Altered 3D genome reorganization mediates precocious myeloid differentiation of aged hematopoietic stem cells in inflammation.

Inflammation is a driving force of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) aging, causing irreversible exhaustion of functional HSCs. However, the underlying mechanism of HSCs erosion by inflammatory insult remains poorly understood. Here, we find that transient LPS exposure primes aged HSCs to undergo accelerated differentiation at the expense of self-renewal, leading to depletion of HSCs.

Vertical heterogeneity enhances network complexity and stability of co-occurrence microbes in the eastern Indian Ocean.

Microbes are core to driving biogeochemical cycles and differ between sun-drenched surface and relatively dark deep oceans. However, their distinct contributions to the organization and association of communities are still remaining elusive. Here, their assembly and co-occurrence stability are systematically researched along the surface and vertical gradients in the eastern Indian Ocean.

A Predictive Network-Based Immune Checkpoint Blockade Immunotherapeutic Signature Optimizing Patient Selection and Treatment Strategies.

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy has brought significant advancements to the field of oncology. However, the diverse responses among patients highlight the need for more accurate predictive tools. In this study, insights are drawn from tumor-immunology pathways, and a novel network-based ICB immunotherapeutic signature, termed ICBnetIS, is constructed.

Genetic characteristics of a novel HIV-1 circulating recombinant form (CRF128_07B) identified among MSM in Guangdong Province, China.

Objective: To obtain and investigate the genetic characteristics of four HIV-1 near full-length genome sequences (NFLGs), aiming at a description of a novel circulating recombinant form (CRF) in Guangdong China.

Methods: Plasma samples were collected from HIV-1 infected MSM patients in Guangdong Province who had no epidemiological association with each other. The NFLGs were amplified with two overlapping halves and phylogenetic analyses were performed using Mega V11.

Environmental gradients shape microbiome assembly and stability in the East China sea.

Microbiomes play a key role in marine ecosystem functioning and sustainability. Their organization and stability in coastal areas, particularly in anthropogenic-influenced regions, however, remains unclear compared with an understanding of how microbial community shifts respond to marine environmental gradients. Here, the assembly and community associations across vertical and horizontal gradients in the East China Sea are systematically researched.

HIV-1 tropism in low-level viral load HIV-1 infections during HAART in Guangdong, China.

Background: Since only a few studies have been conducted on the factors associated with different HIV-1 tropisms in low-level viral load HIV-1 infections in China, we investigated the sequences of HIV-1 V3 loop in prevalent HIV-1 subtypes and factors related to HIV-1 tropism and immune recovery in HIV-1 infections after 6 months of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in Guangdong, China.

Methods: Plasma samples with HIV-1 RNA of 400-999 copies/mL were collected. We analyzed the amino acid sequence of the V3 loop by prediction algorithms.

()--Benzyl-1-phenyl-3,4-dihydroisoqunoline-2(1)-carboxamide Derivatives, Multi-Target Inhibitors of Monoamine Oxidase and Cholinesterase: Design, Synthesis, and Biological Activity.

A series of ()-1-phenyl-3,4-dihydroisoquinoline-2(1)-carboxamide derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for inhibitory activity against monoamine oxidase (MAO)-A and-B, acetylcholine esterase (AChE), and butyrylcholine esterase (BChE). Four compounds (, , , and ) showed good inhibitory activity against both MAO-A and MAO-B, and two compounds ( and ) showed selective inhibitory activity against MAO-A, with IC values of 1.38 and 2.

Remodeling of H3K9me3 during the pluripotent to totipotent-like state transition.

Multiple chromatin modifiers associated with H3K9me3 play important roles in the transition from embryonic stem cells to 2-cell (2C)-like cells. However, it remains elusive how H3K9me3 is remodeled and its association with totipotency. Here, we integrated transcriptome and H3K9me3 profiles to conduct a detailed comparison of 2C embryos and 2C-like cells.

Highly sensitive analysis of low-molecular-mass aldehydes in beverages using a hydroxylamine reagent by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

In this study, a fluorescent reagent, 4-((aminooxy)methyl)-7-hydroxycoumarin (AOHC), was for the first time applied to label the low-molecular-mass aldehydes (LMMAs) through reductive oxyamination reaction to afford single N,O-substituted oxyamine derivatives at room temperatures with derivatization efficiencies as high as 96.8%. In the following high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection analysis, 12 LMMAs, including furfurals, aromatic aldehydes, and aliphatic aldehydes, were baseline-separated on an ODS column and detected with low limits of detection (LODs) (0.

Auto-segmentation and time-dependent systematic analysis of mesoscale cellular structure in β-cells during insulin secretion.

The mesoscale description of the subcellular organization informs about cellular mechanisms in disease state. However, applications of soft X-ray tomography (SXT), an important approach for characterizing organelle organization, are limited by labor-intensive manual segmentation. Here we report a pipeline for automated segmentation and systematic analysis of SXT tomograms.

Narrative Scientific Data Visualization in an Immersive Environment.

Motivation: Narrative visualization for scientific data explorations can help users better understand the domain knowledge, because narrative visualizations often present a sequence of facts and observations linked together by a unifying theme or argument. Narrative visualization in immersive environments can provide users with an intuitive experience to interactively explore the scientific data, because immersive environments provide a brand new strategy for interactive scientific data visualization and exploration. However, it is challenging to develop narrative scientific visualization in immersive environments.

Altered anxiety and social behaviors in a mouse model of Fragile X syndrome treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a common mental retardation syndrome. Anxiety and abnormal social behaviors are prominent features of FXS in humans. To better understand the effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) on these behaviors, we analyzed anxiety-related and social behaviors in Fmr1 knockout mice treated by HBOT.

Development of a novel DNA sequencing method not only for hepatitis B virus genotyping but also for drug resistant mutation detection.

Background: In HBV-infected patients, different genotypes of the hepatitis B virus influence liver disease progression and response to antiviral therapy. Moreover, long-term antiviral therapy will eventually select for drug-resistant mutants. Detection of mutations associated to antiviral therapy and HBV genotyping are essential for monitoring treatment of chronic hepatitis B patients.

The Toll-like receptor adaptor molecule TRIF enhances DNA vaccination against classical swine fever.

To evaluate the effects of the Toll/interleukin-1 receptor domain-containing adaptor-inducing interferon-beta (TRIF) on immune responses induced by DNA vaccines, mice were immunized with the eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA/E2 encoding classical swine fever virus (CSFV) E2 alone or in combination with the TRIF genetic adjuvant. Immune responses were examined in immunized mice. Our data demonstrates that co-delivery of the DNA vaccine pcDNA/E2 with the TRIF adjuvant augmented specific humoral and cellular immune responses in a mouse model.

Classical swine fever virus Erns glycoprotein antagonizes induction of interferon-beta by double-stranded RNA.

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) is capable of counteracting innate cellular antiviral responses by inhibiting type I interferon (IFN)-alpha/beta induction. A function associated with CSFV N(pro), with respect to the inhibition of IFN-beta production, has been clearly elucidated. In this study, we explored the role of CSFV E(rns) in IFN-beta induction by exogenous double-stranded (ds) RNA.

Characterization of classical swine fever virus (CSFV) nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) helicase activity and its modulation by CSFV RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) is believed to possess three enzyme activities that are likely to be essential for virus replication: a serine protease located in the N-terminus and NTPase as well as helicase activities located in the C-terminus. In this report, we expressed NS3 helicase domain (NS3h) in E. coli and characterized its helicase activity.

Inhibition of G1P3 expression found in the differential display study on respiratory syncytial virus infection.

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading viral pathogen associated with bronchiolitis and lower respiratory tract disease in infants and young children worldwide. The respiratory epithelium is the primary initiator of pulmonary inflammation in RSV infections, which cause significant perturbations of global gene expression controlling multiple cellular processes. In this study, differential display reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction amplification was performed to examine mRNA expression in a human alveolar cell line (SPC-A1) infected with RSV.

12-nt insertion in 3' untranslated region leads to attenuation of classic swine fever virus and protects host against lethal challenge.

We report here the discovery of an attenuation mechanism of classic swine fever virus (CSFV) induced by introduction of a continuous 12-nt (CUUUUUUCUUUU) insertion in viral 3' UTR. The 12-nt insertion sequence was first found in one attenuated vaccine strain HCLV (Hog Cholera Lapinized Virus) which did not exist in other CSFV strains. To address the function of the 12-nt insertion in viral replication and attenuation, we constructed and analyzed two chimeras stemmed from a highly virulent strain Shimen either with introduction of the 12-nt insertion in 3' UTR or the replacement of viral 3' UTR by the 3' UTR of HCLV.

The selection pressure analysis of classical swine fever virus envelope protein genes Erns and E2.

Classical swine fever virus, one member of the family Flaviviridae, is the pathogen of CSF, an economically important and highly contagious disease of pigs. Knowledge of virus genes under positive selection pressure can help identify molecular determinants of virulence or pathogenesis without prior knowledge of the mechanisms governing virulence and pathogenesis and clarify the driving force of classical swine fever virus evolution. The positive selection pressure acting on envelope protein genes E(rns), E1 and E2 of classical swine fever virus were assessed and a site-by-site analysis of the d(N)/d(S) ratio was performed, to identify specific codons undergoing diversifying positive selection.

A novel role of classical swine fever virus E(rns) glycoprotein in counteracting the newcastle disease virus (NDV)-mediated IFN-beta Induction.

E(rns) is an envelope glycoprotein of classical swine fever virus (CSFV) and has an unusual feature of RNase activity. In the present study, we demonstrate that E(rns) counteracts Newcastle disease virus (NDV)-mediated induction of IFN-beta. For this purpose, E(rns) fused to the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) was transiently expressed in porcine kidney 15 (PK15) cells.

Expression and functional characterization of classical swine fever virus E(rns) protein.

E(rns) is an envelope glycoprotein of classical swine fever virus (CSFV) with unusual RNase activity. Recently, E(rns) was found to have a new function of counteracting the beta-interferon (IFN-beta) induction pathway. In this study, wildtype ErnsSM and two mutated E(rns) proteins ErnsH297k and ErnsH346k were expressed in insect cells and purified for RNase activity and function analysis.

Evidence for positive selection on the E2 gene of bovine viral diarrhoea virus type 1.

Despite the growing interest in the molecular epidemiology of pestivirus, there have been few attempts to determine which regions of the pestivirus genome are subject to positive selection, although this may be a key indicator of the nature of the interaction between host and virus. By using likelihood-based methods for phylogenetic inference, the positive selection pressure of BVDV-1 E2 gene were assessed and a site-by-site analysis of the dN/dS ratio was performed, to identify specific codons undergoing diversifying positive selection. The overall omega was 0.

Respiratory syncytial virus inhibits interferon-alpha-inducible signaling in macrophage-like U937 cells.

Monocytes become susceptible to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection when pretreated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). The molecular mechanism underlying this observation is poorly understood, but may be related to inhibition of type I interferon (IFN) signaling by RSV in epithelial cells. Herein, we have investigated the putative role of suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) in the IFN-inducible antiviral response in U937 cells.

Comparative genomic analysis of two strains of human adenovirus type 3 isolated from children with acute respiratory infection in southern China.

Human adenovirus type 3 (HAdV-3) is a causative agent of acute respiratory disease, which is prevalent throughout the world, especially in Asia. Here, the complete genome sequences of two field strains of HAdV-3 (strains GZ1 and GZ2) isolated from children with acute respiratory infection in southern China are reported (GenBank accession nos DQ099432 and DQ105654, respectively). The genomes were 35,273 bp (GZ1) and 35,269 bp (GZ2) and both had a G+C content of 51 mol%.