USP18 promotes the growth in hemangiomas by regulating PI3K/AKT pathway

Ke Huan,Ma Xiang,Zeng Ying,Lu Jingjing,Fu Guili 대한독성 유전단백체 학회 2021 Molecular & cellular toxicology Vol.17 No.4

Background USP (ubiquitin-specific peptidase) 18 functions as deubiquitinating enzyme and participates in various human malignancies. The underlying mechanism involved in USP18-mediated hemangiomas progression has not been reported yet. Objective Immunohistochemistry analysis, qRT-PCR, and western blot were applied to detect USP18 expression in hemangioma tissues and cells. Lentiviral-mediated short hairpin RNA transfection was performed to silence USP18, and pcDNA-mediated USP18 over-expression was also performed. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation assay and flow cytometry were applied to investigate cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis, respectively. In vivo xenograft model was performed to detect function of USP18 on tumor growth. Results USP18 was enhanced in hemangioma tissues and cells compared to vascular endothelial tissues and vascular endothelial cells, respectively. Forced USP18 promoted cell viability and proliferation of human hemangioma endothelial cell (HemEC) and hemangioendothelioma endothelial cell (EOMA). Cell apoptosis of HemEC and EOMA were repressed by USP18 over-expression with reduced Bax and cleaved caspase-3. In contrast, silence of USP18 demonstrated the opposite effects on HemEC and EOMA cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis. Silence of USP18 also retarded in vivo tumorigenicity of hemangiomas. Phosphorylation of AKT was enhanced by USP18 over-expression, while reduced by USP18 silence. Conclusion USP18 functioned as an oncogene in hemangiomas through acceleration of cell proliferation and repression of cell apoptosis, providing new insight for therapy of hemangiomas. Background USP (ubiquitin-specific peptidase) 18 functions as deubiquitinating enzyme and participates in various human malignancies. The underlying mechanism involved in USP18-mediated hemangiomas progression has not been reported yet. Objective Immunohistochemistry analysis, qRT-PCR, and western blot were applied to detect USP18 expression in hemangioma tissues and cells. Lentiviral-mediated short hairpin RNA transfection was performed to silence USP18, and pcDNA-mediated USP18 over-expression was also performed. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation assay and flow cytometry were applied to investigate cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis, respectively. In vivo xenograft model was performed to detect function of USP18 on tumor growth. Results USP18 was enhanced in hemangioma tissues and cells compared to vascular endothelial tissues and vascular endothelial cells, respectively. Forced USP18 promoted cell viability and proliferation of human hemangioma endothelial cell (HemEC) and hemangioendothelioma endothelial cell (EOMA). Cell apoptosis of HemEC and EOMA were repressed by USP18 over-expression with reduced Bax and cleaved caspase-3. In contrast, silence of USP18 demonstrated the opposite effects on HemEC and EOMA cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis. Silence of USP18 also retarded in vivo tumorigenicity of hemangiomas. Phosphorylation of AKT was enhanced by USP18 over-expression, while reduced by USP18 silence. Conclusion USP18 functioned as an oncogene in hemangiomas through acceleration of cell proliferation and repression of cell apoptosis, providing new insight for therapy of hemangiomas.

Integrating of Nonlinear Shear Models into Fiber Element for Modeling Seismic Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Coupling Beams, Wall Piers, and Overall Coupled Wall Systems

Ke Du,Huan Luo,Jiulin Bai,Jingjiang Sun 한국콘크리트학회 2019 International Journal of Concrete Structures and M Vol.13 No.5

Reinforced concrete (RC) coupled wall systems, compared with RC shear wall without opening, have more com-plex nonlinear behavior under the extreme earthquake loads due to the existence of coupling beams. The behavior characteristics induced by nonlinear shear deformation such as shear–flexure interaction, pinching effect, strength and stiffness deterioration are clearly observed in numerous cyclic tests of RC coupling beams and shear walls. To develop an analytical model capable of accurately and efficiently assessing the expected seismic performance of RC coupled wall systems, it is critical to define the appropriate key components models (i.e., nonlinear models of RC wall piers/shear walls and coupling beams). Classic fiber beam element based on the theory of Euler–Bernoulli beam is frequently adopted to simulate the nonlinear responses of slender RC wall piers and coupling beams in the literature because it is able to accurately model the response characters from interaction of axial–bending moment at the section level. However, classic fiber beam element cannot capture the nonlinear behaviors of non-slender structures mainly controlled by nonlinear shear deformation. To overcome this shortcoming, a modified force-based fiber element (MFBFE) including shear effect is introduced and used as the analysis element of non-slender RC coupling beams and shear walls. At the section level, a novel shear model for RC coupling beams and an existed shear model for RC shear walls are respectively added to this fiber element to simulate nonlinear responses of these two key components. The analytical model for RC coupled walls hence is formed through integrating the proposed models of these two key components. The validations with different experimental results of cyclic tests including key compo-nents and structural system reported in the literature using these proposed models are performed. Good agreements are achieved for all of these proposed models via comparisons between predicted results and experimental data.

Mutations of ARX and non-syndromic intellectual disability in Chinese population

Yufei Wu,Huan Zhang,Xiaofen Liu,Zhangyan Shi,Hongling Li,Zhibin Wang,Xiaoyong Jie,Shao-Ping Huang,Fu-Chang Zhang,Junlin Li,Ke-Jin Zhang,Xiao-Cai Gao 한국유전학회 2019 Genes & Genomics Vol.41 No.1

Mutations of Aristaless-related homeobox (ARX) gene were looked as the third cause of non-syndromic intellectual disability (NSID), while the boundary between true disease-causing mutations and non-disease-causing variants within this gene remains elusive. To investigate the relationship between ARX mutations and NSID, a panel comprising six reported causal mutations of the ARX was detected in 369 sporadic NSID patients and 550 random participants in Chinese. Two mutations, c.428_451 dup and p.G286S, may be disease-causing mutations for NSID, while p.Q163R and p.P353L showed a great predictive value in female NSID diagnosis with significant associations (X2 = 19.60, p = 9.54e−6 for p.Q163R; X2 = 25.70, p = 4.00e−07 for p.P353L), carriers of these mutations had an increased risk of NSID of more than fourfold. Detection of this panel also predicted significant associations between genetic variants of the ARX gene and NSID (p = 3.73e−4). The present study emphasized the higher genetic burden of the ARX gene on NSID in the Chinese population, molecular analysis of this gene should be considered for patients presenting NSID of unknown etiology.

The structure-preservation under consistent functions for interior and closure of fuzzy neighborhood systems

Longyu He,Huan Ma,Hong Ran,Ke Yun Qin 원광대학교 기초자연과학연구소 2022 ANNALS OF FUZZY MATHEMATICS AND INFORMATICS Vol.23 No.2

The neighborhood system(NS) is one of the most general structures for granular computing. The concept of consistent function is a tool to study the structure-preservation for closure and interior operators of NS. In this paper, the definition of interior and closure operators are generalized for fuzzy neighborhood system(FNS) via fuzzy implicator and triangular norm, some properties of FNS under consistent functions are investigated. The consistent functions satisfy structural preservation properties on the universe, and surjective functions also preserve properties for FNS on the image universe with left-continuous triangular norm operator. In addition, the Lukasiewicz operators for FNS satisfy the duality.

Human-Oriented Recognition for Intelligent Interactive Office Robot

Chia-Ming Wang,Shin-Huan Tseng,Pei-Wen Wu,Yuan-Han Xu,Chien-Ke Liao,Yu-Chi Lin,Yi-Shiu Chiang,Chung-Dial Lim,Ting-Sheng Chu,Li-Chen Fu 제어로봇시스템학회 2013 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2013 No.10

This paper presents our new intelligent interactive robot, which is constructed to eagerly provide multi-functional services in an office environment. In order to endow a full interactive capability of our robots for realizing so-called human-robot interaction (HRI), we propose sensor fusion based human detection and tracking system and human pose estimation to deal with a number of situations which may take place in the office environment. Not only by these perceptions, human interact with the robot also by some natural way, such as touching the interface screen and talking with the robot through microphone. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed work is tested and validated by some of experiments.

CircZNF609 Aggravated Myocardial Ischemia Reperfusion Injury via Mediation of miR-214-3p/PTGS2 Axis

Wen-Qiang Tang,Feng-Rui Yang,Ke-Min Chen,Huan Yang,Yu Liu,Bo Dou 대한심장학회 2022 Korean Circulation Journal Vol.52 No.9

Background and Objectives: Circular RNAs were known to play vital role in myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (MIRI), while the role of CircZNF609 in MIRI remains unclear. This study was aimed to investigate the function of CircZNF609 in MIRI. Methods: Hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) model was established to mimic MIRI in vitro. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to evaluate gene transcripts. Cellular localization of CircZNF609 and miR-214-3p were visualized by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Cell proliferation was determined by CCK-8. TUNEL assay and flow cytometry were applied to detect apoptosis. Lactate dehydrogenase was determined by commercial kit. ROS was detected by DCFH-DA probe. Direct interaction of indicated molecules was determined by RIP and dual luciferase assays. Western blot was used to quantify protein levels. In vivo model was established to further test the function of CircZNF609 in MIRI. Results: CircZNF609 was upregulated in H/R model. Inhibition of CircZNF609 alleviated H/R induced apoptosis, ROS generation, restored cell proliferation in cardiomyocytes and human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Mechanically, CircZNF609 directly sponged miR-214-3p to release PTGS2 expression. Functional rescue experiments showed that miR-214-3p/PTGS2 axis was involved in the function of circZNG609 in H/R model. Furthermore, data in mouse model revealed that knockdown of CircZNF609 significantly reduced the area of myocardial infarction and decreased myocardial cell apoptosis. Conclusions: CircZNF609 aggravated the progression of MIRI via targeting miR-214-3p/PTGS2 axis, which suggested CircZNF609 might act as a vital modulator in MIRI.

Investigation of Planar Optical Waveguide Formed by MeV He+ Ion - Implantation into NaEr(WO₄)₂ Crystal

Feng Chen,Xue-Lin Wang,Ke-Ming Wang,Zhen-Xiang Cheng,Huan-Chu Chen,Ding-Yu Shen 한국진공학회(ASCT) 2002 Journal of Korean Vacuum Science & Technology Vol.6 No.2

NaEr(WO₄)₂ is a new laser material. The planar optical waveguide was formed in NaEr(WO₄)₂ crystal by 2.6 MeV He^+ ion implantation at doses of 1.0-1.5×10^(16) ions/㎤ at room temperature. The effective refractive indices of the dark modes were measured using the prism coupling method. Four TE modes and five TM modes were observed in the waveguide. The refractive index profiles were analyzed using the reflectivity calculation method (RCM). The influence of heat treatment at moderate temperature on the refractive index profiles of the waveguide was also investigated. We used the TRIM’98 (Transport of Ions in Matter) code to simulate the damage profile in the NaEr(WO₄)₂ crystal by 2.6 MeV He^+ ion implantation which is helpful for a better understanding of the waveguide formation.

A hemoglobin-based oxygen-carrying biomimetic nanosystem for enhanced chemo-phototherapy and hypoxia alleviation of hepatocellular carcinoma

Jing-Qing Le,Fang Yang,Xun-Huan Song,Ke-Ke Feng,Ling-Wu Tong,Meng-Die Yin,Wen-Zhong Zhang,Ying-Qi Lin,Hui Wu,Jing-Wei Shao 한국공업화학회 2023 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.123 No.-

Tumor microenvironment is characterized by low pH, high reactive oxygen species and hypoxia, whichprovides a suitable environment for cancer growth. The hypoxia not only elevates tumor angiogenesisand metastasis, but also is responsible for the development of treatment resistance, which graduallybecomes a significant impediment for cancer therapy. Therefore, we developed a biomimetic nanosystemcontaining hemoglobin extracted from red blood cells, chemotherapy drug sorafenib, sensitizer ursolicacid and photosensitizer indocyanine green for enhanced chemo-photo combination therapy of hepatocellularcarcinoma, which could not only enhance the chemotherapy effect of sorafenib bowing to thesensitizing effect of ursolic acid, but also achieved synergetic phototherapy in virtue of indocyaninegreen. Besides, the nanoparticles could effectively delivery exogenous oxygen to tumor site and amelioratethe tumor hypoxic environment with the assistance of hemoglobin. The dual-sensitization drugdelivery system was expected to effectively reduce the resistance of traditional treatment methodsagainst tumor hypoxia, providing a novel prospect for the synergistic hepatocellular carcinomatreatment.

Geophysical methods for the investigation of a closed dumping ground

Xin, Ling,Chu, Jian,Wang, Jing-Yuan,Yin, Ke,Tong, Huan-Huan,Chia, Charles Y.H.,Mohamed Noh, Omar A. Techno-Press 2015 Geomechanics & engineering Vol.8 No.5

Reclamation of closed dumping grounds is a potential solution to solve land scarce problems. Traditional geotechnical investigations of closed dumping grounds face some problems, such as the emission of hazardous liquids and gases, and the lack of ground information due to the discontinuity between two boreholes. Thus, noninvasive and continuous investigation methods are needed to supplement traditional geotechnical investigations. In this paper, two types of geophysical investigation methods, Seismic Analysis of Surface Waves (SASW) and 2D Resistivity, were carried out to study noninvasive and continuous site investigations for dumping grounds. The two geophysical methods are able to profile the distribution of physical properties of the fill and original materials, by which the extent of the dumping ground can be found and some anomalies in the subsurface can be located. Boreholes were used to assist in locating the dumping material-ground interfaces. The results show that dumping material-ground interfaces obtained from the two geophysical methods are roughly consistent. Moreover, attempt is made in the paper to use the geophysical methods to classify the types of dumping materials. The results show that the classification of dumping materials using the geophysical methods follows the results of the manual sorting of the dumping materials from a borehole.

Effects of different culture systems on the culture of buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) spermatogonia stem cell-like cells in vitro

Ting-Ting Li,Shuang-Shuang Geng,Hui-Yan Xu,Ao-Lin Luo,Peng-Wei Zhao,Huan Yang,Xing-Wei Liang,Yang-Qing Lu,Xiao-Gan Yang,Ke-Huan Lu 대한수의학회 2020 Journal of Veterinary Science Vol.21 No.1

Currently, the systems for culturing buffalo spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) in vitro are varied, and their effects are still inconclusive. In this study, we compared the effects of culture systems with undefined (foetal bovine serum) and defined (KnockOut Serum Replacement) materials on the in vitro culture of buffalo SSC-like cells. Significantly more DDX4- and UCHL1-positive cells (cultured for 2 days at passage 2) were observed in the defined materials culture system than in the undefined materials system (p < 0.01), and these cells were maintained for a longer period than those in the culture system with undefined materials (10 days vs. 6 days). Furthermore, NANOS2 (p < 0.05), DDX4 (p < 0.01) and UCHL1 (p < 0.05) were expressed at significantly higher levels in the culture system with defined materials than in that with undefined materials. Induction with retinoic acid was used to verify that the cultured cells maintained SSC characteristics, revealing an SCP3+ subset in the cells cultured in the defined materials system. The expression levels of Stra8 (p < 0.05) and Rec8 (p < 0.01) were significantly increased, and the expression levels of ZBTB16 (p < 0.01) and DDX4 (p < 0.05) were significantly decreased. These findings provided a clearer research platform for exploring the mechanism of buffalo SSCs in vitro.