Involvement of microRNAs in physiological and pathological processes in the lung

To date, at least 900 different microRNA (miRNA) genes have been discovered in the human genome. These short, single-stranded RNA molecules originate from larger precursor molecules that fold to produce hairpin structures, which are subsequently processed by ribonucleases Drosha/Pasha and Dicer to form mature miRNAs. MiRNAs play role in the posttranscriptional regulation of about one third of human genes, mainly via degradation of target mRNAs. Whereas the target mRNAs are often involved in the regulation of diverse physiological processes ranging from developmental timing to apoptosis, miRNAs have a strong potential to regulate fundamental biological processes also in the lung compartment. However, the knowledge of the role of miRNAs in physiological and pathological conditions in the lung is still limited. This review, therefore, summarizes current knowledge of the mechanism, function of miRNAs and their contribution to lung development and homeostasis. Besides the involvement of miRNAs in pulmonary physiological conditions, there is evidence that abnormal miRNA expression may lead to pathological processes and development of various pulmonary diseases. Next, the review describes current state-of-art on the miRNA expression profiles in smoking-related diseases including lung cancerogenesis, in immune system mediated pulmonary diseases and fibrotic processes in the lung. From the current research it is evident that miRNAs may play role in the posttranscriptional regulation of key genes in human pulmonary diseases. Further studies are, therefore, necessary to explore miRNA expression profiles and their association with target mRNAs in human pulmonary diseases

Unravelling the pluripotency paradox in fetal and placental mesenchymal stem cells: Oct-4 expression and the case of the emperor's new clothes

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from fetal-placental tissues have translational advantages over their adult counterparts, and have variably been reported to express pluripotency markers. OCT- 4 expression in fetal-placental MSC has been documented in some studies, paradoxically without tumourogenicity in vivo. It is possible that OCT- 4 expression is insufficient to induce true "stemness", but this issue is important for the translational safety of fetal-derived MSC. To clarify this, we undertook a systematic literature review on OCT- 4 in fetal or adnexal MSC to show that most studies report OCT- 4 message or protein expression, but no study provides definitive evidence of true OCT- 4A expression. Discrepant findings were attributable not to different culture conditions, tissue sources, or gestational ages but instead to techniques used. In assessing OCT- 4 as a pluripotency marker, we highlight the challenges in detecting the correct OCT- 4 isoform (OCT- 4A) associated with pluripotency. Although specific detection of OCT- 4A mRNA is achievable, it appears unlikely that any antibody can reliably distinguish between OCT- 4A and the pseudogene OCT- 4B. Finally, using five robust techniques we demonstrate that fetal derived-MSC do not express OCT- 4A (or by default OCT- 4B). Reports suggesting OCT- 4 expression in fetal-derived MSC warrant reassessment, paying attention to gene and protein isoforms, pseudogenes, and antibody choice as well as primer design. Critical examination of the OCT- 4 literature leads us to suggest that OCT- 4 expression in fetal MSC may be a case of "The Emperor's New Clothes" with early reports of (false) positive expression amplified in subsequent studies without critical attention to emerging refinements in knowledge and methodology

Additional file 8: Figure S5. of Shared and divergent pathways for flower abscission are triggered by gibberellic acid and carbon starvation in seedless Vitis vinifera L

Pearson correlation plots of RNA-Seq reads. Correlation between individual biological replicates in each time-point (5 and 7d) and treatment (control, GAc and shade) using ln-transformed read counts for the DEG as input. All correlation values are significant at p-value ≤ 0.001. (PDF 140 kb

Electrochemical and spectroscopic methods for evaluating molecular electrocatalysts

© 2017 Macmillan Publishers Limited. Modern energy challenges have amplified interest in transition metal-based molecular electrocatalysts for fuel-forming reactions. The activity of these homogeneous electrocatalysts, and the mechanisms by which they operate, can be uncovered using state-of-the-art electrochemical methods. Catalyst performance can be benchmarked according to metrics obtainable from cyclic voltammograms by analysis of catalytic plateau currents and peak potentials, as well as by foot-of-the-wave analysis. The application of complementary spectroscopic techniques, including spectroelectrochemistry, stopped-flow rapid mixing and transient absorption, are also discussed. In this Review, we present case studies highlighting the utility of these analytical methods in the context of renewable energy. Alongside these examples is a discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of each method, outlining the conditions necessary for the analysis to be rigorous and the type of information that can then be extracted