Publications by authors named "Shengkai Jin"

Peritoneal dissemination frequently develops in patients with ovarian cancer (OC) and is associated with recurrence and metastasis. However, the cellular components and mechanisms supporting OC peritoneal metastasis are poorly understood. To elucidate these, we utilized RNA sequencing to investigate the cellular composition and function.

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Background: Kidney stones are a common urologic disease with an increasing incidence year by year, and there are similar influences between gout status and kidney stone incidence. Therefore the contribution of gout status to the incidence of kidney stones is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between gout status and kidney stones and to further explore the causal relationship by Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.

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  • Observational studies suggest a link between gut microbiota composition and interstitial cystitis, but the exact causal mechanisms are not clear yet.
  • A two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis identified eight bacterial taxa associated with interstitial cystitis, with some increasing risk and others providing protection against the condition.
  • Seven hub genes were found to be differentially expressed in interstitial cystitis patients, indicating potential therapeutic targets and highlighting a causal relationship between gut microbiota and the disease.
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  • Microbes play a significant role in bladder cancer, and this study highlights their increased presence in tumor tissues compared to normal bladder tissues.
  • Researchers found a highly diverse microbiome specific to bladder cancer, distinct from other tumors, and established a correlation between intratumoral microbiota, immune responses, and patient prognosis.
  • A novel microbial-based scoring system was developed, allowing for patient subgrouping that reveals differences in prognosis and immune characteristics, with implications for potential clinical applications.
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  • * Equol, resembling the hormone estradiol, has weak estrogen-like effects and may influence hormone-related cancers, such as breast and prostate cancer.
  • * The article discusses the gut microbiota's role in equol synthesis and its anti-tumor effects, along with the molecular mechanisms involved, aimed at supporting the use of equol in cancer treatment.
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An expanding body of research indicates a correlation between the gut microbiota and various diseases. Metabolites produced by the gut microbiota act as mediators between the gut microbiota and the host, interacting with multiple systems in the human body to regulate physiological or pathological functions. However, further investigation is still required to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

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  • - Stem cells can switch between two states: quiescence (inactive) and activation (active), with metabolism playing a key role in maintaining their functions and tissue health.
  • - The study introduced a new cell culture system that effectively models this transition in neural stem cells (NSCs), showing that quiescent NSCs have different physical and growth characteristics but can still differentiate when reactivated.
  • - In-depth analysis revealed significant metabolic changes between the two states, including shifts in RNA metabolism, protein production, and activities related to mitochondria and autophagy, highlighting the importance of metabolism in stem cell dynamics.
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Background: The immune microenvironment plays a critical role in maintaining skin homeostasis, which is closely related to the dysfunction in photoaged skin such as autoimmunity and tumorigenesis. Several recent studies have demonstrated the efficacy of 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) in alleviating photoaging and skin cancer. However, the underlying immune mechanisms and the immune microenvironment change by ALA-PDT remain largely unknown.

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Malignant Glioma is characterized by strong self-renewal potential and immature differentiation potential. The main reason is that malignant glioma holds key cluster cells, glioma stem cells (GSCs). GSCs contribute to tumorigenesis, tumor progression, recurrence, and treatment resistance.

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Human nasal mucosa is susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and serves as a reservoir for viral replication before spreading to other organs (e.g. the lung and brain) and transmission to other individuals.

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Extracellular vesicles from adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs-EVs) have shown immunomodulation and anti-photoaging effects; however, the skin barrier prevents their absorption via skin. Meanwhile, microneedle (MN) is a widely used and minimally invasive tool for dermal delivery of drugs, it also has neocollagenesis effect by creating tiny injuries and initiating wound healing process. To investigate the effect of MN combined with ADSCs-EVs on skin aging, photoaging in SKH-1 mice was induced by chronic exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

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Although human adipose derived stem cells (hADSCs) hold great promises for regenerative medicine, their key biological properties remain poorly understood. In particular, proliferation defects resulted from deep quiescence (dormancy) and senescence represent a major hurdle in hADSC production and clinical application. We have developed a model system for mechanistic dissection of hADSC quiescence and senescence.

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Platinum-based chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is one of the most common causes of dose reduction and discontinuation of life-saving chemotherapy in cancer treatment; it often causes permanent impairment of quality of life in cancer patients. The mechanisms that underlie this neuropathy are not defined, and effective treatment and prevention measures are not available. Here, we demonstrate that SIRT2 protected mice against cisplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).

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  • * Results show that aLA-PDT is most effective at a concentration of 0.05 mM and a light dose of 384 Jcm, significantly reducing MRSA presence and causing damage to its cell structure, including proteins and DNA.
  • * Additionally, there is a notable decrease in the transcription of a specific MRSA gene (nuc) after treatment, indicating that ALA-PDT effectively inhibits MRSA by targeting multiple cellular components.
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Nucleosome-depleted open chromatin regions (OCRs) often harbor transcription factor (TF) binding sites that are associated with active DNA regulatory elements. To investigate the regulation of silk-protein genes, DNA molecules isolated from the silk glands of third-day fifth-instar silkworm larvae and embryo-derived (BmE) cells were subjected to formal dehyde-assisted isolation of regulatory elements (FAIRE) and high-throughput sequencing. In total, 68,000 OCRs were identified, and a number of TF-binding motifs were predicted.

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Several pathogenic microorganisms have been used to investigate the genome-wide transcriptional responses of Bombyx mori to infection. However, studies have so far each focused on one microorganism, and systematic genome-wide comparison of transcriptional responses to different pathogenic microorganisms has not been undertaken. Here, we surveyed transcriptional responses of B.

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Bacterial pathogens and their toxins target host receptors, leading to aberrant behavior or host death by changing signaling events through subversion of host intracellular cAMP level. This is an efficient and widespread mechanism of microbial pathogenesis. Previous studies describe toxins that increase cAMP in host cells, resulting in death through G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling pathways by influencing adenylyl cyclase or G protein activity.

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Insect pests have developed resistance to chemical insecticides, insecticidal toxins as bioinsecticides or genetic protection built into crops. Consequently, novel, orally active insecticidal toxins would be valuable biological alternatives for pest control. Here, we identified a novel insecticidal toxin, parasporal crystal toxin (PC), from Bacillus bombysepticus (Bb).

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  • The rat sarcoma-extracellular signal regulated kinase (Ras-ERK) pathway is key for silkworms' defense against the Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) infection.
  • A new gene called BmSpry, similar to proteins found in various species, was identified and shown to be active in all tissues and developmental stages of the silkworm.
  • Experiments demonstrated that reducing BmSpry increased BmNPV replication and larvae mortality, while its over-expression decreased viral replication, highlighting BmSpry's important role in antiviral defense.
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Bacillus bombysepticus is a Gram-positive spore-forming bacterium. Here, we announce the first complete genome sequence of this organism isolated from the cadavers of silkworm larvae that had been sick. The genome contains a single circular chromosome and a circular plasmid.

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Aminopeptidases N (APNs), the receptors of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin in the lepidopteran midgut, are involved in the Bt pathogen infection mechanism. In the present work, we screened 102 APNs from SilkDB, ButterflyBase and MonarchBase; 16 APNs were identified from the silkworm (Bombyx mori) and 24 from the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). Syntenic and phylogenetic tree analysis showed that APN genes have developed multi-family genes before evolutionary divergence of the Lepidoptera.

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The midgut is an important organ for digestion and absorption of nutrients and immune defense in the silkworm Bombyx mori. In an attempt to create a tool for midgut research, we cloned the 1080 bp P2 promoter sequence (P2P) of a highly expressed midgut-specific gene in the silkworm. The transgenic line (P2) was generated via embryo microinjection, in which the expression of EGFP was driven by P2P.

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Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) is the primary pathogen of silkworms, causing severe economic losses in sericulture. To create antiviral silkworm strains, we constructed a transgenic vector in which the dsRNA for five tandem BmNPV genes was controlled by the BmNPV hr3 enhancer and IE1 promoter. The antivirus gene Bmlipase-1 was driven by B.

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Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) is the primary pathogen affecting B. mori. This virus could be combated via RNAi of BmNPV genes in transgenic silkworm.

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