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Genetic analyses have linked microRNA-137 (MIR137) to neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder. miR-137 plays important roles in neurogenesis and neuronal maturation, but the impact of miR-137 loss-of-function in vivo remains unclear. Here we show the complete loss of miR-137 in the mouse germline knockout or nervous system knockout (cKO) leads to postnatal lethality, while heterozygous germline knockout and cKO mice remain viable. Partial loss of miR-137 in heterozygous cKO mice results in dysregulated synaptic plasticity, repetitive behavior, and impaired learning and social behavior. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses revealed that the miR-137 mRNA target, phosphodiesterase 10a (Pde10a), is elevated in heterozygous knockout mice. Treatment with the Pde10a inhibitor papaverine or knockdown of Pde10a ameliorates the deficits observed in the heterozygous cKO mice. Collectively, our results suggest that MIR137 plays essential roles in postnatal neurodevelopment and that dysregulation of miR-137 potentially contributes to neuropsychiatric disorders in humans.

Acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) is a prevalent public health concern worldwide. This study investigated the magnitude, distribution and burden of self-reported AGI among residents of Zhejiang Province, China. A face-to-face household survey was conducted using a multi-stage stratified random sampling method in 10 counties in Zhejiang Province between July 2018 and June 2019. In total, 12,021 participants were recruited. The prevalence of AGI 28 days after standardization was 1.8% (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.6–2.1), with an incidence rate of 0.24 episodes of AGI per person-year and an estimated 14 million cases of AGI in Zhejiang Province. Univariate and multivariable analyses showed a higher AGI prevalence among people who performed housework and were unemployed in summer and autumn among respondents living in western or northern cities ( p < 0.05). More than 50% of AGI cases were attributed to the consumption of contaminated food. The disease burden caused by AGI in Zhejiang Province was approximately 975 million Chinses yuan (CNY). These results indicated that the disease burden of AGI in Zhejiang Province should be addressed and highlights the need for an improved active surveillance system of foodborne diseases to assess the impact of AGI on society and health.

Neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) lose their intrinsic ability and fail to regenerate, but the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. Polycomb group (PcG) proteins, which include PRC1 and PRC2 complexes function as gene repressors and are involved in many biological processes. Here we report that PRC1 components (polycomb chromobox (CBX) 2, 7, and 8) are novel regulators of axon growth and regeneration. Especially, knockdown of CBX7 in either embryonic cortical neurons or adult dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons enhances their axon growth ability. Two important transcription factors GATA4 and SOX11 are functional downstream targets of CBX7 in controlling axon regeneration. Moreover, knockdown of GATA4 or SOX11 in cultured DRG neurons inhibits axon regeneration response from CBX7 downregulation in DRG neurons. These findings suggest that targeting CBX signaling pathway may be a novel approach for promoting the intrinsic regenerative capacity of damaged CNS neurons.

Histone demethylase UTX mediates removal of repressive trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) to establish a mechanistic switch to activate large sets of genes. Mutation of has recently been shown to be associated with Kabuki syndrome, a rare congenital anomaly syndrome with dementia. However, its biological function in the brain is largely unknown. Here, we observe that deletion of results in increased anxiety-like behaviors and impaired spatial learning and memory in mice. Loss of in the hippocampus leads to reduced long-term potentiation and amplitude of miniature excitatory postsynaptic current, aberrant dendrite development and defective synapse formation. Transcriptional profiling reveals that regulates a subset of genes that are involved in the regulation of dendritic morphology, synaptic transmission, and cognition. Specifically, deletion disrupts expression of neurotransmitter 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 5B ( ). Restoration of expression in newborn hippocampal neurons rescues the defects of neuronal morphology by ablation. Therefore, we provide evidence that plays a critical role in modulating synaptic transmission and cognitive behaviors. cKO mouse models like ours provide a valuable means to study the underlying mechanisms of the etiology of Kabuki syndrome.

Acclimatization of tissue cultured plants to greenhouse or field conditions is the final and most crucial step of micropropagation. Hydroponic system has the potential to harden in vitro plants in an efficient and convenient way. Herein, in vitro regenerated plants of Trichosanthes kirilowii were cultured in 1/4, 1/2 and full strength Hoagland nutrient solution under a simple hydroponic system during acclimatization, respectively, and soil culture was prepared as a control. Morphological, physiological, anatomical and histochemical alterations of the plants treated by different concentrations of nutrient solution and soil conditions were analyzed after 30 days of growth. Results showed that all the three concentrations of nutrient solution significantly improved the survival rate, plant growth, pigment content, photosynthesis capacity, and stomatal density compared with those grown in soil, and there were no significant differences of the plant morphological parameters and the stomatal characteristics among the three hydroponic treatments. The plants grown in the 1/4 Hoagland solution yielded the highest net photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance, as might be attributed to their highest photosynthetic pigment content among the treatments. Anatomical and histochemical studies revealed that enlarged air spaces, multiple lignified Φ thickenings, and heavier suberin and lignin were formed in the cortex of the adventitious roots grown in 1/4 Hoagland nutrient solution as compared with those cultured in soil conditions, indicating that T. kirilowii had enough phenotypic plasticity in the root structure to grow in hydroponic conditions by formation of larger aerenchyma spaces and apoplastic barriers. This study clearly demonstrates that hydroponics is an alternative for the tissue cultured plants of T. kirilowii to adapt to great environmental changes during acclimatization.Key messageMicropropagated plants of T. kirilowii can adapt to hydroponic conditions through changes in plant morphological, physiological and stomatal characteristics, and anatomical and histochemical features of roots during acclimatization.

This study analyzed data from the DEMETER satellite, collected 10 days before the Wenchuan M s 8.0 earthquake on May 12, 2008. The time-frequency power spectrum of the data indicated a narrow-band radiative destabilization (below the cut-off frequency) 6 days prior to the earthquake. A significant anomaly in the E z component was observed 3 days before the event. However, similar phenomena were found over aseismic regions, suggesting a link between ionospheric changes and the earthquake generation process.

Background：Tuberculosis （TB） is a chronic wasting inflammatory disease characterized by multisystem involvement,which can cause metabolic derangements in afflicted patients.Metabolic signatures have been exploited in the study of several diseases.However,the serum that is successfully used in TB diagnosis on the basis of metabolic profiling is not by much.Methods：Orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis was capable of distinguishing TB patients from both healthy subjects and patients with conditions other than TB.Therefore,TB-specific metabolic profiling was established.Clusters of potential biomarkers for differentiating TB active from non-TB diseases were identified using Mann-Whitney U-test.Multiple logistic regression analysis of metabolites was calculated to determine the suitable biomarker group that allows the efficient differentiation of patients with TB active from the control subjects.Results：From among 271 participants,12 metabolites were found to contribute to the distinction between the TB active group and the control groups.These metabolites were mainly involved in the metabolic pathways of the following three biomolecules：Fatty acids,amino acids,and lipids.The receiver operating characteristic curves of3D,7D,and 11D-phytanic acid,behenic acid,and threoninyl-γ-glutamate exhibited excellent efficiency with area under the curve （AUC） values of 0.904 （95% confidence interval [CI]：0.863-0.944）,0.93 （95% CI：0.893-0.966）,and 0.964 （95% CI：0.941-0.988）,respectively.The largest and smallest resulting AUCs were 0.964 and 0.720,indicating that these biomarkers may be involved in the disease mechanisms.The combination of lysophosphatidylcholine （18∶0）,behenic acid,threoninyl-γ-glutamate,and presqualene diphosphate was used to represent the most suitable biomarker group for the differentiation of patients with TB active from the control subjects,with an AUC value of 0.991.Conclusion：The metabolic analysis results identified new serum biomarkers that can distinguish TB from non-TB diseases.The metabolomics-based analysis provides specific insights into the biology of TB and may offer new avenues for TB diagnosis.

Aim： To investigate the effects of curcumin on proliferation and apoptosis in testicular cancer cells in vitro and to investigate its molecular mechanisms of action. Methods： NTera-2 human malignant testicular germ cell line and F9 mouse teratocarcinoma stem cell line were used. The anti-proliferative effect was examined using MTT and colony formation assays. Hoechst 33258 staining, TUNEL and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining assays were used to analyze cell apoptosis. Protein expression was examined with Western blot analysis and immunocytochemical staining. Results： Curcumin （5, 10 and 15 μmol/L） inhibited the viability of NTera-2 cells in dose- and time-dependent manners. Curcumin significantly inhibited the colony formation in both NTera-2 and F9 cells. Curcumin dose-dependently induced apoptosis of NTera-2 cells by reducing FasL expression and Bcl-2-to-Bax ratio, and activating caspase-9, -8 and -3. Furthermore, curcumin dose-dependently reduced the expression of AP transcription factor AP-2γ in NTera-2 cells, whereas the pretreatment with the proteasome inhibitor MG132 blocked both the curcumin-induced reduction of AP-2γ and antiproliferative effect. Curcumin inhibited ErbB2 expression, and decreased the phosphorylation of Akt and ERK in NTera-2 cells. Conclusion： Curcumin induces apoptosis and inhibits proliferation in NTera-2 cells via the inhibition of AP-2γ-mediated downstream cell survival signaling pathways.

The complex interactions among different immune cells have important functions in the development of malignant pleural effusion (MPE). Here we perform single-cell RNA sequencing on 62,382 cells from MPE patients induced by non-small cell lung cancer to describe the composition, lineage, and functional states of infiltrating immune cells in MPE. Immune cells in MPE display a number of transcriptional signatures enriched for regulatory T cells, B cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells compared to corresponding counterparts in blood. Helper T, cytotoxic T, regulatory T, and T follicular helper cells express multiple immune checkpoints or costimulatory molecules. Cell-cell interaction analysis identifies regulatory B cells with more interactions with CD4 + T cells compared to CD8 + T cells. Macrophages are transcriptionally heterogeneous and conform to M2 polarization characteristics. In addition, immune cells in MPE show the general up-regulation of glycolytic pathways associated with the hypoxic microenvironment. These findings show a detailed atlas of immune cells in human MPE and enhance the understanding of potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets in advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Detailed immune cell subset identification in human lung (malignant pleural effusion) MPE is important for diagnosis and prognosis. Here the authors use single cell RNA sequencing to identify immune cell types within MPE and show differential gene expression compared to circulating immune cells in blood.

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element that is crucial for human health. As a key component of various enzymes and proteins, selenium primarily exerts its biological functions in the form of selenoproteins within the body. Currently, over 30 types of selenoproteins have been identified, with more than 20 of them containing selenocysteine residues. Among these, glutathione peroxidases (GPXs), thioredoxin reductases (TrxRs), and iodothyronine deiodinases (DIOs) have been widely studied. Selenium boasts numerous biological functions, including antioxidant properties, immune system enhancement, thyroid function regulation, anti-cancer effects, cardiovascular protection, reproductive capability improvement, and anti-inflammatory activity. Despite its critical importance to human health, the range between selenium’s nutritional and toxic doses is very narrow. Insufficient daily selenium intake can lead to selenium deficiency, while excessive intake carries the risk of selenium toxicity. Therefore, selenium intake must be controlled within a relatively precise range. This article reviews the distribution and intake of selenium, as well as its absorption and metabolism mechanisms in the human body. It also explores the multiple biological functions and mechanisms of selenium in maintaining human health. The aim is to provide new insights and evidence for further elucidating the role of selenium and selenoproteins in health maintenance, as well as for future nutritional guidelines and public health policies.