Deep Sequencing of Plasma Exosomal microRNA Level in Psoriasis Vulgaris Patients

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease affecting 1% to 3% of the world population. Psoriasis vulgaris (PV) is the most common form of psoriasis. PV patients suffer from inflamed, pruritic and painful lesions for years (even a lifetime). However, conventional drugs for PV are costly. Considering the need for long-term treatment of PV, it is urgent to discover novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Plasma exosomal miRNAs have been identified as the reliable biomarkers and therapy targets of human diseases. Here, we described the levels of plasma exosomal miRNAs in PV patients and analyzed the functional features of differently expressed miRNAs and their potential target genes for the first time. We identified 1,182 miRNAs including 336 novel miRNAs and 246 differently expressed miRNAs in plasma exosomes of healthy people and PV patients. Furthermore, the functional analysis found differently expressed miRNA-regulated target genes enriched for specific GO terms including primary metabolic process, cellular metabolic process, metabolic process, organic substance metabolic process, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway containing cellular processes, human diseases, metabolic pathways, metabolism and organismal systems. In addition, we found that some predicted target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs, such as CREB1, RUNX2, EGFR, are both involved in inflammatory response and metabolism. In summary, our study identifies many candidate miRNAs involved in PV, which could provide potential biomarkers for diagnosis of PV and targets for clinical therapies against PV

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Discovery of Dipyridamole Analogues with Enhanced Metabolic Stability for the Treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Dipyridamole, apart from its well-known antiplatelet and phosphodiesterase inhibitory activities, is a promising old drug for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. However, dipyridamole shows poor pharmacokinetic properties with a half-life (T1/2) of 7 min in rat liver microsomes (RLM). To improve the metabolic stability of dipyridamole, a series of pyrimidopyrimidine derivatives have been designed with the assistance of molecular docking. Among all the twenty-four synthesized compounds, compound (S)-4h showed outstanding metabolic stability (T1/2 = 67 min) in RLM, with an IC50 of 332 nM against PDE5. Furthermore, some interesting structure–activity relationships (SAR) were explained with the assistance of molecular docking

Effects of Glycyrrhizin in a Mouse Model of Lung Adenocarcinoma

Background: Currently, there is a global attempt to identify potential anti-cancer agents with low toxicity. Previous studies have found that glycyrrhizin exerts anti-cancer action with low toxicity through suppressing thromboxane A2 (TxA2) in lung cancer cell lines. However, these effects have not yet been determined in animal models of lung cancer. Methods: Human lung adenocarcinoma xenografts were established in nude mice by the introduction of A549 cells with stable transfection of the TxA2 receptor (TPα). The animal model was confirmed by the hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) method. Tumor-bearing mice were then administered graded concentrations of glycyrrhizin, cisplatin or both. After the treatments, body weights of all animals were recorded, and immunohistochemistry staining of lung tissues and serum biochemistry detection of aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), urea and creatinine were carried out. Results: Treatment with glycyrrhizin alone or the combination of cisplatin and glycyrrhizin profoundly reduced expression of thromboxane synthase (TxAS) as well as proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), recovered the body weight, and rescued damage of liver and kidney in tumor-bearing mice. Although it inhibited PCNA expression, cisplatin could not significantly suppress TxAS expression. Because of a positive feedback loop between TPα and TxAS, the effects of glycyrrhizin are possibly attributable to the suppression of the TxA2 pathway. Conclusions: This study provides in vivo evidence to support glycyrrhizin as a potential candidate for developing new regimens to overcome tumor progression and the resistance and toxicity of cisplatin

Glycyrrhizin Suppresses Lung Adenocarcinoma Cell Growth Through Inhibition of Thromboxane Synthase

Background/Aims: The effects of glycyrrhizin treatment in lung cancer remain undetermined, despite extensive studies of the anti-tumor activities of glycyrrhizin. Methods: Lung adenocarcinoma A549 and NCI-H23 cell lines were used in this study. Cell growth was examined by MTS assays, while apoptosis and cell cycle were determined by flow cytometric analysis. Both real-time PCR and western blotting were used to examine the expression levels of thromboxane synthase (TxAS), and TxAS activity was measured using EIA detection of the biosynthesis of TxA2. TxAS was overexpressed in NCI-H23 cells by transfection with TxAS cDNA, while TxAS was inhibited by transfection with TxAS siRNA in A549 cells. For the mouse model of lung adenocarcinoma, the effects of glycyrrhizin on tumor growth were analyzed by western blot evaluation of TxAS, PTEN and survivin. TxAS activity was determined by EIA assay. Results: Glycyrrhizin suppressed cell growth in A549 cells, but not in NCI-H23 cells, by induction of apoptosis. TxAS was overexpressed in A549 cells, but the TxAS levels in NCI-H23 cells were minimal. Moreover, TxAS expression and activity were suppressed by glycyrrhizin. Glycyrrhizin had no additive effects with TxAS siRNA knockdown in suppressing A549 cell growth, whereas it completely suppressed cell growth of NCI-H23 cells transfected with TxAS cDNA. These results were further confirmed by the in vivo study. Conclusion: Our study suggests that the anti-tumor effect of glycyrrhizin in lung adenocarcinoma is, at least in part, TxAS-dependent. Therefore, glycyrrhizin is a promising anti-cancer agent for the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma