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Dear Editor, N6-methyladenosine （m6A） has been demonstrated to be ubiquitous in several types of eukaryotic RNAs, including messenger RNA （mRNA）, transfer RNA （tRNA）, ribosomal RNA （rRNA）, long non-coding RNA （lncRNA）, and small nuclear RNA （snRNA） [1]. The recent discoveries of RNA m6A methyltransferase complex METTL3/METTL14/WTAP and demethylases FTO and ALKBH5 prove the reversibility of m6A modification [2-6]. This modification plays important roles in various biological processes, including circadian rhythms [7],

The piRNA machinery is known for its role in mediating epigenetic silencing of transposons. Recent studies suggest that this function also involves piRNA-guided cleavage of transposon-derived transcripts. As many piRNAs also appear to have the capacity to target diverse mRNAs, this raises the intriguing possibility that piRNAs may act extensively as siRNAs to degrade specific mRNAs. To directly test this hypothesis, we compared mouse PIWI （MI- WI）-associated piRNAs with experimentally identified cleaved mRNA fragments from mouse testes, and observed cleavage sites that predominantly occur at position 10 from the 5＇ end of putative targeting piRNAs. We also noted strong biases for U and A residues at nucleotide positions 1 and 10, respectively, in both piRNAs and mRNA frag- ments, features that resemble the pattern of piRNA amplification by the ＇ping-pong＇ cycle. Through mapping of MIWI-RNA interactions by CLIP-seq and gene expression profiling, we found that many potential piRNA-targeted mRNAs directly interact with MIWI and show elevated expression levels in the testes of Miwi catalytic mutant mice. Reporter-based assays further revealed the importance of base pairing between piRNAs and mRNA targets and the requirement for both the slicer activity and piRNA-loading ability of MIWI in piRNA-mediated target repression. Importantly, we demonstrated that proper turnover of certain key piRNA targets is essential for sperm formation. Together, these findings reveal the siRNA-like function of the piRNA machinery in mouse testes and its central requirement for male germ cell development and maturation.

Transcriptomics is one of the most developed fields in the post-genomic era. Transcriptome is the complete set of RNA tran- scripts in a specific cell type or tissue at a certain developmental stage and/or under a specific physiological condition, includ- ing messenger RNA, transfer RNA, ribosomal RNA, and other non-coding RNAs. Transcriptomics focuses on the gene ex- pression at the RNA level and offers the genome-wide information of gene structure and gene function in order to reveal the molecular mechanisms involved in specific biological processes. With the development of next-generation high-throughput sequencing technology, transcriptome analysis has been progressively improving our understanding of RNA-based gene regu- latory network. Here, we discuss the concept, history, and especially the recent advances in this inspiring field of study.

Background：Galectin-3 （Gal-3） plays a role in the mechanisms underlying ocular venous malformation.We conducted this study to investigate the effect of pingyangmycin pretreatment on the Gal-3 expressions and biological behavior of ocular venous malformation.Methods：Tissue samples were collected from 136 patients with ocular venous malformation.Patients were randomly divided into pingyangmycin （n =69） and nonpingyangmycin group （n 67）.Patients in the pingyangmycin group received a local injection of 0.02% pingyangmycin once every 2 days for 2 weeks （7 doses） before removal surgery,whereas patients in the nonpingyangmycin group underwent removal surgery without local injection.The protein and messenger RNA （mRNA） expression of Gal-3 were detected by using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization.Results：Gal-3 protein was expressed in 35 （52%） of 67 samples in the nonpingyangmycin group and in 19 （28%） of 69 samples in the pingyangmycin group （P 〈 0.05）.Gal-3 mRNA expression was detected in 39 （58%） of 67 samples in the nonpingyangmycin group and 22 （32%） of 69 samples in the pingyangmycin group （P 〈 0.05）.The higher Gal-3 expressions were detected in samples with deeper invasiveness than those with superficial invasiveness before （χ^2=12.720 and 13.369,respectively,both P 〈 0.05） and after pingyangmycin treatment （χ^2=8.429 and 4.590,respectively,both P 〈 0.05）.It was more frequently detected in mesh-like lesions with unclear boundary than round lesions with clear boundary before （χ^2= =30.291 and 41.466,respectively,both P 〈 0.05） and after pingyangmycin treatment （χ^2= =14.619 and 15.130,respectively,both P 〈 0.05）.Pingyangmycin treatment led to a significant difference in Gal-3 expressions at both protein and mRNA levels （χ^2==8.664 and 9.524,respectively,both P 〈 0.05）.Conclusions：Gal-3 expression may be involved in the development and invasiveness of ocular venous malformation,and pingyangmycin can inhibit Gal-3 expression,indicating a role of pingyangmycin treatment before the removal of ocular venous malformation.

It is clear that RNA is more than just a messenger between gene and protein. The mammalian genome is pervasively tran- scribed, giving rise to tens of thousands of non-coding transcripts. Whether all of these transcripts are functional remains to be elucidated, but it is evident that there are many functional long non-coding RNAs （lncRNAs）. Recent studies have set out to decode the regulatory role and functional diversity of lncRNAs. Here we organize these studies to highlight the significant in- volvements of lncRNAs in regulation of gene expression and human physiological and pathological processes, which are achieved by their interaction with DNA, RNA or protein.

探讨脑出血急性期外周血辅助T细胞17(Th17)表达变化及其临床意义。分别采用流式细胞术、实时定量逆转录聚合酶链反应和酶联免疫吸附试验检测急性脑出血患者外周血Th17细胞比例及核转录因子维A酸相关孤儿受体γ(tRORγt)mRNA和IL-17表达水平。结果显示,脑出血后Th17细胞比例及RORγt mRNA和IL-17表达水平持续升高,并于脑出血后24h及第3和7天显著高于正常值范围(均P=0.000);至脑出血后第14天时Th-17细胞比例和RORγt mRNA表达水平降至正常水平(均P>0.05),而外周血IL-17表达水平仍高于正常值范围且差异有统计学意义(P=0.000)。提示脑出血急性期外周血Th-17细胞比例及IL-17表达水平升高可能参与了急性脑出血的病理进程。