Objective To investigate the regulatory effect of CsA on the expression of NK cell inhibitory receptor ILT4 and cytotoxicity of NK cells.Methods NK cells treated with CsA ( 10 mg/L) or DMSO for 12,24 and 36 h were chosen as three experimental groups and control groups respectively.RTqPCR and flow cytometry were performed to detect the alteration of ILT4 at the mRNA and protein level respectively.The expression of HLA-G in human gastric cancer cell line BGC-823 and human placental choriocarcinoma cell line JEG-3 were measured at the same time,and then the cytolytic activity of the untreated NK cells and NK cells treated with CsA for 36 h against BGC-823 and JEG-3 cells was determined with MTT.One-way analysis of variance was employed to compare the different ILT4 expression at different time points after medication; Dunnett test was performed to carry out the pairwise comparison between each mean.The difference of HLA-G expression between JEG-3 cells and BGC-823 cells,and the difference of NK cell cytolytic activity against JEG-3 cells and BGC-823 cells were analyzed by student's t-test.Results RT-qPCR assay indicated that the relative levels of ILT4 mRNA in NK cells treated with CsA for 12,24 and 36 h in turn were 0.99 ± 0.27,1.79 ± 0.29,6.79 ± 0.64,and those of their contrast groups treated with DMSO were 0.86 ±0.11,0.94 ±0.12,1.06 ±0.17.The expression of ILT4 in NK cells treated with CsA for 24 h or 36 h was higher than that in NK cells of their contrast groups respectively ( t value of 4.69,14.99,P ＜0.05,respectively),but there was no significant difference between the two groups of NK cells treated for 12 h ( t =0.78,P ＞0.05 ).Through flow cytometry,the positive rates of ILT4 protein expression in NK cells treated with CsA for 12,24 and 36 h [(5.16 ± 0.42 ) ％,( 6.23 ± 0.48 ) ％,( 23.8 ± 1.5 ) ％]were higher than those in NK cells after treatment with DMSO for 12,24 and 36 h respectively[(3.08 ±0.19)％,(3.35 ±0.12)％,(3.36 ±0.21 )％ ;t value of 7.70,10.06,20.72,P＜0.01,respectively].The expression of ILT4 in NK cells treated for 36 h was much higher than that in NK cells for 12 and 24 h at the mRNA and protein level (t value of 16.38,14.12 ;21.81,20.56,P ＜ 0.01,respectively).Meanwhile the killing rates of NK cells treated with 10∶1 effector-target ratio CsA on BGC-823 cells (low HLA-G expression) were ( 8 1.96 ± 2.80 ) ％ ( before treatment) and ( 60.23 ± 1.57 ) ％ ( after treatment),which were higher than those on JEG-3 cells (HLA-G-overexpression) [(53.46 ±2.21 )％ ( before treatment),(28.30 ± 1.85 ) ％ ( after treatment)].The changes of cytotoxicity of NK cells treated with CsA against target cells showed that CsA inhibited the killing activity of NK cells to BGC-823 and JEG-3 cells (t value of 11.74,15.16,P＜0.01,respectively),and the inhibitory rates were (26.48 ±2.42)％ and (47.10 ±1.59 ) ％ respectively.CsA had a higher killing rate inhibition on JEG-3 than on BGC-823 ( t =12.31,P ＜0.01 ).Conclusion CsA induces upregulation of ILT4 in NK cells,and the cytotoxicity of NK cells to tumor cells can be affected by interaction of ILT4 and HLA-G.

Restriction site amplification polymorphism (RSAP) markers were employed to access the genetic diversity and relationship of 120 lilyturf germplasms from different geographical origins. Sixteen RSAP primer pairs generated 326 polymorphic bands, of which 318 (97.55%) were polymorphic. The value of polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged from 0.87 to 0.95 with an average of 0.92. These results indicated there was abundant genetic diversity among samples. The results of data analysis on 20 population showed that the value of percentage of polymorphic locus (PPL), Nei's gene diversity (H) and Shannon's information index (I) were 19.94%-85.58%, 0.082 6-0.210 7, 0.120 6-0.328 1 respectively. The most abundant genetic diversity was found in the O. japonicus population from Zhejiang and the least in the Liriope minor population. The genetic distance among 20 population was 0.024 6-0.286 8, of which the minimum genetic distance was 0.024 6 between population I and population 13 while the maximum 0.286 8 between population 5 and population 15. Coefficient of genetic differentiation among natural populations was 0.115 3 (Gst). And the gene differentiation contributed to 43.07% of the total genetic variation among populations and to 56.93% within populations. The total gene flow (Nm) was 0.660 9. UPMGA clustering analysis was basically similar to of the principle coordinate analysis (PCA). The 120 samples were classified into four major groups, which were basically corresponded with the genetic relationships based on morphological traits. The results of UPMGA and PCA were also consistent with geographical origins.
Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis ; China ; Genetic Variation ; Liriope Plant ; classification ; genetics ; Phylogeny ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length

Drought stress exerts a considerable effect on growth, physiology and secondary metabolisms of the medicinal plants. It could inhabit the growth of the medicinal plants but promote secretion of secondary metabolites. Other researches indicated that the medicinal plants could depend on the ABA signaling pathway and secreting osmotic substances to resist the drought stress and reduce the damage by it. The article concludes the changes in growth, physiology, secondary metabolisms and response mechanisms of medicinal plants to drought stress that provides a theoretical basis for exploring the relationship between medicinal plants and drought stress.
Abscisic Acid ; metabolism ; Droughts ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; genetics ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Water ; metabolism

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute infectious disease caused by the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which has led to serious worldwide economic burden. Due to the continuous emergence of variants, vaccines and monoclonal antibodies are only partial effective against infections caused by distinct strains of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, it is still of great importance to call for the development of broad-spectrum and effective small molecule drugs to combat both current and future outbreaks triggered by SARS-CoV-2. Cathepsin L (CatL) cleaves the spike glycoprotein (S) of SARS-CoV-2, playing an indispensable role in enhancing virus entry into host cells. Therefore CatL is one of the ideal targets for the development of pan-coronavirus inhibitor-based drugs. In this study, a CatL enzyme inhibitor screening model was established based on fluorescein labeled substrate. Two CatL inhibitors IMB 6290 and IMB 8014 with low cytotoxicity were obtained through high-throughput screening, the half inhibition concentrations (IC₅₀) of which were 11.53 ± 0.68 and 1.56 ± 1.10 μmol·L^-1, respectively. SDS-PAGE and cell-cell fusion experiments confirmed that the compounds inhibited the hydrolysis of S protein by CatL in a concentration-dependent manner. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) detection showed that both compounds exhibited moderate binding affinity with CatL. Molecular docking revealed the binding mode between the compound and the CatL active pocket. The pseudovirus experiment further confirmed the inhibitory effects of IMB 8014 on the S protein mediated entry process. In vitro pharmacokinetic evaluation indicated that the compounds had relatively good drug-likeness properties. Our research suggested that these two compounds have the potential to be further developed as antiviral drugs for COVID-19 treatment.

Objective To investigate the effects of cyclopamine (CYP) on endometrial carcinoma (HEC-1A) cell survival and on induction of cell apoptosis .Methods HEC-1A cells were treated with various doses of CYP (0, 5,10, 20 and 40 μmol/L) for 24 h respectively .Then,the inverted microscope was used to observe cell morphology .Cell proliferation and apoptosis were tested by CCK-8 assay and AO/EB bi-labelling assay.The apoptosis rate of HEC-1A was analyzed using flow cytometric analysis , and the key gene expression of Bax and Bcl-2 was detected by quantitative PCR .Results The HEC-1A cells exhibited dramatic morphological changes after treatment with CYP and in a dose-dependent manner .CYP significantly inhibited HEC-1A cell proliferation using CCK8 assays(P<0.05), and induced cell death by AO/EB bi-labelling assay.Moreover,flow cytometry analysis showed that CYP treatment resulted in HEC-1A cell apoptosis, and that a higher concentration of CYP induced severer cell apoptosis (P<0.05).Meanwhile, CYP treated HEC-1A cells exhibited up-regulated expression of Bax and down-regulated expression of Bcl-2 according to Q-PCR.Conclusion Our findings indicatee that CYP can inhibit HEC-1A cell proliferation and induce cell apoptosis .

OBJECTIVE To study the molecular mechanism of cisplatin(DDP)by which HeLa cell growth and proliferation are inhibited. METHODS Cultured HeLa cells were treated with DDP 0.02-75 μmol · L-1 for 24 or 48 h. CCK-8 assay was used to determine the cell proliferation. The wound scratch assay was used to detect the cell migration and invasion. Flow cytometry was used to detect the cell cycle arresting. q-PCR was used to test the expression of metastasis suppressor gene 1 (MTSS1)mRNA. Western blot was used to determine protein levels of MTSS1,phosphorylated-extra?cellular signal-regulated kinase(p-ERK) and phosphorylated-serine-threonine kinase(p-AKT). RESULTS Following the treatment with DDP for 24 or 48 h,the proliferation of HeLa cells was inhibited significantly (P<0.05),the value of the half inhibitory concentration (IC50) of cells was 4.14 and 11.82 μmol · L-1. Migration and invasion activity of HeLa cells were reduced according to the wound scratch assay(P<0.05). Flow cytometry results showed that the cell cycle was arrested at S phase. q-PCR results showed that MTSS1 mRNA expression changed with DDP in a concentration-dependent manner (r24 h=-0.965,P<0.01;r48 h=-0.953,P<0.01). Western blot showed that the protein levels of MTSS1,p-ERK and p-AKT expression declined significantly with the increase in DDP concentrations(p-ERK:r24 h=-0.875,P<0.01;r48 h=-0.966,P<0.01. p-AKT:r24 h=-0.831,P<0.01;r48 h=-0.863,P<0.01. MTSS1:r24 h=-0.969,P<0.01;r48 h=-0.988,P<0.01). CONCLUSION DDP treatment inhibits HeLa growth and proliferation by interfering with the MTSS1 expression and disturbing the activation of ERK and AKT signaling pathways.

OBJECTIVETo explore the association between C825T polymorphism of G protein beta3 subunit (GNB3) gene and different Hilit types of essential hypertension (EH) in the Uygur nationality of Xinjiang.

METHODSAccording to Uygur medical theories, EH patients (as the EH group) and non-EH patients (as the control group) were assigned to four Hilit groups. The C825T polymorphism of GNB3 was detected in 161 EH patients and 379 non-EH subjects of different Hilit types by using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) to explore the difference of the genotypes and allelic frequencies and hypertension.

RESULTS(1) In Xinjiang Uygur population, the distribution frequencies of GNB3 C825T polymorphism were in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg (chi2 = 0.871, P = 0.647). (2) There was no statistical difference in the distribution frequencies of three genotypes and two alleles of GNB3 between the EH group and the control group (P > 0.05). (3) There was statistical difference in distribution frequencies of three genotypes between the abnormal Sapra and non-abnormal Sapra group (the sum of abnormal Sewda, abnormal Kan, and abnormal Balhem) (chi2 = 6.905, P = 0.032), especially between the abnormal Sapra and abnormal Balhem groups (chi2 = 10.404, P = 0.006), but there was no statistical difference in distribution frequencies of alleles between the two groups (P > 0.05). (4) In 161 EH patients, there was statistical difference in the distribution frequencies of three genotypes and two alleles between the abnormal Sapra and non-abnormal Sapra group (chi2 = 9.034, P = 0.011; chi2 = 4.701, P = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONSBoth TT genotype and T allele of GNB3 C825T polymorphism might not be associated with EH patients in Xinjiang Uygur populations. However, they were correlated with hypertension patients of non-abnormal Sapra, indicating the pathogeneses of EH with different Hilit types might be different.

Adult ; Aged ; Alleles ; Case-Control Studies ; Essential Hypertension ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; Humans ; Hypertension ; classification ; diagnosis ; genetics ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Minority Groups ; Polymorphism, Genetic

Objective To evaluate the effect of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid(SAHA) or/and paclitaxel(PTX) on lethality and autophagy of human ovarian cancer OC3 cells,and to explore whether the combination of the two drugs has a synergistic function.Methods The morphology of OC3 cells was treated with SAHA and/or PTX, and then the morphology of treated OC3 cells was observed under an inverted microscope, cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay and autoph-agy was analyzed by AO/EB double staining assay.The synergistic effect of SAHA and/or PTX was analyzed by factorial design and gold formula method.Results After treatment with SAHA and/or PTX, the morphology of OC3 cells in the combination group ( SAHA+PTX) displayed significant morphological changes.OC3 cells became less adherent and refrac-tive than in other groups.Cell proliferation by MTT assay demonstrated that the growth inhibition rate of the combination groups was higher than in groups treated with SAHA or PTX respectively( P<0.05) .Furthermore, the synergistic effect af-ter treatment with a combination of SAHA with PTX was proved by the factorial design and gold formula method.The auto-phagy rate of the combined groups was significantly higher than in single treatment groups (P<0.05) by AO/EB double staining.Conclusion SAHA and PTX can inhibit the survival of OC3 cells and induce its autophagy.The two drugs have synergistic antitumor effects.

Objective To explore the technique of maximum entropy model for extracting Oncomelania hupensis snail habi?tats in Poyang Lake zone. Methods The information of snail habitats and related environment factors collected in Poyang Lake zone were integrated to set up the maximum entropy based species model and generate snail habitats distribution map. Two Land?sat 7 ETM+remote sensing images of both wet and drought seasons in Poyang Lake zone were obtained,where the two indices of modified normalized difference water index(MNDWI)and normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI)were applied to ex?tract snail habitats. The ROC curve,sensitivities and specificities were applied to assess their results. Furthermore,the impor?tance of the variables for snail habitats was analyzed by using Jackknife approach. Results The evaluation results showed that the area under receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC)of testing data by the remote sensing?based method was only 0.56, and the sensitivity and specificity were 0.23 and 0.89 respectively. Nevertheless,those indices above?mentioned of maximum en?tropy model were 0.876,0.89 and 0.74 respectively. The main concentration of snail habitats in Poyang Lake zone covered the northeast part of Yongxiu County,northwest of Yugan County,southwest of Poyang County and middle of Xinjian County,and the elevation was the most important environment variable affecting the distribution of snails,and the next was land surface tem?perature(LST). Conclusions The maximum entropy model is more reliable and accurate than the remote sensing?based meth?od for the sake of extracting snail habitats,which has certain guiding significance for the relevant departments to carry out mea?sures to prevent and control high?risk snail habitats.

Objective To detect the expression of metastasis sappressor 1(MTSS1) gene in cervical cancer tissue and to clarify its association with cervical cancer.Methods Totally 103 cases of cervical tissue were collected between Dec 2011 and Dec 2014 and classified according to biopsy and stage .Q-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect the expression of MTSS1 in normal cervical tissue and in different clinical stages of cervical cancer tissue .Results The expression of MTSS1 inⅡB-Ⅳstages of cervical cancer tissue was significantly higher than that of normal tissue or Ⅰ-ⅡA stages through q-PCR (P=0.000).Western blotting results showed that MTSS1 was positively expressed in normal cervical tissue at a rate of 23.3% or 53.3% in cervical cancer tissue.Moreover, the expression of MTSS1 was poorly correlated with age, tumor differentiation and lymphnode metastasis in cervical cancer tissue (P>0.05).The protein level of MTSS1 expressed in ⅡB-Ⅳ stages was significantly higher than that ofⅠ-ⅡA stages(P=0.005).Conclusion The expression of MTSS1 indicates the clinical stage of cervical cancer , suggesting that MTSS1 may play an important role in the development of cervical cancer .