A necroptosis gene signature predicts prostate cancer recurrence, and is linked to somatic mutation, therapeutic landscape, and immune infiltration.

Objective: Necroptosis, a type of programmed necrotic cell death, has been implicated in cancer biology and therapeutics. Improved risk stratification is required for prostate carcinoma in individuals. In view of the importance of necroptosis, this work proposed a necroptosis-based genetic model for recurrence prediction, and clarified its characteristics.

Inflammasome Inhibition Prevents Motor Deficit and Cerebellar Degeneration Induced by Chronic Methamphetamine Administration.

Methamphetamine (METH), a psychostimulant, has the potential to cause neurodegeneration by targeting the cerebrum and cerebellum. It has been suggested that the NLRP3 inflammasome may be responsible for the neurotoxicity caused by METH. However, the role of NLRP3 in METH-induced cerebellar Purkinje cell (PC) degeneration and the underlying mechanism remain elusive.

Scalable Growth of Organic Single-Crystal Films via an Orientation Filter Funnel for High-Performance Transistors with Excellent Uniformity.

Organic single-crystal films (OSCFs) provide an unprecedented opportunity for the development of new-generation organic single-crystal electronics. However, crystallization of organic films is normally governed by stochastic nucleation and incoherent growth, posing a formidable challenge to grow large-sized OSCFs. Here, an "orientation filter funnel" concept is presented for the scalable growth of OSCFs with well-aligned, singly orientated crystals.

Triptolide inhibits JAK2/STAT3 signaling and induces lethal autophagy through ROS generation in cisplatin‑resistant SKOV3/DDP ovarian cancer cells.

Advanced and recurrent ovarian cancer has a poor prognosis and is frequently resistant to numerous therapeutics; thus, safe and effective drugs are needed to combat this disease. Previous studies have demonstrated that triptolide (TPL) exhibits anticancer and sensitization effects against cisplatin (DDP)‑resistant ovarian cancer both and by inducing apoptosis; however, the involvement of autophagy induced by TPL in resistant ovarian carcinoma remains unclear. In the present study, the results revealed that TPL induced autophagy to facilitate SKOV3/DDP ovarian cancer cell death.

Fast deposition of an ultrathin, highly crystalline organic semiconductor film for high-performance transistors.

Ultrathin organic semiconductor (OSC) crystalline films hold the promise of achieving high-performance, flexible, and transparent organic electronic devices. However, fast and high-throughput solution deposition of uniform pinhole-free ultrathin OSC crystalline films over a large area remains a challenge. Here, we demonstrate that a mixed solvent system can obviously alter the fluid flow dynamics and significantly improve the blade-coating quality of the film, enabling us to achieve a large-area continuous and smooth bis(triethylsilylethynyl)anthradithiophene (Dif-TES-ADT) ultrathin film at a fast coating speed of ∼1 mm s, much superior to the 30-50 μm s for conventional methods.

Layer-Defining Strategy to Grow Two-Dimensional Molecular Crystals on a Liquid Surface down to the Monolayer Limit.

Two-dimensional molecular crystals (2DMCs) open a new door for the controllable growth of 2D materials by molecular design with a energy gap and solution processability. However, the growth of 2DMCs with defined molecular layers remains full of challenges. Herein, we report a novel method to produce various 2DMCs with a defined number of molecular layers.

Impact of Taurine on the proliferation and apoptosis of human cervical carcinoma cells and its mechanism.

Background: Cervical cancer has the fourth highest incidence and mortality rate of all cancers in women worldwide; it seriously harms their physical and mental health. The aim of this study was to observe the roles and preliminary mechanism of Taurine (Tau)-induced apoptosis in cervical cancer cells.

Methods: Cells from the human cervical cancer cell line SiHa were transfected with the recombinant plasmid pEGFP-N1-MST1 (mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1); then, the cell proliferation activity was analyzed by the MTT assay, cell apoptosis by flow cytometry, and the related protein levels by Western blotting.

Roles of the MST1-JNK signaling pathway in apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells induced by Taurine.

The aim of this study was to observe the impact of the mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1-c-Jun N-terminal kinase (MST1-JNK) signaling pathway on apoptosis in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells induced by Taurine (Tau). Caco-2 and SW620 cells transfected with p-enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-MST1 or short interfering RNA (siRNA)-MST1 were treated with Tau for 48 h. Apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry, and the levels of MST1 and JNK were detected by western blotting.

Molecular characterization of cu/Zn SOD gene in Asian clam Corbicula fluminea and mRNA expression and enzymatic activity modulation induced by metals.

The copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD) could effectively eliminate reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, the cDNA sequence of Cu/Zn SOD from Corbicula fluminea (designated as CfCu/Zn SOD) was cloned by the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) approaches. The full-length cDNA of CfCu/Zn SOD was of 1288 bp, including a 465 bp ORF encoding a protein of 154 amino acids.

Effect of taurine on cell proliferation and apoptosis human lung cancer A549 cells.

To investigate the effects of taurine on cell proliferation and apoptosis, the human lung cancer A549 cell line and xenograft tumors in nude mice were used. The effects of taurine on cell proliferation and apoptosis were observed at time points of 24, 48 and 72 h after treatment using an MTT assay to detect the survival rate, and flow cytometry to detect the apoptotic rate. Western blot analysis was performed to examine the levels of p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA), BCL2, apoptosis regulator (Bcl-2) and BCL2-associated X, apoptosis regulator (Bax) in A549 cells.

Boosting oxygen reduction activity of spinel CoFeO by strong interaction with hierarchical nitrogen-doped carbon nanocages.

The unique hierarchical nitrogen-doped carbon nanocages (hNCNC) are used as a new support to homogeneously immobilize spinel CoFeO nanoparticles by a facile solvothermal method. The so-constructed hierarchical CoFeO/hNCNC catalyst exhibits a high oxygen reduction activity with an onset potential of 0.966V and half-wave potential of 0.

Effect of taurine on the proliferation and apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells.

The aim of the present study was to observe the effect and molecular mechanism of taurine (Tau) on the cell proliferation and apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HHCC) HepG2 cells. HHCC HepG2 cells were used as target cells, and the cell survival rate was assessed using a multi-time-step method. The p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) gene was transiently transfected by lipofection and subsequently silenced with specific small interfering (si)RNA.

γ-Secretase inhibitor inhibits bladder cancer cell drug resistance and invasion by reducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

A previous study by our group demonstrated that the expression levels of Notch 1 and Jagged 1 in bladder cancer cells was significantly lower compared with those in normal bladder mucosa, while the expression levels of Notch 1 and Jagged 1 in invasive bladder cancer were higher compared with those in superficial bladder cancer. The present study investigated the effect of the Notch signaling pathway on the drug resistance and invasiveness of bladder cancer cells. It was demonstrated that complete inhibition of the Notch signaling pathway induced significant morphological changes and inhibited cell proliferation and migration (P<0.

Solution combustion synthesis of calcium phosphate particles for controlled release of bovine serum albumin.

Four different phase compositions of calcium phosphate (CaP) particles were prepared via a solution combustion method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Rietveld analysis results revealed that the variations in the nominal Ca/P (molar) ratios were found to provide a favorable control in the different proportions of CaP materials. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used as a model protein to study the loading and release behavior.

Exogenous p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) decreases growth of lung cancer A549 cells.

Purpose: To investigate the influence of exogenous p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) expression on cell proliferation and apoptosis in human non-small cell lung cancer A549 cells and transplanted tumor cell growth in nude mice.

Materials And Methods: A549 cells were divided into the following groups: control, non- carrier (NC), PUMA (transfected with pCEP4- (HA) 2-PUMA plasmid), DDP (10 μg/mL cisplatin treatment) and PUMA+DDP (transfected with pCEP4-(HA)2-PUMA plasmid and 10 μg/mL cisplatin treatment). The MTT method was used to detect the cell survival rate.

MiR-221-induced PUMA silencing mediates immune evasion of bladder cancer cells.

Immune evasion of cancer cells is mainly due to the impaired transduction of apoptotic signals from immune cells to cancer cells, as well as inhibition of subsequent apoptosis signal cascades within the cancer cells. Over the past few decades, the research has focused more on the impaired transduction of the apoptotic signal from immune cells to cancer cells, rather than inhibition of the intracellular signaling pathways. In this study, miR‑221 inhibitor was transfected into bladder cancer cell lines 5637, J82 and T24 to repress the expression of miR‑221.

Taurine induces the apoptosis of breast cancer cells by regulating apoptosis-related proteins of mitochondria.

Taurine (Tau), the most abundant free amino acid in humans has numerous potential health benefits through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, limited studies have assessed its effect on tumors and the antitumor mechanism remains unknown. The present study investigated the cellular and molecular changes induced by Tau, leading to the induction of apoptosis in human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231.

Mechanism of taurine-induced apoptosis in human colon cancer cells.

Taurine (Tau) has been shown to possess cancer therapeutic effect through induction of apoptosis, while the underlying molecular mechanism of its anti-cancer effect is not well understood. PUMA (p53-upregulated modulator of apoptosis) plays an important role in the process of apoptosis induction in a variety of human tumor cells in both p53-dependent and -independent manners. However, whether PUMA is involved in the process of Tau-induced apoptosis in cancer cells has not been well studied.

Effect of diallyl trisulfide on human ovarian cancer SKOV- 3/DDP cell apoptosis.

Aim: To investigate the effects of diallyl trisulfide (DT) on apoptosis of cisplatin (DDP)-resistant human epithelial ovarian cancer SKOV-3 cells (SKOV-3/DDP), and the role of p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA).

Methods: SKOV-3/DDP cells were randomly divided into control, DT, DPP and DPP+DT groups, which were treated with DT or combined DT and DDP. All cells were incubated for 48 h.