Synthetic Microbial Community Promotes Bacterial Communities Leading to Soil Multifunctionality in Desertified Land.

Soil desertification is an important challenge in global soil management, and effectively and stably restoring soil function is an urgent problem. Using synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) is a burgeoning microbial strategy aimed at enhancing soil nutrients through functional synergies among diverse microorganisms; nevertheless, their effectiveness in restoring desertified soils remains unknown. In this study, we conducted a two-year field experiment using a SynCom constructed by in situ probiotic bacteria and set up control, chemical fertilizer, and combined SynCom-chemical fertilizer (combined fertilizer) treatments to investigate the linkage between microbial communities and soil multifunctionality in the soil surface layer (0-10 cm). Both the bacterial and fungal communities differed the most under the combined fertilizer treatment compared to the control. The bacterial communities differed more under treatments of the SynCom than the chemical fertilizer, while the fungal communities differed more under the chemical fertilizer treatment than the SynCom treatment. Regarding soil function, the SynCom strengthened the correlation between enzyme activities and both bacterial communities and functional properties. pH and available potassium were the main influencing factors under the chemical fertilizer and combined fertilizer treatments. The beta-diversity of the bacterial communities was significantly correlated with soil multifunctionality. Random forest analyses showed that the SynCom significantly enhanced the bacterial communities, driving soil multifunctionality, and that some potential microbial taxa drove multiple nutrient cycles simultaneously. In summary, the SynCom effectively increased the abundance of most carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus functional genes as well as soil enzyme activities. The bacterial community composition contributed significantly to soil multifunctionality. Hence, the development of novel microbial agents holds significant potential for improving soil functionality and managing desertification.

Field Manipulations in On-Chip Micro/Nanoscale Lasers Based on Colloid Nanocrystals.

Owning to merits such as bandgap tunability, solution processability, large absorption coefficients, and high photoluminescence quantum yields, colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) emerged as a promising gain material to make on-chip micro/nanoscale lasers with high silicon compatibility. In this paper, we review the recent progress in CQD on-chip micro/nanoscale lasers, with a special focus on the physical properties achieved through field manipulation schemes in different types of cavities. Key aspects include manipulating and engineering wavelength, polarization, and direction as well as coupling and light extraction. Finally, we give our prospects for future research directions toward the integration of robust CQD nano/microscale lasers with photonic integrated circuits.

Exosomal LINC00355 promotes the malignant progression of gastric cancer through histone deacetylase HDAC3-mediated TP53INP1 transcriptional inhibition.

AIMS: Exosomes are a subpopulation of extracellular vesicles (EV) derived from multivesicular body (MVB) that transmit various cellular molecular constituents, including long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), to promote intercellular communication. Our aim was to investigate the function and mechanism of exosomal LINC00355 in gastric cancer cells. MAIN METHODS: Exosomal levels of LINC00355 in GC patients and healthy controls were measured by RT-qPCR. The effects of exosomal LINC00355 on GC cell viability, proliferation, migration and invasion were evaluated by CCK8, colony formation, Transwell and wound healing assays. The expression levels of Ki67 in xenograft tumor tissues were confirmed by immunohistochemistry assay, and apoptosis was analyzed by TUNEL apoptosis assay. Western blotting was used to monitor protein expression. RNA immunoprecipitation and RNA pulldown were performed to detect the interaction between LINC00355 and HDAC3. Chromatin immunoprecipitation was used to assess the interaction of HDAC3 with the TP53INP1 promoter. KEY FINDINGS: Exosomal LINC00355 levels were higher in plasma from gastric cancer patients than in plasma from healthy volunteers. Exosomal LINC00355 promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of gastric cancer cell lines. RNA sequence analysis demonstrated that LINC00355 knockdown downregulated histone deacetylase HDAC3 and upregulated TP53INP1. Mechanistic investigation indicated that exosomal LINC00355 interacted with HDAC3 to suppress TP53INP1 transcription, which promoted epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). SIGNIFICANCE: Exosomal LINC00355 plays a pivotal role in regulating EMT to induce the malignant progression of GC. Exosomal LINC00355 could be a promising biomarker in the early diagnosis and prognosis of GC.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of bis-aryl ureas and amides based on 2-amino-3-purinylpyridine scaffold as DFG-out B-Raf kinase inhibitors.

By combining the scaffolds of UI-125 and Sorafenib, a series of bis-aryl ureas and amides based on 2-amino-3-purinylpyridine moiety were designed and synthesized as novel DFG-out B-Raf(V600E) inhibitors. Among them, 20c-e, 20g and 21h displayed potent antiproliferative activities against melanoma A375 (B-Raf(V600E)) cell lines with IC50 values of 3.190, 2.276, 1.856, 1.632 µM and 1.839 µM, respectively, comparable with the positive control Vemurafenib (IC50 = 3.32 µM). Selected compounds were tested for the ERK inhibition in human melanoma A375 (B-Raf(V600E)) and SK-MEL-2 (B-Raf(WT)) cell lines by Western blot. The results revealed that our compounds inhibited the proliferation of melanoma A375 cells (B-Raf(V600E)) through ERK pathway, without paradoxical activation of ERK in melanoma SK-MEL-2 cells (B-Raf(WT)). Eventually, 20g and 21h were selected to confirm their inhibitory effects on tumor growth in A375 xenograft models in mice. Compound 20g exhibited equivalent antitumor efficacy in vivo (T/C = 44.37%), compared to Sorafenib (T/C = 37.35%), by 23-day repetitive administration of a single dose of 50 mg/kg without significant body weight loss.