Meiotic transcriptional reprogramming mediated by cell-cell communications in humans and mice revealed by scATACseq and scRNA-seq

Meiosis is a highly complex process significantly influenced by transcriptional regulation.However,studies on the mechanisms that govern transcriptomic changes during meiosis,especially in prophase I,are limited.Here,we performed single-cell ATAC-seq of human testis tissues and observed reprogramming during the transition from zygotene to pachytene spermatocytes.This event,conserved in mice,involved the deactivation of genes associated with meiosis after reprogramming and the activation of those related to spermatogenesis before their functional onset.Furthermore,we identified 282 transcriptional regulators(TRs)that underwent activation or deactivation subsequent to this process.Evidence suggested that physical contact signals from Sertoli cells may regulate these TRs in spermatocytes,while secreted ENHO signals may alter metabolic patterns in these cells.Our results further indicated that defective transcriptional reprogramming may be associated with non-obstructive azoospermia(NOA).This study revealed the importance of both physical contact and secreted signals between Sertoli cells and germ cells in meiotic progression.

Identification of an immune-related gene signature for predicting prognosis and immunotherapy efficacy in liver cancer via cell-cell communication

BACKGROUND Liver cancer is one of the deadliest malignant tumors worldwide.Immunotherapy has provided hope to patients with advanced liver cancer,but only a small fraction of patients benefit from this treatment due to individual differences.Identifying immune-related gene signatures in liver cancer patients not only aids physicians in cancer diagnosis but also offers personalized treatment strategies,thereby improving patient survival rates.Although several methods have been developed to predict the prognosis and immunotherapeutic efficacy in patients with liver cancer,the impact of cell-cell interactions in the tumor microenvir-onment has not been adequately considered.AIM To identify immune-related gene signals for predicting liver cancer prognosis and immunotherapy efficacy.METHODS Cell grouping and cell-cell communication analysis were performed on single-cell RNA-sequencing data to identify highly active cell groups in immune-related pathways.Highly active immune cells were identified by intersecting the highly active cell groups with B cells and T cells.The significantly differentially expressed genes between highly active immune cells and other cells were subsequently selected as features,and a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)regression model was constructed to screen for diagnostic-related features.Fourteen genes that were selected more than 5 times in 10 LASSO regression experiments were included in a multivariable Cox regression model.Finally,3 genes(stathmin 1,cofilin 1,and C-C chemokine ligand 5)significantly associated with survival were identified and used to construct an immune-related gene signature.RESULTS The immune-related gene signature composed of stathmin 1,cofilin 1,and C-C chemokine ligand 5 was identified through cell-cell communication.The effectiveness of the identified gene signature was validated based on experi-mental results of predictive immunotherapy response,tumor mutation burden analysis,immune cell infiltration analysis,survival analysis,and expression analysis.CONCLUSION The findings suggest that the identified gene signature may contribute to a deeper understanding of the activity patterns of immune cells in the liver tumor microenvironment,providing insights for personalized treatment strategies.

Prediction of cell-cell communication patierns of dorsal root ganglion cells:single-cell RNA sequencing data analysis

Dorsal root ganglion neurons transmit peripheral somatic information to the central nervous system,and dorsal root ganglion neuron excitability affects pain perception.Dorsal root ganglion stimulation is a new approach for managing pain sensation.Knowledge of the cell-cell communication among dorsal root ganglion cells may help in the development of new pain and itch management strategies.Here,we used the single-cell RNA-sequencing(scRNA-seq)database to investigate intercellular communication networks among dorsal root ganglion cells.We collected scRNA-seq data from six samples from three studies,yielding data on a total of 17,766 cells.Based on genetic profiles,we identified satellite glial cells,Schwann cells,neurons,vascular endothelial cells,immune cells,fibroblasts,and vascular smooth muscle cells.Further analysis revealed that eight types of dorsal root ganglion neurons mediated proprioceptive,itch,touch,mechanical,heat,and cold sensations.Moreover,we predicted several distinct forms of intercellular communication among dorsal root ganglion cells,including cell-cell contact,secreted signals,extracellular matrix,and neurotransmitter-mediated signals.The data mining predicted that Mrgpra3-positive neurons robustly express the genes encoding the adenosine Adora2b(A2B)receptor and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor family receptor alpha 1(GFRα-1).Our immunohistochemistry results confirmed the coexpression of the A2B receptor and GFRα-1.Intrathecal injection of the A2B receptor antagonist PSB-603 effectively prevented histamine-induced scratching behaviour in a dose-dependent manner.Our results demonstrate the involvement of the A2B receptor in the modulation of itch sensation.Furthermore,our findings provide insight into dorsal root ganglion cell-cell communication patterns and mechanisms.Our results should contribute to the development of new strategies for the regulation of dorsal root ganglion excitability.

Dynamic interplay between adhesion surfaces in carcinomas:Cell-cell and cell-matrix crosstalk

Cell-cell and cell-matrix signaling and communication between adhesion sites involve mechanisms which are required for cellular functions during normal development and homeostasis; however these cellular functions and mechanisms are often deregulated in cancer. Aberrant signaling at cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion sites often involves downstream mediators including Rho GTPases and tyrosine kinases. This review discusses these molecules as putative mediators of cellular crosstalk between cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion sites, in addition to their attractiveness as therapeutic targets in cancer. Interestingly, inter-junctional crosstalk mechanisms are frequently typified by the way in which bacterial and viral pathogens opportunistically infect or intoxicate mammalian cells. This review therefore also discusses the concept of learning from pathogen-host interaction studies to better understand coordinated communication between cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion sites, in addition to highlighting the potential therapeutic usefulness of exploiting pathogens or their products to tap into inter-junctional crosstalk. Taken together, we feel that increased knowledge around mechanisms of cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion site crosstalk and consequently a greater understanding of their therapeutic targeting offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the emerging molecular revolution in cancer biology.

Sensing Traction Strain Induces Cell-Cell Distant Communications

Mechanobiology has been a highly recognized field in studying the importance of physical forces in physiologies at the molecular,cellular,tissue,organ and body-levels.Beside the intensive work focusing on the fine local biomechanical forces,the long-range force which can propagate through a relatively distant scale(in hundreds of micrometers and beyond)has been an intriguing topic with increasing attentions in recent years.The collective functions at cell population level often rely on cell-cell communications with or without direct contacts.Recent progresses including our own work indicate that the long-range biomechanical force propagating across scales far beyond single cell size may reserve the capability to trigger coordinative biological responses within cell population.Whether and how cells communicate mechanically in a distant manner remains largely to be explored.In respiratory system,the mechanical property of airway smooth muscle(ASM)is associated with asthma attack with prolonged contraction during airway hyper-responsiveness.In this work,we found that ASM cells rapidly self-assembled into a well-constructed network on 3D matrigel containing type I collagen(COL I),which required the collective functions and coordination of thousands of cells completed within 12-16 hours.Cells were assembled with aligned actin stress fibers and elongated nuclei.The assembling process relied on the long-range mechanical forces across the matrix to direct cell-cell distant interactions.We further found that single ASM cells could rapidly initiate multiple buds precisely pointing to neighboring cells in distance,which relied on cell traction force and force strain on the matrix.Beads tracking assay demonstrated the long-range transmission of cellular traction force to distant locations,and modeling of maximum strain distribution on matrix by finite element method predicted the consistency with cell directional protrusions and movements in experiments.Cells could sense each other in distance to move directionally on both non-fibrous matrigel and in much more efficient way when containing COL I.Cells recruited COL I from the hydrogel to build nearly identical COL I fibrous network to mechanically stabilize the cell network.Our results revealed that ASM cells can sense the traction strain transmitted through matrix to initiate distant communications and rapidly coordinate the network assembly at the population level through active cell-matrix interactions.As an interesting phenomenon,cells sound able to’make phone call’via the role of long-range mechanical force.In summary,this work demonstrated that long-range biomechanical force facilitates the collective functions of ASM cell population for network assembly.The cells reacted to traction strain on the matrix for distant communications,which resulted in directional budding and movement.Fibrous COL I had important roles in facilitating the efficiency of force transmission to induce the assembly and stabilizing the cell network.This work has helped advance the understanding of the feature andfunction of long-range biomechanical force at the cell population level.The observed high mechano-sensitivity of ASM cells might suggest a re-enforced feedback of enhanced contraction by excessive ASM under asthmatic condition.

Could gastrointestinal tumor-initiating cells originate from cell-cell fusion in vivo?

Tumor-initiating cells(TICs)or cancer stem cells are believed to be responsible for gastrointestinal tumor initiation,progression,metastasis,and drug resistance.It is hypothesized that gastrointestinal TICs(giTICs)might originate from cell-cell fusion.Here,we systemically evaluate the evidence that supports or opposes the hypothesis of giTIC generation from cell-cell fusion both in vitro and in vivo.We review giTICs that are capable of initiating tumors in vivo with 5000 or fewer in vivo fused cells.Under this restriction,there is currently little evidence demonstrating that giTICs originate from cell-cell fusion in vivo.However,there are many reports showing that tumor generation in vitro occurs with more than 5000 fused cells.In addition,the mechanisms of giTIC generation via cell-cell fusion are poorly understood,and thus,we propose its potential mechanisms of action.We suggest that future research should focus on giTIC origination from cell-cell fusion in vivo,isolation or enrichment of giTICs that have tumor-initiating capabilities with 5000 or less in vivo fused cells,and further clarification of the underlying mechanisms.Our review of the current advances in our understanding of giTIC origination from cell-cell fusion may have significant implications for the understanding of carcinogenesis and future cancer therapeutic strategies targeting giTICs.

基于Logistic增长和“cell-cell”传播的动力学模型

建立了一个考虑Logistic增长和“cell-cell”传播的动力学模型。运用微分方程的稳定性理论对模型进行全局动力学分析,并进行了数值模拟。

Paxillin tunes the relationship between cell-matrix and cell-cell adhesions to regulate stiffness-dependent dentinogenesis

Mechanical stiffness is recognized as a key physical factor and directs cell function via a mechanotransduction process,from extracellular physical cues to intracellular signaling cascades that affect transcriptional activity.Cells continually receive mechanical signals from both the surrounding matrix and adjacent cells.However,how mechanical stiffness cue at cell-substrate interfaces coordinates cell-cell junctions in guiding mesenchymal stem cell behaviors is poorly understood.Here,polydimethylsiloxane substrates with different stiffnesses were used to study mechanosensation/transduction mechanisms in controlling odontogenic differentiation of dental papilla cells(DPCs).DPC phenotypes(morphology and differentiation)changed in response to the applied force derived from stiff substrates.Significantly,higher expression of paxillin on stiffer substrates promoted DPC dentinogenesis.Upon treatment with siRNA to knockdown paxillin,N-cadherin increased mainly in the cytomembrane at the area of cell-cell contacts,whereasβ-catenin decreased in the nuclei.The result of a double luciferase reporter assay showed that stiffness promotedβ-catenin binding to TCF,which could coactivate the target genes associated with odontogenic differentiation,as evidenced by bioinformatics analysis.Finally,we determined that the addition of aβ-catenin inhibitor suppressed DPC mineralization in all the stiffness groups.Thus,our results indicated that a mechanotransduction process from cell-substrate interactions to cell-cell adhesions was required for DPC odontogenic differentiation under the stimulation of substrate stiffness.This finding suggests that stem cell fate specification under the stimulus of stiffness at the substrates is based on crosstalk between substrate interactions and adherens junctions,which provides an essential mechanism for cell-based tissue engineering.

Distinct mononuclear diploid cardiac subpopulation with minimal cell-cell communications persists in embryonic and adult mammalian heart

A small proportion of mononuclear diploid cardiomyocytes(MNDCMs),with regeneration potential,could persist in adult mammalian heart.However,the heterogeneity of MNDCMs and changes during development remains to be illuminated.To this end,12645 cardiac cells were generated from embryonic day 17.5 and postnatal days 2 and 8 mice by single-cell RNA sequencing.Three cardiac developmental paths were identified:two switching to cardiomyocytes(CM)maturation with close CM–fibroblast(FB)communications and one maintaining MNDCM status with least CM–FB communications.Proliferative MNDCMs having interactions with macrophages and non-proliferative MNDCMs(non-pMNDCMs)with minimal cell–cell communications were identified in the third path.The non-pMNDCMs possessed distinct properties:the lowest mitochondrial metabolisms,the highest glycolysis,and high expression of Myl4 and Tnni1.Single-nucleus RNA sequencing and immunohistochemical staining further proved that the Myl4^(+)Tnni1+MNDCMs persisted in embryonic and adult hearts.These MNDCMs were mapped to the heart by integrating the spatial and single-cell transcriptomic data.In conclusion,a novel non-pMNDCM subpopulation with minimal cell–cell communications was unveiled,highlighting the importance of microenvironment contribution to CM fate during maturation.These findings could improve the understanding of MNDCM heterogeneity and cardiac development,thus providing new clues for approaches to effective cardiac regeneration.

Nanomaterials disrupting cell-cell junctions towards various diseases

As the continuous development of the industrial revolution,nanomaterials with excellent characteristics have been widely applied in various fields,greatly increasing the probability of human exposure to nanomaterials and the concerns about the potential nanotoxicity.Existing studies have shown that the toxicity of nanomaterials may be closely related to oxidative stress,inflammatory response,phagocytosis dysfunction,DNA damage,etc.Based on our focus,nanomaterials may cross the human barrier through various channels and disrupt various cell-cell junctions,while the integrity of cellular barrier is a necessary for the normal physiological function of various organs.However,until now,there is still a lack of systematic discussion in this field.This review illustrates the importance of cell-cell junctions in maintaining various organ functions and highlights the mechanism of various nanomaterials disrupt cell-cell junctions,as well as the possible damage to various organs,such as brain,eye,lung,breast,intestine,placenta,testis,heart,liver,kidney,skin,etc.Awareness of the potential negative effects of nanomaterials will help scientists deeply understand the limitations of nanotechnology,inspiring them to develop safer and more efficient nanomaterials for future personalized nanomedicine.

In situ probing of cell-cell communications with surface- enhanced Raman scattering （SERS） nanoprobes and microfluidic networks for screening of immunotherapeutic drugs

Discovering novel drugs for cancer immunotherapy requires a robust in vitro drug screening platform that allows for straightforward probing of cell-ceil communications. Here, we combined surface-enhanced Raman scattering （SERS） nanoprobes with microfluidic networks to monitor in situ the cancer-immune system intercellular communications. The microfluidic platform links up immune cells with cancer cells, where the cancer-cell secretions act as signaling mediators. First, gold@silver core--shell nanorods were employed to fabricate SERS immunoprobes for analysis of the signaling molecules. Multiple cancer secretions in a tumor microenvironment were quantitatively analyzed by a SERS-assisted three-dimensional （3D） barcode immunoassay with high sensitivity （1 ng/mL）. Second, in an on-chip cell proliferation assay, multiple immunosuppressive proteins secreted by cancer cells were found to inhibit activation of immune cells, indicating that the platform simulates the physiological process of cancer-immune system communications. Furthermore, potential drug candidates were tested on this platform. A quantitative SERS immunoassay was performed to evaluate drug efficacy at regulating the secretion behavior of cancer cells and the activity of immune cells. This assay showed the suitability of this platform for in vitro drug screening. It is expected that the fully integrated and highly automated SERS-microfluidic platform will become a powerful analytical tool for probing intercellular communications and should accelerate the discovery and clinical validation of novel druKs.

Microfluidics for cell-cell interactions： A review

Micro fluidic chip has been applied in various biological fields owing to its low-consumption of reagents, high throughput, fuidic controllability and integrity. The well-designed microscale intermediary is also ideal for the study of cell biology. Particularly, microfluidic chip is helpful for better understanding cell-cell interactions. A general survey of recent publications would help to generalize the designs of the co-culture chips with different features. With ingenious and combinational utilization, the chips facilitate the implementation of some special coculture models that are highly concerned in a different spatial and temporal way.

New insights into cell-cell communications during seed development in flowering plants

The evolution of seeds is a major reason why flowering plants are a dominant life form on Earth.The developing seed is composed of two fertilization products,the embryo and endosperm,which are surrounded by a maternally derived seed coat.Accumulating evidence indicates that efficient communication among all three seed components is required to ensure coordinated seed development.Cell communication within plant seeds has drawn much attention in recent years.In this study,we review current knowledge of cross-talk among the endosperm,embryo,and seed coat during seed development,and highlight recent advances in this field.

Influence of Cell-Cell Interactions on the Population Growth Rate in a Tumor

The understanding of the macroscopic phenomenological models of the population growth at a microscopic level is important to predict the population behaviors emerged from the interactions between the individuals. In this work, we consider the influence of the population growth rate R on the cell-cell interaction in a tumor system and show that, in most cases especially small proliferative probabilities, the regulative role of the interaction will be strengthened with the decline of the intrinsic proliferative probabilities. For the high replication rates of an individual and the cooperative interactions, the proliferative probability almost has no effect. We compute the dependences of R on the interactions between the cells under the approximation of the nearest neighbor in the rim of an avascular tumor. Our results are helpful to qualitatively understand the influence of the interactions between the individuals on the growth rate in population systems.

Cell-cell communication analysis for single-cell RNA sequencing and its applications in carcinogenesis and COVID-19

Cell-cell communication is the basis of physiological processes and cell signals.The disease occurs when the cells do not adequately communicate and the messages are blocked.With ligand-receptor interaction databases and single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNA-seq)databases,we can detect intercellular signaling and reconstruct the cell-cell communications among different cell types.This review summarized the computational approaches for analyzing the cell-cell communication based on scRNA-seq data and discussed its applications in carcinogenesis and COVID-19.We believe that this review will accelerate the scRNA-seq data deciphering and facilitate the cell-cell communication studies for complex physiological processes,such as carcinogenesis and SARS-CoV-2 infection.

青藤碱可有效抑制白细胞介素1β介导的髓核细胞凋亡

背景:椎间盘退变是导致脊柱退行性疾病的基础,然而目前尚无有效的治疗药物。目的:探讨青藤碱是否可以抑制白细胞介素1β诱导的髓核细胞凋亡及其分子机制。方法:采用胰酶联合Ⅱ型胶原酶消化法体外培养大鼠髓核细胞,并绘制细胞生长曲线,采用CCK-8法筛选合适的青藤碱药物浓度。将髓核细胞分为对照组、青藤碱组、白细胞介素1β组、青藤碱+白细胞介素1β组、锌原卟啉(血红素氧合酶1抑制剂)组、锌原卟啉+青藤碱组、锌原卟啉+白细胞介素1β组、青藤碱+锌原卟啉+白细胞介素1β组。分别检测各组髓核细胞增殖活性、活性氧含量、凋亡率及血红素氧合酶1的表达情况。结果与结论:①体外培养的大鼠髓核细胞呈现多角形、三角形、短楔形等形态,其呈现“S”型曲线生长,接种第1-3天生长缓慢,第4-6天生长迅速,第七八天生长速度缓慢,进入“平台期”,细胞数量不再增加;②当青藤碱的浓度≤80μmol/L时,髓核细胞的增殖活性不会受到显著影响(P>0.05);③白细胞介素1β可以显著降低髓核细胞的增殖活性,增加活性氧含量,导致细胞凋亡(P<0.01);④当采用青藤碱干预后,不仅可以促进血红素氧合酶1的表达(P<0.05),而且可以抑制白细胞介素1β诱导的髓核细胞增殖活性降低、活性氧含量和凋亡率增加(P<0.05),其作用可被锌原卟啉逆转(P<0.01)。

防风提取物对IgE致敏肥大细胞的改善作用及机制研究

[目的]探究防风(Saposhnikovia divaricata,SD)提取物对大鼠嗜碱性白血病细胞RBL-2H3脱颗粒的影响及作用机制。[方法]采用噻唑蓝(methylthialazole tetrazolium,MTT)比色法检测,根据5、25、50、100、200、400μg·mL^(-1)SD提取物对RBL-2H3细胞活性的影响,确定后续实验浓度。以免疫球蛋白E(immunoglobulinE,IgE)诱导建立RBL-2H3细胞脱颗粒模型。设立空白对照组、模型组、低剂量SD提取物组(5μg·mL^(-1))、中剂量SD提取物组(25μg·mL^(-1))、高剂量SD提取物组(50μg·mL^(-1))和地塞米松(dexamethasone,DXMS)组(100μg·mL^(-1)),干预30 min。MTT法检测低、中、高剂量SD提取物对RBL-2H3细胞脱颗粒模型活性的影响。甲苯胺蓝染色观察脱颗粒细胞形态,计算细胞脱颗粒率。免疫荧光染色测定细胞F-肌动蛋白(F-actin)表达。酶联免疫吸附试验(enzyme linked immunosorbent assay,ELISA)检测细胞β-氨基己糖苷酶、组胺、白细胞介素-4(interleukin-4,IL-4)、白细胞介素-6(interleukin-6,IL-6)、肿瘤坏死因子-α(tumor necrosis factor-α,TNF-α)、干扰素-γ(interferon-γ,IFN-γ)水平。免疫印迹法检测细胞磷脂酰肌醇-3-羟基激酶(phosphoinositide-3 kinase,PI3K)、磷酸化-PI3K(phosphorylation-PI3K,p-PI3K)、蛋白激酶B(protein kinase B,AKT)、磷酸化-AKT(phosphorylation-AKT,p-AKT)、p38丝裂原活化蛋白激酶(p38 mitogen activited protein kinaseelisa,p38MAPK)、磷酸化-p38MAPK(phosphorylation-p38MAPK,p-p38MAPK)、核因子-κB(nuclear factor-κB,NF-κB)、磷酸化-NF-κB(phosphorylation-NF-κB,p-NF-κB)、细胞外调节激酶(extracellular regulated kinases,ERK)、磷酸化-ERK(phosphorylation-ERK,p-ERK)蛋白表达。[结果]低、中、高剂量防风提取物(5、25、50μg·mL^(-1))对RBL-2H3细胞活性无显著影响(P>0.05)。与空白对照组比较,模型组甲苯胺蓝染色细胞数量减少、形态变圆,细胞脱颗粒率显著上升,F-actin表达下降,β-氨基己糖苷酶、组胺、IL-4、IL-6、TNF-α水平升高,IFN-γ水平降低,p-PI3K/PI3K、p-AKT/AKT、p-p38MAPK/p38MAPK、p-NF-κB/NF-κB、p-ERK/ERK表达升高(P<0.01)。与模型组比较,低、中、高剂量SD提取物组和DXMS组细胞F-actin表达增加,β-氨基己糖苷酶、组胺、IL-4、IL-6、TNF-α释放显著下降(P<0.05,P<0.01),IFN-γ释放显著增加(P<0.01),p-PI3K/PI3K、p-AKT/AKT、p-p38MAPK/p38MAPK、p-NF-κB/NF-κB、p-ERK/ERK表达降低(P<0.05,P<0.01);中、高剂量SD提取物组和DXMS组细胞数量增加,形态多呈梭形,细胞脱颗粒率显著下降(P<0.01)。与低剂量SD提取物组比较,高剂量SD提取物组和DXMS组细胞脱颗粒率下降(P<0.01)、F-actin表达增加(P<0.05)、p-p38MAPK/p38MAPK表达降低(P<0.01)。[结论]SD提取物可抑制IgE致敏的RBL-2H3细胞脱颗粒,降低炎性介质水平,其作用机制可能与抑制PI3K/AKT、p38MAPK/NF-κB、ERK蛋白磷酸化有关。

人外周血血清培养人脐带间充质干细胞定向诱导为神经干细胞

背景:细胞培养基种类甚多,成分不尽相同,对细胞生长影响较大。国内外有多项研究采用无血清、含胎牛血清的培养基进行体外扩增培养,但应用含人外周血血清的培养基将人脐带间充质干细胞定向诱导为神经干细胞以及人外周血血清促进神经干细胞分化为其他神经细胞,目前相关研究较少。目的:观察人外周血血清培养的人脐带间充质干细胞定向诱导为神经干细胞的可行性。方法:①采用含体积分数10%人外周血血清的DMEM/F12培养基培养人脐带间充质干细胞,传代培养至第3代时应用流式细胞仪分析其表面标志物,并通过茜素红染色对其成骨分化能力进行检测;②取第3代人脐带间充质干细胞,加入培养体系为含0.5%N2、1.5%B27、20 ng/mL碱性成纤维细胞生长因子和20 ng/mL表皮生长因子的DMEM/F12培养基定向诱导为神经干细胞,对其表面标志物进行鉴定;③取生长状态良好的人脐带间充质干细胞源性神经干细胞,制备成单细胞悬液,均匀接种于96孔板中,加入含体积分数10%人外周血血清的DMEM/F12培养液继续培养8 d后,进行苏木精-伊红染色、微管相关蛋白2和胶质纤维酸性蛋白免疫荧光染色,检测神经干细胞向其他神经细胞分化情况。结果与结论:①经人外周血血清培养的人脐带间充质干细胞呈漩涡状生长且多层分布,排列有方向性;人脐带间充质干细胞表面高度表达CD44、CD105、CD29、CD73,茜素红染色阳性;②人外周血血清培养的人脐带间充质干细胞可以定向诱导分化为神经干细胞,神经干细胞表面高度表达CD44、CD105、CD29、CD73、Nestin、NF-L、GALC;③神经干细胞诱导分化第8天时,经苏木精-伊红染色后发现其伸出的突起长度较长,分支也较多且邻近细胞之间的突起互相连接,呈典型的神经细胞形态,且微管相关蛋白2和胶质纤维酸性蛋白免疫荧光染色均呈阳性。结果表明,人外周血血清培养人脐带间充质干细胞可以定向诱导为神经干细胞,在人外周血血清的作用下神经干细胞随着培养时间的延长,可分化为其他神经细胞。

细胞程序性死亡调控动物卵泡闭锁的分子机制

卵泡闭锁是一个受高度受调控的复杂过程,与颗粒细胞的程序性死亡密切相关。细胞凋亡、自噬、铁死亡、坏死性凋亡和焦亡等独立或相互作用参与调控卵泡闭锁和影响卵巢功能,本文综述了这5种细胞程序性死亡方式调控动物卵泡闭锁的分子机制及相关影响因素,以期为减少颗粒细胞程序性死亡诱导的卵泡闭锁、提高畜禽的繁殖性能提供参考。

SLC9A3-AS1调控miR-148a-3p/ROCK1信号轴影响肾癌细胞生物学功能

目的检测lncRNA SLC9A3-AS1在肾透明细胞癌(clear cell renal cell carcinoma,ccRCC)组织与肾癌细胞中的表达水平,探讨其促进肾癌细胞恶性生物学行为的机制。方法应用GEPIA2在线软件(http://gepia2.cancer-pku.cn/)分析TCGA数据库中SLC9A3-AS1在ccRCC组织中的表达水平;采用实时荧光定量聚合酶链反应(qRT-PCR)检测SLC9A3-AS1在不同肾癌细胞系、24例ccRCC组织与癌旁正常肾脏组织中的表达水平;应用细胞增殖/毒性检测试剂盒(cell counting kit-8,CCK-8)和Transwell小室迁移实验检测敲低SLC9A3-AS1表达对肾癌细胞增殖与迁移的影响;应用蛋白质免疫印迹法检测增殖与迁移相关信号通路蛋白的表达水平;采用双荧光素酶报告基因实验验证SLC9A3-AS1与miR-148a-3p/ROCK1轴的靶向调控关系。结果GEPIA2软件分析结果显示,相较正常肾脏组织,SLC9A3-AS1在肾透明细胞癌组织中表达显著上调(P<0.01)。qRT-PCR结果显示,相较癌旁正常肾脏组织,SLC9A3-AS1在24例ccRCC组织中表达显著上调(P<0.01);相较永生化肾小管上皮细胞,SLC9A3-AS1在4种肾癌细胞系中表达均显著上调,以786-O细胞最为显著(P<0.01)。干扰SLC9A3-AS1表达,可显著抑制786-O细胞的增殖与迁移能力,上调E-cadherin的蛋白表达水平,而下调N-cadherin、MMP2的蛋白表达水平(均P<0.05);过表达miR-148a-3p可显著抑制786-O细胞的增殖与迁移能力(P<0.01)。双荧光素酶报告基因检测结果表明,SLC9A3-AS1可特异性结合miR-148a-3p,后者进一步靶向结合ROCK1 mRNA的3′UTR区域;过表达miR-148a-3p可明显下调ROCK1 mRNA的表达水平,敲低miR-148a-3p表达则产生相反的效应;敲低SLC9A3-AS1表达可显著下调786-O细胞中ROCK1 mRNA与蛋白的表达水平(P<0.01);下调miR-148a-3p表达可部分逆转SLC9A3-AS1沉默对786-O细胞增殖与迁移的抑制作用(P<0.05)。结论SLC9A3-AS1在ccRCC中通过调控miR-148a-3p/ROCK1轴发挥促癌作用,有望成为ccRCC的一个新的分子标志物。