Study of pharyngeal airway morphology with CBCT: Benefits of four premolar extraction orthodontic treatments

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Four premolars extractions are routine procedures for correction of malocclusion, but will inevitably lead to a reduction of tongue space, whether this will weaken the pharyngeal airway remains a controversy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) radiographs of 80 patients who completed four premolar extraction orthodontic treatments were collected and divided into three anteroposterior skeletal groups according to the ANB (angle subspinale to nasion to supramentale) value. Linear, angular, cross-sectional area, and volumetric dimensions of the pharyngeal airway were measured using Dolphin Imaging 11.9 software. One-way analysis of variance and Pearson's correlation coefficient test were performed to assess the intergroup comparisons. Treatment changes were evaluated with two-sample t-tests.

RESULTS

In intergroup comparisons, vertical linear and cross-sectional area differences were identified in S-Go/N-Me, VD1, VD1/N-Me, VD2/N-Me, AA, OAA and OMINI (p<0.05), while other measurements showed no significant differences. Angle2, the tilting degree of the pharyngeal airway, showed a positive correlation with ANB (p<0.05). As for the treatment changes, a significant increase was found in the pharyngeal airway in the Class I group (OUA p<0.05, VD1 p<0.001, VD2 p<0.05) and Class II group (VD1 p<0.001. VD2, p<0.05), and inversely, a significant decrease was found in the pharyngeal airway in the Class III group (OAA p<0.05, OMINI p<0.05, OUA p<0.05). No volumetric difference was identified. Interestingly, regarding the preoperative pharyngeal airway size, values trended to the mean value significantly.

CONCLUSION

Four premolar extraction orthodontic treatments did not affect the pharyngeal airway volume except for the vertical liner and cross-sectional area dimensions. The trend of the gold standard suggested a positive influence of four premolar extraction orthodontic treatments.

MiR-1231 enhances docetaxel sensitivity to gallbladder carcinoma cells by downregulating FOXC2

OBJECTIVE

To illustrate the role of microRNA-1231 (miR-1231) in regulating malignant proliferative potential and DTX sensitivity to gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) by regulating FOXC2 level.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Expression levels of miR-1231 in GBC tissues and paracancerous ones were detected. The relationship between miR-1231 level and clinical parameters of GBC patients was analyzed. After overexpression of miR-1231, changes in proliferative and apoptotic potentials in GBC-SD and NOZ cells were examined by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Regulatory effects of miR-1231 on its downstream gene FOXC2 were determined by Luciferase assay. Finally, the role of miR-1231 in regulating DTX sensitivity to GBC cells was assessed.

RESULTS

MiR-1231 was downregulated in GBC tissues compared to paracancerous ones. GBC patients expressing lower level of miR-1231 had worse tumor staging and larger tumor size. Overexpression of miR-1231 attenuated proliferative potential, and induced apoptosis in GBC cells. FOXC2 was upregulated in GBC and negatively linked to miR-1231. Luciferase activity confirmed that FOXC2 was the target gene binding miR-1231. DTX treatment dose-dependently suppressed viability in GBC cells and overexpression of miR-1231 could enhance DTX sensitivity in GBC. Notably, overexpression of FOXC2 abolished regulatory effects of overexpressed miR-1231 on proliferative and apoptotic potentials in GBC cells.

CONCLUSIONS

MiR-1231 is downregulated in GBC species. Its level is closely linked to tumor staging and tumor size in GBC patients. By downregulating FOXC2, miR-1231 enhances DTX sensitivity to GBC cells and thus alleviates the malignant development of GBC.

CircPSM3 inhibits the proliferation and differentiation of OA chondrocytes by targeting miRNA-296-5p

OBJECTIVE

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic bone and joint disease. Circular RNA is a type of non-coding RNA that forms a circular structure with covalent bonds. There is growing evidence that circRNA can function as a functional RNA and play an important role in the occurrence and development of osteoarthritis chondrocytes. However, the exact role of circRNA on OA remains to be studied.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Quantificational real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to determine the expression levels of CircPSM3 and miRNA-296-5p in OA chondrocytes. Cell proliferation was detected by the Cell Counting Kit (CCK8), and BMP2, BMP4, BMP6 and RUN2 molecular levels in OA chondrocytes were detected by qRT-PCR and Western Blot (WB). Direct targets of CircPSM3 and miRNA-296-5p in OA chondrocytes were measured by Luciferase reporter assay.

RESULTS

CircPSM3 expression was upregulated in OA cartilage tissue and cells. Low expression of CircPSM3 promoted the proliferation and cell differentiation of OA chondrocytes. Meanwhile, miRNA-296-5p was down-regulated in OA cartilage tissue and cells. The Luciferase reporter gene showed that CircPSM3 could target miRNA-296-5p. The expression level of CircPSM3 and miRNA-296-5p showed a negative correlation. Further research found that a high expression of miRNA-296-5p could effectively promote the proliferation and cell differentiation of OA chondrocytes. Furthermore, miRNA-296-5p inhibitors reversed the effect of si-CircPSM3 on the proliferation and differentiation of OA chondrocytes, while miRNA-296-5p inhibitors enhanced the effect of si-CircPSM3 on the proliferation and differentiation of OA chondrocytes.

CONCLUSIONS

CircPSM3 was upregulated in OA chondrocytes. CircPSM3 participated in the proliferation and differentiation of OA chondrocytes through targeted binding to miRNA-296-5p. CircPSM3 may become a potential therapeutic target for osteoarthritis treatment.

Development of SNP-based dCAPS markers for identifying male sterile gene tms5 in two-line hybrid rice

Molecular markers can increase both the efficiency and speed of breeding programs. Functional markers that detect the functional mutations causing phenotypic changes offer a precise method for genetic identification. In this study, we used newly derived cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence markers to detect the functional mutations of tms5, which is a male sterile gene that is widely used in rice production in China. In addition, restriction cutting sites were designed to specifically digest amplicons of tms5 but not wild type (TMS5), in order to avoid the risk of false positive results. By optimizing the condition of the polymerase chain reaction amplifications and restriction enzyme digestions, the newly designed markers could accurately distinguish between tms5 and TMS5. These markers can be applied in marker-assisted selection for breeding novel thermo-sensitive genic male sterile (TGMS) lines, as well as to rapidly identify the TGMS hybrid seed purity.