QI SONG¹, JUN ZHANG¹, QIANG ZHANG¹, JING LIU¹, KE LV¹, JIALU YAO^1,2,3,*, YAFENG ZHOU^2,3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.4, pp. 623-629, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.012645 - 24 December 2020

Abstract Macrophages play an essential role in the myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI), and the macrophage shifting from M1 to M2 phenotypes might be a potential strategy for the treatment of MIRI. It has been reported that miR-182 plays an important role in MSC-Exo-associated macrophage polarization. As circBCRC-3 is a newly discovered circle RNA that worked as a sponge of miR-182, this research aimed to find if circBCRC-3 plays a role in MSC-Exo-associated macrophage polarization. Firstly, circBCRC-3 was identified by divergent primers in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Secondly, the exosome of MSCs was isolated and identified by More >

WU LI¹, JIANGZHE SI², SHUAI QIU², JING LUO¹, HUIQIONG SUN¹, XIAOQING LI¹, ZHIBIN WAN¹, WEI GAO¹, HANLU ZOU¹, LEI ZHANG², XIAOHONG XIANG³, YANZHANG LI², TIESHAN TENG^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.4, pp. 695-701, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.011941 - 24 December 2020

Abstract The rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant Tuberculosis retrieved intense interest in phage-based therapy. This old approach, which was abandoned in the west in the 1940s but is generating renewed interest, has stimulated fresh research on mycobacteriophages and their lytic efficiency against their hosts. GP30 is a novel protein of the mycobacteriophage CASbig with undiscovered function. In this study, we analyzed the role of CASbig gp30 in the host Mycobacterium smegmatis. Overexpression of gp30 in the host led to reduced growth in acidic medium and attenuated the intracellular survival rate of M. smegmatis inside the THP-1 More >

MD. ROBYUL ISLAM^1,4, TAHIA NAZNIN², DIPALI RANI GUPTA³, MD. ASHRAFUL HAQUE¹, MIRZA HASANUZZAMAN^3,*, MD. MOTIAR ROHMAN^4,*

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.4, pp. 713-730, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.011812 - 24 December 2020

Abstract The current study investigated the comparative oxidative damage in two maize seedlings induced by saline, drought, and combined stress and the ameliorative role of two different doses (20 and 80 µM) of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) against the above-mentioned stresses. Hydroponically grown 10-day-old maize (Zea mays, var. BARI Hybrid Maize-7 (BHM-7) and BARI Hybrid Maize-9 (BHM-9)) seedlings were exposed to 12 dS/m of saline solution, 200 mM mannitol-induced drought stress alone and their combined stress for 7 days. Result revealed that individual stresses retard the plant growth to some degrees; however, their combined stress has more detrimental… More >

ZICHEN LIU^1,#, SIYAO GUO^2,3,#, MENGZHI JI¹, KAILI SUN¹, ZHONGFANG LI^4,*, XIANGYU FAN^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.4, pp. 683-694, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.011713 - 24 December 2020

Abstract Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly in developing countries. A rapid and efficient method for TB diagnosis is indispensable to check the trend of tuberculosis expansion. The emergence of drug-resistant bacteria has increased the challenge of rapid drug resistance tests. Due to its high specificity and sensitivity, bacteriophage-based diagnosis is intensively pursued. In this review, we mainly described mycobacteriophage-based diagnosis in TB detection, especially two prevalent approaches: fluorescent reporter phage and phage amplified biologically assay (PhaB). The rationale of reporter phage is that phage carrying fluorescent genes can infect More >

TIECHENG SUN^1,#, LINGLI SONG^1,#, JING MA^2,#, HONG YU¹, SHANJIE ZHOU¹, SHUSONG WANG², LI TIAN^1,3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.4, pp. 479-485, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.011675 - 24 December 2020

Abstract Melatonin, as a ubiquitous indoleamine hormone, is synthesized primarily by the pineal gland. It has diverse biological effects through quite complex mechanisms. More recently, studies have focused on the mechanism of melatonin in anti-reproductive toxicity/damage. Since melatonin possesses strong antioxidant and anti-apoptotic properties, researchers have examined its potential role in protecting against male reproductive toxicity/damage, which may be induced by chemotherapy or environmental toxicants and can lead to male infertility. In this article, recent progress regarding the protective effects of melatonin on male reproductive toxicity/damage is reviewed. More >

JUN ZHANG, YEHONG HUANG, WENZHUO LIU, LULU LI, LIMING CHEN^*

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.4, pp. 591-595, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.011642 - 24 December 2020

Abstract Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα/ESR1) is overexpressed in over half of all breast cancers and is considered a valuable therapeutic target in ERα positive breast cancer. Here, we designed a membrane-permeant Chaperonemediated Autophagy Targeting Chimeras (CMATAC) peptide to knockdown endogenous ERα protein through chaperone-mediated autophagy. The peptide contains a cell membrane-penetrating peptide (TAT) that allows the peptide to by-pass the plasma membrane, an αI peptide as a protein-binding peptide (PBD) that binds specifically to ERα, and CMA-targeting peptide (CTM) that targeting chaperone-mediated autophagy. We validated that ERα targeting peptide was able to target and degrade ERα More >

BICHUN ZHAO¹, XUEQING WU^2,*, YITONG YUAN¹, YUANTAO GAO¹, XIAO LI², RUOCHEN DU¹, SUMING XU², RUXIN ZHANG¹, CHUNFANG WANG^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.4, pp. 487-499, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.011638 - 24 December 2020

Abstract In vitro maturation (IVM), a promising assisted reproductive technology (ART), has been evolving in clinical trials and applications. There is a huge potential demand for IVM in clinical practice because it reduces the stimulation of gonadotropins to patients and provides evidence for the safety of neonatal birth. Unfortunately, the maturation rate of oocytes in vivo is not as high as it is in vivo due to a different microenvironment. Moreover, there are still controversies in predicting the developmental capability of oocytes in IVM. The granulosa cells (GCs) and cumulus cells (CCs), closely surrounding the oocytes, play a critical… More >

PATRIC HAMBLETON¹, MANUEL ALEJANDRO BARBIERI^1,2,3,4,*

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.4, pp. 525-534, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.011407 - 24 December 2020

Abstract Cancerous cells display abnormalities in the signal transduction pathways responsible for responding to extracellular growth factors, or mitogens. Mutations that alter proteins involved in these types of pathways can lead to inappropriate or unregulated cell growth, and therefore predispose the cell to become malignant. The critical role of the Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway in transducing growth signals to the interior of the cell and subsequently stimulating cell growth and proliferation is underscored by the fact that roughly one quarter of all human tumors contain mutant forms of Ras proteins. A particular focus on the… More >

HANYU SHEN¹, SHIQI REN², WEI WANG², CHENLIN ZHANG³, HAIYAN HAO⁴, QIUYAN SHEN⁵, YINONG DUAN¹, ZIHENG WANG^2,6,*, WENLIANG GE^7,*

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.4, pp. 583-589, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.011345 - 24 December 2020

Abstract Sepsis, characterized as life-threatening sequential organ failure, is caused by a dysregulated host immune response to a pathogen. Conventional practice for sepsis is to control the inflammation source and administer highgrade antibiotics. However, the mortality rate of sepsis varies from 25–30% and can reach 50% if a septic shock occurs. In our current study, we used bioinformatics technology to detect immune status profiles in sepsis at the genomic level. We downloaded and analyzed gene expression profiles of GSE28750 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to determine differential gene expression and immune status between sepsis… More >

WENXI GAO^1,2,#, QIANQIAN MA^3,#, CHENYU TANG^2,#, YUELI ZHAN⁴, YINONG DUAN², HUIHUA NI^5,*, YUNZHAO XU^5,6,*

BIOCELL, Vol.44, No.4, pp. 597-605, 2020, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2020.011328 - 24 December 2020

Abstract Cervical cancer (CESC) is one of the most common cancers and affects the female genital tract. Consistent HPV infection status has been determined to be a vital cause of tumorigenesis. HPV infection may induce changes to the immune system and limit the host’s immune response. Immunotherapy is therefore essential to improving the overall survival of both locally advanced and recurrent CESC patients. Using 304 relevant samples from TCGA, we assessed immune cell function in CESC patients to better understand the status of both tumor micro-environment cells and immune cells in CESC. Functional enrichment analysis, pathway… More >