MicroRNA-200a Targets Cannabinoid Receptor 1 and Serotonin Transporter to Increase Visceral Hyperalgesia in Diarrhea-predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome Rats

( Qiuke Hou ),( Yongquan Huang ),( Changrong Zhang ),( Shuilian Zhu ),( Peiwu Li ),( Xinlin Chen ),( Zhengkun Hou ),( Fengbin Liu ) 대한소화기기능성질환·운동학회(구 대한소화관운동학회) 2018 Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (JNM Vol.24 No.4

Background/Aims MicroRNAs (miRNAs) were reported to be responsible for intestinal permeability in diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) rats in our previous study. However, whether and how miRNAs regulate visceral hypersensitivity in IBS-D remains largely unknown. Methods We established the IBS-D rat model and evaluated it using the nociceptive visceral hypersensitivity test, myeloperoxidase activity assay, restraint stress-induced defecation, and electromyographic (EMG) activity. The distal colon was subjected to miRNA microarray analysis followed by isolation and culture of colonic epithelial cells (CECs). Bioinformatic analysis and further experiments, including dual luciferase assays, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, were used to detect the expression of miRNAs and how it regulates visceral hypersensitivity in IBS-D rats. Results The IBS-D rat model was successfully established. A total of 24 miRNAs were differentially expressed in the distal colon of IBS-D rats; 9 were upregulated and 15 were downregulated. Among them, the most significant upregulation was miR-200a, accompanied by downregulation of cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) and serotonin transporter (SERT). MiR-200a mimic markedly inhibited the expression of CNR1/SERT. Bioinformatic analysis and luciferase assay confirmed that CNR1/SERT are direct targets of miR-200a. Rescue experiments that overexpressed CNR1/SERT significantly abolished the inhibitory effect of miR-200a on the IBS-D rats CECs. Conclusions This study suggests that miR-200a could induce visceral hyperalgesia by targeting the downregulation of CNR1 and SERT, aggravating or leading to the development and progression of IBS-D. MiR-200a may be a regulator of visceral hypersensitivity, which provides potential targets for the treatment of IBS-D. (J Neurogastroenterol Motil 2018;24:656-668)

Lactobacillus casei LC01 Regulates Intestinal Epithelial Permeability through miR-144 Targeting of OCLN and ZO1

( Qiuke Hou ),( Yongquan Huang ),( Yan Wang ),( Liu Liao ),( Zhaoyang Zhu ),( Wenjie Zhang ),( Yongshang Liu ),( Peiwu Li ),( Xinlin Chen ),( Fengbin Liu ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2020 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.30 No.10

Our previous report determined that miR-144 is a key regulator of intestinal epithelial permeability in irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) rats. Recent evidence has shown that lactobacilli play an important role in the relief of IBS-D symptoms. However, few studies have addressed the mechanisms by which microRNAs and lactobacilli exert their beneficial effects on intestinal epithelial permeability. Hence, to elucidate whether miRNAs and lactobacilli play roles in intestinal epithelial barrier regulation, we compared miRNA expression levels in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) under Lactobacillus casei (L. casei LC01) treatment. IECs and L. casei LC01 were co-cultured and then subjected to microRNA microarray assay. qRT-PCR, western blot and ELISA were used to detect the expression of occludin (OCLN) and zonula occludens 1 (ZO1/TJP1). The interaction between miRNAs and L. casei LC01 acting in IECs was investigated through transfection of RNA oligoribonucleotides and pcDNA 3.1 plasmid. The results are as follows: 1) L. casei LC01 decreased the expression of miR-144 and FD4 and promoted OCLN and ZO1 expression in IECs; 2) L. casei LC01 enhanced the barrier function of IECs via downregulation of miR-144 and upregulation of OCLN and ZO1; 3) Under L. casei LC01 treatment, OCLN and ZO1 overexpression could partially eliminate the promoting effect of miR-144 on intestinal permeability in IECs. Our results demonstrate that L. casei LC01 regulates intestinal permeability of IECs through miR-144 targeting of OCLN and ZO1. L. casei LC01 can be a possible therapeutic target for managing dysfunction of the intestinal epithelial barrier.

Quantum-inspired African vultures optimization algorithm with elite mutation strategy for production scheduling problems

Liu Bojun,Zhou Yongquan,Luo Qifang,Huang Huajuan 한국CDE학회 2023 Journal of computational design and engineering Vol.10 No.4

The production scheduling (PS) problem is a challenging task that involves assigning manufacturing resources to jobs while ensuring that all constraints are satisfied. The key difficulty in PS is determining the appropriate order of operations. In this study, we propose a novel optimization algorithm called the quantum-inspired African vultures optimization algorithm with an elite mutation strategy (QEMAVOA) to address this issue. QEMAVOA is an enhanced version of the African vulture optimization algorithm that incorporates three new improvement strategies. Firstly, to enhance QEMAVOA’s diversification ability, the population diversity is enriched by the introduction of quantum double-chain encoding in the initialization phase of QEMAVOA. Secondly, the implementation of the quantum rotating gate will balance QEMAVOA’s diversification and exploitation capabilities, leading the vulture to a better solution. Finally, with the purpose of improving the exploitability of QEMAVOA, the elite mutation strategy is introduced. To evaluate the performance of QEMAVOA, we apply it to two benchmark scheduling problems: flexible job shop scheduling problem and parallel machine scheduling. The results are compared to those of existing algorithms in the literature. The test results reveal that QEMAVOA surpasses comparison algorithms in accuracy, stability, and speed of convergence.

White Matter Microstructural Similarity and Diversity of Functional Constipation and Constipation-predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome

( Jiaofen Nan ),( Liangliang Zhang ),( Qiqiang Chen ),( Nannan Zong ),( Peiyong Zhang ),( Xing Ji ),( Shaohui Ma ),( Yuchen Zhang ),( Wei Huang ),( Zhongzhou Du ),( Yongquan Xia ),( Ming Zhang ) 대한소화기기능성질환·운동학회(구 대한소화관운동학회) 2018 Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (JNM Vol.24 No.1

Background/Aims The Rome III criteria separated chronic constipation into functional constipation (FC) and constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C), but some researchers questioned the partitioning and treated both as distinct parts of a continuum. The study aims to explore the similarity and diversity of brain white matter between FC and IBS-C. Methods The voxel-wise analysis of the diffusion parameters was used to quantify the white matter changes of female brains in 18 FC patients and 20 IBS-C patients compared with a comparison group with 19 healthy controls by tract-based spatial statistics. The correlations between diffusive parameters and clinical symptoms were evaluated using a Pearson’s correlation. Results In comparison to healthy controls, FC patients showed a decrease of fractional anisotropy (FA) and an increase of radial diffusivity (RD) in multiple major fibers encompassing the corpus callosum (CC, P = 0.001 at peak), external capsule (P = 0.002 at peak), corona radiata (CR, P = 0.001 at peak), and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF, P = 0.002 at peak). In contrast, IBS-C patients showed FA and RD aberrations in the CC (P = 0.048 at peak). Moreover, the direct comparison between FC and IBS-C showed only RD differences in the CR and SLF. In addition, FA and RD in the CC were significantly associated with abdominal pain for all patients, whereas FA in CR (P = 0.016) and SLF (P = 0.040) were significantly associated with the length of time per attempt and incomplete evacuation separately for FC patients. Conclusion These results may improve our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying different types of constipation. (J Neurogastroenterol Motil 2018;24:107-118)

Comparative analysis of the wind characteristics of three landfall typhoons based on stationary and nonstationary wind models

Yong Quan,Guo Qiang Fub,Zi Feng Huang,Ming Gu 한국풍공학회 2020 한국풍공학회지 Vol.24 No.4

The statistical characteristics of typhoon wind speed records tend to have a considerable time-varying trend; thus, the stationary wind model may not be appropriate to estimate the wind characteristics of typhoon events. Several nonstationary wind speed models have been proposed by pioneers to characterize wind characteristics more accurately, but comparative studies on the applicability of the different wind models are still lacking. In this study, three landfall typhoons, Ampil, Jongdari, and Rumbia, recorded by ultrasonic anemometers atop the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC), are used for the comparative analysis of stationary and nonstationary wind characteristics. The time-varying mean is extracted with the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) method, and the time-varying standard deviation is calculated by the autoregressive moving average generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARMA-GARCH) model. After extracting the time-varying trend, the longitudinal wind characteristics, e.g., the probability distribution, power spectral density (PSD), turbulence integral scale, turbulence intensity, gust factor, and peak factor, are comparatively analyzed based on the stationary wind speed model, time-varying mean wind speed model and time-varying standard deviation wind speed model. The comparative analysis of the different wind models emphasizes the significance of the nonstationary considerations in typhoon events. The time-varying standard deviation model can better identify the similarities among the different typhoons and appropriately describe the nonstationary wind characteristics of the typhoons.