[Determination of nine aromatic amines in water by cloud point extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry].

Aromatic amines are a class of compounds bearing amino groups on their benzene rings; these compounds are important raw materials for the industrial production of rubber chemicals, pesticides, dyes, pharmaceuticals, photosensitive chemicals, and agricultural chemicals. Research has revealed that some aromatic amines teratogenetic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic properties. Given the high toxicity and potential harm caused by aromatic amines, monitoring their levels in water sources is critical. Aromatic amines are among the 14 strategic environmental pollutants blacklisted in China, and assessing their exposure levels is essential for protecting human health and the environment. At present, the standard method for detecting aromatic amines in water is liquid-liquid extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (LLE-GC-MS). However, this method has the disadvantages of large sample size requirement, complex operation, long analysis time, and high reagent consumption. In this study, instead of traditional LLE technology, cloud point extraction (CPE) technology was used in combination with GC-MS to establish an efficient, sensitive, and environment-friendly method for the detection of nine aromatic amines, namely, 2-chloramine, 3-chloramine, 4-chloramine, 2-nitroaniline, 3-nitroaniline, 4-nitroaniline, 1-naphthylamine, 2-naphthylamine, and 4-aminobenzene, in water. Triton X-114 was used as the extraction agent. The main experimental parameters were optimized using a single-factor optimization method. The aromatic amines in various water samples were quantitatively analyzed using GC-MS. The nine aromatic amines were separated on a DB-35 MS capillary column (30 m×0.25 mm×0.25 µm). The mass spectrometer was operated in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode, and quantitative analysis was performed using the internal standard method. The results demonstrated that all nine aromatic amines could be completely separated within 16 min and had good linearities within accurate mass concentration ranges, with correlation coefficients (R2) greater than 0.998. The limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) of these aromatic amines in water were 0.12-0.48 and 0.40-1.60 µg/L, respectively. The accuracy and precision of the method were assessed via the determination of aromatic amines in surface water of drinking water sources, offshore seawater, wastewater of the typical printing and dyeing industry at levels of 2.0 and 10.0 µg/L. The recoveries of the aromatic amines in surface water of drinking water sources were 81.1%-109.8%, with intra-day and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 0.7%-5.2% (n=6) and 1.6%-6.2% (n=3), respectively. The recoveries of the aromatic amines in offshore seawater were 83.0%-115.8%, with intra-day RSDs (n=6) of 1.5%-8.6% and inter-day RSDs (n=3) of 2.4%-12.2%. The recoveries of the nine aromatic amines in wastewater of the typical printing and dyeing industry were 91.0%-120.0%, with intra-day RSDs (n=6) of 2.9%-12.9% and inter-day RSDs (n=3) of 2.5%-13.1%. The established method was used to detect nine aromatic amines in actual water samples. No aromatic amines were detected in the surface water of drinking water sources or offshore seawater samples. However, 2-chloramine, 4-chloramine, and 4-aminobenzene, which are frequently used in the printing and dyeing industry, were detected in the wastewater of the typical printing and dyeing industry samples. The proposed method offers the advantages of simple operation, high sensitivity, low cost, low organic reagent requirement, and good repeatability. Thus, this method provides reliable technical support for studying the residual status and environmental behavior of aromatic amines in water.

The value of Computed Tomography in the Diagnostic and Prognostic Prediction of Renal Epithelioid Angiomyolipoma.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the importance of computed tomography (CT) imaging in the diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of renal epithelioid angiomyolipoma (EAML). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study comprised 63 patients diagnosed with renal EAML in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University during 2010-2021, who met the inclusion criteria. The clinical, pathological, and therapeutic features were analyzed to determine the optimum diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. RESULTS: Of the 63 participants, 20 were men and 43 women aged 24-74 years (average, 45.5 years). In 35 and 28 participants, the tumor was located on the left and right sides, respectively. All the patients underwent CT scanning. Most of the patients (54/63) with EAMLs demonstrated hyperattenuation, one showed isoattenuation, and eight showed hypoattenuation compared with renal parenchyma on unenhanced CT images. The diameter of each tumor was 2-25 cm (average, 5.6 cm). All the participants underwent surgical treatment. Of these, 53 were followed up for 4-128 months (median, 64 months). Among the followed-up patients, one died of the tumor, one died due to acute severe pancreatitis, and two had an ipsilateral recurrence. CONCLUSION: EAML is a relatively rare renal angiomyolipoma depleted in fat. A characteristic of hyperattenuation on unenhanced CT images in EAML can help distinguish this tumor from clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Surgical resection is the main treatment. Most EAMLs are benign, and only a few have malignant potential. However, post-surgery recurrence and metastasis may occur, especially in elderly patients, and thus close follow-up is recommended.

Oxidized fish oils increased lipid deposition via oxidative stress-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction and the CREB1-Bcl2-Beclin1 pathway in the liver tissues and hepatocytes of yellow catfish.

At present, the harmful effects and relevant mechanism of oxidized fish oils on fish and fish cells remain unknown. Our study found that oxidized fish oils increased lipogenesis, and reduced lipolysis, activated oxidative stress by decreasing glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity, increasing malondialdhyde (MDA) content and damaging mitochondrial structure, and activated autophagy in the liver of yellow catfish; oxidized eicosapentaenoic acid (oxEPA) induced oxidative stress in yellow catfish hepatocytes. Oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and lipophagy mediated oxEPA induced-variations in lipid metabolism. Our further investigation indicated that oxEPA-activated lipophagy was via inhibiting the DNA binding capacity of the cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB)-1 to the region of Bcl-2 promoter, which in turn suppressed the binding activity of Bcl-2 to Beclin1 and promoted autophagosome formation. For the first time, our study elucidated the mechanisms of oxidized fish oils-induced lipid deposition by the oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and CREB1-Bcl-2-Beclin1 pathway in fish.

Protein profiling identified mitochondrial dysfunction and synaptic abnormalities after dexamethasone intervention in rats with traumatic brain injury.

Dexamethasone has been widely used after various neurosurgical procedures due to its anti-inflammatory property and the abilities to restore vascular permeability, inhibit free radicals, and reduce cerebrospinal fluid production. According to the latest guidelines for the treatment of traumatic brain injury in the United States, high-dose glucocorticoids cause neurological damage. To investigate the reason why high-dose glucocorticoids after traumatic brain injury exhibit harmful effect, rat controlled cortical impact models of traumatic brain injury were established. At 1 hour and 2 days after surgery, rat models were intraperitoneally administered dexamethasone 10 mg/kg. The results revealed that 31 proteins were significantly upregulated and 12 proteins were significantly downregulated in rat models of traumatic brain injury after dexamethasone treatment. The Ingenuity Pathway Analysis results showed that differentially expressed proteins were enriched in the mitochondrial dysfunction pathway and synaptogenesis signaling pathway. Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry results showed that Ndufv2, Maob and Gria3 expression and positive cell count in the dexamethasone-treated group were significantly greater than those in the model group. These findings suggest that dexamethasone may promote a compensatory increase in complex I subunits (Ndufs2 and Ndufv2), increase the expression of mitochondrial enzyme Maob, and upregulate synaptic-transmission-related protein Gria3. These changes may be caused by nerve injury after traumatic brain injury treatment by dexamethasone. The study was approved by Institutional Ethics Committee of Beijing Neurosurgical Institute (approval No. 201802001) on June 6, 2018.

Melatonin delays photoreceptor degeneration in a mouse model of autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) comprises a group of incurable inherited retinal degenerations. Targeting common processes, instead of mutation-specific treatment, has proven to be an innovative strategy to combat debilitating retinal degeneration. Growing evidence indicates that melatonin possesses a potent activity against neurodegenerative disorders by mitigating cell damage associated with apoptosis and inflammation. Given the pleiotropic role of melatonin in central nervous system, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether melatonin would afford protection against retinal degeneration in autosomal recessive RP (arRP). Rd10, a well-characterized murine model of human arRP, received daily intraperitoneal injection of melatonin (15 mg/kg) between postnatal day (P) 13 and P30. Retinas treated with melatonin or vehicle were harvested for analysis at P30 and P45, respectively. The findings showed that melatonin could dampen the photoreceptors death and delay consequent retinal degeneration. We also observed that melatonin weakened the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in Müller cells. Additionally, melatonin could alleviate retinal inflammatory response visualized by IBA1 staining, which was further corroborated by downregulation of inflammation-related genes, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (Tnf-α), chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (Ccl2), and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 10 (Cxcl10). These data revealed that melatonin could ameliorate retinal degeneration through potentially attenuating apoptosis, reactive gliosis, and microglial activation in rd10 mice. Moreover, these results suggest melatonin as a promising agent improving photoreceptors survival in human RP.

Interleukin-17A promotes tongue squamous cell carcinoma metastasis through activating miR-23b/versican pathway.

Interleukin-17A (IL-17A), a proinflammatory cytokine mainly produced by T helper 17 cells, exerts protumor or antitumor effects in different cancer entities. However, the exact role of IL-17A in carcinogenesis and progression of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) remains unclear. Here, we found that the levels of IL-17A in serum and tumor samples were significantly increased in TSCC patients and positively correlated with tumor metastasis and clinical stage. Besides, IL-17A enhanced cell migration and invasion in SCC15, a TSCC cell line. Furthermore, IL-17A inversely correlated with miR-23b expression in TSCC specimens. In vitro, NF-κB inhibited miR-23b transcription by directly binding to its promoter region. IL-17A downregulated miR-23b expression via activating NF-κB signaling pathway characterized by increasing p65 expression in the nuclear and elevating the levels of p-IKKα and p-IκBα. Overexpression of miR-23b inhibited, whereas knockdown of miR-23b promoted migration and invasion abilities of SCC15 cells. Moreover, extracellular matrix protein versican was proved to be the direct target of miR-23b through luciferase assay. IL-17A increased versican levels in vitro and knockdown of versican by siRNA inhibited SCC15 cell migration and invasion. Taken together, these results reveal a novel mechanism that IL-17A in TSCC microenvironment promotes the migration and invasion of TSCC cells through targeting miR-23b/versican pathway.