The longitudinal behavioral effects of acute exposure to galactic cosmic radiation in female C57BL/6J mice: implications for deep space missions, female crews, and potential antioxidant countermeasures

Galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) is an unavoidable risk to astronauts that may affect mission success. Male rodents exposed to 33-beam-GCR (33-GCR) show short-term cognitive deficits but reports on female rodents and long-term assessment is lacking. Here we asked: What are the longitudinal behavioral effects of 33-GCR on female mice? Also, can an antioxidant/anti-inflammatory compound mitigate the impact of 33-GCR? Mature (6-month-old) C57BL/6J female mice received the antioxidant CDDO-EA (400 µg/g of food) or a control diet (vehicle, Veh) for 5 days and either Sham-irradiation (IRR) or whole-body 33-GCR (0.75Gy) on the 4th day. Three-months post-IRR, mice underwent two touchscreen-platform tests: 1) location discrimination reversal (which tests behavior pattern separation and cognitive flexibility, two abilities reliant on the dentate gyrus) and 2) stimulus-response learning/extinction. Mice then underwent arena-based behavior tests (e.g. open field, 3-chamber social interaction). At the experiment end (14.25-month post-IRR), neurogenesis was assessed (doublecortin-immunoreactive [DCX+] dentate gyrus neurons). Female mice exposed to Veh/Sham vs. Veh/33-GCR had similar pattern separation (% correct to 1st reversal). There were two effects of diet: CDDO-EA/Sham and CDDO-EA/33-GCR mice had better pattern separation vs. their respective control groups (Veh/Sham, Veh/33-GCR), and CDDO-EA/33-GCR mice had better cognitive flexibility (reversal number) vs. Veh/33-GCR mice. Notably, one radiation effect/CDDO-EA countereffect also emerged: Veh/33-GCR mice had worse stimulus-response learning (days to completion) vs. all other groups, including CDDO-EA/33-GCR mice. In general, all mice show normal anxiety-like behavior, exploration, and habituation to novel environments. There was also a change in neurogenesis: Veh/33-GCR mice had fewer DCX+ dentate gyrus immature neurons vs. Veh/Sham mice. Our study implies space radiation is a risk to a female crew's longitudinal mission-relevant cognitive processes and CDDO-EA is a potential dietary countermeasure for space-radiation CNS risks.

Melatonin's effect on hair follicles in a goat (Capra hircus) animal model

Introduction

Melatonin can treat androgenetic alopecia in males. Goats can be used as animal models to study melatonin treatment for human alopecia. In this study, a meta-analysis of melatonin's effects on goat hair follicles was pursued.

Methods

Literature from the last 20 years was searched in Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science and PubMed. Melatonin's effect on goat hair follicles and litter size were performed through a traditional meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis. A network meta-analysis used data from oocyte development to blastocyst. The hair follicle genes regulated by melatonin performed KEGG and PPI. We hypothesized that there are differences in melatonin receptors between different goats, and therefore completed melatonin receptor 1A homology modelling and molecular docking.

Results

The results showed that melatonin did not affect goat primary follicle or litter size. However, there was a positive correlation with secondary follicle growth. The goat melatonin receptor 1A SNPs influence melatonin's functioning. The wild type gene defect MR1 is a very valuable animal model.

Discussion

Future studies should focus on the relationship between goat SNPs and the effect of embedded melatonin. This study will provide theoretical guidance for the cashmere industry and will be informative for human alopecia research.

The Relationship between Choroidal Thickness and Liver Damage in Simple Auto-immune Hepatitis Patients

BACKGROUND

There was no sufficient clinical evidence on the relationship between auto-immune hepatitis (AIH) and risk of eye illness, except 11 uveitis cases where related AIH is reported currently.

AIM

To determine the relationship between choroidal thickness (ChT) and liver damage in simple AIH patients without ocular symptoms after oral prednisone treatment.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This prospective observational study included simple AIH patients. The patients' ChT was measured by swept-source (SS)-optical coherence tomography (OCT), and the liver damage was evaluated by alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). ChT and liver functions were assessed prior to and after treatment. Then comparisons were made prior to and post treatment. The relationships between biochemical indexes of liver injury and ChT were evaluated after a mean (SD) of 24 (1.28) weeks of regular oral prednisone.

RESULTS

A total of 35 patients (31 females, aged 45.66 ± 11.62 years) were included. After treatment, ChT was significantly increased in all sectors (including the center sector, superior inner sector, inner nasal sector, inferior inner sector, inner temporal sector, superior outer sector, outer nasal sector, inferior outer sector, and outer temporal sector) (all P < 0.001). After treatment, both ALT (51.34 ± 44.16 vs 255.06 ± 107.84, P < 0.001) and AST (38.66 ± 27.12 vs 164.89 ± 85.58, P < 0.001) were significantly decreased. The increase of ChT in all sectors was significantly related to the decrease of ALT and AST (all P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The improvement of ChT might reflect the remission of liver damage in simple AIH patients without ocular symptoms during oral prednisone treatment.

A Free, Open-Source Toolkit to Produce 3D Bolus in the Clinic

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Tissue-equivalent, tissue-approximating and tissue-replacing bolus materials have been in use for decades in radiotherapy. Most frequently these materials are applied to a patient's skin to bring the highest dose region towards the surface of the skin-which is the location of the target. These materials can be applied at the time of simulation and included in a planning CT scan, or can be added during the planning process and first physically applied at the time of treatment. One of the most widely adopted materials for bolus has been sheets of a commercially available proprietary synthetic gel, which is uniform in thickness, and has some ability to match the curvature of the patient's body. Recently investigators have worked to create boluses using 3D printing technology, including several commercially available offerings. We hypothesized that we could create a bespoke, 3D bolus solution, using a series of open-source and free software products.

MATERIALS/METHODS

For an anthropomorphic phantom, a radiation treatment plan representative of skin cancer treatment was designed, this included a superficial target. The DICOM CT and structure set were imported into 3D Slicer, which is a free, open-source software for visualization, processing, segmentation, and registration. Using 3D Slicer, the bolus structure was saved as an STL file. Meshmixer, a free software for working with triangle meshes, was used to complete a mold design, and the mold parts were then printed using a rigid filament on a 3D printer. The mold parts were glued together, and small spring clamps were used secure the walls to the shells to ensure mold integrity. The mold was then filled with a thinned and degassed silicone. After appropriate curing, demolding was completed by removing the clamps and separating the walls. After QA, the bolus was applied to the anthropomorphic phantom and CTs were taken to compare a commercial sheet bolus with the in-house 3D printed product.

RESULTS

The bolus made via the in-house 3D printing process fit even complicated patient geometries well, and had both an obvious visual/goodness of fit advantage over the commercial sheet bolus and a nuanced dosimetric improvement as the air gaps present in the commercial sheet bolus were not desirable nor reproducible. The overall in-house workflow was efficient, and clinically reasonable (an estimated time of 72 hours was presented to the physician team, but in testing less than 24 hours was needed from export to delivery of the finished product).

CONCLUSION

In this work we explored whether motivated groups and departments could produce dosimetrically accurate and clinically reasonable custom boluses for patients undergoing radiotherapy to a superficial area of the body, using a test case on an anthropomorphic phantom. We found that this was absolutely achievable and could be implemented with no funds spent on software or licenses. Provided that a 3D printer, filament and silicone are available, any thoughtful practice can join the bespoke-bolus-club.

[Advances of the regulatory mechanism of cyclin, cyclin- dependent kinases and related kinase inhibitors in cell cycle progression]

Cell cycle plays a crucial role in cell development. Cell cycle progression is mainly regulated by cyclin dependent kinase (CDK), cyclin and endogenous CDK inhibitor (CKI). Among these, CDK is the main cell cycle regulator, binding to cyclin to form the cyclin-CDK complex, which phosphorylates hundreds of substrates and regulates interphase and mitotic progression. Abnormal activity of various cell cycle proteins can cause uncontrolled proliferation of cancer cells, which leads to cancer development. Therefore, understanding the changes in CDK activity, cyclin-CDK assembly and the role of CDK inhibitors will help to understand the underlying regulatory processes in cell cycle progression, as well as provide a basis for the treatment of cancer and disease and the development of CDK inhibitor-based therapeutic agents. This review focuses on the key events of CDK activation or inactivation, and summarizes the regulatory processes of cyclin-CDK at specific times and locations, as well as the progress of research on relevant CDK inhibitor therapeutics in cancer and disease. The review concludes with a brief description of the current challenges of the cell cycle process, with the aim to provide scientific references and new ideas for further research on cell cycle process.

A Rare Presentation of Thoracic Intramedullary Chordoma with Adjacent Bone Involvement: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Introduction/Objective

Chordoma originates from remnants of the embryonal notochord, and arise in bones anywhere along the spine and skull base. The most common location was thought to be the sacrum, followed by the clivus, and to a much lesser extent the rest of the spine. However, some studies have suggested an equal distribution among the skull base (32%), mobile spine (32.8%), and sacro-coccygeal bones (29.2%). Here we report a case of chordoma involving the thoracic spine. at the level of T2.

Methods/Case Report

A 63-year-old male with no significant past medical history who presented with 5-6 months of intermittent, bilateral lower extremity weakness and numbness in the trunk and lower extremities. MRI of the thoracic spine demonstrated a contrast enhancing mass at T2 vertebral level with spinal cord compression and adjacent bone destruction. T1-3 laminectomy with debulking of the tumor was performed. Microscopically, the tumor cells have a lobulated architecture and are composed of epithelioid cells arranged in cords, clusters or nests, embedded in a myxoid mucinous matrix. The epithelioid cells have a variably vacuolated cytoplasm ("physaliphorous" cells). The epithelioid cells are positive for CK AE1/3, Cam5.2, EMA and Brachyury (nuclear stain), and S100 (focal). These findings support a diagnosis of chordoma.

Results (if a Case Study enter NA)

N/A.

Conclusion

The most important and difficult differential diagnosis of chordoma is with well-differentiated chondrosarcoma. Although both chordomas and chondrosarcomas express S100, chondrosarcomas do not express cytokeratins, EMA or brachyury. Chordomas have an aggressive clinical course and poor outcome with local extension, recurrence and even metastasis. The treatment is en block surgical resection with adjuvant radiotherapy. The extent of the initial surgical resection is the most significant prognostic factor.

Sudden Cardiac Death due to Giant Cell Myocarditis in a 37-Year-Old Female: Case Report

Introduction/Objective

Giant cell myocarditis (GCM) is a rare and aggressive inflammatory process that targets the myocardium and is often rapidly fatal. Most cases have been reported in young to middle aged adults with a slight male predominance. The etiology of this disease is largely unknown, however there is an association with multiple autoimmune disorders. Most patients present with rapidly progressive or fulminant heart failure, arrhythmias, heart block or sudden cardiac death. The incidence of GCM ranges from 0.007% to 0.051% and most cases are confirmed on autopsy examination. Here we present a case of GCM in a young female diagnosed on autopsy.

Methods/Case Report

A 37-year-old female presented with shortness of breath and chest pain for a 5-day duration. She had no past medical history and was otherwise well before the onset of symptoms. On admission, she was noted to have clinical findings consistent with heart failure and progressed to cardiogenic shock with ventricular arrhythmias within hours. Despite high dose corticosteroids and other supportive therapy, the patient remained in refractory, vasodilatory shock, in cardiac standstill and eventually died. Findings on autopsy included mild ventricular hypertrophy, petechial hemorrhages through out the atria and ventricles, as well as pulmonary edema and congestion. Microscopic examination showed a diffuse infiltrating pattern of inflammation within the heart, that was composed predominantly of lymphocytes, giant cells, scattered neutrophils, and eosinophils. The lymphocytes were CD3, CD4, CD8 positive and CD20 negative, consistent with a T-cell infiltrate. Gram and GMS stains were negative for bacterial and fungal microorganisms. Focal areas of necrosis without granuloma formation are also noted ruling out sarcoidosis.

Results (if a Case Study enter NA)

NA.

Conclusion

This case demonstrates a rapid manifestation of GCM in a previously healthy individual. GCM must be considered in the differential diagnosis when a young patient presents with cardiac symptoms. Early diagnosis and initiation of targeted therapy is critical for GCM patients' survival.

Impact of COVID 19 Pandemic on Radiation Oncology Care Path Time

Purpose/Objective(s)

We seek to investigate the impact of the COVID19 pandemic on the radiation oncology care path timeline. We hypothesized that the COVID19 pandemic would result in increased time to complete the care path from simulation to start of radiation.

Materials/Methods

Care path data of patients treated at a single institution were included for 3 epochs: Pre COVID (July 2019 – March 2020), C1 [PreV] (April 2020 – Dec 2020), and C2 [PostV] (Jan 2021 – September 2021). The following tasks in the care path were evaluated: simulation start time, contours completed, physician review, plan finalization, IMRT/IMPT QA, and radiation treatment start. Time stamps of completion of tasks in the radiation treatment planning care pathway were extrapolated and used to create 9-time intervals. Demographic, tumor, and treatment characteristics were gathered to stratify patients. Patients with care path times greater than 25 days were excluded from the analysis. Numerical variables are summarized using mean and standard deviation while categorical data is summarized using counts and percentages. The ANOVA test is used to compare means in RT planning times between time epochs.

Results

A total of 3557 patients were included in the study analysis: 1095 PC, 1105 C1, and 1357 C2. There were improvements in multiple car path intervals following the start of the pandemic. Across epochs, the mean time from simulation to RT Start was 10.5 days (10.9 PC, 10.3C1, and 10.3 C2) (p =0.008). The mean time from simulation to plan finalization was 5.5 days (5.6 PC, 5.7 C1, 5.2 C2, p =0.008). The mean time for plan review to start time was 5.5 days (5.7 PC, 5.2 C1, and 5.5 C2) (p=0.010). Contour completion to radiation start time was significantly shorter after the pandemic (8.8 PC vs. 8.4 C1 vs. 8.4 C2, p =0.046). The mean time from physician review to IMRT/IMPT QA was 1.7 days (1.8 PC, 1.7 C1, 1.5 C2, p = 0.007). Physician review to RT start took a mean time of 5.5 days (5.7 PC, 5.2 C1, 5.5 C2, p = 0.010). Plan finalization to IMRT/IMPT QA took a mean time of 1.1 days (1.2 PC, 1.1 C1, 1.0 C2, p = 0.01). IMRT/QA to RT start took a mean time of 4.4 days (4.6 PC, 4.0 C1, and 4.5 C2, p =0.002). The mean time from plan finalization to RT start was 5.0 days (5.2 PC, 4.6 C1, 5.0 C2, p = 0.004). There were no significant differences in simulation to contour time (p =0.181) and physician review completion to plan finalization (p =0.223)

Conclusion

The COVID19 pandemic has been a disruptive force in the management of patients in Radiation Oncology. However, we demonstrate improved efficiency in care path completion as we entered into the pandemic. Further investigation into care path efficiency is important for provider and patient satisfaction.

[Advances of long non-coding RNA encoded micro-peptides]

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) refers to non-coding RNA longer than 200 nt, with one or more short open reading frames (sORF), which encode functional micro-peptides. These functional micro-peptides often play key roles in various biological processes, such as Ca²⁺ transport, mitochondrial metabolism, myocyte fusion, cellular senescence and others. At the same time, these biological processes play a key role in the regulation of body homeostasis, diseases and cancers development and progression, embryonic development and other important physiological processes. Therefore, studying the potential regulatory mechanisms of micro-peptides encoded by lncRNA in organisms will help to further elucidate the potential regulatory processes in organisms. Furthermore, it will provide a new theoretical basis for the subsequent targeted treatment of diseases and improvement of animal growth performance. This review summarizes the latest research progress in the field of lncRNA-encoded micro-peptides, as well as the progress in the fields of muscle physiological regulation, inflammation and immunity, common human cancers, and embryonic development. Finally, the challenges of lncRNA-encoded micro-peptides are briefly described, with the aim to facilitate subsequent in-depth research on micro-peptides.

Expression profile of long non-coding RNA in inner Mongolian cashmere goat with putative roles in hair follicles development

The hair follicle is a complex skin accessory organ, which determines hair growth. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been proven to play an important role in hair follicle development, but their specific mechanism is still unclear. In this study, high-throughput sequencing was used to obtain the expression profiles of lncRNA in the hair follicles of Inner Mongolian cashmere goats at different embryonic stages (45, 55, 65, and 75 days), and a total of 6,630 lncRNA were identified. According to the rules of hair follicle development, we combined miRNA and mRNA databases (published) and predicted lncRNA-miRNA, miRNA-mRNA, and lncRNA-mRNA interaction pairs in the 45 vs. 75 comparison group. We obtained 516 lncRNA-mRNA, 1,011 lncRNA-miRNA, and 7,411 miRNA-mRNA relationship pairs. Finally, target genes were analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and it was found that they were mainly enriched in the Wnt signaling pathway and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway related to hair follicle development, indicating that lncRNA may interact with miRNA/mRNA to directly or indirectly regulate the expression of genes related to hair follicle development. Dual-luciferase reporter gene analysis showed that lncRNA MSTRG.1705.1 could bind to Chi-miR-1, while lncRNA MSTRG.11809.1 had no binding site for Chi-miR-433. In conclusion, this study aims to further analyze the molecular regulation mechanism of hair follicle development and to lay a theoretical foundation for revealing the regulation mechanism of cashmere hair follicle growth.

Construction and functional analysis of ceRNA regulatory network related to the development of secondary hair follicles in Inner Mongolia cashmere goats

Cashmere goat hair follicles are divided into primary hair follicles and secondary hair follicles. The primary hair follicles produce coarse hair, and the secondary hair follicles produce cashmere. The development of hair follicles is affected by a variety of signaling molecules and pathways. Studies have shown that non-coding RNAs are widely involved in the development of hair follicles of the goat, including small RNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA), and circular RNAs (circRNAs). In recent years, circRNAs, as a new type of circular closed non-coding RNAs, have attracted great attention due to their high stability. However, its regulatory effect on cashmere goat hair follicles mainly focuses on the periodic regulation of secondary hair follicles, and there is no report on the development of cashmere goat hair follicles during the fetal period. Therefore, this study was based on the circRNA, miRNA, and mRNA expression profiles obtained by whole-transcriptional sequencing of the skin tissue of the Inner Mongolia cashmere goats in the fetal period (days 45, 55, 65, and 75) and screening out the morphological changes of hair follicles at different periods. A total of 113 circRNAs related to the development of secondary hair follicles were present. According to the principle of the ceRNA regulatory network, a ceRNA regulatory network composed of 13 circRNAs, 21 miRNAs, and 110 mRNAs related to the development of secondary hair follicles was constructed. Then, qRT-PCR and Sanger sequencing identified circRNA2034, circRNA5712, circRNA888, and circRNA9127 were circRNAs. Next, the dual-luciferase reporter gene verified the targeting relationship of circRNA5712-miR-27b-3p-Dll4. In conclusion, this study constructed a ceRNA regulatory network for the development of cashmere goat secondary hair follicles, laying a foundation for the analysis of circRNAs regulating the morphogenesis and development of cashmere goat secondary hair follicles through the ceRNA mechanism.

Functional Micropeptides Encoded by Long Non-Coding RNAs: A Comprehensive Review

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were originally defined as non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) which lack protein-coding ability. However, with the emergence of technologies such as ribosome profiling sequencing and ribosome-nascent chain complex sequencing, it has been demonstrated that most lncRNAs have short open reading frames hence the potential to encode functional micropeptides. Such micropeptides have been described to be widely involved in life-sustaining activities in several organisms, such as homeostasis regulation, disease, and tumor occurrence, and development, and morphological development of animals, and plants. In this review, we focus on the latest developments in the field of lncRNA-encoded micropeptides, and describe the relevant computational tools and techniques for micropeptide prediction and identification. This review aims to serve as a reference for future research studies on lncRNA-encoded micropeptides.

Screening of microRNA and mRNA related to secondary hair follicle morphogenesis and development and functional analysis in cashmere goats

microRNA (miRNA) is a type of endogenous short-chain non-coding RNA with regulatory function found in eukaryotes, which is involved in the regulation of a variety of cellular and biological processes. However, the research on the development of cashmere goat secondary hair follicles is still relatively scarce. In this study, small RNA libraries and mRNA libraries of 45 days, 55 days, 65 days, and 75 days of fetal skin of cashmere goats were constructed, and the constructed libraries were sequenced using Illumina Hiseq4000, and the expression profiles of miRNA and mRNA in cashmere goat fetal skin were obtained. The differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs in six control groups were identified and the qRT-PCR experiment shows that the sequencing results are accurate. Sixty-six miRNAs related to secondary hair follicle development were screened, and used TargetScan and miRanda to predict 33 highly expressed miRNA target genes. At the same time, 664 mRNAs related to the development of secondary hair follicles were screened, and GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis were performed. It was found that some miRNA target genes were consistent with the screening results of mRNAs related to secondary hair follicle development and were enriched in Notch signaling pathway, TGF-β signaling pathway. Therefore, miR-145-5p-DLL4, miR-27b-3p-DLL4, miR-30e-5p-DLL4, miR-193b-3p-TGF-β1, miR-181b-5p-NOTCH2, and miR-103-3p-NOTCH2 regulatory network related to the development of secondary hair follicles were constructed and the results of dual-luciferase reporter gene assay indicated that there is a targeted relationship between chi-miR-30e-5p and DLL4, which will provide a basis for molecular mechanism of miRNA-mRNA in the development of the hair follicles in cashmere goats.

Chi-miR-130b-3p regulates Inner Mongolia cashmere goat skin hair follicles in fetuses by targeting Wnt family member 10A

The development of hair follicles (HFs) is dependent on interactions between epithelial cells and dermal fibroblasts, which may play an important role in maintaining the structure of HFs during their development and maturation. Wnt family member 10 (WNT10A) is a hub gene during HF development and maturation that may regulate the proliferation of dermal fibroblasts and epithelial cells through microRNAs (miRNAs) and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) to maintain the structural stability of HFs. In the present study, we confirmed that WNT10A is the target gene of chi-miR-130b-3p by real-time quantitative PCR, western blotting, and a dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. We successfully cultured fetal epithelial cells and dermal fibroblasts using the tissue block attachment method, and Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK8) results showed that chi-miR-130b-3p regulates epithelial cell and dermal fibroblast proliferation by targeting WNT10A.

Expression Profiling and Functional Analysis of Circular RNAs in Inner Mongolian Cashmere Goat Hair Follicles

Background

Inner Mongolian cashmere goats have hair of excellent quality and high economic value, and the skin hair follicle traits of cashmere goats have a direct and important effect on cashmere yield and quality. Circular RNA has been studied in a variety of tissues and cells.

Result

In this study, high-throughput sequencing was used to obtain the expression profiles of circular RNA (circRNA) in the hair follicles of Inner Mongolian cashmere goats at different embryonic stages (45, 55, 65, and 75 days). A total of 21,784 circRNAs were identified. At the same time, the differentially expressed circRNA in the six comparison groups formed in the four stages were: d75vsd45, 59 upregulated and 33 downregulated DE circRNAs; d75vsd55, 61 upregulated and 102 downregulated DE circRNAs; d75vsd65, 32 upregulated and 33 downregulated DE circRNAs; d65vsd55, 67 upregulated and 169 downregulated DE circRNAs; d65vsd45, 96 upregulated and 63 downregulated DE circRNAs; and d55vsd45, 76 upregulated and 42 downregulated DE circRNAs. Six DE circRNA were randomly selected to verify the reliability of the sequencing results by quantitative RT-PCR. Subsequently, the circRNA corresponding host genes were analyzed by the Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway. The results showed that the biological processes related to hair follicle growth and development enriched by GO mainly included hair follicle morphogenesis and cell development, and the signaling pathways related to hair follicle development included the Notch signaling pathway and NF-κB signaling pathway. We combined the DE circRNA of d75vsd45 with miRNA and mRNA databases (unpublished) to construct the regulatory network of circRNA–miRNA–mRNA, and formed a total of 102 pairs of circRNA–miRNA and 126 pairs of miRNA–mRNA interactions. The binding relationship of circRNA3236–chi-miR-27b-3p and circRNA3236–chi-miR-16b-3p was further verified by dual-luciferase reporter assays, and the results showed that circRNA3236 and chi-miR-27b-3p, and circRNA3236 and chi-miR-16b-3p have a targeted binding relationship.

Conclusion

To summarize, we established the expression profiling of circRNA in the fetal skin hair follicles of cashmere goats, and found that the host gene of circRNA may be involved in the development of hair follicles of cashmere goats. The regulatory network of circRNA–miRNA–mRNA was constructed and preliminarily verified using DE circRNAs.

Chi-miR-370-3p regulates hair follicle morphogenesis of Inner Mongolian cashmere goats

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of 22 nucleotide (nt) noncoding RNAs, negatively regulate mRNA posttranscriptional modification in various biological processes. Morphogenesis of skin hair follicles in cashmere goats is a dynamic process involving many key signaling molecules, but the associated cellular biological mechanisms induced by these key signaling molecules have not been reported. In this study, differential expression, bioinformatics, and Gene Ontology/Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses were performed on miRNA expression profiles of Inner Mongolian cashmere goats at 45, 55, and 65 days during the fetal period, and chi-miR-370-3p was identified and investigated further. Real-time fluorescence quantification (qRT-PCR), dual luciferase reporting, and Western blotting results showed that transforming growth factor beta receptor 2 (TGF-βR2) and fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) were the target genes of chi-miR-370-3p. Chi-miR-370-3p also regulated the expression of TGF-βR2 and FGFR2 at mRNA and protein levels in epithelial cells and dermal fibroblasts. DNA staining, Cell Counting Kit-8, and fluorescein-labelled Annexin V results showed that chi-miR-370-3p inhibited the proliferation of epithelial cells and fibroblasts but had no effect on apoptosis. Cell scratch test results showed that chi-miR-370-3p promoted the migration of epithelial cells and fibroblasts. Chi-miR-370-3p inhibits the proliferation of epithelial cells and fibroblasts by targeting TGF-βR2 and FGFR2, thereby improving cell migration ability and ultimately regulating the fate of epithelial cells and dermal fibroblasts to develop the placode and dermal condensate, inducing hair follicle morphogenesis.

Molecular Characterisation, Tissue Distribution, and Expression Profiling of the Cathepsin B Gene during Ovarian Follicle Development in Geese

1. Although there is evidence that Cathepsin B (CTSB) regulates the degradation and absorption of yolk precursors during avian ovarian follicle development, nothing is known about its molecular characteristics, tissue distribution or expression profiles in goose ovarian follicular compartments.2. The intact 1023 bp coding sequence of the goose CTSB gene was obtained for the first time. It encoded a polypeptide of 340 amino acids (AA) containing two conserved functional domains (i.e., Propeptide_C1 and Peptidase_C1A_Cathpsin B) and three active amino acid residues (+108, +279, and +299). Both the nucleotide and AA sequences of goose CTSB gene showed more than 90% similarity with its respective homologs from other avian species.3. The qRT-PCR results showed that CTSB mRNA was ubiquitously expressed in all examined goose tissues, with moderate to high levels in the reproductive organs including the ovarian stroma and oviduct.4. Expression of goose CTSB mRNA in the granulosa layers increased gradually from the 2-4 mm F5 follicles but declined to relatively low levels in the F4-F1 follicles while remaining statistically unchanged in the theca layers throughout follicle development.5. High sequence similarity of goose CTSB gene to other avian species suggested functional conservation of avian CTSB genes, and its fluctuating levels in the granulosa layers may be associated with the orderly progression of goose follicle development. These data laid a foundation for further elucidating the role of CTSB in the avian ovary.

MiR-181a-5p inhibits goose granulosa cell viability by targeting SIRT1

1. Granulosa cells (GCs) are involved in folliculogenesis, follicular development, and atresia. Previous studies have shown that microRNA-181a-5p (miR-181a-5p) and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) are involved in GC proliferation and apoptosis, and SIRT1 has been predicted as one target of miR-181a-5p. However, there are few studies with poultry.2. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression level of miR-181a-5p in granulosa layers during geese ovarian follicular development. A methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was performed to assess the viability of geese granulosa cells treated with miR-181a-5p mimic or inhibitor. The binding sites between the SIRT1 3'-UTR region and miR-181a-5p were evaluated using a luciferase reporter assay system. SIRT1 mRNA levels were detected using qRT-PCR after transfection with miR-181a-5p mimic and inhibitor.3. The miR-181a-5p suppressed geese GC viability and regulated the mRNA expression of viability-related genes in geese GCs. SIRT1 was a target gene of miR-181a-5p and miR-181a-5p suppressed its mRNA expression.4. The miR-181a-5p may target and inhibit SIRT1 expression, thus suppressing GC viability by regulating viability-related key genes.

Using WGCNA (weighted gene co-expression network analysis) to identify the hub genes of skin hair follicle development in fetus stage of Inner Mongolia cashmere goat

OBJECTIVE

Mature hair follicles represent an important stage of hair follicle development, which determines the stability of hair follicle structure and its ability to enter the hair cycle. Here, we used weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to identify hub genes of mature skin and hair follicles in Inner Mongolian cashmere goats.

METHODS

We used transcriptome sequencing data for the skin of Inner Mongolian cashmere goats from fetal days 45-135 days, and divided the co expressed genes into different modules by WGCNA. Characteristic values were used to screen out modules that were highly expressed in mature skin follicles. Module hub genes were then selected based on the correlation coefficients between the gene and module eigenvalue, gene connectivity, and Gene Ontology (GO)/Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis. The results were confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

RESULTS

Ten modules were successfully defined, of which one, with a total of 3166 genes, was selected as a specific module through sample and gene expression pattern analyses. A total of 584 candidate hub genes in the module were screened by the correlation coefficients between the genes and module eigenvalue and gene connectivity. Finally, GO/KEGG functional enrichment analyses detected WNT10A as a key gene in the development and maturation of skin hair follicles in fetal Inner Mongolian cashmere goats. qPCR showed that the expression trends of 13 genes from seven fetal skin samples were consistent with the sequencing results, indicating that the sequencing results were reliable.n.

Leveraging Existing Institutional Resources to Maintain Quality Assurance Practices in Anatomic Pathology in the Era of Social Distancing

Introduction/Objective

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals had to adapt practices to incorporate social distancing while maintaining quality assurance (QA) in anatomic pathology (AP). Prior to this, our general surgical pathology (SP) and cytopathology (CP) services held daily consensus conferences (CC) at a multi-headed microscope. Implementing social distancing meant only a few faculty were present onsite and avoidance of interactions at the multi-headed scope. In an effort to preserve QA through CC, faculty exploited the use of web conferencing through our HIPAA-compliant Zoom. We describe the utility of this new practice.

Methods

From 3/25-4/30/20, all SP and CP cases selected for CC were presented by respective pathologists (n=8) in their own offices by using individual microscopes with cameras, image acquisition software, and screen-sharing through Zoom. One pathologist was responsible for sending out a new CC Zoom link daily and recording the consensus diagnosis. All onsite pathologists and those at home participated.

Results

We presented 95 SP and 31 CP cases through Zoom compared to 300 SP and 60 CP cases presented at a similar timeframe prior to social distancing. This 68% and 48% decline could be attributed to elective procedure cancellation. We assigned a consensus diagnosis to all cases, with 77% overall being malignant diagnoses, and breast being the most common SP specimen type (22%). Additionally, all participating pathologists felt comfortable with the new format irrespective of being onsite or at home. Apart from minor audio issues, we did not notice significant lag time or visual disturbances that interfered with diagnostic abilities. Importantly, the transition did not involve investing in new technology.

Conclusion

The new virtual CC allowed our department to maintain QA practices in AP without sacrificing quality and serves as a starting point to investigating the use of this technology to other applications in AP, such as overnight frozen sections.

Dopamine activates NF-κB and primes the NLRP3 inflammasome in primary human macrophages

Induction of innate immune genes in the brain is thought to be a major factor in the development of addiction to substances of abuse. As the major component of the innate immune system in the brain, aberrant activation of myeloid cells such as macrophages and microglia due to substance use may mediate neuroinflammation and contribute to the development of addiction. All addictive drugs modulate the dopaminergic system and our previous studies have identified dopamine as a pro-inflammatory modulator of macrophage function. However, the mechanism that mediates this effect is currently unknown. Inflammatory activation of macrophages and induction of cytokine production is often mediated by the transcription factor NF-κB, and prior studies have shown that dopamine can modulate NF-κB activity in T-cells and other non-immune cell lines. Here we demonstrated that dopamine can activate NF-κB in primary human macrophages, resulting in the induction of its downstream targets including the NLRP3 inflammasome and the inflammatory cytokine IL-1β. These data also indicate that dopamine primes but does not activate the NLRP3 inflammasome in human macrophages. Activation of NF-κB was required for dopamine-mediated increases in IL-1β, as an inhibitor of NF-κB was able to abrogate the effects of dopamine on production of these cytokines. Connecting an increase in extracellular dopamine to NF-κB activation and inflammation suggests specific intracellular targets that could be used to ameliorate the inflammatory impact of dopamine in neuroinflammatory conditions associated with myeloid cell activation such as addiction.

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Dopamine exposure primes, but does not activate the NLRP3 inflammasome.

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Inflammasome priming can be mediated, at least partially, by a dopamine-induced increase in the activation and nuclear translocation of NF-κB in primary human macrophages.

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Dopamine additively increases the impact of cytomegalovirus on NF-κB activation in macrophages.

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Dopamine priming increases IL-1β release in response to inflammasome activation.

[Evaluating the level of occupational stress and its influence factors among traffic police in a district in Shanghai]

Objective: To investigate the high occupational stress and its influencing factors in traffic police in Shanghai. Methods: 728 traffic police were selected as the study subjects, and the《Occupational Health Questionnaire》was used to investigate and evaluate their job demand-control (JDC) and effort-reward imbalance model (ERI) occupational stress situation respectively. The related influencing factors were analyzed. Results: The prevalence rates of high occupational stress in JDC and ERI models were 74.6% (543/728) and 51.5% (375/728) . The influencing factors of JDC were education, marriage, average weekly hours (χ(2)=16.82, 10.04, 18.71, P<0.05) , and The influencing factors of ERI were gender, age, marriage, real monthly income level, education, work experience, and average weekly hours (χ(2)=7.02, 26.18, 6.73, 50.42, 4.75, 26.61, 112.98, 6.19, P<0.05) . The JDC multivariate logistic analysis indicated that the risk of occupational stress of married police was 2.81 times as high as that of Unmarried ones. The risk of occupational stress of traffic police with more education was 1.92 times as high as that of low eduacation, average weekly working 41-50 hours and≥51 hours was 2.53, 3.12 times as high as that of ones with average working 40 hours, respectivly. Meanwhile, the ERI multivariate logistic analysis indicated that high income level is the protective factor of occupational stress. The traffic police with 15-<20 working years were more likely to occur higher occupational stress. The traffic police with the more average weekly hours had greater possibility of higher occupational stress. Conclusion: The main influencing factors of JDC and ERI are marriage, real monthly income level, education, work experience, and average weekly hours.

Comprehensive review and annotation of susceptibility SNPs associated with obesity-related traits

We aimed to summarize the results of genetic association studies for obesity and provide a comprehensive annotation of all susceptibility single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A total of 72 studies were summarized, resulting in 90,361 susceptibility SNPs (738 index SNPs and 89,623 linkage disequilibrium SNPs). Over 90% of the susceptibility SNPs are located in non-coding regions, and it is challenging to understand their functional significance. Therefore, we annotated these SNPs by using various functional databases. We identified 24,623 functional SNPs, including 4 nonsense SNPs, 479 missense SNPs, 399 untranslated region SNPs which might affect microRNA binding, 262 promoter and 5,492 enhancer SNPs which might affect transcription factor binding, 7 splicing sites, 76 SNPs which might affect gene methylation levels, 1,839 SNPs under natural selection and 17,351 SNPs which might modify histone binding. Expression quantitative trait loci analyses for functional SNPs identified 98 target genes, including 69 protein coding genes, 27 long non-coding RNAs and 3 processed transcripts. The percentage of protein coding genes that could be correlated with obesity-related pathways directly or through gene-gene interaction is 75.36 (52/69). Our results may serve as an encyclopaedia of obesity susceptibility SNPs and offer guide for functional experiments.

Post hoc support vector machine learning for impedimetric biosensors based on weak protein–ligand interactions

We develop a simple, open source machine learning algorithm for analyzing impedimetric biosensor data using a mobile phone.

Gene expression profiles indicate tissue-specific obesity regulation changes and strong obesity relevant tissues

BACKGROUND

With the growing evidence that other tissues, apart from adipose, could have strong relevance to obesity, it is necessary to comprehensively understand the relationship between obesity and other tissues, and to point out the most relevant tissues.

METHODS

There were 549 participants with 20 different tissue types involved in this study. We firstly employed both Spearman's correlation test and WGCNA (weighted correlation network analysis) to identify body mass index (BMI)-related genes. Subsequently, we performed enrichment analyses with obesity genes and pathways to see the different regulation patterns among tissues. In addition, we compared obesity genes identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) with BMI-related genes to find the overlapping proportion in each tissue. Finally, we integrated preceding results to identify six strong obesity relevant tissues and indicate three categories to represent different obesity relevant tissues.

RESULTS

Statistical analyses revealed diverse BMI-related genes and tissue-specific enrichment patterns among tissues. Comparison between BMI-related genes and GWAS findings showed tissue-specific expression changes of GWAS genes. Ultimately, six tissues that showed predominant performance in enrichment analyses and significantly embraced GWAS genes were referred to as strong obesity relevant tissues, including adipose, esophagus, nerve, pancreas, pituitary and skin. We also proposed three categories to represent different obesity relevant tissues.

CONCLUSIONS

We performed the first study to investigate the BMI-related gene expression changes across 20 tissues at the same time. With valid data analyses and comparison with GWAS findings, our study provides a holistic view of how different tissues correlate with obesity, and proposes target tissues for obesity pathogenesis investigation.

Highly photostable wide-dynamic-range pH sensitive semiconducting polymer dots enabled by dendronizing the near-IR emitters

One constraint of semiconducting polymer dots (Pdots), especially those with near-IR emission, is their low effective emitter ratio (∼1.5 mole percent), which limits their pH sensing performance. The other critical issue of existing Pdot-based pH sensors is their poor photostability. To address these issues, we developed a series of Pdots by dendronizing the squaraine-based pH responsive near-IR emitter, which is covalently incorporated into the polyfluorene (PFO) backbone. The fluorescence self-quenching of the NIR squaraine emitter was effectively suppressed at a high emitter concentration of 5 mole percent. Through controlling the individually incomplete energy transfer from the amorphous PFO donor to the blue β-phase PFO and NIR squaraine emitter, we obtained a ratiometric pH sensor with simultaneously improved pH sensitivity, brightness, and photostability. The Pdots showed a fast and reversible pH response over the whole biological pH range of 4.7 to 8.5. Intracellular pH mapping was successfully demonstrated using this ultra-bright and photostable Pdot-based pH indicator.

[Effect of Gas6 in silica-induced inflammation on differentiated human acute monocytic leukemia (THP-1) macrophages]

Objective: To investigate the modulation role of Gas6 in silica-induced inflammatory effect on human macrophages. Methods: Differentiated THP-1 macrophages were exposed to different concentrations of silica for 6 h and 24 h. Additionally, silica-activated macrophages were treated with different concentrations of recombine human Gas6 and Gas6 antibody respectively. Cell viabilities were determined by CCK-8 kit. Expression levels of Gas6 and inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6) were measured by ELISA assay kits. Results: Silica particles induced clear dose-dependent decreases of cell viability and Gas6 expression at both 6 h and 24 h. The cell viability of 24 h is lower than 6 h at the same concentration of silica (P<0.05). Furthermore, silica activated macrophages treated with Gas6 antibody induced significant decreases of Gas6 both at 6 h and 24 h (P<0.05). After pretreated with various concentrations of Gas6 antibody, silica induced higher expressions of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6) in dose-dependent manners at two time points. Addition of exoge-nous Gas6 significantly suppressed silica-induced inflammatory cytokines concentrations mentioned above in the cell culture supernatants in clear dose-dependent manners. Conclusion: Exogenous Gas6 could inhibit the secre-tion of inflammatory cytokines in macrophages, while the block of Gas6 might enhance this inflammation.

Effects of grafting on key photosynthetic enzymes and gene expression in the citrus cultivar Huangguogan

Grafting influences scion photosynthetic capacity and fruit quality. Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco), which strongly affects photosynthetic rate, and Rubisco activase (RCA), which regulates Rubisco activity, are two key photosynthetic enzymes. However, little information is available regarding the effect of grafting on the concentration and expression of Rubisco and RCA in the citrus cultivar Huangguogan. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of grafting Huangguogan plants onto trifoliate orange, tangerine, and orange on: 1) the concentration of Rubisco and RCA; 2) the mRNA levels of rbcL, rbcS, and rca; and 3) fruit quality. Overall, the results showed that when Huangguogan plants budded on tangerine and orange, they had better fruit quality, while on trifoliate orange they had higher Rubisco concentration. Tangerine and orange are probably the most suitable rootstocks for Huangguogan plants given the environmental conditions of Sichuan Province, China.

pulSED: pulsed sonoelectrodeposition of fractal nanoplatinum for enhancing amperometric biosensor performance

A technique for deposition of fractal nanometal as a transducer in electrochemical sensing is described. The effect(s) of duty cycle and deposition time were explored, and two sensors are demonstrated.

A comparative study of graphene-hydrogel hybrid bionanocomposites for biosensing

Hydrogels have become increasingly popular as immobilization materials for cells, enzymes and proteins for biosensing applications. Enzymatic biosensors that utilize hydrogel as an encapsulant have shown improvements over other immobilization techniques such as cross linking and covalent bonding. However, to date there are no studies which directly compare multiple hydrogel-graphene nanocomposites using the same enzyme and test conditions. This study compares the performance of four different hydrogels used as protein encapsulants in a mediator-free biosensor based on graphene-nanometal-enzyme composites. Alcohol oxidase (AOx) was encapsulated in chitosan poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAAM), silk fibroin or cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) hydrogels, and then spin coated onto a nanoplatinum-graphene modified electrode. The transduction mechanism for the biosensor was based on AOx-catalyzed oxidation of methanol to produce hydrogen peroxide. To isolate the effect(s) of stimulus response on biosensor behavior, all experiments were conducted at 25 °C and pH 7.10. Electroactive surface area (ESA), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), sensitivity to methanol, response time, limit of detection, and shelf life were measured for each bionanocomposite. Chitosan and PNIPAAM had the highest sensitivity (0.46 ± 0.2 and 0.3 ± 0.1 μA mM(-1), respectively) and electroactive surface area (0.2 ± 0.06 and 0.2 ± 0.02 cm(2), respectively), as well as the fastest response time (4.3 ± 0.8 and 4.8 ± 1.1 s, respectively). Silk and CNC demonstrated lower sensitivity (0.09 ± 0.02 and 0.15 ± 0.03 μA mM(-1), respectively), lower electroactive surface area (0.12 ± 0.02 and 0.09 ± 0.03 cm(2), respectively), and longer response time (8.9 ± 2.1 and 6.3 ± 0.8 s, respectively). The high porosity of chitosan, PNIPAAM, and silk gels led to excellent transport, which was significantly better than CNC bionanocomposites. Electrochemical performance of CNC bionanocomposites were relatively poor, which may be linked to poor gel stability. The differences between the Chitosan/PNIPAAM group and the Silk/CNC group were statistically significant (p < 0.05) based on ANOVA. Each of these composites was within the range of other published devices in the literature, while some attributes were significantly improved (namely response time and shelf life). The main advantages of these hydrogel composites over other devices is that only one enzyme is required, all materials are non-toxic, the sensor does not require mediators/cofactors, and the shelf life and response time are significantly improved over other devices.

Correction: A comparative study of graphene–hydrogel hybrid bionanocomposites for biosensing

Correction for ‘A comparative study of graphene–hydrogel hybrid bionanocomposites for biosensing’ by S. L. Burrs et al., Analyst, 2015, DOI: 10.1039/c4an01788a.