Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets enhance the tolerance of Torreya grandis to Pb stress.

As a 2D nanomaterial, MXene (Ti3C2Tx) has shown enormous potential for use in fields such as biomedical and environmental pollution. However, the utilization of MXene materials in plants has received little attention thus far. The efficient use of MXene materials in agriculture and forestry is first highlighted in this study. Phenotypic and physiological analyses indicated that MXene application significantly enhanced the tolerance of Torreya grandis to Pb stress by reducing Pb accumulation. Furthermore, we illustrated two independent mechanisms of MXene material in reducing Pb accumulation in T. grandis: 1) MXene converted the available form of Pb into stable forms via its strong Pb adsorption ability, resulting in a decrease of the available form of Pb in soils, and 2) MXene application obviously increased the cell wall pectin content to restrict more Pb in the cell wall by regulating the expression of pectin synthesis/metabolism-related genes (TgPLL2, TgPLL11, TgPG5, TgPG30, TgGAUT3 and TgGAUT12) in T. grandis roots. Overall, this finding provides insight into the application of MXene material in modern agriculture and forestry, which will facilitate the rapid development of nanotechnology in sustainable agriculture and forestry.

Jingfang Granule alleviates bleomycin-induced acute lung injury via CD200-CD200R immunoregulatory pathway.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Jingfang granules (JF), one famous traditional Chinese formula in "She Sheng Zhong Miao Fang" written by Shi-Che Zhang during the Ming Dynasty era, has been widely used to prevent epidemic diseases in history and now was recommended for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China. However, the roles of JF against acute lung injury and its mechanisms remain unclear. AIM OF THE STUDY: Acute lung injury (ALI) and its progressive acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are a continuum of lung inflammatory disease with high morbidity and mortality in clinic, especially in COVID-19 patients. The present study aims to investigate the effect of JF on ALI and clarify its underlying mechanisms for clinical application in COVID-19 control. METHODS: Bleomycin-induced ALI mice were given oral gavage daily for seven days with or without Jingfang granules (2, 4 g/kg). The body weight, lung wet/dry weight ratios, lung appearance and tissue histopathology were evaluated. Quantitative real-time PCR, biochemical bronchoalveolar lavage fluids analysis was used to determine the gene expression of proinflammation factor and infiltrated inflammatory cells in lung. Immunofluorescence image and western blot were used to detect the markers of alveolar macrophages (AMs), endothelial cell apoptosis and changes of CD200-CD200R pathway. RESULTS: Firstly, histopathological analysis showed that JF significantly attenuated pulmonary injury and inflammatory response in ALI mice. Then, cytokine detection, inflammatory cells assay, and JNKs and p38 pathway analysis indicated that the recruitment and activation of alveolar macrophages was the main reason to cause ALI and JF could reverse this variation. Next, immunofluorescence staining and TUNEL assay showed that JF upregulated the expression of CD200 and suppressed the apoptosis of alveolar endothelial cells. Finally, double immunofluorescence staining of CD200 and CD11c indicated that the seriously damaged tissue had the lower CD200 while more AMs infiltration, which was confirmed by RT-PCR analysis of CD200/CD200R. CONCLUSIONS: Jingfang granules can protect lung from acu te injury and mitigate the recruitment and overactive AMs-induced inflammation via CD200-CD200R immunoregulatory signal axis, which will provide an experimental basis for Jingfang granules clinical applications in COVID-19.

Improving the circulation time and renal therapeutic potency of extracellular vesicles using an endogenous ligand binding strategy.

Kidney diseases are a serious health issue worldwide, and novel therapeutics are urgently needed. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as potent drug delivery systems (DDSs), but their therapeutic potential is limited by short circulation times and insufficient renal retention. Here, we report that endogenous ligand (albumin, ALB) binding is an efficient modification strategy to improve the therapeutic potency of EV-based DDSs for kidney diseases. Surface albumin-binding peptide (ABP)-displayed EVs (ABP-EVs) were produced by transfecting parent cells with the ABP-Lamp2b fusion plasmid. Compared with unmodified EVs (NC-EVs), ABP-EVs showed increased binding to ALB in vitro and elevated circulation time and multiple organ retention in vivo after systemic (iv) injection. Moreover, ABP-EVs had higher renal retention than NC-EVs in mice with acute kidney injury through a complex mechanism involving microvascular injury and megalin-mediated endocytosis. As a result, delivery of small molecule drugs (e.g., curcumin) or proteins (e.g., hepatocyte growth factor) by ABP-EVs had superior therapeutic (e.g., anti-apoptotic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory) effects in vitro and in vivo. This study highlights that ABP-EVs are versatile DDSs for kidney diseases and provides insights into the new strategies of engineering EVs for drug delivery.

Donor effect dominated molybdenum disulfide/graphene nanostructure-based field-effect transistor for ultrasensitive DNA detection.

Field effect transistor (FET) biosensors based on low-dimensional materials have the advantages of small in size, simple structure, fast response and high sensitivity. In this work, a field-effect transistor biosensor based on molybdenum disulfide/graphene (MoS2/graphene) hybrid nanostructure was proposed and fabricated for DNA hybridization detection. The biosensor achieved an effective response to DNA concentrations in a broad range from 10 aM to 100 pM and a limit of detection (LOD) of 10 aM was obtained, which was one or more orders of magnitude lower than the reported result. The sensing mechanisms (donor and gating effects) of the FET sensor were discussed. A larger voltage shift of the charge neutral point was obtained due to a strengthened donor effect and a weakened gating effect caused by the introduction of MoS2 layers. Such FET sensor shows high specificity for different matching degrees of complementary DNA, indicating the potential use of such a sensor in disease diagnosis.

Clinical safety and efficacy of curcumin use for oral lichen planus: a systematic review.

Objective: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a relatively common immunological mucocutaneous disease that causes pain and poor quality of life. Curcumin has been reported to be a safe and effective treatment for OLP. The objective of this review is to evaluate the existing evidence for the safety of curcumin in treating OLP as well as its efficacy compared with that of corticosteroids. Methods: We reviewed the published literature by searching PubMed, EMBASE, EBSCO, and Cochrane Library, and then retrieved and analyzed several variables from patient records. Results: Nine studies met the inclusion criteria, including six randomized, double-blind clinical trials; two pilot clinical trials; and one case report. A total of 259 OLP patients were included in the systematic review. Seven studies showed statistically significant differences in pain severity and clinical appearance of oral lesions after treatment with curcumin for a period of time, compared to baseline (p < .05). Three controlled clinical trials compared the efficacy of curcumin to that of corticosteroids; all of these trials showed no statistically significant differences in pain severity and clinical appearance of oral lesions. Conclusions: Curcumin is a safe treatment and can be used as an adjunct in combination with corticosteroids to reduce pain, burning sensations, and the clinical appearance of oral lesions in OLP patients.

ABCG2-meditated multidrug resistance and tumor-initiating capacity of side population cells from colon cancer.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have reported that the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) has major implications in the treatment of cancer and is responsible for tumor relapse. In the current study, we identified and characterized colon CSC-like side population (SP) cells from colon cancer tissue. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The colon cancer samples were subjected to fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) based on Hoechst 33342 dye exclusion for the purification of SP cells. The sorted SP cells were subjected to further characterization by immunofluorescence, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), multidrug resistance, and sphere formation assays. RESULTS: We identified a fraction of 3.3% of SP cells in the colon cancer cell samples, which was reduced to 0.6% upon treatment with verapamil. The sorted SP cells showed high positivity with regard to CD133, CD44, CD147, and EpCAM, by fluorescence microscopic analysis. Further, these SP cells were highly resistant to multidrug treatment due to overexpression of the multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) transporter protein ABCG2. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the overexpression of ABCG2 and the expression of stem cell surface markers are collectively responsible for chemotherapy failure, tumor recurrence, and invasion in colon cancer.