Oxidative stress-induced circKIF18A downregulation impairs MCM7-mediated anti-senescence in intervertebral disc degeneration

Wang Jianle,Xia Dongdong,Lin Yan,Xu Wenbin,Wu Yaosen,Chen Jiaoxiang,Chu Junjie,Shen Panyang,Weng Sheji,Wang Xiangyang,Shen Lifeng,Fan Shunwu,Shen Shuying 생화학분자생물학회 2022 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.54 No.-

Low back pain, triggered by intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD), is one of the most common causes of disability and financial expenditure worldwide. However, except for surgical interventions, effective medical treatment to prevent the progression of IVDD is lacking. This study aimed to investigate the effects of circKIF18A, a novel circRNA, on IVDD progression and to explore its underlying mechanism in IVDD. In this study, we found that oxidative stress was positively correlated with nucleus pulposus cell (NPC) senescence in IVDD and that circKIF18A was downregulated in IVDD and attenuated senescent phenotypes such as cell cycle arrest and extracellular matrix degradation in NPCs. Mechanistically, circKIF18A competitively suppressed ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal degradation of MCM7, and the protective effects of circKIF18A on NPCs were partially mediated by MCM7 under oxidative stress. Intradiscal injection of adenoviral circKIF18A ameliorated IVDD in a rat model. This study revealed that circKIF18A regulates NPC degeneration by stabilizing MCM7 and identified a novel signaling pathway, the circKIF18A-MCM7 axis, for anti-senescence molecular therapy in IVDD.

Curcumin protects against the intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury: involvement of the tight junction protein ZO-1 and TNF-α related mechanism

Shuying Tian,Ruixue Guo,Sichen Wei,Yu Kong,Xinliang Wei,Weiwei Wang,Xiaomeng Shi,Hongyu Jiang 대한생리학회-대한약리학회 2016 The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology Vol.20 No.2

Present study aimed to investigate the effect of curcumin-pretreatment on intestinal I/R injury and on intestinal mucosa barrier. Thirty Wistar rats were randomly divided into: sham, I/R, and curcumin groups (n=10). Animals in curcumin group were pretreated with curcumin by gastric gavage (200 mg/kg) for 2 days before I/R. Small intestine tissues were prepared for Haematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) staining. Serum diamine oxidase (DAO) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels were measured. Expression of intestinal TNF-α and tight junction protein (ZO-1) proteins was detected by Western blot and/or immunohistochemistry. Serum DAO level and serum and intestinal TNF-α leves were significantly increased after I/R, and the values were markedly reduced by curcumin pretreatment although still higher than that of sham group (p<0.05 or p<0.001). H&E staining showed the significant injury to intestinal mucosa following I/R, and curcumin pretreatment significantly improved the histological structure of intestinal mucosa. I/R insult also induced significantly down-regulated expression of ZO-1, and the effect was dramatically attenuated by curcumin-pretreatment. Curcumin may protect the intestine from I/R injury through restoration of the epithelial structure, promotion of the recovery of intestinal permeability, as well as enhancement of ZO-1 protein expression, and this effect may be partly attributed to the TNF-α related pathway.

Metabonomics study on the hot syndrome of traditional Chinese medicine by rapid resolution liquid chromatography combined with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry

Wang, Yang,Ma, Li,Sun, Yi,Yang, Liman,Yue, Hao,Liu, Shuying 대한약학회 2014 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.37 No.7

The hot syndrome refers to any feverish conditions during a pathological development, a sub-health phenomenon, and is a potential risk for human health. The metabonomics study on the hot syndrome may provide insight into understanding of its pathology and play a role in the prevention and treatment of its related diseases. In this paper, the rats were dosed with the hot syndrome prescription, ginseng and water. The corresponding urine samples were identified by rapid resolution liquid chromatography combined with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. More than 1,000 metabolic compounds from different urine samples could be further differentiated by principal component analysis. As a result, the rat body temperature and weight were recognized as the hot syndrome related factors. Some specific metabolites have been discovered as a pattern of the potential biomarkers for the hot syndrome. The results showed that ginseng cannot cause the hot syndrome in a reasonable dose, but the hot syndrome prescription can. It is suggested that ginseng cannot be used only as a tradition Chinese medicine but also as a nutrient. The work showed metabonomics method is a valuable tool in studying mechanism of the hot syndrome.

Curcumin protects against the intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury: involvement of the tight junction protein ZO-1 and TNF-α related mechanism

Tian, Shuying,Guo, Ruixue,Wei, Sichen,Kong, Yu,Wei, Xinliang,Wang, Weiwei,Shi, Xiaomeng,Jiang, Hongyu The Korean Society of Pharmacology 2016 The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology Vol.20 No.2

Present study aimed to investigate the effect of curcumin-pretreatment on intestinal I/R injury and on intestinal mucosa barrier. Thirty Wistar rats were randomly divided into: sham, I/R, and curcumin groups (n=10). Animals in curcumin group were pretreated with curcumin by gastric gavage (200 mg/kg) for 2 days before I/R. Small intestine tissues were prepared for Haematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) staining. Serum diamine oxidase (DAO) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$ levels were measured. Expression of intestinal TNF-${\alpha}$ and tight junction protein (ZO-1) proteins was detected by Western blot and/or immunohistochemistry. Serum DAO level and serum and intestinal TNF-${\alpha}$ leves were significantly increased after I/R, and the values were markedly reduced by curcumin pretreatment although still higher than that of sham group (p<0.05 or p<0.001). H&E staining showed the significant injury to intestinal mucosa following I/R, and curcumin pretreatment significantly improved the histological structure of intestinal mucosa. I/R insult also induced significantly down-regulated expression of ZO-1, and the effect was dramatically attenuated by curcumin-pretreatment. Curcumin may protect the intestine from I/R injury through restoration of the epithelial structure, promotion of the recovery of intestinal permeability, as well as enhancement of ZO-1 protein expression, and this effect may be partly attributed to the TNF-${\alpha}$ related pathway.

Anthracene Biodegradation under Nitrate-reducing Condition and Associated Microbial Community Changes

Ying Wang,Rui Wan,Shuying Zhang,Shuguang Xie 한국생물공학회 2012 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.17 No.2

Anaerobic biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and degraders in the subsurface environment have aroused increasing attention. Molecular techniques are especially useful when isolates are hard to obtain. Nitrate-reducing microcosms inoculated with aquifer sediment were constructed to investigate anthracene biodegradation. The associated microbial community changes were characterized using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (TRFLP) in combination with 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis. A nearly complete removal of anthracene was achieved after an eighty day incubation under the nitrate-reducing condition. The two molecular techniques revealed a significant shift of microbial community structure, coupled with anthracene biodegradation. Species of genera Paracoccus, Herbaspirillum,Azotobacter, and Rhodococcus were grouped into four major operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the library that was constructed with the microcosm sample on day 80. The enrichment of these genera might have links to anthracene biodegradation under the nitrate-reducing condition. Microbial consortia likely played a part in anthracene degradation. Anaerobic biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and degraders in the subsurface environment have aroused increasing attention. Molecular techniques are especially useful when isolates are hard to obtain. Nitrate-reducing microcosms inoculated with aquifer sediment were constructed to investigate anthracene biodegradation. The associated microbial community changes were characterized using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (TRFLP) in combination with 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis. A nearly complete removal of anthracene was achieved after an eighty day incubation under the nitrate-reducing condition. The two molecular techniques revealed a significant shift of microbial community structure, coupled with anthracene biodegradation. Species of genera Paracoccus, Herbaspirillum,Azotobacter, and Rhodococcus were grouped into four major operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the library that was constructed with the microcosm sample on day 80. The enrichment of these genera might have links to anthracene biodegradation under the nitrate-reducing condition. Microbial consortia likely played a part in anthracene degradation.

Metabonomics study on the hot syndrome of traditional Chinese medicine by rapid resolution liquid chromatography combined with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry

Yang Wang,Li M,Yi Sun,Liman Yang,Hao Yue,Shuying Liu 대한약학회 2014 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.37 No.7

The hot syndrome refers to any feverish conditionsduring a pathological development, a sub-healthphenomenon, and is a potential risk for human health. Themetabonomics study on the hot syndrome may provideinsight into understanding of its pathology and play a rolein the prevention and treatment of its related diseases. Inthis paper, the rats were dosed with the hot syndromeprescription, ginseng and water. The corresponding urinesamples were identified by rapid resolution liquid chromatographycombined with quadrupole time-of-flight tandemmass spectrometry. More than 1,000 metaboliccompounds from different urine samples could be furtherdifferentiated by principal component analysis. As a result,the rat body temperature and weight were recognized as thehot syndrome related factors. Some specific metaboliteshave been discovered as a pattern of the potential biomarkers for the hot syndrome. The results showed thatginseng cannot cause the hot syndrome in a reasonabledose, but the hot syndrome prescription can. It is suggestedthat ginseng cannot be used only as a tradition Chinesemedicine but also as a nutrient. The work showed metabonomicsmethod is a valuable tool in studying mechanismof the hot syndrome.

Effect of Grain Gradation on the Permeability Characteristics of Coarse-grained Soil Conditioned with Foam for EPB Shield Tunneling

Shuo Huang,Shuying Wang,Changjie Xu,Yufeng Shi,Fei Ye 대한토목학회 2019 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.23 No.11

To avoid water spewing out of the screw conveyor, foam is often used to reduce the permeability coefficient of the soil during earth pressure balance (EPB) shield tunneling. Whether foam can effectively reduce the permeability or not strongly depends on soil gradation characteristics. A series of permeability tests were carried out on foam-conditioned soil with changing effective grain size (d10), curvature coefficient (Cc), and uniformity coefficient (Cu), further, three characteristic times were defined to evaluate the permeation safety of the conditioned soil, including critical time (tc), flow rate safety time (ta) and flow quantity safety time (ts). The test results show that with an increase in d10, the initial permeability coefficient of the conditioned soil increased greatly, however, it only changed slightly with increases in Cc and Cu. In addition, permeability coefficient was still much lower than that of the unconditioned soil, even though entered the slow growth period for a long time. It is shown that as the Cc and Cu increased, the ta and ts changed slightly, however, as the d10 increased, the ta and ts decreased significantly. The results indicate that d10 can greatly affect the permeability characteristics of conditioned soil, more specifically, the initial permeability coefficient and the permeation safety. By contrast, Cc and Cu have less effects. In addition, it is not reasonable to consider that the permeability coefficient of the conditioned soil will reach or be close to that of unconditioned soil when most, or all, of foam in the foam-conditioned soil dissipates.

Investigation of the Dynamic Characteristics of Muck during EPB Shield Tunnelling in a Full Chamber Model Using a CFD Method

Jiazheng Zhong,Shuying Wang,Pengfei Liu,Zhengri Liu,Tao Xu 대한토목학회 2022 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.26 No.9

For the safety and efficiency of earth pressure balance (EPB) shield tunnelling, the dynamic characteristics of the muck in the excavation chamber and the screw conveyor should be considered. However, the velocity and pressure distribution of the muck in the EPB shield, reflecting muck flowability and face stability, are rarely observed at the jobsite. Therefore, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model with a modified inlet boundary was established to investigate the muck characteristics in the chamber and the screw conveyor during tunnelling in a full chamber mode. A compressible Bingham model was adapted to describe the muck compressibility and rheology. The time-dependent tunnelling parameters obtained from the simulation excellently matched the field-measured data. The simulation results show the non-uniform velocity distribution of the muck at the excavation face and the low-velocity zones where clogging potentially occurs. The muck pressure reaches a peak at the excavation face and then decreases along the cutterhead openings, chamber and screw conveyor for inflow. The simulation also captures the pressure imbalance at the cutterhead and bulkhead, which may destabilize the excavation face. The proposed discharge efficiency is 56.7% in the simulated condition, indicating that tunnelling with these muck properties has no risk of muck spewing.

Coupled Discrete Element–Finite Difference Method for Analysing Effects of Cohesionless Soil Conditioning on Tunneling Behaviour of EPB Shield

Tongming Qu,Shuying Wang,Qinxin Hu 대한토목학회 2019 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.23 No.10

A computational scheme coupling PFC3D (Particle Flow Code in 3 Dimensions) and FLAC3D (Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua in 3 Dimensions) was performed to investigate influences of sand conditioning on the tunneling behaviour of earth pressure balance (EPB) shield in sandy ground. A detailed EPB shield and its near ground were modelled in the PFC3D while the other ground was simulated in the FLAC3D. Decreasing friction coefficients were used to characterize the fluidity improvement of conditioned muck particles. The results indicate that the residence time of muck in the excavation chamber is associated with its position and rotation directions of the spoke. The muck pressure and its difference in front of and behind the cutterhead decrease with the improvement of conditioning degree in a certain conditioning range, and an appropriate soil conditioning scheme can facilitate the control of chamber pressure. In addition, the torque of cutterhead decreases more significantly than the thrust with an improvement of soil conditioning degree within a normal conditioning range.

A novel calculation model for the permeability coefficient of soils conditioned with foam and bentonite slurry

Fanlin Ling,Shuying Wang,Xiangcou Zheng,Jiazheng Zhong,Yujia Chen 대한토목학회 2024 KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering Vol.28 No.5

Both foam and bentonite slurry are commonly employed in soil conditioning to prevent water spewing during earth pressure balance (EPB) shield tunnelling. A novel calculation model to estimate the permeability coefficient of soils conditioned with foam and bentonite slurry is developed. In this model, bentonite particles are assumed to adhere to the foam film in a monolayer of bridging particles, and the permeation channels within the conditioned soil are updated using the Kozeny-Carman equation. A series of permeability tests on conditioned soil, varying conditioning parameters and water heads, validate the accuracy of the model. The measured results that the value of permeability coefficient can be well captured by the calculation results, which indicates that the model can accurately predict the permeability of soil conditioning by foam and bentonite slurry. While there is a slight reduction in accuracy for conditioning states with high foam and bentonite slurry injection ratios, the model remains conservative for tunnelling engineering safety due to calculated values consistently exceeding measured ones. Furthermore, the model performs well in cases of foam-conditioned soil from previous studies. Additionally, the model underscores the significant influence of bentonite slurry on the permeability coefficient by altering soil grain gradation.