JAM-C Is Important for Lens Epithelial Cell Proliferation and Lens Fiber Maturation in Murine Lens Development.

Purpose: The underlying mechanism of congenital cataracts caused by deficiency or mutation of junctional adhesion molecule C (JAM-C) gene remains unclear. Our study aims to elucidate the abnormal developmental process in Jamc-/- lenses and reveal the genes related to lens development that JAM-C may regulate.

Methods: Jamc knockout (Jamc-/-) mouse embryos and pups were generated for in vivo studies.

VEGF-B prevents excessive angiogenesis by inhibiting FGF2/FGFR1 pathway.

Although VEGF-B was discovered as a VEGF-A homolog a long time ago, the angiogenic effect of VEGF-B remains poorly understood with limited and diverse findings from different groups. Notwithstanding, drugs that inhibit VEGF-B together with other VEGF family members are being used to treat patients with various neovascular diseases. It is therefore critical to have a better understanding of the angiogenic effect of VEGF-B and the underlying mechanisms.

Critical role of mitogen-inducible gene 6 in restraining endothelial cell permeability to maintain vascular homeostasis.

Although mitogen-inducible gene 6 (MIG6) is highly expressed in vascular endothelial cells, it remains unknown whether MIG6 affects vascular permeability. Here, we show for the first time a critical role of MIG6 in limiting vascular permeability. We unveil that genetic deletion of Mig6 in mice markedly increased VEGFA-induced vascular permeability, and MIG6 knockdown impaired endothelial barrier function.

Optimal Modeling of Anti-Breast Cancer Candidate Drugs Based on Graph Model Feature Selection.

Breast cancer is one of the most widespread and fatal cancers in women. At present, anticancer drug-inhibiting estrogen receptor  subtype (ER) can greatly improve the cure rate for breast cancer patients, so the research and development of this kind of drugs are very urgent. In this paper, the problem of how to screen excellent anticancer drugs is abstracted as an optimization problem.

Deficiency of Jamc Leads to Congenital Nuclear Cataract and Activates the Unfolded Protein Response in Mouse Lenses.

Purpose: The malfunction of junctional adhesion molecule C (JAM-C) has been reported to induce congenital cataract in humans and mice; however, specific characters and the mechanism of this cataract are still unclear. This study aimed to characterize abnormal lens development in Jamc knockout mice and clarify the underlying mechanism.

Methods: Jamc knockout mice backcrossed onto the C57BL/6 genetic background were used for this research.

Impedimetric aptasensor based on porphyrin-based covalent-organic framework for determination of diethylstilbestrol.

An impedimetric sensing strategy was developed for sensitively determining diethylstilbestrol (DES) based on a platform of porphyrin-containing covalent-organic framework (p-COF). The p-COF was synthesized using 5,10,15,20-tetra (4-aminophenyl) porphyrin (TAPP) and 1,3,6,8-tetrakis(4-formylphenyl) pyrene (TFPy) as building blocks via condensation reaction, for which p-COF was named as TAPP-TFPy-COF. Considering the large specific surface area (302.

Protocols for endothelial cell isolation from mouse tissues: brain, choroid, lung, and muscle.

Endothelial cells (ECs) harbor distinct phenotypical and functional characteristics depending on their tissue localization and contribute to brain, eye, lung, and muscle diseases such as dementia, macular degeneration, pulmonary hypertension, and sarcopenia. To study their function, isolation of pure ECs in high quantities is crucial. Here, we describe protocols for rapid and reproducible blood vessel EC purification established for scRNA sequencing from murine tissues using mechanical and enzymatic digestion followed by magnetic and fluorescence-activated cell sorting.

Surface plasmon resonance aptasensor based on niobium carbide MXene quantum dots for nucleocapsid of SARS-CoV-2 detection.

A novel label-free surface plasmon resonance (SPR) aptasensor has been constructed for the detection of N-gene of SARS-CoV-2 by using thiol-modified niobium carbide MXene quantum dots (NbC-SH QDs) as the bioplatform for anchoring N-gene-targeted aptamer. In the presence of SARS-CoV-2 N-gene, the immobilized aptamer strands changed their conformation to specifically bind with N-gene. It thus increased the contact area or enlarged the distance between aptamer and the SPR chip, resulting in a change of the SPR signal irradiated by the laser (He-Ne) with the wavelength (λ) of 633 nm.

Protocols for endothelial cell isolation from mouse tissues: kidney, spleen, and testis.

Endothelial cells (ECs) exhibit phenotypic and functional tissue specificities, critical for studies in the vascular field and beyond. Thus, tissue-specific methods for isolation of highly purified ECs are necessary. Kidney, spleen, and testis ECs are relevant players in health and diseases such as chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, myelofibrosis, and cancer.

Protocols for endothelial cell isolation from mouse tissues: small intestine, colon, heart, and liver.

Endothelial cells (ECs) from the small intestine, colon, liver, and heart have distinct phenotypes and functional adaptations that are dependent on their physiological environment. Gut ECs adapt to low oxygen, heart ECs to contractile forces, and liver ECs to low flow rates. Isolating high-purity ECs in sufficient quantities is crucial to study their functions.

Mitogen-Inducible Gene 6 Inhibits Angiogenesis by Binding to SHC1 and Suppressing Its Phosphorylation.

The mitogen-inducible gene 6 (MIG6) is an adaptor protein widely expressed in vascular endothelial cells. However, it remains unknown thus far whether it plays a role in angiogenesis. Here, using comprehensive and model systems, we unveil a potent anti-angiogenic effect of MIG6 in retinal development and neovascularization and the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms.

Single-Cell Transcriptome Atlas of Murine Endothelial Cells.

The heterogeneity of endothelial cells (ECs) across tissues remains incompletely inventoried. We constructed an atlas of >32,000 single-EC transcriptomes from 11 mouse tissues and identified 78 EC subclusters, including Aqp7 intestinal capillaries and angiogenic ECs in healthy tissues. ECs from brain/testis, liver/spleen, small intestine/colon, and skeletal muscle/heart pairwise expressed partially overlapping marker genes.

Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Renal Endothelium Heterogeneity and Metabolic Adaptation to Water Deprivation.

Background: Renal endothelial cells from glomerular, cortical, and medullary kidney compartments are exposed to different microenvironmental conditions and support specific kidney processes. However, the heterogeneous phenotypes of these cells remain incompletely inventoried. Osmotic homeostasis is vitally important for regulating cell volume and function, and in mammals, osmotic equilibrium is regulated through the countercurrent system in the renal medulla, where water exchange through endothelium occurs against an osmotic pressure gradient.

Novel function of VEGF-B as an antioxidant and therapeutic implications.

Oxidative stress, due to insufficiency of antioxidants or over-production of oxidants, can lead to severe cell and tissue damage. Oxidative stress occurs constantly and has been shown to be involved in innumerable diseases, such as degenerative, cardiovascular, neurological, and metabolic disorders, cancer, and aging, thus highlighting the vital need of antioxidant defense mechanisms. Vascular endothelial growth factor B (VEGF-B) was discovered a long time ago, and is abundantly expressed in most types of cells and tissues.

Role of glutamine synthetase in angiogenesis beyond glutamine synthesis.

Glutamine synthetase, encoded by the gene GLUL, is an enzyme that converts glutamate and ammonia to glutamine. It is expressed by endothelial cells, but surprisingly shows negligible glutamine-synthesizing activity in these cells at physiological glutamine levels. Here we show in mice that genetic deletion of Glul in endothelial cells impairs vessel sprouting during vascular development, whereas pharmacological blockade of glutamine synthetase suppresses angiogenesis in ocular and inflammatory skin disease while only minimally affecting healthy adult quiescent endothelial cells.

Quiescent Endothelial Cells Upregulate Fatty Acid β-Oxidation for Vasculoprotection via Redox Homeostasis.

Little is known about the metabolism of quiescent endothelial cells (QECs). Nonetheless, when dysfunctional, QECs contribute to multiple diseases. Previously, we demonstrated that proliferating endothelial cells (PECs) use fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) for de novo dNTP synthesis.

Impairment of Angiogenesis by Fatty Acid Synthase Inhibition Involves mTOR Malonylation.

The role of fatty acid synthesis in endothelial cells (ECs) remains incompletely characterized. We report that fatty acid synthase knockdown (FASN) in ECs impedes vessel sprouting by reducing proliferation. Endothelial loss of FASN impaired angiogenesis in vivo, while FASN blockade reduced pathological ocular neovascularization, at >10-fold lower doses than used for anti-cancer treatment.

Serine Synthesis via PHGDH Is Essential for Heme Production in Endothelial Cells.

The role of phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH), a key enzyme of the serine synthesis pathway (SSP), in endothelial cells (ECs) remains poorly characterized. We report that mouse neonates with EC-specific PHGDH deficiency suffer lethal vascular defects within days of gene inactivation, due to reduced EC proliferation and survival. In addition to nucleotide synthesis impairment, PHGDH knockdown (PHGDH) caused oxidative stress, due not only to decreased glutathione and NADPH synthesis but also to mitochondrial dysfunction.

A laminin-receptor-like protein regulates white spot syndrome virus infection by binding to the viral envelope protein VP28 in red claw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is a lethal pathogen of shrimp and many other crustaceans, which has been causing huge economic losses in global aquaculture. Laminin receptor (LR) is a cell surface receptor which participates in the interactions between cells as well as cells and extracellular matrix. Previously, we found that a CqLR-like gene was responsive to WSSV infection in the hematopoietic tissue (Hpt) cells from red claw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus.

White spot syndrome virus entry is dependent on multiple endocytic routes and strongly facilitated by Cq-GABARAP in a CME-dependent manner.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is a lethal pathogen of shrimp and many other crustaceans, including crayfish. However, the molecular mechanism underlying its cellular entry remains elusive due to the lack of shrimp cell lines for viral propagation. Crayfish hematopoietic tissue (Hpt) cell culture was recently established as a good model for WSSV infection study.

Novel dynamic elongational flow procedure for reinforcing strong, tough, thermally stable polypropylene/thermoplastic polyurethane blends.

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)/polypropylene (PP) blends of different weight ratios were prepared with a self-made vane extruder (VE), which generates global dynamic elongational flow, and a traditional twin-screw extruder (TSE), which generates shear flow. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy and polarizing microscopy showed a structure feature of fiber morphology and a clear interlocking structure of spherulites of PP/TPU blends prepared with a VE. The wide-angle X-ray diffraction results showed that the TPU/PP blend based on dynamic elongational flow had evident crystalline structure of the β form as a function of PP (90 wt %), compared to that of the conventional shear flow processing techniques.

Identification of a serine proteinase homolog (Sp-SPH) involved in immune defense in the mud crab Scylla paramamosain.

Clip domain serine proteinase homologs are involved in many biological processes including immune response. To identify the immune function of a serine proteinase homolog (Sp-SPH), originally isolated from hemocytes of the mud crab, Scylla paramamosain, the Sp-SPH was expressed recombinantly and purified for further studies. It was found that the Sp-SPH protein could bind to a number of bacteria (including Aeromonas hydrophila, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio fluvialis, Vibrio harveyi and Vibrio parahemolyticus), bacterial cell wall components such as lipopolysaccharide or peptidoglycan (PGN), and β-1, 3-glucan of fungus.

[Fast segmentation algorithm of high resolution remote sensing image based on multiscale mean shift].

Mean Shift algorithm is a robust approach toward feature space analysis and it has been used wildly for natural scene image and medical image segmentation. However, high computational complexity of the algorithm has constrained its application in remote sensing images with massive information. A fast image segmentation algorithm is presented by extending traditional mean shift method to wavelet domain.