Natalia Lehman, Agnieszka Bojarska-Junak, Michał Zarobkiewicz^*

BIOCELL, Vol.49, No.6, pp. 1085-1099, 2025, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2025.063960 - 24 June 2025

Abstract Introduction: Butyrophilins (BTNs) belong to the immunoglobulin superfamily; they play crucial roles in immune regulation, especially in γδ T cell activation. While their expression has been studied in solid tumours, their involvement in hematologic malignancies remains poorly understood. Objectives: We hypothesised that BTNs are dysregulated in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), contributing to γδ T cell dysfunction and potentially influencing disease progression. Methods: In this study, we analyzed publicly available microarray and RNA-seq datasets to investigate the expression patterns of BTN genes in CLL. Results: Our findings reveal significant dysregulation of BTN gene expression in CLL, with BTN2A1, BTN3A1, BTN3A2,… More >

Chieh-Jen Wu^1,#, Yu-He Li^2,#, Hsin-Hung Chen^3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.49, No.5, pp. 857-872, 2025, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2025.064071 - 27 May 2025

Abstract Background: Serum- and glucocorticoid-induced kinase 1 (SGK1) is a member of the serine/threonine kinase family, playing a crucial role in regulating ion channel function, hormone secretion, cellular growth, survival mechanisms, and neuronal activity. SGK1 is implicated in kidney diseases, hypertension, and metabolic syndromes, influencing salt intake, renal growth, and renal potassium (K⁺) excretion during mineralocorticoid overdose. Although SGK1’s renal functions have been explored, comprehensive identification of SGK1-related genes and signaling cascades remains limited. Objectives: This research sought to explore the cellular mechanisms and signaling pathways influenced by SGK1 in rat kidney cells. Methods: NRK-52E cells, derived… More >

Yanlin Pan¹, Yibin Zhang¹, Xingui Wang¹, Hongbo Qin¹, Lunfa Guo^1,2,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.94, No.1, pp. 123-136, 2025, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2025.059598 - 24 January 2025

Abstract Derris fordii and Derris elliptica belong to the Derris genus of the Fabaceae family, distinguished by their high isoflavonoid content, particularly rotenoids, which hold significance in pharmaceuticals and agriculture. Rotenone, as a prominent rotenoid, has a longstanding history of use in pesticides, veterinary applications, medicine, and medical research. The accumulation of rotenoids within Derris plants adheres to species-specific and tissue-specific patterns and is also influenced by environmental factors. Current research predominantly addresses extraction techniques, pharmacological applications, and pesticide formulations, whereas investigations into the biosynthesis pathway and regulatory mechanism of rotenoids remain relatively scarce. In this study, we… More >

YUNBAO GUO^1,#, XU LIU^1,#, QI XU², XIAOTONG ZHOU³, JIAWEI LIU³, YANYAN XU², YAN LU^2,*, HAIYAN LIU^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.6, pp. 945-958, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2024.049748 - 10 June 2024

Abstract Background: Glioma is a kind of tumor that easily deteriorates and originates from glial cells in nerve tissue. Honokiol is a bisphenol compound that is an essential monomeric compound extracted from the roots and bark of Magnoliaceae plants. It also has anti-infection, antitumor, and immunomodulatory effects. In this study, we found that honokiol induces cell apoptosis in the human glioma cell lines U87-MG and U251-MG. However, the mechanism through which honokiol regulates glioma cell apoptosis is still unknown. Methods: We performed RNA-seq analysis of U251-MG cells treated with honokiol and control cells. Protein-protein interaction (PPI)… More > Graphic Abstract

Yong Zhao^1,#, Yaxuan Jiang^3,#, Li Wen¹, Rui Luo², Guorui Li², Jianjun Di², Mingda Yin², Zhiyan Wang², Fenglan Huang^2,4,5,6,7,*, Fanjuan Meng^3,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.93, No.4, pp. 713-723, 2024, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2024.047657 - 29 April 2024

Abstract The yield of castor is influenced by the type of inflorescence and the proportion of female flowers. However, there are few studies on the genetic mechanism involved in the development and differentiation of castor inflorescences. In this study, we performed transcriptomic analyses of three different phenotypes of inflorescences at the five-leaf stage. In comparison to the MI (complete pistil without willow leaves), 290 and 89 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found in the SFI (complete pistil with willow leaves) and the BI (monoecious inflorescence), respectively. Among the DEGs, 104 and 88 were upregulated in the… More >

QINGQING GUO^1,2, JIAYUE QI^1,2, XIAOQIANG LIANG², ZIGANG ZHAO², JIA BAI², FANG XIE^2,#,*, CHENGXIN LI^1,2,#,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.11, pp. 2435-2443, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.043126 - 27 November 2023

Abstract Introduction: Verruca vulgaris is one of the most common low-risk HPV infections and is characterized by excessive proliferation of keratinocytes. Currently, very little genetic information is available regarding verruca vulgaris in the Chinese population. This study aimed to obtain comprehensive transcript information of verruca vulgaris by RNA sequencing. Methods: High-throughput sequencing was performed on three fresh verruca vulgaris samples and adjacent normal skin on the Illumina sequencing platform. The transcriptomes were analyzed using bioinformatics and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were verified by immunohistochemistry. Verruca vulgaris exhibited a unique molecular signature. Results: In total, 1,643 DEGs… More >

JUN SHEN^1,#, HONGFANG MA^2,#, YONGXIA CHEN³, JIANGUO SHEN^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.31, No.6, pp. 955-966, 2023, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.029638 - 15 September 2023

Abstract The process of lymphatic metastasis was proved to be associated with podoplanin-expressing macrophages in breast cancer (BC). This study aimed to investigate the role of the M2 phenotype of tumor-associated macrophages and mine the key M2 macrophages-related genes for lymph node metastasis in BC. We downloaded the GSE158399 dataset from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, which includes transcriptomic profiles of individual cells from primary tumors, negative lymph nodes (NLNs), and positive lymph nodes (PLNs) of breast cancer patients. The cell subsets were identified by clustering analysis after quality control of the scRNA-seq using Seurat.… More >

Shaochun Liu, Jiamin Hu, Haohua He, Junru Fu, Xu Jie, Dahu Zhou^*, Haihui Fu^*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.92, No.7, pp. 2035-2049, 2023, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2023.028296 - 29 May 2023

Abstract OsPLS4 encodes a β-ketoacyl carrier protein reductase (KAR). The role of OsPLS4 in rice sheath blight (Rhizoctonia solani) remains unclear. Our preliminary studies showed that premature leaf senescence mutants (pls4) were highly susceptive to sheath blight in the early stage of rice development. To explore the role of this gene in the development of rice sheath blight, the transcriptome profiles of the rice pls4 mutant and wild type were compared by RNA-seq. The results revealed 2,569 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The down-regulated genes were significantly enriched in the defense response-related biological processes. These down-regulated genes included the chitinase… More >

Xinyi Zhang, Zimeng Yu, Pingfang Yang^*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.92, No.6, pp. 1665-1679, 2023, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2023.029482 - 11 April 2023

Abstract Sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is a typical aquatic plant, belonging to basal eudicot plant, which is ideal for genome and genetic evolutionary study. Understanding lotus gene diversity is important for the study of molecular genetics and breeding. In this research, public RNA-seq data and the annotated reference genome were used to identify the genes in lotus. A total of 26,819 consensus and 1,081 novel genes were identified. Meanwhile, a comprehensive analysis of gene alternative splicing events was conducted, and a total of 19,983 “internal” alternative splicing (AS) events and 14,070 “complete” AS events were detected in… More >

Shixiang Duan^1,#, Yaomiao Guo^1,#, Yinping Wang¹, Muhammad Jawad Umer², Dongming Liu¹, Sen Yang¹, Huanhuan Niu¹, Shouru Sun¹, Luming Yang¹, Junling Dou^1,*, Huayu Zhu^1,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.92, No.5, pp. 1311-1328, 2023, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2023.026928 - 09 March 2023

Abstract Leaf is a vital organ of plants that plays an essential role in photosynthesis and respiration. As an important agronomic trait in leaf development, leaf shape is classified into lobed, entire (no-lobed), and serrated in most crops. In this study, two-lobed leaf watermelon inbred lines WT2 and WCZ, and a no-lobed leaf watermelon inbred line WT20 were used to create two F₂ populations. Segregation analysis suggested that lobed leaves were dominant over the no-lobed leaves, and it was controlled by a signal gene. A locus on watermelon chromosome 4 controlling watermelon lobed/no-lobed leaves was identified through… More >