Cell division cycle associated 8: A novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma.

The cell division cycle associated 8 (CDCA8) is a crucial component of the chromosome passenger complex (CPC). It has been implicated in the regulation of cell dynamic localization during mitosis. However, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not clearly known. In this study, data of 374 patients with HCC were retrieved from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Pan analysis of Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database was performed to profile the mRNA expression of CDCA8 in HCC. Then, the Kaplan-Meier plotter database was analysed to determine the prognostic value of CDCA8 in HCC. In addition, samples of tumour and adjacent normal tissues were collected from 88 HCC patients to perform immunohistochemistry (IHC), reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. The results obtained from bioinformatic analyses were validated through CCK-8 assay, EdU assay, colony formation assay, cell cycle assays and Western blotting experiments. Analysis of the Kaplan-Meier plotter database showed that high expression of CDCA8 may lead to poor overall survival (OS, p = 4.06e-05) in patients with HCC. For the 88 patients with HCC, we found that stages and grades appeared to be strongly linked with CDCA8 expression. Furthermore, the high expression of CDCA8 was found to be correlated with poor OS (p = 0.0054) and progression-free survival (PFS, p = 0.0009). In vitro experiments revealed that inhibition of CDCA8 slowed cell proliferation and blocked the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase. In vivo experiments demonstrated that inhibition of CDCA8 inhibited tumour growth. Finally, blockade of CDCA8 reduced the expression levels of cyclin A2, cyclin D1, CDK4, CDK6, Ki67 and PCNA. And, there is an interaction between CDCA8 and E2F1. In conclusion, this research demonstrates that CDCA8 may serve as a biomarker for early diagnosis and prognosis prediction of HCC patients. In addition, CDCA8 could be an effective therapeutic target in HCC.

All roads lead to Rome - a review of the potential mechanisms by which exerkines exhibit neuroprotective effects in Alzheimer's disease.

Age-related neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) have become a critical public health issue due to the significantly extended human lifespan, leading to considerable economic and social burdens. Traditional therapies for AD such as medicine and surgery remain ineffective, impractical, and expensive. Many studies have shown that a variety of bioactive substances released by physical exercise (called "exerkines") help to maintain and improve the normal functions of the brain in terms of cognition, emotion, and psychomotor coordination. Increasing evidence suggests that exerkines may exert beneficial effects in AD as well. This review summarizes the neuroprotective effects of exerkines in AD, focusing on the underlying molecular mechanism and the dynamic expression of exerkines after physical exercise. The findings described in this review will help direct research into novel targets for the treatment of AD and develop customized exercise therapy for individuals of different ages, genders, and health conditions.

Two novel self-assemblies of supramolecular solar cells using N-heterocyclic-anchoring porphyrins.

Two novel N-substituted anchoring porphyrins (ZnPAtz and ZnPAim) have been devised and synthesized. Moreover, these two anchoring porphyrins were linked to the TiO2 semiconductor through carboxyl groups and then a zinc porphyrin ZnP was bound to the anchoring porphyrin using a zinc-to-ligand axial coordination approach. The different performances of these assemblies were compared with single anchoring porphyrin devices ZnPAtz and ZnPAim. The photoelectric conversion efficiency of the new supramolecular solar cells sensitized by ZnP-ZnPAx (x=tz, im) has been improved. The ZnP-ZnPAtz-based DSSCs provided the highest photovoltaic efficiency (1.86%). Fundamental studies showed that incorporation of these assemblies promote light-harvesting efficiency.

Bilayer structured supramolecular light harvesting arrays based on zinc porphyrin coordination polymers for enhanced photocurrent generation in dye sensitized solar cells.

An acylhydrazone zinc porphyrin P1 and its coordination polymers (CPs, denoted as P1M, M = Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) with different metal ions (Mn2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+) were synthesized. Then these coordination polymers were assembled into bilayer structured supramolecular chromophores through axially coordinating with anchoring porphyrin AP, and their performance in dye sensitized solar cells was investigated. Our results reveal that the bilayer structured supramolecular chromophore based solar cells show significantly improved photocurrent conversion efficiency. Particularly, P1Mn and P1Zn based solar cells showed a relatively higher short circuit current density (JSC) due to their broad absorption bands and remarkable light harvesting abilities. Meanwhile, the VOC values of the cells fabricated with the bilayered chromophores slightly decreased. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in combination with charge extraction (CE) and transient photovoltage decay (TPD) measurements indicates that the decreased VOC resulted from the vigorous electron recombination and the downward shifted conduction band edge (ECB) of titania.

Study on a series of novel self-assembly supramolecular solar cells based on a double-layer structured chromophore of Zn-porphyrins.

We prepared in this work an anchoring porphyrin and a series of hat-porphyrins. The zinc atom of the hat-porphyrins can be coordinated axially with the pyridine moiety of the anchoring porphyrin which is anchored on the titania surface by a carboxyl group. The structures of the assemblies were confirmed using computational calculations, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). Solar cell devices of the monomer anchoring porphyrin and its assemblies were fabricated and the photovoltaic performances were measured under standard AM 1.5 sunlight irradiance. We found that the assembly devices showed higher JSC and lower VOC than that of the monomer anchoring porphyrin device. However, the comprehensive influence of JSC and VOC led to an enhancement in the solar-to-electric power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of the assemblies. We also studied the variation of JSC and VOC using electronic absorption and emission spectroscopy, charge extraction measurements, transient photovoltage decay measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

Design and fabrication of a series of metal-mediated assemblies with tetrapyridylporphyrins for supramolecular solar cells.

In this work, a metal-mediated assembling strategy has been used to organize a series of new assemblies based on tetrapyridylporphyrin () on nanostructured TiO2 electrode surfaces, wherein the metal ions (, = Zn(2+), Cd(2+), Hg(2+) and Mn(2+)) bridge the pyridyl units of and (E)-4-[(pyridin-4-ylmethylene)-amino]benzoic acid (), resulting in a assembled mode. The assembled structures were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), computational calculations, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), IR, UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectra. The performances of the assembly-sensitized solar cells were also measured under an irradiance of 100 mW cm(-2) AM 1.5G sunlight. Photoelectrochemical results reveal a relatively large photocurrent of the device. Simultaneously, a large open-circuit photovoltage and a significantly improved conversion efficiency of the device are also observed. These findings may serve as another good testing ground for the fabrication of supramolecular solar cells in future.