Testosterone Supplementation Promotes Estrogen Synthesis of Buffalo Cumulus Cells Surrounding In Vitro-Matured Oocytes.

Cumulus cells (CCs) synthesize estrogens that are essential for follicular development. However, the effects of androgen on estrogen production in buffalo CCs remain unknown. In the present study, the impacts of testosterone on estrogen synthesis of buffalo CCs surrounding in vitro-matured oocytes were investigated. The results showed that testosterone supplementation improved both the expression levels of estrogen synthesis-related genes (CYP11A1, CYP19A1, and 17ß-HSD) and the secretion levels of estradiol in buffalo CCs surrounding in vitro-matured oocytes. Furthermore, testosterone treatment enhanced the sensitivity of buffalo CCs surrounding in vitro-matured oocytes to follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). This study indicated that testosterone supplementation promoted the estrogen synthesis of buffalo CCs surrounding in vitro-matured oocytes mainly through strengthening the responsiveness of CCs to FSH. The present study serves as a foundation of acquiring high-quality recipient oocytes for buffalo somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Testosterone supplementation improves estrogen synthesis of buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) granulosa cells.

Granulosa cells (GCs) synthesize estrogens needed for follicular growth. However, the effects of androgen on estrogen production in buffalo GCs remain unclear. In this study, the impacts of testosterone on estrogen synthesis in buffalo GCs were examined. The results showed that testosterone that was added to cell medium at a concentration of 10-7 mol/L and applied to GCs for 48 or 72 h enhanced the estrogen synthesis of buffalo GCs. This study provides a theoretical basis for further exploration of ovarian endocrine mechanism for steroidogenesis.

Hypoxia enhances steroidogenic competence of buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) granulosa cells.

Granulosa cells (GCs) synthesize estrogens needed for follicular growth. However, the effects of hypoxia on steroidogenesis in buffalo GCs remain unclear. In this study, the impacts of hypoxic conditions (5% oxygen) on estrogen synthesis in buffalo GCs were examined. The results showed that hypoxia improved both the expression levels of estrogen synthesis-related genes (CYP11A1, CYP19A1, and 3ß-HSD) and the secretion levels of estradiol in buffalo GCs. Hypoxic conditions promoted the sensitivity of buffalo GCs to FSH. Furthermore, inhibition of cAMP/PKA signaling pathway (H89, a cAMP/PKA signaling pathway inhibitor) reduced both the expression levels of estrogen synthesis-related genes (CYP11A1, CYP19A1, and 3ß-HSD) and the secretion levels of estradiol in hypoxia-cultured buffalo GCs. Besides, inhibition of cAMP/PKA signaling pathway lowered the responsiveness of buffalo GCs to FSH under hypoxic conditions. The present study indicated that hypoxia enhanced the steroidogenic competence of buffalo GCs principal by affecting cAMP/PKA signaling pathway and subsequent sensitivity of GCs to FSH.

Chlorogenic Acid Inhibits Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Invasion of Breast Cancer by Down-Regulating LRP6.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a crucial biologic process for breast cancer metastasis, and inhibition of EMT could be an effective approach to suppress metastatic potential of mammary cancer. High expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6) is usually observed in breast carcinoma and predicts poor prognosis. In the present study, we investigated whether chlorogenic acid (CA) can inhibit the EMT of breast cancer cells and underlying molecular mechanism. We found that CA treatment transformed MCF-7 cell morphology from spindle shape (mesenchymal phenotype) to spherical shape (epithelial phenotype). CA clearly increased epithelial biomarkers' expression (E-cadherin and ZO-1) but decreased mesenchymal proteins' expression (ZEB1, N-cadherin, vimentin, snail, and slug). In addition, CA attenuated MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities and inhibited cell migration and invasion. CA downregulated the expression of LRP6 in MCF-7 cells. Knockdown LRP6 with siRNA repressed cell mobility and invasion, wheras overexpression of LRP6 promoted EMT and antagonized the EMT inhibitory effect of CA on MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, CA directly interacted with Wnt/ß-catenin signaling coreceptor LRP6 and reduced LRP6, p-LRP6, and ß-catenin expression levels in MCF-7 cells. In vivo study revealed that CA notably reduced tumor volume and tumor weight. CA decreased the expression of LRP6, N-cadherin, ZEB1, vimentin, MMP2, MMP9, and increased the expression of E-cadherin and ZO-1. In conclusion, CA inhibited EMT and invasion of breast cancer by targeting LRP6. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: CA, the familiar polyphenol compound in traditional Chinese medicine, repressed EMT and weakened cellular mobility and invasion in MCF-7 cells. The mechanism studies demonstrated that CA could inhibit EMT and invasion of MCF-7 cells via targeting LRP6. Additionally, CA restrained tumor growth and xenograft tumor EMT in vivo. The EMT inhibitory property of CA warrants further studies of CA as a drug candidate for the therapy of metastatic breast carcinoma.

Responsive Peptide Nanofibers with Theranostic and Prognostic Capacity.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a highly promising therapeutic modality for cancer treatment. The development of stimuli-responsive photosensitizer nanomaterials overcomes certain limitations in clinical PDT. Herein, we report the rational design of a highly sensitive PEGylated photosensitizer-peptide nanofiber (termed PHHPEG 6 NF) that selectively aggregates in the acidic tumor and lysosomal microenvironment. These nanofibers exhibit acid-induced enhanced singlet oxygen generation, cellular uptake, and PDT efficacy in vitro , as well as fast tumor accumulation, long-term tumor imaging capacity and effective PDT in vivo . Moreover, based on the prolonged presence of the fluorescent signal at the tumor site, we demonstrate that PHHPEG 6 NFs can also be applied for prognostic monitoring of the efficacy of PDT in vivo , which would potentially guide cancer treatment. Therefore, these multifunctional PHHPEG 6 NFs allow control over the entire PDT process, from visualization of photosensitizer accumulation, via actual PDT to the assessment of the efficacy of the treatment.

Vasorin Deletion in C57BL/6J Mice Induces Hepatocyte Autophagy through Glycogen-Mediated mTOR Regulation.

Abnormal vasorin (Vasn) expression occurs in multiple diseases, particularly liver cancers. Vasn knockout (KO) in mice causes malnutrition, a shortened life span, and decreased physiological functions. However, the causes and underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we established Vasn KO C57BL/6J mice by using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The animals were weighed, and histology, immunohistochemistry, electronic microscopy, and liver function tests were used to examine any change in the livers. Autophagy markers were detected by Western blotting. MicroRNA (miRNA) sequencing was performed on liver samples and analyses to study the signaling pathway altered by Vasn KO. Significant reductions in mice body and liver weight, accompanied by abnormal liver function, liver injury, and reduced glycogen accumulation in hepatocytes, were observed in the Vasn KO mice. The deficiency of Vasn also significantly increased the number of autophagosomes and the expression of LC3A/B-II/I but decreased SQSTM1/p62 levels in hepatocytes, suggesting aberrant activation of autophagy. Vasn deficiency inhibited glycogen-mediated mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) phosphorylation and activated Unc-51-like kinase 1 (ULK1) signaling, suggesting that Vasn deletion upregulates hepatocyte autophagy through the mTOR-ULK1 signaling pathway as a possible cause of diminished life span and health. Our results indicate that Vasn is required for the homeostasis of liver glycogen metabolism upstream of hepatocyte autophagy, suggesting research values for regulating Vasn in pathways related to liver physiology and functions. Overall, this study provides new insight into the role of Vasn in liver functionality.

CircCLTH promotes skeletal muscle development and regeneration.

Buffalo holds an excellent potential for beef production, and circRNA plays an important role in regulating myogenesis. However, the regulatory mechanism of circRNAs during buffalo skeletal muscle development has not been fully explored. In this study, circRNA expression profiles during the proliferation and differentiation stages of buffalo myoblasts were analysed by RNA-seq. Here, a total of 3,142 circRNAs candidates were identified, and 110 of them were found to be differentially expressed in the proliferation and differentiation stages of buffalo myoblast libraries. We focused on a 347 nt circRNA subsequently named circCLTH. It consists of three exons and is expressed specifically in muscle tissues. It is a highly conserved non-coding RNA with about 95% homology to both the human and the mouse circRNAs. The results of cell experiments and RNA pull-down assays indicated that circCLTH may capture PLEC protein, promote the proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts as well as inhibit apoptosis. Overexpression of circCLTH in vivo suggests that circCLTH is involved in the stimulation of skeletal muscle regeneration. In conclusion, we identified a novel noncoding regulator, circCLTH, that promotes proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts and skeletal muscles.

A new highly conserved circRNA was identified during muscle developmentCircCLTH promotes proliferation and differentiation of myoblastsCircCLTH promoted muscle damage repair in miceCircCLTH may target the PLEC protein.

Vasorin contributes to lung injury via FABP4-mediated inflammation.

BACKGROUND: Lung injury caused by pulmonary inflammation is one of the main manifestations of respiratory diseases. Vasorin (VASN) is a cell-surface glycoprotein encoded by the VASN gene and is expressed in the lungs of developing mouse foetuses. Previous research has revealed that VASN is associated with many diseases. However, its exact function in the lungs and the underlying mechanism remain poorly understood. METHODS AND RESULTS: To investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in lung disease caused by VASN deficiency, a VASN gene knockout (VASN-/-) model was established. The pathological changes in the lungs of VASN-/- mice were similar to those in a lung injury experimental mouse model. We further analysed the transcriptomes of the lungs of VASN-/- mice and wild-type mice. Genes in twenty-four signalling pathways were enriched in the lungs of VASN-/- mice, among which PPAR signalling pathway genes (3 genes, FABP4, Plin1, AdipoQ, were upregulated, while apoA5 was downregulated) were found to be closely related to lung injury. The most significantly changed lung injury-related gene, FABP4, was selected for further verification. The mRNA and protein levels of FABP4 were significantly increased in the lungs of VASN-/- mice, as were the mRNA and protein levels of the inflammatory factors IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1ß. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that these data provide molecular evidence for the regulatory role of VASN in inflammation in the context of lung injury.

Rational assembly of RGD/MoS2/Doxorubicin nanodrug for targeted drug delivery, GSH-stimulus release and chemo-photothermal synergistic antitumor activity.

Herein, we present the facile design and construction of a nanodrug system integrating targeted drug delivery and synergistic chemo-photothermal antitumor activity. MoS2 nanosheets were synthesized and modified by ανß3 integrin binding peptide (Arg-Gly-Asp, RGD) using lipoic acid functionalized polyethylene glycol (LA-PEG-COOH), forming a well dispersed and targeted delivery nanocarrier. Further, covalent coupling of antitumor drug, thiolated doxorubicin (DOX) via disulfide linkage resulted in a novel nanodrug, RGD/MoS2/DOX. The prepared nanocarrier showed favorable stability, biocompatibility and photothermal conversion efficiency. Fluorescence imaging revealed that Hela cells could endocytose far more nanodrug than H9c2 normal myocardial cells due to the targeted delivery characteristic. Particularly, GSH-induced disulfide bond cleavage facilitated the effective release of DOX from the nanodrug in the tumor microenvironment. The survival rate of Hela cells incubated with the nanodrug for 48 h was 22.2 ± 1.2%, which dramatically reduced to 8.9 ± 1.4% in combination with 808 nm NIR irradiation, demonstrating powerful photothermal induced tumor-killing efficacy. In contrast, the survival rates of H9c2 cells treated by the nanodrug and free DOX were 68.5 ± 2.6% and 6.7 ± 2.6%, respectively, an indication of the notably alleviated cardiotoxicity of the designed nanodrug. The cell apoptosis experiment further verified the synergistic chemo-photothermal effect, thus paving a way toward design of high-efficiency and low-toxicity antitumor nanodrug.

Cavin-1 promotes M2 macrophages/microglia polarization via SOCS3.

PURPOSE: Our study aimed to investigate the function of Cavin-1 and SOCS3 in macrophages/microglia M2 polarization and further explored the relevant mechanism. METHODS: Expression levels of Cavin-1 and SOCS3 in macrophages/microglia were measured by western blotting and RT-PCR, respectively. Then, Cavin-1 or SOCS3 was gene silenced by a siRNA approach, and gene silencing efficiency was determined by western blotting. Next, co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) was employed to further analyze the interaction between Cavin-1 and SOCS3. Finally, the activation of STAT6/PPAR-γ signaling was evaluated using western blotting, and the M2 macrophages/microglia polarization was validated by measuring the mRNA expression of M2 markers by RT-PCR. RESULTS: In the polarization process of macrophages/microglia to M2 phenotype, both Cavin-1 and SOCS3 increased synchronously at protein and mRNA level, reached the peak at the 6 h, and then decreased. After Cavin-1 or SOCS3 silencing, the expression of Cavin-1 and SOCS3 declined. These results suggested that Cavin-1 and SOCS3 were positively correlated in macrophages/microglia, and this conjecture was verified by Co-IP. Besides, Cavin-1 silencing not only suppressed the activation of STAT6/PPAR-γ pathway, but also suppressed the release of anti-inflammatory factors. Finally, we found that SOCS3 overexpression reversed the inhibitory effect of Cavin-1 silencing on the release of anti-inflammatory factors in M2 macrophages/microglia. CONCLUSIONS: Cavin-1 and SOCS3 are actively involved in the process of M2 macrophages/microglia polarization. As a SOCS3 interacting protein, Cavin-1 can promote M2 macrophages/microglia polarization via SOCS3.

The pheromone affects reproductive physiology and behavior by regulating hormone in juvenile mice.

Pheromones could promote hormone secretions and regulate sexual behavior. It was unclear whether multiparous pheromone could induce variations in puberty. The aim was to ascertain whether pheromone in urine of multiparous females induced central precocious puberty (CPP) in juvenile C57BL/6J females. The precocious puberty was examined by vaginal smear, lordosis reaction, HE stain, and ELISA analysis. Results suggested that the first vaginal opening and the first estrus were significantly earlier. The time interval of the first vaginal opening and estrus was significantly shortened. It was interesting that the first estrus was significantly correlated with the first vaginal opening and the time interval of the first estrus. In the first estrus, female lordosis reaction, the number of mature follicles, and the weight of the ovary and uterus significantly increased. The level of luteinizing hormones also significantly increased. Thus, multiparous pheromone can regulate sex hormone to induce CPP in juvenile C57BL/6J females.

Vasorin deficiency leads to cardiac hypertrophy by targeting MYL7 in young mice.

Vasorin (VASN) is an important transmembrane protein associated with development and disease. However, it is not clear whether the death of mice with VASN deficiency (VASN-/- ) is related to cardiac dysfunction. The aim of this research was to ascertain whether VASN induces pathological cardiac hypertrophy by targeting myosin light chain 7 (MYL7). VASN-/- mice were produced by CRISPR/Cas9 technology and inbreeding. PCR amplification, electrophoresis, real-time PCR and Western blotting were used to confirm VASN deficiency. Cardiac hypertrophy was examined by blood tests, histological analysis and real-time PCR, and key downstream factors were identified by RNA sequencing and real-time PCR. Western blotting, immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy analysis were used to confirm the downregulation of MYL7 production and cardiac structural changes. Our results showed that sudden death of VASN-/- mice occurred 21-28 days after birth. The obvious increases in cardiovascular risk, heart weight and myocardial volume and the upregulation of hypertrophy marker gene expression indicated that cardiac hypertrophy may be the cause of death in young VASN-/- mice. Transcriptome analysis revealed that VASN deficiency led to MYL7 downregulation, which induced myocardial structure abnormalities and disorders. Our results revealed a pathological phenomenon in which VASN deficiency may lead to cardiac hypertrophy by downregulating MYL7 production. However, more research is necessary to elucidate the underlying mechanism.

An analysis of neurovascular disease markers in the hippocampus of Tupaia chinensis at different growth stages.

Introduction: It is considered that Tupaia chinensis can replace laboratory primates in the study of nervous system diseases. To date, however, protein expression in the brain of Tupaia chinensis has not been fully understood. Method: Three age groups of T. chinensis-15 days, 3 months and 1.5 years-were selected to study their hippocampal protein expression profiles. Results: A significant difference was observed between the 15-day group and the other two age groups, where as there were no significant differences between the 3-month and 1.5-year age groups. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis found that differentially expressed proteins could be enriched in several pathways related to neurovascular diseases, such as metabolic pathways for Alzheimer's disease (AD), Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other diseases. The KEGG enrichment also showed that relevant protein involved in oxidative phosphorylation in the hippocampus of T. chinensis for 15days were downregulated, and ribosomal proteins (RPs) were upregulated, compared to those in the hippocampus of the other two age groups. Discussion: It was suggested that when the hippocampus of T. chinensis developed from day 15 to 3 months, the expression of oxidatively phosphorylated proteins and RPs would vary over time. Meanwhile, the hippocamppal protein expression profile of T. chinensis after 3 months had become stable. Moreover, the study underlines that, during the early development of the hippocampus of T. chinensis, energy demand increases while protein synthesis decreases. The mitochondria of T. chinensis changes with age, and the oxidative phosphorylation metabolic pathway of mitochondria is closely related to neurovascular diseases, such as stroke and cerebral ischemia.

Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of o-(Biphenyl-3-ylmethoxy)nitrophenyl Derivatives as PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibitors with Potent Anticancer Efficacy In Vivo.

Two series of novel o-(biphenyl-3-ylmethoxy)nitrophenyl compounds (A1-31 and B1-17) were designed as programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/PD-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors. All compounds showed significant inhibitory activity with IC50 values ranging from 2.7 to 87.4 nM except compound A17, and compound B2 displayed the best activity. Further experiments showed that B2 bound to the PD-L1 protein without obvious toxicity in Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells. Furthermore, B2 significantly promoted interferon-gamma secretion in a dose-dependent manner in vitro and in vivo. Especially, B2 exhibited potent in vivo anticancer efficacy in an LLC-bearing allograft mouse model at a low dose of 5 mg/kg, which was more active than BMS-1018 (tumor growth inhibition rate: 48.5% vs 17.8%). A panel of immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry assays demonstrated that B2 effectively counteracted PD-1-induced immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment, thereby triggering antitumor immunity. These results indicate that B2 is a promising PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor worthy of further development.

The expression and role of PIDD in retina after optic nerve crush.

To examine the expression of P53-induced protein with a death domain (PIDD) at retina in animal model of optic nerve crush (ONC) and to investigate the role of PIDD in retinal glial activation and NF-κB activation induced by optic nerve damage, ONC animal model was established in Sprague-Dawley rats. PIDD has three isoforms (Isof); Western blot was performed to examine the expression of PIDD (Isof-1, Isof-2, and Isof-3, respectively) in retina at different time points after ONC. Retinal glial activation is closely associated with retinal neuronal death and is monitored by the expression of GFAP+ glial cells and IBA1+ microglia, then activated microglia leads to inflammatory cytokine production. NF-kB activation in glial cells also can promote neuronal death. In our study, the role of PIDD in retinal glial activation and NF-kB activation was investigated with PIDD inhibition selectively. PIDD expression (Isof-1 and Isof-3) was dramatically increased, and peaked at 3 days after ONC, while Isof-2 did not show any difference. In the ONC animal model, the number of GFAP+ glial cells and IBA1+ microglia in retinal layers was increased significantly, inflammatory cytokine production was upregulated, and NF-κB in glial cell was also activated. Moreover, those responses induced by optic nerve damage were attenuated with PIDD inhibition, which indicated that PIDD could regulate retinal glial activation, neuro-inflammation, and NF-κB activation. These results provided the direct demonstration that the PIDD (Isof-1and Isof-3) was overexpressed in retina after ONC, and PIDD may be involved in retinal neurodegenerative diseases by regulating retinal glial activation and NF-κB activation.

Proteomics and phosphoproteomics study of LCMT1 overexpression and oxidative stress: overexpression of LCMT1 arrests H2O2-induced lose of cells viability.

OBJECTIVES: Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), a major serine/threonine phosphatase, is also known to be a target of ROS. The methylation of PP2A can be catalyzed by leucine carboxyl methyltransferase-1 (LCMT1), which regulates PP2A activity and substrate specificity. METHODS: In the previous study, we have showed that LCMT1-dependent PP2Ac methylation arrests H2O2-induced cell oxidative stress damage. To explore the possible protective mechanism, we performed iTRAQ-based comparative quantitative proteomics and phosphoproteomics studies of H2O2-treated vector control and LCMT1-overexpressing cells. RESULTS: A total of 4480 non-redundant proteins and 3801 unique phosphopeptides were identified by this means. By comparing the H2O2-regulated proteins in LCMT1-overexpressing and vector control cells, we found that these differences were mainly related to protein phosphorylation, gene expression, protein maturation, the cytoskeleton and cell division. Further investigation of LCMT1 overexpression-specific regulated proteins under H2O2 treatment supported the idea that LCMT1 overexpression induced ageneral dephosphorylation of proteins and indicated increased expression of non-erythrocytic hemoglobin, inactivation of MAPK3 and regulation of proteins related to Rho signal transduction, which were known to be linked to the regulation of the cytoskeleton. DISCUSSION: These data provide proteomics and phosphoproteomics insights into the association of LCMT1-dependent PP2Ac methylation and oxidative stress and indirectly indicate that the methylation of PP2A plays an important role against oxidative stress.

Hydrogen peroxide redistributes the localization of protein phosphatase methylesterase 1.

AIMS: Protein phosphatase methylesterase-1 (PME-1) is a serine hydrolase that catalyzes protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) demethylation and negatively regulates its activity. PME-1 is compartmentalized within cells to precisely control the demethylation of PP2A. This study investigated the localization of PME-1 in human fibroblast cells (HDF) under oxidative stress. MAIN METHODS: Alkaline demethylation and peptide competition assays were applied to detect the methylation sensitivity of anti-PP2Ac. The localization of PME-1, leucine carboxyl methyltransferase 1 (LCMT1), demethylated-phosphorylated-PP2Ac (dem-p-PP2Ac) and total PP2Ac was determined by immunofluorescence analysis, and protein expression was measured by Western blot. A HEK293 cell line stably expressing constructed PME-1-EGFP was used to dynamically monitor the nuclear export of PME-1 under oxidative stress. KEY RESULTS: After hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) treatment, the protein expression of PME-1 remained unchanged, while PME-1 facilitated redistribution from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in HDF according to immunofluorescence analysis. In constructed HEK293 cells, the EGFP-tagged PME-1 was exported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm after H2O2 treatment, and nuclear export was eliminated after leptomycin B additions. Our observation of dem-p-PP2Ac species relocation from the nucleus to the cytoplasm under oxidative stress is consistent with the redistribution patterns of PME-1. Antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine can reverse the nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio of PME-1 proteins and dem-p-PP2Ac after H2O2 exposure. SIGNIFICANCE: We found that PME-1 is exported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm upon H2O2 treatment and redistributes dem-p-PP2Ac in subcellular compartments. These findings offer new insight into the regulation of PME-1 localization and PP2A demethylation under oxidative stress.

Design, synthesis, antiproliferative activity and docking studies of quinazoline derivatives bearing 2,3-dihydro-indole or 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline as potential EGFR inhibitors.

Eight series of quinazoline derivatives bearing 2,3-dihydro-indole or 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline were designed, synthesized and evaluated for the IC50 values against three cancer cell lines (A549, MCF-7 and PC-3). Most of the forty nine target compounds showed excellent antiproliferative activity against one or several cancer cell lines. The compound 13a showed the best activity against A549, MCF-7 and PC-3 cancer cell lines, with the IC50 values of 1.09 ±â€¯0.04 µM, 1.34 ±â€¯0.13 µM and 1.23 ±â€¯0.09 µM, respectively. Eight selected compounds were further selected to evaluated for the inhibitory activity against EGFR kinase. Three of them showed equal activity against EGFR kinase to positive control afatinib. AnnexinV-FITC, propidium iodide (PI) double staining and acridine orange single staining results indicated that the compound 13a could induce apoptosis of human lung cancer A549 cells.

Intra-hydrogel culture prevents transformation of mesenchymal stem cells induced by monolayer expansion.

In this study, we report that the intra-hydrogel culture system mitigates the transformation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) induced by two-dimensional (2D) expansion. MSCs expanded in monolayer culture prior to encapsulation in collagen hydrogels (group eMSCs-CH) featured impaired stemness in chondrogenesis, comparing with the freshly isolated bone marrow mononuclear cells seeded directly in collagen hydrogels (group fMSCs-CH). The molecular mechanism of the in vitro expansion-triggered damage to MSCs was detected through genome-wide microarray analysis. Results indicated that pathways such as proteoglycans in cancer and pathways in cancer expansion were highly enriched in eMSCs-CH. And multiple up-regulated oncoma-associated genes were verified in eMSCs-CH compared with fMSCs-CH, indicating that expansion in vitro triggered cellular transformation was associated with signaling pathways related to tumorigenicity. Besides, focal adhesion (FA) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways were also involved in in vitro expansion, indicating restructuring of the cell architecture. Thus, monolayer expansion in vitro may contribute to vulnerability of MSCs through the regulation of FA and MAPK. This study indicates that intra-hydrogel culture can mitigate the monolayer expansion induced transformation of MSCs and maintain the uniformity of the stem cells, which is a viable in vitro culture system for stem cell therapy.

Synthesis and antiproliferative activity of pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine derivatives bearing the 1,8-naphthyridin-2-one moiety.

A series of pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine derivatives bearing the 1,8-naphthyridin-2-one moiety were synthesized, and evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against four cancer cell lines (HT-29, A549, H460, and U87MG) and six tyrosine kinases (c-Met, Flt-3, PDGFR-ß, VEGFR-2, EGFR, and c-Kit) inhibitory activities in vitro. Most compounds showed moderate to excellent potency, with the most promising analogue 32 showing Flt-3/c-Met IC50 value of 1.16/1.92 nM. Structure-activity relationship studies indicated that the hydrogen atom served as R1 group was benefited to the potency, and mono-electron-withdrawing groups (mono-EWGs) on the phenyl ring (such as R3 = 4-F) showed a higher preference for antiproliferative activity.