Alteration of the Expression and Functional Activities of Myosin II Isoforms in Enlarged Hyperplastic Prostates

INTRODUCTION

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common pathologic process in aging men, and the contraction of the prostatic smooth muscles (SMs) in the stroma plays a vital role in this pathogenesis, leading to lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTSs). The isoforms of both the SM myosin (SMM) and non-muscle myosin (NMM) are associated with the contraction type of the prostatic SMs, but the mechanism has not been fully elucidated.

METHODS

We collected prostate tissues from 30 BPH patients receiving surgical treatments, and normal human prostate samples were obtained from 12 brain-dead men. A testosterone-induced (T-induced) rat model was built, and the epithelial hyperplastic prostates were harvested. Competitive RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of SMM isoforms. We investigated the contractility of human prostate strips in vitro in an organ bath.

RESULTS

The results regarding the comparisons of SMM isoforms varied between rat models and human samples. In comparison with T-induced rats and controls, competitive RT-PCR failed to show any statistically significant difference regarding the compositions of SMM isoforms. For human prostates samples, BPH patients expressed more SM-1 isoforms (66.8% vs. 60.0%, p < 0.001) and myosin light chain-17b (MLC17b) (35.9% vs. 28.5%, p < 0.05) when compared to young donors. There was a significant decrease in prostate myosin heavy chain (MHC) expression in BPH patients, with a 66.4% decrease in MHC at the mRNA level and a 51.2% decrease at the protein level. The upregulated expression of non-muscle myosin heavy chain-B (NMMHC-B) was 1.6-fold at the mRNA level and 2.1-fold at the protein level. The organ bath study showed that isolated prostate strips from BPH patients produced slower tonic contraction compared to normal humans.

CONCLUSION

In this study, we claim that in the enlarged prostates of patients undergoing surgeries, MHC expression significantly decreased compared to normal tissues, with elevated levels of SM-1, MLC17b, and NMMHC-B isoforms. Modifications in SMM and NMM might play a role in the tonic contractile properties of prostatic SMs and the development of LUTS/BPH. Understanding this mechanism might provide insights into the origins of LUTS/BPH and facilitate the identification of novel therapeutic targets.

Portable and Rapid Dual-Biomarker Detection Using Solution-Gated Graphene Field Transistors in the Accurate Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the common serum-relevant biomarker for early prostate cancer (PCa) detection in clinical diagnosis. However, it is difficult to accurately diagnose PCa in the early stage due to the low specificity of PSA. Herein, a new solution-gated graphene field transistor (SGGT) biosensor with dual-gate for dual-biomarker detection is designed. The sensing mechanism is that the designed aptamers immobilized on the surface of the gate electrodes can capture PSA and sarcosine (SAR) biomolecules and induce the capacitance changes of the electric double layers of SGGT. The limit of detections of PSA and SAR biomarkers can reach 0.01 fg mL-1 , which is three-to-four orders of magnitude lower than previously reported assays. The detection time of PSA and SAR is ≈4.5 and ≈13 min, which is significantly faster than the detection time (1-2 h) of conventional methods. The clinical serum samples testing demonstrates that the biosensor can distinguish the PCa patients from the control group and the diagnosis accuracy can reach 100%. The SGGT biosensor can be integrated into the portable platform and the diagnostic results can directly display on the smartphone/Pad. Therefore, the integrated portable platform of the biosensor can distinguish cancer types through the dual-biomarker detection.

Identification of Differential Circular RNA Expression Profiles and Functional Networks in Human Macrophages Induced by Virulent and Avirulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis Strains

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are noncoding RNAs with diverse functions. However, most Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb)-related circRNAs remain undiscovered. In this study, we infected THP-1 cells with virulent and avirulent M.tb strains and then sequenced the cellular circRNAs. Bioinformatic analysis predicted 58,009 circRNAs in all the cells. In total, 2035 differentially expressed circRNAs were identified between the M.tb-infected and uninfected THP-1 cells and 1258 circRNAs were identified in the virulent and avirulent M.tb strains. Further, the top 10 circRNAs were confirmed by Sanger sequencing, among which four circRNAs, namely circSOD2, circCHSY1, circTNFRSF21, and circDHTKD1, which were highly differentially expressed in infected cells compared with those in uninfected cells, were further confirmed by ring formation, specific primers, and RNase R digestion. Next, circRNA-miRNA-mRNA subnetworks were constructed, such as circDHTKD1/miR-660-3p/IL-12B axis. Some of the individual downstream genes, such as miR-660-3p and IL-12B, were previously reported to be associated with cellular defense against pathological processes induced by M.tb infection. Because macrophages are important immune cells and the major host cells of M.tb, these findings provide novel ideas for exploring the M.tb pathogenesis and host defense by focusing on the regulation of circRNAs during M.tb infection.

POLD4 Promotes Glioma Cell Proliferation and Suppressive Immune Microenvironment: A Pan-Cancer Analysis Integrated with Experimental Validation

POLD4 plays a crucial part in the complex machinery of DNA replication and repair as a vital component of the DNA polymerase delta complex. In this research, we obtained original information from various publicly available databases. Using a blend of R programming and internet resources, we initiated an extensive examination into the correlation between POLD4 expression and the various elements of cancers. In addition, we performed knockdown experiments in glioma cell lines to authenticate its significant impact. We discovered that POLD4 is upregulated in various malignant tumors, demonstrating a significant correlation with poor patient survival prognosis. Using function analysis, it was uncovered that POLD4 exhibited intricate associations with signaling pathways spanning multiple tumor types. Subsequent investigations unveiled the close association of POLD4 with the immune microenvironment and the effectiveness of immunotherapy. Drugs like trametinib, saracatinib, and dasatinib may be used in patients with high POLD4. Using experimental analysis, we further confirmed the overexpression of POLD4 in gliomas, as well as its correlation with glioma recurrence, proliferation, and the suppressive immune microenvironment. Our research findings indicate that the expression pattern of POLD4 not only serves as a robust indicator of prognosis in cancer patients but also holds promising potential as a new focus for treatment.

The emerging roles of MAPK-AMPK in ferroptosis regulatory network

Ferroptosis, a newform of programmed cell death, driven by peroxidative damages of polyunsaturated-fatty-acid-containing phospholipids in cellular membranes and is extremely dependent on iron ions, which is differs characteristics from traditional cell death has attracted greater attention. Based on the curiosity of this new form of regulated cell death, there has a tremendous progress in the field of mechanistic understanding of ferroptosis recent years. Ferroptosis is closely associated with the development of many diseases and involved in many diseases related signaling pathways. Not only a variety of oncoproteins and tumor suppressors can regulate ferroptosis, but multiple oncogenic signaling pathways can also have a regulatory effect on ferroptosis. Ferroptosis results in the accumulation of large amounts of lipid peroxides thus involving the onset of oxidative stress and energy stress responses. The MAPK pathway plays a critical role in oxidative stress and AMPK acts as a sensor of cellular energy and is involved in the regulation of the energy stress response. Moreover, activation of AMPK can induce the occurrence of autophagy-dependent ferroptosis and p53-activated ferroptosis. In recent years, there have been new advances in the study of molecular mechanisms related to the regulation of ferroptosis by both pathways. In this review, we will summarize the molecular mechanisms by which the MAPK-AMPK signaling pathway regulates ferroptosis. Meanwhile, we sorted out the mysterious relationship between MAPK and AMPK, described the crosstalk among ferroptosis and MAPK-AMPK signaling pathways, and summarized the relevant ferroptosis inducers targeting this regulatory network. This will provide a new field for future research on ferroptosis mechanisms and provide a new vision for cancer treatment strategies. Video Abstract.