Multi-omics approaches for the understanding of therapeutic mechanism for Huang-Qi-Long-Dan Granule against ischemic stroke.

After long-term clinical application, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has accumulated rich experience in the stroke treatment. Huang-Qi-Long-Dan Granule (HQLDG) is a TCM formula that has been used in clinical for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. However, its mechanism against ischemic stroke is still unknown. This study aimed to identify HQLDG's effect against ischemic stroke and explore its underlying mechanism. 16s rRNA sequencing, metabolomics/tryptophan (Trp)-targeted metabolomics analysis and transcriptomic analysis were used to investigate HQLDG underlying therapeutic mechanism. Our results revealed that HQLDG significantly decreased the infarct volume, improved mouse behavior and brain slices pathological staining. In addition, it could ameliorate intestinal barrier damage and regulate tight junction gene expression. 16s rRNA, metabolomics and transcriptomics analysis revealed that HQLDG treatment significantly improved the composition of gut microbiota and Trp metabolism pathway, and further downregulated Th17/IL-17 signaling pathway. HQLDG treatment could significantly decrease serum inflammatory cytokines, IL-17A and IL-22; down-regulate Trp metabolism receptor gene (Ahr), inflammatory cytokines genes (IL-17a, IL-22), and an important coding gene for maintaining the mature Th17 (rorc) in both brain and intestinal tissues. In the contrary, after gut microbiota removal, this effect of HQLDG was impaired. HQLDG treated mouse fecal microbiota transplantation also had positive effect against tMCAO injury. Moreover, AhR inhibitor could decrease IL-17A immunofluorescence. These results suggested that the gut microbiota regulation might be an important intermediate in HQLDG against tMCAO injury. HQLDG might exert anti-ischemic stroke effects through the gut microbiota-Trp metabolism-Th17/IL-17 signaling, which provides new insights into HQLDG-mediated prevention in ischemic stroke.

Dissecting the genetic and causal relationship between sleep-related traits and common brain disorders.

BACKGROUND: There is a profound connection between abnormal sleep patterns and brain disorders, suggesting a shared influential association. However, the shared genetic basis and potential causal relationships between sleep-related traits and brain disorders are yet to be fully elucidated. METHODS: Utilizing linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) and bidirectional two-sample univariable Mendelian Randomization (UVMR) analyses with large-scale GWAS datasets, we investigated the genetic correlations and causal associations across six sleep traits and 24 prevalent brain disorders. Additionally, a multivariable Mendelian Randomization (MVMR) analysis evaluated the cumulative effects of various sleep traits on each brain disorder, complemented by genetic loci characterization to pinpoint pertinent genes and pathways. RESULTS: LDSC analysis identified significant genetic correlations in 66 out of 144 (45.8 %) pairs between sleep-related traits and brain disorders, with the most pronounced correlations observed in psychiatric disorders (66 %, 48/72). UVMR analysis identified 29 causal relationships (FDR<0.05) between sleep traits and brain disorders, with 19 associations newly discovered according to our knowledge. Notably, major depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, cannabis use disorder, and anorexia nervosa showed bidirectional causal relations with sleep traits, especially insomnia's marked influence on major depression (IVW beta 0.468, FDR = 5.24E-09). MVMR analysis revealed a nuanced interplay among various sleep traits and their impact on brain disorders. Genetic loci characterization underscored potential genes, such as HOXB2, while further enrichment analyses illuminated the importance of synaptic processes in these relationships. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides compelling evidence for the causal relationships and shared genetic backgrounds between common sleep-related traits and brain disorders.

Lapatinib combined with doxorubicin causes dose-dependent cardiotoxicity partially through activating the p38MAPK signaling pathway in zebrafish embryos.

Because of its enhanced antitumor efficacy, lapatinib (LAP) is commonly used clinically in combination with the anthracycline drug doxorubicin (DOX) to treat metastatic breast cancer. While it is well recognized that this combination chemotherapy can lead to an increased risk of cardiotoxicity in adult women, its potential cardiotoxicity in the fetus during pregnancy remains understudied. Here, we aimed to examine the combination of LAP chemotherapy and DOX-induced cardiotoxicity in the fetus using a zebrafish embryonic system and investigate the underlying pathologic mechanisms. First, we examined the dose-dependent cardiotoxicity of combined LAP and DOX exposure in zebrafish embryos, which mostly manifested as pericardial edema, bradycardia, cardiac function decline and reduced survival. Second, we revealed that a significant increase in oxidative stress concurrent with activated MAPK signaling, as indicated by increased protein expression of phosphorylated p38 and Jnk, was a notable pathophysiological event after combined LAP and DOX exposure. Third, we showed that inhibiting MAPK signaling by pharmacological treatment with the p38MAPK inhibitor SB203580 or genetic ablation of the map2k6 gene could significantly alleviate combined LAP and DOX exposure-induced cardiotoxicity. Thus, we provided both pharmacologic and genetic evidence to suggest that inhibiting MAPK signaling could exert cardioprotective effects. These findings have implications for understanding the potential cardiotoxicity induced by LAP and DOX combinational chemotherapy in the fetus during pregnancy, which could be leveraged for the development of new therapeutic strategies.

FAdV-4-induced ferroptosis affects fat metabolism in LMH cells.

Ferroptosis is a form of controlled cell death that was first described relatively recently and that is dependent on the formation and accumulation of lipid free radicals through an iron-mediated mechanism. A growing body of evidence supports the close relationship between pathogenic infections and ferroptotic cell death, particularly for viral infections. Ferroptosis is also closely tied to the pathogenic development of hepatic steatosis and other forms of liver disease. Fowl adenovirus serotype 4 (FAdV-4) is a hepatotropic aviadenovirus causing hydropericardium syndrome (HPS) that is capable of impacting fat metabolism. However, it remains uncertain as to what role, if any, ferroptotic death plays in the context of FAdV-4 infection. Here, FAdV-4 was found to promote ferroptosis via the p53-SLC7A11-GPX4 axis, while ferrostain-1 was capable of inhibiting this FAdV-4-mediated ferroptotic death through marked reductions in lipid peroxidation. The incidence of FAdV-4-induced fatty liver was also found to be associated with the activation of ferroptotic activity. Together, these results offer novel insights regarding potential approaches to treating HPS.

TSPAN1 inhibits metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma via suppressing NF-kB signaling.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) originates in the epithelial cells of the nasopharynx and is a common malignant tumor in southern China and Southeast Asia. Metastasis of NPC remains the main cause of death for NPC patients even though the tumor is sensitive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Here, we found that the transmembrane protein tetraspanin1 (TSPAN1) potently inhibited the in vitro migration and invasion, as well as, the in vivo metastasis of NPC cells via interacting with the IKBB protein. In addition, TSPAN1 was essential in preventing the overactivation of the NF-kB pathway in TSPAN1 overexpressing NPC cells. Furthermore, reduced TSPAN1 expression was associated with NPC metastasis and the poor prognosis of NPC patients. These results uncovered the suppressive role of TSPAN1 against NF-kB signaling in NPC cells for preventing NPC metastasis. Its therapeutic value warrants further investigation.

SPI1-Mediated Upregulation of the CST1 Gene as an Independent Poor Prognostic Factor Accelerates Metastasis in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC) by Interacting with MMP2.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a highly lethal tumor type, but studies on the ESCC tumor microenvironment are limited. We found that cystatin SN (CST1) plays an important role in the ESCC tumor microenvironment. CST1 has been reported to act as an oncogene in multiple human cancers, but its clinical significance and underlying mechanism in ESCC remain elusive. METHODS: We performed ESCC gene expression profiling with data from RNA-sequencing and public databases and found CST1 upregulation in ESCC. Then, we assessed CST1 expression in ESCC by RT‒qPCR and Western blot analysis. In addition, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to estimate the expression of CST1 in ESCC tissue and serum. Moreover, further functional experiments were conducted to verify that the gain and loss of CST1 in ESCC cell lines significantly influenced the proliferation and metastasis of ESCC. Mass spectrometry, coimmunoprecipitation, and gelatin zymography experiments were used to validate the interaction between CST1 and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) and the mechanism of CST1 influence on metastasis in ESCC. RESULTS: Here, we found that CST1 expression was significantly elevated in ESCC tissues and serum. Moreover, compared with patients with low CST1 expression, patients with high CST1 expression had a worse prognosis. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were significantly unfavorable in the high CST1 expression subgroup. Likewise, the CST1 level was significantly increased in ESCC serum compared with healthy control serum, indicating that CST1 may be a potential serum biomarker for diagnosis, with an area under the curve (AUC) = 0.9702 and p < 0.0001 by receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis. Furthermore, upregulated CST1 can promote the motility and metastatic capacity of ESCC in vitro and in vivo by influencing epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) and interacting with MMP2 in the tumor microenvironment (TME). CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, the results of this study indicated that high CST1 expression mediated by SPI1 in ESCC may serve as a potentially prognostic and diagnostic predictor and as an oncogene to promote motility and metastatic capacity of ESCC by influencing EMT and interacting with MMP2 in the TME.

Ulinastatin inhibits the metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by involving uPA/uPAR signaling.

Distant metastasis is the primary reason for treatment failure in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In this study, we investigated the effect of ulinastatin (UTI) on NPC metastasis and its underlying mechanism. Highly-metastatic NPC cell lines S18 and 58F were treated with UTI and the effect on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were determined by MTS and Transwell assays. S18 cells with luciferase-expressing (S18-1C3) were injected into the left hind footpad of nude mice to establish a model of spontaneous metastasis from the footpad to popliteal lymph node (LN). The luciferase messenger RNA (mRNA) was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and the metastasis inhibition rate was calculated. Key molecular members of the UTI-related uPA, uPAR, and JAT/STAT3 signaling pathways were detected by qPCR and immunoblotting. UTI suppressed the migration and infiltration of S18 and 5-8F cells and suppressed the metastasis of S18 cells in vivo without affecting cell proliferation. uPAR expression decreased from 24 to 48 h after UTI treatment. The antimetastatic effect of UTI is partly due to the suppression of uPA and uPAR. UTI partially suppresses NPC metastasis by downregulating the expression of uPA and uPAR.

Association of Socioeconomic Disparities With Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Survival in an Endemic Area, China.

OBJECTIVES: This retrospective cohort study investigated the association of socioeconomic status with survival outcomes among patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in an endemic area of China. METHODS: The primary endpoint was overall survival. Survival outcomes were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by the log-rank test, and the multivariate Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate hazard ratios, 95% CIs, and independent prognostic factors. RESULTS: A total of 11 069 adult patients with NPC were enrolled and included in the analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that overall survival was significantly different among socioeconomic status. Compared with high socioeconomic status patients, low socioeconomic status patients (HR, 1.190; 95% CI, 1.063-1.333) and medium socioeconomic status patients (HR, 1.111; 95% CI, 1.006-1.226) were associated with increased hazard ratio (HR) of overall survival. CONCLUSION: This analysis highlights patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma who had high socioeconomic status had better overall survival compared with those who had low and medium socioeconomic status.

Synthesis and Optoelectronic Applications of dπ -pπ Conjugated Polymers with a Di-metallaaromatic Acceptor.

The development of conjugated polymers especially n-type polymer semiconductors is powered by the design and synthesis of electron-deficient building blocks. Herein, a strong acceptor building block with di-metallaaromatic structure was designed and synthesized by connecting two electron-deficient metallaaromatic units through a π-conjugated bridge. Then, a double-monomer polymerization methodology was developed for inserting it into conjugated polymer scaffolds to yield metallopolymers. The isolated well-defined model oligomers indicated polymer structures. Kinetic studies based on nuclear magnetic resonance and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopies shed light on the polymerization process. Interestingly, the resulted metallopolymers with dπ -pπ conjugations are very promising electron transport layer materials which can boost photovoltaic performance of an organic solar cell, with power conversion efficiency up to 18.28 % based on the PM6 : EH-HD-4F non-fullerene system. This work not only provides a facile route to construct metallaaromatic conjugated polymers with various functional groups, but also discovers their potential applications for the first time.

[Experimental study of cardioprotective effects of Cinnamomi Ramulus and Cinnamomi Cortex formula granules on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats based on efficacy of "warming and coordinating heart Yang"].

This study aimed to parallelly investigate the cardioprotective activity of Cinnamomi Ramulus formula granules(CRFG) and Cinnamomi Cortex formula granules(CCFG) against acute myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury(MI/RI) and the underlying mechanism based on the efficacy of "warming and coordinating the heart Yang". Ninety male SD rats were randomly divided into a sham group, a model group, CRFG low and high-dose(0.5 and 1.0 g·kg~(-1)) groups, and CCFG low and high-dose(0.5 and 1.0 g·kg~(-1)) groups, with 15 rats in each group. The sham group and the model group were given equal volumes of normal saline by gavage. Before modeling, the drug was given by gavage once a day for 7 consecutive days. One hour after the last administration, the MI/RI rat model was established by ligating the left anterior descending artery(LAD) for 30 min ischemia followed by 2 h reperfusion except the sham group. The sham group underwent the same procedures without LAD ligation. Heart function, cardiac infarct size, cardiac patho-logy, cardiomyocyte apoptosis, cardiac injury enzymes, and inflammatory cytokines were determined to assess the protective effects of CRFG and CCFG against MI/RI. The gene expression levels of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain protein 3(NLRP3) inflammasome, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD(ASC), cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-1(caspase-1), Gasdermin-D(GSDMD), interleukin-1ß(IL-1ß), and interleukin-18(IL-18) were determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR). The protein expression levels of NLRP3, caspase-1, GSDMD, and N-GSDMD were determined by Western blot. The results showed that both CRFG and CCFG pretreatments significantly improved cardiac function, decreased the cardiac infarct size, inhibited cardiomyocyte apoptosis, and reduced the content of lactic dehydrogenase(LDH), creatine kinase MB isoenzyme(CK-MB), aspartate transaminase(AST), and cardiac troponin Ⅰ(cTnⅠ). In addition, CRFG and CCFG pretreatments significantly decreased the levels of IL-1ß, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in serum. RT-PCR results showed that CRFG and CCFG pretreatment down-regulated the mRNA expression levels of NLRP3, caspase-1, ASC, and downstream pyroptosis-related effector substances including GSDMD, IL-18, and IL-1ß in cardiac tissues. Western blot revealed that CRFG and CCFG pretreatments significantly decreased the protein expression levels of NLRP3, caspase-1, GSDMD, and N-GSDMD in cardiac tissues. In conclusion, CRFG and CCFG pretreatments have obvious cardioprotective effects on MI/RI in rats, and the under-lying mechanism may be related to the inhibition of NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD signaling pathway to reduce the cardiac inflammatory response.

Correlated with better prognosis, CSTA inhibits metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells via suppressing AKT signaling through promoting METTL3 degradation.

BACKGROUND: Metastasis is one of the main obstacles impeding the survival of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients, with the molecular mechanism underlying NPC metastasis still unclear. RESULTS: In this study, Cystatin A (CSTA) was found downregulated in NPC tissues with metastasis compared with those without metastasis. Shorter overall survival and distant metastasis-free survival were found in NPC patients with lower CSTA expression. Using functional assays, we found that CSTA prevented both the in vitro motility of NPC cells and their ability to metastasize in vivo. Transcriptome sequencing and western blot analysis revealed that CSTA inhibited the phosphorylation of AKT. Moreover, activating AKT using AKT agonist SG79 rescued the motility of CSTA-overexpressing NPC cells, whereas, treatment with AKT inhibitor MK2206 inhibited the motility of CSTA-knockdown NPC cells. Mechanically, immunoprecipitation coupled mass spectrometry found that CSTA interacted with the N6-adenosine-methyltransferase subunit METTL3 and promoted its ubiquitin-proteasome-mediated degradation following the upregulation of NKX3-1 and LHPP, which are negative regulators of AKT. Furthermore, knock-down of NKX3-1 and LHPP enhanced the motility of CSTA-overexpressing NPC cells. CONCLUSIONS: The inhibitory effect of CSTA upon NPC metastasis mainly depended on suppressing AKT signaling by the upregulation of NKX3-1 and LHPP expression resulting from the binding between CSTA and METLL3. Our study suggests that the CSTA-METLL3-NKX3-1/LHPP-AKT axis could be of therapeutic value for inhibiting NPC metastasis.

Novel long noncoding RNA LINC02820 augments TNF signaling pathway to remodel cytoskeleton and potentiate metastasis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in China. However, there are no targets to treat ESCC because the molecular mechanism behind the cancer is still unclear. Here, we found a novel long noncoding RNA LINC02820 was upregulated in ESCC and associated with the ESCC clinicopathological stage. Through a series of functional experiments, we observed that LINC02820 only promoted the migration and invasion capabilities of ESCC cell lines. Mechanically, we found that LINC02820 may affect the cytoskeletal remodeling, interact with splice factor 3B subunit 3 (SF3B3), and cooperate with TNFα to amplify the NF-κB signaling pathway, which can lead to ESCC metastasis. Overall, our findings revealed that LINC02820 is a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for the diagnosis and treatment of ESCC.

Constructing and Verifying an Alexithymia Risk-Prediction Model for Older Adults with Chronic Diseases Living in Nursing Homes: A Cross-Sectional Study in China.

Alexithymia is a critical global public health concern. This questionnaire-based cross-sectional study explored the risk factors of alexithymia in older adults living in nursing homes with chronic diseases. It also developed and evaluated an alexithymia risk-prediction model. A total of 203 older adults with chronic diseases were selected from seven nursing homes in Changsha, China, using simple random and cluster sampling. The participants were surveyed using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), and a socio-demographic characteristics questionnaire. The alexithymia total score was 43.85 ± 9.570, with an incidence rate of 8.9%. Alexithymia had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between social support and psychological resilience (the effect value was 0.12), accounting for 19.04% of the total effect. Gender, depression, and psychological resilience were the main independent influencing factors of alexithymia (p < 0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC-ROC) curve of the risk-prediction model was 0.770. The participants, especially those who were male and depressed, exhibited a certain degree of alexithymia. Additionally, it partially mediated the association between social support and psychological resilience, which is a protective factor against alexithymia. The risk-prediction model showed good accuracy and discrimination. Hence, it can be used for preliminary screening of alexithymia in older adults with chronic diseases living in nursing homes.

Cardioprotective effect of cinnamaldehyde pretreatment on ischemia/ reperfusion injury via inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation and gasdermin D mediated cardiomyocyte pyroptosis.

Cinnamaldehyde (CD) is one of the most important active compounds derived from Cinnamomum cassia and showed multiple biological activities. Accumulating evidence has shown that the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome significantly contributes to sterile inflammatory response and gasdermin D (GSDMD)-mediated pyroptosis in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MI/RI). Whether CD has any influence on NLRP3 inflammasome activation and pyroptosis during myocardial I/R injury remains unknown. In the present study, we investigated the cardioprotective effect of CD via establishing the MI/RI rats' model by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery for 30 min ischemia followed by 120 min reperfusion. Sprague-Dawley rats were intragastrically administered with CD (45 and 90 mg/kg/d) or vehicle for 7 successive days before ligation of the coronary artery to evoke MI/RI. The results found that CD significantly improved cardiac diastolic function, decreased cardiac infarct size and myocardial injury enzymes, inhibited cardiomyocyte apoptosis, attenuated cardiac structure abnormality, and mitigated oxidative stress and inflammatory response. We also found that MI/RI activated the NLRP3 inflammasome as evidenced by the upregulation levels of NLRP3, pro-caspase-1, caspase-1, and ASC proteins and mRNA. Importantly, MI/RI could trigger cardiomyocyte pyroptosis by increased DNA fragmentation, membrane pore formation, and mitochondrial swelling as well as increased levels of pyroptosis-related proteins and mRNA, including GSDMD, IL-18, and IL-1ß. As expected, all these deleterious alterations were reversed by CD pretreatment. Our findings demonstrated that CD showed an outstanding cardioprotective effect via inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation and GSDMD-mediated cardiomyocyte pyroptosis, which has a promising application value and development prospect against myocardial I/R injury in the future.

Electron ultra-high dose rate FLASH irradiation study using a clinical linac: Linac modification, dosimetry, and radiobiological outcome.

PURPOSE: Ultra-high dose rate FLASH irradiation (FLASH-IR) has been shown to cause less normal tissue damage compared with conventional irradiation (CONV-IR), this is known as the "FLASH effect." It has attracted immense research interest because its underlying mechanism is scarcely known. The purpose of this study was to determine whether FLASH-IR and CONV-IR induce differential inflammatory cytokine expression using a modified clinical linac. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An Elekta Synergy linac was used to deliver 6 MeV CONV-IR and modified to deliver FLASH-IR. Female FvB mice were randomly assigned to three different groups: a non-irradiated control, CONV-IR, or FLASH-IR. The FLASH-IR beam was produced by single pulses repeated manually with a 20-s interval (Strategy 1), or single-trigger multiple pulses with a 10 ms interval (Strategy 2). Mice were immobilized in the prone position in a custom-designed applicator with Gafchromic films positioned under the body. The prescribed doses for the mice were 6 to 18 Gy and verified using Gafchromic films. Cytokine expression of three pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α], interferon-γ [IFN-γ], interleukin-6 [IL-6]) and one anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) in serum samples and skin tissue were examined within 1 month post-IR. RESULTS: The modified linac delivered radiation at an intra-pulse dose rate of around 1 × 106 Gy/s and a dose per pulse over 2 Gy at a source-to-surface distance (SSD) of 13 to 15 cm. The achieved dose coverage was 90%-105% of the maximum dose within -20 to 20 mm in the X direction and 95% within -30 to 30 mm in the Y direction. The absolute deviations between the prescribed dose and the actual dose were 2.21%, 6.04%, 2.09%, and 2.73% for 6, 9, 12, and 15 Gy as measured by EBT3 films, respectively; and 4.00%, 4.49%, and 2.30% for 10, 14, and 18 Gy as measured by the EBT XD films, respectively. The reductions in the CONV-IR versus the FLASH-IR group were 4.89%, 10.28%, -7.8%, and -22.17% for TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6, and IL-10 in the serum on D6, respectively; 37.26%, 67.16%, 56.68%, and -18.95% in the serum on D31, respectively; and 62.67%, 35.65%, 37.75%, and -12.20% for TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6, and IL-10 in the skin tissue, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Ultra-high dose rate electron FLASH caused lower pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in serum and skin tissue which might mediate differential tissue damage between FLASH-IR and CONV-IR.

Potential inhibitors for blocking the interaction of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and its host cell receptor ACE2.

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 continues to pose a serious threat to human health and social. The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has made a serious threat to public health and economic stability worldwide. Given the urgency of the situation, researchers are attempting to repurpose existing drugs for treating COVID-19. METHODS: We first established an anti-coronavirus drug screening platform based on the Homogeneous Time Resolved Fluorescence (HTRF) technology and the interaction between the coronavirus spike protein and its host receptor ACE2. Two compound libraries of 2,864 molecules were screened with this platform. Selected candidate compounds were validated by SARS-CoV-2_S pseudotyped lentivirus and ACE2-overexpressing cell system. Molecular docking was used to analyze the interaction between S protein and compounds. RESULTS: We identified three potential anti-coronavirus compounds: tannic acid (TA), TS-1276 (anthraquinone), and TS-984 (9-Methoxycanthin-6-one). Our in vitro validation experiments indicated that TS-984 strongly inhibits the interaction of the coronavirus S protein and the human cell ACE2 receptor. Additionally, tannic acid showed moderate inhibitory effect on the interaction of S protein and ACE2. CONCLUSION: This platform is a rapid, sensitive, specific, and high throughput system, and available for screening large compound libraries. TS-984 is a potent blocker of the interaction between the S-protein and ACE2, which might have the potential to be developed into an effective anti-coronavirus drug.

Conjugated polymers based on metalla-aromatic building blocks.

Conjugated polymers usually require strategies to expand the range of wavelengths absorbed and increase solubility. Developing effective strategies to enhance both properties remains challenging. Herein, we report syntheses of conjugated polymers based on a family of metalla-aromatic building blocks via a polymerization method involving consecutive carbyne shuttling processes. The involvement of metal d orbitals in aromatic systems efficiently reduces band gaps and enriches the electron transition pathways of the chromogenic repeat unit. These enable metalla-aromatic conjugated polymers to exhibit broad and strong ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption bands. Bulky ligands on the metal suppress π-π stacking of polymer chains and thus increase solubility. These conjugated polymers show robust stability toward light, heat, water, and air. Kinetic studies using NMR experiments and UV-Vis spectroscopy, coupled with the isolation of well-defined model oligomers, revealed the polymerization mechanism.

Cobot Motion Planning Algorithm for Ensuring Human Safety Based on Behavioral Dynamics.

Recently, the safety of workers has gained increasing attention due to the applications of collaborative robots (cobot). However, there is no quantitative research on the impact of cobot behavior on humans' psychological reactions, and these results are not applied to the cobot motion planning algorithms. Based on the concept of the gravity field, this paper proposes a model of the psychological safety field (PSF), designs a comprehensive experiment on different speeds and minimum distances when approaching the head, chest, and abdomen, and obtains the ordinary surface equation of psychological stress about speed and minimum distance by using data fitting. By combining social rules and PSF models, we improve the robot motion planning algorithm based on behavioral dynamics. The validation experiment results show that our proposed improved robot motion planning algorithm can effectively reduce psychological stress. Eighty-seven point one percent (87.1%) of the experimental participants think that robot motion planned by improved robot motion planning algorithms is more "friendly", can effectively reduce psychological stress, and is more suitable for human-robot interaction scenarios.

Cinnamic acid preserves against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury via suppression of NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Cinnamic acid (CA) is an active organic acid compound extracted from Cinnamomi ramulus that has various biological activities. There is growing studies have shown that the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome significantly contributes to sterile inflammatory response and pyroptosis in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MI/RI). However, whether CA has any influence on NLRP3 inflammasome and pyroptosis during MI/RI are not fully elucidated. PURPOSE: In the present study, we investigated whether NLRP3 inflammasome activation and pyroptosis were involved in the cardioprotective effect of CA against MI/RI. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were intragastrically administered either with CA (75 and 150 mg/kg, daily) or vehicle for 7 successive days prior to ligation of coronary artery, and then rats were subjected to ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery for 30 min followed by reperfusion for 120 min to evoke MI/RI. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated that CA could significantly improve cardiac diastolic function, decrease cardiac infarct size and myocardial injury enzymes, inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis, attenuate cardiac structure abnormality, and mitigate oxidative stress and inflammatory response. We also found that MI/RI activate NLRP3 inflammasome as evidenced by the upregulation levels of NLRP3, pro-caspase-1, caspase-1, and ASC proteins and mRNA. More importantly, MI/RI trigger pyroptosis as indicated by increased DNA fragmentation, membrane pore formation, and mitochondrial swelling as well as increased levels of pyroptosis-related proteins and mRNA, including GSDMD, N-GSDMD, IL-18, and IL-1ß. As expected, all these deleterious alterations were prominently reversed by CA pretreatment. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that CA effectively protected cardiomyocytes against MI/RI by inhibiting NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD signaling pathway, and it is worthy of more investigations for its therapeutic potential for extenuating ischemic heart disease.

Piperazine ferulate protects against cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury in rat via the suppression of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and pyroptosis.

Piperazine ferulate (PF) has been reported to protect cardiac from ischemia/reperfusion injury to achieve myocardial protection. NLRP3 inflammasome activation-mediated pyroptosis has been shown to the involvement in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MI/RI). Increasing evidence suggested that PF is used for cardiovascular diseases, whereas its protection of MI/RI and the mechanism are not fully understood. Rats' model of MI/RI was subjected by occlusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery for 30 min followed by 120 min of reperfusion to investigate whether PF exhibited cardiac protection via modulating the NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis. Rats were intragastrically administrated with PF (100 mg/kg) for 7 consecutive days prior to I/R surgery. The results showed that PF remarkedly elevated left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular fraction shortening (LVFS), and decrease mitral early diastolic flow velocity/late diastolic flow velocity (E/A) of I/R injury rats compared with the I/R group. Besides, MI/RI contributes to increasing the cardiac infarction size and aggravates the myocardial injury as well as causes inflammation, whereas these detrimental alterations were ameliorated by PF pretreatment. Mechanically, the protein and gene expression levels of NLRP3, ASC, GSDMD, IL-Iß and caspase-1 in the PF-treated group were lower than those of the I/R group, which indicates that PF can evidently suppress the I/R-triggered NLRP3 inflammasome activation and pyroptosis in the heart. These results indicated that PF could prevent I/R-induced cardiac damages and cardiac dysfunction in the rats induced by I/R challenge, and it might be a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of ischemic heart disease.