Mining Prognostic Significance of MEG3 in Human Breast Cancer Using Bioinformatics Analysis

Background/Aims: Maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3) is an imprinted gene with maternal expression, which may function as a tumor suppressor by inhibiting angiogenesis. To identify the prognostic value of MEG3 in breast cancer, systematic analysis was performed in this study. Methods: To evaluate gene alteration during breast carcinogenesis, we explored MEG3 expression using the Serial Analysis of Gene Expression Genie suite and Oncomine analysis. The prognostic roles of MEG3 in breast cancer were investigated using the PrognoScan database. The heat map and methylation status of MEG3 were determined using the UCSC Genome Browser. Results: We found that MEG3 was more frequently downregulated in breast cancer than in normal tissues and this correlated with prognosis. However, estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status were found to be positively correlated with MEG3 expression. Conversely, basal-like status, triple-negative breast cancer status, and Scarff Bloom & Richardson grade criterion were negatively correlated with MEG3 expression. Following data mining in multiple big data databases, we confirmed a positive correlation between MEG3 and heparan sulfate proteoglycan 2 (HSPG2) expression in breast cancer tissues. Conclusion: MEG3 could be adopted as a marker to predict the prognosis of breast cancer with HSPG2. However, large-scale and comprehensive research is needed to clarify our results

The original data consisted of 317 responses regarding the intention to use ChatGPT

The original data consisted of 317 responses regarding the intention to use ChatGPT</p

Protective Effects of Fluvastatin on Reproductive Function in Obese Male Rats Induced by High-Fat Diet through Enhanced Signaling of mTOR

Background: Statins can reduce reproductive damage induced by obesity or high-fat diet (HFD), but the specific regulatory mechanisms are largely unknown. Since mTOR/p70s6k sinaling promotes spermatogonia proliferation and spermatogenesis, we hypothesized that this pathway will be involved in the protective effects of statin in HFD-induced reproductive dysfunction. Methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats (3 weeks old) were randomly divided into a control group (standard diet), HFD group, and a fluvastatin group (HFD + fluvastatin at 6mg/kg, once daily by oral gavage). After 8 weeks, body weight was obtain and rats were sacrificed. Weights of the testes, gross morphology, sperm parameters, circulating levels of sex hormones, lipid levels, and tissue mTOR, p-P70s6k were measured. Another set of male rats were treated with rapamycin or vehicle. Flow cytometry was used to detect the spermatogonia marker c-kit and cell cycle. p-P70s6k expression was analyzed by Western blot. Results: HFD not only results in rat obesity but also leads to spermatogenetic damage and fluvastatin was able to partially block the effects of HFD. Fluvastatin also partially reversed the suppression of mTOR and p-p70s6k expresson. Conclusion: Our data suggest that fluvastatin has protective effects on reproductive function in obese male rats most probably through enhanced signaling of mTOR

Effects of Topographical and Edaphic Factors on Tree Community Structure and Diversity of Subtropical Mountain Forests in the Lower Lancang River Basin

We investigated community structure and tree species diversity of six subtropical mountain forests in relation to 11 topographical and edaphic factors in Lower Lancang River Basin, Yunnan Province, China, based on a census of all trees with diameter at breast height ≥5 cm in 45 0.06-ha plots. The forests were as follows: a river valley monsoon forest, semi-humid evergreen broad-leaved forest, monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest, mid-mountain humid evergreen broad-leaved forest, summit mossy dwarf forest, and warm needle-leaved forest. Owing to the variation in microenvironment, forest structure (tree density, mean height, mean diameter at breast height, mean basal area at breast height) and tree diversity indices (the number of species, Margalef richness, Shannon-Wiener diversity, Simpson’s index, and Pielou’s evenness) differed significantly among forest types but did not differ among sites. We recorded a total of 5155 canopy trees belonging to 204 tree species, 104 genera, and 50 families at three sites, and the co-occurrence of tree species between adjacent communities was higher. A clear forest community distribution along an altitudinal gradient suggested that elevation was important in tree species distribution. Ordination identified elevation, slope degree, slope position, soil pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, and available nitrogen as significant explanatory variables of tree species distribution and showed that elevation was more important than the rest of the environmental variables in affecting local woody plant distribution. Understanding relationships between tree species distribution and environmental factors in subtropical mountain forests of the Lower Lancang River Basin would enable us to apply these findings to forest management and vegetation restoration

Dynamic Changes of Water Conservation Service of Typical Ecosystems in China within a Year Based on Data from CERN

In this study, we compared and analyzed the dynamic changes of water conservation and its value of some typical forests, grasslands, and farmlands in China within a year based on the dataset of the Chinese Ecosystem Research Net (CERN). Results showed that forest, grassland, and farmland provide different kinds of water conservation services which vary in size and dynamic processes within a year. Water conservation of forest consisted of water regulation service, here referred to as water retaining service, and water supply service, while water conservation of grassland and farmland was mainly water regulation service. Different types of forests/grasslands/farmlands can serve different water conservation services in both size and change patterns. In general, the water conservation service and value of forests is the largest (Xishuangbanna forest being $712·hm−2·year−1, Dingshu Mountains forest being$823·hm−2·year−1, and Changbai Mountains forest being $366·hm−2·year−1), and then is the farmlands (Yucheng farmland being$147·hm−2·year−1, Changshu farmland being $92·hm−2·year−1, Qianyanzhou farmland being$247 hm−2·year−1), and that of the grasslands is the least (Haibei alpine meadow being $75·hm−2·year−1, Mongolia grassland being$30·hm−2·year−1). The monthly water conservation and its value of each ecosystem had its own changing pattern throughout the year

Correction to: Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell conditioned medium attenuates renal fibrosis by reducing inflammation and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition via the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway in vivo and in vitro

Abstract The original article [1] contains an error whereby the corresponding authorship is mistakenly designated to the author Fengxia Ding

Retardation of Preputial Wound Healing in Rats with Hypospadias Induced by Flutamide

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify a theoretical support for the prevention of urethral fistula following hypospadias repair, by comparing the preputial wound healing process in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats with and without hypospadias induced by flutamide. Methods: Fifteen pregnant SD rats were randomly divided into three groups. These rats in one group received the androgen receptor antagonist flutamide (25 mg/kg/day) from gestation days 11–17, to establish a rat model of hypospadias for further study of the molecular mechanisms of the hypospadias etiology. The pregnant rats in the control groups were not administered flutamide. The pups from the control and experiment groups underwent an incision on the dorsal prepuce on postnatal day 25 and were sacrificed on postoperative days 3, 7, and 14 to collect penis samples. The penis morphology was examined in all groups. Subsequently, transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMactin), and signal transducers and activators of the transcription 3 (STAT3) expression levels in the different groups were measured at the indicated time points postoperatively using qRT-PCR and Western blot. Results: There was less regeneration of the subcutaneous tissue in hypospadias rats than in the sham-operated group (P < 0.05) on postoperative day 3. No differences were found in the regeneration of the subcutaneous tissue between these groups on postoperative days 7 or 14. Additionally, there were no differences in the epithelial cell regeneration between the control and the hypospadias groups at any postoperative timepoint. Moreover, the expression levels of TGF-β1, α-SMactin, and STAT3 were all significantly lower in hypospadias group than that in the sham-operated group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The results from the present work suggest that preputial wound healing is retarded in rats with hypospadias induced by flutamide and that this retardation might result from multi-gene regulation