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Early diagnosis is important for improving the outcomes of keratoconus (KC). Stable expression and a closed-loop structure of circular RNAs (circRNAs) make them ideal for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. However, the expression pattern and potential function of circRNAs in KC is not studied yet. Hence, this study explored the circRNA expression profile of KC corneas through transcriptome sequencing and circRNA expression profile analysis. The diagnostic potential of blood circRNAs for KC was explored by analysing the circRNAs' expression levels of fifty paired blood samples from patients with KC and normal controls. The results showed that 107 significantly upregulated and 145 significantly downregulated circRNAs (|fold change| ≥ 2.0, p -value <0.05) were identified in KC tissues. Eight top differently expressed circRNAs were further validated in more cornea samples. Among them, five circRNAs expressed in peripheral blood, and four circRNAs (circ_0006156, circ_0006117, circ_0000284 and circ_0001801) showed significant downregulation in KC patients' peripheral blood too. The blood circ_0000284 expression levels of early, moderate, and advanced KC patients both were significantly lower than the controls. The blood circ_0006117 expression levels present a positive correlation with corrected distance visual acuity values, and a negative correlation with back elevation values of KC eyes. Notably, the expression levels of these circRNAs distinguished KC patients from their healthy counterparts, with the area under the curve (AUC) of circ_0000284, circ_0001801, and circ_0006117 being 0.7306, 0.6871 and 0.6701, respectively. Further, the AUC value for five circRNAs under the logistic regression model was 0.8203, indicating that they can function as effective biomarkers for the KC diagnostics. In conclusion, the expression of circRNAs showed a relationship with KC, with four significantly differentially expressed circRNAs demonstrating potential as biomarkers for the disease. • The expression profile of circRNAs in the corneas was analysed by RNA-Seq. • A group of significantly regulated circRNAs in keratoconus tissues were identified. • Four significantly differentially expressed circRNAs in blood were identified. • Four circRNAs demonstrating potential as circulating biomarkers for the keratoconus. • Hsa_circ_0000284 has the best diagnostic performance in the diagnosis of keratoconus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a new emerging viral pathogen, Decapod iridescent virus 1 (DIV1) seriously threatens crustacean farming in recent years. However, limited research progresses have been made on the immune mechanism between host and viral factors in response to DIV1 infection. In the current study, a natural occurrence of DIV1 infection with obvious clinical signs was found in farmed redclaw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus , and confirmed by nested PCR detection and histopathological examination. Besides, gene expression profiles were analyzed after being challenged with DIV1, and results showed that 27 immune related genes were upregulated compared with the control group. Moreover, the gut microbiota from healthy and DIV1-infected crayfish were investigated by 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing. Results showed that significant differences in the microbial composition and function were observed after DIV1 challenge. Furthermore, we discovered that changes in gene expression profiles were correlated with microbiota alterations under DIV1 challenge. Taken together, our findings will provide new insights into the immune response mechanism of DIV1 infection in crustaceans. • DIV1 infection was found in farmed redclaw crayfish by nested PCR detection and histopathological examination. • Significant difference was observed within the composition and function of gut microbiota after being challenged with DIV1. • A high correlation between bacterial genera and immune genes was observed between healthy and DIV1-infected crayfish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Resveratrol facilitated memory formation and synaptic plasticity in 8–9month-old mice. [•] After resveratrol treatment, the levels of miR-124 and miR-134 were down-regulated in hippocampus. [•] The expression of CREB and BDNF was increased in the mice treated with resveratrol. [•] We showed a microRNA-based mechanism for the memory enhancement of resveratrol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Dopamine (DA) plays a critical role in the protection of gastric mucosa and is mediated through corresponding receptors. However, the details of the expression of DA receptors (D1–D5) in the gastric mucosa are lacking. The present study investigated the expression and cellular localization of DA receptors in rat gastric mucosa by means of real-time PCR and immunofluorescent techniques. The results indicated that the mRNA expressions of all five subtypes of DA receptors were found in the gastric mucosa, among which the D2 level was the highest. The immunopositive cells of D1–D3 and D5 were primarily localized to the basilar gland of the epithelial layer in gastric corpus, but D4 immunoreactivity (IR) was only observed in the enteric nerve plexus. The D1, D2, and D5 IR were found in pepsin C-IR cells except D3. No IR of any DA receptor was detected in the H+/K+-ATPase- or mucin 6-IR cells. In conclusion, for the first time, this study demonstrates the predominant distribution of DA receptors in the chief cells, not the parietal and mucous neck cells, in rat gastric mucosa, thus suggesting that DA may not directly regulate the function of parietal cells or mucous neck cells, but it may modulate the function of chief cells through the D1, D2, and D5 receptors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The sugarcane shoot borer Chilo infuscatellus (Snellen) is known for causing severe damage to sugarcane yield in China. Methods have been developed to control this pest, including Cry toxin pesticide and transgenic Bt plants. In order to investigate the molecular mechanism of the Cry toxin binding process and provide a basis for understanding the insect's resistance mechanism, we used a high throughput sequencing platform to perform a de novo transcriptome assembly across different larval developmental stages and analyzed Cry toxin receptors based on our assembled transcripts. We cloned twelve Cry toxin receptor genes including 1 cadherin (Cad), 7 aminopeptidase-Ns (APNs), 3 alkaline phosphatases (ALPs), and 1 ATP-binding cassette transporter subfamily C2 (ABCC2), and three of them with full length. The sublethal dosage of Cry1Ac toxin was applied to sugarcane shoot borer and identified some Cry toxin receptor genes that were significantly induced after 48 h of exposure. Furthermore, quantitative RT-PCR was conducted to detect the expression profiles of these genes. Our transcriptome sequence data provided a valuable molecular resource for further study and the identified Cry toxin receptor data gave insights for improved research into the mechanism of Bt resistance. Unlabelled Image • A total of 95,921 unigenes were generated in the de novo Chilo infuscatellus assembled transcriptome. • One hundred and thirty one unigenes were annotated as Cry-toxin receptor homologs. • Twelve Cry-toxin receptor genes were cloned and the expression profiles were also detected. • The sublethal dosage of Cry1Ac toxin induced nine cloned Cry-toxin receptor gene expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Recent evidence suggested that ClC-3, encoding Cl − channel or Cl − /H + antiporter, plays a critical role in regulation of a variety of physiological functions. However, remarkably little is known about whether ClC-3 is involved in atherosclerosis. This study aims to establish the involvement and direct role of ClC-3 in atherogenesis and underlying mechanisms by using ClC-3 and ApoE double null mice. Methods and results After a 16-week western-type high-fat diet, the ClC-3 +/+ ApoE −/− mice developed widespread atherosclerotic lesions in aorta. However, the lesion size was significantly reduced in aorta of ClC-3 −/− ApoE −/− mice. Compared with the ClC-3 +/+ controls, there was significantly decreased ox-LDL binding and uptake in isolated peritoneal macrophages from ClC-3 −/− mice. Moreover, the expression of scavenger receptor SR-A, but not CD36, was significantly decreased in both ClC-3 −/− peritoneal macrophages and aortic lesions from ClC-3 −/− ApoE −/− mice. These findings were further confirmed in ox-LDL-treated RAW264.7 macrophages, which showed that silence of ClC-3 inhibited SR-A expression, ox-LDL accumulation and foam cell formation, whereas overexpression of ClC-3 produced the opposite effects. In addition, ClC-3 siRNA significantly inhibited, whereas ClC-3 overexpression increased, the phosphorylation of JNK/p38 MAPK in ox-LDL-treated RAW264.7 foam cells. Pretreatment with JNK or p38 inhibitor abolished ClC-3-induced increase in SR-A expression and ox-LDL uptake. Finally, the increased JNK/p38 phosphorylation and SR-A expression induced by ClC-3 could be mimicked by reduction of [Cl − ] i by low Cl − solution. Conclusions Our findings demonstrated that ClC-3 deficiency inhibits atherosclerotic lesion development, possibly via suppression of JNK/p38 MAPK dependent SR-A expression and foam cell formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA methylation is an ancient epigenetic modification present in all three domains of life. However, the understanding of DNA methylation in insects is limited. Here, we amplified the full-length transcripts of the DNA methyltransferases Nlu-Dnmt1 and Nlu-Dnmt3 , indicating that a complete DNA methylation toolkit exists in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens , a destructive pest in rice production. Nlu-DNMT1 and Nlu-DNMT3 had the conserved motifs and domains of the DNA methyltransferase family. Nlu-Dnmt1 and Nlu-Dnmt3 were highly expressed in the mated and gravid female adults but weakly expressed in larvae, male adults, and virgin female adults. Silencing Nlu-Dnmt1 and Nlu-Dnmt3 in gravid brachypterous female adults led to fewer offspring, suggesting that DNA methylation regulates female fecundity in insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Exon-intron organization of the Fem-1 gene family was analyzed. • Fem-1B exhibited sexual dimorphism patterns, and highly expressed in ovarian tissue. • Target silencing of Fem-1B by RNAi changed the transcription of VTG. • Fem-1B was involved in ovarian development by regulating VTG in C. quadricarinatus. The Fem-1 (Feminization-1) gene, encoding an intracellular protein with conserved ankyrin repeat motifs, has been proven to play a key role in sex differentiation in Caenorhabditis elegans. In the present study, three members of the Fem-1 gene family (designating Fem-1A , Fem-1B , and Fem-1C, respectively) were cloned and characterized in the redclaw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus. Sequence analysis showed that all three Fem-1 genes contained the highly conserved ankyrin repeat motifs with variant repeat numbers, which shared similarity with other reported crustaceans. In addition, a phylogenetic tree revealed that the Fem-1 proteins from C. quadricarinatus were clustered with the crustacean Fem-1 homologs, and had the closest evolutionary relationship with Eriocheir sinensis. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) results demonstrated that Fem-1B exhibited a significant higher expression abundance in the ovary than in other tissues. In addition, a regular mRNA expression pattern of the Fem-1B gene appeared in the reproductive cycle of ovarian development. Furthermore, RNA interference experiments were employed to investigate the role of Fem-1B in ovarian development. Moreover, knockdown of Fem-1B by RNAi decreased the expression of VTG in the ovaries and hepatopancreas. In summary, this study pointed out that Fem-1B was involved in the sex differentiation process through regulating VTG expression in C. quadricarinatus, and provided new insights into the role of Fem-1B in ovary development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have recently received much interest for their role in post-transcriptional regulation. However, the study of miRNA transcription lags behind that of gene cloning and functional analysis. The MiR-281 in Drosophila melanogaster is located in the first intron of isoform RA of the ornithine decarboxylase antizyme (ODA) gene. ODA has three isoforms because of alternative transcription start sites (TSSs). Expression profile analysis indicated that miR-281 is not co-expressed with any ODA isoform. We amplified the primary transcripts of miR-281 using the RACE technique. The pri-miRNA is 2149bp with a poly (A) tail and a canonical polyadenylation signal (AATAAA). Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis confirmed the binding of hypophosphorylated Pol-II and the transcription factor Myc at the core miR-281 promoter region. The abundance of miR-281 does not correlate, either positively or negatively, with the expression of any ODA isoform, indicating that ODA has little influence on the transcription of miR-281. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]