Role of XIAP gene overexpressed bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of cerebral injury in rats with cerebral palsy.

BACKGROUND: This study is performed to investigate the effects of adenovirus-mediated X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) overexpressed bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on brain injury in rats with cerebral palsy (CP). METHODS: Rat's BMSCs were cultured and identified. The XIAP gene of BMSCs was modified by adenovirus expression vector Ad-XIAP-GFP. The rat model of CP with ischemia and anoxia was established by ligating the left common carotid artery and anoxia for 2 h, and BMSCs were intracerebroventricularly injected to the modeled rats. The mRNA and protein expression of XIAP in brain tissue of rats in each group was detected by RT-qPCR and western blot analysis. The neurobehavioral situation, content of acetylcholine (Ach), activity of acetylcholinesterase (AchE), brain pathological injury, apoptosis of brain nerve cells and the activation of astrocytes in CP rats were determined via a series of assays. RESULTS: Rats with CP exhibited obvious abnormalities, increased Ach content, decreased AchE activity, obvious pathological damage, increased brain nerve cell apoptosis, as well as elevated activation of astrocyte. XIAP overexpressed BMSCs improved the neurobehavioral situation, decreased Ach content and increased AchE activity, attenuated brain pathological injury, inhibited apoptosis of brain nerve cells and the activation of astrocytes in CP rats. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that XIAP overexpressed BMSCs can inhibit the apoptosis of brain nerve cells and the activation of astrocytes, increase AchE activity, and inhibit Ach content, so as to lower the CP caused by cerebral ischemia and hypoxia in rats.

Down-Regulation of miRNA-1303 Promotes the Angiogenesis of HUVECs via Targeting THSD7A.

Angiogenesis promotes neurological recovery after acute ischemic stroke (AIS), and microRNAs play crucial roles in cerebral angiogenesis. This study found that Homo sapiens-microRNA-1303(miR-1303) was reduced in blood specimens of AIS patients and human umbilical vein endothelial cells after suffering from oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion. The experiment detected the effect of miR-1303 on angiogenesis by wound healing assay, tube formation assay, and transwell assay. Down-regulation of miRNA-1303 promotes angiogenesis in vitro experiments, while miR-1303 over-expression reverses this effect. Based on bioinformatics analyses and dual-luciferase reporter assay, the thrombospondin type 1 domain containing 7A (THSD7A) was investigated and further validated as the downstream gene of miR-1303. Furthermore, the knockdown of miR-1303 decreased the protein translation and mRNA transcript levels of THSD7A. Our results reveal a novel miR-1303/THSD7A pathway for angiogenesis and further imply that miR-1303 can be a promising biomarker and therapeutic target for AIS.

Inhibition of microRNA-29b suppresses oxidative stress and reduces apoptosis in ischemic stroke.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate protein expression by antagonizing the translation of mRNAs and are effective regulators of normal nervous system development, function, and disease. MicroRNA-29b (miR-29b) plays a broad and critical role in brain homeostasis. In this study, we tested the function of miR-29b in animal and cell models by inhibiting miR-29b expression. Mouse models of middle cerebral artery occlusion were established using the modified Zea-Longa suture method. Prior to modeling, 50 nmol/kg miR-29b antagomir was injected via the tail vein. MiR-29b expression was found to be abnormally increased in ischemic brain tissue. The inhibition of miR-29b expression decreased the neurological function score and reduced the cerebral infarction volume and cell apoptosis. In addition, the inhibition of miR-29b significantly decreased the malondialdehyde level, increased superoxide dismutase activity, and Bcl-2 expression, and inhibited Bax and Caspase3 expression. PC12 cells were treated with glutamate for 12 hours to establish in vitro cell models of ischemic stroke and then treated with the miR-29 antagomir for 48 hours. The results revealed that miR-29b inhibition in PC12 cells increased Bcl-2 expression and inhibited cell apoptosis and oxidative damage. These findings suggest that the inhibition of miR-29b inhibits oxidative stress and cell apoptosis in ischemic stroke, producing therapeutic effects in ischemic stroke. This study was approved by the Laboratory Animal Care and Use Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University (approval No. 201709276S) on September 27, 2017.

Regulation of functional groups on graphene quantum dots directs selective CO2 to CH4 conversion.

A catalyst system with dedicated selectivity toward a single hydrocarbon or oxygenate product is essential to enable the industrial application of electrochemical conversion of CO2 to high-value chemicals. Cu is the only known metal catalyst that can convert CO2 to high-order hydrocarbons and oxygenates. However, the Cu-based catalysts suffer from diverse selectivity. Here, we report that the functionalized graphene quantum dots can direct CO2 to CH4 conversion with simultaneous high selectivity and production rate. The electron-donating groups facilitate the yield of CH4 from CO2 electro-reduction while electron-withdrawing groups suppress CO2 electro-reduction. The yield of CH4 on electron-donating group functionalized graphene quantum dots is positively correlated to the electron-donating ability and content of electron-donating group. The graphene quantum dots functionalized by either -OH or -NH2 functional group could achieve Faradaic efficiency of 70.0% for CH4 at -200 mA cm-2 partial current density of CH4. The superior yield of CH4 on electron-donating group- over the electron-withdrawing group-functionalized graphene quantum dots possibly originates from the maintenance of higher charge density of potential active sites (neighboring C or N) and the interaction between the electron-donating group and key intermediates. This work provides insight into the design of active carbon catalysts at the molecular scale for the CO2 electro-reduction.

Hydrogen Sensors Based on Flexible Carbon Nanotube-Palladium Composite Sheets Integrated with Ripstop Fabric.

This work describes the design and fabrication of free-standing carbon nanotube-palladium (CNT-Pd) composite sheets for hydrogen gas sensing. The CNT-Pd composites were made by electroplating palladium onto a solvent-densified and oxygen plasma-treated CNT sheet. The latter was prepared using high purity CNTs drawn from a dense, vertically aligned array grown by chemical vapor deposition on silicon substrates. The CNT-Pd sheets were characterized by energy-dispersive spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The amount of palladium in the composite was 16.5 wt % as measured via thermogravimetric analysis. Thin strips of the CNT-Pd sheets were assembled as chemiresistor sensors and tested for hydrogen gas detection. The sensors demonstrated a limit of detection of 0.1 mol % and displayed signal reversibility without the need for oxygen removal or heat treatment. A decrease in signal reversibility was observed after multiple exposure cycles; however, redensification with ethanol significantly restored the original reversibility. The sensor showed the Freundlich adsorption isotherm behavior when exposed to hydrogen. The material's potential application toward a wearable, flexible sensor was demonstrated by integrating the chemiresistor onto a fabric material using hot-press processing and testing the composite for hydrogen sensitivity.

High thermoelectric power-factor composites based on flexible three-dimensional graphene and polyaniline.

Hybrid thermoelectric (TE) nanocomposites containing conducting polymers and nanocarbon materials have been extensively studied in recent years due to their unique advantages over single-phase organic/inorganic TE materials. Nanocarbon materials have been developed as conductive nanofillers to improve the electrical conductivity of the polymer matrix, and to create a strong π-π interfacial interaction with the matrix to enhance the TE performance. However, previous designs of the hybrid TE nanocomposites tend to cause aggregation of nanocarbon materials, which is detrimental to the TE performance. Also, they are limited in their fabrication to thin film technologies with submicron thicknesses, which prevents these composites from being used in practical TE devices. Herein, we present the synthesis and thermoelectric properties of free-standing, three-dimensional graphene (3DG)-polyaniline (PANI) composites with greater than 100 µm thicknesses for high performance flexible p-type thermoelectrics. Our 3DG matrix has been synthesized by Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) with particulate nickel catalysts, and used as a scaffold for the polymer composites. This material provides an excellent electrical conductivity and a reasonable Seebeck coefficient along with very good mechanical integrity preserved when bending, thus making it a promising candidate for flexible TE. PANI polymer was electrochemically grown on the 3DG scaffold as a filler to further tune the TE properties. The proposed 3DG-PANI composites showed a maximum power factor of 81.9 µW m-1 K-2 with a PANI loading of 80 wt% and highly reproducible TE performance after repeated mechanical bending tests. This novel material provides a different strategy for simple and scalable fabrication of flexible thermoelectrics with high performance TE energy harvesting and improved mechanical properties.