Oral treatment with icariin ( 98.6 % purity) for 4 weeks potentially improves erectile function. This effect is correlated with an increase in PSM and the expression of certain NOS in the CC of castrated rats. These results suggest that icariin may have a therapeutic effect on erectile dysfunction.
Soybean seed coat exists in a range of colors from yellow, green, brown, black, to bicolor. Classical genetic analysis suggested that soybean seed color was a moderately complex trait controlled by multi-loci. However, only a couple of loci could be detected using a single biparental segregating population. In this study, a combination of association mapping and bulk segregation analysis was employed to identify genes/loci governing this trait in soybean. A total of 14 loci, including nine novel and five previously reported ones, were identified using 176,065 coding SNPs selected from entire SNP dataset among 56 soybean accessions. Four of these loci were confirmed and further mapped using a biparental population developed from the cross between ZP95-5383 (yellow seed color) and NY279 (brown seed color), in which different seed coat colors were further dissected into simple trait pairs (green/yellow, green/black, green/brown, yellow/black, yellow/brown, and black/brown) by continuously developing residual heterozygous lines. By genotyping entire F2 population using flanking markers located in fine-mapping regions, the genetic basis of seed coat color was fully dissected and these four loci could explain all variations of seed colors in this population. These findings will be useful for map-based cloning of genes as well as marker-assisted breeding in soybean. This work also provides an alternative strategy for systematically isolating genes controlling relative complex trait by association analysis followed by biparental mapping.
Background: In our previous study, a novel low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) therapeutic device has been shown to improve erectile function non-invasively in a diabetic-induced erectile dysfunction (ED) animal model. Methods:In order to investigate the efficacy and safety of LIPUS in the clinical treatment of patients with ED, a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, sham-treated, controlled clinical study was conducted at five medical centers, and 120 patients with mild to moderate ED were enrolled in the study. Patients were randomized into a sham-treated control group (40 patients) or a LIPUS-treated group (80 patients). LIPUS or sham treatment was applied to both sides of the penis shaft and crus for 5 min in each area, twice a week for four weeks. Assessment of efficacy and safety were evaluated using IIEF-5, Sexual Encounter Profile (SEP)-questionnaires 2/3, Global Assessment Question (GAQ), Erectile Hardness Score (EHS), Erection Quality Scale (EQS) score, and pain assessment [Visual Analogue Scale/Score (VAS)].Results: Ten patients in LIPUS treatment group and 6 patients in sham treatment control group were excluded and the dropout rate is 13.33%. Response to treatment was identified as IIEF-5 score increased more than 2/3/4 points of post-treatment (12W) compared to pre-treatment (0W). The response rate in treatment group was 54/80 (67.50%), which was significantly higher than control group 8/40 (20.00%) at 12 weeks (FAS analysis). The percentage of patients with positive answers to SEP-3 (successful vaginal intercourse) were 58.97%, 64.1%, and 73.08% 4, 8, and 12 weeks after treatment which were significantly higher than 28.95%, 31.58%, and 28.95% respectively in control group (FAS, P<0.05). The positive responsive rates for GAQ in treatment group were about 2 to 3 times of that in control group (P<0.05). No treatment-related adverse events (AEs) were found, including local petechia or ecchymosis and hematuria.Conclusions: Current study indicates that LIPUS can safely and effectively treat patients with mild to moderate ED without significant AEs, which is related to the mechanical force of LIPUS and can restore the pathological changes of the corpus cavernosum. LIPUS is a promising alternative treatment for ED treatment in the near future, while further research is remanded.
Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an aggressive lymphoid malignancy characterized by cytogenetic aberration of t(11;14), although it is not the prerequisite. Until now, the pathogenesis of MCL has not been fully interpreted. Our current study showed that microRNA (miR)-223 was downregulated in purified CD19 lymphocytes from MCL patients (n = 21) compared with that of healthy donors (n = 20). In addition, patients with a high-risk Mantle Cell Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (MIPI) score, elevated lactate dehydrogenase, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status >2 were more likely to have much lower miR-223 expression. Furthermore, low miR-223 expression predicted inferior overall survival regardless of treatment in our cohort of 21. To explore the role of miR-223 in MCL, we constructed an ectopic miR-223 MCL cell line and revealed that miR-223 inhibited cell proliferation and promoted G/G accumulation and cell apoptosis. A database search showed that SOX11, a crucial transcription factor in MCL, is the putative target of miR-223. In support of this, we observed a much lower level of SOX11 protein in miR-223-overexpressing cells than in parental cells. Further, the luciferase reporter assay confirmed that miR-223 at the posttranscriptional level suppressed the wild-type 3'-untranslated region of SOX11 but not the mutated one. Finally, miR-223 was found to be negatively correlated with the mRNA level of SOX11 in clinical samples. Our work demonstrates for the first time that miR-223 is repressed and correlated with high-risk clinical features in MCL, which provides a potential molecule to target to optimize MCL management.
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