Identification and bioinformatic analysis of CircRNAs in the plasma of patients with very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: The differential expression of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in individuals with very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and healthy individuals was screened using microarray technology. The related functions and mechanisms were analyzed using bioinformatic methods to explore the potential of target circRNAs as biomarkers of COPD and provide insights for future pathogenesis.

Patients And Methods: Thirty patients with very severe COPD and thirty healthy controls were diagnosed at The Second People's Hospital of Hefei from September 2021 to September 2022.

Plasma miR-150-5p as a Biomarker for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Purpose: To investigate the potential of plasma microRNA-150-5p (miR-150-5p) as a biomarker for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its relationship with clinical indicators such as pulmonary function.

Patients And Methods: Fifty-nine patients with COPD and twenty-six healthy control individuals were recruited in the Second People's Hospital of Hefei from September 2021 to September 2022. The plasma expression level of miR-150-5p was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.

The dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor linagliptin ameliorates LPS-induced acute lung injury by maintenance of pulmonary microvascular barrier via activating the Epac1/AKT pathway.

Pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs) barrier dysfunction is a main pathophysiological feature of sepsis-related acute lung injury (ALI). This study aimed to investigate whether the dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-4 inhibitor linagliptin could protect against LPS-induced PMVECs barrier disruption and its underlying molecular mechanisms. A classical ALI animal model and LPS-treated PMVECs were applied and all were treated with or without linagliptin.

let-7b-5p suppresses the proliferation and migration of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells via down-regulating IGF1.

Objectives: Some previous studies indicated that the excessive proliferation and migration of Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Cells (PASMCs) could be observed in pulmonary artery intima after Pulmonary Embolism (PE) occurred. In addition, recent studies identified some miRNAs that are differentially expressed in the blood of PE patients, which might be used as a diagnostic biomarker for PE, including let-7a-5p, let-7b-5p, and miR-150-5p. Hence, the authors sought to explore the effects of let-7b-5p in PASMC proliferation and migration and the corresponding regulatory mechanism.

LPS induces pulmonary microvascular endothelial cell barrier dysfunction by upregulating ceramide production.

The specific role of ceramides in pulmonary microvascular endothelial cell (PMVEC) barrier dysfunction remains unclear. In the present study, pretreatment with pan-caspase inhibitors significantly reduced LPS-induced PMVEC apoptosis and helped to stimulate PMVEC barrier reconstruction after 12 h but had no effect on PMVEC barrier dysfunction in the first 8 h. Further studies showed that imipramine, an acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase) inhibitor, significantly inhibited LPS-induced barrier dysfunction, while an siRNA targeting serine palmityl transferase subunit 1 (SPTLC1) and the pharmacological inhibitor myriocin did not inhibit early acute barrier dysfunction but significantly inhibited PMVEC apoptosis and apoptosis-dependent delayed barrier dysfunction.

Tumor necrosis factor-α requires Ezrin to regulate the cytoskeleton and cause pulmonary microvascular endothelial barrier damage.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a rapidly progressive disease with unknown pathogenesis. Damage of pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs) caused by inflammatory storm caused by cytokines such as TNF-α is the potential pathogenesis of ARDS. In this study, we examined the role of ezrin and Rac1 in TNF-α-related pathways, which regulates the permeability of PMVECs.

Head-to-head comparison of the diagnostic accuracy of Xpert MTB/RIF and Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra for tuberculosis: a meta-analysis.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis has significantly improved since the introduction of the automated molecular test Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) and the new version Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra (Ultra) that detect . Due to the rapidly widespread use of Xpert and Ultra, we conducted a meta-analysis to compare the performances of Xpert and Ultra in diagnosing TB and discuss the advantages and limitations of these two tests.

Methods: Web of Science, Medline ( PubMed), Embase ( OvidSP), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Google Scholar (up to April 2020) were searched for relevant studies.

Predictive value of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-lymphocyte ratio in non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: A meta-analysis.

Background: High neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are associated with poor prognosis in cancer patients treated with Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). However, whether this relationship exists in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients remains unclear. Thus, this meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the prognostic role of NLR and PLR in NSCLC treated with ICIs.

Izhakiella australiensis sp. nov. isolated from an Australian desert soil.

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, non-motile bacterium, designated D4N98, was isolated from a desert soil near Glendambo, Australia. The taxonomic position of strain D4N98 was investigated using a polyphasic approach. Strain D4N98 shared 97 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with the only reference strain of the genus Izhakiella (Izhakiella capsodis N6PO6), and less than 96 % similarity with other species of genera in the family Enterobacteriaceae with validly published names.

Co-occurrence of genes for aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation of dichloroethane in organochlorine-contaminated groundwater.

1,2-Dichloroethane (DCA) is a problematic groundwater pollutant. Factors influencing the distribution and activities of DCA-degrading bacteria are not well understood, which has hampered their application for bioremediation. Here, we used quantitative PCR to investigate the distribution of putative DCA-dehalogenating bacteria at a DCA-impacted site in Sydney (Australia).

[Role of Ezrin in the injury of rat pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells induced by tumor necrosis factor-α and the impact of Rac 1].

Objective: To investigate the role of Ezrin and its phosphorylation (p-Ezrin) in the modulation of rat pulmonary microvascular endothelial cell (PMVEC) injury induced by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and the impact of Rac 1.

Methods: Cultured PMVECs of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into time-dependent injury group induced by TNF-α and intervention group in which cells were pretreated with Rac 1 inhibitor (NSC 23766). (1) In the time-dependent injury group, Western Blot was used to detect the expression of Ezrin and p-Ezrin after 10 μg/L TNF-α stimulation for 0, 0.

Preparation of progenin III from total steroidal saponins of Dioscorea nipponica Makino using a crude enzyme from Aspergillus oryzae strain.

Progenin III, one of the most active spirostanol saponins, is a potential candidate for anti-cancer therapy due to its strong antitumor activity and low hemolytic activity. However, the concentration of progenin III is extremely low in natural Dioscorea plants. In this paper, the progenin III production from total steroidal saponins of Dioscorea nipponica Makino was studied using the crude enzyme from Aspergillus oryzae DLFCC-38.