Müller cells are activated in response to retinal outer nuclear layer degeneration in rats subjected to simulated weightlessness conditions.

JOURNAL/nrgr/04.03/01300535-202507000-00032/figure1/v/2024-09-09T124005Z/r/image-tiff A microgravity environment has been shown to cause ocular damage and affect visual acuity, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Therefore, we established an animal model of weightlessness via tail suspension to examine the pathological changes and molecular mechanisms of retinal damage under microgravity. After 4 weeks of tail suspension, there were no notable alterations in retinal function and morphology, while after 8 weeks of tail suspension, significant reductions in retinal function were observed, and the outer nuclear layer was thinner, with abundant apoptotic cells. To investigate the mechanism underlying the degenerative changes that occurred in the outer nuclear layer of the retina, proteomics was used to analyze differentially expressed proteins in rat retinas after 8 weeks of tail suspension. The results showed that the expression levels of fibroblast growth factor 2 (also known as basic fibroblast growth factor) and glial fibrillary acidic protein, which are closely related to Müller cell activation, were significantly upregulated. In addition, Müller cell regeneration and Müller cell gliosis were observed after 4 and 8 weeks, respectively, of simulated weightlessness. These findings indicate that Müller cells play an important regulatory role in retinal outer nuclear layer degeneration during weightlessness.

Burden of biliary tract carcinoma in China (1990-2021): Findings from the 2021 Global Burden of Disease Study.

Biliary tract carcinoma (BTC) is a group of malignant tumors that originate in the digestive system and occurs with a high incidence in China. Few consistent and comparable assessments of BTC disease burden have been conducted at national or subnational levels, and little is known about the demographic, temporal, and geographic patterns of epidemiological characteristics and disease burden of BTC in China. The incidence, mortality, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), years of life lost (YLLs) due to premature death and years lived with disability (YLDs) of BTC were comprehensively examined by age, sex, and calendar year in the Chinese population, using the methodological framework and analytical strategies used for the 2021 Global Burden of Disease study. All-age incidence increased from 17,077 to 51,720 between 1990 and 2021, and the age-standardized incidence rate rose by 13.62%; all-age deaths increased from 17,251 to 37,833, but the age-standardized mortality rate fell by nearly one-fifth. The DALYs rose by 89.57% while the age-standardized DALY rate fell by 23.24%. Variations of the tendencies in BTC burden were found between sexes and age groups. Data for each provincial region indicate that coastal eastern provincial regions have higher incidence and YLD levels, whereas northern provincial regions have higher mortality, DALY, and YLL levels. The proportions of DALYs attributable to high body mass index (BMI) illustrate the growing attribution obesity has made, and high BMI usually puts more burden on northern provincial regions. These results provide evidence to support precise, targeted, and customed public health strategies aimed at enhancing biliary tract health among the Chinese population.

Characterisation of skin penetration pathways using stimulated Raman scattering microscopy.

Understanding the mechanisms governing the penetration of substances into the skin is crucial for the development of safe and effective topical drug delivery systems and skincare products. This study examined the partitioning of model permeants into human skin, by assessing six substances with diverse logP values. We employed stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy, an ambient, label-free optical imaging technique known for its ability to provide chemical distribution with subcellular resolution. Our investigation assessed partitioning into the two primary pathways through which substances traverse the skin: the intercellular lipid matrix and the intracellular route via corneocyte cells. We observed that the partitioning behaviour was strongly influenced by the lipophilicity of the molecule, with lipophilic compounds showing greater affinity for intercellular matrix with increased lipophilicity. Conversely, hydrophilic molecules demonstrated a preference for corneocyte cells, with their affinity increasing with increased hydrophilicity. The findings contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying topical delivery and offer important implications and new methods beneficial for the development of safe and effective topical products. In addition, the methods presented could be valuable to reveal changes in drug partitioning or to assess targeting approaches in diseased skin models.

Additive engineering for Sb2S3 indoor photovoltaics with efficiency exceeding 17.

Indoor photovoltaics (IPVs) have attracted increasing attention for sustainably powering Internet of Things (IoT) electronics. Sb2S3 is a promising IPV candidate material with a bandgap of ~1.75 eV, which is near the optimal value for indoor energy harvesting. However, the performance of Sb2S3 solar cells is limited by nonradiative recombination, which is dependent on the quality of the absorber films. Additive engineering is an effective strategy to fine tune the properties of solution-processed films. This work shows that the addition of monoethanolamine (MEA) into the precursor solution allows the nucleation and growth of Sb2S3 films to be controlled, enabling the deposition of high-quality Sb2S3 absorbers with reduced grain boundary density, optimized band positions, and increased carrier concentration. Complemented with computations, it is revealed that the incorporation of MEA leads to a more efficient and energetically favorable deposition for enhanced heterogeneous nucleation on the substrate, which increases the grain size and accelerates the deposition rate of Sb2S3 films. Due to suppressed carrier recombination and improved charge-carrier transport in Sb2S3 absorber films, the MEA-modulated Sb2S3 solar cell yields a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.22% under AM1.5 G illumination, and an IPV PCE of 17.55% under 1000 lux white light emitting diode (WLED) illumination, which is the highest yet reported for Sb2S3 IPVs. Furthermore, we construct high performance large-area Sb2S3 IPV minimodules to power IoT wireless sensors, and realize the long-term continuous recording of environmental parameters under WLED illumination in an office. This work highlights the great prospect of Sb2S3 photovoltaics for indoor energy harvesting.

Genome-wide identification of the endonuclease family genes implicates potential roles of TaENDO23 in drought-stressed response and grain development in wheat.

BACKGROUND: Endonucleases play a crucial role in plant growth and stress response by breaking down nuclear DNA. However, the specific members and biological functions of the endonuclease encoding genes in wheat remain to be determined. RESULTS: In this study, we identified a total of 26 TaENDO family genes at the wheat genome-wide level. These genes were located on chromosomes 2 A, 2B, 2D, 3 A, 3B, and 3D and classified into four groups, each sharing similar gene structures and conserved motifs. Furthermore, we identified diverse stress-response and growth-related cis-elements in the promoter of TaENDO genes, which were broadly expressed in different organs, and several TaENDO genes were significantly induced under drought and salt stresses. We further examined the biological function of TaENDO23 gene since it was rapidly induced under drought stress and exhibited high expression in spikes and grains. Subcellular localization analysis revealed that TaENDO23 was localized in the cytoplasm of wheat protoplasts. qRT-PCR results indicated that the expression of TaENDO23 increased under PEG6000 and abscisic acid treatments, but decreased under NaCl treatment. TaENDO23 mainly expressed in leaves and spikes. A kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) marker was developed to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms in TaENDO23 gene in 256 wheat accessions. The alleles with TaENDO23-HapI haplotypes had higher grain weight and size compared to TaENDO23-HapII. The geographical and annual frequency distributions of the two TaENDO23 haplotypes revealed that the elite haplotype TaENDO23-HapI was positively selected in the wheat breeding process. CONCLUSION: We systematically analyzed the evolutionary relationships, gene structure characteristics, and expression patterns of TaENDO genes in wheat. The expression of TaENDO23, in particular, was induced under drought stress, mainly expressed in the leaves and grains. The KASP marker of TaENDO23 gene successfully distinguished between the wheat accessions, revealing TaENDO23-HapI as the elite haplotype associated with improved grain weight and size. These findings provide insights into the evolution and characteristics of TaENDO genes at the genome-wide level in wheat, laying the foundation for further biological analysis of TaENDO23 gene, especially in response to drought stress and grain development.

Empathic pain: Underlying neural mechanism.

Empathy is usually regarded as the ability to perceive the emotional state of others, which is an altruistic motivation to promote prosocial behavior and thus plays a key role in human life and social development. Empathic pain-the capacity to feel and understand the pain of others-constitutes a significant aspect in the study of empathy behaviors. For an extended duration, investigations into empathic pain have predominantly centered on human neuroimaging studies. Fortunately, recent advancements have witnessed the utilization of animal models in the exploration of the fundamental neural underpinnings of empathic pain. There is substantial evidence implicating multiple brain regions and neural networks in the generation and maintenance of empathic pain. Nevertheless, further elucidation of the neural mechanisms underlying empathic pain is warranted. This review provides a concise overview of prior studies on the neural mechanisms of empathic pain, outlining the pertinent brain regions, neural pathways, synaptic mechanisms, and associated molecules while also delving into future prospects.

The activation of asparagine synthetase by the transcription factor FOXM1 plays a pivotal role in the initiation and progression of ESCC.

This study explores the role of the transcription factor FOXM1 in the initiation and progression of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Our findings reveal that FOXM1 is highly expressed in ESCC and correlates with the prognosis of the disease. The relationship between FOXM1 and asparagine synthetase (ASNS) is investigated, and the study demonstrates that FOXM1 activates ASNS, impacting the tumour stemness of ESCC. In this study, we reveal the association between FOXM1 and ESCC development, as well as FOXM1's promotion of migration and proliferation in ESCC cells. The study also highlights FOXM1's regulation of ASNS transcription and the functional role of ASNS in ESCC metastasis and growth. Furthermore, the study explores the impact of FOXM1 and ASNS on ESCC stemness and their potential implications for chemotherapy resistance.

The development of a machine learning model to train junior ophthalmologists in diagnosing the pre-clinical keratoconus.

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic performance of a machine learning model (ML model) to train junior ophthalmologists in detecting preclinical keratoconus (PKC). Methods: A total of 1,334 corneal topography images (The Pentacam HR system) from 413 keratoconus eyes, 32 PKC eyes and 222 normal eyes were collected. Five junior ophthalmologists were trained and annotated the images with or without the suggestions proposed by the ML model. The diagnostic performance of PKC was evaluated among three groups: junior ophthalmologist group (control group), ML model group and ML model-training junior ophthalmologist group (test group). Results: The accuracy of the ML model between the eyes of patients with KC and NEs in all three clinics (99% accuracy, area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve AUC of 1.00, 99% sensitivity, 99% specificity) was higher than that for Belin-Ambrósio enhanced ectasia display total deviation (BAD-D) (86% accuracy, AUC of 0.97, 97% sensitivity, 69% specificity). The accuracy of the ML model between eyes with PKC and NEs in all three clinics (98% accuracy, AUC of 0.96, 98% sensitivity, 98% specificity) was higher than that of BAD-D (69% accuracy, AUC of 0.73, 67% sensitivity, 69% specificity). The diagnostic accuracy of PKC was 47.5% (95%CI, 0.5-71.6%), 100% (95%CI, 100-100%) and 94.4% (95%CI, 14.7-94.7%) in the control group, ML model group and test group. With the assistance of the proposed ML model, the diagnostic accuracy of junior ophthalmologists improved with statistical significance (p < 0.05). According to the questionnaire of all the junior ophthalmologists, the average score was 4 (total 5) regarding to the comprehensiveness that the AI model has been in their keratoconus diagnosis learning; the average score was 4.4 (total 5) regarding to the convenience that the AI model has been in their keratoconus diagnosis learning. Conclusion: The proposed ML model provided a novel approach for the detection of PKC with high diagnostic accuracy and assisted to improve the performance of junior ophthalmologists, resulting especially in reducing the risk of missed diagnoses.

Fe2O3, Al2O3, or sludge ash-catalyzed pyrolysis of typical 3D printing waste toward tackling plastic pollution.

Catalytic pyrolysis offers a potential solution to tackling plastic pollution by transforming plastic waste into valuable chemicals. This study explored the catalytic pyrolysis of 3D printing waste (3DPW), specifically focusing on photosensitive resin waste (PRW) and polycaprolactone waste (PCLW), with Al2O3, Fe2O3, or sludge ash (SA) containing Fe/Al. The study revealed a synergistic effect between the catalyst and 3DPW, influencing the pyrolysis properties and kinetic models. The addition of Fe2O3 significantly accelerated the main degradation stages, promoting the releases of 2-Ethylacrolein (64.78 % from PRW) and 2-Oxepanone (16.45 % from PCLW), as well as decreasing the acidic products. The catalytic pyrolysis changed the valence state of Fe, with some Fe(III) shifting to Fe(II), accompanied by the release of CO2. The addition of Al2O3 or SA generated new gaseous products (e.g., 2.93 % 1,3-Pentadiene, 2-methyl-, (E)-) through volatile reforming. The joint optimization of the multi-response artificial neural network revealed PCLW/Fe2O3 between 325-399 °C (D = 0.669) as the optimal operation for achieving both minimal remaining mass and maximum decomposition rate. These findings offer actionable insights into the catalytic pyrolysis of 3DPW, promoting its efficient treatment and clean reutilization.

Serotonin suppresses intraspecific aggression in an agrobiont spider, Pardosa pseudoannulata, without affecting predation on insects.

Spiders are an abundant group of natural enemies preying on insect pests in agroecosystem. But their potential in biological control has not been fully realized due to difficult mass production. One hindrance is the intense intraspecific aggression in spiders. Neurotransmitters such as serotonin play important roles in modulating aggression. Here, we investigated the regulatory function of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) signaling in the intraspecific aggression in a wandering spider Pardosa pseudoannulata (Araneae, Lycosidae). The aggression was quantified with 5 escalated aggression behaviors as approach, chasing, lunging, boxing, and biting. Virgin (VG) females exhibited higher aggression levels but less 5-HT content than post-reproductive (PR) females. Systemic increase of 5-HT via 5-HT injection decreased aggression, while decrease of 5-HT via RNA interference (RNAi) of the tryptophan hydroxylase gene, increased aggression. The involvement of the four 5-HT receptors were determined via individual or combined RNAi. Co-RNAi of the three 5-HT1 genes increased overall aggression with decreased incidents of approach, chasing, lunging, and increased biting. RNAi of 5-HT1B decreased approach and increased biting, whereas RNAi of 5-HT1A or 5-HT1C did not affect aggression. RNAi of 5-HT7 decreased approach only. Therefore, different 5-HT receptor types contribute to different aspects of the inhibitory effects of 5-HT on aggression and provide several pharmacological targets for manipulating spider aggression. 5-HT injection did not affect spiders' predation on their insect prey, the brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens. The findings reveal 1 neuronal mechanism regulating intraspecific aggression in spiders and provide an insight in developing aggression suppression strategies for spider mass rearing.

Marine Amoebae-Inspired Salting Hydrogels to Reconfigure Anisotropy for Reprogrammable Shape Morphing.

Reprogrammable shape morphing is ubiquitous in living beings and highly crucial for them to move in normal situations, even to survive under dangerous conditions. There is increasing interest in using asymmetric hydrogel structures to understand and mimic living beings' shape morphing upon an external trigger in a controlled way. However, these asymmetric or heterogeneous configurations cannot be further modified once the polymer hydrogels are prepared. Therefore, it is a great challenge to achieve reprogrammable shape morphing using the existing hydrogels. Inspired by marine amoebae, which transform into several different morphologies according to the various external salt concentrations, a new strategy is developed for salting hydrogels to reconfigure their anisotropy toward reprogrammable shape morphing. Polyampholyte hydrogels with equal stoichiometric COO‒ and N+(CH3)3 groups were first swollen in HCl/NaCl solution. After being then transferred into water, they first swollen again by water uptake driven by the osmotic pressure, and then were spontaneously deswollen due to increase in internal pH and dialysis of ions leading to deprotonation of COOH to COO‒ and regeneration of COO‒/N+(CH3)3 electrostatic attraction. This work provides a novel strategy to reconfigure anisotropy of hydrogel soft actuators and to open up an avenue for reprogrammable shape morphing.

Melatonin Induces Analgesic Effects through MT2 Receptor-Mediated Neuroimmune Modulation in the Mice Anterior Cingulate Cortex.

Neuropathic pain (NP) represents a considerable clinical challenge, profoundly impacting patients' quality of life. Presently, pharmacotherapy serves as a primary approach for NP alleviation, yet its efficacy often remains suboptimal. Melatonin (MLT), a biologically active compound secreted by the pineal gland, has long been associated with promoting and maintaining sleep. Although recent studies suggest analgesic effects of MLT, the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown, particularly its impact on the cortex. In this study, we induced an NP model in mice through spared nerve injury (SNI) and observed a considerable, dose-dependent alleviation in NP symptoms following intraperitoneal or anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) administration of MLT. Our findings further indicated that the NP management of MLT is selectively mediated by MLT-related receptor 2 (MT2R), rather than MT1R, on neurons and microglia within the ACC. Transcriptome sequencing, complemented by bioinformatics analysis, implicated MLT in the modulation of Gα(i) and immune-inflammatory signals. Specifically, MLT inhibited the excitability level of pyramidal cells in the ACC by activating the Gα(i) signaling pathway. Simultaneously, MLT attenuated M1 polarization and promoted M2 polarization of microglia, thereby mitigating the inflammatory response and type II interferon response within the ACC. These findings unveil a hitherto unrecognized molecular mechanism: an MLT-mediated neuroimmune modulation pathway in the ACC mediated by MT2R. This elucidation sheds light on the regulatory character of MLT in chronic nociceptive pain conditions, offering a prospective therapeutic strategy for NP management.

Integrated network pharmacology, metabolomics and molecular docking analysis to reveal the mechanisms of quercetin in the treatment of hyperlipidemia.

Hyperlipidemia (HLP) is a significant contributor to cardiovascular diseases. Quercetin (QUE), a naturally occurring flavonoid with diverse bioactivities, has garnered attention due to its potential therapeutic effects. However, the precise mechanisms underlying the effects of QUE on HLP remain unclear. In this study, an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/electrostatic field Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-Exactive-MS) metabolomics strategy was employed to obtain metabolite profiles, and potential biomarkers were identified following data analysis. Network pharmacology and Drug Affinity Responsive Target Stability (DARTS) assays were utilized to explore the potential targets of QUE for HLP treatment. The results of metabolomics and network pharmacology were then integrated to identify the key targets and metabolic pathways involved in the therapeutic action of the QUE against HLP. Molecular docking and experimental validation were performed to confirm these key targets. A comprehensive database search identified 138 QUE-HLP-related targets. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using STRING, and the shared targets were filtered with Cytoscape. Among these, AKT1, TNF, VEGFA, mTOR, SREBP1, and SCD emerged as potential therapeutic targets. These findings were validated using in vitro cell experiments. Additionally, the mechanism of action of QUE against HLP was evaluated by integrating network pharmacology with metabolomics, identifying two metabolomic pathways crucial to HLP treatment. DARTS experiments confirmed the stable binding of QUE to FASN, p-mTOR, SREBP1, and p-AKT. In HepG2 cells treated with palmitic acid (PA), QUE significantly reduced the mRNA expression of ACLY, ACACA, FASN, and SCD (p < 0.05). Western blot analysis revealed that PA significantly increased protein expression of p-mTOR, SREBP1, FASN, and p-AKT (p < 0.05). In summary, our study provides novel insights into the protective mechanisms of QUE against HLP and offers valuable information regarding its potential benefits in clinical treatment.

Effective removal of Pb (II) from wastewater by zinc-iron bimetallic oxide-modified walnut shell biochar: A combined experimental and DFT calculation approach.

The modified walnut shell biochar (WBC) was prepared through zinc-iron bimetallic oxide modification (ZF@WBC) at 600 °C under oxygen-limited conditions in this study. Through adsorption experiments, characterization analyses, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the adsorption properties of ZF@WBC to Pb (II) were investigated and the mechanism underlying such adsorption was elucidated. Characterization results showed that the surface area (375.9709 m2/g) and total pore volume (0.205319 cm3/g) of ZF@WBC were significantly greater than those of walnut shell biochar. The maximum adsorption capacity of ZF@WBC for Pb (II) was found to be 104.26 mg/g, which is 2.57 times higher than that of WBC according to the adsorption experiments conducted. The observed adsorption behavior followed both the pseudo-second-order (PSO) kinetic model and Langmuir isothermal adsorption model, suggesting that chemisorption plays a major role in the absorption process. Based on SEM, XRD, XPS, FTIR characterizations along with DFT calculations performed in this study, it can be concluded that surface complexation, ion exchange, electrostatic attraction, physical absorption are among the main mechanisms responsible for absorption of Pb (II) by ZF@WBC. Furthermore, even in the presence of interfering ions at different concentrations, ZF@WBC exhibited a removal rate above 70% for Pb (II). Therefore, ZF@WBC has great potential as an effective absorbent for removing Pb (II) from wastewater, while also offering opportunities for biomass waste resource utilization.

Computational Modelling of the Impact of Evaporation on In-Vitro Dermal Absorption.

PURPOSE: Volatiles are common in personal care products and dermatological drugs. Determining the impact of evaporation of volatiles on skin permeation is crucial to evaluate and understand their delivery, bioavailability, efficacy and safety. We aim to develop an in-silico model to simulate the impact of evaporation on the dermal absorption of volatiles. METHOD: The evaporation of volatile permeants was modelled using vapour pressure as the main factor. This model considers evaporation as a passive diffusion process driven by the concentration gradient between the air-vehicle interface and the ambient environment. The evaporation model was then integrated with a previously published physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model of skin permeation and compared with published in vitro permeation test data from the Cosmetics Europe ADME Task Force. RESULTS: The evaporation-PBPK model shows improved predictions when evaporation is considered. In particular, good agreement has been obtained for the distributions in the evaporative loss, and the overall percutaneous absorption. The model is further compared with published in-silico models from the Cosmetics Europe ADME Task Force where favourable results are achieved. CONCLUSION: The evaporation of volatile permeants under finite dose in vitro permeation test conditions has been successfully predicted using a mechanistic model with the intrinsic volatility parameter vapour pressure. Integrating evaporation in PBPK modelling significantly improved the prediction of dermal delivery.

Diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to a case of pregnancy complicated by bilateral adrenocortical adenomas with primary aldosteronism and Cushing's syndrome.

Aldosterone/cortisol co-secreting adenomas (A/CPA) are a rare type of primary aldosteronism(PA), and cases of aldosterone/cortisol co-secreting adenomas during pregnancy are extremely rare, with no reported cases to date. The unique physiological state of pregnancy increases cortisol secretion through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and leads to elevated levels of all components of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). This can cause overlapping symptoms with abnormal cortisol and aldosterone secretion, making diagnosis very challenging. This case involves a 29-year-old woman who developed hypercortisolism at 33 weeks of pregnancy. Despite receiving treatment for her symptoms and having a successful delivery, she continued to experience hypertension and hypokalaemia after giving birth. Eventually, she was diagnosed with ACTH-independent Cushing's syndrome and primary aldosteronism due to independent cortisol and aldosterone secretion from bilateral adrenal adenomas. Following a thorough diagnosis, classification, treatment, and follow-up, the patient achieved a clinical cure while preserving normal adrenal function. Further investigation revealed that both diseases were caused by KCNJ5 and PRKACA mutations found in the bilateral adrenal adenomas.

Quantum Walks and Correlated Dynamics in an Interacting Synthetic Rydberg Lattice.

Coherent dynamics of interacting quantum particles plays a central role in the study of strongly correlated quantum matter and the pursuit of quantum information processors. Here, we present the state space of interacting Rydberg atoms as a synthetic landscape on which to control and observe coherent and correlated dynamics. With full control of the coupling strengths and energy offsets between the pairs of sites in a nine-site synthetic lattice, we realize quantum walks, Bloch oscillations, and dynamics in an Escher-type "continuous staircase." In the interacting regime, we observe correlated quantum walks, Bloch oscillations, and confinement of particle pairs. Additionally, we simultaneously tilt our lattice both up and down to achieve coherent pair oscillations. When combined with a few straightforward upgrades, this work establishes synthetic Rydberg lattices of interacting atom arrays as a promising platform for programmable quantum many-body dynamics with access to features that are difficult to realize in real-space lattices.

Integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analysis revealed the regulatory role of 5-azacytidine in kenaf salt stress alleviation.

Salinity stress limits agricultural production. The DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, 5-azacitidine (5-azaC), plays a role in plant abiotic stress regulation, but its molecular basis in mediating salinity tolerance in kenaf remains unclear. To investigate the effects on 5-azaC on alleviating salt stress, kenaf seedlings were pre-treated with 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 µM 5-azaC and then exposed to 150 mM NaCl in a nutrient solution. Physiological, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses were conducted on the root system to understand the regulatory mechanism of 5-azaC (comparing 5-azaC150 and control group 5-azaC0) under salt stress. The results indicated that 5-azaC significantly mitigated salt stress in kenaf by activating the antioxidant system, reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS), and increasing starch, soluble sugars, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content. A total of 14,348 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 313 differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) were identified. Combined proteomic and transcriptomic analysis revealed 27 DEGs/DAPs, with jointly up-regulated proteins (genes) including HcTHI1, HcBGLU11, and HcCBL1, and jointly down-regulated proteins (genes) including HcGAPDH, HcSS, and HcPP2C52. Overexpression and virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) of HcPP2C52 demonstrated its role as a negative regulator of salt tolerance. These findings provide insights into the regulatory role of 5-azaC in plant responses to abiotic stresses. SIGNIFICANCE: The specific molecular mechanism by which 5-azaC affects gene expression and protein activity of kenaf has been revealed, leading to enhanced salt tolerance.