Epidemiological and hematological investigation of dengue virus infection.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral illness that infects humans. For the past few decades, it has been declared a global public health problem. The current study, conducted at the district headquarter hospital (DHQ) Bannu between June to September 2018, was based on the seroprevalence of antibodies against dengue virus serotypes and their hematological parameters among the patients. A total of 1738 individuals suspected of having dengue were diagnosed through NS1, IgG, and IgM antibodies and RT-PCR techniques. Of all the samples, 716 (41.19%) were found to be positive for dengue. A higher infection rate was found in males (65.92%) compared with females (34.07%). The most affected age group was 16-40 years, whereas the most affected tehsil was Bannu, where the DENV-3 serotype was prevalent. The rare serotype (DENV-4) was found in 1% of cases. Symptoms including fever (100%), myalgia (100%), headache (61.31%), vomiting (34.63%), and rashes were common among the dengue patients. However, the mild cases showed fewer clinical signs compared with the severely infected cases. The study also revealed a significant association (P < 0.05) between hematological parameters and dengue infection, showing a significant decrease in TC, eosinophils, neutrophils, and platelets and a significant increase in monocytes and lymphocytes. Based on the current report, it is concluded that patients with the above symptoms and hematological changes may have an increased probability of dengue and should be kept under observation to separate dengue-positive patients and to enhance the treatment process.

Bladder cancer hunting: A microfluidic paper-based analytical device.

Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer in men, and it is becoming a prevalent malignancy. Most of the regular clinical examinations are prompt evaluations with cystoscopy, renal function testing, which require high-precision instrument, well-trained operators, and high cost. In this study, a microfluidic paper-based analytical device (µPAD) was fabricated to detect nuclear matrix protein 22 (NMP22) and bladder cancer antigen (BTA) from the urine samples. Urine samples were collected from 11 bladder cancer patients and 10 well-beings as experiment and control groups, respectively, to verify the working efficiency of µPAD. A remarkable checkout efficiency of up to 90.91% was found from the results. Meanwhile, this method is feasible for home-based self-detection from urine samples within 10 min for the total process, which provides a new way for quick, economical, and convenient tumor diagnosis, prognosis evaluation, and drug response.

CAR-NK Cell Therapy: A Transformative Approach to Overcoming Oncological Challenges.

The use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) in natural killer (NK) cells for cancer therapy is gaining momentum, marking a significant shift in cancer treatment. This review aims to explore the potential of CAR-NK cell therapy in cancer immunotherapy, providing a fresh perspective. It discusses the innovative approaches in CAR-NK cell design and engineering, particularly targeting refractory or recurrent cancers. By comparing CAR-NK cells with traditional therapies, the review highlights their unique ability to tackle tumor heterogeneity and immune system suppression. Additionally, it explains how novel cytokines and receptors can enhance CAR-NK cell efficacy, specificity, and functionality. This review underscores the advantages of CAR-NK cells, including reduced toxicity, lower cost, and broader accessibility compared to CAR-T cells, along with their potential in treating both blood cancers and solid tumors.

Investigating the causal impact of different types of physical activity on psychiatric disorders across life stages: A Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Psychiatric disorders, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, anxiety disorders, and dementia, manifest differently across life stages, impacting cognitive, emotional, and behavioral health. Understanding the causal relationships between various types of physical activity and these disorders is crucial for developing targeted interventions. METHODS: The summary level data from GWAS was utilized to conduct a two-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) analysis. We assessed the potential causal relationships between different types of physical activity including light do it yourself (DIY) activities, heavy DIY activities, strenuous sports, and aerobic exercises/other exercises and the prevalence of psychiatric disorders (ADHD, depression, anxiety disorders, and dementia) across different life stages. RESULTS: The MR analysis showed no causal relationship between light DIY activities and any of the psychiatric disorders studied. Heavy DIY activities showed a significant negative association with anxiety disorders but no links with ADHD, depression, or dementia. Strenuous sports did not demonstrate any causal relationship with the psychiatric disorders examined. Aerobic exercises were notably correlated with a reduced risk of depression, although no significant associations were found with ADHD, anxiety disorders, or dementia. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that heavy DIY activities might contribute to reducing anxiety disorders, while aerobic exercises potentially lower the risk of depression. These results emphasize the potential benefits of promoting specific types of physical activity to improve mental health outcomes across different life stages. Future research could further investigate the mechanisms underlying these relationships and consider diverse populations and objective measures of physical activity.

The mutual interplay between NTRK fusion genes and human papillomavirus infection in cervical cancer progression (Review).

Cervical cancer is a significant global health concern, with a substantial portion of cases attributed to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Recent advancements in molecular profiling have identified distinct subtypes of cervical cancer based on their genomic alterations. One such subgroup is neurotrophic tropomyosin receptor kinase (NTRK) fusion-positive cervical cancers, characterized by gene fusions involving the NTRK genes. Although both NTRK fusion genes and HPV infections are independently recognized as significant risk factors in cervical cancer, their interplay and mutual effects on cancer progression are not yet fully understood. The present review is the first of its kind to explore the potential interplay between NTRK fusion genes and HPV infections. It surveys in detail how their combined effect can influence the signaling pathways during cervical cancer development and progression. Moreover, the present study discussed the clinical features, histopathological examinations, treatment procedures and follow-up outcomes of NTRK-fusion gene-positive cervical cancer. The present review may help in the understanding of the management and treatment of such rare, lethal and resistant cervical cancers.

The explorations of dynamic interactions of paxillin at the focal adhesions.

Paxillin is one of the most important adapters in integrin-mediated adhesions that performs numerous crucial functions relying on its dynamic interactions. Its structural behavior serves different purposes, providing a base for several activities. The various domains of paxillin display different functions in the whole process of cell movements and have a significant role in cell adhesion, migration, signal transmission, and protein-protein interactions. On the other hand, some paxillin-associated proteins provide a unique spatiotemporal mechanism for regulating its dynamic characteristics in the tissue homeostasis and make it a more complex and decisive protein at the focal adhesions. This review briefly describes the structural adaptations and molecular mechanisms of recruitment of paxillin into adhesions, explains paxillin's binding dynamics and impact on adhesion stability and turnover, and reveals a variety of paxillin-associated regulatory mechanisms and how paxillin is embedded into the signaling networks.

A systematic review on active sites and functions of PIM-1 protein.

The Proviral Integration of Molony murine leukemia virus (PIM)-1 protein contributes to the solid cancers and hematologic malignancies, cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, migration, and other life activities. Many studies have related these functions to its molecular structure, subcellular localization and expression level. However, recognition of specific active sites and their effects on the activity of this constitutively active kinase is still a challenge. Based on the close relationship between its molecular structure and functional activity, this review covers the specific residues involved in the binding of ATP and different substrates in its catalytic domain. This review then elaborates on the relevant changes in protein conformation and cell functions after PIM-1 binds to different substrates. Therefore, this intensive study can improve the understanding of PIM-1-regulated signaling pathways by facilitating the discovery of its potential phosphorylation substrates.

The raft cytoskeleton binding protein complexes personate functional regulators in cell behaviors.

Several cytoskeleton proteins interact with raft proteins to form raft-cytoskeleton binding protein complexes (RCPCs) that control cell migration and adhesion. The purpose of this paper is to review the latest research on the modes and mechanisms by which a RCPC controls different cellular functions. This paper discusses RCPC composition and its role in cytoskeleton reorganization, as well as the latest developments in molecular mechanisms that regulate cell adhesion and migration under normal conditions. In addition, the role of some external stimuli (such as stress and chemical signals) in this process is further debated, and meanwhile potential mechanisms for RCPC to regulate lipid raft fluidity is proposed. Thus, this review mainly contributes to the understanding of RCPC signal transduction in cells. Additionally, the targeted signal transduction of RCPC and its mechanism connection with cell behaviors will provide a logical basis for the development of unified interventions to combat metastasis related dysfunction and diseases.

The Road to Unconventional Detections: Paper-Based Microfluidic Chips.

Conventional detectors are mostly made up of complicated structures that are hard to use. A paper-based microfluidic chip, however, combines the advantages of being small, efficient, easy to process, and environmentally friendly. The paper-based microfluidic chips for biomedical applications focus on efficiency, accuracy, integration, and innovation. Therefore, continuous progress is observed in the transition from single-channel detection to multi-channel detection and in the shift from qualitative detection to quantitative detection. These developments improved the efficiency and accuracy of single-cell substance detection. Paper-based microfluidic chips can provide insight into a variety of fields, including biomedicine and other related fields. This review looks at how paper-based microfluidic chips are prepared, analyzed, and used to help with both biomedical development and functional integration, ideally at the same time.

Regulation of insulin resistance and glucose metabolism by interaction of PIM kinases and insulin receptor substrates.

Insulin resistance is caused by various environmental and genetic factors leading to a number of serious health issues. Due to its multifactorial origin, molecular characterization may provide better tools for its effective treatment. On molecular level, dysregulation of signaling pathway by insulin receptor substrates (IRSs) is one of the most common reasons of this disease. IRSs are regulated by >50 serine/threonine kinases, which may have positive or negative effects on insulin sensitivity. Among these serine/threonine kinases, PIM kinases have garnered much attention as they not only affect insulin sensitivity by phosphorylating IRSs directly and/or indirectly but also alter the activities of their downstream molecules like PI3K, AKT, and mTOR. In this review, interactions of PIM kinases with IRSs and their downstream proteins and their action mechanism in the regulation of insulin resistance are elaborated. Furthermore, this review offers fundamental understandings of the role of PIM kinases in this signaling pathway.

Doxorubicin-induced toxicity to 3D-cultured rat ovarian follicles on a microfluidic chip.

Doxorubicin (DOX) has dose-dependent toxicity on ovarian follicles (OFs), and the inhibition of different signaling molecules along with the DOX application for enhancing its efficacy can also upsurge this toxicity. Therefore, it is strongly required to explore the mechanism of DOX-induced toxicity in 3D culture systems for protecting the OFs. A microfluidic chip was used to culture a single OF to identify the potential signaling molecules and their combined effects on OFs dynamically. The chip offers better 3D biomimetic microenvironment to the growing OF than 2D culture systems. The OFs cultured on the chip were treated with DOX and the inhibitors of Src, Ca2+, and PIM. Their mutual effects were studied on OFs growth and 17ß-estradiol secretion. Besides, the RNA levels of B4GALT2 and UNC5C genes of DOX-exposed OFs were detected by RT-qPCR, and TUNEL staining experiments were conducted to check the OF apoptosis. The results showed that DOX application reduced the OFs growth and hormone secretion and induced apoptosis in the OFs. Moreover, the DOX-induced toxic effects were enriched by Src and PIM inhibition, while reduced by the ER-Ca2+ channel inhibitor. This study specifically demonstrates the synergistic effects of some signaling molecules on DOX-mediated cellular functions of OFs and demands some meditative measures to decipher this toxicity for supporting the female endocrine and reproductive functions.

Heat Shock Protein 27 Phosphorylation Regulates Tumor Cell Migration under Shear Stress.

Heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) is a multifunctional protein that undergoes significant changes in its expression and phosphorylation in response to shear stress stimuli, suggesting that it may be involved in mechanotransduction. However, the mechanism of HSP27 affecting tumor cell migration under shear stress is still not clear. In this study, HSP27-enhanced cyan fluorescent protein (ECFP) and HSP27-Ypet plasmids are constructed to visualize the self-polymerization of HSP27 in living cells based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer technology. The results show that shear stress induces polar distribution of HSP27 to regulate the dynamic structure at the cell leading edge. Shear stress also promotes HSP27 depolymerization to small molecules and then regulates polar actin accumulation and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) polar activation, which further promotes tumor cell migration. This study suggests that HSP27 plays an important role in the regulation of shear stress-induced HeLa cell migration, and it also provides a theoretical basis for HSP27 as a potential drug target for metastasis.

Doxorubicin Induces ER Calcium Release via Src in Rat Ovarian Follicles.

Although doxorubicin has been widely used as an anticancer drug, it has dose-dependent toxic effects on ovarian follicle development and apoptosis, oocyte maturation, and hormone secretion. Ca2+ signaling also has vital roles in the same cellular functions of ovarian follicles, indicating a strong link with doxorubicin-induced ovarian toxicity. In the current project, doxorubicin-induced Ca2+ alternations in cultured rat ovarian follicles have been explored with the fluorescence resonance energy transfer technology. The results reveal that doxorubicin enhances the cytosolic Ca2+ level smoothly. Further experiments confirm that the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium, but not the extracellular calcium influx, is the main source of intracellular calcium increase. Moreover, Src kinase activation could be the upstream of doxorubicin-induced ER calcium release. Therefore, this project demonstrates that doxorubicin increases the cytosolic Ca2+ mainly by releasing calcium from ER via Src kinase activation in ovarian follicles, which provides deeper understanding of doxorubicin-induced ovarian toxicity.

PIM Kinases and Their Relevance to the PI3K/AKT/mTOR Pathway in the Regulation of Ovarian Cancer.

Ovarian cancer is a medical term that includes a number of tumors with different molecular biology, phenotypes, tumor progression, etiology, and even different diagnosis. Some specific treatments are required to address this heterogeneity of ovarian cancer, thus molecular characterization may provide an important tool for this purpose. On a molecular level, proviral-integration site for Moloney-murine leukemia virus (PIM) kinases are over expressed in ovarian cancer and play a vital role in the regulation of different proteins responsible for this tumorigenesis. Likewise, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is also a central regulator of the ovarian cancer. Interestingly, recent research has linked the PIM kinases to the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in several types of cancers, but their connection in ovarian cancer has not been studied yet. Once the exact relationship of PIM kinases with the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is acquired in ovarian cancer, it will hopefully provide effective treatments on a molecular level. This review mainly focuses on the role of PIM kinases in ovarian cancer and their interactions with proteins involved in its progression. In addition, this review suggests a connection between the PIM kinases and the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and their parallel mechanism in the regulation of ovarian cancer.

A Membrane-Bound Biosensor Visualizes Shear Stress-Induced Inhomogeneous Alteration of Cell Membrane Tension.

Cell membrane is the first medium from where a cell senses and responds to external stress stimuli. Exploring the tension changes in cell membrane will help us to understand intracellular force transmission. Here, a biosensor (named MSS) based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer is developed to visualize cell membrane tension. Validity of the biosensor is first verified for the detection of cell membrane tension. Results show a shear stress-induced heterogeneous distribution of membrane tension with the biosensor, which is strengthened by the disruption of microfilaments or enhancement of membrane fluidity, but weakened by the reduction of membrane fluidity or disruption of microtubules. These findings suggest that the MSS biosensor is a beneficial tool to visualize the changes and distribution of cell membrane tension. Besides, cell membrane tension does not display obvious polar distribution, indicating that cellular polarity changes do not first occur on the cell membrane during mechanical transmission.

The Role of Microfluidics for Organ on Chip Simulations.

A multichannel three-dimensional chip of a microfluidic cell culture which enables the simulation of organs is called an "organ on a chip" (OC). With the integration of many other technologies, OCs have been mimicking organs, substituting animal models, and diminishing the time and cost of experiments which is better than the preceding conventional in vitro models, which make them imperative tools for finding functional properties, pathological states, and developmental studies of organs. In this review, recent progress regarding microfluidic devices and their applications in cell cultures is discussed to explain the advantages and limitations of these systems. Microfluidics is not a solution but only an approach to create a controlled environment, however, other supporting technologies are needed, depending upon what is intended to be achieved. Microfluidic platforms can be integrated with additional technologies to enhance the organ on chip simulations. Besides, new directions and areas are mentioned for interested researchers in this field, and future challenges regarding the simulation of OCs are also discussed, which will make microfluidics more accurate and beneficial for biological applications.

A Microfluidic Device for Culturing an Encapsulated Ovarian Follicle.

Microfluidic chips have been proved effective in mimicking different organs of human body. Simulating human ovarian follicles by microfluidic device will be useful in exploring the mechanism of folliculogenesis and related diseases. In this paper, a microfluidic chip was designed to culture a single human pre-antral follicle. Ovarian follicles were first encapsulated in 3D calcium alginate hydrogel beads and then cultured on chip and in dish under same conditions. The diameters of cultured ovarian follicles were measured, and the same amount of medium was collected from microfluidic device or dish per two days for measuring the estradiol and androgen concentrations. The results confirmed the successful growth of ovarian follicles on chip with their hormonal trends and diameters increase, which were similar to ovarian follicles cultured in dish. It is concluded that this microfluidic chip can be used to culture a single human ovarian follicle, which provides a useful tool to explore the hormonal changes and their interactions during folliculogenesis.

Role of Rho-specific guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor α regulation in cell migration.

Cell migration is a vital process for many physiological and pathological events, and Rho GTPases have been confirmed as key factors in its regulation. The most studied negative regulator of Rho GTPases, Rho-specific guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor α (RhoGDIα), mediates cell migration through altering the overall expression and spatiotemporal activation of Rho GTPases. The RhoGDIα-Rho GTPases dissociation can be mediated by signal pathways targeting RhoGDIα directly. This review summarizes the research about the regulation of RhoGDIα during cell migration, which can be in a Rho GTPases association independent manner. Non-kinase proteins regulation, phosphorylation, SUMOylation and extracellular environmental factors are classified to discuss their direct signal regulations on RhoGDIα, which provide varied signal pathways for selective activation of Rho GTPases in cell migration.