Qici Sanling Decoction Suppresses Glutamine Consumption and Bladder Cancer Cell Growth through Inhibiting c-Myc Expression.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is widely used as an alternative therapy for cancer treatment in China. Glutamine catabolism plays an important role in cancer development. Qici Sanling decoction (QCSL) suppresses bladder cancer growth. However, the association between QCSL and glutamine catabolism remains unknown. In this study, different doses of QCSL were applied to T24 cells, followed by the measurements of cell viability and apoptosis using CCK-8 and Annexin V/PI assay, respectively. Furthermore, glutamine consumption was detected using the glutamine assay kit. QCSL was observed to inhibit cell growth and induced cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Analysis of glutamine consumption revealed that QCSL suppressed glutamine consumption in T24 cells. Furthermore, QCSL decreased the mRNA and protein levels of c-Myc, GLS1, and SLC1A5. All these effects induced by QCSL could be alleviated by c-Myc overexpression, indicating c-Myc was involved in the protective role of QCSL in bladder cancer. In addition, QCSL was found to inhibit tumor growth in the xenograft tumor model. The similar results were obtained in tumor samples that protein levels of c-Myc, GLS1, and SLC1A5 were decreased upon treatment with QCSL. In conclusion, QCSL suppresses glutamine consumption and bladder cancer cell growth through inhibiting c-Myc expression.

Qici Sanling decoction suppresses bladder cancer growth by inhibiting the Wnt/Β-catenin pathway.

Context: Bladder cancer, which has high recurrence, is one of the most deadly cancers in the world. Astragalus propinquus Schischkin (Fabaceae) and Sagittaria sagittifolia L. (Alismataceae) are important herbs reported to be effective in cancer therapy. Objective: The efficacy of QCSL (Qici Sanling decoction) in bladder cancer treatment was examined. Materials and methods: T24 cells were injected into the flanks of nude mice and the mice were randomly divided into five groups: control; 20 mg/kg XAV-939 (an inhibitor of the WNT/ß-catenin pathway); QCSL (100, 200, or 400 mg/kg). After 7 weeks, the mice were anaesthetised using isoflurane and the xenografts were excised to perform further experiments. Results: Both XAV-939 (tumour volume: 379.67 ± 159.92 mm3) and QCSL (796.18 ± 101.6 mm3) dramatically suppressed tumour growth comparing with control group (3612.12 ± 575.03 mm3). XAV-939 and QCSL treatments decreased cell proliferation from 56.3 ± 0.05% to 29.02 ± 0.07% and 37.51 ± 0.04%, respectively. In agreement, more infiltration of immune cells and pyknotic cells upon XAV-939 (apoptosis rates: 43.92 ± 0.03%) and QCSL (34.57 ± 0.04%) treatment comparing with control group (15.59 ± 0.03%) were observed. Furthermore, TUNEL staining of xenograft tumours illustrated more apoptotic cells upon XAV-939 and QCSL treatment. Mechanistically, XAV-939 and QCSL treatments significantly inhibited WNT/ß-catenin pathway in T24 xenograft tumours. Discussion and conclusions: Our findings give new insights into the role of QCSL in bladder cancer and explore potential mechanisms contributing to the therapeutic effects of QCSL in bladder cancer.

[Limited external fixation of plastic cardboard for the treatment of senile comminuted humeral fracture].

OBJECTIVE: To explore clinical efficacy of limited external fixation with plastic paperboard in treating senile proximal comminuted humeral fracture. METHODS: From June 2015 to December 2017, 32 senile patients with proximal comminuted fracture of humerus were treated with plasticized cardboard after manual external fixation. Among them, including 13 males and 19 females aged from 55 to 85 years old with an average of(68.22±8.36) years old; 18 patients on the left side and 14 patients on the right side; all patients were regularly review shoulder X-rays and performed appropriate functional exercises. Constant-Murley shoulder joint scoring was used to evaluate clinical effects. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients were followed up for 3 to 12 months with an average of (4.97±2.39) months. All patients were underwent functional exercise under guidance of physicians. Nine patients were treated with topical Chinese herbal moist heat compresses to promote shoulder function recovery. Thirty-one patients were obtained fracture healing, the time ranged from 5 to 12 weeks with an average of(7.44±1.72)weeks. One patient was not healed due to comminuted fracture of fracture end and the separation was large, the blood supply to humeral head was insufficient for necrosis absorption. Postoperative Constant-Murley shoulder score at 3 months was 87.56±6.93; 15 patients got excellent results, 14 good, 2 fair and 1 poor. CONCLUSIONS: Limited external fixation with plastic paperboard for the treatment of senile proximal comminuted humeral fracture could ensure biomechanical stability of fracture, promote early recovery of shoulder joint function and shorten recovery time.

A strategy to find novel candidate anti-Alzheimer's disease drugs by constructing interaction networks between drug targets and natural compounds in medical plants.

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer' disease (AD) is an ultimately fatal degenerative brain disorder that has an increasingly large burden on health and social care systems. There are only five drugs for AD on the market, and no new effective medicines have been discovered for many years. Chinese medicinal plants have been used to treat diseases for thousands of years, and screening herbal remedies is a way to develop new drugs. METHODS: We used molecular docking to screen 30,438 compounds from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) against a comprehensive list of AD target proteins. TCM compounds in the top 0.5% of binding affinity scores for each target protein were selected as our research objects. Structural similarities between existing drugs from DrugBank database and selected TCM compounds as well as the druggability of our candidate compounds were studied. Finally, we searched the CNKI database to obtain studies on anti-AD Chinese plants from 2007 to 2017, and only clinical studies were included. RESULTS: A total of 1,476 compounds (top 0.5%) were selected as drug candidates. Most of these compounds are abundantly found in plants used for treating AD in China, especially the plants from two genera Panax and Morus. We classified the compounds by single target and multiple targets and analyzed the interactions between target proteins and compounds. Analysis of structural similarity revealed that 17 candidate anti-AD compounds were structurally identical to 14 existing approved drugs. Most of them have been reported to have a positive effect in AD. After filtering for compound druggability, we identified 11 anti-AD compounds with favorable properties, seven of which are found in anti-AD Chinese plants. Of 11 anti-AD compounds, four compounds 5,862, 5,863, 5,868, 5,869 have anti-inflammatory activity. The compound 28,814 mainly has immunoregulatory activity. The other six compounds have not yet been reported for any biology activity at present. DISCUSSION: Natural compounds from TCM provide a broad prospect for the screening of anti-AD drugs. In this work, we established networks to systematically study the connections among natural compounds, approved drugs, TCM plants and AD target proteins with the goal of identifying promising drug candidates. We hope that our study will facilitate in-depth research for the treatment of AD in Chinese medicine.

Identification of a Potent, Selective, and Efficacious Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase δ (PI3Kδ) Inhibitor for the Treatment of Immunological Disorders.

PI3Kδ plays an important role controlling immune cell function and has therefore been identified as a potential target for the treatment of immunological disorders. This article highlights our work toward the identification of a potent, selective, and efficacious PI3Kδ inhibitor. Through careful SAR, the successful replacement of a polar pyrazole group by a simple chloro or trifluoromethyl group led to improved Caco-2 permeability, reduced Caco-2 efflux, reduced hERG PC activity, and increased selectivity profile while maintaining potency in the CD69 hWB assay. The optimization of the aryl substitution then identified a 4'-CN group that improved the human/rodent correlation in microsomal metabolic stability. Our lead molecule is very potent in PK/PD assays and highly efficacious in a mouse collagen-induced arthritis model.

Macroscopic and microscopic investigation of adsorption and precipitation of Zn on γ-alumina in the absence and presence of As.

Contaminants zinc (Zn) and arsenate (As) often coexist in soils. However, little is known concerning the impacts of coexisting As on Zn adsorption and precipitation on soil minerals. In the present study, adsorption and precipitation of Zn on γ-alumina in the absence and presence of arsenate was investigated employing batch experiments and Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. Results indicated that Zn formed edge-sharing tetrahedral surface complexes at pH 5.5 and Zn-Al LDH-like (layered double hydroxide) precipitates at pH 7.0 on the surface of γ-alumina. The presence of arsenate significantly enhanced Zn sorption densities, and remarkably changed its bonding environment. At pH 5.5, SR-XRD (Synchrotron Radiation-based X-ray Diffraction) and EXAFS showed that koettigite-like precipitate were formed in the cosorption of Zn and As on γ-alumina regardless of the addition sequence of As and Zn. At pH 7.0, when Zn was preequilibrated with γ-alumina prior to the As introduction, mixed Zn-Al LDH-like and amorphous adamite-like precipitates formed. However, when Zn and As were added simultaneously, only amorphous adamite-like precipitate was observed. Zn inner-sphere complexes and surface ternary complexes γ-alumina-As-Zn were the main outcome when As was preequilibrated firstly. Zn-arsenate precipitates could significantly decrease the concentration of Zn in aqueous solution and decrease the bioavailability and mobilization of Zn in soils.

The identification and molecular mechanism of anti-stroke traditional Chinese medicinal compounds.

Stroke is a worldwide epidemic disease with high morbidity and mortality. The continuously exploration of anti-stroke medicines and molecular mechanism has a long way to go. In this study, in order to screen candidate anti-stroke compounds, more than 60000 compounds from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) database were computationally analyzed then docked to the 15 known anti-stroke targets. 192 anti-stroke plants for clinical therapy and 51 current anti-stroke drugs were used to validate docking results. Totally 2355 candidate anti-stroke compounds were obtained. Among these compounds, 19 compounds are structurally identical with 16 existing drugs in which part of them have been used for anti-stroke treatment. Furthermore, these candidate compounds were significantly enriched in anti-stroke plants. Based on the above results, the compound-target-plant network was constructed. The network reveals the potential molecular mechanism of anti-stroke for these compounds. Most of candidate compounds and anti-stroke plants are tended to interact with target NOS3, PSD-95 and PDE5A. Finally, using ADMET filter, we identified 35 anti-stroke compounds with favorable properties. The 35 candidate anti-stroke compounds offer an opportunity to develop new anti-stroke drugs and will improve the research on molecular mechanism of anti-stroke.

Pharmacophore-Map-Pick: A Method to Generate Pharmacophore Models for All Human GPCRs.

GPCR-based drug discovery is hindered by a lack of effective screening methods for most GPCRs that have neither ligands nor high-quality structures. With the aim to identify lead molecules for these GPCRs, we developed a new method called Pharmacophore-Map-Pick to generate pharmacophore models for all human GPCRs. The model of ADRB2 generated using this method not only predicts the binding mode of ADRB2-ligands correctly but also performs well in virtual screening. Findings also demonstrate that this method is powerful for generating high-quality pharmacophore models. The average enrichment for the pharmacophore models of the 15 targets in different GPCR families reached 15-fold at 0.5 % false-positive rate. Therefore, the pharmacophore models can be applied in virtual screening directly with no requirement for any ligand information or shape constraints. A total of 2386 pharmacophore models for 819 different GPCRs (99 % coverage (819/825)) were generated and are available at http://bsb.kiz.ac.cn/GPCRPMD.

Polydopamine Nanoparticles as a Versatile Molecular Loading Platform to Enable Imaging-guided Cancer Combination Therapy.

Cancer combination therapy to treat tumors with different therapeutic approaches can efficiently improve treatment efficacy and reduce side effects. Herein, we develop a theranostic nano-platform based on polydopamine (PDA) nanoparticles, which then are exploited as a versatile carrier to allow simultaneous loading of indocyanine green (ICG), doxorubicin (DOX) and manganese ions (PDA-ICG-PEG/DOX(Mn)), to enable imaging-guided chemo & photothermal cancer therapy. In this system, ICG acts as a photothermal agent, which shows red-shifted near-infrared (NIR) absorbance and enhanced photostability compared with free ICG. DOX, a model chemotherapy drug, is then loaded onto the surface of PDA-ICG-PEG with high efficiency. With Mn(2+) ions intrinsically chelated, PDA-ICG-PEG/DOX(Mn) is able to offer contrast under T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. In a mouse tumor model, the MR imaging-guided combined chemo- & photothermal therapy achieves a remarkable synergistic therapeutic effect compared with the respective single treatment modality. This work demonstrates that PDA nanoparticles could serve as a versatile molecular loading platform for MR imaging guided combined chemo- & photothermal therapy with minimal side effects, showing great potential for cancer theranostics.

In silico identification of anti-cancer compounds and plants from traditional Chinese medicine database.

There is a constant demand to develop new, effective, and affordable anti-cancer drugs. The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a valuable and alternative resource for identifying novel anti-cancer agents. In this study, we aim to identify the anti-cancer compounds and plants from the TCM database by using cheminformatics. We first predicted 5278 anti-cancer compounds from TCM database. The top 346 compounds were highly potent active in the 60 cell lines test. Similarity analysis revealed that 75% of the 5278 compounds are highly similar to the approved anti-cancer drugs. Based on the predicted anti-cancer compounds, we identified 57 anti-cancer plants by activity enrichment. The identified plants are widely distributed in 46 genera and 28 families, which broadens the scope of the anti-cancer drug screening. Finally, we constructed a network of predicted anti-cancer plants and approved drugs based on the above results. The network highlighted the supportive role of the predicted plant in the development of anti-cancer drug and suggested different molecular anti-cancer mechanisms of the plants. Our study suggests that the predicted compounds and plants from TCM database offer an attractive starting point and a broader scope to mine for potential anti-cancer agents.

[Prospective and controlled study on effect of fortified human milk feeding on infants with extremely and very low birth weight during hospital stay].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of fortified human milk feeding on growth and complications of infants with extremely and very low birth weight (ELBW/VLBW) during hospital stay by a prospective, random and controlled study. METHODS: In the study, 122 ELBW/VLBW infants were enrolled and divided into two groups. The infants fed with human breast milk, combined with human milk fortification (HMF) during hospital stay were named HMF group (n=62), and those fed exclusively with premature formula were named premature formula feeding group (PF group, n=60). The data of the infants'growth (the velocity of increase on the weight, length, head circumference and upper arm circumference), the time of rebounding to birth weight, the time of needing intravenous nutrition, the time of hospitalizing, the proportion of extrauterine growth retardation (EUGR) during hospital stay, the level of hemoglobin, bone metabolism and incidence of complications were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Among the 122 infants included, (1) the length increment in HMF group was higher than PF group [(0.89 ± 0.23) cm/week vs. (0.79 ± 0.34) cm/week, P=0.04]; there were no significant differences in the weight gain, head circumference increment and upper arm circumference increment (P>0.05); (2) the age of rebounding to birth weight [(10.13 ± 4.03) d vs. (8.03 ± 3.28) d, P=0.002] and the duration of intravenous nutrition [(16.77 ± 6.63) d vs. (14.23 ± 4.15) d, P=0.01] in HMF group were longer than that in PF group, there were no significant differences between the two groups in the hospital stay and age achieved feeding; (3) there were no significant differences between the two groups in the incidence rate of EUGR during hospital stay (P>0.05); (4) the level of calcium at birth in HMF group was lower than that in PF group [(2.19 ± 0.22) mmol/L vs.( 2.32 ± 0.27) mmol/L, P=0.005], and the level of alkaline phosphatase (AKP) in HMF group at discharge was higher than in PF group [(363.98 ± 122.49) mmol/L vs. (299.73 ± 117.39) mmol/L, P=0.004]; (5) the incidence of the feeding intolerance (6.5% vs. 18.3%, P=0.04) and sepsis (4.8% vs. 16.7%, P=0.03) in HMF group were less than in PF group, there were no significant differences between the two groups on the morbidity of necrotizing enterocditis, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: HMF for premature infants may ensure the same growth pattern as those fed by premature formula, promote the calcium absorption, decrease the incidence of sepsis and feeding intolerance, and does not increase the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis.

Bottom-Up Synthesis of Metal-Ion-Doped WS2 Nanoflakes for Cancer Theranostics.

Recently, two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have received tremendous attention in many fields including biomedicine. Herein, we develop a general method to dope different types of metal ions into WS2 nanoflakes, a typical class of TMDCs, and choose Gd(3+)-doped WS2 (WS2:Gd(3+)) with polyethylene glycol (PEG) modification as a multifunctional agent for imaging-guided combination cancer treatment. While WS2 with strong near-infrared (NIR) absorbance and X-ray attenuation ability enables contrasts in photoacoustic (PA) imaging and computed tomography (CT), Gd(3+) doping offers the nanostructure a paramagnetic property for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. As revealed by trimodal PA/CT/MR imaging, WS2:Gd(3+)-PEG nanoflakes showed efficient tumor homing after intravenous injection. In vivo cancer treatment study further uncovered that WS2:Gd(3+)-PEG could not only convert NIR light into heat for photothermal therapy (PTT) but also enhance the ionizing irradiation-induced tumor damage to boost radiation therapy (RT). Owing to the improved tumor oxygenation after the mild PTT, the combination of PTT and RT induced by WS2:Gd(3+)-PEG resulted in a remarkable synergistic effect to destroy cancer. Our work highlights the promise of utilizing inherent physical properties of TMDC-based nanostructures, whose functions could be further enriched by elementary doping, for applications in multimodal bioimaging and synergistic cancer therapy.

Core-Shell MnSe@Bi2 Se3 Fabricated via a Cation Exchange Method as Novel Nanotheranostics for Multimodal Imaging and Synergistic Thermoradiotherapy.

MnSe@Bi2 Se3 core-shell nanostructures with highly integrated imaging and therapy functions are fabricated by a simple cation exchange method. Using those nanoparticles as a theranostic agent, a promise concept is further demonstrated to enhance conventional radiotherapy by: i) using X-ray absorbing agents to locally concentrate radiation energy and ii) employing near-infrared-light-triggered photothermal therapy to overcome hypoxia-associated radioresistance.

[Molecular authentication of Sailonggu and its resource distribution in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau].

To provide accurate information on geographic distribution of crude drug Sailonggu in the plateau, we identified zokor species (Eospalax spp.) in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau using molecular methods. Based on the mitochondrial cytochrome B (cytb) gene sequences, we then extracted haplotypes from these sequences and reconstructed phylogenetic trees for the haplotypes using both maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods. Based on the trees, the species of each sample were determined. Five hundred and three samples from 35 populations were sequenced and their whole cytb sequences (1140 bp) were obtained. From these sequences 150 haplotypes were detected, in which, 126 were Eospalax baileyi, 20 were E. cansus, and 4 were E. smithi of the 35 populations, 28 were E. baileyi type, 5 were E. cansus type, and the remaining 2 were mixed of E. baileyi + E. cansus (DT2) and E. baileyi + E. smithi (ZN3). The results showed that, the regions around the Qinghai lake and near the upper stream of Yellow River started at Guide could be viewed as the producing area of authentic Sailonggu, and also, the cytb gene is a powerful molecular marker to determine the species of zokors as well as for the authentication of geographic distribution of Sailonggu.

Photosensitizer-Conjugated Albumin-Polypyrrole Nanoparticles for Imaging-Guided In Vivo Photodynamic/Photothermal Therapy.

Conjugated polymers with strong absorbance in the near-infrared (NIR) region have been widely explored as photothermal therapy agents due to their excellent photostability and high photothermal conversion efficiency. Herein, polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles are fabricated by using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as the stabilizing agent, which if preconjugated with photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6) could offer additional functionalities in both imaging and therapy. The obtained PPy@BSA-Ce6 nanoparticles exhibit little dark toxicity to cells, and are able to trigger both photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT). As a fluorescent molecule that in the meantime could form chelate complex with Gd(3+), Ce6 in PPy@BSA-Ce6 nanoparticles after being labeled with Gd(3+) enables dual-modal fluorescence and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, which illustrate strong tumor uptake of those nanoparticles after intravenous injection into tumor-bearing mice. In vivo combined PDT and PTT treatment is then carried out after systemic administration of PPy@BSA-Ce6, achieving a remarkably improved synergistic therapeutic effect compared to PDT or PTT alone. Hence, a rather simple one-step approach to fabricate multifunctional nanoparticles based on conjugated polymers, which appear to be promising in cancer imaging and combination therapy, is presented.

Two-dimensional magnetic WS2@Fe3O4 nanocomposite with mesoporous silica coating for drug delivery and imaging-guided therapy of cancer.

Integrating multiple imaging and therapy functionalities into one single nanoscale platform has been proposed to be a promising strategy in cancer theranostics. In this work, WS2 nanosheets with their surface pre-adsorbed with iron oxide (IO) nanoparticles via self-assembly are coated with a mesoporous silica shell, on to which polyethylene glycol (PEG) is attached. The obtained WS2-IO@MS-PEG composite nanoparticles exhibit many interesting inherent physical properties, including high near-infrared (NIR) light and X-ray absorbance, as well as strong superparamagnetism. In the mean time, the mesoporous silica shell in WS2-IO@MS-PEG could be loaded with a chemotherapy drug, doxorubicin (DOX), whose intracellular release afterwards may be triggered by NIR-induced photothermal heating for enhanced cancer cell killing. Upon systemic administration of such drug-loaded nano-theranostics, efficient tumor homing of WS2-IO@MS-PEG/DOX is observed in tumor-bearing mice as revealed by three-modal fluorescence, magnetic resonance (MR), and X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging. In vivo combined photothermal & chemotherapy is then carried out with WS2-IO@MS-PEG/DOX, achieving a remarkably synergistic therapeutic effect superior to the respective mono-therapies. Our study highlights the promise of developing multifunctional nanoscale theranostics based on two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) such as WS2 for multimodal imaging-guided combination therapy of cancer.

Nano-assemblies of J-aggregates based on a NIR dye as a multifunctional drug carrier for combination cancer therapy.

The combination of chemotherapy with photothermal therapy, which may lead to improved therapeutic efficacies and reduced side effects of conventional chemotherapy, would require safe drug delivery systems (DDSs) with strong near-infrared (NIR) absorbance, efficient drug loading, and effective tumor homing ability. Herein, we fabricate nano-assemblies containing J-aggregates of a NIR dye, IR825, for drug delivery and combined photothermal & chemotherapy of cancer. It is found that IR825 could be complexed with a low-molecular-weight cationic polymer polyethylenimine (PEI), forming IR825@PEI J-aggregates with greatly enhanced NIR absorbance red-shifted to 915 nm. Those nano-assemblies of J-aggregates are further modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG), obtaining IR825@PEI-PEG nano-complex which exhibits great dispersity in physiological solutions, excellent photostability, and is able to efficiently load chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (DOX) via a unique strategy different from drug loading in conventional amphiphilic polymer-based DDSs. In vivo animal experiments uncover that IR825@PEI-PEG/DOX upon intravenous injection into tumor-bearing mice shows rather high tumor uptake as illustrated by photoacoustic imaging. In vivo combined photothermal & chemotherapy is then carried out, demonstrating great synergistic anti-tumor therapeutic effect remarkably superior to those achieved by the respective mono-therapies. Hence, we present a novel type of nanoscale DDSs based on nano-assemblies of small molecules without involving amphiphilic polymers, promising for imaging-guided combination cancer therapy.

Molecular authentication of Sailonggu and its resource distribution in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau / 中国中药杂志

To provide accurate information on geographic distribution of crude drug Sailonggu in the plateau, we identified zokor species (Eospalax spp.) in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau using molecular methods. Based on the mitochondrial cytochrome B (cytb) gene sequences, we then extracted haplotypes from these sequences and reconstructed phylogenetic trees for the haplotypes using both maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods. Based on the trees, the species of each sample were determined. Five hundred and three samples from 35 populations were sequenced and their whole cytb sequences (1140 bp) were obtained. From these sequences 150 haplotypes were detected, in which, 126 were Eospalax baileyi, 20 were E. cansus, and 4 were E. smithi of the 35 populations, 28 were E. baileyi type, 5 were E. cansus type, and the remaining 2 were mixed of E. baileyi + E. cansus (DT2) and E. baileyi + E. smithi (ZN3). The results showed that, the regions around the Qinghai lake and near the upper stream of Yellow River started at Guide could be viewed as the producing area of authentic Sailonggu, and also, the cytb gene is a powerful molecular marker to determine the species of zokors as well as for the authentication of geographic distribution of Sailonggu.

PEGylated Prussian blue nanocubes as a theranostic agent for simultaneous cancer imaging and photothermal therapy.

Theranostic agents with both imaging and therapeutic functions have attracted enormous interests in cancer diagnosis and treatment in recent years. In this work, we develop a novel theranostic agent based on Prussian blue nanocubes (PB NCs), a clinically approved agent with strong near-infrared (NIR) absorbance and intrinsic paramagnetic property, for in vivo bimodal imaging-guided photothermal therapy. After being coated with polyethylene glycol (PEG), the obtained PB-PEG NCs are highly stable in various physiological solutions. In vivo T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) and photoacoustic tomography (PAT) bimodal imaging uncover that PB-PEG NCs after intravenous (i.v.) injection show high uptake in the tumor. Utilizing the strong and super stable NIR absorbance of PB, in vivo cancer treatment is then conducted upon i.v. injection of PB-PEG NCs followed by NIR laser irradiation of the tumors, achieving excellent therapeutic efficacy in a mouse tumor model. Comprehensive blood tests and careful histological examinations reveal no apparent toxicity of PB-PEG NCs to mice at our tested dose, which is two-fold of the imaging/therapy dose, within two months. Our work highlights the great promise of Prussian blue with well engineered surface coating as a multifunctional nanoprobe for imaging-guided cancer therapy.