Loss of UBE2S causes meiosis I arrest with normal spindle assembly checkpoint dynamics in mouse oocytes.

The timely degradation of proteins that regulate the cell cycle is essential for oocyte maturation. Oocytes are equipped to degrade proteins via the ubiquitin-proteasome system. In meiosis, anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C), an E3 ubiquitin-ligase, is responsible for the degradation of proteins.

[MicroRNA-22-3p Regulates the Expression of Kruppel-like Factor 6 to Affect the Cardiomyocyte-like Differentiation of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cell].

Objective To explore the effect of microRNA-22-3p (miR-22-3p) regulating the expression of Kruppel-like factor 6 (KLF6) on the cardiomyocyte-like differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC). Methods Rat BMSC was isolated and cultured,and the third-generation BMSC was divided into a control group,a 5-azacytidine(5-AZA)group,a mimics-NC group,a miR-22-3p mimics group,a miR-22-3p mimics+pcDNA group,and a miR-22-3p mimics+pcDNA-KLF6 group.Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was carried out to determine the expression of miR-22-3p and KLF6 in cells.

[Effects and mechanism of p53 gene deletion on energy metabolism during the pluripotent transformation of spermatogonial stem cells].

Previous studies have shown that long-term spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) have the potential to spontaneously transform into pluripotent stem cells, which is speculated to be related to the tumorigenesis of testicular germ cells, especially when p53 is deficient in SSCs which shows a significant increase in the spontaneous transformation efficiency. Energy metabolism has been proved to be strongly associated with the maintenance and acquisition of pluripotency. Recently, we compared the difference in chromatin accessibility and gene expression profiles between wild-type (p53) and p53 deficient (p53) mouse SSCs using the Assay for Targeting Accessible-Chromatin with high-throughput sequencing (ATAC-seq) and transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) techniques, and revealed that SMAD3 is a key transcription factor in the transformation of SSCs into pluripotent cells.

Protective Role of Coenzyme Q10 in Acute Sepsis-Induced Liver Injury in BALB/c Mice.

Sepsis increases the risk of the liver injury development. According to the research works, coenzyme Q10 exhibits hepatoprotective properties in vivo as well as in vitro. Current work aimed at investigating the protective impacts of coenzyme Q10 against liver injury in septic BALB/c mice.

Luteolin attenuates angiotensin II‑induced renal damage in apolipoprotein E‑deficient mice.

Renal damage is a common and severe condition encountered in the clinic. Luteolin (Lut) exhibits anti‑inflammatory, anti‑fibrotic and anti‑apoptotic effects. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the pharmacological effects of Lut on angiotensin II (AngII)‑induced renal damage in apolipoprotein E‑deficient (ApoE) mice.

Effect of Thymoquinone on Acute Kidney Injury Induced by Sepsis in BALB/c Mice.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication of sepsis and has also been observed in some patients suffering from the new coronavirus pneumonia COVID-19, which is currently a major global concern. Thymoquinone (TQ) is one of the most active ingredients in seeds. It has a variety of beneficial properties including anti-inflammatory and antioxidative activities.

Identification of Long Noncoding RNAs as Predictors of Survival in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Based on Network Analysis.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer observed in adult females, worldwide. Due to the heterogeneity and varied molecular subtypes of breast cancer, the molecular mechanisms underlying carcinogenesis in different subtypes of breast cancer are distinct. Recently, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to be oncogenic or play important roles in cancer suppression and are used as biomarkers for diagnosis and therapy.

RIP2 deficiency attenuates cardiac hypertrophy, inflammation and fibrosis in pressure overload induced mice.

Although the pathological cardiac hypertrophy presents a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease is still poor. Here, we reported that receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 2 (RIP2), promoting pro-inflammatory gene expression, enhanced the pathological cardiac hypertrophy in animals. The effects of RIP2 on the cardiac hypertrophy triggered by pathological stimuli have not been fully investigated.

Protective effect of thymoquinone improves cardiovascular function, and attenuates oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis by mediating the PI3K/Akt pathway in diabetic rats.

Thymoquinone is the main active monomer extracted from black cumin and has anti‑inflammatory, antioxidant and anti‑apoptotic functions. However, the protective effects of thymoquinone on cardiovascular function in diabetes remain to be fully elucidated. The present study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms underling the beneficial effects of thymoquinone on the cardiovascular function in streptozotocin‑induced diabetes mellitus (DM) rats.

TCF4 gene polymorphism is associated with cognition in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls.

Background: Cognitive deficits have been identified as an important core feature of schizophrenia. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the transcription factor 4 (TCF4) gene have been reported to be involved in the susceptibility to schizophrenia and be significantly related to cognitive deficits of schizophrenia and controls. This study examines whether the TCF4 rs2958182 polymorphism influences cognitive functions in chronic schizophrenia and controls.

Phosphate-modified carbon nanotubes in the oxidative dehydrogenation of isopentanes.

Ketonic/quinonic C=O groups on the surface of a carbon matrix are capable of abstracting hydrogen in C=H bonds from hydrocarbons and enable them to selectively convert into corresponding unsaturated hydrocarbons; this process is the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) reaction. However, a variety of inevitable defects or graphene edges and other oxygen-containing groups on the carbon matrix are detrimental to the selective production of alkenes due to their high activity towards overoxidation. Herein, we show that phosphate can not only impede the total oxidation but also cover the selective C=O groups, hence allowing its use as a modulator to defects and oxygen-containing functional groups on the multiwalled carbon nanotubes, regulating the distribution of active sites and related catalytic targets.

Synthesis, DNA binding and cleavage activities of copper (II) thiocyanate complex with 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)pyridine and N,N-dimethylformamide.

Two novel copper(II) thiocyanate complexes with 4-(N,N-dimethylamino) pyridine and N,N-dimethylformamide (1) and with 4-(N,N-dimethylamino) pyridine (2) have been synthesized and characterized. The crystal and molecular structures of complexes 1 and 2 were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Antioxidative activity tests in vitro showed that complex 1 has significant antioxidative activity against hydroxyl free radicals from the Fenton reaction and also oxygen free radicals, which is better than standard antioxidants like vitamin C and mannitol.

Reversible structural modulation of Fe-Pt bimetallic surfaces and its effect on reactivity.

Tunable surface: The surface structure of the Fe-Pt bimetallic catalyst can be reversibly modulated between the iron-oxide-rich Pt surface and the Pt-skin structure with subsurface Fe via alternating reduction and oxidation treatments (see figure). The regenerated active Pt-skin structure is active in reactions involving CO and/or O.