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Calponin 3 (CNN3) is known to serve a role in certain types of cancer, such as gastric cancer and colorectal cancer. The present study investigated the clinical significance of CNN3 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by evaluating its expression profile and relationship with disease prognosis using the Gene Expression Omnibus repository, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis 2 (GEPIA2) and Kaplan-Meier plotter analysis. CNN3 mRNA expression was measured using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR, while the protein expression level was measured using western blot analysis. Cell proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis, and migration and invasion were analyzed using MTS assay, flow cytometry and Transwell assays, respectively. These results revealed that CNN3 mRNA expression was downregulated in NSCLC tissues compared with that in normal tissues. Additionally, CNN3 expression had a high diagnostic value based on the GSE2514 dataset and the data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the Genotype Tissue Expression database, whereas it had a low diagnostic value based on the GSE10072 dataset. Furthermore, CNN3 expression was associated with survival in patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), whereas it was not associated with survival in patients with lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) according to the Kaplan-Meier plotter results. According to the data from GEPIA2, and the GSE72094, GSE41271 and GSE31210 datasets, CNN3 expression was not associated with the prognosis of patients with LUAD and LUSC. The mRNA and protein expression levels of CNN3 were lower in two NSCLC cell lines (A549 and SK-MES-1) than in a human bronchial epithelial cell line (BEAS-2B). CNN3 overexpression suppressed cell proliferation, migration and invasion, induced G1-phase arrest, promoted apoptosis and suppressed PI3K/AKT signaling pathway activation in the NSCLC cell lines, whereas CNN3 overexpression had no effect on cell morphology. In conclusion, CNN3 suppressed the proliferation and metastasis of NSCLC cells by downregulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, making it a potential therapeutic target in this disease.

The presence or absence of cytogenetic mutations is proposed to be responsible for the pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). However, the current classification system is inadequate to elucidate the molecular heterogeneity of the disease, and therapy failures frequently occur. Leukaemia stem cells (LSCs) initiate and maintain the clonal hierarchy of AML and exhibit properties of self-renewal remaining recalcitrant to conventional chemotherapy. In this study, we identified a novel long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) MAGI2 antisense RNA 3 (MAGI2-AS3) in AML and investigated its functional role in regulating LSCs self-renewal. LSCs were identified by immunoprofiling of CD34(+) CD123(+) in AML patients’ marrow. MAGI2-AS3 exhibited a poor expression level in LSCs than the normal human haematopoietic stem cells. Lentivirus-mediated upregulation of MAGI2-AS3 or leucine-rich repeats and Ig-like domains 1 (LRIG1) impaired LSCs self-renewal. MAGI2-AS3-overexpressed LSCs acquired the ability of self-renewal following lentivirus-mediated knockdown of LRIG1. Methylation-dependent inhibition of LRIG1 was evident in LSCs. MAGI2-AS3 was found to induce occupancy of TET2 at the LRIG1 promoter. Lentivirus-mediated downregulation of TET2 could impair MAGI2-AS3-mediated elevation of LRIG1 and neutralize the inhibitory effect of MAGI2-AS3 on LSCs self-renewal. In vivo analysis indicated an elevated overall survival of NOD/SCID mice injected with LSCs in the presence of MAGI2-AS3. Altogether, the key findings support the potential of lncRNA MAGI2-AS3 to serve as a novel candidate for the improvement of AML treatment.

Weeds are a major constraint to crop production, which is of crucial importance for food security in China given its 1.37 billion population. In recent years, an increasing number of herbicide resistant weeds and invasive alien plants have become prevalent and challenging to manage in China as elsewhere in the world. In this review, we provide an overview of several key facets of weed science research in China, including (i) weed community shifts as a result of cropping system and weed management changes, (ii) the status of invasive weeds, (iii) weed management options for the increasing number of herbicide resistant weeds, and (iv) the challenges and opportunities in weed research in China. Invasive weeds in tandem with changes in cropping systems have significantly altered weed communities in crops such as rice (Oryza sativa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), maize (Zea mays L.), soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), and oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.). At present, 30 weed species have evolved resistance to 11 herbicide sites of action that includes 48 commonly used herbicides. Although tactics such as crop rotation and biological control have been used to manage some weeds in China, weed control has and continues to rely primarily on herbicides. Research priorities for weed management include developing and implementing a preventive risk assessment framework and a better understanding of the mechanisms that allow some alien weeds to be highly aggressive and difficult to manage. Moreover, the development and evaluation of additional weed management tactics such as breeding competitive crop cultivars, straw mulching, optimizing water management, and site-specific fertilizer and herbicide applications warrant further study. The use of an integrated weed management approach in coming years will rely heavily on a more in-depth understanding of the biological and ecological principles governing weed population dynamics. Approaches such as herbicide resistance weed management (HRWM) programs in tandem with conservation agriculture (CA) can be employed to develop sustainable weed management strategies in cropping systems.

A unique cuboid spider silk from the outer egg sac of Nephila pilipes, with an unusual square cross-section, is disclosed. The structure-function relationships within this silk are first studied through structural characterization, mechanical measurement, protein conformation, and polypeptide signature of silk proteins. This silk maintains the higher stiffness property of egg sac silks, and also shows a species difference. Environmental response of the mechanical properties within this silk are observed. Synchrotron FTIR microspectroscopy is used to monitor the silk protein conformation in a single natural silk. The β-sheet structure aligns parallel to the fiber axis with a content of 22% ± 2.6%. The de novo resulting polypeptide from the solid silk fibers are novel, and an abundant polar amino acid insertion is observed. Short polyalanine (An , n ≤ 3), alternating serine and alanine (S/A)X, and alternating glycine and alanine (G/A)X, GGX, and SSX dominates in the resulting de novo polypeptide. This accords with the composition pattern of other egg sac silk proteins, besides the rarely observed GGX. This study broadens the library of egg sac spider silks and provides a new perspective to uncover structure-function relationships in spider silk.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanism underlying the rescue effect of lipid emulsion on bupivacaine (BPV)‑induced cardiomyocyte toxicity. The inhibitory effects of BPV on H9c2 myoblast cell proliferation were investigated using an MTT assay. The H9c2 myoblast cells were treated with either 1 mM BPV or 1% lipid emulsion (LE) alone, or co‑treated with both of the drugs. Cell apoptosis was detected using both Annexin V/propidium iodide staining and a terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP assay. The protein expression levels of apoptosis-associated proteins were quantified using western blot analysis, and the mRNA expression levels were quantified by reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The expression levels of reactive oxidative species, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, and catalase were quantified using the optical density values obtained from a spectrophotometer. In addition, the mechanism underlying the mitochondrial function of the H9c2 myoblast cells was investigated using both JC‑1 staining, and cyclosporin A and atractyloside treatment. The results indicated that the H9c2 myoblast cells treated with BPV exhibited significantly higher levels of apoptosis. Furthermore, BPV treatment increased the levels of oxidative stress, and caused mitochondrial dysfunction within the H9c2 myoblast cells. LE treatment reversed the effects of BPV treatment in the H9c2 myoblast cells.

Viruses are usually small infectious agents and form a pathogenic association with their hosts, but a notable exception to this is polydnaviruses (PDV) which are symbiotic viruses, the obligate mutualists of endoparasitoid wasps that form a giant group in Hymenoptera. PDV virions are injected into caterpillar hosts when parasitoid wasps lay eggs, and induce host immune suppression and developmental arrest to ensure survival of wasp larvae in caterpillar hosts. PDV genome is integrated in a wasp chromosome as a provirus, and therefore PDV virion only replicates in wasp calyx cells which are specialized cells of the wasp ovary, and never express virulence genes in wasp cells. Phylogenetic analyses of viral gene sequences indicate that the members of Bracovirus (BV), one of two genera of the Polydnaviridae, are closely related to pathogenic nudiviruses and baculoviruses. Moreover, the genome enclosed in the virions encodes almost no viral structural proteins, but interestingly a large set of homologs of nudivirial genes found in the wasp genome encode structural components of the BV virions. Thus BVs do not appear to be nudivirus remnants, but instead employ the same mechanism as nudivirus to delivery virulence genes into caterpillar hosts. Overall, these indicate that nudivirus is probably the ancestor of PDVs.

The Chinese species of the genus Neurocrassus Snoflak, 1945 are reviewed. Four new species, N. densipilosus sp. nov., N. elongatus sp. nov., N. flaviceps sp. nov., and N. ontsiroides sp. nov., are described and illustrated. Neurocrassus opis (Belokobylskij, 1998) and N. pseudopalliatus Belokobylskij and Maeto, 2009 are recorded in the fauna of China for the first time. A revised key to Asian species of the genus Neurocrassus is provided.

Some findings have suggested that the rescue of bupivacaine (BPV)-induced cardiotoxicity by lipid emulsion (LE) is associated with inhibition of mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP). However, the mechanism of this rescue action is not clearly known. In this study, the roles of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) in the molecular mechanism of LE-induced protection and its relationship with mPTP were explored. h9c2 cardiomyocytes were randomly divided into several groups: control, BPV, LE, BPV+LE. To study the effect of LE on mPTP, atractyloside (Atr, 20 μM, mPTP opener) and cyclosporine A (CsA, 10 μM, mPTP blocker) were used. To unravel whether LE protects heart through the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway, cells were treated with LY294002 (LY, 30 μM, PI3K blocker) or TWS119 (TWS 10 μM, GSK-3β blocker). Later mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes, apoptosis, opening of mPTP and phosphorylation levels of Akt/GSK-3β were measured. LE significantly improved the mitochondrial functions in h9c2 cardiomyocytes. LE reversed the BPV-induced apoptosis and the opening of mPTP. The effect of LE was not only enhanced by CsA and TWS, but also abolished by Atr and LY. LE also increased the phosphorylation levels of Akt and GSK-3β. These results suggested that LE can reverse the apoptosis in cardiomyocytes by BPV and a mechanism of its action is inhibition of mPTP opening through the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway.

A revision of the genus Eodendrus Belokobylskij, stat. nov. (type species Dendrosotinus eous Belokobylskij) is provided. Six new species are described and figured: E. africanus Belokobylskij, sp. nov. (S. Africa), E. convergens Belokobylskij, sp. nov. (Brunei), E. elongatus Belokobylskij and Long, sp. nov. (Vietnam), E. flavus Belokobylskij and Long, sp. nov. (Vietnam), E. hoabinicus Belokobylskij and Long, sp. nov. (Vietnam, Brunei), and E. petiolatus Belokobylskij and Chen, sp. nov. (China). Redescriptions of E. eous (Belokobylskij), comb. nov. (Russian Far East, Korea, Japan) and E. conspicuus (Granger), comb. nov. (Madagascar) are given. The lectotype of Doryctes conspicuus Granger is designated. A key to all species of the genus Eodendrus is presented. The composition of the subtribe Caenophanina (Doryctini) is discussed.

A new genus, Cornutorogas gen. nov., and four new species, Cornutorogas orientalis Chen and Belokobyskij, sp. nov. (China, Vietnam), C. maetoi van Achterberg, sp. nov. (Thailand), C. javensis van Achterberg, sp. nov. (Java) and C. sumatrensis van Achterberg, sp. nov. (Sumatra), of the subfamily Rogadinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from the Oriental Region are described and illustrated. The placement of this genus in the Rogadini is discussed.