Objective To screen for differentially expressed apoptosis-related circular RNAs(circRNAs)in osteoblasts from steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head(SONFH)and to investigate their roles and mechanisms in osteoblast apoptosis.Methods MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured and divided into two groups:Control and DEX-treated.Western blot analysis was employed to evaluate the expression levels of BCL2-Associated X protein(Bax)and B-cell lymphoma 2(Bcl-2).Cell apoptosis was assessed using TUNEL staining and flow cytometry.RNA was extracted from both normal and DEX-treated MC3T3-E1 cells,followed by RNA-seq to identify differen-tially expressed circular RNAs(circRNAs).The functions and pathways of these circRNAs were analyzed using Gene Ontology(GO)and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG).The differentially expressed mmu_circ_0000818 was selected for further verification at the cellular level.Its chromosomal location and conservation were examined using the UCSC Genome Browser Gateway and circBase.Overexpression plasmids and small interfering RNAs(siRNAs)targeting mmu_circ_0000818 were constructed and transfected into the cells.Subsequently,apop-tosis in MC3T3-E1 cells from each group was evaluated by flow cytometry.Results Compared with the control group,the apoptosis rate of MC3T3-E1 cells was significantly increased in the DEX group(P<0.01).Differen-tially expressed circRNAs were identified based on log2foldchange(≥2)and P value(P<0.05).Relative to the control group,there were 234 differentially expressed circRNAs in the DEX group,including 138 up-regulated and 96 down-regulated circRNAs.GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of the target genes of these differentially expressed circRNAs revealed significant associations with apoptosis and the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.qRT-PCR results demonstrated that the expression level of mmu_circ_0000818 was markedly higher in the DEX group com-pared to the control group(P<0.01).Analysis using the UCSC Genome Browser and CircBase indicated that mmu_circ_0000818,located at chromosome 17:78712463-78715086,is formed by the cyclization of exons 6-7 of the Crim1 gene and exhibits high conservation across species.Flow cytometry results indicated that knockdown of mmu_circ_0000818 attenuated DEX-induced apoptosis in MC3T3-E1 cells,while overexpression of mmu_circ_0000818 exacerbated apoptosis.Conclusions CircRNA mmu_circ_0000818 was significantly upregulated in DEX-treated MC3T3-E1 cells,and its downregulation mitigated DEX-induced apoptosis.Consequently,mmu_circ_0000818 may represent a promising therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of SONFH.

Objective To screen for differentially expressed apoptosis-related circular RNAs(circRNAs)in osteoblasts from steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head(SONFH)and to investigate their roles and mechanisms in osteoblast apoptosis.Methods MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured and divided into two groups:Control and DEX-treated.Western blot analysis was employed to evaluate the expression levels of BCL2-Associated X protein(Bax)and B-cell lymphoma 2(Bcl-2).Cell apoptosis was assessed using TUNEL staining and flow cytometry.RNA was extracted from both normal and DEX-treated MC3T3-E1 cells,followed by RNA-seq to identify differen-tially expressed circular RNAs(circRNAs).The functions and pathways of these circRNAs were analyzed using Gene Ontology(GO)and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG).The differentially expressed mmu_circ_0000818 was selected for further verification at the cellular level.Its chromosomal location and conservation were examined using the UCSC Genome Browser Gateway and circBase.Overexpression plasmids and small interfering RNAs(siRNAs)targeting mmu_circ_0000818 were constructed and transfected into the cells.Subsequently,apop-tosis in MC3T3-E1 cells from each group was evaluated by flow cytometry.Results Compared with the control group,the apoptosis rate of MC3T3-E1 cells was significantly increased in the DEX group(P<0.01).Differen-tially expressed circRNAs were identified based on log2foldchange(≥2)and P value(P<0.05).Relative to the control group,there were 234 differentially expressed circRNAs in the DEX group,including 138 up-regulated and 96 down-regulated circRNAs.GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of the target genes of these differentially expressed circRNAs revealed significant associations with apoptosis and the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.qRT-PCR results demonstrated that the expression level of mmu_circ_0000818 was markedly higher in the DEX group com-pared to the control group(P<0.01).Analysis using the UCSC Genome Browser and CircBase indicated that mmu_circ_0000818,located at chromosome 17:78712463-78715086,is formed by the cyclization of exons 6-7 of the Crim1 gene and exhibits high conservation across species.Flow cytometry results indicated that knockdown of mmu_circ_0000818 attenuated DEX-induced apoptosis in MC3T3-E1 cells,while overexpression of mmu_circ_0000818 exacerbated apoptosis.Conclusions CircRNA mmu_circ_0000818 was significantly upregulated in DEX-treated MC3T3-E1 cells,and its downregulation mitigated DEX-induced apoptosis.Consequently,mmu_circ_0000818 may represent a promising therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of SONFH.

Objective:To analyze the research hotspots of self-management in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at home and abroad.Methods:Related literature on self-management of COPD patients were searched in China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Web of Science databases, and the searched period was from January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2023. CiteSpace 5.8 software was used for keyword cluster analysis.Results:A total of 641 articles in Chinese and 1 192 in English were obtained. Domestic research hotspots about self-management of COPD patients mainly focused on health education, continuing care, rehabilitation care, etc. Foreign research hotspots about self-management of COPD patients mainly focused on mobile health, telemedicine and so on.Conclusions:This paper analyzes the research hotspots of self-management of COPD patients at home and abroad and provides reference for future research on self-management of COPD patients.

Background Glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is determined to have a neurotrophy effect and promoting effect to the growth of axon.GDNF has been applied in ophthalmology.Research showed that artemin,a new member of GDNF family,has a better function in protection of neuron,but seldom relevant document of distruibution of artemin in retina is found so far.Objective The aim of the present study is to investigate the distribution and expression of artemin in normal rat retinal neuron cells and retinal ganglion cells,and imitate diabetic environment to observe the expression of artemin at the condition of high glucose.Methods Retinal tissue was isolated from clean neonatal SD rats and cultured by expand culture method in DMEM/F12 containing 10% fetal bovine serum.40 mmol/L of glucose was added in medium in the seventh day after culture for 12 hours as experimental group.The expression and location of artemin in retina were tested by real-time PCR and cell immunofluorescence assay.Use of experimental animals followed the Management Regulation of experimental animals of Jiangsu Province.Results Cultured cells showed the typical cell body and processes in the seventh day.Cultured retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) presented the red fluorescence for Thy1.1 antibody,and multiple fluorescence label revealed that RGCs exhibited the green fluorescence for artemin antibody and red fluorescence for Thy1.1 antibody,indicating artemin protein was positively expressed in cultured RGCs.The numbers of positive cells for Thy1.1 antibody was (442±9)/high field in normal culture group and (263±7) /high field in 40mmol/L glucose culture group,showing a significant difference between them (P＜0.05).The expression of artemin mRNA in normal culture group and in 40 mmol/L glucose culture group,was showing a considerably difference between them(P＜0.05).Conclusion Artemin can be expressed in cultured retinal neuron cells and RGCs in rats.High glucose environment down-regulate the expression of artemin.This study proved a new idea for protecting RGCs against damage.