Differential effects of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH/GuaB) inhibition in Acinetobacter baumannii and Escherichia coli.

Inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), known as GuaB in bacteria, catalyzes the rate-limiting step in de novo guanine biosynthesis and is conserved from humans to bacteria. We developed a series of potent inhibitors that selectively target GuaB over its human homolog. Here, we show that these GuaB inhibitors are bactericidal, generate phenotypic signatures that are distinct from other antibiotics, and elicit different time-kill kinetics and regulatory responses in two important Gram-negative pathogens: Acinetobacter baumannii and Escherichia coli. Specifically, the GuaB inhibitor G6 rapidly kills A. baumannii but only kills E. coli after 24 h. After exposure to G6, the expression of genes involved in purine biosynthesis and stress responses change in opposite directions while siderophore biosynthesis is downregulated in both species. Our results suggest that different species respond to GuaB inhibition using distinct regulatory programs and possibly explain the different bactericidal kinetics upon GuaB inhibition. The comparison highlights opportunities for developing GuaB inhibitors as novel antibiotics.IMPORTANCEA. baumannii is a priority bacterial pathogen for which development of new antibiotics is urgently needed due to the emergence of multidrug resistance. We recently developed a series of specific inhibitors against GuaB, a bacterial inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase, and achieved sub-micromolar minimum inhibitory concentrations against A. baumannii. GuaB catalyzes the rate-limiting step of de novo guanine biosynthesis and is highly conserved across bacterial pathogens. This study shows that inhibition of GuaB induced a bacterial morphological profile distinct from that of other classes of antibiotics, highlighting a novel mechanism of action. Moreover, our transcriptomic analysis showed that regulation of de novo purine biosynthesis and stress responses of A. baumannii upon GuaB inhibition differed significantly from that of E. coli.

Liquiritin targeting Th17 cells differentiation and abnormal proliferation of keratinocytes alleviates psoriasis via NF-κB and AP-1 pathway.

Psoriasis is a common immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease, caused by disturbed interactions between keratinocytes and immune cells. Chinese medicine shows potential clinical application for its treatment. Liquiritin is a flavone compound extracted from licorice and shows potential antitussive, antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects, and therefore may have potential as a psoriasis therapeutic. The aim of this work was to examine the possible roles that liquiritin may have in treating psoriasis. HaCaT cells were stimulated by TNF-α with or without liquiritin, harvested for analysis by western blots and RT-qPCR, and the cellular supernatants were collected and analyzed by ELISA for cytokines. In addition, 4 groups of mice were examined: Normal, Vehicle, LQ-L and LQ-H. The mice were sacrificed after 6 days and analyzed using IHC, ELISA, RT-qPCR and flow cytometry. The results showed that liquiritin could significantly inhibit the progression of psoriasis both in vitro and in vivo. Liquiritin strongly suppressed the proliferation of HaCaT keratinocytes but did not affect cell viability. Moreover, liquiritin alleviated imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like skin inflammation and accumulation of Th17 cells and DCs in vivo. In TNF-α-induced HaCaT keratinocytes, both protein and mRNA expression levels of inflammatory cytokines were sharply decreased. In imiquimod-induced mice, the activation of NF-κB and AP-1 was reduced after treatment with liquiritin. Collectively, our results show that liquiritin might act as a pivotal regulator of psoriasis via modulating NF-κB and AP-1 signal pathways.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α/IL-6 axis in activated hepatic stellate cells aggravates liver fibrosis.

Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) upregulate hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α) expression in response to fibrosis-induced hypoxia. The mechanism by which HIF-1α promotes liver fibrosis in HSCs is not fully understood. In this study, we found that increased expression of α-SMA, HIF-1α and IL-6, as well as colocalization of α-SMA and HIF-1α, and HIF-1α and IL-6, were observed in liver fibrotic tissues of patients and a mouse model. HIF-1α expression induced IL-6 secretion in activated HSCs and the increase could be abolished by HIF-1α suppression or HIF1A gene knockdown. HIF-1α directly bound to the hypoxia response element (HRE) region in HSC IL6/Il6 promoters. Additionally, culturing naïve CD4 T cells with supernatant from HSCs in which HIF-1α is highly expressed increased IL-17A expression, and the expression could be abolished by HIF1A knockdown in LX2. In turn, the IL-17A-enriched supernatant induced IL-6 secretion in HSCs. Together, these results show that HIF-1α upregulates IL-6 expression in HSCs and induces IL-17A secretion through directly binding to the HRE of IL6 promoter.

Zika Virus Infection Downregulates Connexin 43, Disrupts the Cardiomyocyte Gap Junctions and Induces Heart Diseases in A129 Mice.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is transmitted mostly via mosquito bites and no vaccine is available, so it may reemerge. We and others previously demonstrated that neonatal infection of ZIKV results in heart failure and can be fatal. Animal models implicated ZIKV involvement in viral heart diseases. It is unknown whether and how ZIKV causes heart failure in adults. Herein, we studied the effects of ZIKV infection on the heart function of adult A129 mice. First, we found that ZIKV productively infects the rat-, mouse-, or human-originated heart cell lines and caused ubiquitination-mediated degradation of and distortive effects on connexin 43 (Cx43) protein that is important for communications between cardiomyocytes. Second, ZIKV infection caused 100% death of the A129 mice with decreasing body weight, worsening health score, shrugging fur, and paralysis. The viral replication was detected in multiple organs. In searching for the viral effects on heart of the A129 mice, we found that ZIKV infection resulted in the increase of cardiac muscle enzymes, implicating a viral acute myocardial injury. ZIKV-caused heart injury was also demonstrated by electrocardiogram (ECG) showing widened and fragmented QRS waves, prolonged PR interval, and slower heart rate. The intercalated disc (ICD) between two cardiomyocytes was destroyed, as shown by the electronic microscopy, and the Cx43 distribution in the ICDs was less organized in the ZIKV-infected mice compared to that in the phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)-treated mice. Consistently, ZIKV productively infected the heart of A129 mice and decreased Cx43 protein. Therefore, we demonstrated that ZIKV infection caused heart failure, which might lead to fatal sequelae in ZIKV-infected A129 mice. IMPORTANCE Zika virus (ZIKV) is a teratogen causing devastating sequelae to the newborns who suffer a congenital ZIKV infection while it brings about only mild symptoms to the health-competent older children or adults. Mouse models have played an important role in mechanistic and pathogenic studies of ZIKV. In this study, we employed 3 to 4 week-old A129 mice for ZIKV infection. RT-qPCR assays discovered that ZIKV replicated in multiple organs, including the heart. As a result of ZIKV infection, the A129 mice experienced weight loss, health score worsening, paralysis, and deaths. We revealed that the ZIKV infection caused abnormal electrocardiogram presentations, increased cardiac muscle enzymes, downregulated Cx43, and destroyed the gap junction and the intercalated disc between the cardiomyocytes, implicating that ZIKV may cause an acute myocardial injury in A129 mice. Therefore, our data imply that ZIKV infection may jeopardize the immunocompromised population with a severe clinical consequence, such as heart defect.

Nuclear localization signal peptides enhance genetic transformation of Dunaliella salina.

BACKGROUND: Dunaliella salina (D. salina) expression system shows a very attractive application prospect, but it currently has a technical bottleneck, namely the low or unstable expression of recombinant proteins. Given the characteristics of cell-penetrating peptides or/and nuclear localization signal (NLS) peptides, this study is the first attempt to improve the transformation rate of foreign gene with trans-activating transcriptional (TAT) protein or/and NLS peptides. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using salt gradient method, exogenous plasmids were transferred into D. salina cells with TAT or TAT/NLS complexes simultaneously. The ß-glucuronidase gene expression was identified by means of histochemical stain and RT-qPCR detection. Through observation with light microscope, TAT-mediating cells exhibit an apparent cytotoxicity even at ratios of 0.5, no significant toxicity was noted in the TAT/plasmid/NLS complex group. It is obvious that with the addition of peptides the toxicity decreases significantly. Histochemical staining showed that the transformants presented blue color under light microscope, but the negative control and blank control are not. Furthermore, based on a TAT/plasmids ratio of 4 with 10 µg NLS peptides mediation, RT-qPCR results demonstrated that the transcripts of target gene were increased by 269 times than that of control group. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that combination of TAT and NLS peptides can significantly improve the transformation rate and expression level of foreign gene in D. salina system. It offers a promising way for promoting the application and development of D. salina bioreactor.

Association of internet gaming disorder with impulsivity: role of risk preferences.

BACKGROUND: Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is a formal mental disorder leading to personal and social impairment. Although it shares similar physical and psychosocial effects to substance use disorder, the psychological mechanisms underlying IGD remain unclear, although several researches have made significant contributions to its understanding. This study aims to elucidate the correlation between IGD, impulsive personality and risk preference of medical college students in China, from a questionnaire-based investigation. METHODS: Based on the cluster random sampling method, a questionnaire survey was conducted among medical college students in Northern Anhui, China from September 3 to October 27, 2020. The questionnaires included the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale (IGD-20), Chinese revised of Barratt Impulsiveness Scale Version 11 (BIS-11), and risk appetite index (RPI). Perform independent sample t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation analysis, and moderating effect analysis using SPSS 23.0. P < 0. 05 is considered statistically significant. RESULTS: 624 participants completed the survey, including 257 males (41.19%) and 367 females (58.81%). All participants were between 18 and 24 years. We found that in IGD and its six different dimensions and RPI, males scored significantly higher than females. Additionally, our finding revealed there is statistical significance in IGD and impulsiveness between gaming group with game time greater than or equal to 4 h and non-gaming group. The IGD and its six different dimensions, among which all except for mood modification are positively correlated with impulsiveness and RPI. Mediating effects indicate that RPI plays a partial mediating role between motor impulsiveness and IGD. CONCLUSION: The findings shows that there is a certain relationship between impulsivity and RPI, as well as IGD and its dimensions. RPI may be a mediator between impulsivity and IGD, and men have higher IGD. The findings supported the compensatory hypothesis. These findings may contribute to further research and development of intervention and prevention measures for IGD.

Current and prospective strategies for advancing the targeted delivery of CRISPR/Cas system via extracellular vesicles.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as a promising platform for gene delivery owing to their natural properties and phenomenal functions, being able to circumvent the significant challenges associated with toxicity, problematic biocompatibility, and immunogenicity of the standard approaches. These features are of particularly interest for targeted delivery of the emerging clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) systems. However, the current efficiency of EV-meditated transport of CRISPR/Cas components remains insufficient due to numerous exogenous and endogenous barriers. Here, we comprehensively reviewed the current status of EV-based CRISPR/Cas delivery systems. In particular, we explored various strategies and methodologies available to potentially improve the loading capacity, safety, stability, targeting, and tracking for EV-based CRISPR/Cas system delivery. Additionally, we hypothesise the future avenues for the development of EV-based delivery systems that could pave the way for novel clinically valuable gene delivery approaches, and may potentially bridge the gap between gene editing technologies and the laboratory/clinical application of gene therapies.

A potential paradigm in CRISPR/Cas systems delivery: at the crossroad of microalgal gene editing and algal-mediated nanoparticles.

Microalgae as the photosynthetic organisms offer enormous promise in a variety of industries, such as the generation of high-value byproducts, biofuels, pharmaceuticals, environmental remediation, and others. With the rapid advancement of gene editing technology, CRISPR/Cas system has evolved into an effective tool that revolutionised the genetic engineering of microalgae due to its robustness, high target specificity, and programmability. However, due to the lack of robust delivery system, the efficacy of gene editing is significantly impaired, limiting its application in microalgae. Nanomaterials have become a potential delivery platform for CRISPR/Cas systems due to their advantages of precise targeting, high stability, safety, and improved immune system. Notably, algal-mediated nanoparticles (AMNPs), especially the microalgae-derived nanoparticles, are appealing as a sustainable delivery platform because of their biocompatibility and low toxicity in a homologous relationship. In addition, living microalgae demonstrated effective and regulated distribution into specified areas as the biohybrid microrobots. This review extensively summarised the uses of CRISPR/Cas systems in microalgae and the recent developments of nanoparticle-based CRISPR/Cas delivery systems. A systematic description of the properties and uses of AMNPs, microalgae-derived nanoparticles, and microalgae microrobots has also been discussed. Finally, this review highlights the challenges and future research directions for the development of gene-edited microalgae.

Pharmacological agents for defatting livers by normothermic machine perfusion.

BACKGROUND: Ex-vivo normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) preserves the liver metabolism at 37°C and has rapidly developed as a promising approach for assessing the viability and improving the performance of organs from expanded criteria donors, including fatty liver grafts. NMP is an effective method for defatting fatty livers when combined with pharmaceutical therapies. Pharmacological agents have been shown to facilitate liver defatting by NMP. OBSERVATIONS: This systematic review summarizes available pharmacological therapies for liver defatting, with a particular emphasis on defatting agents that can be employed clinically as defatting components during liver NMP as an ex vivo translational paradigm. CONCLUSION: NMP provides an opportunity for organ treatment and can be used as a defatting platform in the future with defatting agents. Nagrath's cocktail is the most commonly used defatting cocktail in NMP; however, its carcinogenic components may limit its clinical application. Thus, the combination of a defatting cocktail with a new clinically applicable component, for example, a polyphenolic natural compound, may be a novel pharmacological option.

Benzoylaconitine Alleviates Progression of Psoriasis via Suppressing STAT3 Phosphorylation in Keratinocytes.

Psoriasis is a chronic and multifactorial skin disease which is caused by inflammatory infiltrates, keratinocyte hyperproliferation, and accumulation of immune cells. As part of the Aconitum species, Benzoylaconitine (BAC) shows potential antiviral, anti-tumor, and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we investigated the effects and mechanisms of BAC on tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)/LPS-induced HaCaT keratinocytes in a imiquimod(IMQ)-induced mice model. The results showed that BAC could relieve the symptoms of psoriasis by inhibiting cell proliferation, the release of inflammatory factors, and the accumulation of Th17 cells, while no obvious effect on cell viability and safety was observed both in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, BAC can markedly inhibit the protein and mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines in TNF-α/LPS-induced HaCaT keratinocytes by inhibiting the phosphorylation of STAT3. In brief, our data indicated that BAC could alleviate the progression of psoriasis and may be a potential therapeutic agent for treating psoriasis in clinical practice.

Beneficial effects of Wuzhi Capsule on tacrolimus blood concentrations in liver transplant patients with different donor-recipient CYP3A5 genotypes.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Tacrolimus (Tac) is an immunosuppressant that is widely used to prevent allograft rejection in patients after liver transplantation. Its metabolism mainly depends on the cytochrome P450 3A5 (CYP3A5), which has genetic polymorphisms. Recently, a Chinese herbal medicine known as Wuzhi Capsule (WZC) was shown to increase Tac blood concentrations by inhibiting the activity of CYP3A in animal studies in rats. To date, it remains unexplored whether WZC can be efficiently used to enhance the blood concentration of Tac in liver transplant patients with different donor-recipient CYP3A5 genotypes. METHODS: A total of 185 liver transplant patients were enrolled and two-way ANOVA was carried out, then they were divided into four groups according to the combinations of donor-recipient CYP3A5 phenotypes. WZC was given to patients when the dose of Tac was ≥4 mg, and the dose-adjusted C0 (C0 /D) of Tac measured twice in succession was ≤1 ng/ml/mg. The blood trough concentration of Tac (C0 ), C0 /D, and dose- and body weight-adjusted C0 (C0 /D/W) was analysed on days 7 and 14 after liver transplantation. RESULTS: The genotypes of donor and recipient or WZC had significant effects on C0, C0/D and C0/D/W. There were significant differences in the Tac blood concentrations between the groups. The recipient expression (*1)/donor expression (*1) (R+/D+) group had the lowest C0 , C0 /D and C0 /D/W among the four groups. Furthermore, a larger proportion of patients in the CYP3A5 expression groups required Tac dose adjustment to achieve a therapeutic effect and were given Tac with WZC. Notably, the use of WZC significantly increased the blood concentrations of Tac in the CYP3A5 expression groups and greater increases in the C0 /D and C0 /D/W were significantly associated with higher doses of WZC in the CYP3A5 expression groups. What is more, WZC reduced the hospitalization cost of patients to a certain extent. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: WZC significantly increased the C0 , C0 /D and C0 /D/W in the CYP3A5 expression groups and reduced the hospitalization expenses of patients to a certain extent. What is more, greater increases in the C0 /D and C0 /D/W were significantly associated with higher doses of WZC.

Fucoidan suppresses the gastric cancer cell malignant phenotype and production of TGF-ß1 via CLEC-2.

The sulfated polysaccharide fucoidan displays excellent anticancer properties with low toxicity in many kinds of cancers. However, its detailed pharmacological effect and mechanism of action in gastric carcinoma remains unclear. In this study, we found that fucoidan could suppress gastric cancer (GC) cell growth, as well as cell migration and invasion. A cytokine expression screen demonstrated that transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-ß1) secretion was decreased in fucoidan-treated cells. Fucoidan has been reported to be a platelet agonist for the C-type lectin-like receptor 2 (CLEC-2), and our previous research found that upregulation of CLEC-2 inhibited GC progression. Here, we confirmed that fucoidan, combined with CLEC-2, significantly increased CLEC-2 expression in GC cells via the transcription factor caudal type homeobox transcription factor 2, an important regulator of gut homeostasis. In addition, the inhibitory effect of fucoidan on the GC cell malignant phenotype and TGF-ß1 secretion could be restored by knocking down CLEC-2. Thus, our data suggest that fucoidan targets CLEC-2 to exert antitumorigenesis and antimetastatic activity, suggesting that fucoidan is a promising treatment for gastric carcinoma.

Langmuir-Blodgett Nanowire Devices for In Situ Probing of Zinc-Ion Batteries.

In situ monitoring the evolution of electrode materials in micro/nano scale is crucial to understand the intrinsic mechanism of rechargeable batteries. Here a novel on-chip Langmuir-Blodgett nanowire (LBNW) microdevice is designed based on aligned and assembled MnO2 nanowire quasimonolayer films for directly probing Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) in real-time. With an interdigital device configuration, a splendid Ohmic contact between MnO2 LBNWs and pyrolytic carbon current collector is demonstrated here, enabling a small polarization voltage. In addition, this work reveals, for the first time, that the conductance of MnO2 LBNWs monotonically increases/decreases when the ZIBs are charged/discharged. Multistep phase transition is mainly responsible for the mechanism of the ZIBs, as evidenced by combined high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and in situ Raman spectroscopy. This work provides a new and adaptable platform for microchip-based in situ simultaneous electrochemical and physical detection of batteries, which would promote the fundamental and practical research of nanowire electrode materials in energy storage applications.

Development of an efficient neutralization assay for Coxsackievirus A10.

Coxsackievirus A10 (CVA10) recently has become one of the major pathogens of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in children worldwide, but no cure or vaccine against CVA10 is available yet. Serological evaluation of herd immunity to CVA10 will promote the development of vaccine. The traditional neutralization assay based on inhibition of cytopathic effect (Nt-CPE) is a common method for measuring neutralizing antibody titer against CVA10, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. In this study, an efficient neutralization test based on a monoclonal antibody (mAb) 3D1 against CVA10, called Elispot-based neutralization test (Nt-Elispot), was developed. In the Nt-Elispot, the mAb 3D1 labeled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was used to detect the CVA10-infected RD cells at a 1:4000 dilution and the optimal infectious dose of CVA10 was set at 105 TCID50/well when combined with a fixed incubation time of 14 h. Compared with the Nt-CPE, the Nt-Elispot method effectively shortened the detection period and presented a good correlativity with it. Using the Nt-Elispot, a total of 123 sera from healthy children were tested for neutralizing antibody against CVA10, demonstrating that the overall seroprevalence was 49.3% (54/123) and the geometric mean titer (GMT) had been calculated as 574.2. Furthermore, 2 anti-CVA10 neutralizing mAbs were obtained by screening via the Nt-Elispot. Overall, the established Nt-Elispot could be used as an efficient and high-throughput method for evaluating immunity to CVA10 and screening the neutralizing antibodies.

Development of sandwich ELISAs that can distinguish different types of coxsackievirus A16 viral particles.

Coxsackievirus A16 (CA16) is one of the major causative agents of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). No CA16 vaccine candidates have progressed to clinical trials so far. Immunogenicity studies indicated that different CA16 particles have much influence on the efficacy of a candidate vaccine. However, there are still no relevant reports on the methods of detecting different CA16 particles. In this study, we screened several monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific for different CA16 particles, and several sandwich enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISAs) were developed to measure the different types of CA16 viral particles. The mAbs that could only bind denatured or empty capsids could not neutralize CA16. In contrast, the mAbs that could bind mature full particles or all types of particles showed obvious neutralizing activity. The thermal stability of different CA16 particles was evaluated using these sandwich ELISAs. The mature full particles were found to be more thermolabile than the other types of particles and could be stabilized by high concentrations of cations. These methods can be used to assist in the potency control of CA16 vaccines and will promote the development of a CA16 vaccine.

Morphologic Study of Positional Relationship Between Transverse-Sigmoid Sinus and Extracranial Bony Landmarks With Reconstructed Computed Tomographic Image.

OBJECTIVE: By using the line between the lowest point of the mastoid process and the external occipital protuberance as landmarks, to locate the projection of the transverse-sigmoid sinus (TSS) on the skull surface using three-dimensional reconstruction technique, to provide morphological basis for avoiding TSS injuries during surgeries. METHODS: A total of 120 volunteers underwent computed tomography scan, and computed tomography reconstruction was used to reconstruct the 3D model of the skull for structural landmark and measurement. The line between the most prominent point (A) of external occipital protuberance and the lowest point (B) of mastoid process was used as the landmark to depict distance between the TSS sulcus and the landmarks, as well as the width of the TSS sulcus. RESULTS: The widths of the transverse sinus sulcus, denoted as d, at its central landmark J were measured to be significantly different between the right and left sides (t = 6.291, P < 0.05); no statistically significant difference was found in the measurements of indicators including h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, h7, h8, d1, α, s1, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6 between the right and left sides (P > 0.05), or between the males and females (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These above-mentioned results can help to locate the projection of the TSS sulcus on the skull surface accurately, which is simple and convenient in guiding the surgeons to protect the TSS during surgeries.

Exploring the effects of epigallocatechin gallate on lipid metabolism in the rat steatotic liver during normothermic machine perfusion: Insights from lipidomics and RNA sequencing.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic steatosis is the leading cause of discarded liver grafts. Defatting steatotic liver grafts using drug combinations during ex vivo normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) has been reported. However, the effectiveness of NMP in reducing fat content using epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) as a single defatting agent and its effect on lipid metabolism are poorly investigated. METHODS: In this study, an NMP system was set up to perfuse a steatotic liver from a rat model with 10 mM EGCG. Livers without EGCG served as NMP controls, whereas static cold-preserved livers in the University of Wisconsin medium were used as static cold storage controls. Liver enzyme, reactive oxygen species (ROS), histology, and lipid content assessments were conducted post-perfusion, complemented by lipidomics, RNA sequencing, and western blotting to determine the lipid metabolism changes. RESULTS: EGCG during NMP reduced hepatocellular injury markers and defatted steatotic liver grafts. Additionally, we observed a significant increase in triglyceride (TG) content in the perfusate post-NMP in the NMP + EGCG group, suggesting TG output from the liver. Furthermore, lipidomics analysis revealed that EGCG primarily affected metabolites involved in glycerophospholipid (GP) and glycerolipid (GL) metabolism. Further, the RNA sequencing indicated the modulation of these metabolic pathways via ECGC, which was associated with the downregulated Lpin1 and Gpat3 expression. CONCLUSIONS: EGCG defats steatotic livers as a single defatting agent during NMP by promoting GL and GP metabolism via decreasing Lpin1 and Agpat9 levels.

The emerging role of oxidative stress in inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic immune-mediated condition that affects the digestive system and includes Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Although the exact etiology of IBD remains uncertain, dysfunctional immunoregulation of the gut is believed to be the main culprit. Amongst the immunoregulatory factors, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), components of the oxidative stress event, are produced at abnormally high levels in IBD. Their destructive effects may contribute to the disease's initiation and propagation, as they damage the gut lining and activate inflammatory signaling pathways, further exacerbating the inflammation. Oxidative stress markers, such as malondialdehyde (MDA), 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), and serum-free thiols (R-SH), can be measured in the blood and stool of patients with IBD. These markers are elevated in patients with IBD, and their levels correlate with the severity of the disease. Thus, oxidative stress markers can be used not only in IBD diagnosis but also in monitoring the response to treatment. It can also be targeted in IBD treatment through the use of antioxidants, including vitamin C, vitamin E, glutathione, and N-acetylcysteine. In this review, we summarize the role of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of IBD, its diagnostic targets, and the potential application of antioxidant therapies to manage and treat IBD.

Flexible and Simply Degradable MXene-Methylcellulose Piezoresistive Sensor for Human Motion Detection.

Flexible pressure sensors are intensively demanded in various fields such as electronic skin, medical and health detection, wearable electronics, etc. MXene is considered an excellent sensing material due to its benign metal conductivity and adjustable interlayer distance. Exhibiting both high sensitivity and long-term stability is currently an urgent pursuit in MXene-based flexible pressure sensors. In this work, high-strength methylcellulose was introduced into the MXene film to increase the interlayer distance of 2D nanosheets and fundamentally overcome the self-stacking problem. Thus, concurrent improvement of the sensing capability and mechanical strength was obtained. By appropriately modulating the ratio of methylcellulose and MXene, the obtained pressure sensor presents a high sensitivity of 19.41 kPa-1 (0.88-24.09 kPa), good stability (10000 cycles), and complete biodegradation in H2O2 solution within 2 days. Besides, the sensor is capable of detecting a wide range of human activities (pulse, gesture, joint movement, etc.) and can precisely recognize spatial pressure distribution, which serves as a good candidate for next-generation wearable electronic devices.

Panax notoginseng saponins loaded W/O microemulsion for alopecia therapy with panthenol as cosurfactant to reduce skin irritation.

The etiology of alopecia is so complex that current therapies with single-mechanism and attendant side-effects during long-term usage, are insufficient for treatment. Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) is supposed to treat alopecia with multiple mechanisms, but difficult to penetrate skin efficiently due to water-solubility. Here, we designed water-in-oil microemulsion (PNS ME) using jojoba oil, fractioned coconut oil, RH 40 + Span 80 and cosurfactant D-panthenol, to help PNS penetrating the skin. Particularly, D-panthenol not only enlarges the microemulsion area, reduces the usage amounts of surfactants thus relieves skin irritation, but stimulates the migration of dermal papilla cells (DPCs), displaying cooperative effects on anti-alopecia. PNS ME penetrates through sebum-rich corneum via high-affinity lipid fusion, targets to hair follicles (HFs), where it resides in skin for sustained drug release, accelerates angiogenesis to build well-nourished environment for HFs, and facilitates the proliferation and migration of DPCs in vitro. PNS ME markedly improved hair density, skin pigmentation, new hair weight, skin thickness, and collagen generation of telogen effluvium mice. Moreover, PNS also took outstanding curative effects on androgenetic alopecia mice. Upon further exploration, PNS ME caused dramatic upregulations of ß-catenin, VEGF and Ki67, suggesting it might function by triggering Wnt/ß-catenin pathway, accelerating vessels formation, and activating the hair follicle stem cells. Notably, PNS ME indicated longer-term safety than minoxidil tincture. Together, PNS ME provides a comprehensive strategy for alopecia, especially it avoids defects by high-proportioned surfactants in traditional microemulsion, exhibiting milder and safer, which shows bright prospect of applying microemulsion in hair growth promotion.