Meta-analysis provides insights into the origin and evolution of East Asian evergreen broad-leaved forests.

Evergreen broad-leaved forests (EBLFs) are dominated by a monsoon climate and form a distinct biome in East Asia with notably high biodiversity. However, the origin and evolution of East Asian EBLFs (EAEBLFs) remain elusive despite the estimation of divergence times for various representative lineages. Using 72 selected generic-level characteristic lineages, we constructed an integrated lineage accumulation rate (LAR) curve based on their crown ages. According to the crown-based LAR, the EAEBLF origin was identified at least as the early Oligocene (c. 31.8 million years ago (Ma)). The accumulation rate of the characteristic genera peaked at 25.2 and 6.4 Ma, coinciding with the two intensification periods of the Asian monsoon at the Oligocene - Miocene and the Miocene - Pliocene boundaries, respectively. Moreover, the LAR was highly correlated with precipitation in the EAEBLF region and negatively to global temperature, as revealed through time-lag cross-correlation analyses. An early Oligocene origin is suggested for EAEBLFs, bridging the gap between paleobotanical and molecular dating studies and solving conflicts among previous estimates based on individual representative lineages. The strong correlation between the crown-based LAR and the precipitation brought about by the Asian monsoon emphasizes its irreplaceable role in the origin and development of EAEBLFs.

The proliferation and angiogenesis in hemangioma-derived endothelial cells is affected by STC2 medicated VEGFR2/Akt/eNOS pathway.

Objective: Stanniocalcin-2 (STC2), a secreted glycoprotein that is involved in the regulation of angiogenesis, was proposed as one of the mechanisms of neovascularization in hemangioma (HA). We aimed to investigate the effect of STC2 on proliferation and angiogenesis in hemangioma-derived endothelial cells. Methods: The hemangioma samples from HA patients with the median age of six months were surgically collected in the Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University from October 2019 to June 2021, and divided into normal skin tissues (n=10), involuting-phase HAs (n=10) and proliferating-phase HAs (n=10) according to the Mulliken classification. The expression of STC2 was detected in involuting-phase HAs and proliferating-phase HAs. Hemangioma endothelial cells (HemEC) were transfected with small interfering RNA (siRNA) specific for STC2, and cell survival and tube formation were analyzed. Results: STC2 expression in proliferating-phase HAs was markedly higher than in the normal skin tissues and involving-phase HAs. Similarly, STC2 expression was higher in HemEC compared to the control human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Knockdown of STC2 slowed the proliferation of HemEC and decreased the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in HemEC. Moreover, knockdown of STC2 in HemEC inhibited vascular endothelial cell angiogenesis and regulated the expression and phosphorylation of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2). Mechanistically, STC2 knockdown attenuated the activation of Akt/eNOS signaling, which was abolished by insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1), the activator of Akt signaling, accompanying by increased proliferation and tube formation of HemEC. Conclusion: Inhibition of STC2 suppresses HemEC proliferation and angiogenesis by VEGFR2/Akt/eNOS pathway, which warrants further development of STC2-based strategies for HA treatment.

Phototherapeutic effect of transformable peptides containing pheophorbide a on colorectal cancer.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) have attracted research interest for their noninvasive nature and selective treatment of tumor tissues. They are effective through the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) or heat. Nevertheless, several problems, including low bioavailability and long-lasting cutaneous photosensitivity, have limited their clinical application. In this study, we reported an in situ self-assembly strategy that could improve various biological properties of the photosensitizer in vivo. A photosensitizer connected to a receptor-mediated smart peptide can self-assemble into nanoparticles (NPs) under the force of hydrophobic interaction and then transform into a nanofibrillar network after attaching to the tumor cell surface with the help of the ß-sheet-forming peptide KLVFF. The supramolecular structural changes deeply affected the PDT and PTT properties of the photosensitizer on tumors. After being aggregated into the nanostructure, the water solubility and targeting ability of the photosensitizer was ameliorated. Moreover, the improvement of the photothermal conversion efficiency, ROS generation, and tumor retention followed the formation of nanofibrils (NFs). This self-assembly strategy showed the ability of supramolecular nanofibrils to improve the bioavailability of photosensitizers, which provides a new potential treatment avenue for various cancer therapies.