Youwei Wu

Area of research

Molecular Biology · Psychiatry and Mental health

Research interest

Research topics from publications: Crocin inhibits RANKL‑induced osteoclastogenesis by regulating JNK and NF‑κB signaling pathways; MicroRNA‐520e targets AEG‐1 to suppress the proliferation and invasion of colorectal cancer cells through Wnt/GSK‐3β/β‐catenin signalling; Structural and functional characterization of novel F7 mutations identified in Chinese factor VII‐deficient patients; CircKDM1B promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression through regulating miR ‐1322/ PRC1 axis. Representative work: Receptor activator of nuclear factor‑κB ligand (RANKL), a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor-ligand family, is a crucial factor involved in osteoclast differentiation. Crocin, a pharmacologically active component of Crocus sativus L., has been reported to attenuate ovariectomy‑induced osteoporosis in rats. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the effect of crocin on osteoclast formation remains to be determined. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of crocin on RANKL‑induced osteoclastogenesis and its underlying molecular mechanism. Results demonstrated that crocin decreased osteoclastogenesis in bone marrow‑derived macrophages (BMMs). In addition, the expressio MicroRNA-520e (miR-520e) is increasingly being recognized as a cancer-related miRNA in multiple cancer types; however, little is known about its role in colorectal cancer. In this study, we determined the specific role of miR-520e in colorectal cancer. Expression of miR-520e was lower in colorectal cancer tissues compared to normal tissues. Overexpression of miR-520e significantly decreased the proliferation, colony formation and invasion of colorectal cancer cells, while inhibition of miR-520e exhibited the opposite effect. Moreover, miR-520e was found to target the 3'-untranslated region of astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) and inhibit AEG-1 expression in colorectal cancer cells. An invers