PCK1 Downregulation Promotes TXNRD1 Expression and Hepatoma Cell Growth via the Nrf2/Keap1 Pathway.

Gluconeogenesis, generates glucose from small carbohydrate substrates, and drives the metabolic flux in parallel but opposite to glycolysis. The cytoplasmic isoform of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PCK1 or PEPCK-C), a rate-limiting enzyme in gluconeogenesis, initiates the gluconeogenesis process and is reportedly dysregulated in multiple types of cancer. Gluconeogenesis mainly occurs in the liver during fasting, and previous studies have demonstrated that PCK1 acts as a tumor suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, the role of PCK1 in cancer progression remains incompletely understood.

Simultaneous isolation of mesenchymal stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells derived from murine bone marrow.

Mesenchymal stem or stromal cells (MSCs) are identified as sources of pluripotent stem cells with varying degrees of plasticity. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) originate from either bone marrow (BM) or peripheral blood and can mature into cells that line the lumen of blood vessels. MSC and EPC therapies exhibit promising results in a variety of diseases.

Synthesis of highly stable red-emissive carbon polymer dots by modulated polymerization: from the mechanism to application in intracellular pH imaging.

Great efforts have been made to develop facile and efficient methods to prepare carbonaceous nanostructures with long-wavelength emission. Herein, we report a low-temperature aqueous strategy to synthesize red-emissive carbon polymer dots (R-CPDs) through the regulation of oxidative polymerization of p-phenylenediamine at 80 °C. The morphology, chemical composition and photophysical properties of the R-CPDs are characterized and analyzed in detail, thereby elucidating their photoluminescence origins from the surface state and crosslink enhanced emission effect.

Effect of stress on corrosion of high-purity magnesium in vitro and in vivo.

Magnesium-based implants are subjected to complicated stresses during implantation in the human body. The stress effects on corrosion of magnesium (Mg) in vitro were investigated in previous studies, whereas in this study, the corrosion behaviors of high-purity (HP) Mg under stress were comparatively studied in vitro in Hank's solution and in vivo in the subcutaneous environment of rats. Loading devices were designed to apply compressive stress (15.

Bacterial Lipoprotein Biosynthetic Pathway as a Potential Target for Structure-based Design of Antibacterial Agents.

Background: Antibiotic resistance is currently a serious problem for global public health. To this end, discovery of new antibacterial drugs that interact with novel targets is important. The biosynthesis of lipoproteins is vital to bacterial survival and its inhibitors have shown efficacy against a range of bacteria, thus bacterial lipoprotein biosynthetic pathway is a potential target.

High levels of circulating GM-CSFCD4 T cells are predictive of poor outcomes in sepsis patients: a prospective cohort study.

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), produced by CD4 T cells, has recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and juvenile arthritis. However, the role of GM-CSF-producing CD4 T cells in sepsis remains unknown. This study reports peripheral changes in GM-CSF-producing CD4 T cells in septic patients and the possible underlying mechanism by which GM-CSF influences the outcome of sepsis.

Virulence of Salmonella enterica serovar Pullorum isolates compared using cell-based and chicken embryo infection models.

To reveal differences in virulence among strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Pullorum (S. Pullorum), we used 2 cell-based infection models and a chicken embryo infection model in this study. S.

Screening of cytochrome P450 3A4 inhibitors and approaches.

Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is an important member of the CYP family and responsible for metabolizing a broad range of drugs. Potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) caused by CYP3A4 inhibitors could lead to increasing risk of side-effects/toxicity or decreasing effectiveness. The evaluation of CYP3A4 inhibitory activity is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly, and it is necessary to establish virtual screening models for predicting CYP3A4 inhibitors.

Modulation of P2X Purinoceptor 3 (P2X3) in Pentylenetetrazole-Induced Kindling Epilepsy in Rats.

BACKGROUND Epilepsy is a complex neurologic disorder with abnormal electrical impulses in the brain. A crucial role of purinergic signalling in the proper working of the nervous system has been reported but much less is known about the modulation of P2X3 purinergic receptors in epilepsy. This study investigated the effect of NF110, a potent P2X3 receptor antagonist, in the rat epilepsy model of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced kindling.

Salmonella-containing vacuole development in avian cells and characteristic of cigR in Salmonella enterica serovar Pullorum replication within macrophages.

Salmonella enterica serovar Pullorum (S. Pullorum) is one of the host-restricted serotypes causing systemic infection in poultry. Survival in macrophages is one of the mechanisms underlying the persistent infection of S.

Prophylactic abdominal drainage for pancreatic surgery.

Background: The use of surgical drains has been considered mandatory after pancreatic surgery. The role of prophylactic abdominal drainage to reduce postoperative complications after pancreatic surgery is controversial.

Objectives: To assess the benefits and harms of routine abdominal drainage after pancreatic surgery, compare the effects of different types of surgical drains, and evaluate the optimal time for drain removal.

Abdominal cocoon with early postoperative small bowel obstruction: A case report and review of literature in China.

Rationale: Abdominal cocoon is a condition in which intestinal obstruction results from the encasement of part or whole of the small bowel by a thick fibrous membrane, giving the appearance of a cocoon. The preoperative diagnosis is difficult to be made and the treatment is still controversial.

Patient Concerns: Here we describe the case of a 62-year-old male presented with a 24-h history of continual colicky abdominal pain, which was accompanied with nausea and vomiting.

Therapeutic effects of scoparone on pilocarpine (Pilo)-induced seizures in mice.

Epilepsy is a common and devastating neurological disorder. Inflammatory processes and apoptosis in brain tissue have been reported in human epilepsy. Scoparone (6,7-dimethoxycoumarin) is an important chemical substance, which has multiple beneficial activities, including antitumor, anti-inflammatory and anti-coagulant properties.

Treatment of Diabetic Mice with a Combination of Ketogenic Diet and Aerobic Exercise via Modulations of PPARs Gene Programs.

Type 2 diabetes is a prevalent chronic disease arising as a serious public health problem worldwide. Diet intervention is considered to be a critical strategy in glycemic control of diabetic patients. Recently, the low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet is shown to be effective in glycemic control and weight loss.

Maximal Unbiased Benchmarking Data Sets for Human Chemokine Receptors and Comparative Analysis.

Chemokine receptors (CRs) have long been druggable targets for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and HIV-1 infection. As a powerful technique, virtual screening (VS) has been widely applied to identifying small molecule leads for modern drug targets including CRs. For rational selection of a wide variety of VS approaches, ligand enrichment assessment based on a benchmarking data set has become an indispensable practice.

The poor prognosis of the primary gastric epithelioid angiosarcoma: A case report.

Rationale: Primary gastric epithelioid angiosarcoma is a highly aggressive endothelial cell malignancy and may pose a great diagnostic challenge.

Patient Concerns: Here we describe the case of a 56-year-old man presented with melena and epigastric dull pain for 2 weeks.

Diagnosis: Primary gastric epithelioid angiosarcomas: the definitive diagnosis was provided by immunohistochemical analysis with endothelial markers such as cluster of differentiation 31 (CD31), ether-a-go-go-related gene (ERG), and Freund leukemia integration (FLI-1).

Pharmacological or transcriptional inhibition of both HDAC1 and 2 leads to cell cycle blockage and apoptosis via p21 and p19 upregulation in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objectives: Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are commonly dysregulated in cancer and represent promising therapeutic targets. However, global HDAC inhibitors have shown limited efficacy in the treatment of solid tumours, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effect of selectively inhibiting HDAC1 and 2 in HCC.

Cisplatin Enhances Hepatitis B Virus Replication and PGC-1α Expression through Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress.

Chronic hepatitis B infection remains a serious public health issue worldwide. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation is commonly reported in patients receiving anticancer therapy, immunosuppressive therapy, or organ and tissue transplantation. However, the precise mechanisms underlying chemotherapeutic agent-related HBV reactivation remain unclear.

The discovery of novel HDAC3 inhibitors via virtual screening and in vitro bioassay.

Histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) is a potential target for the treatment of human diseases such as cancers, diabetes, chronic inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases. Previously, we proposed a virtual screening (VS) pipeline named "Hypo1_FRED_SAHA-3" for the discovery of HDAC3 inhibitors (HDAC3Is) and had thoroughly validated it by theoretical calculations. In this study, we attempted to explore its practical utility in a large-scale VS campaign.

Interleukin-1β induces intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression, thus enhancing the adhesion between mesenchymal stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells via the p38 MAPK signaling pathway.

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are an important component of stem-cell niches, which are able to promote the self-renewal and pluripotency of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The biological functions of these two cell types is dependent on adhesion, and the adhesion between MSCs and EPCs is important due to their critical role in neovascularization and bone regeneration in tissue engineering. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1, also known as cluster of differentiation 54), is a member of the immunoglobulin supergene family, which functions in cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesive interactions.

Targeting viperin improves diet-induced glucose intolerance but not adipose tissue inflammation.

Viperin is an interferon-inducible antiviral protein, responsible for antiviral response to a variety of viral infections. Here, we show that silencing viperin by antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) protects against diet-induced glucose intolerance, and yet exacerbates adipose tissue inflammation. In high-fat diet-fed mice, viperin ASO improves glucose homeostasis, reduces plasma triglyceride concentrations and ameliorates diet-induced hepatic steatosis.

VEGF secreted by mesenchymal stem cells mediates the differentiation of endothelial progenitor cells into endothelial cells via paracrine mechanisms.

Stem cell therapy is a promising treatment strategy for ischemic diseases. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) adhere to each other in the bone marrow cavity and in in vitro cultures. We have previously demonstrated that the adhesion between MSCs and EPCs is critical for MSC self‑renewal and their multi‑differentiation into osteoblasts and chondrocytes.

Swimming exercise reverses CUMS-induced changes in depression-like behaviors and hippocampal plasticity-related proteins.

Background: Stress-induced failed resilience of brain plasticity can contribute to the onset and recurrence of depression. Chronic stress has been reported to open windows of epigenetic plasticity in hippocampus. However, how hippocampal plasticity underlies depression-like behaviors and how it adapts in response to stress has not been addressed.

Three-Component Catalytic Carboxygenation of Activated Alkenes Enabled by Bimetallic Rh(III)/Cu(II) Catalysis.

A novel cascade Cp*Rh(III)-catalyzed C-H alkylation/Cu(II)-promoted α-oxygenation which enabled a three-component carboxygenation of activated alkene is reported. Mild reaction conditions, broad substrate scope, and good functional group tolerance were observed. The synthetic utility of the protocol was showcased by the facile transformations of the product to a variety of structurally diverse molecules.

OGT-related mitochondrial motility is associated with sex differences and exercise effects in depression induced by prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids.

Background: Prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids (GCs) has been found to trigger abnormal behaviors and deleterious neurological effects on offspring both in animals and in humans. The sex differences in depression have been replicated in numerous studies across cultures, persisting throughout the reproductive years. As an X-linked gene in rodents and in humans, O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) may provide a novel perspective for the sex differences in depression.