Exosome-like nanovesicles derived from Phellinus linteus inhibit Mical2 expression through cross-kingdom regulation and inhibit ultraviolet-induced skin aging.

BACKGROUND: Phellinus linteus (PL), which is a typical medicinal fungus, has been shown to have antitumor and anti-inflammatory activities. However, studies on the effect of anti-photoaging are limited. Studies have shown that exosome-like nanovesicles are functional components of many medicinal plants, and miRNAs in exosome-like nanovesicles play a cross-kingdom regulatory role. At present, research on fungi exosome-like nanovesicles (FELNVs) is few. RESULTS: We systematically evaluated the anti-aging effects of PL. FELNVs of PL were isolated, and the functional molecular mechanisms were evaluated. The results of volunteer testing showed that PL had anti-aging activity. The results of component analysis showed that FELNVs were the important components of PL function. FELNVs are nanoparticles (100-260 nm) with a double shell structure. Molecular mechanism research results showed that miR-CM1 in FELNVs could inhibit Mical2 expression in HaCaT cells through cross-kingdom regulation, thereby promoting COL1A2 expression; inhibiting MMP1 expression in skin cells; decreasing the levels of ROS, MDA, and SA-ß-Gal; and increasing SOD activity induced by ultraviolet (UV) rays. The above results indicated that miR-CM1 derived from PL inhibited the expression of Mical2 through cross-kingdom regulation and inhibited UV-induced skin aging. CONCLUSION: miR-CM1 plays an anti-aging role by inhibiting the expression of Mical2 in human skin cells through cross-species regulation.

The Role of FOXP3 on Tumor Metastasis and Its Interaction with Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Forkhead box protein 3 (FOXP3) is an important transcription factor for regulatory T cells (Tregs) and plays an important role in their immunosuppressive function. In recent years, studies have found that FOXP3 is expressed in many kinds of tumors and plays different roles in tumors' biological behaviors, including tumor proliferation, metastasis, drug resistance, and prognosis. However, the effects of FOXP3 on tumor metastasis and its interaction with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) remain unclear. Therefore, in this review, we focus on the effects of FOXP3 on tumor metastasis and its relationship with TCM, which can provide evidence for further research and therapy in clinical settings.

A microscopic survey on microplastics in beverages: the case of beer, mineral water and tea.

It has been reported that microplastics exist ubiquitously in aquatic and terrestrial environments. Microplastic surveys on diverse daily foods with high consumption possibly containing microplastics have essential implications in clarifying the contamination routes, health risk assessment, and thereby preventing food pollution. Given the dependence of microplastic pollution on the regional environment, production and transportation, it further remains an open question on the number, size distribution and type of microplastics in foods from different countries worldwide. Here, we show that daily drinks produced worldwide, including beer, mineral water and tea, are all polluted with microplastics without exception. The number of microplastics investigated in this work lies in the range of 20-80 mL-1 for the beers, 10 mL-1 for the bottled mineral water, and 200-500 g-1 for the tea leaves. Quasi-spherical particles and irregular fragments dominate the shape of microplastics in beer and mineral water, whereas tea leaves carry numerous microplastic fibers. By identification through Raman spectroscopy, we observed the presence of polystyrene (PS) and polypropylene (PP) microplastics in beers, PP in bottled mineral water, and polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in tea leaves. Possible contamination sources include raw materials, atmosphere, and tools and containers that release microplastics. Given the facile adsorption of heavy metals and antibiotics to microplastics in beverages, public concern may arise regarding the accumulation of microplastics through the food chain and their synergetic harmful effect. Thus, our results should inspire further efforts that may contribute to the elimination and removal of microplastics from foods.

Dissociative electron transfer of copper(ii) complexes of glycyl(glycyl/alanyl)tryptophan in vacuo: IRMPD action spectroscopy provides evidence of transition from zwitterionic to non-zwitterionic peptide structures.

We report herein the first detailed study of the mechanism of redox reactions occurring during the gas-phase dissociative electron transfer of prototypical ternary [CuII(dien)M]˙2+ complexes (M, peptide). The two final products are (i) the oxidized non-zwitterionic π-centered [M]˙+ species with both the charge and spin densities delocalized over the indole ring of the tryptophan residue and with a C-terminal COOH group intact, and (ii) the complementary ion [CuI(dien)]+. Infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) action spectroscopy and low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) experiments, in conjunction with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, revealed the structural details of the mass-isolated precursor and product cations. Our experimental and theoretical results indicate that the doubly positively charged precursor [CuII(dien)M]˙2+ features electrostatic coordination through the anionic carboxylate end of the zwitterionic M moiety. An additional interaction exists between the indole ring of the tryptophan residue and one of the primary amino groups of the dien ligand; the DFT calculations provided the structures of the precursor ion, intermediates, and products, and enabled us to keep track of the locations of the charge and unpaired electron. The dissociative one-electron transfer reaction is initiated by a gradual transition of the M tripeptide from the zwitterionic form in [CuII(dien)M]˙2+ to the non-zwitterionic M intermediate, through a cascade of conformational changes and proton transfers. In the next step, the highest energy intermediate is formed; here, the copper center is 5-coordinate with coordination from both the carboxylic acid group and the indole ring. A subsequent switch back to 4-coordination to an intermediate IM1, where attachment to GGW occurs through the indole ring only, creates the structure that ultimately undergoes dissociation.

[Prewarming effect of transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation preconditioning in patients undergoing elective video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the prewarming effect of transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation (TAES) preconditioning of Dazhui (GV14) and Mingmen (GV4) in patients undergoing elective video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy, so as to determine whether TAES can improve intraoperative hypothermia. METHODS: A total of 80 patients undergoing elective video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy were randomly divided into TAES group (40 cases) and control group (40 cases). Before surgery, all the patients were transferred to the fixed area of an anesthetic preparation room by using a surgery cart carrying the same temperature sheets and quilts before surgery. TAES (2 Hz/100 Hz, 20-30 mA) was applied to Dazhui (GV14) and Mingmen (GV4) for 30 min for patients of the TAES group and the same sheet electrodes of EA stimulator were only attached to GV14 and GV 4 without electrical current transmission for patients in the control group. Then, these patients in the two groups were transferred to the operation room and treated by total intravenous anesthesia, and their anesthetic depth was monitored with bispectral index (BIS, between 45-60) and end-tidal carbon dioxide tension (PETCO2, between 30-45 mmHg). The auricular tympanic temperature was monitored, and when the temperature was below 35.5 ℃, forced-air blanket was used to warm the patient as the remedial measure. The same temperature of operation room, surgical drape, infusion solution and pleural lavage fluid were controlled. The patients' body temperature in the preparation room and operation room during surgery, incidence of hypothemia, blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), duration of anesthesia, duration of operation, blood loss volume, urine output, total infusion volume, recovery (awaking) time, and chills during recovery were recorded. RESULTS: The body temperature of patients in the TAES group was significantly higher than that in the control group at the time of entering the operation room (P<0.05). The incidence of chills during recovery was obviously lower in the TAES group (3/40,7.5%) than in the control group (7/40, 17.5%, P<0.05), and the recovery time was significantly shorter in the TAES group than in the control group (P<0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the incidence of intraoperative hypothermia, the duration of anesthesia and operation, blood loss volume, urine output, total infusion volume, BP and HR (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: TAES preconditioning of GV14 and GV4 can produce prewarming effect before anesthesia, shorten the awaking time and reduce the incidence of chills in the recovery period in patients undergoing elective video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy.