Genome-wide CRISPR-based screen identifies E2F transcription factor 1 as a regulator and therapeutic target of aristolochic acid-induced nephrotoxicity.

Aristolochic Acid I (AAI) is widely present in traditional Chinese medicines derived from the Aristolochia genus and is known to cause significant damage to renal tubular epithelial cells. Genome-wide screening has proven to be a powerful tool in identifying critical genes associated with the toxicity of exogenous substances. To identify undiscovered key genes involved in AAI-induced renal toxicity, a genome-wide CRISPR library screen was conducted in the human kidney-2 (HK-2) cell line.

Exploring Associations and Mediating Factors between Multiple Trace Metals with Anemia in US Adults: Insight from NHANES 2017-2020.

Background: Anemia significantly contributes to the global disease burden, with its incidence potentially influenced by the trace metal content within the body.

Objective: This study aims to examine the associations between trace metals and anemia risk, with a particular focus on investigating the potential mediating roles of iron status and inflammation in these associations.

Methods: Five trace metals (Ni, Co, Mn, Se, and Mo) were examined in 1274 US adults, utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017-2020.

Occurrence, risk assessment, and in vitro and in vivo toxicity of antibiotics in surface water in China.

Antibiotics have been widely detected in the water environment and thus pose a potential threat to human health. Although antibiotics have health-promoting properties, whether and how they affect health at environmental concentrations remains uncharacterised. We detected antibiotics in surface water and groundwater in China.

Chimeric RNA plays an oncogenic role in the development of NNK-induced lung cancer.

Chimeric RNAs have been used as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for multiple types of cancers. However, less attention has been paid to their mechanism of action in neoplasia. Here, we reported that high-expressed chimeric RNA was found in malignantly transformed BEAS-2B cells induced by 4-(methyl nitrosamine)-1-(3-pyridinyl)-1-butanone (NNK) in 74 lung cancer patients and several lung cancer cell lines.

Involvement of m6A regulatory factor IGF2BP1 in malignant transformation of human bronchial epithelial Beas-2B cells induced by tobacco carcinogen NNK.

Nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) is a Group 1 human carcinogen, as classified by the International Agency for Research of Cancer (IARC), and plays a significant role in lung carcinogenesis. However, its carcinogenic mechanism has not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, we performed colony formation assays, soft-agar assays, and tumor growth in nude mice to show that 100 mg/L NNK facilitates the malignant transformation of human bronchial epithelial Beas-2B cells.

Monte Carlo Simulation of Strain-Enhanced Stereocomplex Polymer Crystallization.

We performed dynamic Monte Carlo simulations to investigate strain-induced polymer crystallization under separate enhancements of the driving forces for homocomponent and stereocomplex crystallization in the half-half symmetric racemic polymer blends. The results showed that the polymer strain significantly enhances the stereocomplex crystallization, in comparison to the parallel cases of template-induced crystal growth without any strain in the previous simulations. We attributed the results to the strain-induced polymer crystallization favoring intermolecular crystal nucleation at high temperatures, which benefits the stereocomplex crystallization.