Skeletal muscle differentiation can be regulated by various transcription factors and non-coding RNAs. In our previous work, miR-223 is differentially expressed in the skeletal muscle of chicken with different growth rates, but its role, expression and action mechanism in muscle development still remains unknown. Here, we found that MYOD transcription factor can upregulate miR-223 expression by binding to an E-box region of the gga-miR-223 gene promoter during avian myoblast differentiation. IGF2 and ZEB1 are two target genes of miR-223. The target inhibition of miR-223 on IGF2 and ZEB1 are dynamic from proliferation to differentiation of myoblast. miR-223 inhibits IGF2 expression only in the proliferating myoblast, whereas it inhibits ZEB1 mainly in the differentiating myoblast. The inhibition of IGF2 by miR-223 resulted in the repression of myoblast proliferation. During myoblast differentiation, miR-223 would be upregulated owing to the promoting effect of MYOD, and the upregulation of miR-223 would inhibit ZEB1 to promote myoblast differentiation. These results not only demonstrated that the well-known muscle determination factor MYOD can promote myoblast differentiation by upregulate miR-223 transcription, but also identified that miR-223 can influence myoblast proliferation and differentiation by a dynamic manner regulates the expression of its target genes.

ChiCTR-RRC-17014152.

Objectives. This study is aimed at developing a risk nomogram of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in a Chinese population with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods. A questionnaire survey, biochemical indicator examination, and physical examination were performed on 4170 T2DM patients, and the collected data were used to evaluate the DR risk in T2DM patients. By operating R software, firstly, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis was used to optimize variable selection by running cyclic coordinate descent with 10 times K cross-validation. Secondly, multivariable logistic regression analysis was applied to build a predicting model introducing the predictors selected from the LASSO regression analysis. The nomogram was developed based on the selected variables visually. Thirdly, calibration plot, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and decision curve analysis were used to validate the model, and further assessment was running by external validation. Results. Seven predictors were selected by LASSO from 19 variables, including age, course of disease, postprandial blood glucose (PBG), glycosylated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), uric creatinine (UCR), urinary microalbumin (UMA), and systolic blood pressure (SBP). The model built by these 7 predictors displayed medium prediction ability with the area under the ROC curve of 0.700 in the training set and 0.715 in the validation set. The decision curve analysis curve showed that the nomogram could be applied clinically if the risk threshold is between 21% and 57% and 21%-51% in external validation. Conclusion. Introducing age, course of disease, PBG, HbA1c, UCR, UMA, and SBP, the risk nomogram is useful for prediction of DR risk in T2DM individuals.

Leaf chlorosis induced by plant virus infection has a short fluorescence lifetime, which reflects damaged photosynthetic complexes and degraded chloroplasts. Plant viruses often induce chlorosis and necrosis, which are intimately related to photosynthetic functions. Chlorophyll fluorescence lifetime measurement is a valuable noninvasive tool for analyzing photosynthetic processes and is a sensitive indicator of the environment surrounding the fluorescent molecules. In this study, our central goal was to explore the effect of viral infection on photosynthesis by employing chlorophyll fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM), steady-state fluorescence, non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and pigment analysis. The data indicated that the chlorophyll fluorescence lifetime of chlorotic leaves was significantly shorter than that of healthy control leaves, and the fitted short lifetime component of chlorophyll fluorescence of chlorotic leaves was dominant. This dominant short lifetime component may result from damage to the structure of thylakoid, which was confirmed by TEM. The NPQ value of chlorotic leaves was slightly higher than that of healthy green leaves, which can be explained by increased neoxanthin, lutein and violaxanthin content relative to chlorophyll a. The difference in NPQ is slight, but FLIM can provide simple and direct characterization of PSII structure and photosynthetic function. Therefore, this technique shows great potential as a simple and rapid method for studying mechanisms of plant virus infection.

The purpose of this study was to identify diabetic nephropathy risk factors in type 2 diabetes mellitus obese people based on community type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Patients and Methods: In the community in Shanghai, we conduct a questionnaire, physical examination, and biochemical examination. The 406 patients included in the analysis were divided into two groups based on whether or not they had diabetic nephropathy. The influencing factors of type 2 diabetes mellitus obese patients were screened by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method, and then the influencing factors detected by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method were included in the binary logistic regression analysis, and the risk factors for diabetic nephropathy in obese people with type 2 diabetes mellitus were obtained. Finally, the nomogram and forest plot are used to visualize the binary logistic regression results, and the calibration plot and receiveroperating characteristic curve are used to verify the result. Results: The results showed that family history of diabetes (OR= 2.091, P= 0.002), disease course (OR=1.050, P= 0.007). hypertension (OR=1.768, P=0.042), hyperuricemia (OR=2.263, P=0.003), systolic blood pressure (OR=1.027, P<0.001), and glycosylated haemoglobin A1c (OR=1.358, P<0.001) were risk factors for diabetic nephropathy. Conclusion: For obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, they should pay attention to family history of diabetes, disease course and hyperuricemia. Hypertension should be concerned and strictly controlled. Systolic blood pressure and glycosylated haemoglobin A1c will help prolong the survival of diabetic nephropathy patients.