The first complete chloroplast genome sequence of Paris polyphylla var. emeiensis, a rare and endangered species

Paris polyphylla var. emeiensis H. X. Yin, H. Zhang & D. Xue is a member of the genus Paris endemic to southwest of China. The complete chloroplast (cp) genome of P. polyphylla var. emeiensis was 164,854 bp in length with 36.96% overall GC content, including a large single-copy (LSC) region of 84,438 bp and a small single-copy (SSC) region of 12,892 bp, which were separated by a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 33,762 bp. There were 135 genes in total, including 89 protein-coding genes, 38 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis indicated P. polyphylla var. emeiensis was closely related to P. fargesii and P. cronquistii.

Structural characterization, hypoglycemic effects and antidiabetic mechanism of a novel polysaccharides from Polygonatum kingianum Coll. et Hemsl

The rhizome of Polygonatum kingianum has been used as a traditional medicine in China. In this study, a novel polysaccharides (PKPs-1) was isolated from P. kingianum and characterized by its molecular weight, primary structure. The hypoglycemic activity of PKPs-1was investigated by in vitro assay with the HepG2 cell line and in vivo test using STZ-induced diabetic mice. Results showed that the average molecular weight of PKPs-1 was 14.05 kDa and is composed mainly of glucose and mannose. Methylation analysis indicated that this polysaccharides fraction consisted mainly of β1,2-link glucose. Besides, PKPs-1 exhibited significant anti-hyperglycemic activity on STZ-induced mice, improved insulin tolerance, and affected the metabolism of serum lipids. Results of real-time quantitative PCR (RT-PCR) showed that PKPs-1 significantly increased the expression of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (AKT), indicating that PKPs-1 regulates glucose metabolism by activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. This study provides new insights for investigating the hypoglycemic effects of PKPs-1 and suggests that PKPs-1 could be a promising functional food or medicine for treating T2DM.

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Salvia tiliifolia Vahl (Lamiaceae)

Salvia tiliifolia Vahl is native to Central America and considered as an invasive plant in Mexico, the United States, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Australia. The complete chloroplast (cp) genome of S. tiliifolia was 150,836 bp in length, which contained a large single-copy (LSC) region of 82,129 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 17,533 bp, and a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) region of 25,587 bp each. The genome harbored 130 genes, including 85 protein coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 ribosomal RNA genes. The overall GC content was 37.99%. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that S. tiliifolia is closely related to the species of Salvia chanryoenica.

Identification of Tibetan medicine Dida based on DNA barcoding

The purpose of this study was to test the ability of DNA barcoding to identify the herbal raw trade of Tibetan medicine Dida in China. A reference database for plant-material DNA barcodes was successfully constructed and used to identify 36 commercially samples of Dida collected from Southwest China. The ITS sequence was amplified from these samples and the efficiency of the PCR amplification of ITS was 100%. The DNA sequencing results revealed that 3 samples (8.3%) were authenticated as Swertia chirayita, 2 sequences (5.6%) were authenticated as Swertia mussotii, 3 sequences (8.3%) were authenticated as Swertia ciliata, as recorded in the Tibetan Pharmacopeia. The other samples were authenticated as adulterants and all of them originated from common plants belonging to Saxifraga, Swertia and Halenia. This result indicates Dida pieces that are available in the market have complex origins and may indicate a potential safety issue and DNA barcoding is a convenient tool for market supervision.

[Clinical evaluation of vocal fold paralysis in 207 children]

Objective: To investigate the etiology and clinical characteristics of vocal fold paralysis in children. To provide useful information for diagnosis, management and prognosis in the clinical work. Methods: Two hundred and seven children with vocal fold paralysis in Children's Hospital of Fudan University were retrospectively studied, and followed-up. Results: All the patients had hoarseness.151 cases had vocal paralysis in the left side and the main etiology was pulmonary arterial hypertension.43 cases had bilateral vocal paralysis and all of them had respiratory problems.The main etiology were congenital tracheoesophageal malformations.13 cases had vocal paralysis in the right side.In terms of etiology, 8 cases were related to intracranial lesions, 2 cases were idiopathic. Conclusions: The main etiologies of left vocal fold paralysis were cardiovascular diseases, and bilateral vocal paralysis were congenital tracheoesophageal malformations.The main etiologies of right vocal fold paralysis were neoplastic and central lesion.The prognosis of bilateral vocal fold paralysis and right vocal fold paralysis was poor.

[Clinical research about needle-tract assisted standard percutaneous nephrolithotomy for the treatment of complicated upper urinary tract calculi]

Objective: To investigate the safety and efficacy of needle-tract assisted standard percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) for the treatment of complicated upper urinary tract calculi. Methods: The clinical data of 1 562 patients with complicated upper urinary calculi who received standard PCNL from December 2013 to December 2017 at Department of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University were retrospectively analyzed. There were large residual stones in 256 patients through B-ultrasound exploration after standard PCNL, could't be detected with nephoscope in standard PCNL tracts. 16 F mini PCNL tract were established in 120 cases for treatment of residual stones, while needle-tract were established in order to guide nephroscope to find residual stones in 126 cases. Needle-tract were transferred to 16 F mini PCNL tract for treatment of residual stones in 10 patients if these residual stones could't be detected through needle-tract. Operation time, change of hemoglobin level after operation, incidence of postoperative complications, time of hospitalization and rate of stone clearance were measured in two groups. The statistical methods used included t test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, and χ² test. Results: There were 1 to 3 mini tracts (M(Q_R): 1(1)) established in the mini tracts group and 1 to 7 needle-tracts (M(Q_R): 3(2)) established in the needle-tract group (Z=-10.57, P=0.000). Compared with mini tract group, the operation time ((62.0±18.0) minutes vs. (84.0±15.5) minutes, t=10.242, P=0.000), hospitalization time ((4.40±0.86) days vs. (5.20±0.81) days, t=7.570, P=0.049), hemoglobin dropped ((1.31±0.47) g/L vs. (2.74±0.63) g/L, t=20.12, P=0.000), and incidence of postoperative complications (7.9% (10/126) vs. 19.2% (23/120), χ²=6.674, P=0.01) of needle-tract group were lower, while postoperative stone clearance rate was higher (89.7% vs. 76.7%, χ²=7.497, P=0.006). No perioperative severe complications such as pleural injury, pneumatothorax, perforation of renal, trauma of abdominal organ occurred in two groups. Conclusion: Needle-tract assisted standard PCNL for the treatment of complicated upper urinary calculi can significantly improve stone clearance rate, reduce operation time, decrease risk of kidney and surrounding organs damage.

Identification of Ligularia Herbs Using the Complete Chloroplast Genome as a Super-Barcode

More than 30 Ligularia Cass. (Asteraceae) species have long been used in folk medicine in China. Morphological features and common DNA regions are both not ideal to identify Ligularia species. As some Ligularia species contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are hazardous to human and animal health and are involved in metabolic toxification in the liver, it is important to find a better way to distinguish these species. Here, we report complete chloroplast (CP) genomes of six Ligularia species, L. intermedia, L. jaluensis, L. mongolica, L. hodgsonii, L. veitchiana, and L. fischeri, obtained through high-throughput Illumina sequencing technology. These CP genomes showed typical circular tetramerous structure and their sizes range from 151,118 to 151,253 bp. The GC content of each CP genome is 37.5%. Every CP genome contains 134 genes, including 87 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, eight rRNA genes, and two pseudogenes (ycf1 and rps19). From the mVISTA, there were no potential coding or non-coding regions to distinguish these six Ligularia species, but the maximum likelihood tree of the six Ligularia species and other related species showed that the whole CP genome can be used as a super-barcode to identify these six Ligularia species. This study provides invaluable data for species identification, allowing for future studies on phylogenetic evolution and safe medical applications of Ligularia.

Complete Chloroplast Genomes of Papaver rhoeas and Papaver orientale: Molecular Structures, Comparative Analysis, and Phylogenetic Analysis

Papaver rhoeas L. and P. orientale L., which belong to the family Papaveraceae, are used as ornamental and medicinal plants. The chloroplast genome has been used for molecular markers, evolutionary biology, and barcoding identification. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome sequences of P. rhoeas and P. orientale are reported. Results show that the complete chloroplast genomes of P. rhoeas and P. orientale have typical quadripartite structures, which are comprised of circular 152,905 and 152,799-bp-long molecules, respectively. A total of 130 genes were identified in each genome, including 85 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Sequence divergence analysis of four species from Papaveraceae indicated that the most divergent regions are found in the non-coding spacers with minimal differences among three Papaver species. These differences include the ycf1 gene and intergenic regions, such as rpoB-trnC, trnD-trnT, petA-psbJ, psbE-petL, and ccsA-ndhD. These regions are hypervariable regions, which can be used as specific DNA barcodes. This finding suggested that the chloroplast genome could be used as a powerful tool to resolve the phylogenetic positions and relationships of Papaveraceae. These results offer valuable information for future research in the identification of Papaver species and will benefit further investigations of these species.

Pathogenicity characteristics of Enterococcus faecium from diseased black bears

The death of several black bears at the black bear breeding base in Yunnan Pingbian Daweishan is a matter of concern. Multiple black bears exhibited decreased appetite or unusual waste, and some were soporific or suffered from vomiting and anhelation. In order to ascertain the cause of death, 16S rDNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis was performed on bacteria isolated from tissue samples obtained from dead bears. The biochemical characteristics of the isolated bacteria were subsequently analyzed using different biochemical test systems. The bacteria can decompose glucose, but it cannot produce gas. The fermentation study of sucrose, lactose, trehalose, glycerol and mannitol yielded positive results; while it was unable to decompose urea or ODC (ornithine decarboxylase). Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) analysis of a ~1500-bp DNA product amplified from the 16S rDNA of the bacterial isolate revealed that Enterococcus faecium from black bears is highly similar to other E. faecium isolates in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database, and the highest sequence similarity (99%) was with the reference strain. In addition, mice infected with the E. faecium isolate succumbed to severe damage to the lungs, liver, spleen, myocardium, and kidney tissues. In summary, the isolated E. faecium from dead black bears induced pathological changes in mice.

Long non-coding RNA FOXD2-AS1 functions as a tumor promoter in colorectal cancer by regulating EMT and Notch signaling pathway

OBJECTIVE

A growing number of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as new modulators in cancer origination and progression. However, the functions and molecular mechanisms of lncRNAs to colorectal cancer (CRC) are still largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the function and role of lncRNA FOXD2-AS1 (FOXD2-AS1) in human CRC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The expression of FOXD2-AS1 was investigated using Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in 45 CRC specimens and matched adjacent normal tissues and CRC cell lines. MTT assays were conducted to explore the impact of FOXD2-AS1 knockdown on the proliferation of human CRC cells. The effects of FOXD2-AS1 on CRC cell migration and invasion were evaluated by cell invasion assays and migration assays. Western blot analysis was used to determine the expression levels of EMT-related and Notch-related proteins.

RESULTS

The results showed that FOXD2-AS1 expression was significantly increased in CRC tissues as well as in CRC cell lines. Moreover, down-regulation of FOXD2-AS1 suppressed cell, proliferation, invasion and migration in vitro. Importantly, we further confirmed that EMT and the Notch signaling pathway were inactivated in CRC cells after FOXD2-AS1 knockdown.

CONCLUSIONS

FOXD2-AS1 promoted the progression of CRC by regulating EMT and Notch signaling pathway. Thus, targeting FOXD2-AS1 may be an effective strategy for CRC treatment.