Nucleotide excision repair gene polymorphisms and hepatoblastoma susceptibility in Eastern Chinese children:A five-center case-control study

Objective:Nucleotide excision repair(NER)plays a vital role in maintaining genome stability,and the effect of NER gene polymorphisms on hepatoblastoma susceptibility is still under investigation.This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between NER gene polymorphisms and the risk of hepatoblastoma in Eastern Chinese Han children.Methods:In this five-center case-control study,we enrolled 966 subjects from East China(193 hepatoblastoma patients and 773 healthy controls).The TaqMan method was used to genotype 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)in NER pathway genes,including ERCC1,XPA,XPC,XPD,XPF,and XPG.Then,multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed,and odds ratios(ORs)and 95%confidence intervals(95%CIs)were utilized to assess the strength of associations.Results:Three SNPs were related to hepatoblastoma risk.XPC rs2229090 and XPD rs3810366 significantly contributed to hepatoblastoma risk according to the dominant model(adjusted OR=1.49,95%CI=1.07−2.08,P=0.019;adjusted OR=1.66,95%CI=1.12−2.45,P=0.012,respectively).However,XPD rs238406 conferred a significantly decreased risk of hepatoblastoma under the dominant model(adjusted OR=0.68,95%CI=0.49−0.95;P=0.024).Stratified analysis demonstrated that these significant associations were more prominent in certain subgroups.Moreover,there was evidence of functional implications of these significant SNPs suggested by online expression quantitative trait loci(eQTLs)and splicing quantitative trait loci(sQTLs)analysis.Conclusions:In summary,NER pathway gene polymorphisms(XPC rs2229090,XPD rs3810366,and XPD rs238406)are significantly associated with hepatoblastoma risk,and further research is required to verify these findings.

A Distributed Computing Algorithm for Electricity Carbon Emission Flow and Carbon Emission Intensity

The calculation of the indirect carbon emis-sion is essential for power system policy making,carbon market development,and power grid planning.The em-bedded carbon emissions of the electricity system are commonly calculated by carbon emission flow theory.However,the calculation procedure is time-consuming,especially for a country with 500-1000 thousand nodes,making it challenging to obtain nationwide carbon emis-sions intensity precisely.Additionally,the calculation procedure requires to gather all the grid data with high classified levels from different power grid companies,which can prevent data sharing and cooperation among different companies.This paper proposes a distributed computing algorithm for indirect carbon emission that can reduce the time consumption and provide privacy protection.The core idea is to utilize the sparsity of the nodes’flow matrix of the nationwide grid to partition the computing procedure into parallel sub-procedures exe-cuted in multiple terminals.The flow and structure data of the regional grid are transformed irreversibly for pri-vacy protection,when transmitted between terminals.A 1-master-and-N-slave layout is adopted to verify the method.This algorithm is suitable for large grid compa-nies with headquarter and branches in provinces,such as the State Grid Corporation of China.

ALKBH5 gene polymorphisms and risk of neuroblastoma in Chinese children from Jiangsu Province

Background:Neuroblastoma is one of the most common extracranial malignant solid tumors in children.AlkB homolog 5(ALKBH5)is an RNA N6-methyladenosine(m6A)demethylase that plays a critical role in tumorigenesis and development.We assessed the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)in ALKBH5 and the risk of neuroblastoma in a case-control study including 402 patients and 473 non-cancer controls.Methods:Genotyping was determined by the TaqMan method.The association between ALKBH5 polymorphisms(rs1378602 and rs8400)and the risk of neuroblastoma was evaluated using the odds ratio(OR)and 95%confidence interval(CI).Results:We found no strong association of ALKBH5 rs1378602 and rs8400 with neuroblastoma risk.Further stratification analysis by age,sex,primary site,and clinical stage showed that the rs1378602 AG/AA genotype was associated with a lower risk of neuroblastoma in males(adjusted OR=0.58,95%CI=0.35–0.97,p=0.036)and children with retroperitoneal neuroblastoma(adjusted OR=0.58,95%CI=0.34–0.98,p=0.040).Conclusions:ALKBH5 SNPs do not seem to be associated with neuroblastoma risk.More studies are required to confirm this negative result and reveal the relationship between gene polymorphisms of the m6A modifier ALKBH5 and neuroblastoma.

Transcriptional activation and phosphorylation of OsCNGC9 confer enhanced chilling tolerance in rice

Low temperature is a major environmental factor that limits plant growth and productivity.Although transient elevation of cytoplasmic calcium has long been recognized as a critical signal for plant cold tolerance,the calcium channels responsible for this process have remained largely elusive.Here we report that OsCNGC9,a cyclic nucleotide-gated channel,positively regulates chilling tolerance by mediating cytoplasmic calcium elevation in rice(Oryza sativa).We showed that the loss-of-function mutant of OsCNGC9 is defective in cold-induced calcium influx and more sensitive to prolonged cold treatment,whereas OsCNGC9 overexpression confers enhanced cold tolerance.Mechanistically,we demonstrated that in response to chilling stress,OsSAPK8,a homolog of Arabidopsis thaliana OST1,phosphorylates and activates OsCNGC9 to trigger Ca2+influx.Moreover,we found that the transcription of OsCNGC9 is activated by a rice dehydration-responsive element-binding transcription factor,OsDREB1A.Taken together,our results suggest that OsCNGC9 enhances chilling tolerance in rice through regulating cold-induced calcium influx and cytoplasmic calcium elevation.

Young Leaf White Stripe encodes a P-type PPR protein required for chloroplast development

Pentatricopeptide repeat(PPR) proteins function in post-transcriptional regulation of organellar gene expression. Although several PPR proteins are known to function in chloroplast development in rice(Oryza sativa), the detailed molecular functions of many PPR proteins remain unclear.Here, we characterized a rice young leaf white stripe(ylws) mutant, which has defective chloroplast development during early seedling growth.Map-based cloning revealed that YLWS encodes a novel P-type chloroplast-targeted PPR protein with 11 PPR motifs. Further expression analyses showed that many nuclear-and plastid-encoded genes in the ylws mutant were significantly changed at the RNA and protein levels. The ylws mutant was impaired in chloroplast ribosome biogenesis and chloroplast development under low-temperature conditions. The ylws mutation causes defects in the splicing of atpF, ndhA, rpl2,and rps12, and editing of ndhA, ndhB, and rps14transcripts. YLWS directly binds to specific sites in the atpF, ndhA, and rpl2 pre-mRNAs. Our results suggest that YLWS participates in chloroplast RNA group II intron splicing and plays an important role in chloroplast development during early leaf development.

ESCRT-Ⅲ component OsSNF7.2 modulates leaf rolling by trafficking and endosomal degradation of auxin biosynthetic enzyme OsYUC8 in rice

The endosomal sorting complex required for transport(ESCRT)is highly conserved in eukaryotic cells and plays an essential role in the biogenesis of multivesicular bodies and cargo degradation to the plant vacuole or lysosomes.Although ESCRT components affect a variety of plant growth and development processes,their impact on leaf development is rarely reported.Here,we found that OsSNF7.2,an ESCRT-Ⅲ component,controls leaf rolling in rice(Oryza sativa).The Ossnf7.2 mutant rolled leaf 17(rl17)has adaxially rolled leaves due to the decreased number and size of the bulliform cells.OsSNF7.2is expressed ubiquitously in all tissues,and its protein is localized in the endosomal compartments.OsSNF7.2 homologs,including OsSNF7,OsSNF7.3,and OsSNF7.4,can physically interact with OsSNF7.2,but their single mutation did not result in leaf rolling.Other ESCRT complex subunits,namely OsVPS20,OsVPS24,and OsBRO1,also interact with OsSNF7.2.Further assays revealed that OsSNF7.2 interacts with OsYUC8 and aids its vacuolar degradation.Both Osyuc8and rl17 Osyuc8 showed rolled leaves,indicating that OsYUC8 and OsSNF7.2 function in the same pathway,conferring leaf development.This study reveals a new biological function for the ESCRT-Ⅲcomponents,and provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying leaf rolling.

Correlation between the genetic variants of base excision repair (BER) pathway genes and neuroblastoma susceptibility in eastern Chinese children

Dear Editor,Neuroblastoma is the most common non-central nerve system(CNS)solid tumor in pediatrics[1].Neuroblastoma accounts for approximately 8%of all pediatric cancers but disproportionally causes a high cancer mortality(15%)in children[2].Pediatric patients with low-risk neuroblastoma witness a 5-year overall survival rate>90%,whereas the 5-year overall survival rate in high-risk neuroblastoma pediatric patients is<40%[3].