Hoya-like Hierarchical Porous Architecture as Multifunctional Phosphorus Anode for Superior Lithium-Sodium Storage.

Designing nanostructured hosts with the merits of high conductivity, strong trapping ability, and long-term durability to improve the insulating nature and extreme volume change of red phosphorus (RP) is a promising option for the development of high-performance lithium/sodium-ion batteries (LIBs/SIBs). Here, a multifunctional RP immobilizer is proposed and fabricated, which comprises a nitrogen-doped hollow MXene sphere (NM) planted with the dual-sided porous carbon network (DCNM). In such a configuration, the highly conductive macroporous NM not only facilitates fast electron transport but also acts as the capturing center to entrap polyphosphide through strong chemical adsorption, while the uniformly distributed micromesoporous carbon network in or out of the sphere provides reliable RP accommodation and alleviates the volume expansion, as well as creates interpenetrating ion diffusion and electron transport channels. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of the triple-shelled architecture and the exclusive restraint, the Hoya-like DCNM@RP anode exhibits significantly enhanced electrochemical performances for LIBs and SIBs, delivering a combination of high reversible capacity, splendid rate properties, and extended cycling performance: up to 1800 cycles with 0.01% per cycle capacity decay for LIBs and 0.024% per cycle over 1000 cycles for SIBs at 2 C.

Cervicomedullary angle as an independent radiological predictor of postoperative neurological outcome in type A basilar invagination.

To propose an independent radiological index to evaluate surgical outcomes of A type basilar invagination, a retrospective study was conducted to compare the clinical outcome between procedures 1 and 2 by applying intraoperative consistent traction and manual reduction. Moreover, the atlantodental interval (ADI), cervicomedullary angle (CMA), bilateral sagittal inclination of atlantoaxial joint (SIAA) were measured and compared to pre-operation. Postoperatively, only these patients undergoing procedure 2 achieved significant neurological improvement. The ADIs and the SIAAs decreased in both groups, these differences are statistically significant between pre- and post- operation. For postoperative CMAs, only these patients undergoing modified surgery gained significant improvement of angle with mean 141°. We concluded that the CMA or SIAA could be a radiological predictor to evaluate surgical outcome in BI, among which the CMA is a more independent and easily measurable predictor that is closely correlated with satisfactory neurological improvements. Moreover, procedure 2 with intraoperative resistant cranial traction and manual reduction can help us achieve a good CMA.

Isolation of Bovine Skin-Derived Precursor Cells and Their Developmental Potential After Nuclear Transfer.

Nuclei from less differentiated stem cells yield high cloning efficiency. However, pluripotent stem cells are rather difficult to obtain from bovines. Skin-derived precursor (SKPs) cells exhibit a certain degree of pluripotency, which has been shown to enhance the efficiency of nuclear transfer (NT) in pigs. In this study, bovine SKPs were isolated and characterized. Results showed that bovine SKPs expressed nestin, fibronectin, vimentin, pluripotency-related genes, and characteristic neural crest markers, such as NGFR, PAX3, SOX9, SNAI2, and OCT4. Bovine SKPs and fibroblasts were used as NT donor cells to examine and compare the preimplantation developmental potential of reconstructed embryos after somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Bovine SKP-cloned embryos displayed higher developmental competence in terms of blastocyst formation rate and total cell number in blastocysts compared with the bovine embryonic fibroblast-cloned embryos. This study revealed that bovine SKPs may be considered excellent candidate nuclear donors for SCNT and may provide a promising platform for transgenic cattle generation.

Generation and characterization of bovine bone marrow-derived macrophage cell line.

Macrophages, as the forefront of innate immune defense, have an important role in the host responses to mycobacterial infection. Therefore, a stable macrophage cell line is needed for future bovine immune system research on the bacterial infection. In this study, we established a bovine macrophage cell line by introducing the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene into bovine bone marrow-derived macrophages (bBMMs). The TERT-bBMMs cells expressed macrophage surface antigen (CD11b, CD282) and upregulated expression of the cytokines IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, TNF-α in response to bacterial invasion. These results demonstrate that this cell line provide reliable cell model system for future studies on interactions between the bovine macrophages and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Effect and prognostic significance of the KAI1 gene in human gastric carcinoma.

The present study aimed to explore the effect and mechanism of the Kangai 1 (KAI1) gene in regulating the migration and invasion of gastric carcinoma cells, and the prognostic significance of this gene in gastric cancer patients. Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization were used to investigate the role of KAI1 in the progression and prognosis of gastric cancer. The pEGFP-N1-KAI1 plasmid was transfected into human gastric carcinoma SGC7901 cells using liposomes. The effect of transfection with the KAI1 gene was measured using a reverse transcription-semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-sqPCR) assay. The Transwell chamber assay was used to study the metastatic and invasive ability of SGC7901 cells. Gastric cancer metastasis-associated genes, including hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and urease plasminogen activator (uPA) were measured by RT-sqPCR prior to and following transfection with the KAI1 gene. The expression of KAI1 protein and mRNA was associated with the differentiation degree of gastric cancer, presence of lymph node metastasis, tumor-node-metastasis stage, depth of invasion and the survival time of patients. The migratory and invasive abilities of SGC7901 cells were significantly decreased subsequent to transfection with the KAI1 gene, and the expression of bFGF and uPA was downregulated. It was concluded that the tumor suppressor gene KAI1 inhibits the migration and invasion of gastric carcinoma cells, possibly by suppressing the expression of uPA. Patients that expressed KAI1 may demonstrate an improved prognosis.

Transplanted Neural Stem Cells: Playing a Neuroprotective Role by Ceruloplasmin in the Substantia Nigra of PD Model Rats?

Although mounting evidence suggests that ceruloplasmin (CP) deficiency and iron deposition are pivotal factors responsible for exacerbating demise of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) of the Parkinsonism and neural stem cells (NSCs) are believed to be excellent candidates for compensating the lost dopaminergic neurons, there are few researches to explore the change of CP expression and of iron deposition in the pathological microenvironment of SN after NSCs transplantation and the ability of grafted NSCs to differentiate directionally into dopaminergic neurons under the changed homeostasis. With substantia nigral stereotaxic technique and NSCs transplantation, we found that tyrosine hydroxylase and CP expression decreased and iron deposition increased in the lesioned SN after 6-OHDA administration compared with control, while tyrosine hydroxylase and CP expression increased and iron deposition decreased after NSCs transplantation compared to 6-OHDA administration alone. Only a small number of embedding NSCs are able to differentiate into dopaminergic neurons. These results suggest that grafted NSCs have an influence on improving the content of CP expression, which may play a neuroprotective role by decreasing iron deposition and ameliorating damage of dopaminergic neurons and possibly underline the iron-related common mechanism of Parkinson's disease and Wilson's disease.

Currently Clinical Views on Genetics of Wilson's Disease.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to review the research on clinical genetics of Wilson's disease (WD). DATA SOURCES: We searched documents from PubMed and Wanfang databases both in English and Chinese up to 2014 using the keywords WD in combination with genetic, ATP7B gene, gene mutation, genotype, phenotype. STUDY SELECTION: Publications about the ATP7B gene and protein function associated with clinical features were selected. RESULTS: Wilson's disease, also named hepatolenticular degeneration, is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder characterized by abnormal copper metabolism caused by mutations to the copper-transporting gene ATP7B. Decreased biliary copper excretion and reduced incorporation of copper into apoceruloplasmin caused by defunctionalization of ATP7B protein lead to accumulation of copper in many tissues and organs, including liver, brain, and cornea, finally resulting in liver disease and extrapyramidal symptoms. It is the most common genetic neurological disorder in the onset of adolescents, second to muscular dystrophy in China. Early diagnosis and medical therapy are of great significance for improving the prognosis of WD patients. However, diagnosis of this disease is usually difficult because of its complicated phenotypes. In the last 10 years, an increasing number of clinical studies have used molecular genetics techniques. Improved diagnosis and prediction of the progression of this disease at the molecular level will aid in the development of more individualized and effective interventions, which is a key to transition from molecular genetic research to the clinical study. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical genetics studies are necessary to understand the mechanism underlying WD at the molecular level from the genotype to the phenotype. Clinical genetics research benefits newly emerging medical treatments including stem cell transplantation and gene therapy for WD patients.

CD40 expression and its prognostic significance in human gastric carcinoma.

This study aimed to detect the relationship between CD40 (protein and mRNA) expression and human gastric cancer and to determine the prognostic significance of CD40 in gastric cancer patients. We collected 128 cases of gastric cancer specimens, and the expression of CD40 (protein and mRNA) was measured by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. Our study indicated that CD40 is constitutively expressed in human gastric carcinoma tissues. Positive expression of CD40 (protein and mRNA) in gastric cancer tissues was closely related to the tumor TNM stage and the presence of distant metastasis, with CD40 mRNA also being correlated with the presence of lymphatic metastasis. Furthermore, the expression of CD40 (protein and mRNA) is closely related to the prognosis of gastric cancer patients. The expression of CD40 protein and mRNA is positively correlated with the presence of distant (for both protein and mRNA) and lymphatic (for mRNA only) metastasis, and an increased tumor TNM stage in gastric carcinoma. Patients who express low levels of CD40 may have a better prognosis than those who have higher levels of CD40.

Application of a novel population of multipotent stem cells derived from skin fibroblasts as donor cells in bovine SCNT.

Undifferentiated stem cells are better donor cells for somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), resulting in more offspring than more differentiated cells. While various stem cell populations have been confirmed to exist in the skin, progress has been restricted due to the lack of a suitable marker for their prospective isolation. To address this fundamental issue, a marker is required that could unambiguously prove the differentiation state of the donor cells. We therefore utilized magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS) to separate a homogeneous population of small SSEA-4(+) cells from a heterogeneous population of bovine embryonic skin fibroblasts (BEF). SSEA-4(+) cells were 8-10 µm in diameter and positive for alkaline phosphatase (AP). The percentage of SSEA-4(+) cells within the cultured BEF population was low (2-3%). Immunocytochemistry and PCR analyses revealed that SSEA-4(+) cells expressed pluripotency-related markers, and could differentiate into cells comprising all three germ layers in vitro. They remained undifferentiated over 20 passages in suspension culture. In addition, cloned embryos derived from SSEA-4 cells showed significant differences in cleavage rate and blastocyst development when compared with those from BEF and SSEA-4(-) cells. Moreover, blastocysts derived from SSEA-4(+) cells showed a higher total cell number and lower apoptotic index as compared to BEF and SSEA-4(-) derived cells. It is well known that nuclei from pluripotent stem cells yield a higher cloning efficiency than those from adult somatic cells, however, pluripotent stem cells are relatively difficult to obtain from bovine. The SSEA-4(+) cells described in the current study provide an attractive candidate for SCNT and a promising platform for the generation of transgenic cattle.

[Cloning of bovine c-myc gene and its expression in skin fibroblast cells].

In order to construct a eukaryotic expression vector of bovine c-myc gene, the coding sequence (CDS) of c-myc gene was amplified from bovine primordial genital ridges by RT-PCR. The CDS was subcloned into pMD19-T vector, and then inserted into vector pIRES2-AcGFP1-Nuc. After confirmed by restriction enzyme digestion and sequencing, the recombined plasmid was transfected into skin fibroblast cells. RT-PCR and Western Blotting were used to detect the expression of c-myc mRNA and protein, respectively. The results show that the complete CDS of c-myc gene was cloned from fetal bovine primordial genital ridges. The eukaryotic expression vector of bovine c-myc gene was constructed and efficiently expressed in the skin fibroblast cells. The present study will lay a good foundation for further study of c-myc gene function and bovine induced pluripotent stem cells from somatic cells by defined factors.