Function-related Genes Research Articles

Changes in Thymic Size and Immunity Are Associated with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.

Preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) are at increased risk for dysfunctional immune responses in the postnatal period. This study aimed to verify the hypothesis that thymic function is altered in infants with BPD and changes in the expression of thymic function-related genes affect thymic development. Included in the study were infants who had a gestational age ≤32 weeks and survived to a postmenstrual age of ≥36 weeks. The clinical features and thymic size were comparatively studied between infants with and without BPD. Thymic function and the expression of thymic function-related genes were determined in BPD infants at birth, week 2, and 4 of life. The thymic size was ultrasonographically assessed in terms of the thymic index (TI) and thymic weight index (TWI). T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) and gene expression were quantitatively determined by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Compared to non-BPD infants, their BPD counterparts had a shorter GA, lower birth weight, lower Apgar scores at birth, and were more likely to be of the male gender. BPD infants had an elevated incidence of respiratory distress syndrome and sepsis. TI was 1.73 ± 0.68 versus 2.87 ± 0.70 cm3 and TWI was 1.38 ± 0.45 versus 1.72 ± 0.28 cm3/kg in the BPD group versus the non-BPD group (p < 0.05). In BPD infants, no significant changes were observed in thymic size, lymphocyte counts, and TREC copy numbers at the first 2 weeks (p > 0.05), but they all exhibited a significant increase at week 4 (p < 0.05). BPD infants presented a trend toward increased expression of transforming growth factor-β1 and decreased expression of forkhead box protein 3 (Foxp3) from birth to week 4 (p < 0.05). Nonetheless, no significant difference was found in IL-2 or IL-7 expression at all time points (p > 0.05). For preterm infants with BPD, reduced thymic size at birth might be associated with impaired thymic function. Thymic function was developmentally regulated in the BPD process. · For preterm infants with BPD, reduced thymic size at birth might be associated with impaired thymic.. · BPD infants had an elevated incidence of respiratory distress syndrome and sepsis.. · Thymic function was developmentally regulated in the BPD process..

Incorporating straw into intensively farmed cropland soil can reduce N2O emission via inhibition of nitrification and denitrification pathways

Straw incorporation (SI) combined with N fertilizer has been shown to affect soil N2O emission and N-related functional microbes in agriculture. However, the responses of N2O emission, community structure of nitrifiers and denitrifiers and related microbial functional genes to straw management strategies in the winter wheat season in China remain unclear. Here, we conducted a two-season experiment in a winter wheat field in Ningjing County, northern China, to examine four treatments: no fertilizer with (N0S1) and without maize straw (N0S0); N fertilizer with (N1S1) and without maize straw (N1S0), and their effects on N2O emissions, soil chemical parameters, crop yield, as well as the dynamics of nitrifying and denitrifying microbial communities. We found that seasonal N2O emissions decreased by 7.1–11.1% (p < 0.05) in N1S1 as compared to N1S0, without significant difference between N0S1 and N0S0. In combination with N fertilization, SI increased the yield by 2.6–4.3%, altered the microbial community composition, increased Shannon and ACE indexes, and decreased the abundance of AOA (9.2%), AOB (32.2%; p < 0.05), nirS (35.2%; p < 0.05), nirK (21.6%; p < 0.05) and nosZ (19.2%). However, in the absence of N fertilizer, SI promoted the major genera of Nitrosavbrio (AOB), unclassifiied_Gammaproteobacteria, Rhodanobacter (nirS), Sinorhizobium (nirK), which strongly correlated positively with N2O emissions. Thereby, a negative interaction effect between SI and N fertilizer on AOB and nirS emphasized that SI could offset the increase of N2O emission caused by fertilization. Soil moisture and NO3− concentration were the major factors affecting N-related microbial community structure. Our study reveals that SI suppressed N2O emission significantly and simultaneously decreased the abundance of N-related functional genes and altered denitrifying bacterial community composition. We conclude that SI helps to enhance yield and alleviate fertilizer-induced environmental costs in intensively farmed fields in northern China.

Inflammation and endothelial function-related gene polymorphisms are associated with carotid atherosclerosis-A study of community population in Southwest China.

To investigate the relationships between 18 single nucleotide polymorphisms with carotid atherosclerosis and whether interactions among these genes were associated with an increased risk of carotid atherosclerosis. Face-to-face surveys were conducted with individuals aged 40 or older in eight communities. A total of 2377 individuals were included in the study. Ultrasound was used to detect carotid atherosclerosis in the included population. 18 loci of 10 genes associated with inflammation and endothelial function were detected. Gene-gene interactions were analyzed using generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR). Among the 2377 subjects, 445 (18.7%) subjects had increased intima-media thickness in the common carotid artery (CCA-IMT), and 398 (16.7%) subjects were detected with vulnerable plaque. In addition, NOS2A rs2297518 polymorphism was associated with increased CCA-IMT, IL1A rs1609682, and HABP2 rs7923349 polymorphisms were associated with vulnerable plaque. Besides, GMDR analysis showed significant gene-gene interactions among TNFSF4 rs1234313, IL1A rs1609682, TLR4 rs1927911, ITGA2 rs1991013, NOS2A rs2297518, IL6R rs4845625, ITGA2 rs4865756, HABP2 rs7923349, NOS2A rs8081248, HABP2 rs932650. The prevalences of increased CCA-IMT and vulnerable plaque were high in Southwestern China's high-risk stroke population. Furthermore, inflammation and endothelial function-related gene polymorphisms were associated with carotid atherosclerosis.

Thiosulfate pretreatment enhancing short-chain fatty acids production from anaerobic fermentation of waste activated sludge: Performance, metabolic activity and microbial community

A novel strategy based on thiosulfate pretreatment for enhancing short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) from anaerobic fermentation (AF) of waste activated sludge (WAS) was proposed in this study. The results showed that the maximal SCFA yield increased from 206.1 ± 4.7 to 1097.9 ± 17.2 mg COD/L with thiosulfate dosage increasing from 0 to 1000 mg S/L, and sulfur species contribution results revealed that thiosulfate was the leading contributor to improve SCFA yield. Mechanism exploration disclosed that thiosulfate addition largely improved WAS disintegration, due to thiosulfate serving as a cation binder for removing organic-binding cations, especially Ca2+ and Mg2+, dispersing the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) structure and further entering into the intracellularly by stimulated carrier protein SoxYZ and subsequently caused cell lysis. Typical enzyme activities and related functional gene abundances indicated that both hydrolysis and acidogenesis were remarkably enhanced while methanogenesis was substantially suppressed, which were further strengthened by the enriched hydrolytic bacteria (e.g. C10-SB1A) and acidogenic bacteria (e.g. Aminicenantales) but severely reduced methanogens (e.g. Methanolates and Methanospirillum). Economic analysis confirmed that thiosulfate pretreatment was a cost-effective and efficient strategy. The findings obtained in this work provide a new thought for recovering resource through thiosulfate-assisted WAS AF for sustainable development.

Lactobacillus paracasei ATG-E1 improves particulate matter 10 plus diesel exhaust particles (PM10D)-induced airway inflammation by regulating immune responses.

Particulate matter (PM) exposure can adversely affect respiratory function. Probiotics can alleviate the inflammatory responses in respiratory diseases. We examined the protective effects of Lactobacillus paracasei ATG-E1 isolated from the feces of a newborn baby against airway inflammation in a PM10 plus diesel exhaust particle (DEP) (PM10D)-induced airway inflammation model. BALB/c mice were exposed to PM10D by intranasal injection three times at 3-day intervals for 12 days, and L. paracasei ATG-E1 was administered orally for 12 days. Analysis of immune cell population and expression of various inflammatory mediators and gut barrier-related genes were determined in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), lung, peyer's patch, and small intestine. A histological analysis of the lungs was performed. In addition, the in vitro safety and their safety in genomic analyses were examined. L. paracasei ATG-E1 was found to be safe in vitro and by genomic analysis. L. paracasei ATG-E1 suppressed neutrophil infiltration and the number of CD4+, CD4+CD69+, CD62L-CD44+high, CD21/35+B220+, and Gr-1+CD11b+ cells, as well as the expression of inflammatory mediators, including chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand (CXCL)-1, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-2, interleukin (IL)-17a, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-6 in BALF and lungs in PM10D-induced airway inflammation. It protected against histopathological damage in the lungs of mice with PM10D-induced airway inflammation. L. paracasei ATG-E1 concomitantly increased the expression levels of the gut barrier function-related genes occludin, claudin-1, and IL-10 in the small intestine, with an increased number of CD4+ and CD4+CD25+ immune cells in the peyer's patch. L. paracasei ATG-E1 suppressed immune activation and airway inflammatory responses in the airways and lungs by restoring the lung damage by PM10D. It also regulated intestinal immunity and ameliorated the gut barrier function in the ileum. These results indicate the potential of L. paracasei ATG-E1 as an protective and therapeutic agent against airway inflammation and respiratory diseases.

Intravaginal injection of Lactobacillus johnsonii may modulates oviductal microbiota and mucosal barrier function of laying hens

The avian oviduct connects to the gastrointestinal tract through cloaca, where it is exposed to pathogenic bacteria from intestinal contents. Therefore, improvement of mucosal barrier function in the oviduct is important for safe poultry production. Lactic acid bacteria are known to contribute to strengthening the mucosal barrier function in the intestinal tract, and a similar effect is expected in the oviduct mucosa of chickens. This study aimed to clarify the effects of vaginal administration of lactic acid bacteria on the mucosal barrier function of the oviduct. White Leghorn laying hens (500-days old) were intravaginally administered 1 mL of Lactobacillus johnsonii suspension (1 × 105 and 1 × 108 cfu/mL: low concentration of Lactobacillus (LL) and high concentration of Lactobacillus (HL) groups, respectively) or without bacteria (control: C group) for 7 d (n = 6). The oviductal magnum, uterus, and vagina were collected for histological observations and mucosal barrier function-related gene expression analysis. Amplicon sequence analysis of oviductal mucus bacteria was also performed. Eggs were collected during the experimental period and their weight was measured. Vaginally administering L. johnsonii for 7 d caused 1) an increase in α-diversity of vaginal mucosa microbiota with an increase in the abundance ratio of beneficial bacteria and a decrease in pathogenic bacteria, 2) enhanced claudin (CLA) 1 and 3 gene expression in the magnum and vaginal mucosa, and 3) a decrease in avian β-defensin (AvBD) 10, 11, and 12 gene expression in the magnum, uterus, and vaginal mucosa. These results suggest that transvaginal administration of L. johnsonii contributes to protection against infection in the oviduct by improving the microflora of the oviductal mucosa and strengthening the mechanical barrier function of the tight junctions. In contrast, transvaginal administration of lactic acid bacteria does not enhance the production of AvBD10, 11, and 12 in the oviduct.

711 Barrier function related genes and proteins are altered in acne involved skin

711 Barrier function related genes and proteins are altered in acne involved skin

Genetic bases of language control in bilinguals: Evidence from an EEG study.

Previous studies have debated whether the ability for bilinguals to mentally control their languages is a consequence of their experiences switching between languages or whether it is a specific, yet highly-adaptive, cognitive ability. The current study investigates how variations in the language-related gene FOXP2 and executive function-related genes COMT, BDNF, and Kibra/WWC1 affect bilingual language control during two phases of speech production, namely the language schema phase (i.e., the selection of one language or another) and lexical response phase (i.e., utterance of the target). Chinese-English bilinguals (N = 119) participated in a picture-naming task involving cued language switches. Statistical analyses showed that both genes significantly influenced language control on neural coding and behavioral performance. Specifically, FOXP2 rs1456031 showed a wide-ranging effect on language control, including RTs, F(2, 113) = 4.00, FDR p = .036, and neural coding across three-time phases (N2a: F(2, 113) = 4.96, FDR p = .014; N2b: F(2, 113) = 4.30, FDR p = .028, LPC: F(2, 113) = 2.82, FDR p = .060), while the COMT rs4818 (ts >2.69, FDR ps < .05), BDNF rs6265 (Fs >5.31, FDR ps < .05), and Kibra/WWC1 rs17070145 (ts > -3.29, FDR ps < .05) polymorphisms influenced two-time phases (N2a and N2b). Time-resolved correlation analyses revealed that the relationship between neural coding and cognitive performance is modulated by genetic variations in all four genes. In all, these findings suggest that bilingual language control is shaped by an individual's experience switching between languages and their inherent genome.

Barrier function-related genes and proteins have an altered expression in acne-involved skin.

Acne vulgaris provides a unique disease setting in which a prominent skin inflammation is coupled with the overproduction of lipid-rich sebum. Our goal was to evaluate the expression of barrier molecules in papular acne skin samples obtained from untreated patients and compare those to the results of healthy and of papulopustular rosacea-involved ones at the mRNA and protein levels. In addition, we aimed to assess the effects of various sebum composing lipids on the expression of proteins involved in barrier formation in keratinocytes. Available microarray data sets of papular acne and papulopustular rosacea-affected skin samples were re-analysed with a focus on epidermal barrier-related pathways. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect barrier molecules in the interfollicular regions of human acne and healthy skin samples. Protein levels of barrier-related genes were measured by western blot in samples of HaCaT keratinocytes treated with selected lipids. Meta-analysis of whole transcriptome data sets revealed that barrier-related pathways are significantly affected in acne vulgaris skin samples. While an altered expression of key molecules in maintaining barrier functions such as filaggrin, keratin 1, involucrin, desmoglein 1, kallikrein 5 and 7, was also observed at the protein levels, our data demonstrated that sebum composing lipids may selectively modify the levels of epidermal barrier-related molecules. Our results suggest that although not as prominently as in the dry papulopustular rosacea skin, the epidermal barrier in the interfollicular region may be damaged also in the lipid-rich skin samples of papular acne. Furthermore, our findings indicating diverse regulatory effects of various sebum lipids on the expression of barrier molecules in keratinocytes suggest, that they may influence the moisturization of the skin as well. Altogether, our findings could have implications in the development of sebum-modulating anti-acne therapies and even in the care of symptom-free skin.

Insights into thermal hydrolysis pretreatment temperature for enhancing volatile fatty acids production from sludge fermentation: Performance and mechanism

To reveal the impact of thermal hydrolysis pretreatment (THP) temperature on the unclear mechanisms of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production, four groups were established with different temperatures (100, 120, 140 and 160 °C), and high throughput sequencing technology was utilized. The results indicated that the optimal VFAs production occurred at 140 °C. Moreover, as the THP temperature increased, the proportion of acetic acid also increased, accounting for 10.8% to 26.7% of the VFAs, compared to only 4.9% in the control group. Mechanism investigations revealed that THP facilitated the hydrolysis and release of biodegradable organic matter. Moreover, the abundance of VFAs production and hydrolytic microorganisms and related metabolic functional genes expression were evidently improved by THP. Overall, this study deepens the understanding of the mechanisms through which different THP temperatures stimulate the production of VFAs through acidogenic fermentation, providing technical support for future THP application in sludge treatment.

Impacts of adding FeSO4 and biochar on nitrogen loss, bacterial community and related functional genes during cattle manure composting

This study investigated the impacts of adding FeSO4 and biochar to cattle manure and rice straw composts on functional genes controlling nitrogen loss, bacterial community, nitrification, and denitrification. Four treatments were established, including a control group (CP), and CP mixtures that included 4% biochar (TG1), 4% FeSO4 (TG2), or 2% FeSO4 and 2% biochar (TG3). Compared to CP, TG1–3 had a lower total nitrogen loss rate, and TG3 resulted in reduced NH3 (52.4%) and N2O (35.6%) emissions to mitigate nitrogen loss. The abundance of amoA and narG gene in TG3 was higher than in the other groups, and TG3 was beneficial to the growth of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. According to redundancy and Pearson analysis, TG3 had a positive effect on the nitrification process by increasing the abundance of amoA and narG. Thus, biochar and FeSO4 addition mitigate nitrogen loss by regulating the nitrification processes.

Non-coding RNAs regulating mitochondrial function in cardiovascular diseases.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of disease-related death worldwide and a significant obstacle to improving patients' health and lives. Mitochondria are core organelles for the maintenance of myocardial tissue homeostasis, and their impairment and dysfunction are considered major contributors to the pathogenesis of various CVDs, such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, and heart failure. However, the exact roles of mitochondrial dysfunction involved in CVD pathogenesis remain not fully understood. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), particularly microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs, have been shown to be crucial regulators in the initiation and development of CVDs. They can participate in CVD progression by impacting mitochondria and regulating mitochondrial function-related genes and signaling pathways. Some ncRNAs also exhibit great potential as diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarkers as well as therapeutic targets for CVD patients. In this review, we mainly focus on the underlying mechanisms of ncRNAs involved in the regulation of mitochondrial functions and their role in CVD progression. We also highlight their clinical implications as biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis in CVD treatment. The information reviewed herein could be extremely beneficial to the development of ncRNA-based therapeutic strategies for CVD patients.

Biochar accelerates the start-up of the anammox process: Phenomenon and potential mechanisms

Biochar was applied to accelerate the establishment of the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) reactor without temperature control (10 to 37 °C). 5 g/L coconut and apricot charcoal were added in R1 and R2. As a result, it took 121, 85 and 90 days for the start-up of R0, R1 and R2. The anammox pathway related functional gene (hzsB) in the bottom region of R0, R1 and R2 were 4.86 × 1011, 1.31 × 1012 and 5.85 × 1011 copies/g after 215-day operation which was significantly greater than that in the seeding sludge (2.56 × 107 copies/g). Candidatus Kuenenia and C. Brocadia were enriched in all reactors and the maximum nitrogen removal rate of R0, R1 and R1 were 1.29, 1.41 and 1.48 kgN/(m3·d), respectively. Biochar promoted the electron transfer capacity, resulting in the increase of functional gene responsible for the anammox pathway. The anammox microbes were enriched and specific anammox activity and nitrogen removal efficiency were improved eventually. The findings in our study could provide an alternative to establish the anammox process rapidly without temperature control.

A self-training subspace clustering algorithm based on adaptive confidence for gene expression data.

Gene clustering is one of the important techniques to identify co-expressed gene groups from gene expression data, which provides a powerful tool for investigating functional relationships of genes in biological process. Self-training is a kind of important semi-supervised learning method and has exhibited good performance on gene clustering problem. However, the self-training process inevitably suffers from mislabeling, the accumulation of which will lead to the degradation of semi-supervised learning performance of gene expression data. To solve the problem, this paper proposes a self-training subspace clustering algorithm based on adaptive confidence for gene expression data (SSCAC), which combines the low-rank representation of gene expression data and adaptive adjustment of label confidence to better guide the partition of unlabeled data. The superiority of the proposed SSCAC algorithm is mainly reflected in the following aspects. 1) In order to improve the discriminative property of gene expression data, the low-rank representation with distance penalty is used to mine the potential subspace structure of data. 2) Considering the problem of mislabeling in self-training, a semi-supervised clustering objective function with label confidence is proposed, and a self-training subspace clustering framework is constructed on this basis. 3) In order to mitigate the negative impact of mislabeled data, an adaptive adjustment strategy based on gravitational search algorithm is proposed for label confidence. Compared with a variety of state-of-the-art unsupervised and semi-supervised learning algorithms, the SSCAC algorithm has demonstrated its superiority through extensive experiments on two benchmark gene expression datasets.

Triptolide inhibits the progression of Glioblastoma U251 cells via targeting PROX1.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most lethal brain cancer in adults, characterized by rapid growth, extensive invasiveness, and poor prognosis, and there is still a lack of effective treatments. Here, we aimed to explore the role of triptolide (TPL), purified from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F, on glioblastoma cell growth, apoptosis, proliferation, migration and invasion, as well as potential underlying mechanisms. The publicly available clinical data of Brain Lower Grade Glioma (LGG) from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) had been screened to observe PROX1 expression. The Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to analyze the relationship between PROX1 expression and GBM prognosis. CCK8, cell cycle, EDU, apoptosis, wound healing, and transwell assays were performed to detect the effects of TPL on glioblastoma U251 cell viability, cell cycle, proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion, respectively. Further, a soft agar colony assay was used to calculate the growth of glioblastoma cells. The qRT-PCR and western blot were conducted to quantify PROX1 mRNA and protein levels. The transcriptional regulation of TPL was detected by Dual luciferase reporter assay. We found that TPL inhibited glioblastoma cell viability, proliferation, cell cycle, migration and invasion, but enhanced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. The expression of cell cycle inhibitor, P21, and pro-apoptosis factor, Bax was increased, while invasion-related factors MMP2 and MMP9 were silenced after TPL treatments. Mechanistically, TPL showed transcriptional inhibition of PROX1 appearance. Moreover, ectopic expression of PROX1 partially rescued the effects of TPL on glioblastoma cell viability, proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion, and on the expression of cell function-related genes. This study verified that TPL inhibited the progression of glioblastoma cells by transcriptionally depressing the expression of PROX1.

Transcriptome analysis of liver, gill and intestine in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) symptomatically or asymptomatically infected with Vibrio anguillarum

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), an important economic cold-water fish worldwide, is severely threatened by viruses and bacteria in the farming industry. The vibriosis outbreak has caused a significant setback to aquaculture. Vibrio anguillarum, one of the common disease-causing vibriosis associated with severe lethal vibriosis in aquaculture, infects fish mainly by adsorption and invasion of the skin, gills, lateral line and intestine. To investigate the defense mechanism of rainbow trout against the pathogen after infection with Vibrio anguillarum, trout were intraperitoneally injected by Vibrio anguillarum and divided into symptomatic group (SG) and asymptomatic group (AG) according to the phenotype. RNA-Seq technology was used to evaluate the transcriptional signatures of liver, gill and intestine of trout injected with Vibrio anguillarum (SG and AG) and corresponding control groups (CG(A) and CG(B)). The GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were used to investigate the mechanisms underlying the differences in susceptibility to Vibrio anguillarum. Results showed that in SG, immunomodulatory genes in the cytokine network were activated and tissue function-related genes were down-regulated, while apoptosis mechanisms were activated. However, AG responded to Vibrio anguillarum infection by activating complement related immune defenses, while metabolism and function related genes were up-regulated. Conclusively, a rapid and effective immune and inflammatory response can successfully defend Vibrio anguillarum infection. However, a sustained inflammatory response can lead to tissue and organ damage and cause death. Our results may provide a theoretical basis for breeding rainbow trout for disease resistance.

TREM2 as a Prognostic Biomarker for Osteosarcoma Microenvironment Remodeling.

The tumor microenvironment (TME) acts as a crucial role in the occurrence and development of osteosarcoma (OS). Despite this, the mechanism controlling the components of immunity and stroma in the tumor microenvironment remains a mystery. To conduct this study, we download and collate transcriptome data from the TARGET database, whose full name is Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments, as well as available clinical information of OS. The CIBERSORT and ESTIMATE methodology are used to acquire the proportions of components of immunity and stroma and tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TICs). Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and Cox regression analysis are used to select differentially expressed genes (DEGs). A prognostic biomarker is determined by intersecting univariate COX and PPI results, which lead to the finding of Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-2 (TREM2). Based on the next analysis, TREM2 expression is positively correlated with OS survival time. Immune function-related genes have enrichment in the group with high expression of TREM2, according to gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). The percentage of TICs by CIBERSORT methodology revealed that the expression of TREM2 is positively associated with follicular helper T cells, CD8-positive T cells, and M2 macrophages and negatively correlated with plasma cells, M0 macrophages, and naive CD4-positive T cells. All results suggest a possible integral role of TREM2 in the immune-related events of TME. Therefore, TREM2 may be a potential indicator of remodeling of TME in osteosarcoma, which is useful and helpful in predicting the clinical prognostic outcome of OS patients and provide a unique perspective for immunotherapy for OS.

Chronic ethanol exposure induces mitochondrial dysfunction and alters gene expression and metabolism in human cardiac spheroids.

Chronic alcohol consumption in adults can induce various cardiac toxicities such as arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy, and heart failure. Prenatal alcohol exposure can increase the risk of developing congenital heart defectsamongoffspring. Understandingthe molecular mechanisms underlying long-term alcohol exposure-induced cardiotoxicity canhelpguidethedevelopmentof therapeutic strategies. Cardiomyocytes derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC-CMs) were engineered into cardiac spheroids and treated with clinically relevant concentrations of ethanol (17 and 50 mM) for 5 weeks. The cells were then analyzed for changes in mitochondrial features, transcriptomic and metabolomic profiles, and integrated omics outcomes. Following chronic ethanol treatment of hiPSC-CMs, a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential and respiration and changes in expression of mitochondrial function-related genes were observed. RNA-sequencing analysis revealed changes in various metabolic processes, heart development, response to hypoxia, and extracellular matrix-related activities. Metabolomic analysis revealed dysregulation of energy metabolism and increased metabolites associated with theupregulation of inflammation. Integrated omics analysis further identified functional subclusters and revealed potentially affected pathways associated with cardiac toxicities. Chronic ethanol treatment of hiPSC-CMs resulted in overall decreased mitochondrial function, increased glycolysis, disrupted fatty acid oxidation, and impaired cardiac structural development.

Transcriptomic analysis provides molecular insights into immune response of Ruditapes philippinarum under Vibrio parahaemolyticus challenge

Ruditapes philippinarum is one of the most commercially important bivalve shellfish. However, the clam aquaculture industry has faced a great challenge due to Vibrio parahaemolyticus in recent years. In this study, we performed RNA-seq to profile the transcriptome of hepatopancreas tissue in the R. philippinarum with resistant individuals (survival group, VpS) and susceptible individuals (moribund group, VpM) after V. parahaemolyticus infection. A total of 1082 and 1876 differentially expressed genes were identified in the VpS group and VpM group after infection, respectively. The KEGG analysis reveal that immune related functional genes were significantly enriched in AMPK (5’-AMP-activated protein kinase), mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) signaling pathway, Autophagy and Lysosome, and phagosome in the hepatopancreas of Manila clams under V. parahaemolyticus challenge. For the RNA-seq validation, we verified 14 immune related DEGs by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). In addition, histological observation of hepatopancreas from Manila clam after V. parahemolyticus challenge was conducted and inflammatory response in tissues were appeared from the pathological morphology. The results obtained in this work provide valuable insights into the immune function of R. philippinarum under V. parahaemolyticus challenge.

Osteoblasts and Fibroblasts Interaction with a Porcine Acellular Dermal Matrix Membrane.

The use of collagen membranes has remained the gold standard in GTR/GBR. In this study, the features and the biological activities of an acellular porcine dermis collagen matrix membrane applicable during dental surgery were investigated, and also by applying hydration with NaCl. Thus, two tested membranes were distinguished, the H-Membrane and Membrane, compared to the control cell culture plastic. The characterization was performed by SEM and histological analyses. In contrast, the biocompatibility was investigated on HGF and HOB cells at 3, 7, and 14 days by MTT for proliferation study; by SEM and histology for cell interaction study; and by RT-PCR for function-related genes study. In HOBs seeded on membranes, mineralization functions by ALP assay and Alizarin Red staining were also investigated. Results indicated that the tested membranes, especially when hydrated, can promote the proliferation and attachment of cells at each time. Furthermore, membranes significantly increased ALP and mineralization activities in HOBs as well as the osteoblastic-related genes ALP and OCN. Similarly, membranes significantly increased ECM-related and MMP8 gene expression in HGFs. In conclusion, the tested acellular porcine dermis collagen matrix membrane, mainly when it is hydrated, behaved as a suitable microenvironment for oral cells.