Triazine pyridinium derivative supramolecular cascade assembly extended FRET for two-photon NIR targeted cell imaging.

A triazine pyridinium derivative (TAZpy) was encapsulated into the cavity of a cucurbit[7]uril and further assembled with sulfonatocalix[4]-arene, hyaluronic acid and commercial dyes, which not only achieved fluorescence cascade enhancement and an effective FRET process based on macrocyclic confinement, but was also applied in two-photon NIR targeted cell imaging.

Conformationally confined three-armed supramolecular folding for boosting near-infrared biological imaging.

Herein, a triphenylamine derivative (TP-3PY) possessing 4-(4-bromophenyl)pyridine (PY) as an electron-accepting group and tris[p-(4-pyridylvinyl)phenyl]amine (TPA) with large two-photon absorption cross-sections as an electron-donating group was obtained, and showed intense absorption in the visible light region (λmax = 509 nm) and weak near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence emission at 750 nm. After complexation with cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]), TP-3PY showed bright NIR fluorescence emission at 727 nm and phosphorescence emission at 800 nm. When the supramolecular assembly (TP-3PY⊂CB[8]) further interacted with dodecyl-modified sulfonatocalix[4]arene (SC4AD), the fluorescence and phosphorescence emissions were further enhanced at 710 and 734 nm, respectively. However, only the fluorescence emission of TP-3PY was enhanced in the presence of cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) and SC4AD. More interestingly, the photoluminescence of TP-3PY⊂CB[8]@SC4AD and TP-3PY⊂CB[7]@SC4AD assemblies could be excited by both visible (510 nm) and NIR light (930 nm). Finally, these ternary supramolecular assemblies with bright NIR light emission were applied to lysosome imaging of tumor cells and real-time biological imaging of mice.

Clinicopathological value and underlying molecular mechanism of annexin A2 in 992 cases of thyroid carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Thyroid carcinoma (THCA) is one of the most frequent endocrine cancers and has increasing morbidity. Annexin A2 (ANXA2) has been found to be highly expressed in various cancers; however, its expression level and potential mechanism in THCA remain unknown. This study investigated the clinicopathological value and primary molecular machinery of ANXA2 in THCA. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Public RNA-sequencing and microarray data were obtained and analyzed with ANXA2 expression in THCA and corresponding non-cancerous thyroid tissue. A Pearson correlation coefficient calculation was used for the acquisition of ANXA2 coexpressed genes, while edgR, limma, and Robust Rank Aggregation were employed for differentially expressed gene (DEG) in THCA. The probable mechanism of ANXA2 in THCA was predicted by gene ontology and pathway enrichment. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was employed to confirm the targeting relationships between ANXA2 and its predicted microRNA (miRNA). RESULTS: Expression of ANXA2 was significantly upregulated in THCA tissues with a summarized standardized mean difference of 1.09 (P < 0.0001) based on 992 THCA cases and 589 cases of normal thyroid tissue. Expression of ANXA2 was related to pathologic stage. Subsequently, 1442 genes were obtained when overlapping 4542 ANXA2 coexpressed genes with 2248 DEGs in THCA; these genes were mostly enriched in pathways of extracellular matrix-receptor interaction, cell adhesion molecules, and complement and coagulation cascades. MiR-23b-3p was confirmed to target ANXA2 by dual-luciferase reporter assay. CONCLUSIONS: Upregulated expression of ANXA2 may promote the malignant biological behavior of THCA by affecting the involving pathways or being targeted by miR-23b-3p.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumors of the abdominal wall and vulva in children: Report of two cases and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Primitive neuroectodermal tumors are rare, highly malignant small round cell tumors belonging to the Ewing sarcoma family. The purpose of this article is to present clinical manifestation, histology, treatment, and prognosis of two primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs) in extremely rare anatomic locations, the abdominal wall and vulva. CASE SUMMARY: Case 1 was a 66-month-old girl with lesions on the abdominal wall; tumor size was about 3.4 cm × 6.1 cm × 2 cm. The patient underwent radical resection of the tumor. After the operation, an alternating vincristine, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide/ifosfamide and etoposide (IE) regimen was given for eight cycles, and the patient survived for 66 mo without progression. Case 2 was a 40-month-old girl, with a vulvar lesion; tumor size was about 3.3 cm × 5 cm × 2.5 cm. The tumor was partially resected by surgery. The family left treatment after two cycles of vincristine, pirarubicin, and cyclophosphamide/IE chemotherapy, and the patient died at home six months after surgery. CONCLUSION: PNET is a rare, fast-growing, highly malignant tumor that requires histologic and molecular analyses for exact diagnosis, and multimodal treatment is required to achieve a good prognosis.

Effects of grafting with pumpkin rootstock on carbohydrate metabolism in cucumber seedlings under Ca(NO3)2 stress.

This study investigated the effects of grafting on the carbohydrate status and the enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism in self-grafted and grafted cucumber seedlings using the salt-tolerant pumpkin rootstock 'Qingzhen 1' (Cucurbita maxima × Cucurbita moschata) under 80 mM Ca(NO3)2 stress for 6 d. The growth of self-grafted seedlings was significantly inhibited after the treatment of Ca(NO3)2 stress, whereas the inhibition of growth was alleviated in pumpkin rootstock-grafted seedlings. Ca(NO3)2 stress increased the contents of the total soluble sugar, sucrose and fructose, but decreased the starch content in rootstock-grafted leaves. However, compared with self-grafted plants, rootstock-grafted seedlings were observed with a higher content of sucrose and total soluble sugar (TSS) under salt stress. Rootstock-grafted seedlings exhibited higher activities of acid invertase (AI), neutral invertase (NI) and phosphate sucrose synthase (SPS) of sucrose metabolism in leaves than that of self-grafted seedlings under salinity. Moreover, the activities of fructokinase (FK), hexokinase (HK), phosphofructokinase (PFK) and pyruvate kinase (PK) of glycolysis were maintained at a higher level in leaves of rootstock-grafted seedlings after Ca(NO3)2 stress. Additionally, rootstock-grafting decrease the high percentage enhancement of key enzymes gene expression in glycolysis in the scion leaves of cucumber seedlings induced by salt stress. These results suggest that the rootstock-grafting improved salt tolerance, which might play a role in elevated sucrose metabolism and a glycolytic pathway regulated by the pumpkin rootstock.