Physical activity has been shown to suppress tumor initiation and progression. The neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) is closely related to movement and exhibits antitumor properties. However, whether ...the suppressive effects of physical activity on tumors was mediated by the nervous system via increased DA level remains unknowns. Here we show that regular moderate swimming (8 min/day, 9 weeks) raised DA levels in the prefrontal cortex, serum and tumor tissue, suppressed growth, reduced lung metastasis of transplanted liver cancer, and prolonged survival in a C57BL/6 mouse model, while overload swimming (16 and 32 min/day, 9 weeks) had the opposite effect. In nude mice that were orthotopically implanted with human liver cancer cell lines, DA treatment significantly suppressed growth and lung metastasis by acting on the D2 receptor (DR2). Furthermore, DR2 blockade attenuated the suppressive effect of moderate swimming on liver cancer. Both moderate swimming and DA treatment suppressed the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β1)-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition of transplanted liver cancer cells. At the molecular level, DR2 signaling inhibited extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation and expression of TGF-β1 in vitro. Together, these findings demonstrated a novel mechanism by which the moderate exercise suppressed liver cancer through boosting DR2 activity, while overload exercise had the opposite effect, highlighting the possible importance of the dopaminergic system in tumor growth and metastasis of liver cancer.
Many studies have shown that microRNA (miR)-133 functions as a tumor suppressor in a variety of metastatic cancers, including breast cancer, gastric cancer, and liver fibrosis. However, the influence ...of miR-133 on pituitary tumor malignancy has not yet been reported. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of miR-133 in pituitary tumor cell migration and invasive ability and the molecular mechanisms involved. Our findings suggest that in pituitary adenoma cell lines, through direct targeting and negative control of forkhead box C1 (FOXC1), miR-133 can inhibit pituitary adenoma cell migration and invasion. In addition, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition can be induced by miR-133. Additionally, a negative correlation was found between FOXC1 and miR-133 expression when comparing their expression levels between cancerous tissue and adjacent normal tissue. This suggests that miR-133 can inhibit cell migration and invasion by directly targeting FOXC1, implying that miR-133 could be a potential therapeutic target for treatment of invasive pituitary adenoma.
The receptor megalin plays an important role in the accumulation of polymyxin B (PMB) in renal cells in vitro. This study aimed to examine the effects of cytochrome c (cyto c), a typical megalin ...ligand, on renal accumulation and nephrotoxicity of PMB in vivo. Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the vehicle control group, PMB group, PMB + cyto c 50, 100, or 200 mg/kg group, respectively, and were treated with intravenous cyto c 30 min before the administration of PMB 4.0 mg/kg once a day for consecutive 5 days. On the 4th day after administration, 24 h urine was collected to determine N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase excretion. Six hours after the last injection on the 5th day, kidneys were harvested to assay PMB concentration and observe pathological alterations, and blood samples were collected to assay serum creatinine (SCr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and blood β2-microglobulin (β2-MG) levels. Cyto c 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg decreased the accumulation of PMB in the kidney by 18.5%, 39.1% (p < 0.01), and 36.8% (p < 0.01), respectively, and reduced 24 h N-acetyl-β-D- glucosaminidase excretion by 22.5% (p < 0.05), 40.4% (p < 0.01), and 40.4% (p < 0.01), respectively. Kidney pathological damage induced by PMB was markedly reduced by cyto c 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg. However, there were no significant differences in SCr, BUN, and blood β2-MG levels among the groups. These results indicated that cyto c may inhibit the renal accumulation and nephrotoxicity of PMB in a rat model, further proving the role of megalin in the accumulation of PMB.
The variational level set method is one of the main methods of image segmentation. Due to signed distance functions as level sets have to keep the nature of the functions through numerical remedy or ...additional technology in an evolutionary process, it is not very efficient. In this paper, a normal vector projection method for image segmentation using Chan-Vese model is proposed. An equivalent formulation of Chan-Vese model is used by taking advantage of property of binary level set functions and combining with the concept of convex relaxation. Threshold method and projection formula are applied in the implementation. It can avoid the above problems and obtain a global optimal solution. Experimental results on both synthetic and real images validate the effects of the proposed normal vector projection method, and show advantages over traditional algorithms in terms of computational efficiency.
In northern China, freezing injury is observed frequently in the rare species
Magnolia wufengensis
but not in the more common species
Magnolia denudata
. To investigate the role of the phytohormone ...abscisic acid (ABA) on frost tolerance in these two species, exogenous ABA was applied to the seedlings and then physiological and biochemical responses were measured during cold acclimation. Shoot growth cessation was stimulated by ABA in
M. wufengensis
but not in
M. denudata
. Abscisic acid inhibited shoot growth in
M. wufengensis
but not in
M. denudata
. Treatment with ABA stimulated leaf senescence in both species, and this effect was greater in
M. denudata
. For both species, ABA-treated plants exhibited bud dormancy sooner and had an increased tolerance to freezing, decreased water content and increased accumulation of proline, glucose, and fructose in shoots. These effects were generally greater for
M. denudata
. Freezing tolerance was significantly correlated with content of water, proline, glucose, and fructose for both species, but freezing tolerance was significantly correlated with raffinose content only in
M. wufengensis
. We conclude that exogenous ABA could increase cold acclimation and improve cold hardiness of both
Magnolia
species, although
M. denudata
was more responsive to ABA than
M. wufengensis
, which might result from a greater dehydration and accumulation of proline and certain soluble sugars.
The coating-metal transition interface can form a stable gradient interface phase composite. In this paper, a finite element model of gradient interface phase is established based on Tyson Polygon ...Method (TPM), and the microstructure equivalent parameters of interface material of the element are obtained by means of average method. By analyzing the functional relationship between the equivalent elastic parameters of the gradient interface element and the metal volume ratio, the functional expression of the microstructure parameter distribution of the interface phase is obtained. The results show that the equivalent elastic modulus and equivalent shear modulus of the interface satisfy the distribution of exponential function, linear function and power function in the local scope. The change rule of equivalent Poisson's ratio with metal phase volume fraction in local scope can be expressed by logistic function. It is found that the global parameter distribution of interface phase is different from that of local material. The equivalent elastic modulus and equivalent shear modulus of the global interface satisfy the double exponential function distribution, while the distribution law of the equivalent Poisson's ratio can be piecewise expressed by the logistic function and the exponential function.
Continuous conventional tillage can cause serious soil degradation in rain‐fed agriculture, which reduces crop productivity. Adopting suitable tillage practices is very important for improving the ...soil and increasing crop productivity. Between 2007 and 2010, a 3‐year field study was conducted in semi‐arid areas of southern Ningxia, China, to determine the effects of rotational tillage practices on bulk density, soil aggregate, organic carbon concentration and crop yields. Three tillage treatments were tested: no‐tillage the first and third year and subsoiling the second year (NT/ST/NT); subsoiling the first and third year and no‐tillage the second year (ST/NT/ST); and conventional tillage each year (CT). A conventional tillage treatment was used as the control. Under the rotational tillage treatments, the mean soil bulk density at a depth of 0–60 cm was significantly (P < 0.05) decreased by 4.9% compared with CT, and with the best effect under ST/NT/ST. The soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration and aggregate size fractions and stability at 0–40 cm depth were significantly (P < 0.05) increased in rotational tillage treatments when compared with the conventional tillage, and the ST/NT/ST treatment produced the highest increases. Significant differences were detected in the SOC concentration in 2 to 0.25–mm size fractions at 0–30 cm depth between rotational tillage treatments and conventional tillage. Biomass and grain yield with the rotational tillage practices were significantly positively influenced over 3 years, and ST/NT/ST produced the highest average crop yields among the three treatments. Therefore, it was concluded that the application of rotational tillage with subsoiling every 2 years and no‐tillage every other year (ST/NT/ST) should be of benefit in promoting the development of dryland farming in semi‐arid areas of northwest China.
A catalog of the mouse gut metagenome Xiao, Liang; Feng, Qiang; Liang, Suisha ...
Nature biotechnology,
10/2015, Letnik:
33, Številka:
10
Journal Article
Recenzirano
We established a catalog of the mouse gut metagenome comprising ∼2.6 million nonredundant genes by sequencing DNA from fecal samples of 184 mice. To secure high microbiome diversity, we used mouse ...strains of diverse genetic backgrounds, from different providers, kept in different housing laboratories and fed either a low-fat or high-fat diet. Similar to the human gut microbiome, >99% of the cataloged genes are bacterial. We identified 541 metagenomic species and defined a core set of 26 metagenomic species found in 95% of the mice. The mouse gut microbiome is functionally similar to its human counterpart, with 95.2% of its Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) orthologous groups in common. However, only 4.0% of the mouse gut microbial genes were shared (95% identity, 90% coverage) with those of the human gut microbiome. This catalog provides a useful reference for future studies.
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