Beta cells from Alpha cells

BACKGROUND: Pericytes are capillary-associated mural cells involved in the maintenance and stability of the vascular network. Although aging is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the consequences of aging on cardiac pericytes are unknown. METHODS: In this study, we have combined single-nucleus RNA sequencing and histological analysis to determine the effects of aging on cardiac pericytes. Furthermore, we have conducted in vivo and in vitro analysis of RGS5 (regulator of G-protein signaling 5) loss of function and finally have performed pericytes-fibroblasts coculture studies to understand the effect of RGS5 deletion in pericytes on the neighboring fibroblasts...

BACKGROUND: Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is one of the main chronic complications caused by diabetes, leading to amputation in severe cases. Bacterial infection affects the wound healing in DFU. METHODS: DFU patients who met the criteria were selected, and the clinical data were recorded in detail. The pus exudate from the patient's foot wound and venous blood were collected for biochemical analysis. The distribution of bacterial flora in pus exudates of patients was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing, and the correlation between DFU and pathogenic variables, pyroptosis and immunity was analyzed by statistical analysis...

Scorpion venoms identified as agents with anti-tumor and anti-angiogenic features. Tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a pivotal role in the process of tumorigenesis, tumor development, and polarization of M2 phenotype tumor associated macrophages (TAMs). M2 polarized cells are associated with tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. The fractionation process was performed by gel filtration chromatography on a Sephadex G50 column. To elucidate whether scorpion venom can alter macrophage polarization, we treated interleukin (IL)-4-polarized M2 cells with isolated fractions from Mesobuthus eupeus...

Bladder cancer, a common neoplasm, is primarily caused by tobacco smoking. Epigenetic alterations including DNA methylation have the potential to be used as prospective markers of increased risk, particularly in at-risk populations such as smokers. We aimed to investigate the potential of smoking-related white blood cell (WBC) methylation markers to contribute to an increase in bladder cancer risk prediction over classical questionnaire-based smoking metrics (i.e., duration, intensity, packyears) in a nested case-control study within the prospective prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial and the alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene cancer (ATBC) Prevention Study (789 cases; 849 controls)...

Developmental exposure to endocrine disruptors like bisphenol A (BPA) are implicated in later-life metabolic dysfunction. Leveraging a unique sheep model of developmental programming, we conducted an exploratory analysis of the programming effects of BPA on the endocrine pancreas. Pregnant ewes were administered environmentally relevant doses of BPA during gestational days (GD) 30-90, and pancreata from female fetuses and adult offspring were analyzed. Prenatal BPA exposure induced a trend toward decreased islet insulin staining and β-cell count, increased glucagon staining and α-cell count, and increased α-cell/β-cell ratio...

Interactions between endothelial cells (EC) and mural pericytes (PC) are critical to maintaining the stability and function of the microvascular wall. Abnormal interactions between these two cell types are a hallmark of progressive fibrotic diseases, such as systemic sclerosis (SSc, scleroderma). However, the role that PCs play in signaling microvascular dysfunction remains underexplored. It is hypothesized that integrin-matrix interactions contribute to PC migration from the vascular wall and conversion into interstitial myofibroblasts...

Our goal was to investigate the effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and interferons (IFNs) on signal transducer and activator of transcription STAT1 and STAT4 mRNA and active phosphorylated protein expression in Sjögren's syndrome cell culture models. iSGECs (immortalized salivary gland epithelial cells) and A253 cells were treated with EGF, IFN-alpha, -beta, -gamma, or mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 alpha (p38-MAPK) inhibitor for 0-24-48-72 h. STAT1 and STAT4 mRNA expression was quantified by qRT-PCR...

The islets of Langerhans are clusters of endocrine cells surrounded by exocrine acinar cells in the pancreas. Prosaposin is a housekeeping protein required for normal lysosomal function, but its expression level is significantly different among tissues. Prosaposin also exists in various body fluids including serum. Intracellularly, prosaposin activates lysosomes and may support autophagy, and extracellularly, prosaposin promotes survival of neurons via G protein-coupled receptors. In this study, prosaposin and its mRNA expression were examined in endocrine cells of the islets as well as in exocrine acinar cells in the pancreas of mice by in situ hybridization and immunostaining...

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the composition of ocular surface microbiota in patients with obesity. METHODS: This case-control study, spanning from November 2020 to March 2021 at Henan Provincial People's Hospital, involved 35 patients with obesity and an equivalent number of age and gender-matched healthy controls. By employing 16S rRNA sequencing, this study analyzed the differences in ocular surface microbiota between the two groups. The functional prediction analysis of the ocular surface microbiota was conducted using PICRUSt2...

OBJECTIVE: Osteoarthritis (OA), the most prevalent form of arthritis, impacts approximately 10% of men and 18% of women aged above 60 years. Currently, a complete cure for OA remains elusive, making clinical management challenging. The traditional Chinese herb Notopterygium incisum , integral to the Juanbi pill for rheumatism, shows promise in safeguarding chondrocytes through its strong anti-inflammatory effects. METHODS: To explore the protective effect of notopterol and miRNA (has-miR-4248) against inflammation, we simulated an inflammatory environment in chondrocytes cell lines C20A4 and C28/12, focusing on inflammasome formation and pyroptosis...

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have described a significant role for neutrophils in reproductive processes and their participation in the preparation of the cervix for childbirth and the activation of labor, in the postpartum involution of the uterus, and in the occurrence of preeclampsia. This study aimed to assess the formation of free radicals by neutrophils in the blood of women on the first day after childbirth and to characterize the adrenergic effect on this process. METHODS: Venous blood samples from 100 female volunteers aged 26-32 years who had 2 or 3 full-term deliveries were collected and analyzed...

In this work, we sought to validate the use of Euphorbia calyptrata (L.), a Saharan and Mediterranean medicinal plant, in traditional pharmacopeia. GC-MS/MS identified volatile compounds of potential therapeutic interest. Antioxidant tests were performed using β-carotene decolorization, DPPH radical scavenging, FRAP, beta-carotene bleaching, and TAC. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated on solid and liquid media for bacterial and fungal strains to determine the zone of inhibition and the minimum growth concentration (MIC) of the microbes tested...

Virus genomes may encode overlapping or nested open reading frames that increase their coding capacity. It is not known whether the constraints on spatial structures of the two encoded proteins limit evolvability of nested genes. We examine the evolution of a pair of proteins, p22 and p19, encoded by nested genes in plant viruses from the genus Tombusvirus. The known structure of p19, a suppressor of RNA silencing, belongs to the RAGNYA fold from the alpha+beta class. The structure of p22, the cell-to-cell movement protein from the 30K family widespread in plant viruses, is predicted with the AlphaFold approach, suggesting a single jelly-roll fold core from the all-beta class, structurally similar to capsid proteins from plant and animal viruses...

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Beta cells within the pancreatic islet represent a heterogenous population wherein individual sub-groups of cells make distinct contributions to the overall control of insulin secretion. These include a subpopulation of highly connected 'hub' cells, important for the propagation of intercellular Ca2+ waves. Functional subpopulations have also been demonstrated in human beta cells, with an altered subtype distribution apparent in type 2 diabetes. At present, the molecular mechanisms through which beta cell hierarchy is established are poorly understood...

Nai plum (Prunus salicina var. cordata cv. Younai) is one of the most popular fruit crop in South China. In July 2023, a fruit rot of nai plum with about 5 % disease incidence was observed in a fruit market of Changsha city, Hunan Province, China. Initially, small, brown lesions appeared randomly on the fruit surface, with disease progression, the lesions gradually expanded and developed into soft rot. To isolate possible fungi from rotten fruits, small pieces (2 × 2 mm) from the periphery of 10 infected fruits were surface-sterilized using 70% ethanol for 10 s, rinsed three times in sterile distilled water, air dried, and then placed onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates and incubated at 28℃ for three days...

Integrins are heterodimers composed of non-covalently associated alpha and beta subunits that mediate the dynamic linkage between extracellular adhesion molecules and the intracellular actin cytoskeleton. Integrins are present in various tissues and organs and are involved in different physiological and pathological molecular responses in vivo . Wound healing is an important process in the recovery from traumatic diseases and consists of three overlapping phases: inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling...

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Protein kinase CK2 acts as a negative regulator of insulin expression in pancreatic beta cells. This action is mainly mediated by phosphorylation of the transcription factor pancreatic and duodenal homeobox protein 1 (PDX1). In pancreatic alpha cells, PDX1 acts in a reciprocal fashion on glucagon (GCG) expression. Therefore, we hypothesised that CK2 might positively regulate GCG expression in pancreatic alpha cells. METHODS: We suppressed CK2 kinase activity in αTC1 cells by two pharmacological inhibitors and by the CRISPR/Cas9 technique...

Plant derived saponins or other glycosides are widely used for their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-viral properties in therapeutic medicine. In this study, we focus on understanding the function of the less known steroidal saponin from the roots of Liriope muscari L. H. Bailey - saponin C (also known as DT-13) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages in comparison to the well-known saponin ginsenoside Rk1 and anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone. We proved that DT-13 reduces LPS-induced inflammation by inhibiting nitric oxide (NO) production, interleukin-6 (IL-6) release, cycloxygenase-2 (COX-2), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) gene expression, and nuclear factor kappa-B (NFκB) translocation into the nucleus...

Metabolism regulates the phenotype and function of macrophages. After recruitment to local tissues, monocytes are influenced by the local microenvironment and differentiate into various macrophages depending on different metabolic pathways. However, the metabolic mechanisms underlying decidual macrophage differentiation remain unknown. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an important decidual macrophage inducer and promotes oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) of bone marrow-derived macrophages. In this study, we mainly investigate the metabolic changes involved in IL-10 generated macrophages from monocytes using in vitro models...

Acanthamoeba , a free-living amoeba in water and soil, is an emerging pathogen causing severe eye infection known as Acanthamoeba keratitis. In its natural environment, Acanthamoeba performs a dual function as an environmental heterotrophic predator and host for a range of microorganisms that resist digestion. Our objective was to characterize the intracellular microorganisms of phylogenetically distinct Acanthamoeba spp. isolated in Australia and India through directly sequencing 16S rRNA amplicons from the amoebae...