Brassica napus L. is rich in phenolic components and it has natural antioxidant characteristics which are important to human health. In the present study, the total phenolic and flavonoid contents of developing seeds of yellow- and black-seeded B. napus were compared. Both phenolic and flavonoid contents were significantly higher at 5 weeks after flowering (WAF) in black seeds (6.44 ± 0.97 mg EE/g phenolics and 3.78 ± 0.05 mg EE/g flavonoids) than yellow seeds (2.80 ± 0.13 mg/g phenolics and 0.83 ± 0.01 mg/g flavonoids). HPLC–DAD–ESI/MS analysis revealed different content of 56 phenolic components between yellow and black-seeded B. napus, including kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside, quercetin-3-O-sophoroside, procyanidin B2 ([DP 2]), which were significantly reduced in yellow seeds compared with black seeds. Applying the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical assay, we found maximum clearance of DPPH and ABTS in the late developmental stages of yellow and black seeds. Additionally, the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) value maximized at 5 WAF in black seeds (432.52 ± 69.98 μmol Fe (II)/g DW) and 6 WAF in yellow seeds (274.08 ± 2.40 μmol Fe (II)/g DW). Generally, antioxidant ability was significantly reduced in yellow-seeded B. napus compared to black rapeseed, and positive correlations between antioxidation and flavonoid content were found in both yellow- and black-seeded B. napus.

Peripheral nerves connect central nerves with target tissues and organs and execute vital signal transduction functions. Although sub‐types of neurons have been defined, the heterogeneity of cell populations in peripheral nerves, especially Schwann cells, has not been well demonstrated. Here, we collected sciatic nerves (SN) and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) from neonatal (1‐day old) rats and classified cell populations by high‐coverage single‐cell sequencing. A total of 10 types of cells, including endothelial cells, erythrocytes, fibroblasts, monocytic cells, neurons, neutrophils, pericytes, satellite cells, Schwann cells, and vascular smooth muscle cells, were identified by transcriptome‐based cell typing. The comparisons of cells in neonatal rat SN and DRG revealed distinct atlas in different tissue localizations. Investigations of ligand‐receptor interactions showed that there existed direct cell–cell communications between endothelial cells and fibroblasts in SN and among endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and vascular smooth muscle cells in DRG. Schwann cells in neonatal rats were further sub‐grouped to four sub‐types, including LOC100134871 and Hbb expressing Schwann cell sub‐type 1, Cldn19 and Emid1 expressing Schwann cell sub‐type 2, Timp3 and Col5a3 expressing Schwann cell sub‐type 3, and Cenpf and Mki67 expressing Schwann cell sub‐type 4. These Schwann cell sub‐types exhibited distinct genetic features and functional enrichments. Collectively, our results illustrated the diversity and cellular complexity of peripheral nerves at the neonatal stage and revealed the heterogeneity of Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system.

Background: Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy worldwide. Polymorphisms in MALAT1 have been demonstrated to play critical roles in cancer. However, the roles of MALAT1 polymorphisms in the etiology of endometrial cancer have not been well documented. Methods:We genotyped three MALAT1 polymorphisms in 249 endometrial cancer cases and 446 cancer-free female controls using quantitative polymerase chain reaction with TaqMan probes. To estimate the association between MALAT1 polymorphisms (rs591291 C>T, rs664589 C>G, and rs4102217 G>C) and the risk of endometrial cancer, an unconditional logistic regression model was conducted to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and the 95% confidence interval (CI), adjusting for surgery history, menopause, number of deliveries, BMI, and FIGO stage. Results:We found that the MALAT1 rs664589 C>G polymorphism was significantly associated with endometrial cancer risk (heterogeneous: adjusted OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.34-0.93, P = .026; homogenous: adjusted OR = 3.74, 95% CI = 1.12-12.45, P = .032; and recessive: adjusted OR = 4.06, 95% CI = 1.22-13.48, P = .022). Stratified analysis further demonstrated that the MALAT1 rs664589 C>G polymorphism significantly increased the risk of endometrial cancer susceptibility in patients with no history of surgery, more deliveries, BMI between 25 and 29.9, and FIGO stages II-III.Compared with the wild-type GCG haplotype carriers, individuals with CGG haplotypes had a higher risk of developing endometrial cancer. Conclusion:The MALAT1 rs664589 C>G polymorphism was associated with a significant increase in endometrial cancer risk. K E Y W O R D S endometrial cancer, MALAT1, risk, single nucleotide polymorphisms 2 of 7 | CHEN Et al.1 | INTRODUC TI ON Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common cancer among females worldwide. 1 The incidence of EC has seen a significant increase in China. 2 Unopposed estrogen, early menarche, endometriosis, obesity, diabetes, late menopause, hypertension, and nulliparity are now well established as causative agents responsible for endometrial cancer. 3 Although these risk factors are strongly associated with the risk of endometrial cancer, only a small number of women eventually develop endometrial cancer, suggesting that host genetic variations play critical roles in endometrial cancer development.Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of ncRNAs that are more than 200 nucleotides and are involved in several biological processes. [4][5][6][7][8] Increasing evidence suggests that lncRNAs are associated with tumor genesis, progress, and treatment response. 9,10 Metastasis associated with lung adenocarcinoma transcript-1 (MALAT1) is a long intergenic non-coding RNA (lincRNA), consisting of more than 8000 nts and located on chromosome 11q13. 11,12 Recent studies have shown that abnormal MALAT1 expression influenced cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and/or metastasis in various tumors, such as breast cancer, 13 lung cancer, 14 and gastric cancer. 15 Therefore, MALAT1 has been classified as an oncogene...

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Background Cytokines are essential cellular modulators of various physiological and pathological activities, including peripheral nerve repair and regeneration. However, the molecular changes of these cellular mediators after peripheral nerve injury are still unclear. This study aimed to identify cytokines critical for the regenerative process of injured peripheral nerves. Methods The sequencing data of the injured nerve stumps and the dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats subjected to sciatic nerve (SN) crush injury were analyzed to determine the expression patterns of genes coding for cytokines. PCR was used to validate the accuracy of the sequencing data. Results A total of 46, 52, and 54 upstream cytokines were differentially expressed in the SNs at 1 day, 4 days, and 7 days after nerve injury. A total of 25, 28, and 34 upstream cytokines were differentially expressed in the DRGs at these time points. The expression patterns of some essential upstream cytokines are displayed in a heatmap and were validated by PCR. Bioinformatic analysis of these differentially expressed upstream cytokines after nerve injury demonstrated that inflammatory and immune responses were significantly involved. Conclusions In summary, these findings provide an overview of the dynamic changes in cytokines in the SNs and DRGs at different time points after nerve crush injury in rats, elucidate the biological processes of differentially expressed cytokines, especially the important roles in inflammatory and immune responses after peripheral nerve injury, and thus might contribute to the identification of potential treatments for peripheral nerve repair and regeneration.