Circular RNA circ_0000034 upregulates STX17 level to promote human retinoblastoma development via inhibiting miR-361-3p.

OBJECTIVE: Retinoblastoma (RB) is a common intraocular tumor of infancy and childhood. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are related to the development of RB. The purpose of this research was to reveal the functional mechanism of circRNA circ_0000034 in RB. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot were applied to determine the levels of genes. MTT assay and flow cytometry were employed to assess cell proliferation and apoptosis rate, respectively. Furthermore, cell migratory and invasive abilities were measured using the transwell assay. Mouse xenograft was conducted to analyze the effect of circ_0000034 on tumor growth in vivo. Besides, the interaction between miR-361-3p and circ_0000034 or syntaxin 17 (STX17) was predicted by starBase, and then, confirmed by the Dual-Luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. RESULTS: The levels of circ_0000034 and STX17 were increased and miR-361-3p level was decreased in RB tissues and cells. Circ_0000034 knockdown suppressed cell proliferation, migration, invasion, autophagy, and tumor growth, and induced apoptosis in RB. Circ_0000034 targeted miR-361-3p and miR-361-3p bound to STX17. Circ_0000034 overexpression and miR-361-3p knockdown reversed the effect of miR-361-3p upregulation and STX17 depletion on the growth of RB cells, respectively. Besides, circ_0000034 elevated STX17 level by repressing miR-361-3p expression. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that circ_0000034 knockdown suppressed the development of RB by the modulation of miR-361-3p/STX17 axis. Our findings provided a theoretical basis for the treatment of RB.

Evidence for competing magnetic and superconducting phases in superconducting Eu 1-x Sr x Fe 2-y Co y As 2 single crystals.

In single crystals of Eu(1-x)Sr(x)Fe(2-y)Co(y)As(2), Co doping suppresses spin-density wave (SDW) ordering and induces a superconducting transition. A resistivity reentrance due to the antiferromagnetic ordering of Eu(2+) spins is observed, indicating the competition between antiferromagnetism (AFM) and superconductivity (SC). It is striking that the resistivity reentrance can be completely suppressed by a small magnetic field due to a field-induced metamagnetic transition from AFM to ferromagnetism (FM). The resistivity reentrance can also be suppressed by the substitution of Eu(2+) ions with nonmagnetic Ba(2+)/Sr(2+) to completely destroy the AFM ordering. These results indicate that the AFM order appears destructive to SC, while FM can coexist with the superconductivity. Further we find that magnon excitation exists in AFM ordering and can be suppressed by an applied field. Coexistence of SC from the FeAs layer and the inner field produced by the ferromagnetic Eu(2+) layer suggest a possible p-wave component in the superconducting order parameter.

Improvement of heart allograft acceptability associated with recruitment of CD4+CD25+ T cells in peripheral blood by recipient treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.

BACKGROUND: Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), an important hematopoietic growth factor of the myeloid lineage, exerts profound immunoregulatory effects in T-cell tolerance. The study objective was to investigate the potential mechanism of G-CSF's antirejection effects in a fully mismatched rat cardiac allograft model. METHODS: The allograft recipients were treated with subcutaneous injection of recombinant human G-CSF (rh-G-CSF) at a dose of 250 microg/kg/d for 6 days starting from the day of cardiac transplantation. The alloreactive T-cell response and rejection level of G-CSF-treated rats were compared with those of control rats using mixed lymphocyte reactions (MLR) and histological examinations. Cytokine and cellular profiles were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and flow cytometry. The presence and suppressive functions of regulatory T cells were determined by adoptive cell transfer experiments. RESULTS: Posttransplantation treatment of recipients with rh-G-CSF alone prolonged allograft survival, improved allograft biopsy grading scores, and induced alloreactive T-cell hyporesponsiveness accompanied by high levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) production in MLR. It also enhanced CD4+CD25+ T cells in peripheral blood. The splenocytes from rh-G-CSF-treated recipients transferred antirejection effects to secondary recipients. CONCLUSIONS: Posttransplantation treatment of cardiac allograft recipients with rh-G-CSF leads to alloreactive T-cell hyporesponsiveness in vivo and in vitro associated with recruitment of CD4+CD25+ T cells in the peripheral blood. This study may provide insight into the application of G-CSF to control acute rejection of solid organ transplantations.

Molecular epidemiology of adenovirus types 3 and 7 isolated from children with pneumonia in Beijing.

One hundred fifty strains of adenovirus sero-types 3 (Ad3) and 7 (Ad7) were analyzed. The viruses were isolated from patients, the majority of whom had pneumonia, from central and sub-urban Beijing over a 33-year period (1958-1990). Genomic analysis of DNA extracted from 74 strains of Ad3 and 76 strains of Ad7, with four to five restriction endonucleases (REs), revealed the presence of four and eight genome types, respectively: Ad3a2, Ad3a4, Ad3a5, Ad3a6 and Ad7p1, Ad7a1, Ad7a4, Ad7b, Ad7b1, Ad7d, Ad7d1, and Ad7g. Ad7b1 was the most recently identified genome type. The restriction patterns obtained from 19 representatives of Ad7 genome types after cleavage of the DNA with 12 REs are shown. Ad3a2 first appeared in 1962, and predominated from 1983 to 1988. Ad3a4 was the main causative agent of pneumonia in 1982. Ad3a2 and Ad3a4 are closely related and have 97% pairwise comigrating restriction fragments (PCRF). Ad7d predominated over a period of 11 years (1980-1990). It has 98% PCRF with Ad7b. Ten pairs of strains isolated from different specimens of the same patients were all concordant.

[Effect of photosensitized oxidation auto-hemotherapy with buyang huanwu tang on sequela of apoplexy].

An effective therapy in treating sequela of apoplexy (SA) was reported, 115 patients were divided semi-randomly into three groups: group T for treatment, both group A and B for control. Patients in group T received Photosensitized Oxidation Auto-Hemotherapy (POAH) with Buyang Huanwu Tang therapy, group A received POAH only, while in group B, conventional treatment were conducted. Clinical data were collected based on pre- and post-treatment qualified procedures according to "The Advice For Clinical Study on Apoplexy", complemented by hemorheologic findings and examination of nail fold microcirculation. The results showed that there was significant difference between group T and group A or B (P < 0.05), among them, the effective rate in group T was 78.5%. Differences in hemorheology findings and examination of nail fold microcirculation were similar (P < 0.01).

[Ezhu intravenous injection in treating infantile respiratory syncytial virus pneumonia and its therapeutical mechanism].

Ezhu Intravenous Injection (EII) in treating respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) pneumonia was studied. 45 patients in therapeutic group were treated with 0.04% EII in dose of 20 ml/kg/day for 7-14 days. 20 patients in the control group were treated with Huayu decoction, its efficacy on RSV pneumonia has been confirmed. The results showed that all the patients of both groups were cured and there were no statistic differences in the average days of clearing up the temperature, dyspnea and wheezing (P > 0.05). Experimental studies showed that the isolation rate of RSV on the 5th and 8th day in the therapeutic group were lower than that of infected and glucose control groups. The difference was significant (P < 0.001 and P < 0.0001). Pathological examination showed that on 5th day in infected and control group there were epithelial damages and bronchial lumen obstruction, peri-bronchial and periseptal edema, eosinophilic leucocytes and inflammatory infiltrations. The endothelial cells of alveolar capillaries swelled, platelet aggregations and thrombi occurred in its lumens. On 8th day the platelet aggregations diminished, but cellular infiltrations and damages of bronchial epithelium still existed. In therapeutic group on 5th day most of the alveolar capillary endothelial cells were normal with mild edema only. The platelet aggregation were much less than the infected and control groups. No peribronchial and peri-septal edema was observed. The results of both clinical and experimental studies showed that EII had good therapeutic effect on RSV pneumonia with no adverse reaction.