Foxa1 mediates eccrine sweat gland development through transcriptional regulation of Na-K-ATPase expression

Eccrine sweat glands (ESGs) perform critical functions in temperature regulation in humans. Foxa1 plays an important role in ESG maturation and sweat secretion. Its molecular mechanism, however, remains unknown. This study investigated the expression of Foxa1 and Na-K-ATPase (NKA) in rat footpads at different development stages using immunofluorescence staining, qRT-PCR, and immunoblotting. Also, bioinformatics analysis and Foxa1 overexpression and silencing were employed to evaluate Foxa1 regulation of NKA. The results demonstrated that Foxa1 was consistently expressed during the late stages of ESGs and had a significant role in secretory coil maturation during sweat secretion. Furthermore, the mRNA abundance and protein expression of NKA had similar accumulation trends to those of Foxa1, confirming their underlying connections. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that Foxa1 may interact with these two proteins via binding to conserved motifs in their promoter regions. Foxa1 gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments in Foxa1-modified cells demonstrated that the activities of NKA were dependent on the presence of Foxa1. Collectively, these data provided evidence that Foxa1 may influence ESG development through transcriptional regulation of NKA expression.

Relationship between dietary behaviors and risk of noncommunicablediseases among adults in Beijing / 预防医学

Objective@#To evaluate the effects of dietary behaviors on the risk of hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.@*Methods@#A total of 12 208 subjects aged 18-60 years old were investigated by questionnaires to collect demographic data, dietary behaviors and lifestyle information, when they did health examination in a tertiary hospital in Beijing from 2014 to 2019. During the observation period of five year, the incidence of hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases were collected through health examination files every year. The multivariate logistic regression model was employed to analyze the associations of dietary behaviors with hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. @*Results@#The study included 6 218 ( 50.93% ) males and 5 990 ( 49.07% ) females. The cumulative incidence rates of hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases were 7.75%, 2.72% and 3.49%, respectively. The multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the high-sodium diet ( OR=1.422, 95%CI: 1.191-1.697 ) , eating fast ( OR=1.457, 95%CI: 1.102-1.974 ), eating more refined grain ( OR=1.251, 95%CI: 1.050-1.490 ) and drinking milk less than once a week ( OR=1.316, 95%CI: 1.022-1.697 ) were risk factors for hypertension. The high-sodium diet ( OR=1.344, 95%CI: 1.048-1.725 ), eating fast ( OR=1.733, 95%CI: 1.046-2.871 ), eating more meat ( OR=1.651,95%CI: 1.263-2.158 ) were risk factors for diabetes. High-sodium diet ( OR=1.501, 95%CI: 1.192-1.889 ) was risk factors for cardiovascular disease. @*Conclusion@#The diet with high sodium, more meat and refined grain as well as eating fast can increase the risk of hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Anaerobic biodegradation of benzo(a)pyrene by a novel Cellulosimicrobium cellulans CWS2 isolated from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-contaminated soil

Abstract Cellulosimicrobium cellulans CWS2, a novel strain capable of utilizing benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) as the sole carbon and energy source under nitrate-reducing conditions, was isolated from PAH-contaminated soil. Temperature and pH significantly affected BaP biodegradation, and the strain exhibited enhanced biodegradation ability at temperatures above 30 °C and between pH 7 and 10. The highest BaP removal rate (78.8%) was observed in 13 days when the initial BaP concentration was 10 mg/L, and the strain degraded BaP at constant rate even at a higher concentration (50 mg/L). Metal exposure experimental results illustrated that Cd(II) was the only metal ion that significantly inhibited biodegradation of BaP. The addition of 0.5 and 1.0 g/L glucose enhanced BaP biodegradation, while the addition of low-molecular-weight organic acids with stronger acidity reduced BaP removal rates during co-metabolic biodegradation. The addition of phenanthrene and pyrene, which were degraded to some extent by the strain, showed no distinct effect on BaP biodegradation. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed that the five rings of BaP opened, producing compounds with one to four rings which were more bioavailable. Thus, the strain exhibited strong BaP degradation capability and has great potential in the remediation of BaP-/PAH-contaminated environments.

Clinicopathologic characteristics of non-small cell lung cancer patients with seldom mutation types of epidermal growth factor receptor and treatment analysis / 中国肿瘤临床

Objective:To compare clinicopathologic parameters of uncommon mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and preliminary therapeutic effects of EGFR-TKI treatment in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Methods:We collected clinico-pathological data from 29 patients with non-small cell lung cancer who carry uncommon mutations of EGFR, which were pathological-ly confirmed in the Tumor Hospital Affiliated to Xinjiang Medical University, from January 2012 to April 2016. Then we analyzed the re-lationship between the clinicopathologic characteristics of uncommon mutations and therapeutic effects of EGFR-TKIs. Results:Among the 29 cases of patients with uncommon mutations, the most common distant metastasis organs were ipsilateral/contralateral lung tissue, bone, brain, liver, and adrenal gland;the most common metastatic lymph nodes were hilar lymph node, supraclavicular/subclavian lymph node, neck-root lymph node, and mediastinal lymph node. In seldom mutations, 16 cases of single mutation were found:5 cases of L861Q, 5 cases of G719X, 4 cases of 20ins, and 2 cases of S768I. By contrast, 11 cases of double mutations were found:4 cases of S768I and 20ins, 1 case of double mutation of L858R and S768I, 1 case of double mutation of 19Del and T790M, 2 cases of double mutations of L861Q and G719X, 1 case of 19Del and S768I, 1 case of 20ins and G719X, and 1 case of T790M and G719X. Moreover, 2 cases of triple mutation were found:1 case of L858R, L861Q, and G719X;1 case of S768I, 20ins, and G719X. The objective response rate (ORR) of the first-line EGFR-TKI therapy was 43.75%, the disease control rate (DCR) was 50%, and the median progression-free survival (mPFS) was 5.5 months. Furthermore, the ORR of the second-line EGFR-TKI therapy was 28.57%, the DCR was 42.85%, and the mPFS was 4 months. Moreover, the ORR of the third-line EGFR-TKI therapy was 33.33%, the DCR was 50.00%, and the mPFS was 2.67 months. Conclusion:Great individual differences were found on EGFR uncommon mutations for effective rate and sur-vival time of EGFR-TKI treatment;in general, ORR and mPFS of EGFR seldom mutations were lower than classical mutations and partly higher than wild types. The first-line therapeutic effects of EGFR-TKI therapy was slightly better than the second-line or third-line thera-peutic effects;however, no significant statistical difference was observed .

Identifi cation and expression profi le of GbAGL2, a C-class gene from Gossypium barbadense.

An AGAMOUS (AG)-like gene, GbAGL2, was isolated from Gossypium barbadense and characterized. Alignment and phylogenetic analysis indicated that GbAGL2 shared high homology with AG-subfamily genes and belonged to a C-class gene family. DNA gel blot analysis showed that GbAGL2 belonged to a low-copy gene family. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) revealed that GbAGL2 was highly expressed in reproductive tissues including ovules and carpels, but barely expressed in vegetative tissues. In addition, GbAGL2 expression in a cotton cultivar XuZhou142 (wt) (XZ142, G. hirsutum L.) and its fi breless mutant XZ142 (fl ) was examined. RNA in situ hybridization analysis indicated that GbAGL2 transcripts were preferentially restricted to outer ovule integuments, carpels and fi bres. These expression patterns implied that GbAGL2 might participate in the development of the carpel and ovule. Furthermore, Arabidopsis transformation was performed and modifi cations occurred in fl owers, and the silique length of transgenic plants also increased slightly, suggesting that the GbAGL2 gene may have a positive effect on the development of the ovary or ovule. Our fi ndings suggest that GbAGL2 might not only specify the identity of fl oral organs but also play a potential key role in ovary or fi bre development in cotton.