Recent advances of cereal ß-glucan on immunity with gut microbiota regulation functions and its intelligent gelling application.

ß-glucan from cereals such as wheat, barley, oats and rye are a water-soluble dietary fiber, which are composed of repeating (1→4)-ß-bond ß-D-glucopyranosyl units and a single (1→3)-ß-D-bond separated unit. ß-glucan has a series of physicochemical properties (such as viscosity, gelling properties, solubility, etc.), which can be used as a food gel and fat substitute. Its structure endows the healthy functions, including anti-oxidative stress, lowering blood glucose and serum cholesterol, regulating metabolic syndrome and exerting gut immunity via gut microbiota. Due to their unique structural properties and efficacy, cereal ß-glucan are not only applied in food substrates in the food industry, but also in food coatings and packaging. This article reviewed the applications of cereal ß-glucan in hydrogels, aerogels, intelligent packaging systems and targeted delivery carriers in recent years. Cereal ß-glucan in edible film and gel packaging applications are becoming more diversified and intelligent in recent years. Those advances provide a potential solution based on cereal ß-glucan as biodegradable substances for immune regulation delivery system and intelligent gelling material in the biomedicine field.

Dietary polyphenols: regulate the advanced glycation end products-RAGE axis and the microbiota-gut-brain axis to prevent neurodegenerative diseases.

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are formed in non-enzymatic reaction, oxidation, rearrangement and cross-linking between the active carbonyl groups of reducing sugars and the free amines of amino acids. The Maillard reaction is related to sensory characteristics in thermal processed food, while AGEs are formed in food matrix in this process. AGEs are a key link between carbonyl stress and neurodegenerative disease. AGEs can interact with receptors for AGEs (RAGE), causing oxidative stress, inflammation response and signal pathways activation related to neurodegenerative diseases. Neurodegenerative diseases are closely related to gut microbiota imbalance and intestinal inflammation. Polyphenols with multiple hydroxyl groups showed a powerful ability to scavenge ROS and capture α-dicarbonyl species, which led to the formation of mono- and di- adducts, thereby inhibiting AGEs formation. Neurodegenerative diseases can be effectively prevented by inhibiting AGEs production, and interaction with RAGEs, or regulating the microbiota-gut-brain axis. These strategies include polyphenols multifunctional effects on AGEs inhibition, RAGE-ligand interactions blocking, and regulating the abundance and diversity of gut microbiota, and intestinal inflammation alleviation to delay or prevent neurodegenerative diseases progress. It is a wise and promising strategy to supplement dietary polyphenols for preventing neurodegenerative diseases via AGEs-RAGE axis and microbiota-gut-brain axis regulation.

A zinc-ion battery-type self-powered strain sensing system by using a high-performance ionic hydrogel.

Flexible strain sensors based on conductive hydrogels have profound implications for wearable electronics and health-monitoring systems. However, such sensors still need to integrate with energy providing devices to drive their functions. Herein, we develop a soaking-free polyacrylamide/carboxymethyl cellulose/tannic acid (PAAM/CMC/TA) hydrogel containing 2 M ZnSO4 + 0.1 M MnSO4 electrolyte for a novel zinc-ion battery-type self-powered strain sensing system. The synthesized hydrogel possesses desirable stretchability (tensile strain/stress of 622%/132 kPa), self-healing and self-adhesive properties, as well as good ionic conductivity (0.76 ± 0.04 S m-1). A mechanically durable Zn-MnO2 battery is developed using the PAAM/CMC/TA hydrogel and it can deliver a high specific capacity (223.0 mA h g-1) and maintain stable energy outputs under severe mechanical deformations. The electrochemical behavior of the battery can recover even after several self-healing cycles. Due to the excellent strain and pressure sensing properties of the PAAM/CMC/TA hydrogel, the battery combined with a fixed resistor served as a self-powered wearable sensing device, which could translate different human movements into distinguishable electrical signals without an external power supply. Our work provides guidance for the development of next-generation self-powered sensors.

Metabolic changes of Issatchenkia orientalis under acetic acid stress by transcriptome profile using RNA-sequencing.

Issatchenkia orientalis (I. orientalis) is tolerant to various environmental stresses especially acetic acid stress in wine making. However, limited literature is available on the transcriptome profile of I. orientalis under acetic acid stress. RNA-sequence was used to investigate the metabolic changes due to underlying I. orientalis 166 (Io 166) tolerant to acetic acid. Transcriptomic analyses showed that genes involved in ergosterol biosynthesis are differentially expressed under acetic acid stress. Genes associated with ribosome function were downregulated, while energy metabolism-related genes were upregulated. Moreover, Hsp70/Hsp90 and related molecular chaperones were upregulated to recognize and degrade misfolded proteins. Compared to Saccharomyces cerevisiae, transcriptomic changes of Io 166 showed many similarities under acetic acid stress. There were significant upregulation of genes in ergosterol biosynthesis and for the application of wine production.

Copper homeostasis: Emerging target for cancer treatment.

Copper (Cu) is an essential micronutrient involved in a variety of fundamental biological processes. Recently, disorder of Cu homeostasis can be observed in many malignancies. Elevated Cu levels in serum and tissue are correlated with cancer progression. Hence, targeting Cu has emerged as a novel strategy in cancer treatment. This review provides an overview of physiological Cu metabolism and its homeostasis, followed by a discussion of the dysregulation of Cu homeostasis in cancer and the effects of Cu on cancer progression. Finally, recent therapeutic advances using Cu coordination complexes as anticancer agents, as well as the mechanisms of their anti-cancer action are discussed. This review contributes full comprehension to the role of Cu in cancer and demonstrates the broad application prospect of Cu coordination compounds as potential therapeutic agents.

Duplex TaqMan real-time PCR assay for simultaneous detection and quantification of Anaplasma capra and Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection.

Anaplasma capra and A. phagocytophilum, two species of the family Anaplasmataceae, are zoonotic tick-borne obligate intracellular bacteria affecting wild and domestic ruminants, dogs, cats, horses and humans. A. capra and A. phagocytophilum infections have been steadily increasing in both number and geographic distribution, and the accurate diagnosis of these infections is challenging. This study aimed to develop a rapid, sensitive and reliable duplex real-time PCR assay for the specific detection and differentiation of these Anaplasma species. We designed primers and probes against the conserved regions of A. capra groEL and A. phagocytophilum 16S rRNA genes. A range of PCR-related parameters were evaluated such as the dosage of primers and probes, and annealing temperature. The specificity, sensitivity and repeatability of this assay were evaluated. Assay performance was further evaluated using samples collected from 124 goats in four regions of Henan, China. This set of samples was also tested using conventional PCR under conditions previously described. The developed duplex real-time PCR assay allowed the simultaneous detection of A. capra and A. phagocytophilum in a reasonably short time at levels as small as 102 copies/µL, respectively, with optimal specificity and reproducibility. In addition, this duplex real-time PCR assay is the first DNA-based method designed to detect A. capra and A. phagocytophilum, and will be valuable for timely diagnosis and treatment of these infections.

Mechanical Properties of Chondrocytes Estimated from Different Models of Micropipette Aspiration.

In this study, two viscoelastic creep expressions for the aspirated length of individual solid-like cells undergoing micropipette aspiration (MPA) were derived based on our previous studies wherein the cell size relative to the micropipette and the cell compressibility were taken into account. Next, three mechanical models of MPA, the half-space model (HSM), incompressible sphere model (ICSM), and compressible sphere model (CSM), were employed to fit the MPA data of chondrocytes. The results indicated that the elastic moduli and viscoelastic parameters of chondrocytes for the ICSM and CSM exhibited significantly higher values than those from the HSM (p < 0.001) because of the considerations of the geometric parameter (ξ) and the compressibility of the cell (ν). For the normal chondrocytes, the elastic moduli obtained from the ICSM and CSM (ν = 0.3) were 47.4 and 78.9% higher than those from the HSM. In the viscoelasticity, the parameters k1, k2, and µ for the ICSM were respectively increased by 37.8, 37.9, and 39.0% compared to those from the HSM, whereas for the CSM (ν = 0.3), the above parameters were 135, 314, and 257% higher compared to those from the HSM. And with the increase of ξ and ν, the above mechanical parameters decreased. Furthermore, the thresholds of ξ varying with ν were obtained for the given values of relative errors caused by the HSM in the elastic and viscoelastic parameters. The above findings obviously indicated that the geometric parameter of MPA and the Poisson's ratio of a cell have marked influences on the determination of cellular mechanical parameters by MPA and thus should be considered in the pursuit of more accurate investigations of the mechanical properties of cells.

Transcription of the Sox30 Gene Is Positively Regulated by Dmrt1 in Nile Tilapia.

The Sox family member Sox30 is highly expressed in the testis of several vertebrate species and has been shown to play key roles in spermiogenesis. However, its transcription regulation remains unclear. Here, we analyzed the Sox30 promoter from the teleost fish Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and predicted a putative cis-regulatory element (CRE) for doublesex and mab-3 related transcription factor 1 (Dmrt1), a male-specific transcription factor involved in male sex differentiation. Transcriptional profiling revealed that Sox30 and Dmrt1 similarly exhibited a high expression in tilapia testes from 90 days after hatching (dah) to 300 dah, and the transcription of the Sox30 gene was reduced about one-fold in the testes of male tilapia with Dmrt1 knockdown. Further dual-luciferase reporter assay confirmed that Dmrt1 overexpression significantly promoted transcriptional activity of the Sox30 promoter and this promotion was decreased following the mutation of putative CRE for Dmrt1 within the Sox30 promoter. Chromatin immunoprecipitation-based PCR (ChIP-PCR) and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) demonstrated that Dmrt1 directly binds to putative CRE within the Sox30 promoter. These results together indicate that Dmrt1 positively regulates the transcription of the tilapia Sox30 gene by directly binding to specific CRE within the Sox30 promoter.

Copper efflux transporters ATP7A and ATP7B: Novel biomarkers for platinum drug resistance and targets for therapy.

Platinum-based chemotherapy agents are widely used in the treatment of various solid malignancies. However, their efficacy is limited by drug resistance. Recent studies suggest that copper efflux transporters, which are encoded by ATP7A and ATP7B, play an important role in platinum drug resistance. Over-expressions of ATP7A and ATP7B are observed in multiple cancers. Moreover, their expressions are associated with cancer prognosis and treatment outcomes of platinum-based chemotherapy. In our review, we highlight the roles of ATP7A/7B in platinum drug resistance and cancer progression. We also discuss the possible mechanisms of platinum drug resistance mediated by ATP7A/7B and provide novel strategies for overcoming resistance. This review may be helpful for understanding the roles of ATP7A and ATP7B in platinum drug resistance. © 2018 IUBMB Life, 70(3):183-191, 2018.

Terahertz polarization-maintaining subwavelength filters.

Terahertz (THz) polarization-maintaining waveguides, which have been considered fundamental elements in polarization-sensitive THz systems, are promising platforms in developing functional THz devices. Here, we propose a THz grating based on a subwavelength rectangular polymer waveguide, which filters two polarization states simultaneously. The proposed gratings are characterized and discussed using numerical simulations. We observe two transmission dips with over a 20.9 dB extinction ratio (ER) and around a 21.1 GHz full-width half-maximum (FWHM), where the reflective frequencies of the two polarization waves and the separation between them can be harnessed with appropriate structure designs. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the grating can operate as a polarization-maintaining narrow bandpass filter (ER>12.3 dB and FWHM<1.7 GHz) by introducing a π-phase shift. This work has the potential to open a new avenue for steering polarized THz radiation using the waveguide-based filters, which could be integrated in THz polarization-sensitive imaging, sensing, and wireless communication systems.

Full-duplex radio-over-fiber system with tunable millimeter-wave signal generation and wavelength reuse for upstream signal.

A full-duplex radio-over-fiber system is proposed, which provides both the generation of a millimeter-wave (mm-wave) signal with tunable frequency multiplication factors (FMFs) and wavelength reuse for uplink data. A dual-driving Mach-Zehnder modulator and a phase modulator are cascaded to form an optical frequency comb. An acousto-optic tunable filter based on a uniform fiber Bragg grating (FBG-AOTF) is employed to select three target optical sidebands. Two symmetrical sidebands are chosen to generate mm waves with tunable FMFs up to 16, which can be adjusted by changing the frequency of the applied acoustic wave. The optical carrier is reused at the base station for uplink connection. FBG-AOTFs driven by two acoustic wave signals are experimentally fabricated and further applied in the proposed scheme. Results of the research indicate that the 2-Gbit/s data can be successfully transmitted over a 25-km single-mode fiber for bidirectional full-duplex channels with power penalty of less than 2.6 dB. The feasibility of the proposed scheme is verified by detailed simulations and partial experiments.

Frequency-doubled triangular-shaped waveform generation based on spectrum manipulation.

In this approach, spectrum manipulation is employed in triangular-shaped waveform generation. By aligning the power of five primary modulation sidebands, optical intensity with expression corresponding to the first two-term Fourier expansion of triangular-shaped waveform can be obtained. It is found that the modulation index in this Letter is no longer a fixed one, but should be within a proper range (2-3). Triangular-shaped waveform signals can be generated by using a single-drive Mach-Zehnder modulator, a standard optical interleaver, and a grating. The principle is illustrated by theory, simulation, and experiment. A 20 GHz triangular-shaped waveform signal is experimentally generated by using a 10 GHz sinusoid signal, which agrees well with the theoretical prediction and shows great potential in generating a high-quality intensity profile.

Human cytomegalovirus UL49 encodes an early, virion-associated protein essential for virus growth in human foreskin fibroblasts.

Despite recent results of deletion experiments showing that open reading frame (ORF) UL49 of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is essential, the expression, function and functional location of its encoded protein remain unknown. We generated an antibody specific for pUL49 to investigate the protein product encoded by the UL49 ORF and identified its function in HCMV-infected host foreskin fibroblasts. A bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) of HCMV strain Towne (pRV-Towne) and the UL49-deleted mutant pRV-delUL49Towne were used to observe virus growth by plaque assay. Using a UL49-protein-binding antibody, we located pUL49 in the fibroblast cytoplasm. pUL49 exhibited expression kinetics resembling those of the class ß-2 proteins and was detected in the virion tegument. Following deletion of UL49 ORF, the virus failed to replicate, but it could be recovered by addition of pUL49 from pCDNA3.1 (+)-UL49. Our findings indicate that UL49 ORF is essential for HCMV replication in host foreskin fibroblasts.

High frequency of mononuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells is associated with exacerbation of inflammatory bowel disease.

Exacerbation and relapse of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with reduced antibacterial immunity and increased immune regulatory activity, but the source of increased immune regulation during episodes of disease activity is unclear. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a cell type with a well-recognized role in limiting immune reactions. MDSC function in IBD and its relation to disease activity, however, remains unexplored. Here we show that patients with either ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD) have high peripheral blood levels of mononuclear MDSCs. Especially exacerbation of disease is associated with higher levels of mononuclear MDSC counts compared with those in remission of disease. Interestingly, chronic experimental colitis in mice coincides with increased MDCS mobilization. Thus, our results suggest that mononuclear MDCS are endogenous antagonists of immune system functionality in mucosal inflammation and the depression of antibacterial immunity associated with exacerbation of disease might involve increased activity of the MDSC compartment.

MicroRNA 375 mediates the signaling pathway of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) regulating pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) expression by targeting mitogen-activated protein kinase 8.

Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) is a common precursor of melanocortin-related peptides in the pituitary and primarily regulated by corticotropin- releasing factor (CRF). Our results show that miR-375 is highly expressed in the mouse pituitary gland and located specifically in the intermediate lobe of pituitary. The functional studies show that the forced inhibition of endogenous miR-375 in AtT-20 mouse pituitary tumor cells and in the intermediate lobe of the pituitary gland significantly increases POMC expression, whereas miR-375 overexpression down-regulates POMC expression and ACTH secretion stimulated by CRF. This function of miR-375 is accomplished by its binding to the 3'-UTR of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase-8. Our results here have demonstrated that miR-375 acts as a negative regulating molecule mediating the signaling pathway of CRF and affecting POMC expression by targeting mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase-8, which subsequently down-regulates ERK1/2 phosphorylation and nerve growth factor-induced clone B (NGFI-B) transcription activity. Taken together, our results show that miR-375 is a novel negative regulator of POMC expression and related hormone secretion.

Lignosulfonate sodium assisted PEDOT-based all-gel supercapacitors with enhanced supercapacitance and wide temperature tolerance.

Conducting polymer hydrogels are typically employed in all-gel supercapacitors; however, Poly[3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene] (PEDOT)-based hydrogel supercapacitors still suffer from low capacitance because of the low packing density of PEDOT in the electrodes. Here, we demonstrate lignosulfonate sodium (LS) as an excellent template to synthesize various LS-PEDOT conductive nanofillers for high mass-loading LS-PEDOT/PAAM hydrogel electrodes. Then, the optimum LS-PEDOT/PAAM electrode was assembled with a redox-active LS/PAAM/Fe3+ hydrogel electrolyte to form sandwich-structured all-gel supercapacitors, which could deliver a high specific capacitance of 672.5 mF/cm2 and an energy efficiency of 60 µWh/cm2, which are three times higher than the 220 mF/cm2 and 19.5 µWh/cm2 of the device without Fe3+ at the same condition. Such a device shows excellent temperature tolerance from -30 to 100 °C. Besides, the LS-PEDOT/PAAM electrode has excellent photothermal conversion effects under simulated solar illumination. The sluggish electrochemical performance of the SC under low temperatures could be significantly boosted by ~50 % under simulated solar light. All of these findings demonstrate that the capacitance performance of the PEDOT-based hydrogel device is successfully improved not only at room temperature but also under subzero conditions.

Inhibition of human cytomegalovirus DNA replication by small interfering RNAs targeted to UL49.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous virus. Although the infection in healthy children and adults is usually asymptomatic, in immunocompromised individuals and newborns it is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. UL49, an essential gene of HCMV, is highly conserved among various HCMV strains. The expression of UL49 is correlated with the production of virions. When UL49 is inhibited in the HCMV, the production of virions is reduced severely. In this study, RNA interference was applied to further investigate the roles of UL49 in viral replication. Two effective small interfering RNAs against UL49 were selected. Silencing of UL49 in HCMV-infected human foreskin fibroblast cells reduced the transcription levels of early and late genes, but not immediate-early ones. In addition, the viral DNA content was significantly reduced. This is the first time to uncover the role of UL49 in viral DNA synthesis, which indicates that UL49 might play an important role in this period. So the down-regulation of UL49 mRNA using RNAi might be a potential clinical therapy against the virus.

[The expression of peripheral Th1 and Th17 cells in inflammatory bowel disease and its potential clinical value].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the probable role of Th1 and Th17 cells in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS: The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from peripheral blood specimens were collected in the study, including 40 healthy controls, 42 ulcerative colitis (UC) and 39 Crohn's disease (CD). The proportion of Th1 and Th17 cells in the PBMCs was detected with flow cytometry after stimulated by PMA and ionomycin. The result and the clinical data were analyzed. RESULT: The Th1 cell expression was increased in CD (38.32 ± 16.18)% and UC group (34.23 ± 11.60)%, compared with the controls (24.58 ± 10.02)% (P < 0.01). During the convalescence, the Th1 expression in the CD and UC groups in vivo was significantly reduced without difference between the two groups (P > 0.05) . In the IBD group , significant difference in the frequency of Th17 cells could be found between the CD group (2.51 ± 1.59)% and the UC group (4.15 ± 2.75)%, while the Th17 cells were increased in both groups, compared with the controls (1.44 ± 0.73)% (P < 0.05) . Obvious difference in the frequency of Th17 cells could be found between patients at different activity stages and remission stages. The proportion of Th17 cells were higher in the UC patients than that in the CD patients (P < 0.01) . The Th17/Th1 ratio of CD patients, UC patients were 0.08 ± 0.06, 0.14 ± 0.11, which were both higher that in the controls (0.07 ± 0.06). Significant difference could be found between the UC group and the CD group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The higher proportion of Th1 and Th17 cells are detected in the peripheral blood of IBD patients, which is correlated closely to the activity of the disease. Th1 and Th17 cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of IBD.

[BRPF2, a novel transcript of BRPF1 and their expression in mice tissues].

In order to identify a novel transcript of BRPF1 (BRPF2), a clone separated from mouse cDNA library was sequenced and submitted to GenBank. The expressions of BRPF1 and BRPF2 in different mice tissues were detected using RT-PCR and Northern blotting assays. The preliminary protein functions and conservative domains were analyzed by bioinformatic methods. The results indicated that BRPF2 was a novel transcript of BRPF1. Both BRPF1 and BRPF2 transcripts could be detected in most mice tissues, including liver, embryo, epididymis, testis, ovary and muscle. However, only BRPF2 transcript could be detected in the spleen. BRPF1 mRNA encoded 1 246 aa and the predicted molecular mass was 140 kDa, while BRPF2 encoded 442 aa, partly owing to the absence of a new stop codon. The results of CDD analysis suggested that BRPF2 lost the bromodomain and the PWWP domain compared to BRPF1. Because the bromodomain and the PWWP domain are the critical structures of BRPF1 to interact with histones and recruit the other transcriptional factors, BRPF2 (without these two critical domains) may serve as a negative regulatory factor of BRPF1 and be involved in the chromosome remodeling and transcriptional regulating.