Publications by authors named "Mingcui Ding"

Pneumoconiosis is one of the most serious occupational diseases worldwide. Silicosis due to prolonged inhalation of free silica dust during occupational activities is one of the main types. Cuproptosis is a newly discovered mode of programmed cell death characterized by the accumulation of free copper in the cell, which ultimately leads to cell death.

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Until now, the specific pathogenesis of silicosis is not clear. Exosomal miRNAs, as a newly discovered intercellular communication medium, play an important role in many diseases. Our previous research found that serum exosomal miR125a-5p was increased in silicosis patients by miRNAs high-throughput sequencing.

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Epithelial-mesenchymal transdifferentiation of alveolar type Ⅱ epithelial cells is a vital source of pulmonary myofibroblasts, and myofibroblasts formation is recognized as an important phase in the pathological process of silicosis. miR-30c-5p has been determined to be relevant in the activation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in numerous disease processes. However, elucidating the role played by miR-30c-5p in the silicosis-associated EMT process remains a great challenge.

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Silicosis caused by long-term inhalation of crystalline silica during occupational activities seriously threatens the health of occupational populations. Imbalances in T helper 1(Th1), Th2, Th17, and regulatory T cells (Tregs) promote the development of pulmonary silicosis. Exosomes and their contents, especially microRNAs (miRNAs), represent a new type of intercellular signal transmission mediator related to various diseases including pulmonary fibrosis.

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Dendritic cells (DCs) are powerful antigen presentation cells and the initiator of adaptive immune response. Cimetidine, a widely used drug for gastric ulcers treatment, has significant immunomodulatory ability. However, the effects of cimetidine on DC-mediated T cell activation need to be further explored.

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  • A study examined the impact of genetic variations in metabolic enzymes on mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) among workers exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
  • The research involved 544 coke oven workers and 238 office staff, revealing that PAH exposure led to significantly lower mtDNAcn in workers compared to the control group.
  • Findings suggest that individuals with the AA genotype of the GSTP1 rs1695 variant showed reduced mtDNAcn, indicating they may have less effective detoxification of PAHs.
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Using Born-Oppenheimer ab initio molecular dynamics (BOAIMD) simulations, the high-density water (HDW) and low-density water (LDW) structures based on SCAN meta-GGA are compared with those based on PBE GGA. Compared with Car-Parrinello ab initio molecular dynamics (CPAIMD) simulations, BOAIMD simulations can produce more accurate results because no fictitious electron mass is introduced. At each state point, our simulations continue for 100 ps after the system reached equilibrium, which is the longest ab initio simulations of liquid water reported so far and can ensure an accurate statistical average.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the association between genetic variations in telomere pathway genes and the level of hydrogen peroxide (HO) in omethoate exposure workers.

Methods: A total of 180 omethoate exposure workers and 115 healthy controls were recruited. The level of HO in plasma was determined with molybdenic acid colorimetry.

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There is a lot of abnormal information in the development of lung cancer, and how to extract useful knowledge is urgent from massive information. Data mining technology has become a popular tool for medical classification and prediction. However, each technology has its advantage and disadvantage, and several data mining methods will be applied to conduct the in-depth analysis step by step.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Silicosis, a serious lung disease from long-term dust exposure in workplaces, is a major health issue in China and other low-income countries, leading to severe pulmonary fibrosis.
  • - Research identified two transcription factors (EGR2 and BHLHE40) that are increased and five (including PPARγ and LXRα) that are decreased in fibroblasts affected by silicosis, with potential implications for disease progression.
  • - The study suggests that downregulation of PPARγ and LXRα may be triggered by TGF-β1 from silica-exposed immune cells, indicating that targeting LXRα could help in preventing silicosis and related lung diseases.
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  • Advances in science and technology are raising concerns about the potential health risks of new chemicals, making it essential to assess their toxicity, particularly in terms of immune system impact.
  • Dendritic cells (DCs), especially human monocyte-derived immature DCs (imDCs), are being investigated for their effectiveness in immunotoxicity evaluation through in vitro studies.
  • Findings indicate that DNCB exposure alters the functions and surface markers of imDCs, suggesting that these cells could serve as a valuable model for assessing chemical sensitization and immune responses.
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Identification of hub genes and key pathways of gastric cancer was recognized to be essential to elucidate the tumorigenesis of GC. This study was aimed to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in GC via bioinformatics methods and their related pathways involved in the pathological process of GC. Gene expression profile datasets acquired by microarray chips or RNA-seq were downloaded from GEO dataset and TCGA, and 298 differentially expressed genes was identified.

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Silicosis is a fatal fibrotic lung disease caused by long-term silica particle exposure, in which pulmonary macrophages play an important role. However, the relationship between macrophage polarization and silicosis remains unclear. We established an experimental silicosis mouse model to investigate macrophage polarization during silicosis development.

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Telomere length was found to be associated with omethoate exposure and polymorphisms in certain genes among occupational workers. However, whether the polymorphisms in telomere-binding protein genes influence telomere length remains unclear. To explore the correlation between telomere length and polymorphisms in telomere-binding protein genes, telomere length in peripheral blood leukocytes was determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction in 180 omethoate-exposed workers and 115 healthy controls.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study compares the performance of the SCAN meta-GGA and PBE-GGA functionals in simulating water through ab initio molecular dynamics.
  • While SCAN meta-GGA doesn't outperform the TIP4P/2005 model in accuracy for the equation of state, it significantly surpasses PBE-GGA and other neural network potentials.
  • The SCAN meta-GGA predicts a first-order liquid-liquid transition in water at negative pressure, aligning well with experimental findings and indicating proximity to critical stability limits in high-density water.
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Telomeres are located at the end of eukaryotic chromosomes and vulnerable to exogenous chemical compounds. Exposure to coke oven emissions (COEs) leads to a dose-related telomere damage, and such chromosomal damage might trigger the cGAS/STING signaling pathway which plays an important role in immune surveillance. However, the relationship between the genetic variations in the cGAS/STING signaling pathway and telomere damage in the COEs-exposure workers has not been investigated.

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Objective: The aim of this study areto screen MicroRNAs (miRNAs) related to the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and to explore the possible molecular mechanisms.

Methods: The data for a total of 535 patients with LUAD data were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The miRNAs for LUAD prognosis were screened by both Cox risk proportional regression model and Last Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression model.

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Telomeres play a major role in human aging and disease, especially in most cancers. Telomere length was shortened in workers exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and influenced by individual genetic variations in telomere-binding proteins. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can affect the progress of messenger RNA (mRNA) transcription; however, whether polymorphisms in miRNA can act on the telomere length is still unknown.

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Article Synopsis
  • Small single-stranded non-coding RNAs, or miRNAs, are crucial in cancer development by degrading target mRNAs, but their potential as diagnostic tools for lung cancer hasn't been previously studied.
  • A new support-vector-machine (SVM) model was created to diagnose lung cancer by analyzing plasma miRNA levels along with clinical and epidemiological data, using SYBR Green-based quantitative real-time PCR for assessment.
  • The study found significant differences in the expression of 10 specific miRNAs and clinical symptoms between lung cancer patients and controls, with the combined SVM model achieving the highest accuracy (96.34%) and AUC (0.976), suggesting its effectiveness as a noninvasive diagnostic method for lung cancer.
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Peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length in omethoate-exposed workers is related to environmental exposure and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes including p21, GSTM1, miR-145, etc. However, the roles of SNPs in tankyrase (TNKS) gene in telomere length are still unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the association between SNPs in TNKS gene and telomere length in omethoate-exposed workers.

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Omethoate is an organophosphorus pesticide that poses a major health hazard, especially DNA damage. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting telomere length in workers exposed to omethoate by analyzing the interaction between cell cycle gene polymorphism and environmental factors. The exposure group consisted of 118 workers exposed to omethoate for 8-10 years, the control group comprised 115 healthy people without occupational toxicant exposure history.

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  • The study investigated the link between exposure to coke oven emissions (COEs) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) among coke oven workers, while also examining the influence of specific genetic variations in metabolic enzyme genes.
  • Findings showed that coke oven workers had significantly lower T-AOC compared to healthy controls, with factors like gender and specific gene variants also affecting T-AOC levels.
  • Key risk factors identified for decreased T-AOC included being female, being exposed to COEs, having the GSTT1 (+) and GSTM1 (+) genetic variations, and the interaction between GSTM1 (+) and COEs exposure.
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  • Coke oven emissions (COEs), known carcinogens primarily made up of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are linked to telomere shortening in workers exposed to them.
  • A study involving 544 COEs exposed workers found their telomere length to be significantly shorter compared to a control group of 238 office staff, with specific gene expression differences noted.
  • Certain genetic polymorphisms in the TERT gene were associated with longer telomere lengths in the COEs exposure group, indicating that both gene expression and genetic variations influence telomere length in these workers.
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Omethoate, an organophosphorous pesticide, causes a variety of health effects, especially the damage of chromosome DNA. The aim of the study was to assess the correlation between polymorphisms of encoding miRNA genes and telomere length in omethoate-exposure workers. 180 workers with more than 8 years omethoate-exposure and 115 healthy controls were recruited in the study.

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