Direct dsRNA preparation by promoter-free RCT and RNase H cleavage using one circular dsDNA template with a mismatched bubble.

Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) has aroused widespread interest due to its effects on immunity and applications based on RNAi. However, the in vitro preparation of dsRNA is costly and laborious. In this study, we have developed a novel and interesting method designated as pfRCT (promoter-free rolling-circle transcription) for direct, facile, and efficient dsRNA preparation.

Selection and Characterization of a Novel DNA Aptamer, Apt-07S Specific to Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells.

Background: The efficacy of traditional therapeutic methods for liver cancer is unsatisfying because of the poor targeting, and inefficient drug delivery system. A recent study has proven that aptamers, developed through cell-SELEX, could specifically recognize cancer cells and show great potential in the development of a delivery system for anticancer drugs.

Purpose: To develop a hepatocellular carcinoma specific aptamer using two kinds of hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines, HepG and SMMC-7721, as double targets and a normal hepatocyte, L02, as a negative control cell.

Fucoidan prevent murine autoimmune diabetes via suppression TLR4-signaling pathways, regulation DC/Treg induced immune tolerance and improving gut microecology.

Background: This study was to investigate the effect and its possible mechanism of fucoidan on the development of spontaneous autoimmune diabetes in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice.

Methods: 7-week-old NOD mice were randomly divided into three groups: control group, low-dose (300 mg/kg) and high-dose (600 mg/kg) fucoidan-treatment groups. After 5 weeks of treatment, 10 mice per group were randomly selected to be sacrificed after feces collection.

Mutations in ASH1L confer susceptibility to Tourette syndrome.

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a childhood-onset neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by repetitive motor movements and vocal tics. The clinical manifestations of TS are complex and often overlap with other neuropsychiatric disorders. TS is highly heritable; however, the underlying genetic basis and molecular and neuronal mechanisms of TS remain largely unknown.

Identification of Two Missense Mutations in (p.R1307Q) and (p.R56W) That Can Cause Congenital Hypothyroidism Through Impairing HO Generation.

The DUOX/DUOXA systems play a key role in HO generation in thyroid cells, which is required for iodine organification and thyroid hormone synthesis. DUOX2/DUOXA2 defects can cause congenital hypothyroidism (CH), but it is unknown whether mutations can also cause CH. We aimed to identify mutations and explore their role in the development of CH by investigating their functional impacts on HO generation.

The suppressive effect of co-inhibiting and expression on H22 hepatomas in mice.

Objective: We investigated the suppressive effect of siRNA-mediated co-inhibition of and expression on H22 hepatomas in mice.

Methods: Murine H22 cells were cultured in vivo in ICR mice. An allograft tumor model was also established in another ICR mouse group.

RETRACTED: The function of long non-coding RNA MT1JP in the development and progression of gastric cancer.

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal).

Effects of n-3PUFAs on autophagy and inflammation of hypothalamus and body weight in mice.

Objective: Fat-1 transgenic mice were used as a model to study the effect of endogenous n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3PUFAs) on the body weight, inflammatory factors and autophagy proteins in hypothalamus to explore the mechanism of n-3PUFAs inhibiting obesity.

Method: The mice were divided into two groups after genotype identification: fat-1 transgenic mice and wild-type mice. The body weight and body length of mice were measured at 14th week, and calculated the Lee 's index.

Caspase-dependent and caspase-independent induction of apoptosis in breast cancer by fucoidan via the PI3K/AKT/GSK3β pathway in vivo and in vitro.

Unlabelled: Purpose Fucoidan, a complex, sulfated polysaccharide obtained from brown seaweed, exerted anticancer activity through the down-regulation of β-catenin signaling in mouse breast cancer cells in our previous study. This study examines the anti-cancer effects of fucoidan as well as its underlying molecular mechanisms in the human triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line and in 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced experimental mammary carcinogenesis in rats. Methods in vitro studies, fluorescent staining, flow cytometry and Western blotting were performed to analyze apoptosis and protein expression in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells.

Detection of Diverse N-Acyl-Homoserine Lactones in and Regulation of Biofilm Formation by N-(3-Oxodecanoyl) Homoserine Lactone .

Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell-to-cell communication system based on the exchange of small intercellular signal molecules, such as N-Acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs), which act as cell-density mediators of QS gene expression, and are highly variable both in types and amounts in most Gram-negative Proteobacteria. Understanding the regulation of AHLs may contribute to the elucidation of cell density-dependent phenomena, such as biofilm formation. is among the most frequently observed marine opportunistic pathogens.

Apoptosis is induced by docosahexaenoic acid in breast cancer cells via death receptor and mitochondria-mediated pathways.

In the present study, the antitumor effect of n‑3 fatty acid was evaluated, and the effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on the induction of apoptosis and its underlying mechanism were examined. Flow cytometry and western blot analysis were performed to analyze apoptosis and the expression of protein factors in human breast cancer cells. The data revealed that DHA inhibited the viability of MCF‑7 breast cancer cells in vitro, and promoted cell death by the induction of apoptosis.

Identification and characterization of novel PAX8 mutations in Congenital Hypothyroidism(CH) in a Chinese population.

Objective: Based on mutations in PAX8 is associated with thyroid dysgenesis. We aim to identify and characterize PAX8 mutations in a large cohort of congenital hypothyroidism(CH) from thyroid dysgenesis in Chinese population.

Methods: We screened 453 unrelated Chinese patients with CH from thyroid dysgenesis for PAX8 mutations by sequencing the whole coding regions of PAX8 on genomic DNA isolated from blood.

RNAi-mediated gene silencing of vascular endothelial growth factor C suppresses growth and induces apoptosis in mouse breast cancer and .

Vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF)-C promotes tumorigenesis by allowing lymph node metastasis and lymphangiogenesis, among other actions. RNA interference (RNAi) is a novel technique for suppressing target gene expression and may increase the effectiveness of cancer treatments. The present study assessed the influence of VEGF-C RNAi on the apoptosis and proliferation of mouse breast cancer cells and .

Downregulation of survivin expression exerts antitumoral effects on mouse breast cancer cells and .

Metastasis constantly occurs in the majority of cases of primary breast cancer at late stage or following surgical treatment. Survivin, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family, has long been recognized as a promising anticancer target, but its antitumor effects remain largely unexplored. In order to elucidate the role of survivin in breast cancer metastasis, short interfering RNA (siRNA) was used in the present study to specifically downregulate survivin expression in the murine breast cancer cell line 4T1.

Screening of HHEX Mutations in Chinese Children with Thyroid Dysgenesis.

Objective: Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is a frequent neonatal endocrine disease with an incidence of about 1:2500 worldwide. Although thyroid dysgenesis (TD) is the most frequent cause of CH cases, its pathogenesis remains unclear. The aim of this study was to screen the hematopoietically-expressedhomeobox gene (HHEX) mutations in Chinese children with TD.

Transgenic n-3 PUFAs enrichment leads to weight loss via modulating neuropeptides in hypothalamus.

Body weight is related to fat mass, which is associated with obesity. Our study explored the effect of fat-1 gene on body weight in fat-1 transgenic mice. In present study, we observed that the weight/length ratio of fat-1 transgenic mice was lower than that of wild-type mice.

Support of positive association in family-based genetic analysis between COL27A1 and Tourette syndrome.

Recently, a genome-wide association study has indicated associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms in the Collagen Type XXVII Alpha 1 gene (COL27A1) and Tourette syndrome in several ethnic populations. To clarify the global relevance of the previously identified SNPs in the development of Tourette syndrome, the associations between polymorphisms in COL27A1 and Tourette syndrome were assessed in Chinese trios. PCR-directed sequencing was used to evaluate the genetic contributions of three SNPs in COL27A1(rs4979356, rs4979357 and rs7868992) using haplotype relative risk (HRR) and transmission disequilibrium tests (TDT) with a total of 260 Tourette syndrome trios.

Digestion of Nucleic Acids Starts in the Stomach.

The ingestion of nucleic acids (NAs) as a nutritional supplement or in genetically modified food has attracted the attention of researchers in recent years. Discussions over the fate of NAs led us to study their digestion in the stomach. Interestingly, we found that NAs are digested efficiently by human gastric juice.

PUFA diets alter the microRNA expression profiles in an inflammation rat model.

Omega‑3 and ‑6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) can directly or indirectly regulate immune homeostasis via inflammatory pathways, and components of these pathways are crucial targets of microRNAs (miRNAs). However, no study has examined the changes in the miRNA transcriptome during PUFA‑regulated inflammatory processes. Here, we established PUFA diet‑induced autoimmune‑prone (AP) and autoimmune‑averse (AA) rat models, and studied their physical characteristics and immune status.

[DUOX2 mutations in children with congenital hypothyroidism].

Objective: To study the features of DUOX2 mutations and genotype-phenotype relationship in children with congenital hypothyroidism (CH), in order to provide evidence for gene diagnosis and gene treatment of CH.

Methods: Blood samples were collected from 10 CH children with thyromegaly. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes.

Spore production of Clonostachys rosea in a new solid-state fermentation reactor.

A new solid-state fermentation (SSF) reactor was developed for the spore production of biocontrol agent Clonostachys rosea. The greatest spore production in the reactor, 3.36 × 10(10) spores g DM(-1) occurred with mixings, which was about 10 times greater than that in traditional tray reactor.

Downregulation of KDR expression induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells.

Angiogenesis plays a crucial role in the growth, invasion and metastasis of breast cancer. Vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) and their receptors (VEGFRs) are the key regulators of tumor angiogenesis. VEGFR-2, known as the kinase insert domain receptor (KDR), is a key receptor involved in malignant angiogenesis.

Expression of gastrointestinal nesfatin-1 and gastric emptying in ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus- and ventrolateral hypothalamic nucleus-lesioned rats.

Aim: To determine the expression levels of gastrointestinal nesfatin-1 in ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH)-lesioned (obese) and ventrolateral hypothalamic nucleus (VLH)-lesioned (lean) rats that exhibit an imbalance in their energy metabolism and gastric mobility.

Methods: Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into a VMH-lesioned group, a VLH-lesioned group, and their respective sham-operated groups. The animals had free access to food and water, and their diets and weights were monitored after surgery.

Family-based association study between monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene promoter VNTR polymorphism and Tourette's syndrome in Chinese Han population.

To clarify the association of monoamine oxidase A- variable number of tandem repeat (MAOA-pVNTR) with susceptibility to Tourette's syndrome (TS) in Chinese Han population we discuss the genetic contribution of MAOA-VNTR in 141 TS patients including all their parents in Chinese Han population using transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) design. Our results revealed that no significant association was found in the MAOA gene promoter VNTR polymorphism and TS in Chinese Han population (TDT = 1.515, df = 1, p > 0.