, presents formidable challenges due to its high malignancy and intricate pathogenesis. The role of disulfidptosis, a novel form of programmed cell death, remains poorly understood in the context of NB. METHODS: Gaussian mixture model (GMM)-identified disulfidptosis-related molecular subtypes in NB, differential gene analysis, survival analysis, and gene set variation analysis were conducted subsequently. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) selected modular genes most relevant to the disulfidptosis core pathways. Integration of machine learning approaches revealed the combination of the Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and Random Survival Forest (RSF) provided optimal dimensionality reduction of the modular genes. The resulting model was validated, and a nomogram assessed disulfidptosis characteristics in NB. Core genes were filtered and subjected to tumor phenotype and disulfidptosis-related experiments. RESULTS: GMM clustering revealed three distinct subtypes with diverse prognoses, showing significant variations in glucose metabolism, cytoskeletal structure, and tumor-related pathways. WGCNA highlighted the red module of genes highly correlated with disulfide isomerase activity, cytoskeleton formation, and glucose metabolism. The LASSO and RSF combination yielded the most accurate and stable prognostic model, with a significantly worse prognosis for high-scoring patients. Cytological experiments targeting core genes (CYFIP1, EMILIN1) revealed decreased cell proliferation, migration, invasion abilities, and evident cytoskeletal deformation upon core gene knockdown. CONCLUSIONS: This study showcases the utility of disulfidptosis-related gene scores for predicting prognosis and molecular subtypes of NB. The identified core genes, CYFIP1 and EMILIN1, hold promise as potential therapeutic targets and diagnostic markers for NB.

miR-375-3p targets YWHAB to attenuate intestine injury in neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis.

PURPOSE: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a significant contributor to neonatal mortality. This study aimed to investigate the role of high levels of miR-375-3p in breast milk in the development of NEC and elucidate its mechanism. METHODS: Differential expression of miR-375-3p in the intestines of breast-fed and formula-fed mice was confirmed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). NEC mice models were established, and intestinal injury was assessed using HE staining. RT-PCR and Western blot were conducted to examine the expression of miR-375-3p, tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein ß (YWHAB), as well as the inflammatory in IEC-6 cells, and intestinal tissues obtained from NEC mice and patients. Flow cytometry and cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) were employed to elucidate the impact of miR-375-3p and YWHAB on cell apoptosis and proliferation. RESULTS: Breastfeeding increases miR-375-3p expression in the intestines. The expression of miR-375-3p in NEC intestinal tissues exhibited a significant decrease compared to the healthy group. Additionally, the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was higher in the NEC group compared to the control group. Down-regulation of miR-375-3p inhibited IEC-6 cell proliferation, increased apoptosis, and elevated secretion of inflammatory factors. Bioinformatics revealed that YWHAB may be a target of miR-375-3p. RT-PCR and Western blot indicated a down-regulation of YWHAB expression in intestines of NEC patients and mice. Furthermore, YWHAB was found to be positively connected with miR-375-3p. Knockdown miR-375-3p down-regulated YWHAB expression in cells. Inhibition of YWHAB exhibited similar effects to miR-375-3p in IEC-6 cells. YWHAB plasmid partially reverse cellular functional impairment induced by miR-375-3p knockdown. CONCLUSIONS: Breastfeeding elevated miR-375-3p expression in intestines in neonatal mice. MiR-375-3p leads to a decrease in apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells, an increase in cell proliferation, and a concomitant reduction in the expression of inflammatory factors partly through targeting YWHAB.

Reactivation of PPARα alleviates myocardial lipid accumulation and cardiac dysfunction by improving fatty acid β-oxidation in Dsg2-deficient arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), a fatal heart disease characterized by fibroadipocytic replacement of cardiac myocytes, accounts for 20% of sudden cardiac death and lacks effective treatment. It is often caused by mutations in desmosome proteins, with Desmoglein-2 (DSG2) mutations as a common etiology. However, the mechanism underlying the accumulation of fibrofatty in ACM remains unknown, which impedes the development of curative treatment. Here we investigated the fat accumulation and the underlying mechanism in a mouse model of ACM induced by cardiac-specific knockout of Dsg2 (CS-Dsg2 -/-). Heart failure and cardiac lipid accumulation were observed in CS-Dsg2 -/- mice. We demonstrated that these phenotypes were caused by decline of fatty acid (FA) β-oxidation resulted from impaired mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling. Rapamycin worsened while overexpression of mTOR and 4EBP1 rescued the FA β-oxidation pathway in CS-Dsg2 -/- mice. Reactivation of PPARα by fenofibrate or AAV9-Pparα significantly alleviated the lipid accumulation and restored cardiac function. Our results suggest that impaired mTOR-4EBP1-PPARα-dependent FA β-oxidation contributes to myocardial lipid accumulation in ACM and PPARα may be a potential target for curative treatment of ACM.

miR-21 regulates the proliferation, invasion and radiosensitivity of cervical cancer HeLa cells by targeting RECK / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective:To explore the effect of miR-21 on cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and radiosensitivity of cervical cancer HeLa cells and unravel the underlying mechanism.Methods:RT-qPCR assay was used to detect the expression levels of miR-21 in cervical cancer tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues, normal cervical epithelial cells (H8) and cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa, SiHa, ME180). HeLa cell line with inhibition of miR-21 or knockdown of RECK were constructed. CCK-8, Caspase3/7 live cell apoptosis detection, wound healing test, Transwell invasion, clone formation assay, Western blot and immunofluorescence were performed to detect cell viability, apoptosis, migration, invasion, radiosensitivity and related proteins. The dual luciferase assay verified whether miR-21 targeted RECK.Results:MiR-21 level in the cervical cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in its corresponding adjacent non-tumor tissues ( P<0.05). The expression levels of miR-21 in cervical cancer cell lines HeLa, SiHa and ME180 were significantly up-regulated compared with those in normal cervical epithelial cells H8(all P<0.05). MiR-21 knockdown significantly inhibited HeLa cell viability, promoted cell apoptosis, reduced radiation tolerance, down-regulated the expression of Cyclin D 1,Bcl-2, MMP-2 and MMP-9, and up-regulated the expression P21 and Bax proteins (all P<0.05). miR-21 targeted the 3’-UTR of RECK mRNA and negatively regulated the expression of RECK. Silencing RECK reversed the effects of miR-21 knockdown on HeLa cell apoptosis, migration, invasion and radiosensitivity. Conclusions:Inhibiting the expression of miR-21 significantly decreases cell viability, induces cell apoptosis, weakens cell migration and invasion capabilities, and enhances the radiosensitivity of HeLa cells. The potential mechanism is closely related to the targeted up-regulation of RECK.

Case report of pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus combined with hypophosphatasia / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

The clinical data of a child with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and hypophosphatasia (HPP) admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, the Second Hospital of Jilin University in December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed.The patient was a 10-year-old boy who was hospitalized because of fever and facial rashes in the past 4 days.He had a history of HPP for 7 years.His clinical manifestations included skeletal and dental dysplasia, oral ulcers, buccal erythema and renal lesions.Laboratory examination showed a low level of serum alkaline phosphatase, whole blood cell count decreased, antinuclear antibody(ANA) 1∶1 000, anti-double strand DNA antibodies positive, anticardiolipin antibodies positive, complement 3 (C 3) and C 4 decreased.Therefore, he was diagnosed with SLE.After glucocorticoid, immunosuppressant and symptomatic treatment, the child′s condition improved and he discharged from the hospital.He was followed up regularly, and died 2 years after the diagnosis of SLE.SLE complicated with HPP is extremely rare in clinical practice, and the symptoms may overlap.Hence these two diseases should be differentiated.

Case report of pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus combined with hypophosphatasia / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

The clinical data of a child with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and hypophosphatasia (HPP) admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, the Second Hospital of Jilin University in December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed.The patient was a 10-year-old boy who was hospitalized because of fever and facial rashes in the past 4 days.He had a history of HPP for 7 years.His clinical manifestations included skeletal and dental dysplasia, oral ulcers, buccal erythema and renal lesions.Laboratory examination showed a low level of serum alkaline phosphatase, whole blood cell count decreased, antinuclear antibody(ANA) 1∶1 000, anti-double strand DNA antibodies positive, anticardiolipin antibodies positive, complement 3 (C 3) and C 4 decreased.Therefore, he was diagnosed with SLE.After glucocorticoid, immunosuppressant and symptomatic treatment, the child′s condition improved and he discharged from the hospital.He was followed up regularly, and died 2 years after the diagnosis of SLE.SLE complicated with HPP is extremely rare in clinical practice, and the symptoms may overlap.Hence these two diseases should be differentiated.

Hepatic metastases after cervical cancer surgery: clinical analysis of 13 cases / 中华妇产科杂志

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with hepatic metastasis after cervical cancer operation, and analyze the risk factors and prognostic factors of hepatic metastasis.Methods:A total of 1 312 patients with stage Ⅰa2-Ⅱb2 cervical cancer received radical surgery from January 2013 to January 2016 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University were collected, of which 13 cases (0.99%, 13/1 312) had hepatic metastasis after operation. A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical features of patients with hepatic metastasis after cervical cancer operation. T-test, chi-square test, rank sum test and logistic regression were used to analyze the risk factors of hepatic metastasis after surgery of cervical cancer operation. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis. Log-rank test was used for screening of prognostic factors in patients with postoperative hepatic metastasis.Results:(1) Clinical features: there were 3 cases of simple hepatic metastasis without obvious clinical symptoms, 2 patients with perihepatic lymph node metastasis showed only low back pain, 8 patients with multiple extrahepatic metastases, and their clinical symptoms were related to the site of metastasis. Five cases out of 9 (5/9) with liver metastasis had abnormal tumor marker results. The abnormal kinds of tumor markers were mainly carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CA 125, CA 199, and CA 72-4. The interval time of hepatic metastasis after operation was 2-22 months. (2) Analysis of risk factors for hepatic metastasis: univariate analysis showed that lymph node metastasis, histological type, infiltration depth, and lymph-vascular space invasionwere associated with hepatic metastasis after cervical cancer surgery ( P<0.05).Multivariate analysis showed that lymph node metastasis and small cell carcinoma were independent risk factors for postoperative hepatic metastasis ( P<0.05). (3) Prognostic factors in patients with hepatic metastasis:among 13 patients with postoperative hepatic metastases from cervical cancer, 9 died during the follow-up period and 4 survived. The median total survival time after hepatic metastases was 7 months (range 3-32 months). Univariate analysis showed that multiple extrahepatic metastases and treatment after hepatic metastasis had significant effects on the prognosis of patients with hepatic metastasis after cervical cancer operation ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The interval of hepatic metastasis after surgery for cervical cancer operation is within 2 years. Patients with lymph node metastasis and small cell carcinoma are more prone to postoperative hepatic metastasis. The prognosis of patients with extrahepatic multiple metastases is poor, and individualized treatment should be carried out after comprehensive analysis for patients with hepatic metastasis after cervical cancer operation.

Involvement of Orai1 in tunicamycin-induced endothelial dysfunction

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is mediated by disturbance of Ca²⁺ homeostasis. The store-operated calcium (SOC) channel is the primary Ca²⁺ channel in non-excitable cells, but its participation in agent-induced ER stress is not clear. In this study, the effects of tunicamycin on Ca²⁺ influx in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were observed with the fluorescent probe Fluo-4 AM. The effect of tunicamycin on the expression of the unfolded protein response (UPR)-related proteins BiP and CHOP was assayed by western blotting with or without inhibition of Orai1. Tunicamycin induced endothelial dysfunction by activating ER stress. Orai1 expression and the influx of extracellular Ca²⁺ in HUVECs were both upregulated during ER stress. The SOC channel inhibitor SKF96365 reversed tunicamycin-induced endothelial cell dysfunction by inhibiting ER stress. Regulation of tunicamycin-induced ER stress by Orai1 indicates that modification of Orai1 activity may have therapeutic value for conditions with ER stress-induced endothelial dysfunction.

MicroRNA-199a-3p enhances expressions of fibrosis-associated genes through targeting Smad1 in mouse cardiac fibroblasts / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the role of miR-199a-3p in cardiac fibrosis and the potential target of miR-199a-3p.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Cardiac fibroblasts were isolated from C57BL/6 mice and cultured. The miR-199a-3p mimic and Smad1 siRNA were transiently transfected into the cardiac fibroblasts via liposome. Dual luciferase reporter assay was performed to confirm the interaction between miR-199a-3p and the 3'-UTR of Smad1. The expressions of Smad1 and fibrosis-related genes at the mRNA and protein levels in the cells after miR-199a-3p mimic transfection were determined using RT-qPCR and Western blotting, respectively. The expressions of Smad1, Smad3 and fibrosis-related genes at the protein level in cells transfected with miR-199a-3p mimic and Smad1 siRNA were detected using Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Over-expression of miR-199a-3p significantly increased the expression of cardiac fibrosis-related genes in cultured mouse cardiac fibroblasts. Dual luciferase reporter assay revealed the interaction of miR-199a-3p with the 3'-UTR of Smad1. The results of RT-qPCR and Western blotting confirmed that miR-199a-3p inhibited Smad1 expression at the post- transcriptional level. Transfection with miR-199a-3p mimic and siRNA-mediated Smad1 silencing consistently activated the Smad3 signaling pathway and enhanced the expressions of cardiac fibrosis-related genes in the cardiac fibroblasts.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>As the target gene of miR-199a-3p, Smad1 mediates the pro-fibrotic effect of miR-199a-3p by activating the Smad3 signaling in cultured mouse cardiac fibroblasts.</p>

MEF2C mediates inhibitory effect of microRNA-214 on cardiomyocyte hypertrophy / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM:To investigate the effect of microRNA-214 ( miR-214) on cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and the expression of the potential target genes .METHODS:A cell model of hypertrophy was established based on angiotensin-Ⅱ( Ang-Ⅱ)-induced neonatal mouse ventricular cardiomyocytes ( NMVCs) .Dual luciferase reporter assay was performed to verify the interaction between miR-214 and the 3’ UTR of MEF2C.The expression of MEF2C and hypertrophy-related genes at mRNA and protein levels was determined by RT-qPCR and Western blot , respectively .RESULTS:The expression of ANP, ACTA1,β-MHC and miR-214 was markedly increased in Ang-Ⅱ-induced hypertrophic cardiomyocytes .Dual lu-ciferase reporter assay revealed that miR-214 interacted with the 3’ UTR of MEF2C, and miR-214 was verified to inhibit MEF2C expression at the transcriptional level .The protein expression of MEF2C was markedly increased in the hypertro-phic cardiomyocytes .Moreover, miR-214 mimic, in parallel to MEF2C siRNA, inhibited the expression of hypertrophy-re-lated genes in Ang-Ⅱ-induced NMVCs.CONCLUSION:MEF2C is a target gene of miR-214, which mediates the effect of miR-214 on attenuating cardiomyocyte hypertrophy .

MEF2C mediates the effect of microRNA-214 on inhibiting cardiomyocyte hypertrophy / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM:To investigate the effect of miR-214 on cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and the expression of the potential target genes . METHODS:A cell model of hypertrophy was established based on angiotensin-Ⅱ( Ang-Ⅱ)-induced neonatal mouse ventricular car-diomyocytes (NMVCs).Dual luciferase reporter assay was performed to verify the interaction between miR-214 and the 3’ UTR of MEF2C.The expression of MEF2C and hypertrophy-related genes at mRNA and protein levels was determined by RT-qPCR and Wes-tern blotting, respectively.RESULTS:The expression of ANP, ACTA1,β-MHC and miR-214 was markedly increased in Ang-Ⅱ-in-duced hypertrophic cardiomyocytes .Dual luciferase reporter assay revealed that miR-214 interacted with the 3’ UTR of MEF2C, and miR-214 was verified to inhibit MEF2C expression at the transcriptional level .The protein expression of MEF2C was markedly in-creased in the hypertrophic cardiomyocytes .Moreover, miR-214 mimic, in parallel to MEF2C siRNA, inhibited the expression of hy-pertrophy-related genes in Ang-Ⅱ-induced NMVCs.CONCLUSION:MEF2C is a target gene of miR-214, which mediates the effect of miR-214 on attenuating cardiomyocyte hypertrophy .

MicroRNA-1 and-16 inhibit cardiomyocyte hypertrophy by targeting cyclins/Rb pathway / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM:MicroRNAs ( miRNAs) were recognized to play significant roles in cardiac hypertrophy .But, it remains unknown whether cyclin/Rb pathway is modulated by miRNAs during cardiac hypertrophy .This study investigates the potential roles of microRNA-1 (miR-1) and microRNA-16 (miR-16) in modulating cyclin/Rb pathway during cardiomyocyte hypertrophy .METHODS:An animal model of hypertrophy was established in a rat with abdominal aortic constriction (AAC).In addition, a cell model of hypertrophy was also achieved based on PE-promoted neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocyte .RESULTS:miR-1 and-16 expression were markedly de-creased in hypertrophic myocardium and hypertrophic cardiomyocytes in rats .Overexpression of miR-1 and -16 suppressed rat cardiac hypertrophy and hypertrophic phenotype of cultured cardiomyocytes .Expression of cyclins D1, D2 and E1, CDK6 and phosphorylated pRb was increased in hypertrophic myocardium and hypertrophic cardiomyocytes , but could be reversed by enforced expression of miR-1 and -16.CDK6 was validated to be modulated post-transcriptionally by miR-1, and cyclins D1, D2 and E1 were further validated to be modulated post-transcriptionally by miR-16.CONCLUSION: Attenuations of miR-1 and -16 provoke cardiomyocyte hypertrophy via derepressing the cyclins D1, D2, E1 and CDK6, and activating cyclin/Rb pathway.

TIAM2 functional gene mutation has no effect of on bleeding events after clopidogrel antiplatelet therapy in patients with coronary heart disease / 实用医学杂志

Objective To explore the correlation of the TIAM2 functional gene mutations with the bleeding events in patients with coronary heart disease who undergone PCI and postoperative taken anti-platelet drug clopi-dogrel. Methods One hundred and twenty Chinese Han patients who had undergone PCI and postoperative taken anti-platelet drug clopidogrel were orderly enrolled from Guangdong General Hospital. Followed for 6 months after PCI, PCR sequencing was applied to test TIAM2 promoter region genotyping assay. Results After follow-up six months , 113 cases were remained lost of 7 cases , , including 19 cases with bleeding and 94 cases without bleed-ing; Bleeding risk in patients with diabetes mellitus (OR=3.115) or taking statins (OR=11.539), may be high, but there was no significant difference (P > 0.05); TIAM2 promoter region had three variants (c.3168+3116C>T, c.3168+3261A>G,c.3168+3596A>C), including wild-type, heterozygous, and homozygous. The probability of pa-tients with bleeding were 36.84%, 52.63%and 10.53%, and there is a certain chain of state , but the genotype was not significantly correlated with bleeding events of clopidogrel antiplatelet therapy (P>0.05). Conclusion Clopi-dogrel antiplatelet therapy bleeding events were not significantly correlated with TIAM2 functional gene mutation.

Telomerase activity in cervical cancer and its precursor lesion / 中华妇产科杂志

Objective To study telomerase activity in cervical cancer and it′s precursor lesion Methods Thirty six cervical cancer and 16 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) specimens were measured for telomerase activity using TRAP ELISA, and 11 normal cervix, 6 chronic cervicitis and 8 adjacent normal tissue specimens as controls Results Mean telomerase activity in CIN, cervical cancer, and controls were 0 398?0 293, 1 580?0 819, 0 050?0 012 There was statistically significant difference among three groups ( P