The gene expression of NGAL and TLR9 in glomerulus and tubulo-interstitium of patients with lupus nephritis

Background The role of neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) and Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis remain elusive. Methods We quantified the glomerular and tubulointerstitial mRNA expression of NGAL and TLR9 in 42 patients with lupus nephritis (LN group) and 10 controls. Results As compared to controls, LN group had higher glomerular expression of TLR9, and higher tubulointerstitial expression of NGAL and TLR9. Tubulointerstitial NGAL expression significantly correlated with proteinuria (r = 0.492;p = 0.003), renal function (r = -0.386;p = 0.022) and histological chronicity index (r = 0.540;p = 0.004). Proteinuria had significant correlation with glomerular (r = 0.554;p = 0.001) and tubulointerstitial (r = 0.379;p = 0.043) TLR9 expression. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in tubulointerstitial expression of NGAL between treatment response groups. Conclusion There is an increase in intra-renal mRNA expression of NGAL and TLR9 in LN. Although tubulointerstitial expression of NGAL does not correlate with systemic disease activity, it correlates with proteinuria, renal function, and therapeutic response. The role of NGAL in the pathogensis in LN, as well as its application as biomarker for lupus nephritis, requires further study.

Common susceptibility variants of KDR and IGF-1R are associated with poststroke depression in the Chinese population

Background Depression,one of the most frequent complications after stroke,increases the disease’s burden and physical disability.Poststroke depression(PSD)is a multifactorial disease with genetic,environmental and biological factors involved in its occurrence.Genetic studies on PSD to date have mainly focused on the monoamine system and brain-derived neurotrophic factors.However,understanding is still limited about the influence of the single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)of other neurotrophic factors on PSD.Aims The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between seven vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)family gene variants that occur with PSD.Methods A multicentre candidate gene study from five hospitals in Jiangsu Province from June 2013 to December 2014 involved 121 patients with PSD and 131 patients with non-PSD.Demographic characteristics and neuropsychological assessments were collected.Theχ^(2)test was used to evaluate categorical variables,while the independent t-test was applied to continuous variables.SNPs in seven genes(VEGFA,VEGFB,KDR,FLT-1,IGF-1,IGF-1R and PlGF)were genotyped.Single-marker association for PSD was analysed byχ^(2)tests and logistic regression using SPSS and PLINK software.Results Patients with PSD included more women and those with lower education levels,lower body mass indexes,lower Mini-Mental State Examination scores,and higher scores on the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale than non-PSD patients.Ninety-two SNPs with seven genes were genotyped and passed quality control.The rs7692791 CC genotypes,the C allele of KDR and the rs9282715 T allele of IGF-1R increased the risk for PSD(χ^(2)=7.881,p=0.019;χ^(2)=4.259,p=0.039;χ^(2)=4.222,p=0.040,respectively).In addition,the SNP rs7692791 of KDR was significantly associated with PSD by the logistic regression of an additive model(p=0.015,OR=9.584,95%CI:1.549 to 59.31).Conclusions Patients with rs7692791 C allele carriers or the CC genotype of KDR and the rs9282715 T allele of IGF-1R may have PSD susceptibility.Findings such as these may help clinicians to identify the high-risk population for PSD earlier and,thus,enable them to provide more timely interventions.

Implications of mitochondrial DNA mutations and mitochondrial dysfunction in tumorigenesis

Alterations in oxidative phosphorylation resulting from mitochondriai dysfunction have long been hypothesized to be involved in tumorigenesis. Mitochondria have recently been shown to play an important role in regulating both programmed cell death and cell proliferation. Furthermore, mitochondrial DNA （mtDNA） mutations have been found in various cancer cells. However, the role of these mtDNA mutations in tumorigenesis remains largely unknown. This review focuses on basic mitochondrial genetics, mtDNA mutations and consequential mitochondrial dysfunction associated with cancer. The potential molecular mechanisms, mediating the pathogenesis from mtDNA mutations and mitochondrial dysfunction to tumorigenesis are also discussed.

Internalization of NK cells into tumor cells requires ezrin and leads to programmed cell-in-cell death

Cytotoxic lymphocytes are key players in the orchestration of immune response and elimination of defective cells. We have previously reported that natural killer （NK） cells enter target tumor ceils, leading to either target cell death or self-destruction within tumor cells. However, it has remained elusive as to the fate of NK cells after internalization and whether the heterotypic cell-in-cell process is different from that of the homotypic cell-in-cell event recently named entosis. Here, we show that NK cells undergo a cell-in-cell process with the ultimate fate of apoptosis within tumor cells and reveal that the internalization process requires the actin cytoskeletal regulator, ezrin. To visualize how NK cells enter into tumor cells, we carried out real-time dual color imaging analyses of NK cell internalization into tumor cells. Surprisingly, most NK cells commit to programmed cell death after their entry into tumor cells, which is distinctively different from entosis observed in the homotypic cell-in-cell process. The apoptotic cell death of the internalized NK cells was evident by activation of caspase 3 and DNA fragmentation. Furthermore, NK cell death after internalization is attenuated by the caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD-FMK, confirming apoptosis as the mode of NK cell death within tumor cells. To determine protein factors essential for the entry of NK cells into tumor cells, we car- ried out siRNA-based knockdown analysis and discovered a critical role of ezrin in NK cell internalization. Impor- tantly, PKA-mediated phosphorylation of ezrin promotes the NK cell internalization process. Our findings suggest a novel regulatory mechanism by which ezrin governs NK cell internalization into tumor cells.

On Willingness of Rural Land Circulation and Securitization in Central Regions of China

On the basis of questionnaire survey in 54 natural villages of 22 cities( counties) in 6 central region provinces,this paper analyzed the willingness of rural land circulation and securitization and influencing factors with the aid of Logistic model and Multinomial Logit model.The study indicates that factors influencing willingness of rural land circulation and securitization mainly include land contract method,land circulation information and approaches,rights and interests of farmers infringed or not,policies of benefiting farmers,and non-agricultural skills. Finally,it came up with following pertinent policy recommendations:( 1) reforming and improving land contract methods;( 2)strengthening disclosure of land circulation information;( 3) reforming and improving land circulation approaches;( 4) strengthening protection of farmers' rights and interests in the process of land circulation;( 5) reinforcing and implementing policies benefiting farmers;( 6) cultivating and developing farmers' non-agricultural skills.

Characterization and Antioxidant Properties of OJP2, a Polysaccharide Isolated from <i>Ophiopogon japonicus</i>

A water-soluble polysaccharide (OJP2) obtained from the roots of Ophiopogon japonicas, was precipitated with 95% ethanol and purified by DEAE-52 cellulose anion-exchange and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration chromatography. The characteristics of OJP2 were determined by chemical analysis, high performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that the average molecular weight (Mw) of OJP2 was 35.2 kDa, and five kinds of monosaccharides including rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, glucose and galactose in a molar ratio of 0.5:5:4:1:10. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of OJP2 was evaluated in H2O2-treated HaCaT cells and glucose-treated LO2 cells. The results show that OJP2 can increase the activity of SOD and NO production, and decrease the level of MDA in these two kinds of injury cells. OJP2 should be explored as a novel and potential natural antioxidant agent for use in functional foods or medicine.

Study of Raman Spectroscopy to detect the Underlying Substance Concealed below Diffusely Scattering Medium

Measurement and comparison of NaNO3 powder concealed in opaque and semi-transparent plastic bottles are carried out through conventional Raman spectroscopy and spatially offset Raman spectroscopy individually. The action mechanism why the spatially offset Raman spectroscopy can effectively detect the medium concealed in the non-transparent bottle is analyzed. The spatially offset Raman spectroscopy breaks through the detection neck of the conventional Raman spectroscopy (the detection depth is small and cannot detect the ingredient of the subsurface under non-transparent medium), and the measurement and identification of the substance concealed in the non-transparent medium (opaque/semi-transparent plastic) bottle have been realized.

Mitochondrial tRNA^(Glu) A14693G variant may modulate the phenotypic manifestation of deafness-associated 12S rRNA A1555G mutation in a Han Chinese family

Mutations in mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene are one of the most important causes of aminoglycoside-induced and nonsyndromic hearing loss. Here we report the characterization of one Han Chinese pedigree with aminoglycoside-induced and nonsyndromic hearing loss. This Chinese family carrying the 12S rRNA A1555G mutation exhibited high penetrance and expressivity of heating impairment. In particular, penetrances of hearing loss in this family pedigree were 43.8% and 25%, respectively, when aminoglycoside-induced heating loss was included or excluded. Mutational analysis of entire mitochondrial genomes in this family showed the homoplasmic A1555G mutation and a set of variants belonging to haplogroup Y2. Of these, the A14693G variant occurred at the extremely conserved nucleotide （conventional position 54） of the TψC-loop of tRNA^Clu and was absent in 156 Chinese controls. Nucleotides at position 54 of tRNAs are often modified, thereby contributing to the structural formation and stabilization of functional tRNAs. Thus, the structural alteration of tRNA by the A14693G variant may lead to a failure in tRNA metabolism and impair mitochondrial protein synthesis, thereby worsening mitochondrial dysfunctions altered by the A1555G mutation. Therefore, the tRNA^Glu A14693G variant may have a potential modifier role in increasing the penetrance and expressivity of the deafness-associated A1555G mutation in this Chinese pedigree.

Parallelization of pseudo-particle modeling and its application in simulating gas-solid fluidization

Pseudo-Particle Modeling （PPM） is a particle method proposed by Ge and Li in 1996 [Ge, W., ＆ Li, J. （1996）. Pseudo-particle approach to hydrodynamics of particle-fluid systems, in M. Kwauk ＆ J. Li （Eds.）, Proceedings of the 5th international conference on drculating fluidized bed （pp. 260-265）. Beijing： Science Press] and has been used to explore the microscopic mechanism in complex particle-fluid systems. But as a particle method, high computational cost remains a main obstacle for its large-scale application; therefore, parallel implementation of this method is highly desirable. Parallelization of two-dimensional PPM was carried out by spatial decomposition in this paper. The time costs of the major functions in the program were analyzed and the program was then optimized for higher efficiency by dynamic load balancing and resetting of particle arrays. Finally, simulation on a gas-solid fluidized bed with 102,400 solid particles and 1.8 × 10^7 pseudo-particles was performed successfully with this code, indicating its scalability in future applications.

Effects of NH＿3 on N＿2O Formation and Destruction in Fluidized Bed Coal Combustion

The NH3 oxidation and reduction process are experimentally and kinetically studied in this paper. It is found that NH3 has contributions not only to N2O formation, but also to N2O destruction in certain conditions. The main product of homogeneous NH3 oxidation is found to be NO rather than N2O,but some bed materials and sulphur sorbents have catalytic contributions to N2O formation from NH3oxidation. In reduction atmosphere, NH3 can promote the KC destruction. It is deduced that the ammonia injection into fluidized bed coal combustion fine gas can decrease both Nox and N3O emissions.The ammonia injection process is kinetically simulated in this study, and the reduction rates of NOX and N2O are found to depend on eemperatue, O2 concentration, initial NOx and N2O concentrations,and amount of injected ammonia.