ZBTB40 is a telomere-associated protein and protects telomeres in human ALT cells.

Alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALTs) mechanism is activated in some somatic, germ cells, and human cancer cells. However, the key regulators and mechanisms of the ALT pathway remain elusive. Here we demonstrated that ZBTB40 is a novel telomere-associated protein and binds to telomeric dsDNA through its N-terminal BTB (BR-C, ttk and bab) or POZ (Pox virus and Zinc finger) domain in ALT cells.

Physical confinement and cell proximity increase cell migration rates and invasiveness: A mathematical model of cancer cell invasion through flexible channels.

Cancer cell migration between different body parts is the driving force behind cancer metastasis, which is the main cause of mortality of patients. Migration of cancer cells often proceeds by penetration through narrow cavities in locally stiff, yet flexible tissues. In our previous work, we developed a model for cell geometry evolution during invasion, which we extend here to investigate whether leader and follower (cancer) cells that only interact mechanically can benefit from sequential transmigration through narrow micro-channels and cavities.

Deep convolutional neural networks using an active learning strategy for cervical cancer screening and diagnosis.

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common malignant tumor among women worldwide. Constructing a high-accuracy deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) for cervical cancer screening and diagnosis is important for the successful prevention of cervical cancer. In this work, we proposed a robust DCNN for cervical cancer screening using whole-slide images (WSI) of ThinPrep cytologic test (TCT) slides from 211 cervical cancer and 189 normal patients.

Construction of a lysosome-targetable ratiometric fluorescent probe for HO tracing and imaging in living cells and an inflamed model.

Hydrogen peroxide (HO), an important reactive oxygen species (ROS) with unique destructive oxidation properties, can be produced in lysosomes to fight off pathogens. Although many fluorescent probes have been developed for the detection and imaging of HO, the development of a ratiometric fluorescent probe for HO detection and imaging in lysosomes and an inflammation model remains rather scarce. Therefore, it is important to develop an efficient tool for monitoring HO in inflamed tissues to evaluate the physiological and pathological relationship between inflammation and lysosomal HO.

Effect of Fushengong Decoction on PTEN/PI3K/AKT/NF-κB Pathway in Rats With Chronic Renal Failure via Dual-Dimension Network Pharmacology Strategy.

The treatment of chronic renal failure (CRF) with traditional Chinese medicine has attracted much attention, but its mechanism is not clear. Network pharmacology is an effective strategy for exploring the interaction mechanisms between Chinese herbs and diseases, however, it still needs to be validated in cell and/or animal experiments due to its virtual screening characteristics. Herein, the anti-CRF mechanism of the Fushengong decoction (FSGD) was investigated using a dualdimension network pharmacological strategy combined with experiment.

The biological function of metazoan-specific subunit nuclear factor related to kappaB binding protein of INO80 complex.

The INO80 chromatin remodeling complex plays an essential role in the regulation of gene transcription, which participate in a variety of important biological processes in cells including DNA repair and DNA replication. Difference from the yeast INO80 complex, metazoan INO80 complex have the specific subunit G, which is known as nuclear factor related to kappaB binding protein (NFRKB). Recently, NFRKB has been received much attention in many aspects, such as DNA repair, cell pluripotency, telomere protection, and protein activity regulation.

Extrachromosomal Circular DNA (eccDNA): From Chaos to Function.

Extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) is a type of double-stranded circular DNA that is derived and free from chromosomes. It has a strong heterogeneity in sequence, length, and origin and has been identified in both normal and cancer cells. Although many studies suggested its potential roles in various physiological and pathological procedures including aging, telomere and rDNA maintenance, drug resistance, and tumorigenesis, the functional relevance of eccDNA remains to be elucidated.

A FRET-based ratiometric fluorescent probe for hydrogen polysulfide detection in living cells and zebrafish.

Hydrogen polysulfide (HS, n > 1) is an important active sulfur molecule (RSS) in organisms, which have been considered to be involved in redox signaling and cytoprotective processes. In this work, in order to quickly and accurately detect HS in biosystems, 2-fluoro-5-nitrobenzoic ester was used as the response moiety for HS, and the FRET strategy was adopted to effectively connect the donor (6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid) and acceptor (4-substituted-1,8-naphthalimide) to construct a new ratiometric HS fluorescent probe NPNA-HS. NPNA-HS exhibited a more than ∼ 8.

Nuclear Factor Related to KappaB Binding Protein () Is a Telomere-Associated Protein and Involved in Liver Cancer Development.

Alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) is a homologous recombination-based telomere maintenance mechanism activated in 10-15% of human cancers. Although significant progress has been made, the key regulators of the ALT pathway and its role in cancer development remain elusive. Bioinformatics methods were used to predict novel telomere-associated proteins (TAPs) by analysis of large-scale ChIP-Seq data.

Integrated genomic analysis reveals regulatory pathways and dynamic landscapes of the tRNA transcriptome.

tRNAs and tRNA-derived RNA fragments (tRFs) play various roles in many cellular processes outside of protein synthesis. However, comprehensive investigations of tRNA/tRF regulation are rare. In this study, we used new algorithms to extensively analyze the publicly available data from 1332 ChIP-Seq and 42 small-RNA-Seq experiments in human cell lines and tissues to investigate the transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms of tRNAs.

Agent-based modelling and parameter sensitivity analysis with a finite-element method for skin contraction.

In this paper, we extend the model of wound healing by Boon et al. (J Biomech 49(8):1388-1401, 2016). In addition to explaining the model explicitly regarding every component, namely cells, signalling molecules and tissue bundles, we categorized fibroblasts as regular fibroblasts and myofibroblasts.