Publications by authors named "Zhensheng Zhai"

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a main carcinogenic factor of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). TPX2 microtubule nucleation factor is recently recommended as a novel prognostic biomarker in HBV-infected HCC tissues. This study aimed to explore a TPX2-related ceRNA regulatory network in HBV-infected HCC and the potential impact on HCC prognosis.

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Chlorophylls function in photosynthesis, and are critical to plant developmental processes and responses to environmental stimuli. Chlorophyll b is synthesized from chlorophyll a by chlorophyll a oxygenase (CAO). Here, we characterize a yellow-green leaf (ygl) mutant and identify the causal gene which encodes a chlorophyll a oxygenase in maize (ZmCAO1).

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Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) function as vital regulators in multifarious cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the roles of circRNA Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome candidate gene-1 (circWHSC1) in HCC are barely known.

Methods: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was conducted for the levels of circWHSC1, miR-142-3p, miR-421, miR-665 and homeobox A1 (HOXA1) mRNA.

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A major obstacle to effective cancer immunotherapy is the tumor immune microenvironment. Natural killer (NK) cell resistance has been suggested as a primary cause of poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which seemingly correlates with CNOT7 overexpression. CNOT7, a cytoplasmic mRNA deadenylase that is highly expressed in HCC, may regulate cytokine transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) secretion by controlling nuclear factor-κB subunit p65 trafficking.

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Purpose: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important roles in the development and progression of various human cancers. hsa-circ-0046600 is a circRNA of unknown function. The purpose of this study was to investigate the biological function of hsa-circ-0046600 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and elucidate the possible molecular mechanisms of this circRNA.

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Background: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to play a key role in the development and progression of human malignancies. FLJ33360 is an lncRNA with unknown functions. This study was designed to determine the clinical significance and mechanism of FLJ33360 in ovarian cancer.

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Purpose: To explore the clinical significance and mechanism of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) HAGLROS in ovarian cancer.

Methods: The expression of HAGLROS in ovarian cancer was verified by online databases and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and its relationship with clinicopathological parameters was analysed. Pearson correlation analysis was used to study the correlation between HAGLROS and miR-100 in ovarian cancer.

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The rapid production and release of a large number of inflammatory cytokines can cause excessive local and systemic inflammation in severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), especially pancreatitis-associated acute lung injury (P-ALI), which is the main cause of early death in patients with SAP. The NLRP3 inflammasome plays an important role in the maturation of IL-1 and the inflammatory cascade. Here, we established a model of SAP using wild-type (NLRP3) and NLRP3 knockout (NLRP3) mice by intraperitoneal injections of caerulein (Cae) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

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Aim: To elucidate the underlying mechanism that microRNA-22 (miR-22) promotes the apoptosis of rat pancreatic acinar cells (AR42J) and the elements that regulate the expression of miR-22.

Methods: One hundred nanomoles per liter of caerulein (Cae) was administrated to induce the apoptosis of AR42J cells and the apoptosis rate was detected by flow cytometry analysis. An amylase assay kit was used to measure the amylase expression level in the supernatant.

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Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have significant regulatory functions on the regulation of gene expression of various life activities after transcription, even though they do not encode proteins. During the development of embryos, ncRNAs, such as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), circular RNAs (circRNAs), small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), and Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), have been widely proven as key regulators. The emerging single-cell RNA sequencing technique is powerful for profiling "cell-to-cell" variability at the genomic level.

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