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Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of silent information regulator 2 (SIRT2) form tissue of urothelial bladder cancer(UBC) and the effects of down-regulation of SIRT2 on the proliferation, invasion and migration of bladder cancer cells. Methods The expression of SIRT2 protein was detected in 95 samples of urothelial bladder cancer tissues and 39 paracancerous tissues using the immunohistochemical EnVision method. Its relationship with clinicopathological parameters was analyzed. The expression of SIRT2 mRNA in bladder cancer cell lines was detected by RT-qPCR, and the expression levels of SIRT2 protein in bladder cancer cell lines, 12 pairs of fresh bladder cancer tissues were detected by Western blot. Lentiviral infection was used to stably downregulate the SIRT2 gene in bladder cancer cell line T24. CCK8 and cell colony assays were performed to detect changes in cell proliferation ability and Transwell assay to detect changes in cell invasion and migration activity. Results The positive expression rate of SIRT2 in urothelial bladder cancer tissues was 84%(80/95), which was higher than that in normal uroepithelial tissues (5%, 2/39) (PConclusions SIRT2 is highly expressed in bladder uroepithelial carcinoma, and interfers with SIRT2 significantly and so inhibites bladder cancer cell proliferation, invasion and migration.

The issues of teaching innovation and entrepreneurship to college students in higher education institutions are first examined in this research, respectively, in terms of practical activities, evaluation system, and faculty strength. Based on the CIPP theory, the assessment framework for innovation and entrepreneurial education was developed, and the redundant indexes were screened by using the improved hierarchical analysis method. Secondly, the AHM-GRA model was used to conduct an in-depth analysis of the innovation and entrepreneurship curriculum at higher education institutions. Finally, the index system was empirically analyzed through gray correlation analysis. The results show that, on average, the approach utilized in this work performs 12.67% better than the fuzzy comprehensive assessment. With the help of this methodology, higher education institutions may assess their current level of innovation and entrepreneurship instruction and strive to improve it.

BACKGROUND Hexavalent chromium Cr(Ⅵ) is one of the basic monitoring indicators of soil in construction land. It is of great significance to carry out soil hexavalent chromium monitoring in the prevention and control of environmental pollution. At present, the standard method of hexavalent chromium in soil is flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The FAAS method has a high detection limit (0.5mg/kg), and serious matrix effect, and cannot meet the analysis of Cr(Ⅵ) in low-concentration soil samples. OBJECTIVES To establish a convenient and high sensitivity method for determination of low-concentration hexavalent chromium in soil. METHODS An ion-exchange-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method was developed to determine the content of hexavalent chromium in soil by extracting hexavalent chromium with alkali solution. The resin content, mixing speed, extraction temperature and extraction time were studied. The measurement results were compared with the flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS) method. RESULTS The results showed that the total dissolved solids (TDS) mass fraction was reduced from 2.4% to 0.17% after the alkaline extraction solution was diluted 10 times and 3.5g of cation exchange resin was added, and the matrix interference was greatly reduced. At the same time, due to the dissolution of hydrogen ions in the ion exchange process, the pH reached a suitable detection range (7.5±0.5). The pretreatment conditions were optimized. When the extraction temperature was 90-95℃, the stirring speed was 300 rpm, and the heating time was 70 min, the extraction effect of Cr(Ⅵ) was the best, and the relative error was -1.7%. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was 3.1%-5.9%, and the average relative error was -3.8% to -1.1%. F test and t test were used to compare the test results of high, medium and low concentration standard substances by ICP-MS and FAAS, and there was no significant difference between the two methods. The method detection limit (MDL) was 0.061 mg/kg. CONCLUSIONS Since this method adopts dilution, ion exchange, internal standard method, to reduce matrix interference, combined with the high sensitivity and good accuracy of ICP-MS, the method detection limit (MDL) is significantly lower than the detection limit of FAAS method (0.5mg/kg). This method can be used for the determination of low-concentration soil Cr(Ⅵ) samples.

To date, only 34 cases of primary pulmonary rhabdomyosarcoma (PPRMS) in the middle-aged and elderly population have been published. However, analyses of the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of PPRMS in this population have not been performed. A 75-year-old man visited our hospital because of abdominal pain and discomfort. His serum lactate dehydrogenase, neuron specific enolase, and progastrin-releasing peptide levels were elevated. Positron emission tomography–computed tomography revealed a lobulated mass of 7.6 × 5.5 cm 2 in the lower lobe of the left lung with abnormally high fluoro-2-deoxy- d -glucose metabolism. Histologically, the tumor cells were small with little cytoplasm, deep nuclear staining, and heavily stained nuclear chromatin. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were positive for desmin, MyoD1 myogenin, synaptophysin, and CD56. Cytogenetic analysis for FOXO1A translocation was negative. Finally, the patient was diagnosed with PPRMS. He received combined chemotherapy with vincristine 1 mg, actinomycin 0.4 mg, cyclophosphamide 0.8 mg; however, only one course of chemotherapy was completed, and the patient died 2 months after diagnosis. PPRMS in middle-aged and elderly people is a highly malignant soft tissue tumor with significant clinicopathological characteristics.

CDK4/6 are important regulators of cell cycle and their inhibitors have been approved as anti-cancer drugs. Here, we report a STING-dependent anti-tumor immune mechanism responsible for tumor suppression by CDK4/6 blockade. Clinical datasets show that in human tissues, CDK4 and CDK6 are over-expressed and their expressions are negatively correlated with patients overall survival and T cell infiltration. Deletion of Cdk4 or Cdk6 in tumor cells significantly reduce tumor growth. Mechanistically, we find that Cdk4 or Cdk6 deficiency contributes to an increased level of endogenous DNA damage, which triggers the cGAS-STING signaling pathway to activate type I interferon response. Knockout of Sting is sufficient to reverse and partially reverse the anti-tumor effect of Cdk4 and Cdk6 deficiency respectively. Therefore, our findings suggest that CDK4/6 inhibitors may enhance anti-tumor immunity through the STING-dependent type I interferon response.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that the glycolytic enzyme phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1) can promote tumor development. This study sought to investigate the specific role of PGK1 in bladder cancer (BLCA). Methods: Public databases and immunohistochemistry assays were utilized to analyze the expression of PGK1 in BLCA and its prognostic significance. Cell proliferation was assessed through CCK‐8 and colony formation assays, while the level of metastasis was evaluated using transwell migration experiments. Additionally, IC50 experiments were conducted to assess the impact of PGK1 on cisplatin sensitivity. Results: The mRNA and protein expression levels of PGK1 were significantly upregulated in BLCA. Cox proportional hazards model analysis revealed that PGK1 and T stage were independent prognostic factors for BLCA patients. Both CCK‐8 and colony assays demonstrated that PGK1 promotes proliferation. Furthermore, a positive correlation was observed between PGK1 and Ki67, a proliferation index. Transwell migration assays confirmed the ability of PGK1 to enhance metastasis. Finally, PGK1 increased the IC50 associated with cisplatin treatment in BLCA. Conclusion: Collectively, these findings suggest that PGK1 may hold clinical value in predicting BLCA prognosis and improving the outcomes of this patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cervical cancer (CC) is a serious global disease with poor prognoses and a significant recurrence rate in patients with advanced disease. Oxidative stress (OS) greatly influences many types of human cancers, making it crucial to understand the functional mechanisms of OS‐related genes in CC. Methods: The transcriptome and clinical data of three normal samples and 306 patients with CC were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset. The GSE44001 dataset was acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. OS‐related subtypes in the cohort with CC were identified using unsupervised hierarchical clustering, univariate Cox analysis, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analysis. Additionally, molecular pathways that differ across subtypes were determined and OS‐related genes linked to the prognosis of patients of CC were determined. Finally, a clinical prognostic gene signature was developed and validated. The relative infiltration level of immune cell subpopulations in different risk groups and subtypes was evaluated using the cell‐type identification by estimating relative subsets of RNA transcripts (CIBERPORT) algorithm and single‐sample GSEA (ssGSEA) techniques. Results: The present study established two distinct OS subtypes (OS clusters A and B). Analysis using ssGSEA and CIBERSPORT revealed that OS cluster B exhibited a significant level of immune infiltration. A clinical prognostic gene signature was established using OS‐related characteristic genes identified by examining the differentially expressed genes across both subtypes. Furthermore, patients with CC were grouped into high‐ and low‐risk groups, with the low‐risk group showing higher survival rates. Additionally, these individuals exhibited significant advantages in terms of survival and immunotherapy. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated the higher predictive value of the clinical prognostic gene signature. The outcomes of the validation group depicted congruence with those recorded in the training group. Conclusions: A new model was constructed based on eight OS‐related characteristic genes to aid the prediction of the survival rates of individuals with CC. The present study contributes to the existing literature on the mechanisms of OS genes in CC and offers a fresh perspective for future advancements in immunotherapy for such individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium is not only seriously harmful to the growth and development of plants but threatens human health through the food chain. E3 ubiquitin ligase genes have been studied widely; however, whether it mediates cadmium stress in plants remains unclear. In this report, we provided evidence on the response of a U-box E3 ubiquitin ligase gene SlUPS to cadmium stress. The full-length CDS of SlUPS was 873 bp, with 223 amino acid residues. SlUPS was sufficiently induced by cadmium in leaf and root tissues. The expression of the SlUPS gene reached the maximum in leaves and roots in 3 and 9 h during CdCl2 treatment. The gene expression increased with progressively increasing concentrations of cadmium. The viability of yeast carrying pYES2-SlUPS, with SlUPS overexpressed, was higher than that in the control group. The transgenic Arabidopsis plants that overexpressed SlUPS showed a significantly higher germination rate and better growth than the control plants during the cadmium treatment. In summary, our study showed that SlUPS might positively regulate the plant response to cadmium stress. These results provided insights facilitating further investigations into the roles of U-box E3 ubiquitin ligase genes in heavy metal stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies identified that strigolactones (SLs) and gibberellins (GAs) interacted when controlling branching in plant shoots, but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. qRT-PCR analysis suggested that the SL receptor gene CsDAD2 was significantly upregulated in the leaves, stems, and nodes of cucumber after treatment with 50 mg/L of GA3. Furthermore, the CsDAD2 gene was cloned and introduced into wild-type Arabidopsis plants via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. For the CsDAD2-OE lines, the endogenous content of GA3 was subsequently higher at the seedling stage, with the number of primary cauline branches also significantly increased at the maturity stage compared with WT. Additionally, GA-related genes were up-regulated in the first inter-nodes and the third nodes of the CsDAD2-OE lines, thus indicating that GA was metabolically active in these tissues. The expression of the branch inhibitor gene AtBRC1 decreased at the seedling stage as well as at the maturity stage of the CsDAD2-OE lines. These findings suggest that CsDAD2 might have important functions in the interactions between GAs and SLs as it can promote the accumulation of GAs in plant nodes and suppress the expression of BRC1, hence increasing primary cauline branching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, biological ash samples were prepared by establishing a high-capacity microwave integrated device for carbonizing and ashing. Radioactive nuclides in biologically derived ash samples using high-purity germanium gamma spectrometry were directly measured for rapid determination of γ radionuclide activity concentration in environmental bio-samples from nuclear power plant surroundings. A comparison with the traditional ash preparation method was also conducted. The results showed that the microwave-ash preparation method can improve the preparation efficiency of biological samples by approximately 2 to 5 times, with a relative deviation of less than 14.8% for parallel samples and a spike recovery rate ranging from 87.0% to 116%. A paired T-test revealsed no significant difference between the two methods. The proposed method has the advantages of high accuracy, high analytical efficiency, simple operation, greater security, and environmental friendliness. It is an ideal method for quickly determining γ radionuclide activity concentration in biological samples.

Cadmium (Cd), as a heavy metal, not only negatively affects the development and yield of plants, but also threatens human health due to its accumulation in plants. Increasing evidences indicate that the JUMONJI-C DOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN (JMJ) gene family plays a key role in regulating plant development and stress. Therefore, in this study, SlJMJ524 , a 1254 bp gene encoding the jumonji C domain (417 amino acids), was highly expressed in tomato leaves and flowers. Interestingly, the transgenic plants exhibited sensitivity to Cd during post-germination stage but showed enhanced tolerance to the heavy metal during adult stage. Overexpression of SlJMJ524 increased the expression level of related proteins gene involved in heavy metal uptake while increasing Cd tolerance through the GSH-PC pathway. The higher transcription of genes related to flavonoid synthesis reflected higher accumulations of flavonoids in transgenic plants. Our study demonstrated that the ectopic expression of SlJMJ524 conferred the transgenic plants many traits for improving cadmium stress tolerance at different developmental stages. This study advances our collective understanding of the functional role of JMJs and can be used to improve the cadmium tolerance and breeding of crops and plants. [Display omitted] • Transgenic Arabidopsis was sensitive to Cd during germination stages, showing tolerance during seedling and mature stages. • SlJMJ524 might affect plants cadmium tolerance by regulating the expression of metal transporter related genes. • SlJMJ524 might resist cadmium-induced stress by increasing the flavonoid content of the plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) has long been considered the primary energy source in breast cancer cells. Cytochrome c oxidase assembly factor 6 (COA6), which functions as a metal chaperone to transport copper to complex Ⅳ during the OXPHOS process, plays a crucial role in the carcinogenesis of lung adenocarcinoma. Nevertheless, its specific function in breast cancer is undefined. The present investigation aimed to clarify COA6's expression profile and regulatory functions in breast cancer, as well as to unveil its underlying mechanisms. Initially, our findings revealed a significant upregulation of COA6 in breast cancer, as evidenced by an analysis of the TCGA database and tissue microarrays. This upregulation correlated with tumor size and histological grade. Additionally, survival analysis revealed that elevated COA6 amounts were correlated with decreased overall survival (OS) in breast cancer. To delve deeper into the functions of COA6, both COA6-overexpressing and COA6-knockdown breast cancer cell models were established. These experiments demonstrated COA6 is pivotal in regulating cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion, thereby promoting cancer progression in vitro . Notably, functional enrichment analysis indicated COA6 might be involved in breast cancer progression by modulating oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Collectively, this study reveals an overt tumorigenic role for COA6 in breast cancer and sheds light on its potential mechanisms, offering valuable therapeutic targets for breast cancer therapy., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists., (© The author(s).)

Background: Cancers that metastasize to the skin are rare, especially cervical squamous cell carcinoma to the skin. Here, we have reported clinical analysis of patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma metastasize to skin, to obtain a general understanding of this malignancy for clinicians., Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients with skin metastasis from cervical squamous cell carcinoma was conducted, focusing on clinical manifestations, histopathology, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis., Results: The average age of onset for the six patients with skin metastasis from cervical squamous cell carcinoma was 55.17±17.08 years, with four cases presenting as solitary lesions and two cases as multiple lesions. Treatment strategies included local excision for isolated lesions, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or targeted therapy based on the extent of skin involvement, and immunotherapy was proved to have promising results in our cases. Among the six patients, three have passed away with a diagnosis-to-death time of approximately 5-6 months, while three patients are alive, with survival times ranging from 30 to 72 months., Conclusions: Skin metastasis from cervical squamous cell carcinoma is rare and often accompanies recurrent metastases to other visceral sites, necessitating early and accurate diagnosis. For isolated metastatic lesions, early detection followed by wide excision surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy can yield favorable outcomes. However, in cases of multiple skin metastases or concurrent metastases to multiple organs, treatment is challenging with a poor prognosis. Nevertheless, with advancements in medicine, combination chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy can effectively prolong survival, offering new hope for patients with skin metastasis from cervical cancer.

Recent studies have demonstrated the crucial role of Cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) in the production of secondary metabolites, phytohormones and antioxidants in plants. However, their functional characterization specifically under alkaline stress remains elusive. CYP82C4 was the key gene screened from a family of wild soybean CYPs in our previous studies. The aim of this present study was to clone the Glycine soja GsCYP82C4 gene and characterize its functions in Arabidopsis and Glycine max. The results showed that the GsCYP82C4 gene displayed a high expression in different plant tissues at mature stages compared to young stages. Further, higher temporal expression of the GsCYP82C4 gene was noted at 6, 12 and 24 h time points after alkali treatment in leaves compared to roots. In addition, overexpression of GsCYP82C4 improved alkaline stress tolerance in Arabidopsis via increased root lengths and fresh biomass and strengthened the antioxidant defense system via a reduction in superoxide radicals in transgenic lines compared to wild type (WT) and atcyp82c4 mutants. Further, the expression levels of stress-related marker genes were up-regulated in GsCYP82C4 OX lines under alkali stress. The functional analysis of GsCYP82C4 overexpression in soybean displayed better hairy root growth, increased fresh weight, higher antioxidant enzyme activities and reduced lipid peroxidation rates in OX lines compared to the soybean WT (K599) line. In total, our study displayed positive roles of GsCYP82C4 overexpression in both Arabidopsis and Glycine max to alleviate alkaline stress via altering expression abundance of stress responsive genes, stronger roots, higher antioxidant enzyme activities as well as reduced rates of lipid peroxidation and superoxide radicals., (© 2024 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.)