Search

Airway mucin secretion is important pathophysiologically and as a model of polarized epithelial regulated exocytosis. We find the trafficking protein, SNAP23 (23-kDa paralogue of synaptosome-associated protein of 25 kDa), selectively expressed in secretory cells compared with ciliated and basal cells of airway epithelium by immunohistochemistry and FACS, suggesting that SNAP23 functions in regulated but not constitutive epithelial secretion. Heterozygous SNAP23 deletant mutant mice show spontaneous accumulation of intracellular mucin, indicating a defect in baseline secretion. However mucins are released from perfused tracheas of mutant and wild-type (WT) mice at the same rate, suggesting that increased intracellular stores balance reduced release efficiency to yield a fully compensated baseline steady state. In contrast, acute stimulated release of intracellular mucin from mutant mice is impaired whether measured by a static imaging assay 5 min after exposure to the secretagogue ATP or by kinetic analysis of mucins released from perfused tracheas during the first 10 min of ATP exposure. Together, these data indicate that increased intracellular stores cannot fully compensate for the defect in release efficiency during intense stimulation. The lungs of mutant mice develop normally and clear bacteria and instilled polystyrene beads comparable to WT mice, consistent with these functions depending on baseline secretion that is fully compensated.

Based on self-designed tailings dam simulation experiment device of tailings dam-break, experimental study of tailings dam failure was carried out under the condition of rainfall. The change rule of infiltration line, the developing process, the mechanism of dam failure and the displacement of the dam body after collapse were obtained and recorded by the rainfall devices, the infiltration line measuring devices, the displacement monitoring devices and the camera. The results are as follows: in the early stage of rainfall, the changes of the infiltration line in the front reservoir and the outside slope of the dam were obviously lagging behind the water level, but in the middle and tail of the reservoir it was not obvious. In the later stage of the rainfall, the lagging phenomenon gradually disappeared, and the change of water level had an obvious effect on the change of infiltration line. At the early stage of the dam failure, seepage and water overflow occurred on the outer slope of the tailings dam, causing local collapse to occur. In the late stages of dam break, the water flew over the dam crest and continued to erode the dam body, thus lead to the dam failure. Under the action of seepage force, the phenomenon of piping occurred in the dam. With the continuous erosion of water flow, the seepage force, floating severe, buoyancy force and pore water pressure were increased, the anti-resistance was weakened and the stability of dam was reduced. After the dam failed, the settlement displacement in the breach was the largest, in addition to the breach, the settlement displacement occurred mainly at the dam abutment. The external expansion occurred mainly in the middle dam and dam foot. The research results provide some valuable guidance and reference for the mechanism analysis of the tailings dam-break, the disaster prevention and controlling when subjected to rainfall.

Cortex Eucommiae (Du-zhong) is the dried bark of the Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. The natural products identified from Du-zhong include lignans, iridoids, flavonoids, polysaccharides, terpenes, and proteins, Liu et al. (2012). Lignans, the main bioactive components, were protective against hypertensive renal injury in spontaneous hypertensive rats in our previous study, Li et al. (2012). Moreover, Eucommia lignans also diminished aldose reductase (AR) overexpression in the kidney, Li et al. (2012). However, the pathological mechanism underlying the protective effects of Eucommia lignans remains unknown. Cellular proliferation was reported to contribute to important pathological changes in hypertensive renal injuries, and increased angiotensin II (Ang II) expression was reported to be essential for target-organ damage during hypertension. Ang II is the main effective peptide in the renin-angiotensin system and is considered to be a key mediator in the development of hypertensive nephropathy, Rüster and Wolf (2011). Our preliminary results showed that Eucommia lignans had inhibitory effects on Ang II-induced proliferation of rat mesangial cells. In the present study, we investigated the effects of Eucommia ulmoides on Ang II-induced proliferation and apoptosis of rat mesangial cells. Cell cycle-related genes P21 and P27, and cell apoptosis-related genes Bax and Bcl-2, were determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-ARs are extensively spread in different tissues of our body, which could be activated by neurotransmitters norepinephrine and epinephrine to mediate physiological function and abnormal states including cancer. Recently, β-AR blockers could have significant implications in cancer therapy. But the precise molecular mechanisms are far from being fully understood. Through identifying the β-AR system signal pathways relevant to cancer, we can understand the mechanisms of β-blockers used for cancer treatment. What's more, retrospective clinical data made β-blockers jump out of the traditional field of cardiovascular disease and strengthened our confidence in cancer therapy. At last, genetic studies of β-adrenergic system offered crucial genes to analyze the effects of polymorphisms on cancer susceptibility, therapy response and prognosis of cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The incidence and mortality of lung cancer have increased annually. Accurate diagnosis can help improve therapeutic efficacy of interventions and prognosis. Percutaneous lung biopsy is a reliable method for the clinical diagnosis of lung cancer. Ultrasound-guided percutaneous lung biopsy technology has been widely promoted and applied in recent years., Aim: To investigate the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS)-guided percutaneous biopsy in peripheral pulmonary lesions., Methods: We retrospectively collected data on 237 patients with peripheral thoracic focal lesions who underwent puncture biopsy at Wuxi People's Hospital. The patients were randomly divided into two groups: The CEUS-guided before lesion puncture group (contrast group) and conventional ultrasound-guided group (control group). Analyze the diagnostic efficacy of the puncture biopsy, impact of tumor size, and number of puncture needles and complications were analyzed and compared between the two groups., Results: Accurate pathological results were obtained for 92.83% (220/237) of peripheral lung lesions during the first biopsy, with an accuracy rate of 95.8% (113/118) in the contrast group and 89.9% (107/119) in the control group. The difference in the area under the curve (AUC) between the contrast and the control groups was not statistically significant (0.952 vs 0.902, respectively; P > 0.05). However, when the lesion diameter ≥ 5 cm, the diagnostic AUC of the contrast group was higher than that of the control group (0.952 vs 0.902, respectively; P < 0.05). In addition, the average number of puncture needles in the contrast group was lower than that in the control group (2.58 ± 0.53 vs 2.90 ± 0.56, respectively; P < 0.05)., Conclusion: CEUS guidance can enhance the efficiency of puncture biopsy of peripheral pulmonary lesions, especially for lesions with a diameter ≥ 5 cm. Therefore, CEUS guidance has high clinical diagnostic value in puncture biopsy of peripheral focal lung lesions., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

With the acceleration of industrialization, the toxic effect of heavy metal cadmium (Cd) pollution has become prominent. In order to explore the molecular mechanism of the physiological regulation of Caulerpa lentillifera under Cd stress, we analyzed the transcriptome of Cd-stressed (Hcd 2+ ) algae tissues using RNA-Seq. A total of 702 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened between the control and Hcd 2+ groups, out of which 257 genes were up-regulated and 445 genes were down-regulated in the Hcd 2+ group. We conducted functional annotation and enrichment analysis of the obtained DEGs. The results showed that various biological functions of C. lentillifera were affected under Cd 2+ stress, which eventually showed growth inhibition. Results of GO enrichment analysis showed that the production and removal of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in C. lentillifera were out of balance and caused oxidative damage such as DNA damage. Results of KEGG enrichment analysis showed that many photosynthesis-related pathways were inhibited, indicating that Cd 2+ stress led to disorder of photosynthetic reaction of C. lentillifera .

A girl, aged 4 years and 3 months, presented with cyanosis of the lips shortly after birth. She then experienced shortness of breath after activity 1 year ago and acrocyanosis 3 months ago, with obvious acropachy and toe deformity. Laboratory examinations revealed an increase in hemoglobin (178 g/L) and a reduction in arterial partial pressure of oxygen (37.7 mm Hg). Plain and contrast-enhanced CT scans of the lungs showed a large area of dense shadow and multiple nodules with clear boundaries in the right lower lung, as well as thickening of the arteries and dilatation of the veins in the right lower lung. Magnetic resonance angiography of the pulmonary artery showed large arteriovenous malformation in the lung. The child was diagnosed with congenital pulmonary arteriovenous fistula and was given interventional embolization of the pulmonary arterial fistula. The child was followed up at 3 months after surgery. The symptoms of shortness of breath and cyanosis disappeared, and activity tolerance, heart rate, hemoglobin, red blood cell count, and transcutaneous oxygen saturation all returned to normal.