Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Redox Biol 2021 Apr 1;43:101963. Epub 2021 Apr 1.

Key Laboratory of Transplant Engineering and Immunology, NHFPC; Regenerative Medicine Research Center; National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China. Electronic address:

Senescence of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) has been widely reported to be closely correlated with aging-related diseases, including osteoporosis (OP). Moreover, the beneficial functions of BMSCs decline with age, limiting their therapeutic efficacy in OP. In the present study, using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), we found that leucine-rich repeat containing 17 (LRRc17) expression in BMSCs was highly positively correlated with age. Read More

Mol Cell Biochem 2021 Apr 17. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, 75270, Pakistan.

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is an asymptomatic pathophysiological condition and a strong causative factor of low back pain. There is no cure available except spinal fusion and pain management. Stem cell-based regenerative medicine is being considered as an alternative approach to treat disc diseases. Read More

J Immunol 2021 Apr 16. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Cells and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong, China; and

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is a threatening pathogenic virus in shrimp culture, and at present, no effective strategy can prevent and control the disease. Intestinal flora and its metabolites are important for the resistance of shrimp to lethal pathogenic viruses. However, the changes of metabolites in the shrimp intestines after WSSV infection remain unclear. Read More

J Sex Med 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Institute of Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Background: An increased fibrosis of the corpora cavernosa is a prevalent process that underlies most cases of erectile dysfunction. Apelin, an endogenous circulating peptide, has been documented as an important effector on cardiovascular homeostasis, controlling vascular function and reducing fibrosis in multiple pathological conditions. Recently, initial studies have shown that Apelin, acting through the APJ receptor, also modulates penile erection, however, the role of this system on penile structure and intracorporal collagen remodeling has not been investigated yet. Read More

Pathol Res Pract 2021 Apr 5;222:153433. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Department of Neurosurgery, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430060, PR China; Central Laboratory, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430060, PR China. Electronic address:

Increasing literature reported that circRNAs play vital roles in the occurrence and progression of GBM and regulate GBM cell proliferation, metastases, and chemosensitivity. However, the expression pattern and function of circRNAs in GBM still need further studies. In our work, hsa_circ_0072309 was remarkably downregulated in GBM. Read More

Genomics 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

The State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, Hubei, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address:

WRKY is one of the largest transcription factor families across higher plant species and is involved in important biological processes and plant responses to various biotic/abiotic stresses. However, only a few investigations on WRKYs have been conducted in aquatic plants. This study first systematically analyzed the gene structure, protein properties, and phylogenetic relationship of 693 WRKYs in nine aquatic and two wetland plants at the genome-wide level. Read More

Behav Brain Res 2021 Apr 13:113296. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. Electronic address:

Changes in 5-HT receptor (5-HTR)-mediated neurotransmission in the hippocampus have been associated with anxiety, depression and in the mode of action of antidepressant drugs. It has been commonly accepted that whereas the dorsal pole of the hippocampus (DH) is involved in cognitive processing, the ventral pole (VH) is associated with emotional regulation. However, to date, only a few studies have directly addressed the role played by VH 5-HTRs in anxiety and panic processing, and their results are conflicting. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 Apr 16;15(4):e0009319. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

Trichomonas vaginalis is a common protozoan parasite, which causes trichomoniasis associated with severe adverse reproductive outcomes. However, the underlying pathogenesis has not been fully understood. As the first line of defense against invading pathogens, the vaginal epithelial cells are highly responsive to environmental stimuli and contribute to the formation of the optimal luminal fluid microenvironment. Read More

FASEB J 2021 May;35(5):e21560

Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.

Glomerular hypertension induces mechanical load to podocytes, often resulting in podocyte detachment and the development of glomerulosclerosis. Although it is well known that podocytes are mechanosensitive, the mechanosensors and mechanotransducers are still unknown. Since filamin A, an actin-binding protein, is already described to be a mechanosensor and mechanotransducer, we hypothesized that filamins could be important for the outside-in signaling as well as the actin cytoskeleton of podocytes under mechanical stress. Read More

PeerJ 2021 2;9:e10500. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Superior Institute of Biomedic Sciences, Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

Background: Physical exercise is a health promotion factor regulating gene expression and causing changes in phenotype, varying according to exercise type and intensity. Acute strenuous exercise in sedentary individuals appears to induce different transcriptional networks in response to stress caused by exercise. The objective of this research was to investigate the transcriptional profile of strenuous experimental exercise. Read More

Theranostics 2021 12;11(11):5387-5403. Epub 2021 Mar 12.

Department of Urology, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200127, China.

Epigenetic alterations are common events in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), and protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) is an important epigenetic regulator in cancers. However, its role in ccRCC remains unclear. We investigated PRMT1 expression level and its correlations to clinicopathological factors and prognosis in ccRCC patients based on ccRCC tissue microarrays (TMAs). Read More

Front Physiol 2021 30;12:657559. Epub 2021 Mar 30.

MOE Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.

Members of the testis-specific serine/threonine kinases (Tssk) family play critical roles in spermatogenesis in vertebrates. But in mollusks, research on Tssk family is still lagging. In this study, we systematically identified Tssk family based on the genomic and transcriptomic data from a commercially important scallop and detected the spatiotemporal expression in adult gonads. Read More

Front Mol Neurosci 2021 30;14:616642. Epub 2021 Mar 30.

Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Biomedical Science Group, School of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

Dysregulation of the histone deacetylase HDAC4 is associated with both neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, and a feature common to many of these disorders is impaired cognitive function. HDAC4 shuttles between the nucleus and cytoplasm in both vertebrates and invertebrates and alterations in the amounts of nuclear and/or cytoplasmic HDAC4 have been implicated in these diseases. In , HDAC4 also plays a critical role in the regulation of memory, however, the mechanisms through which it acts are unknown. Read More

Int J Med Sci 2021 25;18(10):2217-2227. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.

Augmentative and reconstructive rhinoplasty surgical procedures use autologous tissue grafts or synthetic grafts to repair the nasal defect and aesthetic reconstruction. Donor site trauma and morbidity are common in autologous grafts. The desperate need for the production of grafted 3D cartilage tissues as rhinoplasty grafts without the adverse effect is the need of the hour. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 15;11(1):8281. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2140 Koyukuk Dr., Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA.

Physical inactivity leads to losses of bone mass and strength in most mammalian species. In contrast, hibernating bears show no bone loss over the prolonged periods (4-6 months) of immobility during winter, which suggests that they have adaptive mechanisms to preserve bone mass. To identify transcriptional changes that underlie molecular mechanisms preventing disuse osteoporosis, we conducted a large-scale gene expression screening in the trabecular bone and bone marrow, comparing hibernating and summer active bears through sequencing of the transcriptome. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 15;11(1):8320. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Molecular Biology and Human Genetics Laboratory, Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, Karachi, 75270, Pakistan.

Obesity is an outcome of multiple factors including environmental and genetic influences. Common obesity is a polygenic trait indicating that multiple genetic variants act synergistically to influence its expression. We constructed a genetic risk score (GRS) based on five genetic variants (MC4R rs17782313, BDNF rs6265, FTO rs1421085, TMEM18 rs7561317, and NEGR1 rs2815752) and examined its association with obesity-related traits in a sample of Pakistanis. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 15;11(1):8215. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, 301 Old Main Dr., College Station, TX, 77843-3474, USA.

Environmental contexts can inform animals of potential threats, though it is currently unknown how context biases the selection of defensive behavior. Here we investigated context-dependent flight responses with a Pavlovian serial-compound stimulus (SCS) paradigm that evokes freeze-to-flight transitions. Similar to previous work in mice, we show that male and female rats display context-dependent flight-like behavior in the SCS paradigm. Read More

Cell Death Dis 2021 Apr 15;12(4):407. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Department of Life Science, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

In this study, we report a novel function of FCN3 (Ficolin 3), a secreted lectin capable of activating the complement pathway, as a tumor suppressor of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). First, the expression of FCN3 was strongly down-regulated in cancer tissues compared to matched normal lung tissues, and down-regulation of FCN3 was shown to be significantly correlated with increased mortality among LUAD patients. Interestingly, while ectopic expression of FCN3 led to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in A549 and H23 cells derived from LUAD, the secreted form of the protein had no effect on the cells. Read More

Zhonghua Xue Ye Xue Za Zhi 2021 Feb;42(2):124-128

Department of Pathology, Third Hospital, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China.

To investigate the incidence of high-grade B-cell lymphoma with MYC and BCL2 and/or BCL6 rearrangement in Chinese diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) . From January 2013 to August 2020, 922 DLBCL cases were collected. C-MYC and BCL2 protein expression levels were analyzed by immunohistochemistry staining. Read More

Front Oncol 2021 29;11:618764. Epub 2021 Mar 29.

Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.

Chemotherapy is crucial for the treatment of pancreatic cancer (PC). Gemcitabine (GEM) as the first-line chemotherapy drug has a high resistance rate. Increasing the sensitivity of gemcitabine is currently the objectives and challenges of this study. Read More

PeerJ 2021 10;9:e10883. Epub 2021 Mar 10.

The Research Center for Ornamental Plants, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangdong, China.

The (Snf1-Related protein Kinase) gene family plays crucial roles in various plant signaling pathways and stress-adaptive responses including biotic and abiotic stresses via activating protein phosphorylation pathways. However, there is no information available on the role of the gene family in . is an important crop widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, herb, spice, or condiment. Read More

J Cancer 2021 19;12(10):3033-3044. Epub 2021 Mar 19.

Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China.

Pancreatic cancer is among the most lethal malignancies worldwide. In this study, we aimed to determine whether miR-573 could suppress pancreatic cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion by targeting E2F3. MiR-573 expression in pancreatic cancer tissues and cell lines was measured using real-time PCR. Read More

Stem Cells Int 2021 26;2021:6640424. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200003, China.

Objective: Rotator cuff injury healing is problematic because the tendon-bone junction often forms cicatricial tissues, rather than fibrocartilage, which leads to mechanical impairment and is prone to redamage. Kartogenin (KGN) is a newly discovered small molecule compound which can induce cartilage formation through chondrogenesis of endogenous mesenchymal stem cells.

Methods: In this study, we used KGN with fibrin glue (FG) to repair the rotator cuff injury by promoting the formation of fibrocartilage at the tendon to bone interface. Read More

Front Immunol 2021 29;12:627926. Epub 2021 Mar 29.

Program in Biology, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Activation of transposable elements (TEs) can cause cellular damage. Cytoplasmic nucleic acid sensing pathways evolved to detect pathogens, but can also serve to cull cells with inappropriate TE activation as TEs can be viral mimetics. Epigenetic silencing of TEs is mediated in part by DNA methylation, but it is not clear if TE activation or the immune system contribute to the cellular damage caused by loss of DNA methylation. Read More

Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes 2021 6;14:1519-1531. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

IRCCS MultiMedica, Milan, Italy.

Purpose: We explored the anti-inflammatory role of the DPP-4 inhibitor teneligliptin, using sitagliptin as comparator, in different in vitro models of low-grade inflammation (LGI), evaluating the hyperglycemia-induced endothelial inflammation, the macrophage polarization, and the endothelium-macrophage interaction.

Methods: The effects of DPP-4 and its inhibitors on macrophage polarization were evaluated in THP-1 cells by measuring mRNA expression of M1-M2 markers. HUVEC cells were used to analyze the effects of DPP-4 inhibitors on endothelial inflammation under normal and high glucose conditions. Read More

Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2021 Mar 14;27(3):577-586. Epub 2021 Mar 14.

Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center, Georg-Voigt-Str. 14-16, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

polyamine oxidase 5 gene () functions as a thermospermine (T-Spm) oxidase. Aerial growth of its knock-out mutant () was significantly repressed by low dose(s) of T-Spm but not by other polyamines. To figure out the underlying mechanism, massive analysis of 3'-cDNA ends was performed. Read More

Mol Cancer 2021 Apr 14;20(1):68. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China.

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been found to have significant impacts on bladder cancer (BC) progression through various mechanisms. In this study, we aimed to identify novel circRNAs that regulate the function of IGF2BP1, a key mA reader, and explore the regulatory mechanisms and clinical significances in BC.

Methods: Firstly, the clinical role of IGF2BP1 in BC was studied. Read More

Horm Metab Res 2021 Apr 14;53(4):211-218. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.

Thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) is a potentially sight-threatening ocular disease. About 3-5% of patients with TAO have severe disease with intense pain, inflammation, and sight-threatening corneal ulceration or compressive optic neuropathy. The current treatments of TAO are often suboptimal, mainly because the existing therapies do not target the pathogenesis of the disease. Read More

Neuroreport 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Psychiatry, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Jiefang, Wuhan, China.

Neuroinflammation plays a vital role in the pathology of depression. Microtubule dynamics produces an immediate response to stress, but the effect of microtubule dynamics in the rats with acute behavioral deficits following a central immune challenge remains elusive. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to the intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of lipopolysaccharide (. Read More

J Cell Biol 2021 Jun;220(6)

Center for Biomedical Engineering and Technology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.

Here, we report that acute reduction in mitochondrial translation fidelity (MTF) causes ubiquitination of the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) proteins, including TRAP1 and CPOX, which occurs selectively in mitochondria with a severed outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM). Ubiquitinated IMM recruits the autophagy machinery. Inhibiting autophagy leads to increased accumulation of mitochondria with severed OMM and ubiquitinated IMM. Read More