Targeting Galectin 3 illuminates its contributions to the pathology of uterine serous carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Uterine serous cancer (USC) comprises around 10% of all uterine cancers. However, USC accounts for approximately 40% of uterine cancer deaths, which is attributed to tumor aggressiveness and limited effective treatment. Galectin 3 (Gal3) has been implicated in promoting aggressive features in some malignancies. However, Gal3's role in promoting USC pathology is lacking. METHODS: We explored the relationship between LGALS3 levels and prognosis in USC patients using TCGA database, and examined the association between Gal3 levels in primary USC tumors and clinical-pathological features. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated Gal3-knockout (KO) and GB1107, inhibitor of Gal3, were employed to evaluate Gal3's impact on cell function. RESULTS: TCGA analysis revealed a worse prognosis for USC patients with high LGALS3. Patients with no-to-low Gal3 expression in primary tumors exhibited reduced clinical-pathological tumor progression. Gal3-KO and GB1107 reduced cell proliferation, stemness, adhesion, migration, and or invasion properties of USC lines. Furthermore, Gal3-positive conditioned media (CM) stimulated vascular tubal formation and branching and transition of fibroblast to cancer-associated fibroblast compared to Gal3-negative CM. Xenograft models emphasized the significance of Gal3 loss with fewer and smaller tumors compared to controls. Moreover, GB1107 impeded the growth of USC patient-derived organoids. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest inhibiting Gal3 may benefit USC patients.

A sensitive fluorescence biosensor based on ligation-transcription and CRISPR/Cas13a-assisted cascade amplification strategies to detect the H1N1 virus.

We propose a sensitive H1N1 virus fluorescence biosensor based on ligation-transcription and CRISPR/Cas13a-assisted cascade amplification strategies. Products are generated via the hybridization of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) probes containing T7 promoter and crRNA templates to a target RNA sequence using SplintR ligase. This generates large crRNA quantities in the presence of T7 RNA polymerase. At such crRNA quantities, ternary Cas13a, crRNA, and activator complexes are successfully constructed and activate Cas13a to enhance fluorescence signal outputs. The biosensor sensitively and specifically monitored H1N1 viral RNA levels down to 3.23 pM and showed good linearity when H1N1 RNA concentrations were 100 pM-1 µM. Biosensor specificity was also excellent. Importantly, our biosensor may be used to detect other viral RNAs by altering the sequences of the two probe junctions, with potential applications for the clinical diagnosis of viruses and other biomedical studies.

Bose Condensation of Upper-Branch Exciton-Polaritons in a Transferable Microcavity.

Exciton-polaritons are composite quasiparticles that result from the coupling of excitonic transitions and optical modes. They have been extensively studied because of their quantum phenomena and potential applications in unconventional coherent light sources and all-optical control elements. In this work, we report the observation of Bose-Einstein condensation of the upper polariton branch in a transferable WS2 monolayer microcavity. Near the condensation threshold, we observe a nonlinear increase in upper polariton intensity accompanied by a decrease in line width and an increase in temporal coherence, all of which are hallmarks of Bose-Einstein condensation. Simulations show that this condensation occurs within a specific particle density range, depending on the excitonic properties and pumping conditions. The manifestation of upper polariton condensation unlocks new possibilities for studying the condensate competition while linking it to practical realizations in polaritonic lasers. Our findings contribute to the understanding of bosonic systems and offer potential for the development of polaritonic devices.

The association between human papillomavirus and bladder cancer: Evidence from meta-analysis and two-sample mendelian randomization.

INTRODUCTION: Bladder cancer (BCa) is the 10th most common type of cancer worldwide, and human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection. However, the relationship between HPV infection and the risk of BCa is still controversial and inconclusive. METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted following the PRISMA 2020 reporting guideline. This study searched four bibliographic databases with no language limitation. The databases included PubMed (Medline), EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Studies evaluating the interaction between HPV infection and the risk of BCa from inception through May 21, 2022, were identified and used in this study. This study estimated the overall and type-specific HPV prevalence and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) using Random Effects models and Fixed Effects models. In addition, this study also calculated the pooled odds ratio and pooled risk ratio with 95% CI to assess the effect of HPV infection on the risk and prognosis of bladder cancer. Two-sample mendelian randomization (MR) study using genetic variants associated with HPV E7 protein as instrumental variables were also conducted. RESULTS: This study retrieved 80 articles from the four bibliographic databases. Of the total, 27 were case-control studies, and 53 were cross-sectional studies. The results showed that the prevalence of HPV was 16% (95% CI: 11%-21%) among the BCa patients, most of which were HPV-16 (5.99% [95% CI: 3.03%-9.69%]) and HPV-18 (3.68% [95% CI: 1.72%-6.16%]) subtypes. However, the study found that the prevalence varied by region, detection method, BCa histological type, and sample source. A significantly increased risk of BCa was shown for the positivity of overall HPV (odds ratio [OR], 3.35 [95% CI: 1.75-6.43]), which was also influenced by study region, detection method, histological type, and sample source. In addition, the study found that HPV infection was significantly associated with the progression of BCa (RR, 1.73 [95% CI: 1.39-2.15]). The two-sample MR analysis found that both HPV 16 and 18 E7 protein exposure increased the risk of BCa (HPV 16 E7 protein: IVW OR per unit increase in protein level = 1.0004 [95% CI: 1.0002-1.0006]; p = 0.0011; HPV 18 E7 protein: IVW OR per unit increase in protein level = 1.0003 [95% CI: 1.0001-1.0005]; p = 0.0089). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, HPV may play a role in bladder carcinogenesis and contribute to a worse prognosis for patients with BCa. Therefore, it is necessary for people, especially men, to get vaccinated for HPV vaccination to prevent bladder cancer.

Corneal metabolic biomarkers for moderate and high myopia in human.

This study aimed to identify the corneal metabolic biomarkers for moderate and high myopia in human. We enrolled 221 eyes from 221 subjects with myopia to perform the femtosecond laser small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) surgery. Among these, 71 eyes of 71 subjects were enrolled in the low myopic group, 75 eyes of 75 subjects in the moderate myopic group and 75 eyes of 75 subjects in the high myopic group. The untargeted metabolomics analysis was performed to analyze the corneal tissues extracted during the SMILE surgery using an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled to a quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS). The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to identify the different metabolites among the three myopic groups, the orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) model was used to reveal the different metabolites between moderate myopia and low myopia, and between high myopia and low myopia. The Venn gram was used to find the overlapped metabolites of the three datasets of the different metabolites. The stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the metabolic molecules associated with manifest refractive spherical equivalents (MRSE). The Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis was performed to reveal the corneal biomarkers for moderate and high myopia. The hub biomarker was further selected by the networks among different metabolites created by the Cytoscape software. A total of 1594 metabolites were identified in myopic corneas. 321 metabolites were different among the three myopic groups, 106 metabolites were different between high myopic corneas and low myopic corneas, 104 metabolites were different between moderate myopic corneas and low myopic corneas, and 30 metabolic molecules overlapped among the three datasets. The multivariate linear regression analysis revealed the myopic degree was significantly influenced by the corneal levels of azelaic acid, arginine-proline (Arg-Pro), 1-stearoyl-2-myristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, and hypoxanthine. The ROC curve analysis showed that azelaic acid, Arg-Pro and hypoxanthine were effective in discriminating low myopia from moderate to high myopia with the area under the curve (AUC) values as 0.982, 0.991 and 0.982 for azelaic acid, Arg-Pro and hypoxanthine respectively. The network analysis suggested that Arg-Pro had the maximum connections among these three biomarkers. Thus, this study identified azelaic acid, Arg-Pro and hypoxanthine as corneal biomarkers to discriminate low myopia from moderate to high myopia, with Arg-Pro serving as the hub biomarker for moderate and high myopia.

A comprehensive review on the application of novel disruption techniques for proteins release from microalgae.

There is an emergent demand for sustainable and alternative protein sources such as insects and microorganisms that meet the nutritional requirements. Microalgae possess valuable substances that could satisfy the population's dietary requirement, medicinal purpose, and energy, aligned with effective processing techniques. Several disruption techniques were applied to microalgae species for protein recovery and other compounds. The thick microalgae cell wall makes it difficult to recover all the valuable biomolecules through several downstream processes. Thus, forethought key factors need to be considered when choosing a cell lysis method. The most challenging and crucial issue is selecting a technique that requires consideration of their ability to disrupt all cell types, easy to use, purity degree, reproducible, scalable, and energy efficient. This review aims to provide useful information specifically on mechanical and non-mechanical disruption methods, the status and potential in protein extraction capacities, and constraints. Therefore, further attention in the future on potential technologies, namely explosive decompression, microfluidization, pulsed arc technology, is required to supplement the discussed techniques. This article summarizes recent advances in cell disruption methods and demonstrates insights on new directions of the techniques and future developments.

Light and Potassium Improve the Quality of Dendrobium officinale through Optimizing Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Alteration.

BACKGROUND: Dendrobium officinale is a perennial epiphytic herb in Orchidaceae. Cultivated products are the main alternative for clinical application due to the shortage of wild resources. However, the phenotype and quality of D. officinale have changed post-artificial cultivation, and environmental cues such as light, temperature, water, and nutrition supply are the major influencing factors. This study aims to unveil the mechanisms beneath the cultivation-induced variation by analyzing the changes of the metabolome and transcriptome of D. officinale seedlings treated with red- blue LED light and potassium fertilizer. RESULTS: After light- and K-treatment, the D. officinale pseudobulbs turned purple and the anthocyanin content increased significantly. Through wide-target metabolome analysis, compared with pseudobulbs in the control group (P), the proportion of flavonoids in differentially-accumulated metabolites (DAMs) was 22.4% and 33.5% post light- and K-treatment, respectively. The gene modules coupled to flavonoids were obtained through the coexpression analysis of the light- and K-treated D. officinale transcriptome by WGCNA. The KEGG enrichment results of the key modules showed that the DEGs of the D. officinale pseudobulb were enriched in phenylpropane biosynthesis, flavonoid biosynthesis, and jasmonic acid (JA) synthesis post-light- and K-treatment. In addition, anthocyanin accumulation was the main contribution to the purple color of pseudobulbs, and the plant hormone JA induced the accumulation of anthocyanins in D. officinale. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that light and potassium affected the accumulation of active compounds in D. officinale, and the gene-flavone network analysis emphasizes the key functional genes and regulatory factors for quality improvement in the cultivation of this medicinal plant.

Intralayered Ostwald Ripening-Induced Self-Catalyzed Growth of CNTs on MXene for Robust Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The distinguishable physicochemical properties of MXenes render them attractive in electrochemical energy storage. However, the strong tendency to self-restack owing to the van der Waals interactions between the MXene layers incurs a massive decrease in surface area and blocking of ions transfer and electrolytes penetration. Here, in situ generated Ti3 C2 Tx MXene-carbon nanotubes (Ti3 C2 Tx -CNTs) hybrids are reported via low-temperature self-catalyzing growth of CNTs on Ti3 C2 Tx nanosheets without the addition of any catalyst precursors. With combined spectroscopic studies and theoretical calculation results, it is certified that the intralayered Ostwald ripening-induced Ti3 C2 Tx nanomesh structure contributes to the uniform precipitation of ultrafine metal Ti catalysts on Ti3 C2 Tx , thus giving rise to the in situ CNTs formation on the surface of Ti3 C2 Tx with high integrity. Taking advantages of intimate electrolyte penetration, unobstructed 3D Li+ /e transport, and rich electroactive sites, the Ti3 C2 Tx -CNTs hybrids are confirmed to be ideal 3D scaffolds for accommodating sulfur and regulating the polysulfides conversion for high-loaded lithium-sulfur batteries.

Cytotoxic lymphocytes-related gene ITK from a systematic CRISPR screen could predict prognosis of ovarian cancer patients with distant metastasis.

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer, a highly metastatic malignancy, has benefited tremendously from advances in modern human genomics. However, the genomic variations related to the metastasis remains unclear. METHODS: We filtered various significant genes (n = 6722) associated with metastasis within a large-scale functional genomic CRISPR/Cas9 knock-out library including 122,756 single guide RNAs, and identified ITK (IL2 Inducible T Cell Kinase) as a potential cancer suppressor gene for ovarian cancer metastasis. Downstream bioinformatic analysis was performed for ITK using public databases. RESULTS: We found that patients in low-ITK group had poor prognosis and more distant metastasis than those in high-ITK group in TCGA and GEO databases. We also demonstrated that ITK combined with the clinical factors could accurately predict prognosis through multiple Cox regression analysis and ROC analysis. Moreover, alterations correlated with distant metastasis emereged with significantly increased expression in SAMRCD1 in low-ITK group, but CD244 and SOCS1 in high-ITK group. Integrated analysis revealed dysregulated molecular processes including predominantly oncogenic signaling pathways in low-ITK group but immune related pathways in high-ITK group, which suggested ITK might inhibit distant metastasis in ovarian cancer. Furtherly, deconvolution of the cellular composition of all samples validated the close correlation between ITK and immune related function especially for cytotoxic lymphocytes. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these data provide insights into the potential role of ITK, with implications for the future development of tansformative ovarian cancer therapeutics.

Ynamide-Mediated Thioester Synthesis.

A novel ynamide-mediated thioester synthesis strategy was developed. Importantly, no detectable racemization was observed for the thioesterifications of carboxylic acids containing an α-chiral center, enabling it to be useful for the synthesis of peptide thioester, which is the key component of native chemical ligation. It is worth mentioning that amino acid side chain functional groups such as -OH and indole -NH are compatible with the reaction conditions, rendering their protection unnecessary. Moreover, this method was also amenable to selenoesters.

Associations of environment and lifestyle factors with suboptimal health status: a population-based cross-sectional study in urban China.

INTRODUCTION: Suboptimal health status (SHS), an intermediate state between chronic disease and health, is characterized by chronic fatigue, non-specific pain, headaches, dizziness, anxiety, depression, and functional system disorders with a high prevalence worldwide. Although some lifestyle factors (e.g. smoking, alcohol consumption, physical exercise) and environmental factors (e.g. air quality, noise, living conditions) have already been studied, few studies can comprehensively illustrate the associations of lifestyle and environment factors with general, physical, mental, and social SHS. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 6750 urban residents aged 14 years or over in five random cities from September 2017 to September 2018 through face-to-face questionnaires. There were 5881 valid questionnaires with a response rate of 87%. A general linear model and structural equation model were developed to quantify the effects of lifestyle behaviors and environment factors on SHS. RESULTS: The detection rates of general, physical, mental, and social SHS were 66.7, 67.0, 65.5, and 70.0%, respectively. Good lifestyle behaviors and favorable environment factors positively affected SHS (P < 0.001). Lifestyle behaviors had the largest effect on physical SHS (ß = - 0.418), but the least on social SHS (ß = - 0.274). Environment factors had the largest effect on mental SHS (ß = 0.286), but the least on physical SHS (ß = 0.225). CONCLUSIONS: Lifestyle behaviors and environment factors were important influencing factors of SHS. Physical SHS was more associated with lifestyle. Lifestyle and environment were similarly associated with mental and social SHS.

[Rhein inhibits hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and its mechanism].

This study investigated the effect of rhein(RH) on the apoptosis and autophagy of human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs) induced by hydrogen peroxide(H_2O_2) and its underlying mechanism. The oxidative damage model in HUVECs was established and the cells were divided into different treatment groups. Cell survival rate was detected by MTT assay, apoptosis by Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining and Hoechst 33258 fluorescence staining, autophagy by Ad-mCherry-GFP-LC3 B adenovirus transfection, and protein expression by Western blot. The results showed that RH could protect cells by increasing the cell survival rate in a dose-dependent manner, decreasing the expression of apoptosis-related proteins(Bax and cleaved caspase-3) and the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2, elevating the expression of Bcl-2, up-regulating the expression of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3(LC3)-Ⅱ, and down-regulating the expression of p62. Adenovirus transfection results showed that RH could increase the green and red spots, as well as the yellow spots. However, after the addition of autophagy inhibitor 3-MA, autophagy was reduced and apoptosis was increased. RH could enhance the expression of silent information regulator 2 related enzyme 1(SIRT1). The addition of SIRT1 inhibitor EX-527 reduced the protective effect of RH and cell viability. The addition of 3-MA had no effect on the expression of SIRT1 protein, but the expression of SIRT1 and LC3-Ⅱ proteins decreased and the expression of p62 increased after the addition of EX-527. After RH treatment, the phosphorylation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase(AMPK) increased, while that of the mechanistic target of rapamycin(mTOR) decreased in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, this effect could be weakened by the AMPK inhibitor compound C. RH may enhance autophagy through SIRT1/AMPK/mTOR pathway to reduce H_2O_2-induced apoptosis of HUVECs.

Transcriptome analysis and discovery of genes involved in immune pathways from coelomocytes of Onchidium struma after bacterial challenge.

Onchidium struma widely distributes in subtidal and low-tidal zones, which is considered to be an economical species with rich nutrition, a valuable biomonitor for heavy metal pollution and a representative species for evolution from ocean to land. However, there is limited genetic information available for O. struma development. This study compared transcriptomic profiles of coelomocytes from normal and bacteria infected O. struma by Illumina-based paired-end sequencing to explore the molecular immune mechanism of O. struma against bacterial infection. After assembly, a total of 92,450 unigenes with an average length of 1019 bp were obtained. Approximately 34,964 (37.82%) unigenes were annotated in the Nr NCBI database and 40.1% of unigenes were similar with that of Aplysia californica. Among them, 7609 unigenes were classified into three Gene Ontology (GO) categories: biological process (3250 unigenes, 42.7%), cellular component (2,281, 30.0%) and molecular function (2078 unigenes, 27.3%). A total of 22,776 unigenes were aligned to the Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COG) of proteins and classified into 25 functional categories. Following bacterial infection, 10,623 differently expressed unigenes (DEGs) were identified, including 7644 up-regulated and 2979 down-regulated unigenes. Further KEGG analysis annotated 11,681 DEGs to 42 pathways, and 11 pathways were identified to be related with diseases and immune system. To our knowledge, it was first time to analyze transcriptome profiles of O. struma. Results of the present study will provide valuable theoretical resources for future genetic and genomic research on O. struma. The research results will be helpful for improving the efficiency and quality of artificial breeding, establishing genetic linkage map, and enhancing health management for this species.

Interfacial Engineering and Coupling of MXene/Reduced Graphene Oxide/C3 N4 Aerogel with Optimized d-Band Center as a Free-Standing Sulfur Carrier for High-Performance Li-S Batteries.

To overcome the shuttle effect and improve the energy density of Li-S batteries, developing free-standing sulfur carriers with high capture and catalytic effect towards polysulfides is an effective strategy. Herein, a MXene/reduced graphene oxide/C3 N4 aerogel (MG/C3 N4 ) with three-dimensional architecture prepared through low-temperature hydrothermal approach followed by thermal treatment is used as sulfur carrier for free-standing cathode of Li-S batteries. In the MG/C3 N4 , MXene and rGO construct a highly conductive framework, and the MXene nanosheets offer chemical capture and catalytic activity towards lithium polysulfides, in favor of good cycling stability. The introduction of g-C3 N4 further enhances the reactivity of C-Ti-N at the hetero-interface by engineering the electronic state of Ti atoms, leading to the optimized metal d-band for expediting the multistep conversion of sulfur electrochemistry. Therefore, the free-standing sulfur cathode with MG/C3 N4 carrier achieves excellent performance with a capacity of 1315.6 mAh g-1 at 0.2 C and a capacity retention of 97.5% after 100 cycles as well as superior rate capability with 1167.4 mAh g-1 at 2 C. Even at a high sulfur loading of 4.92 mg cm-2 , the cathode remains 940.3 mAh g-1 (4.62 mAh cm-2 ) after 200 cycles, indicating its promising potential for achieving high-performance Li-S batteries.

High-Performance Sulfurized Polyacrylonitrile Cathode by Using MXene as a Conductive and Catalytic Binder for Room-Temperature Na/S Batteries.

Sulfurized polyacrylonitrile (PAN@S) is a promising cathode material for room-temperature Na/S batteries but suffers from low conductivity and insufficient electrochemical activity, resulting in unsatisfactory actual capacity and rate performance. Herein, Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets are used as a conductive and catalytic binder to establish the PAN@S electrode, wherein MXene constructs a highly conductive framework for fast charge transport and provides high catalytic effect to improve the active material utilization and accelerate the redox kinetics significantly. Therefore, the PAN@S electrode bonded by MXene shows an electronic conductivity of 5.05 S cm-1, 4 orders of magnitude higher than the conventional electrodes bonded by the insulative polymer binders, and much decreased activation energy barrier and resistance. Consequently, the PAN@S electrode displays superior performance in terms of high capacity (697.3 mAh g-1 at 200 mA g-1), unparalleled rate capability (189.0 mAh g-1 at 20 A g-1), and excellent high-rate cycling performance (a capacity decay rate of ∼0.04% per cycle during 1000 cycles at 5 A g-1). This work provides a high-performance electrode for room-temperature Na/S batteries and shows the promising potential of conductive and catalytic MXene binders in boosting the performance of active materials.

Ultrastable Organic Anode Enabled by Electrochemically Active MXene Binder toward Advanced Potassium Ion Storage.

Conjugated carbonyl compounds are regarded as promising organic anode materials for potassium ion batteries (PIBs) due to their rich redox sites, excellent reversibility, and structural tunability, but their low electrical conductivity and severe solubility in organic electrolytes have substantially restricted their practical application. Herein, 2D MXene is utilized as an electrochemically active binder to fabricate perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) electrodes for high-performance PIBs. MXene, coupled with Super-P particles, served as a binder and conductive matrix to facilitate rapid ion and electron transport, restrain the solubility of PTCDA, promote potassium adsorption, and alleviate the volume expansion of PTCDA during potassiation. Consequently, the PTCDA electrode bonded by the MXene/Super-P system delivers excellent potassium storage performance in terms of a high capacity of 462 mAh g-1 at 50 mA g-1, superior rate capability of 116.3 mAh g-1 at 2000 mA g-1, and stable cycle performance over 3000 cycles with a low capacity decay rate of ∼0.0033% per cycle. When configured with the PTCDA@450 cathode, an all-PTCDA potassium ion full cell delivers a maximum energy density of 179.5 Wh kg-1, indicating the superiority of MXene as an electrochemically active binder to promote the practical application of organic anodes for PIBs.

Chattonella marina blooms in a trophic gradient system: Interaction with environmental drivers.

For coastal eutrophication, lots of studies focused on the influence from environmental factors, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, on algae blooms. The interaction between algae and environmental factors has been often ignored. Using Chattonella marina, a dominant species in marine algal blooms, we established a trophic gradient system that simulated C. marina blooms at three trophic levels: eutrophic, mesotrophic, and oligotrophic, and examined the life history patterns of C. marina and the interactions with environmental factors. Increased trophic levels influenced the growth potential of C. marina, while its unique cyst reproduction allowed it to thrive in nutrient-limited environments. Adequate nutrients caused changes in dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH led by C. marina, with the carbonate system playing a crucial role in regulating pH under nutrient-limited conditions. Limiting the growth of C. marina in areas with low nutrient by manipulating reactive silicate (SiO32-) availability may prove effective. Nitrate (NO3-) was the preferred nutrient for C. marina when its concentration exceeded that of ammonium (NH4+). Phosphorus played a crucial role in the growth and proliferation of C. marina, especially when other nutrients were scarce. The findings of this study may provide valuable insights into the effective management and prevention of algae blooms.

Microplastics could alter invasive plant community performance and the dominance of Amaranthus palmeri.

The increase in alien plant invasions poses a major threat to global biodiversity and ecosystem stability. However, the presence of microplastics (MPs) as an environmental stressor could impact the interactions between invasive and native species in an invasive plant community. Nevertheless, the community alterations and underlying mechanisms resulting from these interactions remain unclear. Herein, we systematically investigated the impacts of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) on invasive plant communities invaded by Amaranthus palmeri through soil seed bank. The results illustrated that MPs markedly declined community height and biomass, and altered community structure, low-dose MPs could prominently increase community invasion resistance, but reduced community stability. The niche width and niche overlap of A. palmeri and S. viridis declined when exposed to high-dose MPs, but MPs elicited a significant rise in the niche width of S. salsa. PP had the potential to reduce the diversity of invasive plant community. Structural equation model revealed that PP addition could change soil total phosphorus content, thereby leading to a reduction of the community stability. Our study helps to fill the knowledge gap regarding the effects of MPs on invasive plant communities and provide new perspectives for invasive plant management.

Structural basis for antibody recognition of the proximal MUC16 ectodomain.

BACKGROUND: Mucin 16 (MUC16) overexpression is linked with cancer progression, metastasis, and therapy resistance in high grade serous ovarian cancer and other malignancies. The cleavage of MUC16 forms independent bimodular fragments, the shed tandem repeat sequence which circulates as a protein bearing the ovarian cancer biomarker (CA125) and a proximal membrane-bound component which is critical in MUC16 oncogenic behavior. A humanized, high affinity antibody targeting the proximal ectodomain represents a potential therapeutic agent against MUC16 with lower antigenic potential and restricted human tissue expression. RESULTS: Here, we demonstrate the potential therapeutic versatility of the humanized antibody as a monoclonal antibody, antibody drug conjugate, and chimeric antigen receptor. We report the crystal structures of 4H11-scFv, derived from an antibody specifically targeting the MUC16 C-terminal region, alone and in complex with a 26-amino acid MUC16 segment resolved at 2.36 Å and 2.47 Å resolution, respectively. The scFv forms a robust interaction with an epitope consisting of two consecutive ß-turns and a ß-hairpin stabilized by 2 hydrogen bonds. The VH-VL interface within the 4H11-scFv is stabilized through an intricate network of 11 hydrogen bonds and a cation-π interaction. CONCLUSIONS: Together, our studies offer insight into antibody-MUC16 ectodomain interaction and advance our ability to design agents with potentially improved therapeutic properties over anti-CA125 moiety antibodies.

Biomimetic platelet-like nanoparticles enhance targeted hepatocellular carcinoma therapy.

Curcumin (CUR) is a promising natural product for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) therapy. However, its clinical application has been limited by some issues such as rapid clearance and inadequate tumor accumulation. To address these drawbacks, we developed platelet membrane-coated CUR-loaded PLGA nanoparticles (PCPNPs). In this work, due to the bioinspired strategy, the PCPNPs exhibited immune evasion, prolonged circulation, and improved accumulation at tumor sites compared to the traditional CUR formulation. The superior tumor targeting of PCPNPs was likely due to the interactions between platelet P-selectin and tumoral CD44. Furthermore, both in vitro and in vivo assays revealed that the PCPNPs showed outstanding anticancer efficacy without obvious toxicity. Therefore, PCPNPs represent a biosafe and promising anti-tumor strategy, overcoming the limitations associated with CUR. These findings not only contribute to the advancement of natural compound nano-formulation but also open new avenues for targeted cancer treatment.