Fangji Huangqi decoction ameliorates membranous nephropathy through the upregulation of BNIP3-mediated mitophagy.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Fangji Huangqi Decoction (FJHQ), a traditional Chinese medicinal formula outlined in Zhang Zhongjing's "Jin Gui Yao Lue" during the Han Dynasty, is often used to treat conditions characterized by symptoms like edema and dysuria, including membranous nephropathy (MN). Despite its proven clinical effectiveness, the exact mechanisms through which FJHQ acts on MN remain elusive. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to investigate whether FJHQ enhances BNIP3-mediated mitophagy in podocytes by promoting BNIP3 expression and whether this improvement leads to the amelioration of MN. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, by establishing passive Heymann nephritis (PHN) rats, an experimental rat model of MN induced by sheep anti-rat Fx1A serum, we evaluated the effects of FJHQ in vivo. In vitro experiments were carried out by treating primary podocytes with experimental rat serum. Furthermore, the potential mechanism by which FJHQ acts through BNIP3 was further examined by transfecting primary podocytes with the siRNA of BNIP3 or the corresponding control vector. RESULTS: After 4 weeks, significant kidney damage was observed in the rats in the model group, comparatively, FJHQ markedly decreased urine volume, 24-h urinary protein, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Scr), and increased serum total albumin (ALB). Histology showed that FJHQ caused significant improvements in glomerular hyperplasia, and IgG immune complex deposition in MN rats. JC-1 fluorescence labelling and flow cytometry analysis showed that FJHQ could significantly increase mitochondrial membrane potential in vivo. In the mitochondria of MN model rats, FJHQ was able to down-regulate the expression of P62 and up-regulate the expression of BNIP3, LC3B, and LC3 II/LC3 I, according to Western blot and immunofluorescence studies. Furthermore, FJHQ has been shown to significantly up-regulate mitochondrial membrane potential, down-regulate P62 expression in mitochondria, and up-regulate the expression of BNIP3, LC3B, and LC3 II/LC3 I in mitochondria at the cellular level. After the administration of the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine, the serum of rats treated with FJHQ further increased the expression of LC3 II/LC3 I in primary podocytes, showing higher autophagy flow. After the interference of BNIP3 in podocytes, the effect of FJHQ on mitochondrial membrane potential and autophagy-related proteins almost disappeared. CONCLUSION: FJHQ enhanced mitophagy in podocytes by promoting the expression of BNIP3, thereby contributing to the amelioration of MN. This work reveals the possible underlying mechanism by which FJHQ improves MN and provides a new avenue for MN treatment.

Enhanced photocatalytic and antibacterial activities of S-scheme SnO2/Red phosphorus photocatalyst under visible light.

The construction of wide bandgap semiconductors with heterojunctions is an effective strategy to improve the photocatalytic activity of narrow-bandgap semiconductors, such as red phosphorus (RP). The novel step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunction can separate photocarriers effectively while retaining the high reduction-oxidation capacity of the catalyst. Herein, a SnO2/hydrothermally treated RP (SnO2/HRP) S-scheme heterojunction was constructed and was found to display superior performance in the photocatalytic degradation of pollutants and the disinfection of bacteria. The 5%SnO2/HRP (mass ration of SnO2 with 5 wt%) composite had the strongest photocatalytic activity. It could degrade 97.5% of Rhodamine B (RhB) after 12 min of light exposure. The photodegradation rate constant of this composite reached 2.96 × 10-1 min-1, which was 4.4 and 59.2 times higher than that of pure HRP and SnO2, respectively. Furthermore, this S-scheme heterojunction composite exhibited a higher efficient photocatalytic antibacterial rate (99.4%) for Escherichia coli (E. coli) under visible-light irradiation, than pure HRP (66.4%) and SnO2 (72.9%). Further mechanistic investigations illustrated that the intimate contact between HRP and SnO2 in the S-scheme system heterojunction could effectively boost carrier transfer and improve the photocatalytic activity of the semiconductor. This investigation provided an efficient recyclable S-scheme heterojunction composite for the photocatalytic degradation of pollutants and bacteria.

Bi2O2CO3/red phosphorus S-scheme heterojunction for H2 evolution and Cr(VI) reduction.

Red phosphorus (RP) has a suitable energy band structure and excellent photocatalytic properties. However, there are some problems, such as low quantum efficiency and serious photogenerated electron-hole recombination. The S-scheme heterostructure shows great potential in facilitating the separation and transfer of photogenerated carriers and obtaining strong photo-redox ability. Herein, hydrothermally treated red phosphorus (HRP) was combined with Bi2O2CO3 to construct Bi2O2CO3/HRP S-scheme heterojunction composite. The Bi2O2CO3 content was optimized, and the 5 %Bi2O2CO3/HRP composite obtained at 5 %Bi2O2CO3 mass fraction exhibited the strongest photoreduction ability. The Cr(VI) photoreduction and photolytic hydrogen production rates were as high as 0.22 min-1 and 157.2 µmol •h-1, which were 7.3 and 3.0 times higher than those of HRP, respectively. The promoted photocatalytic activity could be attributed to the formation of S-scheme heterojunctions, which accelerated the separation and transfer of useful photogenerated electron-hole pairs, while enhancing the recombination of relatively useless photogenerated electron-hole pairs, thereby resulting in the highest photocurrent density (17.3 µA/cm2) of the 5 %Bi2O2CO3/HRP composite, which was 1.6 and 4.3 times higher than pure Bi2O2CO3 (10.5 µA/cm2) and pure HRP (4.0 µA/cm2), respectively. This work would provide an advanced approach to enhance the photocatalytic activity of RP.

Investigation on spatial variability and influencing factors of drinking water iodine in Xinjiang, China.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Xinjiang is one of the areas in China with extremely severe iodine deficiency. The health of Xinjiang residents has been endangered for a long time. In order to provide reasonable suggestions for scientific iodine supplementation and improve the health and living standards of the people in Xinjiang, it is necessary to understand the spatial distribution of iodine content in drinking water and explore the influencing factors of spatial heterogeneity of water iodine content distribution. METHODS: The data of iodine in drinking water arrived from the annual water iodine survey in Xinjiang in 2017. The distribution of iodine content in drinking water in Xinjiang is described from three perspectives: sampling points, districts/counties, and townships/streets. ArcGIS was used for spatial auto-correlation analysis, mapping the distribution of iodine content in drinking water and visualizing the distribution of Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model parameter. Kriging method is used to predict the iodine content in water at non-sampling points. GWR software was used to build GWR model in order to find the factors affecting the distribution of iodine content in drinking water. RESULTS: There are 3293 sampling points in Xinjiang. The iodine content of drinking water ranges from 0 to 128 µg/L, the median is 4.15 µg/L. The iodine content in 78.6% of total sampling points are less than 10 µg/L, and only that in the 3.4% are more than 40 µg/L. Among 1054 towns' water samples in Xinjiang, 88.9% of the samples' water iodine content is less than 10 µg/L. Among the 94 studied areas, the median iodine content in drinking water in 87 areas was less than 10 µg/L, those values in 7 areas were between 10-40 µg/L, and the distribution of water iodine content in Xinjiang shows clustered. The GWR model established had found that the effects of soil type and precipitation on the distribution of iodine content in drinking water were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The iodine content of drinking water in Xinjiang is generally low, but there are also some areas which their drinking water has high iodine content. Soil type and precipitation are the factors affecting the distribution of drinking water iodine content, and are statistically significant (P<0.05).

Echinacoside prevents hypoxic pulmonary hypertension by regulating the pulmonary artery function.

Hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH) is a progressive and irreversible disease that reduces survival. Echinacoside is a phenylethanoid glycoside from Tibetan herbs known for its vasorelaxant effect and for inhibiting the proliferation of rat pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells. This study aimed to investigate the effect of echinacoside on HPH. Sprague Dawley rats were housed in a hypobaric hypoxia chamber (4500 m) for 28 days to obtain the HPH model. Echinacoside (3.75, 7.5, 15, 30 and 40 mg/kg) was administered by intraperitoneal injection from the 1st to the 28th day. The mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP), right ventricular hypertrophy index, hemoglobin, hematocrit, red blood cell concentration and morphological change of pulmonary arteries were evaluated. Vascular perfusion assay was used to assess the pulmonary artery function. Echinacoside reduced mPAP, hemoglobin, hematocrit, right ventricular hypertrophy index and mean wall thickness% of pulmonary arteries in HPH rats. It significantly increased maximum vasoconstriction percentage of pulmonary arteries induced by noradrenaline in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, it improved the responsiveness of pulmonary arteries to acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside. Therefore, Echinacoside might be an effective treatment against HPH, since it regulated pulmonary artery endothelium and smooth muscle layer function and improved the remodeling of pulmonary artery.

Preparation of lysine-coated magnetic Fe2O3 nanoparticles and influence on viability of A549 lung cancer cells.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of lysine-coated oxide magnetic nanoparticles (Lys@MNPs) on viability and apoptosis of A549 lung cancer cells. METHODS: Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and Zeta potentiometric analyzer were employed to characterize Lys@MNPs. Then Lys@MNPs and lung cancer A549 cells were co-cultured to study the effect of Lys@MNPs on cell viability and apoptosis. The pathway of Lys@MNPs entering A549 cells was detected by TEM and cell imaging by 1.5 T MRI. RESULTS: Lys@MNPs were 10.2 nm in grain diameter, characterized by small size, positive charge, and superparamagnetism. Under low-dose concentration of Lys@MNPs (<40 µg/mL), the survival rate of A549 cells was decreased but remained higher than 95% while under high-dose concentration (100 µg/mL), the survival ratewas still higher than 80%, which suggested Lys@MNPs had limited influence on the viability of A549 cells, with good biocompatibility and and no induction of apoptosis. Moreover, high affinity for cytomembranes, was demonstrated presenting good imaging effects. CONCLUSION: Lys@MNPs can be regarded as a good MRI negative contrast agents, with promising prospects in biomedicine.

Resveratrol preserves mitochondrial function, stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis, and attenuates oxidative stress in regulatory T cells of mice fed a high-fat diet.

Consumption of high-fat diet (HFD) is related with increased oxidative stress and dysfunctional mitochondria in many organs. The effects of resveratrol (trans-3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene) that can protect T lymphocytes in various disease conditions on the HFD-induced apoptosis of CD4(+) CD25(+) CD127(low/-) regulatory T cells (Tregs) were studied, and the possible mechanism was postulated. Resveratrol significantly decreased Tregs death induced by 20-wk HFD, being associated with the reduction of reactive oxygen species production and the alleviation of HFD-induced loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) in Tregs. Furthermore, resveratrol increased the expression of factors that regulated mitochondrial biogenesis in Tregs. Finally, resveratrol recovered the HFD-induced activation of apoptotic markers in Tregs. Resveratrol protected Tregs against HFD-induced apoptosis by reducing oxidative stress, restoring mitochondrial functional activities, and stimulating mitochondrial biogenesis.

[Simultaneous determination of six main constituents in Swertia of Qinghai Province and Sichuan Province by HPLC].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a quantitative method of simultaneously determination of swertiamarin, gentiopicroside, mangiferin, swertianolin, isoorientin, 1,8-drihydroxy-3-methoxy-xthanone in Swertia from Qinghai province and Sichuan province by HPLC. METHOD: The samples were separated on the column of Kromasil C18 (4. 6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) which eluted with methanol and water (content 0.02% phosphoric acid). The ratio of methanol increased from 20% to 80% during 20-50 min, and from 80% to 100% during 50-60 min, with detected wavelength 254 nm, flow rate at 1 mL x min(-1), column temperature 35 degrees C. RESULT: Six compounds were base-isolated, the linear ranges of swertiamarin, gentiopicroside, mangiferin, 4-swertianolin, 5-isoorientin, 1,8-drihydroxy-3-methoxy-xthanone were excellent. CONCLUSION: The method was rapid and precise, and can be use for controlling medicinal materials quality.