Hepatocellular carcinoma is a malignant tumor that poses a serious threat to human health. Ferroptosis, which represents an identified type of regulated iron‐dependent cell death, may play an important role in hepatocellular carcinoma. However, it is unclear as to whether ferroptosis is involved with the mechanisms of lncRNA HULC in liver cancer cells. Here, we show that knockdown of HULC increases ferroptosis and oxidative stress in liver cancer cells. We also found changes in some related miRNAs in cells treated with HULC siRNA. Differential miRNA expression levels were determined with the use of high‐throughput sequencing and prediction target genes identified using bioinformatics analysis. HULC was found to function as a ceRNA of miR‐3200‐5p, and miR‐3200‐5p regulates ferroptosis by targeting ATF4, resulting in the inhibition of proliferation and metastasis within HCC cells. In summary, these findings illuminate some of the molecular mechanisms through which downregulation of HULC induces liver cancer cell ferroptosis by targeting the miR‐3200‐5p/ATF4 axis to modulate the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Levels of norepinephrine (NE) in the brain are related to attention ability in animals and risk of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in humans. Given the modulation of the norepinephrine transporter (NET) on NE levels in the brain and the link between NE and attention impairment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, it was possible that the NET gene underpinned individual differences in attention processes in healthy populations. To investigate to what extent NET could modulate one's attention orientation to facial expressions, we categorized individuals according to the genotypes of the -182 T/C (rs2242446) polymorphism and measured individuals' attention orientation with the spatial cueing task. Our results indicated that the -182 T/C polymorphism significantly modulated attention orientation to facial expressions, of which the CC genotype facilitated attention reorientation to the locations where cued faces were previously presented. However, this polymorphism showed no significant effects on the regulations of emotional cues on attention orientation. Our findings suggest that the NET gene modulates the individual difference in attention to facial expressions, which provides new insights into the roles of NE in social interactions.

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is considered as an important biomarker in prostate cancer diagnosis. Herein, an ultrasensitive ratiometric electrochemical aptasensor was constructed for analyzing PSA. The ferrocene (Fc)-labeled thiolated hairpin probe 2 (Fc-HP2) was conjugated to the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)-modified gold electrode (AuE) surface by Au-S bonds. With the introduction of PSA, the aptamer region of hairpin probe 1 (HP1) preferred to bind with PSA, and the rest of HP1 could hybridize with Fc-HP2 to form Fc-HP2/HP1/PSA complex with a blunt 3 terminus, which triggered the exonuclease III (Exo III) cleavage process accompanied by Fc leaving from the electrode and recycling of HP1/PSA. The remaining Fc-HP2 fragments left on the electrode surface were then hybridized with methylene blue-labeled DNA (MB-DNA). This resulted in an enhancement of MB signal (I_MB) and a decrement of Fc signal (I_Fc). Under the optimal conditions, the proposed aptasensor showed good analytical performance for sensitive detection of PSA with a linear range from 100fg·mL⁻¹ to 10ng·mL⁻¹ and a detection limit of 34.7fg·mL⁻¹. The fabricated aptasensor had been applied to detect PSA in diluted human serum samples and obtained satisfied results, suggesting it had great potential in clinical diagnosis.

Melatonin is involved in the regulation of intraocular pressure. To evaluate the effect of a melatonin receptor agonist (Neu-P11) on intraocular pressure, a multiple-dose study was performed in 30 ocular normotensive rabbits by regularly measuring the intraocular pressure within 7 h. The results indicated that topical applications of Neu-P11 and melatonin could both produce dose-dependent reductions in intraocular pressure with maximal reduction being observed at 1 h for Neu-P11 and melatonin in 10-5 mol/L. Moreover, there were significant differences in the declinations of intraocular pressure between Neu-P11 and melatonin at the doses of over 10-9 mol/L (p < 0.05) in the treatment group. This study suggests that Neu-P11 is a potential substance for the reducing and treatment of ocular hypertension. Key words: Intraocular pressure, melatonin, Neu-P11, rabbit.