Clcn3 deficiency ameliorates high-fat diet-induced obesity and adipose tissue macrophage inflammation in mice.

Obesity induces accumulation of adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) and ATM-driven inflammatory responses that promote the development of glucose and lipid metabolism disorders. ClC-3 chloride channel/antiporter, encoded by the Clcn3, is critical for some basic cellular functions. Our previous work has shown significant alleviation of type 2 diabetes in Clcn3 knockout (Clcn3-/-) mice. In the present study we investigated the role of Clcn3 in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and ATM inflammation. To establish the mouse obesity model, both Clcn3-/- mice and wild-type mice were fed a HFD for 4 or 16 weeks. The metabolic parameters were assessed and the abdominal total adipose tissue was scanned using computed tomography. Their epididymal fat pad tissue and adipose tissue stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells were isolated for analyses. We found that the HFD-fed Clcn3-/- mice displayed a significant decrease in obesity-induced body weight gain and abdominal visceral fat accumulation as well as an improvement of glucose and lipid metabolism as compared with HFD-fed wild-type mice. Furthermore, the Clcn3 deficiency significantly attenuated HFD-induced ATM accumulation, HFD-increased F4/80+ CD11c+ CD206- SVF cells as well as HFD-activated TLR-4/NF-κB signaling in epididymal fat tissue. In cultured human THP-1 macrophages, adenovirus-mediated transfer of Clcn3 specific shRNA inhibited, whereas adenovirus-mediated cDNA overexpression of Clcn3 enhanced lipopolysaccharide-induced activation of NF-κB and TLR-4. These results demonstrate a novel role for Clcn3 in HFD-induced obesity and ATM inflammation.

Engineering sodium alginate-based cross-linked beads with high removal ability of toxic metal ions and cationic dyes.

Sodium alginate (SA) beads with ultrahigh adsorption capacity were prepared via hydrogen bonds between SA and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropa-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS), and the AMPS was then post-cross-linked to manufacture SA/PAMPS beads. The equilibrium adsorption capacities of methylene blue (MB) and Pb2+ for the SA/PAMPS10 beads were 2977 and 2042 mg/g, respectively. Although the SA beads exhibited higher equilibrium adsorption capacities of MB and Pb2+ than those of the SA/PAMPS10 beads, the SA/PAMPS10 beads had better mechanical property and higher stability. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm described the adsorption processes of the SA/PAMPS10 beads for MB well. In addition, the SA/PAMPS10 beads could be reused with stable adsorption capacity for at least three cycles. The beads also had excellent performances on absorbing methylene violet and other heavy metal ions (Cu2+, Cd2+ and Ni2+). Therefore, the SA-based beads with high adsorption capacity might be good candidates for industrial pollutant treatments.

Post-crosslinking towards stimuli-responsive sodium alginate beads for the removal of dye and heavy metals.

Post-crosslinking as a new strategy to prepare sodium alginate (SA) beads with controllable swelling behavior, pH sensitivity and adsorption capacity was developed by using the solution of glutaraldehyde (GA), acetic acid and hydrochloric acid as the coagulating agent, for which could be used to fabricate polysaccharide beads in a large scale. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis convinced the successful cross-linking of SA by GA. The macro-porous structures of the beads were observed by scanning electron microscopy. Both acetic acid and hydrochloric acid had great effects on the swelling behavior and pH sensitivity of the SA beads. The SA beads could adsorb cationic dye (methylene blue) as high as 572mg/g and other metal ions (Cu(2+), Ag(+) and Fe(3+)). The adsorption processes fitted well with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Freundlich isotherm. The large-scale production of SA beads with tunable properties opens a new route to industrially utilize polysaccharide beads in wastewater treatments, intelligent separation and so on.

ClC-3 deficiency protects preadipocytes against apoptosis induced by palmitate in vitro and in type 2 diabetes mice.

Palmitate, a common saturated free fatty acid (FFA), has been demonstrated to induce preadipocyte apoptosis in the absence of adipogenic stimuli, suggesting that preadipocytes may be prone to apoptosis under adipogenic insufficient conditions, like type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). ClC-3, encoding Cl(-) channel or Cl(-)/H(+) antiporter, is critical for cell fate choices of proliferation versus apoptosis under diseased conditions. However, it is unknown whether ClC-3 is related with preadipocyte apoptosis induced by palmitate or T2DM. Palmitate, but not oleate, induced apoptosis and increase in ClC-3 protein expression and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in 3T3-L1 preadipocyte. ClC-3 specific siRNA attenuated palmitate-induced apoptosis and increased protein levels of Grp78, ATF4, CHOP and phosphorylation of JNK1/2, whereas had no effects on increased phospho-PERK and phospho-eIF2α protein expression. Moreover, the enhanced apoptosis was shown in preadipocytes from high-sucrose/fat, low-dose STZ induced T2DM mouse model with hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia (elevated serum TG and FFA levels) and insulin resistance. ClC-3 knockout significantly attenuated preadipocyte apoptosis and the above metabolic disorders in T2DM mice. These data demonstrated that ClC-3 deficiency prevent preadipocytes against palmitate-induced apoptosis via suppressing ER stress, and also suggested that ClC-3 may play a role in regulating cellular apoptosis and disorders of glucose and lipid metabolism during T2DM.

Chemical composition of Galla chinensis extract and the effect of its main component(s) on the prevention of enamel demineralization in vitro.

To determine the chemical composition of Galla chinensis extract (GCE) by several analysis techniques and to compare the efficacy of GCE and its main component(s) in inhibition of enamel demineralization, for the development of future anticaries agents, main organic composition of GCE was qualitatively determined by liquid chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (LC-TOF-MS) and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). Inorganic ions were tested by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy and F was especially measured by ion chromatography. Then, bovine enamel blocks were randomly divided into four treatment groups and were subjected to a pH-cycling regime for 12 times. Each cycle included 5-min applications with one of four treatments: 4 g⋅L(-1) GCE solution, 4 g⋅L(-1) gallic acid (GA) solution, 1 g⋅L(-1) NaF solution (positive control), deionized water (DDW, negative control), and then 60-min application in pH 5.0 acidic buffer and 5-min application in neutral buffer. Acidic buffers were retained for calcium analysis. The main organic composition of GCE were GA and its isomer, and, to a lesser extent, small molecule gallotannins. The content of GA in GCE was 71.3%±0.2% (w/w). Inorganic ions were present in various amounts, of which Ca was (136±2.82) µg⋅g(-1), and Zn was (6.8±0.1) µg⋅g(-1). No F was detected in GCE. In pH cycling, GA showed an effect similar to GCE in inhibiting enamel demineralization (P>0.05). GA was found to be the main effective, demineralization inhibiting component of GCE and could be a promising agent for the development of anticaries agents.

Factors influencing subjective orthodontic treatment need and culture-related differences among Chinese natives and foreign inhabitants.

AIM: The aim of this survey was to compare Chinese natives and foreign inhabitants in Chengdu, China, with respect to: (1) attitudes towards dental appearance, (2) subjective orthodontic treatment need, and (3) the main factors influencing orthodontic treatment need. METHODOLOGY: A total of 522 subjects, including 227 foreign inhabitants and 295 Chinese natives in Chengdu participated in the survey. A simple random sampling method was adopted and a face-to-face interview was conducted at some public sites using a questionnaire. Data was entered by two persons synchronously using Epidata 3.0, and SPSS 13.0 was used to analyze these data. RESULTS: 89.0% of foreign inhabitants were satisfied with their teeth compared to only 46.8% of Chinese natives. Females were more dissatisfied with their teeth than males. Chinese natives put improving appearance as the top priority (55.9%) for seeking orthodontic treatment; however, in foreign inhabitants, the main reason for seeking treatment was to improve masticatory function (44.1%), followed by "to be pretty" (35.2%). The importance of well-aligned teeth and self-perception of psychosocial impact of malocclusion were the same two main factors influencing subjective orthodontic treatment need (P < 0.05) in foreign inhabitants and Chinese natives. Subjective orthodontic treatment need between the two target groups was significantly different (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: (1) It was very common that Chinese natives were dissatisfied with their dental appearance, and their subjective orthodontic treatment needs were high. (2) There were some differences in orthodontic treatment motives between the two target groups. (3) There were differences in subjective orthodontic treatment needs between foreign inhabitants and Chinese natives. However, the prominent influential factors were almost the same. There may be benefit to understanding subjective orthodontic needs of different races.