JIUCHUN GUO¹, JIE PAN^2,*, QIANQIAN GUO²

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.2, pp. 505-510, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.015785

Abstract The excessive energy of light, especially the invisible rays with lower wavelength, is basically absorbed by retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and usually causes DNA damage. The molecular mechanism behind DNA damage repair response to this frequent stress in RPE is not clearly understood. In this study, we determined that the Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway was activated in human RPE ARPE-19 cells after ultraviolet (UV) B and C treatment. Moreover, immunoprecipitation (IP) of FANCD2 indicated that denticleless E3 ubiquitin protein ligase homolog (DTL) closely interacted with FANCD2. Knockdown of DTL weakened the activity of the FA pathway in ARPE-19 cells responding… More >

LIXU JIANG¹, LIN NING², CHUNCHAO PU¹, ZIXIN WANG¹, BIFANG HE^1,3, JIAN HUANG^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.2, pp. 547-557, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.016500

Abstract As nucleic acid-guided endonucleases, some prokaryotic Argonautes have been used as programmable nucleases. Natronobacterium gregoryi Argonaute (NgAgo) has also been proposed for gene editing, but this remains very controversial. Until now, the endogenous nucleic acids that bind to NgAgo in Natronobacterium gregoryi sp2 (N. gregoryi sp2) have not been characterized. We expressed the conserved PIWI domain of NgAgo and used it to induce anti-PIWI antibody. We also cultured the N. gregoryi sp2 strain and performed immunoprecipitation, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays. The nucleic acids that endogenously bound NgAgo in N. gregoryi sp2 cells were sequenced and analyzed.… More >

ZHIHENG LIU^1,2, ZHEN SUN³, ZHONGYUAN WAN⁴, HAIQIANG WANG^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.2, pp. 511-517, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.016194

Abstract We unraveled the expression profiles of coding-noncoding RNAs in intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). However, it remains elusive regarding miR-155 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and local extracellular space in IDD. The study aimed for investigating the miR-155 expression of PBMCs, extracellular miRNAs (ex-miRNAs) of human nucleus pulposus (NP) tissues, and morphological changes of cell death in the IDD process. Here, we harvested peripheral blood and NP samples from scoliosis and IDD patients as control and degenerative groups, respectively. Then standard Ficoll density-gradient centrifugation was used to isolate PBMCs. The two subpopulations of PBMCs were divided based on the… More >

YUANYUAN JIA, XIAONA MA, XIURUI YAN, JING XUE, TINGTING YANG, XUEYUN LIANG^*, XIAOMING LIU^*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.2, pp. 479-493, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.015390

Abstract Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) capable of tumour topotaxis have been served as cellular vehicles to deliver anti-tumour agents. As cellular components of the tumour microenvironment, MSCs also affect tumour progression. However, the tumour transformation-related genes of MSCs remain unclear since either tumorigenic or tumour suppressor effects within these cells have been researched. Hence, we aimed to identify potential biomarkers indicative of tumorigenic risk by RNA-seq analysis of human placenta tissue-derived MSCs (hPTMSCs) exposed to the carcinogenic agent, 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC). Twenty-nine tumour transformation-related genes and three pluripotency-related genes were appraised as differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in hPTMSCs. Overexpression of sfrp1 led… More >

XINWEI WU¹, GUOYONG JIA^2,*, HONGNA YANG³, CONGCONG SUN², YING LIU², ZENGYAN DIAO²

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.2, pp. 471-478, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.015701

Abstract A progressive neurodegenerative disease, Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Studies suggest that highly expressed protein isoaspartate methyltransferase 1 (PCMT1) in brain tissue. In the current study, we explored the effects of neural stem cell-conditioned medium (NSC-CDM) on the PCMT1/MST1 pathway to alleviate Aβ_25-35-induced damage in SH-SY5Y cells. Our data suggested that Aβ25-35 markedly inhibited cell viability. NSC-CDM or Neural stem cell-complete medium (NSC-CPM) had a suppression effect on toxicity when treatment with Aβ_25-35, with a greater effect observed with NSC-CDM. Aβ_25-35 + NSC-CDM group exhibited an increase in PCMT1 expression. sh-PCMT1 markedly decreased cell proliferation and suppressed the protective role of NSC-CDM… More >

XIANGCAI YANG^1,2,*, YA XU³, SHUTING MEI¹, JIEJING LI^3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.2, pp. 463-470, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.014834

Abstract Cell migration is a finely tuned biological process that often involves epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). EMT is typically characterized by the upregulation of mesenchymal markers such as Snail1. This process has been shown to be of critical importance to normal developmental processes, including neural crest migration and invasion. Interestingly, similar mechanisms are utilized in disease processes, such as tumor metastasis and migration. Notably, EMT and EMT-like processes confer tumor cells with the ability to migrate, invade, and adopt stem cell-like properties that largely account for immunosuppression and tumor recurrence. Therefore, identifying sensitive EMT markers may contribute to cancer prognosis and diagnosis… More >

XIAOXU LI, YUN WANG, JUAN FANG, ZHI WANG, XIAOAN TAO, JUAN XIA, BIN CHENG^*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.2, pp. 441-451, 2022, DOI: 10.32604/biocell.2021.014844

Abstract Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is the sixth most common tumor worldwide, and half of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients are with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). 300,000 new cases of OSCC were reported annually. Even with multi-modality treatment, the prognosis of OSCC remains unsatisfactory. Thus, it is urgent to discover novel therapeutic targets for OSCC. Some microarray studies have revealed that Keratin 4 (KRT4) is downregulated in OSCC, whereas its role in OSCC development remains unknown. The present study revealed that KRT4 suppressed OSCC progression by inducing cell apoptosis and inhibiting cell invasion. In addition, KRT4… More >

LI PAN¹, WENTING YI², DONGMIN LIANG¹, YULONG ZHAO¹, RANRAN WANG¹, PINGYU WANG¹, YOUJIE LI¹, JIAXUAN XIN¹, YUNFEI YAN^1,*,#, SHUYANG XIE^1,*,#

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.2, pp. 417-431, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.015522

Abstract Tumor progression is usually characterized by proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis, which is essential for supplying both nutrients and oxygen to the tumor cells. Therefore, targeting angiogenesis has been considered a promising therapeutic strategy for cancer prevention and treatment. In the present study, we demonstrated that in addition to suppressing lung cancer cell proliferation and migration in vitro, 10-hydroxycamptothecin (10-HCPT) is also capable of inhibiting angiogenesis in vivo with a miR-181a-dependent manner. Mechanistically, by upregulating miR-181a, which in turn downregulating FOXP1, 10-HCPT can inhibit the PI3K/Akt/ERK signaling pathwaymediated angiogenesis. Furthermore, reduced levels of miR-181a have been found in both lung cancer… More >

FUJI YANG¹, YAN HUANG¹, YOUWEN TAN^2,*, YONGMIN YAN^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.2, pp. 389-400, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.015899

Abstract Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a long-lasting condition that affects the liver, destroying its function. Liver injury can cause steatosis and inflammation, and further activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) often leads to the development of nonalcoholic liver fibrosis. The patient with NAFLD is at risk of developing advanced liver disease and complications, such as liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and portal hypertension. Although our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of NAFLD has greatly improved in recent years, treatment remains limited. Analysis and characterization of protein posttranslational modifications (PTMs) could improve our understanding of NAFLD pathology and… More >

XIAO HUANG^1,2,3,#,*, ZHIHAI YU^4,#, LIJUAN NING⁵, YU LEI⁵, XUEFEI ZHANG⁵, ZHUYING WANG^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.2, pp. 383-388, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.015651

Abstract Myocytes power the movement of all organs in the body. Damage to and degradation of myocytes causes hypokinesia and muscle-related degenerative diseases. Apigenin, a kind of flavone, is being used to treat many disorders. It exerts a host of different pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic, cardioprotective, and antioxidant effects. Accordingly, apigenin is considered a promising candidate for myocyte protection. In this review, we introduced the characteristics of apigenin. The means of apigenin protection of myocytes as well as the mechanism were summarized and discussed. The protective effects can be classified into proliferation-promoting, anti-inflammatory, atrophy-preventing, metabolism-increasing, and antioxidative effects. Additionally,… More >