© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA.The use of circulating microRNAs as biomarkers opens up new opportunities for the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases because of their specific expression profiles. The aim of the present study was to identify circulating microRNAs in human plasma as potential biomarkers of heart failure and related diseases. We used real-time quantitative PCR to screen microRNA in plasma samples from 62 normal controls and 62 heart failure samples. We found that circulating miR-21-5p, miR-30a-3p, miR-30a-5p, miR-155-5p, miR-216a and miR-217 expressed differently between healthy controls and heart failure patients. Plasma levels of miR-21-5p, miR-30a-3p, miR-30a-5p, miR-155-5p, miR-216a and miR-217 were unaffected by hemolysis. Correlation analysis showed any two of these miRNAs possess a strong correlation, indicating a possibility of combined analysis. MiR-21-5p, miR-30a-3p, miR-30a-5p, miR-155-5p, miR-216a and miR-217 could be combined in two or three or more combinations. The results suggest that miR-21-5p, miR-30a-3p, miR-30a-5p, miR-155-5p, miR-216a and miR-217 may be a new diagnostic biomarker for heart failure and related diseases. © 2020 The Author(s).Ginkgo leaf extract and dipyridamole injection (GLED), a kind of Chinese herbal medicine preparation, has been considered as a promising supplementary treatment for chronic cor pulmonale (CCP). Although an analysis of the published literature has been performed, the exact effects and safety of GLED have yet to be systematically investigated. Therefore, a wide-ranging systematic search of electronic databases from which to draw conclusions was conducted. All randomized controlled trials concerning the GLED plus conventional treatments for CCP were selected in the present study. Main outcomes were treatment efficacy, blood gas and hemorrheology indexes, and adverse events. Data from 28 trials with 2457 CCP patients were analyzed. The results indicated that, compared with conventional treatments alone, the combination of conventional treatments with GLED obviously improved the markedly effective rate (RR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.31-1.58, P 0.05). In summary, evidence from the meta-analysis suggested that the combination of conventional treatments and GLED appeared to be effective and relatively safe for CCP. Therefore, GLED mediated therapy could be recommended as an adjuvant treatment for CCP. © 2020 The Author(s).BACKGROUND Although the action mechanism of antineoplastic agents is different. Oxaliplatin, paclitaxel or bortezomib, as first-line antineoplastic drugs, can induce painful neuropathy. In rodents, mechanical allodynia is a common phenotype of painful neuropathy for three chemotherapeutics. However, whether there is a common molecular involved in the different chemotherapeutics-induced painful peripheral neuropathy remains unclear. METHODS Mechanical allodynia was tested by von Frey hairs following intraperitoneal injection of vehicle, oxaliplatin, paclitaxel or bortezomib in Sprague-Dawley rats. Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS) and methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP) were used to detect the change of DNA methylation. Western blot, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and immunohistochemistry were employed to explore the molecular mechanisms. RESULTS In three chemotherapeutic models, oxaliplatin, paclitaxel or bortezomib accordantly up-regulated the expression of TRPC6 mRNA and protein without affecting the DNA methylation level of TRPC6 gene in DRG. Inhibition of TRPC6 by using TRPC6 siRNA (i.t., 10 consecutive days) relieved mechanical allodynia significantly following application of chemotherapeutics. Furthermore, the downregulated recruitment of DNMT3b at PAX6 gene led to the hypomethylation of PAX6 gene and increased PAX6 expression. Finally, the increased PAX6 via binding to TPRC6 promoter contribute to the TRPC6 increase and mechanical allodynia following chemotherapeutics treatment. CONCLUSIONS The TRPC6 upregulation through DNMT3b-mediated PAX6 gene hypomethylation participated in mechanical allodynia following application of different chemotherapeutic drugs. © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of CINP.BACKGROUND Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which has no effective drugs to delay or prevent its progression, is a multifactorial complex neurodegenerative disease. Long non-coding RNA SOX21 antisense RNA1 (SOX21-AS1) is associated with the development of AD, but the underlying molecular mechanism of SOX21-AS1 in AD is still largely unclear. METHODS To construct the AD model, SH-SY5Y and SK-N-SH cells were treated with amyloid-β1-42 (Aβ1-42). Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was executed to detect the expression of SOX21-AS1 and miRNA-107. Western blot analysis was utilized to assess the levels of phosphorylated Tau (p-Tau). 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) or flow cytometry assay was employed to determine the viability and apoptosis of  SH-SY5Y and SK-N-SH cells. The relationship between SOX21-AS1 and miRNA-107 was verified with the dual-luciferase reporter assay. RESULTS SOX21-AS1 expression was augmented while miR-107 expression was decreased in Aβ1-42-treated SH-SY5Y and SK-N-SH cells. Moreover, Aβ1-42 elevated the levels of p-Tau and impeded viability and induced apoptosis of SH-SY5Y and SK-N-SH cells. Abiraterone manufacturer Also, SOX21-AS1 silencing attenuated Aβ1-42 mediated the levels of p-Tau, viability, and apoptosis of SH-SY5Y and SK-N-SH cells. Importantly, SOX21-AS1 acted as a sponge for miR-107 in SH-SY5Y and SK-N-SH cells. Furthermore, the increase of p-Tau levels and apoptosis and the repression of viability of Aβ1-42-treated SH-SY5Y and SK-N-SH cells mediated by miR-107 inhibition were partly recovered by SOX21-AS1 depletion. CONCLUSION SOX21-AS1 silencing could attenuate Aβ1-42-induced neuronal damage by sponging miR-107, which provided a possible strategy for the treatment of AD. Copyright 2020 The Author(s).Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain SCUEC1 is a nicotine-degrading bacterium, which has been recently isolated from the tobacco waste-contaminated field soil. However, the mechanism for nicotine degradation in this strain remains unclear. Here, we analyze the function and biological properties of the agnH gene in the strain SCUEC1. The overexpression of the AgnH protein was detected by SDS-PAGE analysis, and functional insight of the AgnH protein was carried out with monitoring the changes of maleic acid into fumaric acid by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Moreover, the effects of temperature, pH and metal ions on the enzymatic activities of the AgnH protein were also analyzed. The results demonstrated that the agnH gene was successfully ligated to the plasmid pET28a. The optimal condition for the enzymatic activities for the AgnH, approximately 28.0 kDa, was determined as 37 °C, pH 8.0 and 25 µM Mg2+. Conclusively, the agnH gene fulfils an important role in the conversion of maleic acid into fumaric acid involved in nicotine-degradation pathways in Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain SCUEC1.