Genomic and molecular control of cell type and cell type conversions.

Organisms are made of a limited number of cell types that combine to form higher order tissues and organs. Cell types have traditionally been defined by their morphologies or biological activity, yet the underlying molecular controls of cell type remain unclear. The onset of single cell technologies, and more recently genomics (particularly single cell genomics), has substantially increased the understanding of the concept of cell type, but has also increased the complexity of this understanding.

Interleukin-6: an emerging regulator of pathological pain.

Interleukin-6 is an inflammatory cytokine with wide-ranging biological effects. It has been widely demonstrated that neuroinflammation plays a critical role in the development of pathological pain. Recently, various pathological pain models have shown elevated expression levels of interleukin-6 and its receptor in the spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia.

Effects of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) gene silencing on the radiosensitivity of glioblastoma.

The effects of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) gene silencing on the radiosensitivity of glioblastoma cells (GBM) were investigated. The lentivirus-mediated short hairpin RNA (shRNA) expression vector targeting CTGF was constructed and transinfected into U87MG human GBM cell line. The CTGF gene expression in U87MG cells was significantly down-regulated.