METTL3 improves the development of somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos through AURKB and H3S10ph in goats.

Developmental abnormalities are more common in somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos due to epigenetic barriers that occur during the maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT). N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is an RNA epigenetic modification that plays a significant role in numerous biological processes. However, the relationship between m6A and SCNT embryonic development is largely unexplored.

N6-methyladenosine methyltransferase METTL3 modulates the cell cycle of granulosa cells via CCND1 and AURKB in Haimen goats.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) plays a crucial role in many bioprocesses across species, but its function in granulosa cells during oocyte maturation is not well understood in animals, especially domestic animals. We observed an increase in m6A methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) in granulosa cells during oocyte maturation in Haimen goats. Our results showed that knockdown of METTL3 disrupted the cell cycle in goat granulosa cells, leading to aggravated cell apoptosis and inhibition of cell proliferation and hormone secretion.

Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy for Recurrent Lumbar Disc Herniation: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: This meta-analysis evaluated surgical outcomes following endoscopic or conventional discectomy for recurrent lumbar disc herniation.

Methods: Medline, Cochrane, EMBASE, and Google Scholar were search until October 16, 2016 using these terms: recurrent lumbar disc herniation, endoscopic surgery, and discectomy. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), prospective, retrospective, and cohort studies were eligible for inclusion.

Tetrahydrocurcumin‑induced autophagy via suppression of PI3K/Akt/mTOR in non‑small cell lung carcinoma cells.

Lung carcinoma is the leading cause of mortality due to cancer worldwide. Autophagy has a significant role in the development and progression of non‑small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). A previous study has revealed that tetrahydrocurcumin (THC), a traditional Chinese medicine isolated from Curcuma wenyujin (Chen & Ling, 1981), induces autophagy in human A549 NSCLC cells.

The PI3K/Akt/FOXO3a pathway regulates regeneration following spinal cord injury in adult rats through TNF-α and p27kip1 expression.

The aim of the present study was to elucidate the expression and role of the phosphatidylinositol 3‑kinase (PI3K)/Akt/forkhead box O3 (FOXO3a) pathway in the regeneration of the spinal cord following spinal cord injury (SCI), and its regulatory effect on tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B (p27kip1) expression. Firstly, in a Sprague-Dawley rat model of SCI, western blot analysis revealed that the protein levels of PI3K, phosphorylated Akt and FOXO3a were markedly inhibited compared with those in the sham control group. In vitro experiments were also conducted, in which primary dissociated cultures of rat dorsal spinal cord cells were induced with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 4 µg/ml).

Lessons from Anti-Amyloid-β Immunotherapies in Alzheimer Disease: Aiming at a Moving Target.

Background: Available drugs for the global Alzheimer disease (AD) epidemic only treat the symptoms without modifying disease progression. Accumulating evidence supports amyloid-β42 (Aβ42)as the key triggering agent in AD, making it the ideal target for disease-modifying therapies. Preclinical studies provided extensive support for passive Aβ42 immunotherapy, leading to human clinical trials with different antibodies.

Value of a new pathological classification of lumbar intervertebral disc herniation based on transforaminal endoscopic observations.

Removal of herniated disc materials based on an imaging only method may not relieve symptoms in many patients. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to develop a transforaminal endoscopic method of classifying the pathological type of lumber intervertebral disc herniation and to compare the outcomes of surgery based on the pathological type with those of conventional endoscopic disc removal. The records of patients who received endoscopic transforaminal nucleotomy with foraminoplasty for symptomatic lumbar disc herniation between 2009 and 2013 were retrospectively reviewed.

Isolation and purification of psoralen and isopsoralen and their efficacy and safety in the treatment of osteosarcoma in nude rats.

Background: Modern studies have shown that psoralen has a significant inhibitory effect on tumor growth in a variety of animals and humans.

Objective: To obtain coumarin compounds - psoralen and isopsoralen - from traditional Chinese medicine Psoralea corylifolia L. using chromatographic techniques and isolation and purification methods, and to observe the transplanted tumor growth inhibitory effects and adverse reactions of psoralen and isopsoralen in nude rats with osteosarcoma.

Use of the remnant ear for reconstruction in lobule-type microtia.

Objective: To present in detail a reconstruction technique using the remnant ear in lobule-type microtia.

Methods: By comparing the location of residual ear and the contralateral normal ear, we classified 3 different types of the remnant ear. Three techniques of transposition were applied to adjust the location of the reconstructed ear.