Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Free Radic Biol Med 2021 Apr 11. Epub 2021 Apr 11.

Institute of Brain Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei City 112, Taiwan; Institute of Brain Science, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei City 112, Taiwan; Brain Research Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei City 112, Taiwan. Electronic address:

Accumulation of senile plaques mainly composed of neurotoxic amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) is a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Sestrin2 inducible by various types of stressors is known to promote autophagy and exert antioxidative effects. In this work, we revealed the molecular mechanisms underlying Aβ induction of sestrin2 and tested whether antioxidation, in addition to autophagy regulation, also contributes to its neuroprotective effects in primary rat cortical neurons. Read More

Cell Rep 2021 Apr;35(2):108981

Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Dr. Aiguader 88, Barcelona 08003, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en red Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Barcelona, Spain; Section of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, London, UK. Electronic address:

Despite the central role of chromosomal context in gene transcription, human noncoding DNA variants are generally studied outside of their genomic location. This limits our understanding of disease-causing regulatory variants. INS promoter mutations cause recessive neonatal diabetes. Read More

Asia Pac J Clin Oncol 2021 Apr 14. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Department of General Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.

Background: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains a major disease with high morbidity and mortality. The Janus kinases (JAKs) play a significant part in cellular biological process, inflammation and immunity. The role of JAK family in LUAD is still ambiguous. Read More

Dev Neurobiol 2021 Apr 14. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

School of Graduate Studies, Rutgers -The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA.

Abnormalities in genes that regulate early brain development are known risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders. Engrailed-2 (En2) is a homeodomain transcription factor with established roles in cerebellar patterning. En2 is highly expressed in the developing mid-hindbrain region and En2 knockout (KO) mice exhibit major deficits in mid-hindbrain structures. Read More

PLoS One 2021 14;16(4):e0249424. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, HSE University, Moscow, Russia.

Analysis of regulatory networks is a powerful framework for identification and quantification of intracellular interactions. We introduce miRGTF-net, a novel tool for construction of miRNA-gene-TF networks. We consider multiple transcriptional and post-transcriptional interaction types, including regulation of gene and miRNA expression by transcription factors, gene silencing by miRNAs, and co-expression of host genes with their intronic miRNAs. Read More

Cell Tissue Res 2021 Apr 14. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Department of Anatomy, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan.

Oxygen-chemoreceptive cells play critical roles for the respiration control. This review summarizes the chemoreceptive cells in the carotid body and fish gills from a morphological and molecular perspective. The cells synthesize and secrete biogenic amines, neuropeptides, and neuroproteins and also express many signaling molecules and transcription factors. Read More

Cell Tissue Res 2021 Apr 14. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

DoD-VA Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Biologic scaffolds (BS) are the most widely studied therapeutics for the treatment of volumetric muscle loss (VML) owing to their purported effects on cell proliferation, chemotaxis, migration, and differentiation. Despite these claims, variability in reports on the nature of the immune response to their implantation suggests that BS-associated inflammation may be limiting their regenerative efficacy. To address this shortcoming, this study sought to evaluate licofelone (ML3000), a dual 5-LOX/COX inhibitor, as an anti-inflammatory adjunct therapy to a BS in the treatment of VML. Read More

Data Brief 2021 Apr 18;35:106889. Epub 2021 Feb 18.

Laboratory of Developmental Biology Research and Experimental Teratogenicity, Children´s Hospital of Mexico Federico Gomez (HIMFG), CP 06720 Mexico City, Mexico.

The present work benefits the use of sodium tetraborate to prevent and treat hypertrophic cardiac. The data obtained from the work could serve as a reference point to compare with data obtained in vivo studies with cardiac damage. This research will be an advantage for future researches to stimulate the ones focused on developing food supplements to prevent heart diseases such as cardiac hypertrophic. Read More

Ann Transl Med 2021 Mar;9(6):466

Department of Nursing Management, Anting Hospital, Shanghai, China.

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) has an immediate and devastating impact on the control over various movements and sensations. However, no effective therapies for SCI currently exist.

Methods: To identify and analyze SCI subtypes, we obtained the expression profile data of the 1,057 genes (889 intersection genes) in GSE45550 using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and 14 co-expression gene modules were identified. Read More

Ann Transl Med 2021 Mar;9(6):446

The Research Center for Medical Genomics, Key Laboratory of Medical Cell Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.

Background: To investigate the role and underlying mechanism of cyclin G2 (G2-type cyclin) in the formation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) derived foam cells.

Methods: The levels of α-SMA (alpha-SM-actin), p-NF-κB (phosphorylation nuclear transcription factors kappa B), and LOX-1 (lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1) were measured by immunohistochemistry and western blotting. The mouse aortic root smooth muscle cell line MOVAS was transfected to over-express cyclin G2, which were then stimulated with 80 µg/mL ox-LDL (oxidized low-density lipoprotein) to induce foam cell formation. Read More

PeerJ 2021 31;9:e11136. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Guizhou Normal University, Research Center of Guizhou Buckwheat Engineering and Technology, Research Center of Buckwheat Industry Technology, Guiyang, Guizhou, P.R. China.

Tartary buckwheat is a nutritious pseudo-cereal crop that is resistant to abiotic stresses, such as drought. However, the buckwheat's mechanisms for responding to drought stress remains unknown. We investigated the changes in physiology and gene expression under drought stress, which was simulated by treatment with polyethylene glycol (PEG). Read More

PeerJ 2021 29;9:e10966. Epub 2021 Mar 29.

Qinghai Key Laboratory of Vegetable Genetics and Physiology, Agriculture and Forestry Sciences Institute of Qinghai University, Qinghai University, Xining, P.R. China.

(Pepino) is an increasingly popular solanaceous crop and is tolerant of drought conditions. In this study, 71 NAC transcription factor family genes of were selected to provide a theoretical basis for subsequent in-depth study of their regulatory roles in the response to biological and abiotic stresses, and were subjected to whole-genome analysis. The NAC sequences obtained by transcriptome sequencing were subjected to bioinformatics prediction and analysis. Read More

Exp Ther Med 2021 Jun 2;21(6):589. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Department of Vascular Surgery, Liuzhou Worker's Hospital, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Liuzhou, Guangxi 545005, P.R. China.

Vascular calcification (VC) accompanies the trans-differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) into osteo/chondrocyte-like cells and resembles physiological bone mineralization. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying VC initiation and progression have remained largely elusive. The aim of the present study was to identify the genes and pathways common to VSMC and osteoblast calcification and construct a regulatory network of non-coding RNAs and transcription factors (TFs). Read More

Exp Ther Med 2021 Jun 29;21(6):572. Epub 2021 Mar 29.

Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450000, P.R. China.

Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke, and it has become a major health issue as it is characterized by high mortality and morbidity rates. Paeoniflorin (PF) is a natural compound and the main active ingredient of Radix Paeoniae. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of PF in oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R)-induced injury of PC12 cells and its association with the Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway. Read More

Saudi Pharm J 2021 Mar 2;29(3):213-222. Epub 2021 Feb 2.

Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Pharmacy Practice Research Unit, College of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Saudi Arabia.

The risk of Coronavirus infection continues, and the fear of resurgence indicates the lack of a successful therapeutic strategy. In severe COVID-19 infection, many immune cells and their products are involved, making management difficult. The abundant release of cytokines and chemokines in severe COVID-19 patients leads to profound hyper inflammation and the mobilization of immune cells, triggering the cytokine storm. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 13;11(1):8083. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.

While transposons are generally silenced in somatic tissues, many transposons escape epigenetic repression in epithelial cancers, become transcriptionally active and contribute to the regulation of human gene expression. We have developed a bioinformatic pipeline for the integrated analysis of transcription factor binding and transcriptomic data to identify transposon-derived promoters that are activated in specific diseases and developmental states. We applied this pipeline to a breast cancer model, and found that the L1PA2 transposon subfamily contributes abundant regulatory sequences to co-ordinated transcriptional regulation in breast cancer. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021 Apr;118(16)

Single Molecule Analysis Group, Department of Chemistry and Center for RNA Biomedicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109;

Bacterial messenger RNA (mRNA) synthesis by RNA polymerase (RNAP) and first-round translation by the ribosome are often coupled to regulate gene expression, yet how coupling is established and maintained is ill understood. Here, we develop biochemical and single-molecule fluorescence approaches to probe the dynamics of RNAP-ribosome interactions on an mRNA with a translational preQ-sensing riboswitch in its 5' untranslated region. Binding of preQ leads to the occlusion of the ribosome binding site (RBS), inhibiting translation initiation. Read More

Mol Cancer Ther 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Vivace Therapeutics.

Mutations in the neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) gene that limit or abrogate expression of functional Merlin are common in malignant mesothelioma. Merlin activates the Hippo pathway to suppress nuclear translocation of YAP and TAZ, the major effectors of the pathway that associate with the TEAD transcription factors in the nucleus and promote expression of genes involved in cell proliferation and survival. Here we described the discovery of compounds that selectively inhibit YAP/TAZ-TEAD promoted gene transcription, block TEAD auto-palmitoylation, and disrupt interaction between YAP/TAZ and TEAD. Read More

mBio 2021 Apr 13;12(2). Epub 2021 Apr 13.

National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Methylation of cytosine in DNA at position C5 increases the rate of C→T mutations in bacteria and eukaryotes. Methylation at the N4 position, employed by some restriction-modification systems, is not known to increase the mutation rate. Here, I report that a Type III restriction-modification system that includes a cytosine-N4 methyltransferase causes an enormous increase in the rate of mutation of the methylated cytosines, which occur at the overlined C in the motif CACC̅GT Mutations consist mainly of C→A transversions, the rate of which is increased ∼500-fold by the restriction-modification system. Read More

Genome Biol 2021 Apr 13;22(1):103. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway.

Background: Whole genome duplication (WGD) events have played a major role in eukaryotic genome evolution, but the consequence of these extreme events in adaptive genome evolution is still not well understood. To address this knowledge gap, we used a comparative phylogenetic model and transcriptomic data from seven species to infer selection on gene expression in duplicated genes (ohnologs) following the salmonid WGD 80-100 million years ago.

Results: We find rare cases of tissue-specific expression evolution but pervasive expression evolution affecting many tissues, reflecting strong selection on maintenance of genome stability following genome doubling. Read More

BMC Genomics 2021 Apr 13;22(1):263. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China.

Background: Protein content determines the state of cells. The variation in protein abundance is crucial when organisms are in the early stages of heat stress, but the reasons affecting their changes are largely unknown.

Results: We quantified 47,535 mRNAs and 3742 proteins in the filling grains of wheat in two different thermal environments. Read More

Biomaterials 2021 Mar 24;272:120781. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address:

We aimed to directly convert adult human dermal fibroblasts (aHDFs) into functional endothelial cells (ECs). Lentiviral vectors encoding endothelial transcription factors (TFs) were constructed. We examined whether five TFs (FOXO1, ER71, KLF2, TAL1, and LMO2) used for the generation of mouse induced ECs (iECs) could convert the aHDFs into human iECs. Read More

Gene 2021 Apr 10:145643. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University, No.19 Nguyen Huu Tho Street, Tan Hung Ward, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Krüppel-like factors (KLF) refer to a group of conserved zinc finger-containing transcription factors that are involved in various physiological and biological processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, development, and apoptosis. Some bioinformatics methods such as sequence similarity searches, multiple sequence alignment, phylogenetic reconstruction, and gene synteny analysis have also been proposed to broaden our knowledge of KLF proteins. In this study, we proposed a novel computational approach by using machine learning on features calculated from primary sequences. Read More

Gene 2021 Apr 10:145645. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Saarland University Medical Faculty, D-66421 Homburg, Germany.

Receptors and ion channels expressed on the cell surface ensure proper communication between the cells and the environment. In multicellular organism, stimulus-regulated gene transcription is the basis for the communication with the environment allowing individual cells to respond to stimuli such as nutrients, chemical stressors and signaling molecules released by other cells of the organism. Hormones, cytokines, and mitogens bind to receptors and ion channels and induce intracellular signaling cascades involving second messengers, kinases, phosphatases, and changes in the concentration of particular ions. Read More

Plant Physiol 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

State Key laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, 271018, China.

Plants use a dual defense system to cope with microbial pathogens. The first involves pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP)-triggered immunity (PTI) which is conferred by membrane receptors, and the second involves effector-triggered immunity (ETI), which is conferred by disease-resistance proteins (nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat containing proteins; NLRs). Calmodulin-Binding Protein 60 (CBP60) family transcription factors are crucial for pathogen defense: CBP60g and Systemic Acquired Resistance Deficient 1 (SARD1) positively regulate immunity, whereas CBP60a negatively regulates immunity. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2021 ;1256:201-219

Neurobiology-Neurodegeneration & Repair Laboratory, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of blindness in older individuals worldwide. The disease is characterized by deposition of drusen between the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and Bruch's membrane, RPE atrophy and death of photoreceptors. AMD is a complex disease with multiple genetic and non-genetic risk factors. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, Dankook University College of Health Sciences, 119, Dandae-ro, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungnam, 31116, South Korea.

Rotavirus A is the most common cause of infectious diarrhea worldwide. This study aimed to retrospectively study and analyze 4009 stool samples that were tested for viruses causing diarrhea, using multiplex reverse transcription PCR at Dankook University Hospital between 2010 and 2019. Furthermore, we determined the correlation between these factors and various climatic factors, including wind-chill temperature, relative humidity, rate of sunshine, and particulate matter. Read More

Exp Dermatol 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Instituto de Biomedicina, Ministerio para la Salud, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela.

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are classified by the expression of specific transcription factors: ILC1 depending on T-bet for IFN-γ production; ILC2 depending on GATA3 for IL-5 and IL-13; and ILC3 depending on ROR-γτ and AHR for IL-17 and IL-22. This study aimed to determine circulating ILCs in 23 patients with localized (LCL) = 7, mucocutaneous (MCL) = 10, intermediate (ICL) = 3 and diffuse (DCL) = 3 cutaneous leishmaniasis and 17 healthy controls from endemic area (EC) = 9 and non-endemic area (HC) = 8. Results evidenced a higher proportion of ILC1 in LCL than controls and MCL. Read More

Tree Physiol 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Key Laboratory of Tree Breeding and Cultivation, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, People's Republic of China.

Dormancy release and reactivation of temperate-zone trees involve the temperature-modulated expression of cell-cycle genes. However, information on the detailed regulatory mechanism is limited. Here, we compared the transcriptomes of the stems of active and dormant larch trees, emphasizing the expression patterns of cell-cycle genes and transcription factors, and assessed their relationships and responses to temperatures. Read More

Brief Bioinform 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

University of New South Wales, Australia.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), better known as COVID-19, has become a current threat to humanity. The second wave of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has hit many countries, and the confirmed COVID-19 cases are quickly spreading. Therefore, the epidemic is still passing the terrible stage. Read More