Role of Translationally Controlled Tumor Protein in Cancer Progression

Translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) is a highly conserved and ubiquitously expressed protein in all eukaryotes—highlighting its important functions in the cell. Previous studies revealed that TCTP is implicated in many biological processes, including cell growth, tumor reversion, and induction of pluripotent stem cell. A recent study on the solution structure from fission yeast orthologue classifies TCTP under a family of small chaperone proteins. There is growing evidence in the literature that TCTP is a multifunctional protein and exerts its biological activity at the extracellular and intracellular levels. Although TCTP is not a tumor-specific protein, our research group, among several others, focused on the role(s) of TCTP in cancer progression. In this paper, we will summarize the current scientific knowledge of TCTP in different aspects, and the precise oncogenic mechanisms of TCTP will be discussed in detail

Nutrient Sensing, Metabolism, and Cell Growth Control

Cell growth is regulated by coordination of both extracellular nutrients and intracellular metabolite concentrations. AMP activated kinase and mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 serve as key molecules that sense cellular energy and nutrients levels, respectively. In addition, the dioxygenase family, including prolylhydroxylase, lysine demethylase, and DNA demethylase, has emerged as possible sensors of intracellular metabolic status. The interplay among nutrients, metabolites, gene expression, and protein modification are involved in the coordination of cell growth with extracellular and intracellular conditions

Silicon (Si) biochar for the mitigation of arsenic (As) bioaccumulation in spinach (Spinacia oleracean) and improvement in the plant growth

In many parts of the world, growing crops on polluted soils often leads to elevated levels of pollutants in plant tissues. Minimizing the transfer of these pollutants into edible plant tissues while improving plant growth and productivity is a major area of research. In this study, we investigated the efficiency of silicon-modified biochar in reducing the uptake of As(III) in spinach (Spinacia oleracean) while simultaneously increasing the plant biomass. Unmodified biochars (uBC) and silicon-modified biochars (SiBC) were prepared from bamboo at 300 and 600 °C and characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray (SEM EDX), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR), X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometry (XPS), and X-ray Diffraction analysis (XRD). The bioaccumulation of As(III) in the edible part of spinach significantly decreased by 33.8 and 37.7% following the amendment of, respectively, 2% and 5% SiBC in soil. Biochar amendment increased the concentration of As(III) in pore water by 64.4% as a result of increased soil pH from 6.83 ± 0.4 to 8.01 ± 0.1 and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from 7.02 ± 3.7 to 22.58 ± 3.7 g kg−1. However, the uptake of As(III) into spinach was prevented by silicon, which was preferentially transported to the plant through the same transport pathway as As(III). Dry biomass yield in spinach also significantly increased by 67.7% and strongly correlated (R2 = 0.97) with CaCl2 extractable Si in the plant. The results highlighted the effectiveness of SiBC in reducing the toxic effects of As in the environment and overall dietary exposure to the pollutant. The slow release of Si from biochars (<48.42%) compared to soil (87.39%) also suggested that SiBC can be efficient sources of Si fertilization for annual crops which can significantly reduce the increasing demand for Si fertilizers and their sustainable use in the environment

Prognostic impact of H3K27me3 expression on locoregional progression after chemoradiotherapy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Trimethylation of lysine 27 on histone H3 (H3K27me3) by enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is an epigenetic mark that mediates gene silencing. EZH2 is overexpressed and correlates with poor prognosis in many cancers. However, the clinical implication of H3K27me3 in human malignancies has not been well established. We wished to ascertain whether a correlation exists between the expression of H3K27me3 and clinical outcome in a group of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The method of immunohistochemistry (IHC) was utilized to examine the protein expression of H3K27me3 in 98 pretreatment biopsy specimens of ESCC and in 30 samples of normal esophageal mucosa. The clinical/prognostic significance of H3K27me3 expression was statistically analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The expression frequency and expression levels of H3K27me3 were significantly higher in ESCCs than in normal tissues. There was a positive correlation between H3K27me3 expression and WHO grade (<it>P </it>= 0.016), tumor size (<it>P </it>= 0.019), T status (<it>P </it>= 0.024), locoregional progression (<it>P </it>= 0.009) and EZH2 expression (<it>P </it>= 0.036). High H3K27me3 expression was associated with poor locoregional progression-free survival (LPFS) (<it>P </it>= 0.010) in ESCC. Further analysis demonstrated that H3K27me3 could stratify patient outcome in T2-3 (<it>P </it>= 0.048), N0 (<it>P </it>= 0.005) and M0 (<it>P </it>= 0.018) stages as well as in CRT effective group (<it>P </it>= 0.022).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data suggests that H3K27me3 expression examined by IHC might be useful for stratifying LPFS for different subsets of ESCC patients treated with definitive CRT.</p

Silicon (Si) biochar for the mitigation of arsenic (As) bioaccumulation in spinach (Spinacia oleracean) and improvement in the plant growth

In many parts of the world, growing crops on polluted soils often leads to elevated levels of pollutants in plant tissues. Minimizing the transfer of these pollutants into edible plant tissues while improving plant growth and productivity is a major area of research. In this study, we investigated the efficiency of silicon-modified biochar in reducing the uptake of As(III) in spinach (Spinacia oleracean) while simultaneously increasing the plant biomass. Unmodified biochars (uBC) and silicon-modified biochars (SiBC) were prepared from bamboo at 300 and 600 °C and characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray (SEM EDX), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR), X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometry (XPS), and X-ray Diffraction analysis (XRD). The bioaccumulation of As(III) in the edible part of spinach significantly decreased by 33.8 and 37.7% following the amendment of, respectively, 2% and 5% SiBC in soil. Biochar amendment increased the concentration of As(III) in pore water by 64.4% as a result of increased soil pH from 6.83 ± 0.4 to 8.01 ± 0.1 and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from 7.02 ± 3.7 to 22.58 ± 3.7 g kg−1. However, the uptake of As(III) into spinach was prevented by silicon, which was preferentially transported to the plant through the same transport pathway as As(III). Dry biomass yield in spinach also significantly increased by 67.7% and strongly correlated (R2 = 0.97) with CaCl2 extractable Si in the plant. The results highlighted the effectiveness of SiBC in reducing the toxic effects of As in the environment and overall dietary exposure to the pollutant. The slow release of Si from biochars (<48.42%) compared to soil (87.39%) also suggested that SiBC can be efficient sources of Si fertilization for annual crops which can significantly reduce the increasing demand for Si fertilizers and their sustainable use in the environment

Molecular examination of bone marrow stromal cells and chondroitinase ABC-assisted acellular nerve allograft for peripheral nerve regeneration

The present study aimed to evaluate the molecular mechanisms underlying combinatorial bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) transplantation and chondroitinase ABC (Ch-ABC) therapy in a model of acellular nerve allograft (ANA) repair of the sciatic nerve gap in rats. Sprague Dawley rats (n=24) were used as nerve donors and Wistar rats (n=48) were randomly divided into the following groups: Group I, Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) control group (ANA treated with DMEM only); Group II, Ch-ABC group (ANA treated with Ch-ABC only); Group III, BMSC group (ANA seeded with BMSCs only); Group IV, Ch-ABC + BMSCs group (Ch-ABC treated ANA then seeded with BMSCs). After 8 weeks, the expression of nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and vascular endothelial growth factor in the regenerated tissues were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. Axonal regeneration, motor neuron protection and functional recovery were examined by immunohistochemistry, horseradish peroxidase retrograde neural tracing and electrophysiological and tibialis anterior muscle recovery analyses. It was observed that combination therapy enhances the growth response of the donor nerve locally as well as distally, at the level of the spinal cord motoneuron and the target muscle organ. This phenomenon is likely due to the propagation of retrograde and anterograde transport of growth signals sourced from the graft site. Collectively, growth improvement on the donor nerve, target muscle and motoneuron ultimately contribute to efficacious axonal regeneration and functional recovery. Thorough investigation of molecular peripheral nerve injury combinatorial strategies are required for the optimization of efficacious therapy and full functional recovery following ANA

Study of the Global Alignment for the DAMPE Detector

The Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) is designed as a high energy particle detector for probing cosmic-rays and $\gamma-$rays in a wide energy range. The trajectory of the incident particle is mainly measured by the Silicon-Tungsten tracKer-converter (STK) sub-detector, which heavily depends on the precise internal alignment correction as well as the accuracy of the global coordinate system. In this work, we carried out a global alignment method to validate the potential displacement of these sub-detectors, and particularly demonstrated that the track reconstruction of STK can well satisfy the required objectives by means of comparing flight data and simulations.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figure

Recent advances on the synthesis, structure, and properties of polyoxotantalates

Polyoxotantalates (POTas) are an important branch of polyoxometalates (POMs) that remain largely undeveloped compared with other members of the POM family including polyoxovanadates, polyoxotungstates, polyoxomolybdates, and polyoxoniobates. Owing to their promising applications in diverse fields such as photo/electrocatalysis, ion conduction, environmental protection, and magnetism, the development of synthetic strategies for new POTas has attracted continuous interest over the past decades. This review summarizes the current status in the development of POTas, including their synthetic methods, crystal structures, physicochemical properties, and potential applications. Additionally, synthetic challenges and prospects are also discussed. It is hoped that this review will be of reference value for the further development of POTas

Stabilizing a three-center single-electron metal–metal bond in a fullerene cage

Trimetallic carbide clusterfullerenes (TCCFs) encapsulating a quinary M3C2 cluster represent a special family of endohedral fullerenes with an open-shell electronic configuration. Herein, a novel TCCF based on a medium-sized rare earth metal, dysprosium (Dy), is synthesized for the first time. The molecular structure of Dy3C2@Ih(7)-C80 determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction shows that the encapsulated Dy3C2 cluster adopts a bat ray configuration, in which the acetylide unit C2 is elevated above the Dy3 plane by ∼1.66 Å, while Dy–Dy distances are ∼3.4 Å. DFT computational analysis of the electronic structure reveals that the endohedral cluster has an unusual formal charge distribution of (Dy3)8+(C2)2−@C806− and features an unprecedented three-center single-electron Dy–Dy–Dy bond, which has never been reported for lanthanide compounds. Moreover, this electronic structure is different from that of the analogous Sc3C2@Ih(7)-C80 with a (Sc3)9+(C2)3−@C806− charge distribution and no metal–metal bonding