Protective effect of hydrogen-rich saline against radiation-induced immune dysfunction.

Recent studies showed that hydrogen can be used as an effective radioprotective agent through scavenging free radicals. This study was undertaken to evaluate the radioprotective effects of hydrogen on immune system in mice. H(2) was dissolved in physiological saline using an apparatus produced by our department. Spleen index and histological analysis were used to evaluate the splenic structural damage. Spleen superoxide dismutase, GSH, MDA were measured to appraise the antioxidant capacity and a DCF assay for the measurement of radical oxygen species. Cell apoptosis was evaluated by an Annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide staining method as well as the apoptotic proteins such as Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3 and c-caspase-3. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells subtypes were detected by flow cytometry with FITC-labelled antimouse CD4 and PE antimouse CD8 staining. Real-time PCR was utilized to determine the CD4+ T cell subtypes and related cytokines. Our study demonstrated that pre-treatment with H(2) could increase the spleen index and attenuate the radiation damage on splenic structure. Radical oxygen species level was also reduced by H(2) treatment. H(2) also inhibited radiation-induced apoptosis in splenocytes and down-regulated pro-apoptotic proteins in living mice. Radiation-induced imbalance of T cells was attenuated by H(2). Finally, we found that H(2) could regulate the polarization of CD4+ T cells and the level of related cytokines. This study suggests H(2) as an effective radioprotective agent on immune system by scavenging reactive oxygen species.

Correlation between EZH2 and CEP55 and lung adenocarcinoma prognosis.

OBJECTIVE: Recently, accumulated evidence indicates that the enhancer of zeste homologue 2 (EZH2) is highly expressed in a wide range of cancer types, including NSCLC. The downstream genes regulated by EZH2 were screened using bioinformatics analysis. This study aimed to analyse the correlation between the downstream genes of EZH2 and the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma. METHODS: Expression and methylation data of lung adenocarcinoma were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) (https://cancergenome.nih.gov/) database, and data were categorized into EZH2 overexpression and EZH2 downregulation groups according to EZH2 expression. The genes that showed opposite trends of methylation and expression changes were screened, and the association of gene expression was calculated. Based on the String database, a protein association analysis was conducted to identify genes related to EZH2, which are referred to as EZH2 regulation candidate genes. According to gene expression (GSE27262) and methylation (GSE66836) chip data in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/) database, the genes with differential expression and methylation in lung adenocarcinoma tissues were analysed, and the trends of EZH2 regulation candidate gene expression and methylation were verified to identify the EZH2 regulation candidate genes. Subsequently, MethHC (http://methhc.mbc.nctu.edu.tw/php/index.php) and UALCAN (http://ualcan.path.uab.edu/index.html) were employed to verify changes in the expression and methylation of EZH2 downstream regulation candidate genes and to analyse the correlation between these genes and the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma. RESULTS: Expression and methylation data of lung adenocarcinoma were downloaded from TCGA database and categorized into EZH2 overexpression and EZH2 downregulation groups according to EZH2 expression. A total of 337 genes that showed opposite trends of methylation and expression changes were obtained. The protein association analysis using the String (https://string-db.org/) database showed that 61 genes interact with EZH2 and 61 genes represent EZH2 downstream regulation candidate genes. Moreover, 222 genes obtained from GSE27262 and GSE66836 chip data were negatively correlated with methylation and expression changes, and centrosomal protein 55 (CEP55) was identified as the EZH2 downstream regulation candidate gene. CEP55 was upregulated in lung adenocarcinoma tissues and showed low methylation. According to gene expression data from TCGA database, CEP55 and EZH2 exhibit higher levels in lung adenocarcinoma tissue than in adjacent normal tissue. Finally, the survival analysis revealed that EZH2 is not associated with the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma, while CEP55 is related to lung adenocarcinoma prognosis. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these results indicate that changes in EZH2 expression lead to changes in CEP55 expression in lung adenocarcinoma, and these changes are associated with its prognosis.

Cu2+1O coated polycrystalline Si nanoparticles as anode for lithium-ion battery.

Cu2+1O coated Si nanoparticles were prepared by simple hydrolysis and were investigated as an anode material for lithium-ion battery. The coating of Cu2+1O on the surface of Si particles remarkably improves the cycle performance of the battery than that made by the pristine Si. The battery exhibits an initial reversible capacity of 3063 mAh/g and an initial coulombic efficiency (CE) of 82.9 %. With a current density of 300 mA/g, its reversible capacity can remains 1060 mAh/g after 350 cycles, corresponding to a CE ≥ 99.8 %. It is believed that the Cu2+1O coating enhances the electrical conductivity, and the elasticity of Cu2+1O further helps buffer the volume changes during lithiation/delithiation processes. Experiment results indicate that the electrode maintained a highly integrated structure after 100 cycles and it is in favour of the formation of stable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) on the Si surface to keep the extremely high CE during long charge and discharge cycles.

High-Columbic-Efficiency Lithium Battery Based on Silicon Particle Materials.

Micro-sized polycrystalline silicon particles were used as anode materials of lithium-ion battery. The columbic efficiency of the first cycle reached a relatively high value of 91.8 % after prelithiation and increased to 99 % in the second cycle. Furthermore, columbic efficiency remained above 99 % for up to 280+ cycles. The excellent performances of the batteries were the results of the use of a proper binder to protect the electrode from cracking and the application of a suitable conductive agent to provide an efficient conductive channel. The good performance was also significantly attributed to the electrolyte in the packaging process.