CXCR5(+) follicular cytotoxic T cells control viral infection in B cell follicles.

During unresolved infections, some viruses escape immunological control and establish a persistant reservoir in certain cell types, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which persists in follicular helper T cells (TFH cells), and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which persists in B cells. Here we identified a specialized group of cytotoxic T cells (TC cells) that expressed the chemokine receptor CXCR5, selectively entered B cell follicles and eradicated infected TFH cells and B cells. The differentiation of these cells, which we have called 'follicular cytotoxic T cells' (TFC cells), required the transcription factors Bcl6, E2A and TCF-1 but was inhibited by the transcriptional regulators Blimp1, Id2 and Id3. Blimp1 and E2A directly regulated Cxcr5 expression and, together with Bcl6 and TCF-1, formed a transcriptional circuit that guided TFC cell development. The identification of TFC cells has far-reaching implications for the development of strategies to control infections that target B cells and TFH cells and to treat B cell-derived malignancies.

Localisation and function of key axonemal microtubule inner proteins and dynein docking complex members reveal extensive diversity among vertebrate motile cilia.

Vertebrate motile cilia are classified as (9+2) or (9+0), based on the presence or absence of the central pair apparatus, respectively. Cryogenic electron microscopy analyses of (9+2) cilia have uncovered an elaborate axonemal protein composition. The extent to which these features are conserved in (9+0) cilia remains unclear. CFAP53, a key axonemal filamentous microtubule inner protein (fMIP) and a centriolar satellites component, is essential for motility of (9+0), but not (9+2) cilia. Here, we show that in (9+2) cilia, CFAP53 functions redundantly with a paralogous fMIP, MNS1. MNS1 localises to ciliary axonemes, and combined loss of both proteins in zebrafish and mice caused severe outer dynein arm loss from (9+2) cilia, significantly affecting their motility. Using immunoprecipitation, we demonstrate that, whereas MNS1 can associate with itself and CFAP53, CFAP53 is unable to self-associate. We also show that additional axonemal dynein-interacting proteins, two outer dynein arm docking (ODAD) complex members, show differential localisation between types of motile cilia. Together, our findings clarify how paralogous fMIPs, CFAP53 and MNS1, function in regulating (9+2) versus (9+0) cilia motility, and further emphasise extensive structural diversity among these organelles.

Interferon lambda 4 is a gut antimicrobial protein.

To withstand complex microbial challenges, the mammalian gut largely depends on the secretion of diverse antimicrobial proteins. Type III interferons (IFNλs) are ordinarily considered inducible antiviral cytokines involved in intestinal immunity. Unlike other IFNλs, we found that newly identified IFNλ4 is an intestinal antibacterial protein. Large amounts of natural IFNλ4 are present in the secretory layer of the intestinal tracts of healthy piglets, which suggests that IFNλ4 is in direct physiological contact with microbial pathogens. We also identified two biochemical functions of mammalian IFNλ4, the induction of bacterial agglutination and direct microbial killing, which are not functions of the other IFNλs. Further mechanistic investigations revealed that after binding to the carbohydrate fraction of lipopolysaccharide, mammalian IFNλ4 self-assembles into bacteria-surrounding nanoparticles that agglutinate bacteria, and that its unique cationic amphiphilic molecular structure facilitates the destruction of bacterial membranes. Our data reveal features of IFNλ4 distinct from those of previously reported IFNλs and suggest that noncanonical IFNλ4 is deeply involved in intestinal immunity, beyond simply cytokine signaling.

Hierarchical multimodal self-attention-based graph neural network for DTI prediction.

Drug-target interactions (DTIs) are a key part of drug development process and their accurate and efficient prediction can significantly boost development efficiency and reduce development time. Recent years have witnessed the rapid advancement of deep learning, resulting in an abundance of deep learning-based models for DTI prediction. However, most of these models used a single representation of drugs and proteins, making it difficult to comprehensively represent their characteristics. Multimodal data fusion can effectively compensate for the limitations of single-modal data. However, existing multimodal models for DTI prediction do not take into account both intra- and inter-modal interactions simultaneously, resulting in limited presentation capabilities of fused features and a reduction in DTI prediction accuracy. A hierarchical multimodal self-attention-based graph neural network for DTI prediction, called HMSA-DTI, is proposed to address multimodal feature fusion. Our proposed HMSA-DTI takes drug SMILES, drug molecular graphs, protein sequences and protein 2-mer sequences as inputs, and utilizes a hierarchical multimodal self-attention mechanism to achieve deep fusion of multimodal features of drugs and proteins, enabling the capture of intra- and inter-modal interactions between drugs and proteins. It is demonstrated that our proposed HMSA-DTI has significant advantages over other baseline methods on multiple evaluation metrics across five benchmark datasets.

Reinforcement learning-driven exploration of peptide space: accelerating generation of drug-like peptides.

Using amino acid residues in peptide generation has solved several key problems, including precise control of amino acid sequence order, customized peptides for property modification, and large-scale peptide synthesis. Proteins contain unknown amino acid residues. Extracting them for the synthesis of drug-like peptides can create novel structures with unique properties, driving drug development. Computer-aided design of novel peptide drug molecules can solve the high-cost and low-efficiency problems in the traditional drug discovery process. Previous studies faced limitations in enhancing the bioactivity and drug-likeness of polypeptide drugs due to less emphasis on the connection relationships in amino acid structures. Thus, we proposed a reinforcement learning-driven generation model based on graph attention mechanisms for peptide generation. By harnessing the advantages of graph attention mechanisms, this model effectively captured the connectivity structures between amino acid residues in peptides. Simultaneously, leveraging reinforcement learning's strength in guiding optimal sequence searches provided a novel approach to peptide design and optimization. This model introduces an actor-critic framework with real-time feedback loops to achieve dynamic balance between attributes, which can customize the generation of multiple peptides for specific targets and enhance the affinity between peptides and targets. Experimental results demonstrate that the generated drug-like peptides meet specified absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity properties and bioactivity with a success rate of over 90$\%$, thereby significantly accelerating the process of drug-like peptide generation.

Optimizing oxygen vacancies through grain boundary engineering to enhance electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction.

Electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction is a challenging process that requires achieving high ammonia yield rate and reasonable faradaic efficiency. To address this issue, this study developed a catalyst by in situ anchoring interfacial intergrown ultrafine MoO2 nanograins on N-doped carbon fibers. By optimizing the thermal treatment conditions, an abundant number of grain boundaries were generated between MoO2 nanograins, which led to an increased fraction of oxygen vacancies. This, in turn, improved the transfer of electrons, resulting in the creation of highly active reactive sites and efficient nitrogen trapping. The resulting optimal catalyst, MoO2/C700, outperformed commercial MoO2 and state-of-the-art N2 reduction catalysts, with NH3 yield and Faradic efficiency of 173.7 µg h-1 mg-1cat and 27.6%, respectively, under - 0.7 V vs. RHE in 1 M KOH electrolyte. In situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization and density functional theory calculation validated the electronic structure effect and advantage of N2 adsorption over oxygen vacancy, revealing the dominant interplay of N2 and oxygen vacancy and generating electronic transfer between nitrogen and Mo(IV). The study also unveiled the origin of improved activity by correlating with the interfacial effect, demonstrating the big potential for practical N2 reduction applications as the obtained optimal catalyst exhibited appreciable catalytic stability during 60 h of continuous electrolysis. This work demonstrates the feasibility of enhancing electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction by engineering grain boundaries to promote oxygen vacancies, offering a promising avenue for efficient and sustainable ammonia production.

NRX-0492 degrades wild-type and C481 mutant BTK and demonstrates in vivo activity in CLL patient-derived xenografts.

Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) is essential for B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling, a driver of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Covalent inhibitors bind C481 in the active site of BTK and have become a preferred CLL therapy. Disease progression on covalent BTK inhibitors is commonly associated with C481 mutations. Here, we investigated a targeted protein degrader, NRX-0492, that links a noncovalent BTK-binding domain to cereblon, an adaptor protein of the E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. NRX-0492 selectively catalyzes ubiquitylation and proteasomal degradation of BTK. In primary CLL cells, NRX-0492 induced rapid and sustained degradation of both wild-type and C481 mutant BTK at half maximal degradation concentration (DC50) of ≤0.2 nM and DC90 of ≤0.5 nM, respectively. Sustained degrader activity was maintained for at least 24 hours after washout and was equally observed in high-risk (deletion 17p) and standard-risk (deletion 13q only) CLL subtypes. In in vitro testing against treatment-naïve CLL samples, NRX-0492 was as effective as ibrutinib at inhibiting BCR-mediated signaling, transcriptional programs, and chemokine secretion. In patient-derived xenografts, orally administered NRX-0492 induced BTK degradation and inhibited activation and proliferation of CLL cells in blood and spleen and remained efficacious against primary C481S mutant CLL cells collected from a patient progressing on ibrutinib. Oral bioavailability, >90% degradation of BTK at subnanomolar concentrations, and sustained pharmacodynamic effects after drug clearance make this class of targeted protein degraders uniquely suitable for clinical translation, in particular as a strategy to overcome BTK inhibitor resistance. Clinical studies testing this approach have been initiated (NCT04830137, NCT05131022).

KLF10/CBS increases the sensitivity of gastric carcinoma cells to methionine restriction by promoting sulfur transfer pathway.

Gastric cancer metastasis is a major cause of poor prognosis. Our previous research showed that methionine restriction (MR) lowers the invasiveness and motility of gastric carcinoma. In this study, we investigated the particular mechanisms of MR on gastric carcinoma metastasis. In vitro, gastric carcinoma cells (AGS, SNU-5, MKN7, KATO III, SNU-1, and MKN45) were grown in an MR medium for 24 h. In vivo, BALB/c mice were given a methionine-free (Met-) diet. Transwell assays were used to investigate cell invasion and migration. The amounts of Krüppel like factor 10 (KLF10) and cystathionine ß-synthase (CBS) were determined using quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot. To determine the relationship between KLF10 and CBS, chromatin immunoprecipitation and a dual-luciferase reporter experiment were used. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to detect lung metastasis. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to determine cystathionine content. MR therapy had varying effects on the invasion and migration of gastric carcinoma cells AGS, SNU-5, MKN7, KATO III, SNU-1, and MKN45. KLF10 was highly expressed in AGS cells but poorly expressed in KATO III cells. KLF10 improved MR's ability to prevent gastric carcinoma cell invasion and migration. In addition, KLF10 may interact with CBS, facilitating transcription. Further detection revealed that inhibiting the KLF10/CBS-mediated trans-sulfur pathway lowered Met-'s inhibitory effect on lung metastasis development. KLF10 transcription activated CBS, accelerated the trans-sulfur pathway, and increased gastric carcinoma cells' susceptibility to MR.

Myocardial infarction drives trained immunity of monocytes, accelerating atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Survivors of acute coronary syndromes face an elevated risk of recurrent atherosclerosis-related vascular events despite advanced medical treatments. The underlying causes remain unclear. This study aims to investigate whether myocardial infarction (MI)-induced trained immunity in monocytes could sustain proatherogenic traits and expedite atherosclerosis. METHODS: Apolipoprotein-E deficient (ApoE-/-) mice and adoptive bone marrow transfer chimeric mice underwent MI or myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion (IR). A subsequent 12-week high-fat diet (HFD) regimen was implemented to elucidate the mechanism behind monocyte trained immunity. In addition, classical monocytes were analysed by flow cytometry in the blood of enrolled patients. RESULTS: In MI and IR mice, blood monocytes and bone marrow-derived macrophages exhibited elevated spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK), lysine methyltransferase 5A (KMT5A), and CCHC-type zinc finger nucleic acid-binding protein (CNBP) expression upon exposure to a HFD or oxidized LDL (oxLDL) stimulation. MI-induced trained immunity was transmissible by transplantation of bone marrow to accelerate atherosclerosis in naive recipients. KMT5A specifically recruited monomethylation of Lys20 of histone H4 (H4K20me) to the gene body of SYK and synergistically transactivated SYK with CNBP. In vivo small interfering RNA (siRNA) inhibition of KMT5A or CNBP potentially slowed post-MI atherosclerosis. Sympathetic denervation with 6-hydroxydopamine reduced atherosclerosis and inflammation after MI. Classical monocytes from ST-elevation MI (STEMI) patients with advanced coronary lesions expressed higher SYK and KMT5A gene levels. CONCLUSIONS: The findings underscore the crucial role of monocyte trained immunity in accelerated atherosclerosis after MI, implying that SYK in blood classical monocytes may serve as a predictive factor for the progression of atherosclerosis in STEMI patients.

Jellyfish-Inspired Self-Healing Luminescent Elastomers Based on Borate Nanoassemblies for Dual-Model Encryption.

Responsive luminescent materials that reversibly react to external stimuli have emerged as prospective platforms for information encryption applications. Despite brilliant achievements, the existing fluorescent materials usually have low information density and experience inevitable information loss when subjected to mechanical damage. Here, inspired by the hierarchical nanostructure of fluorescent proteins in jellyfish, we propose a self-healable, photoresponsive luminescent elastomer based on dynamic interface-anchored borate nanoassemblies for smart dual-model encryption. The rigid cyclodextrin molecule restricts the movement of the guest fluorescent molecules, enabling long room-temperature phosphorescence (0.37 s) and excitation wavelength-responsive fluorescence. The building of reversible interfacial bonding between nanoassemblies and polymer matrix together with their nanoconfinement effect endows the nanocomposites with excellent mechanical performances (tensile strength of 15.8 MPa) and superior mechanical and functional recovery capacities after damage. Such supramolecular nanoassemblies with dynamic nanoconfinement and interfaces enable simultaneous material functionalization and self-healing, paving the way for the development of advanced functional materials.

Excellent Barocaloric Effect by Modulating Geometrical Frustrations in Mn3Pt.

Barocaloric materials hold great promise for next-generation solid-state cooling devices because of their green and efficient cooling performance. The insights into low-pressure-driven barocaloric materials are expected to pave the way for the widespread application of barocaloric refrigeration technology. Here, we reveal the low-pressure-driven large barocaloric effect (BCE) modulated by geometrical frustrations in Mn3Pt. The highest sensitivity to pressure of Mn3Pt in metal BCE materials results in an excellent temperature-change strength of 9.77 K 100-1 MPa-1. Neutron powder diffraction and first-principles calculations point out the dual effect of geometrical frustration on modulating the unusual BCE, which not only induces giant volume expansion by inspiring strong spin fluctuation and magnetic moment but also enhances the sensitivity of magnetic phase transition. The model of the dual effect of geometrical frustration in magnets with geometrical frustration is established, which will promote the research progress of barocaloric refrigeration devices.

ESRP1-mediated biogenesis of circPTPN12 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma progression by PDLIM2/ NF-κB pathway.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence indicates the pivotal involvement of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in cancer initiation and progression. Understanding the functions and underlying mechanisms of circRNAs in tumor development holds promise for uncovering novel diagnostic indicators and therapeutic targets. In this study, our focus was to elucidate the function and regulatory mechanism of hsa-circ-0003764 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: A newly discovered hsa-circ-0003764 (circPTPN12) was identified from the circbase database. QRT-PCR analysis was utilized to assess the expression levels of hsa-circ-0003764 in both HCC tissues and cells. We conducted in vitro and in vivo experiments to examine the impact of circPTPN12 on the proliferation and apoptosis of HCC cells. Additionally, RNA-sequencing, RNA immunoprecipitation, biotin-coupled probe pull-down assays, and FISH were employed to confirm and establish the relationship between hsa-circ-0003764, PDLIM2, OTUD6B, P65, and ESRP1. RESULTS: In HCC, the downregulation of circPTPN12 was associated with an unfavorable prognosis. CircPTPN12 exhibited suppressive effects on the proliferation of HCC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, RNA sequencing assays unveiled the NF-κB signaling pathway as a targeted pathway of circPTPN12. Functionally, circPTPN12 was found to interact with the PDZ domain of PDLIM2, facilitating the ubiquitination of P65. Furthermore, circPTPN12 bolstered the assembly of the PDLIM2/OTUD6B complex by promoting the deubiquitination of PDLIM2. ESRP1 was identified to bind to pre-PTPN12, thereby fostering the generation of circPTPN12. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, our findings indicate the involvement of circPTPN12 in modulating PDLIM2 function, influencing HCC progression. The identified ESRP1/circPTPN12/PDLIM2/NF-κB axis shows promise as a novel therapeutic target in the context of HCC.

Price negotiation and pricing of anticancer drugs in China: An observational study.

BACKGROUND: While China has implemented reimbursement-linked drug price negotiation annually since 2017, emphasizing value-based pricing to achieve a value-based strategic purchase of medical insurance, whether drug prices became better aligned with clinical value after price negotiation has not been sufficiently established. This study aimed to assess the changes in prices and their relationship with the clinical value of anticancer drugs after the implementation of price negotiations in China. METHODS AND FINDINGS: In this observational study, anticancer drug indications that were negotiated successfully between 2017 and 2022 were identified through National Reimbursement Drug Lists (NRDL) of China. We excluded extensions of indications for drugs already listed in the NRDL, indications for pediatric use, and indications lacking corresponding clinical trials. We identified pivotal clinical trials for included indications by consulting review reports or drug labels issued by the Center for Drug Evaluation, National Medical Products Administration. We calculated treatment costs as outcome measures based on publicly available prices and collected data on clinical value including safety, survival, quality of life, and overall response rate (ORR) from publications of pivotal clinical trials. The associations between drug costs and clinical value, both before and after negotiation, were analyzed using regression analyses. We also examined whether price negotiation has led to a reduction in the variation of treatment costs for a given value. We included 103 anticancer drug indications, primarily for the treatment of blood cancer, lung cancer, and breast cancer, with 76 supported by randomized controlled trials and 27 supported by single-arm clinical trials. The median treatment costs over the entire sample have been reduced from US$34,460.72 (interquartile range (IQR): 19,990.49 to 55,441.66) to US$13,688.79 (IQR: 7,746.97 to 21,750.97) after price negotiation (P < 0.001). Before price negotiation, each additional month of survival gained was associated with an increase in treatment costs of 3.4% (95% confidence interval (CI) [2.1, 4.8], P < 0.001) for indications supported by randomized controlled trials, and a 10% increase in ORR was associated with a 6.0% (95% CI [1.6, 10.3], P = 0.009) increase in treatment costs for indications supported by single-arm clinical trials. After price negotiation, the associations between costs and clinical value may not have changed significantly, but the variation of drug costs for a given value was reduced. Study limitations include the lack of transparency in official data, missing data on clinical value, and a limited sample size. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we found that the implementation of price negotiation in China has led to drug pricing better aligned with clinical value for anticancer drugs even after substantial price reductions. The achievements made in China could shed light on the price regulation in other countries, particularly those with limited resources and increasing drug expenditures.

Bioinformatics and experimental studies jointly reveal that Sacubitril Valsartan improves myocardial oxidative stress and inflammation by regulating the MAPK signaling pathway to treat chemotherapy related cardiotoxicity.

BACKGROUND: CRC is a common but serious complication or sequela of tumor treatment, and new coping strategies are urgently needed. SV is a classic clinical cardiovascular protective drug, which has been widely used in the treatment of heart failure, hypertension and other diseases. It has good therapeutic effect in other cardiovascular diseases such as diabetes cardiomyopathy, ischemic cardiomyopathy and vascular disease, but it has not been proved by research that SV can prevent and treat CRC. METHOD: In this study, DOX was used to induce a rat CRC model and evaluate the therapeutic effect of SV on it. Subsequently, R software was applied to analyze the control group, SV group, and DOX group in databases GSE207283 and GSE22369, and to screen for common differentially expressed genes. Use the DAVID website for enrichment analysis and visualization. Use STRING website to analyze and visualize protein interaction networks of key genes. Finally, experimental verification was conducted on key genes. RESULT: Our research results show that SV has a protective effect on DOX induced myocardial injury by alleviating Weight loss, increasing Ejection fraction, and reducing the level of biomarkers of myocardial injury. Meanwhile, SV can effectively alleviate the above abnormalities. Bioinformatics and KEGG pathway analysis showed significant enrichment of metabolic and MAPK signaling pathways, suggesting that they may be the main regulatory pathway for SV treatment of CRC. Subsequent studies have also confirmed that SV can inhibit DOX induced myocardial injury through the MAPK signaling pathway, and alleviate DOX induced oxidative stress and inflammatory states. CONCLUSION: Our research indicates that SV is a potential drug for treating CRC and preliminarily elucidates its molecular mechanism of regulating the MAPK pathway to improve oxidative stress and inflammation.

Vineyard microclimate alterations induced by black inter-row mulch through transcriptome reshaped the flavoromics of cabernet sauvignon grapes.

BACKGROUND: Weed control is essential for agricultural floor management in vineyards and the inter-row mulching is an eco-friendly practice to inhibit weed growth via filtering out photosynthetically active radiation. Besides weed suppression, inter-row mulching can influence grapevine growth and the accumulation of metabolites in grape berries. However, the complex interaction of multiple factors in the field challenges the understanding of molecular mechanisms on the regulated metabolites. In the current study, black geotextile inter-row mulch (M) was applied for two vintages (2016-2017) from anthesis to harvest. Metabolomics and transcriptomics analysis were conducted in two vintages, aiming to provide insights into metabolic and molecular responses of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes to M in a semi-arid climate. RESULTS: Upregulation of genes related to photosynthesis and heat shock proteins confirmed that M weakened the total light exposure and grapes suffered heat stress, resulting in lower sugar-acid ratio at harvest. Key genes responsible for enhancements in phenylalanine, glutamine, ornithine, arginine, and C6 alcohol concentrations, and the downward trend in ε-viniferin, anthocyanins, flavonols, terpenes, and norisoprenoids in M grapes were identified. In addition, several modules significantly correlated with the metabolic biomarkers through weighted correlation network analysis, and the potential key transcription factors regulating the above metabolites including VviGATA11, VviHSFA6B, and VviWRKY03 were also identified. CONCLUSION: This study provides a valuable overview of metabolic and transcriptomic responses of M grapes in semi-arid climates, which could facilitate understanding the complex regulatory network of metabolites in response to microclimate changes.

Real-world performance of indobufen versus aspirin after percutaneous coronary intervention: insights from the ASPIRATION registry.

BACKGROUND: Indobufen is widely used in patients with aspirin intolerance in East Asia. The OPTION trial launched by our cardiac center examined the performance of indobufen based dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, the vast majority of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and aspirin intolerance were excluded. We aimed to explore this question in a real-world population. METHODS: Patients enrolled in the ASPIRATION registry were grouped according to the DAPT strategy that they received after PCI. The primary endpoints were major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) and Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) type 2, 3, or 5 bleeding. Propensity score matching (PSM) was adopted for confounder adjustment. RESULTS: A total of 7135 patients were reviewed. After one-year follow-up, the indobufen group was associated with the same risk of MACCE versus the aspirin group after PSM (6.5% vs. 6.5%, hazard ratio [HR] = 0.99, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.65 to 1.52, P = 0.978). However, BARC type 2, 3, or 5 bleeding was significantly reduced (3.0% vs. 11.9%, HR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.15 to 0.40, P < 0.001). These results were generally consistent across different subgroups including aspirin intolerance, except that indobufen appeared to increase the risk of MACCE in patients with ACS. CONCLUSIONS: Indobufen shared the same risk of MACCE but a lower risk of bleeding after PCI versus aspirin from a real-world perspective. Due to the observational nature of the current analysis, future studies are still warranted to further evaluate the efficacy of indobufen based DAPT, especially in patients with ACS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Register ( https://www.chictr.org.cn ); Number: ChiCTR2300067274.

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the evolution of the immune landscape during perihematomal edema progression after intracerebral hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Perihematomal edema (PHE) after post-intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has complex pathophysiological mechanisms that are poorly understood. The complicated immune response in the post-ICH brain constitutes a crucial component of PHE pathophysiology. In this study, we aimed to characterize the transcriptional profiles of immune cell populations in human PHE tissue and explore the microscopic differences between different types of immune cells. METHODS: 9 patients with basal ganglia intracerebral hemorrhage (hematoma volume 50-100 ml) were enrolled in this study. A multi-stage profile was developed, comprising Group1 (n = 3, 0-6 h post-ICH, G1), Group2 (n = 3, 6-24 h post-ICH, G2), and Group3 (n = 3, 24-48 h post-ICH, G3). A minimal quantity of edematous tissue surrounding the hematoma was preserved during hematoma evacuation. Single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was used to map immune cell populations within comprehensively resected PHE samples collected from patients at different stages after ICH. RESULTS: We established, for the first time, a comprehensive landscape of diverse immune cell populations in human PHE tissue at a single-cell level. Our study identified 12 microglia subsets and 5 neutrophil subsets in human PHE tissue. What's more, we discovered that the secreted phosphoprotein-1 (SPP1) pathway served as the basis for self-communication between microglia subclusters during the progression of PHE. Additionally, we traced the trajectory branches of different neutrophil subtypes. Finally, we also demonstrated that microglia-produced osteopontin (OPN) could regulate the immune environment in PHE tissue by interacting with CD44-positive cells. CONCLUSIONS: As a result of our research, we have gained valuable insight into the immune-microenvironment within PHE tissue, which could potentially be used to develop novel treatment modalities for ICH.

A 3,3'-Difluoro-2,2'-Bithiophene Based Donor Polymer Realizing High Efficiency (>17%) Single Junction Binary Organic Solar Cells.

In this study, two novel donor-acceptor (D-A) copolymers are designed and synthesized, DTBT-2T and DTBT-2T2F with 2,2'-bithiophene or 3,3'-difluoro-2,2'-bithiophene as the donor unit and dithienobenzothiadiazole as the acceptor unit, and used them as donor materials in non-fullerene organic solar cells (OSCs). Due to enhanced planarity of polymer chains resulted by the intramolecular F···S noncovalent interactions, the incorporation of 3,3'-difluoro-2,2'-bithiophene unit instead of 2,2'-bithiophene into the polymers can enhance their molecular packing, crystallinity and hole mobility. The DTBT-2T:L8-BO based binary OSCs deliver a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of only 9.71% with a Voc of 0.78 V, a Jsc of 20.69 mA cm-2 , and an FF of 59.67%. Moreover, the introduction of fluoro atoms can lower the highest occupied molecular orbital levels. As a result, DTBT-2T2F:L8-BO based single-junction binary OSCs exhibited less recombination loss, more balanced charge mobility, and more favorable morphology, resulting in an impressive PCE of 17.03% with a higher Voc of 0.89 V, a Jsc of 25.40 mA cm-2, and an FF of 75.74%. These results indicate that 3,3'-difluoro-2,2'-bithiophene unit can be used as an effective building block to synthesize high performance polymer donor materials. This work greatly expands the selection range of donor units for constructing high-performance polymers.

Organic Nucleation: Water Rearrangement Reveals the Pathway of Ibuprofen.

The organic nucleation of the pharmaceutical ibuprofen is investigated, as triggered by the protonation of ibuprofen sodium salt at elevated pH. The growth and aggregation of nanoscale solution species by Analytical Ultracentrifugation and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations is tracked. Both approaches reveal solvated molecules, oligomers, and prenucleation clusters, their size as well as their hydration at different reaction stages. By combining surface-specific vibrational spectroscopy and MD simulations, water interacting with ibuprofen at the air-water interface during nucleation is probed. The results show the structure of water changes upon ibuprofen protonation in response to the charge neutralization. Remarkably, the water structure continues to evolve despite the saturation of protonated ibuprofen at the hydrophobic interface. This further water rearrangement is associated with the formation of larger aggregates of ibuprofen molecules at a late prenucleation stage. The nucleation of ibuprofen involves ibuprofen protonation and their hydrophobic assembly. The results highlight that these processes are accompanied by substantial water reorganization. The critical role of water is possibly relevant for organic nucleation in aqueous environments in general.

Mechanism of Autocatalytic Reduction of CO2 over MgCO3 to High Value-Added Chemicals: A DFT & AIMD Study.

Calcination of MgCO3 is an important industrial reaction, but it causes significant and unfavorable CO2 production. Calcination in a reducing green hydrogen atmosphere can substantially reduce CO2 release and produce high value-added products such as CO or hydrocarbons, but the mechanism is still unclear. Here, the in situ transformation process of MgCO3 interacting with hydrogen and the specific formation mechanism of the high value-added products are thoroughly investigated based on reaction thermodynamic, ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The reaction thermodynamic parameters of MgCO3 coupled with hydrogen to produce CO or methane are calculated, revealing that increasing and decreasing the thermal reductive decomposition temperature favors the production of CO and methane, respectively. Kinetically, the energy barriers of each possible production pathway for the dominant products CO and methane are further calculated in conjunction with the AIMD simulation results of the transformation process. The results suggest that CO is produced via the MgO catalytic-carboxyl pathway (CO2*→ COOH*trans→ COOH*cis→ CO*→ CO), which is autocatalyzed by MgO derived from the thermal reductive decomposition of MgCO3. For the mechanism of methane formation, it prefers to be produced by the stepwise interaction of carbonates in the MgCO3 laminates with hydrogen adsorbed on their surfaces (direct conversion pathway: sur-O-CO → sur-O-HCO → sur-O-HCOH → sur-O-HC → sur-O-CH2 → sur-O-CH3 → sur-O + CH4*).