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Background: Pathogens can impact host RNA modification machinery to establish a favorable cellular environment for their replication. In the present study, we investigated the effect of Toxoplasma gondii infection on host RNA modification profiles and explored how these modifications may influence the host-parasite interaction. Methodology/principal findings: We analyzed the modification levels of ∼ 80 nt tRNA and 17–50 nt sncRNAs in mouse liver, spleen, and serum using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry analysis. The results revealed alterations in RNA modification profiles, particularly during acute infection. The liver exhibited more differentially abundant RNA modifications than the spleen. RNA modification levels in serum were mostly downregulated during acute infection compared to control mice. Correlations were detected between different RNA modifications in the liver and spleen during infection and between several RNA modifications and many cytokines. Alterations in RNA modifications affected tRNA stability and protein translation. Conclusions/significance: These findings provide new insight into the role of RNA modifications in mediating the murine host response to T. gondii infection. Author summary: The dynamic landscape of host tissue RNA modifications and its possible association with the immune response to Toxoplasma gondii infection are poorly understood. Here, we analyzed the patterns of 20 RNA modification types in the liver, spleen and serum of mice infected by T. gondii. We characterized the levels of modifications of total RNA, ∼ 80 nt tRNA and 17–50 nt sncRNAs using LC-MS/MS. Differentially abundant RNA modifications were more frequent during acute infection compared to chronic infection and were more pronounced in the liver than in the spleen. Multiple tRNA modifications were co-regulated during chronic infection. Several RNA modifications showed significant correlation with serum cytokines, highlighting the role of RNA modifications in the immune response to T. gondii infection. Alterations of RNA modifications affected tRNA stability and the translation of eukaryotic initiation factor 4A/E. These findings provide new insight into the role of RNA modifications in the pathogenesis of and immune response to T. gondii infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organ fibrosis represents a vital health threat that substantially contributes to yearly mortality rates. While a considerable amount of research has been conducted on fibrosis, these reports have only focused on specific organs as affected within distinct disorders. Accordingly, results from such studies have been unable to provide a comprehensive understanding of the pathological processes involved. Here, we describe the development of FibROAD, an open-access database that integrates evidence from fibrosis-associated disorders as obtained from both the literature and multi-omics data. This resource will greatly assist both researchers and clinicians in the comprehension and treatment of this condition. FibROAD currently involves an assembly of 232 strong evidence-based fibrosis-related genes (FRGs) as garnered from 909 PubMed publications and contains lists of multi-omics data from > 4000 samples including RNA-seq, single-cell RNA-seq, miRNA-seq, ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq MeDIP-seq and MBD-seq as obtained from 17 different organs in 5 species. Results from integrative analyses as obtained using FibROAD have demonstrated that FRGs can be indicators for a wide range of organ fibrosis and reveal potential pro-fibrotic candidate genes for fibrosis research. In conclusion, FibROAD serves as a convenient platform where researchers can acquire integrated evidence and a more comprehensive understanding of fibrosis-related disorders. Database URL   https://www.fibroad.org [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The adhesive properties of vitiligo melanocytes have decreased under oxidative stress., cytoskeleton proteins can control cell adhesion. Paeoniflorin (PF) was proved to resist hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative stress in melanocytes via nuclear factorE2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) pathway. Objectives: This study was to investigate whether PF exerts anti-oxidative effect through influencing cytoskeleton markers or potential signaling pathway. Methods: Human Oxidative Stress Plus array was used to identify the differentially expressed genes between H2O2 + PF group and H2O2 only group, in PIG1 and PIG3V melanocyte cell lines respectively. Western blotting was used to verify the PCR array results and to test the protein expression levels of cytoskeleton markers including Ras homolog family member A (RhoA), Rho-associated kinase 1 (ROCK1) and antioxidative marker Nrf2. Small interfering RNA was used to knock down PDZ and LIM domain 1 (PDLIM1). Results: PF increased the expressions of PDLIM1, RhoA and ROCK1 in H2O2-induced PIG1, in contrast, decreased the expressions of PDLIM1 and ROCK1 in H2O2-induced PIG3V. Knockdown of PDLIM1 increased the expressions of RhoA and Nrf2 in PF-pretreated H2O2-induced PIG1, and ROCK1 and Nrf2 in PF-pretreated H2O2-induced PIG3V. Conclusions: PF regulates RhoA/ROCK1 and Nrf2 pathways in PDLIM1-dependent or independent manners in H2O2-induced melanocytes. In PIG1, PF promotes PDLIM1 to inhibit RhoA/ROCK1 pathway or activates Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, separately. In PIG3V, PF directly downregulates ROCK1 in PDLIM1-independent manner or upregulates Nrf2 dependent of PDLIM1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated cutaneous disorder with a high incidence and prevalence. Patients with psoriasis may experience irritation, pain and psychological problems. The cause and underlying molecular etiology of psoriasis remains unknown. In an attempt to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of psoriasis, the gene expression profiles of 175 pairs of lesional and corresponding non-lesional skin samples were downloaded from 5 data sets in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Integrated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained with the use of R software. The gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment were analyzed using the DAVID online analysis tool. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed on the STRING platform and hub genes were calculated with the use of Cytoscape software. Finally, GEO2R was used to determine the expression of the hub genes in scalp psoriasis. A total of 373 genes from the 5 data sets were identified as DEGs, including 277 upregulated and 96 downregulated genes. GO analysis revealed that immune responses and epidermal differentiation/development were the most enriched terms in biological processes, extracellular space/matrix was the most enriched term in cellular components, and endopeptidase inhibitor activity was the most enriched term in molecular functions. In the KEGG pathway enrichment, DEGs were mainly enriched in the metabolic and viral infection-associated pathways. A total of 17 hub genes were calculated, including CSK2, CDC45, MCM10, SPC25, NDC80, NUF2, AURKA, CENPE, RRM2, DLGP5, HMMR, TTK, IFIT1, RSAD2, IFI6, IFI27 and ISG20, among which interferon-α-inducible genes were revealed to display a similar expression pattern as that obtained in scalp psoriasis. This comprehensive bioinformatic re-analysis of GEO data provides new insights on the molecular pathogenesis of psoriasis and the identification of potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of psoriasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some new properties of the chaotic signal have been implemented in communication system applications recently, which include the following. First, chaos is proven to be the optimal communication waveform in the sense of very simple matched filter being used to achieve maximum signal to noise ratio; second, the amount of information contained in a chaotic signal is unaltered by a wireless multipath channel; and third, chaos property can be used to resist multipath effect. All these support the application of chaos in a practical communication system. However, due to the broadband property of the chaotic signal, it is very difficult for a practical transducer or antenna to convert such a broadband signal into a signal that would be suitable for practical band-limited wireless channel. Thus, the use of chaos property to improve the performance of conventional communication system without changing the system configuration becomes a critical issue in communication with chaos. In this paper, chaotic baseband waveform generated by a chaotic shaping filter is used to show that this difficulty can be overcome. The generated continuous-time chaotic waveform is proven to be topologically conjugate to a symbolic sequence, allowing the encoding of arbitrary information sequence into the chaotic waveform. A finite impulse response filter is used to replace the impulse control in order to encode information into the chaotic signal, simplifying the algorithm for high-speed communication. A wireless communication system is being proposed using the chaotic signal as the baseband waveform, which is compatible with the general wireless communication platform. The matched filter and decoding method, using chaos properties, enhance the communication system performance. The bit error rate (BER) and computational complexity performances of the proposed wireless communication system are analyzed and compared with the conventional wireless systems. The results show that the proposed chaotic baseband waveform of our wireless communication method has better BER performance in both the static and time-varying wireless channels. The experimental results, based on the commonly used wireless open-access research platform, show that the BER of the proposed method is superior to the conventional method under a practical wireless multipath channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Hyperthermia induces DNAJA4 expression and P65 phosphorylation in keratinocytes in the presence or absence of HPV infection. • DNAJA4-deficency promotes NF-kappa B (P65) pathway activation in HaCaT cells upon hyperthermia stimulation. • Hyperthermia combined with DNAJA4-deficency causes reduced viability of HaCaT cells. Abstract Background Hyperthermia is an effective treatment against cancer and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Previous studies have shown that heat shock proteins are crucial to the action of hyperthermia. Objectives To examine the effects of hyperthermia in combination with DNAJA4-deficiency on human keratinocytes and Condyloma acumunatum (CA) tissues. Methods HaCaT cells were subjected to 44 °C (compared to 37 °C) waterbath for 30 min for stimulation. Foreskin or CA tissues obtained from patients undergoing circumcision or pathological examination were bisected and subjected to similar treatments. DNAJA4-knockout (KO) HaCaT cells were generated with CRISPR/Cas9 technology. mRNA and protein expressions were determined using rt-qPCR and western-blotting. Cell cycle distribution, apoptosis and senescence were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results DNAJA4 was induced in HaCaT cells, foreskin and CA tissues subjected to hyperthermia at both transcriptional and translational levels. NF-kB, 3 3 NF-kB: nuclear factor-kappa B. was activated by hyperthermia in HaCaT cells, and further enhanced by DNAJA4-deficiency. Transcription of TNF-α 4 4 TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor-alpha. ; IL-1B, 5 5 IL-1B: interleukin-1 beta. TNFAIP3 6 6 TNFAIP3: Tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced protein 3. and IL-8 7 7 IL-8: interleukin-8. were induced in HaCaT cells subjected to hyperthermia. DNAJA4-knockout promoted transcriptions of TNF-α and IL-1B, whereas decreased that of TNFAIP3 and IL-8. Reduced cell survival, proliferation and viability were demonstrated using flow cytometry and MTS assays. Furthermore, NF-kB inhibitors reversed most of the phenotypes observed. Conclusions Hyperthermia reduced HaCaT cell proliferation and promoted cytokine expressions responsible for anti-viral activity, mainly through a NF-kB dependent pathway. DNAJA4-deficiency enhanced the activation of NF-kB by hyperthermia in HaCaT cells, indicating that DNAJA4 may be a promising therapeutic target for use in the treatment of cutaneous HPV infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Candida albicans is a commensal fungus that associates with human hosts. Under normal circumstances this interaction does not produce any severe life-threatening disease, as macrophages of the innate immune system will result in its clearance. However, disorders may arise in immunosuppressed individuals. To understand the bioactivity of Candida albicans cell wall polysaccharides, which represent an important component of its function, mannoprotein from this fungus was extracted, purified and analyzed. Mannoprotein with α-(1,2) and α-(1,6) linkages was investigated with use of HPLC and NMR. Co-incubation of mannoprotein with macrophages resulted in a mannoprotein with the potential to polarize macrophages to M1 and promote phagocytosis/microbial killing ability thus increasing the clearance of pathogens through Akt2. Moreover, mannoprotein within the cell wall promoted cell proliferation and inhibited apoptosis by activation of the Akt signaling pathway. Collectively, α-(1,6)(1,2)-mannoprotein, one of the five polysaccharides extracted from the cell wall of Candida albicans , demonstrates immune-enhancing effects by activation of the Akt signaling pathway. These findings provide important new insights into the biological effects of polysaccharides on macrophages. Such information can then serve as the foundation for the development of novel anti-fungal medications. • The polysaccharides of cell wall of Candida albicans were purified and identified. • α-(1,6)(1,2)-Mannoprotein polarized macrophage to M1 by activating Akt2. • α-(1,6)(1,2)-Mannoprotein accelerated cell cycle and inhibited apoptosis. • α-(1,6)(1,2)-Mannoprotein promoted phagocytosis and production of NO and ROS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• M. furfur produces extracellular vesicles with a mean diameter of 112 nm. • Extracellular vesicles from M. furfur can be internalized into HaCaT cells and mice epidermal keratinocytes. • M. furfur vesicles induce IL-6 synthesis both in vitro and in vivo. Malassezia is one of the commensal microorganisms colonized on human skin and has been shown to be related to several inflammatory cutaneous disorders. Previous studies indicated that Malassezia. sympodialis (M. sympodialis) can produce extracellular vesicles, however, the immunoregulatory function of Malassezia extracellular vesicles on keratinocytes has not been studied. To investigate the extracellular vesicular production capability of Malassezia. furfur (M. furfur) and examine their immunoregulatory effects both in vitro and in vivo. Extracellular vesicles derived from M. furfur were isolated by sequential ultracentrifugation procedure. Their structure and diameter were determined by negative stain TEM and NTA, respectively. Confocal microscopy was used to visualize the internalization of these nanoparticles into HaCaT cells and mice epidermal keratinocytes. The expressions of inflammatory cytokines were screened using PCR Array assay and validated in vitro by qPCR and ELISA assays. In vivo cytokine production was measured by the IHC method. The role of NF-κB in such process was evaluated in HaCaT cells by western blot assay. Our results showed that M. furfur produced ovoid-shaped nanoparticles, which could be then internalized into HaCaT cells, as well as mice epidermal keratinocytes. IL-6 expression was significantly enhanced in response to extracellular vesicular stimulation both in vitro and in vivo , in which process the activation of NF-κB was involved. M. furfur has the ability to release extracellular vesicles, which can be internalized into keratinocytes and promote the production of IL-6 with the involvement of NF-κB dependent pathway. Such findings reveal some important new insights into Malassezia pathogenesis and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel Au-catalyzed tandem cycloisomerization/oxidation of homopropargyl alcohols was developed. Various γ-lactones can be accessed readily by utilizing this strategy. Notably, the mechanism of this reaction is distinctively different from the related Ru-catalyzed reactions where the ruthenium vinylidene intermediate was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human papillomaviruses (HPVs), a group of non-enveloped small viruses with double-stranded circular DNA which lead to multiple skin diseases such as benign warts, are commonly seen in clinics. The current HPV detection systems aim mainly at mucosal HPVs, however, an efficient clinical approach for cutaneous HPVs detection is lacking. Objectives: To establish a rapid detection system for cutaneous HPVs using a colorimetric loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) with hydroxynaphthol blue (HNB) dye in combination with microfluidic technology. Methods: L1 DNA sequences of the 30 cutaneous HPVs were chemically synthesized, and LAMP primers against L1 DNA were designed with use of an online LAMP designing tool. Isothermal amplification was performed with use of a water bath and the amplification results were inspected with the naked eye. Using PCR sequencing as a control method, the specificity and sensitivity of the new detection system were obtained by detecting clinical samples. Results: The lower detection limit of the LAMP assay was 107 viral DNA copies/μl when tested on synthesized L1 DNA sequences, which was better than the conventional PCR. Compared to PCR sequencing, the sensitivity of HPV27, HPV2, HPV1, HPV57, HPV3, HPV4, HPV7 and HPV75 genotypes detections were 100%, whereas the specificity was 34.55, 45.12, 95.83, 98.59 and 97.62% respectively, when tested on clinical samples. Conclusions: The new cutaneous type HPV detection system is characterized by both a good sensitivity and specificity compared to conventional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Candida albicans ( C. albicans ) is a commensal organism in human and a well-known dimorphic opportunistic pathogenic fungus. Though plenty of researches on the pathogenesis of C. albicans have been performed, the mechanism is not fully understood. The cell wall components of C. albicans have been documented to play important roles in its pathogenic processes. To further study the infectious mechanism of C. albicans , we investigated the potential functional role of its cell wall mannoprotein in cell cycle and apoptosis of HaCaT cells. We found that mannoprotein could promote the transition of cell cycle from G1/G0 to S phase, in which Cyclin D1, CDK4 and p-Rb, the major regulators of the cell cycle progression, showed significant upregulation, and CDKN1A (cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (p21)) showed significant downregulation. Mannoprotein also could inhibit apoptosis of HaCaT cells, which was well associated with increased expression of BCL2 (Bcl-2). Moreover, mannoprotein could increase the phosphorylation levels of RELA (p65) and NFKBIA (IκBα), as the key factors of NF-κB signal pathway in HaCaT cells, suggesting the activation of NF-κB signal pathway. Additionally, a NF-κB specific inhibitor, PDTC, could rescue the effect of mannoprotein on cell cycle and apoptosis of HaCaT cells, which suggested that mannoprotein could activate NF-κB signal pathway to mediate cell cycle alternation and inhibit apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of Quercetin (Que) on atopic dermatitis (AD)-like skin lesions was examined. The left ear of mice was applied with MC903, followed by Que. administration daily on the ear for 8 days. Then macroscopic and histologic examination was performed to detect the severity of skin lesions. In the skin section of AD mice, we observed that Que. could reduce the expression of CCL17, CCL22, IL-4, IL-6, IFN-γ and TNF-α. In vitro, the anti-inflammatory effects of Que. were examined on human keratinocytes (HaCaT cells) treated with IFN-γ/TNF-α. To unveil the lncRNAs' regulatory role on Que-activated anti-inflammatory function, the next-generation high-throughput sequencing was performed in HaCat cells with or without Que. treatment, which profiled the expression of lncRNAs and mRNAs, the results illustrated that lnc-C7orf30–2, a lncRNA expressed differentially, was correlated with IL-6 expression. Silencing of lnc-C7orf30–2 by RiboTM lncRNA Smart Silencer proved its role on IL-6 expression. Therefore, the results here demonstrated that topical administration of Que. plays a beneficial role in controlling AD symptoms, which may serve as potential candidate for AD treatment. • The anti-inflammatory mechanisms of Quercetin (Que) on atopic dermatitis (AD)-like skin lesions was examined. • Que. plays a beneficial role in controlling AD symptoms in vivo and in vitro. • lnc-C7orf30–2, a lncRNA expressed differentially, is correlated with IL-6 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]