Hepatic Stellate Cell-Targeting Micelle Nanomedicine for Early Diagnosis and Treatment of Liver Fibrosis.

Diagnosing and treating liver fibrosis is a challenging yet crucial endeavor due to its complex pathogenesis and risk of deteriorating into cirrhosis, liver failure, and even hepatic cancer. Herein, a silica cross-linked micelles (SCLMs) based nano-system is developed for both diagnosing and treating liver fibrosis. The SCLMs are first modified with peptide CTCE9908 (CT-SCLMs) and can actively target CXCR4, which is overexpressed in activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). To enable diagnosis, an ONOO--responded near-infrared fluorescent probe NOF2 is loaded into the CT-SCLMs. This nano-system can target the aHSCs and diagnose the liver fibrosis particularly in CCl4-induced liver damage, by monitoring the reactive nitrogen species. Furthermore, a step is taken toward treatment by co-encapsulating two anti-fibrosis drugs, silibinin and sorafenib, within the CT-SCLMs. This combined approach results in a significant alleviation of liver injury. Symptoms associated with liver fibrosis, such as deposition of collagen, expression of hydroxyproline, and raised serological indicators show notable improvement. In summary, the CXCR4-targeted nano-system can serve as a promising theragnostic system of early warning and diagnosis for liver fibrosis, offering hope against progression of this serious liver condition.

Changes in brain structure and related functional connectivity during menstruation in women with primary dysmenorrhea.

Background: Neuroimaging studies have identified altered brain structures and functions in women with primary dysmenorrhea (PDM). However, previous studies focused on either structural or functional changes in specific brain regions rather than combining structural and functional analysis. Therefore, this prospective cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the changes in whole brain structure, and functional variation along with structural abnormalities in women with PDM during menstruation. Methods: In all, 31 patients with PDM (PTs) and 31 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and surface-based morphometry (SBM) analyses were applied to investigate structural changes based on high-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance images. Functional connectivity (FC) analysis was performed to evaluate functional variations related to the brain regions that showed structural group differences. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to assess the relationship between neuroimaging changes and clinical measures. Results: Compared to HCs, PTs had reduced gray matter volume (GMV) in the right superior temporal gyrus (STG) and reduced thickness in the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), left postcentral gyrus (PoCG), and left superior occipital gyrus (SOG). Among these areas, the STG and PoCG are responsible for altered resting-state FC patterns in PTs. Results showed decreased FC between the STG and the left cerebellar posterior lobe (poCb), the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and the left precentral gyrus (PrCG). Results also showed decreased FC between the PoCG and the right precuneus and the right DLPFC. We also found greater FCs between the PoCG and the bilateral poCb, the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG), and the left angular gyrus. In addition, the FCs between the STG and poCb, and DLPFC in PTs were positively correlated with history and Cox menstrual symptom scale (CMSS) scores, respectively, while the FCs between STG and PrCG were negatively correlated with the onset age of PDM. Conclusions: Our research found structural abnormalities and related FC changes in several brain regions that were mainly involved in the emotional and sensory aspects of menstrual pain in PDM. These findings could help us understand the occurrence of PDM from a neuroimaging perspective.

Abnormal interhemispheric functional connectivity in patients with primary dysmenorrhea: a resting-state functional MRI study.

Background: Neuroimaging studies have confirmed that functional connectivity (FC) disruption of pain-related brain networks may contribute to the cerebral pathophysiology of primary dysmenorrhea (PDM). However, it remains unclear whether FC of symmetrical regions of bilateral hemispheres associated with PDM is abnormal. This functional MRI study aimed to explore the changes of voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) and seed-based FC in patients with PDM. Methods: A cohort comprising patients with PDM (n=35) and healthy controls (HCs) (n=41) underwent resting-state functional MRI scans during their menstrual phase. Interhemispheric FC was compared between the two groups using VMHC analysis. Brain areas with significant group differences in VMHC were selected as seed regions for FC analysis. Correlation analysis was also conducted to examine the relationship between abnormal connectivity of brain regions and clinical measures of pain and anxiety. Results: Compared with healthy individuals, patients with PDM showed significantly enhanced VMHC in the bilateral orbital part of the superior frontal gyrus and the bilateral middle frontal gyrus. Subsequent seed-based FC analysis showed enhanced connectivity between the aforementioned areas and pain-related brain structures. Hyperconnectivity between the left middle frontal gyrus and the right cingulate gyrus in patients was negatively correlated with an increase in the visual analogue score (VAS) for pain (r=-0.341, P<0.05). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that ongoing dysmenorrhea is accompanied by abnormal interhemispheric functional coordination and enhanced connectivity in pain-related regions, attention networks, and the reward system. These findings may provide a novel perspective on the central mechanism of pain caused by PDM.

A crosslinked colloidal network of peptide/nucleic base amphiphiles for targeted cancer cell encapsulation.

The use of peptide amphiphiles (PAs) is becoming increasingly popular, not only because of their unique self-assembly properties but also due to the versatility of designs, allowing biological responsiveness, biocompatibility, and easy synthesis, which could potentially contribute to new drug design and disease treatment concepts. Oligonucleotides, another major functional bio-macromolecule class, have been introduced recently as new functional building blocks into PAs, further enriching the tools available for the fabrication of bio-functional PAs. Taking advantage of this, in the present work, two nucleic base-linked (adenine, A and thymine, T) RGD-rich peptide amphiphiles (NPAs) containing the fluorophores naphthalimide and rhodamine (Nph-A and Rh-T) were designed and synthesized. The two NPAs exhibit distinctive assembly behaviours with spherical (Rh-T) and fibrous (Nph-A) morphologies, and mixing Nph-A with Rh-T leads to a densely crosslinked colloidal network (Nph-A/Rh-T) via mutually promoted supramolecular polymerization via nucleation-growth assembly. Because of the RGD-rich sequences in the crosslinked network, further research on in situ targeted cancer cell (MDA-MB-231) encapsulation via RGD-integrin recognition was performed, and the modulation of cell behaviours (e.g., cell viability and migration) was demonstrated using both confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) imaging and a scratch wound healing assay.

Activation of Cellular Antioxidant Defense System by Naturally Occurring Dibenzopyrone Derivatives Confers Neuroprotection against Oxidative Insults.

Seven dibenzopyrone phenolic derivatives, i.e., alternariol (1), alternariol 5-O-methyl ether (2), altenusin B (3), dehydroaltenusin (4), altenuene (5), altenusin (6), and alterlactone (7), were isolated from endophytic fungi Alternaria alternata extract, and these compounds' structures were elucidated based on various spectroscopic data. Compound 3, a diphenic acid derivative, was determined as a new compound. In this study, compounds 3, 4, 6, and 7 displayed remarkable neuroprotective effects against oxidative injuries by acting as potent activators of nuclear factor-erythroid derived 2-like 2 (Nrf2) in PC12 cells. A mechanistic study indicated that these compounds induced the nuclear accumulation of Nrf2, promoted the expression of Nrf2-governed cytoprotective genes, and increased the cellular antioxidant capacity. More importantly, genetic silence of Nrf2 expression deprived the observed cytoprotection, highlighting the important role of Nrf2 in the protection of these compounds.

Aberrant resting-state cerebral blood flow and its connectivity in primary dysmenorrhea on arterial spin labeling MRI.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to clarify the resting-state cerebral blood flow alteration patterns induced by primary dysmenorrhea, investigate the relationships between cerebral blood flow alterations and clinical parameters of patients with primary dysmenorrhea, and explore whether brain regions with abnormal cerebral blood flow also feature functional connectivity changes. METHODS: Arterial spin labeling imaging and clinical parameters were acquired in 42 patients with primary dysmenorrhea and 41 healthy controls during their menstrual phases. Differences in cerebral blood flow were compared between the two groups, and the clusters with significant group differences were selected as the regions of interest for further statistical analyses. RESULTS: Compared to healthy controls, patients with primary dysmenorrhea exhibited increased cerebral blood flow in the bilateral precuneus, left posterior cingulate cortex, and right rolandic operculum. Among patients with primary dysmenorrhea, we identified a negative correlation between the cerebral blood flow in the right rolandic operculum and the visual analogue score for anxiety, and greater correlation between the functional connectivity in the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex and the right middle cingulate cortex, and between the right rolandic operculum and the left inferior parietal lobule and the bilateral postcentral gyrus. DISCUSSION: Cerebral blood flow abnormalities associated with primary dysmenorrhea were mainly concentrated in the areas comprising the default mode network in primary dysmenorrhea patients, which could be involved in the central mechanism of primary dysmenorrhea. Cerebral blood flow alteration in the rolandic operculum may underlie an anxiety-induced compulsive tendency in patients with primary dysmenorrhea. Investigating the enhanced connectivity among various pain-related brain regions could improve understanding of the onset and development of primary dysmenorrhea.

Free Energy Profile and Kinetics of Coupled Folding and Binding of the Intrinsically Disordered Protein p53 with MDM2.

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) exert their functions by binding to partner proteins via a complex process that includes coupled folding and binding. Because inhibiting the binding of the IDP p53 to its partner MDM2 has become a promising strategy for the design of anticancer drugs, we carried out metadynamics simulations to study the coupled folding and binding process linking the IDP p53 to MDM2 in atomic detail. Using bias-exchange metadynamics (BE-MetaD) and infrequent metadynamics (InMetaD), we estimated the binding free energy, the unbinding rate, and the binding rate. By analyzing the stable intermediates, we uncovered the role non-native interactions played in the p53-MDM2 binding/unbinding process. We used a three-state model to describe the whole binding/unbinding process and to obtain the corresponding rate constants. Our work shows that the binding of p53 favors an induced-fit mechanism which proceeds in a stepwise fashion. Our results can be helpful for gaining an in-depth understanding of the coupled folding and binding process needed for the design of MDM2 inhibitors.

Optimized expression of classical swine fever virus E2 protein via combined strategy in Pichia pastoris.

Precaution of classical swine fever (CSF) is an important mission for the worldwide swine industry. Glycoprotein E2 is the leading antigen candidate for subunit vaccine of classical swine fever virus (CSFV). In this study, two Spy-tagged E2 genes were synthesized in vitro and subcloned into pMCO-AOX vector for intracellular expression in Pichia pastoris after methanol induction. Western blot analysis and semi-quantitative analysis showed that the yield of recombinant E2 protein was improved 17.87 folds by using co-translocational signal peptide cSIG. After the construction of the tandem multiple copy expression vectors, further increase of E2 production was observed by repetitive transforming expression vectors into P. pastoris genome. Finally, the yeast transformants harboring 8 or 16 copies of cSIG-E2-Spy increased the E2 expression level by 27.01-fold or 30.72-fold, respectively. These results demonstrate that utilizing co-translocational signal peptide together with multi-copy integration strategy can increase the production of recombinant E2 protein efficiently.

(±)-Alternamgin, a Pair of Enantiomeric Polyketides, from the Endophytic Fungi Alternaria sp. MG1.

A pair of enantiomeric polyketides, (+)- and (-)-alternamgin (1), featuring an unprecedented 6/6/6/6/5/6/6 seven ring backbone, were isolated from the endophytic fungi Alternaria sp. MG1. The relative configuration of 1 was determined using X-ray diffraction, and the absolute configurations of (±)-1 were confirmed by comparing the experimental and calculated ECD data. Plausible biosynthetic pathways for 1 were proposed. Compound (-)-1 exhibited moderate necrosis rates to Hela and HepG2 cells, but (+)-1 only showed similar necrosis rates to HepG2 cells.

Activity of Antimicrobial Peptide Aggregates Decreases with Increased Cell Membrane Embedding Free Energy Cost.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a promising alternative to antibiotics for mitigating bacterial infections, in light of increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics. However, predicting, understanding, and controlling the antibacterial activity of AMPs remain a significant challenge. While peptide intramolecular interactions are known to modulate AMP antimicrobial activity, peptide intermolecular interactions remain elusive in their impact on peptide bioactivity. Herein, we test the relationship between AMP intermolecular interactions and antibacterial efficacy by controlling AMP intermolecular hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding interactions. Molecular dynamics simulations and Gibbs free energy calculations in concert with experimental assays show that increasing intermolecular interactions via interpeptide aggregation increases the energy cost for the peptide to embed into the bacterial cell membrane, which in turn decreases the AMP antibacterial activity. Our findings provide a route for predicting and controlling the antibacterial activity of AMPs against Gram-negative bacteria via reductions of intermolecular AMP interactions.

Cholesterol-directed nanoparticle assemblies based on single amino acid peptide mutations activate cellular uptake and decrease tumor volume.

Peptide drugs have been difficult to translate into effective therapies due to their low in vivo stability. Here, we report a strategy to develop peptide-based therapeutic nanoparticles by screening a peptide library differing by single-site amino acid mutations of lysine-modified cholesterol. Certain cholesterol-modified peptides are found to promote and stabilize peptide α-helix formation, resulting in selectively cell-permeable peptides. One cholesterol-modified peptide self-assembles into stable nanoparticles with considerable α-helix propensity stabilized by intermolecular van der Waals interactions between inter-peptide cholesterol molecules, and shows 68.3% stability after incubation with serum for 16 h. The nanoparticles in turn interact with cell membrane cholesterols that are disproportionately present in cancer cell membranes, inducing lipid raft-mediated endocytosis and cancer cell death. Our results introduce a strategy to identify peptide nanoparticles that can effectively reduce tumor volumes when administered to in in vivo mice models. Our results also provide a simple platform for developing peptide-based anticancer drugs.

Peptide-Based Probes with an Artificial Anion-Binding Motif for Direct Fluorescence "Switch-On" Detection of Nucleic Acid in Cells.

This work reports two new peptide-based fluorescence probes (1 and 2) for the detection of ds-DNA at physiological pH. Probes 1 and 2 contain a fluorophore, either amino-naphthalimide or diethyl-aminocoumarin, respectively, and two identical peptide arms each equipped with a guanidiniocarbonylpyrrole (GCP) anion-binding motif. These probes show "switch-on" fluorescence response upon binding to ds-DNA, whereby they can differentiate between various types of polynucleotides. For instance, they exhibit more pronounced fluorescence response for AT-rich polynucleotides than GC-rich polynucleotides, and both give only negligible response to ds-RNA. The fluorimetric response of 1 is proportional to the AT-basepair content in DNA, whereas the fluorescence of 2 is sensitive to the secondary structure of the polynucleotide. Fluorescence experiments, thermal melting experiments and circular dichroism studies suggest that 1 interacts with ds-DNA in a combined intercalation and minor groove binding, whereas 2 interacts mainly with the outer surface of DNA/RNA. As 1 and 2 have a very low cytotoxicity, 1 can be applied for the imaging of nuclear DNA in cells.

A Probe for the Detection of Hypoxic Cancer Cells.

Hypoxia is a common feature of tumor cells. Nitroreductase (NTR), a common biomarker of hypoxia, has been widely used to evaluate the extent of tumor hypoxia. In this study, three fluorescent probes (FBN-1-3) were synthesized to monitor the extent of hypoxia in cancer cells in real time. FBN-1-3 were composed of a fluorescein analogue and one of three different aromatic nitro groups. Of these probes, FBN-1 showed excellent sensitivity and selectivity in detecting hypoxia via a reduction in O2 concentration. Confocal fluorescence imaging and flow cytometry demonstrated that HepG-2, A549, and SKOV-3 cells incubated with FBN-1 under reduced oxygen conditions showed significantly enhanced fluorescence. A mouse HepG-2 tumor model confirmed that FBN-1 responds rapidly to NTR and can be used to evaluate the degree of tumor hypoxia. The changes in intra- and extracellular NTR in tumor cells were also concurrently monitored, which did not reveal a link between NTR concentration and degree of hypoxia. Our work provides a functional probe for tumor hypoxia, and our results suggest the fluorescent response of our probe is due to a decrease in O2 concentration, and not NTR concentration.

Recent advances in peptide nucleic acid for cancer bionanotechnology.

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is an oligomer, in which the phosphate backbone has been replaced by a pseudopeptide backbone that is meant to mimic DNA. Peptide nucleic acids are of the utmost importance in the biomedical field because of their ability to hybridize with neutral nucleic acids and their special chemical and biological properties. In recent years, PNAs have emerged in nanobiotechnology for cancer diagnosis and therapy due to their high affinity and sequence selectivity toward corresponding DNA and RNA. In this review, we summarize the recent progresses that have been made in cancer detection and therapy with PNA biotechnology. In addition, we emphasize nanoparticle PNA-based strategies for the efficient delivery of drugs in anticancer therapies.

Tumor-cell targeting polydiacetylene micelles encapsulated with an antitumor drug for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Peptide functionalized polydiacetylene (PDA) micelles encapsulated with camptothecin (CPT) kill ovarian cancer cells by the lysosome release of anticancer drug CPT. Moreover, the sub-30 nm PDA micelles penetrate efficiently into a tumor for enhanced therapeutic efficacy.

In Vivo Detoxification of Lipopolysaccharide by Antimicrobial Peptides.

Abundant lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can result in sepsis and septic shock, indicating a serious Gram-negative bacterial contamination. We have developed a novel strategy based on dendritic antimicrobial peptides that can detoxify LPS. The dendritic antimicrobial peptides bind to LPS at the surface of Gram-negative bacteria, killing the bacteria but removing the LPS from the cell wall of dead Gram-negative bacteria, hence detoxifying pathogenic bacteria in its host cells and effectively improving survival of animals infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Our findings provide a way to detoxify bacterial contamination.

Real-time near-infrared bioimaging of a receptor-targeted cytotoxic dendritic theranostic agent.

Efficient and site-specific delivery of anticancer drugs to tumors is important in the development of effective cancer chemotherapy. As an undecapeptide of the tachykinin neuropeptide family, the substance P (SP)/neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1R) system has been identified as a promising ligand-receptor pair in tumor-specific drug delivery. However, the rational design of suitable theranostic agents with high drug loading capacity and tumor targeting for cancer patients remains a great challenge. Herein, we report a dendritic strategy that utilizes the two amine functionalities of lysine to create branch points that allow conjugation of the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) to the tumor-targeting ligand substance P, along with an additional near-infrared (NIR) squaraine dye, to construct a theranostic dendritic agent, P-FU 4. This cytotoxic theranostic agent, containing four carboxyl-modified 5-FU molecules, has several desirable advantages: i) the ability to self-assemble into nanoparticles; ii) enhanced cytotoxicity with high drug loading capacity (16%) and a specific receptor-targeted interaction with NK1R through the SP moiety; and iii) a high NIR squaraine fluorescence efficiency due to the specific dendron isolation, avoiding aggregation-mediated quenching. As demonstrated in this report, the cytotoxic activity of P-FU 4 is dose-dependent against the tested cancer cells. The improved drug loading capacity with dendritic branching distinctly enhanced cytotoxicity to tumor cells but had little effect on the viability of normal cells. P-FU 4 was preferentially taken up by tumor cells through a receptor-mediated interaction, which was monitored by effective NIR fluorescence with high tissue penetration. Studies using a mouse model revealed that P-FU 4 can significantly inhibit tumor progression, with a tumor-inhibition rate of 60.2%. The receptor-targeted cytotoxic dendritic theranostic agent is highly preferable to standard chemotherapeutic treatments and decreases the negative side effects of medications on healthy cells, which establishes its utility in drug delivery and cancer chemotherapy.

A FRET-enabled molecular peptide beacon with a significant red shift for the ratiometric detection of nucleic acids.

A cationic molecular peptide beacon NAP1 functionalized with a fluorescence resonance energy transfer-pair at its ends allows the ratiometric detection of ds-DNA with a preference for AT rich sequences. NAP1 most likely binds in a folded form into the minor groove of ds-DNA, which results in a remarkable change in its fluorescence properties. As NAP1 exhibits quite low cytotoxicity, it can also be used for imaging of nuclear DNA in cells.

Near-Infrared Fluorogenic Probes with Polarity-Sensitive Emission for in Vivo Imaging of an Ovarian Cancer Biomarker.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA, cutoff values ≥ 1.5 µM) is an effective biomarker for early stage ovarian cancer. The development of selective probes for LPA detection is therefore critical for early clinical diagnosis. Although current methods have been developed for the detection of LPA in solution, they cannot be used for tracking LPA in vivo. Here, we report a near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe that can selectively respond to LPA based on polarity-sensitive emission at a very low detection limit of 0.5 µM in situ. This probe exhibits a marked increase of fluorescence at 720 nm upon binding to LPA, allowing the direct visualization of LPA in vitro and in vivo without interference from other biomolecules. Moreover, the probe containing two arginine-glycine-aspartic acid units can be efficiently taken up by cancer cells based on an αvß3 integrin receptor targeting mechanism. It also exhibits excellent biocompatibility and high pH stability in live cells and in vivo. Confocal laser scanning microscopy and flow cytometric imaging of SKOV-3 cells have confirmed that our probe can be used to image LPA in live cells. In particular, its NIR turn-on fluorescence can be used to effectively monitor LPA imaging in a SKOV-3 tumor-bearing mouse model. Our probe may pave the way for the detection of cancer-related biomarkers and even for early stage cancer diagnosis.

Peptide self-assembly triggered by metal ions.

Through their unique and specific interactions with various metal ions, naturally occurring proteins control structures and functions of many biological processes and functions in organisms. Inspired by natural metallopeptides, chemists have developed artificial peptides which coordinate with metal ions through their functional groups either for introducing a special reactivity or for constructing nanostructures. However, the design of new coordination peptides requires a deep understanding of the structures, assembly properties, and dynamic behaviours of such peptides. This review briefly discusses strategies of peptide self-assembly induced by metal coordination to different natural and non-natural binding sites in the peptide. The structures and functions of the obtained aggregates are described as well. We also highlight some examples of a metal-induced peptide self-assembly with relevance to biotechnology applications.