A novel prognostic signature based on cancer stemness and metabolism-related genes for cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma.

Background: CESC is the second most commonly diagnosed gynecological malignancy. Given the pivotal involvement of metabolism-related genes (MRGs) in the etiology of multiple tumors, our investigation aims to devise a prognostic risk signature rooted in cancer stemness and metabolism.

Methods: The stemness index based on mRNA expression (mRNAsi) of samples from the TCGA dataset was computed using the One-class logistic regression (OCLR) algorithm.

High glucose-induced p66Shc mitochondrial translocation regulates autophagy initiation and autophagosome formation in syncytiotrophoblast and extravillous trophoblast.

Background: p66Shc, as a redox enzyme, regulates reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in mitochondria and autophagy. However, the mechanisms by which p66Shc affects autophagosome formation are not fully understood.

Methods: p66Shc expression and its location in the trophoblast cells were detected in vivo and in vitro.

Butorphanol inhibits ferroptosis to attenuate PC12 cell injury by blocking JNK/p38 signaling.

Butorphanol is a synthetic selective opioid receptor antagonist that exhibits substantial analgesic effects. The present study aimed to explore the effects of butorphanol on a neurodegenerative disease cell model and to investigate its specific regulatory mechanism. Cell viability of PC12 cells was assessed using the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay.

Characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 in Chinese immune thrombocytopenia patients: A prospective cohort study.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has a significant impact on the immune system. This is the first and largest study on pre-existing immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients infected with COVID-19 in China. We prospectively collected ITP patients infected with COVID-19 enrolled in the National Longitudinal Cohort of Hematological Diseases (NICHE, NCT04645199) and followed up for at least 1 month after infection.

[Impounding Impacts of the Three Gorges Reservoir on Phytoplankton Function Groups and Its Relationship with Resource Use Efficiency].

In order to investigate the relationship between phytoplankton community functional group compositions and resource use efficiency in important tributaries of the Three Gorges Reservoir, phytoplankton and environment parameters were sampled from five tributaries, the Xiangxi River, Daning River, Meixi River, Pengxi River, and Huangjin River, in August and November, 2020. There were 119 species (variants) belonging to 62 genera and 7 phyla identified in summer, whereas 118 species (variants) belonging to 7 divisions of 58 genera were found in winter. According to Padisak's theory, all phytoplankton were divided into 25 functional groups, of which there were six important functional groups in both summer and winter:L0, H1, D, Y, MP, and P in summer and L0, H1, A, M, MP, and Y in winter.

[Succession Pattern and Consequences of the Dominant Species During Cyanobacterial Bloom and Its Influencing Factors].

The succession of dominant species always occurs during cyanobacterial blooms because there are certain conditions for cyanobacterial blooms formed by different cyanobacteria; this results in more uncertain and complex effects in cyanobacterial blooms. However, the succession pattern and consequences of dominant species and its driving factors have not received enough attention during cyanobacteria blooms. In this study, the phytoplankton community characteristics and water environment factors of Nanpeng Reservoir, a drinking water source in Chongqing, were monitored and analyzed from April to September 2018.

Opening K channels induces inflammatory tolerance and prevents chronic pain.

Current treatments for chronic pain are unsatisfactory, therefore, new therapeutics are urgently needed. Our previous study indicated that K channel openers have analgesic effects, but the underlying mechanism has not been elucidated. We speculated that K channel openers might increase suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-3 expression to induce inflammatory tolerance and attenuate chronic pain.

Temporal heterogeneity of bacterial communities and their responses to Raphidiopsis raciborskii blooms.

To elucidate the interspecies connectivity between cyanobacteria and other bacteria (noncyanobacteria), microbial diversity and composition were investigated through high-throughput sequencing (HTS) in a drinking water reservoir in Chongqing city, Southwest China, during Raphidiopsis raciborskii blooms. Significant temporal changes were observed in microbial community composition during the sampling period, primarily reflected by variations in relative bacterial abundance. The modularity analysis of the network demonstrated that the bacterial community forms co-occurrence/exclusion patterns in response to variations in environmental factors.

Stanniocalcin2 inhibits the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and invasion of trophoblasts via activation of autophagy under high-glucose conditions.

Maternal pregnancy hyperglycemia is often accompanied by placental dysfunction. During placental development, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) contributes to the transformation of relatively noninvasive trophoblasts into highly invasive extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs). However, the specific role of EMT in placentas under hyperglycemia environments remains relatively unexplored.

AMPK-autophagy-mediated inhibition of microRNA-30a-5p alleviates morphine tolerance via SOCS3-dependent neuroinflammation suppression.

Background: The development of morphine tolerance is a clinical challenge for managing severe pain. Studies have shown that neuroinflammation is a critical aspect for the development of analgesic tolerance. We found that AMPK-autophagy activation could suppress neuroinflammation and improve morphine tolerance via the upregulation of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) by inhibiting the processing and maturation of microRNA-30a-5p.

Transcriptomic responses to phosphorus in an invasive cyanobacterium, Raphidiopsis raciborskii: Implications for nutrient management.

Phosphorus (P) is a vital macronutrient associated with the growth and proliferation of Raphidiopsis raciborskii, an invasive and notorious bloom-forming cyanobacterium. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in P acclimation remain largely unexplored for Raphidiopsis raciborskii. Here, transcriptome sequencing of Raphidiopsis raciborskii was conducted to reveal multifaceted mechanisms involved in mimicking dipotassium phosphate (DIP), β-glycerol phosphate (Gly), 2-aminoethylphosphonic acid (AEP), and P-free conditions (NP).

Characterizing methanol metabolism-related promoters for metabolic engineering of Ogataea polymorpha.

Promoters play an important role in regulating gene expression, and construction of microbial cell factories requires multiple promoters for balancing the metabolic pathways. However, there are only a limited number of characterized promoters for gene expression in the methylotrophic yeast Ogataea polymorpha, which hampers the extensive harnessing of this important yeast toward a cell factory. Here we characterized the promoters of methanol utilization pathway, precursor supply pathway, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) defense system, by using a green fluorescence protein variant (GFP) as a quantification signal.

[Analysis of Phytoplankton Community Stability and Influencing Factors in a Tributary of the Three Gorges Reservoir].

Changes in the community stability of freshwater phytoplankton not only induce a series of ecological environment problems but also influence freshwater ecosystem service functions. To understand the changes in community stability and its driving factors, phytoplankton and environmental parameters were analyzed at 11 sample sites in Huaxi River, a tributary of the Three Gorges Reservoir, in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Moreover, the resource use efficiency (RUE), phytoplankton richness (), phytoplankton evenness (), and community turnover (BC) were also determined.

Nicotine Reduces Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cell Response to K1 Infection by Inhibiting Autophagy.

Studies have shown that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke can increase the risk of bacterial meningitis, and nicotine is the core component of environmental tobacco smoke. Autophagy is an important way for host cells to eliminate invasive pathogens and resist infection. K1 strain ( K1) is the most common Gram-negative bacterial pathogen that causes neonatal meningitis.

ARID1A-dependent permissive chromatin accessibility licenses estrogen-receptor signaling to regulate circadian rhythms genes in endometrial cancer.

Estrogen receptor α (ER) acts as an oncogenic signal in endometrial endometrioid carcinoma. ER binding activity largely depends on chromatin remodeling and recruitment of transcription factors to estrogen response elements. A deeper understanding of these regulatory mechanisms may uncover therapeutic targets for ER-dependent endometrial cancers.

Silencing DAPK3 blocks the autophagosome-lysosome fusion by mediating SNAP29 in trophoblast cells under high glucose treatment.

Autophagy plays an essential role in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Death-associated protein kinase-3 (DAPK3) regulates a variety of cellular functions; however, the relationship between DAPK3 and autophagy is unknown. In this study, we aim to investigate whether DAPK3 is associated with autophagy in GDM, and we found that DAPK3 was upregulated in the placenta of GDM patients and extravillous trophoblast cells under high-glucose conditions.

CD48 and α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Synergistically Regulate FimH-Mediated Escherichia coli K1 Penetration and Neutrophil Transmigration Across Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells.

FimH-mediated bacterial invasion and polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) transmigration across human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs) are required for the pathogenesis of Escherichia coli meningitis. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study demonstrated that the TnphoA mutant (22A33) and FimH-knockout mutant (ΔFimH) of E coli strain E44, which resulted in inactivation of FimH, were less invasive and less effective in promoting PMN transmigration than their wild-type strain.

Systematic Characterization of Autophagy in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.

Autophagy is a dynamic process that degrades and recycles cellular organelles and proteins to maintain cell homeostasis. Alterations in autophagy occur in various diseases; however, the role of autophagy in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is unknown. In the present study, we characterized the roles and functions of autophagy in GDM patient samples and extravillous trophoblasts cultured with glucose.

Peripheral KATP activation inhibits pain sensitization induced by skin/muscle incision and retraction via the nuclear factor-κB/c-Jun N-terminal kinase signaling pathway.

The aim of the current study was to assess the effect of pinacidil activation of ATP‑sensitive potassium (KATP) channels prior to skin/muscle incision and retraction (SMIR) surgery on peripheral and central sensitization, and investigate molecular interferential targets for preventive analgesia. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to one of the following five groups: Control, incision (sham surgery), incision plus retraction (SMIR) group, SMIR plus pinacidil (pinacidil) group and the SMIR plus pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) group. The rats in the pinacidil and PDTC groups were intraperitoneally injected with pinacidil or PDTC, respectively, prior to the SMIR procedure.

Shifting preference between oviposition vs. host-feeding under changing host densities in two aphelinid parasitoids.

Destructive host-feeding is common in hymenopteran parasitoids. Such feeding may be restricted to host stages not preferred for oviposition. However, whether this is a fixed strategy or can vary according to resource levels or parasitoid needs is less clear.

Effect of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist on T helper cell differentiation induced by phorbol-myristate-acetate and ionomycin.

Aim: To investigate the effect of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist on T helper (TH) cell differentiation and intracellular transcriptional factors in vitro.

Methods: Ten male healthy volunteers (aged 20-45 y, BMI 18-25) were enrolled in this study. Twenty milliliters peripheral blood was collected in the morning from fasted volunteers and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated.