title: PeerJ description: Articles published in PeerJ link: https://peerj.com/articles/index.rss3?journal=peerj&page=641 creator: info@peerj.com PeerJ errorsTo: info@peerj.com PeerJ language: en title: BRCA1 overexpression attenuates breast cancer cell growth and migration by regulating the pyruvate kinase M2-mediated Warburg effect via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway link: https://peerj.com/articles/14052 last-modified: 2022-09-28 description: This work explored the mechanism of the effect of breast-cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) on the metabolic characteristics of breast cancer cells, including the Warburg effect and its specific signaling. We transfected MCF-7 cells with a BRCA1-encoding LXSN plasmid or PKM2 siRNA and examined cancer cell metabolism using annexin V staining, inhibitory concentration determination, Western blotting, glucose uptake and lactic acid content measurements, and Transwell assays to assess glycolytic activity, cell apoptosis, and migration, and sensitivity to anti-cancer treatment. The BRCA1-expressing MCF-7 cells demonstrated low PKM2 expression and decreased glycolytic activity (downregulated hexokinase 2 (HK2) expression, upregulated isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) expression, and reduced O2 and glucose consumption and lactate production) via regulation of PI3K/AKT pathway compared with the empty LXSN group. BRCA1 transfection slightly increased apoptotic activity, decreased cell migration, and increased the IC50 index for doxorubicin, paclitaxel, and cisplatin. Inhibiting PKM2 using siRNA attenuated the IC50 index for doxorubicin, paclitaxel, and cisplatin compared with the control. Inhibiting PKM2 activated PI3K/AKT signaling, increased apoptosis, and decreased MCF-7 cell migration. Our data suggest that BRCA1 overexpression reverses the Warburg effect, inhibits cancer cell growth and migration, and enhances the sensitivity to anti-cancer treatment by decreasing PKM2 expression regulated by PI3K/AKT signaling. These novel metabolic findings represent a potential mechanism by which BRCA1 exerts its inhibitory effect on breast cancer. creator: Xiuli Liu creator: Hanxu Liu creator: Lei Zeng creator: Yuetao Lv uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14052 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2022 Liu et al. title: Objective monitoring of functional recovery after total knee and hip arthroplasty using sensor-derived gait measures link: https://peerj.com/articles/14054 last-modified: 2022-09-28 description: BackgroundInertial sensors hold the promise to objectively measure functional recovery after total knee (TKA) and hip arthroplasty (THA), but their value in addition to patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) has yet to be demonstrated. This study investigated recovery of gait after TKA and THA using inertial sensors, and compared results to recovery of self-reported scores of pain and function.MethodsPROMs and gait parameters were assessed before and at two and fifteen months after TKA (n = 24) and THA (n = 24). Gait parameters were compared with healthy individuals (n = 27) of similar age. Gait data were collected using inertial sensors on the feet, lower back, and trunk. Participants walked for two minutes back and forth over a 6m walkway with 180° turns. PROMs were obtained using the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores and Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score.ResultsGait parameters recovered to the level of healthy controls after both TKA and THA. Early improvements were found in gait-related trunk kinematics, while spatiotemporal gait parameters mainly improved between two and fifteen months after TKA and THA. Compared to the large and early improvements found in of PROMs, these gait parameters showed a different trajectory, with a marked discordance between the outcome of both methods at two months post-operatively.ConclusionSensor-derived gait parameters were responsive to TKA and THA, showing different recovery trajectories for spatiotemporal gait parameters and gait-related trunk kinematics. Fifteen months after TKA and THA, there were no remaining gait differences with respect to healthy controls. Given the discordance in recovery trajectories between gait parameters and PROMs, sensor-derived gait parameters seem to carry relevant information for evaluation of physical function that is not captured by self-reported scores. creator: Ramon Boekesteijn creator: José Smolders creator: Vincent Busch creator: Noël Keijsers creator: Alexander Geurts creator: Katrijn Smulders uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14054 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Boekesteijn et al. title: Comparative mitogenome analysis reveals mitochondrial genome characteristics in eight strains of Beauveria link: https://peerj.com/articles/14067 last-modified: 2022-09-28 description: Despite the significant progress that has been made in the genome sequencing of Beauveria species, mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) used to examine genetic diversity within fungal populations. Complete mitogenomes of Beauveria species can be easily sequenced and assembled using various sequencing techniques. However, since mitogenome annotations are mainly derived from similar species comparison and software prediction, and are not supported by RNA-seq transcripts data, it leads to problems with the accuracy of mitochondrial annotations and the inability to understand RNA processing. In this study, we assembled and annotated the mitogenome of eight Beauveria strains using Illumina DNA and RNA sequencing data. The circular mitogenome of eight Beauveria strains ranged from 26,850 bp (B. caledonica strain ATCC 64970) to 35,999 bp (B. brongniartii strain GYU-BMZ03), with the intronic insertions accounting for most of the size variation, thus contributing to a total mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) size of 7.01% and 28.95%, respectively. Intron number variations were not directly related to the evolutionary relationship distance. Besides ribosomal protein S3 (rps3), most introns are lost too quickly and lack the stability of protein-coding genes. The short RNA-seq reads from next-generation sequencing can improve the mitochondrial annotation accuracy and help study polycistronic transcripts and RNA processing. The transcription initiation sites may be located in the control region. Most introns do not serve as taxonomic markers and also lack open reading frames (ORFs). We assumed that the poly A tail was added to the polycistronic transcript before splicing and one polycistronic transcript (trnM(1)-trnL(1)-trnA-trnF-trnK-trnL(2)-trnQ-trnH-trnM(2)-nad2-nad3-atp9-cox2-trnR(1)-nad4L-nad5-cob-trnC-cox1-trnR(2)-nad1-nad4-atp8-atp6-rns-trnY-trnD-trnS-trnN-cox3-trnG-nad6-trnV-trnI-trnS-trnW-trnP-rnl(rps3)-trnT-trnE-trnM(3)) was first processed from the mitogenome and was subsequently processed into smaller mono-, di-, or tricistronic RNAs. creator: Yu Bai creator: Xuyuan Gao creator: Hui Wang creator: Lin Ye creator: Xianqun Zhang creator: Wei Huang creator: Xiuzhen Long creator: Kang Yang creator: Guoyong Li creator: Jianlin Luo creator: Jiyue Wang creator: Yonghao Yu uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14067 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Bai et al. title: Lack of a genetic cline and temporal genetic stability in an introduced barnacle along the Pacific coast of Japan link: https://peerj.com/articles/14073 last-modified: 2022-09-28 description: BackgroundLarge numbers of exotic marine species have been introduced worldwide. Monitoring of introduced species is important to reveal mechanisms underlying their establishment and expansion. Balanus glandula is a common intertidal barnacle native to the northeastern Pacific. However, this species has been introduced to Japan, South America, South Africa, and Europe. While a latitudinal genetic cline is well known in its native range, it is unclear whether such a genetic cline occurs in introduced areas. Twenty years have passed since it was first identified in Japan and its distribution now ranges from temperate to subarctic regions.MethodsIn the present study, we examined genotypes of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) of mitochondrial (mt)-DNA and elongation factor 1a (EF1) across the distribution of B. glandula in Japan at high and mid intertidal zones.ResultsAt all sampling sites, native northern genotypes are abundant and I did not detect significant effects of latitude, tide levels, or their interaction on genotypic frequencies. Further, I did not detect any change of genotype composition between data collected during a study in 2004 and samples in the present study collected in 2019. Data from the present study offer an important baseline for future monitoring of this species and supply valuable insights into the mechanisms of establishment and expansion of introduced marine species generally. creator: Takefumi Yorisue uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14073 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2022 Yorisue title: Ac2-26 attenuates hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury in mice via regulating IL-22/IL-22R1/STAT3 signaling link: https://peerj.com/articles/14086 last-modified: 2022-09-28 description: Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI) is one of the major sources of mortality and morbidity associated with hepatic surgery. Ac2-26, a short peptide of Annexin A1 protein, has been proved to have a protective effect against IRI. However, whether it exerts a protective effect on HIRI has not been reported. The HIRI mice model and the oxidative damage model of H2O2-induced AML12 cells were established to investigate whether Ac2-26 could alleviate HIRI by regulating the activation of IL-22/IL-22R1/STAT3 signaling. The protective effect of Ac2-26 was measured by various biochemical parameters related to liver function, apoptosis, inflammatory reaction, mitochondrial function and the expressions of IL-22, IL-22R1, p-STAT3Tyr705. We discovered that Ac2-26 reduced the Suzuki score and cell death rate, and increased the cell viability after HIRI. Moreover, we unraveled that Ac2-26 significantly decreased the number of apoptotic hepatocytes, and the expressions of cleaved-caspase-3 and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. Furthermore, HIRI increased the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), NADP+/NADPH ratio and reactive oxygen species (ROS), whereas Ac2-26 decreased them significantly. Additionally, Ac2-26 remarkably alleviated mitochondria dysfunction, which was represented by an increase in the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content and mitochondrial membrane potential, a decrease in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage. Finally, we revealed that Ac2-26 pretreatment could significantly inhibit the activation of IL-22/IL22R1/STAT3 signaling. In conclusion, this work demonstrated that Ac2-26 ameliorated HIRI by reducing oxidative stress and inhibiting the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway, which might be closely related to the inhibition of the IL-22/IL22R1/STAT3 signaling pathway. creator: Wanzhen Li creator: Hongxin Jiang creator: Chen Bai creator: Shuna Yu creator: Yitong Pan creator: Chenchen Wang creator: Huiting Li creator: Ming Li creator: Yaxin Sheng creator: Fangfang Chu creator: Jie Wang creator: Yuting Chen creator: Jianguo Li creator: Jiying Jiang uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14086 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Li et al. title: A content analysis of the reliability and quality of Youtube videos as a source of information on health-related post-COVID pain link: https://peerj.com/articles/14089 last-modified: 2022-09-28 description: BackgroundThe use of the internet as a source of information has increased during the pandemic, and YouTube has become an increasingly important source of information on Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In the long COVID picture, which occurs when symptoms related to COVID-19 last longer than 1 month, pain involving the musculoskeletal system affects the quality of life quite negatively. The aim of this study was to investigate the informational value and quality of YouTube videos related to post-COVID pain.MethodsIn this study, 180 videos were listed using the search terms “pain after COVID,” “post-COVID pain,” and “long COVID and pain”(15 April 2022). Videos were classified according to video parameters and content analysis. Quality, reliability and accuracy of the videos were determined with the Global Quality Score (GQS), the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) Benchmark Criteria and the Modified DISCERN Questionnaire, respectively.ResultsOne hundred videos that met the inclusion criteria were included in the assessment. Of these videos, 74 were found to be of low quality, 14 of moderate quality, and 12 of high quality; 21% contained insufficient data, 73% contained partially sufficient data, and 6% contained completely sufficient data. Videos uploaded by academic sources (66.7%) and physicians (12.5%) made up the majority of the high-quality group. A statistically significant correlation was found between the source of upload and number of views (p = 0.014), likes (p = 0.030), comments (p = 0.007), and video duration (p = 0.004). Video duration was found to have a poor positive correlation with GQS (r = 0.500), JAMA (r = 0.528), and modified DISCERN (r = 0.470) scores (p < 0.001).ConclusionThe findings of this study revealed that the majority of YouTube videos on post-COVID pain had low quality and partially sufficient data. High-quality videos were found to have longer durations and were uploaded by academic sources and physicians. The fact that only videos with English content at a certain time can be counted among the limitations. For patients suffering from post-COVID pain whose access to healthcare services was interrupted during the COVID pandemic, YouTube can be considered as an alternative source as well as a means of telerehabilitation. It can be argued that higher quality videos created by healthcare professionals could aid in patient education in the future. creator: Erkan Ozduran creator: Sibel Büyükçoban uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14089 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2022 Ozduran and Büyükçoban title: Do pheromone traps help to reduce new attacks of Ips typographus at the local scale after a sanitary cut? link: https://peerj.com/articles/14093 last-modified: 2022-09-28 description: The spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus, is causing severe economic losses during epidemic phases triggered by droughts and/or windstorms. Sanitation felling and salvage logging are usually the most recommended strategies to limit the damages. However, any additional control method to limit the economic impact of an outbreak would be welcome. In this respect, the efficiency of pheromone trapping is still controversial or poorly documented. In this 2-year study (2020–2021), at the peak of a severe outbreak in Belgium, we quantified the wood volume and presence/absence of new attacks at 126 sites attacked during the previous year and within 100 m from the initial attack. Each site was randomly allocated to one of three treatments: (1) three crosstraps baited with pheromones, (2) one tree-trap baited with pheromones and treated with an insecticide and (3) control sites with no trapping device. The attacked trees of the previous year were all cut and removed before the start of the experiment and newly attacked trees were removed as they were detected. The trapping devices were only active during spring to target overwintering bark beetles that might have escaped the sanitation cuts and to limit the risk of attracting dispersing beetles from outside the patch during the summer. We found a strong decrease of the attacks relative to the previous year in all treatments, including the controls (more than 50% of the control sites had no new attacks). There was no relationship between the new attacks and the attacks of the previous year. In both years, new attacks were more frequent (presence/absence) in sites with crosstraps (95% Confidence Interval [56–84%] of the sites with new attacks) than in sites with a tree-trap (26–57% - p = 0.02) and to a lesser extent than in control sites (32–63%, p = 0.08). In 2020, the attacked volumes were slightly higher in sites with crosstraps (95% Confidence Interval [3.4–14.2 m³]) than in control sites (0.2–3.5 m³, p = 0.04) and no significant difference was found with tree-trap sites (1.1–6.2 m³, p = 0.38). In 2021, there were no significant differences between the volumes attacked in the control sites (1.8–9.4 m³), crosstraps sites (0.9–6.4 m³) and tree-trap sites (0–2.5 m³). Overall, we found no evidence in favor of the efficacy of pheromone trapping during spring to reduce economic damages at the local scale when combined with sanitation felling and during a severe outbreak. The use of baited crosstraps could even be hazardous as it seemed to increase the occurrence of new attacks probably by attracting bark beetles but failing to neutralize them. creator: Alexandre Kuhn creator: Louis Hautier creator: Gilles San Martin uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14093 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2022 Kuhn et al. title: Beyond the fish-Daphnia paradigm: testing the potential for pygmy backswimmers (Neoplea striola) to cause trophic cascades in subtropical ponds link: https://peerj.com/articles/14094 last-modified: 2022-09-28 description: Trophic cascades, or indirect effects of predators on non-adjacent lower trophic levels, are a classic phenomenon in ecology, and are thought to be strongest in aquatic ecosystems. Most research on freshwater trophic cascades focused on temperate lakes, where fish are present and where Daphnia frequently dominate the zooplankton community. These studies identified that Daphnia often play a key role in facilitating trophic cascades by linking fish to algae with strong food web interactions. However, Daphnia are rare or absent in most tropical and subtropical lowland freshwaters, and fish are absent from small and temporary water bodies, where invertebrates fill the role of top predator. While invertebrate predators are ubiquitous in freshwater systems, most have received little attention in food web research. Therefore, we aimed to test whether trophic cascades are possible in small warmwater ponds where Daphnia are absent and small invertebrates are the top predators. We collected naturally occurring plankton communities from small fishless water bodies in central Texas and propagated them in replicate pond mesocosms. We removed zooplankton from some mesocosms, left the plankton community intact in others, and added one of two densities of the predaceous insect Neoplea striola to others. Following an incubation period, we then compared biomasses of plankton groups to assess food web effects between the trophic levels, including whether Neoplea caused a trophic cascade by reducing zooplankton. The zooplankton community became dominated by copepods which prefer large phytoplankton and exhibit a fast escape response. Perhaps due to these qualities of the copepods and perhaps due to other reasons such as high turbidity impairing predation, no evidence for food web effects were found other than somewhat weak evidence for zooplankton reducing large phytoplankton. More research is needed to understand the behavior and ecology of Neoplea, but trophic cascades may generally be weak or absent in fishless low latitude lowland water bodies where Daphnia are rare. creator: Chase J. Rakowski creator: Mathew A. Leibold uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14094 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Rakowski and Leibold title: A novel alkane monooxygenase (alkB) clade revealed by massive genomic survey and its dissemination association with IS elements link: https://peerj.com/articles/14147 last-modified: 2022-09-28 description: BackgroundAlkanes are important components of fossil energy, such as crude oil. The alkane monooxygenase encoded by alkB gene performs the initial step of alkane degradation under aerobic conditions. The alkB gene is well studied due to its ubiquity as well as the availability of experimentally functional evidence. The alkBFGHJKL and alkST clusters are special kind of alkB-type alkane hydroxylase system, which encode all proteins necessary for converting alkanes into corresponding fatty acids.MethodsTo explore whether the alkBFGHJKL and alkST clusters were widely distributed, we performed a large-scale analysis of isolate and metagenome assembled genome data (>390,000 genomes) to identify these clusters, together with distributions of corresponding taxonomy and niches. The set of alk-genes (including but not limited to alkBGHJ) located near each other on a DNA sequence was defined as an alk-gene cluster in this study. The alkB genes with alkGHJ located nearby on a DNA sequence were picked up for the investigation of putative alk-clusters.ResultsA total of 120 alk-gene clusters were found in 117 genomes. All the 117 genomes are from strains located only in α- and γ-proteobacteria. The alkB genes located in alk-gene sets were clustered into a deeply branched mono-clade. Further analysis showed similarity organization types of alk-genes were observed within closely related species. Although a large number of IS elements were observed nearby, they did not lead to the wide spread of the alk-gene cluster. The uneven distribution of these elements indicated that there might be other factors affecting the transmission of alk-gene clusters.ConclusionsWe conducted systematic bioinformatics research on alk-genes located near each other on a DNA sequence. This benchmark dataset of alk-genes can provide base line for exploring its evolutional and ecological importance in future studies. creator: Shaojing Wang creator: Guoqiang Li creator: Zitong Liao creator: Tongtong Liu creator: Ting Ma uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14147 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Wang et al. title: Nitrate enrichment does not affect enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in aquatic microcosms but may affect other strains present in aquatic habitats link: https://peerj.com/articles/13914 last-modified: 2022-09-27 description: Eutrophication of the planet’s aquatic systems is increasing at an unprecedented rate. In freshwater systems, nitrate—one of the nutrients responsible for eutrophication—is linked to biodiversity losses and ecosystem degradation. One of the main sources of freshwater nitrate pollution in New Zealand is agriculture. New Zealand’s pastoral farming system relies heavily on the application of chemical fertilisers. These fertilisers in combination with animal urine, also high in nitrogen, result in high rates of nitrogen leaching into adjacent aquatic systems. In addition to nitrogen, livestock waste commonly carries human and animal enteropathogenic bacteria, many of which can survive in freshwater environments. Two strains of enteropathogenic bacteria found in New Zealand cattle, are K99 and Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC). To better understand the effects of ambient nitrate concentrations in the water column on environmental enteropathogenic bacteria survival, a microcosm experiment with three nitrate-nitrogen concentrations (0, 1, and 3 mg NO3-N /L), two enteropathogenic bacterial strains (STEC O26—human, and K99—animal), and two water types (sterile and containing natural microbiota) was run. Both STEC O26 and K99 reached 500 CFU/10 ml in both water types at all three nitrate concentrations within 24 hours and remained at those levels for the full 91 days of the experiment. Although enteropathogenic strains showed no response to water column nitrate concentrations, the survival of background Escherichia coli, imported as part of the in-stream microbiota did, surviving longer in 1 and 3 mg NO3-N/Lconcentrations (P < 0.001). While further work is needed to fully understand how nitrate enrichment and in-stream microbiota may affect the viability of human and animal pathogens in freshwater systems, it is clear that these two New Zealand strains of STEC O26 and K99 can persist in river water for extended periods alongside some natural microbiota. creator: Meredith T. Davis creator: Adam D. Canning creator: Anne C. Midwinter creator: Russell G. Death uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13914 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2022 Davis et al.