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N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) is essential for the development and migration of tumor cells. According to earlier research, N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10) can increase messenger RNAs (mRNAs) stability by catalyzing the synthesis of ac4C. However, little is known about NAT10 expression and its role in the acetylation modifications in prostate cancer (PCa). Thus, the biological function of NAT10 in PCa is investigated in this study. Compared to paraneoplastic tissues, the expression of NAT10 is significantly higher in PCa. The NAT10 expression is strongly correlated with the pathological grade, clinical stage, Gleason score, T-stage, and N-stage of PCa. NAT10 has the ability to advance the cell cycle and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), both of which raise the malignancy of tumor cells. Mechanistically, NAT10 enhance the stability of high mobility group AT-hook 1 (HMGA1) by acetylating its mRNA, thereby promoting cell cycle progression to improve cell proliferation. In addition, NAT10 improve the stability of Keratin 8 (KRT8) by acetylating its mRNA, which promotes the progression of EMT to improve cell migration. This findings provide a potential prognostic or therapeutic target for PCa., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Tumor-derived exosomes and their contents promote cancer metastasis. Phosphoglycerate mutase 1 (PGAM1) is involved in various cancer-related processes. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism of exosomal PGAM1 in prostate cancer (PCa) metastasis remains unclear. In this study, we performed in vitro and in vivo to determine the functions of exosomal PGAM1 in the angiogenesis of patients with metastatic PCa. We performed Glutathione-S-transferase pulldown, co-immunoprecipitation, western blotting and gelatin degradation assays to determine the pathway mediating the effect of exosomal PGAM1 in PCa. Our results revealed a significant increase in exosomal PGAM1 levels in the plasma of patients with metastatic PCa compared to patients with non-metastatic PCa. Furthermore, PGAM1 was a key factor initiating PCa cell metastasis by promoting invadopodia formation and could be conveyed by exosomes from PCa cells to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). In addition, exosomal PGAM1 could bind to γ-actin (ACTG1), which promotes podosome formation and neovascular sprouting in HUVECs. In vivo results revealed exosomal PGAM1 enhanced lung metastasis in nude mice injected with PCa cells via the tail vein. In summary, exosomal PGAM1 promotes angiogenesis and could be used as a liquid biopsy marker for PCa metastasis., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) mediate the infiltration of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) to facilitate carcinogenesis and development of various types of cancers. However, the role of circRNAs in regulating macrophages in prostate cancer (PCa) remains uncertain., Methods: Differentially expressed circRNAs in PCa were identified by RNA sequencing. The expression of circSMARCC1 was recognized and evaluated using fluorescence in situ hybridization and quantitative real-time PCR. The oncogenic role of circSMARCC1 in PCa tumor proliferation and metastasis was investigated through a series of in vitro and in vivo assays. Finally, Western blot, biotin-labeled RNA pulldown, luciferase assay, rescue experiments, and co-culture experiments with TAMs were conducted to reveal the mechanistic role of circSMARCC1., Results: CircSMARCC1 was dramatically up-regulated in PCa cells, plasma and tissues. Overexpression of circSMARCC1 promotes tumor proliferation and metastasis both in vitro and in vivo, whereas knockdown of circSMARCC1 exerts the opposite effects. Mechanistically, circSMARCC1 regulates the expression of CC-chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) via sponging miR-1322 and activate PI3K-Akt signaling pathway involved in the proliferation and epithelial mesenchymal transformation. More importantly, high expression of circSMARCC1 was positively associated with colonization of CD68 + /CD163 + /CD206 + TAMs in tumor microenvironment. In addition, overexpression of circSMARCC1 facilitates the expression of CD163 in macrophages through the CCL20-CCR6 axis, induces TAMs infiltration and M2 polarization, thereby leading to PCa progression., Conclusions: CircSMARCC1 up-regulates the chemokine CCL20 secretion by sponging miR-1322, which is involved in the crosstalk between tumor cells and TAMs by targeting CCL20/CCR6 signaling to promote progression of PCa., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: More and more studies have shown that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play a critical regulatory role in many cancers. However, the potential molecular mechanism of circRNAs in prostate cancer (PCa) remains largely unknown., Methods: Differentially expressed circRNAs were identified by RNA sequencing. The expression of hsa_circ_0003258 was evaluated using quantitative real-time PCR and RNA in situ hybridization. The impacts of hsa_circ_0003258 on the metastasis of PCa cells were investigated by a series of in vitro and in vivo assays. Lastly, the underlying mechanism of hsa_circ_0003258 was revealed by Western blot, biotin-labeled RNA pulldown, RNA immunoprecipitation, luciferase assays and rescue experiments., Results: Increased expression of hsa_circ_0003258 was found in PCa tissues and was associated with advanced TNM stage and ISUP grade. Overexpression of hsa_circ_0003258 promoted PCa cell migration by inducing epithelial mesenchymal transformation (EMT) in vitro as well as tumor metastasis in vivo, while knockdown of hsa_circ_0003258 exerts the opposite effect. Mechanistically, hsa_circ_0003258 could elevate the expression of Rho GTPase activating protein 5 (ARHGAP5) via sponging miR-653-5p. In addition, hsa_circ_0003258 physically binds to insulin like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3) in the cytoplasm and enhanced HDAC4 mRNA stability, in which it activates ERK signalling pathway, then triggers EMT programming and finally accelerates the metastasis of PCa., Conclusions: Upregulation of hsa_circ_0003258 drives tumor progression through both hsa_circ_0003258/miR-653-5p/ARHGAP5 axis and hsa_circ_0003258/IGF2BP3 /HDAC4 axis. Hsa_circ_0003258 may act as a promising biomarker for metastasis of PCa and an attractive target for PCa intervention., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Urbanization had a huge impact on the regional ecosystem net primary productivity (NPP). Although the urban heat island (UHI) caused by urbanization has been found to have a certain promoting effect on urban vegetation NPP, the factors on the impact still are not identified. In this study, the impact of urbanization on NPP was divided into direct impact (NPP dir ) and indirect impact (NPP ind ), taking Kunming city as a case study area. Then, the spatial heterogeneity impact of land surface temperature (LST) on NPP ind was analyzed based on the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. The results indicated that NPP, LST, NPP dir and NPP ind in 2001, 2009 and 2018 had significant spatial autocorrelation in Kunming based on spatial analytical model. LST had a positive impact on NPP ind in the central area of Kunming. The positively correlation areas of LST on NPP ind increased by 4.56%, and the NPP ind caused by the UHI effect increased by an average of 4.423 gC m -2 from 2009 to 2018. GWR model can reveal significant spatial heterogeneity in the impacts of LST on NPP ind . Overall, our findings indicated that LST has a certain role in promoting urban NPP., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: SWI/SNF-related, matrix-associated, actin-dependent regulator of chromatin subfamily C member 1 ( SMARCC1 ) protein is a potential tumor suppressor in various cancers. However, its role in prostate cancer (PCa) remains controversial. The aim of this study was to determine the biological function of SMARCC1 in PCa and explore the underlying regulatory mechanisms., Methods: The expression of SMARCC1 was validated in PCa tissues by immunohistochemistry. Meanwhile, function experiments were used to evaluate the regulatory role on cell proliferation and metastasis in PCa cells with SMARCC1 depletion both in vitro and in vivo . The expression levels of relevant proteins were detected by Western blotting., Results: Our finding showed that SMARCC1 was significantly downregulated in prostate adenocarcinoma, with a higher Gleason score (GS) than that in low GS. The decreased expression of SMARCC1 was significantly correlated with a higher GS and poor prognosis. Additionally, we found that silencing of SMARCC1 dramatically accelerated cell proliferation by promoting cell cycle progression and enhancing cell migration by inducing epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). Furthermore, depletion of SMARCC1 facilitated PCa xenograft growth and lung metastasis in murine models. Mechanistically, the loss of SMARCC1 activated the PI3K/AKT pathway in PCa cells., Conclusion: SMARCC1 suppresses PCa cell proliferation and metastasis via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and is a novel therapeutic target., 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, Lv, Yu, Wang, Xie, Wang, Song and Zhao.)

The interaction between LncRNA and RNA-binding protein (RBPs) plays an essential role in the regulation over the malignant progression of tumors. Previous studies on the mechanism of SNHG1, an emerging lncRNA, have primarily focused on the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) mechanism. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism between SNHG1 and RBPs in tumors remains to be explored, especially in prostate cancer (PCa). SNHG1 expression profiles in PCa were determined through the analysis of TCGA data and tissue microarray at the RNA level. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments were performed to investigate the biological role of SNHG1 in PCa initiation and progression. RNA-seq, immunoblotting, RNA pull-down and RNA immunoprecipitation analyses were utilized to clarify potential pathways with which SNHG1 might be involved. Finally, rescue experiments were carried out to further confirm this mechanism. We found that SNHG1 was dominantly expressed in the nuclei of PCa cells and significantly upregulated in PCa patients. The higher expression level of SNHG1 was dramatically correlated with tumor metastasis and patient survival. Functionally, overexpression of SNHG1 in PCa cells induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), accompanied by down-regulation of the epithelial marker, E-cadherin, and up-regulation of the mesenchymal marker, vimentin. Increased proliferation and migration, as well as accelerated xenograft tumor growth, were observed in SNHG1-overexpressing PCa cells, while opposite effects were achieved in SNHG1-silenced cells. Mechanistically, SNHG1 competitively interacted with hnRNPL to impair the translation of protein E-cadherin, thus activating the effect of SNHG1 on the EMT pathway, eventually promoting the metastasis of PCa. Our findings demonstrate that SNHG1 is a positive regulator of EMT activation through the SNHG1-hnRNPL-CDH1 axis. SNHG1 may serve as a novel potential therapeutic target for PCa.

Two new C 31 triterpenes, polysimiaric acid A (1) and B (2) as well as one new clerodane diterpenoid, 16,16-dimethoxy-cleroda-3,13Z-dien-15-oic acid (3), together with six known compounds were isolated from Polyalthia simiarum. Their structures were determined by analysis of 1D and 2D NMR data. Three new compounds were tested for their cytotoxicity against five human tumour cell lines. Compound 3 showed cytotoxic activities against SMMC-7721 with the IC 50 value of 22.43 μM., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Coix lachrymal-jobi L. var. ma-yuen Stapf of Gramineae are annual or perennial herbs and an important food-medicine homologous plants of high value in nutrition, health protection, and comprehensive utilization. In recent years, the revival of researches on its roles in food and medicinal applications of this underutilized grass for food security and economic empowerment of rural communities has been seen . In this research, Coix kernel endophytic fungi were isolated and identified by fungal colony morphology observation combined with the PCR-amplified fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analyses. All together six isolates to five species of Coix endophytic fungi and two isolates to the genus level were identified from the kernels of six Coix cultivars: Penicillium expansum, Penicillium polonicum, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, and two genera of Aspergillus and Fusarium. Potential benefits and harms analyses showed that Penicillium expansum, Aspergillus oryzae, and Cladosporium cladosporioides can produce a variety of beneficial composite enzymes and have an extensive application in microbial chemistry, food science, and fermentation, whereas Penicillium, Aspergillus flavus, Alternaria alternate, and Fusarium can produce corresponding toxins harmful to plants, animals, and humans. These results not only provided a basis for the targeted prevention of contamination in the tissue culture of Coix kernels by the addition of specific antibiotics, but also enriched the endophytic fungi resource pool of Gramineae crops and suggested new ideas for the improvement, cultivation, post-harvest seeds/kernels storage, and the development of new natural drugs.

Increasing evidences have proved that circular RNAs (circRNAs), identified as a specific kind of non-coding RNAs, play a potential critical role in tumorigenesis including prostate cancer. However, the function of circRNAs in human prostate cancer remain largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that the expression of circZMIZ1 was higher in plasma of human prostate cancer than the paired benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients' plasma. Moreover, in cultured prostate cancer cells, knockdown of circZMIZ1 inhibited cell proliferation and caused cell cycle arrest at G1. Mechanistically, we also showed that circZMIZ1 could increase the expression of androgen receptor (AR) and androgen receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7), which may be partly contributed to the occurrence and development of prostate cancer. In conclusion, these results revealed that circZMIZ1 might serve as a novel biomarker and a treatment target for prostate cancer treatment.

Phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetases 2 (PRPS2) protein function as nucleotide synthesis enzyme that plays vital roles in cancer biology. However, the expression profile and function of PRPS2 in prostate cancer (PCa) remain to be identified. Here we investigated the expression of PRPS2 protein in human PCa and paired normal tissues by immunohistochemistry, meanwhile the regulatory effects on cell proliferation, apoptosis and growth of xenograft tumors in nude mice were evaluated in PCa cells with PRPS2 depletion. Moreover, the signaling pathways were also explored by western blot analysis and quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays. We found that PRPS2 was dramatically upregulated in prostate adenocarcinoma tissues in comparison with normal tissues, and that increased PRPS2 was linked intimately to advanced clinical stage and pT status. Functional experiments showed that knockdown of PRPS2 significantly suppressed cell growth both in vitro and in vivo . In addition, depletion of PRPS2 induced G 1 phase cell cycle arrest and elevated cell apoptosis. Silencing of PRPS2 resulted in the decreased expression of Bcl‑2 and cyclinD1 and increased levels of Bax, cleavage of caspases‑3, caspases‑9 and PARP. Furthermore, we also detected PRPS2 expression was significantly induced after DHT treatment, which implied the important role of PRPS2 in oncogenesis of PCa. Taken together, our findings elucidated that PRPS2 may be a potential novel candidate for PCa therapy., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists., (© The author(s).)

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the world. Apart from motor deficits, PD reduces patient's quality of life through sleep disturbances, cognitive impairment and emotional disorders. However, it's unclear whether bad life habits such as stay up late exacerbate the patient's cognition and emotional disorders. Thus we investigated the consequences of sleep deprivation (SD) on memory and emotions using a rotenone-based zebrafish model of PD. Behavioral assays, using locomotor activity assay, showed that rotenone treated zebrafish exhibited PD-like symptoms, whereas sleep deprivation didn't exacerbate the progression of them. The object discrimination task exhibited that the short-term cognitive deficits of rotenone group are more serious than the sham group after SD. Light-dark box test showed that rotenone treated fish are more dysphoric than the sham fish after SD. Dopamine and DOPAC significantly reduced in rotenone treated fish compared with the sham fish. However, this DOPAC reduction recovered after SD. The expression of D2 and D3 in rotenone treated zebrafish elevated compared with sham group and SD group. However, the rotenone treated zebrafish manifested a decrease level of D2 and D3 after SD. D1 did not show any significantly changes among the four groups. Our findings suggest that zebrafish treated with rotenone may have a more severe damage of memory and emotional function after SD, which may be related to the changes in the DA systems., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background and Aim : We have previously shown that high-mobility group box 1 ( HMGB1 ) is an independent biomarker for shortened survival of prostate cancer (PCa) patients. However, the specific role of HMGB1 in tumor development and progression remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms of HMGB1 in PCa tumorigenesis. Methods : Gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments were used to determine the biological functions of HMGB1 both in vitro and in vivo . Bioinformatic analysis, immunoprecipitation, and immunofluorescence assays were applied to discern and examine the relationship between HMGB1 and its potential targets. Specimens from 64 patients with PCa were analyzed for the expression of HMGB1 and its relationship with Brahma-related gene 1 ( BRG1 ) was examined by immunohistochemistry. Results : The results demonstrated that ectopic expression of HMGB1 facilitated growth and metastasis of PCa by enhancing Akt signaling pathway and promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), while silencing of HMGB1 showed the opposite effects. Mechanistically, HMGB1 exerted these functions through its interaction with BRG1 which may augment BRG1 function and activate the Akt signaling pathway thereby promoting EMT. Importantly, both HMGB1 and BRG1 expression was markedly increased in human PCa tissues. Conclusions : Taken together, these findings indicate that upregulation of HMGB1 promotes PCa development via activation of Akt and accelerates metastasis through regulating BRG1 -mediated EMT. HMGB1 could be used as a novel potential target for the treatment of PCa., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Olfactory impairment is an early feature of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Retrospective epidemiological studies reported lower scores on the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) in non-smokers than smokers with PD and showed an inverse correlation between susceptibility to PD and a person's history of smoking. But the mechanisms by which cigarettes affect olfaction in PD are not fully understood. So we investigated the effect of nicotine on the olfactory function in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6 tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-treated mice. We observed that nicotine improved locomotor activity and protection against dopaminergic neuron loss in the midbrain in MPTP-treated mice. Compared to controls, MPTP-treated mice showed a deficit of odor discrimination and odor detection, which were alleviated by nicotine treatment. But no significant changes were found in olfactory memory in MPTP-treated mice. Moreover, we detected a marked decrease of Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) expression in the olfactory bulb (OB) in MPTP-treated mice, which was also attenuated by nicotine administration. In addition, nicotine ameliorated the loss of cholinergic neurons and dopaminergic innervation in the horizontal limb of the diagonal band (HDB), which is the primary origin of cholinergic input to the OB. Our results suggested that nicotine could improve the olfactory impairment by protecting cholinergic systems in the OB of MPTP-treated mice. And nicotine protection of cholinergic systems in the OB is relevant to attenuating dopaminergic neuron loss in the midbrain and HDB., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A novel scaffold of arylpiperazine derivatives was discovered as potent androgen receptor (AR) antagonist through rational drug designation based on our pre-work, leading to the discovery of a series of new antiproliferative compounds. Compounds 10, 16, 27, 29 and 31 exhibited relatively strong antagonistic potency against AR and exhibited potent AR binding affinities, while compounds 5, 6, 10, 14, 16, 19, 21, 27 and 31 exhibited strong cytotoxic activities against LNCaP cells (AR-rich) as well as also displayed the higher activities than finasteride toward PC-3 (AR-deficient) and DU145 (AR-deficient). Docking study suggested that the most potent antagonist 16 mainly bind to AR ligand binding pocket (LBP) site through hydrogen bonding interactions. The structure-activity relationship (SAR) of these designed arylpiperazine derivatives was rationally explored and discussed. These results indicated that the novel scaffold compounds demonstrated a step towards the development of novel and improved AR antagonists, and promising candidates for future development were identified., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) plasmacytoma variant translocation 1 (PVT1) has been reported to be overexpressed in prostate cancer cells and associated with tumorigenesis in various types of cancer. However, the biological function of lncRNA PVT1 remains largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of lncRNA PVT1 expression on the proliferation and migration of prostate cancer cells. Stably transfected prostate cancer cells with downregulated expression of lncRNA PVT1 were constructed by an efficient siRNA fragment, followed by confirmation by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Proliferation was assessed using CCK-8, colony formation and xenograft assays, and cell migration was evaluated using a wound healing assay. The PathScan ® Intracellular Signaling Array kit was utilized to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms of lncRNA PVT1 expression in prostate cancer cells. RT-qPCR results confirmed that the lncRNA PVT1 expression level was successfully knocked down in prostate cancer cells. When lncRNA PVT1 expression was downregulated in prostate cancer cells, proliferation and migration were significantly inhibited, compared with the control lncRNA PVT1 group. Furthermore, PVT1 knockdown decreased the phosphorylation of p38 in DU145 cells. Therefore, the present study demonstrated that lncRNA PVT1 downregulation inhibits the proliferation and migration of prostate cancer cells, and is associated with p38 phosphorylation.

Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is a leading cause of mortality among cases of prostate cancer (PCa). Current treatment options for CRPC are limited. Ethyl pyruvate (EP), a lipophilic derivative of pyruvic acid, has been reported to have antitumor activities. In the present study, the efficacy of EP against PCa was investigated using two human PCa cell lines and a mouse xenograft tumor model. PC3 and CWR22RV1 cells were treated with EP, and cytotoxicity was evaluated via Cell Counting Kit-8 and colony formation assays, while cell cycle distribution was assessed by flow cytometry. Changes in cell migration and invasion caused by EP treatment were also evaluated with Transwell and wound healing assays, and changes in the expression of intracellular signaling pathway components were detected by western blotting. EP treatment reduced cell viability, induced G1 arrest, and activated the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. Additionally, the in vivo experiments revealed that EP administration markedly inhibited tumor growth. EP also reversed epithelial-mesenchymal transition and suppressed cancer stem cell properties in part through negative regulation of AKT/nuclear factor-κB signaling. These results indicate that EP has anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo , and is therefore a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of PCa.

Phosphoglycerate mutase 1 (PGAM1) is upregulated in many cancer types and involved in cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis. However, the relationship between PGAM1 and prostate cancer is poorly understood. The present study investigated the changes in PGAM1 expression in prostate cancer tissues compared with normal prostate tissues and examined the cellular function of PGAM1 and its relationship with clinicopathological variables. Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting revealed that PGAM1 expression was upregulated in prostate cancer tissues and cell lines. PGAM1 expression was associated with Gleason score (P = 0.01) and T-stage (P = 0.009). Knockdown of PGAM1 by siRNA in PC-3 and 22Rv1 prostate cancer cell lines inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and enhanced cancer cell apoptosis. In a nude mouse xenograft model, PGAM1 knockdown markedly suppressed tumor growth. Deletion of PGAM1 resulted in decreased expression of Bcl-2, enhanced expression of Bax, caspases-3 and inhibition of MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression. Our results indicate that PGAM1 may play an important role in prostate cancer progression and aggressiveness, and that it might be a valuable marker of poor prognosis and a potential therapeutic target for prostate cancer.

Many studies reveal that BAG3 plays a critical role in the regulation of protein degradation via macroautophagy. However, it remains unknown whether BAG3 affects the quality control of α-synuclein (SNCA), a Parkinson's disease-related protein. In this study, we demonstrated the increases of BAG3 expression in the ventral midbrain of SNCA A53T transgenic mice and also in MG132-treated PC12 cells overexpressing wild-type SNCA (SNCA WT -PC12). Moreover, we showed that BAG3 overexpression was sufficient to enhance the autophagy activity while knockdown of Bag3 reduced it in SNCA WT -PC12 cells. Immunoprecipitation revealed that BAG3 interacted with heat shock protein 70 and sequestosome 1. The immunostaining also showed the perinuclear accumulation and colocalization of BAG3 with these 2 proteins, as well as with LC3 dots in tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons in the midbrain of SNCA A53T mice. BAG3 overexpression was able to modulate SNCA degradation via macroautophagy which was prevented by Atg5 knockdown. Taken together, these results indicate that BAG3 plays a relevant role in regulating SNCA clearance via macroautophagy, and the heat shock protein 70-BAG3-sequestosome 1 complex may be involved in this process., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background Although pain is one of the most distressing non-motor symptoms among patients with Parkinson's disease, the underlying mechanisms of pain in Parkinson's disease remain elusive. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) in the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) and spinal cord in pain sensory abnormalities in a 6-hydroxydopamine-treated rat model of Parkinson's disease. Methods The rotarod test was used to evaluate motor function. The radiant heat test and von Frey test were conducted to evaluate thermal and mechanical pain thresholds, respectively. Immunofluorescence was used to examine 5-hydroxytryptamine neurons and fibers in the rostral ventromedial medulla and spinal cord. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to determine 5-hydroxytryptamine and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid levels. Results The duration of running time on the rotarod test was significantly reduced in 6-hydroxydopamine-treated rats. Nociceptive thresholds of both mechanical and heat pain were reduced compared to sham-treated rats. In addition to the degeneration of cell bodies and fibers in the substantia nigra pars compacta, the number of rostral ventromedial medulla 5-hydroxytryptamine neurons and 5-hydroxytryptamine fibers in the spinal dorsal horn was dramatically decreased. 5-Hydroxytryptamine concentrations in both the rostral ventromedial medulla and spinal cord were reduced. Furthermore, the administration of citalopram significantly attenuated pain hypersensitivity. Interestingly, Intra-rostral ventromedial medulla (intra-RVM) microinjection of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine partially reversed pain hypersensitivity of 6-hydroxydopamine-treated rats. Conclusions These results suggest that the decreased 5-hydroxytryptamine contents in the rostral ventromedial medulla and spinal dorsal horn may be involved in hyperalgesia in the 6-hydroxydopamine-induced rat model of Parkinson's disease.

Prostatic carcinoma is the fifth most common cancer in the world and the second most common in men. It is quite important to early detect and diagnose prostate cancer to reduce the mortality. With the increasing of the diagnosis and treatment tasks of prostate cancer and the development of medical techniques, more and more clinical and lab examinations, biopsy and medical imaging techniques are included in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. Although these examination results are supplement to each other, there are contradictions among them at the same time. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) which can perform multifactorial analysis based on computational methodologies have been widely used in the prognosis of prostate cancer. The current application of ANNs is reviewed.

We investigated the polymorphism of five X-chromosomal short tandem repeat markers (ChrX STRs) loci (DXS7132, DXS981, DXS6803, DXS6809, and DXS6789) and their value for forensic applications. A fluorescent multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for amplifying five ChrX STRs loci in the same PCR reaction was set up. A total of 827 unrelated individuals of the Han nationality in China were tested. The results show that the five loci in the multiplex system provide high polymorphism information for forensic identification and paternity testing, particularly for difficult paternity-deficient cases.

A fluorescent multiplex PCR that simultaneously amplifies five X-chromosomal short tandem repeat (X-STR) loci (DXS6803, DXS981, DXS6809, DXS6789 and DXS7132)was set up to study their polymorphic nature and to determine its use in kinship tests for forensic cases. PCR products were analyzed using capillary electrophoresis and ABI prism 3100 Genetic Analyzer with GeneMapper ID 3.1 Analysis Software. The pentaplex system gave satisfactory results as its sensitivity, reproducibility and unambiguous genotyping. About 20 ng DNA was routinely used, although 0.25 ng DNA was sufficient for allele typing. The results demonstrate that the multiplex system of the five X-STR loci provides a fast technology for forensic identification and paternity testing. The X-STR pentaplex system can complement the analysis of AS-STR and Y-STR efficiently, especially in complex cases of kinship testing.

This article presents a projection system with a novel composite pattern for one-shot acquisition of 3D surface shape. The pattern is composed of color encoded stripes and cosinoidal intensity fringes, with parallel arrangement. The stripe edges offer absolute height phases with high accuracy, and the cosinoidal fringes provide abundant relative phases involved in the intensity distribution. Wavelet transform is utilized to obtain the relative phase distribution of the fringe pattern, and the absolute height phases measured by triangulation are combined to calibrate the phase data in unwrapping, so as to eliminate the initial and noise errors and to reduce the accumulation and approximation errors. Numerical simulations are performed to prove the new unwrapping algorithms and actual experiments are carried out to show the validity of the proposed technique for accurate 3- D shape measurement.

To investigate the subpopulation structure within the Han Population in Guandong area, a total of 471 DNA samples from five populations in Guandong Province, including Guangzhou, Foshan, Dongguan, Jiangmen and Zhongshan-Zhuhai region, were genotyped at 15 STR(short tandem repeats) markers. Hardy-Weinberg tests were performed, allele frequencies were compared, and the genetic coancestry coefficient(FST) was estimated. The results did not show significant departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in the total population. Difference of allele frequencies among these populations was not observed, and the coancestry coefficient(FST)was less than 0.01. Subpopulation structure within Han Population in Guandong Province could not be detected.