Tanshinone ⅡA improves Alzheimer’s disease via RNA nuclearenriched abundant transcript 1/microRNA-291a-3p/member RAS oncogene family Rab22a axis

BACKGROUND Alzheimer’s disease(AD)is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by oxidative stress and neuroinflammation.Tanshinone ⅡA(Tan-ⅡA),a bioactive compound isolated from Salvia miltiorrhiza plants,has shown potential neuroprotective effects;however,the mechanisms underlying such a function remain unclear.AIM To investigate potential Tan-ⅡA neuroprotective effects in AD and to elucidate their underlying mechanisms.METHODS Hematoxylin and eosin staining was utilized to analyze structural brain tissue morphology.To assess changes in oxidative stress and neuroinflammation,we performed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western blotting.Additionally,the effect of Tan-ⅡA on AD cell models was evaluated in vitro using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay.Genetic changes related to the long non-coding RNA(lncRNA)nuclear-enriched abundant transcript 1(NEAT1)/microRNA(miRNA,miR)-291a-3p/member RAS oncogene family Rab22a axis were assessed through reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction.RESULTS In vivo,Tan-ⅡA treatment improved neuronal morphology and attenuated oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in the brain tissue of AD mice.In vitro experiments showed that Tan-ⅡA dose-dependently ameliorated the amyloid-beta 1-42-induced reduction of neural stem cell viability,apoptosis,oxidative stress,and neuroinflammation.In this process,the lncRNA NEAT1-a potential therapeutic target-is highly expressed in AD mice and downregulated via Tan-ⅡA treatment.Mechanistically,NEAT1 promotes the transcription and translation of Rab22a via miR-291a-3p,which activates nuclear factor kappa-B(NF-κB)signaling,leading to activation of the pro-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2-associated X protein and inhibition of the anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 protein,which exacerbates AD.Tan-ⅡA intervention effectively blocked this process by inhibiting the NEAT1/miR-291a-3p/Rab22a axis and NF-κB signaling.CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that Tan-ⅡA exerts neuroprotective effects in AD by modulating the NEAT1/miR-291a-3p/Rab22a/NF-κB signaling pathway,serving as a foundation for the development of innovative approaches for AD therapy.

Role of long non-coding RNAs in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)is emerging as a common cause of chronic liver disease in children and adults.NAFLD can progress to steatohepa-titis and potentially even hepatocellular carcinoma.Early identification of pati-ents at risk for progressive disease is crucial for managing NAFLD.Recent studies have identified long noncoding RNAs(lncRNAs),circular RNAs,and microRNAs as playing important roles in the pathogenesis of NAFLD.These noncoding RNAs are involved in modulating several metabolic pathways such as hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism,oxidative stress,and even carcinogenesis.Elevated levels of lncARSR and lncRNA nuclear-enriched abundant transcript 1 have been found in patients with NAFLD.In addition,lncRNAs such as PRYP4-3 and RP11-128N14.5 can distinguish patients with NAFLD from healthy indi-viduals.Increased MEG3 expression has been observed in both NAFLD and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis,suggesting that it may help predict patients at risk for disease progression.With advances in transcriptomics,we may discover additional targets to help in the identification and prognostication of NAFLD.

Association of triacylglyceride content and transcript abundance of genes involving in lipid synthesis of nitrogen deficient Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Phaeodactylum tricornutum is a diatom that is rich in lipids. Recently, it has received much attention as a feedstock for biodiesel production. Nitrogen deficiency is widely known to increase the content of neutral lipids （mainly triacylglycerides, or TAGs） of microalgae, including P. tricornutum, but the mechanism is unclear. In this study, we deciphered the correlations between TAG content and nine key enzymatic genes involved in lipid synthesis in P. tricornuturn. After being cultured under nitrogen-free conditions for 0, 4, 24, 48, 72, 120, and 168 h, the TAG contents ofP. tricornutum cells were assayed and the transcript abundances of the target genes were monitored by quantitative real-time PCR. The results show that the abundances of four target gene transcripts （LACS3, G3PDH2, G3PDH3, and G3PDH5） were positively correlated with TAG content, indicating that these genes may be involved in TAG synthesis in P. tricornutum. The findings improve our understanding of the metabolic network and regulation of lipid synthesis and will guide the future genetic improvement of the TAG content ofP. tricornutum.

De novo Assembly of Pen Shell(Atrina pectinata) Transcriptome and Screening of Its Genic Microsatellites

The pen shell(Atrina pectinata) is a large wedge-shaped bivalve, which belongs to family Pinnidae. Due to its large and nutritious adductor muscle, it is the popular seafood with high commercial value in Asia-Pacific countries. However, limiting genomic and transcriptomic data have hampered its genetic investigations. In this study, the transcriptome of A. pectinata was deeply sequenced using Illumina pair-end sequencing technology. After assembling, a total of 127263 unigenes were obtained. Functional annotation indicated that the highest percentage of unigenes(18.60%) was annotated on GO database, followed by 18.44% on PFAM database and 17.04% on NR database. There were 270 biological pathways matched with those in KEGG database. Furthermore, a total of 23452 potential simple sequence repeats(SSRs) were identified, of them the most abundant type was mono-nucleotide repeats(12902, 55.01%), which was followed by di-nucleotide(8132, 34.68%), tri-nucleotide(2010, 8.57%), tetra-nucleotide(401, 1.71%), and penta-nucleotide(7, 0.03%) repeats. Sixty SSRs were selected for validating and developing genic SSR markers, of them 23 showed polymorphism in a cultured population with the average observed and expected heterozygosities of 0.412 and 0.579, respectively. In this study, we established the first comprehensive transcript dataset of A. pectinata genes. Our results demonstrated that RNA-Seq is a fast and cost-effective method for genic SSR development in non-model species.

Effects of Periodical Salinity Fluctuation on the Growth, Molting, Energy Homeostasis and Molting-Related Gene Expression of Litopenaeus vannamei

To determine the response of Litopenaeus vannamei to periodical salinity fluctuation, a 30-day experiment was conducted in laboratory. In this experiment, two salinity fluctuation amplitudes of 4(group S4) and 10(group S10) were designed. The constant salinity of 30(group S0) was used as the control. Levels of shrimp growth, molting frequency(MF), cellular energy status(ATP, ADP and AMP), as well as the expression of genes encoding molt-inhibiting hormone(MIH), crustacean hyperglycemic hormone(CHH), ecdysteroid-regulated protein(ERP), and energy-related AMP-activated protein kinase(AMPK) were determined. The results showed that periodical salinity fluctuation significantly influenced all indicators except MF which ranged from 13.3% in group S10 to15.4% in group S4. In comparison with shrimps cultured at the constant salinity of 30, those in group S4 showed a significant elevation in growth rate, food conversion efficiency, cellular energy status, ERP and MIH gene transcript abundance, and a significant reduction in CHH and AMPK transcript abundance(P < 0.05). However, salinity fluctuation of 10 only resulted in a significant variation in MIH and CHH gene expression when compared to the control(P < 0.05). According to our findings, L. vannamei may be highly capable of tolerating salinity fluctuation. When ambient salinity fluctuated at approx. 4, the increased MF and energy stores in organisms may aid to promoting shrimp growth.

Biological Function and Mechanism of Long Noncoding RNAs Nuclear-Enriched Abundant Transcript I in Development of Cervical Cancer

Background： Accumulating documents have demonstrated that long noncoding RNAs （lncRNAs） play critical roles in tumorigenesis. As an lncRNA, nuclear-enriched abundant transcript 1 （NEAT1） has been identified to be involved in the progression of many types of cancers. However, the biological function of NE.4T1 in cervical cancer is not fully investigated. The aim of this study was to disclose the specific biological function of lncRNA NEATI in cervical cancer progression. Methods： Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction （qRT-PCR） was utilized to identify the expression of lncRNA NE,4 T1 in the cervical cancer tissues and cell lines. All cervical cancer samples used in this study were collected from the Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between September 2012 and September 2017. The correlation between NE,4T1 expression and the overall survival rate of cervical cancer patients was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier analysis. The effects of NEAT1 knockdown or overexpression on cell proliferation were tested by performing MTT assays and colony formation assays. Transwell assays were conducted to detect the migratory ability of cervical cancer cells, in which NEAT1 was silenced or overexpressed. Western blotting was utilized to validate whether NEAT1 promotes cervical cancer progression through activating PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Results： High expression of NE,4T1 predicted poor prognosis of cervical cancer patients （χ^2= 0.735, P = 0.005）. Knockdown of NE,4T1 decreased the number of colonies in CaSki cell from 136.667 ± 13.503 to 71.667 ± 7.506 （t = -18.76, P = 0.003） and decreased the number of colonies in HeLa cell from 128.667 ± 13.317 to 65.667 ± 7.024 （t = -5.54, P = 0.031）. However, overexpression of NEA T1 increased the number of colonies in SiHa cell from 84.667 ± 12.014 to 150.667 ± 18.037 （t = 7.27, P = 0.018）. Knockdown of NEAT1 decreased the migratory number of CaSki cell from 100.333 ± 9.866 to 58.333 ± 5.859 （t = -8.08, P = 0.015） and reduced the migratory number in HeLa cell from 123.667± 12.097 to 67.667 ± 7.095 （t = -6.03, P = 0.026）. Overexpression of NEAT1 increased the migratory number of SiHa cell from 127.333 ±16.042 to 231.333 ±31.786 （t = 4.92, P = 0.039）. Conclusion： NEAT1 may exert oncogenic function in cervical cancer and serve as a novel therapeutic target for cervical cancer.

Cellular, physiological and pathological aspects of the long non-coding RNA NEAT1

BACKGROUND： The majority of mammalian genomes have been found to be transcribed into non-coding RNAs. One category of non-coding RNAs is classified as long non-coding RNAs （lncRNAs） based on their transcript sizes larger than 200 nucleotides. Growing evidence has shown that lncRNAs are not junk transcripts and play regulatory roles in multiple aspects of biological processes. Dysregulation of lncRNA expression has also been linked to diseases, in particular cancer. Therefore, studies of lncRNAs have attracted significant interest in the field of medical research. Nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 （NEAT1）, a nuclear lncRNA, has recently emerged as a key regulator involved in various cellular processes, physiological responses, developmental processes, and disease development and progression. OBJECTIVE： This review will summarize and discuss the most recent findings with regard to the roles of NEAT1 in the function of the nuclear paraspeckle, cellular pathways, and physiological responses and processes. Particularly, the most recently reported studies regarding the pathological roles of deregulated NEAT1 in cancer are highlighted in this review. METHODS： We performed a systematic literature search using the Pubmed search engine. Studies published over the past 8 years （between January 2009 and August 2016） were the sources of literature review. The following keywords were used： ＂Nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1,＂ ＂NEATI,＂ and ＂paraspeckles.＂ RESULTS： The Pubmed search identified 34 articles related to the topic of the review. Among the identified literature, 13 articles report findings related to cellular functions of NEAT1 and eight articles are the investigations of physiological functions of NEAT1. The remaining 13 articles are studies of the roles of NEAT1 in cancers. CONCLUSION： Recent advances in NEAT1 studies reveal the multifimctional roles of NEAT1 in various biological processes, which are beyond its role in nuclear paraspeckles. Recent studies also indicate that dysregulation of NEAT1 function contributes to the development and progression of various cancers. More investigations will be needed to address the detailed mechanisms regarding how NEAT1 executes its cellular and physiological functions and how NEAT1 dysregulation results in tumorigenesis, and to explore the potential of NEAT1 as a target in cancer diagnosis, prognosis and therapy.