Expression Mechanism of miR-10b in Cervical Cancer Under Treatment of Methoxy-Polyethylene Glycol-Polylactic Drug-Loaded Nanoparticles

This work aimed to analyze expression mechanism of micro ribonucleic acid (RNA)-10b (miR-10b) in cervical cancer (CC) based on Curcumin-monomethoxy polyethylene glycol-polylactic acid-drug-loaded nanoparticles (CUR-MPEG-PLA DLNPs). 36 Kunming mice were selected and randomly rolled into group A and group B, and 18 nude mice were deemed as controls. CUR-MPEG-PLA DLNPs were prepared for the treatment of 18 Kunming mice in group A. The CC tumor tissues of 36 Kunming mice were harvested, the miR-10b of CC cells was extracted, and the expression level of CC cells was detected by fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The results showed that the average particle size of CUR-MPEG-PLA DLNPs was 362.52±6.34 nm. The tumor inhibition rate of Kunming mice in group A against CC tumor strains 63.35±3.62% was considerably superior to those in group B (26.31 ±2.54%) (P < 0.05). In group A, expression rate of miR-10b (77.78%) was remarkably superior to controls (55.55%) (x2 = 2.364, P < 0.05). In 20 cases of CC tissues with positive expression of latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1), expression of miR-10b in metastasis group was obviously higher relative to non-metastasis group (Z = −3.214, P < 0.05). In 16 cases of CC tissues with negative expression of LMP-1, expression of miR-10b in metastasis group was also considerably higher versus non-metastasis group (Z = −2.245, P < 0.05). In conclusion, the average particle size of CUR-MPEG-PLA DLNPs was 362.52 ±6.34 nm, the electromotive force was −9.23 mV, the dispersion coefficient was 0.064, the drug loading rate of nanoparticles was 8.54%, and the encapsulation rate was 72.36%. miR-10b has certain correlation with the metastasis of cervical cancer. LMP-1 gene has the function of promoting the metastasis of cervical cancer tumor cells, which may be dependent on miR-10b. CUR-MPEG-PLA DLNPs loading system can inhibit tumor growth obviously, and has excellent therapeutic effect in CC disease.

A shared mechanism for facial expression in human faces and face pareidolia

Facial expressions are vital for social communication, yet the underlying mechanisms are still being discovered. Illusory faces perceived in objects (face pareidolia) are errors of face detection that share some neural mechanisms with human face processing. However, it is unknown whether expression in illusory faces engages the same mechanisms as human faces. Here, using a serial dependence paradigm, we investigated whether illusory and human faces share a common expression mechanism. First, we found that images of face pareidolia are reliably rated for expression, within and between observers, despite varying greatly in visual features. Second, they exhibit positive serial dependence for perceived facial expression, meaning an illusory face (happy or angry) is perceived as more similar in expression to the preceding one, just as seen for human faces. This suggests illusory and human faces engage similar mechanisms of temporal continuity. Third, we found robust cross-domain serial dependence of perceived expression between illusory and human faces when they were interleaved, with serial effects larger when illusory faces preceded human faces than the reverse. Together, the results support a shared mechanism for facial expression between human faces and illusory faces and suggest that expression processing is not tightly bound to human facial features.

Integrated Proteomics and Transcriptomics Analyses Reveal the Transcriptional Slippage of P3N-PIPO in a Bymovirus

P3N-PIPO (P3 N-terminal fused with Pretty Interesting Potyviridae ORF), the movement protein of potyviruses, is expressed as a translational fusion with the N-terminus of P3 in potyviruses. As reported in previous studies, P3N-PIPO is expressed via transcriptional slippage at a conserved G2A6 slippery site in the genus Potyvirus. However, it is still unknown whether a similar expression mechanism of P3N-PIPO is used in the other genera of the family Potyviridae. Moreover, due to the extremely low expression level of P3N-PIPO in natural virus-infected plants, the peptides spanning the slippery site which provide direct evidence of the slippage at the protein level, have not been identified yet. In this study, a potato virus X (PVX)-based expression vector was utilized to investigate the expression mechanism of P3N-PIPO. A high expression level of the P3N-PIPO(WT) of turnip mosaic virus (TuMV, genus Potyvirus) was observed based on the PVX expression vector. For the first time, we successfully identified the peptides of P3N-PIPO spanning the slippery site by mass spectrometry. Likewise, the P3N-PIPO(WT) of wheat yellow mosaic virus (WYMV, genus Bymovirus) was also successfully expressed using the PVX expression vector. Integrated proteome and transcriptome analyses revealed that WYMV P3N-PIPO was expressed at the conserved G2A6 site through transcriptional slippage. Moreover, as revealed by mutagenesis analysis, Hexa-adenosine of the G2A6 site was important for the frameshift expression of P3N-PIPO in WYMV. According to our results, the PVX-based expression vector might be used as an excellent tool to study the expression mechanism of P3N-PIPO in Potyviridae. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experimental evidence for the expression mechanism of P3N-PIPO in the genus Bymovirus, the only genus comprising bipartite virus species in the family Potyviridae.

Establishment of histopathological diagnosis based on bladder cancer-specific microRNA and gene expression mechanism

Cancer treatment tends to be more effective if cancer is diagnosed early on. Improved means of identification and diagnosis are therefore crucial. As many existing methods of diagnosing cancers don't facilitate early diagnosis, a team of researchers in the Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Nara Medical University, Japan, is developing improved methods of diagnosing cancers such as bladder cancer and prostate cancer. Associate Professor Tomomi Fujii and the team hope their work will lead to earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment, improving patient outcomes and the resources available to healthcare professionals. The researchers are focused on the use of microRNA and gene expression mechanisms to heighten the effectiveness of histopathological diagnoses. The team believes that if it can understand more about the mechanisms associated with microRNAs and cancer, this will assist in the development of improved diagnostic methods. In particular, Fujii and the team want to clarify the functions of target molecules of specific microRNAs and molecules expressed in conjunction with microRNAs and believe this could be key to developing advanced drug therapies for cancer in the form of molecular-targeted therapies. When it comes to urinary tumours such as bladder cancer and prostate cancer, the researchers are interested in analysing microRNAs as a trigger through which they can search for important molecules in urinary tumours and potentially act directly on the cancer to stop it from growing or to prevent it from metastasising to other organs.