Combining single-cell RNA sequencing and population-based studies reveals hand osteoarthritis-associated chondrocyte subpopulations and pathways

Hand osteoarthritis is a common heterogeneous joint disorder with unclear molecular mechanisms and no disease-modifying drugs.In this study,we performed single-cell RNA sequencing analysis to compare the cellular composition and subpopulationspecific gene expression between cartilage with macroscopically confirmed osteoarthritis(n=5)and cartilage without osteoarthritis(n=5)from the interphalangeal joints of five donors.Of 105142 cells,we identified 13 subpopulations,including a novel subpopulation with inflammation-modulating potential annotated as inflammatory chondrocytes.Fibrocartilage chondrocytes exhibited extensive alteration of gene expression patterns in osteoarthritic cartilage compared with nonosteoarthritic cartilage.Both inflammatory chondrocytes and fibrocartilage chondrocytes showed a trend toward increased numbers in osteoarthritic cartilage.In these two subpopulations from osteoarthritic cartilage,the ferroptosis pathway was enriched,and expression of iron overload-related genes,e.g.,FTH1,was elevated.To verify these findings,we conducted a Mendelian randomization study using UK Biobank and a population-based cross-sectional study using data collected from Xiangya Osteoarthritis Study.Genetic predisposition toward higher expression of FTH1 mRNA significantly increased the risk of hand osteoarthritis(odds ratio=1.07,95%confidence interval:1.02–1.11)among participants(n=332668)in UK Biobank.High levels of serum ferritin(encoded by FTH1),a biomarker of body iron overload,were significantly associated with a high prevalence of hand osteoarthritis among participants(n=1241)of Xiangya Osteoarthritis Study(P-for-trend=0.037).In conclusion,our findings indicate that inflammatory and fibrocartilage chondrocytes are key subpopulations and that ferroptosis may be a key pathway in hand osteoarthritis,providing new insights into the pathophysiology and potential therapeutic targets of hand osteoarthritis.

Early Changes of Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte Subpopulations in Patients with Occupational 2,4-dinitrophenol Poisoning

2,4-dinitrophenol （DNP）, an organic compound which frequently used in industry, is considered to have high toxicity. This study aimed to investigate the early changes of lymphocyte subpopulations in patients with occupational 2,4-DNP poisoning. Totally 9 patients with acute occupational 2,4-DNP poisoning and 30 healthy volunteers as control were enrolled. The patients received immediately comprehensive supportive treatments, including large-dose glucocorticoid and repeated hemoperfusion （HP）. The ratio of CD4＋/CD8＋ T cells were significantly higher in patients upon admission compared to healthy controls （P 〈 0.01）; however, counts of total lymphocytes, CD3＋, CD3＋CD4＋, CD3＋CD8＋, B （CD19＋）, and natural killer （NK） cells （CD16＋CD56＋） were significantly reduced （all P 〈 0.001）. The NK cell count was negatively correlated with initial plasma 2,4-DNP concentration （r = -0.750, P = 0.026）. Thus, acute occupational 2,4-DNP poisoning was accompanied by immediate complex immune cell reactions, especially NK cells might play important role in severe 2,4-DNP poisoning.

Olfactory ensheathing cells for spinal cord repair: crucial differences between subpopulations of the glia

OECs for spinal cord repair： Is repairing the iniured spinal cord by olfactory ensheathing cell （OEC） transplantation pos- sible？ A recent human trial in which a paralysed man regained some function after transplantation of partially purified OECs suggests that this therapy may be a successful approach （Ta- bakow et al., 2014）. In another human trial in which olfactory mucosa lamina propria was transplanted, patients recovered some motor and sensory function （Wang et al., 2015）. While these results show promise, it is clear that improvements are needed to provide patients with increased functional output. Strategies to improve the therapeutic use of OECs may include improving the purification of the OECs used for transplantation, using them in combination with growth factors to combat the inhibitory environment and improve anon growth, the use of nerve bridges, advanced physiotherapy and the use of exo- skeleton robotics to reinforce functional connections. Of all these approaches, it is probably is primarily addressed to ensure crucial that the purity of OECs consistency in outcomes.

Correlation of Quantitative Changes in Bone Marrow Lymphocyte Subpopulations with Some Rhabdomyosarcoma Prognosis Factors in Children

Rationale: The known prognosis factors for rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) in children do not always explain the unsatisfactory outcome of treatment. Changes in the subpopulation composition of Bone Marrow (BM) effector cells during the development of RMS may indicate new directions for the search for prognostic factors and points for the impact of targeted therapy. Purpose: To identify correlations between quantitative changes in the levels of subpopulations of T, B and NK-lymphocytes of BM and known risk factors for RMS in children. Objects: The study included 31 patients. The main group included 16 patients with RMS, average age—6.8 ± 1.0 years, while children 1 - 10 years old—13 (81.3%), over 10 years old—3 (18.8%) people, girls and boys were 8 people each. The embryonic variant of RMS was established in 10 (62.5%) cases, the alveolar variant—in 4 (25%) cases, in two patients (12.5%), the histological variant was not established. In 12 (75%) patients, an unfavorable localization of the RMS (parameningeal, extremities, prostate, bladder) was revealed, in 4 patients (25%), the localization of the tumor was regarded as favorable. Patients with T2b—13 (81.2%) and T2a—2 (12.5%) stages prevailed. Regional and distant metastases were detected in 10 (52.6%) patients. The comparison group included 15 children in whom the presence of malignant neoplasia was excluded, the average age was 8.4 ± 1.5 years, 11 boys (73.7%) and 4 girls (26.3%). Methods: All patients underwent morphological (myelogram counting) and immunological (quantitative analysis of lymphocytic subpopulations) bone marrow studies. Immunophenotyping in all patients was carried out by direct immunofluorescence using a triple fluorescent label. Results: Significant differences in the levels of subpopulations of BM T-lymphocytes were found when comparing the values of the main group, distributed by localization and histological variant, with the data obtained in the control group of patients. For example, the percentage of CD3+ T cells with the co-stimulatory molecule CD28+ was significantly higher in patients with parameningeal RMS (p = 0.010). Conclusion: Each clinical group of patients has its own individual immunological characteristics. The results obtained by us can be considered indicative and regarded as starting points for further study of the peculiarities of the subpopulation composition of BM in patients with RMS.

T Lymphocyte Subpopulations in Normal Pregnancies and Those Complicated by Eclampsia in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Background: Eclampsia, the occurrence of generalized convulsion(s) in association with signs of preeclampsia [PE] (hypertension and proteinuria) in pregnancy has remained a significant public threat in Nigeria, contributing to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. This study was a comparative cross-sectional study conducted in some selected hospitals in Kaduna State, between April 2014 and November 2015. Subjects and Methods: Blood (3 mls) was collected into an ethylenediaminetetraaccetic acid (EDTA) vacutainer tube from third trimester women diagnosed with eclampsia (EC;n = 38) and healthy pregnant controls (PC;n = 38)—age and parity matched and healthy non-pregnant controls (NPC;n = 38)—age matched. T Cell subpopulations and Complete Blood Count levels were measured by Sysmex, Auto blood analyzer and flow cytometry respectively. Participants with smear positive malaria, seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), any other clinical infection or refused consent were excluded from this study. Data obtained were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Post Hoc test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered to be significant. Result: Overall, results showed a depressed (mean ± Standard deviation (SD): CD3+ T cell (65.6 ± 15.5%;1225.5 ± 401.5 cell/μL), CD4+ T cell (36.1 ± 8.7%;657.1 ± 189.9 cell/μL), and a low CD4/CD8 value in women with EC (1.4 ± 0.5) and PC (1.5 ± 0.3) compared to NPC (1.9 ± 0.6) control (p < 05), while the total white blood cell count, and differential percentage neutrophils count were noted to be elevated among the eclamptic women (9.8 ± 4.9 × 109/L;70.3 ± 12.0%) compared to PC (6.9 ± 3.6 × 109/L;64.6 ± 8.1%) and NPC (5.6 ± 2.0 × 109/L;48.5 ± 10.7%), p < 0.05. Conclusion: Eclampsia was associated with significantly depressed CD3+ and CD4+ T lymphocyte, and increased percentage differential neutrophil counts.

MINIMUM ATTRIBUTE CO-REDUCTION ALGORITHM BASED ON MULTILEVEL EVOLUTIONARY TREE WITH SELF-ADAPTIVE SUBPOPULATIONS

Attribute reduction is an important process in rough set theory.Finding minimum attribute reduction has been proven to help the user-oriented make better knowledge discovery in some cases.In this paper,an efficient minimum attribute reduction algorithm is proposed based on the multilevel evolutionary tree with self-adaptive subpopulations.A model of multilevel evolutionary tree with self-adaptive subpopulations is constructed,and interacting attribute sets are better decomposed into subsets by the self-adaptive mechanism of elitist populations.Moreover it can self-adapt the subpopulation sizes according to the historical performance record so that interacting attribute decision variables are captured into the same grouped subpopulation,which will be extended to better performance in both quality of solution and competitive computation complexity for minimum attribute reduction.The conducted experiments show the proposed algorithm is better on both efficiency and accuracy of minimum attribute reduction than some representative algorithms.Finally the proposed algorithm is applied to magnetic resonance image(MRI)segmentation,and its stronger applicability is further demonstrated by the effective and robust segmentation results.

Defining two subpopulations of marginal zone B cells

Marginal zone(MZ)B cells,which are composed of heterogeneous subpopulations,are participate in the rapid response to antigens.Lee et al.showed that MZ B cells can be divided into two distinct subpopulations based on CD80 expression.These two subpopulations of MZ B cells exhibit differential autoreactivity,radiosensitivity,and functional capacities.

Single-cell sequencing technology in diabetic wound healing:New insights into the progenitors-based repair strategies

Diabetes mellitus(DM),an increasingly prevalent chronic metabolic disease,is characterised by prolonged hyperglycaemia,which leads to long-term health consequences.Although much effort has been put into understanding the pathogenesis of diabetic wounds,the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.The advent of single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNAseq)has revolutionised biological research by enabling the identification of novel cell types,the discovery of cellular markers,the analysis of gene expression patterns and the prediction of develop-mental trajectories.This powerful tool allows for an in-depth exploration of pathogenesis at the cellular and molecular levels.In this editorial,we focus on progenitor-based repair strategies for diabetic wound healing as revealed by scRNAseq and highlight the biological behaviour of various healing-related cells and the alteration of signalling pathways in the process of diabetic wound healing.ScRNAseq could not only deepen our understanding of the complex biology of diabetic wounds but also identify and validate new targets for inter-vention,offering hope for improved patient outcomes in the management of this challenging complication of DM.

Morphometric and kinematic sperm subpopulations in split ejaculates of normozoospermic men

This study was designed to analyze the sperm kinematic and morphometric subpopulations in the different fractions of the ejaculate in normozoospermic men. Ejaculates from eight normozoospermic men were collected by masturbation in three fractions after 3-5 days of sexual abstinence. Analyses of sperm motility by computer-assisted sperm analysis （CASA-Mot）, and of sperm morphometry by computer-assisted sperm morphometry analysis （CASA-Morph） using fluorescence were performed. Clustering and discriminant procedures were performed to identify sperm subpopulations in the kinematic and morphometric data obtained. Clustering procedures resulted in the classification of spermatozoa into three kinematic subpopulations （slow with low ALH [35.6% of all motile spermatozoa], with circular trajectories [32.0%], and rapid with high ALH [32.4%]）, and three morphometric subpopulations （large-round [33.9% of all spermatozoa], elongated [32.0%], and small [34.10%]）. The distribution of kinematic sperm subpopulations was different among ejaculate fractions （P 〈 0.001）, with higher percentages of spermatozoa exhibiting slow movements with low ALH in the second and third portions, and with a more homogeneous distribution of kinematic sperm subpopulations in the first portion. The distribution of morphometric sperm subpopulations was also different among ejaculate fractions （P〈 0.001）, with more elongated spermatozoa in the first, and of small spermatozoa in the third, portion. It is concluded that important variations in the distribution of kinematic and morphometric sperm subpopulations exist between ejaculate fractions, with possible functional implications.

PHENOTYPIC CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN BLOOD MONOCYTE SUBPOPULATIONS IN PSORIASIS AND ATOPIC DERMATITIS: EVIDENCE FOR DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION OF SURFACE MOLECULES

Peripheral blood monocytes seem to be of importance for the initiation and maintenance of the psoriatic tissue reaction. Hyperproliferation of monocytopoiesis as well as functional abnormalities of monocytes in psotiasis have previously been described. We sought to determine whether peripheral blood monocyte subpopulations from patients with psoriasis show altered phentypes. and how the altered

Comparison of different statistical approaches to evaluate morphometric sperm subpopulations in men

This study was designed to characterize morphometric sperm subpopulations in normozoospermic men by using different statistical methods and examining their suitability to classify correctly different sperm nuclear morphologies present in human ejaculates. Ejaculates from 21 normozoospermic men were collected for the study. After semen collection and analysis, samples were prepared for morphometric determination. At least 200 spermatozoa per sample were assessed for sperm morphometry by computer-assisted sperm morphometry analysis （CASA-Morph） using fluorescence. Clustering and discriminant procedures were performed to identify sperm subpopulations from the morphometric data obtained. Clustering procedures resulted in the classification of spermatozoa into three morphometric subpopulations （large-round 30.4%, small-round 46.6%, and large-elongated 22.9%）. In the second analysis, using discriminant methods, the classification was made independently of size and shape. Three morphological categories according to nuclear size （small 〈10.90 μm^2, intermediate 10.91-13.07 μm^2, and large 〉13.07 μm^2） and four categories were defined on 400 canonical cells （100 × 4） from 10 men according to sperm nuclear shape （oval, pyriform, round, and elongated）. Thereafter, the resulting classification functions were used to categorize 4200 spermatozoa from 21 men. Differences in the class distribution were observed among men from both clustering and discriminant procedures. It was concluded that the combination of CASA-Morph fluorescence-based technology with multivariate cluster or discriminant analyses provides new information on the description of different morphometric sperm subpopulations in normal individuals, and that important variations in the distribution of morphometric sperm subpopulations may exist between men, with possible functional implications.

Single-Nucleus RNA Sequencing Reveals Cardiac Macrophage Landscape in Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome

Background:Hypoplastic left heart syndrome(HLHS)is one of the most challenging congenital heart diseases in clinical treatment.In cardiac tissues,resident macrophages fulfill critical functions in maintaining a stable cardiac state and have strong regenerative capacity and organ specificity.However,the molecular mechanisms of macro-phages in HLHS remained unclear.Methods:Single-nucleus RNA sequencing(snRNA-seq)data of HLHS and healthy control(donors)samples obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)database were normalized and clustered using the Seurat package.The“FindMarkers”function was used to screen differentially expressed genes(DEGs)between the HLHS and donor groups and to analyze the functional enrichment of the set of genes of interest.Finally,cell-cell communication,pseudotime,and single-cell regulatory network inference and cluster-ing(SCENIC)analyses were used to study the mechanisms of macrophages in HLHS.Results:Based on the snRNA-seq data of HLHS and donors,we identified a total of 9 cell clusters,among which the proportion of macrophages was significantly less in the HLHS group than in the control group.Subdivision of macrophage subpopulations(Macrophages 1,2,and 3)showed that Macrophages 1 was mainly involved in nervous system development,angiogenesis,and apoptotic processes.In addition,analysis of communication between Macro-phages 1 and cardiomyocytes revealed that ligand-acceptor pairs such as GAS6/AXL,IL6,IGF1,THY1,and L1CAM were present only in the donor group.Finally,pesudotime and SCENIC analyses demonstrated that FOXO3 and ELF2 played a critical role for Macrophages 1 to maintain cardiac function in patients with HLHS.Conclusion:Our study improved the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms of macrophage devel-opment in HLHS,showing that manipulating the regulatory role of macrophages in the heart can be a novel treat-ment for HLHS.

Sperm subpopulations in avian species： a comparative study between the rooster （Gallus domesticus） and Guinea fowl （Numida meleagris）

The main aims of this research were to study possible differences in objective morphometric sperm characteristics, establish normative sperm morphometry standards, and evaluate the presumed different subpopulation distribution of avian spermatozoa from the rooster （Gallus domesticus） and Guinea fowl （Numida meleagris） as model avian species. Seventy-two ejaculates （36 per species studied） were obtained manually, following a training period involving gently combined dorso-abdominal and lumbo.sacral massage of the birds. Ejaculates were processed for volume, sperm concentration, viability, motility, and morphology. Moreover, samples were submitted for sperm morphometric assessment using objective Computer-Assisted Semen Analysis for Morphometry （CASA-Morph） methods, with sperm morphometric descriptors evaluated by Principal Component Analysis （PCA） and multivariate clustering analyses. There were several differences observed between the avian species in values obtained for ejaculate volume and sperm concentration （P 〈 0.001）. Irrespective of species, PCA revealed two Principal Components （PCs） explaining more than 80% of the variance. In addition, the number of subpopulations differed with species （three and five subpopulations for rooster and Guinea fowl, respectively）. Moreover, the distribution of the sperm subpopulations was found to be structurally different between species. In conclusion, our findings from using CASA-Morph methods indicate pronounced sperm morphometric variation between these two avian species. Because of the strong differences observed in morphometric parameter values and their subpopulation distribution, these results suggest that application of objective analytical methods such as CASA-Morph could substantially improve the reliability of comparative studies and help establish valid normative sperm morphological values for avian species.

Identification and characterization of two morphologically distinct stem cell subpopulations from human urine samples

Urine-derived stem cells(USCs)have shown potentials for the treatment of skeletal and urological disorders.Based on published literature and our own data,USCs consist of heterogeneous populations of cells.In this paper,we identify and characterize two morphologically distinct subpopulations of USCs from human urine samples,named as spindle-shaped USCs(SS-USCs)and rice-shaped USCs(RS-USCs)respectively.The two subpopulations showed similar clone-forming efficiency,while SS-USCs featured faster proliferation,higher motility,and greater potential for osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation,RS-USCs showed greater potential for chondrogenic differentiation.POU5F1 was strongly expressed in both subpopulations,but MYC was weakly expressed.Both subpopulations showed similar patterns of CD24,CD29,CD34,CD44,CD73,CD90 and CD105 expression,while a higher percentage of RS-USCs were positive for CD133.SS-USCs were positive for VIM,weakly positive for SLC12A1 and UMOD,and negative for KRT18,NPHS1,AQP1 and AQP2,indicating a renal mesenchyme origin;while RSUSCs are positive for VIM,partially positive for KRT18,NPHS1,AQP1,SLC12A1 and UMOD,and negative for AQP2,indicating a nephron tubule origin.The above results can facilitate understanding of the biological characteristics of subpopulations of USCs,and provide a basis for further research and applications of such cells.

The Influence of Age and Sex on the Cell Counts of Peripheral Blood Leukocyte Subpopulations in Chinese Rhesus Macaques

Non-human primates such as Chinese rhesus macaques are the favorable models for preclinical study of potential therapeutic drugs,vaccines and mechanisms of human diseases.Little is known about the normal levels of leukocyte subpopulations of Chinese rhesus macaques.To obtain these data,100 blood samples from Chinese rhesus macaques were collected.The normal range of major leukocyte subpopulations,such as T lymphocytes,B lymphocytes,monocytes,myeloid dendritic cells(mDCs)and plasmacytoid dendritic cells(pDCs),were quantitatively analyzed by flow cytometry through BD trucount tubes.The influence of age and sex on the cell counts of leukocyte subpopulations was analyzed.The counts of CD3^(+)T cells,CD3+CD4^(+)T cells,CD3+CD8^(+)T cells and B cells decreased with age,but those of monocytes,mDCs and pDCs had no significant correlation with age.Significant differences existed in the cell counts of most leukocyte subpopulations between the male and female groups except pDCs.Furthermore the values of the females were higher than those of the males.The study provided basic information about the leukocyte subpopulations of Chinese rhesus macaques,and it may be valuable for immunobiological study of Chinese rhesus macaques.

Sperm kinematic, head morphometric and kinetic- morphometric subpopulations in the blue fox （Alopex lagopus）

This work provides information on the blue fox ejaculated sperm quality needed for seminal dose calculations. Twenty semen samples, obtained by masturbation, were analyzed for kinematic and morphometric parameters by using CASA-Mot and CASA-Morph system and principal component （PC） analysis. For motility, eight kinematic parameters were evaluated, which were reduced to PC1, related to linear variables, and PC2, related to oscillatory movement. The whole population was divided into three independent subpopulations： SP1, fast cells with linear movement; SP2, slow cells and nonoscillatory motility; and SP3, medium speed cells and oscillatory movement. In almost all cases, the subpopulation distribution by animal was significantly different. Head morphology analysis generated four size and four shape parameters, which were reduced to PC 1, related to size, and PC2, related to shape of the cells. Three morphometric subpopulations existed. SPI： large oval cells; SP2： medium size elongated cells; and SP3. small and short cells. The subpopulation distribution differed between animals. Combining the kinematic and morphometric datasets produced PC1, related to morphometric parameters, and PC2, related to kinematics, which generated four sperm subpopulations - SPI.. high oscillatory motility, large and short heads; SP2; medium velocity with small and short heads; SP3. slow motion small and elongated cells; and SP4. high linear speed and large elongated cells. Subpopulation distribution was different in all animals. The establishment of sperm subpopulations from kinematic, morphometric, and combined variables not only improves the well-defined fox semen characteristics and offers a good conceptual basis for fertility and sperm preservation techniques in this species, but also opens the door to use this approach in other species, included humans.

Use of routine HIV testing data for early detection of emerging HIV epidemics in high-risk subpopulations:A concept demonstration study

Introduction:HIV epidemics in hard-to-reach high-risk subpopulations are often discovered years after epidemic emergence in settings with poor surveillance infrastructure.Using hypothesis-generation modeling,we aimed to investigate and demonstrate the concept of using routine HIV testing data to identify and characterize hidden epidemics in high-risk subpopulations.We also compared this approach to surveillance based on AIDS case notifications.Methods:A deterministic mathematical model was developed to simulate an emerging HIV epidemic in a high-risk subpopulation.A stochastic Monte Carlo simulation was implemented on the total population to simulate the sampling process of generating routine HIV testing data.Epidemiological measures were estimated on the simulated epidemic and on the generated testing sample.Sensitivity analyses were conducted on the results.Results:In the simulated epidemic,HIV prevalence saturated at 32%in the high-risk subpopulation and at 0.33%in the total population.The epidemic started its emergingepidemic phase 28 years after infection introduction,and saturated 67 years after infection introduction.In the simulated HIV testing sample,a significant time trend in prevalence was identified,and the generated metrics of epidemic emergence and saturation were similar to those of the simulated epidemic.The epidemic was identified 4.0(95%CI 3.4e4.6)years after epidemic emergence using routine HIV testing,but 29.7(95%CI 15.8 e52.1)years after emergence using AIDS case notifications.In the sensitivity analyses,none of the sampling biases affected the conclusion of an emerging epidemic,but some affected the estimated epidemic growth rate.Conclusions:Routine HIV testing data provides a tool to identify and characterize hidden and emerging epidemics in high-risk subpopulations.This approach can be specially useful in resource-limited settings,and can be applied alone,or along with other complementary data,to provide a meaningful characterization of emerging but hidden epidemics.

Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Potential for Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Tetralogy of Fallot

Background:Tetralogy of Fallot(TOF)is a very common cyanotic congenital heart disease.Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition(EndoMT)is recognized as a physiological mechanism involved in embryonic heart development and endothelial formation.However,there is still a gap in the reports related to the mechanism of EndoMT development in TOF.Methods:First,transcriptomic data of single cell nuclei of TOF and Donor were obtained based on the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)database,and the data were normalized and clus-tered by dimensionality reduction using the Seurat package.Subsequently,differentially expressed genes(DEGs)between TOF and Donor were screened using the“FindMarkers”function,and the gene sets of interest were enriched.Finally,to characterize the dynamics of EndoMT occurrence in TOF,we performed pseudotime cell tra-jectory inference as well as utilized SCENIC analysis to probe the gene regulatory networks(GRNs)dominated by transcription factors(TFs)in endothelial cells.Results:We identified a total of six cell clusters based on single-cell nuclear transcriptome data from TOF and Donor.We found that 611 genes with up-regulated expression within TOF showed conversion to mesenchyme.By subdividing endothelial cell subtypes,endothelial cells 2 were shown to be involved in cell adhesion,migration and extracellular matrix processes.Pseudo-time and SCENIC analyses showed that endothelial cell 2 has EndoMT potential.In addition,ERG and TEAD1 are TFs that play key reg-ulatory roles in this subtype,and both of their target genes are also highly expressed in TOF.This demonstrates that ERG and TEAD1 effectively promote the EndoMT process.Conclusion:Our study reveals the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of EndoMT in TOF,which demonstrates that manipulating the endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition may offer unprecedented therapeutic potential for the treatment of TOF.

Analysis of the Distribution of Tulipa fosteriana and Tulipa ingens. The Importance of Protecting Wild Plants, in Particular Tulips All over the World

The assessment of the distribution and importance of the protection of tulip varieties around the world and separately rare, wild-growing ancestors of cultivated tulips, in particular Tulipa fosteriana and Tulipa ingens on the globe, including Central Asia, Uzbekistan and the Samarkand region, was described. A distribution map was introduced to visualize the data. Information about the morphological description of the studied species was also given.

road to stemness in hepatocellular carcinoma

Carcinogenic process has been proposed to relay on the capacity to induce local tissue damage and proliferative repair. Liver has a great regeneration capacity and currently, most studies point towards the dominant role of hepatocytes in regeneration at all levels of liver damage. The most frequent liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC). Historical findings originally led to the idea that the cell of origin of HCC might be a progenitor cell. However, current linage tracing studies put the progenitor hypothesis of HCC origin into question. In agreement with their dominant role in liver regeneration, mature hepatocytes are emerging as the cell of origin of HCC, although, the specific hepatocyte subpopulation of origin is yet to be determined. The relationship between the cancer cell of origin(CCO) and cancer-propagating cells, known as hepatic cancer stem cell(HCSC) is unknown. It has been challenging to identify the definitive phenotypic marker of HCSC, probably due to the existence of different cancer stem cells(CSC) subpopulations with different functions within HCC. There is a dynamic interconversion among different CSCs, and between CSC and non-CSCs. Because of that, CSC-state is currently defined as a description of a highly adaptable and dynamic intrinsic property of tumor cells, instead of a static subpopulation of a tumor. Altered conditions could trigger the gain of stemness, some of them include: EMT-MET, epigenetics, microenvironment and selective stimulus such as chemotherapy. This CSC heterogeneity and dynamism makes them out reach from therapeutic protocols directed to a single target. A further avenue of research in this line will be to uncover mechanisms that trigger this interconversion of cell populations within tumors and target it.