Genome-Wide Identification of Schistosoma japonicum MicroRNAs Using a Deep-Sequencing Approach

BACKGROUND: Human schistosomiasis is one of the most prevalent and serious parasitic diseases worldwide. Schistosoma japonicum is one of important pathogens of this disease. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a large group of non-coding RNAs that play important roles in regulating gene expression and protein translation in animals. Genome-wide identification of miRNAs in a given organism is a critical step to facilitating our understanding of genome organization, genome biology, evolution, and posttranscriptional regulation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We sequenced two small RNA libraries prepared from different stages of the life cycle of S. japonicum, immature schistosomula and mature pairing adults, through a deep DNA sequencing approach, which yielded approximately 12 million high-quality short sequence reads containing a total of approximately 2 million non-redundant tags. Based on a bioinformatics pipeline, we identified 176 new S. japonicum miRNAs, of which some exhibited a differential pattern of expression between the two stages. Although 21 S. japonicum miRNAs are orthologs of known miRNAs within the metazoans, some nucleotides at many positions of Schistosoma miRNAs, such as miR-8, let-7, miR-10, miR-31, miR-92, miR-124, and miR-125, are indeed significantly distinct from other bilaterian orthologs. In addition, both miR-71 and some miR-2 family members in tandem are found to be clustered in a reversal direction model on two genomic loci, and two pairs of novel S. japonicum miRNAs were derived from sense and antisense DNA strands at the same genomic loci. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The collection of S. japonicum miRNAs could be used as a new platform to study the genomic structure, gene regulation and networks, evolutionary processes, development, and host-parasite interactions. Some S. japonicum miRNAs and their clusters could represent the ancestral forms of the conserved orthologues and a model for the genesis of novel miRNAs

Optimization plan for excess warehouse storage in e-commerce–based plant shops: a case study for Chinese plant industrial

The rapid development of e-commerce in China has played a critical role in the development of the national economy and ongoing modernization. The plant industry is unique among industries that employ e-commerce sales models because its products exhibit special characteristics such as high death and damage rates. Therefore, its e-commerce and logistical requirements are stricter than in other industries and, as a result, excess warehouse storage can be extremely difficult for e-commerce–based plant shops to manage. Numerous studies have indicated the need to identify a product’s most up-to-date market conditions, as well as the type, function, and size of warehouses. Therefore, based on a case study, this study proposes an optimization plan for solving excess warehouse storage in e-commerce–based plant shops. First, sales volume data of the case company, Enterprise A, were analyzed to predict future sales. Then, entropy and the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution were used to construct the decision-making model. Finally, a cloud warehouse–based optimization plan was proposed to solve excess warehouse storage in e-commerce–based plant shops. This plan can serve as a reference for decision-makers or executives in e-commerce–based plant shops when handling excess warehouse storage

Comparative mRNA and miRNA expression in European mouflon (Ovis musimon) and sheep (Ovis aries) provides novel insights into the genetic mechanisms for female reproductive success

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Cerebrospinal fluid neurofilament dynamic profiles predict cognitive progression in individuals with de novo Parkinson’s disease

BackgroundNeurofilament light chain protein (NfL) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) reflects the severity of neurodegeneration, with its altered concentrations discovered in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Parkinson’s disease dementia (PD-D).ObjectiveTo determine whether CSF NfL, a promising biomarker of neuronal/axonal damage, can be used to monitor cognitive progression in de novo Parkinson’s disease and predict future cognitive decline.MethodsA total of 259 people were recruited in this study, including 85 healthy controls (HC) and 174 neonatal PD patients from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). Multiple linear regression and linear mixed effects models were used to examine the associations of baseline/longitudinal CSF NfL with cognitive decline and other CSF biomarkers. Kaplan–Meier analysis and log-rank test were used to compare the cumulative probability risk of cognition progression during the follow-up. Multivariate cox regression was used to detect cognitive progression in de novo PD.ResultsWe found PD patients with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) was higher than with normal cognition (PD-NC) in terms of CSF NfL baseline levels (p = 0.003) and longitudinal increase rate (p = 0.034). Both baseline CSF NfL and its rate of change predicted measurable cognitive decline in de novo PD (MoCA, β = −0.010, p = 0.011; β = −0.0002, p < 0.001, respectively). The predictive effects in de novo PD patients aged >65, male, ill-educated (<13 years) and without carrying Apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE ε4) seemed to be more obvious and reflected in more domains investigated. We also observed that CSF NfL levels predicted progression in de novo PD patients with different cognitive diagnosis and amyloid status. After an average follow-up of 6.66 ± 2.54 years, higher concentration above the median of baseline CSF NfL was associated with a future high risk of PD with dementia (adjusted HR 2.82, 95% CI: 1.11–7.20, p = 0.030).ConclusionOur results indicated that CSF NfL is a promising prognostic predictor of PD, and its concentration and dynamics can monitor the severity and progression of cognitive decline in de novo PD patients

Cannabidiol regulates apoptosis and autophagy in inflammation and cancer: A review

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a terpenoid naturally found in plants. The purified compound is used in the treatment of mental disorders because of its antidepressive, anxiolytic, and antiepileptic effects. CBD can affect the regulation of several pathophysiologic processes, including autophagy, cytokine secretion, apoptosis, and innate and adaptive immune responses. However, several authors have reported contradictory findings concerning the magnitude and direction of CBD-mediated effects. For example, CBD treatment can increase, decrease, or have no significant effect on autophagy and apoptosis. These variable results can be attributed to the differences in the biological models, cell types, and CBD concentration used in these studies. This review focuses on the mechanism of regulation of autophagy and apoptosis in inflammatory response and cancer by CBD. Further, we broadly elaborated on the prospects of using CBD as an anti-inflammatory agent and in cancer therapy in the future

Myeloid-specific blockade of notch signaling alleviates dopaminergic neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease by dominantly regulating resident microglia activation through NF-κB signaling

Yolk sac–derived microglia and peripheral monocyte–derived macrophages play a key role during Parkinson’s disease (PD) progression. However, the regulatory mechanism of microglia/macrophage activation and function in PD pathogenesis remains unclear. Recombination signal–binding protein Jκ (RBP-J)–mediated Notch signaling regulates macrophage development and activation. In this study, with an 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) hydrochloride-induced acute murine PD model, we found that Notch signaling was activated in amoeboid microglia accompanied by a decrease in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)–positive neurons. Furthermore, using myeloid-specific RBP-J knockout (RBP-JcKO) mice combined with a PD model, our results showed that myeloid-specific disruption of RBP-J alleviated dopaminergic neurodegeneration and improved locomotor activity. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis showed that the number of infiltrated inflammatory macrophages and activated major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II+ microglia decreased in RBP-JcKO mice compared with control mice. Moreover, to block monocyte recruitment by using chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 2 (CCR2) knockout mice, the effect of RBP-J deficiency on dopaminergic neurodegeneration was not affected, indicating that Notch signaling might regulate neuroinflammation independent of CCR2+ monocyte infiltration. Notably, when microglia were depleted with the PLX5622 formulated diet, we found that myeloid-specific RBP-J knockout resulted in more TH+ neurons and fewer activated microglia. Ex vitro experiments demonstrated that RBP-J deficiency in microglia might reduce inflammatory factor secretion, TH+ neuron apoptosis, and p65 nuclear translocation. Collectively, our study first revealed that RBP-J–mediated Notch signaling might participate in PD progression by mainly regulating microglia activation through nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) signaling