The expression and function of miR-376a-3p/DLX axis in gastric cancer cells

Gastric cancer(GC)was referred to a malignant tumor of the digestive tract originating from the epithelium of gastric mucosa.Transcription factor DLX5 was verified as an oncogene in various types of tumors,while miR-376a-3p was speculated as a tumor suppressor.Based on the bioinformatics database,we hypothesized that miR-376a participated in the regulation of GC development by targeting DLX5.Compared with adjacent tissue,a significant increase of DLX5 expression was determined in GC tissues,but the expression level is significantly reduced in miR-376a.Similar expression signature of DLX5 and miR-376a was also determined between 4 GC cells(HGC,SGC,MGC,and AGS cell lines)and GES cell line.The level of DLX5 was notably reduced in HGC and MGC cell lines after miR-376a-3p overexpression,and increased after miR-376a-3p inhibition.Then,the inhibition role of miR-376a-3p on DLX5 was further proved by dualluciferase reporter assay.Gain-of-function experiments showed that upregulation of miR-376a-3p in GC cells could inhibit the ability of epithelial-mesenchymal transition,proliferation,and invasion,and enhance the GC cell apoptosis level.However,these roles of miR-376a-3p could be abolished by DLX5 overexpression.This study confirmed that reduction of miR-376a-3p expression level in GC cells would lead to the increase in cell growth and invasion,indicating that upregulation of miR-376a-3p might have a potential therapeutic role on GC.

Evolutionary traits and functional roles of chemokines and their receptors in the male pregnancy of the Syngnathidae

Vertebrates have developed various modes of reproduction,some of which are found in Teleosts.Over 300 species of the Syngnathidae(seahorses,pipefishes and seadragons)exhibit male pregnancies;the males have specialized brood pouches that provide immune protection,nourishment,and oxygen regulation.Chemokines play a vital role at the mammalian maternal–fetal interface;however,their functions in fish reproduction are unclear.This study revealed the evolutionary traits and potential functions of chemokine genes in 22 oviparous,ovoviviparous,and viviparous fish species through comparative genomic analyses.Our results showed that chemokine gene copy numbers and evolutionary rates vary among species with different modes of reproduction.Syngnathidae lost cxcl13 and cxcr5,which are involved in key receptor–ligand pairs for lymphoid organ development.Notably,Syngnathidae have site-specific mutations in cxcl12b and ccl44,suggesting immune function during gestation.Moreover,transcriptome analysis revealed that chemokine gene expression varies among Syngnathidae species with different types of brood pouches,suggesting adaptive variations in chemokine functions among seahorses and their relatives.Furthermore,challenge experiments on seahorse brood pouches revealed a joint immune function of chemokine genes during male pregnancy.This study provides insights into the evolutionary diversity of chemokine genes associated with different reproductive modes in fish.

Dynamics,stability,and control of a four-cable mount system for wind tunnel test

A four-cable mount system is proposed for full-model wind tunnel flutter tests,which may adjust the pitch and roll attitude of the aircraft scaled model and ensure that the model is not subjected to cable tension.The system provides sufficient support to simulate the free flight of the aircraft by applying appropriate spring stiffness and cable tensions.The proposed fourcable mount system is modeled based on Lagrange mechanics,and its dynamics equations consider aerodynamic effects.The singularity of the system and its bifurcation characteristics under flow conditions are analysed to determine the supercritical bifurcation phenomenon for different tension levels and distances from the front suspension point to the mass centre of the model.The mathematical expressions of the longitudinal flight stability of the cable mount system are derived by linearising the system dynamics equations using small perturbations.The influence of the cable tension,spring stiffness,suspension point position,and other factors on the flight stability of the aircraft are analysed.A feedforward control algorithm is proposed to minimize the total elastic potential energy of the system.The results show that the model is in the level flight state when the elastic potential energy of the four-cable mount system is minimized.A feedback control design method is proposed based on the Lyapunov stability theory to derive the closed-loop stability conditions.The system dynamics model that includes the aircraft rigid body model,flexible cables,pulleys,springs,aerodynamic model,and servo motor control is established using the flexible multibody dynamics method.A multibody dynamics solver and Simulink are used to simulate the attitude adjustment of the model in the wind tunnel and verify the supercritical bifurcation characteristics of the system and the effectiveness of the feedback and feedforward control.