Interactions between ZnO Nanoparticles and Polyphenols Affect Biological Responses.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) are used as a food additive Zn supplement due to the role of Zn in biological functions. They are directly added to complex processed foods or Zn-fortified functional foods. Hence, the interactions between ZnO NPs and nutritional or functional components can occur. In this study, the effects of ZnO NP interactions with two polyphenols (quercetin and rutin) on cytotoxicity, antioxidant activity, ex vivo intestinal absorption, and solubility were evaluated. Moreover, the characterization on the interactions was carried out by analyzing crystallinity, surface chemical bonding, chemical composition, and surface chemistry. The results demonstrate that the interactions caused higher cytotoxicity, ex vivo intestinal transport, and solubility of ZnO NPs than pristine ZnO NPs but did not affect antioxidant activity nor intestinal absorption of the polyphenols. The interaction effects were more evident by ZnO NPs interacted with quercetin than with rutin. The crystallinity of ZnO NPs was not influenced, but the degree of exposure of the chemical bondings, elemental compositions, and chemical group intensities on the surface of ZnO NPs, quercetin, or rutin were quenched or decreased to some extent by the interactions, especially by ZnO NPs interacted with quercetin. It is, therefore, concluded that the interactions affect chemical characteristics and surface chemical sates of ZnO NPs, quercetin, or rutin, which can cause high cytotoxicity, intestinal absorption, and solubility of ZnO NPs. Further study is required to elucidate the mechanism of action of the interactions.

Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Wilson's Disease Model for Screening Drug Efficacy.

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) including human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have been extensively studied as an alternative cellular model for recapitulating phenotypic and pathophysiologic characters of human diseases. Particularly, hiPSCs generated from the genetic disease somatic cells could provide a good cellular model to screen potential drugs for treating human genetic disorders. However, the patient-derived cellular model has a limitation when the patient samples bearing genetic mutations are difficult to obtain due to their rarity. Thus, in this study, we explored the potential use of hPSC-derived Wilson's disease model generated without a patient sample to provide an alternative approach for modeling human genetic disease by applying gene editing technology. Wilson's disease hPSCs were generated by introducing a R778L mutation in the ATP7B gene (c.2333G>T) using Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system into wildtype hESCs. Established Wilson's disease hESCs were further differentiated into hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) and analyzed for disease phenotypes and responses against therapeutic agent treatment. R778L mutation in the ATP7B gene was successfully introduced into wildtype hESCs, and the introduction of the mutation neither altered the self-renewal ability of hESCs nor the differentiation capability into HLCs. However, R778L mutation-introduced HLCs exhibited higher vulnerability against excessive copper supplementation than wildtype HLCs. Finally, the applicability of the R778L mutation introduced HLCs in drug screening was further demonstrated using therapeutic agents against the Wilson's diseases. Therefore, the established model in this study could effectively mimic the Wilson's disease without patient's somatic cells and could provide a reliable alternative model for studying and drug screening of Wilson's disease.

The Effect of Interfascial Injection on Obturator Nerve Block Compared with Nerve Stimulating Approach by Ultrasound-Guide: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to evaluate whether the ultrasound-guided interfascial injection technique is really compatible with the ultrasound-guided nerve stimulating technique for obturator nerve block (ONB) at the inguinal crease after bifurcation of the obturator nerve. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total 62 ONBs were performed for transurethral resection of bladder tumors under spinal anesthesia, and divided into two groups, that is, to an ultrasound-guided ONB with nerve stimulation control group (the US-NS group) or an ultrasound-guided interfascial injection experimental group (the US-IFI group). In the US-IFI group, complete ONB was confirmed using a nerve stimulator at 5 min after completing the injection, and if residual twitching remained, another local anesthetic was injected; in such cases blocks were considered to have 'failed'. During TURB surgeries, two urology assistants determined obturator reflex grade (I-IV) at 15 min after injection completion in both groups. RESULTS: We assumed that the US-NS group achieved complete ONB in all cases. Six cases in the US-IFI group failed to achieve complete ONB (failure rate: 0% versus 19.4%, P = .012). There was one case of grade II obturator reflex in each group. CONCLUSION: The ultrasound-guided interfascial injection technique was not compatible with the ultrasound-guided nerve stimulating technique for ONB at the inguinal crease.