A novel lncRNA-hidden polypeptide regulates malignant phenotypes and pemetrexed sensitivity in A549 pulmonary adenocarcinoma cells.

The advance of high-throughput sequencing enhances the discovery of short ORFs embedded in long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Here, we uncovered the production and biological activity of lncRNA-hidden polypeptides in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). In the present study, bioinformatics was used to screen the lncRNA-hidden polypeptides in LUAD. Analysis of protein expression was done by western blot or immunofluorescence assay. The functions of the polypeptide were determined by detecting its effects on cell viability, proliferation, migration, invasion, and pemetrexed (PEM) sensitivity. The protein interactors of the polypeptide were analyzed by mass spectrometry after Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) assay. The results showed that the lncRNA LINC00954 was confirmed to encode a novel polypeptide LINC00954-ORF. The polypeptide had tumor-suppressor features in A549 cells by repressing cell growth, motility and invasion. Moreover, the polypeptide enhanced PEM sensitivity and suppressed growth in A549/PEM cells. The protein interactors of this polypeptide had close correlations with RNA processing, amide metabolic process, translation, RNA binding, RNA transport, and DNA replication. As a conclusion, the LINC00954-ORF polypeptide embedded in lncRNA LINC00954 possesses tumor-suppressor features in A549 and PEM-resistant A549 cells and sensitizes PEM-resistant A549 cells to PEM, providing evidence that the LINC00954-ORF polypeptide is a potential anti-cancer agent in LUAD.

Synergistic Effect of Aluminum Nitride and Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced Silicon Rubber Nanocomposites.

Constructing a synergistic effect with different structural fillers is an important strategy for improving the comprehensive properties of polymeric composites. To improve the comprehensive properties of two-component additive liquid silicon rubber (SR) materials used in electronics packaging, the synergistic effect of granular aluminum nitride (AlN) and tubular carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced SR nanocomposites was investigated. AlN/CNT/SR composites with different AlN/CNT ratios were fabricated with two-component additive liquid SR via the thermal curing technique, and the influence of AlN/CNT hybrid fillers on the hardness, strength, elongation at break, surface resistivity, thermal conductivity, and thermal decomposition was investigated in detail. With the incorporation of AlN/CNT hybrid fillers, the comprehensive properties of the obtained AlN/CNT/SR composites are better than those of the AlN/SR and CNT/SR composites. The synergistic thermal conductive mechanism of AlN/CNT hybrid fillers was proposed and demonstrated with the fractural surface morphology of the obtained composites. The obtained AlN/CNT/SR composites show promising applications in electronic packaging, where necessary mechanical strength, electrical insulating, thermal conductivity, and thermal stable materials are needed.

Transgenerational inheritance of wing development defects in Drosophila melanogaster induced by cadmium.

The transgenerational inheritance of phenotype induced by environmental factors is a new focus in epigenetic research. In this study, Drosophila melanogaster (F0) was cultured in the medium containing cadmium (Cd, 4.5 mg/kg) from eggs to adults, and offspring (F1-F4) were continuously kept in standard medium (without cadmium). The phenotype analysis showed that cadmium induced developmental defects on wings and apoptosis in the wing disc cells of Drosophila (F0). The wing defects were transmitted for at least four generations even without Cd afterwards. And the effect on the mRNA expression of wing development related genes (shg, omb, F-actin, Mekk1) can be maintained for at least two or three generations. More importantly, under cadmium stress, the post-translational modification (PTM) on the histones H3K4me3 in the third instar larvae and ovaries or testes of adult flies increased significantly, while the levels of H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 decreased significantly. The expression of histone methylation related genes (dSet-1, ash1, Lsd1) increased significantly and these changes can be transmitted to offspring from one or two generations in ovaries or testes. These results suggest that the phenotypic defects of wings caused by cadmium can be inherited to the offspring, and this transgenerational inheritance effect may be related to the epigenetic regulation of histone methylation. Therefore, the adaptability of offspring should be considered when evaluating the toxicity and environmental risk of cadmium.

Efficient HIE-FDTD method for designing a dual-band anisotropic terahertz absorption structure.

The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is considered to be one of the most accurate and common methods for the simulation of optical devices. However, the conventional FDTD method is subject to the Courant-Friedrich-Levy condition, resulting in extremely low efficiency for calculating two-dimensional materials (2DMs). Recent researches on the hybrid implicit-explicit FDTD (HIE-FDTD) method show that the method can efficiently simulate homogeneous and isotropic 2DMs such as graphene sheet; however, it is inapplicable to the anisotropic medium. In this paper, we propose an in-plane anisotropic HIE-FDTD method to simulate optical devices containing graphene and black phosphorus (BP) sheets. Numerical analysis shows that the proposed method is accurate and efficient. With this method, we present a novel multi-layer graphene-BP-based dual-band anisotropic terahertz absorption structure (GBP-DATAS) and analyze its optical characteristics. Combining the advantages of graphene and BP localized surface plasmons, the GBP-DATAS demonstrates strong anisotropic plasmonic resonance and high absorption rate in the terahertz band.

The Stability and Expression Level of Bok Are Governed by Binding to Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptors.

Bok is a member of the Bcl-2 protein family that governs the intrinsic apoptosis pathway, although the role that Bok plays in this pathway is unclear. We have shown previously in cultured cell lines that Bok interacts strongly with inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs), suggesting that it may contribute to the structural integrity or stability of IP3R tetramers. Here we report that Bok is similarly IP3R-assocated in mouse tissues, that essentially all cellular Bok is IP3R bound, that it is the helical nature of the Bok BH4 domain, rather than specific amino acids, that mediates binding to IP3Rs, that Bok is dramatically stabilized by binding to IP3Rs, that unbound Bok is ubiquitinated and degraded by the proteasome, and that binding to IP3Rs limits the pro-apoptotic effect of overexpressed Bok. Agents that stimulate IP3R activity, apoptosis, phosphorylation, and endoplasmic reticulum stress did not trigger the dissociation of mature Bok from IP3Rs or Bok degradation, indicating that the role of proteasome-mediated Bok degradation is to destroy newly synthesized Bok that is not IP3R associated. The existence of this unexpected proteolytic mechanism that is geared toward restricting Bok to that which is bound to IP3Rs, implies that unbound Bok is deleterious to cell viability and helps explain the current uncertainty regarding the cellular role of Bok.

Adsorption of Levofloxacin onto Graphene Oxide/Chitosan Composite Aerogel Microspheres.

The removal of pharmaceutical residues from water resources using bio-based materials is very important for human safety and health. Bio-based graphene oxide/chitosan (GO/CS) aerogel microspheres were fabricated with emulsification and cross-linking, followed by freeze drying, and were used for the adsorption of levofloxacin (LOF). The obtained GO/CS aerogel microspheres were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and thermogravimetry (TG). The effects of GO content, pH value, and temperature on their adsorption capacity were investigated. With the incorporation of 40 wt% GO, the adsorption capacity increased from 9.9 to 45.6 mg/g, and the highest adsorption capacity, 51.5 mg/g, was obtained at pH = 8 and T = 25 °C. In addition, to obtain deeper insight into the adsorption process, the thermodynamics and kinetics of the process were also investigated with four different models of LOF adsorption. The thermodynamic modeling results revealed that LOF adsorption is exothermic, and the kinetic investigation demonstrated that LOF adsorption is generally consistent with a pseudo-first-order rate law.

Preparation and sustained release of diatomite incorporated and Eudragit L100 coated hydroxypropyl cellulose/chitosan aerogel microspheres.

The drug encapsulation efficiency, release rate and time, sustained release, and stimulus-response of carriers are very important for drug delivery. However, these always cannot obtained for the carrier with a single component. To improve the comprehensive performance of chitosan-based carriers for 5-Fu delivery, diatomite-incorporated hydroxypropyl cellulose/chitosan (DE/HPC/CS) composite aerogel microspheres were fabricated for the release of 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu), and the release performance was regulated with the content of diatomite, pH value, and external coating material. Firstly, the 5-Fu loaded DE/HPC/CS composite aerogel microspheres and Eudragit L100 coated microspheres were prepared with cross-linking followed by freeze-drying, and characterized by SEM, EDS, FTIR, XRD, DSC, TG, and swelling. The obtained aerogel microspheres have a diameter of about 0.5 mm, the weight percentage of F and Si elements on the surface are 0.55 % and 0.78 % respectively. The glass transition temperature increased from 179 °C to 181 °C and 185 °C with the incorporation of DE and coating of Eudragit, and the equilibrium swelling percentage of DE/HPC/CS (1.5:3:2) carriers are 101.52 %, 45.27 %, 67.32 % at pH 1.2, 5.0, 7.4, respectively. Then, the effect of DE content on the drug loading efficiency of DE/HPC/CS@5-Fu was investigated, with the increase of DE content, the highest encapsulation efficiency was 82.6 %. Finally, the release behavior of DE incorporated and Eudragit L100 Coated microspheres were investigated under different pH values, and evaluated with four kinetic models. The results revealed that the release rate of 5-Fu decreased with the increase of DE content, sustained release with extending time and pH-responsive were observed for the Eudragit-coated aerogel microspheres.

Development of criteria for ovarian preservation in cervical cancer patients treated with radical surgery with or without neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a multicenter retrospective study and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: There is no consensus on the selection criteria for ovarian preservation in cervical cancer, and the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) on ovarian metastasis (OM) is also unknown. METHODS: A total of 1,889 cervical cancer patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stages IB to IIB who underwent radical hysterectomy, pelvic lymphadenectomy, and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with or without NACT were enrolled. Clinicopathologic variables were studied by univariate and multivariate analyses. Meta-analyses of published data for risk factors of OM were also performed. RESULTS: Twenty-two (1.2%) of 1,889 patients were diagnosed as OM: 12 squamous cell carcinomas (SCC, 0.7%), five adenocarcinomas (2.7%), four adenosquamous carcinomas (5.6%), and one small cell carcinoma (7.7%). Multivariate analysis revealed that lymph node metastasis (LNM; odds ratio 5.75, 95% confidence interval 2.16-15.28), corpus uteri invasion (CUI; 5.53, 2.11-14.53), parametrial invasion (PMI; 8.24, 3.01-22.56), and histology and NACT (0.40, 0.13-1.22) were associated with OM. Furthermore, OM in patients with SCC was associated with PMI (5.67, 1.63-19.72), CUI (3.25, 0.88-12.01), and LNM (9.44, 2.43-36.65). FIGO stage (IIB vs. IB; 31.78, 1.41-716.33), bulky tumor size (12.71, 1.31-123.68), PMI (51.21, 4.10-639.19), NACT (0.003, 0.00-0.27), and CUI (44.49, 2.77-714.70) were independent clinicopathologic factors for OM in adenocarcinomas. In the meta-analysis, we identified six risk factors for OM: LNM, CUI, PMI, adenocarcinoma, large tumor size, and lymphovascular space involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Ovarian preservation surgery may be safe in SCC patients without suspicious LNM, PMI, and CUI, and in adenocarcinomas in patients who received NACT without FIGO stage IIB disease, bulky tumor size (>4 cm), suspicious PMI, and CUI.

Effect of Carbon Nanoparticles Morphology on the Properties of Poly(styrene-b-isoprene-b-styrene) Elastomer Composites.

Though nanomaterials based on carbon have been widely used for the preparation of high-performance polymeric nanocomposites, there are few works focused on the effect of carbon nanoparticle morphology on the performance of corresponding polymer nanocomposites. Therefore, four representative carbon nanoparticles, including fullerene, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and carbon black incorporated poly(styrene-b-isoprene-b-styrene) (SIS) elastomer nanocomposites were fabricated using the solvent casting method. In addition, the effect of carbon nanoparticle morphology on the rheological, mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of the obtained polymeric nanocomposites was systematically investigated. The results showed that the shape of carbon nanoparticles has a different effect on the properties of the obtained elastomer nanocomposites, which lays the foundation of carbon nanoparticle screening for high-performance polymer nanocomposite construction.

Adsorption and Recognition Property of Tyrosine Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Prepared via Electron Beam Irradiation.

To realize the selective separation of L-tyrosine (L-Tyr) and avoid the drawbacks of traditional thermal polymerization, electron beam irradiation polymerization was developed for the fabrication of L-Tyr molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). Firstly, L-Tyr MIPs were prepared with methacrylic acid and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate and without an initiator. Then, the influence of absorbed dosage and temperature on the adsorption capacity of L-Tyr, as well as the thermodynamic behavior, were investigated. The maximum adsorption capacity of 10.96 mg/g for MIPs was obtained with an irradiation dosage of 340 kGy under 15 °C, and the ΔH0 and ΔS0 of the adsorption process are -99.79 kJ/mol and -0.31 kJ/mol·K, respectively. In addition, the effect of adsorption time on adsorption performance was evaluated under different initial concentrations, and the kinetic behavior was fitted with four different models. Finally, the recognition property of the obtained MIPs was investigated with L-Tyr and two analogues. The obtained MIPs have an imprinting factor of 5.1 and relatively high selective coefficients of 3.9 and 3.5 against L-tryptophan and L-phenylalanine, respectively. This work not only provided an L-Tyr MIP with high adsorption capacity and selectivity but also provided an effective and clean method for the synthesis of MIPs.

Preparation and Application Progress of Imprinted Polymers.

Due to the specific recognition performance, imprinted polymers have been widely investigated and applied in the field of separation and detection. Based on the introduction of the imprinting principles, the classification of imprinted polymers (bulk imprinting, surface imprinting, and epitope imprinting) are summarized according to their structure first. Secondly, the preparation methods of imprinted polymers are summarized in detail, including traditional thermal polymerization, novel radiation polymerization, and green polymerization. Then, the practical applications of imprinted polymers for the selective recognition of different substrates, such as metal ions, organic molecules, and biological macromolecules, are systematically summarized. Finally, the existing problems in its preparation and application are summarized, and its prospects have been prospected.

Equine Polyclonal Antibodies Prevent Acute Chikungunya Virus Infection in Mice.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted pathogen that causes chikungunya disease (CHIK); the disease is characterized by fever, muscle ache, rash, and arthralgia. This arthralgia can be debilitating and long-lasting, seriously impacting quality of life for years. Currently, there is no specific therapy available for CHIKV infection. We have developed a despeciated equine polyclonal antibody (CHIKV-EIG) treatment against CHIKV and evaluated its protective efficacy in mouse models of CHIKV infection. In immunocompromised (IFNAR-/-) mice infected with CHIKV, daily treatment for five consecutive days with CHIKV-EIG administered at 100 mg/kg starting on the day of infection prevented mortality, reduced viremia, and improved clinical condition as measured by body weight loss. These beneficial effects were seen even when treatment was delayed to 1 day after infection. In immunocompetent mice, CHIKV-EIG treatment reduced virus induced arthritis (including footpad swelling), arthralgia-associated cytokines, viremia, and tissue virus loads in a dose-dependent fashion. Collectively, these results suggest that CHIKV-EIG is effective at preventing CHIK and could be a viable candidate for further development as a treatment for human disease.

Adjuvant chemotherapy versus adjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy after radical surgery for early-stage cervical cancer: a randomized, non-inferiority, multicenter trial.

We conducted a prospective study to assess the non-inferiority of adjuvant chemotherapy alone versus adjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) as an alternative strategy for patients with early-stage (FIGO 2009 stage IB-IIA) cervical cancer having risk factors after surgery. The condition was assessed in terms of prognosis, adverse effects, and quality of life. This randomized trial involved nine centers across China. Eligible patients were randomized to receive adjuvant chemotherapy or CCRT after surgery. The primary end-point was progression-free survival (PFS). From December 2012 to December 2014, 337 patients were subjected to randomization. Final analysis included 329 patients, including 165 in the adjuvant chemotherapy group and 164 in the adjuvant CCRT group. The median follow-up was 72.1 months. The three-year PFS rates were both 91.9%, and the five-year OS was 90.6% versus 90.0% in adjuvant chemotherapy and CCRT groups, respectively. No significant differences were observed in the PFS or OS between groups. The adjusted HR for PFS was 0.854 (95% confidence interval 0.415-1.757; P = 0.667) favoring adjuvant chemotherapy, excluding the predefined non-inferiority boundary of 1.9. The chemotherapy group showed a tendency toward good quality of life. In comparison with post-operative adjuvant CCRT, adjuvant chemotherapy treatment showed non-inferior efficacy in patients with early-stage cervical cancer having pathological risk factors. Adjuvant chemotherapy alone is a favorable alternative post-operative treatment.

Structure-based discovery of a novel inhibitor targeting the ß-catenin/Tcf4 interaction.

Overactivation or overexpression of ß-catenin in the Wnt (wingless) signaling pathway plays an important role in tumorigenesis. Interaction of ß-catenin with T-cell factor (Tcf) DNA binding proteins is a key step in the activation of the proliferative genes in response to upstream signals of this Wnt/ß-catenin pathway. Recently, we identified a new small molecule inhibitor, named BC21 (C(32)H(36)Cl(2)Cu(2)N(2)O(2)), which effectively inhibits the binding of ß-catenin with Tcf4-derived peptide and suppresses ß-catenin/Tcf4 driven reporter gene activity. This inhibitor decreases the viability of ß-catenin overexpressing HCT116 colon cancer cells that harbor the ß-catenin mutation, and more significantly, it inhibits the clonogenic activity of these cells. Down-regulation of c-Myc and cyclin D1 expression, the two important effectors of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling, is confirmed by treating HCT116 cells with BC21. This compound represents a new and modifiable potential anticancer candidate that targets ß-catenin/Tcf-4 interaction.

Dendritic cells from mycobacteria-infected mice inhibits established allergic airway inflammatory responses to ragweed via IL-10- and IL-12-secreting mechanisms.

Previous studies have demonstrated that Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) infection can inhibit de novo and established allergen-induced asthma-like responses. The aim of this study was to examine the role of dendritic cells (DCs) in BCG infection-mediated inhibition of established allergy to a common environmental allergen--ragweed. The results showed that adoptive transfer of DCs from BCG-infected mice (DC[BCG]), in contrast to DCs from naive mice (DC[naive]), significantly inhibited established allergic airway eosinophilia and mucus overproduction. The inhibitory effect was correlated with alterations of allergen-driven cytokine and chemokine production as well as VCAM-1 expression in the lung. Flow cytometric analysis showed higher surface expression of CD8alpha and costimulatory markers in DC(BCG) than in DC(naive). Moreover, DC(BCG) produced significantly higher levels of IL-10 and IL-12 and expressed higher levels of TLRs than did DC(naive). Furthermore, blockade of IL-10 or IL-12 significantly reversed the inhibitory effect of DC(BCG) on established allergic airway inflammation and Th2 cytokine responses. These findings suggest that DCs play a crucial role in infection-mediated inhibition of established allergic responses, and IL-10 and IL-12 production by these DCs may be a major mechanism for the inhibition.

Role of adjuvant hysterectomy in management of high-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study were to investigate the role of and indications for adjuvant hysterectomy in patients with high-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed records of patients identified as having undergone adjuvant hysterectomy for high-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia at First Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China, between 1985 and 2005. Therapeutic response was defined as complete with normalization of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) concentration, partial response with a decrease of more than 50%, and no response with a decrease of 50% or less. Complete remission was defined as normal hCG at 3 consecutive weekly assays without clinical evidence of disease. RESULTS: A total of 21 patients (72.4%) showed an initial therapeutic response after surgery and 8 (27.6%) had no response. The initial therapeutic response was complete in 8 patients (27.6%) and partial in 13 (44.8%). During follow-up of 6 to 168 months, all 21 patients with an initial response and 2 of 8 patients without an initial response ultimately achieved complete remission (23 of 29 patients, 79.3%). Three patients (10.3%) had recurrence after primary remission; 2 patients (6.90%) died. Metastases outside of lungs or pelvic organs, number of metastases, presurgery chemoresistance to multidrug regimens, especially with 2 or more failed protocols, were considered possible reasons for decreased effectiveness of hysterectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that timely adjuvant hysterectomy is likely to benefit cautiously selected patients with high-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia. Although preoperative metastases limited to pelvic organs or lungs should not be considered an absolute contraindication, adjuvant hysterectomy should generally not be performed in the presence of distant metastases beyond the pelvic organs and lungs.

Polyclonal hyper immunoglobulin: A proven treatment and prophylaxis platform for passive immunization to address existing and emerging diseases.

Passive immunization with polyclonal hyper immunoglobulin (HIG) therapy represents a proven strategy by transferring immunoglobulins to patients to confer immediate protection against a range of pathogens including infectious agents and toxins. Distinct from active immunization, the protection is passive and the immunoglobulins will clear from the system; therefore, administration of an effective dose must be maintained for prophylaxis or treatment until a natural adaptive immune response is mounted or the pathogen/agent is cleared. The current review provides an overview of this technology, key considerations to address different pathogens, and suggested improvements. The review will reflect on key learnings from development of HIGs in the response to public health threats due to Zika, influenza, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

Efficient Removal of Methylene Blue by Bio-Based Sodium Alginate/Lignin Composite Hydrogel Beads.

Dye pollution is a serious issue in current environment protection, and bio-based adsorbents have been receiving much attention in wastewater treatment, due to their low cost, renewable, and environmentally friendly characteristics. Bio-based sodium alginate/lignin composite (SA/Lig) hydrogel beads were fabricated by a facile cross-linking with calcium ion and used for the removal of methylene blue (MB). The obtained SA/Lig microbeads were characterized with SEM, FTIR, and TG, and the effect of lignin content, pH, and temperature on the MB adsorption was investigated. The results indicated that the introduction of aromatic lignin can not only enhance thermal stability but also can improve the adsorption performance. Under optimal conditions, the maximum adsorption capacity (254.3 mg/g) was obtained for the SA/Lig-20% beads, with a removal efficiency of 84.8%. The adsorption process for MB is endothermic, and the rate-limiting step is chemical adsorption. The removal efficiency is higher than 90% after five cycles, revealing that the prepared beads show good regeneration ability.

Effects of cadmium on oxidative stress and cell apoptosis in Drosophila melanogaster larvae.

With the increase of human activities, cadmium (Cd) pollution has become a global environmental problem affecting biological metabolism in ecosystem. Cd has a very long half-life in humans and is excreted slowly in organs, which poses a serious threat to human health. In order to better understand the toxicity effects of cadmium, third instar larvae of Drosophila melanogaster (Canton-S strain) were exposed to different concentrations (1.125 mg/kg, 2.25 mg/kg, 4.5 mg/kg, and 9 mg/kg) of cadmium. Trypan blue staining showed that intestinal cell damage of Drosophila larvae increased and the comet assay indicated significantly more DNA damage in larvae exposed to high Cd concentrations. The nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) experiments proved that content of reactive oxygen species (ROS) increased, which indicated Cd exposure could induce oxidative stress. In addition, the expression of mitochondrial adenine nucleotide transferase coding gene (sesB and Ant2) and apoptosis related genes (Debcl, hid, rpr, p53, Sce and Diap1) changed, which may lead to increased apoptosis. These findings confirmed the toxicity effects on oxidative stress and cell apoptosis in Drosophila larvae after early cadmium exposure, providing insights into understanding the effects of heavy metal stress in animal development.

Design, Synthesis and Adsorption Evaluation of Bio-Based Lignin/Chitosan Beads for Congo Red Removal.

The morphology and intermolecular interaction are two of the most important factors in the design of highly efficient dye adsorbent in the industry. Millimeter-sized, bead-type, bio-based lignin/chitosan (Lig/CS) adsorbent was designed for the removal of Congo red (CR), based on the electrostatic attraction, π-π stacking, and hydrogen bonding, which were synthesized through the emulsification of the chitosan/lignin mixture followed by chemical cross-linking. The effects of the lignin/chitosan mass ratio, initial pH, temperature, concentration, and contact time on the adsorption were thoroughly investigated. The highest adsorption capacity (173 mg/g) was obtained for the 20 wt% Lig/CS beads, with a removal rate of 86.5%. To investigate the adsorption mechanism and recyclability, an evaluation of the kinetic model and an adsorption/desorption experiment were conducted. The adsorption of CR on Lig/CS beads followed the type 1 pseudo-second-order model, and the removal rate for CR was still above 90% at five cycles.