Exosomes play critical roles in regulating various physiological and pathological processes, including immune stimulation, immune suppression, cardiovascular diseases, and cancers. Recent studies show that exosomes that transport specific microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in tumor development. However, the molecular mechanism by which tumor invasion and migration are regulated by exosomes from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is not well understood. Here, we show that exosomes shuttling low levels of miR-34c-3p are involved in NSCLC progression. Our results showed that exosomes derived from NSCLC cells carrying low levels of miR-34c-3p could be transported into the cytoplasm of NSCLC cells and accelerate NSCLC invasion and migration by upregulating integrin α2β1. A luciferase assay revealed that integrin α2β1 was the direct target of miR-34c-3p, and overexpression of integrin α2β1 could promote the invasion and migration of NSCLC cells. The analysis of exosomes derived from clinical serum samples indicated that the expression of miR-34c-3p was significantly downregulated in exosomes from NSCLC patients compared with that of normal controls. A549-derived exosomes promoted NSCLC cells lung metastases in vivo. Exosomes shuttling low levels of miR-34c-3p were associated with the progression of NSCLC in vitro and in vivo. Our data demonstrate that exosomes shuttling low levels of miR-34c-3p can accelerate the invasion and migration of NSCLC by upregulating integrin α2β1. MiR-34c-3p can be a diagnostic and prognostic marker for NSCLC. High expression of integrin α2β1 is positively related to the migration and metastasis of NSCLC cells.

Curcumin [(1E,6E)-1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl) hepta-1,6-diene-3,5-dione] is a natural polyphenol that is derived from the turmeric plant ( curcuma longa L.). Curcumin is widely used in food coloring, preservatives, and condiments. Curcumin possesses anti-tumor, anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory efficacy, as well as other pharmacological effects. Emerging evidence indicates that curcumin alters microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in various types of cancers. Both miRNAs and lncRNAs are non-coding RNAs that can epigenetically modulate the expression of multiple genes via post-transcriptional regulation. In the present review, the interactions between curcumin and non-coding RNAs are summarized in numerous types of cancers, including lung, colorectal, prostate, breast, nasopharyngeal, pancreatic, blood, and ovarian cancer, and the vital non-coding RNAs and their downstream targets are described.

The inherent heterogeneity of individual cells in cell populations plays significant roles in disease development and progression, which is critical for disease diagnosis and treatment. Substantial evidences show that the majority of traditional gene profiling methods mask the difference of individual cells. Single cell sequencing can provide data to characterize the inherent heterogeneity of individual cells, and reveal complex and rare cell populations. Different microfluidic technologies have emerged for single cell researches and become the frontiers and hot topics over the past decade. In this review article, we introduce the processes of single cell sequencing, and review the principles of microfluidics for single cell analysis. Also, we discuss the common high-throughput single cell sequencing technologies along with their advantages and disadvantages. Lastly, microfluidics applications in single cell sequencing technology for the diagnosis of cancers and immune system diseases are briefly illustrated.

SARS-CoV-2 infection has become an urgent public health concern worldwide, severely affecting our society and economy due to the long incubation time and high prevalence. People spare no effort on the rapid development of vaccine and treatment all over the world. Amongst the numerous ways of tackling this pandemic, some approaches using extracellular vesicles (EVs) are emerging. In this review, we summarize current prevalence and pathogenesis of COVID-19, involving the combination of SARS-CoV-2 and virus receptor ACE2, endothelial dysfunction and micro thrombosis, together with cytokine storm. We also discuss the ongoing EVs-based strategies for the treatment of COVID-19, including mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-EVs, drug-EVs, vaccine-EVs, platelet-EVs, and others. This manuscript provides the foundation for the development of targeted drugs and vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Rhizoma Alismatis, the dried rhizome of Alisma orientalis (SAM.) JUZEP, is a famous Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which has been widely used for diuretic, hypolipidemic, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic purposes in China for more than a thousand years. Protostane-type triterpenes are the principal active constituents of Rhizoma Alismatis and more than 50 unique protostane-type triterpenes, including alisols A, B and their monoacetates, have been isolated from this herbal drug. [1][2][3] As the bioactive "marker compounds" of Rhizoma Alismatis, protostane-type triterpenes, including alisol A 24-acetate, which is one of the main active triterpenoid compounds isolated from Rhizoma Alismatis, have been determined for the quality control of Rhizoma Alismatis. 4,5) However, during the course of our research on the quantification of alisol A 24-acetate, it was found that alisol A 24-acetate was unstable and could be transformed into other compounds in methanol.In this paper, the stability of alisol A 24-acetate in different solvents was described in detail. Furthermore, by using LC-MS, NMR, and single crystal X-ray diffraction techniques, the structures of the compounds transformed from alisol A 24-acetate and the single crystal X-ray structure of alisol A 24-acetate were elucidated for the first time. ExperimentalGeneral Experimental Procedures A Shimadzu 10A HPLC system (Tokyo, Japan), equipped with a quaternary pump, a diode array spectrophotometric detector (DAD) and an Altech ELSD-2000ES evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD), was used for HPLC analysis. NMR spectra were recorded on a Bruker DRX-500 NMR spectrometer equipped with 5 mm probes using TMS as internal standard. LC-MS analysis was performed on an Agilent 1000 HPLC system (Palo Alto, CA, U.S.A.) equipped with a MDS SCIEX QSTAR mass spectrometer with an ESI source. A single crystal was mounted on a Japan MAC DIP-2030K area detector diffraction meter (Tokyo, Japan). HPLC-grade acetonitrile (CH 3 CN) and methanol (MeOH) were purchased from Fisher Scientific (Fair Lawn, NJ, U.S.A.). HPLC-grade deionized water (H 2 O) was purified by Milli-Q Water purification system (Millipore, MA, U.S.A. C-and 2D-NMR spectra.HPLC Analysis HPLC analysis was performed on a YMC analytical column (Tokyo, Japan) with 5 mm C18-reversed phase material (250ϫ4.60 mm i.d.) using CH 3 CN/H 2 O (70% or 52%) as the mobile phase with the flow rate of 1.0 ml/min at room temperature. The injection volume was 20 ml. For UV detection, the detection wavelength were set at 210 nm, while for ELSD detection, the tube temperature was set at 90°C, and air was used as the gas with the flow rate of 2.5 l/min. LC-MS Analysis LC-MS analysis was performed on a YMC analytical column (Tokyo, Japan) with 5 mm C18-reversed phase material (250ϫ 4.60 mm i.d.) using CH 3 CN/H 2 O (52%, v/v) as the mobile phase. The flow rate was 1.0 ml/min and split 0.4 ml/min to mass spectrometer. The injection volume was 20 ml. Mass spectra were acquired using a MDS SCIEX QSTAR mass spectrometer equipped with ...