Sporoderm-broken spores of Ganoderma lucidum modulate hepatoblastoma malignancy by regulating RACK1-mediated autophagy and tumour immunity.

Hepatoblastoma (HB), a primary liver tumour, is notorious for its high metastatic potential and poor prognosis. Ganoderma lucidum, an edible mushroom species utilized in traditional Chinese medicine for addressing various tumour types, presents an intriguing avenue for HB treatment. However, the effectiveness of G. lucidum in managing HB and its underlying molecular mechanism necessitates further exploration. Standard in vitro assays were conducted to evaluate the impact of sporoderm-broken spores of G. lucidum (SBSGL) on the malignant characteristics of HB cells. The mechanism of SBSGL in treating HB and its tumour immunomodulatory effects were explored and validated by various experiments, including immunoprecipitation, Western blotting, mRFP-GFP-LC3 adenovirus transfection and co-localization analysis, as well as verified with in vivo experiments in this regard. The results showed that SBSGL effectively inhibited the malignant traits of HB cells and suppressed the O-GlcNAcylation of RACK1, thereby reducing its expression. In addition, SBSGL inhibited immune checkpoints and regulated cytokines. In conclusion, SBSGL had immunomodulatory effects and regulated the malignancy and autophagy of HB by regulating the O-GlcNAcylation of RACK1. These findings suggest that SBSGL holds promise as a potential anticancer drug for HB treatment.

Harnessing the potential of ginkgo biloba extract: Boosting denitrification performance through accelerated electron transfer.

Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) had several effects on the human body as one of the widely used phytopharmaceuticals, but it had no application in microbial enhancement in the environmental field. The study focused on the impact of GBE on denitrification specifically under neutral conditions. At the identified optimal addition ratio of 2% (v/v), the system exhibited a noteworthy increase in nitrate reduction rate (NRR) by 56.34%, elevating from 0.71 to 1.11 mg-N/(L·h). Moreover, the extraction of microbial extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) at this ratio revealed changes in the composition of EPS, the electron exchange capacity (EEC) was enhanced from 87.16 to 140.4 µmol/(g C), and the transfer impedance was reduced within the EPS. The flavin, fulvic acid (FA), and humic acid (HA) provided a π-electron conjugated structure for the denitrification system, enhancing extracellular electron transfer (EET) by stimulating carbon source metabolism. GBE also improved electron transfer system activity (ETSA) from 0.025 to 0.071 µL O2/(g·min·prot) and the content of NADH enhanced by 22.90% while significantly reducing the activation energy (Ea) by 85.6% in the denitrification process. The synergy of improving both intracellular and extracellular electron transfer, along with the reduction of Ea, notably amplified the initiation and reduction rates of the denitrification process. Additionally, GBE demonstrated suitability for denitrification across various pH levels, enhancing microbial resilience in alkaline conditions and promoting survival and proliferation. Overall, these findings open the door to potential applications of GBE as a natural additive in the environmental field to improve the efficiency of denitrification processes, which are essential for nitrogen removal in various environmental contexts.

NIR-Light-Triggered Mild-Temperature Hyperthermia to Overcome the Cascade Cisplatin Resistance for Improved Resistant Tumor Therapy.

Currently, cisplatin resistance has been recognized as a multistep cascade process for its clinical chemotherapy failure. Hitherto, it remains challenging to develop a feasible and promising strategy to overcome the cascade drug resistance (CDR) issue for achieving fundamentally improved chemotherapeutic efficacy. Herein, a novel self-assembled nanoagent is proposed, which is constructed by Pt(IV) prodrug, cyanine dye (cypate), and gadolinium ion (Gd3+), for systematically conquering the cisplatin resistance by employing near-infrared (NIR) light activated mild-temperature hyperthermia in tumor targets. The proposed nanoagents exhibit high photostability, GSH/H+-responsive dissociation, preferable photothermal conversion, and enhanced cellular uptake performance. In particular, upon 785-nm NIR light irradiation, the generated mild temperature of ≈ 43 °C overtly improves the cell membrane permeability and drug uptake, accelerates the disruption of intracellular redox balance, and apparently enhances the formation of Pt-DNA adducts, thereby effectively overcoming the CDR issue and achieves highly improved therapeutic efficacy for cisplatin-resistant tumor ablation.

Coated sodium butyrate and vitamin D3 supplementation improve gut health through influencing intestinal immunity, barrier, and microflora in early-stage broilers.

BACKGROUND: Intestinal development and function are critical to maintaining sustained broiler growth. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of coated sodium butyrate (CSB) and vitamin D3 (VD3) on the intestinal immunity, barrier, oxidative stress and microflora in early-stage broilers. In total, 192 one-day-old broilers were assigned to a 2 × 2 factorial design including two dietary supplements at two different levels, in which the main effects were VD3 (3000 or 5000 IU kg-1) and CSB (0 or 1 g kg-1). RESULTS: The results showed that CSB supplementation increased ileal goblet cells (GCs) numbers, villus height and decreased crypt depth in broilers. CSB increased ileal proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression and high-level VD3 decreased cluster of differentiation 3 expression. CSB reduced serum d-lactate, endotoxin (ET), adrenocorticotropic hormone, corticosterone and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations and increased total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) level. Meanwhile, high-level VD3 decreased serum ET concentration. Furthermore, CSB increased ileal T-AOC, lysozyme (LYZ) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß and decreased MDA, whereas high-level VD3 decreased ileal MDA and increased secretory immunoglobulin A. CSB up-regulated ileal claudin1, superoxide dismutase 1, TGF-ß and LYZ mRNA expression and down-regulated interleukin-1ß mRNA expression. CSB combined with high-level VD3 increased ileal Faecalibaculum abundance. Spearman correlation analysis showed that Faecalibaculum was related to the immune and barrier function. CONCLUSION: Dietary supplementation with CSB and high-level VD3 improved early gut health in broilers by promoting intestinal development, enhancing antioxidant capacity, strengthening barrier function and enhancing the favorable composition of the gut bacterial flora. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Chemical Composition, Antitumor Properties, and Mechanism of the Essential Oil from Plagiomnium acutum T. Kop.

Plagiomnium acutum T. Kop. (P. acutum) has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years to treat cancer but lacks evidence. The objective of this work was to reveal the chemical composition of P. acutum essential oil (PEO) and explore its potential antitumor activity and molecular mechanism. PEO was prepared by the simultaneous distillation-extraction method and characterized by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. CCK8 assay, flow cytometry, western blot, and immunofluorescence techniques were used to analyze the effects and mechanism of PEO against cancer cells. A total of 74 constituents of PEO were identified, with diterpenes (26.5%), sesquiterpenes (23.89%), and alcohols (21.81%) being the major constituents. Two terpenoids, selina-6-en-4-ol and dolabella-3,7-dien-18-ol, were detected in PEO for the first time. PEO showed significant cell growth inhibitory activity on HepG2 and A549 cells by blocking the G1 phase and inducing apoptosis, which may be attributed to its upregulation of p21Cip1 and p27Kip1 proteins and interference with mitochondrial membrane potential effect. Dolabella-3,7-dien-18-ol accounts for 25.5% of PEO and is one of the main active components of PEO, with IC50 values in HepG2 and A549 cells of (25.820 ± 0.216) µg/mL and (23.597 ± 1.207) µg/mL, respectively. These results confirmed the antitumor medicinal value of P. acutum and showed great application potential in the pharmaceutical industry.

Molecular actions of different functional oligosaccharides on intestinal integrity, immune function and microbial community in weanling pigs.

This study investigated the effects of different functional oligosaccharides on the growth performance, intestinal barrier function and gut microbiota of weanling piglets. A total of 192 weanling piglets were randomly allocated into 4 dietary groups, which were a control (CON), CON + 0.1% xylo-oligosaccharide (XO), CON + 0.1% isomalto-oligosaccharide (IM) or CON + 0.08% mannan-oligosaccharide (MO) diet. Results showed that the XO and MO groups showed lower diarrhea incidence in weanling piglets compared with the CON group (P < 0.05). Colonic goblet cell numbers and the mRNA expression of mucin-2 (P < 0.05) were greater in all functional oligosaccharide groups. Both the XO and MO groups had a greater concentration of sIgA, IL-10, SOD and GSH-Px and higher antioxidase activity, and the XO group had a lower protein expression of NF-κB in the ilea of piglets (P < 0.05) compared with the CON group. The XO group had a greater concentration of butyrate and an abundance of Bifidobacterium in the ileum (P < 0.05). The MO group had a greater ileal concentration of acetate compared with the additional dietary treatments and greater butyrate compared with the IM and CON groups (P < 0.05). In summary, XO increased the growth of Bifidobacterium, butyrate production and intestinal antioxidant capacity; however, MO promoted the expression of tight junction proteins and the intestinal immune function to reduce piglet diarrhea.

Dietary sodium butyrate and/or vitamin D3 supplementation alters growth performance, meat quality, chemical composition, and oxidative stability in broilers.

The present study was conducted to elucidate the effects of sodium butyrate (SB) and vitamin D3 (VD3) supplementation on meat quality, oxidative stability, and nutritional value of the broiler chicken. The results indicated that dietary SB decreased lightness (L*), cooking and drip loss, free fatty acids (FFA), C14:0, C16:0, saturated fatty acids (SFA), C20:4n6, and n-6: n3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and increased DPPH and ABTS in chicken meat. The PUFAs content in the chicken meat increased only when SB was added along with higher VD3 levels. However, the amino acid content was reduced with an increase in the VD3 levels. In conclusion, dietary SB supplementation improved chicken meat quality by enhancing the antioxidant capacity and physical properties. Moreover, adding SB or combined with higher VD3 levels optimized the fatty acid composition. However, higher VD3 levels reduced the amino acid content of the chicken meat.

Hydnocarpin D attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury via MAPK/NF-κB and Keap1/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.

BACKGROUND: Acute lung injury (ALI) is a complex pulmonary destructive disease with limited therapeutic approaches. Hydnocarpin D (HD) is a flavonolignan isolated from Hydnocarpus wightiana which possesses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, whether HD has beneficial effects on ALI as well as its underlying mechanism remains to be elucidated. PURPOSE: This study evaluated the protective effect of HD in ALI and the underlying molecular mechanisms. METHODS: In vivo, the role of HD on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI in mice was tested by determination of neutrophil infiltration, levels of inflammatory cytokines, lung histology and edema, vascular and alveolar barrier disruption. In vitro, murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells were used to investigate the molecular mechanisms RESULTS: Administration of HD protected mice against LPS-induced ALI, including ameliorating the histological alterations in the lung tissues, and decreasing lung edema, protein content of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, infiltration of inflammatory cell and secretion of cytokines. Moreover, HD blocked the phosphorylation of TLR-4, NF-κB, and ERK in LPS-induced lung injury. In vitro, HD inhibited LPS-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in RAW 264.7 cells, which largely depend upon the upregulation of antioxidant defensive Nrf2 pathway, thereby suppressing LPS-activated proinflammatory mediator secretion, NLRP3 inflammasome, and MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: HD attenuates oxidative stress and inflammation against LPS-induced ALI via MAPK/NF-κB and Keap1/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, and is a promising novel therapeutic candidate for ALI.

Remediation of petroleum-contaminated soil by ball milling and reuse as heavy metal adsorbent.

A simple mechanochemical (MC) method is used to treat petroleum-contaminated soil and prepare a heavy metal adsorbent in one step. XRD, Raman, FT-IR, VSM, BET, and XPS were used to characterize the adsorbent. After MC treatment, the dissolved total petroleum hydrocarbons of the adsorbent is less than 1 mg·L-1, and a porous structure and carbonization phenomenon are evident. The specific surface area and cumulative void volume increase, and the adsorption pore size decreases. On the surface of soil, the percentages of iron oxides, carbonates, CO, -C-O-H, -COOH, and π unsaturated bonds increase. The Langmuir model shows that the maximum adsorption capacity of Pb2+, Cu2+, Cd2+, and Zn2+ are 338.58, 51.61, 32.34, and 25.05 mg·g-1, respectively. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model fits the Pb adsorption process, indicating the domination of chemical adsorption. GC-MS shows that petroleum hydrocarbons are completely degraded. The Tessier continuous extraction result shows that heavy metals are bound to carbonate, iron manganese oxide, and organic matter. The MC treatment achieves deep cleanup and resource utilization of petroleum-contaminated soil through the formation of amorphous carbon, carbonates, and iron oxides on the surface of soil particles. The material is magnetic and can be recycled when used in wastewater treatment.

Effect of continuous traditional Chinese medicine nursing on patients with coronary heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of continuous traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) nursing combined with atorvastatin tablets on psychological status, quality of life, and sleep quality of patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS: One hundred CHD patients admitted in Jinan City People's Hospital from January 2018 to January 2019 were divided into an experimental group and a control group according to the order of admission, with 50 patients in each group. The experimental group was treated with continuous TCM nursing with atorvastatin tablets, while the control group took atorvastatin tablets alone. The therapeutic effect, psychological status, levels of inflammatory factors, quality of life, sleep quality, cardiac function index, physical signs, treatment compliance and nursing satisfaction were compared. RESULTS: After the intervention, the two groups witnessed notably decreased levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) compared with those before treatment, with lower levels observed in the experimental group. The psychological status, quality of life, sleep quality, cardiac function indexes, physical signs, and treatment compliance of the experimental group were generally better than the control group. The experimental group had better outcome in the therapeutic effect and nursing satisfaction than the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Continuous TCM nursing combined with atorvastatin tablets optimizes psychological status, quality of life, and sleep quality of CHD patients, which exhibits therapeutic benefit, and effectively avoids the occurrence of nurse-patient disputes.

Effect of Xylo-Oligosaccharides Supplementation by Drinking Water on the Bone Properties and Related Calcium Transporters in Growing Mice.

Xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS), non-digestible oligosaccharides, have the potential to regulate intestinal microorganisms, and thus, improve host health, but little evidence exists for the prebiotic effects on bone health. This study evaluates the dose-response effect of XOS supplementation on bone properties, the morphology of the intestine, cecum pH, and cecum wall weight, as well as the related calcium transporters. Ninety-six 28-day-old male mice were randomized into one of four groups, fed the same commercial diet, and given different types of deionized water containing 0, 1, 2, or 4% XOS by concentration for 30 days. Eight mice were randomly selected to accomplish particular tasks every 10 days. No significant differences in serum Ca and P levels and growth performance were observed among the four studied groups. XOS intervention significantly decreased cecum pH and increased cecum wall weight in a dose-dependent manner. At the late growth stage, compared with 0% XOS, the bone mineral density (BMD) and bone-breaking strength in 4% XOS were significantly higher. The bone crystallinity with 4% XOS, measured by Raman spectrum, was significantly enhanced compared to that with 0% XOS during later growth. The villus height and villus height to crypt depth (VH:CD) were enhanced with an increase of XOS concentration during the later stage of growth. The expression of transient receptor potential vanillin receptor 6 (TRPV6) and Na+/Ca2+ exchanger 1 (NCX1) in the duodenum were enhanced by XOS supplementation. XOS exerted a positive influence on bone properties by decreasing the cecum pH, increasing the cecum wall and villus structure, and upregulating the expression of related calcium transporters.

Triacylglycerol, fatty acid, and phytochemical profiles in a new red sorghum variety (Ji Liang No. 1) and its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

In this study, a new red sorghum variety (Ji Liang No. 1) was investigated for its triacylglycerol (TAG) and fatty acid profiles, carotenoid and tocopherol compositions, total phenolic, total flavonoid and phenolic acid contents, and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. A total of 17 TAGs were identified in the red sorghum oil. Linoleic and oleic acids were the primary fatty acids, contributing more than 80% of the total fatty acids. ß-Carotene was the primary carotenoid at a level of 26.14 µg/g. α-, γ-, and δ-tocopherols were at levels of 0.19, 4.08, and 0.10 µg/g, respectively. Moreover, acetone-water (60:40, v/v) extract of the red sorghum exhibited the greatest total phenolic content of 2.77 mg GAE/g and total flavonoid content of 5.44 mg RE/g. The extract had scavenging capacities against DPPH, ABTS +, and peroxyl radicals and suppressed LPS stimulated IL-1ß, IL-6, and COX-2 mRNA expressions in a dose-dependent manner. Ferulic, p-coumaric, isoferulic, and p-hydroxybenzoic acids were found in the red sorghum, with ferulic acid as the predominant phenolic acid and mostly in an insoluble bound form. These data indicated a potential utilization of the red sorghum in health-promoting functional food or supplemental products.

Celastrol induces apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells via targeting ER-stress/UPR.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most serious and deadly diseases worldwide with limited options for effective treatment. Biomarker-based active compound targeting therapy may shed some light on novel drugs for HCC. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and unfolded protein response (UPR) play important roles in the regulation of cell fate and have become novel signaling targets for the development of anticancer drugs. Celastrol, a triterpene from traditional Chinese medicine, has been reported to possess anti-tumor effects on various cancers. We, along with several other research groups, have recently reported that UPR was induced by celastrol in several different cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma. However, UPR status in HCC still remains unclear. The role of ER stress and autophagy in response to celastrol also has yet to be elucidated. Our results demonstrated that celastrol could cause G2/M phase rest and inhibit proliferation in HepG2 and Bel7402. Exposure to celastrol resulted in the activation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway, via ER stress and the UPR. In murine syngeneic model studies celastrol inhibited H22 tumor growth via the induction of ER stress and apoptosis. Our study suggests that celastrol is a potential drug for HCC therapy via targeting ER-stress/UPR.

Modulation of the gut microbiota by the mixture of fish oil and krill oil in high-fat diet-induced obesity mice.

Previous studies confirmed that dietary supplements of fish oil and krill oil can alleviate obesity in mice, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study aims to discern whether oil treatment change the structure of the gut microbiota during the obesity alleviation. The ICR mice received high-fat diet (HFD) continuously for 12 weeks after two weeks of acclimatization with a standard chow diet, and the mice fed with a standard chow diet were used as the control. In the groups that received HFD with oil supplementation, the weight gains were attenuated and the liver index, total cholesterol, triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were reduced stepwise compared with the HFD group, and the overall structure of the gut microbiota, which was modulated in the HFD group, was shifted toward the structure found in the control group. Moreover, eighty-two altered operational taxonomic units responsive to oil treatment were identified and nineteen of them differing in one or more parameters associated with obesity. In conclusion, this study confirmed the effect of oil treatment on obesity alleviation, as well as on the microbiota structure alterations. We proposed that further researches are needed to elucidate the causal relationship between obesity alleviation and gut microbiota modulation.

Fish consumption and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma: systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: To investigate the association between fish consumption and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: We identified eligible studies in MEDLINE and EMBASE up to July 2014 and the reference lists of original studies and review articles on this topic. Summary relative risks (SRR) with their 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were calculated with a random effects model. RESULTS: Eleven studies (three cohort studies, seven retrospective case-control studies, and one nested case-control study) met eligibility criteria. Ten articles investigated fish consumption, two articles investigated n-3 PUFA, and two articles investigated alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). The current data suggest that fish consumption was associated with 35 % reduction in HCC risk (highest vs. lowest category SRRs = 0.65, 95 % CI 0.51-0.79; test for heterogeneity p = 0.057, I (2) = 44.1 %). n-3 PUFA was associated with 51 % reduction in HCC risk (highest vs. lowest category SRRs = 0.49, 95 % CI 0.19-0.79). However, no significant inverse association was found in ALA (SRRs = 0.70, 95 % CI 0.30-1.10). CONCLUSION: Our meta-analysis of observational studies provides evidence that fish consumption and n-3 PUFA has inverse association with the risk of HCC.

Amino acid salts catalyzed asymmetric aldol reaction of tryptanthrin: a straightforward synthesis of phaitanthrin A and its derivatives.

The first asymmetric synthesis of (S)-Phaitanthrin A and its derivatives via a catalytic aldol reaction of Tryptanthrin and ketones is described, in which the cheap, easily prepared natural amino acid salts exhibited unique catalytic ability; importantly, this methodology tolerates a range of substrates with different substitution patterns. Moreover, the synthetic utility of this strategy was further illustrated by a gram-scale synthesis of Phaitanthrin A.

[Comparison of two types of multi-soil-layering treatment system filled different paddings].

Two types of multi-soil-layering (MSL) systems, each of them was filled with different padding, including both the layers of mixture layers (ML) and permeable layers (PL), which designed for purifying polluted river water and for studying the difference of the pollutant removal efficiency between them under different operation conditions. The results indicated that the four systems all had great COD removal efficiency and the removal rate of each of them was above 50%. Zeolite-lightweight ceramic pellet system (Z-LCPS) has high removal efficiency of NH4(+) -N,and the concentration of the final outflow is below 1 mg/L. When the air and water ratio is 8:1, ceramisite-red clay system (C-RCS) has high NH4(+) -N removal rate which is up to 84%. However, the NH4(+) -N removal rate of C-RCS is below 40% under the un-aerated condition. The Z-LCPS under unaerated condition has the best TN removal efficiency that the average removal rate of TN is above 68% and reaches the 98% at best. Under the high pollutant loading, the TP removal efficiency of Z-LCPS (M1, M2) is better than C-RCS, and under the stable period, the TP removal rate is above 80%. At last, the difference of the nitrogen removal mechanism between the four systems is analyzed through the changes of nitrogen concentration along the flow direction.