Open Access

ARTICLE

ALFREDO FRANCO-OBREGÓN^*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 239-244, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.025357 - 18 November 2022
Abstract An organism’s survival depends on its ability to adapt to stress. Mitochondria are the cellular integrators of environmental stressors that ultimately translate their responses at the organismal level, and are thus central to the process whereby organisms adapt to their respective environments. Mitochondria produce molecular energy via oxidative phosphorylation that then allows cells to biosynthetically respond and adapt to changes in their environment. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are by-products of oxidative phosphorylation that can be either beneficial or damaging, depending on the context; ROS are hence both the conveyors of environmental stress as well as More >

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REVIEW

SEHRISH ABBAS¹, BUSHRA UZAIR^1,*, MAISRA AZHAR BUTT¹, FARID MENAA², BARKAT A. KHAN^3,*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 245-260, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.025311 - 18 November 2022
Abstract The association of gut microflora and human health is being increasingly recognized, and the impact of gut microflora on the host is well characterized, including the body’s energy metabolism and immune system maintenance. Several human diseases, including metabolic, autoimmune, obesity, hypothyroidism, and intestinal disorders, are closely associated with gut dysbiosis. Inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) are extensively utilized in numerous fields due to their distinctive, attractive physicochemical properties. Estimation of the potential impacts of NPs, with a high number of microorganisms inside the human body (microbiota) and its genomes (microbiome), represents one of the most important aspects… More >

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REVIEW

LINSHEN XIE¹, QIAOLAN WANG¹, JINGXUAN MA¹, YE ZENG^2,*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 261-267, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.024738 - 18 November 2022
Abstract Fibrosis is the end-stage change of damaged tissues in various human diseases, which can lead to permanent scarring or organ malfunction. Hypoxia leads to oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and inflammation in dysfunctional organs and tissues. Oxidative stress resulting from the overproduction of reactive oxygen species plays a central role in the fibrosis of injured organs. This review addresses the updated knowledge of the relationship between hypoxia and tissue fibrosis mediated by the reactive oxygen species pathway. Moreover, novel anti-fibrotic strategies are discussed, which may suppress reactive oxygen species and organ fibrosis. More >

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647

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REVIEW

KAI DANG, HAFIZ MUHAMMAD UMER FAROOQ, YUAN GAO, XIAONI DENG, AIRONG QIAN^*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 269-281, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.023766 - 18 November 2022
（This article belongs to the Special Issue: Biochemical and Epigenetics Changes in Health and Disease)
Abstract As a key coordinator of metabolism, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is vitally involved in skeletal muscle maintenance. AMPK exerts its cellular effects through its function as a serine/threonine protein kinase by regulating many downstream targets and plays important roles in the development and growth of skeletal muscle. AMPK is activated by phosphorylation and exerts its function as a kinase in many processes, including synthesis and degradation of proteins, mitochondrial biogenesis, glucose uptake, and fatty acid and cholesterol metabolism. Skeletal muscle atrophy is a result of various diseases or disorders and is characterized by a decrease More >

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MINI REVIEW

YUNG-FU CHANG^1,2,3,*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 283-287, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.025743 - 18 November 2022
（This article belongs to the Special Issue: Cellular and Molecular Toxicology in Reproductive and Developmental Biology)
Abstract Areca nut is used worldwide as a hallucinogenic addicting drug along the tropical belt. Arecoline, a toxic compound, is the most important alkaloid in areca nuts. The adverse effects of oral uptake and chewing of areca nut are well known. For example, the possibility of cancer caused by chewing areca nuts is widely discussed. Chewing areca nut has other adverse effects on other organs, including abnormal cell differentiation, oral cancer, and several other diseases. The use of areca nut is also associated with low birthweight. Skeletal musculature is the largest organ in the body and More >

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607

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ARTICLE

CARLOS ALBERTO-SILVA^1,*, ANA CAROLINA DE ARAUJO¹, RODRIGO SIMãO BONFIM¹, JOYCE MEIRE GILIO²
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 289-295, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.023787 - 18 November 2022
（This article belongs to the Special Issue: Cellular and Molecular Toxicology in Reproductive and Developmental Biology)
Abstract Bothrops envenomation is complex and provokes prominent local tissue damage and systemic disturbances, but little is known about their effects on the male reproductive system. After intratesticular injection, the bioactive peptide fraction (Bj-PF) obtained from Bothrops jararaca snake venom changes the structure of different stages of the seminiferous epithelium cycle in adult mice. For the first time, we investigated whether local envenomation of Bj-PF induces toxicological effects on the male reproductive system, particularly on the seminiferous epithelium and Sertoli cells. Male adult mice were treated with 0.24 mg.kg⁻¹ by intramuscular (i.m.) injection for 24 h. The testes… More >

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592

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ARTICLE

KANG SUN¹, DONGQIN WANG¹, ZHIQIANG ZHANG¹, YINLONG HUANG³, XIAOFU LIAN³, JIALE HUA³, JING ZHANG^3,*, CHAOQUN LIAN^1,2,*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 297-307, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.023553 - 18 November 2022
（This article belongs to the Special Issue: Cellular and Molecular Toxicology in Reproductive and Developmental Biology)
Abstract Columbianetin acetate (CE) is one of the effective components of Angelica pubescens. So far, the specific role and molecular mechanism of CE in pancreatic cancer are not clear. Thus, this study aimed to explore the specific mechanism of CE on pancreatic cancer. The target genes combined with CE were predicted through the PharmMapper database and the 3D molecular structure of CE. Then, the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Cistrome data browser (DB) databases were used to screen Meiotic nuclear divisions 1 (MND1)-related genes, transcription factors, and transcription factor data sets, and the intersection of the above… More >

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698

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ARTICLE

JING LUO^1,2,#, JIANPING HE^1,#, YONG LUO^1,*, CHENG YI^1,*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 309-318, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.025377 - 18 November 2022
Abstract Chondroitin sulfate synthase 2 (CHPF) is characterized as an oncogenic and poor prognosis-related gene in breast cancer. However, this gene has alternative splicing products encoding proteins of different lengths. Breast cancer is a group of heterogeneous tumors with distinct clinical and genomic characteristics. In this study, we explored the expression profile and prognostic value of the two transcripts of CHPF using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-BRCA. The functional regulation of the two transcripts was also studied in MCF-7 and BT-474 cells. Among the two transcripts of CHPF, ENST00000535926 expression was significantly upregulated in the tumor… More >

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540

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ARTICLE

YOULIN TUO, XUBAO LIU^*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 319-328, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.025250 - 18 November 2022
（This article belongs to the Special Issue: )
Abstract Retinoic acid receptor responder 3 (RARRES3) has been characterized as a tumor suppressor in multiple types of cancer. This study aimed to examine the expression profile of RARRES3 across the PAM50 subtypes of breast cancer. The DNA methylation status of RARRES3 was checked in the basal-like subtype, and the underlying mechanisms of its dysregulation were explored. RNA-sequencing (seq) and methylation data from The Cancer Genome Atlas were used for in-silico analysis. Basal-like representative SUM149 and MDA-MB-468 cell lines were used for in vitro and in vivo studies. Compared to tumor-adjacent normal tissues, only the basal-like tumor tissues had… More >

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564

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ARTICLE

DONGYANG WANG, YI CHEN, JING HUANG, YOU ZHANG, CHONGKUI SUN, YINGQIANG SHEN^*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 329-338, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.023489 - 18 November 2022
（This article belongs to the Special Issue: Recent Advancement in Cancer Molecular Signaling)
Abstract Glucocorticoids (GC) are widely used to counter the adverse events during cancer therapy; nonetheless, previous studies pointed out that GC may reduce the efficacy of chemotherapy on cancer cells, especially in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted therapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remaining to be elucidated. The primary aim of the present study was to probe into the GC-induced resistance of EGFR-targeted drug afatinib and the underlying mechanism. HNSCC cell lines (HSC-3, SCC-25, SCC-9, and H-400) and the human oral keratinocyte (HOK) cell lines were assessed for GC receptor (GR) expression. The… More >

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675

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ARTICLE

ZECHAO LU^1,#, FUCAI TANG^1,#, HAOBIN ZHOU^2,#, ZEGUANG LU^3,#, WANYAN CAI^4,#, JIAHAO ZHANG⁵, ZHICHENG TANG⁶, YONGCHANG LAI^1,*, ZHAOHUI HE^1,*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 339-350, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.023750 - 18 November 2022
（This article belongs to the Special Issue: Bioinformatics Study of Diseases)
Abstract Background: Establishing an appropriate prognostic model for PCa is essential for its effective treatment. Glycolysis is a vital energy-harvesting mechanism for tumors. Developing a prognostic model for PCa based on glycolysis-related genes is novel and has great potential. Methods: First, gene expression and clinical data of PCa patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and glycolysis-related genes were obtained from the Molecular Signatures Database (MSigDB). Gene enrichment analysis was performed to verify that glycolysis functions were enriched in the genes we obtained, which were used in non-negative matrix factorization… More >

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615

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ARTICLE

XIANGLAI JIANG^1,2,3,4,#, JIN HE^2,#, YONGFENG WANG^2,3,4,5,#, JIAHUI LIU⁵, XIANGYANG LI⁵, XIANGUI HE⁵, HUI CAI^2,3,4,*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 351-366, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.025157 - 18 November 2022
（This article belongs to the Special Issue: Bioinformatics Study of Diseases)
Abstract B and T-lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) plays an immunosuppressive role by inhibiting T- and B-cell functions. BTLA is associated with a variety of diseases, especially cancer immunity. However, the function of BTLA in various cancers and its clinical prognostic value have still not been comprehensively analyzed. This study aimed to identify the relationship between BTLA and cancer from the perspectives of differences in BTLA expression, its clinical value, immune infiltration, and the correlation with immune-related genes in various cancers. Data regarding mRNA expression, miRNA expression, lncRNA expression, and clinical data of patients of 33 existing cancers… More >

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ARTICLE

QIANG WANG^#, GUO ZHAO^#, LONGXIANG XIE^#, XUAN LI, XIXI YU, QIONGSHAN LI, BAOPING ZHENG, ZULIPINUER WUSIMAN, XIANGQIAN GUO^*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 367-371, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.025310 - 18 November 2022
（This article belongs to the Special Issue: Bioinformatics Study of Diseases)
Abstract Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the pathogen of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. Here, by centralizing published cell-based experiments, clinical trials, and virtual drug screening data from the NCBI PubMed database, we developed a database of SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors for COVID-19, dbSCI, which includes 234 SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors collected from publications based on cell-based experiments, 81 drugs of COVID-19 in clinical trials and 1305 potential SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors from bioinformatics analyses. dbSCI provides four major functions: (1) search the drug target or its inhibitor for SARS-CoV-2, (2) browse target/inhibitor information collected from More >

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ARTICLE

WEI WANG^1,#, YANRONG PEI^2,#, SHUI-HUA WANG¹, JUAN MANUEL GORRZ³, YU-DONG ZHANG^1,*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 373-384, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.025905 - 18 November 2022
（This article belongs to the Special Issue: Efficient Evolutionary and Swarm Intelligence Algorithms for Biological Applications)
Abstract Since 2019, the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has been spreading rapidly worldwide, posing an unignorable threat to the global economy and human health. It is a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, a single-stranded RNA virus of the genus Betacoronavirus. This virus is highly infectious and relies on its angiotensin-converting enzyme 2-receptor to enter cells. With the increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses, the difficulty of diagnosis due to the lack of global healthcare resources becomes increasingly apparent. Deep learning-based computer-aided diagnosis models with high generalisability can effectively alleviate this pressure.… More >

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ARTICLE

XIAOXU ZHANG^1,2, LIN ZHANG¹, LIN DU³, HUIYAN SUN⁴, XIA ZHAO², YANG SUN¹, WEI WANG^2,*, LISHENG WANG^1,3,*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 385-392, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.025203 - 18 November 2022
（This article belongs to the Special Issue: Expert Opinions and Future Trends on Stem Cells, Biomaterials and Growth Factors)
Abstract Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been widely used in regenerative medicine and clinical therapy due to their capabilities of proliferation, differentiation, and immune regulation. However, during in vitro expansion, MSCs are prone to aging, which largely limits their application. Prostaglandin E-2 (PGE-2) is a key effector secreted by MSCs to exert immunomodulatory effects. By screening the compound library for PGE-2 secretion, the antioxidant trolox was verified as a stimulator of MSCs to secrete PGE-2. The effect of antioxidant trolox on biological characteristics of MSCS, including aging, proliferation, and gene expression, was examined. The results demonstrated that More >

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608

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ARTICLE

YAO LU^1,2,*, QIUYUE WANG¹, CAIHUI ZHANG¹
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 393-400, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.024944 - 18 November 2022
Abstract Myocardial fibrosis is an important manifestation of diabetic cardiomyopathy. This study investigated the potential mechanism of diabetic myocardial fibrosis. Male C57BL/6J and db/db mice aged 8 weeks were randomly divided into the diabetic (DB) and control groups. At 20 weeks, the mouse heart was harvested and subjected to hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE) and Masson staining to investigate the degree of fibrosis. The expressions of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1), collagen-III, B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl2), Bcl2-associated X protein (Bax), cleaved gasdermin D (GSDMD), cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-1 (caspase-1), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), and nucleotide-binding oligomerization… More >

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577

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ARTICLE

MIAOMIAO LI^1,#, DANYANG CHEN^2,#, JUNYI KE¹, RUILIN ZHENG², JINGYAO SU², ZILIN ZHENG¹, JIEYI LUO¹, HANRAN MAI¹, FAN JIANG¹, YANXIA QU¹, XIAOQIONG GU¹, BING ZHU², YINGHUA LI^2,*, LIANDONG ZUO^1,*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 401-408, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.025154 - 18 November 2022
Abstract A H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress injury cell model was established to investigate the antioxidant effect of nano-selenium on mouse spermatocyte lines and the regulation mechanism of the expression level and activity of selenium-containing antioxidant enzymes induced by oxidative stress. A safe and effective nano-drug system of functionalized selenium-containing nanoparticles (SeNPs) was developed with lentinan (LNT) (SeNPs@LNT). Mice spermatocyte line GC2-spg cells were treated with SeNPs@LNT (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 μM) for 24–72 h to evaluate the cytotoxicity of selenium. GC2-spg cells were randomly divided into the following groups: control, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), SeNPs@LNT, and H₂O₂+SeNPs@LNT groups.… More >

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ARTICLE

CAN CHEN^#, RUI FENG^#, ZONGQIONG ZHANG^#, XIUZHONG XIA, BAOXUAN NONG, YU ZENG, HUI GUO, XINGHAI YANG^*, DANTING LI^*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 409-421, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.023543 - 18 November 2022
Abstract Plant height (PH) is a complex trait regulated by the environment and multiple genes. PH directly affects crop yield, harvest index, and lodging resistance. From plant dwarf mutants, many genes related to PH have been identified and described. Nonetheless, the molecular mechanism of height regulation in high-culm rice mutants has not been well studied. By using transcriptome and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we identified the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between high-culm rice mutants (MUT) and wild-type (WT) and explored the key pathways and potential candidate genes involved in PH regulation. Transcriptome analysis identified… More >

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635

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ARTICLE

FABIANA ROCHA ARAÚJO¹, BRUNO MACHADO BERTASSOLI², ISABELLA CRISTINA SOUZA FÉLIX¹, DOUGLAS MARINHO ABREU¹, NATáLIA MELO OCARINO¹, AMANDA MARIA SENA REIS³, JUNEO FREITAS SILVA⁴, ROGéRIA SERAKIDES^1,*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 423-430, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.023689 - 18 November 2022
Abstract To evaluate the characteristics and synthesis activity of osteoblasts extracted from the calvaria of offspring of rats exposed to maternal hyperthyroidism. Twelve adult Wistar rats were divided into two groups, one control and one treated with daily administration of L-thyroxine by an orogastric tube (50 µg/animal/day) during pregnancy. Three days after delivery and confirmation of the mothers’ hyperthyroidism, the offspring were euthanized for the extraction of osteoblasts from the calvaria. At 7, 14, and 21 days, proliferation activity was assessed using MTT assay, while alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was assessed by the BCIP/NBT method. At… More >

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783

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ARTICLE

QIAN ZHANG^1,#, MIN ZHEN^2,#, PENG LI³, XIAOPEI CHI^4,*, YIFEI ZHANG^1,*
BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 431-439, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.024948 - 18 November 2022
Abstract The correlation between microbiota plays a vital role in the progression of periodontal disease. This study investigated the in situ interaction networks between periodontal pathogens in periodontal and peri-implant disease. We used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Pearson’s correlation coefficients to quantify the copy numbers and correlations of four oral core species—Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, and Streptococcus gordonii—from 80 subgingival sites (healthy and with periodontitis or gingivitis) in patients with periodontitis, and 68 subgingival sites (healthy and with periodontitis, gingivitis, peri-implantitis, or peri-implant mucositis) in patients with implants. The highest bacterial counts were observed for Porphyromonas gingivalis… More >

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