The Biological Implication of Semicarbazide-Sensitive Amine Oxidase (SSAO) Upregulation in Rat Systemic Inflammatory Response under Simulated Aerospace Environment.

The progress of space science and technology has ushered in a new era for humanity's exploration of outer space. Recent studies have indicated that the aerospace special environment including microgravity and space radiation poses a significant risk to the health of astronauts, which involves multiple pathophysiological effects on the human body as well on tissues and organs. It has been an important research topic to study the molecular mechanism of body damage and further explore countermeasures against the physiological and pathological changes caused by the space environment. In this study, we used the rat model to study the biological effects of the tissue damage and related molecular pathway under either simulated microgravity or heavy ion radiation or combined stimulation. Our study disclosed that ureaplasma-sensitive amino oxidase (SSAO) upregulation is closely related to the systematic inflammatory response (IL-6, TNF-α) in rats under a simulated aerospace environment. In particular, the space environment leads to significant changes in the level of inflammatory genes in heart tissues, thus altering the expression and activity of SSAO and causing inflammatory responses. The detailed molecular mechanisms have been further validated in the genetic engineering cell line model. Overall, this work clearly shows the biological implication of SSAO upregulation in microgravity and radiation-mediated inflammatory response, providing a scientific basis or potential target for further in-depth investigation of the pathological damage and protection strategy under a space environment.

An Edible and Nutritive Zinc-Ion Micro-supercapacitor in the Stomach with Ultrahigh Energy Density.

Miniature energy storage devices simultaneously combining high energy output and bioavailability could greatly promote the practicability of green, safe, and nontoxic in vivo detection, such as for noninvasive monitoring or treatment in the gastrointestinal tract, which is still challenging. Herein, we report ingestible and nutritive zinc-ion-based hybrid micro-supercapacitors (ZMSCs) consisting of an edible active carbon microcathode and zinc microanode, which can be inserted into a standard-sized capsule and ingested in a pig stomach. With features including flexibility, light weight, and shape adaptability, a single microdevice displays a high energy density of 215.1 µWh cm-2, superior to that of state-of-the-art biocompatible SCs/MSCs and even traditional ZMSCs reported previously. It also delivers an areal capacitance of 605 mF cm-2 and a high working voltage of 1.8 V, exceeding that of miniaturized commercial button batteries (1.55 V, RENATA 337). Comprehensive studies in vivo and in vitro demonstrate that the ZMSCs with high biocompatibility and safety not only power electronic equipment in the porcine stomach without a voltage booster but also act as a nutritional supplement of trace element zinc within the dose range, as well as the ability of potent antibacterial activity against bacterium Escherichia coli during the discharging process. This work provides an example for the design and fabrication of edible energy storage devices with high performance.

DR5 related autophagy can promote apoptosis in gliomas after irradiation.

As a cancer treatment strategy, irradiation therapy is widely used that can cause DNA breakage and increase free radicals, which leads to different types of cell death. Among them, apoptosis and autophagy are the most important and the most studied cell death processes. Although the exploration of the relationship between apoptosis and autophagy has been a major area of focus, still the molecular mechanisms of autophagy on apoptosis remain unclear. Here, we have revealed that apoptosis was enhanced by the death receptor 5 (DR5) pathway, and the effect of autophagy on apoptosis was promoted by DR5 interacting with LC3B as well as Caspase8 in gliomas after irradiation. Interestingly, we observed that the addition of four different autophagy inducers, rapamycin (RAP), CCI779, ABT737 and temozolomide (TMZ), induced the differences of DR5 expression and cell apoptosis after irradiation. Unlike RAP and CCI779, ABT737 and TMZ were able to increase DR5 expression and further induce cell death. Therefore, we have concluded that DR5 plays a novel and indispensable role in promoting cell apoptosis under irradiation and suggest a potential therapeutic approach for glioblastoma treatment.

The Effect of Gamma-Ray-Induced Central Nervous System Injury on Peripheral Immune Response: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study.

Radiotherapy to treat brain tumors can potentially harm the central nervous system (CNS). The radiation stimulates a series of immune responses in both the CNS as well as peripheral immune system. To date, studies have mostly focused on the changes occurring in the immune response within the CNS. In this study, we investigated the effect of γ-ray-induced CNS injury on the peripheral immune response using a cell co-culture model and a whole-brain irradiation (WBI) rat model. Nerve cells (SH-SY5Y and U87 MG cells) were γ-ray irradiated, then culture media of the irradiated cells (conditioned media) was used to culture immune cells (THP-1 cells or Jurkat cells). Analyses were performed based on the response of immune cells in conditioned media. Sprague-Dawley rats received WBI at different doses, and were fed for one week to one month postirradiation. Spleen and peripheral blood were then isolated and analyzed. We observed that the number of monocytes in peripheral blood, and the level of NK cells and NKT cells in spleen increased after CNS injury. However, the level of T cells in spleen did not change and the level of B cells in the spleen decreased after γ-ray-induced CNS injury. These findings indicate that CNS injury caused by ionizing radiation induces a series of changes in the peripheral immune system.

[Relationship Between Seedling Grade of Glycyrrhiza uralensis and Plant Biomass Accumulation, Yield and Quality of Product].

OBJECTIVE: To research the relationship between the seedling grade of Glycyrrhiza uralensis and the biomass accumulation, yield and quality of product, so as to provide basis for establishing seedling standard. METHODS: The weight of single seedling root was measured and the seedlings were divided into three grades by the clustering analysis. The different grade treatments of seedlings were made to conduct field trials and laboratory experiments. RESULTS: The weight of the whole plant and dry root in growth period of grades 1 and 2 (the weight of single root greater than 10.0 g) were larger than grade 3, and the yield was also the case. The root of Glycyrrhiza uralensis, growing for three years, of grades 1 and 2 contained higher contents of active compounds than grade 3 and the content of glycyrrhizin and liquiritin in the root of Glycyrrhiza uralensis of all treatments were higher than the standard of Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 edition). CONCLUSION: The plant from the grades 1 and 2 seedlings with larger growth increment,higher output and better quality is the best seedling in cultivation.