Kinesin family member 18B: A contributor and facilitator in the proliferation and metastasis of cutaneous melanoma.

Melanoma is the most aggressive type of cutaneous tumor and the occurrence of metastasis makes it resistant to almost all available treatment and becomes incorrigible. Hence, identifying metastasis-related biomarkers and effective therapeutic targets will assist in preventing metastasis and ameliorating cutaneous melanoma. In our present study, we reported kinesin family member 18B (KIF18B) as a novel contributor in cutaneous melanoma proliferation and metastasis, and it was found to be of great significance in predicting the prognosis of cutaneous melanoma patients. Bioinformatics analysis based on ONCOMINE, The Cancer Genome Atlas, and Genotype-Tissue Expression database revealed that KIF18B was highly expressed in cutaneous melanoma and remarkably correlated with unfavorable clinical outcomes. Consistently, the results of the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction exhibited that the expression of KIF18B was significantly higher in cutaneous melanoma cell lines than that in normal cells. In vitro, biological assays found that knockdown of KIF18B in cutaneous melanoma cells noticeably repressed cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while inducing cell apoptosis. Moreover, the protein expression of E-cadherin was enhanced while the expression of N-cadherin, vimentin, and Snail was decreased in M14 cells after knocking down KIF18B. In addition, the phosphorylation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) was significantly suppressed in M14 cells with silenced KIF18B. Above all, our results indicated that the repression of cutaneous melanoma cell migration and proliferation caused by KIF18B depletion suggested an oncogenic role of KIF18B in cutaneous melanoma, which acts through modulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition and ERK/PI3K pathway.

Thermochromic Ion-Exchange Micelles Containing H+ Chromoionophores.

Thermochromic composites constitute a classical subfamily of stimuli responsive materials. We report here the thermochromic effect in Pluronic F-127 (F127) micelles containing hydrophobic ion-exchanger and H+ chromoionophores. The highly versatile and reversible thermochromism is attributed to the temperature-induced hydration-dehydration of the peripheral layer of the micelles, which in turn controls the ion-exchange process between the core and the periphery of the micelles. The color typically changes abruptly within 3-5 °C, and the color transition temperature can be tuned within 5-25 °C upon varying the F127 concentrations. This work lays the foundation of a new variety of thermochromic materials involving ion-exchange.

Impact of Cinnamon Supplementation on cardiometabolic Biomarkers of Inflammation and Oxidative Stress: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: To date, cinnamon supplementation has been investigated due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Several studies have confirmed the effects of cinnamon supplementation on several markers of cardiometabolic health. However, the effects of cinnamon supplementation on inflammation and oxidative stress levels warrant further investigation. Hence, the current meta-analysis was conducted to elucidate the impact of cinnamon supplementation on biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress. METHODS: To perform this systematic review and meta-analysis, we employed the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The systematic search of available clinical trials was performed using the following databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, and Google Scholar, up to January 2020. RESULTS: After removing the duplicates, 1145 studies were eligible for analysis and 12 of them were included in the meta-analysis. The dose of cinnamon powder investigated in the included trials ranged from 1.5 to 4 g/day. Cinnamon supplementation resulted in a significant reduction of C-reactive protein (CRP) (weight mean difference (WMD): -2.22 mg/L, 95 % CI: -3.74, -0.69, P = 0.004) and malondialdehyde (MDA) (WMD: -0.79 mmol/L, 95 % CI: -1.28, -0.29, P = 0.002), and marginally statistical significant decrease in interleukin-6 (IL-6) (WMD: -1.48 pg/mL, 95 % CI: -2.96, -0.01, P = 0.049). Moreover, it was associated with an increase in the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (WMD: 0.34 mmol/L, 95 % CI: 0.04, 0.64, P = 0.026). However, the levels of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) (WMD: 1.53 ng/mL, 95 % CI: -12.03, 15.10, P = 0.82) did not change significantly following cinnamon supplementation. CONCLUSIONS: Cinnamon supplementation may be an adjuvant for reducing inflammation and oxidative stress levels in humans.

Colorimetric Calcium Probe with Comparison to an Ion-Selective Optode.

Design strategies for small molecular probes lay the foundation of numerous synthetic chemosensors. A water-soluble colorimetric calcium molecular probe inspired by the ionophore-based ion-selective optode is presented here with a tunable detection range (around micromolar at pH 7). The binding of Ca2+ resulted in the deprotonation of the probe and thus a significant spectral change, mimicking the ion-exchange process in ion-selective optodes. The 1:1 exchange between Ca2+ and H+ was confirmed with Job's plot. Computational studies revealed possible monomer and dimer forms of the probe-Ca2+ complexes.

The influence of imperfect walls on the guest binding properties of hydrogen-bonded capsules.

Three classes of hydrogen-bonded capsules with imperfect walls have been prepared and characterized. The defects reduce the symmetry of the capsules, leading to rich isomerism. The missing hydrogen bonds provide additional flexibility to the capsules and exert an influence on their guest binding properties in different assemblies.