Tea intake and lung diseases: a Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Existing studies on the relationship between tea intake and lung diseases have yielded inconsistent results, leading to an ongoing dispute on this issue. The impact of tea consumption on the respiratory system remained elucidating. Materials and methods: We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study to evaluate the associations between five distinct tea intake phenotypes and 15 different respiratory outcomes using open Genome-wide association study (GWAS) data. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) was used for preliminary screening and a variety of complementary methods were used as sensitivity analysis to validate the robustness of MR estimates. Pathway enrichment analysis was used to explore possible mechanisms. Results: IVW found evidence for a causal effect of standard tea intake on an increased risk of lung squamous cell cancer (LSCC) (OR = 1.004; 95% CI = 1.001-1.007; P = 0.00299). No heterogeneity or pleiotropy was detected. After adjustment for potential mediators, including smoking, educational attainment, and time spent watching television, the association was still robust in multivariable MR. KEGG and GO enrichment predicted proliferation and activation of B lymphocytes may play a role in this causal relation. No causalities were observed when evaluating the effect of other kinds of tea intake on various pulmonary diseases. Conclusion: Our MR estimates provide causal evidence of the independent effect of standard tea intake (black tea intake) on LSCC, which may be mediated by B lymphocytes. The results implied that the population preferring black tea intake should be wary of a higher risk of LSCC.

A nanoselenium-coating biomimetic cytomembrane nanoplatform for mitochondrial targeted chemotherapy- and chemodynamic therapy through manganese and doxorubicin codelivery.

The cell membrane is widely considered as a promising delivery nanocarrier due to its excellent properties. In this study, self-assembled Pseudomonas geniculate cell membranes were prepared with high yield as drug nanocarriers, and named BMMPs. BMMPs showed excellent biosafety, and could be more efficiently internalized by cancer cells than traditional red cell membrane nanocarriers, indicating that BMMPs could deliver more drug into cancer cells. Subsequently, the BMMPs were coated with nanoselenium (Se), and subsequently loaded with Mn2+ ions and doxorubicin (DOX) to fabricate a functional nanoplatform (BMMP-Mn2+/Se/DOX). Notably, in this nanoplatform, Se nanoparticles activated superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD-1) expression and subsequently up-regulated downstream H2O2 levels. Next, the released Mn2+ ions catalyzed H2O2 to highly toxic hydroxyl radicals (·OH), inducing mitochondrial damage. In addition, the BMMP-Mn2+/Se nanoplatform inhibited glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) expression and further accelerated intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Notably, the BMMP-Mn2+/Se/DOX nanoplatform exhibited increased effectiveness in inducing cancer cell death through mitochondrial and nuclear targeting dual-mode therapeutic pathways and showed negligible toxicity to normal organs. Therefore, this nanoplatform may represent a promising drug delivery system for achieving a safe, effective, and accurate cancer therapeutic plan.

Oxygen Vacancy Defect-Induced Activity Enhancement of Gd Doping Magnetic Nanocluster for Oxygen Supplying Cancer Theranostics.

This work finds that Fe3O4 nanoclusters can rearrange by Gd doping and then self-assemble to a hollow magnetic nanocluster (HMNC), providing larger magnetic moments to obtain an excellent MRI capability and increasing the number of oxygen vacancies in HMNC. The hollow structure makes platinum(IV) prodrugs effectively load into HMNC. Second, plenty of oxygen vacancy defects can capture oxygen molecules, enhance the catalytic activity of HMNC, and then promote intracellular ROS generation. On the basis of this, a targeting iRGD-labeled HMNC nanosystem (iHMNCPt-O2) is developed through loading oxygen molecules and platinum(IV) prodrugs for chemo- and chemodynamic therapy of cancer. This nanosystem shows an excellent response ability to weak acid and GSH, which can cause a series of cascade reactions in a cell. These cascade reactions are dramatically enhanced at the intracellular ROS level, cause mitochondria and DNA damage, and then induce cancer cell death. Besides, systemic delivery of iHMNCPt-O2 significantly enhanced the MRI contrast signal of tumors and improved the quality of MR images, accurately diagnosing tumors. Therefore, this work provides a novel method for accelerating the Fenton-like reaction and enhancing the MRI capability and fabricates a promising "all-in-one" system to overwhelm the problems of cancer theranostic.

A pH-responsive platform combining chemodynamic therapy with limotherapy for simultaneous bioimaging and synergistic cancer therapy.

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) was widely exploited for cancer therapy and expected to replace traditional anticancer drug therapies. Generally, CDT needs to combine with extra therapeutic methods for obtaining the optimal therapeutic efficacy of cancer. Herein, a multifunctional theranostic platform combing CDT with limotherapy was developed via nanoselenium (nano-Se)-coated manganese carbonate-deposited iron oxide nanoparticle (MCDION-Se). MCDION-Se could release abundant of Mn2+ ions that catalyzed H2O2 into hydroxyl radicals (·OH) via a Fenton-like reaction, effectively inducing the apoptosis of cancer cells. Besides, nano-Se coated onto MCDION-Se also dramatically activated superoxide dismutase (SOD) and promoted the generation of superoxide anion radicals (SOARs) in tumor tissue. Subsequently, a high content of H2O2 was produced via SOD catalysis of SOARs, further enhancing CDT efficiency. Meanwhile, the nano-Se and Mn2+ ions inhibited the generation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), thus starving cancer cells. In addition, in vitro and in vivo experiments showed that MCDION-Se could effectively enhance the contrast of tumor tissue and improve the quality of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Overall, this work provided a nanoplatform that combined CDT with limotherapy for cancer therapy and simultaneously utilized MRI for monitoring the treatment of tumors.

Promoting Potato Seed Sprouting Using an Amphiphilic Nanocomposite.

Most potato tubers were used as seeds and sprouted relatively slowly in soil, greatly influencing potato production. To solve this problem, an amphiphilic nanocomposite was fabricated by loading hydrophobic silica (H-SiO2) in hydrophilic attapulgite nest-like and used as a nano presprouting agent (NPA). This technology could conveniently adjust the occupation area ratio of water and air (OARWA) on the potato surface. NPA could endow potatoes with an appropriate OARWA and, thus, effectively accelerate sprouting. Additionally, NPA greatly decreased soil bulk density, facilitated earthworm growth, promoted potato growth, and increased the yield by 14.1%. Besides, NPA did not pass through the potato skin and mainly existed on the surface of potatoes. Importantly, NPA showed tiny influence on the viability of fish and nematodes, demonstrating good biosafety. Therefore, this work provides a promising presprouting approach for potatoes, which may have a potential application prospect in ensuring food supply.

Seasonal variation and gender pattern of phenolic and flavonoid contents in Pistacia chinensis Bunge inflorescences and leaves.

Pistacia chinensis Bunge (P. chinensis) is a deciduous and dioecious perennial arbor of the family Anacardiaceae that flowers from March to April and bears fruit from September to October. There are three rapidly growing stages in the annual growth process of P. chinensis. However, the knowledge of the secondary metabolites related to P. chinensis gender and growth season remains scant. In this study, HPLC was used to qualitatively and quantitatively determine the content of the catechin hydrate, rutin, quercetin, and kaempferol contents in male and female tree inflorescences and leaves. Total phenolics and flavonoids were also detected using a spectrophotometer. The results indicated that the contents of these compounds fluctuated with seasons and they reached the highest levels in nascent leaves. The fluctuations of these compounds followed different pathways of evolution, by increasing or decreasing in male and female trees throughout the whole growth process because they had their own biological functions. Moreover, the extracts exhibited DPPH radical scavenging bioactivity and showed no significant cytotoxicity towards 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Together, these results demonstrated that P. chinensis has great potential as an antioxidant medicine, and the best harvest time is in the spring.