The role of miRNA-624-5p in congenital hypothyroidism and its molecular mechanism by targeting SIRT1.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating reports evidenced that congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is a kind of endocrine diseases caused by thyroid hormone imperfection. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) were confirmed to exhibit protective functions in CH progression. However, the functions and latent mechanism of microRNA-624-5p (miR-624-5p) in CH remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: This report was designed to illustrate the potential molecular mechanisms of miR-624-5p on CH. METHODS: Rats were induced by 50 mg/day propylthiouracil to conduct CH models. Free thyroxine (fT4) and thyroid-Stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations were measured to confirm CH model conduction. The direct target of miR-624-5p was predicted and verified by Starbase and dual luciferase reporter assay. Besides, the levels of miR-624-5p and sirtuin1 (SIRT1) in hippocampus or hippocampal neuronal cells were assessed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) or Western blot assays. Then CH rat behaviors were evaluated using open field test (OFT) and forced swim test (FST). Furthermore, neuronal cells viability and apoptosis were checked using 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and flow cytometry. RESULTS: qRT-PCR assay suggested that miR-624-5p was up-regulated and SIRT1 was low-expressed in hippocampus tissues of CH rats. SIRT1 was a direct target of miR-624-5p. MiR-624-5p inhibitor signally enhanced fT4 levels and reduced TSH levels in the plasma of CH rats, and improved CH rat depressive behaviors by targeting SIRT1. Moreover, our data also revealed that miR-624-5p inhibitor increased cell viability and reduced apoptotic neuronal cells, which was reversed by silencing of SIRT1. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, this research demonstrated that miR-624-5p serves as a promising target for CH treatment.

The evolutionary history of PDR in Brachypodium distachyon polyploids.

The ATP-binding cassette transporter genes include the pleiotropic drug resistance (PDR) family found only in fungi and plants. These transporters transport toxic compounds across biological membranes. Here, we investigated the evolution of the PDR1 gene in Brachypodium distachyon, a widely distributed temperate grass species that belongs to the Poaceae (Gramineae) family, which also contains the domesticated cereal crops. Because this species has multiple ploidy levels, investigating PDR1 evolution in B. distachyon will offer insights into the formation and evolution of polyploidy. From 23 B. distachyon ecotypes, 39 PDR1 homologs were identified. All ecotypes had either one or two PDR1 copies. Based on restriction site analysis, the PDR1 homologs were classified as E or H type. All but one diploid and tetraploid ecotypes had only a single H type PDR1. All but one hexaploid ecotypes had both an E and a H type PDR1. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that each type formed a well-supported cluster. The two PDR1 types appeared to evolve differently. These different evolutionary patterns could indicate a difference in age between the two types or might indicate different mutation rates or selection pressures on the two types. The phylogenetic analysis also revealed that the hexaploid ecotypes shared a genomic origin for their E type PDR1, but there were multiple origins for hexaploid H type PDR1 homologs. Overall, the results suggest that tetraploid and hexaploid might be misnomers in B. distachyon and suggest a complex polyploidization history during B. distachyon evolution.

[Study on mass transfer behavior of hemoglobin-based nanocapsule surface].

Three dimensional structure of the surface is an important factor that influences the mass transfer behavior of hemoglobin-based nanocapsule surface. In this paper, the modified double emulsion method was used to fabricate the blood substitute of hemoglobin-based nanocapsules, and with the use of different molecular weight of PEG as probes, the effects of different technical conditions (such as primary emulsion, double emulsion, polymer, solvent, et al) in the processing on the three dimensional structure of the nanocapsule surface were investigated in details. Researches indicated that the water-soluable solvent, such as ethyl acetate and acetone could effectively modulate the pore size of the nanocapsule surface. With the increasing of the ratio of water-soluble solvent, the pore size of the nanocapsules firstly increased and then decreased. The increasing of the extra-water volume, the prolongation of the solvent evaporation time, and the improvement of the stirring speed resulted in a bigger pore size, but the increasing of the solvent volume and PEG polymer could reduce the pore size of nanocapsule surface.