https://www.selleckchem.com/products/cpi-1205.html Increasing evidence has indicated that long non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs) serve an essential role in carcinogenesis and cancer development. It has been reported that lncRNA nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase antisense RNA 1 (NNT‑AS1) serves a crucial role in several types of cancer. However, the clinical significance of circulating NNT‑AS1 expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains to be elucidated. The current study aimed to investigate the potential role of NNT‑AS1 and the clinical significance of its serum expression levels in patients with CRC. The expression of NNT‑AS1 was measured in 40 pairs of tumor and adjacent normal tissues from patients with CRC via reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR. The serum expression levels of NNT‑AS1 were assayed in an independent cohort of healthy controls and patients with CRC. The levels of NNT‑AS1 were also compared between paired preoperative and postoperative serum samples. In addition, the presence of exosomal NNT‑AS1 in serum was explored. Furthermore, the b by exosomes, could be a novel potential biomarker and therapeutic target in CRC.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‑2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), led to an outbreak of viral pneumonia in December 2019. The present study aimed to investigate the host inflammatory response signature‑caused by SARS‑CoV‑2 in human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs). The expression level of angiotensin‑converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the human cornea was determined via immunofluorescence. In vitro experiments were performed in HCECs stimulated with the SARS‑CoV‑2 spike protein. Moreover, the expression levels of ACE2, IL‑8, TNF‑α, IL‑6, gasdermin D (GSDMD) and IL‑1β in HCECs were detected using reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR and/or western blotting. It was identified that ACE2 was expressed in normal human corneal epithelium and HCECs cultured in vitro. Furthermore, the expression l