Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Improve Ornidazole-Induced Asthenozoospermia in Rats via Activation of the AKT/mTOR Pathway.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been highly confirmed for their critical role in the treatment of different diseases. This study focuses on the mechanism of umbilical cord-derived MSCs (UC-MSCs) in the treatment of ornidazole (ORN)-induced asthenozoospermia (AS) in rats via the AKT/mTOR pathway. An animal model of AS was established in ORN-induced rats, followed by treatment of UC-MSCs and rapamycin (autophagy activator) or MK-2206 (AKT inhibitor).

Strategic Implementation of Fragile X Carrier Screening in China: A Focused Pilot Study.

Fragile X syndrome is the leading genetic cause of intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorders. Female premutation carriers exhibit no obvious symptoms during reproductive age, but the premutation allele can expand to full mutation when transmitted to the fetus. Given the relatively low prevalence but large population, the distinct health care system, the middle-income economic status, and low awareness among public and medical professionals, the optimal genetic screening strategy remains unknown.

Case report: Long-read sequencing identified a novel 14.9-kb deletion of the α-globin gene locus in a family with α-thalassemia in China.

: Thalassemia is a hereditary blood disease resulting from globin chain synthesis impairment because of α- and/or β-globin gene variants. α-thalassemia is characterized by non-deletional and deletional variants in the gene locus, of which rare deletional variants are difficult to detect by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods. : We report the case of a one-month-old boy, who and his mother had abnormal hematological parameters, while his father had normal hematology.

miRNAs as potential markers for breast cancer and regulators of tumorigenesis and progression (Review).

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common malignancies affecting women. BC is a heterogeneous disease that involves multiple oncogenic pathways and/or genetic alterations. MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are a type of small endogenous single‑stranded RNA that pairs with the 3'untranslated region of target mRNAs to negatively regulate the gene expression of specific mRNA targets.

Circular RNA circEPSTI1 accelerates cervical cancer progression via miR-375/409-3P/515-5p-SLC7A11 axis.

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) is one kind of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) and exert crucial functions in biological processes and intracellular gene expression modulation. However, the biological roles and expression status of the majority of circRNAs still remain unknown in cervical cancer.

Results: In this study, circEPSTI1 (hsa_circRNA_000479) was significantly upregulated in cervical cancer.

circNFIC suppresses breast cancer progression by sponging miR-658.

: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been reported to play important roles in cancer progression. However, the potential involvement of circRNAs in breast cancer metastasis to the lung remains unclear. : High-throughput circular RNA microarray assays of primary breast cancer tissues and lung metastatic tissues were performed.

LMP1 Up-regulates Calreticulin to Induce Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition via TGF-β/Smad3/NRP1 Pathway in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells.

: Latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) is known as an oncogenic protein encoded by the EBV genome. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism of LMP1-induced cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). : The NP69 cell line of nasopharyngeal epithelial cells with high expression of LMP1 was established to observe the effect of high expression of LMP1 on cell growth, proliferation, cycle, apoptosis, migration and invasion.

Significant function and research progress of biomarkers in gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer is one of the most common gastrointestinal tumor types, and the incidence and mortality rates are higher in men compared with women. Various studies have revealed that gastric cancer is a spectrum of tumor types, which have biological and genetic diversity. It has proven to be difficult to improve the overall survival and disease-free survival of patients with gastric cancer through the use of traditional surgery and chemoradiation, as gastric cancer is usually identified at an advanced stage.

A Correlation Study of DHA Dietary Intake and Plasma, Erythrocyte and Breast Milk DHA Concentrations in Lactating Women from Coastland, Lakeland, and Inland Areas of China.

We aimed to assess the correlation between docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) dietary intake and the plasma, erythrocyte and breast milk DHA concentrations in lactating women residing in the coastland, lakeland and inland areas of China. A total of 408 healthy lactating women (42 ± 7 days postpartum) were recruited from four hospitals located in Weihai (coastland), Yueyang (lakeland) and Baotou (inland) city. The categories of food containing DHA, the average amount consumed per time and the frequency of consumption in the past month were assessed by a tailored DHA food frequency questionnaire, the DHA Intake Evaluation Tool (DIET).

DHA in Pregnant and Lactating Women from Coastland, Lakeland, and Inland Areas of China: Results of a DHA Evaluation in Women (DEW) Study.

Few studies have examined docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in pregnant and lactating women in developing countries like China, where DHA-enriched supplements are increasingly popular. We aimed to assess the DHA status among Chinese pregnant and lactating women residing areas differing in the availability of aquatic products. In total, 1211 women in mid-pregnancy (17 ± 2 weeks), late pregnancy (39 ± 2 weeks), or lactation (42 ± 7 days) were enrolled from Weihai (coastland), Yueyang (lakeland), and Baotou (inland) city, with approximately 135 women in each participant group by region.