VDR promotes testosterone synthesis in mouse Leydig cells via regulation of cholesterol side chain cleavage cytochrome P450 (Cyp11a1) expression

Hu Yuanyuan,Wang Ling,Yang Ge,Wang Shanshan,Guo Miaomiao,Lu Hongzhao,Zhang Tao 한국유전학회 2023 Genes & Genomics Vol.45 No.11

Background The vitamin D receptor (VDR) mediates the pleiotropic biological actions that include osteoporosis, immune responses and androgen synthesis.VDR is widely expressed in testis cells such as Leydig cells, Sertoli cells, and sperm. The levels of steroids are critical for sexual development. In the early stage of steroidogenesis, cholesterol is converted to pregnenolone (precursor of most steroid hormones) by cholesterol side-chain lyase (CYP11A1), which eventually synthesizes the male hormone testosterone. Objective This study aims to reveal how VDR regulates CYP11A1 expression and affects testosterone synthesis in murine Leydig cells. Methods The levels of VDR, CYP11A1 were determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) or western blot. Targeted relationship between VDR and Cyp11a1 was evaluated by dual-luciferase reporter assay. The levels of testosterone concentrations in cell culture media serum by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results Phylogenetic and motif analysis showed that the Cyp11a1 family had sequence loss, which may have special biological functions during evolution. The results of promoter prediction showed that vitamin D response element (VDRE) existed in the upstream promoter region of murine Cyp11a1. Dual-luciferase assay confirmed that VDR could bind candidate VDREs in upstream region of Cyp11a1, and enhance gene expression. Tissue distribution and localizatio analysis showed that Cyp11a1 was mainly expressed in testis, and dominantly existed in murine Leydig cells. Furthermore, over-expression VDR and CYP11A1 significantly increased testosterone synthesis in mice Leydig cells. Conclusions Active vitamin D3 (VD3) and Vdr interference treatment showed that VD3/VDR had a positive regulatory effect on Cyp11a1 expression and testosterone secretion. VDR promotes testosterone synthesis in male mice by up-regulating Cyp11a1 expression, which played an important role for male reproduction.

PATH TRACKING FOR AUTONOMOUS RACE CAR BASED ON G-G DIAGRAM

Miaomiao Fu,Jun Ni,Xueyuan Li,Jibin Hu 한국자동차공학회 2018 International journal of automotive technology Vol.19 No.4

Currently, the autonomous driving technique is attracting increasing research focus from all over the world. Generally, the control systems of an autonomous vehicle include environment perception, path planning and path tracking control systems. In this paper, the path tracking control issue of the autonomous vehicle will be focused on. Few of the previous proposed path tracking controllers consider the vehicle driving and handling limit, which degenerates the potential of the autonomous vehicle to finish the desired path as quick as possible. To this end, this paper proposes a path tracking controller for autonomous vehicle, which aims at pushing it to the driving and handling limit. The limit dynamic performance of the autonomous vehicle is represented by the G-G diagram, which indicates the acceleration capability of the autonomous vehicle. The G-G diagram is obtained by phase portrait method and it is validated by a modified FSAE racing car. Finally, a path tracking controller based on the G-G diagram is proposed. The simulation validation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

Siderophore Production by Rhizosphere Biological Control Bacteria Brevibacillus brevis GZDF3 of Pinellia ternata and Its Antifungal Effects on Candida albicans

Miaomiao Sheng,Huake Jia,Gongyou Zhang,Lina Zeng,Tingting Zhang,Yaohang Long,Jing Lan,Zuquan Hu,Zhu Zeng,Bing Wang,Hongmei Liu 한국미생물·생명공학회 2020 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.30 No.5

Brevibacillus brevis GZDF3 is a gram-positive, plant growth-promoting rhizosphere bacterium (PGPR) isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Pinellia ternata (an important herb in traditional Chinese medicine). The GZDF3 strain produces certain active compounds, such as siderophores, which are the final metabolite products of non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) and independent non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NIS) activity. With the present study, we attempted to investigate the siderophore production characteristics and conditions of Bacillus sp. GZDF3. The antibacterial activity of the siderophores on pathogenic fungi was also investigated. Optimal conditions for the synthesis of siderophores were determined by single factor method, using sucrose 15 g/l, asparagine 2 g/l, 32°C, and 48 h. The optimized sucrose asparagine medium significantly increased the production of siderophores, from 27.09% to 54.99%. Moreover, the effects of different kinds of metal ions on siderophore production were explored here. We found that Fe3+ and Cu2+ significantly inhibited the synthesis of siderophores. The preliminary separation and purification of siderophores by immobilized-metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) provides strong antibacterial activity against Candida albicans. The synergistic effect of siderophores and amphotericin B was also demonstrated. Our results have shown that the GZDF3 strain could produce a large amount of siderophores with strong antagonistic activity, which is helpful in the development of new biological control agents.

The Construction of the Trust Relationship between the Platform and the Consumer in Mutual Economic Environment

Qianwen Xu,Miaomiao Zheng,Weimiao Zheng,Xiaoying Hu,Dan Li,Cong Cao 한국경영정보학회 2021 한국경영정보학회 학술대회논문집 Vol.2021 No.11

The mutual aid economy mainly comes from the sharing economy. The “mutual aid economy” model of taking out personal idle funds to share with others to obtain the most significant economic benefits is an area that the international community is currently striving to explore. After the establishment of the "Mutual Insurance Commune", parallel to the development of the digital economy and the significant improvement of the material living standards, the mutual aid economy with unique advantages has been experiencing rapid growth in China. Because China has a large population and a large base of the bottom poor groups, the traditional insurance business can no longer meet the needs of these groups. In this context, the network mutual assistance platform bred by the combination of the Internet and the traditional insurance industry has ushered in a development boom. In recent years, however, the Internet mutual aid platform is under a contentious and intensified debate,which has a great relationship with the standard use of funds. Some network mutual aid platforms put forward that they have the right to manage the mutual aid funds stored on the platform, but there is no clear limit on the scope of use. In addition, the information disclosure of some platforms is not transparent enough, which makes the use of mutual aid funds standardized to become a major problem, which severely limits the development of network mutual aid platforms. A lot of news of “xx mutual assistance platform shutting down” has shaken the rationality and longevity of the network mutual aid platform. In addition, due to China's unique domestic political environment and policies, for example, in September this year, The State Council issued the notice of "normalization of collective procurement of medicines”, which will reduce the potential population of mutual insurance and have a certain impact on its development. These show that its stable development has hidden risks that it cannot ignore. Since the closure of Fun in Funding and Water Droplets Mutual Aid in March of this year, two leading mutual-aid platforms, the credibility of the mutual aid economy, the sustainability of online mutual-aid platforms, and the future of mutual aid are all doubtful and faint. Factors such as establishing the trust relationship between the platform and the consumer, the financing of the risk of entering and exiting the risk, the breadth, depth and timeliness of mutual assistance behaviour challenge the survival and development of network mutual assistance platforms. It also means that the transformation and upgrading of the traditional insurance industry in the Internet age is not smooth. However, on the other hand, online mutual aid platforms have the following advantages: First, mutual aid platforms have outstanding social benefits, which can maximize the benefits of social resources. Second, the fund scale of the network platform is relatively small, and the funding object is scattered. Third, the mutual aid platform's motivational orientation to pursue benefits makes its risks more controllable than other platforms. Also,the introduction of the "Blockchain" technology enhances the transparency and reliability of the mutual assistance mechanism. In the process of mutual-treasure operation, the integration of blockchain technology realizes the establishment of mutual-treasure advantages. This study believes that if we can correctly guide network mutual aid, it can become a new model in financial and insurance innovation. The study aims to provide constructive suggestions to promote the transformation and development of the network mutual aid platform and achieve high-quality development of the mutual aid economy in China. According to the development status of low threshold, high security, low intermediate cost and high self-propagation of mutual aid economy and network mutual aid platform at home and abroad, taking “Xianghubao”, a domestic “late start, fast development, “strong strength” network mutual assistance platform, as the research object. This study focuses on building a trust relationship between the network mutual aid platform and consumers in the mutual aid economy from the normative perspective of using technology and controlling mutual aid funds. Employing semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and data modelling and analysis, the study has explored the prerequisites for the rise and prosperity of the mutual aid economy include increasingly abundant idle resources, the establishment of collaborative network platforms, mutual aid value consensus, industry environment,then offers a deep analysis towards the mutual trust mechanism between the enterprise and the user within “Xianghubao”, to further probe into the logical and critical elements which impact on building the relationship of trust between the network mutual aid platform and consumers in mutual aid economy. Also, the "Blockchain" technology is introduced to enhance the transparency and reliability of the mutual assistance mechanism. Based on the study, the company can make corresponding countermeasures from the four dimensions of internal management, trusted products, risk control, and mutual trust between customers to deal with the reformation and the closure of “Xianghubao”. The research described in this paper was supported by a grant from the Zhejiang Province Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program (File No. S202110337116).

A Three-Vector-Based Model Predictive Flux Control for PMSM Drives

Xu Yanping,Hu Miaomiao,Yan Zhongqiao,Zhang Yanping,Ma Hao 대한전기학회 2021 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.16 No.5

The model predictive fl ux control (MPFC) strategy is an improved method for the weighting factor that is diffi cult to adjust in the traditional model predictive torque control (MPTC). By analyzing the relationship among torque, stator fl ux and load angle, the simultaneous control of torque and stator fl ux amplitude is converted into the control of equivalent references stator fl ux vector, which eliminates directly the weighting factor. However, MPFC also suff ers from high torque and fl ux ripples if only one voltage vector is applied during each control period. In order to solve this problem, a three-vector-based model predictive fl ux control strategy is proposed for permanent magnet synchronous motor in this paper. Three voltage vectors are applied in one control cycle to achieve good control performance of torque and fl ux, and the durations of three vectors are determined based on the principle of stator fl ux deadbeat control. The experimental results show that, compared with the model predictive fl ux control strategy and the optimal duty model predictive fl ux control strategy, the three-vector-based model predictive fl ux control strategy can eff ectively reduce the torque and fl ux ripples, improve the system’s steady-state performance.

Differential Hrd1 Expression and B-Cell Accumulation in Eosinophilic and Non-eosinophilic Chronic Rhinosinusitis With Nasal Polyps

Kun Chen,Miaomiao Han,Mengyao Tang,Yadong Xie,Yuting Lai,Xianting Hu,Jia Zhang,Jun Yang,Huabin Li 대한천식알레르기학회 2018 Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research Vol.10 No.6

Purpose: Hrd1 has recently emerged as a critical regulator of B-cells in autoimmune diseases. However, its role in the pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to examine Hrd1 expression and B-cell accumulation and their possible roles in CRSwNP. Methods: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blotting were used to assess gene and protein expression in nasal tissue extracts. Cells isolated from nasal tissues and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were characterized by flow cytometry. Local antibody production was measured in tissue extracts with a Bio-Plex assay. Additionally, changes in Hrd1 expression in response to specific inflammatory stimuli were measured in cultured dispersed polyp cells. Results: Nasal polyps (NPs) from patients with eosinophilic CRSwNP (ECRS) had increased levels of Hrd1, B-cells and plasma cells compared with NPs from patients with non-eosinophilic CRSwNP (non-ECRS) or other control subjects (P < 0.05). The average Hrd1 levels in B-cells in NPs from ECRS patients were significantly higher than those from non-ECRS patients and control subjects (P < 0.05). NPs also contained significantly increased levels of several antibody isotypes compared with normal controls (P < 0.05). Interestingly, Hrd1 expression in cultured polyp cells from ECRS patients, but not non-ECRS patients, was significantly increased by interleukin-1β, lipopolysaccharide and Poly(I:C) stimulation, and inhibited by dexamethasone treatment (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Differential Hrd1 expression and B-cell accumulation between the ECRS and non-ECRS subsets suggests that they can exhibit distinct pathogenic mechanisms and play important roles in NP.

The quorum sensing regulator OpaR is a repressor of polar flagellum genes in Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Renfei Lu,Junfang Sun,Yue Qiu,Miaomiao Zhang,Xingfan Xue,Xue Li,Wenhui Yang,Dongsheng Zhou,Lingfei Hu,Yiquan Zhang 한국미생물학회 2021 The journal of microbiology Vol.59 No.7

Vibrio parahaemolyticus possesses two types of flagella: asingle polar flagellum (Pof) for swimming and the peritrichouslateral flagella (Laf) for swarming. Expression of Lafgenes has previously been reported to be regulated by the quorumsensing (QS) regulators AphA and OpaR. In the presentstudy, we showed that OpaR, the QS regulator at high cell density(HCD), acted as a negative regulator of swimming motilityand the transcription of Pof genes in V. parahaemolyticus. OpaR bound to the promoter-proximal DNA regionsof flgAMN, flgMN, and flgBCDEFGHIJ within the Pof geneloci to repress their transcription, whereas it negatively regulatesthe transcription of flgKL-flaC in an indirect manner. Thus, this work investigated how QS regulated the swimmingmotility via direct action of its master regulator OpaR onthe transcription of Pof genes in V. parahaemolyticus.

miR-148b-3p, miR-190b, and miR-429 Regulate Cell Progression and Act as Potential Biomarkers for Breast Cancer

Wenzhu Dai,Jixiang He,Ling Zheng,Mingyu Bi,Fei Hu,Minju Chen,Heng Niu,Jingyu Yang,Ying Luo,Wenru Tang,Miaomiao Sheng 한국유방암학회 2019 Journal of breast cancer Vol.22 No.2

Purpose: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in women worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are thought to serve as potential biomarkers in various cancers, including breast cancer. Methods: We evaluated the miRNA expression profiles in 1,083 breast cancer samples and 104 normal breast tissues from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. We used the edgeR package of R software to analyze the differentially expressed miRNAs in normal and cancer tissues, and screened survival-related miRNAs by Kaplan-Meier analysis. A receiver operating characteristic curve was generated to evaluate the accuracy of these miRNAs as molecular markers for breast cancer diagnosis. Furthermore, the functional role of these miRNAs was verified using cell experiments. Targets of candidate miRNAs were predicted using 9 online databases, and Gene Ontology (GO) functional annotation and pathway analyses were conducted using Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery online tool. Results: A total of 68 miRNAs showed significantly different expression patterns between the groups (p < 0.001), and 13 of these miRNAs were significantly associated with poor survival (p < 0.05). Three miRNAs with high specificity and sensitivity, namely, miR-148b-3p, miR-190b, and miR-429, were selected. In vitro experiments showed that the overexpression of these 3 miRNAs significantly promoted the proliferation and migration of MDA-MB-468 and T47D cells and reduced the apoptosis of T47D cells. GO and pathway enrichment analyses revealed that the targets of these dysregulated miRNAs were involved in many critical cancer-related biological processes and pathways. Conclusion: The miR-148b-3p, miR-190b, and miR-429 may serve as potential diagnostic and prognostic markers for breast cancer. This study demonstrated the roles of these 3 miRNAs in the initiation and progression of breast cancer.

Analysis of Peripheral B Cell Subsets in Patients With Allergic Rhinitis

Jing Luo,Huanhuan Guo,Zhuofu Liu,Tao Peng,Xianting Hu,Miaomiao Han,Xiangping Yang,Xuhong Zhou,Huabin Li 대한천식알레르기학회 2018 Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research Vol.10 No.3

Purpose: Recent evidence suggests that B cells can both promote and inhibit the development and progression of allergic disease. However, the characteristics of B cell subsets in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) have not been well documented. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of B cell subsets in the peripheral blood of AR patients. Methods: Forty-seven AR patients and 54 healthy controls were enrolled in this study, and the B cell subsets in peripheral blood of all subjects were analyzed by flow cytometry. Moreover, the serum total immunoglobulin E (IgE) and IgE concentrations secreted into the cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were measured by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: We found the peripheral blood of AR patients contained higher percentages of memory B cells, plasma cells, and CD19+CD24hiCD27+ regulatory B cells (Bregs) than those of age-matched healthy controls (P<0.05), while the percentages of naïve B cells and CD19+CD24hiCD38hi Bregs were significantly lower in AR patients than in healthy individuals (P<0.05). In addition, the serum total IgE and IgE concentrations secreted into the cultured PBMCs were elevated in AR patients than in the healthy controls (P<0.05). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that AR patients were characterized by increase in terminally differentiated memory B cells or plasma cells and decreases in CD19+CD24hiCD38hi Breg cells in the peripheral blood.