Amyloid Protein-Biofunctionalized Polydopamine Nanoparticles Demonstrate Minimal Plasma Protein Fouling and Efficient Photothermal Therapy.

Polydopamine (PDA) shows great application potential in photothermal therapy (PTT) of tumors due to its excellent photothermal performance. However, PDA rich in a large number of catechin structures, with strong adhesion, can readily attach to plasma proteins in blood to form protein corona, which greatly hinders the transfer efficiency to tumors and reduces the bioavailability. In this paper, a simple, rapid phase-transitioned albumin biomimetic nanocorona (TBSA) is used for the surface camouflage of PDA nanoparticles for minimal plasma protein fouling and efficient PTT. TBSA coating is formed by the BSA-derived amyloid through the hydrophobic aggregation near the isoelectric point and the rupture of disulfide bonds by tris(2-carboxyethyl) phosphine. The stable PDA@TBSA complexes are formed by camouflaging TBSA onto the surface of PDA through hydrophobic, electrostatic, and covalent binding between TBSA and PDA, which showed excellent anti-plasma protein adsorption properties profited from the surface charge of PDA@TBSA approaching equilibrium and the surface passivation of BSA. The plasma protein thickness of the PDA@TBSA surface is 6 times lower than that of PDA at adsorption saturation. In vitro and in vivo experiments have revealed that PDA@TBSA has an excellent photothermal antitumor effect compared to PDA. Both PDA and PDA@TBSA treatment plus 808 nm laser irradiation result in more than 70% inhibition on tumor cell proliferation. In addition, PDA@TBSA does not cause a significant inflammatory response and tissue damage. Taken together, the TBSA coating endows PDA with low-fouling functions in blood and improves the residence time of PDA in blood and enrichment in the tumor tissue. This work offers a novel and efficient strategy for the design of functional nanosystems exploiting the speciality of the biomolecular corona formation around nanomaterials.

Wound Healing Activity of a Skin Substitute from Residues of Culinary-Medicinal Winter Mushroom Flammulina velutipes (Agaricomycetes) Cultivation.

A skin substitute TG05 obtained from residues of the culinary-medicinal mushroom Flammulina velutipes cultivation process was developed in this study for the first time. Pre-column derivatization high-performance liquid chromatography fingerprints analysis revealed that TG05 was composed of water-insoluble fibers containing xylose (57%), glucose (19.5%), and arabinose (16.3%) as major monomers. Porous and opaque structure of TG05 was demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy. Animal experiments conducted on mice and rats indicated that TG05 notably accelerated the wound-healing process. In addition, TG05 induced proliferation and migration of human keratinocytes time- and dose-dependently. Taken together, the skin substitute TG05 with new structure promotes wound healing in vitro and in vivo. This study provided a novel method to produce functional biomaterial from abundant and low-cost agricultural residues generated during edible mushroom cultivation.

16α-Hydroxytrametenolic Acid from Poria cocos Improves Intestinal Barrier Function Through the Glucocorticoid Receptor-Mediated PI3K/Akt/NF-κB Pathway.

This study evaluated the effect of triterpenoids from edible mushroom Poria cocos on intestinal epithelium integrity and revealed the transcriptional regulatory pathways that underpin restorative mechanisms in the gut. Based on computational docking studies, transcriptional activation experiments and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) protein immunofluorescence localization assays in cultured cells, 16α-hydroxytrametenolic acid (HTA) was discovered as a novel GR agonist in this study. HTA ameliorates TNF-α-induced Caco-2 monolayer intestinal epithelial barrier damage and suppressed activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (Akt), which attenuated downstream IκB and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) phosphorylation through GR activation. Moreover, HTA prevented NF-κB translocation into the nucleus and binding to its cis-element and suppressed lipopolysaccharide-induced downstream NO production and pro-inflammatory cytokines at both protein and mRNA expression levels. In conclusion, HTA from P. cocos improves intestinal barrier function through a GR-mediated PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway and may be potentially exploited as a supportive dietary therapeutic strategy for restoring gut health.

Immunomodulatory activities of proteins from Astragalus membranaceus waste.

BACKGROUND: Astragalus membranaceus is a traditional Chinese medicine that has a long history of medical applications. It is of interest to investigate the functional components of A. membranaceus waste with regard to its development and utilization and increasing resource utilization. RESULTS: The protein AMWP was isolated from the A. membranaceus waste. This protein was further purified by DEAE-cellulose-52 chromatography and Sephadex G-200 size-exclusion chromatography to obtain three fractions, named AMWPDG2, AMWPDG4 and AMWPDG6. Then, their immunomodulatory activities were evaluated by using cell model experiments. The results indicated that the protein fractions could significantly increase the proliferation of splenic lymphocytes, peritoneal macrophages and bone-marrow-derived cells (BMDCs). AMWPDG2 showed the highest immunocompetence. AMWPDG2, AMWPDG4 and AMWPDG6 not only significantly improved the phagocytosis and immunomodulatory factors (interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, nitric oxide, hydrogen peroxide) secretion of peritoneal macrophages, but also promoted the expression of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-12 p40, IL-1ß, IL-1α) and chemokines (CXCL1, CCL3) in BMDCs. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these results indicated that three protein fractions from the A. membranaceus waste might be a potential natural immunomodulator. Moreover, it also provided the theoretical basis for further researching the mechanism of AMWPDG2, AMWPDG4 and AMWPDG6 on improving the immune response. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.