Facile Synthesis of P-Doped ZnIn2S4 with Enhanced Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production.

ZnIn2S4 (ZIS) is widely used in the field of photocatalytic hydrogen production due to its unique photoelectric properties. Nonetheless, the photocatalytic performance of ZIS usually faces problems of poor conductivity and rapid recombination of charge carriers. Heteroatom doping is often regarded as one of the effective strategies for improving the catalytic activity of photocatalysts. Herein, phosphorus (P)-doped ZIS was prepared by hydrothermal method, whose photocatalytic hydrogen production performance and energy band structure were fully studied. The band gap of P-doped ZIS is about 2.51 eV, which is slightly smaller than that of pure ZIS. Moreover, due to the upward shift of its energy band, the reduction ability of P-doped ZIS is enhanced, and P-doped ZIS also exhibits stronger catalytic activity than pure ZIS. The optimized P-doped ZIS exhibits a hydrogen production rate of 1566.6 µmol g-1 h-1, which is 3.8 times that of the pristine ZIS (411.1 µmol g-1 h-1). This work provides a broad platform for the design and synthesis of phosphorus-doped sulfide-based photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution.

Khasianine ameliorates psoriasis-like skin inflammation and represses TNF-α/NF-κB axis mediated transactivation of IL-17A and IL-33 in keratinocytes.

ETHNO-PHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Khasianine is recently identified as a bioactive compound from Solanum nigrum L. (SNL) which is a traditional Chinese herb (named LongKui in China) and has been clinically applied for treating psoriasis in China but with limited knowledge about the active ingredients. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study tried to explore the bioactivity of Khasianine and showed that Khasianine possessed highly anti-inflammatory bioactivity which rapidly alleviated psoriasis-like mice skin inflammation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Imiquimod induced psoriasis-like mouse model, and human keratinocytes were employed in this study. In vivo, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were performed to evaluate the pathological improvement in psoriatic lesions after Khasianine treatment. In vitro, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) treated HaCaT cells with or without Khasianine, were used to analyze the expression and cellular location of NF-κB p65, the expression of IL-17A and IL-33, and the binding intensity of NF-κB p65 on the promoter of IL-17A and IL-33 to understand the molecular mechanism of Khasianine mediated anti-inflammatory effect. RESULTS: Khasianine reduced infiltration of CD4+ T helper cells (Th cells) and macrophages in mice psoriatic lesions. Immunohistochemistry analysis revealed that Khasianine reduced TNF-α levels in lesions and suppressed NF-κB p65 activation as well as expression of IL-17A and IL-33 in mice epidermal keratinocytes. Further studies in human keratinocytes demonstrated that Khasianine inhibited TNF-α-induced transcriptional activation (transactivation) of NF-κB p65 such as evicting NF-κB p65 binding from the promoter regions of IL-17A and IL-33 and preventing NF-κB nuclear translocation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that Khasianine is a potent anti-inflammatory compound with the bioactivity of NF-κB inhibition and is a promising candidate for psoriasis topical therapy.

Erythrocyte transglutaminase-2 combats hypoxia and chronic kidney disease by promoting oxygen delivery and carnitine homeostasis.

Due to lack of nuclei and de novo protein synthesis, post-translational modification (PTM) is imperative for erythrocytes to regulate oxygen (O2) delivery and combat tissue hypoxia. Here, we report that erythrocyte transglutminase-2 (eTG2)-mediated PTM is essential to trigger O2 delivery by promoting bisphosphoglycerate mutase proteostasis and the Rapoport-Luebering glycolytic shunt for adaptation to hypoxia, in healthy humans ascending to high altitude and in two distinct murine models of hypoxia. In a pathological hypoxia model with chronic kidney disease (CKD), eTG2 is critical to combat renal hypoxia-induced reduction of Slc22a5 transcription and OCNT2 protein levels via HIF-1α-PPARα signaling to maintain carnitine homeostasis. Carnitine supplementation is an effective and safe therapeutic approach to counteract hypertension and progression of CKD by enhancing erythrocyte O2 delivery. Altogether, we reveal eTG2 as an erythrocyte protein stabilizer orchestrating O2 delivery and tissue adaptive metabolic reprogramming and identify carnitine-based therapy to mitigate hypoxia and CKD progression.

Biochemical and transcriptomic analyses of the symbiotic interaction between Cremastra appendiculata and the mycorrhizal fungus Coprinellus disseminatus.

BACKGROUND: Cremastra appendiculata is a rare terrestrial orchid with a high market value as an ornamental and medicinal plant. However, the species depends entirely on fungi for seed germination under natural conditions. In a previous study, we have successfully isolated and identified the mycorrhizal fungus Coprinellus disseminatus which was able to induce the germination of C. appendiculata seeds. We then speculated that C. disseminatus may do so by breaking the testa imposed dormancy of the seeds. In this study, biochemical and transcriptomic analyses were used to characterize the germination of C. appendiculata seeds, collected at different stages of germination, as affected by C. disseminatus. RESULTS: The lignocellulose in the seeds coat of C. appendiculata was degraded by the mycorrhizal fungus resulting in facilitated absorption of water. The rate of decline in lignin content was 67 and 73% at 6 and 12 days after sowing, respectively. The water content increased from 13 to 90% during symbiosis. A total of 15,382 genes showing significantly different levels of expression (log2 FPKM≥2.0, Qvalue≤0.05) were successfully identified among all libraries, where the highest number of DEGs was shared between 6 days versus 0 day after symbiotic germination. Gene annotation results suggested that 15 key genes related water-status, such as DHN gene family and Xero 1 were down-regulated. The genes zeaxanthin epoxidase ZEP, 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase NCED3 and ß-carotene hydroxylase involved in the biosynthesis of abscisic acid (ABA) were significantly down-regulated in 6 days as compared to 0 day after symbiotic germination. CONCLUSIONS: This work demonstrates that mycorrhizal fungus C. disseminatus can stimulate C. appendiculata seeds germination through a mechanism of breaking the testa imposed dormancy and inducing water absorption of the embryo.

Ingredients with anti-inflammatory effect from medicine food homology plants.

Inflammation occurs when the immune system responses to external harmful stimuli and infection. Chronic inflammation induces various diseases. A variety of foods are prescribed in the traditional medicines of many countries all over the world, which gave birth to the concept of medicine food homology. Over the past few decades, a number of secondary metabolites from medicine food homology plants have been demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory effects. In the present review, the effects and mechanisms of the medicine food homology plants-derived active components on relieving inflammation and inflammation-mediated diseases were summarized and discussed. The information provided in this review is valuable to future studies on anti-inflammatory ingredients derived from medicine food homology plants as drugs or food supplements.

Efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese herbal medicine combined with HAART in the treatment of HIV/AIDS: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is one of the infectious diseases pandemic in the word. Traditional Chinese herbal medicine, as an alternative and complementary therapy of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), has been put into the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS over 30 years due to its good therapeutic effects and high safety, while there is a lack of evidence-based medicine support. The purpose of this study is to explore the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese herbal medicine combined with HAART for HIV/AIDS patients. METHODS: We will search all randomized controlled trials of Chinese herbal medicine combined with HAART in the treatment of HIV/AIDS from electronic databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang, China Science and Technology Journal Database and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database from inception to December 31, 2021. Literature screening will be conducted through EndNote software, and data extraction will be processed according to inclusion and exclusion criteria by two independent researchers. We will use Review Manager 5.4 and Stata 16 software for data analysis and publication bias test. RESULTS: This systematic review and meta-analysis will provide a high-quality evidence for the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese herbal medicine combined with HAART in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. CONCLUSION: The conclusion of this review will provide an objective assessment to evaluate whether Chinese herbal medicine integrated with HAART has the effect of improving the efficiency and depressing the toxicity. REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY2021110082.

Kochia scoparia Saponin Momordin Ic Modulates HaCaT Cell Proliferation and Apoptosis via the Wnt/ß-Catenin Pathway.

Psoriasis is a chronic, recurrent, immunoinflammatory disease. For a long period, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is considered a reliable alternative therapy for patients with psoriasis. Fructus Kochiae (or Kochia scoparia) and its principle saponin, Momordin Ic, have been reported to protect against inflammation. Herein, we demonstrated that Momordin Ic could inhibit HaCaT cell proliferation and enhance cell apoptosis. In the meantime, Momordin Ic alters Wnt/ß-catenin pathway activation by affecting ß-catenin nuclear distribution. The Wnt/ß-catenin signaling activator LiCl partially reversed the effects of Momordin Ic on HaCaT phenotypes and the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway factors. Altogether, we demonstrate the inhibitory effects of Momordin Ic, one of the major saponin constituents of Fructus Kochiae, on HaCaT cell proliferation and Momordin Ic-induced alteration within the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway. Momordin Ic might act on HaCaT cells by modulating the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway.

Effects of resveratrol on bone metabolism and bone turnover related indexes in ovariectomized osteoporosis rats.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of resveratrol (RES) on bone metabolism and bone turnover related indexes in ovariectomized osteoporosis rats. 48 clean grade adult healthy unmated female SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups, including normal control group (NCG), osteoporosis model group (OP MG), estrogen treatment group (17ß-E2 group), RES low dose group (RES-L), RES medium-dose group (RES-M) and RES high dose group (RES-H). The rats in NCG and OP MG were given distilled water once a day and the rats in the other two groups were given 17ß-E2 and resveratrol respectively. The levels of serum calcium (S-Ca), serum phosphorus (S-P), urinary calcium (U-Ca/Cr) and urinary phosphorus (U-P/Cr) were measured with an automatic biochemistry analyzer. The levels of serum osteocalcin (BGP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), type I amino front-end peptide (PINP), type I collagen strong carboxyl peptide (CTX-I), urine deoxypyridinoline (DPD) and serum estrogen were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In the OP group, the serum estrogen levels, S-Ca and S-P decreased significantly and the expression of U-Ca/Cr and U-P/Cr increased significantly (P< 0.05). Compared with the OP group, the expression of S-Ca and S-P increased significantly and the expression of U-Ca/Cr and U-P/Cr decreased significantly (p< 0.05) after treatment. The levels of TRAP, BGP, DPD and CTX-I in the OP group increased significantly (P< 0.05). Compared with the OP group, the levels of TRAP decreased significantly (P< 0.05). The levels of PINP and ALP in OP MG increased significantly (P< 0.05). IP and ALP increased in the middle and lower levels (P< 0.05). The bone mineral density of the OP group decreased significantly (P< 0.05). Resveratrol can affect the changes in bone turnover in ovariectomized rats, promote bone formation in low estrogen state and inhibit bone resorption. Resveratrol may have a protective effect on the bone of ovariectomized rats.

Synthesis and characterization of Tamoxifen citrate modified reduced graphene oxide nano sheets for breast cancer therapy.

Theranostic agents are of immense consideration in the current generation nanomedicine. In this study, we have developed a facile approach for the fabrication of Tamoxifen citrate modified nanosized reduced graphene oxide (nano-rGO) with more stability and low cytotoxicity. The prepared nano-rGO sheets were characterized using HR-TEM and AFM imaging techniques. Further, the cytotoxicity was assessed using MTT assay on female BALB/c nude mice MCF-7 cell lines. In addition, by means of continuous-wave near-infrared laser, cancer cells in vivo were significantly ablated because of the photothermal effect stimulated by tamoxifen modified nano-rGO. These results indicated that the prepared tamoxifen modified nano-rGO has the ability to apply in the photothermal therapy of breast cancers. Consequently, further exploration of photothermal therapeutics is desirable for the synthesis of novel nano materials with additional functionalities.

[Effects of rutaecarpine on inflammatory cytokines in insulin resistant primary skeletal muscle cells].

It is now well established that inflammation plays an important role in the development of numerous chronic metabolic diseases including insulin resistance (IR) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Skeletal muscle is responsible for 75% of total insulin-dependent glucose uptake; consequently, skeletal muscle IR is considered to be the primary defect of systemic IR development. Our pre- vious study has shown that rutaecarpine (Rut) can benefit blood lipid profile, mitigate inflammation, and improve kidney, liver, pan- creas pathology status of T2DM rats. However, the effects of Rut on inflammatory cytokines in the development of IR-skeletal muscle cells have not been studied. Thus, our objective was to investigate effects of Rut on inflammatory cytokines interleukiri (IL)-1, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in insulin resistant primary skeletal muscle cells (IR-PSMC). Primary cultures of skeletal muscle cells were prepared from 5 neonate SD rats, and the primary rat skeletal muscle cells were identified by cell morphology, effect of ru- taecarpine on cell proliferation by MTT assay. IR-PSMC cells were induced by palmitic acid (PA), the glucose concentration was measured by glucose oxidase and peroxidase (GOD-POD) method. The effects of Rut on inflammatory cytokines IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α in IR-PSMC cells were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. The results show that the primary skeletal muscle cells from neonatal rat cultured for 2-4 days, parallel alignment regularly, and cultured for 7 days, cells fused and myotube formed. It was shown that Rut in concentration 0-180. 0 µmol x L(-1) possessed no cytotoxic effect towards cultured primary skeletal muscle cells. However, after 24 h exposure to 0.6 mmol x L(-1) PA, primary skeletal muscle cells were able to induce a state of insulin resistance. The results obtained indicated significant decrease (P < 0.05 to P < 0.001) IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α production by cultured IR-PSMC cells when incubating 24 hours with Rut, beginning from 20 to 180.0 µmol x L(-1). IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α in the Rut treated groups were dose-dependently decreased compared with that in the IR-PSMC control group. Our results demonstrated that the Rut promoted glucose consumption and improved insulin resistance possibly through suppression of inflammatory cytokines in the IR-PSMC cells.

[Probe excavations about using gene chip to identify original plants in Chinese pharmacopoeia based on NCBI sequence database].

OBJECTIVE: Based on the DNA fragments of medicinal plants of NCBJ database, the DNA Probe,which can be used to identify original plants in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 edition), was got. METHODS: First of all, get the Latin name of the original plants by collating the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Next,download the medicinal plants' DNA fragments from the NCBI database, including ITS, matK, rbcL, psbK-psbI and trnH-psbA, then design probe by using Array Designer 4. 2. Finally, analyze each probe's versatility in the same kind of original plant and conservatism in different kinds of original plants by using Matlab, then determine the specificity of the probe. RESULTS: Regarding the Latin name of 586 original plants in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 edition) and the above five gene fragments as retrieval condition, 7 613 sequences were downloaded from NCBI, then 315 436 probes were got in total by analyzing. What's more, after analyzing versatility and conservatism of the probes,13 814 specific probes were got. Furthermore,in theory, 376 kinds of original plants could be detected. Because there existed the lack of related gene fragments in the NCBI database,or the sequences were short of specificity,210 species of original plants which were involved in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia didn't receive the corresponding probe. CONCLUSION: The results of the study can provide the further development of medicinal plants' identification chip with vital information support,and the excavation methods of probe can be widely used. Furthermore,the results of the study indicate the original plants which need sequencing importantly in the future.

Adenosine deaminase enzyme therapy prevents and reverses the heightened cavernosal relaxation in priapism.

INTRODUCTION: Priapism featured with painful prolonged penile erection is dangerous and commonly seen in sickle cell disease (SCD). The preventive approaches or effective treatment options for the disorder are limited because of poor understanding of its pathogenesis. Recent studies have revealed a novel role of excess adenosine in priapism caused by heightened cavernosal relaxation, and therefore present an intriguing mechanism-based therapeutic possibility. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the therapeutic effects of adenosine deaminase (ADA) enzyme therapy to lower adenosine in priapism. METHODS: Both ADA-deficient mice and SCD transgenic (Tg) mice display priapism caused by excessive adenosine. Thus, we used these two distinct lines of mouse models of priapism as our investigative tools. Specifically, we treated both of these mice with different dosages of polyethylene glycol-modified ADA (PEG-ADA) to reduce adenosine levels in vivo. At the end points of the experiments, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of PEG-ADA treatment by measuring adenosine levels and monitoring the cavernosal relaxation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Adenosine levels in penile tissues were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography, and cavernosal relaxation was quantified by electrical field stimulation (EFS)-induced corporal cavernosal strip (CCS) assays. RESULTS: We found that lowering adenosine levels in penile tissues by PEG-ADA treatment from birth in ADA-deficient mice prevented the increased EFS-induced CCS relaxation associated with priapism. Intriguingly, in both ADA-deficient mice and SCD Tg mice with established priapism, we found that normalization of adenosine levels in penile tissues by PEG-ADA treatment relieved the heightened EFS-induced cavernosal relaxation in priapism. CONCLUSIONS: Our studies have identified that PEG-ADA is a novel, safe, and mechanism-based drug to prevent and correct excess adenosine-mediated increased cavernosal relaxation seen in two independent priapic animal models, and suggested its therapeutic possibility in men suffering from priapism.

Identification of tribbles homolog 2 as an autoantigen in autoimmune uveitis by phage display.

Autoimmune uveitis is a group of ocular inflammatory disorders with unknown causes. As in other autoimmune diseases, identification of autoantigens from uveitis patients would markedly improve our understanding of the disease mechanism. Here, we report that a candidate autoantigen was identified by phage display in an unbiased fashion. A bacteriophage T7 display cDNA library was generated from human eye and characterized. Patient-specific phages were enriched by four rounds of phage display with purified patient IgG. Enriched phages demonstrated a 20-fold increase in binding specificity to the patient IgG compared with control IgG. Two clonal phages with particularly high relative binding specificities were isolated and characterized. The encoded genes, tribbles homolog 2 (TRB2) and an unknown protein, had 170- and 42-fold increases in their binding specificities to the patient IgG, respectively. The patient-specific immunoreactivities were further confirmed by Western blotting. Anti-TRB2 antibody activities were detected in several uveitis patients but not in control subjects, suggesting that TRB2 is a uveitis-associated candidate autoantigen. These results demonstrate that autoantigens can be identified by phage display using uveitis patient serum.