Chromodomain Y-like (CDYL) inhibition ameliorates acute kidney injury in mice by regulating tubular pyroptosis.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common disease, but lacking effective drug treatments. Chromodomain Y-like (CDYL) is a kind of chromodomain protein that has been implicated in transcription regulation of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Benzo[d]oxazol-2(3H)-one derivative (compound D03) is the first potent and selective small-molecule inhibitor of CDYL (KD = 0.5 µM). In this study, we investigated the expression of CDYL in three different models of cisplatin (Cis)-, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- and ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI)-induced AKI mice. By conducting RNA sequencing and difference analysis of kidney samples, we found that tubular CDYL was abnormally and highly expressed in injured kidneys of AKI patients and mice. Overexpression of CDYL in cisplatin-induced AKI mice aggravated tubular injury and pyroptosis via regulating fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4)-mediated reactive oxygen species production. Treatment of cisplatin-induced AKI mice with compound D03 (2.5 mg·kg-1·d-1, i.p.) effectively attenuated the kidney dysfunction, pathological damages and tubular pyroptosis without side effects on liver or kidney function and other tissue injuries. Collectively, this study has, for the first time, explored a novel aspect of CDYL for tubular epithelial cell pyroptosis in kidney injury, and confirmed that inhibition of CDYL might be a promising therapeutic strategy against AKI.

Low Band Gap Benzoxazole-Linked Covalent Organic Frameworks for Photo-Enhanced Targeted Uranium Recovery.

The inherent features of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) make them highly attractive for uranium recovery applications. A key aspect yet to be explored is how to improve the selectivity and efficiency of COFs for recovering uranium from seawater. To achieve this goal, a series of robust and hydrophilic benzoxazole-based COFs is developed (denoted as Tp-DBD, Bd-DBD, and Hb-DBD) as efficient adsorbents for photo-enhanced targeted uranium recovery. Benefiting from the hydroxyl groups and the formation of benzoxazole rings, the hydrophilic Tp-DBD shows outstanding stability and chemical reduction properties. Meanwhile, the synergistic effect of the hydroxyl groups and the benzoxazole rings in the π-conjugated frameworks significantly decrease the optical band gap, and improve the affinity and capacity to uranium recovery. In seawater, the adsorption capacity of uranium is 19.2× that of vanadium, a main interfering metal in uranium extraction.

Band Gap Engineering in Vinylene-Linked Covalent Organic Frameworks for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Contaminants and Disinfection of Bacteria.

Photocatalysis is regarded as one of the most promising technologies to remove organic contaminants. At present, most of the covalent organic frameworks (COFs) used as photocatalysts are connected by imine or borate bonds, which have relatively low stability and relatively poor π-delocalization. Herein, we report, for the first time, vinylene-linked COFs constructed by various diacetylene and triazine moieties for photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants and disinfection of bacteria. The pioneering introduction of diacetylene moieties not only enhances conjugated π-electrons delocalization but also optimizes the electronic band structures that significantly improve photocatalytic activity. Therefore, the vinylene-bridged COFs have excellent photocatalytic activity with ultrahigh stability and great π-electron delocalization, thus exhibiting ultrafast photocatalytic degradation efficiency for phenol and norfloxacin (>96%, within 15 min). Our work provides a strong basis for the rational regulation of the chemical structure of COFs to enhance their photocatalytic activity, thus broadening the application of COFs in photocatalysis.

Regenerable Covalent Organic Frameworks for Photo-enhanced Uranium Adsorption from Seawater.

Uranium is a key resource for the development of the nuclear industry, and extracting uranium from the natural seawater is one of the most promising ways to address the shortage of uranium resources. Herein, a semiconducting covalent organic framework (named NDA-TN-AO) with excellent photocatalytic and photoelectric activities was synthesized. The excellent photocatalytic effect endowed NDA-TN-AO with a high anti-biofouling activity by generating biotoxic reactive oxygen species and promoting photoelectrons to reduce the adsorbed UVI to insoluble UIV , thereby increasing the uranium extraction capacity. Owing to the photoinduced effect, the adsorption capacity of NDA-TN-AO to uranium in seawater reaches 6.07 mg g-1 , which is 1.33 times of that in dark. The NDA-TN-AO with enhanced adsorption capacity is a promising material for extracting uranium from the natural seawater.