WeiTsing, a pericycle-expressed ion channel, safeguards the stele to confer clubroot resistance.

Plant roots encounter numerous pathogenic microbes that often cause devastating diseases. One such pathogen, Plasmodiophora brassicae (Pb), causes clubroot disease and severe yield losses on cruciferous crops worldwide. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of WeiTsing (WTS), a broad-spectrum clubroot resistance gene from Arabidopsis. WTS is transcriptionally activated in the pericycle upon Pb infection to prevent pathogen colonization in the stele. Brassica napus carrying the WTS transgene displayed strong resistance to Pb. WTS encodes a small protein localized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and its expression in plants induces immune responses. The cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of WTS revealed a previously unknown pentameric architecture with a central pore. Electrophysiology analyses demonstrated that WTS is a calcium-permeable cation-selective channel. Structure-guided mutagenesis indicated that channel activity is strictly required for triggering defenses. The findings uncover an ion channel analogous to resistosomes that triggers immune signaling in the pericycle.

Circular RNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and emerging variants.

As the emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 continue to drive the worldwide pandemic, there is a constant demand for vaccines that offer more effective and broad-spectrum protection. Here, we report a circular RNA (circRNA) vaccine that elicited potent neutralizing antibodies and T cell responses by expressing the trimeric RBD of the spike protein, providing robust protection against SARS-CoV-2 in both mice and rhesus macaques. Notably, the circRNA vaccine enabled higher and more durable antigen production than the 1mΨ-modified mRNA vaccine and elicited a higher proportion of neutralizing antibodies and distinct Th1-skewed immune responses. Importantly, we found that the circRNARBD-Omicron vaccine induced effective neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron but not the Delta variant. In contrast, the circRNARBD-Delta vaccine protected against both Delta and Omicron or functioned as a booster after two doses of either native- or Delta-specific vaccination, making it a favorable choice against the current variants of concern (VOCs) of SARS-CoV-2.

14-3-3 proteins facilitate the activation of MAP kinase cascades by upstream immunity-related kinases.

Activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) cascades is essential for plant immunity. Upon activation by surface-localized immune receptors, receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases (RLCKs) in the cytoplasm phosphorylate MAP kinase kinase kinases (MAPKKKs) to initiate MAP kinase activation. Surprisingly, we found that both the phosphorylation of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) MAPKKKs and the subsequent activation of MAP kinase cascades require the λ and κ isoforms of 14-3-3 proteins, which directly interact with multiple RLCKs and MAPKKKs. The N- and C-termini of MAPKKK5 interact intramolecularly to inhibit the access to the C terminus by RLCKs, whereas the 14-3-3 proteins relieve this inhibition and facilitate the interaction of RLCKs with the C-terminus of MAPKKK5. This enables the phosphorylation of MAPKK5 at Ser599 and Ser682, thus promoting MAP kinase activation and enhancing plant disease resistance. Our study reveals a role of 14-3-3 proteins as scaffolds and activators in the regulation of the RLCK-MAPKKK5 module and provides insight into the mechanism of plant immune signaling.

Mutual upregulation of HY5 and TZP in mediating phytochrome A signaling.

Phytochrome A (phyA) is the far-red (FR) light photoreceptor in plants that is essential for seedling de-etiolation under FR-rich environments, such as canopy shade. TANDEM ZINC-FINGER/PLUS3 (TZP) was recently identified as a key component of phyA signal transduction in Arabidopsis thaliana; however, how TZP is integrated into the phyA signaling networks remains largely obscure. Here, we demonstrate that ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL5 (HY5), a well-characterized transcription factor promoting photomorphogenesis, mediates FR light induction of TZP expression by directly binding to a G-box motif in the TZP promoter. Furthermore, TZP physically interacts with CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC1 (COP1), an E3 ubiquitin ligase targeting HY5 for 26S proteasome-mediated degradation, and this interaction inhibits COP1 interaction with HY5. Consistent with those results, TZP post-translationally promotes HY5 protein stability in FR light, and in turn, TZP protein itself is destabilized by COP1 in both dark and FR light conditions. Moreover, tzp hy5 double mutants display an additive phenotype relative to their respective single mutants under high FR light intensities, indicating that TZP and HY5 also function in largely independent pathways. Together, our data demonstrate that HY5 and TZP mutually upregulate each other in transmitting the FR light signal, thus providing insights into the complicated but delicate control of phyA signaling networks.

DAE-CFR: detecting microRNA-disease associations using deep autoencoder and combined feature representation.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNA (miRNA) has been shown to play a key role in the occurrence and progression of diseases, making uncovering miRNA-disease associations vital for disease prevention and therapy. However, traditional laboratory methods for detecting these associations are slow, strenuous, expensive, and uncertain. Although numerous advanced algorithms have emerged, it is still a challenge to develop more effective methods to explore underlying miRNA-disease associations. RESULTS: In the study, we designed a novel approach on the basis of deep autoencoder and combined feature representation (DAE-CFR) to predict possible miRNA-disease associations. We began by creating integrated similarity matrices of miRNAs and diseases, performing a logistic function transformation, balancing positive and negative samples with k-means clustering, and constructing training samples. Then, deep autoencoder was used to extract low-dimensional feature from two kinds of feature representations for miRNAs and diseases, namely, original association information-based and similarity information-based. Next, we combined the resulting features for each miRNA-disease pair and used a logistic regression (LR) classifier to infer all unknown miRNA-disease interactions. Under five and tenfold cross-validation (CV) frameworks, DAE-CFR not only outperformed six popular algorithms and nine classifiers, but also demonstrated superior performance on an additional dataset. Furthermore, case studies on three diseases (myocardial infarction, hypertension and stroke) confirmed the validity of DAE-CFR in practice. CONCLUSIONS: DAE-CFR achieved outstanding performance in predicting miRNA-disease associations and can provide evidence to inform biological experiments and clinical therapy.

The cold response regulator CBF1 promotes Arabidopsis hypocotyl growth at ambient temperatures.

Light and temperature are two core environmental factors that coordinately regulate plant growth and survival throughout their entire life cycle. However, the mechanisms integrating light and temperature signaling pathways in plants remain poorly understood. Here, we report that CBF1, an AP2/ERF-family transcription factor essential for plant cold acclimation, promotes hypocotyl growth under ambient temperatures in Arabidopsis. We show that CBF1 increases the protein abundance of PIF4 and PIF5, two phytochrome-interacting bHLH-family transcription factors that play pivotal roles in modulating plant growth and development, by directly binding to their promoters to induce their gene expression, and by inhibiting their interaction with phyB in the light. Moreover, our data demonstrate that CBF1 promotes PIF4/PIF5 protein accumulation and hypocotyl growth at both 22°C and 17°C, but not at 4°C, with a more prominent role at 17°C than at 22°C. Together, our study reveals that CBF1 integrates light and temperature control of hypocotyl growth by promoting PIF4 and PIF5 protein abundance in the light, thus providing insights into the integration mechanisms of light and temperature signaling pathways in plants.

FBXO11 variants are associated with intellectual disability and variable clinical manifestation in Chinese affected individuals.

F-box protein 11 (FBXO11) is a member of F-Box protein family, which has recently been proved to be associated with intellectual developmental disorder with dysmorphic facies and behavioral abnormalities (IDDFBA, OMIM: 618089). In this study, 12 intellectual disability individuals from 5 Chinese ID families were collected, and whole exome sequencing (WES), sanger sequencing, and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) were conducted. Almost all the affected individuals presented with mild to severe intellectual disability (12/12), global developmental delay (10/12), speech and language development delay (8/12) associated with a range of alternate features including increased body weight (7/12), short stature (6/12), seizures (3/12), reduced visual acuity (4/12), hypotonia (1/12), and auditory hallucinations and hallucinations (1/12). Distinguishingly, malformation was not observed in all the affected individuals. WES analysis showed 5 novel FBXO11 variants, which include an inframe deletion variant, a missense variant, two frameshift variants, and a partial deletion of FBXO11 (exon 22-23). RNA-seq indicated that exon 22-23 deletion of FBXO11 results in a new mRNA structure. Conservation and protein structure prediction demonstrated deleterious effect of these variants. The DEGs analysis revealed 148 differentially expressed genes shared among 6 affected individuals, which were mainly associated with genes of muscle and immune system. Our research is the first report of FBXO11-associated IDDFBA in Chinese individuals, which expands the genetic and clinical spectrum of this newly identified NDD/ID syndrome.

Novel valley character and tunable quasi-half-valley metal state in Janus monolayer VSiGeP4.

The manipulation and regulation of valley characteristics have aroused widespread interest in emerging information fields and fundamental research. Realizing valley polarization is one crucial issue for spintronic and valleytronic applications, the concepts of a half-valley metal (HVM) and ferrovalley (FV) materials have been put forward. Then, to separate electron and hole carriers, a fresh concept of a quasi-HVM (QHVM) has been proposed, in which only one type of carrier is valley polarized for electron and hole carriers. Based on first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that the Janus monolayer VSiGeP4 has QHVM character. To well regulate the QHVM state, strain engineering is utilized to adjust the electronic and valley traits of monolayer VSiGeP4. In the discussed strain range, monolayer VSiGeP4 always favors the ferromagnetic ground state and out-of-plane magnetization, which ensures the appearance of spontaneous valley polarization. It is found that the QHVM state can be induced in different electronic correlations (U), and the strain can effectively tune the valley, magnetic, and electronic features to maintain the QHVM state under various U values. Our work opens up a new research idea in the design of multifunctional spintronic and valleytronic devices.

CircCUL1 inhibits trophoblast cell migration and invasion and promotes cell autophagy by sponging hsa-miR-30e-3p in fetal growth restriction via the ANXA1/PI3K/AKT axis.

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) severely affects the health outcome of newborns and represents a major cause of perinatal morbidity. The precise involvement of circCULT1 in the progression of FGR remains unclear. We performed next-generation sequencing and RT-qPCR to identify differentially expressed circRNAs in placental tissues affected by FGR by comparing them with unaffected counterparts. Edu, flow cytometry, and transwell assay were conducted to detect HTR8/SVneo cell's function in regard to cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The interaction between circCUL1 and hsa-miR-30e-3p was assessed through dual-luciferase reporter assays, validation of the interaction between circCUL1 and ANXA1 was performed using RNA pulldown and immunoprecipitation assays. Western blot analysis was performed to evaluate protein levels of autophagy markers and components of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. A knockout (KO) mouse model was established for homologous mmu-circ-0001469 to assess fetal mouse growth and development indicators. Our findings revealed an upregulation of circCUL1 expression in placental tissues from patients with FGR. We found that suppression of circCUL1 increased the trophoblast cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, circCUL1 could interact with hsa-miR-30e-3p. Further, circCUL1 stimulated autophagy, modulating trophoblast cell autophagy via the ANXA1/PI3K/AKT pathway, and a notable disparity was observed, with KO mice displaying accelerated embryo development and exhibiting heavier placentas in comparison to wild-type C57BL/6 mice. By modulating the ANXA1/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway through the interaction with hsa-miR-30e-3p, circCUL1 promotes autophagy while concurrently suppressing trophoblast cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. These findings offer novel insights into potential diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for FGR research.

Betaine Alleviates High-Fat Diet Induced Excessive Lipid Deposition in Gibel Carp Hepatopancreas and L8824 Cells by Enhancing VLDL Secretion through HNF4α/MTTP Pathway.

Betaine, a methyl donor, plays a crucial role in lipid metabolism. Previous studies have shown that appropriate betaine supplementation in a high-fat diet reduces triglycerides (TG) of serum and hepatopancreas in fish. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study examined whether betaine can enhance the secretion of very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and sought to identify the specific mechanisms through which this enhancement occurs. A lipid accumulation model was established in gibel carp and L8824 cells using a high-fat diet and oleic acid, respectively. Different doses of betaine (1, 4, and 16 g/kg in the diet; 400 µmol in cell culture) were administered, and measurements were taken for lipid deposition, gene expression of HNF4α, MTTP, and ApoB, as well as the regulation of Mttp and Apob promoters by HNF4α. The results showed that betaine supplementation mitigated lipid droplet accumulation, TG levels, and VLDL production induced by the high-fat diet in gibel carp hepatopancreas and L8824 cells. Moreover, betaine not only increased VLDL content in the cell culture supernatant but also reversed the inhibitory effects of the high-fat diet on protein expression of MTTP, ApoB, and HNF4α in both gibel carp hepatopancreas and L8824 cells. Additionally, HNF4α exhibits transactivating activity on the promoter of Mttp in gibel carp. These findings suggest that betaine supplementation exerts its effects through the HNF4α/MTTP/ApoB pathway, promoting the assembly and secretion of VLDL and effectively reducing lipid accumulation in the hepatopancreas of farmed gibel carp fed a high-fat diet.

Gasdermin E is required for induction of pyroptosis and severe disease during enterovirus 71 infection.

Pyroptosis is an inflammatory form of programmed cell death that is executed by the gasdermin (GSDM)-N domain of GSDM family proteins, which form pores in the plasma membrane. Although pyroptosis acts as a host defense against invasive pathogen infection, its role in the pathogenesis of enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection is unclear. In the current study, we found that EV71 infection induces cleavage of GSDM E (GSDME) by using western blotting analysis, an essential step in the switch from caspase-3-mediated apoptosis to pyroptosis. We show that this cleavage is independent of the 3C and 2A proteases of EV71. However, caspase-3 activation is essential for this cleavage, as GSDME could not be cleaved in caspase-3-KO cells upon EV71 infection. Further analyses showed that EV71 infection induced pyroptosis in WT cells but not in caspase-3/GSDME double-KO cells. Importantly, GSDME is required to induce severe disease during EV71 infection, as GSDME deficiency in mice was shown to alleviate pathological symptoms. In conclusion, our results reveal that GSDME is important for the pathogenesis of EV71 via mediating initiation of pyroptosis.

Whole exome sequencing and transcriptome analysis in two unrelated patients with novel SET mutations.

The human SET nuclear proto-oncogene (SET) gene is a protein-coding gene that encodes proteins that affects chromatin remodeling and gene transcription. Mutations in the SET gene have been reported to cause intellectual disability (ID) and epilepsy. In this study, we collected and analyzed clinical, genetic, and transcript features of two unrelated Chinese patients with ID. Both patients were characterized by moderate intellectual disability. Whole-exome sequencing identified two novel heterozygous mutations in the SET gene: NM_001122821.1:c.532-3 T > A and NM_001122821.1:c.3 G > C (p.0?). Additionally, RNA sequencing revealed widespread dysregulation of genes involved in NF-kB signaling and neuronal system in these two patients. To our knowledge, this is the first report of SET mutations causing ID in the Chinese population, broadening the genetic and ethnic spectrum of SET-related disorders and highlighting the importance of screening for SET gene variants.

MYB30 Is a Key Negative Regulator of Arabidopsis Photomorphogenic Development That Promotes PIF4 and PIF5 Protein Accumulation in the Light.

Phytochromes are red (R) and far-red (FR) light photoreceptors in plants, and PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs) are a group of basic helix-loop-helix family transcription factors that play central roles in repressing photomorphogenesis. Here, we report that MYB30, an R2R3-MYB family transcription factor, acts as a negative regulator of photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). We show that MYB30 preferentially interacts with the Pfr (active) forms of the phytochrome A (phyA) and phytochrome B (phyB) holoproteins and that MYB30 levels are induced by phyA and phyB in the light. It was previously shown that phytochromes induce rapid phosphorylation and degradation of PIFs upon R light exposure. Our current data indicate that MYB30 promotes PIF4 and PIF5 protein reaccumulation under prolonged R light irradiation by directly binding to their promoters to induce their expression and by inhibiting the interaction of PIF4 and PIF5 with the Pfr form of phyB. In addition, our data indicate that MYB30 interacts with PIFs and that they act additively to repress photomorphogenesis. In summary, our study demonstrates that MYB30 negatively regulates Arabidopsis photomorphogenic development by acting to promote PIF4 and PIF5 protein accumulation under prolonged R light irradiation, thus providing new insights into the complicated but delicate control of PIFs in the responses of plants to their dynamic light environment.

Characterization of a human placental clearance system to regulate serotonin levels in the fetoplacental unit.

BACKGROUND: Serotonin (5-HT) is a biogenic monoamine with diverse functions in multiple human organs and tissues. During pregnancy, tightly regulated levels of 5-HT in the fetoplacental unit are critical for proper placental functions, fetal development, and programming. Despite being a non-neuronal organ, the placenta expresses a suite of homeostatic proteins, membrane transporters and metabolizing enzymes, to regulate monoamine levels. We hypothesized that placental 5-HT clearance is important for maintaining 5-HT levels in the fetoplacental unit. We therefore investigated placental 5-HT uptake from the umbilical circulation at physiological and supraphysiological levels as well as placental metabolism of 5-HT to 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and 5-HIAA efflux from trophoblast cells. METHODS: We employed a systematic approach using advanced organ-, tissue-, and cellular-level models of the human placenta to investigate the transport and metabolism of 5-HT in the fetoplacental unit. Human placentas from uncomplicated term pregnancies were used for perfusion studies, culturing explants, and isolating primary trophoblast cells. RESULTS: Using the dually perfused placenta, we observed a high and concentration-dependent placental extraction of 5-HT from the fetal circulation. Subsequently, within the placenta, 5-HT was metabolized to 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), which was then unidirectionally excreted to the maternal circulation. In the explant cultures and primary trophoblast cells, we show concentration- and inhibitor-dependent 5-HT uptake and metabolism and subsequent 5-HIAA release into the media. Droplet digital PCR revealed that the dominant gene in all models was MAO-A, supporting the crucial role of 5-HT metabolism in placental 5-HT clearance. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, we present transcriptional and functional evidence that the human placenta has an efficient 5-HT clearance system involving (1) removal of 5-HT from the fetal circulation by OCT3, (2) metabolism to 5-HIAA by MAO-A, and (3) selective 5-HIAA excretion to the maternal circulation via the MRP2 transporter. This synchronized mechanism is critical for regulating 5-HT in the fetoplacental unit; however, it can be compromised by external insults such as antidepressant drugs.

Electronic-correlation induced sign-reversible Berry phase and quantum anomalous valley Hall effects in Janus monolayer OsClBr.

Topological phase transition can be induced by electronic correlation effects combined with spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Here, based on the first-principles calculations +U approach, the influence of electronic correlation effects and SOC on topological and electronic properties of the Janus monolayer OsClBr is investigated. With intrinsic out-of-plane (OOP) magnetic anisotropy, the Janus monolayer OsClBr exhibits a sequence of states, namely, the ferrovalley (FV) to half-valley-metal (HVM) to quantum anomalous valley Hall effect (QAVHE) to HVM to FV states with increasing U values. The QAVHE is characterized by a chiral edge state linking the conduction and valence bands with a Chern number C = 1, which is closely associated with the band inversion between dx2-y2/dxy and dz2 orbitals, and sign-reversible Berry curvature. The section with larger U values (2.31-2.35 eV) is very essential for determining the new HVM and QAVHE states, and also proves that a strong electron correlation effect exists in the interior of the Janus monolayer OsClBr. When taking into consideration a representative U value (U = 2.5 eV), a valley polarization value of 157 meV can be observed, which can be switched by reversing the magnetization direction of Os atoms. It is noteworthy that the Curie temperature (TC) strongly depends on the electronic correlation effects. Our work provides a comprehensive discussion on the electronic and topological properties of the Janus monolayer OsClBr, and demonstrates that the electronic correlation effects combined with SOC can drive the emergence of QAVHE, which will open up new opportunities for valleytronic, spintronic, and topological nanoelectronic applications.

Chromosome microarray analysis combined with karyotype analysis is a powerful tool for the detection in pregnant women with high-risk indicators.

BACKGROUND: Karyotype analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) are commonly used for prenatal diagnosis, however they have many disadvantages. Chromosome microarray analysis (CMA) has the potential to overcome these disadvantages. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical value of CMA in the diagnosis of fetal chromosomal anomalies in southwest of China. METHODS: A total of 3336 samples of amniotic fluid or umbilical cord blood from pregnant women with high-risk indicators at our center in southwest of China from June 2018 to January 2023 were included in the retrospective analysis. 3222 cases tested by CMA and karyotyping, 114 cases only tested by CMA. RESULTS: 3336 samples divided into 2911 cases with single and 425 cases with multiple high-risk indicators. The aneuploidy and pathogenic/likely pathogenic copy number variations (CNVs) of 2911 cases with single high-risk indicator were 4.43% (129/2911) and 2.44% (71/2911) respectively; the aneuploidy and pathogenic/likely pathogenic CNVs of 425 cases with multiple high-risk indicators were 6.82% (29/425) and 2.12% (9/425) respectively. The rate of aneuploidy increased significantly with pregnancy age or NT value. The detection rate of aneuploidy on cases with AMA combined NT ≥ 2.5 mm was significantly higher than that in cases only with AMA (p < 0.001); the detection rate of aneuploidy and pathogenic/likely pathogenic CNVs in cases with AMA combined NIPT high-risk were higher than that in cases only with AMA (p < 0.001, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The combined application of CMA and karyotyping were recommended in prenatal diagnosis for providing a scientific and accurate genetic diagnosis and improving the quality of prenatal genetic counseling.

Full-Length RNA Sequencing Provides Insights into Goldfish Evolution under Artificial Selection.

Goldfish Carassius auratus is an ideal model for exploring fish morphology evolution. Although genes underlying several ornamental traits have been identified, little is known about the effects of artificial selection on embryo gene expression. In the present study, hybrid transcriptome sequencing was conducted to reveal gene expression profiles of Celestial-Eye (CE) and Ryukin (RK) goldfish embryos. Full-length transcriptome sequencing on the PacBio platform identified 54,218 and 54,106 transcript isoforms in CE and RK goldfish, respectively. Of particular note was that thousands of alternative splicing (AS) and alternative polyadenylation (APA) events were identified in both goldfish breeds, and most of them were inter-breed specific. RT-PCR and Sanger sequencing showed that most of the predicted AS and APA were correct. Moreover, abundant long non-coding RNA and fusion genes were detected, and again most of them were inter-breed specific. Through RNA-seq, we detected thousands of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in each embryonic stage between the two goldfish breeds. KEGG enrichment analysis on DEGs showed extensive differences between CE and RK goldfish in gene expression. Taken together, our results demonstrated that artificial selection has led to far-reaching influences on goldfish gene expression, which probably laid the genetic basis for hundreds of goldfish variations.

Highly Water-Stable Zinc Based Metal-Organic Framework: Antibacterial, Photocatalytic Degradation and Photoelectric Responses.

A reported water-stable Zn-MOF ([Zn(L)2(bpa)(H2O)2]·2H2O, H2L = 5-(2-cyanophenoxy) isophthalic acid has been prepared via a low-cost, general and efficient hydrothermal method. It is worth noting the structural features of Zn-MOF which exhibit the unsaturated metal site and the main non-covalent interactions including O⋯H, N⋯H and π-π stacking interactions, which lead to strong antibacterial and good tetracycline degradation ability. The average diameter of the Zn-MOF inhibition zone against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was 12.22 mm and 10.10 mm, respectively. Further, the water-stable Zn-MOF can be employed as the effective photocatalyst for the photodegradation of tetracycline, achieving results of 67% within 50 min, and it has good cyclic stability. In addition, the photodegradation mechanism was studied using UV-vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy (UV-VIS DRS) and valence-band X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (VB-XPS) combined with the ESR profile of Zn-MOF, which suggest that ·O2- is the main active species responsible for tetracycline photodegradation. Also, the photoelectric measurement results show that Zn-MOF has a good photocurrent generation performance under light. This provides us with a new perspective to investigate Zn-MOF materials as a suitable multifunctional platform for future environmental improvement applications.

Studying Fluorescence Sensing of Acetone and Tryptophan and Antibacterial Properties Based on Zinc-Based Triple Interpenetrating Metal-Organic Skeletons.

Two triple interpenetrating Zn(II)-based MOFs were studied in this paper. Named [Zn6(1,4-bpeb)4(IPA)6(H2O)]n (MOF-1) and {[Zn3(1,4-bpeb)1.5(DDBA)3]n·2DMF} (MOF-2), {1,4-bpeb = 1,4-bis [2-(4-pyridy1) ethenyl]benze, IPA = Isophthalic acid, DDBA = 3,3'-Azodibenzoic acid}, they were synthesized by the hydrothermal method and were characterized and stability tested. The results showed that MOF-1 had good acid-base stability and solvent stability. Furthermore, MOF-1 had excellent green fluorescence and with different phenomena in different solvents, which was almost completely quenched in acetone. Based on this phenomenon, an acetone sensing test was carried out, where the detection limit of acetone was calculated to be 0.00365% (volume ratio). Excitingly, the MOF-1 could also be used as a proportional fluorescent probe to specifically detect tryptophan, with a calculated detection limit of 34.84 µM. Furthermore, the mechanism was explained through energy transfer and competitive absorption (fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)) and internal filtration effect (IFE). For antibacterial purposes, the minimum inhibitory concentrations of MOF-1 against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were 19.52 µg/mL and 39.06 µg/mL, respectively, and the minimum inhibitory concentrations of MOF-2 against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were 68.36 µg/mL and 136.72 µg/mL, respectively.

Nrf2 pathway in vegetable oil-induced inflammation of large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea).

This study was conducted to investigate the effects and regulation of dietary vegetable oil (VO, enriched with α-linolenic acid [ALA] and linoleic acid [LNA]) on the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathways in large yellow croaker. In vivo study showed that the VO diet significantly decreased the activity of antioxidant enzymes and antioxidant enzyme-related mRNA expression in the liver tissue, in comparison with the fish oil (FO) diet (P < 0.05). The suppression of antioxidant capacity might be due to the decrease of nuclear Nrf2 protein translocation, Nrf2 binding to antioxidant response element (ARE) sequences, and subsequently, antioxidant genes transcription as electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and luciferase assay showed. VO-derivated ALA and LNA exerted a lower antioxidant capacity than FO-derivated DHA and EPA, characterized by significantly lower nucleus Nfr2 protein expression but significantly higher ROS production values in primary hepatocytes (P < 0.05). The pro-inflammatory genes (tumor necrosis factor α [TNFα] and interleukin 1ß [IL1ß]) expression was significantly higher in the liver tissue of fish fed the VO diet which might be due to the activation of the NF-κB pathway (P < 0.05). Knockdown of the Nrf2 gene negatively affected the anti-inflammatory effect of fatty acids by increasing the expression of TNFα and the IL1ß gene and nuclear p65 protein (P < 0.05). In general, the results indicated that dietary vegetable oil decreased antioxidant capacity but induced inflammatory responses through the Nrf2/NF-κB pathway.