Discovery of LC-MI-3: A Potent and Orally Bioavailable Degrader of Interleukin-1 Receptor-Associated Kinase 4 for the Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases.

Interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 4 (IRAK4) is a promising therapeutic target in inflammation-related diseases. However, the inhibition of IRAK4 kinase activity may lead to moderate anti-inflammatory efficacy owing to the dual role of IRAK4 as an active kinase and a scaffolding protein. Herein, we report the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of an efficient and selective IRAK4 proteolysis-targeting chimeric molecule that eliminates IRAK4 scaffolding functions. The most potent compound, LC-MI-3, effectively degraded cellular IRAK4, with a half-maximal degradation concentration of 47.3 nM. LC-MI-3 effectively inhibited the activation of downstream nuclear factor-κB signaling and exerted more potent pharmacological effects than traditional kinase inhibitors. Furthermore, LC-MI-3 exerted significant therapeutic effects in lipopolysaccharide- and Escherichia coli-induced acute and chronic inflammatory skin models compared with kinase inhibitors in vivo. Therefore, LC-MI-3 is a candidate IRAK4 degrader in alternative targeting strategies and advanced drug development.

Prevalence and influencing factors of anemia among pregnant women across first, second and third trimesters of pregnancy in monitoring areas, from 2016 to 2020: a population-based multi-center cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of anemia among pregnant women across their entire pregnancy and the factors affecting it in the monitoring areas. METHODS: A total of 108,351 pregnant women who received antenatal health care and delivered from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2020 in 15 monitoring counties of 8 provinces in the Maternal and Newborn Health Monitoring Program (MNHMP) of National Center for Women and Children's Health (NCWCH) were selected as the study subjects. The anemia status among the subjects across their first, second and third trimester of pregnancy and the influencing factors were analyzed. RESULTS: From 2016 to 2020, the prevalence of anemia at any stage during pregnancy in the monitoring areas was 43.59%. The prevalence of anemia among pregnant women across all three trimesters was 3.95%, and the prevalence of mild and moderate-to-severe anemia was 1.04% and 2.90%, respectively. Protective factors were living in the northern area (OR = 0.395) and being a member of an ethnic minority (OR = 0.632). The risk factors were residing in rural areas (OR = 1.207), with no more than junior high school education (OR = 1.203), having ≥ 3 gravidities (OR = 1.195) and multiple fetuses (OR = 1.478). CONCLUSIONS: Although the prevalence of anemia among pregnant women across all trimesters in the monitoring area was low, the severity of anemia was high. Since the prevalence of anemia among pregnant women across their entire pregnancy in the monitoring area is affected by many different factors, more attention should be paid to pregnant women living in rural areas, with low literacy, ≥ 3 gravidities and multiple fetuses for early intervention.

Discovery of a doublecortin-like kinase 1 inhibitor to prevent inflammatory responses in acute lung injury.

Doublecortin-like kinase 1 (DCLK1) is a microtubule-associated protein kinase involved in neurogenesis and human cancer. Recent studies have revealed a novel functional role for DCLK1 in inflammatory signaling, thus positioning it as a novel target kinase for respiratory inflammatory disease treatment. In this study, we designed and synthesized a series of NVP-TAE684-based derivatives as novel anti-inflammatory agents targeting DCLK1. Bio-layer interferometry binding screening and kinase assays of the NVP-TAE684 derivatives led to the discovery of an effective DCLK1 inhibitor (a24), with an IC50 of 179.7 nM. Compound a24 effectively inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in macrophages with higher potency than the lead compound. Mechanistically, compound a24 inhibited LPS-induced inflammation by inhibiting DCLK1-mediated IKKß phosphorylation. Furthermore, compound a24 showed in vivo anti-inflammatory activity in an LPS-challenged acute lung injury model. These findings suggest that compound a24 may serve as a novel candidate for the development of DCLK1 inhibitors and a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Altered fatty acid composition confers improved drought acclimation in maize.

Drought induces alteration in membrane lipid composition in plants; however, still little is known about whether membrane lipid remodeling plays a role in plant drought acclimation, including both drought tolerance and recovery, especially in crops. Here, we imposed natural progressive drought and re-watering in 18 maize genotypes at the seedling stage, and analyzed the physiological responses, drought tolerance and drought acclimation capabilities, contents of lipids, and fatty acid compositions. The results showed that drought caused significant reductions in shoot dry weight, relative water content, Fv/Fm, total lipid content, and double bond index (DBI) in most genotypes, while re-watering partially recovered these reductions. Meanwhile, the total lipid content, fatty acid composition, and DBI were also changed obviously in response to drought and re-watering. In order to explore the relationship between membrane lipid change and plant drought response, we did a principal component analysis. The results showed that C18:3 fatty acid contributed greatly to drought tolerance, and C16:2 and C16:3 fatty acids were more responsible for drought recovery. Meanwhile, DBI showed significant positive correlations with shoot dry weight and relative water content, but a negative association with lipid peroxidation, and more importantly, DBI was important for both drought tolerance and recovery. These alterations in membrane lipid composition may facilitate increasing membrane fluidity and decreasing membrane damage, thus maintaining the high photosynthetic capability under drought. Our results suggest that lipid remodeling is important for drought tolerance and recovery in crops, and different fatty acid species have different roles in crop drought acclimation.

Exploring a Substitution Strategy to Ethylene Oxide for CO2 Sequestration and Catalytic Conversion: A Theoretical Study.

We show here that attaching -NH2, -NHCH3, or -N(CH3)2 to ethylene oxide can dramatically reduce the CO2 cycloaddition barrier, from 69.5 kcal/mol (R = -H) down to 22.1 kcal/mol [R = -N(CH3)2], which may enable CO2 fixation under milder conditions without the help of catalysts. A joint analysis of local charges, frontier orbital energies, molecular electronegativity, and partial electron transfer explains how these substituents facilitate CO2 cycloaddition to ethylene oxide. The distortion/interaction-activation strain model (D/I-ASM) simulation reveals that the computed low reaction barrier results from the decreased activation strain energy and increased intermolecular interaction energy in the transition state. Density functional theory calculations show that -N(CH3)2-monosubstituted ethylene oxide (NEO) can greatly lower the energy threshold for CO2 sequestration. NEO can also work with the common organic catalyst 1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene (TBD) that assists CO2 for further conversion into dimethyl carbonate (via alcoholysis) and N,N'-dimethylurea (via ammonolysis) with maximal barrier heights as low as 24.2 and 21.9 kcal/mol, respectively. The facile coupling of NEO with CO2 and the undemanding alcoholysis/ammonolysis of NCC with TBD would promise the inclusion of amino functionalities to small-molecule-based epoxides, or polymeric epoxy resins, in the fixation and further economic conversions of CO2.

Synergistic anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of ceria/resatorvid co-decorated nanoparticles for acute lung injury therapy.

BACKGROUND: Acute lung injury (ALI) is a critical inflammatory response syndrome that rapidly develops into acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Currently, no effective therapeutic modalities are available for patients with ALI/ARDS. According to recent studies, inhibiting both the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as early as possible may be a promising therapy for ALI. RESULTS: In this study, a ROS-responsive nano-delivery system based on oxidation-sensitive chitosan (Ox-CS) was fabricated for the simultaneous delivery of Ce NPs and RT. The in vitro experiments have shown that the Ox-CS/Ceria-Resatorvid nanoparticles (Ox-CS/CeRT NPs) were rapidly and efficiently internalised by inflammatory endothelial cells. Biological evaluations validated the significant attenuation of ROS-induced oxidative stress and cell apoptosis by Ox-CS/CeRT NPs, while maintaining mitochondrial function. Additionally, Ox-CS/CeRT NPs effectively inhibited the release of pro-inflammatory factors. After intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration, Ox-CS/CeRT NPs passively targeted the lungs of LPS-induced inflamed mice and released the drug activated by the high ROS levels in inflammatory tissues. Finally, Ox-CS/CeRT NPs significantly alleviated LPS-induced lung injury through inhibiting both oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. CONCLUSIONS: The created Ox-CS/CeRT NPs could act as a prospective nano-delivery system for a combination of anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant therapy of ALI.

Pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy versus placebo plus chemotherapy for HER2-negative advanced gastric cancer (KEYNOTE-859): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND: PD-1 inhibitors combined with chemotherapy have shown efficacy in gastric or gastro-esophageal junction cancer. We compared the efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy with placebo plus chemotherapy in participants with locally advanced or metastatic HER2-negative gastric or gastro-esophageal junction adenocarcinoma. METHODS: KEYNOTE-859 is a multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised, phase 3 trial, done at 207 medical centres across 33 countries. Eligible participants were aged 18 years and older with previously untreated histologically or cytologically confirmed locally advanced or metastatic HER2-negative gastric or gastro-esophageal junction adenocarcinoma and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive pembrolizumab or placebo 200 mg, administered intravenously every 3 weeks for up to 35 cycles. All participants received investigator's choice of fluorouracil (intravenous, 800 mg/m2 per day) administered continuously on days 1-5 of each 3-week cycle plus cisplatin (intravenous, 80 mg/m2) administered on day 1 of each 3-week cycle or capecitabine (oral, 1000 mg/m2) administered twice daily on days 1-14 of each 3-week cycle plus oxaliplatin (intravenous, 130 mg/m2) administered on day 1 of each 3-week cycle. Randomisation was done using a central interactive voice-response system and stratified by geographical region, PD-L1 status, and chemotherapy in permuted block sizes of four. The primary endpoint was overall survival, assessed in the intention-to-treat (ITT) population, and the populations with a PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) of 1 or higher, and PD-L1 CPS of 10 or higher. Safety was assessed in the as-treated population, which included all randomly assigned participants who received at least one dose of study intervention. Here, we report the results of the interim analysis. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03675737, and recruitment is complete. FINDINGS: Between Nov 8, 2018, and June 11, 2021, 1579 (66%) of 2409 screened participants were randomly assigned to receive pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy (pembrolizumab group; n=790) or placebo plus chemotherapy (placebo group; n=789). Most participants were male (527 [67%] of 790 participants in the pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy group; 544 [69%] of 789 participants in the placebo plus chemotherapy group) and White (426 [54%]; 435 [55%]). Median follow-up at the data cutoff was 31·0 months (IQR 23·0-38·3). Median overall survival was longer in the pembrolizumab group than in the placebo group in the ITT population (12·9 months [95% CI 11·9-14·0] vs 11·5 months [10·6-12·1]; hazard ratio [HR] 0·78 [95% CI 0·70-0·87]; p<0·0001), in participants with a PD-L1 CPS of 1 or higher (13·0 months [11·6-14·2] vs 11·4 months [10·5-12·0]; 0·74 [0·65-0·84]; p<0·0001), and in participants with a PD-L1 CPS of 10 or higher (15·7 months [13·8-19·3] vs 11·8 months [10·3-12·7]; 0·65 [0·53-0·79]; p<0·0001). The most common grade 3-5 adverse events of any cause were anaemia (95 [12%] of 785 participants in the pembrolizumab group vs 76 [10%] of 787 participants in the placebo group) and decreased neutrophil count (77 [10%] vs 64 [8%]). Serious treatment-related adverse events occurred in 184 (23%) participants in the pembrolizumab group and 146 (19%) participants in the placebo group. Treatment-related deaths occurred in eight (1%) participants in the pembrolizumab group and 16 (2%) participants in the placebo group. No new safety signals were identified. INTERPRETATION: Participants in the pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy group had a significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival with manageable toxicity compared with participants in the placebo plus chemotherapy group. Therefore, pembrolizumab with chemotherapy might be a first-line treatment option for patients with locally advanced or metastatic HER2-negative gastric or gastro-esophageal junction adenocarcinoma. FUNDING: Merck Sharp and Dohme.

Dual-Targeted Nanoparticle-in-Microparticle System for Ulcerative Colitis Therapy.

Conventional oral therapy for ulcerative colitis (UC) is associated with premature release or degradation of drugs in the harsh gastrointestinal environment, resulting in reduced therapeutic effectiveness. Consequently, the present study aims to develop a dual-targeted delivery system with a nanoparticle-in-microparticle (nano-in-micro) structure. The prepared Asiatic Acid-loaded delivery system (AA/CDM-BT-ALG) has pH-sensitive properties. Cellular uptake evaluation confirms that nanoparticles exhibit targeted absorption by macrophages and Caco-2 cells through mannose (Man) receptor and biotin-mediated endocytosis, respectively. Therefore, this mechanism effectively enhances intracellular drug concentration. Additionally, the biodistribution study conducted on the gastrointestinal tract of mice indicates that the colon of the microspheres group shows higher fluorescence intensity with longer duration than the other groups. This finding indicates that the microspheres exhibit selective accumulation in areas of colon inflammation. In vivo experiments in colitis mice showed that AA/CDM-BT-ALG significantly alleviates the histopathological characteristics of the colon, reduced neutrophil, and macrophage infiltration, and decreases pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. Furthermore, the effect of AA/CDM-BT-ALG on colitis is validated to be closely related to the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway. The present findings suggest that the development of a dual-targeted delivery system is accomplished effectively, with the potential to serve as a drug-controlled release system for treating UC.

Dissolution changes in drug-amino acid/biotin co-amorphous systems: Decreased/increased dissolution during storage without recrystallization.

Co-amorphous systems have been proven to be a promising strategy to address the poor water solubility of poorly water-soluble drugs. Generally, the initial dissolution behaviors after co-amorphous system preparation and the potential recrystallization during storage are used to evaluate the performance of co-amorphous systems. However, this study reveals that decreased dissolution and unexpected increased dissolution were observed during storage though the co-amorphous systems maintained amorphous form. Three drugs (valsartan, tadalafil, mebendazole) and three co-formers (arginine, tryptophan, biotin) were used to prepare co-amorphous systems and the samples were stored for different times. After stored for 80 d, most of the co-amorphous systems maintained amorphous form, however, decreased and increased intrinsic dissolution rates (IDRs) were both observed in these non-recrystallized co-amorphous systems. The moisture changes of the systems during storage and the possible drug-co-former molecular interactions showed no effect on the dissolution changes, while phase separation might play a role in it. In conclusion, more attention should be paid to the dissolution changes of co-amorphous systems during storage. Focusing on the initial dissolution behaviors after sample preparation and the physical recrystallization during storage is not enough for the development of co-amorphous systems in future.

A Photomodulable Bacteriophage-Spike Nanozyme Enables Dually Enhanced Biofilm Penetration and Bacterial Capture for Photothermal-Boosted Catalytic Therapy of MRSA Infections.

Nanozymes, featuring intrinsic biocatalytic effects and broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties, are emerging as a novel antibiotic class. However, prevailing bactericidal nanozymes face a challenging dilemma between biofilm penetration and bacterial capture capacity, significantly impeding their antibacterial efficacy. Here, this work introduces a photomodulable bactericidal nanozyme (ICG@hMnOx ), composed of a hollow virus-spiky MnOx nanozyme integrated with indocyanine green, for dually enhanced biofilm penetration and bacterial capture for photothermal-boosted catalytic therapy of bacterial infections. ICG@hMnOx demonstrates an exceptional capability to deeply penetrate biofilms, owing to its pronounced photothermal effect that disrupts the compact structure of biofilms. Simultaneously, the virus-spiky surface significantly enhances the bacterial capture capacity of ICG@hMnOx . This surface acts as a membrane-anchored generator of reactive oxygen species and a glutathione scavenger, facilitating localized photothermal-boosted catalytic bacterial disinfection. Effective treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-associated biofilm infections is achieved using ICG@hMnOx , offering an appealing strategy to overcome the longstanding trade-off between biofilm penetration and bacterial capture capacity in antibacterial nanozymes. This work presents a significant advancement in the development of nanozyme-based therapies for combating biofilm-related bacterial infections.

Effects of gestational ambient extreme temperature exposures on the risk of preterm birth in China: A sibling-matched study based on a multi-center prospective cohort.

BACKGROUND: Previous epidemiological findings on extreme temperature and preterm birth (PTB) were heterogeneous, especially for extreme cold exposure. Measured and unmeasured individual-level factors such as genetic factors or lifecourse exposures may constitute important contributors but have not been addressed. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to examine the association of gestational heat and cold exposure with PTB using a novel sibling-matched study. METHODS: Based on a multi-center population-based birth cohort across 16 counties in China, we included 10,826 sibling pairs born from March 2013 to December 2018. Conditional logistic and Cox Proportional Hazard regression models were used to estimate the effects of heat and cold exposure on PTB in each trimester, one and four weeks before delivery and the entire pregnancy. We also tested the heterogeneity in the association of temperature with PTB between siblings. FINDINGS: Exposure to heat during the third trimester and the entire pregnancy increased the risk of PTB. For heat (> 90th) defined with mean temperature, the odds ratios were 2.32 (1.63, 3.30) and 3.19 (2.22, 4.58), respectively. Cold exposure (< 10th) during the first, the third, and the entire pregnancy was associated with a higher PTB risk, with ORs (95%CIs) of 2.04 (1.43, 2.90), 3.13 (2.14, 4.58), and 4.26 (2.94, 6.19), respectively. We found slightly stronger associations of heat exposure during the entire pregnancy with the firstborn PTB, and stronger associations of cold exposure during one week and four weeks before delivery with secondborn PTB. CONCLUSIONS: Using a sibling-matched study, we took into account some mother-level unobserved confounding. Our research strengthens the evidence that gestational exposure to heat and cold increases the risk of PTB. Our findings may have important implications for improving the health of newborns in the context of climate change.

Design, Synthesis, and Bioevaluation of Novel MyD88 Inhibitor c17 against Acute Lung Injury Derived from the Virtual Screen.

Myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88 (MyD88) is crucial to immune cascades mediated by Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and interleukin-1 receptors (IL-1Rs). MyD88 dysregulation has been linked to a wide variety of inflammatory diseases, making it a promising new target for anti-inflammatory and cancer therapy development. In this study, 46 compounds were designed and synthesized inspired by virtual screen hit. The anti-inflammatory activity of designed compounds was evaluated biologically, and c17 was discovered to have a high binding affinity with MyD88. It inhibited the interaction of TLR4 and MyD88 and suppressed the NF-κB pathway. In addition, c17 treatment led to the accumulation in the lungs of rats and attenuated LPS-induced ALI mice model. Furthermore, c17 showed negligible toxicity in vivo. Together, these findings suggest that c17 may serve as a potential therapeutical method for the treatment of ALI and as a lead structure for the continued development of MyD88 inhibitors.

Doxofylline ameliorates liver fibrosis by regulating the ferroptosis signaling pathway.

Liver fibrosis, a compensatory repair response to chronic liver injury, is caused by various pathogenic factors, and hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and phenotypic transformation are regarded as key events in its progression. Ferroptosis, a novel form of programmed cell death, is also closely related to different pathological processes, including those associated with liver diseases. Here, we investigated the effect of doxofylline (DOX), a xanthine derivative with potent anti-inflammatory activity, on liver fibrosis as well as the associated mechanism. Our results indicated that in mice with CCl4-induced liver fibrosis, DOX attenuated hepatocellular injury and the levels of liver fibrosis indicators, inhibited the TGF-ß/Smad signaling pathway, and significantly downregulated the expression of HSC activation markers, both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, inducing ferroptosis in activated HSCs was found to be critical for its anti-liver fibrosis effect. More importantly, ferroptosis inhibition using the specific inhibitor, deferoxamine (DFO) not only abolished DOX-induced ferroptosis, but also led to resistance to the anti-liver fibrosis effect of DOX in HSCs. In summary, our results showed an association between the protective effect of DOX against liver fibrosis and HSC ferroptosis. Thus, DOX may be a promising anti-hepatic fibrosis agent.

Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Nitric Oxide Application on Heavy Metal Stress Tolerance in Plants.

Substantial single-species studies have reported the facility of nitric oxide (NO) in alleviating heavy metal-induced stress in plants. Understanding the mechanisms of NO-involved stress alleviation is progressing; however, a quantitative description of the alleviative capacity of NO against heavy metal stress is still lacking. We combined the results of 86 studies using meta-analysis to statistically assess the responses of heavy metal-stressed plants to NO supply across several metal stresses and plant families. The results showed that plant biomass was consistently improved following NO supply to metal-stressed plants. NO played an important role in mitigating oxidative damage caused by heavy metal stress by significantly stimulating the activities of antioxidant enzymes. Moreover, NO supply consistently increased the Ca, Fe, and Mg contents in both leaves and roots. Plant tissues accumulated less heavy metals when exposed to heavy metal stress after NO addition. Additionally, the best concentration of SNP (an NO donor) for hydroponic culture is in the range of 75-150 µM. We further confirmed that NO application can generally alleviate plant heavy metal stress and its action pathway. The results presented here can help guide future applications of NO as a plant growth regulator in agriculture and breeding plants for heavy metal stress tolerance.

Discovery of a potent and selective allosteric inhibitor targeting the SHP2 tunnel site for RTK-driven cancer treatment.

Src homology 2 domain-containing phosphatase 2 (SHP2) is a cytoplasmic protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) that regulates signal transduction of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). Abnormal SHP2 activity is associated with tumorigenesis and metastasis. Because SHP2 contains multiple allosteric sites, identifying inhibitors at specific allosteric binding sites remains challenging. Here, we used structure-based virtual screening to directly search for the SHP2 "tunnel site" allosteric inhibitor. A novel hit (70) was identified as the SHP2 allosteric inhibitor with an IC50 of 10.2 µM against full-length SHP2. Derivatization of hit compound 70 using molecular modeling-guided structure-based modification allowed the discovery of an effective and selective SHP2 inhibitor, compound 129, with 122-fold improved potency compared to the hit. Further studies revealed that 129 effectively inhibited signaling in multiple RTK-driven cancers and RTK inhibitor-resistant cancer cells. Remarkably, 129 was orally bioavailable (F = 55%) and significantly inhibited tumor growth in haematological malignancy. Taken together, compound 129 developed in this study may serve as a promising lead or candidate for cancers bearing RTK oncogenic drivers and SHP2-related diseases.

A NOTCH1 Mutation Found in a Newly Established Ovarian Cancer Cell Line (FDOVL) Promotes Lymph Node Metastasis in Ovarian Cancer.

Peritoneal implantation and lymph node metastasis have different driving mechanisms in ovarian cancer. Elucidating the underlying mechanism of lymph node metastasis is important for treatment outcomes. A new cell line, FDOVL, was established from a metastatic lymph node of a patient with primary platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and was then characterized. The effect of NOTCH1-p.C702fs mutation and NOTCH1 inhibitor on migration was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Ten paired primary sites and metastatic lymph nodes were analyzed by RNA sequencing. The FDOVL cell line with serious karyotype abnormalities could be stably passaged and could be used to generated xenografts. NOTCH1-p.C702fs mutation was found exclusively in the FDOVL cell line and the metastatic lymph node. The mutation promoted migration and invasion in cell and animal models, and these effects were markedly repressed by the NOTCH inhibitor LY3039478. RNA sequencing confirmed CSF3 as the downstream effector of NOTCH1 mutation. Furthermore, the mutation was significantly more common in metastatic lymph nodes than in other peritoneal metastases in 10 paired samples (60% vs. 20%). The study revealed that NOTCH1 mutation is probably a driver of lymph node metastasis in ovarian cancer, which offers new ideas for the treatment of ovarian cancer lymph node metastasis with NOTCH inhibitors.

Doublecortin-like kinase 1 activates NF-κB to induce inflammatory responses by binding directly to IKKß.

Doublecortin-like kinase 1 (DCLK1), a microtubule-associated protein kinase, is involved in neurogenesis, and its levels are elevated in various human cancers. Recent studies suggest that DCLK1 may relate to inflammatory responses in the mouse model of colitis. However, cellular pathways engaged by DCLK1, and potential substrates of the kinase remain undefined. To understand how DCLK1 regulates inflammatory responses, we utilized the well-established lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages and mouse model. Through a range of macrophage-based and cell-free platforms, we discovered that DCLK1 binds directly with the inhibitor of κB kinase ß (IKKß) and induces IKKß phosphorylation on Ser177/181 to initiate nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway. Deficiency in DCLK1, achieved by silencing or through pharmacological inhibition, prevented LPS-induced NF-κB activation and cytokine production in macrophages. We further show that mice with myeloid-specific DCLK1 knockout or DCLK1 inhibitor treatment are protected against LPS-induced acute lung injury and septic death. Our studies report a novel functional role of macrophage DCLK1 as a direct IKKß regulator in inflammatory signaling and suggest targeted therapy against DCLK1 for inflammatory diseases.

Novel O-benzylcinnamic acid derivative L26 treats acute lung injury in mice by MD-2.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is an inflammation-mediated respiratory disease that is associated with a high mortality rate. In this study, a series of novel O-benzylcinnamic acid derivatives were designed and synthesized using cinnamic acid as the lead compound. We tested the preliminary anti-inflammatory activity of the compounds by evaluating their effect on inhibiting the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in Hek-Blue-TLR4 cells, in which compound L26 showed the best activity and 7-fold more active than CIN. ELISA, immunoprecipitation, and molecular docking indicated that L26 targeted MD-2 protein and competed with LPS to bind to MD-2, which resulted in the inhibition of inflammation. In the LPS-induced mouse model of ALI, L26 was found to decrease ALP activity and inflammatory cytokine TNF-α release to reduce lung injury by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway. Acute toxicity experiments showed that high doses of L26 did not cause adverse reactions in mice, and it was safe in vivo. Also, the preliminary pharmacokinetic parameters of L26 were investigated in SD rats (T1/2 = 4.246 h). In summary, L26 exhibited optimal pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic characteristics, which suggested that L26 could serve as a potential agent for the development of ALI treatment.

Identification of linderalactone as a natural inhibitor of SHP2 to ameliorate CCl4-induced liver fibrosis.

Liver fibrosis is characterised by the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and matrix deposition. Accumulating evidence has revealed that the oncogenic protein tyrosine phosphatase Src homology 2 domain-containing phosphatase 2 (SHP2) acts as a therapeutic target of fibrosis. Although several SHP2 inhibitors have reached early clinical trials, there are currently no FDA-approved drugs that target SHP2. In this study, we aimed to identify novel SHP2 inhibitors from an in-house natural product library to treat liver fibrosis. Out of the screened 800 compounds, a furanogermacrane sesquiterpene, linderalactone (LIN), significantly inhibited SHP2 dephosphorylation activity in vitro. Cross-validated enzymatic assays, bio-layer interferometry (BLI) assays, and site-directed mutagenesis were used to confirm that LIN directly binds to the catalytic PTP domain of SHP2. In vivo administration of LIN significantly ameliorated carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced HSC activation and liver fibrosis by inhibiting the TGFß/Smad3 pathway. Thus, LIN or its derivatives could be considered potential therapeutic agents against SHP2-related diseases, such as liver fibrosis or NASH.

How Does Molecular Diameter Correlate with the Penetration Barrier of Small Gas Molecules on Porous Carbon-Based Monolayer Membranes?

Molecular diameter is an essential molecule-size descriptor that is widely used to understand, e.g., the gas separation preference of a permeable membrane. In this contribution, we have proposed two new molecular diameters calculated respectively by the circumscribed-cylinder method (Dn') and the group-separated method (Dn), and compared them with the already known kinetic diameter (Dk), averaged diameters (Dpa), and maximum diameters (Dpm and Dmm) in correlating with the penetration barriers of small gas molecules on a total of 14 porous carbon-based monolayer membranes (PCMMs). D1' and D2' give the best barrier-diameter correlations with average Pearson's correlation coefficients of 0.91 and 0.90, which are markedly larger than those (0.77, 0.76, 0.60, 0.48, 0.33, and 0.32) for D1, D2, Dk, Dpa, Dpm, and Dmm. Our results manifest that the choice of vdW radii set does not drastically change the barrier-diameter correlation. Our newly defined D1', D2', D1, and D2, especially D1' and D2', show universal applicability in predicting the relative permeability of small gas molecules on different PCMMs. The circumscribed-cylinder method proposed here is a facile approach that considers the molecule's directionality and can be applicable to larger molecules. The excellent linear correlation between Dn' and gas penetration barrier implies that the computationally less demanding molecular diameter Dn' can be an alternative to the penetration barrier in diagnosing the gas separation preference of the PCMMs.