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Emulsion gels mimic the rheological properties of solid and semi-solid fats, offering a viable solution to replace conventional fats in low-fat food formulations. In this study, gel emulsions stabilized with stigmasterol (ST) and polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) complexes were prepared. Initially, we examined the effect of the ST/PGPR complex on the mechanism of gel emulsion stabilization. Our findings revealed that the gel emulsion formulated with 3% PGPR and ST exhibited a robust structure, effectively stabilizing the entire system and ensuring uniform distribution, and increasing ST concentration led to greater stability of the gel emulsion system. Stability assessments demonstrated that gel emulsions containing 3% PGPR and varying ST concentrations exhibited remarkable thermal stability and effectively delayed oil oxidation. These results underscore the high stability of gel emulsions stabilized with the ST/PGPR complex, highlighting their potential as a margarine substitute.
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Material thermal conductivity is a key factor in various applications, from thermal management to energy harvesting. With microstructure engineering being a widely used method for customizing material properties, including thermal properties, understanding and controlling the role of extended phonon-scattering defects, like grain boundaries, is crucial for efficient material design. However, systematic studies are still lacking primarily due to limited tools. In this study, we demonstrate an approach for measuring grain boundary thermal resistance by probing the propagation of thermal waves across grain boundaries with a temperature-sensitive scanning probe. The method, implemented with a spatial resolution of about 100 nm on finely grained Nb-substituted SrTiO3 ceramics, achieves a detectability of about 2 × 10-8 K m2 W-1, suitable for chalcogenide-based thermoelectrics. The measurements indicated that the thermal resistance of the majority of grain boundaries in the STiO3 ceramics is below this value. While there are challenges in improving sensitivity, considering spatial resolution and the amount of material involved in the detection, the sensitivity of the scanning probe method is comparable to that of optical thermoreflectance techniques, and the method opens up an avenue to characterize thermal resistance at the level of single grain boundaries and domain walls in a spectrum of microstructured materials.
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In this work, incorporating nitropyraozles into tetranitroacetimidic acid (TNAA) resulted in two analogues of isomeric TNAA-like compounds (3 and 5). These compounds exhibit excellent densities, detonation performance, and high specific impulse, which are promising high-energy oxidizers that are comparable to AP and ADN. This structural modification strategy may have the potential to contribute significantly to the development of versatile, high-performance energetic oxidizers.
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Hydrogen generation by photocatalytic water-splitting holds great promise for addressing the serious global energy and environmental crises, and has recently received significant attention from researchers. In this work, a method of assembling GeC/MXY (M = Zr, Hf; X, Y = S, Se) heterojunctions (HJs) by combining GeC and MXY monolayers (MLs) to construct direct Z-scheme photocatalytic systems is proposed. Based on first-principles calculations, we found that all the GeC/MXY HJs are stable van der Waals (vdW) HJs with indirect bandgaps. These HJs possess small bandgaps and exhibit strong light-absorption ability across a wide range. Furthermore, the built-in electric field (BIEF) around the heterointerface can accelerate photoinduced carrier separation. More interestingly, the suitable band edges of GeC/MXY HJs ensure sufficient kinetic potential to spontaneously accomplish water redox reactions under light irradiation. Overall, the strong light-harvesting ability, wide light-absorption range, small bandgaps, large heterointerfacial BIEFs, suitable band alignments, and carrier migration paths render GeC/MXY HJs highly efficient photocatalysts for overall water decomposition.
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The genus Delphinium (Ranunculaceae) with its unique and highly complex floral structure is an ideal system to address some key questions in terms of morphological and evolutionary studies in flowers. In D. anthriscifolium, for example, the original eight petal primordia differentiate into three types at maturity (i.e., two dorsal spurred, two lateral flat, and four ventral reduced petals). The mechanisms underlying their identity determination and morphological differentiation remain unclear. Here, through a comprehensive approach combining digital gene expression (DGE) profiles, in situ hybridization, and virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS), we explore the role of the APETALLATA3-3 (AP3-3) ortholog in D. anthriscifolium. Our findings reveal that the DeanAP3-3 not only functions as a traditionally known petal identity gene but also plays a critical role in petal morphological differentiation. The DeanAP3-3 gene is expressed in all the petal primordia before their morphological differentiation at earlier stages, but shows a gradient expression level difference along the dorsventral floral axis, with higher expression level in the dorsal spurred petals, intermediate level in the lateral flat petals and lower level in the ventral reduced petals. VIGS experiments revealed that flowers with strong phenotypic changes showed a complete transformation of all the three types of petals into non-spurred sepals. However, in the flowers with moderate phenotypic changes, the transformation of spurred petals into flat petals is associated with moderate silencing of the DeanAP3-3 gene, suggesting a significant impact of expression level on petal morphological differentiation. This research also shed some insights into the role of changes in gene expression levels on morphological differentiation in plants.
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BACKGROUND: Fat grafting is widely used in breast reconstruction and aesthetic plastic surgery. However, the success rate and effects of fat grafting, especially in elderly female donors, are observed. This study aimed to explore the difference in the survival rate of donor fat from elderly women and young women in fat grafting. METHODS: We collected adipose tissue samples from two healthy Chinese women: a young woman and an elderly woman. In addition, adipose tissue samples were collected from female nude mice in four experimental groups-CON-Y, CON-O, OVX-Y, and OVX-O-after fat transplantation. Grafts were harvested, weighed, and subjected to assessment of histology and angiogenesis. RESULTS: An ovariectomy model was successfully established to validate the effect of low estrogen levels on fat grafting results. Due to the influence of low estrogen levels, the graft survival rate of donor site fat was significantly higher in elderly women than in young women, accompanied by a lesser degree of angiogenesis. Low estrogen levels led to adipocyte hypertrophy, which may be related to decreased AQP-7 expression. CONCLUSIONS: AQP-7 downregulation due to low estrogen levels induces adipocyte hypertrophy, and donor fat from elderly women exhibits a higher survival rate after fat transplantation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .
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Tecido Adiposo , Estrogênios , Sobrevivência de Enxerto , Humanos , Feminino , Tecido Adiposo/transplante , Animais , Fatores Etários , Camundongos , Idoso , Camundongos Nus , Adulto , Mamoplastia/métodos , Ovariectomia , Pessoa de Meia-IdadeRESUMO
BACKGROUND: With regard to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), its occurrence and advancement are controlled by genetic and epigenetic anomalies. PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are recognized with significance in tumor, but the precise molecular mechanisms of piRNAs in HNSCC largely remain undisclosed. METHODS: Differentially expressed piRNAs were identified by RNA sequencing. The expression of piR-hsa-23533 was evaluated using quantitative real-time PCR and RNA in situ hybridization. The impacts of piR-hsa-23533 on the proliferation and apoptosis of HNSCC cells were investigated by a series of in vitro and in vivo assays. RESULTS: piR-hsa-23533 exhibits upregulation within HNSCC cells and tissues. Besides, piR-hsa-23533 overexpression promotes proliferation while inhibiting apoptosis in vitro and in vivo, while piR-hsa-23533 silencing has an opposite function. From the mechanistic perspective, piR-hsa-23533 can bind to Ubiquitin-specific protease 7 (USP7), as shown through RNA pull-down and RNA immunoprecipitation assays, promoting USP7 mRNA and protein expression. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the functional importance of piR-hsa-23533 in HNSCC and may assist in the development of anti-HNSCC therapeutic target.
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BACKGROUND: A growing body of evidence has shown that activating spinal cord glial cells (typically astrocytes and microglial cells) is closely related to hyperpathia and persistent pain. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of GFAP and CR3/CD11b in cornu dorsale medullae spinalis of rats with nonbacterial prostatitis, to explore the therapeutic efficacy and action mechanism of intrathecal injection of BNP alleviating chronic neuropathic pain. METHODS: Eighteen male SPF SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation control group, nonbacterial prostatitis group (NBP) and intrathecal injection BNP group, the NBP model was established by intraprostatic injection of CFA, and the spinal cord of L6-S1 segment was extracted seven days after intrathecal injection of BNP; The expression of GFAP and CR3/CD11b in dorsal horn of spinal cord were detected by immunofluorescence and Western blot. RESULTS: The cumulative optical density values of GFAP and CR3/CD11b immunofluorescence assay in the NBP group were higher than those in the sham operation group, with statistical significance (pâ¢ï⢻⢠0.01); The expression of GFAP and CR3/CD11b in intrathecal injection BNP group were lower than those in NBP group, the differences were statistically significant (pâ¢ï⢻⢠0.01). Western blot results showed that the expression of GFAP and CR3/CD11B in NBP group were higher than those in sham operation group, with statistical significance (pâ¢ï⢻⢠0.05). The expression of GFAP and CR3/CD11B in intrathecal injection BNP group were lower than those in NBP group, the differences were statistically significant (pâ¢ï⢻⢠0.05). CONCLUSION: Intrathecal injection of BNP can down-regulate the expressions of GFAP and CR3/CD11b in L6-S1 spinal cord of NBP rat model and to further inhibit chronic pain caused by NBP.
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Proteína Glial Fibrilar Ácida , Peptídeo Natriurético Encefálico , Prostatite , Ratos Sprague-Dawley , Medula Espinal , Animais , Masculino , Ratos , Prostatite/metabolismo , Medula Espinal/metabolismo , Peptídeo Natriurético Encefálico/metabolismo , Proteína Glial Fibrilar Ácida/metabolismo , Antígeno CD11b/metabolismo , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Injeções Espinhais , NeuralgiaRESUMO
The process of image fusion is the process of enriching an image and improving the image's quality, so as to facilitate the subsequent image processing and analysis. With the increasing importance of image fusion technology, the fusion of infrared and visible images has received extensive attention. In today's deep learning environment, deep learning is widely used in the field of image fusion. However, in some applications, it is not possible to obtain a large amount of training data. Because some special organs of snakes can receive and process infrared information and visible information, the fusion method of infrared and visible light to simulate the visual mechanism of snakes came into being. Therefore, this paper takes into account the perspective of visual bionics to achieve image fusion; such methods do not need to obtain a significant amount of training data. However, most of the fusion methods for simulating snakes face the problem of unclear details, so this paper combines this method with a pulse coupled neural network (PCNN). By studying two receptive field models of retinal nerve cells, six dual-mode cell imaging mechanisms of rattlesnakes and their mathematical models and the PCNN model, an improved fusion method of infrared and visible images was proposed. For the proposed fusion method, eleven groups of source images were used, and three non-reference image quality evaluation indexes were compared with seven other fusion methods. The experimental results show that the improved algorithm proposed in this paper is better overall than the comparison method for the three evaluation indexes.
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Processamento de Imagem Assistida por Computador , Redes Neurais de Computação , Serpentes , Animais , Processamento de Imagem Assistida por Computador/métodos , Algoritmos , Aprendizado Profundo , Raios InfravermelhosRESUMO
Purpose: Current treatment approaches for Prostate cancer (PCa) often come with debilitating side effects and limited therapeutic outcomes. There is urgent need for an alternative effective and safe treatment for PCa. Methods: We developed a nanoplatform to target prostate cancer cells based on graphdiyne (GDY) and a copper-based metal-organic framework (GDY-CuMOF), that carries the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin (DOX) for cancer treatment. Moreover, to provide GDY-CuMOF@DOX with homotypic targeting capability, we coated the PCa cell membrane (DU145 cell membrane, DCM) onto the surface of GDY-CuMOF@DOX, thus obtaining a biomimetic nanoplatform (DCM@GDY-CuMOF@DOX). The nanoplatform was characterized by using transmission electron microscope, atomic force microscope, X-ray diffraction, etc. Drug release behavior, antitumor effects in vivo and in vitro, and biosafety of the nanoplatform were evaluated. Results: We found that GDY-CuMOF exhibited a remarkable capability to load DOX mainly through π-conjugation and pore adsorption, and it responsively released DOX and generated Cu+ in the presence of glutathione (GSH). In vivo experiments demonstrated that this nanoplatform exhibits remarkable cell-killing efficiency by generating lethal reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mediating cuproptosis. In addition, DCM@GDY-CuMOF@DOX effectively suppresses tumor growth in vivo without causing any apparent side effects. Conclusion: The constructed DCM@GDY-CuMOF@DOX nanoplatform integrates tumor targeting, drug-responsive release and combination with cuproptosis and chemodynamic therapy, offering insights for further biomedical research on efficient PCa treatment.
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Cobre , Doxorrubicina , Grafite , Estruturas Metalorgânicas , Neoplasias da Próstata , Masculino , Neoplasias da Próstata/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias da Próstata/patologia , Doxorrubicina/farmacologia , Doxorrubicina/química , Animais , Humanos , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Cobre/química , Cobre/farmacologia , Grafite/química , Grafite/farmacologia , Estruturas Metalorgânicas/química , Estruturas Metalorgânicas/farmacologia , Camundongos , Liberação Controlada de Fármacos , Espécies Reativas de Oxigênio/metabolismo , Materiais Biomiméticos/química , Materiais Biomiméticos/farmacologia , Camundongos Nus , Nanopartículas/química , Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Antineoplásicos/química , Portadores de Fármacos/química , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de XenoenxertoRESUMO
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of noncoding RNAs that exert master regulatory functions in post-transcriptional gene expression. Accumulating evidence shows that miRNAs can either promote or suppress tumorigenesis by regulating different target genes or pathways and may be involved in the occurrence of carcinoma. miR4093p is dysregulated in a variety of malignant cancers. It plays a fundamental role in numerous cellular biological processes, such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, autophagy, angiogenesis and glycolysis. In addition, studies have shown that miR4093p is expected to become a noninvasive biomarker. Identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying miR4093pmediated tumor progression will help investigate miR4093pbased targeted therapy for human cancers. The present review comprehensively summarized the recently published literature on miR4093p, with a focus on the regulation and function of miR4093p in various types of cancer, and discussed the clinical implications of miR4093p, providing new insight for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers.
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Progressão da Doença , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , MicroRNAs , Neoplasias , Humanos , MicroRNAs/genética , Neoplasias/genética , Neoplasias/patologia , Neoplasias/terapia , Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , Biomarcadores Tumorais/metabolismo , Proliferação de Células/genética , Terapia de Alvo Molecular/métodos , Apoptose/genética , Movimento Celular/genéticaRESUMO
Triterpenoid saponins, a major bioactive component of liquorice, possess high hydrophilicity and often co-occur with other impurities of similar polarity. Additionally, subtle structural differences of some triterpenoid saponins bring challenges to comprehensive characterisation. In this study, triterpenoid saponins of three Glycyrrhiza species were systematically analysed using rapid resolution liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (RRLC-Q-TOF-MS) coupled with mass defect filtering (MDF). Firstly, comprehensive date acquisition was achieved using RRLC-Q-TOF-MS. Secondly, a polygonal MDF method was established by summarizing known and speculated substituents and modifications based on the core structure to rapidly screen potential triterpenoid saponins. Thirdly, based on the fragmentation patterns of reference compounds, an identification strategy for characterisation of triterpenoid saponins was proposed. The strategy divided triterpenoid saponins into three distinct classes. By this strategy, 98 triterpenoid saponins including 10 potential new ones were tentatively characterised. Finally, triterpenoid saponins of three Glycyrrhiza species were further analysed using principle component analysis (PCA) and orthogonality partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). Among these, 18 compounds with variable importance in projections (VIP) > 1.0 and P values < 0.05 were selected to distinguish three Glycyrrhiza species. Overall, our study provided a reference for quality control and rational use of the three species.
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Glycyrrhiza , Saponinas , Triterpenos , Saponinas/química , Saponinas/análise , Glycyrrhiza/química , Triterpenos/química , Triterpenos/análise , Espectrometria de Massas/métodos , Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Pressão/métodos , Cromatografia Líquida/métodos , Extratos Vegetais/químicaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Ears are an important aesthetic feature that is vital to the overall attractiveness of the face. Although there have been many studies on the aesthetics of the auricle, there is currently a lack of consensus on the ideal proportion of auricle exposure for Asian women in frontal view. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate ideal proportion of auricle exposure in Asian women. METHODS: An observational study was carried out on the photographs of 84 women on the list of the 100 most beautiful faces in Asia (published by TCC Asia in 2020). The proportion of the distance between the outer canthus and the outermost point of auricle to the distance between the inner canthus and the outermost point of auricle was calculated as the auricle exposure proportion. Evaluators were asked to rank a set of photographs of the volunteer with varying auricle exposure proportions from most attractive to least attractive. RESULTS: Measurements of the photographs of the 84 women showed a mean ear exposure proportion of 0.600. With 487 questionnaire responses received, the proportion of auricle exposure that the evaluators considered most attractive was 0.600. People with aesthetic experience considered 0.625 the most attractive proportion, while the general group considered 0.600 the most attractive. CONCLUSIONS: The ideal proportion of the auricle exposure for Asian women is in the range of 0.60-0.625, which may help surgeons reconstruct aesthetically pleasing ears. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .
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Povo Asiático , Pavilhão Auricular , Estética , Humanos , Feminino , Povo Asiático/estatística & dados numéricos , Adulto , Pavilhão Auricular/anatomia & histologia , Pavilhão Auricular/cirurgia , Adulto Jovem , Fotografação , BelezaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The impact of various exercise modalities on the improvement of sleep quality in adults remains controversial. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to perform a network meta-analysis to analyze the effects of different exercise interventions on sleep quality in adults. METHODS: The PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, Web of Science, and EBSCO databases were searched for studies published from March 18, 1993, to March 18, 2023. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies. Then, a random-effects network meta-analysis was conducted within a frequentist framework. RESULTS: A total of 2142 participants from 27 randomized controlled trials were included in the analysis. Exercise modalities such as Pilates, yoga, and traditional Chinese exercises were found to significantly improve sleep quality when compared to a no-exercise control group, with Pilates exhibiting the most potent effect at a 95.3% improvement level. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that exercise interventions are effective in enhancing sleep quality in adults. Adapting exercise to individual preferences and needs may maximize the sleep-related benefits of the activity. REGISTRATION: The review was registered with PROSPERO, registration number CRD42023434565.
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Exercício Físico , Metanálise em Rede , Qualidade do Sono , Humanos , Exercício Físico/fisiologia , Ensaios Clínicos Controlados Aleatórios como Assunto , Adulto , Terapia por Exercício/métodos , YogaRESUMO
The unpredictable survival rate of autologous fat grafting (AFG) seriously affects its clinical application. Improving the survival rate of AFG has become an unresolved issue in plastic surgery. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) regulates the adipogenic differentiation of adipocytes, but the functional mechanism in AFG remains unclear. In this study, we established an animal model of AFG and demonstrated the superior therapeutic effect of PPAR-γ regulation in the process of AFG. From day 3 after fat grafting, the PPAR-γ agonist rosiglitazone group consistently showed better adipose integrity, fewer oil cysts, and fibrosis. Massive macrophage infiltration was observed after 7 days. At the same time, M2 macrophages begin to appear. At day 14, M2 macrophages gradually became the dominant cell population, which suppressed inflammation and promoted revascularization and fat regeneration. In addition, transcriptome sequencing showed that the differentially expressed genes in the Rosiglitazone group were associated with the pathways of adipose regeneration, differentiation, and angiogenesis; these results provide new ideas for clinical treatment.
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Tecido Adiposo , Macrófagos , PPAR gama , Rosiglitazona , Transplante Autólogo , Animais , PPAR gama/metabolismo , PPAR gama/genética , Macrófagos/metabolismo , Tecido Adiposo/metabolismo , Tecido Adiposo/citologia , Rosiglitazona/farmacologia , Masculino , Diferenciação Celular , Adipogenia , Adipócitos/metabolismo , Camundongos , RatosRESUMO
Meningeal lymphatic vessels (mLVs) play a pivotal role in regulating metabolic waste from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). However, the current limitations in field of view and resolution of existing imaging techniques impede understanding the stereoscopic morphology and dynamic behavior of mLVs in vivo. Here, we utilized dual-contrast functional photoacoustic microscopy to achieve wide-field intravital imaging of the lymphatic system, including mLVs and glymphatic pathways. The stereoscopic photoacoustic microscopy based on opto-acoustic confocal features has a depth imaging capability of 3.75 mm, facilitating differentiation between mLVs on the meninges and glymphatic pathways within the brain parenchyma. Subsequently, using this imaging technique, we were able to visualize the dynamic drainage of mLVs and identify a peak drainage period occurring around 20-40 min after injection, along with determining the flow direction from CSF to lymph nodes. Inspiringly, in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse model, we observed that AD mice exhibit a ~ 70% reduction in drainage volume of mLVs compared to wild-type mice. With the development of AD, there is be continued decline in mLVs drainage volume. This finding clearly demonstrates that the AD mouse model has impaired CSF drainage. Our study opens up a horizon for understanding the brain's drainage mechanism and dissecting mLVs-associated neurological disorders.
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Roxithromycin (ROX), a commonly used macrolide antibiotic, is extensively employed in human medicine and livestock industries. Due to its structural stability and resistance to biological degradation, ROX persists as a resilient environmental contaminant, detectable in aquatic ecosystems and food products. However, our understanding of the potential health risks to humans from continuous ROX exposure remains limited. In this study, we used the zebrafish as a vertebrate model to explore the potential developmental toxicity of early ROX exposure, particularly focusing on its effects on locomotor functionality and CaP motoneuron development. Early exposure to ROX induces marked developmental toxicity in zebrafish embryos, significantly reducing hatching rates (n=100), body lengths (n=100), and increased malformation rates (n=100). The zebrafish embryos treated with a corresponding volume of DMSO (0.1%, v/v) served as vehicle controls (veh). Moreover, ROX exposure adversely affected the locomotive capacity of zebrafish embryos, and observations in transgenic zebrafish Tg(hb9:eGFP) revealed axonal loss in motor neurons, evident through reduced or irregular axonal lengths (n=80). Concurrently, abnormal apoptosis in ROX-exposed zebrafish embryos intensified alongside the upregulation of apoptosis-related genes (bax, bcl2, caspase-3a). Single-cell sequencing further disclosed substantial effects of ROX on genes involved in the differentiation of motor neuron progenitor cells (ngn1, olig2), axon development (cd82a, mbpa, plp1b, sema5a), and neuroimmunity (aplnrb, aplnra) in zebrafish larvae (n=30). Furthermore, the CaP motor neuron defects and behavioral deficits induced by ROX can be rescued by administering ngn1 agonist (n=80). In summary, ROX exposure leads to early-life abnormalities in zebrafish motor neurons and locomotor behavior by hindering the differentiation of motor neuron progenitor cells and inducing abnormal apoptosis.
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Diferenciação Celular , Neurônios Motores , Peixe-Zebra , Animais , Neurônios Motores/efeitos dos fármacos , Neurônios Motores/patologia , Diferenciação Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Apoptose/efeitos dos fármacos , Poluentes Químicos da Água/toxicidade , Antibacterianos/toxicidade , Embrião não Mamífero/efeitos dos fármacos , Locomoção/efeitos dos fármacos , Células-Tronco/efeitos dos fármacos , Animais Geneticamente Modificados , Comportamento Animal/efeitos dos fármacosRESUMO
The global accumulation and adverse effects of nanoplastics (NPs) are a growing concern for the environment and human health. In recent years, more and more studies have begun to focus on the toxicity of plastic particles for early animal development. Different particle sizes of plastic particles have different toxicities to biological development. Nevertheless, the potential toxicological effects of 20 nm NPs, especially on neurodevelopment, have not been well investigated. In this paper, we used fluorescence microscopy to determine neurotoxicity in zebrafish at different concentrations of NPs. Moreover, the behavioral analysis demonstrated that NPs induced abnormal behavior of zebrafish. The results revealed developmental defects in zebrafish embryos after exposure to different concentrations (0, 0.3, 3, and 9 mg/L) of NPs. The morphological deformities, including abnormal body length and the rates of heart, survival, and hatching, were induced after NP exposure in zebrafish embryos. In addition, the development of primary motor neurons was observed the inhibitory effects of NPs on the length, occurrence, and development of primary motor neurons in Tg(hb9:GFP). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis suggested that exposure to NPs significantly affects the expression of the genes involved in the occurrence and differentiation of primary motor neurons in zebrafish. Furthermore, the indicators associated with oxidative stress and apoptosis were found to be modified in zebrafish embryos at 24 and 48 h following exposure to NPs. Our findings demonstrated that NPs could cause toxicity in primary motor neurons by activating the oxidative stress response and inducing apoptosis, consequently impairing motor performance.
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PURPOSE: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a significant risk factor for development of gastric cancer (GC), one of the deadliest malignancies in the world. However, the mechanism by which H. pylori induces gastric oncogenesis remains unclear. Here, we investigated the function of IL-6 in gastric oncogenesis and macrophage-epithelial cell interactions. METHODS: We analyzed publicly available datasets to investigate the expression of IL-6 and infiltration of M2 macrophages in GC tissues, and determine the inter-cellular communication in the context of IL-6. Human gastric epithelial and macrophage cell lines (GES-1 and THP-1-derived macrophages, respectively) were used in mono- and co-culture experiments to investigate autocrine-and paracrine induction of IL-6 expression in response to H. pylori or IL-6 stimulation. RESULTS: We found that IL-6 is highly expressed in GC and modulates survival. M2 macrophage infiltration is predominant in GC and drives an IL-6 mediated communication with gastric epithelium cells. In vitro, IL-6 triggers its own expression in GES-1 and THP-1-derived macrophages cells. In addition, these cell lines are able to upregulate each other's IL-6 levels in an autocrine fashion, which is enhanced by H. pylori stimulation. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that IL-6 in the tumor microenvironment is essential for intercellular communication. We show that H. pylori enhances an IL-6-driven autocrine and paracrine positive feedback loop between macrophages and gastric epithelial cells, which may contribute to gastric carcinogenesis.
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Infecções por Helicobacter , Helicobacter pylori , Neoplasias Gástricas , Humanos , Helicobacter pylori/metabolismo , Interleucina-6/metabolismo , Células Epiteliais/metabolismo , Mucosa Gástrica/metabolismo , Neoplasias Gástricas/patologia , Macrófagos/patologia , Carcinogênese/patologia , Infecções por Helicobacter/complicações , Infecções por Helicobacter/metabolismo , Infecções por Helicobacter/patologia , Microambiente TumoralRESUMO
Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been increasingly used as life support for lung transplantation. However, there are no clinical risk models to predict whether ECMO support is required for lung transplantation. This study developed a simple risk score to predict the need for intraoperative ECMO in patients undergoing lung transplantation, identify high-risk patients who need ECMO support, and guide clinical interventions. Methods: Patients, who underwent lung transplantation between January 1, 2016 and July 31, 2021, were systematically reviewed. All enrolled patients were divided in a ratio of 7:3 to establish the development and validation datasets. A risk score model was established using stepwise logistic regression and verified using bootstrapping and the split-sample method. Results: A total of 248 patients who underwent lung transplants were enrolled. Multivariate analysis showed that the primary disease diagnosis, pulmonary artery systolic pressure, sex, surgical type, creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB, and pro-B-type natriuretic peptide were risk factors for intraoperative ECMO during lung transplantation. The risk score was established and calibrated according to these six factors, ranging from 0 to 41, with the associated prediction of intraoperative use of ECMO ranging from 1.5% to 99.7% (Hosmer-Lemeshow χ2=5.624; P=0.689). Good discrimination was verified by developing and validating the datasets (C-statistics =0.850 and 0.842, respectively). Based on the distribution of the scores, the three levels were classified as low-risk (0-10], moderate-risk (10-20], and high-risk (20-41]. Conclusions: This simple risk score model effectively predicts the need for intraoperative ECMO and stratifies high-risk patients who require ECMO support.