Brassinosteroids (BR) and Arbuscular mycorrhizas (AM) symbiosis play an important role in improving plant growth and development. Previous studies have shown that there is a complex regulatory network between phytohormones and AM symbiosis.

ObjectiveTo explore the clinical significance and mechanisms of altered miRNAs in squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN) and provide references for SCCHN diagnosis and prognosis.MethodDifferential expressed miRNAs (DEMs) in SCCHN were screened through gene expression omnibus (GEO) DataSets and verified by the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) database. Next, the overall survival analysis, receiver operating characteristics, and clinical correlation analysis were adopted to filter the miRNAs with diagnostic and prognostic values. Finally, functional enrichment analyses were conducted for inquiring into the mechanisms of miRNAs.ResultsTotal 103 DEMs (p < 0.05, fold change ≥ 2) in SCCHN were screened out from GSE124566. Partly, the expression levels of the selected (12/17) miRNAs were verified by TCGA. Followed, of the 12 miRNAs, two miRNA expression levels were associated with the overall survival, and five miRNAs showed diagnostic values (AUC ≥ 0.85). Besides, miR-223-3p and miR-204-5p expression levels were correlated to certain clinical features. Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) related biological process and energy metabolism controlling related AMPK signaling pathway might mediate the roles of miR-223-3p and miR-204-5p, respectively.ConclusionWith diagnostic and prognostic values, miR-223-3p and miR-204-5p may be involved in the progression of SCCHN through EMT-related biological process and energy balance related AMPK signaling pathway, respectively.

Background Zinc is one of the essential trace elements in plants. There are few studies on the phytohormone to rescue the toxicity of excessive zinc to plants. The aim of this research was to evaluate the alleviating effects of brassinosteroids (BR) and gibberellic acid (GA) on the toxicity of Medicago sativa L. (M. sativa) induced by excessive zinc. Results After zinc, BR and GA were applied to M. sativa seedlings for 7 weeks, their physiological and biochemical properties and gene expression patterns were evaluated. BR and GA significantly weakened the inhibition effect of zinc stress on growth and biomass of M. sativa. Under zinc stress, the zinc accumulation in M. sativa roots was over 5 times that in shoots. Application of BR and GA reduced zinc accumulation in roots. The content of lipid peroxides in M. sativa decreased and the activity of antioxidant enzymes increased under BR and GA treatments. In addition, BR and GA treatment down-regulated the transcription level of MsZIP1/3/5, the transporters of zinc uptake in root cells. And BR and GA up-regulated the expressions of zinc efflux, chelation, vacuolar storage and long-distance transport related genes: MsZIP7, MsHMA1, MsZIF1, MsMTP1, MsYSL1 and MsNAS1. Conclusions Our findings further showed that BR and GA application to M. sativa under zinc stress can reduce zinc accumulation, promote the response of the antioxidant defense system, and actively regulate the mechanism of heavy metal detoxification. Notably, 100 nM BR performed slightly better than 100 nM GA in all aspects of the detoxification of M. sativa by excessive zinc.

In this study, a combination of network pharmacology, bioinformatics analysis, molecular docking and transcriptomics was used to investigate the active ingredient and potential target of Gelsemium elegans in the treatment of colorectal cancer. Koumine was screened as the active component by targeting PDK1 through network pharmacology and reverse docking. RNA-Seq, enrichment analysis and validation experiment were then further employed to reveal koumine might function in inhibiting Akt/mTOR/HK2 pathway to regulate cell glycolysis and detachment of HK2 from mitochondria and VDAC-1 to activate cell apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, we provide a systematical approach for the identification of effective ingredient and potential target of herbal medicine. Our results have important implication for the intensive study of koumine as novel anticancer agents for colorectal cancer and could be supportive in its further structural modification.