AURKB promotes bladder cancer progression by deregulating the p53 DNA damage response pathway via MAD2L2

BACKGROUND

Bladder cancer (BC) is the most common urinary tract malignancy. Aurora kinase B (AURKB), a component of the chromosomal passenger protein complex, affects chromosomal segregation during cell division. Mitotic arrest-deficient 2-like protein 2 (MAD2L2) interacts with various proteins and contributes to genomic integrity. Both AURKB and MAD2L2 are overexpressed in various human cancers and have synergistic oncogenic effects; therefore, they are regarded as emerging therapeutic targets for cancer. However, the relationship between these factors and the mechanisms underlying their oncogenic activity in BC remains largely unknown. The present study aimed to explore the interactions between AURKB and MAD2L2 and how they affect BC progression via the DNA damage response (DDR) pathway.

METHODS

Bioinformatics was used to analyze the expression, prognostic value, and pro-tumoral function of AURKB in patients with BC. CCK-8 assay, colony-forming assay, flow cytometry, SA-β-gal staining, wound healing assay, and transwell chamber experiments were performed to test the viability, cell cycle progression, senescence, and migration and invasion abilities of BC cells in vitro. A nude mouse xenograft assay was performed to test the tumorigenesis ability of BC cells in vivo. The expression and interaction of proteins and the occurrence of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype were detected using western blot analysis, co-immunoprecipitation assay, and RT-qPCR.

RESULTS

AURKB was highly expressed and associated with prognosis in patients with BC. AURKB expression was positively correlated with MAD2L2 expression. We confirmed that AURKB interacts with, and modulates the expression of, MAD2L2 in BC cells. AURKB knockdown suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of, and cell cycle progression in, BC cells, inducing senescence in these cells. The effects of AURKB knockdown were rescued by MAD2L2 overexpression in vitro and in vivo. The effects of MAD2L2 knockdown were similar to those of AURKB knockdown. Furthermore, p53 ablation rescued the MAD2L2 knockdown-induced suppression of BC cell proliferation and cell cycle arrest and senescence in BC cells.

CONCLUSIONS

AURKB activates MAD2L2 expression to downregulate the p53 DDR pathway, thereby promoting BC progression. Thus, AURKB may serve as a potential molecular marker and a novel anticancer therapeutic target for BC.

A method for rapid demolition of a crossline arch bridge: a case study

To reduce the adverse impact of demolition of the symmetrical rigid frame arch bridge overcrossing the highway with over-saturated traffic flow, a rapid demolition method based on the Self-Propelled Modular Transporter (SPMT) technique was developed in this study. The calculation formulae for reaction forces of the supporting brackets, as well as driving force and stability of SPMTs, were derived by analyzing the stability, synchronization, and influencing parameters of the cut bridge body-transport system. In addition, a monitoring system during the whole process was developed to ensure the demolition safety. An application of demolishing a crossline symmetrical rigid frame arch bridge in China within 5 h has been presented. The results showed that the proposed method can be successfully applied in real projects, leading to significant reduction in traffic impact, energy consumption, and environmental pollution.

Functional SNPs in SYISL promoter significantly affect muscle fiber density and muscle traits in pigs

Our previous studies showed that SYISL is a negative regulator of muscle growth and regeneration in mice, pigs and humans. SYISL knockout resulted in an increase in the density of muscle fibers and muscle growth. However, it is unclear whether there are natural mutations in pig SYNPO2 intron sense-overlapping lncRNA (pSYISL) that affect the expression of pSYISL and muscle growth traits. In this study, three SNPs in exons and six SNPs within the promoter of pSYISL were identified. Association analysis showed that the two SNPs in exons are significantly associated with loin muscle area (p < 0.05); the six SNPs in the promoter that show complete linkage are significantly associated with live backfat thickness and live loin muscle area in American Large White pigs. Bioinformatics and luciferase reporter assays as well as in vitro binding experiments indicated that the mutation of SNP rs702045770 (g.539G>A) leads to the loss of YY1 binding to the promoter, thus affecting the expression level of pSYISL, and we found that Jiangshan Black pigs with genotype GG have a higher expression level of pSYISL than genotype AA individuals, but the muscle fiber density was significantly lower than in genotype AA individuals. Furthermore, the association analysis showed that the carcass backfat thickness of genotype GG of SNP rs702045770 was significantly higher than that of other genotypes in (Pietrain × Duroc) × (Landrace × Yorkshire) crossbred pigs (p < 0.05). The glycolytic potential of genotype GG was significantly higher than that of other genotypes (p < 0.05). These results provide novel insight into the identification of functional SNPs in non-coding genomic regions.

Adaptive Neural Activation and Neuromorphic Processing via Drain-Injection Threshold-Switching Float Gate Transistor Memory

Hetero-modulated neural activation is vital for adaptive information processing and learning that occurs in brain. To implement brain-inspired adaptive processing, previously various neurotransistors oriented for synaptic functions are extensively explored, however, the emulation of nonlinear neural activation and hetero-modulated behaviors are not possible due to the lack of threshold switching behavior in a conventional transistor structure. Here, a 2D van der Waals float gate transistor (FGT) that exhibits steep threshold switching behavior, and the emulation of hetero-modulated neuron functions (integrate-and-fire, sigmoid type activation) for adaptive sensory processing, are reported. Unlike conventional FGTs, the threshold switching behavior stems from impact ionization in channel and the coupled charge injection to float gate. When a threshold is met, a sub-30 mV dec-1 increase of transistor conductance by more than four orders is triggered with a typical switch time of approximately milliseconds. Essentially, by feeding light sensing signal as the modulation input, it is demonstrated that two typical tasks that rely on adaptive neural activation, including collision avoidance and adaptive visual perception, can be realized. These results may shed light on the emulation of rich hetero-modulating behaviors in biological neurons and the realization of biomimetic neuromorphic processing at low hardware cost.

Two Pairs of New Bisabolane-Type Sesquiterpenoids from Aspergillus sydowii

Two pairs of new bisabolane-type sesquiterpenoids, (+)-aspersydowin A (7S) [(+)-1], (-)-aspersydowin A (7R) [(-)-1], (+)-aspersydowin B (7S,11S) [(+)-2], (-)-aspersydowin B (7R,11R) [(-)-2], along with six known compounds (1-8) were isolated from the fungus Aspergillus sydowii. Compounds 1 and 2 are enantiomers resolved by the Chiralpak IC, using a hexane- propan-2-ol mobile phase. The structure of 1 and 2 with absolute configuration were assigned tentatively by 1D (1 H, 13 C, and DEPT) & 2D (HSQC, 1 H-1 H COSY, HMBC, and NOESY) NMR data analyses and ECD calculations. Compounds 1-8 were screened for the biological activities in vitro. The results showed that compounds 3, 4 and 8 exhibited immunosuppressive activities with IC50 values of 10.9, 17.6 and 13.4 μM, respectively.

The role of LncRNA-regulated autophagy in AKI

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a complex clinical syndrome involving a series of pathophysiological processes regulated by multiple pathways at the molecular and cellular level. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in the regulation of epigenetics, and their regulation of autophagy-related genes in AKI has attracted increasing attention. However, the role of lncRNA-regulated autophagy in AKI has not been fully elucidated. Evidence indicated that lncRNAs play regulatory roles in most factors that induce AKI. LncRNAs can regulate autophagy in AKI via a complex network of regulatory pathways to affect the development and prognosis of AKI. This article reviewed and analyzed the pathways of lncRNA regulation of autophagy in AKI in recent years. The results provide new ideas for further study of the pathophysiological process and targeted therapy for AKI.

Transcriptome analysis of multiple tissues reveals the potential mechanism of death under acute heat stress in chicken

BACKGROUND

Acute heat stress could induce high mortality and cause huge economic losses in the poultry industry. Although many studies have revealed heat stress-induced injuries of multiple tissues, the main target tissue and molecular mechanism of death under acute heat stress was largely unknown. This study systematically compared the transcriptome data of five main visceral tissues in chickens to reveal the response of multiple tissues to acute heat stress and determine the main target tissue of acute heat stress, further revealing the injuries of main target tissue and their potential mechanism by combing pathological section and qRT-PCR technologies.

RESULTS

The transcriptome data of five visceral tissues revealed that acute heat stress broadly caused inflammatory response and damaged tissues metabolic homeostasis. Among the five tested visceral tissues, the number of differentially expressed genes in the lung was the highest, and their fold changes were the greatest, indicating that the lung was the main target tissue of acute heat stress. The results of pathological section revealed severe inflammation, emphysema and pulmonary hemorrhage in the lung under acute heat stress. Our study found that some pro-inflammatory genes, including CNTFR, FURIN, CCR6, LIFR and IL20RA, were significantly up-regulated both in the heat-stress and heat-death groups, and their fold changes in the heat-death group were significantly greater than that in the heat-stress group. We also found an anti-inflammatory gene, AvBD9, exhibiting an extremely high expression in the heat-stress group but a low expression in the heat-death group.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study found that acute heat stress caused multiple tissue injuries broadly and the lung was the main target tissue of acute heat stress in chicken. Acute heat stress caused a severe inflammatory response, emphysema, and pulmonary haemorrhage, The severe inflammatory response in the heat-death group was related to the up-regulation of pro-inflammatory genes and down-regulation of anti-inflammatory genes.

Nanoparticle-Based Photothermal Therapy for Breast Cancer Noninvasive Treatment

Rapid advancements in materials science and nanotechnology, intertwined with oncology, have positioned photothermal therapy (PTT) as a promising noninvasive treatment strategy for cancer. The breast's superficial anatomical location and aesthetic significance render breast cancer a particularly pertinent candidate for the clinical application of PTT following melanoma. This review comprehensively explores the research conducted on the various types of nanoparticles employed in PTT for breast cancer and elaborates on their specific roles and mechanisms of action. The integration of PTT with existing clinical therapies for breast cancer is scrutinized, underscoring its potential for synergistic outcomes. Additionally, the mechanisms underlying PTT and consequential modifications to the tumor microenvironment after treatment are elaborated from a medical perspective. Future research directions are suggested, with an emphasis on the development of integrative platforms that combine multiple therapeutic approaches and the optimization of nanoparticle synthesis for enhanced treatment efficacy. The goal is to push the boundaries of PTT toward a comprehensive, clinically applicable treatment for breast cancer.

C-terminal truncation of the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) protein enhances the virulence and immunogenicity of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vaccine strain V4

The hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) protein of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is a multifunctional protein with receptor recognition ability that plays an important role in the infection of cells by NDV. An alignment of NDV HN protein sequences of different genotypes showed that vaccine strains of NDV, such as the LaSota strain, generally have an HN protein of 577 amino acids. In comparison, the HN protein of the V4 strain has 616 amino acids, with 39 more amino acids at the C-terminus. In this study, we generated a recombinant NDV (rNDV) with a 39-amino-acid truncation at the HN C-terminus based on the full-length cDNA clone of the V4 strain. This rNDV, named rV4-HN-tr, displayed thermostability similar to that of the parental V4 strain. However, growth kinetics and pathogenicity analysis suggested that rV4-HN-tr is more virulent than the V4 strain. Notably, the C-terminus of HN affected the ability of the virus to adsorb onto cells. Structural predictions further suggested that the C-terminus of HN may obstruct the sialic acid binding site. Immunization of chickens with rV4-HN-tr induced a 3.5-fold higher level of NDV-specific antibodies than that obtained with the V4 strain and provided 100% immune protection against NDV challenge. Our study suggests that rV4-HN-tr is a thermostable, safe, and highly efficient vaccine candidate against Newcastle disease.

Distinct invasive patterns in situ between estrogen receptor-positive and triple-negative breast cancer through the intraductal tracking of carbon nanoparticles

Given that the transition from ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) to invasive breast cancer (BC) is crucial during the BC progression, the mechanism involved in the invasion transition behind triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and estrogen receptor-positive (ER-positive) subtype has remained elusive. This article detected distinct invasion patterns of BC cells between the ER-positive and TNBC using intraductal murine models with intraductal administration of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs). First, the feasibility of the utility of CNPs as a tracer was proved. The area ratio of CNPs and tumor cells invading the stroma at the late stage was found significantly higher than that in the early stage in MNU-induced ER-positive BC. However, opposite results were obtained in the triple-negative model. Consequently, we proposed that the ER-positive phenotype cells behave differently between different stages during tumor progression while there is no such difference in the invasion process of TNBC cells. The analysis regarding the duct integrity along with immunohistochemical characteristics further explained the distinct invasion features between the ER-positive and triple-negative subtypes. Last, the relationship between the duct thickness and the duct integrity suggested that ER-positive tumors gradually increased in size within the lumen before the invasion. Overall, this study suggested the different invasion characteristics of ER-positive BC and TNBC in vivo.

Flos populi (Male Inflorescence of Populus tomentosa Carrière) Aqueous Extract Suppresses Salmonella Pullorum Infection by Affecting T3SS-1

Pullorum disease, caused by Salmonella Pullorum (S. Pullorum), is one of the most serious infectious diseases in the poultry industry. Flos populi is traditionally used in Eastern Asian countries to treat various intestinal diseases. However, the anti-infection mechanism of Flos populi is not very clear. In this study, we evaluated the anti-infective effects on S. Pullorum of Flos populi aqueous extract (FPAE) in chickens. FPAE significantly reduced S. Pullorum growth in vitro. At the cellular level, FPAE reduced S. Pullorum adhesion and invasion on DF-1 cells but did not affect its intracellular survival or replication in macrophages. Further investigation revealed that FPAE inhibited the transcription of T3SS-1 genes, which is the main virulence factor that mediates S. Pullorum adhesion and invasion in host cells. The results suggest that the anti-infective effect of FPAE likely occurs through the inhibition of S. Pullorum T3SS-1, thereby impairing its ability to adhere to and invade cells. Further, we evaluated its therapeutic effect on animal models (Jianghan domestic chickens) and found that FPAE reduced the bacterial loads in organs and decreased the mortality and weight loss of infected chickens. Our findings provide novel insights into the potential development of FPAE against S. Pullorum as an effective anti-virulence therapeutic substitute for antibiotics.

FHL3 promotes the formation of fast glycolytic muscle fibers by interacting with YY1 and muscle glycolytic metabolism

The proportions of the various muscle fiber types are important in the regulation of skeletal muscle metabolism, as well as animal meat production. Four-and-a-half LIM domain protein 3 (FHL3) is highly expressed in fast glycolytic muscle fibers and differentially regulates the expression of myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoforms at the cellular level. Whether FHL3 regulates the transformation of muscle fiber types in vivo and the regulatory mechanism is unclear. In this study, muscle-specific FHL3 transgenic mice were generated by random integration, and lentivirus-mediated gene knockdown or overexpression in muscles of mice or pigs was conducted. Functional analysis showed that overexpression of FHL3 in muscles significantly increased the proportion of fast-twitch myofibers and muscle mass but decreased muscle succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity and whole-body oxygen consumption. Lentivirus-mediated FHL3 knockdown in muscles significantly decreased muscle mass and the proportion of fast-twitch myofibers. Mechanistically, FHL3 directly interacted with the Yin yang 1 (YY1) DNA-binding domain, repressed the binding of YY1 to the fast glycolytic MyHC2b gene regulatory region, and thereby promoted MyHC2b expression. FHL3 also competed with EZH2 to bind the repression domain of YY1 and reduced H3K27me3 enrichment in the MyHC2b regulatory region. Moreover, FHL3 overexpression reduced glucose tolerance by affecting muscle glycolytic metabolism, and its mRNA expression in muscle was positively associated with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in patients with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, FHL3 is a novel potential target gene for the treatment of muscle metabolism-related diseases and improvement of animal meat production.