Narciclasine induces colon carcinoma cell apoptosis by inhibiting the IL-17A/Act1/TRAF6/NF-κB signaling pathway.

IL-17 A is a promoter of colorectal cancer initiation and progression. Narciclasine is a polyhydroxy alkaloid compound isolated from Narcissus plants, which has potent anti-inflammatory and antitumor actions. The effects of narciclasine on colorectal tumors were evaluated, with a focus on IL-17 A. Narciclasine reduced the growth of HCT-116 and SW-480 colon cancer cells in vitro and in vivo in murine xenografts. The results of flow cytometry on JC-1 and Annexin V/PI revealed that narciclasine significantly reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential and induced apoptosis, findings confirmed by western blotting results of reduced Bcl-2 and enhanced Bax expression, as well as accumulation of cleaved Caspase-3, Caspase-8, Caspase-9, and cytoplasmic Cytochrome-c. After narciclasine incubation, IL-17 A, Act1, and TRAF6 were down-regulated, while p-P65 (Ser536) accumulated in the cytoplasm, a finding confirmed by laser scanning confocal microscopy. IL17A substitution could partly reverse these narciclasine effects while they were elevated by IL17A silencing. Moreover, IL-17 A, Act1, and TRAF6 were significantly expressed to greater extents in human colorectal cancer compared to normal adjacent tissue specimens and were closely linked with a poor prognosis. This study provided evidence that narciclasine may be a useful therapeutic drug for colorectal cancer treatment through its actions in down-regulating the L-17A/Act1/TRAF6/NF-κB anti-apoptotic signaling pathway.

P-N Heterojunction Embedded CuS/TiO2 Bifunctional Photocatalyst for Synchronous Hydrogen Production and Benzylamine Conversion.

The coupling of photocatalytic hydrogen production and selective oxidation of benzylamine is a topic of significant research interest. However, enhancing the bifunctional photocatalytic activity in this context is still a major challenge. The construction of Z-scheme heterojunctions is an effective strategy to enhance the activity of bifunctional photocatalysts. Herein, a p-n type direct Z-scheme heterojunction CuS/TiO2 is constructed using metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived TiO2 as a substrate. The carrier density is measured by Mott-Schottky under photoexcitation, which confirms that the Z-scheme electron transfer mode of CuS/TiO2 is driven by the diffusion effect caused by the carrier concentration difference. Benefiting from efficient charge separation and transfer, photogenerated electrons, and holes are directedly transferred to active oxidation and reduction sites. CuS/TiO2 also exhibits excellent bifunctional photocatalytic activity without noble metal cocatalysts. Among them, the H2 evolution activity of the CuS/TiO2 is found to be 17.1 and 29.5 times higher than that of TiO2 and CuS, respectively. Additionally, the yields of N-Benzylidenebenzylamine (NBB) are 14.3 and 47.4 times higher than those of TiO2 and CuS, respectively.

Theory-Guided Design of a Method to Obtain Competitive Balance between U(VI) Adsorption and Swaying Zwitterion-Induced Fouling Resistance on Natural Hemp Fibers.

The competitive balance between uranium (VI) (U(VI)) adsorption and fouling resistance is of great significance in guaranteeing the full potential of U(VI) adsorbents in seawater, and it is faced with insufficient research. To fill the gap in this field, a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was employed to explore the influence and to guide the design of mass-produced natural hemp fibers (HFs). Sulfobetaine (SB)- and carboxybetaine (CB)-type zwitterions containing soft side chains were constructed beside amidoxime (AO) groups on HFs (HFAS and HFAC) to form a hydration layer based on the terminal hydrophilic groups. The soft side chains were swayed by waves to form a hydration-layer area with fouling resistance and to simultaneously expel water molecules surrounding the AO groups. HFAS exhibited greater antifouling properties than that of HFAO and HFAC. The U(VI) adsorption capacity of HFAS was almost 10 times higher than that of HFAO, and the max mass rate of U:V was 4.3 after 35 days of immersion in marine water. This paper offers a theory-guided design of a method to the competitive balance between zwitterion-induced fouling resistance and seawater U(VI) adsorption on natural materials.

Mussel-inspired polydopamine microspheres self-adhered on natural hemp fibers for marine uranium harvesting and photothermal-enhanced antifouling properties.

The rapid development of nuclear energy and the accelerated consumption of uranium (U(VI)) ores have forced researchers to turn to marine U(VI) harvesting. However, the performance of marine U(VI) harvesting materials was challenged by the combination of ultralow concentrations of U(VI), high concentrations of various interfering ions and biofouling from abundant marine living organisms. Natural abundant hemp fibers (HFs) were adhered by mussel-inspired polydopamine microspheres (HFMPDA) during self-polymerization. Both HFs and PDA are derived from natural products with low-cost and eco-friendly properties to guarantee compatibility with biological marine environments. HFMPDA exhibits an outstanding distribution coefficient of 10.51 ± 0.51 L g-1 for U(VI) and great fouling resistance. The coordination forms between the U(VI) ion and HFMPDA were investigated by density functional theory (DFT), and the antifouling property was simulated by molecular dynamics (MD) calculations. The adsorption capacity of HFMPDA is 128.43 ± 3.26 µg g-1, which is 1.75 and 6.05 times higher than that of HFPDA (only covered by PDA) and V(V), respectively, after immersion for 34 days in the Yellow Sea, China. These polydopamine microspheres adhered to HF will be a photothermal marine U(VI) harvesting material with enhanced selectivity and fouling resistance.

Constructing an Amino-reinforced amidoxime swelling layer on a Polyacrylonitrile surface for enhanced uranium adsorption from seawater.

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based materials have been studied for decades as uranium (U(VI)) adsorbents, because the further products of abundant nitrile groups, amidoxime (AO) groups, show great affinity for U(VI) ions. However, excessive amidoximation could cause the shrinkage of PAN fibers, resulting in decreased adsorption performance. Hence, an amino-reinforced amidoxime (ARAO) swelling layer was constructed on the PAN fiber surface (PAN-NH2-AO) by modification of the strongly hydrophilic amino group to prevent shrinkage. The molecular chains in the ARAO swelling layer would be swelled due to the adsorption of a large amount of water. Simultaneously, U(Ⅵ) ions can penetrate into the ARAO swelling layer with water molecules and coordinate with amino or AO groups, leading to increased adsorption performance. PAN-NH2-AO exhibited maximum U(VI) and water adsorption capacities of 492.61 mg g-1 and 20.32 g g-1 at 25 â„ƒ with a swelling ratio of 20.73%, respectively. The adsorption capacity of PAN-NH2-AO was 0.312 mg g-1 after a 91-day immersion in Yellow Sea, China. The study of the adsorption thermodynamics and kinetics of PAN-NH2-AO showed that the adsorption process was spontaneous homogeneous chemical adsorption. This paper proposes a novel method to obstruct amidoximation induced shrinkage and to maximize the potential application of PAN-based materials.

Tanshinone IIA attenuates renal injury during hypothermic preservation via the MEK/ERK1/2/GSK-3ß pathway.

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress-induced injury during hypothermic preservation is a universal problem that delays graft function and decrease the success of organ transplantation. Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) was reported to exhibit a variety of biochemical activities, including protection against oxidative stress. Therefore, the specific molecular pathway by which Tan IIA protects renal tissues during preservation was investigated in this study. METHODS: In vivo study, Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into twelve groups and the kidneys were isolated and preserved in different solutions for 0, 24 or 48 h, respectively: control group (Celsior solution) and Tan II groups (Celsior solution containing 10, 50,100 µM). In vitro study, primary renal cell from SD rats was cultured which was treated H2O2 (800 µM) for 6 h to mimic oxidative stress injury. Four groups were finally divided: control group; H2O2 group; H2O2 + Tan IIA group; H2O2 + Tan IIA + G15 group. RESULTS: In present study, we demonstrate data indicating that a significant increase in the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and a decrease in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) content were observed in the kidneys and renal cells preserved with Tan IIA compared with those preserved with the Celsior solution alone after 24 h and 48 h of hypothermic preservation (P < 0.01). The expression of phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK), phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2), phosphorylated glycogen synthase kinase-3ß (GSK-3ß) and cleaved caspase-3 was lower in the kidneys and renal cells preserved with Tan IIA than in those preserved with the Celsior solution alone after 24 h and 48 h of hypothermic preservation (P < 0.01). The mitochondrial morphology was rescued and adenosine triphophate (ATP) production and mitochondrial membrane potential were increased in the Tan IIA groups. Finally, Tan IIA also decreased cell apoptosis. CONCLUSION: It suggests that the supplementation of the standard Celsior solution with Tan IIA may significantly improve long-term kidney preservation. Tan IIA attenuated oxidative stress injury and decreased apoptosis levels via activation of the MEK/ERK1/2/GSK-3ß signaling pathway during kidney hypothermic preservation.

Crystal structure and highly luminescent properties studies of bis-ß-diketonate lanthanide complexes.

A new bis(ß-diketonate), 1,3-bis(4,4,4-trifluoro-1,3-dioxobutyl)phenyl (BTP), which contains a trifluorinated alkyl group, has been prepared for the synthesis of two series of dinuclear lanthanide complexes with the general formula Ln2(BTP)3L2 [Ln(3+) = Eu(3+), L = DME(1), bpy(2), and phen(3); Ln(3+) = Sm(3+), L = DME(4), bpy(5), and phen(6); DME = ethylene glycol dimethyl ether, bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline]. The crystal structure of the free ligand has been determined and shows a twisted arrangement of the two binding sites around the 1,3-phenylene spacer. X-ray crystallographic analysis reveals that complexes 1, 2, 4, and 5 are triple-stranded dinuclear structures formed by three bis-bidentate ligands with two lanthanide ions. The room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra of complexes 1-6 show that this bis-ß-diketonate can effectively sensitize rare earths (Sm(3+) and Eu(3+)) and produce characteristic emissions of the corresponding Eu(3+) and Sm(3+) ions. In addition, two bidentate nitrogen ancillary ligands, 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen), have been employed to enhance the luminescence quantum yields and lifetimes of both series of Eu(3+) and Sm(3+) complexes.