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Memristive devices are promising candidates to emulate biological computing. However, the typical switching voltages (0.2-2 V) in previously described devices are much higher than the amplitude in biological counterparts. Here we demonstrate a type of diffusive memristor, fabricated from the protein nanowires harvested from the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens, that functions at the biological voltages of 40-100 mV. Memristive function at biological voltages is possible because the protein nanowires catalyze metallization. Artificial neurons built from these memristors not only function at biological action potentials (e.g., 100 mV, 1 ms) but also exhibit temporal integration close to that in biological neurons. The potential of using the memristor to directly process biosensing signals is also demonstrated.

Biological sensory organelles are often structurally optimized for high sensitivity. Tactile hairs or bristles are ubiquitous mechanosensory organelles in insects. The bristle features a tapering spine that not only serves as a lever arm to promote signal transduction, but also a clever design to protect it from mechanical breaking. A hierarchical distribution over the body further improves the signal detection from all directions. We mimic these features by using synthetic zinc oxide microparticles, each having spherically-distributed, high-aspect-ratio, and high-density nanostructured spines resembling biological bristles. Sensors based on thin films assembled from these microparticles achieve static-pressure detection down to 0.015 Pa, sensitivity up to 121 kPa−1, and a strain gauge factor >104, showing supreme overall performance. Other properties including a robust cyclability >2000, fast response time ~7 ms, and low-temperature synthesis compatible to various integrations further indicate the potential of this sensor technology in applying to wearable technologies and human interfaces.

Colorectal neoplasia differentially expressed (CRNDE) is a novel gene recognized as a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) that is highly elevated in colorectal cancer and many other solid tumors but its functions on metastasis and oxaliplatin (OXA) resistance are unknown. In our study, we confirmed the upregulation of CRNDE in both primary specimens from colorectal cancer patients and colorectal cancer cell lines. Knockdown of CRNDE expression inhibited the migration and invasion potency of colorectal cancer cells with no effect on cell apoptosis. Overexpression of CRNDE promoted the migration and invasion potency of colorectal cancer cells. Furthermore, we found that CRNDE conferred chemoresistance in colorectal cancer cells. Knockdown of CRNDE with OXA treatment decreased cell viability and promoted DNA damage and cell apoptosis, while the overexpression of CRNDE with OXA treatment reduced DNA damage and cell apoptosis. Further in-depth mechanistic studies revealed that CRNDE functioned as a competing endogenous RNA for miR-136, led to the de-repression of its endogenous target, E2F transcription factor 1 (E2F1). Overall, our findings demonstrate that CRNDE functions as a competing endogenous RNA to promote metastasis and OXA resistance by sponging miR-136 in colorectal cancer.

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BackgroundGrowing evidence has implicated the important role of the long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in gastric cancer progression. In this study, we examined the expression of lncRNA zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 2 antisense RNA 1 (ZEB2-AS1) in gastric cancer tissues and elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying ZEB2-AS1-mediated gastric cancer progression.MethodsQuantitative real-time PCR measured the gene expression level; CCK-8, colony formation and cell invasion assays determined gastric cancer cell proliferation, growth and invasion, respectively; the xenograft nude mice model was used to determine in vivo tumor growth; Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay determined the downstream targets of ZEB2-AS1 and miR-143-5p. The expression of ZEB2-AS1 was upregulated in gastric cancer cell lines.ResultsKnockdown of ZEB2-AS1 suppressed gastric cancer cell proliferation, growth and invasion, and also suppressed in vivo tumor growth in the nude mice. Overexpression of ZEB2-AS1 potentiated gastric cancer cell proliferation, growth and invasion. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay showed that miR-143-5p was a direct target of ZEB2-AS1 and was negatively regulated by ZEB2-AS1. Furthermore, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) was found to be a target of miR-143-5p and was negatively regulated by miR-143-5p. The rescue in vitro assays showed that the effects of ZEB2-AS1 overexpression on gastric cancer cell proliferation, growth and invasion was mediated via miR-143-5p/HIF-1α. ZEB2-AS1 and HIF-1α was upregulated in gastric cancer tissues, while miR-143-5p was down-regulated; and ZEB2-AS1 expression level was inversely correlated with miR-143-5p expression level, and positively correlated with HIF-1α mRNA expression level; while miR-143-5p expression level was inversely correlated with HIF-1α expression level. High ZEB2-AS1 expression level was correlated with poor differentiation, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis.ConclusionCollectively, our results indicated that ZEB2-AS1 was up-regulated in gastric cancer tissues and cells and promoted cell proliferation and metastasis through miR-143-5p/HIF-1α pathway, which may provide a promising target for treatment of gastric cancer.

There is much evidence to suggest that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a prominent candidate in promoting neuroprotection, axonal regeneration, and synaptic plasticity following spinal cord injury (SCI). Although some evidence indicates that BDNF has potent anti-oxidative effects and may be involved in the regulation of the immune response, the effects of BDNF in the inflammatory response during the course of secondary damage after SCI is still unclear. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of BDNF with a special focus on their effect on macrophage polarization after SCI. Adult C57 mice underwent T10 spinal cord clip compression injury and received lenti-BDNF vector injections at the epicenter of the lesion site. Four days later, total BDNF levels were greatly increased in animals that received lenti-BDNF injections. Confocal imaging showed that more than 80 % of the lenti-virus infected cells were CD11b-positive macrophages. In addition, the expression of arginase-1 and CD206 (associated with M2 macrophage phenotype) significantly increased in the animals that received lenti-BDNF injections compared with those that received lenti-EGFP injections. On the contrary, the expression of CD16/32 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (M1 phenotype marker) was down-regulated as demonstrated using flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, the production of interleukin 1β and tumor necrosis factor alpha was significantly reduced whereas the levels of interleukin 10 and interleukin 13 were elevated in subjects that received lenti-BDNF vector injections. The time course of functional recovery revealed that gradual recovery was observed in the subacute phase in lenti-BDNF group, little improvement was observed in lenti-EGFP group. At the axonal level, significant retraction of the CST axons were observed in lenti-EGFP injected animals relative to lenti-BDNF group by biotinylated dextran amine tracing. In addition, compared to lenti-BDNF group markedly demyelination was observed in the lenti-EGFP group using luxol fast blue staining. In conclusion, we found that BDNF could promote the shift of M1 to M2 phenotype and ameliorate the inflammatory microenvironment. Furthermore, the roles of BDNF in immunity modulation may enhance neuroprotective effects and partially contribute to the locomotor functional recovery after SCI.