Uncovering the Potential Differentially Expressed miRNAs and mRNAs in Ischemic Stroke Based on Integrated Analysis in the Gene Expression Omnibus Database.

INTRODUCTION: Ischemic stroke is the third leading cause of death. There is no known treatment or cure for the disease. Moreover, the pathological mechanism of ischemic stroke remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify potential microRNAs (miRNAs) and mRNAs, contributing to understanding the pathology of ischemic stroke. METHODS: First, the data of miRNA and mRNA were downloaded for differential expression analysis. Then, the regulatory network between miRNA and mRNAs was constructed. Third, top 100 differentially expressed mRNAs were used to construct a protein-protein interaction network followed by the function annotation of mRNAs. In addition, in vitro experiment was used to validate the expression of mRNAs. Last, receiver operating characteristic diagnostic analysis of differentially methylated genes was performed. RESULTS: Totally, up to 26 differentially expressed miRNAs and 1,345 differentially expressed mRNAs were identified. Several regulatory interaction pairs between miRNA and mRNAs were identified, such as hsa-miR-206-HMGCR/PICALM, hsa-miR-4491-TMEM97, hsa-miR-3622b-5p/hsa-miR-548k-KLF12, and hsa-miR-302a-3p/hsa-miR-3145-3p-CTSS. MAPK signaling pathway (involved DUSP1) and the Notch signaling pathway (involved NUMB and CREBBP) were identified. The expression validation of KLF12, ARG1, ITGAM, SIRT4, SERPINH1, and DUSP1 was consistent with the bioinformatics analysis. Interestingly, hsa-miR-206, hsa-miR-4491, hsa-miR-3622b-5p, hsa-miR-548k, hsa-miR-302a-3p, hsa-miR-3145-3p, KLF12, and ID3 had the potential diagnostic value of ischemic stroke. CONCLUSIONS: The identified differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs may be associated with the development of ischemic stroke.

The Synthesis and characteristic study of transferrin-conjugated liposomes carrying brain-derived neurotrophic factor.

This study aimed to establish a novel non-viral liposome vector delivering brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) through the blood brain barrier. For this purpose, different water-oil ratios were tested to create liposomes for packaging the prophase synthesized plasmids encoding the BDNF proteins. In order to increase the targeted and peripheral circulation time, we connected the liposomes with transferrin (Tf) and a polyethylene glycol (PEG) long chain. The non-isotope method was used to measure the liposome envelopment ratio and ligand-binding ratio, and also to detect molecular biological features, such as particle size and stability. Tf-conjugated liposomes could be synthesized satisfactorily under the following conditions: the ratio of phospholipid to cholesterol was 1:1; the ratio of enter to plasmid was 100:1; oil phase was dichloromethane; the oil to water ratio was 4:1; the rotary evaporation temperature was 30 °C; the ultrasonic temperature was 10 °C; the ultrasonic time was 10 min; and 10% trehalose was in the presence. Generated liposomes had a uniform circular shape and particle size distribution. In this experiment, we successfully established a new type of Tf-conjugated liposomes carrying the gene of BDNF and the study provides an experimental basis for the future.