The regenerating protein 3A: a crucial molecular with dual roles in cancer

Introduction REG3A, a member of the third subclass of the Reg family, has been found in a variety of tissues but is not detected in immune cells. In the past decade, it has been determined that REG3A expression is regulated by injury, infection, inflammatory stimuli, and pro-cytokines via different signaling pathways, and it acts as a tissue-repair, bactericidal, and anti-inflammatory molecule in human diseases. Recently, the role of REG3A in cancer has received increasing attention. The present article aims to investigate the structure, expression, regulation, function of REG3A, and to highlight the potential role of REG3A in tumors. Methods A detailed literature search and data organization were conducted to find information about the role of REG3A in variety of physiological functions and tumors. Results Contradictory roles of REG3A have been reported in different tumor models. Some studies have demonstrated that high expression of REG3A in cancers can be oncogenic. Other studies have shown decreased REG3A expression in cancer cells as well as suppressed tumor growth. Conclusions Taken together, better understanding of REG3A may lead to new insights that make it a potentially useful target for cancer therapy.

MiR-20a-5p is Multifunctional Regulator in Chickens Immune Responses Induced by NDV, IBDV and AIV Vaccines Respectively

MiR-20a is an important regulator of immune function. To further explore the expression and functional characteristics of miR-20a in different immune responses, the spatiotemporal expression characteristics of miR-20a-5p in the immunized chicken models induced by three poultry vaccines (infectious bursal disease attenuated vaccine, Newcastle disease attenuated vaccine and avian influenza inactivated vaccine) were analyzed. The results showed that the expression levels of serum circulating miR-20a-5p were significantly different in different stage of the three immune responses. The expression patterns of tissue miR-20a-5p at two time points (5dpi and 21dpi) were similar between ND group and H9 group, but different from IBD group, and the spleen, thymus and bursa of Fabricius were the possible key tissues for miR-20a-5p playing immune regulatory functions in different immune responses. This study showed that miR-20a-5p was a multifunctional key factor involved in different immune responses, and provided a reference for further exploring the immune regulation function and potential application of miR-20a.

Helicobacter pylori-induced REDD1 modulates Th17 cell responses that contributes to gastritis

Objective: Regulated in development and DNA damage responses-1 (REDD1) is a conserved and ubiquitous protein, which is induced in response to multiple stimuli. However, the regulation, function and clinical relevance of REDD1 in H. pylori-associated gastritis are presently unknown.Approach: Immunohistochemistry, real-time PCR and western blot analyses were performed to examine the levels of REDD1 in gastric samples from H. pylori-infected patients and mice. Gastric tissues from Redd1-/- and wild-type (control) mice were examined for inflammation. Gastric epithelial cells (GECs), monocytes and T cells were isolated, stimulated and/or cultured for REDD1 regulation and function assays.Results: REDD1 was increased in gastric mucosa of H. pylori-infected patients and mice. H. pylori induced GECs to express REDD1 via the phosphorylated cagA that activated MAPKp38 pathway to mediate NF-κB directly binding to REDD1 promoter. Human gastric REDD1 increased with the severity of gastritis, and mouse REDD1 from non-marrow chimera-derived cells promoted gastric inflammation that was characterized by the influx of MHCII+ monocytes. Importantly, gastric inflammation, MHCII+ monocyte infiltration, IL-23 and IL-17A were attenuated in Redd1-/- mice. Mechanistically, REDD1 in GECs regulated CXCL1 production, which attracted MHCII+ monocytes migration by CXCL1-CXCR2 axis. Then H. pylori induced MHCII+ monocytes to secrete IL-23, which favored IL-17A-producing CD4+ cell (Th17 cell) polarization, thereby contributing to the development of H. pylori-associated gastritis.Conclusions: This study identifies a novel regulatory network involving REDD1, which collectively exert a pro-inflammatory effect within gastric microenvironment. Efforts to inhibit this REDD1-dependent pathway may prove valuable strategies in treating of H. pylori-associated gastritis.

The Controversial Role of Adiponectin in Appetite Regulation of Animals

Eating disorders and obesity are important health problems with a widespread global epidemic. Adiponectin (AdipoQ), the most abundant adipokine in the plasma, plays important roles in the regulation of energy homeostasis, glucose metabolism and lipid metabolism. Plasma adiponectin concentration is negatively associated with obesity and binge eating disorder. There is a growing interest in the appetite regulation function of adiponectin. However, the effect of AdipoQ on feeding behavior is controversial and closely related to nutritional status and food composition. In this review, we summarize the literatures about the discovery, structure, tissue distribution, receptors and regulation of nutritional status, and focus on the biological function of adiponectin in the regulation of food intake in the central and peripheral system.

Spatial Pattern Simulation of Land Use Based on FLUS Model under Ecological Protection: A Case Study of Hengyang City

With rapid economic development in China, the excessive expansion of cities has led to the imbalance of land use structure, and then the ecological regulation function of the land ecosystem experiences problems, which has become an obstacle to sustainable development. Therefore, in order to protect the ecological environment, regulate urban development and pursue the maximization of ecological benefits, it is necessary to analyze, simulate and predict land use change. In this study, Hengyang City was taken as the study area, and based on the current land use data of Hengyang City in 2010, 2015, and 2018, the land use type transfer during 2010–2015 and 2015–2018 was analyzed. Then, starting from 2010, the FLUS model was used to simulate the spatial distribution of land use in 2015 and 2018, and then the spatial distribution of land use in Hengyang City in 2025 was predicted with the Markov prediction method under the premise of ecological protection priority. The results show that the change in ecological land in Hengyang City is mainly distributed in the surrounding and marginal areas, because the topography of Hengyang City is a basin. Changes in land type in Hengyang City in 2015 were subtle and difficult to observe. However, in 2018, the transformation of non-ecological land into ecological land was obvious, and the distribution area of ecological land expanded significantly. The Kappa index of the results simulated by the FLUS model based on neural network is above 0.72, and overall accuracy is above 0.9, which is highly consistent with the actual situation. It is reasonable and convincing to predict the spatial distribution of land use in the context of ecological protection. The predicted results can be useful for urban planning and land use distribution and provide a reference for relevant decision-makers.

Diet-derived transmission of MicroRNAs from host plant into honey bee Midgut

Background MicroRNA (miRNA) is a class of small noncoding RNAs, which targets on thousands of mRNA and thus plays important roles in many biological processes. It has been reported that miRNA has cross-species regulation functions between parasitoid-host, or plant-animal, etc. For example, several plant miRNAs enter into the honey bees and regulate gene expression. However, whether cross-species regulation function of miRNAs is a universal mechanism remains a debate question. Results We have evaluated transmission of miRNAs from sunflower and sedr plants into the midgut of honey bee using RNA-Seq analyses complemented with confirmation by RT-qPCR. The results showed that at least 11 plant miRNAs were found in the midgut of honey bee feeding by sunflower and sedr pollen. Among which, nine miRNAs, including miR-30d, miR-143, miR-148a, miR-21, let-7 g, miR-26a, miR-126, miR-27a, and miR-203, were shared between the sunflower- and sedr-fed honey bees, suggesting they might have essential roles in plant-insect interactions. Moreover, existence of these co-shared miRNAs presents a strong evidence to support the successful transmission of miRNAs into the midgut of the insect. In total, 121 honeybee mRNAs were predicted to be the target of these 11 plant-derived miRNAs. Interestingly, a sedr-derived miRNA, miR-206, targets on 53 honeybee genes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) analyses showed that these target genes are significantly involved in hippo signaling pathway-fly, Wnt signaling pathway, and N-Glycan biosynthesis. Conclusions In summary, these results provide evidence of cross-species regulation function of miRNA between honeybee and flowering host plants, extending our understanding of the molecular interactions between plants and animals.

Evidence of Adaptive Evolution in Wolbachia-Regulated Gene DNMT2 and Its Role in the Dipteran Immune Response and Pathogen Blocking

Eukaryotic nucleic acid methyltransferase (MTase) proteins are essential mediators of epigenetic and epitranscriptomic regulation. DNMT2 belongs to a large, conserved family of DNA MTases found in many organisms, including holometabolous insects such as fruit flies and mosquitoes, where it is the lone MTase. Interestingly, despite its nomenclature, DNMT2 is not a DNA MTase, but instead targets and methylates RNA species. A growing body of literature suggests that DNMT2 mediates the host immune response against a wide range of pathogens, including RNA viruses. Curiously, although DNMT2 is antiviral in Drosophila, its expression promotes virus replication in mosquito species. We, therefore, sought to understand the divergent regulation, function, and evolution of these orthologs. We describe the role of the Drosophila-specific host protein IPOD in regulating the expression and function of fruit fly DNMT2. Heterologous expression of these orthologs suggests that DNMT2′s role as an antiviral is host-dependent, indicating a requirement for additional host-specific factors. Finally, we identify and describe potential evidence of positive selection at different times throughout DNMT2 evolution within dipteran insects. We identify specific codons within each ortholog that are under positive selection and find that they are restricted to four distinct protein domains, which likely influence substrate binding, target recognition, and adaptation of unique intermolecular interactions. Collectively, our findings highlight the evolution of DNMT2 in Dipteran insects and point to structural, regulatory, and functional differences between mosquito and fruit fly homologs.

Influence of Ego Depletion on Individual Forgiveness in Different Interpersonal Offense Situations

Forgiveness, as an important content in the field of morality, means that the offended person overcomes the negative emotion, cognition, and behavior toward the offender and replaces it with positive emotion, cognition, and behavior. Based on the theory of the limitation of psychological resources, ego depletion (ED) will lead to the weakening of self-regulation function, thus making some immoral behaviors, which is not conducive to individual forgiveness. In order to explore the influence of ED on individual forgiveness in different interpersonal offense situations, this study used the Stroop task to manipulate the level of ED and used imaginary situations to distinguish offending situations. We found that the level of forgiveness in a serious offense situation was significantly lower than that in a mild offense situation, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.158. In different interpersonal offense situations, ED has different effects on forgiveness. In the severe offense situation, the forgiveness level of high-ED individuals was significantly lower than that of the low-ED individuals, p = 0.023, partial η2 = 0.144; in the mild offense situation, the forgiveness level of high-ED individuals was significantly higher than that of low-ED individuals, p = 0.029, partial η2 = 0.140. The results showed that different levels of ED have no consistent effect on forgiveness in different interpersonal offense situations; high ED hinders individual forgiveness in serious offense situations but can promote individual forgiveness in mild offense situations.

Experimental Study on Flow Structure around Spur Dikes of Different Types

As water damage phenomenon of spur dike exists generally, spur dike must be maintained in order to ensure its regulation function, but its structure changed in the process of maintenance. In order to find out flow structure around the spur dike of different pattens, through generalized flume model tests, variation characteristics of water surface profile and flow velocity around the spur dike of five different pattens were analysed. The results show that the straight head had a greater influence than hook head spur dike on the water surface profile, circular cross-section had smaller effects than trapezoidal cross-section spur dike on the water surface profile; Velocity of Choke area and contraction order from large to small is trapezoidal cross-section and fan straight head dike, trapezoidal cross-section and arc straight head dike, arc section and arc straight head dam, trapezoidal cross-section and fan hook head dike, trapezoidal cross-section arc hook head dike; Cross section vertical velocity distribution from large to small is trapezoidal cross-section and fan hook head dam, trapezoidal cross-section and circular straight head dike, arc cross-section and circular straight head dam, trapezoidal cross-section and circular hook head dike.