Graphene oxide affects bacteriophage infection of bacteria by promoting the formation of biofilms.

Graphene oxide (GO) is increasingly used in a range of fields, such as electronics, biosensors, drug delivery, and water treatment, and the likelihood of its release into the environment is increasing correspondingly. GO is involved in the formation of biofilms and leads bacteria to over proliferate, but the effects of GO on bacteriophage infection remain unexplored. We noted bacterial overgrowth in experiments when GO was used to treat the bacterial culture medium, leading us to question whether bacterial proliferation caused by GO affects phage infection of target bacteria.

The long non-coding RNA SNHG5 regulates gefitinib resistance in lung adenocarcinoma cells by targetting /CASP1 axis.

Gefitinib resistance is one of the major obstacles for the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma (LAD). The present study aimed to investigate the effects of the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), small nucleolar RNA host gene 5SNHG5 on gefitinib resistance in LAD and explore the underlying mechanisms. The quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) results showed that SNHG5 expression was significantly down-regulated in LAD patients with acquired gefitinib resistance and gefitinib resistant LAD cell lines.

Active components with inhibitory activities on IFN-γ/STAT1 and IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathways from Caulis Trachelospermi.

Initial investigation for new active herbal extract with inhibiting activity on JAK/STAT signaling pathway revealed that the extract of Caulis Trachelospermi, which was separated by 80% alcohol extraction and subsequent HP-20 macroporous resin column chromatography, was founded to strongly inhibit IFN-γ-induced STAT1-responsive luciferase activity (IFN-γ/STAT1) with IC50 value of 2.43 μg/mL as well as inhibiting IL-6-induced STAT3-responsive luciferase activity (IL-6/STAT3) with IC50 value of 1.38 μg/mL.

Transforming growth factor-β-induced differentiation of airway smooth muscle cells is inhibited by fibroblast growth factor-2.

In asthma, basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) plays an important (patho)physiological role. This study examines the effects of FGF-2 on the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-stimulated differentiation of airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells in vitro. The differentiation of human ASM cells after incubation with TGF-β (100 pM) and/or FGF-2 (300 pM) for 48 hours was assessed by increases in contractile protein expression, actin-cytoskeleton reorganization, enhancements in cell stiffness, and collagen remodeling.