Small interfering RNA

Exploring the memory: existing activity-dependent tools to tag and manipulate engram cells

The theory of engrams, proposed several years ago, is highly crucial to understanding the progress of memory. Although it significantly contributes to identifying new treatments for cognitive disorders, it is limited by a lack of technology. Several scientists have attempted to validate this theory but failed. With the increasing availability of activity-dependent tools, several researchers have found traces of engram cells. Activity-dependent tools are based on the mechanisms underlying neuronal activity and use a combination of emerging molecular biological and genetic technology. Scientists have used these tools to tag and manipulate engram neurons and identified numerous internal connections between engram neurons and memory. In this review, we provide the background, principles, and selected examples of applications of existing activity-dependent tools. Using a combination of traditional definitions and concepts of engram cells, we discuss the applications and limitations of these tools and propose certain developmental directions to further explore the functions of engram cells.

Targeting pancreatic stellate cells in chronic pancreatitis: Focus on therapeutic drugs and natural compounds

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a precancerous illness linked to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), although the evolutionary mechanism is uncertain. CP is distinguished by severe fibrosis caused by the activation of pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs). The current clinical therapeutic protocol for CP lacks specific therapeutic medicines for the prevention and suppression of inflammation and fibrosis aggravating in CP. More research on specifically targeting PSCs would help facilitate the development of novel therapies for pancreatic fibrosis. Notably, using natural compounds from medicinal plants as new antifibrotic agents has become a focus of recent research and is widely employed as an alternative and complementary approach. Our goal was to shed light on the role of PSCs in the development of CP and provide a focused update on the new potential therapeutic strategies against PSCs in CP models. Future studies can refer to these possible strategies for drug design, bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, and other issues to obtain better clinical outcomes for treating CP.

Evidence base of economic evaluations of workplace-based interventions reducing occupational sitting time: an integrative review

OBJECTIVE

To review the evidence on the economic evaluations of workplace-based interventions that are designed to reduce prolonged periods of occupational sitting.

DESIGN

An integrative review.

DATA SOURCES

The search was conducted in 11 databases, including PubMed, Scopus, PsychINFO, NHS-EED, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), ProQuest, Cochrane library, Sportdiscus, Research Paper in Economics (RePeC), the International Health Economic Association (IHEA) and EconLit. The databases were searched for articles published from inception to January 2022. Subsequent citation searches were also conducted in Google Scholar. The items of the Consensus Health Economic Criteria (CHEC) checklist were used for quality appraisal of the included studies.

RESULTS

This review included five randomised control trails, including 757 office-based workers in high-income countries. The median quality appraisal score based on the CHEC items was 14 points (a range of 9-18). The mean duration of interventions was 33 weeks (a range of 4-52 weeks). Overall, the studies reported economic benefit when implemented to reduce occupational sitting time but no effect on absenteeism. From the societal perspective, the interventions (eg, the use of a sit-stand desk) were cost-effective.

CONCLUSION

The economic impact of workplace interventions implemented to reduce occupational sitting time is evident; however, the existing evidence is limited, which precludes strong conclusions. Cost-effectiveness is not often evaluated in the studies exploring workplace interventions that address occupational sitting time. Workplace interventions are still in the development and testing phase; thus, the challenge for future studies is to include economic evaluation of interventions addressing sedentary behaviour in workplaces.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42021226275.

Emerging roles and potential application of PIWI-interacting RNA in urological tumors

The piRNA (PIWI-interacting RNA) is P-Element induced wimpy testis (PIWI)-interacting RNA which is a small molecule, non-coding RNA with a length of 24-32nt. It was originally found in germ cells and is considered a regulator of germ cell function. It can interact with PIWI protein, a member of the Argonaute family, and play a role in the regulation of gene transcription and epigenetic silencing of transposable factors in the nucleus. More and more studies have shown that piRNAs are abnormally expressed in a variety of cancer tissues and patient fluids, and may become diagnostic tools, therapeutic targets, staging markers, and prognostic evaluation tools for cancer. This article reviews the recent research on piRNA and summarizes the structural characteristics, production mechanism, applications, and its role in urological tumors, to provide a reference value for piRNA to regulate urological tumors.

Lentivirus-delivered ACE siRNA rescues the impaired peak bone mass accumulation caused by prenatal dexamethasone exposure in male offspring rats

Angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) is a major component of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Our previous study demonstrated that activated bone RAS was associated with low peak bone mass induced by prenatal dexamethasone exposure (PDE) in male offspring rats. However, we did not determine whether the inhibition of ACE expression could rescue PDE-induced low peak bone mass. In the present study, we treated pregnant Wistar rats with dexamethasone (0.2 mg/kg.d) on gestational days 9-20 and obtained eight weeks old male offspring rats. Some of the offspring rats from the PDE group were injected lentivirus delivered-ACE siRNA (LV-ACE siRNA) through the intra-bone marrow for 4 weeks. We found that the intra-bone marrow injection of LV-ACE siRNA rescued the impaired peak bone mass accumulation caused by PDE in male offspring rats. Moreover, LV-ACE siRNA ameliorated PDE-induced inhibition of osteogenesis and alleviated PDE-induced RAS activation in the bone tissues in vivo. Our in vitro findings further confirmed that LV-ACE siRNA reversed the suppressed osteogenic differentiation caused by dexamethasone, which can be attributed to alleviated RAS activation. In conclusion, LV-ACE siRNA rescued impaired peak bone mass accumulation caused by PDE through alleviation of local bone RAS activation in male offspring rats.

Roles of Non-Coding RNAs on Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinomas

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) remains as one of the most aggressive human carcinomas with poor survival rates in patients with the cancer despite therapeutic interventions. Novel targeted and personalized therapies could solve the puzzle of poor survival rates of patients with ATC. In this review, we discuss the role of non-coding RNAs in the regulation of gene expression in ATC as well as how the changes in their expression could potentially reshape the characteristics of ATCs. A broad range of miRNA, such as miR-205, miR-19a, miR-17-3p and miR-17-5p, miR-618, miR-20a, miR-155, etc., have abnormal expressions in ATC tissues and cells when compared to those of non-neoplastic thyroid tissues and cells. Moreover, lncRNAs, such as H19, Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex P5 (HCP5), Urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 (UCA1), Nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1 (NEAT1), etc., participate in transcription and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression in ATC cells. Dysregulations of these non-coding RNAs were associated with development and progression of ATC by modulating the functions of oncogenes during tumour progression. Thus, restoration of the abnormal expression of these miRNAs and lncRNAs may serve as promising ways to treat the patients with ATC. In addition, siRNA mediated inhibition of several oncogenes may act as a potential option against ATC. Thus, non-coding RNAs can be useful as prognostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for the better management of patients with ATC.

Research Techniques Made Simple: Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is a research method used to determine the clinical benefit-to-cost ratio of a given intervention. CEA offers a standardized means of comparing cost-effectiveness among interventions. Changes in quality-adjusted life-years, disability-adjusted life-years, or survival and mortality are some of the common clinical benefit measures incorporated into CEA. Because accounting for all associated costs and benefits of an intervention is complex and potentially introduces uncertainty into the analysis, sensitivity analyses can be performed to test the analytic model under varying conditions. CEA informs the identification of high-value clinical practices and can be used to evaluate preventative, diagnostic, and therapeutic interventions in dermatology.

Knockdown of ST6Gal-I increases cisplatin sensitivity in cervical cancer cells

Background

Sialyltransferase I (ST6Gal-I) is an enzyme involved in tumor metastasis that processes sialic acid precursors into their mature form, enabling them to regulate gene expression. However, the effect of ST6Gal-I on the biological behavior of cancer cells remain unclear. This study was the first to demonstrate the influence of ST6Gal-I on cisplatin sensitivity in cervical cancer cells.

Methods

Knockdown of ST6Gal-I was performed by shRNA and HeLa cells combination with cisplatin were tested.

Results

We showed that down-regulation of ST6Gal-I promoted cell apoptosis and inhibited proliferation and invasion in cervical cancer cells. Knockdown of ST6Gal-I by RNA interference increased the sensitivity of HeLa cells to cisplatin in vitro, and reduced tumor volume and suppressed subcutaneous tumor growth in response to cisplatin treatment in a xenograft mouse model in vivo.

Conclusions

The results provide new information that ST6Gal-I plays an important role in several biological or pathological processes including drug resistance in cervical cancer and may be a potential therapeutic target to improve the response to chemotherapy in cervical cancer patients.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2981-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.