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Background: Malignant tumours of the female reproductive system threaten the lives and health of women worldwide, with ovarian cancer having the highest mortality rate among all malignant tumours. Based on previous work, this study analysed the expression and role of YWHAE in ovarian epithelial tumours. Methods: The interaction between YWHAE and HE4 was evaluated by immunoprecipitation, western blot analysis, and cellular immunofluorescence. Immunohistochemistry was used to address the relationship between YWHAE expression and clinicopathological parameters and patient prognosis. Changes in cell invasion, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, migration, proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis before and after differential expression of YWHAE were also explored in ovarian cancer cell lines and in vivo experiments. Results: YWHAE was found to directly interact with HE4, and its expression was positively correlated with HE4 expression. Moreover, YWHAE higher levels were associated with advanced ovarian cancer cases and with poorer patient outcome. YWHAE was found to enhance the invasion, migration, proliferation, and inhibition of apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells. These biological effects were found to be meditated by the activity of the PI3K/AKT and MAPK signalling pathways.Conclusions: Altogether, this study demonstrates that YWHAE is significantly increased in ovarian cancer tissues, representing a risk factor for the prognosis of ovarian cancer that is positively correlated with HE4 expression. Furthermore, YWHAE and its downstream signals may represent new therapeutic targets to tackle ovarian cancer.

Stationary density functions statistically characterize the stabilized behavior of dynamical systems. Instead of temporal sequences of data, stationary densities are observed to determine the unknown transformations, which is called the inverse Frobenius-Perron problem. This paper proposes a new approach to determining the unique map from stationary densities generated by a one-dimensional discrete-time dynamical system driven by an external control input, given the input density functions that are linearly independent. A numerical simulation example is used to validate the effectiveness of the developed approach.

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) has proven to be a viable strategy to achieve highly efficient RTP in bulk by restricting molecular motions. Here we show that by utilizing triphenylamine (TPA) as an electronic donor which connects to an acceptor via an sp3 linker, six TPA-based AIE-active RTP luminophores were obtained. Both the TPA AIE-gen and the sp3-linkage can suppress aggregation-caused quenching. Consequently, dual phosphorescence bands emitting from localized donor and acceptor triplet states, respectively, could be recorded at lowered temperatures; at room temperature, only a single RTP band corresponding to the lowest triplet state is present, presumably due to thermally assisted electronic coupling between the two states. The reported molecular construct serves as an “intermediary case” between a fully conjugated donor-acceptor system and a do-nor/acceptor binary mix, which may provide important clues on the design and control of molecular systems with complex excited-state dynamics.

Intramolecular motion is commonly more detrimental to room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) than to prompt fluorescence because long-lived triplet excitons offer more possibilities of quenching. Inspired by the mechanism of aggregation-induced emission (AIE), a single molecule is endowed with AIE and RTP features at the same time. By utilizing triphenylamine (TPA) as AIE activator as well as electron donor and an sp3 linkers as a bridge between donor and acceptor, five TPA-based AIE-active RTP luminophores were designed. RTP and low-temperature emissions reveal the co-existence of ternary emission, including fluorescence and dual phosphorescence. Single-crystal analyses and theoretical calculations suggest dual phosphorescence derives from local excitation and charge-transfer component. By utilizing hot exciton emission, color-tunable phosphorescence can act as an indicator for temperature estimation. This combinatory approach pioneers a new route for designing versatile AIE-active RTP materials.

In this paper, ACE2 gene of pigs was cloned and the purified protein was obtained via the prokaryotic expression system. Polyclonal antibody of high titer and sensitivity was obtained using Wastar rats immunization method and is then used to determine of the expression of ACE2 using immunohistochemistry. The sequence of ACE2 in pigs covered 2418 nucleotides and coded 805 amino acid (aa) residues. Sequence homology analysis showed that the ACE2 sequence in pigs is highly conserved among species at the nucleotide and amino acid levels. Genetic evolution analysis revealed that ACE2 gene in pigs has the shortest genetic distance with that in goats while residing in a totally different branch from that in zebra fishes. Analysis of protein structure predicted that ACE2 protein is a transmembrane secreted protein with high hydrophilicity, containing a signal peptide sequences locating between 1aa to 17aa. The ACE2 fusion protein expressed (under the induction with 1.0 mmol/L IPTG for 10 h) was of approximately 100 kDa and mainly existed in inclusion body. Wastar rats immunization showed that the titer of the anti-ACE2 antiserum in rats was 1: 3200. Western blot showed that the antibody binds specifically. Immunohistochemistry showed that the ACE2 protein was expressed in all major tissues of pigs. It is the first time that polyclonal antibody of ACE2 in pigs was obtained and the expression of ACE2 was confirmed. These results will provide a basis for investigating on ACE2’s biological activity in pigs.

Summary The human testis undergoes dramatic developmental and structural changes during puberty, including proliferation and maturation of somatic niche cells, and the onset of spermatogenesis. To characterize this understudied process, we profiled and analyzed single-cell transcriptomes of ∼10,000 testicular cells from four boys spanning puberty and compared them to those of infants and adults. During puberty, undifferentiated spermatogonia sequentially expand and differentiate prior to the initiation of gametogenesis. Notably, we identify a common pre-pubertal progenitor for Leydig and myoid cells and delineate candidate factors controlling pubertal differentiation. Furthermore, pre-pubertal Sertoli cells exhibit two distinct transcriptional states differing in metabolic profiles before converging to an alternative single mature population during puberty. Roles for testosterone in Sertoli cell maturation, antimicrobial peptide secretion, and spermatogonial differentiation are further highlighted through single-cell analysis of testosterone-suppressed transfemale testes. Taken together, our transcriptional atlas of the developing human testis provides multiple insights into developmental changes and key factors accompanying male puberty., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • A transcriptional single-cell atlas of the developing testes during human puberty • Distinctive phases of germ cell differentiation occur during puberty • Identification of a common progenitor for Leydig and myoid cells prior to puberty • Partial reversal of Sertoli and germ cell maturation upon testosterone suppression, Guo et al. provide a transcriptional cell atlas of the developing human testis during puberty, revealing dramatic developmental changes in both germ and somatic niche cell lineages. Furthermore, germ cells and Sertoli cells from testosterone-suppressed transfemale testes display partial developmental reversal, revealing critical roles for testosterone in maintaining testis maturation.

Cells change their cytology in response to environmental cues and stress. Notably, large changes in nuclear architecture are accompanied by transcriptional reprogramming. When starved of nitrogen,Schizosaccharomyces pombecells become rounder and they enter a quiescent “G0” state. These cells have smaller nuclei and undergo near-global transcriptional repression. Here we use electron cryotomography (cryo-ET) and cell-biology approaches to investigate the structural and biochemical changes of G0S. pombenuclei. We find that G0 cells have a denser nucleoplasm and fewer chromatin-associated multi-megadalton globular complexes (megacomplexes) than proliferating cells. These structural changes are correlated with mild histone deacetylation. Induced histone hyperacetylation in G0 results in cells that have larger nuclei and less condensed chromatin. However, these histone-hyperacetylated G0 cells still have repressed transcription, few megacomplexes, and a dense nucleoplasm. Like in budding yeast,S. pombeG0 nuclear phenotypes are controlled by multiple biochemical factors.

Ming-Jun Zheng,1,2,* Jing Wang,1,2,* Hui-Min Wang,1,2 Ling-Ling Gao,1,2 Xiao Li,1,2 Wen-Chao Zhang,1,2 Rui Gou,1,2 Qian Guo,1,2 Xin Nie,1,2 Juan-Juan Liu,1,2 Bei Lin1,2 1Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Shengjing Hospital Affiliated to China Medical University, Heping District, Shenyang 110004, Liaoning, China; 2Key Laboratory of Maternal-Fetal Medicine of Liaoning Province, Key Laboratory of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Higher Education of Liaoning Province, Liaoning, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the expression of peroxiredoxin1 (PRDX1) in epithelial ovarian cancer, analyze the relationship between PRDX1 and clinicopathologic parameters of patients with ovarian cancer, including their prognosis, and describe changes and the mechanisms involved in malignant biologic behavior of ovarian cancer cells when PRDX1 expression is inhibited.Methods: The expression of PRDX1 was detected immunohistochemically in 15 samples of normal ovarian tissue, 21 benign, 11 borderline, and 101 malignant epithelial ovarian tumors. Changes in ovarian cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis before and after inhibiting PRDX1 expression were assessed by cell function assay. Additionally, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) of PRDX1 was performed by the Cancer Genome Atlas database. A protein–protein interaction network was then constructed and a pathway function analysis of the genes in the network was conducted.Results: PRDX1 expression was mainly localized to the cytoplasm, as well as the nucleus of cells. The expression rate of PRDX1 in epithelial ovarian malignant tissues (96.04%) was significantly higher than that in borderline (72.72%) and benign (57.14%) epithelial ovarian tumors, and normal ovarian tissue (20%; all P