Protein kinases are potential targets to treat inflammatory bowel disease

Protein kinases play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD), the two main forms of which are ulcerative colitis and Crohn's dis-ease. In this article, we will review the mechanisms of involvement of protein kinases in the pathogenesis of and intervention against IBD, in terms of their effects on genetics, microbiota, mucous layer and tight junc-tion, and the potential of protein kinases as therapeutic targets against IBD.

MicroRNA-21, 204 and 125b Play Potential Roles in Tumorigenesis of Melanoma

Aim: The high mortality rate of melanoma is due to partially the lack of good diagnostic markers and treatment strategies. Over the past several years, several microRNA (miRNA) profiling studies have been performed on melanoma tissues, but with extremely inconsistency, the diagnostic value of miRNA candidates in melanoma remains under debate. Thus, this study aims to systematically evaluate the consistency of miRNAs tissue in multiple independent studies in melanoma. Method: Eligible studies were screened and selected from the PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science. A systematic analysis of published miRNA expression studies that compared the miRNA expression profiles between melanoma tissues and normal skin tissue was conducted. A vote-counting strategy was followed with the collection of information. Real time PCRs were employed to validate miRNA candidates with high consistency. Targets of consistent miRNAs were predicted by online programs (like miRTarBase, microRNA.org and TargetScanHuman 6.2). Enrichment analyses for gene ontology (GO) terms and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathways were carried out with Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). Results: A total of 303 differentially expressed miRNAs were reported in the 10 miRNA-profiling studies during comparison of melanoma tissues with normal tissues;132 were up-regulated in melanoma, and 171 were down-regulated. However, in the group of consistently reported miRNAs (cutoff > 3 times), only moderate numbers of consistent and differentially expressed miRNAs were selected. miRNA-21 was found increased in 5 different studies, miRNA-146b, miRNA-17 and miRNA-18a were reported up-regulated in 4 profiling studies. Meanwhile, miRNA-204 and miRNA-125b were found down-regulated in 5 studies, miRNA-141, miRNA-149, miRNA-224, miRNA-200b, miRNA-200c were consistently decreased in just 4 out of 10 profiling studies in total. The directions of differential expression of these miRNA candidates were confirmed by real time PCRs. Enrichment analyses demonstrated that programmed cell death and transcription regulation played very important roles in the involvement of miRNAs in tumorigenesis of melanoma. Conclusion: This systematic study of melanoma miRNA profiling studies would provide rich information on miRNAs with potential role as the biomarkers and therapeutic agents with high consistency in melanoma.

In-Situ Chemosynthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles to Endow Wood with Antibacterial and UV-Resistance Properties

Hybrid wood materials have attracted considerable attention because they have combined advantages of both wood and inorganic compounds. This work investigated the microstructural morphology, thermal stability, ultraviolet（UV） stability, and antibacterial property of composites made from wood/ZnO hybrid materials through a facile in-situ chemosynthesis methods. The X-ray diffraction（XRD） and thermogravimetric analysis（TGA） results indicated that the synthesized ZnO particles had an average grain size of about 10.8 nm. The scanning electron microscopy（SEM） observations showed that ZnO nanoflowers self-assembled with nanosheets were presented in wood cell lumens and increased with increasing Zn^（2＋）concentrations. ZnO nanoparticles were also generated in the wood cell wall, which was confirmed by the results of energy-dispersive spectroscopy（EDS）. The TGA tests also indicated that the thermal stability of wood/ZnO hybrid materials was improved after the formation of ZnO inorganic particles. Finally, the results of antibacterial efficacy tests and UV resistance tests revealed that ZnO nanoparticles showed a promising future as antimicrobial agents against Escherichia coli（E.coli） and UV resistance agents for wood protection.