Carbon and water fluxes in an alpine steppe ecosystem in the Nam Co area of the Tibetan Plateau during two years with contrasting amounts of precipitation.

Carbon and water fluxes and their interactions with climate drivers in alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau are poorly understood. This lack of understanding is particularly evident for the alpine steppe in the Nam Co area of the hinterland on the Tibetan Plateau, which is vulnerable and exceedingly sensitive to climate change. In this study, eddy covariance (EC) measurements of carbon dioxide (CO) and water fluxes were carried out in this region during the growing season of 2008 and 2009, with contrasting hydrological conditions.

Monitoring and Modeling the Tibetan Plateau's climate system and its impact on East Asia.

The Tibetan Plateau is an important water source in Asia. As the "Third Pole" of the Earth, the Tibetan Plateau has significant dynamic and thermal effects on East Asian climate patterns, the Asian monsoon process and atmospheric circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. However, little systematic knowledge is available regarding the changing climate system of the Tibetan Plateau and the mechanisms underlying its impact on East Asia.

[Silencing hypoxia inducible factor-2α gene by small interference RNA inhibits the growth of mammosphere cells in nude mice under hypoxic microenvironment].

Objective: To explore the effects of silencing hypoxia inducible factor-2α (HIF-2α) by small interference RNA on the growth of mammosphere cells in nude mice under hypoxic microenvironment.

Methods: The empty and interference vectors were transfected into MCF-7 cell. Then G418 was added to screen the positive cells to obtain stable cell line.

MiR-21 regulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition phenotype and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α expression in third-sphere forming breast cancer stem cell-like cells.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are predicted to be critical drivers of tumor progression due to their "stemness", but the molecular mechanism of CSCs in regulating metastasis remains to be elucidated. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, and miR-21, all of which contribute to cell migration for metastasis, are interrelated with CSCs. In the present study, third-sphere forming (3-S) CSC-like cells, which showed elevated CSC surface markers (ALDH1(+) and CD44(+)/CD24(-/low)) and sphereforming capacity as well as migration and invasion capacities, were cultured and isolated from breast cancer MCF-7 parental cells, to evaluate the role of miR-21 in regulating the CSC-like cell biological features, especially EMT.