Development of Zanthoxylum bungeanum essential oil Pickering emulsions using potato protein-chitosan nanoparticles and its application in mandarin preservation.

This study aimed to develop Pickering emulsions for the encapsulation of Zanthoxylum bungeanum essential oil (ZBEO) using potato protein-chitosan composite nanoparticles (PCCNs). The sustained release properties of ZBEO, antifungal efficacy, and preservation effects of formulated ZBEO-Pickering emulsions (ZBEO-PEs) on mandarins were evaluated. Particle size, zeta potential, emulsifying activity (EAI), and emulsifying stability (ESI) analysis showed that PCCNs prepared with the potato protein to chitosan mass ratio of 10:3 provided optimal emulsification and stabilization. Techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) demonstrated that chitosan introduction increased the wettability of potato protein through electrostatic, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic interactions. ZBEO-PEs formulated with 3.0 % PCCNs and an oil fraction of 0.40 showed best encapsulation efficiency, storage stability and sustained release. Confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed the adsorption of PCCNs, forming dense interface layers on the surface of oil droplets, thereby enhancing the stability of ZBEO-PEs. In vitro experiments demonstrated enhanced antifungal activity of ZBEO-PEs against Penicillium italicum and Penicillium digitatum. Additionally, storage experiments indicated that ZBEO-PEs coatings effectively controlled postharvest decay caused by Penicillium spp. in mandarins. Overall, the findings suggest that PCCNs are highly efficient emulsifiers for ZBEO Pickering emulsions, underscoring their potential as preservative coatings for mandarins.

Alcohol reshapes a liver premetastatic niche for cancer by extra- and intrahepatic crosstalk-mediated immune evasion.

Cancer metastatic organotropism is still a mystery. The liver is known to be susceptible to cancer metastasis and alcoholic injury. However, it is unclear whether and how alcohol facilitates liver metastasis and how to intervene. Here, we show that alcohol preferentially promotes liver metastasis in colon-cancer-bearing mice and post-surgery pancreatic cancer patients. The mechanism is that alcohol triggers an extra- and intrahepatic crosstalk to reshape an immunosuppressive liver microenvironment. In detail, alcohol upregulates extrahepatic IL-6 and hepatocellular IL-6 receptor expression, resulting in hepatocyte STAT3 signaling activation and downstream lipocalin-2 (Lcn2) upregulation. Furthermore, LCN2 promotes T cell-exhaustion neutrophil recruitment and cancer cell epithelial plasticity. In contrast, knocking out hepatocellular Stat3 or systemic Il6 in alcohol-treated mice preserves the liver microenvironment and suppresses liver metastasis. This mechanism is reflected in hepatocellular carcinoma patients, in that alcohol-associated signaling elevation in noncancerous liver tissue indicates adverse prognosis. Accordingly, we discover a novel application for BBI608, a small molecular STAT3 inhibitor that can prevent liver metastasis. BBI608 pretreatment protects the liver and suppresses alcohol-triggered premetastatic niche formation. In conclusion, under extra- and intrahepatic crosstalk, the alcoholic injured liver forms a favorable niche for cancer cell metastasis, while BBI608 is a promising anti-metastatic agent targeting such microenvironments.

Gene4HL: An Integrated Genetic Database for Hearing Loss.

Hearing loss (HL) is one of the most common disabilities in the world. In industrialized countries, HL occurs in 1-2/1,000 newborns, and approximately 60% of HL is caused by genetic factors. Next generation sequencing (NGS) has been widely used to identify many candidate genes and variants in patients with HL, but the data are scattered in multitudinous studies. It is a challenge for scientists, clinicians, and biologists to easily obtain and analyze HL genes and variant data from these studies. Thus, we developed a one-stop database of HL-related genes and variants, Gene4HL (http://www.genemed.tech/gene4hl/), making it easy to catalog, search, browse and analyze the genetic data. Gene4HL integrates the detailed genetic and clinical data of 326 HL-related genes from 1,608 published studies, along with 62 popular genetic data sources to provide comprehensive knowledge of candidate genes and variants associated with HL. Additionally, Gene4HL supports the users to analyze their own genetic engineering network data, performs comprehensive annotation, and prioritizes candidate genes and variations using custom parameters. Thus, Gene4HL can help users explain the function of HL genes and the clinical significance of variants by correlating the genotypes and phenotypes in humans.

Pulmonary cryptococcosis coexisting with central type lung cancer in an immuocompetent patient: a case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary Cryptococcosis is a common fungal infection mainly caused by Cryptococcus neoformans/C.gattii species in immunocompromised patients. Cases of pulmonary cryptococcosis in patients with normal immune function are increasingly common in China. Clinical and radiographic features of pulmonary cryptococcosis are various and without obvious characteristics, so it is often misdiagnosed as pulmonary metastatic tumor or tuberculosis. When coexisting with malignant lung tumors, it was more difficult to differentiate from metastatic lung cancer, although the coexistence of pulmonary cryptococcosis and central type lung cancer is rare. Reviewing the imaging manifestations and diagnosis of the case and the relevant literature will contribute to recognition of the disease and a decrease in misdiagnoses. CASE PRESENTATION: A 72-year-old immunocompetent Han Chinese man had repeated dry cough for more than half a year. CT examination of chest showed an irregular mass at the left hilum of the lung, and two small nodules in the right lung, which were considered as the left central lung cancer with right lung metastasis. However, the patient was diagnosed with pulmonary cryptococcosis coexisting with central type lung cancer based on the results of laboratory examination, percutaneous lung biopsy, fiberoptic bronchoscopy, and surgical pathology. The patient underwent surgical resection of the left central type lung cancer and was placed on fluconazole treatment after a positive diagnosis was made. Five years after the lung cancer surgery, the patient had a recurrence, but the pulmonary cryptococcus nodule disappeared. CONCLUSION: Our case shows that CT findings of central type lung cancer with multiple pulmonary nodules are not necessarily metastases, but may be coexisting pulmonary cryptococcosis. CT images of cryptococcosis of the lung were diverse and have no obvious characteristics, so it was very difficult to distinguish from metastatic tumors. CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy was a simple and efficient method for identification.

Via mucosa incision EUS-guided sampling for the diagnosis of conventional endoscopic biopsy-negative gastric wall thickening.

Abnormal thickened lesions of the gastric wall are usually covered with normal mucosa. Conventional endoscopic biopsies often do not yield sufficient positive histological results for clinical treatment. To increase the rate of diagnosis of conventional endoscopic biopsy-negative gastric wall thickening, we used an endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD)-like sampling method under endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) guidance to obtain tissue of gastric wall-thickening lesions. Between 2012 and 2016, patients with gastric wall thickening (as identified by computed tomography (CT), EUS or other imaging methods that showed no positive findings in repeating conventional endoscopic biopsy) underwent via mucosa incision EUS-guided sampling. Final diagnosis was determined after surgical or biopsy pathology. A total of 10 patients with gastric wall thickening were included in this study. Eight cases received definite results, whereas in two cases the biopsy results were ambiguous and in these two patients poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma was determined by postoperative pathology. The results of the cases presented in this study demonstrated that via mucosa incision EUS-guided sampling provided a complementary option for the diagnosis of conventional endoscopic biopsy-negative gastric wall thickening.

Endogenous hydrogen peroxide is a key factor in the yeast extract-induced activation of biphenyl biosynthesis in cell cultures of Sorbus aucuparia.

Biphenyls are unique phytoalexins produced by plants belonging to Pyrinae, a subtribe of the economically important Rosaceae family. The formation of aucuparin, a well-known biphenyl, is induced by yeast extract (YE) in cell cultures of Sorbus aucuparia. However, the molecular mechanism underlying YE-induced activation of biphenyl biosynthesis remains unknown. Here we demonstrate that the addition of YE to the cell cultures results in a burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS; H(2)O(2) and O(2) (-)), followed by transcriptional activation of the biphenyl synthase 1 gene (BIS1) encoding the key enzyme of the biphenyl biosynthetic pathway and aucuparin accumulation. Pretreatment of the cell cultures with ROS scavenger dihydrolipoic acid and NADPH oxidase-specific inhibitor diphenylene iodonium abolished all of the above YE-induced biological events. However, when the cell cultures was pretreated with superoxide dismutase specific inhibitor N,N-diethyldithiocarbamic acid, although O(2) (-) continued to be generated, the H(2)O(2) accumulation, BIS1 expression and aucuparin production were blocked. Interestingly, exogenous supply of H(2)O(2) in the range of 0.05-10 mM failed to induce aucuparin accumulation. These results indicate that endogenous generation of H(2)O(2) rather than that of O(2) (-) is a key factor in YE-induced accumulation of biphenyl phytoalexins in cell cultures of S. aucuparia.

[Accumulation of flavonoids and chlorogenic acid in callus and suspension cell of Eucommia ulmoides].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze and compare the cell growth and accumulation of flavonoids and chlorogenic acid in the callus and suspension cell of Eucommia ulmoides. METHOD: The callus induced from the leaf of E. ulmoides seedlings were suspended in liquid medium. The time courses of cell growth and yields of flavonoids and chlorogenic acid were studied. RESULT: The highest contents of flavonoids and chlorogenic acid in the callus were 13.46, 1.712 mg x g(-1), respectively, while the contents of these two secondary metabolites were 16.63, 3.93 mg x g(-1) in suspension cell culture correspondingly. CONCLUSION: Comparing with callus, the suspension cell showed a short growth period and high growth rate with a remarkable high content of flavonoids and chlorogenic acid.