A disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM) 17, constitutively expressed in alveolar epithelium, is the pivotal shedding enzyme mediating acute lung inflammation. On the other hand, angiotensin (Ang)-(1-7)/Mas signaling has been shown to improve acute respiratory distress syndrome and protect alveolar epithelial cells from apoptosis. In this study, we explored the effect of Ang-(1-7)/Mas signaling on the expression and activity of ADAM17 and assessed its impact on apoptosis in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated human alveolar epithelial cells. LPS markedly induced the shedding activity of ADAM17 in alveolar epithelial cells, which was blocked by selective c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor SP600125. Ang-(1-7) concentration-dependently inhibited LPS-induced ADAM17 shedding activity, which was abolished by selective Mas blocker A779 and Mas shRNA. LPS and Ang-(1-7) showed no significant effect on the expression of ADAM17. Overexpression of ADAM17 synergized with LPS on increasing the shedding activity of ADAM17 and apoptosis in alveolar epithelial cells, counteracting the inhibitory effects of Ang-(1-7). In addition, LPS significantly increased the JNK activity in alveolar epithelial cells; Ang-(1-7) concentration-dependently inhibited LPS-induced JNK activity, which was abolished by A779 and Mas shRNA. In conclusion, this study suggests that Ang-(1-7)/Mas signaling inhibits LPS-induced alveolar epithelial cell apoptosis by inhibiting LPS-induced shedding activity of ADAM17, likely by a JNK-dependent mechanism.

With the continuous advancement of medicine and computer science, medical image processing technology is also constantly advancing, and at the same time, it puts forward the needs of its own development. The purpose of this article is to combine the three-dimensional reconstruction of medical images and virtual reality (VR) technology in nursing experiment teaching to help students understand more easily and to simplify the teachers’ teaching process and make the VR application technology. It is the most popular and effective in medical teaching. This article proposes the C-V model and the geometric active contour model to help us more clearly understand the pathology in this environment, where the specific symptoms appear, and bring a more easy-to-understand model for teaching and improving teaching quality. This article also designs nursing experiment teaching. The experimental results of this paper show that, after using VR courseware for teaching, the optimal test rate of the experimental class is 15% higher than that of the control class, and the transition rate is 8%. The actual test excellent rate and success rate of the experimental class are much higher than those of the control class. Therefore, it can be concluded that the application of VR technology in nursing teaching helps teachers improve their practical ability. The excellent teaching feedback rate is 95%, which is higher than 80.5% in the control group, indicating that the patient teaching simulation is approved by the observation group. The program can effectively improve the feedback rate of excellent teaching and provide students with better teaching services.

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a new family of endogenous non-coding RNAs generated by a covalently closed loop, and a mounting body of data suggests they control gene expression. While the circRNA-homeodomain-interacting protein kinase-2 (circHIPK2) is generated from the homeodomaininteracting protein kinase 2 (HIPK2) gene, the function of circHIPK2 in nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) along with the responsible mechanisms are still unclear.Methods: RNA-sequencing data was utilized to determine the differentially expressed circRNAs, and circHIPK2 was established as a novel prospective circRNA. The expressions of circRNAs along with messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in NPC tissues and cells was assessed via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and the transfection of NPC cells with plasmids in vitro and in vivo was adopted to explore the effects of circHIPK2 in NPC. Western blotting was adopted to assess the expressions of HIPK2 and β-catenin, while Cell Counting Kit (CCK)-8 assay coupled with colony-forming assay were utilized to assess the biological functions. The expression of nuclear and cytoplasmic HIPK2 was detected via nucleocytoplasmic separation assay.Results: Herein, we established that circHIPK2 was upregulated in NPC tissues. Over-expression of circHIPK2 promoted cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo, and further studies revealed it inhibited the protein level of HIPK2 in a post-transcriptional pattern, decreasing β-catenin expression and suppressing the proliferation of NPC.Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated elevated circHIPK2 facilitated the cell proliferation of NPC cells via the circHIPK2/HIPK2 axis, suggesting circHIPK2 might be an oncogene to promote the process of NPC and could be a novel treatment target for its management.

The inhibitor of growth family member 4 (ING4) is one of the ING family genes, a novel tumour suppressor gene family. ING4 is located at chromosome 12p13.31, consists of eight exons and encodes a 29-kDa protein expressed in multiple human tissues. 1-3 ING4 was downregulated in many human cancer cells, such as glioblastoma 1 and hepatocellular carcinoma. 4 The allelic loss of ING4 locus has been reported in breast cancer. 2,5 As a candidate tumour suppressor, it plays a critical role in repressing cell proliferation, 6 tumour