1.Mechanisms of the role of proto-oncogene activation in promoting malignant transformation of mature B cells
Ruiqi ZHOU ; Jiaojiao GUO ; Xiangling FENG ; Wen ZHOU
Journal of Central South University(Medical Sciences) 2024;49(1):113-121
Malignant tumors continue to pose a significant threat to human life and safety and their development is primarily due to the activation of proto-oncogenes and the inactivation of suppressor genes.Among these,the activation of proto-oncogenes possesses greater potential to drive the malignant transformation of cells.Targeting oncogenes involved in the malignant transformation of tumor cells has provided a novel approach for the development of current antitumor drugs.Several preclinical and clinical studies have revealed that the development pathway of B cells,and the malignant transformation of mature B cells into tumors have been regulated by oncogenes and their metabolites.Therefore,summarizing the key oncogenes involved in the process of malignant transformation of mature B cells and elucidating the mechanisms of action in tumor development hold significant importance for the clinical treatment of malignant tumors.
2.Construction and gene identification of myeloid-specific Spi1 knockout mice
Xuming WU ; Huihui WANG ; Xiangling ZHU ; Yuanyuan ZHOU ; Anqi WANG ; Huiru ZHANG ; Chong LIU ; Jiajie TU
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2024;59(3):413-417
Objective To construct myeloid-specific Spi1 gene knockout mice and analyze their genotypes,so as to provide animal model basis for the study of pathological mechanism of diseases and drug targets.Methods Ac-cording to the principle of CRISPR/Cas9 technology and Cre/LoxP system,sgRNA and Donor vectors were de-signed and constructed.The transcript of Exon 2(Exon 2)was used as the knockout region,and Loxp elements were placed on both sides of Exon 2.Cas9 protein,sgRNA and Donor vector were mixed and microinjected into the fertilized eggs of C57BL/6J mice,the fertilized eggs were transplanted into the uterus of C57BL/6J pregnant female mice,and F0 generation was obtained after 19~20 days.Positive F0 mice were mated with C57BL/6J mice to ob-tain stable F1 Spi1flox/+mice.Spi1flox/+mice of F1 generation were selfed to obtain Spi1flox/flox mice.Spi1flox/flox mated with Lyz2-Cre+mice to obtain Spi1flox/+/Lyz2-Cre+mice,and then mated with Spi1flox/flox,the Spi1flox/flox/Lyz2-Cre+mice were myeloid-specific Spi1 gene knockout(KO)mice.Spi1flox/flox/Lyz2-cre-mice were used as wild-type(WT)mice.DNA of WT and KO mice was extracted,and the genotypes were identified by agarose gel electro-phoresis after PCR amplification.Western blot was used to detect the expression of spleen focus forming virus provi-ral integration oncogene,Spi-1/purine rich box-1(PU.1)in immune cells of WT and KO mice.Results The results of PCR identification showed that the genotype of mice with only 220 bp amplified by flox primer was Spi1flox/flox homozygote,and the genotype of mice with 700 bp amplified by Lyz2-Cre primer was Lyz2-Cre+.Western blot showed that compared with WT group,the protein PU.1 was not expressed in bone marrow-derived macropha-ges(BMDMs)and peritoneal macrophages(PM)in KO group(P<0.01).There was no significant difference of statistics in the expression level of PU.1 in T cells between KO mice and WT mice.The results of PCR and West-ern blot showed that myeloid-specific Spi1 KO mice were successfully constructed.Conclusion The myeloid-spe-cific Spi1 gene KO mice are successfully constructed and identified,which provides animal model basis for further revealing the potential mechanism of PU.1 inimmune regulation.
3.Breeding and genotyping of T lymphocyte-conditional Spi1 knockout mice
Huihui WANG ; Xiangling ZHU ; Xuming WU ; Huiru ZHANG ; Yuanyuan ZHOU ; Anqi WANG ; Chong LIU ; Jiajie TU
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2024;59(4):595-599
Objective To breed and identify the T lymphocyte-conditional Spi1 knockout mice for the further in-vestgation of the specific role of Spi1-encoded protein PU.1.Methods The Lck-Cre mice were mated with Spi1flox/flox mice to obtain Lck-Cre×Spi1flox/flox mice(T lymphocyte-specific Spi1 knockout mice),and the genotype was determined by polymerase chain reaction(PCR)and agarose gel electrophoresis.Magnetic beads were used to sort out the splenic T lymphocytes,and the knockdown efficiency of PU.1 in T cells was detected by Western blot,quantitative real-time PCR(qPCR)and flow cytometry.Results The Lck-Cre×Spi1flox/flox mouse genotype was stably inherited.Compared with Spi1flox/flox mice,the expression level of PU.1 was significantly reduced in splenic T cells of Lck-Cre×Spi1flox/flox mice.Conclusion In this study,the T lymphocyte-specific Spi1 knockout mice was successfully constructed by applying Cre/LoxP system and CRISPR/Cas9 technology,which provided a reliable an-imal model for the subsequent experiments of the specific role of PU.1 in T cell-related diseases.
4.Construction and efficiency detection of Csf1r-CreERT2 R26REYFP reporter gene mouse based on Cre/Loxp system
Xiangling ZHU ; Xuming WU ; Huihui WANG ; Yuanyuan ZHOU ; Anqi WANG ; Huiru ZHANG ; Chong LIU ; Jiajie TU
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2024;59(7):1175-1180
Objective To construct Csf1r-CreERT2 R26REYFP reporter gene mice and assess the efficacy of Csf1r-CreERT2-mediated enhancement of CSF1R in CD45+cells labeled with yellow fluorescein protein EYFP.Methods Csf1r-CreERT2 mice were crossbred with R26REYFP homozygous mice,and Csf1r-CreERT2R26REYFP mice were identified through PCR and Western Blot analyses.Flow cytometry was employed to evaluate CSF1R tag-efficiency in CD45+cells across different mouse tissues following tamoxifen induction.Results Csf1r-CreERT2 R26REYFP reporter gene mice were acquired.In addition,it was found that Csf1r-CreERT2-mediated EYFP could effectively mark CSF1R in various tissues of mice and CD45+cells in different locations.Compared to the R26REYF P group,the highest labeling efficiency was observed in the brain tissue(P<0.001),the lowest in the thymus tissue(P<0.05),and no sig-nificant difference was observed in the spleen tissue.Conclusion Adult Csf1r-CreERT2 mice and R26REYFP mice are effective ways to obtain Csf1r-CreERT2 R26REYFP induced conditional fluorescence mice.Csf1r-CreERT2 can mediate EYFP to effectively trace CSF1R in CD45+cells in different parts of mice.
5.Research on A TabNet-Based Predictive Model and Medication Patterns in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hyperthyroidism by Professor Zhou Zhongying
Xiaona YANG ; Yao ZHU ; Xiangling XING ; Zuojian ZHOU ; Kankan SHE
Journal of Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2024;40(5):534-542
OBJECTIVE Taking Professor Zhou Zhongying's clinical cases of treating hyperthyroidism as the research object,this article explored the use of the TabNet model based on neural networks to discover the diagnosis and treatment rules of hyperthyroid-ism,providing a method reference for inheriting the academic thoughts of famous veteran traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and assisting clinical diagnosis and treatment.METHODS Based on the clinical diagnosis and treatment cases of hyperthyroidism of Pro-fessor Zhou Zhongying and his team,standardized and structured training data were constructed;algorithms based on attention mecha-nism and sparse feature selection mechanism were studied;a pathogenesis prediction model was constructed by inputting standardized clinical manifestations,standardized tongue and pulse conditions;core symptoms,pathogenesis and medication were analyzed,as well as the relationship between the three.RESULTS The trained prediction model was used to predict the 6 pathogenesis of liver stagna-tion,liver fire,phlegm fluid,kidney deficiency,yin deficiency,and blood stasis.Compared with multi-label classification models constructed by classic algorithms such as decision trees and random forests,this model had better classification and prediction indica-tors.Mining was carried out through the decision tree algorithm,and 6 core pathogenesis corresponding Chinese medicine groups were summarized:vinegar-baked Bupleurum chinense,prunella vulgaris,oyster,processed Carapax trionycis,Scrophularia ningpoensis,Asparagus cochinchinensis,Ophiopogon japonicus,etc.CONCLUSION Using the TabNet algorithm on clinical medical record data to build a pathogenesis prediction model based on clinical manifestations,tongue and pulse conditions can effectively predict the core pathogenesis,and then discover the connection between symptoms,pathogenesis and medication,providing methodological references for the inheritance of academic ideas of famous veteran traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and clinical auxiliary diagnosis and treatment decision-making.
6.Meta-synthesis of qualitative research on safety culture cognition in medical institutions
Jiajie TANG ; Fang WANG ; Xu HU ; Xiangling ZHOU ; Xinhua XIE
Chinese Journal of Hospital Administration 2024;40(6):468-476
Objective:To analyze qualitative research on safety culture cognition of medical staff and patients in medical institutions, for references to promote the development of safety culture in medical institutions.Methods:This study searched English databases such as PubMed and Embase, as well as Chinese databases such as CNKI and Wanfang, to collect qualitative research related literature on the safety culture cognition of medical staff and patients in medical institutions. The search period was from database establishment to July 15, 2023. The inclusion and exclusion criteria for literature, and the Australian JBI critical appraisal tool for qualitative research were used to screen the literature, and a meta-synthesis method was used to integrate and analyze the research results.Results:A total of 13 articles were included, and 30 research results were extracted and integrated into three levels: individual, organizational, and interpersonal. Among them, the individual level included three categories: responsibility and ability, personal factors, and patient factors. The organizational level included five categories: patient safety as the primary principle, management level, regulations and processes, work environment, and safety culture atmosphere. The interpersonal level included two categories: cooperation and communication.Conclusions:The development and construction of safety culture were influenced by various factors. Medical institutions should attach importance to the core competency building of medical personnel and advocate for patient participation in safety culture construction; Promote the development of safety culture in medical institutions and improve the management system for adverse events; Improve team collaboration efficiency, standardize communication and exchange modes, and improve the quality of medical safety.
7.High expression of VARS promotes the growth of multiple myeloma cells by causing imbalance in valine metabolism.
Rui SHI ; Wanqing DU ; Yanjuan HE ; Jian HU ; Han YU ; Wen ZHOU ; Jiaojiao GUO ; Xiangling FENG
Journal of Central South University(Medical Sciences) 2023;48(6):795-808
OBJECTIVES:
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy occurring in middle and old age. MM is still an incurable disease due to its frequent recurrence and drug resistance. However, its pathogenesis is still unclear. Abnormal amino acid metabolism is one of the important characteristics of MM, and the important metabolic pathway of amino acids participates in protein synthesis as basic raw materials. Aminoacyl transfer ribonucleic acid synthetase (ARS) gene is a key regulatory gene in protein synthesis. This study aims to explore the molecular mechanism for ARS, a key factor of amino acid metabolism, in regulating amino acid metabolism in MM and affecting MM growth.
METHODS:
The corresponding gene number was combined with the gene expression profile GSE5900 dataset and GSE2658 dataset in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to standardize the gene expression data of ARS. GSEA_4.2.0 software was used to analyze the difference of gene enrichment between healthy donors (HD) and MM patients in GEO database. GraphPad Prism 7 was used to draw heat maps and perform data analysis. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression model were used to analyze the expression of ARS gene and the prognosis of MM patients, respectively. Bone marrow samples from 7 newly diagnosed MM patients were collected, CD138+ and CD138- cells were obtained by using CD138 antibody magnetic beads, and the expression of ARS in MM clinical samples was analyzed by real-time RT-PCR. Human B lymphocyte GM12878 cells and human MM cell lines ARP1, NCI-H929, OCI-MY5, U266, RPMI 8266, OPM-2, JJN-3, KMS11, MM1.s cells were selected as the study objects. The expression of ARS in MM cell lines was analyzed by real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting. Short hairpin RNA (shRNA) lentiviruses were used to construct gene knock-out plasmids (VARS-sh group). No-load plasmids (scramble group) and gene knock-out plasmids (VARS-sh group) were transfected into HEK 293T cells with for virus packaging, respectively. Stable expression cell lines were established by infecting ARP1 and OCI-MY5 cells, and the effects of knockout valyl-tRNA synthetase (VARS) gene on proliferation and apoptosis of MM cells were detected by cell counting and flow cytometry, respectively. GEO data were divided into a high expression group and a low expression group according to the expression of VARS. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to explore the downstream pathways affected by VARS. Gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF/MS) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were used to detect the valine content in CD138+ cells and ARP1, OCI-MY5 cells and supernatant of knockdown VARS gene in bone marrow samples from patients, respectively.
RESULTS:
Gene enrichment analysis showed that tRNA processing related genes were significantly enriched in MM compared with HD (P<0.0001). Further screening of tRNA processing-pathway related subsets revealed that cytoplasmic aminoacyl tRNA synthetase family genes were significantly enriched in MM (P<0.0001). The results of gene expression heat map showed that the ARS family genes except alanyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS), arginyl-tRNA synthetase (RARS), seryl-tRNA synthetase (SARS) in GEO data were highly expressed in MM (all P<0.01). With the development of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) to MM, the gene expression level was increased gradually. Kaplan-Meier univariate analysis of survival results showed that there were significant differences in the prognosis of MM patients in methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MARS), asparaginyl-tRNA synthetase (NARS) and VARS between the high expression group and the low expression group (all P<0.05). Cox regression model multivariate analysis showed that the high expression of VARS was associated with abnormal overall survival time of MM (HR=1.83, 95% CI 1.10 to 3.06, P=0.021). The high expression of NARS (HR=0.90, 95% CI 0.34 to 2.38) and MARS (HR=1.59, 95% CI 0.73 to 3.50) had no effect on the overall survival time of MM patients (both P>0.05). Real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting showed that VARS, MARS and NARS were highly expressed in CD138+ MM cells and MM cell lines of clinical patients (all P<0.05). Cell counting and flow cytometry results showed that the proliferation of MM cells by knockout VARS was significantly inhibited (P<0.01), the proportion of apoptosis was significantly increased (P<0.05). Bioinformatics analysis showed that in addition to several pathways including the cell cycle regulated by VARS, the valine, leucine and isoleucine catabolic pathways were upregulated. Non-targeted metabolomics data showed reduced valine content in CD138+ tumor cells in MM patients compared to HD (P<0.05). HPLC results showed that compared with the scramble group, the intracellular and medium supernatant content of ARP1 cells and the medium supernatant of OCI-MY5 in the VARS-shRNA group was increased (all P<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
MM patients with abnormal high expression of VARS have a poor prognosis. VARS promotes the malignant growth of MM cells by affecting the regulation of valine metabolism.
Humans
;
Valine-tRNA Ligase
;
Multiple Myeloma/genetics*
;
Metabolomics
;
Amino Acids
;
RNA, Transfer
8.NEK2 promotes the progression of liver cancer by resisting the cellular senescence.
Qian LEI ; Jiliang XIA ; Xiangling FENG ; Jiaojiao GUO ; Guancheng LI ; Wen ZHOU
Journal of Central South University(Medical Sciences) 2022;47(2):153-164
OBJECTIVES:
Liver cancer is the sixth most common malignant tumor in the world. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 85%-90% of all patients with liver cancer. It possesses the characteristics of insidious onset, rapid progression, early recurrence, easy drug resistance, and poor prognosis. NIMA related kinase 2 (NEK2) is a cell cycle regulating kinases, which regulates cell cycle in mitosis. Cellular senescence is a complex heterogeneous process, and is a stable form of cell cycle arrest that limits the proliferative potential of cells. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the expression level of NEK2 and the senescence in hepatoma cells, and to explore the effect of NEK2 expression on hepatoma cell senescence and the underlying molecular mechanism.
METHODS:
A total of 581 senescence-relevant genes were obtained from the GenAge website. The gene expression data of tumor tissues of 370 HCC patients were downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas database. The co-expression of NEK2 and aging-related genes was analyzed by R-package. KEGG was used to analyze the significant gene enrichment pathway of differentially expressed genes in NEK2 overexpression HEK293. The stable transfected cell lines with overexpression and knockdown of NEK2 were constructed in hepatoma cell line SMMC-7721 and HepG2, and senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) staining was used to detect senescence, the cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 method and clone formation experiment, the cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry, and the expression of proteins related to p53/p21, p16/Rb, and phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN)/Akt signal transduction pathway was detected by Western blotting.
RESULTS:
There were 320 senescence related genes co-expressed with NEK2. KEGG analysis showed that the senescence signaling pathway was significantly enriched in HEK293 cells with overexpression of NEK2.Compared with SMMC-7721 or HepG2 without knockdown of NEK2, the senescent cells of SMMC-7721 and HepG2 with knockdown of NEK2 were increased, cell proliferation and clone formation were decreased significantly, the percentage of cells in G0/G1 phase was increased, the expression levels of phospho-Akt (p-Akt) and phospho-Rb (p-Rb) protein were decreased significantly, and the expression level of p16 protein was increased significantly (all P<0.05). Compared with SMMC-7721 or HepG2 transfected with blank plasmid, the senescent cells of SMMC-7721 and HepG2 overexpressing NEK2 were decreased, the cell proliferation and clone formation were increased significantly, the percentage of cells in G0/G1 phase were decreased, the expression levels of p-Akt and p-Rb protein were increased significantly, and the expression level of p16 protein was decreased significantly (all P<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
NEK2 may mediate the anti-aging effect of hepatoma cells through p16/Rb and PTEN/Akt signal transduction pathways, which provides a new theoretical basis for NEK2 to promote the progress of liver cancer and a new idea for the targeting treatment for liver cancer.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/pathology*
;
Cell Line, Tumor
;
Cell Proliferation/physiology*
;
Cellular Senescence/genetics*
;
HEK293 Cells
;
Humans
;
Liver Neoplasms/pathology*
;
NIMA-Related Kinases/genetics*
;
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism*
9. Proteomic analysis and verification of protein expression after upregulation of human CD99 in Hodgkin lymphoma cell line L428
Xiangling LIN ; Qingcan SUN ; Yin LU ; Xiqun HAN ; Tong ZHAO ; Xinhua ZHOU
Chinese Journal of Hematology 2019;40(6):490-496
Objective:
To investigate the proteins expression difference after upregulation of human CD99 in Hodgkin Lymphoma cell line, L428 cell, and verify the function of differential proteins.
Methods:
The differential proteins were detected by two-dimensional fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry analysis, cluster analysis was done by GOfact.
Results:
There were 38 proteins screened out, of which 21 proteins were positively associated with CD99, while 17 proteins were negative. Among the 38 proteins, 32 proteins participated in biological process, and 35 proteins were involved in the composition and construction. And 28 proteins participated in multifaceted biological activities including antioxidation, protein binding, catalytic activity, regulation of enzyme, signal transduction, molecular structure, regulation of translation and ion transport.
Conclusions
The changes of the differential proteins, correlated with cytoskeleton, cell differentiation, signal pathway and regulating gene expression, are closely relevant to the translation between Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg and B lymphocyte cell.
10.Improvement Effects of Shenrong Bunao Capsule on Learning and Memory Ability of Alzheimer ’s Disease Model Mice and Its Mechanism Study
Xiangling QU ; Chunmei PU ; Chenghuan XIONG ; Ping LI ; Ming LIU ; Xunrong ZHOU
China Pharmacy 2019;30(23):3221-3226
OBJECTIVE: To study the improvement effect of Shenrong bunao capsule on learning and memory ability of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) model mice, and to investigate its mechanism. METHODS: Totally 72 mice were randomly divided into blank control group (normal saline), model group (normal saline), Piracetam tablets group (positive control,0.80 g/kg),Shenrong bunao capsule high-dose,middle-dose and low-dose groups (1.92, 0.96, 0.48 g/kg), with 12 mice in each group. Except that blank control group was given constant volume of normal saline subcutaneously. Other groups were given D-galactose (150 mg/kg) subcutaneously and sodium nitrite (50 mg/kg) intraperitoneally every day to induce AD model. At the same time,they were given relevant medicine intragastrically,once a day, for consecutive 60 d. 1 h after last administration, Morris water maze test was used to measure escape latency and times of crossing the platform within 90 s. HE staining was used to observe pathological changes of cerebral cortex in mice. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expressions of TNF-α, NF-κB p65, PI3K and Akt in cerebral cortex of mice. RESULTS: Compared with blank control group, escape latency was prolonged significantly (P<0.01), and the times of crossing the platform within 90 s was decreased significantly in model group (P<0.01). The neurons in cerebral cortex was damaged obviously, and the number of intact neurons was decreased significantly (P<0.01). The protein expressions of TNF-α, NF-κB p65, PI3K and Akt in cerebral cortex were increased significantly (P<0.01). Compared with model group, except that there was no statistical significance in escape latency, protein expressions of TNF-α, NF-кB p65, PI3K and Akt in Shenrong bunao capsule low-dose group (P>0.05), above indexes of other administration groups were improved significantly (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Shenrong bunao capsule can improve the learning and memory ability of AD model mice, and its mechanism may be related to the inhibiting the protein expressions of TNF-α,NF-κB p65, PI3K and Akt in cerebral cortex region and relieving inflammation injury so as to protect cranial nerve.


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