Search

There are differences of spectral characteristics between different types of meat cut, which means the model established using only one type of meat cut for meat quality prediction is not suitable for other meat cut types. A novel portable visible and near-infrared (Vis/NIR) optical system was used to simultaneously predict multiple quality indicators for different commercial meat cut types (silverside, back strap, oyster, fillet, thick flank, and tenderloin) from Small-tailed Han sheep. The correlation coefficients of the calibration set ( R c ) and prediction set ( R p ) of the optimal prediction models were 0.82 and 0.81 for pH, 0.88 and 0.84 for L*, 0.83 and 0.78 for a*, 0.83 and 0.82 for b*, 0.94 and 0.86 for cooking loss, 0.90 and 0.88 for shear force, 0.84 and 0.83 for protein, 0.93 and 0.83 for fat, 0.92 and 0.87 for moisture contents, respectively. This study demonstrates that Vis/NIR spectroscopy is a promising tool to achieve the predictions of multiple quality parameters for different commercial meat cut types., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (© Korean Society for Food Science of Animal Resources.)

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability and death in adolescents, and there is a lack of effective methods of treatment. The neuroprotective effects exerted by TGF-β1 can ameliorate a range of neuronal lesions in multiple central nervous system diseases. In this study, we used an in-vitro TBI model of mechanical injury on murine primary cortical neurons and the neuro-2a cell line to investigate the neuroprotective role played by TGF-β1 in cortical neurons in TBI. Our results showed that TGF-β1 significantly increased neuronal viability and inhibited apoptosis for 24 h after trauma. The expression of Ca v 1.2, an L-type calcium channel (LTCC) isoform, decreased significantly after trauma injury, and this change was reversed by TGF-β1. Nimodipine, a classic LTCC blocker, abolished the protective effect of TGF-β1 on trauma-induced neuronal apoptosis. The knockdown of Ca v 1.2 in differentiated neuro-2a cells significantly inhibited the anti-apoptosis effect of TGF-β1 exerted on injured neuro-2a cells. Moreover, TGF-β1 rescued and enhanced the trauma-suppressed neuro-2a intracellular Ca 2+ concentration, while the effect of TGF-β1 was partially inhibited by nimodipine. TGF-β1 significantly upregulated the expression of Ca v 1.2 by activating the p38 MAPK pathway and by inhibiting trauma-induced neuronal apoptosis. In conclusion, TGF-β1 increased trauma-injured murine cortical neuronal activity and inhibited apoptosis by upregulating Cav1.2 channels via activating the p38 MAPK pathway. Therefore, the TGF-β1/p38 MAPK/Ca v 1.2 pathway has the potential to be used as a novel therapeutic target for TBI., (Copyright © 2022 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: In recent years, the research on subacromial impingement syndrome (SIS) has gradually increased. Although the research directions are diverse, the overall research status and trend are not clear., Objective: The aim of our study was to use bibliometric analysis to identify the trends in SIS-related research and to analyze the most highly cited scientific publications on SIS., Methods: All data were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database, and the year of publications, countries, journals, institutions and total number of citations were extracted and analyzed. The results related to countries, institutions and keywords were then analyzed using VOSviewer software and bibliometrics online analysis platform. And, we also identified the 100 most cited articles on SIS., Results: A total of 548 articles related to AIS were identified. The frequency of publication on SIS has increased substantially over time. Among all countries, Turkey has contributed the most publications on SIS (n=118). The institution with the most articles was Istanbul University (n=17). Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery topped the list of journals and has published 19 SIS-related publications. The hotspot of research changed from the former arthroscopic surgery to physical therapy and rehabilitation., Conclusion: The scientific research on SIS has rapidly expanded in recent years. This study represents the first bibliometric analysis of SIS, gives us a systematic and comprehensive summary into the development of SIS., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2022 Ge et al.)

Background: Sorafenib, which can induce ferroptosis, is a multikinase inhibitor for enhancing survival in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, a considerable challenge for the treatment of HCC is sorafenib resistance. Therefore, targeting the relationship between sorafenib resistance and ferroptosis genes may provide a novel approach for the treatment of HCC., Materials and Methods: We analyzed the gene expression and clinicopathological factors from The Cancer Genome Atlas Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma (TCGA-LIHC), International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases (GSE109211/GSE62813). The statistical analysis was conducted in R. Cell proliferation was assayed by MTT, cell colony-forming assay, and wound healing assay. Immunofluorescence assay and Western blot were used to evaluate the expression of AKT., Results: Many ferroptosis-related genes were upregulated in the sorafenib-resistant group. Aldo-keto reductase 1C3 (AKR1C3) was highly expressed in sorafenib-resistant patients, and the high expression of AKR1C3 was associated with the poor prognosis of patients from the TCGA and ICGC databases. MTT and colony-forming assays showing AKR1C3 overexpression enhanced the proliferation of HCC cells and acute sorafenib resistance. Knockdown of AKR1C3 inhibited the proliferation of HCC cells and increased the drug sensitivity of sorafenib. Immunofluorescence assay and Western blot proved that AKR1C3 promoted the phosphorylation of AKT., Conclusion: AKR1C3 can induce sorafenib resistance through promoting the phosphorylation of AKT in HCC. AKR1C3 inhibitors may be used in conjunction with sorafenib to become a better therapeutic target for HCC., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zheng, Yang, Li, Yang and Yao.)

Distributed array radar provides new prospects for three-dimensional (3D) inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging. The accuracy of image registration, as an essential part of 3D ISAR imaging, affects the performance of 3D reconstruction. In this paper, the imaging process of distributed array ISAR is proposed according to the imaging model. The ISAR images of distributed array radar at different APCs have different distribution of scatters. When the local distribution of scatters for the same target are quite different, the performance of the existing ISAR image registration methods may not be optimal. Therefore, an image registration method is proposed by integrating the feature-based method and the area-based method. The proposed method consists of two stages: coarse registration and fine registration. In the first stage, a dominant scatters model is established based on scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT). In the second stage, sub-pixel precision registration is achieved using the local correlation matching method. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by comparison with other image registration methods. The 3D reconstruction of the registered experimental data is carried out to assess the practicability of the proposed method.

The aim of this study was to investigate the formation rules of 1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5- b ]-pyridine (PhIP), 1-methyl-9 H -pyrido[3,4- b ]-indole (Harman), and 9 H -pyrido[3,4- b ]-indole (Norharman) in chemical model systems containing epicatechin under various reaction conditions and establish their prediction models. The results indicated that at 100-200 °C and pH 5.5-7.5 for 10-90 min, epicatechin inhibited the formation of PhIP, Harman, and Norharman by 32-100, 1-93, and 5-98%, respectively. The exponential growth equation in the growth model with R 2 of 0.986-0.997, the second-order equation in the polynomial model with R 2 of 0.900-0.949, and the trigonometric function equation in the Fourier model with R 2 of 0.513-0.926 were well fitted for the formation of PhIP, Harman, and Norharman at various temperatures, times, and pHs, respectively. The calibration set ( R 2 c ) and the prediction set ( R 2 p ) of the optimal partial least squares regression prediction model was 0.74 and 0.70 for PhIP, 0.75 and 0.70 for Harman, and 0.90 and 0.91 for Norharman, respectively. The results provide theoretical support to develop technologies or equipment for the real-time synchronous monitoring of PhIP, Harman, and Norharman during meat processing.

Background: Adrenal tuberculosis is difficult to diagnose due to non-specific symptom. Unexpected death due to adrenal insufficiency after trauma surgery is rare., Case Presentation: A 45-year-old man, who was admitted to hospital because of trauma to the right hand, died unexpectedly on the 13th day after replantation of amputated fingers. He was diagnosed with brain edema and diluted hyponatremia. Autopsy and histopathologic examination revealed severe brain edema combined with cerebellar tonsillar hernia, extensive destruction of adrenal gland caused by bilateral adrenal tuberculosis and right lung invasive pulmonary tuberculosis., Conclusions: Trauma and pulmonary tuberculosis complicated with adrenal tuberculosis induced the adrenal crisis, which eventually lead to severe cerebral edema and hernia, and finally death from respiratory and circulatory failure. This autopsy and histopathologic examination suggested a possible pathophysiologic mechanism of sudden death due to diluted hyponatremia after trauma surgery., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: To explore the biological and clinical effects of titin-antisense RNA1 (TTN-AS1) in bladder cancer (BC) and the association between TTN-AS1 and activating transcription factor 2 (ATF2) in BC. Methods: The Kaplan-Meier method was performed to analyze the association between the expression of TTN-AS1 and prognosis of BC patients from TCGA data set and our institution. Quantitative real-time PCR (RT-PCR) was conducted to explore the expression of TTN-AS1 between the patients who underwent TURBT and Re-TURBT. MTT, colony formation, and tumor formation assays were conducted to evaluate the effect of TTN-AS1 on the ability of proliferation in BC cell lines. Transwell assay was performed to evaluate the effect of TTN-AS1 on the ability of invasion in BC cell lines. Bioinfomatics and immunohistochemical staining was used to identify the relationship between TTN-AS1 and ATF2. Results: The higher expression of TTN-AS1 was related to poorer disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with BC. The expression of TTN-AS1 was higher in BC patients who underwent Re-TURBT compared with BC patients who underwent TURBT. Knocking down TTN-AS1 resulted in inhibiting the ability of proliferation and invasion of BC cells. ATF2 may serve as a downstream target of TTN-AS1 in BC, and the high expression of ATF2 is also related to adverse DFS. Conclusion: Our study reveals that TTN-AS1 serves as an oncogene by activating ATF2 in BC. The findings suggest that TTN-AS1 may act as a novel therapeutic target for patients with BC., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Xiao, Huang, Li, Zhang and Yang.)

The visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (Vis/NIRS) models for sheep meat quality evaluation using only one type of meat cut are not suitable for other types. In this study, a novel portable Vis/NIRS system was used to simultaneously detect physicochemical properties (pH, color L *, a *, b *, cooking loss, and shear force) for different types of sheep meat cut, including silverside, back strap, oyster, fillet, thick flank, and tenderloin cuts. The results show that the predictive abilities for all parameters could be effectively improved by spectral preprocessing. The coefficient of determination ( R p 2 ) and residual predictive deviation (RPD) of the optimal prediction models for pH, L *, a *, b *, cooking loss, and shear force were 0.79 and 3.50, 0.78 and 2.28, 0.68 and 2.46, 0.75 and 2.62, 0.77 and 2.19, and 0.83 and 2.81, respectively. The findings demonstrate that Vis/NIR spectroscopy is a useful tool for predicting the physicochemical properties of different types of meat cut.

Wheat protein is the most consumed plant protein in our diet, and there is an increased prevalence of wheat/gluten intolerance and adherence to a gluten-free diet in many countries. Despite the known immunodominant effect of undigested gliadin peptides responsible for gluten-related intolerance, it remains unclear if and how gliadin peptides self-assemble into ordered nanostructures during gastrointestinal digestion, as well as their biological impact on the mucus barrier function. In this study, we purified undigestible gliadin peptide nanoparticles (UGPNs) by ultracentrifugation and characterized their structural and physiochemical properties. The results demonstrate that the UGPNs are self-assembled nanostructures generated by cationic amino acids (Lys and Arg)-capped surfactant-like peptides (SLPs), mainly derived from γ-gliadin and α-gliadin. SLPs trigger the concentration-dependent self-assembly driven by β-sheet conformational transitions above their critical aggregation concentration (cac, ∼0.1 mg/mL). UGPNs can easily penetrate the mucus layer in Caco-2/HT29-MTX cocultures with a high P app value (∼5.7 × 10 -6 cm/s) and reduce the production and thickness of the mucus layer driven by intestinal epithelial cell damage. Isothermal titration calorimetry and Langmuir monolayer studies indicate that the self-assembled state of UGPNs significantly affects their binding to DPPC/DOPE lipid membrane models. These results highlight the relevance of the self-assembly of gliadin peptides as a trigger of mucosal inflammation-related wheat/gluten intolerance.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is the most active field in immuno-oncology and brings substantial benefit to patients with B cell malignancies. However, the complex procedure for CAR T-cell generation hampers its widespread applications. Here, we describe a novel approach in which human CAR T cells can be generated within the host upon injecting an Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector carrying the CAR gene, which we call AAV delivering CAR gene therapy (ACG). Upon single infusion into a humanized NOD.Cg-Prkd cscid Il2rg em26 /Nju tumor mouse model of human T-cell leukemia, AAV generates sufficient numbers of potent in vivo CAR cells, resulting in tumor regression; these in vivo-generated CAR cells produce antitumor immunological characteristics. This instantaneous generation of in vivo CAR T cells may bypass the need for patient lymphodepletion, as well as the β processes of traditional CAR T-cell production, which may make CAR therapy simpler and less expensive. It may allow the development of intricate, individualized treatments in the form of on-demand and diverse therapies.

Background: ITGA3 is a member of the integrin family, a cell surface adhesion molecule that can interact with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. The purpose of this study was to explore the significance of ITGA3 expression in the prognosis and clinical diagnosis of breast cancer patients., Methods: Oncomine, the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) and UALCAN were used to analyze the expression of ITGA3 in various cancers. PrognoScan, GEPIA, Kaplan-Meier plotter and Easysurv were utilized to analyze the prognosis of ITGA3 in certain cancers. Based on TCGA data, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic performance of ITGA3 expression. cBio-Portal and MethSurv were used to evaluate the genomic mechanism. LinkedOmics, NetworkAnalyst and Metascape were used to build the signaling network. TIMER is a web server for comprehensive analysis of tumor infiltrating immune cells and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs)., Results: The expression of ITGA3 in normal breast tissues was greater than that in breast cancer tissues at both the mRNA and protein levels. High expression of ITGA3 was associated with better prognosis of breast cancer patients. ROC analysis indicated that ITGA3 had significant diagnostic value. Genomic analysis revealed that promoter methylation of ITGA3 leads to transcriptional silencing, which may be one of the mechanisms underlying ITGA3 downregulation in BRCA. Immune infiltration analysis showed that ITGA3 may be involved in the recruitment of immune cells., Conclusions: This study identified ITGA3 as a novel biomarker to estimate the diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer. In addition, ITGA3 is involved in ECM regulation and immune cell infiltration., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Li, Li, Bai, Li, Ni, Zhao and Zhang.)

Background: Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) is an important gene that has been implicated in the progression of human cancer. Aberrant expression of RUNX2 predicts gastric cancer (GC) metastasis. However, the molecular mechanism of RUNX2 remains unknown., Objective: We hypothesize that RUNX2 promotes GC metastasis by regulating the extracellular matrix component collagen type I alpha 1 (COL1A1)., Methods: The GEPIA database and immunohistochemical staining of 60 GC tissues were used to analyse the correlations between RUNX2 or COL1A1 expression and clinicopathological features, and the Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate survival. RT-PCR, western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to detect RUNX2 and COL1A1 expression in GC cells. Migration and invasion assays were performed to assess the influence of RUNX2 and COL1A1 on metastasis., Results: RUNX2 and COL1A1 were highly expressed at both the gene and protein levels in GC, and patients who were positive for RUNX2 and COL1A1 had shorter survival. RUNX2 and COL1A1 expression linearly correlated with each other (r= 0.15, p< 0.01) and with clinical stage and lymph node metastasis (p< 0.05). Overexpressing RUNX2in vitro enhanced COL1A1 expression and promoted GC cell invasion and migration, whereas COL1A1 knockdown inhibited the increase in cell metastatic capacity promoted by RUNX2. In vivo, GC cells overexpressing RUNX2 promoted lung metastasis, and the downregulation of COL1A1 reduced the metastasis promoted by RUNX2., Conclusions: RUNX2 may promote GC metastasis by regulating COL1A1. RUNX2/COL1A1 can be employed as a novel target for therapy in GC.

Background: Asthma is a serious global health problem, severely affecting the lives of sufferers and their families. An exceptionally hygienic home and reduced microbial exposure can aggravate the incidence of childhood asthma., Methods: Specific-pathogen-free BALB/c mice were pre-treated with bacterial lysate (BL; 1 mg/kg) as a high microbial load maternal mouse model, and then, the offspring mice were established as an allergic airway disease (AAD) model. The expression levels of TLR2, TLR4, and HDAC9 in the mother's intestine and the offspring's lungs were detected. Relevant indicators of regulatory T cells (Tregs) were identified in the mother and offspring mice. The changes in the expression of Th1-, Th2-, Th9-, and Th17-related cytokines in the offspring mice were evaluated among different pre-treated groups., Results: After augmenting the mothers' intestinal microbiota through oral BL gavage, the expression of TLR2 and TLR4 in the colon mucosa and colon lymphoid tissues was enhanced and that of HDAC9 in the colon mucosa was decreased, and the proportion of spleen Tregs was increased. The offspring showed similar changes in the AAD model compared with the offspring of the control-group mothers: TLR2 and TLR4 expression in the lungs and the proportion of spleen Tregs increased, HDAC9 expression in the lungs decreased, and AAD-induced airway pathologic characteristics were reversed; additionally, Th1/Th2 and Th9 imbalances were rectified., Conclusions: This study presents a new framework for the prevention of childhood asthma, elucidating the mechanism of regulating the mother's intestinal microbiome to protect the offspring's early asthma via animal experiments., (© 2020 EAACI and John Wiley and Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.)

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is a novel tick-borne bunyavirus that recently emerged in East Asian countries. SFTS is characterized by high fever, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, multiorgan failure, and hemorrhage with case fatality rates of 6.3% to 30%. Neither antivirals nor vaccines are available at present. We previously demonstrated that neutralizing antibodies specific for SFTSV glycoprotein (Gn) played a vital role in the survival of patients with SFTS. Nanobodies from camels present unique properties, such as thermostability, high affinity, and low immunogenicity. In the current study, mammalian expressed SFTSV Gn was used to immunize a camel, and functional nanobodies were isolated from the B cell nanobody library constructed from the immunized animal. Clone SNB02 was selected for in-depth analysis for its inhibition of SFTSV replication both in vitro and in vivo. We showed that SNB02 potently inhibited SFTSV infection and prevented thrombocytopenia in a humanized mouse model and is a potential candidate for therapeutics.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) therapy has achieved remarkable clinical efficacy against hematological cancers and has been approved by FDA for treatment of B-cell tumors. However, the complex manufacturing process and limited success in solid tumors hamper its widespread applications, thus prompting the development of new strategies for overcoming the abovementioned hurdles. In the last decade, nanotechnology has provided sustainable strategies for improving cancer immunotherapy through vaccine development and delivery of immunomodulatory drugs. Nanotechnology can boost CAR-T therapy and may overcome the existing challenges by emerging as a carrier for CAR-T therapy or in combination with CAR-T, it may inhibit solid tumors more effectively than conventional approaches. The revealing of cellular mechanisms, barriers and potential strategies that could be used to manipulate and/or modify cells would enable unprecedented advances in nanotechnology for biologics delivery. This review outlines the journey and barriers of nanoparticles (NPs) across the cell. Subsequently, the approaches to tackle the barriers and strategies to modulate NPs as a carrier for CAR-T therapy are discussed. Finally, the role of NPs in CAR-T therapy and the potential challenges are summarized. This review aims to provide the readers with a detailed overview of NP-based CAR-T therapy research and distil this information into an accessible form conducive to design desired CAR-T therapy using NP approach. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is the most vibrant field in immuno-oncology today, with enormous benefits to patients with B-cell malignancies. However, a rapid and straightforward procedure for CAR-T generation is an exigent need to broaden its therapeutic avenue. Nanotechnology has emerged as a novel alternative approach for CAR-T generation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first in-depth review that briefly highlights the various aspects of nanotechnology in CAR-T therapy, including the strategies to brand NPs as an effective carrier for CAR cargo, its potential advantages, challenges, and future roadmap. It provides readers with a detailed overview of NP-based CAR-T therapy research, and researchers would be able to distill this information into an accessible form conducive to design the desired CAR therapy using the nanotechnology approach., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Although it is widely accepted that the "hygiene hypothesis" explains the increased incidence of asthma, the lack of suitable animal models hinders further in-depth studies of the underlying molecular immune mechanisms. Therefore, we aimed to develop a robust mouse asthma model to investigate the role of bacteria in preventing asthma., Methods: BALB/c female mice were fed a mixture of eight common bacterial lysates (BL; Broncho-Vaxom®) and a commercial probiotic (Bifidobacterium tetravaccine tablets) at different concentrations before and during pregnancy to simulate different microbial load levels. Faeces from the mother mice were subjected to bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing to quantify the maternal microbial load. TLR2/4 expression and the proportion of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the intestinal tract of female mice were determined, and the safety of the microbial load was evaluated. An asthma model was established in the offspring mice after weaning, and the extent of pulmonary pathological changes and Treg proportion were evaluated., Results: A BL concentration of 1 mg/kg enriched the intestinal flora, increased the proportion of Tregs, and increased the expression of TLR2/4 in the maternal mice. The proportion of peripheral blood Tregs was increased, whereas the risk of asthma decreased only in the offspring from mothers with a high microbial load relative to control mice., Conclusion: This study established a safe and stable high microbial load maternal-offspring mouse asthma model, laying the foundation for a study on the molecular mechanism underlying the protective effects of a high microbial load against asthma., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Timely analysis of the laboratory characteristics associated with 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) can assist with clinical diagnosis and prognosis. This study is a collection of clinical data from 54 hospitalized adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Zhongfa Xincheng district of China at Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 28, 2020 to February 11, 2020. The average age of the patients was 61.8 ± 14.5 years, and the predominant age group was 50-79. The proportion of critical-type patients with comorbidities was higher than that of severe-type patients. Lymphocyte counts were significantly reduced in routine bloodwork for all patients, but significantly lower in critical-type patients than that in severe-type patients. Prolongation of prothrombin times (PT) and elevation of fibrinogen degradation products (FDPs) and D-dimers (D-Ds) were detected in coagulation function tests, and more significant changes were observed in critical-type patients compared to severe-type patients. Serum ferritin levels were sensitive to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection but could not be used for disease assessment. In addition, levels of two inflammatory factors, soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were significantly increased in all patients, but higher in critical-type patients than in severe-type patients. Moreover, kidney injury was the second-most common organ affected by COVID-19 followed by heart and liver. Kidney and heart injury were more severe in critical-type patients than in severe-type patients. All of the 31 severe-type patients recovered. Of the critical-type patients, six died and 17 recovered. The length of hospital stay for critical-type patients was significantly longer for severe-type patients. In summary, increased lymphocyte counts, prolonged PT, secondary increases in fibrinolytic activity and increases in sIL-2R and IL-6 are typical features of COVID-19 and are associated with disease severity.

Tomographic SAR (TomoSAR) is a remote sensing technique that extends the conventional two-dimensional (2-D) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging principle to three-dimensional (3-D) imaging. It produces 3-D point clouds with unavoidable noise that seriously deteriorates the quality of 3-D imaging and the reconstruction of buildings over urban areas. However, existing methods for TomoSAR point cloud processing notably rely on data segmentation, which influences the processing efficiency and denoising performance to a large extent. Inspired by regression analysis, in this paper, we propose an automatic method using neural networks to regularize the 3-D building structures from TomoSAR point clouds. By changing the point heights, the surface points of a building are refined. The method has commendable performance on smoothening the building surface, and keeps a precise preservation of the building structure. Due to the regression mechanism, the method works in a high automation level, which avoids data segmentation and complex parameter adjustment. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our method to denoise and regularize TomoSAR point clouds for urban buildings.

Chronic kidney disease is the outcome of most kidney diseases, and renal fibrosis is a pathological process involved in the progression of these disorders. The role of interleukin (IL)‑33 was previously investigated in fibrotic disorders affecting various organs, including liver, lungs and heart; however, its role in renal fibrosis remains unclear. Previous studies have demonstrated that macrophages are involved in obstructive renal injury. In the present study, the roles of IL‑33 and macrophages on renal fibrosis were investigated using a mouse model of unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Compared with non‑obstructed kidneys, the expression levels of IL‑33 and its receptor, interleukin 1 receptor like 1, increased after UUO. Furthermore, the infiltration of macrophages and the degree of renal fibrosis increased after treatment with IL‑33. Additionally, the expression level of arginase‑1, a marker of M2 macrophages, increased in renal tissue. After depletion of macrophages, the administration of exogenous IL‑33 was not sufficient to reverse the reduction in fibrosis caused by elimination of these cells. Collectively, the present results suggested that IL‑33 promoted renal fibrosis in UUO‑induced renal injury by regulating macrophage polarization.

The aims of this work were to develop multi-element viscoelastic models for beef and apply them to detect total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) content for freshness evaluation. The deformation data were collected by a viscoelasticity detection system that employed the airflow and laser technique. Then, TVB-N contents were measured to determine the freshness of samples during storage. A universal global optimization (UGO) algorithm was applied to fit the deformation data. Various multi-element viscoelastic models including the Burgers, six-element and eight-element models were built using the obtained fitting parameters, and different viscoelastic parameters representing the degree of beef spoilage were obtained. All the viscoelastic parameters of each multi-element model and parameter combinations of the selected six-element model were employed to build mathematical models for predicting TVB-N content by support vector machine regression (SVR). In comparison, the six-element model with all the viscoelastic parameters performed the best and was determined to predict TVB-N content with correlation coefficient in the prediction set (R P ) of 0.891 and root mean squared error in the prediction set (RMSEP) of 1.467 mg/100 g. Based on the results of parameter combinations, combination (E 2 , E 3 , E 1 , η 1 , η 2 ) from the six-element model performed the best, which was comparatively inferior to all the viscoelastic parameters of the six-element model. Results demonstrated that it was possible to predict TVB-N content for freshness evaluation by applying method of developing multi-element model based on the viscoelasticity with chemometrics., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Viscoelasticity experiments were performed to detect the total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) content of chilled beef for freshness evaluation. The growth trend of TVB-N was further analyzed with prolonged storage time. A six-element viscoelastic model was then established by fitting deformation data through universal global optimization. The viscoelastic parameters, including elasticity moduli E 1 , E 2 , E 3 , and viscosity coefficients η 1 , η 2 , η 3 , were applied to build models of TVB-N content prediction using partial least squares regression (PLSR) and support vector machine regression (SVR). Results showed that the SVR model performed better than the PLSR model, with a correlation coefficient in the prediction set of 0.89 and a root mean squared error in the prediction set of 1.47 mg/100 g. These results demonstrated for the first time that the viscoelasticity based on airflow and laser technique combined with chemometrics can be used for the fast, nondestructive detection of TVB-N concentration for meat freshness assessment., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Salt reduction in liquid/semi-solid processed foods remains a significant challenge as these foods contribute mostly to the high dietary sodium intake in our daily life. From the results of a taste contrast and quantitative saltiness analysis with trained panels, we found that the addition of high amounts of gum arabic could enhance the saltiness perception of standard NaCl solution and enable a 30% reduction of salt in yogurt drink and mayonnaise without impacting the saltiness perception. Via in vitro sodium retention experiments conducted using ex vivo porcine tongue, simulated tongue and Transwell methods, we suggested that the enhanced saltiness and sodium retention on the mucosa were possibly due to the mucopenetration ability of gum arabic. This finding would be useful for the design of low-salt liquid/semi-solid foods and has implications for novel food formulations to enhance flavor and nutrient delivery.

Background: Cervical cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infections is one of the most common cancers affecting women worldwide. Current preventative HPV vaccines on the market are composed of HPV L1 protein produced either in the yeast such as Gardasil or in the insect cells such as Cervarix. The duration of efficacy and cross-protection remain highly desirable for the improvement of current prophylactic HPV vaccine. Given that HPV carries out infection and replicates in mammalian cells, L2 protein, which is not included in the current licensed vaccines, is included in the third generation of HPV vaccine in pursuing of providing broader prevention. We hypothesize that a virus-like particle (VLP) consisting of HPV L1 plus L2 proteins generated in mammalian cells will present conformations more closely to native HPV, thus it will provide more durable and broader efficacy of prevention., Methods: We took advantage of 293TT cells to produce VLP containing L1 and L2 proteins of HPV16 and HPV18, respectively., Results: VLP particles of uniformed size and morphology were observed, and potent and broadly neutralizing antibodies were induced in mice and rabbits. In addition, compared to bivalent HPV vaccine of Cervarix, our HPV L1-L2 VLPs elicited higher titer of anti-sera, and the anti-sera also presented comparable neutralization potency against HPV16 and HPV18 infections even a much less potent adjuvant was used in our case., Conclusion: Our VLPs were capable of eliciting stronger and more broadly neutralizing activities against various HPV subtypes and were potential candidate HPV vaccines., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Antibody Therapeutics.)

microRNA-210 (miR-210) plays an important role in human disease, but its function in endometrial cancer (EC) is still unclear. Similarly, the nuclear factor I/X (NFIX) plays an important role in various biological functions of cells, but its function in EC is not yet known. In this study, we detected the expression of miR-210 from 66 EC patient tissues and 29 normal endometrium (NU) tissues by quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR), as well as the expression of NIFX protein by western blot. We found that the expression of miR-210 in EC tissues was up-regulated and NIFX protein was down-regulated which was negatively correlated with NU tissues. The luciferase gene reporter system confirmed that miR-210 targeted inhibition of NIFX expression in HEC-1A cells. Up-regulation of miR-210 expression by transfection of miR-210-inhibitor could promote the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HEC-1A/HEC-1B cells. Taken together, we demonstrated that miR-210 could promote proliferation, migration and invasion by the negative regulation of NFIX expression in vitro , and that miR-210 promoted the progression of endometrial carcinoma by negative regulation NFIX expression., Competing Interests: None., (IJCEP Copyright © 2018.)

To investigate the feasibility of airflow and laser ranging technique for nondestructively determination of TVB-N in beef, a viscoelasticity detection system was employed to collect deformation information of beef samples. Then 12 characteristic parameters were extracted from deformation curves. Multiple linear regression (MLR), principal component regression (PCR) and partial least squares regression (PLSR) were used to establish prediction models for TVB-N. The results showed that the PLSR model using 12 characteristic parameters performed the best with correlation coefficients in calibration and prediction sets (R c and R p ) of 0.847 and 0.821, root mean squared errors in the calibration and prediction sets (RMSEC and RMSEP) of 1.750 and 2.560 mg/100 g. This result demonstrated that it was feasible to use airflow and laser ranging technique for rapid and nondestructive detection of beef freshness. This study made possible that the deformation characteristics of livestock and poultry meat could be expressed in a quantitative method., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) refers to the unique capability of aggressive tumor cells to mimic the pattern of embryonic vasculogenic networks. Cancer stem cells (CSC) represent a subpopulation of tumor cells endowed with the capacity for self-renewal and multilineage differentiation. Previous studies have indicated that CSC may participate in the formation of VM. With the advance of high-resolution microarrays and massively parallel sequencing technology, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are suggested to play a critical role in tumorigenesis and, in particular, the development of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Currently, no definitive relationship between lncRNA and VM formation has been described. In the current study, we demonstrated that expression of the lncRNA, n339260, is associated with CSC phenotype in HCC, and n339260 level correlated with VM, metastasis, and shorter survival time in an animal model. Overexpression of n339260 in HepG2 cells was associated with a significant increase in CSC. Additionally, the appearance of VM and vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin, a molecular marker of VM, was also induced by n339260 overexpression. Using a short hairpin RNA approach, n339260 was silenced in tumor cells, and knockdown of n339260 was associated with reduced VM and CSC. The results of this study indicate that n339260 promotes VM, possibly by the development of CSC. The related molecular pathways may be used as novel therapeutic targets for the inhibition of HCC angiogenesis and metastasis., (© 2018 The Authors. Cancer Science published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.)

Oligonucleotides were screened for strongly silver-stained repetitive sequences. An 'AG'-clustered purine sequence showed strong staining, and the staining density can be compromised by disrupting the continuity of the 'AG'-clustered sequence. The staining-favored sequence was then employed in rolling circle amplification (RCA) for its product detection. A tube-staining method was developed for convenient and visual RCA assay. Moreover, by introducing GalR into RCA, d-galactose was detected by RCA tube-staining with naked eyes without any equipment. About 10 mM d-galactose can be easily identified, and the detection of d-galactose was specific in comparison with that of several other monosaccharides.

Objective: To assess if active commuting with an electrically assisted bicycle (e-bike) during a 4-week period can induce increases in cardiorespiratory fitness measured as peak oxygen uptake (V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak) in untrained, overweight individuals, and if these changes are comparable with those induced by a conventional bicycle., Design: Four-week randomized pilot study., Setting: Controlled laboratory., Participants: Thirty-two volunteers (28 men) participated. Seventeen {median age 37 years [interquartile range (IQR) 34, 45], median body mass index [BMI] 29 kg/m [IQR 27, 31]} were randomized to the E-Bike group and 15 [median age 43 years (IQR 38, 45), median BMI 28 kg/m (IQR 26, 29)] to the Bike group., Interventions: Participants in both groups were instructed to use the bicycle allocated to them (e-bike or conventional bicycle) for an active commute to work in the Basel (Switzerland) area at a self-chosen speed on at least 3 days per week during the 4-week intervention period., Main Outcome Measures: V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak was assessed before and after the intervention in an all-out exercise test on a bicycle ergometer., Results: V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak increased by an average of 3.6 mL/(kg·min) [SD 3.6 mL/(kg·min)] in the E-Bike group and by 2.2 mL/(kg·min) [SD 3.5 mL/(kg·min)] in the Bike group, with an adjusted difference between the 2 groups of 1.4 mL/(kg·min) [95% confidence interval, -1.4-4.1; P = 0.327]., Conclusions: E-bikes may have the potential to improve cardiorespiratory fitness similar to conventional bicycles despite the available power assist, as they enable higher biking speeds and greater elevation gain.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have critical functions in tumour vasculogenic mimicry (VM). This study explored the mechanisms underlying MMP-13 and MMP-2 regulation of tumour VM formation in large cell lung cancer (LCLC). In our study, laminin5 (Ln-5) fragments cleaved by MMP-2 promoted tubular structure formation by the LCLC cell lines H460 and H661 in three-dimensional (3D) cultures. Transient up-regulation of MMP-13 or treatment with recombinant MMP-13 protein abrogated tubular structure formation of H460 cells in 3D culture. Treated cells with Ln-5 fragments cleaved by MMP-2 stimulated EGFR and F-actin expression. Ln-5 fragments cleaved by MMP-13 decreased EGFR/F-actin expression and disrupted VM formation. MMP-13 expression was negatively correlated with VM, Ln-5 and EGFR in LCLC tissues and xenograft. In vivo experiments revealed that VM was decreased when the number of endothelium-dependent vessels (EDVs) increased during xenograft tumour growth, whereas MMP-13 expression was progressively increased. In conclusion, MMP-2 promoted and MMP-13 disrupted VM formation in LCLC by cleaving Ln-5 to influence EGFR signal activation. MMP-13 may regulate VM and EDV formation., (© 2017 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine.)

In response to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induced by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection, host cells activate the unfolded protein response (UPR) to reduce the protein-folding burden in the ER. The regulation of UPR upon HSV-1 infection is complex, and the downstream effectors can be detrimental to viral replication. Therefore, HSV-1 copes with the UPR to create a beneficial environment for its replication. UPR has three branches, including protein kinase RNA (PKR)-like ER kinase (PERK), inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1), and activated transcription factor 6 (ATF6). IRE1α is the most conserved branch of UPR which has both RNase and kinase activities. Previous studies have shown that IRE1α RNase activity was inactivated during HSV-1 infection. However, the effect of the two activities of IRE1α on HSV-1 replication remains unknown. Results in this study showed that IRE1α expression was up-regulated during HSV-1 infection. We found that in HEC-1-A cells, increasing RNase activity, or inhibiting kinase activity of IRE1α led to viral suppression, indicating that the kinase activity of IRE1α was beneficial, while the RNase activity was detrimental to viral replication. Further evidence showed that the kinase activity of IRE1α leads to the activation of the JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinases) pathway, which enhances viral replication. Taken together, our evidence suggests that IRE1α is involved in HSV-1 replication, and its RNase and kinase activities play differential roles during viral infection., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

A microwave photonic synthetic aperture radar (MWP SAR) is developed and experimentally demonstrated. In the transmitter, microwave photonic frequency doubling is used to generate a linearly-frequency-modulated (LFM) radar signal; while in the receiver, photonic stretch processing is employed to receive the reflection signal. The presented MWP SAR operates in Ku band with a bandwidth of 600MHz, and is evaluated through a series of inverse SAR imaging tests both in a microwave anechoic chamber and in a field trial. Its imaging performance verifies that the proposed MWP SAR works perfect and shows the potential of overcoming the conventional radar bandwidth bottleneck.

The function of the honey bee tremble dance and how it attracts signal receivers is poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that tremble followers and waggle followers exhibit the same dance-following behavior. If correct, this could unify our understanding of dance following, provide insight into dance information transfer, and offer a way to identify the signal receivers of tremble dance information. Followers showed similar initial attraction to and tracking of dancers. However, waggle dancers were faster than tremble dancers, and follower-forward, -sideways, and -angular velocities were generally similar to the velocities of their respective dancers. Waggle dancers attracted followers from 1.3-fold greater distances away than tremble dancers. Both follower types were attracted to the lateral sides of dancers, but tremble followers were more attracted to the dancer's head, and waggle followers were more attracted to the dancer's abdomen. Tremble dancers engaged in 4-fold more brief food exchanges with their followers than waggle dancers. The behaviors of both follower types are therefore relatively conserved. Researchers can now take the next steps, observing tremble followers to determine their subsequent behaviors and testing the broader question of whether follower attraction and tracking is conserved in a wide range of social insects., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing or financial interests., (© 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) is one of the common causes of cognitive dysfunction and morbidity among infected patients. However, to date, it remains unknown if a transmitted/founder (T/F) HIV-1 leads to neurological disorders during acute phase of infection. Since it is impossible to answer this question in humans, we studied NOD.Cg-Prkdc scid Il2rgtm1Wjl/SzJ mice (NSG) reconstituted with human PBMC (NSG-HuPBL), followed by the peritoneal challenge with the chronic HIV-1JR-FL and the T/F HIV-1BJZS7, respectively. By measuring viral load, P24 antigenemia and P24(+) cells in peripheral blood and various tissue compartments, we found that systemic infections were rapidly established in NSG-HuPBL mice by both HIV-1 strains. Although comparable peripheral viral loads were detected during acute infection, the T/F virus appeared to cause less CD4(+) T cell loss and less numbers of infected cells in different organs and tissue compartments. Both viruses, however, invaded brains with P24(+)/CD3(+) T cells detected primarily in meninges, cerebral cortex and perivascular areas. Critically, brain infections with HIV-1JR-FL but not with HIV-1BJZS7 resulted in damaged neurons together with activated microgliosis and astrocytosis as determined by significantly increased numbers of Iba1(+) microglial cells and GFAP(+) astrocytes, respectively. The increased Iba1(+) microglia was correlated positively with levels of P24 antigenemia and negatively with numbers of NeuN(+) neurons in brains of infected animals. Our findings, therefore, indicate the establishment of two useful NSG-HuPBL models, which may facilitate future investigation of mechanisms underlying HIV-1-induced microgliosis and astrocytosis.

Tumor cell vasculogenic mimicry (VM), a newly defined pattern of tumor blood supply, signifies the functional plasticity of aggressive cancer cells forming vascular networks. VM and cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been shown to be associated with tumor growth, local invasion, and distant metastasis. In our previous study, CSCs in triple-negative breast cancer were potential to participate in VM formation. In this study, breast CSCs were isolated from the triple-negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 by using mammosphere culture. Western blotting and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction showed that mammosphere cells displayed an increased expression of AURKA protein kinase and stem cell marker c-myc and sox2. The VM formation by mammosphere cells was inhibited by AURKA knockdown or the addition of AURKA inhibitor MLN8237. In the meantime, MLN8237 induced the increased E-cadherin and decreased c-myc, sox2, and β-catenin expressions. The function of AURKA in VM formation was further confirmed using a xenograft-murine model. The results suggested that AURKA protein kinase is involved in VM formation of CSCs and may become a new treatment target in suppressing VM and metastasis of breast cancer.

Aims: Zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 2 (ZEB2), an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) regulator, has been involved in invasion and metastasis of human tumor. Although EMT may be involved in vasculogenic mimicry (VM) formation, no reports describing the relation between ZEB2 and VM are available. We hypothesize that ZEB2 may promote VM formation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)., Methods and Results: Paraffin-embedded tumor tissue samples from 92 patients were immunostained with anti-ZEB2 antibody. We found that the ZEB2 nuclear expression was significantly associated with VM formation and metastasis. Patients with VM and ZEB2 nuclear expression had a shorter survival period than those without expression. In vitro, ZEB2 overexpression significantly enhanced cell motility, invasiveness, and VM formation of HepG2 cells. ZEB2 upregulation also increased VE-cadherin, Flt-1, and Flk-1 expression and activated MMPs. ZEB2 knockdown inhibited cell motility, invasiveness, and VM formation in Bel7402 cells. ZEB2 knockdown also decreased VE-cadherin, Flt-1, and Flk-1 expression and MMP activity. In addition, EMT in HepG2 cells was induced by TGF-β1 treatment, and the kinetics of expression of EMT markers and regulators were assessed by Western blot analysis. The expression of ZEB2 increased significantly, and VM formation was promoted., Conclusion: ZEB2 can promote VM formation through the EMT pathway. Our findings may represent a novel therapeutic target in HCC., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) is closely associated with poor prognosis in various aggressive cancers including large-cell lung cancer (LCLC). Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) refers to the unique capability of aggressive tumor cells to mimic the pattern of embryonic vasculogenic networks involving the blood supply in early tumor formation. We demonstrate the statistically positive correlation of uPAR expression with VM formation, metastasis, and poor prognosis of LCLC patients. uPAR(+) cells sorted from the LCLC H460 cell line show higher invasion, migration capacity, and tube structure formation capability on Matrigel compared with uPAR(-) cells. uPAR(+) tumor cells highly expressed vimentin and VE-cadherin; the epithelial marker E-cadherin was low expressed. Higher EMT-regulated protein twist and snail expressions were also observed in these cells. uPAR(+) cells injected subcutaneously into nude mice markedly increased tumor growth, induced VM formation and liver metastasis; by contrast, uPAR(-) cells did not. The data suggest that uPAR expression may predict VM formation, tumor metastasis and poorer prognosis of LCLC patients. The uPAR gene may be used as a novel therapeutic target for inhibiting angiogenesis and metastasis in LCLC., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) and C-X-C-chemokine receptor-4 (CXCR4) are considered as key molecules in invasion and metastasis of several cancers via extracellular matrix degeneration and assist tumor metastasis to specific sites by chemotaxis. However, the combined effect of uPAR and CXCR4 on small cell lung cancer (SCLC), the most aggressive type of lung cancer, is not clear. In this study, we detected the expression of uPAR and CXCR4 in SCLC tissue samples (n = 50) by immunohistochemistry. The tumors with high expression of both uPAR and CXCR4 (12/50) had larger size, higher lymph node (LN) metastasis and worse prognosis of patients than those with low expression of uPAR and CXCR4 (38/50) (P < 0.05). We further identified and isolated the both uPAR and CXCR4 positive expression subpopulation cells (uPAR(+)CXCR4(+) cells) from the SCLC cell line H446 by flow cytometry. The uPAR(+)CXCR4(+) cancer cells showed a higher invasive and migrating capacity in the transwell and wound healing assays compared with other subpopulation cells (P < 0.05). uPAR(+)CXCR4(+) cells injected subcutaneously in nude mice markedly increased tumor growth and induced lung metastasis, while other subpopulation cells did not. In conclusion, these data suggest that uPAR and CXCR4 co-expression predicts worse prognosis of SCLC patients. uPAR(+)CXCR4(+) cells promote the tumor growth and play a potential role in metastasis of SCLC.

Cancer growth is driven by cancer stem-like cells within a tumor, called cancer stem cells (CSCs). Since miRNAs can regulate cell-fate decisions, we compared miRNA expression in stem-like cells and differentiated cells from small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell lines to develop further understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of SCLC. First, SCLC stem-like cells were enriched by isolating sphere-forming cells using a defined serum-free medium. Further, microRNA microarrays were used to measure the expression of 1212 miRNAs in sphere-forming cells and parental cells. We found 86 miRNAs that were differentially expressed, including 48 upregulated miRNAs and 38 downregulated miRNAs between sphere-forming cells and parental cells. Among them, five downregulated miRNAs (let-7, miR-20, 21, 27a and 30b) and one upregulated miRNA (miR-149*) were selected for validation in 3 sets of SCLC cell lines by qRT-RCR. The qRT-PCR analysis confirmed that all six miRNAs were indeed differentially expressed. However, only miR-27a was consistently downregulated in sphere-forming cells of all 3 cell lines. Antagonizing miR-27a by inhibitor in parental cells enhanced proliferation, self renewal, and the proportion of undifferentiated cells in vitro. The candidate miRNA and some miRNAs with same seed sequence are predicted to have several target genes related to apoptosis, cell proliferation and cell cycle. Our results suggest that downregulation of miR-27a enhanced the stem-like properties of SCLC cells in vitro and may be critical to maintaining a stem cell function in SCLC.

A relatively novel paradigm in tumor biology hypothesizes that cancer growth is driven by tumor cells with stem-like properties. However, direct proof of a population of stem cells in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) remains elusive. In this study, we enriched for stem-like cells from the SCLC cell line H446 by growing them as spheres in a defined serum-free medium. Sphere-derived cells have increased in vitro clonogenic and in vivo tumorigenic potentials as well as drug-resistant properties. After enrichment for stem-like cells, we used multiple candidate stem cell markers to examine the expression profile and found that the sphere-derived cells contained a higher proportion of cells expressing the stem cell surface markers uPAR and CD133 when compared with parental cells. To identify a selectable marker for the sphere-forming cells, we evaluated the sphere-forming abilities of uPAR(+) and uPAR(-) cells as well as the sphere-forming abilities of CD133(+) and CD133(-) cells. Both CD133(+) and CD133(-) cell fractions were capable of forming spheres, and no statistically significant difference was observed in the sphere-forming efficiency between these two populations. In contrast, cells derived from the uPAR(+) fraction were capable of forming spheres, whereas cells derived from the uPAR(-) fraction remained as single cells. Moreover, uPAR(+) cells efficiently formed transplantable tumors, whereas uPAR(-) cells were unable to initiate tumors when transplanted at equivalent cell numbers. In addition, uPAR(+) cells could differentiate into CD56(+)cells, CK(+) cells, and uPAR(-) cells. These data support the existence of a population of tumor sphere-forming cells with stem cell properties in the H446 SCLC cell line. Furthermore, the stem cell population may be enriched in cells expressing the uPAR cell surface marker., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In order to increase the expression of the fusion (F) protein and lay a foundation for the construction of a genetically engineered vaccine and rapid clinical detection, the F protein of the human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) was expressed and purified, and a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was established. The F1 fragment of the HRSV F protein was amplified following reverse transcription, and was then combined with the vector and transformed into eukaryotic cells. The recombinant protein was induced and purified. The purified protein was used to immunize mice to produce antiserum and establish indirect ELISA. The established method was tested and verified by analyzing 100 samples using gold immunochromatography (GICA). The F1 fragment of the F gene was successfully amplified, the DNA (+) recombinant was selected, and a protein of molecular weight approximately 45,000 was obtained after the induction. The optimal reaction conditions and working concentration of ELISA were determined. The optimal concentration of mice anti-F1 IgG is 3.2 µg/ml, the best reaction time of the samples is 70 min at 37 ˚C, and the working concentration of the rabbit anti‑mouse IgG is 1:6,000. Compared with the GICA method, the sample's positive co-efficient of variation was 3.2-8.6%, and the negative co-efficient of variation was 5.1-8.3%. These were <10%, indicating that the ELISA method was reproducible. The F1 protein can be greatly expressed in transfected eukaryotic cells, and the purified F1 protein has good immunogenicity. The antiserum produced by the purified recombinant protein can be precisely detected using the ELISA detection method described in this study.

Three-dimensionally controlled cell-assembly technique makes fabricating tissues and organs in vitro to be possible. However, for real tissues and organs with complex structure and various cells, fabricating tissues and organs in vitro need a technique that could assemble and locate multi cells and materials precisely in the space. Facing the needs of multi-cell assembly, we designed a mixer nozzle and the matching pulse switching circuit which based on the single-nozzle cell assembly system, and developed a multi-cell-assembly system. We also carried out some assembly experiments with this system using materials that were similar to the multi-component extracellular matrix materials. The results demonstrated that the system could assemble various cells and materials into three-dimensional inhomogeneous structures precisely.

Since there is a clinical need for the tissue-engineered vascular graft (TEVG), fabricating the vascular scaffold individually appears to be necessary. In this work, we have developed the traditional tubular scaffold and branch vascular scaffold utilizing low-temperature deposition manufacturing (LDM) technology. Then different tubular scaffolds were fabricated by changing the processing parameters, and the morphological properties of the scaffolds were assessed. The scaffolds reproduced the structure of 3D vascular model accurately. Wall thickness of the scaffold increased with the increase of velocity ratio (V(L)/V(s)) and nozzle temperature, and both the micropore size and wall roughness were positively correlated with the nozzle temperature. However, the porosity was barely affected by the nozzle temperature. This approach, fabricating vascular scaffold with special structure and appearance features via LDM technology, is potential for the individual fabrication of vascular scaffold.