LncRNA MALAT1: A potential therapeutic target in DSSinduced ulcerative colitis progression in vitro

Purpose: Ulcerative colitis is a severe disease affecting human health worldwide. Studies have shown that lncRNA MALAT1 has a significant correlation with breast, pancreatic, colon and liver cancers, but its effects on colitis is yet to be discovered. In this study, the potential role of lncRNA MALAT1 and the underlying molecular mechanism in DSS-induced colitis were investigated in vitro.Methods: Colorectal mucosal cell line FHC was induced with dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) to form an in vitro colitis model. Transfection procedure was employed to up- or down-regulate the expressions of lncRNA MALAT1 or miR-30c-5p in FHC cells. Cell viabilities were detected by CCK-8 assay. RT-qPCR was applied for evaluating gene expressions in normal FHC and DSS-induced FHC cell lines, while protein expression levels of target genes were examined by Western blot analysis. Starbase was used to predict the molecular interaction between MALAT1 and miR-30c-5p, while luciferase reporter assay was utilized to verify the binding sites between the two genes.Results: Expression of MALAT1 in the DSS-induced FHC cells was high with low cell viabilities, compared to the normal FHC cells. In the DSS-induced colitis-like FHC cells, overexpression of MALAT1 inhibited cell viabilities, while its downregulation promoted it. MiR-30c-5p directly targets MALAT1 and inhibited its expression in DSS-treated FHC cells. Upregulation of miR-30c-5p increased cell viabilities. Bcl-xL expression was inhibited by the up-regulation of MALAT1, while that of Bax was enhanced and the mimics of miR-30c-5p reversed these observations, suggesting that the enhancement of apoptosis promoted by oe-MALAT1 could be inhibited by miR-30c-5p. The interaction between MALAT1 and miR-30c-5p regulated NF-κB/TGF-β/Wnt-β-catenin signaling pathway.Conclusion: Overexpression of MALAT1 led to inhibition of cell viability, while apoptosis and inflammation were promoted by targeting miR-30c-5p via NF-κB/TGF-β/Wnt-β-catenin signaling pathway. These findings suggest MALAT1 as a therapeutic target for treating colitis. Keywords: Colitis, MALAT1, miR-30c-5p, NF-κB/TGF-β/Wnt-β-catenin&nbsp

Trmt112 Gene Expression in Mouse Embryonic Development

Mouse Trmt112, the homologous gene of yeast Trm112 (tRNA methyltransferase 11-2), was initially cloned from RIKEN with uncertain function. The yeast TRM112 is now known to play important roles in RNA methylation. Here, we studied the expression of Trmt112 by in situ hybridization and quantitative real-time RT-PCR (QRT-PCR). A higher expression level of Trmt112 was observed in the brain and nervous system by whole mount in situ hybridization from embryonic day 10.5 (E10.5) to E11.5. At later developmental stages E13.5 and E16.5, abundant expression was prominently found in various organs and tissues including developing brain, nervous system, thymus, lung, liver, intestine, kidney, and cartilage. Furthermore, Trmt112 was persistently expressed from E9.5 to E18.5 on whole embryos and highly expressed in multiple organs at E12.5, E15.5 and E18.5 by QRT-PCR. These results showed that Trmt112 gene was highly and ubiquitously expressed during mouse embryonic development, implying that it might be involved in the morphogenesis of diverse organs and tissues and numerous physiological functions

Hsa-miR-125b suppresses bladder cancer development by down-regulating oncogene SIRT7 and oncogenic long non-coding RNA MALAT1

AbstractMicroRNAs mainly inhibit coding genes and long non-coding RNA expression. Here, we report that hsa-miR-125b and oncogene SIRT7/oncogenic long non-coding RNA MALAT1 were inversely expressed in bladder cancer. Hsa-miR-125b mimic down-regulated, whereas hsa-miR-125b inhibitor up-regulated the expression of SIRT7 and MALAT1. Binding sites were confirmed between hsa-miR-125b and SIRT7/MALAT1. Up-regulation of hsa-miR-125b or down-regulation of SIRT7 inhibited proliferation, motility and increased apoptosis. The effects of up-regulation of hsa-miR-125b were similar to that of silencing MALAT1 in bladder cancer as we had previously described. These data suggest that hsa-miR-125b suppresses bladder cancer development via inhibiting SIRT7 and MALAT1

Kinetic isotope effect of decomposing fatty acids in the continental shelf sediment of the northern South China Sea

As a response of the coastal oceans to more severe anthropogenic disturbance, increasing coastal primary production has been more frequently observed in recent years. This raises the question of how this progressive change reshapes the long-term carbon sequestration in the coastal oceans. With this question in mind, we investigated the sediment organic matter (OM) preserved on the shelf of the northern South China Sea (NSCS) where high primary production has been observed. Across this sediment core, relatively low total organic carbon content of around 0.60% was observed. Fatty acids with less carbon numbers exhibit exponential decreases downward with degradation rate constants ranging from 0.10 to 0.17 y-1, no matter they were from single sources (14:0 presumably from marine OM and ai-15:0, i-15:0, 15:0 from bacterial OM) or mixed sources (16:0). Meanwhile fatty acids with more carbon numbers, either 18:0 and 24:0 from mixed sources, or 26:0 and 28:0 presumably from terrestrial input, were less varied in concentrations with depth. This demonstrates a preferential decomposition of labile fatty acids during the early diagenesis of coastal sediment organic matter. A decrease of labile fatty acids δ13C values was observed with the decomposition, from which kinetic isotope fractionations were predicted ranging from 0.7 to 1.5‰. This provides an isotopic constraint of the mixing model to quantify labile organic matter from terrestrial input and local phytoplankton production, from which declined contribution of local phytoplankton production to labile fatty acids was identified in more recent sediment. This finding together with the low organic carbon content and rapid removal of fatty acids in the top sediment, demonstrates the poor preservation of labile organic matter on the shelf of NSCS, implying that the increasing primary production has not enhanced the coastal carbon sequestration yet, but rather leads to more intensified respiration with a potential risk to increase the CO2 outgassing from the coastal oceans

Betulinic acid increases lifespan and stress resistance via insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans

Numerous studies reported that betulinic acid (BA), a natural product extracted from birch bark, exhibited various beneficial effects in vitro. However, its pharmacological activities in aging are rarely understood. In this study, Caenorhabditis elegans was deployed as a whole animal model to investigate the impacts of BA on lifespan and stress resistance. Wild-type C. elegans were fed in the presence or absence of BA and tested for a series of phenotypes, including longevity, mobility, reproductive capacity, pharyngeal pumping, heat stress, and oxidative stress. BA at the optimal dose (50 μg/mL) extended the lifespan, improved the healthspan, and significantly evoked the increased oxidative stress resistance in C. elegans. Incorporating the genetic analysis with different types of longevity mutants, DAF-16, the downstream effector of the Insulin/IGF-1 receptor signaling, was revealed to mediate the protective effects of BA on lifespan and antioxidant activity. Together, these data showcased the potential of BA in promoting healthy aging, which shall facilitate its further development in the food and pharmaceutical industries

Effectiveness of tranexamic acid on chronic subdural hematoma recurrence: a meta-analysis and systematic review

ObjectivesOur objective was to compare the effectiveness of TXA in improving recurrence in patients with chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH).MethodsEligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs), prospective trials and retrospective cohort studies were searched in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and CNKI from database inception to December 2023. After the available studies following inclusion and exclusion criteria were screened, the main outcome measures were strictly extracted. Reman v5.4. was used to assess the overall recurrence rate. A random-effects model was used to assess pooled ORs, with the Mantel–Haenszel estimation method applied. Cochran Q (Chi-square) test and I2 statistics were used to assess inter-study heterogeneity. Funnel plots were used to evaluate publication bias.ResultsFrom the 141 articles found during initial citation screening, 9 literatures were ultimately included in our study. Our NMA results illustrated that patients with newly diagnosed Chronic subdural hematoma revealed a significantly improved recurrence rate when patients were treated with Tranexamic acid (OR: 0.33; 95% CI 0.26–0.41; p < 0.00001) compared with standard neurosurgical treatment. There was no significant difference in the incidence rates of thrombosis (OR: 0.84; 95% CI 0.63–1.12; p = 0.23) and mortality (OR: 1.0; 95% CI 0.57–11.76; p = 0.99), Occurrence of myocardial infarction was significantly less frequent in TXA users than in nonusers (OR: 0.18; 95% CI 0.04–0.82; p = 0.03).ConclusionTXA can effectively improve the recurrence rate of CDSH. It provides a high level of evidence-based medicine for clinical treatment. In addition, multicenter randomized controlled trials, with dose adjustments, are still needed to determine whether TXA intervention improves neurological function or prognosis

The association of ambient PM2.5 with school absence and symptoms in schoolchildren: a panel study

BACKGROUND: Children are a susceptible population to exposure of ambient fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5), and the associated symptoms are sensitive prevalent indicators of morbidity. However, few studies to date investigate the association between PM2.5 exposure and school absence and symptoms. METHODS: In a panel study including 20,291 observations in 615 schoolchildren 8-13 years of age, we asked the participants to record their school absence and symptoms on every school day from 17 November to 31 December 2014 in Jinan, China. We used the generalized linear mixed effects models to examine the adverse effects of ambient PM2.5 on school absence and symptoms, adjusting for covariates including meteorological and individual factors. RESULTS: The 3-day moving average of PM2.5 was significantly associated with school absence (1.37; 95% CI: 1.07-1.74) and increases in symptoms of the throat (1.03; 95% CI: 1.00-1.05), nose (1.03; 95% CI: 1.01-1.06), and skin (1.09; 95% CI: 1.06-1.12). High PM2.5 exposure also increased the risks of individual symptoms, especially for cough (1.02; 95% CI: 1.00-1.04), sneezing (1.03; 95% CI: 1.00-1.07), and stuffy nose (1.09; 95% CI: 1.02-1.17). CONCLUSION: High PM2.5 exposure is a risk factor for the health of schoolchildren. Allocation of medical resources for children should take into account the ambient PM2.5 concentrations and be proportioned accordingly

Flexible wavelength-, pulse-controlled mode-locked all-fiber laser based on a fiber Lyot filter

In this paper, we report a flexible wavelength-, pulse-controlled mode-locked all-fiber laser based on a novel fiber optic Lyot filter. The wavelength, pulse duration and spectral bandwidth of passive mode-locked lasers can be tuned by controlling the polarization controller. The proposed Lyot filter was constructed by a single-mode fiber insertion between two polarization-maintaining fibers. The filter bandwidth and laser output tunability were based on the birefringence characteristics of the polarization-maintaining fibers. This all-fiber laser is simple and stable and can be used for various applications where width-tunable or wavelength-tunable pulses are necessary

Magnetic structure and Ising-like antiferromagnetism in the bilayer triangular lattice compound NdZnPO

The complex interplay of spin frustration and quantum fluctuations in low-dimensional quantum materials leads to a variety of intriguing phenomena. This research focuses on a detailed analysis of the magnetic behavior exhibited by NdZnPO, a bilayer spin-1/2 triangular lattice antiferromagnet. The investigation employs magnetization, specific heat, and powder neutron scattering measurements. At zero field, a long-range magnetic order is observed at $T_{\rm N}=1.64~\rm K$. Powder neutron diffraction experiments show the Ising-like magnetic moments along the $c$-axis, revealing a stripe-like magnetic structure with three equivalent magnetic propagation vectors. Application of a magnetic field along the $c$-axis suppresses the antiferromagnetic order, leading to a fully polarized ferromagnetic state above $B_{\rm c}=4.5~\rm T$. This transition is accompanied by notable enhancements in the nuclear Schottky contribution. Moreover, the absence of spin frustration and expected field-induced plateau-like phases are remarkable observations. Detailed calculations of magnetic dipolar interactions revealed complex couplings reminiscent of a honeycomb lattice, suggesting the potential emergence of Kitaev-like physics within this system. This comprehensive study of the magnetic properties of NdZnPO highlights unresolved intricacies, underscoring the imperative for further exploration to unveil the underlying governing mechanisms.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure