Centrosome-associated regulators of the G2/M checkpoint as targets for cancer therapy

In eukaryotic cells, control mechanisms have developed that restrain cell-cycle transitions in response to stress. These regulatory pathways are termed cell-cycle checkpoints. The G2/M checkpoint prevents cells from entering mitosis when DNA is damaged in order to afford these cells an opportunity to repair the damaged DNA before propagating genetic defects to the daughter cells. If the damage is irreparable, checkpoint signaling might activate pathways that lead to apoptosis. Since alteration of cell-cycle control is a hallmark of tumorigenesis, cell-cycle regulators represent potential targets for therapy. The centrosome has recently come into focus as a critical cellular organelle that integrates G2/M checkpoint control and repairs signals in response to DNA damage. A growing number of G2/M checkpoint regulators have been found in the centrosome, suggesting that centrosome has an important role in G2/M checkpoint function. In this review, we discuss centrosome-associated regulators of the G2/M checkpoint, the dysregulation of this checkpoint in cancer, and potential candidate targets for cancer therapy

Gene Expression Profiles Deciphering Rice Phenotypic Variation between Nipponbare (Japonica) and 93-11 (Indica) during Oxidative Stress

Rice is a very important food staple that feeds more than half the world's population. Two major Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) subspecies, japonica and indica, show significant phenotypic variation in their stress responses. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenotypic variation are still largely unknown. A common link among different stresses is that they produce an oxidative burst and result in an increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, methyl viologen (MV) as a ROS agent was applied to investigate the rice oxidative stress response. We observed that 93-11 (indica) seedlings exhibited leaf senescence with severe lesions under MV treatment compared to Nipponbare (japonica). Whole-genome microarray experiments were conducted, and 1,062 probe sets were identified with gene expression level polymorphisms between the two rice cultivars in addition to differential expression under MV treatment, which were assigned as Core Intersectional Probesets (CIPs). These CIPs were analyzed by gene ontology (GO) and highlighted with enrichment GO terms related to toxin and oxidative stress responses as well as other responses. These GO term-enriched genes of the CIPs include glutathine S-transferases (GSTs), P450, plant defense genes, and secondary metabolism related genes such as chalcone synthase (CHS). Further insertion/deletion (InDel) and regulatory element analyses for these identified CIPs suggested that there may be some eQTL hotspots related to oxidative stress in the rice genome, such as GST genes encoded on chromosome 10. In addition, we identified a group of marker genes individuating the japonica and indica subspecies. In summary, we developed a new strategy combining biological experiments and data mining to study the possible molecular mechanism of phenotypic variation during oxidative stress between Nipponbare and 93-11. This study will aid in the analysis of the molecular basis of quantitative traits

Placenta-derived extracellular vesicles induce preeclampsia in mouse models

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-induced condition that impairs the mother’s health and results in pregnancy termination or premature delivery. Elevated levels of placenta-derived extracellular vesicles (pcEV) in the circulation have been consistently associated with preeclampsia, but whether these vesicles induce preeclampsia or are the product of preeclampsia is not known. Guided by a small cohort study of preeclamptic patients, we examined the impact of pcEV on the pathogenesis of preeclampsia in mouse models. We detected pcEV in pregnant C56BL/6J mice with a peak level of 3.8±0.9×107/mL at 17-18 days post-coitum. However, these pregnant mice developed hypertension and proteinuria only after being infused with vesicles purified from injured placenta. These extracellular vesicles released from injured placenta disrupted endothelial integrity and induced vasoconstriction. Enhancing the clearance of extracellular vesicles prevented the development of the extracellular vesicle-induced preeclampsia in mice. Our results demonstrate a causal role of pcEV in preeclampsia and identify microvesicle clearance as a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of this pregnancy-associated complication

VCAM-1+ placenta chorionic villi-derived mesenchymal stem cells display potent pro-angiogenic activity

Abstract Introduction Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represent a heterogeneous cell population that is promising for regenerative medicine. The present study was designed to assess whether VCAM-1 can be used as a marker of MSC subpopulation with superior angiogenic potential. Methods MSCs were isolated from placenta chorionic villi (CV). The VCAM-1+/− CV-MSCs population were separated by Flow Cytometry and subjected to a comparative analysis for their angiogenic properties including angiogenic genes expression, vasculo-angiogenic abilities on Matrigel in vitro and in vivo, angiogenic paracrine activities, cytokine array, and therapeutic angiogenesis in vascular ischemic diseases. Results Angiogenic genes, including HGF, ANG, IL8, IL6, VEGF-A, TGFβ, MMP2 and bFGF, were up-regulated in VCAM-1+CV-MSCs. Consistently, angiogenic cytokines especially HGF, IL8, angiogenin, angiopoitin-2, μPAR, CXCL1, IL-1β, IL-1α, CSF2, CSF3, MCP-3, CTACK, and OPG were found to be significantly increased in VCAM-1+ CV-MSCs. Moreover, VCAM-1+CV-MSCs showed remarkable vasculo-angiogenic abilities by angiogenesis analysis with Matrigel in vitro and in vivo and the conditioned medium of VCAM-1+ CV-MSCs exerted markedly pro-proliferative and pro-migratory effects on endothelial cells compared to VCAM-1−CV-MSCs. Finally, transplantation of VCAM-1+CV-MSCs into the ischemic hind limb of BALB/c nude mice resulted in a significantly functional improvement in comparison with VCAM-1−CV-MSCs transplantation. Conclusions VCAM-1+CV-MSCs possessed a favorable angiogenic paracrine activity and displayed therapeutic efficacy on hindlimb ischemia. Our results suggested that VCAM-1+CV-MSCs may represent an important subpopulation of MSC for efficient therapeutic angiogenesis. </jats:sec

PMRD: plant microRNA database

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are ∼21 nucleotide-long non-coding small RNAs, which function as post-transcriptional regulators in eukaryotes. miRNAs play essential roles in regulating plant growth and development. In recent years, research into the mechanism and consequences of miRNA action has made great progress. With whole genome sequence available in such plants as Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, Populus trichocarpa, Glycine max, etc., it is desirable to develop a plant miRNA database through the integration of large amounts of information about publicly deposited miRNA data. The plant miRNA database (PMRD) integrates available plant miRNA data deposited in public databases, gleaned from the recent literature, and data generated in-house. This database contains sequence information, secondary structure, target genes, expression profiles and a genome browser. In total, there are 8433 miRNAs collected from 121 plant species in PMRD, including model plants and major crops such as Arabidopsis, rice, wheat, soybean, maize, sorghum, barley, etc. For Arabidopsis, rice, poplar, soybean, cotton, medicago and maize, we included the possible target genes for each miRNA with a predicted interaction site in the database. Furthermore, we provided miRNA expression profiles in the PMRD, including our local rice oxidative stress related microarray data (LC Sciences miRPlants_10.1) and the recently published microarray data for poplar, Arabidopsis, tomato, maize and rice. The PMRD database was constructed by open source technology utilizing a user-friendly web interface, and multiple search tools. The PMRD is freely available at http://bioinformatics.cau.edu.cn/PMRD. We expect PMRD to be a useful tool for scientists in the miRNA field in order to study the function of miRNAs and their target genes, especially in model plants and major crops

Prognosis-associated methylation subtypes in endometrial carcinoma patients and the role of magnetic nanoparticles in gene extraction

Endometrial cancer is one of the most common gynecological malignancies, and DNA methylation plays a vital role in its occurrence and development. In this study, we collected the relevant data on endometrial cancer from the Cancer Genome Atlas database and UCSC website. By screening and processing the data, we obtained 410 samples and 16,381 methylation sites. Endometrial carcinoma can be divided into seven molecular subtypes using consensus clustering method. Based on the analysis of the differences among subtypes, the methylation degree of different sites was obtained, and the prognosis model of methylation sites was established. Based on the median value of the train group, the train and test groups were divided into high and low-risk groups. The survival between the high and low-risk groups was different. It also showed that this model can predict the survival of patients, with better accuracy. In conclusion, the tumor subtypes based on methylation sites can provide a better guidance for treatment, relapse, and prognosis of endometrial cancer. In this study, magnetic nanoparticles can be used to extract genomic DNA and total RNA due to their paramagnetism and biocompatibility, then transcriptome high-throughput sequencing was performed. It may serve as potential cancer immune biomarker targets for developing future oncological treatments.</jats:p