The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Urtica fissa.

Urtica fissa E. Pritz is not only an important medicinal plant for rheumatism and cough relief, but it is also an important forage plant. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of U. fissa was assembled for the first time and reported to be 146,837 base pairs (bp) long with a typical tetragonal structure and including a large single-copy of 79,657 bp, a small single-copy of 17,712 bp, and two inverted repeats of 24,734 bp each. It harbors 115 unique genes, including 70 protein-coding genes, 38 transfer RNA genes, and 7 ribosomal RNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that U. fissa is closely related to Urtica lobatifolia. This study contributes to the understanding of the origin and evolution of U. fissa, as well as its genetic relationships with other species.

Effect of Probiotics Therapy on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Objective: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent chronic liver disease in the world. The pathogenesis of NAFLD is complex and multifactorial. Clinical studies have shown that alterations in the gut microbiota play a key role in NAFLD. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of probiotic supplementation on the treatment of NAFLD patients based on various indicators. Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis investigating the relationship between NAFLD and probiotic supplementation. Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science databases were searched by computer, and then, eligible studies were identified. Finally, a total of high-quality randomized controlled trials were selected involving 1403 participants. Meta-analysis was performed using the RevMan 5.3 software which was systematically searched for works published through Dec. 1, 2021, in the present study. Results: The meta-analysis results showed that the probiotics supplementation improved hepatocyte injury and significantly reduced the level of ALT (P = 0.00001), AST (P = 0.0009), GGT (P = 0.04), TG (P = 0.01), LDL-C (P = 0.0005), HDL-C (P = 0.0002), insulin (P = 0.003), IR (P = 0.03), BMI (P = 0.03), TNF-α (P = 0.03), and CRP (P = 0.02), respectively, in NAFLD patients. Conclusion: The present study suggests that probiotics therapy may improve liver enzyme levels, regulated lipid metabolism, reduced insulin resistance, and improved inflammation in NAFLD patients. It supports the potential role of probiotics supplementation in the treatment of NAFLD.

lncRNA GAS5 Is Upregulated in Osteoporosis and Downregulates miR-21 to Promote Apoptosis of Osteoclasts.

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that lncRNA growth arrest-specific transcript 5 (GAS5) interacts with miR-21, which plays critical roles in osteoporosis. The involvement of GAS5 in osteoporosis was investigated in this study. METHODS: Expression levels of GAS5 and miR-21 in plasma of both osteoporosis patients and healthy controls were determined by RT-qPCR. Diagnostic values of GAS5 and miR-21 for osteoporosis were analyzed by ROC curve analysis. Overexpression experiments were used to assess the interactions between GAS5 and miR-21. The roles of GAS5 and miR-21 in the apoptosis of osteoclasts were investigated by cell apoptosis assay. RESULTS: The present study aimed to investigate the roles of GAS5 in osteoporosis. The results showed that GAS5 was upregulated, while miR-21 was downregulated in plasma of osteoporosis patients. Expression levels of GAS5 and miR-21 were inversely correlated across plasma samples from osteoporosis patients but not the plasma samples from the controls. Altered expression of GAS5 and miR-21 distinguished osteoporosis patients from the controls. In osteoclasts, overexpression of GAS5 led to downregulation of miR-21, while overexpression of miR-21 did not affect the expression of GAS5. Overexpression of GAS5 led to promoted apoptosis of osteoclasts, while overexpression of miR-21 led to suppressed apoptosis of osteoclasts. In addition, overexpression of miR-21 attenuated the enhancing effects of overexpressing GAS5 on cell apoptosis. CONCLUSION: GAS5 is upregulated in osteoporosis and may downregulate miR-21 to promote the apoptosis of osteoclasts.

Identification of serum miR-124 as a biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis in osteosarcoma.

BACKGROUND: It has been demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in the carcinogenesis of osteosarcoma. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to determine the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum miR-124 in osteosarcoma. METHODS: The serum miR-124 expression levels in 114 osteosarcoma patients, 40 periostitis patients and 50 normal controls were detected using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). RESULTS: The level of serum miR-124 was remarkably decreased in osteosarcoma patients when compared to periostitis patients and healthy controls (both p< 0.05). The serum miR-124 levels in osteosarcoma patients were significantly elevated after receiving surgical treatment (p< 0.01). Furthermore, the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) for serum miR-124 was 0.846, combining with 79.8% sensitivity and 86.00% specificity. A significant correlation was detected between serum miR-124 expression and distant metastasis (p= 0.0256) as well as clinical stage (p= 0.0006). Similarly, serum miR-124 levels in patients with advanced clinical stage or positive distant metastasis were significantly decreased. Moreover, the Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank test showed that osteosarcoma patients with lower serum miR-124 levels had unfavorable 5 year overall survival and disease free survival rates. Finally, multivariate analysis revealed that serum miR-124 was an independent prognostic indicator for osteosarcoma. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggested that serum miR-124 might be a promising biomarker with diagnostic and prognostic value for osteosarcoma.