Current and future perspectives on the regulation and functions of miR-545 in cancer development.

Micro ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) are a highly conserved class of single-stranded non-coding RNAs. Within the miR-545/374a cluster, miR-545 resides in the intron of the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) on Xq13.2.

A subunit-based influenza/SARS-CoV-2 Omicron combined vaccine induced potent protective immunity in BALB/c mice.

Infection with influenza A virus (IAV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) poses a significant risk to human life, health, and the global economy. Vaccination is one of the most effective strategies in the fight against infectious viruses. In this study, we, for the first time, have evaluated the immunogenicity and protective effect of an influenza/SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subunit combined vaccine adjuvanted with MF59 and administered to BALB/c mice.

Current insights into the oncogenic roles of lncRNA LINC00355.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of nonprotein-coding transcripts that are longer than 200 nucleotides. LINC00355 is a lncRNA located on chromosome 13q21.31 and is consistently upregulated in various cancers.

Effects of different protectants on the IgY content and physico-chemical properties of spray-dried egg yolk powder.

Background: Egg yolk powder (EYP) with high immunoglobulin of yolk (IgY) content and good solubility is in great demand in the market of functional foods. In this article, the properties of spray-dried EYP with the addition of five protectants (maltodextrin, trehalose, mannitol, maltitol and sucrose) were investigated.

Results: All the protectants increased IgY activity and solubility of EYP.

Somatostatin interneurons inhibit excitatory transmission mediated by astrocytic GABA and presynaptic GABA and adenosine A receptors in the hippocampus.

GABAergic network activity has been established to be involved in numerous physiological processes and pathological conditions. Extensive studies have corroborated that GABAergic network activity regulates excitatory synaptic networks by activating presynaptic GABA receptors (GABA Rs). It is well documented that astrocytes express GABA Rs and respond to GABAergic network activity.

Olfactory Evaluation in Alzheimer's Disease Model Mice.

Olfactory dysfunction is considered a pre-cognitive biomarker of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Because the olfactory system is highly conserved across species, mouse models corresponding to various AD etiologies have been bred and used in numerous studies on olfactory disorders. The olfactory behavior test is a method required for early olfactory dysfunction detection in AD model mice.

Corrigendum to "The Protective Effect of N-Acetylcysteine on Ionizing Radiation Induced Ovarian Failure and Loss of Ovarian Reserve in Female Mouse".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2017/4176170.].

Nanomedicine Fabricated from A Boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY)-Embedded Amphiphilic Copolymer for Photothermal-Enhanced Chemotherapy.

To overcome the shortcomings of chemotherapy including side effects and uncontrollable release, as well as to increase the therapeutic efficacy, a diblock copolymer (mPEG--PLA-BODIPY) was constructed containing a NIR absorbing boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) tail, a hydrophobic polylactide (PLA) segment, and a hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) segment. The nanoparticles self-assembled from mPEG--PLA-BODIPY with a core-shell structure were utilized to load docetaxel (DTX) in the core through hydrophobic interaction. Tailored drug release and high tumor penetration of the nanomedicine were realized by fully taking advantage of photothermal effect and the enhanced penetration and retention effect, facilitating enhanced therapeutic performance and reducing undesirable side effects.

[Efficacy of brain-targeted rapamycin for treatment of epilepsy in rats].

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of brain-targeted rapamycin (T-Rap) in treatment of epilepsy in rats.

Methods: Rapamycin nanoparticles targeting brain were prepared. The epilepsy model was induced by injection of pilocarpine in rats.

[Rapamycin treatment starting at 24 h after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion exhibits protective effect on brain injury in rats].

Objective: To investigate whether rapamycin treatment starting at 24 h after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion(I/R) has protective effect on brain injury in rats.

Methods: The rat I/R model was established by middle cerebral artery occlusion according to Longa's method. A total of 104 Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham group, model group, and rapamycin-treated groups (6 h or 24 h after modeling).

A case report of remarkable response to association of radiofrequency ablation with subsequent Atezolizumab in stage IV nonsmall cell lung cancer.

Rationale: Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) or programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) immune checkpoint inhibitors have demonstrated impressive efficacy in patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an alternative locoregional therapy for patients with inoperable NSCLC. We report the role of RFA in a patient with metastasis from advanced stage NSCLC that was managed with checkpoint inhibitors.

Effectiveness of low dose of rapamycin in preventing seizure-induced anxiety-like behaviour, cognitive impairment, and defects in neurogenesis in developing rats.

Previous studies have demonstrated that rapamycin prevents seizure-induced anxiety-like behaviors. However, rapamycin had been used at a higher dose of 3 mg/kg and resulted in side effects in immature animals. This work was designed to explore whether a lower dose of rapamycin has similar efficacy but has milder side effects.

Rapamycin prevents cerebral stroke by modulating apoptosis and autophagy in penumbra in rats.

Objective: Whether activation or inhibition of the mTOR pathway is beneficial to ischemic injury remains controversial. It may result from the different reaction of ischemic penumbra and core to modulation of mTOR pathway after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats.

Methods: Longa's middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) method was conducted to induce the focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion.

Akt Inhibitor Perifosine Prevents Epileptogenesis in a Rat Model of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.

Accumulating data have revealed that abnormal activity of the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) pathway plays an important role in epileptogenesis triggered by various factors. We previously reported that pretreatment with perifosine, an inhibitor of Akt (also called protein kinase B), abolishes the rapamycin-induced paradoxical increase of S6 phosphorylation in a rat model induced by kainic acid (KA). Since Akt is an upstream target in the mTOR signaling pathway, we set out to determine whether perifosine has a preventive effect on epileptogenesis.

The Protective Effect of N-Acetylcysteine on Ionizing Radiation Induced Ovarian Failure and Loss of Ovarian Reserve in Female Mouse.

Ionizing radiation may cause irreversible ovarian failure, which, therefore, calls for an effective radioprotective reagent. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential radioprotective effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on ionizing radiation induced ovarian failure and loss of ovarian reserve in mice. Kun-Ming mice were either exposed to X-irradiation (4 Gy), once, and/or treated with NAC (300 mg/kg), once daily for 7 days before X-irradiation.

Expansion of monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells in endometriosis patients: A pilot study.

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammation disease and is closely associated with immune dysregulation. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a negative regulator of the immune system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible role of MDSCs in endometriosis patients.

Neural Progenitor Cells Rptor Ablation Impairs Development but Benefits to Seizure-Induced Behavioral Abnormalities.

Aims: Previous study suggests that mTOR signaling pathway may play an important role in epileptogenesis. The present work was designed to explore the contribution of raptor protein to the development of epilepsy and comorbidities.

Methods: Mice with conditional knockout of raptor protein were generated by cross-bred Rptor mice with nestin-CRE mice.

Evodiamine induces apoptosis and enhances apoptotic effects of erlotinib in wild-type EGFR NSCLC cells via S6K1-mediated Mcl-1 inhibition.

Erlotinib is effective in NSCLC patients with known drug-sensitizing EGFR mutations, but its clinical efficacy in patients with wild-type EGFR or acquired resistance to erlotinib remains modest. Evodiamine is a chemical extracted from the Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth, we showed that evodiamine could induce anti-proliferation and apoptosis in four wild-type EGFR NSCLC cell lines, and combining evodiamine with erlotinib might successfully inhibit cell proliferation and survival in wild-type EGFR NSCLC cells, characterized as erlotinib-resistant.

Ribavirin enhances myeloid-derived suppressor cell differentiation through CXCL9/10 downregulation.

Elevation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) was observed in some viral infectious diseases. In this study, we studied whether ribavirin, a widely used clinical antiviral drug, could impact the differentiation of human MDSCs in vitro. Flow cytometric analysis showed that ribavirin treatment (5-20 µg/ml) significantly enhanced the differentiation of monocytic MDSCs in a dose-dependent manner.

Ghrelin increases hippocampal recombination activating gene 1 expression and spatial memory performance in mice.

Ghrelin, which has been shown to improve memory retention, is an endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor. Recombination activating gene 1 (Rag1), which plays a critical role in the development and maturation of lymphocytes in the immune system, is also expressed in the central nervous system, particularly in the hippocampus, and has been implicated in memory formation. In the current study, the effects of ghrelin on Rag1 expression in the hippocampus and spatial memory performance in wild-type and Rag1 knockout (KO) mice were examined.

[Effects of ginsenosides Rb1 on learning and memory and expression of somatostatin in sleep deprivation rats].

Objective: To determine the effects of ginsenosides Rb1(GSRb1) on learning and memory and expression of somatostatin (SS) in the hippocampus and the frontal cortex in rat model of sleep deprivation (SD).

Methods: Rats were randomized into groups of SD 2 d, SD 4 d, SD 6 d, and SD 0 d, while each group was sub-divided into GSRb1 group and normal saline (NS) sub-groups. Rats were intraperitoneal administered with 30 mg/(kg*d) of GSRb1 or NS for 7 d, then the learning and memory abilities were examined by measuring average swimming speed and mean escape latency using Morris maze.

Rapamycin has paradoxical effects on S6 phosphorylation in rats with and without seizures.

Purpose:   Accumulating data have demonstrated that seizures induced by kainate (KA) or pilocarpine activate the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway and that mTOR inhibitor rapamycin can inhibit mTOR activation, which subsequently has potential antiepileptic effects. However, a preliminary study showed a paradoxical exacerbation of increased mTOR pathway activity reflected by S6 phosphorylation when rapamycin was administrated within a short period before KA injection. In the present study, we examined this paradoxical effect of rapamycin in more detail, both in normal rats and KA-injected animals.