Stem Cell Research & Therapy•2024•DOI: 10.1186/s13287-024-03846-6
Background Ferroptosis is associated with the pathological progression of hemorrhagic injury and ischemia–reperfusion injury. According to our previous study, exosomes formed through bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells modified with miR-340-3p (MB-exos) can restore damaged endometrium. However, the involvement of ferroptosis in endometrial injury and the effect of MB-exos on ferroptosis remain elusive. Methods The endometrial injury rat model was developed. Exosomes were obtained from the supernatants of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs) and miR-340/BMSCs through differential centrifugation. We conducted RNA-seq analysis on endometrial tissues obtained from the PBS and MB-exos groups. Ferroptosis was induced in endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) by treating them with erastin or RSL3, followed by treatment with B-exos or MB-exos. We assessed the endometrial total m6A modification level after injury and subsequent treatment with B-exos or MB-exos by methylation quantification assay. We performed meRIP-qPCR to analyze m6A modification-regulated endogenous mRNAs. Results We reveal that MB-exos facilitate the injured endometrium to recover by suppressing ferroptosis in endometrial stromal cells. The injured endometrium showed significantly upregulated N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification levels; these levels were attenuated by MB-exos through downregulation of the methylase METTL3. Intriguingly, METTL3 downregulation appears to repress ferroptosis by stabilizing HMOX1 mRNA, thereby potentially elucidating the mechanism through which MB-exos inhibit ferroptosis in ESCs. We identified YTHDF2 as a critical m6A reader protein that contributes to HMOX1 mRNA degradation. YTHDF2 facilitates HMOX1 mRNA degradation by identifying the m6A binding site in the 3′-untranslated regions of HMOX1. In a rat model, treatment with MB-exos ameliorated endometrial injury-induced fibrosis by inhibiting ferroptosis in ESCs. Moreover, METTL3 short hairpin RNA-mediated inhibition of m6A modification enhanced the inhibitory effect of MB-exos on ferroptosis in endometrial injury. Conclusions Thus, these observations provide new insights regarding the molecular mechanisms responsible for endometrial recovery promotion by MB-exos and highlight m6A modification-dependent ferroptosis inhibition as a prospective therapeutic target to attenuate endometrial injury.
Stem Cell Research & Therapy•2024•DOI: 10.1186/s13287-024-03798-x
Background Development of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) is a multi-staged complex process that conserved between zebrafish and mammals. Understanding the mechanism underlying HSPC development is a holy grail of hematopoietic biology, which is helpful for HSPC clinical application. Chromatin conformation plays important roles in transcriptional regulation and cell fate decision; however, its dynamic and role in HSPC development is poorly investigated. Methods We performed chromatin structure and multi-omics dissection across different stages of HSPC developmental trajectory in zebrafish for the first time, including Hi-C, RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, H3K4me3 and H3K27ac ChIP-seq. Results The chromatin organization of zebrafish HSPC resemble mammalian cells with similar hierarchical structure. We revealed the multi-scale reorganization of chromatin structure and its influence on transcriptional regulation and transition of cell fate during HSPC development. Nascent HSPC is featured by loose conformation with obscure structure at all layers. Notably, PU.1 was identified as a potential factor mediating formation of promoter-involved loops and regulating gene expression of HSPC. Conclusions Our results provided a global view of chromatin structure dynamics associated with development of zebrafish HSPC and discovered key transcription factors involved in HSPC chromatin interactions, which will provide new insights into the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms underlying vertebrate HSPC fate decision.
Stem Cell Research & Therapy•2024•DOI: 10.1186/s13287-024-03985-w
The original article erroneously presents an overlapping artefact in Fig. 2H; the corrected figure can be viewed ahead in this Correction article.
Chinese Traditional and Herbal Drugs•2026•DOI: 10.7501/j.issn.0253-2670.2026.16.20261627
Machine vision technology (MVT) has emerged as a pivotal non-contact, high-efficiency, and low-cost sensing modality for the traditional Chinese medicinal materials (TCMM) industry. This review systematically examines MVT applications across the entire TCMM industrial chain, spanning seed quality evaluation and sorting, cultivation environment suitability analysis and zoning, plant growth monitoring and field management, harvesting decision-making, primary processing control, and product quality assessment. By integrating conventional visual imaging with multi-source spectral imaging and employing both traditional machine learning and deep learning algorithms, MVT has substantially enhanced production intelligence and quality control capabilities. Nevertheless, persistent challenges impede industrial-scale adoption: technological fragmentation, data silos, lab-bound models with poor field generalizability, and prohibitive implementation costs. Guided by China's 'Artificial Intelligence Plus' strategy, this paper proposes strategic directions including establishing intelligent agent systems covering the full industrial chain, creating collaborative data resource ecosystems, developing lightweight adaptive algorithm models, and innovating inclusive business models. These measures aim to promote deep integration and large-scale application of MVT in the TCMM industry, providing technical support for intelligent, high-quality development of the entire value chain.
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research•2026•DOI: 10.12307/2026.21412
BACKGROUND: Currently, most studies on rigid post-traumatic thoracolumbar kyphosis focus on overall sagittal balance and surgical intervention, while the effect of the disease duration on the change of lumbar compensatory curvature and degeneration is still unclear. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of the disease duration on lumbar degeneration and the potential mechanism of rigid post-traumatic thoracolumbar kyphosis in patients with rigid post-traumatic thoracolumbar kyphosis, and provide a basis for optimizing treatment strategies. METHODS: Clinical and imaging data from 79 rigid post-traumatic thoracolumbar kyphosis patients were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups according to the disease duration: Patients with a disease duration of ≤ 5 years were categorized as group A (n=40), and those with > 5 years as group B (n=39). X-ray images were used to measure the local kyphosis angle of the injured vertebra, the height of the posterior walls of the injured vertebra and adjacent vertebrae, lumbar lordosis, the intervertebral space angle for each lumbar segment, and sacral slope. The Weishaupt-CT classification system was employed to assess lumbar facet joint degeneration. Pfirrmann-MRI grading was used to evaluate intervertebral disc degeneration. Clinical outcomes including visual analog scale for back pain, Oswestry Disability Index, SRS-22 score, and American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale were compared between groups. The influence of disease duration on clinical symptoms and imaging features was analyzed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) There were no significant differences in age, sex, visual analog scale score, fracture site, fracture morphology, or American Spinal Injury Association grade between the two groups (P > 0.05). The SRS-22 subscore was significantly higher in group A than in group B (P < 0.05), while the Oswestry Disability Index was significantly higher in group B than in group A (P < 0.05). (2) The local kyphosis angle, lumbar lordosis, and L4/5 intervertebral space angle were significantly greater in group B than in group A (P < 0.05). (3) There were no significant differences in L1/2, L2/3, L3/4, L5/S1 intervertebral space angles and sacral slope between groups (P > 0.05). (4) The degree of facet joint degeneration at L3/4, L4/5, and L5/S1 was significantly more severe in group B than in group A (P < 0.05). The degree of intervertebral disc degeneration at L2/3, L3/4, L4/5, and L5/S1 was significantly more severe in group B than in group A (P < 0.05). (5) Pearson correlation analysis showed that within group B, disease duration was positively correlated with local kyphosis angle and lumbar lordosis (r=0.335, 0.418, P < 0.05). (6) In patients with rigid post-traumatic thoracolumbar kyphosis, long-term compensation leads to increased lumbar lordosis and accelerated lumbar degeneration. The L4/5 segment is the main compensatory segment in lumbar curvature compensation, and special attention should be paid to the correction of lower lumbar curvature during surgical correction.