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Purpose: Chemoresistance is a major challenge for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treatment. Cysteine-rich protein 61 (Cyr61) plays an important role in drug resistance modulation of tumor cells, and Cyr61 levels are increased in the bone marrow of patients with ALL and contribute to ALL cell survival. However, the effect of Cyr61 on B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) cell chemosensitivity and the regulatory mechanisms underlying Cyr61 production in bone marrow remain unknown. Methods: Nalm-6 and Reh human B-ALL cell lines were used in this study. Cyr61 levels were assessed using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), western blot analysis, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The effect of Cyr61 on B-ALL cell chemosensitivity to daunorubicin (DNR) was evaluated using cell viability and flow cytometry analyses. The regulatory mechanisms of Cyr61 production in bone marrow were examined using qRT-PCR and western blot analysis. Results: Cyr61 knockdown and overexpression increased and decreased the chemosensitivity of B-ALL cells to DNR, respectively. Cyr61 attenuated chemotherapeutic drug-induced apoptosis by upregulating B cell lymphoma-2. Notably, DNR induced DNA damage response and increased Cyr61 secretion in B-ALL cells through the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM)-dependent nuclear factor kappa B pathway. Conclusion: DNR induces Cyr61 production in B-ALL cells, and increased Cyr61 levels reduce the chemosensitivity of B-ALL cells. Consequently, targeting Cyr61 or related ATM signaling pathway may present a promising treatment strategy to enhance the chemosensitivity of patients with B-ALL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the frequency and features of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) in Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and evaluate the association of DAH with the features. A total of 943 patients with SLE were categorized into two groups: 896 patients without DAH and 47 patients with DAH. The demographic data, clinical and laboratory findings, and SLE disease activity index 2000 of all patients were statistically analyzed. The DAH frequency in patients with SLE was 4.98%, and the mortality rate of DAH was 42.55%. The clinical features with statistical differences between the two groups were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression, and the results suggested that shorter disease duration [odds ratio (OR): 0.972, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.946, 0.998], younger age (OR: 0.867, 95% CI 0.764, 0.984), moderate (OR: 25.949, 95% CI 3.316, 203.065) or severe (OR: 24.904, 95% CI 2.675, 231.859) anemia, abnormally elevated levels of urine protein (OR: 10.839, 95% CI 1.351, 86.938) and serum creatinine (OR: 14.534, 95% CI 5.012, 42.142), interstitial lung disease (OR: 6.569, 95% CI 2.053, 21.021), and infection (OR: 8.890, 95% CI 3.580, 22.077) were independent risk factors for the occurrence of DAH in patients with SLE. Moderate or severe anemia was highly suggestive of DAH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Receptor dimerization of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) was previously identified at protein level and on cell surface. Recently, a dimeric form of mouse uPAR isoform 2 was proposed to induce kidney disease. Here, we report the crystal structure of human uPAR dimer at 2.96 Å. The structure reveals enormous conformational changes of the dimer compared to the monomeric structure: D1 of uPAR opens up into a large expanded ring that captures a β-hairpin loop of a neighboring uPAR to form an expanded β-sheet, leading to an elongated, highly intertwined dimeric uPAR. Based on the structure, we identify E49P as a mutation promoting dimer formation. The mutation increases receptor binding to the amino terminal fragment of its primary ligand uPA, induces the receptor to distribute to the basal membrane, promotes cell proliferation, and alters cell morphology via β1 integrin signaling. These results reveal the structural basis for uPAR dimerization, its effect on cellular functions, and provide a basis to further study this multifunctional receptor. The structural basis for urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) dimerization is not understood. Here, the authors solve the crystal structure of soluble uPAR dimers, identifying substantial structural changes compared to the monomer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Video plays a great important role in online apparel sales, which is a vital tool for publicity and to provide consumers with space of imagination. However, as the apparel market rapidly updates in large amounts every day, creating videos for fast increasing clothes can be challenging and labor-consuming. Considering this, we present ApVideor, a music-driven video generation system customized for displaying clothes. This system consists of two main modules: music recommendation module and audio-visual synthesis module. The former assists users in searching background music that matches the apparel style, while the latter combines the audio and visuals into a video by music-driven approaches. Our user study suggests that this system makes the video creation process significantly easier and faster than manual creation. Meanwhile, the viewer test suggests that apparel-displaying videos created using our system are of comparable quality to those created manually by people who have worked with video editing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Cell wall polysaccharides' occurrences in two internodes of different development stages in M. lutarioriparius stem were analyzed and three major differences between them were identified by cell wall polysaccharide probes. Abstract: Deposition and modification of cell wall polysaccharides during stem development affect biomass yield of the Miscanthus energy crop. The distribution patterns of cell wall polysaccharides in the 2nd and the 11th internodes of M. lutarioriparius stem were studied using in situ immunofluorescence assay. Crystalline cellulose and xylan were present in most of the stem tissues except phloem, where xyloglucan was the major composition of hemicellulose. The distribution of pectin polysaccharides varied in stem tissues, particularly in vascular bundle elements. Xylogalacturonan, feruloylated-1,4-β- d-galactan and (1,3)(1,4)-β-glucans, however, were insufficient for antibodies binding in both internodes. Furthermore, the distribution of cell wall polysaccharides was differentiated in the two internodes of M. lutarioriparius. The significant differences in the pattern of occurrence of long 1,5-α- l-arabinan chain, homogalacturonan and fucosylated xyloglucans epitope were detected between the two internodes. In addition, the relationships between probable functions of polysaccharides and their distribution patterns in M. lutarioriparius stem cell wall were discussed, which would be helpful to understand the growth characteristics of Miscanthus and identify potential targets for either modification or degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A full-length cDNA clone of OsFAD2, which encodes a Δ-12 fatty acid desaturase, the key enzyme for the conversion of oleic acid (18:1) into linoleic acid (18:2), was isolated from rice ( Oryza sativa ssp. japonica) leaves. The deduced amino acid sequence of OsFAD2 displayed three histidine boxes characteristic of all membrane-bound desaturases, and possessed a C-terminal signal for endoplasmic reticulum retention. Phylogenetic analysis showed that OsFAD2 is grouped within plant housekeeping FAD2 sequences. Expression analysis by real-time PCR showed that the gene is expressed in all tissues of rice tested, including root, seed, stem, and leaf. In situ hybridization showed that OsFAD2 mRNA accumulated in leaf mesophyll cells and in root epidermis cells when exposed to 15°C for 4 days in dark conditions. When OsFAD2 was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the cells could convert oleic acid to linoleic acid, which wild-type yeast cells cannot do, suggesting that the isolated gene encoded a functional FAD2 enzyme. Heterologous expression of OsFAD2 enhanced the yeast cells' cold tolerance capacity compared to wild-type yeast. OsFAD2 was also shown to be a highly active desaturase when expressed in Xenopus oocytes. In addition, when the OsFAD2 gene was transferred into an Arabidopsis thaliana fad2- 1 mutant, it effectively restored wild-type fatty acid composition and growth characteristics. Stress tolerance and light regulatory elements were identified in the predicted promoter of the OsFAD2 gene. Exogenously supplied hormone affected the level of FAD2 mRNA accumulation, accompanied by a change of content of di-unsaturated fatty acid species in rice leaves. Furthermore, OsFAD2 enhanced tolerance to low temperature when overexpressed in rice at the vegetative stage. More importantly, the 35S::OsFAD2 plants showed significantly enhanced cold tolerance at the reproductive stage, increasing grain yield by 46% over controls in the greenhouse under cold conditions. These results indicated that OsFAD2 is involved in fatty acid desaturation and maintenance of the membrane lipids balance in cells, and could improve the tolerance of yeast and rice to low temperature stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oryza rufipogon L. ( O. rufipogon) or a common wild rice, showed considerable aluminum (Al) tolerance. In this study, we examined the physiologic and genetic response of wild rice short term and long term to Al toxicity, respectively. In the short term study, morin staining, DAPI staining and aniline blue staining were used to detect Al distribution, cell division and callose production in the roots of O. rufipogon. The results indicated cell division could be enhanced by Al within low concentration range. In the long term study, we chose Oryza sativa L ( O. sativa) (the close sib of O. rufipogon) as a reference. It showed that O. rufipogon grew better than O. sativa when treated with Al of 1.4 mmol/l concentration and also experienced a short period of root growth stimulation. This study gave some basic data to explain the mechanisms Oryza rufipogon L. developed to deal with Al and lay a good foundation to further study. SSH (suppression subtractive hybridization) proved that transcripts of the small subunit of Rubisco and a Photosystem I P700 apoprotein were enhanced under long term Al treatment in wild rice. Further investigation via the assessment of the content of chlorophyll a, b indicated that the content of chlorophyll a, b in the leaves of O. rufipogon generally rose after Al treatment for 15 days. This indicated that intake of Al can affect photosynthesis of plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of studies have indicated that red blood cell distribution width (RDW) may be a novel biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of various malignancies. However, to date, data on the association of RDW with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are unclear. Our present study aimed to explore the value of RDW in NSCLC patients. A total of 338 NSCLC patients, 109 small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients, and 302 healthy participants were retrospectively analyzed between January 2016 and December 2018. In the present study, we found that RDW was significantly increased in NSCLC patients. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of RDW was 0.753 in discriminating NSCLC patients from healthy participants, the optimal cut-off value of RDW was 12.95, and the specificity and sensitivity were 76.33% and 76.16%, respectively. Further analysis found that RDW can enhance the diagnostic performance of Cyfra21-1 and NSE in discriminating NSCLC patients from healthy participants or SCLC patients. Among NSCLC patients, RDW was significantly correlated with TNM stage, T stage, N stage, M stage, and Cyfra21-1, indicating that RDW may be helpful for predicting the prognosis of NSCLC patients. Our findings suggest that RDW can be used as an auxiliary marker for the diagnosis and prognosis of NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Altered platelet indices, including platelet count (PC), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), and plateletcrit (PCT), have been found in various cancer types. This study aimed to evaluate the role of platelet indices as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC), and to assess the association between platelet indices and CRC clinicopathological characteristics. The study included 783 subjects with CRC, 463 subjects with colorectal adenomas (CA), and 689 control subjects from June 2015 to October 2017. All participants’ clinicopathological characteristics were collected and analyzed. Here, we found that PC, MPV and PCT levels in CRC patients were significantly higher than those in CA patients and healthy participants (p < 0.001); however, PDW level in CRC patients was significantly higher than that in healthy participants while lower than that in CA patients. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that combined detection of PCT and CEA appears to be a more effective marker to distinguish CRC patients from CA patients, with 70% sensitivity and 83% specificity. Among CRC patients, PC and PCT levels were associated with TNM stages and tumor size; MPV and PCT levels were associated with vascular invasion. Our findings suggest that altered PC, MPV and PCT levels might serve as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]