The COVID-19 outbreak has already become a global pandemic and containing this rapid worldwide transmission is of great challenge. The impacts of temperature and humidity on the COVID-19 transmission rate are still under discussion. Here, we elucidated these relationships by utilizing two unique scenarios, repeated measurement and natural experiment, using the COVID-19 cases reported from January 23 - February 21, 2020, in China. The modeling results revealed that higher temperature was most strongly associated with decreased COVID-19 transmission at a lag time of 8 days. Relative humidity (RH) appeared to have only a slight effect. These findings were verified by assessing SARS-CoV-2 infectivity under the relevant conditions of temperature (4°C-37°C) and RH (> 40%). We concluded that temperature increase made an important, but not determined, contribution to restrain the COVID-19 outbreak in China. It suggests that the emphasis of other effective controlling polices should be strictly implemented to restrain COVID-19 transmission in cold seasons.
Background: Whether coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic would affect pregnancy-associated factors of uninfected pregnant women was rarely reported.Methods: A total of 32,277 pregnant women from six sites (Hubei Province, Guangdong Province, Hebei Province, Shandong Province, Yunnan Province and Beijing City) were finally recruited. We conducted a retrospective combined cohort study to analyze the associations between the number of prenatal examinations (NPE), delivery gestational week (DGW), the risk of caesarean section (CS), stillbirth, neonatal weight, preterm birth, macrosomia, small for gestational age (SGA), large for gestational age (LGA) and the COVID-19 in two time-periods, the pre-pandemic period (P-2019, 1/1/19-5/31/19) and the pandemic period (P-2020, 1/1/20-5/31/20).Findings: After adjusting for other covariates, we found the NPE, DGW, and SGA were negatively associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas the CS and preterm birth rates were positively associated with the COVID-19, with adjusted relative risks (aRRs) of 1.11 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06–1.17] and 1.37 (95% CI: 1.02–1.84) respectively in Hubei. For Guangdong, the associations of CS and preterm birth with the COVID-19 were similar in Hubei. In contrast, limited associations were evident in other areas, except for a positive association with macrosomia [aRR = 1.26 (95% CI: 1.03–1.55)] in Beijing.Interpretation: The CS and preterm birth rates increased slightly in areas that were more affected by the pandemic than other areas among uninfected pregnant women. NPEs were not significantly interrupted and most maternal and neonatal clinical characteristics were within the normal ranges.Funding: National Key Research and Development Program, National Natural Science Foundation of China and National Health Commission Capacity Building and Continuing Education Center.Declaration of Interests: All authors declare to have no conflict of interest.Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by the Peking University ethics board (no. IRB00001052-20025).
Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) results from the damage of the delicate hair cells inside the ear after excessive stimulation of noise. Unlike certain lower animals such as amphibians, fishes, and birds, in humans, hair cells cannot be regenerated once they are killed or damaged; thus, there are no therapeutic options to cure NIHL. Therefore, it is more important to protect hair cells from the noise before the damage occurs. In this study, we report the protective effect of Yang Mi Ryung extract (YMRE) against NIHL; this novel therapeutic property of YMRE has not been reported previously. Our data demonstrates that the hearing ability damaged by noise is markedly restored in mice preadministrated with YMRE before noise exposure, to the level of normal control group. Our study also provides the molecular mechanism underlying the protective effect of YMRE against NIHL by showing that YMRE significantly blocks noise-induced apoptotic cell death and reduces reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in cochleae. Moreover, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis demonstrates that YMRE has anti-inflammatory properties, suppressing the mRNA levels of TNFα and IL-1β induced by noise exposure. In conclusion, YMRE could be a useful preventive intervention to prevent hearing impairment induced by the exposure to excessive noise.
Objective: Placental dysfunction is a major contributor to miscarriages in humans. We observed elevated expression of Kruppel-like factor 12 (KLF12) in placental villi of women who experienced miscarriage compared to that in women with healthy pregnancies. This study aimed to elucidate the role of KLF12 in maintaining a successful pregnancy. Methods: To investigate the role of KLF12 in placentation, we employed a model of forskolin-induced syncytialization in BeWo cells. Results: Our findings revealed that KLF12 expression is downregulated during normal syncytialization. Conversely, we observed that abnormally high KLF12 levels directly suppressed glial cells missing-1 ( GCM1 ) expression. This suppression of GCM1 expression subsequently impaired BeWo cell syncytialization. Furthermore, we observed placental deformities in KLF12-overexpressing mouse fetuses. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that elevated levels of KLF12 disrupt trophoblast syncytialization by downregulating GCM1 expression. These findings suggest that KLF12 may be a novel candidate gene contributing to unexplained miscarriages.
Objective To study the effect of hCG on invasion of HTR8-SVneo cell line and to explore its mechanism. Methods First,cultured HTR8-SVneo cells were divided into the control group,the low concentration of hCG (10 IU/mL) to stimulate group,and the high concentrations of hCG (100 IU/mL) to stimulate group,then for further experiments they were divided into the control group,the hCG (100 IU/mL) stimulation group,and the DPCPX (A1R specific blocker) +hCG (100 IU/mL) joint stimulation group. The transcription levels of MMP-2 in HTR8-SVneo cells were determined by RT-PCR,and the secreting protein trend of MMP-2 was determined by gelatin mass spectrometry. Results Production of MMP-2 protein was consistent with levels of MMP-2 mRNA treated with different concentration hCG. Expression of A1R was increased at high concentration (100 IU/mL),however,levels of MMP-2 mRNA and its secreted protein were reduced after blocking the A1R by DPCPX. Conclusion hCG promotes HTR8-SVneo cell invasion by increasing expression of A1R.
The elevated expression of the hyaluronan-mediated motility receptor (HMMR) is known to be highly associated with tumor progression in prostate cancer, but the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of HMMR expression remain unclear. Here, we report that mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a key regulator of HMMR expression, for which its kinase activity is required. Pharmacological inhibitors of mTOR, such as rapamycin and Torin2, markedly suppressed the mRNA level as well as the protein level of HMMR in LNCaP and PC-3 cells. Our data demonstrate that such regulation occurs at the transcription level. HMMR promoter reporter assays revealed that the transcription factor SRF is responsible for the mTOR-mediated transcriptional regulation of HMMR gene. Consistently, the suppression of HMMR expression by Torin2 was noticeably reversed by the overexpression of SRF. Moreover, our findings suggest that the SRF binding sites responsible for the transcriptional regulation of HMMR through the mTOR-SRF axis are located in HMMR promoter sequences carrying the first intron, downstream of the translational start site. Furthermore, the upregulation of HMMR by DHT was abolished by stimulation with rapamycin, prior to DHT treatment, suggesting that mTOR activity is required for the induction of HMMR expression by androgen. Collectively, our study provides new mechanistic insights into the role of mTOR/SRF/AR signaling in HMMR regulation in prostate cancer cells.
Background: Fear of possible negative effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine on fertility is the main reason for vaccine hesitancy among the public especially women of childbearing age. Despite the high coverage of COVID-19 vaccination in China, more scientific evidence is still needed to address their concerns and guide fertility counseling and management in the future. Herein, we comprehensively evaluated the effect of each dose of vaccination on fertility potential and pregnancy outcomes in women.Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study at a single large center for reproductive medicine in China between August 2020 and May 2023. Patients aged 20-42 years with no history of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were included and categorized into different groups according to their vaccination status. The serum hormone levels, AMH concentrations, embryo quality, and pregnancy outcomes were evaluated and compared among groups.Results: There were no significant differences in the concentrations of FSH, LH and progesterone between the unvaccinated, first-dose, second-dose, and booster vaccinated groups. However, the E2 showed a highly significant increase in the one-dose vaccinated group compared with its levels in other groups. Among unvaccinated and either vaccinated patients, AMH levels were comparable (P = 0.139). The number of oocytes retrieved, fertilization rate and good-quality embryo rate were all similar between each group of IVF and ICSI. No significant differences were observed regarding other laboratory parameters. Moreover, the vaccination status of infertile couples did not exert any adverse effect on the pregnancy outcomes in all ART cycles.Conclusion: We comprehensively evaluated the reproductive safety of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and found any dose of vaccination wouldn’t negatively affect female fertility parameters such as sex hormone levels and ovarian reserve. Moreover, this is the first study to complete the live birth follow-up of the cohort after receiving inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, further dispelling the misconception and providing reassurance for decision-making by clinicians.Funding: This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Grant no. ZR2020QC100).Declaration of Interest: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest in connection with this article.Ethical Approval: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University (No. 2022C095) and was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed contents were obtained from patients for data collection with scientific use.
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