Cadmium (Cd), a toxic heavy metal, affects the yield and quality of crops. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) can accumulate high Cd content in the grain, which poses a major worldwide hazard to human health. Advances in our understanding of Cd toxicity for plants and humans, different parameters influencing Cd uptake and accumulation, as well as phytoremediation technologies to relieve Cd pollution in wheat have been made very recently. In particular, the molecular mechanisms of wheat under Cd stress have been increasingly recognized. In this review, we focus on the recently described omics and functional genes uncovering Cd stress, as well as different mitigation strategies to reduce Cd toxicity in wheat.

Environmental pollution of heavy metals has received growing attention in recent years. Heavy metals such as cadmium, lead and mercury can cause physiological and morphological disturbances which adversely affect the growth and quality of crops. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) can accumulate high contents of heavy metals in its edible parts. Understanding wheat response to heavy metal stress and its management in decreasing heavy metal uptake and accumulation may help to improve its growth and grain quality. Very recently, emerging advances in heavy metal toxicity and phytoremediation methods to reduce heavy metal pollution have been made in wheat. Especially, the molecular mechanisms of wheat under heavy metal stress are increasingly being recognized. In this review, we focus on the recently described epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, ionomics and multi-omics combination, as well as functional genes uncovering heavy metal stress in wheat. The findings in this review provide some insights into challenges and future recommendations for wheat under heavy metal stress.

Background: Systematic study on the relationship between vaginal microbiota and high-risk human papillomavirus infection (HR-HPV) is limited. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between vaginal microbiota and HR-HPV infection through a meta-analysis of case-control studies.Methods: Chinese Journal Full-text database, Wanfang database, PubMed database, VIP Chinese Science and Technology Journal database, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, JSTOR, Wiley, and IEEE Xplore were synthetically searched for studies about the correlation between vaginal microbiota and HR-HPV infection. Revman 5.3 software was used to assess the relationship between vaginal microbiota and HPV infection through meta-analysis. Finally, forest map was used to calculate the results and funnel plot was applied to test the publication bias.Results: Fourteen independent studies were admitted in this study, containing a total of 21, 446 women in gynecological outpatients. Compared with HR-HPV negative group, the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) [odds ratio (OR)=2.45, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.83-3.27, P<0.00001], Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) (OR=1.38, 95% CI: 1.23-1.54, P<0.00001), and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) (OR=3.53, 95% CI: 2.82-4.41, P<0.00001) increased in HR-HPV positive group through meta-analysis, while, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of trichomonal vaginitis (TV) (OR=1.69, 95% CI: 0.97-2.96, P=0.06) and vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) (OR=0.91, 95% CI: 0.54-1.51, P=0.71.Conclusions: Vaginal pathogens are closely related to HR-HPV infection. When BV, UU, and CT are abnormal, the risk of HR-HPV infection is increased.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of covalently closed single-stranded RNA molecules. Four types of circRNAs have been reported in animal cells, and they have typical characteristics in their biogenesis, nuclear export and degradation. Advances in our understanding of the molecular functions of circRNAs in sponging microRNAs, modulating transcription, regulating RNA-binding proteins, as well as encoding proteins have been made very recently. Dysregulated circRNAs are associated with human diseases such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In this review, we focus on the recently described mechanisms, role and clinical significance of circRNAs in AML. Although great progress of circRNAs in AML has been achieved, substantial efforts are still required to explore whether circRNAs exert their biological function by other mechanisms such as regulation of gene transcription or serving as translation template in AML. It is also urgent that researchers study the machineries regulating circRNAs fate, the downstream effectors of circRNAs modulatory networks, and the clinical application of circRNAs in AML.

Efficient RNA nuclear export is essential for proper cellular function and normal physiology, with defects in this process leading to pathological consequences. Our study aimed to investigate the role of translocated promoter region (TPR), nuclear basket protein, in orchestrating RNA transport in human cells as well as the function of TPR-mediated RNA nuclear export in cervical cancer cells. RNA sequencing and bioinformatic analysis were applied to explore the effect of TPR on circular RNAs (circRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and mRNAs nuclear export and their corresponding sequence characteristic. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was employed to explore the role of TPR in RNA nuclear export. Immunofluorescence staining was used to study the role of TPR in R-loop and DNA damage. Flow cytometry assay was applied to investigate the influence of TPR on cell cycle in cervical cancer cells. TPR depletion leads to the nuclear accumulation of 7243 circRNAs, 1913 lncRNAs, and 2758 mRNAs. Codepletion and rescue experiments suggested that the modulation of TPR-mediated circRNAs nuclear export might be independent of XPO4. The regulation of TPR-mediated circRNAs nuclear export is independent of circRNAs characteristics, while, the regulation of TPR-mediated lncRNAs and mRNAs nuclear export is partly dependent on lncRNAs/mRNAs transcription length. Moreover, the lack of TPR results in nuclear R-loop accumulation, causing DNA damage and cell cycle arrest as well as subsequent inhibition of cell proliferation in cervical cancer cells. This study highlights the nuclear export of circRNA, lncRNA and mRNA relies critically on TPR, a mechanism that may inhibit nuclear accumulation of R-loop and DNA damage in cervical cancer cells.