Using Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking to Explore the Mechanism of Shan Ci Gu (Cremastra appendiculata) Against Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background: In recent years, the incidence and mortality rates of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have increased significantly. Shan Ci Gu is commonly used as an anticancer drug in traditional Chinese medicine; however, its specific mechanism against NSCLC has not yet been elucidated. Here, the mechanism was clarified through network pharmacology and molecular docking.Methods: The Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database was searched for the active ingredients of Shan Ci Gu, and the relevant targets in the Swiss Target Prediction database were obtained according to the structure of the active ingredients. GeneCards were searched for NSCLC-related disease targets. We obtained the cross-target using VENNY to obtain the core targets. The core targets were imported into the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins database, and Cytoscape software was used to operate a mesh chart. R software was used to analyze the Gene Ontology biological processes (BPs) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment. The core targets and active compounds were molecularly docked through Auto-Dock Vina software to predict the detailed molecular mechanism of Shan Ci Gu for NSCLC treatment. We did a simple survival analysis with hub gene to assess the prognosis of NSCLC patients.Results: Three compounds were screened to obtain 143 target genes and 1,226 targets related to NSCLC, of which 56 genes were related to NSCLC treatment. Shan Ci Gu treatment for NSCLC involved many BPs and acted on main targets including epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), ESR1, and SRC through signaling pathways including the endocrine resistance, EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance, and ErbB signaling pathways. Shan Ci Gu might be beneficial for treating NSCLC by inhibiting cell proliferation and migration. Molecular docking revealed that the active compounds β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and 2-methoxy-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene-4,5-diol had good affinity with the core target genes (EGFR, SRC, and ESR1). Core targets included EGFR, SRC, ESR1, ERBB2, MTOR, MCL1, matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2), MMP9, KDR, and JAK2. Key KEGG pathways included endocrine resistance, EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance, ErbB signaling, PI3K-Akt signaling, and Rap1 signaling pathways. These core targets and pathways have an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of NSCLC cells.Conclusion: Shan Ci Gu can treat NSCLC through a multi-target, multi-pathway molecular mechanism and effectively improve NSCLC prognosis. This study could serve as a reference for further mechanistic research on wider application of Shan Ci Gu for NSCLC treatment

Fine mapping and candidate gene analysis of proportion of four-seed pods by soybean CSSLs

Soybean yield, as one of the most important and consistent breeding goals, can be greatly affected by the proportion of four-seed pods (PoFSP). In this study, QTL mapping was performed by PoFSP data and BLUE (Best Linear Unbiased Estimator) value of the chromosome segment substitution line population (CSSLs) constructed previously by the laboratory from 2016 to 2018, and phenotype-based bulked segregant analysis (BSA) was performed using the plant lines with PoFSP extreme phenotype. Totally, 5 ICIM QTLs were repeatedly detected, and 6 BSA QTLs were identified in CSSLs. For QTL (qPoFSP13-1) repeated in ICIM and BSA results, the secondary segregation populations were constructed for fine mapping and the interval was reduced to 100Kb. The mapping results showed that the QTL had an additive effect of gain from wild parents. A total of 14 genes were annotated in the delimited interval by fine mapping. Sequence analysis showed that all 14 genes had genetic variation in promoter region or CDS region. The qRT−PCR results showed that a total of 5 candidate genes were differentially expressed between the plant lines having antagonistic extreme phenotype (High PoFSP > 35.92%, low PoFSP< 17.56%). The results of haplotype analysis showed that all five genes had two or more major haplotypes in the resource population. Significant analysis of phenotypic differences between major haplotypes showed all five candidate genes had haplotype differences. And the genotypes of the major haplotypes with relatively high PoFSP of each gene were similar to those of wild soybean. The results of this study were of great significance to the study of candidate genes affecting soybean PoFSP, and provided a basis for the study of molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS) breeding and four-seed pods domestication

Hybrid Spectrum Access in Cognitive-Radio-Based Smart-Grid Communications Systems

Cognitive-radio-based smart-grid networks have been studied recently as an efficient and reliable communications infrastructure for the future power grid. In this paper, we consider the spectrum resource management in cognitive-radio-based smart-grid networks. A new spectrum access paradigm called hybrid spectrum access (HSA) is proposed, in which both licensed and unlicensed spectrum bands are intelligently scheduled for the transmission of smart-grid services. The admission control problem under HSA is deliberately investigated. Furthermore, the impact of spectrum sensing error on the performance of HSA is analyzed by using a multidimensional Markov chain. Regarding the practical applications of the smart grid, two optimization problems, namely, cost-driven spectrum leasing and quality of service (QoS)-driven spectrum management, are formulated. Numeric results indicate that the HSA strategy is able to significantly improve the QoS of the smart-grid services, save the cost in spectrum leasing, and maintain the system interference at a sufficiently low range. © 2014 IEEE

Reduction of vanadium(V) in a microbial fuel cell: V(IV) Migration and Electron Transfer Mechanism

The effects of vanadium on the microbial fuel cell performance, migration and distribution of V(IV) as well as electron transfer mechanism of single-chamber MFC were investigated by SEM, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). With anolyte vanadium concentration of 100 mg/L, the shortest degradation cycle was 130.67 h, while the degradation rate was 99.44%. V(V) combined with hydroxyl and carboxyl groups to form V(IV) organic participates, part of which deposited on the anode surface, and the other part distributed in anolyte. V(V) around cathode was reduced to V(IV) receiving electrons from the anode, meanwhile V(V) in anolyte was reduced to V(IV) owing to the electrons transfer on membrane binding enzyme complex. V(V) participated in cathode reactions instead of oxygen, accelerating the synchronization and integrity of electrode reactions

Reduction of vanadium(V) in a microbial fuel cell: V(IV) Migration and Electron Transfer Mechanism

The effects of vanadium on the microbial fuel cell performance, migration and distribution of V(IV) as well as electron transfer mechanism of single-chamber MFC were investigated by SEM, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). With anolyte vanadium concentration of 100 mg/L, the shortest degradation cycle was 130.67 h, while the degradation rate was 99.44%. V(V) combined with hydroxyl and carboxyl groups to form V(IV) organic participates, part of which deposited on the anode surface, and the other part distributed in anolyte. V(V) around cathode was reduced to V(IV) receiving electrons from the anode, meanwhile V(V) in anolyte was reduced to V(IV) owing to the electrons transfer on membrane binding enzyme complex. V(V) participated in cathode reactions instead of oxygen, accelerating the synchronization and integrity of electrode reactions

Water State-Driven Catalytic Hydrolysis of Ammonia Borane on Cu₃P–Carbon Dot–Cu Composite

Hydrogen production from ammonia borane (AB) is usually governed by water activation, which is not only energy-intensive but also requires expensive and complicated catalysts. We here propose an integrated photocatalytic–photothermal system that dramatically improves water activation and lowers the transport resistance of H2 by means of intermediate state water evaporation. This system is constructed by covering nanocomposites (Cu3P–carbon dots–Cu) upon vertically aligned acetate fibers (VAAFs). As a result of superior hydration effect of VAAFs and local photothermal heating for rapid water evaporation, its hydrogen production efficiency from AB hydrolysis reaches over 10 times the particulate suspension system under solar irradiation. Mechanism analysis reveals that the rapid vaporization of intermediate water promotes the cleavages of O–H bonds in bound water and the adsorption reaction of AB and water molecules at active sites. Therefore, this work provides a novel approach to optimize catalytic reaction in thermodynamics and kinetics for the hydrolysis of AB

Integrated Analysis of lncRNAs and mRNAs Reveals Complex Gene Network Mediated by lncRNAs and Regulatory Function of <i>MuLRR-RLK-AS</i> in Response to Phytoplasma Infection in Mulberry

Phytoplasma disease is one of the most serious infectious diseases that affects the growth and development of mulberry. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in plants’ defense systems; however, the contribution of lncRNAs in the response to phytoplasma infection in mulberry is still largely unknown. Herein, strand-specific RNA sequencing was performed to profile the mRNAs and lncRNAs involved in the response to phytoplasma infection in mulberry, and a total of 4169 genes were found to be differentially expressed (DE) between healthy and phytoplasma-infected leaves. Moreover, 1794 lncRNAs were identified, of which 742 lncRNAs were DE between healthy and infected leaves. Target prediction showed that there were 68 and 44 DE lncRNAs which may function as cis and trans-regulators, targeting 54 and 44 DE genes, respectively. These DE target genes are associated with biological processes such as metabolism, signaling, development, transcriptional regulation, etc. In addition, it was found that the expression of the antisense lncRNA (MuLRR-RLK-AS) of the leucine-rich repeat receptor-like protein kinase gene (MuLRR-RLK) was decreased in the phytoplasma-infected leaves. Interestingly, it was found that overexpression of MuLRR-RLK-AS can inhibit the expression of MuLRR-RLK. Moreover, it was found that the expression levels of PTI-related and MAPK genes in the transgenic MuLRR-RLK Arabidopsis plants were significantly higher than those in the wild-type plants when inoculated with pathogens, and the transgenic plants were conferred with strong disease resistance. Our results demonstrate that MuLRR-RLK-AS, as a trans-regulatory factor, can inhibit the expression of the MuLRR-RLK gene and is a negative regulatory factor for mulberry resistance. The information provided is particularly useful for understanding the functions and mechanisms of lncRNAs in the response to phytoplasma infection in mulberry