An Integrative Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Consistently Dysregulated Long Noncoding RNAs and Their Transcriptional Regulation Relationships in Heart Failure.

Accumulating evidence suggests that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as important regulators involved in diseases, including heart failure (HF). In this study, we used microarray profiles to examine the transcriptome of lncRNAs in left ventricle samples derived from HF patients. We designed a custom pipeline to reannotate lncRNAs from microarray data and identified a set of consistently dysregulated lncRNAs in HF across the three independent cohorts. In total, 84 lncRNAs were found to be consistently dysregulated in at least two cohorts. By using a rank aggregation method, we integrated correlated protein-coding genes of the consistently dysregulated lncRNAs derived from HF samples and characterized their biological functions based on the correlated genes. The transcriptional regulation relationships of these lncRNAs ranged from 104 to 261, suggesting their important regulatory functions. Among the conserved lncRNAs, AC018647.1 and AC009113.1 showed significant dysregulation across all three cohorts. Our results showed that the two lncRNAs were involved in development-associated and cardiac cycle-associated functions.

Preparation of a Two-Dimensional Ion-Imprinted Polymer Based on a Graphene Oxide/SiO2 Composite for the Selective Adsorption of Nickel Ions.

In the present work, a novel two-dimensional (2D) nickel ion-imprinted polymer (RAFT-IIP) has been successfully synthesized based on the graphene oxide/SiO2 composite by reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The imprinted materials obtained are characterized by Fourier transmission infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results show that the thermal stability of the graphene oxide/SiO2 composite is obviously higher than that of graphene oxide. RAFT-IIP possesses an excellent 2D homogeneous imprinted polymer layer, which is a well-preserved unique structure of graphene oxide/SiO2. Owing to the intrinsic advantages of RAFT polymerization and 2D imprinted material, RAFT-IIP demonstrate a superior specific adsorption capacity (81.73 mg/g) and faster adsorption kinetics (30 min) for Ni(II) in comparison to the ion-imprinted polymer prepared by traditional radical polymerization and based on the common carbon material. Furthermore, the adsorption isotherm and selectivity toward Ni(II) onto RAFT-IIP and nonimprinted polymer (NIP) are investigated, indicating that RAFT-IIP has splendid recognizing ability and a nearly 3 times larger adsorption capacity than that of NIP (30.94 mg/g). Moreover, a three-level Box-Behnken experimental design with three factors combining the response surface method is utilized to optimize the desorption process. The optimal conditions for the desorption of Ni(II) from RAFT-IIP are as follows: an HCl-type eluent, an eluent concentration of 2.0 mol/L, and an eluent volume of 10 mL.

[Extract of Herba Siegesbeckiae on mouse rheumatoid arthritis induced by anthrogen-CIA monoclonal antibody].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of Herba Siegesbeckiae extracts on mouse rheumatoid arthritis induced by arthrogen-CIA monoclonal antibody. METHODS: The rheumatoid arthritis was induced by arthrogen-CIA arthritogenic monoclonal antibody in mice. The sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine the concentration of IL-1ßin mouse serum,and the content of IL-6,IL-17 and MMP-3 in supernatant of tissue homogenate of hind limb below the stifle of mice. One-way ANOVA was used for data analysis. RESULTS: The toe swelling was attenuated in Siegesbeckiae group than that in model group [(0.218 ± 0.0307)cm(3) compared with (0.2545 ± 0.0179)cm(3), P<0.05]. The serum IL-1ß level in Siegesbeckiae group was lower than that in model group [(63.74 ± 21.74)pg/ml compared with (104.96 ± 31.22)pg/ml, P<0.01]. The contents of IL-6, IL-17 and MMP-3 in tissue supernatants of Siegesbeckiae group were all lower than those of model group [(171.10 ± 48.35)pg/ml compared with (249.64 ± 75.08)pg/ml, P<0.05; (115.42 ± 56.52)pg/ml compared with (208.40 ± 88.54)pg/ml, P<0.05;(3660.31 ± 1680.99) pg/ml compared with (5420.79 ± 1201.43)pg/ml, P<0.05, respectively]. CONCLUSION: The extract of Herba Siegesbeckiae has anti-inflammatory effect on mouse rheumatoid arthritis induced by mixed arthrogen monoclonal antibody.

A potential role for macrophages in maintaining lipopolysaccharide-induced subacute airway inflammation in rats.

Bacterial infection is a key factor in airway inflammation. The present study describes the time-dependent changes in the leukocyte counts and cytokine levels of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) following subacute airway inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a major component of the outer membranes of Gram-negative bacteria. LPS (200 µg/rat) or saline was intratracheally administered to rats which were sacrificed 2, 4 or 7 days after LPS treatment. Airway inflammation was evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin staining, cell counts and proinflammatory cytokine levels in the BALF. Rat airways obtained from the LPS group exhibited marked airway wall thickening and infiltration of inflammatory cells compared with the control group, as well as elevated cell counts (neutrophils, macrophages, lymphocytes) and proinflammatory cytokine levels [(tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1ß, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC)-1)] in the BALF, which peaked on day 2 and subsequently decreased until the experimental endpoint. Notably, IL-1ß levels induced by LPS changed in a similar manner to macrophage cell counts, but not neutrophil and lymphocyte counts. Moreover, TNF-α and CINC-1 levels did not decrease as rapidly as neutrophil counts after peaking. These findings suggest that macrophages may play a significant role in maintaining subacute inflammatory responses induced by LPS in rat airways.