Influenza infection and pneumonia are known to cause much of their mortality by inducing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which is the most severe form of acute lung injury (ALI). Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is a negative regulator of angiotensin II in the renin–angiotensin system, has been reported to have a crucial role in ALI. Downregulation of ACE2 is always associated with the ALI or ARDS induced by avian influenza virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus, respiratory syncytial virus and sepsis. However, the molecular mechanism of the decreased expression of ACE2 in ALI is unclear. Here we show that avian influenza virus H5N1 induced the upregulation of miR-200c-3p, which was then demonstrated to target the 3′-untranslated region of ACE2. Then, we found that nonstructural protein 1 and viral RNA of H5N1 contributed to the induction of miR-200c-3p during viral infection. Additionally, the synthetic analog of viral double-stranded RNA (poly (I:C)), bacterial lipopolysaccharide and lipoteichoic acid can all markedly increase the expression of miR-200c-3p in a nuclear factor-κB-dependent manner. Furthermore, markedly elevated plasma levels of miR-200c-3p were observed in severe pneumonia patients. The inhibition of miR-200c-3p ameliorated the ALI induced by H5N1 virus infection in vivo, indicating a potential therapeutic target. Therefore, we identify a shared mechanism of viral and bacterial lung infection-induced ALI/ARDS via nuclear factor-κB-dependent upregulation of miR-200c-3p to reduce ACE2 levels, which leads increased angiotensin II levels and subsequently causes lung injury.

No abstract

Background: Hypertension is 1 of the major global public health challenges, which means that patients with hypertension need more measures to control their blood pressure. Currently, smart phones and applications are developing rapidly, and mobile health applications are used to manage hypertension, but evidences related to effectiveness are limited. Objective: The purpose was to assess the impact of m-Health apps on blood pressure control, medication adherence. Methods: 480 participants were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. The intervention group used the “Yan Fu” app to manage their blood pressure, and the control group did not use any m-Health apps. The outcomes were changes in blood pressure, the percentage of participants with their blood pressure under control and medication adherence. Results: At the end of the study, the baseline characteristics between the 2 groups had no statistically differences ( P > .05). Participants in the 2 groups all had lower systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure than they did at baseline, and the intervention group demonstrated a significantly greater systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure reduction than the control group ( P < .05). Additionally, the percentage of participants with controlled blood pressure was higher in the intervention group ( P < .05). The medication adherence of the intervention group was much higher than that of the control group ( P < .05). Conclusion: M-Health apps are effective for hypertension management, it can favor the medication adherence and blood pressure control. Perhaps m-Health apps can be promoted in the blood pressure control. Trial Registration: This study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry under the number ChiCTR-IOR-17012069.

Pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive chronic disease with a high mortality rate, has limited treatment options. Currently, lung transplantation remains the only effective treatment. Here we report that a small RNA, HJT-sRNA-m7, from a Chinese herbal medicine Hong Jing Tian (HJT, Rhodiola crenulata can effectively reduce the expressions of fibrotic hallmark genes and proteins both in alveolar in vitro and in mouse lung tissues in vivo. We also discovered over one hundred oil-soluble chemicals from HJT decoctions, most of which are found in lipid extracts from other Chinese herbals decoctions, including Pu Gong Ying (PGY, Taraxacum mongolicum), Chuan Xin Lian (CXL, Andrographis paniculata), and Jin Yin Hua (JYH, lonicera japonica or Honeysuckle). We identified the active component in these decoctions as two forms of phosphocholines, PC (18:0/18:2) and PC (16:0/18:2). These PCs potentially could form liposomes with small RNAs to enter human alveolar and gastric cells. Our experimental results suggest an unprecendent lipid complex route through which botanic small RNA can enter human bodies. Our results provide an innovative treatment strategy for oral delivery of siRNAs as therapeutic medication.

No abstract

Plant-derived microRNAs have recently been reported to function in human blood and tissues. Controversy was immediately raised due to possible contamination and the lack of large sample sizes. Here, we report thousands of unique small RNAs derived from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herbs found in human blood cells and mouse lung tissues using a large-scale analysis. We extracted small RNAs from decoctions of 10 TCM plants (Ban Zhi Lian, Chai Hu, Chuan Xin Lian, Di Ding Zi Jin, Huang Qin, Jin Yin Hua, Lian Qiao, Pu Gong Ying, Xia Ku Cao, and Yu Xing Cao) and obtained millions of RNA sequences from each herb. We also obtained RNA-Seq data from the blood cells of humans who consumed herbal decoctions and from the lung tissues of mice administered RNAs from herbal decoctions via oral gavage. We identified thousands of unique small RNA sequences in human blood cells and mouse lung tissues. Some of these identified small RNAs from Chuan Xin Lian and Hong Jing Tian could be mapped to the genomes of the herbs, confirming their TCM plant origin. Small RNAs derived from herbs regulate mammalian gene expression in a sequence-specific manner, and thus are a superior novel class of herbal drug components that hold great potential as oral gene-targeted therapeutics, highlighting the important role of herbgenomics in their development.

Background and AimsPrimary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is usually presented in inflamed fibrotic/cirrhotic liver with extensive lymphocyte infiltration. We examined the associations between the HCC early recurrence and alterations in serum levels of inflammatory cytokines.MethodsA cohort of 105 HCC patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection were included. Pre-therapy, we quantified their serum concentrations of Th1-, Th2-, Th17-, Treg-related, and other cytokines that have been reported to be associated with poor prognosis in human cancers. IL17-producing T-cells were generated in vitro from HCC patients and co-cultured with HCC cell lines separated by a 0.4 µM transwell.ResultsAll the 105 cases of HCC patients had liver cirrhosis. The patients who suffered from HCC early recurrence had higher pre-therapy serum levels of IL17 and lower levels of IL10 than those who did not suffer from recurrence after curative hepatectomy. After adjustment for general tumor clinicopathological factors, elevated serum levels of IL17 (≥0.9 pg/ml) was found to be an independent risk factor for HCC early recurrence with a hazard ratio of 2.46 (95%CI 1.34–4.51). Patients with bigger tumors (>5 cm in diameter) and elevated serum levels of IL17 had the highest risk of early recurrence as compared to those with only one of these factors (P = 0.009) or without any (P<0.001). These factors showed similar effects on the HCC patient overall survival. Intrahepatic infiltrated T-cells in HCC patients were identified as the major IL17-producing cells. Proliferation of HCC cells, QGY-7703, was augmented QGY-7703, was augmented in the presence of IL17-producing T-cells. This effect diminished after neutralizing antibody against human IL17A or TNFα was included.ConclusionBoth tumors and IL17 from liver infiltrated T-cells contributed to HCC early recurrence and progression after curative resection. Pre-therapy serum IL17 levels may serve as an additional indicator for predicting high-risk patients.

Ebola virus (EBOV) causes a highly lethal hemorrhagic fever syndrome in humans and has been associated with mortality rates of up to 91% in Zaire, the most lethal strain. Though the viral envelope glycoprotein (GP) mediates widespread inflammation and cellular damage, these changes have mainly focused on alterations at the protein level, the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the molecular pathogenesis underlying this lethal disease is not fully understood. Here, we report that the miRNAs hsa-miR-1246, hsa-miR-320a and hsa-miR-196b-5p were induced in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) following expression of EBOV GP. Among the proteins encoded by predicted targets of these miRNAs, the adhesion-related molecules tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), dystroglycan1 (DAG1) and the caspase 8 and FADD-like apoptosis regulator (CFLAR) were significantly downregulated in EBOV GP-expressing HUVECs. Moreover, inhibition of hsa-miR-1246, hsa-miR-320a and hsa-miR-196b-5p, or overexpression of TFPI, DAG1 and CFLAR rescued the cell viability that was induced by EBOV GP. Our results provide a novel molecular basis for EBOV pathogenesis and may contribute to the development of strategies to protect against future EBOV pandemics. Ebola virus, glycoprotein, microRNAs, cytotoxicity Citation:Sheng MM, Zhong Y, Chen Y, Du JC, Ju XW, Zhao C, Zhang GG, Zhang LF, Liu KT, Yang N, Xie P, Li DS, Zhang MQ, Jiang CY. Hsa-miR-1246, hsa-miR-320a and hsa-miR-196b-5p inhibitors can reduce the cytotoxicity of Ebola virus glycoprotein in vitro. Sci China Life Sci, 2014, 57: 959 -972,