Epidermal Growth Factor Stimulates Cell Proliferation by Activating Voltage-Gated Potassium Channels in Rat Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Poster PresentationBackground and objective: We have previously found that voltage-gated delayed rectifier potassium current (IKDR, encoded by Kv1.2 and Kv2.1) participated in regulation of cell cycling progression in rat mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from bone marrow. The present study was designed to investigate whether epidermal growth factor (EGF) regulates cell growth is mediated by activating IKDR. Methods: Whole-cell patch voltage-clamp, RT-PCR, Western blots, siRNA, cell proliferation assay were employed in the present study Results: EGF increased cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner, and the effect was countered by the broad spectrum protein tyrosine (PTK) inhibitor genistein and the EGFR kinase inhibitor AG556. We found that genistein and AG556 inhibited IKDR in a concentration-dependent manner, The protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) inhibitor orthovanadate enhanced IKDR, and counted the inhibitory effect of IKDR by genistein or AG556, suggesting the PTK-mediating modulation of IKDR. Interestingly EGF also increased IKDR, Downregulation of IKDR with siRNA targeting to Kv1.2 or Kv2.1 channels inhibited basal proliferation, and prevented EGF-stimulated proliferation in rat MSCs. Conclusion: These results demonstrate for the first time that EGF stimulates cell proliferation activating IKDR, and silencing Kv1.2 or Kv2.1 channels prevents the augmentation of proliferation by EFG, indicating that Kv1.2 and Kv2.1 channels mediate EGF effect in regulating cell growth in rat MSCs.published_or_final_versio

On the discovery of continuous truth: a semi-supervised approach with partial ground truths

In many applications, the information regarding to the same object can be collected from multiple sources. However, these multi-source data are not reported consistently. In the light of this challenge, truth discovery is emerged to identify truth for each object from multi-source data. Most existing truth discovery methods assume that ground truths are completely unknown, and they focus on the exploration of unsupervised approaches to jointly estimate object truths and source reliabilities. However, in many real world applications, a set of ground truths could be partially available. In this paper, we propose a semi-supervised truth discovery framework to estimate continuous object truths. With the help of ground truths, even a small amount, the accuracy of truth discovery can be improved. We formulate the semi-supervised truth discovery problem as an optimization task where object truths and source reliabilities are modeled as variables. The ground truths are modeled as a regularization term and its contribution to the source weight estimation can be controlled by a parameter. The experiments show that the proposed method is more accurate and efficient than the existing truth discovery methods

Self-concept of gifted children aged 9 to 13 years old

Ninety-four gifted children and 200 nongifted children (aged 9 to 13 years old) were involved in the present study. Their self-concept was assessed by the Revised Song-Hattie Self-Concept Inventory (Zhou & He, 1996). Academic self-concepts pertaining to abilities, school achievements, and grade concepts and nonacademic self-concepts pertaining to family, peers, body, and self-confidence concepts, as well as self-concept in general, were considered in the present study. The findings indicated that the development of self-concept in gifted children was different from that of nongifted children.Specifically, the self-concept scores in general of nongifted children increased from 11 to 13 years old, while those of gifted children decreased for the same age period. Both academic and nonacademic self-concepts are discussed in the present study

Prognostic value of PDCD-1 and CTLA-4 in ovarian cancer patients

Therapeutic effectiveness of treatments for ovarian cancer is not optimal. PDCD-1 and CTLA-4 offers the potential as a prognostic marker in addition to being a target for therapy. To assess the prognostic roles of PDCD-1 and CTLA-4 Gene in ovarian cancer, we utilized the Kaplan Meier plotter, a biomarker assessment tool with large quantities of data. The relationship between PDCD-1 and overall survival (OS) as well as CTLA-4 and OS were presented using Hazard Ratio, 95% CI and logrank P value. Then gene expression level was compared using H-Test and U test. The results were as follows: PDCD-1 and CTLA-4 gene expressions among 1582 ovarian cancer patients were shown with median gene expression value as the cut-off. Expression of PDCD-1 and CTLA-4 did not differ with regard to stages and P53 gene mutation. But the expression of CTLA-4 was higher in endometrioid than in serous cancer patients. Different grades of both PDCD-1 and CTLA-4 had different mean values. Higher expression of the PDCD-1 was not significantly correlated with better OS with HR 0.88 (95% CI: 0.77-1.01, P=0.061) but higher CTLA-4 was associated with better survival with HR 0.84 (95% CI: 0.73-0.96, P=0.0099) on the transcriptome level. In conclusion, lower expression of CTLA-4, but not PDCD-1 predicts worse survival

Construction and evaluation of rats’ tolerogenic dendritic cells (DC) induced by NF-κB Decoy method

Aims: To construct and evaluate rats’ tolerogenic dendritic cells (DC) through induction by NF-κB Decoy method.Methods: GM-CSF and IL-4 were used to transform rats’s monocytes into DC, and DC were stimulated with LPS, NF-κB Decoy ODN, and loaded with Bovine TypeⅡCollagen. The following methods were employed to phenotype DC: 1) Observation of cell morphology; 2) Evaluation of cell viability using trypan blue staining; 3) Purity determination of DC through detection of specific markers OX-62; 4) Evaluation of mature state of DC via the determination of the expression of CD80 and CD86; 5) Determination of stimulation capability towards the proliferation of lymphocyte and the secretion of INF-r and IL-10.Results: The activity of DC was more than 92%, and the expression of OX-62 was more than 70%. Most of DC exhibited the phenotype of CD80+/CD86-. Compared with control group and LPS-stimulation group, the less mature adhered cells and hairlike DC were observed in NF-κB decoy group. Significant reduction (p<0.05) was observed for the positive expression and extension of CD80 and CD86 in cell surface. After loaded with calf type II collagen, the low expression of CD80 and CD86 remains to be existed. The stimulation capability of DC towards lymphocyte in NF-κB decoy group was lower than that in control group (p<0.05) and LPS stimulation group (p<0.05).Conclusion: NF-κB Decoy ODN method can be successfully applied for construct rats’ tolerogenic dendritic cells (DC) with stable morphology and phenotype. The tolerogenic DC exhibited immature immune phenotype, and low capability to stimulate lymphocytes.Keywords: dendritic cells (DC), NF-κB Decoy ODN, calf type II collage

Atomic Layer Deposition of ZnO on Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes and Its Use for Synthesis of CNT-ZnO Heterostructures.

In this article, direct coating of ZnO on PECVD-grown multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is achieved using atomic layer deposition (ALD). Transmission electron microscopy investigation shows that the deposited ZnO shell is continuous and uniform, in contrast to the previously reported particle morphology. The ZnO layer has a good crystalline quality as indicated by Raman and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. We also show that such ZnO layer can be used as seed layer for subsequent hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorods, resulting in branched CNT-inorganic hybrid nanostructures. Potentially, this method can also apply to the fabrication of ZnO-based hybrid nanostructures on other carbon nanomaterials.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Antiresistin RNA oligonucleotide ameliorates diet-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in mice through attenuating proinflammatory cytokines

© 2015 Yi Tan et al. The aim of this study was to determine whether inhibition of resistin by a synthetic antiresistin RNA (oligonucleotide) oligo ameliorates metabolic and histological abnormalities in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) induced by high-fat diet (HFD) in mice. The antiresistin RNA oligo and a scrambled control oligo (25 mg/kg of body weight) were i.p. injected to HFD mice. Serum metabolic parameters and hepatic enzymes were measured after 4-week treatment. The treatment significantly reduced epididymal fat and attenuated the elevated serum resistin, cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, and insulin with an improved glucose tolerance test. Antiresistin RNA oligo also normalized serum AST and ALT levels with improved pathohistology of NAFLD. Immunoblotting and qRT-PCR revealed that decreased protein and mRNA expression of resistin in fat and liver tissues of the treated mice were associated with reduction of adipose TNF-α and IL-6 expression and secretion into circulation. mRNA and protein expression of hepatic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) were also significantly decreased in the treated mice. Our results suggest that resistin may exacerbate NAFLD in metabolic syndrome through upregulating inflammatory cytokines and hepatic PEPCK and SREBP-1c. Antiresistin RNA oligo ameliorated metabolic abnormalities and histopathology of NAFLD through attenuating proinflammatory cytokines

Anti-inflammation activity and chemical composition of flower essential oil from Hedychium coronarium

Hedychium coronarium Koen. (Family Zingiberaceae), popularly named butterfly ginger, is widely available in tropical and subtropical regions. It has been used in folk medicine for many conditions, such as contusion inflammation, anti-rheumatic and so on. In this study, chemical compositions and anti-inflammatory activity of this flowers’ essential oil were investigated for the first time. Followed by GC–MS analysis, a total of 29 components were identified and the main constituents included -transocimenone (28.05%), linalool (18.52%), 1,8-cineole (11.35%), -terpineol (7.11%), 10-epi--eudesmol (6.06%), sabinene (4.59%) and terpinen-4-ol (3.17%). We measured the antioxidant activity of the essential oil in vitro (DPPH reduction assay and ferric reducing antioxidant power assay) and the antiinflammatory activity in vivo (carrageenan-induced hind paw edema in rats). The oil (100 mg/kg p.o.) produced significant inhibition of paw oedema, but showed poor antioxidant activity (with the DPPH IC50 value of 1091.00 g/ml and FRAP value of 0.22 mol Fe2+/mg). The results reveal that there is no direct correlation between anti-inflammatory effect and antioxidant activity of this essential oil

The synthesis and characterization of Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films from melt reactions using xanthate precursors

Kesterite, Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS), is a promising absorber layer for use in photovoltaic cells. We report the use of copper, zinc and tin xanthates in melt reactions to produce Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films. The phase of the as-produced CZTS is dependent on decomposition temperature. X-ray diffraction patterns and Raman spectra show that films annealed between 375 and 475 °C are tetragonal, while at temperatures <375 °C hexagonal material was obtained. The electrical parameters of the CZTS films have also been determined. The conduction of all films was p-type, while the other parameters differ for the hexagonal and tetragonal materials: resistivity (27.1 vs 1.23 Ω cm), carrier concentration (2.65 × 10+15 vs 4.55 × 10+17 cm−3) and mobility (87.1 vs 11.1 cm2 V−1 s−1). The Hall coefficients were 2.36 × 103 versus 13.7 cm3 C−1

Co-seismic ground deformation of Yushu Earthquake detected with D-InSAR technique

An earthquake of magnitude 7.1 suddenly occurred in Yushu county of Qinghai province on April 14, 2010. This paper presents the studies of using the data of Advanced Land Observing Satellite-Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (ALOS-PALSAR) before and after the earthquake to examine and calculate the co-seismic ground deformation. The differential SAR interferometry (D-InSAR) technique is used. The results show that the earthquake caused the ground deformation over a large area. The extension of the ground deformation followed the south-east to east direction and along the Yushu-Ganzi fault zone. The largest deformation was found about 350 mm at 33.7°N 96.81°E. It is along the line of sight (LOS) of SAR and can be detected with D-InSAR technique. The detected ground deformation was mainly uplifting. The detected ground deformation has an important value for evaluating the extent of ground damage and seismicity in Yushu after earthquake, inferring the nature of the quake faulting, and studying characteristics of seismic deformation. 2010-04-14青海玉树发生7.1级地震后, 作者利用震前和震后获取的日本ALOS卫星PALSAR遥感数据, 开展了差分干涉雷达(D-InSAR)地震同震形变测量与分析。结果表明: 玉树地震引起较大范围地表变形, 地震变形沿玉树—甘孜断裂带向南东东方向扩展, 在N33.7°, E96.81°附近达到最大形变量, D-InSAR监测到雷达视向上的最大形变量为35cm。地表形变特征对于评价玉树地震破坏程度、推断断层性质、研究地震形变和地震孕育特征具有重要的参考价值