Cell junction

INTRODUCTION: Gastric cancer has the highest incidence and mortality in Eastern Asia. The efficacy and safety of ramucirumab (RAM) monotherapy or in combination with paclitaxel (PTX) for patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic gastric/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (G/GEA) have been established in clinical trials. To assess the effectiveness and safety of RAM or RAM-based therapy as a second-line treatment in real-world clinical practice in Eastern Asia and to pave the way for future research, a systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted...

The interplay between fatty acids (FAs) and celiac disease (CD) is a burgeoning field of research with significant implications for understanding the pathophysiology and potential therapeutic avenues for this autoimmune disorder. CD, triggered by gluten consumption in susceptible individuals, presents with a range of intestinal and extra-intestinal symptoms impacting various bodily functions. The disruption of intestinal tight junctions (TJs) by gluten proteins leads to increased gut permeability and subsequent inflammatory responses mediated by T-cells...

Background: Fibrosis and inflammation due to ureteropelvic junction obstruction substantially contributes to poor renal function. Urine-derived stem-cell-derived exosomes (USC-Exos) have therapeutic effects through paracrine. Methods: In vitro, the effects of USC-Exos on the biological functions of HK-2 and human umbilical vein endothelial cells were tested. Cell inflammation and fibrosis were induced by transforming growth factor-β1 and interleukin-1β, and their anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects were observed after exogenous addition of USC-Exos...

In adult stem cell lineages, the cellular microenvironment plays essential roles to ensure the proper balance of self-renewal, differentiation and regulated elimination of differentiating cells. Although regulated death of progenitor cells undergoing proliferation or early differentiation is a feature of many tissues, mechanisms that initiate this pruning remain unexplored, particularly in the male germline, where up to 30% of the germline is eliminated before the meiotic divisions. We conducted a targeted screen to identify functional regulators required in somatic support cells for survival or differentiation at early steps in the male germ line stem cell lineage...

Graft compatibility is the capacity of two plants to form cohesive vascular connections. Tomato and pepper are incompatible graft partners; however, the underlying cause of graft rejection between these two species remains unknown.We diagnosed graft incompatibility between tomato and diverse pepper varieties based on weakened biophysical stability, decreased growth, and persistent cell death using trypan blue and TUNEL assays. Transcriptomic analysis of cell death in the junction was performed using RNA-sequencing, and molecular signatures for incompatible graft response were characterized based on meta-transcriptomic comparisons with other biotic processes...

The aim of this study is to investigate the adverse effects of benzophenones (BPs) on the intestinal tract of mice and the potential mechanism. F1-generation ICR mice were exposed to BPs (benzophenone-1, benzophenone-2, and benzophenone-3) by breastfeeding from birth until weaning, and by drinking water after weaning until maturity. The offspring mice were executed on postnatal day 56, then their distal colons were sampled. AB-PAS staining, HE staining, immunofluorescence, Transmission Electron Microscope, immunohistochemistry, western blot and RT-qPCR were used to study the effects of BPs exposure on the colonic tissues of offspring mice...

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a physiological process during development where epithelial cells transform to acquire mesenchymal characteristics, which allows them to migrate and colonize secondary tissues. Many cellular signaling pathways and master transcriptional factors exert a myriad of controls to fine tune this vital process to meet various developmental and physiological needs. Adding to the complexity of this network are post-transcriptional and post-translational regulations. Among them, alternative splicing has been shown to play important roles to drive EMT-associated phenotypic changes, including actin cytoskeleton remodeling, cell-cell junction changes, cell motility and invasiveness...

Nipah virus (NiV) is a highly lethal zoonotic virus with a potential large-scale outbreak, which poses a great threat to world health and security. In order to explore more potential factors associated with NiV, a proximity labeling method was applied to investigate the F, G, and host protein interactions systematically. We screened 1996 and 1524 high-confidence host proteins that interacted with the NiV fusion (F) glycoprotein and attachment (G) glycoprotein in HEK293T cells by proximity labeling technology, and 863 of them interacted with both F and G...

Many genomic, anatomical and functional differences exist between the medullary (MTAL) and the cortical thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle (CTAL), including a higher expression of claudin-10 (CLDN10) in the MTAL than in the CTAL. Therefore, we assessed to what extent the Cldn10 gene expression is a determinant of differential gene expression between MTAL and CTAL. RNAs extracted from CTAL and MTAL microdissected from wild type (WT) and Cldn10 knock out mice (cKO) were analyzed by RNAseq. Differential and enrichment analyses (GSEA) were performed with interactive R Shiny software...

Cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) or familial cavernomatosis is a rare, autosomal dominant, inherited disease characterized by the presence of vascular malformations consisting of blood vessels with an abnormal structure in the form of clusters. Based on the altered gene ( CCM1/Krit1 , CCM2 , CCM3 ) and its origin (spontaneous or familial), different types of this disease can be found. In this work we have isolated and cultivated primary endothelial cells (ECs) from peripheral blood of a type 1 CCM patient...

Natural compounds like flavonoids preserve intestinal mucosal integrity through their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. Additionally, some flavonoids show prebiotic abilities, promoting the growth and activity of beneficial gut bacteria. This study investigates the protective impact of Lens culinaris extract (LE), which is abundant in flavonoids, on intestinal mucosal integrity during LPS-induced inflammation. Using Caco-2 cells as a model for the intestinal barrier, the study found that LE did not affect cell viability but played a cytoprotective role in the presence of LPS...

With the rapid progress in a power conversion efficiency reaching up to 26.1%, which is among the highest efficiency for single-junction solar cells, organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells have become a research focus in photovoltaic technology all over the world, while the instability of these perovskite solar cells, due to the decomposition of its unstable organic components, has restricted the development of all-inorganic perovskite solar cells. In recent years, Br-mixed halogen all-inorganic perovskites (CsPbI3-xBrx) have aroused great interests due to their ability to balance the band gap and phase stability of pure CsPbX3...

The relationship of PAX1/JAM3 methylation as well as HPV viral load (VL) with cervical lesions has been reported, but their role in persistent HPV infection without cervical high-grade lesions has not been fully elucidated. A total of 231 females diagnosed with persistent HPV infection and pathologically confirmed absence of high-grade cervical lesions were selected from the Colposcopy Outpatient Clinic of Peking University People's Hospital, from March 2023 to December 2023. They were categorized into two groups based on the duration of HPV infection: the HPV persistent less than 3 years group and the more than 3 years group...

Introduction : Etiopathogenesis and the symptomatology of ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) in the pediatric population has not yet been definitely clarified, suggesting a multifactorial nature of the condition. The aim was to analyze the association between the number of Interstitial Cells of Cajal (ICCs), as well as P2 X3 receptors in ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) and the pain response in pediatric patients with hydronephrosis. Methods: 50 patients with congenital hydronephrosis underwent open or laparoscopic pyeloplasty at one of two departments of pediatric surgery and urology in Poland...

Clostridium perfringens, a Gram-positive bacterium, causes intestinal diseases in humans and livestock through its toxins, related to alpha toxin (CPA), beta toxin (CPB), C. perfringens enterotoxin (CPE), epsilon toxin (ETX), Iota toxin (ITX), and necrotic enteritis B-like toxin (NetB). These toxins disrupt intestinal barrier, leading to various cell death mechanisms such as necrosis, apoptosis, and necroptosis. Additionally, non-toxin factors like adhesins and degradative enzymes contribute to virulence by enhancing colonization and survival of C...

The gut microbiota is altered in epilepsy and is emerging as a potential target for new therapies. We studied the effects of rifaximin, a gastrointestinal tract-specific antibiotic, on seizures and neuropathology and on alterations in the gut and its microbiota in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Epilepsy was induced by intra-amygdala kainate injection causing status epilepticus (SE) in C57Bl6 adult male mice. Sham mice were injected with vehicle. Two cohorts of SE mice were fed a rifaximin-supplemented diet for 21 days, starting either at 24 h post-SE (early disease stage) or at day 51 post-SE (chronic disease stage)...

NLRP6 plays a crucial role in maintaining intestinal homeostasis by regulating the interaction between the intestinal mucosa and the microbiota. However, the impact of NLRP6 deficiency on intestinal damage following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) remains poorly understood. In this study, we established a syngeneic HSCT mouse model using C57BL/6 mice as donors and NLRP6-/- or C57BL/6 mice as recipients. Our findings revealed that NLRP6 deficiency had minimal influence on peripheral blood cell counts and splenic immune cell proportions in transplanted mice...

Tight junctions are a barrier-forming cell-cell adhesion complex and have been proposed to regulate cell proliferation. However, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Here, we used cells deficient in the junction scaffold ZO-1 alone or together with its paralog ZO-2, which disrupts the junctional barrier. We found that ZO-1 knockout increased cell proliferation, induced loss of cell density-dependent proliferation control, and promoted apoptosis and necrosis. These phenotypes were enhanced by double ZO-1/ZO-2 knockout...

Myasthenia gravis (MG) stands as a perplexing autoimmune disorder affecting the neuromuscular junction, driven by a multitude of antibodies targeting postsynaptic elements. However, the mystery of MG pathogenesis has yet to be completely uncovered, and its heterogeneity also challenges diagnosis and treatment. Growing evidence shows the differential expression of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in MG has played an essential role in the development of MG in recent years. Remarkably, these aberrantly expressed ncRNAs exhibit distinct profiles within diverse clinical subgroups and among patients harboring various antibody types...

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoantibody-mediated disease of the neuromuscular junction. Semaphorin 4A (Sema4A) is involved in the activation of T cells in various inflammatory disorders. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether Sema4A is involved in the pathogenesis of MG. We measured serum Sema4A concentrations in 30 treatment-naïve MG patients with acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies, 7 with muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) antibodies and 21 normal controls. As a result, serum Sema4A levels were significantly higher in patients with AChR antibody-positive MG and MuSK antibody-positive MG than in controls (p ≤ 0...