Aggregation-Induced Emission CN-Based Nanoparticles to Alleviate Hypoxic Liver Fibrosis via Triggering HSC Ferroptosis and Enhancing Photodynamic Therapy.

Hypoxia can lead to liver fibrosis and severely limits the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT). Herein, carbon nitride (CN)-based hybrid nanoparticles (NPs) VPSGCNs@TSI for light-driven water splitting were utilized to solve this problem. CNs were doped with selenide glucose (Se-glu) to enhance their red/NIR region absorption. Then, vitamin A-poly(ethylene glycol) (VA-PEG) fragments and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) photosensitizers TSI were introduced into Se-glu-doped CN NPs (VPSGCNs) to construct VPSGCNs@TSI NPs. The introduction of VA-PEG fragments enhanced the targeting of the NPs to activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and reduced their toxicity to ordinary liver cells. VPSGCN units could trigger water splitting to generate O2 under 660 nm laser irradiation, improve the hypoxic environment of the fibrosis site, downregulate HIF-1α expression, and activate HSC ferroptosis via the HIF-1α/SLC7A11 pathway. In addition, generated O2 could also increase the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production of TSI units in a hypoxic environment, thereby completely reversing hypoxia-triggered PDT resistance to enhance the PDT effect. The combination of water-splitting materials and photodynamic materials showed a 1 + 1 > 2 effect in increasing oxygen levels in liver fibrosis, promoting ferroptosis of activated HSCs and reversing PDT resistance caused by hypoxia.

A novel GSK3ß inhibitor 5n attenuates acute kidney injury.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a clinical syndrome with high morbidity and mortality caused by various factor. The specific strategies for AKI are still lacking. GSK3ß is widely expressed in the kidneys. In acute models of injury, GSK3ß promotes the systemic inflammatory response, increases the proinflammatory release of cytokines, induces apoptosis, and alters cell proliferation. We screened a series of 3-(4-pyridyl)-5-(4-sulfamido-phenyl)-1,2,4-oxadiazole derivatives which are recognized as new GSK3ß inhibitors, and found that 5n had the least toxicity and the best cell protection. We then tested the anti-inflammatory and reno-protective effect of 5n in cisplatin-treated tubular epithelial cells. 5n had anti-inflammation effect indicated by phosphor-NF-κB detection. Finally, we found that 5n ameliorated renal injury and inflammation in cisplatin-induced AKI mouse model. Silencing GSK3ß inhibited cell injury and inflammation induced by cisplatin. We found that GSK3ß interacted with PP2Ac to modulate the activity of NF-κB. In conclusion, 5n, the novel GSK3ß inhibitor, protects against AKI via PP2Ac-dependent mechanisms which may provide a potential strategy for the treatment of AKI in clinic.

Activation and Denitrosylation of Procaspase-3 in KA-induced Excitotoxicity.

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that activation of glutamate kainate receptor subunit 2 (GluK2) subunit-containing glutamate receptors and the following Fas ligand(FasL) up-regulation, caspase-3 activation, result in delayed apoptosis-like neuronal death in hippocampus CA1 subfield after cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. Nitric oxide-mediated S-nitrosylation might inhibit the procaspase activation, whereas denitrosylation might contribute to cleavage and activation of procaspases. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying procaspase-3 denitrosylation and activation following kainic acid (KA)-induced excitotoxicity in rat hippocampus. METHODS: S-nitrosylation of procaspase-3 was detected by biotin-switch method. Activation of procaspase-3 was shown as cleavage of procaspase-3 detected by immunoblotting. FasL expression was detected by immunoblotting. Cresyl violets and TdT-mediated dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL) staining were used to detect apoptosis-like neuronal death in rat hippocampal CA1 and CA3 subfields. RESULTS: KA led to the activation of procaspase-3 in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and the activation was inhibited by KA receptor antagonist NS102. Procaspase-3 was denitrosylated at 3 h after kainic acid administration, and the denitrosylation was reversed by SNP and GSNO. FasL ASODNs inhibited the procaspase-3 denitrosylation and activation. Moreover, thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) inhibitor auranofin prevented the denitrosylation and activation of procaspase-3 in rat hippocampal CA1 and CA3 subfields. NS102, FasL AS-ODNs, and auranofin reversed the KAinduced apoptosis and cell death in hippocampal CA1 and CA3 subfields. CONCLUSIONS: KA led to denitrosylation and activation of procaspase-3 via FasL and TrxR. Inhibition of procaspase-3 denitrosylation by auranofin, SNP, and GSNO played protective effects against KA-induced apoptosis-like neuronal death in rat hippocampal CA1 and CA3 subfields. These investigations revealed that the procaspase-3 undergoes an initial denitrosylation process before becoming activated, providing valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms and possible treatment of excitotoxicity.

Carbon Nitride-Based siRNA Vectors with Self-Produced O2 Effects for Targeting Combination Therapy of Liver Fibrosis via HIF-1α-Mediated TGF-ß1/Smad Pathway.

Hypoxia is an important feature, which can upregulate the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) expression and promote the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), leading to liver fibrosis. Currently, effective treatment for liver fibrosis is extremely lacking. Herein, a safe and effective method is established to downregulate the expression of HIF-1α in HSCs via targeted delivery of VA-PEG-modified CNs-based nanosheets-encapsulated (VA-PEG-CN@GQDs) HIF-1α small interfering RNA (HIF-1α-siRNA). Due to the presence of lipase in the liver, the reversible release of siRNA can be promoted to complete the transfection process. Simultaneously, VA-PEG-CN@GQD nanosheets enable trigger the water splitting process to produce O2 under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation, thereby improving the hypoxic environment of the liver fibrosis site and maximizing the downregulation of HIF-1α expression to improve the therapeutic effect, as demonstrated in liver fibrosis mice. Such combination therapy can inhibit the activation of HSCs via HIF-1α-mediated TGF-ß1/Smad pathway, achieving outstanding therapeutic effects in liver fibrosis mice. In conclusion, this study proposes a novel strategy for the treatment of liver fibrosis by regulating the hypoxic environment and the expression of HIF-1α at lesion site.

scm6A-seq reveals single-cell landscapes of the dynamic m6A during oocyte maturation and early embryonic development.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) has been demonstrated to regulate RNA metabolism and various biological processes, including gametogenesis and embryogenesis. However, the landscape and function of m6A at single cell resolution have not been extensively studied in mammalian oocytes or during pre-implantation. In this study, we developed a single-cell m6A sequencing (scm6A-seq) method to simultaneously profile the m6A methylome and transcriptome in single oocytes/blastomeres of cleavage-stage embryos. We found that m6A deficiency leads to aberrant RNA clearance and consequent low quality of Mettl3Gdf9 conditional knockout (cKO) oocytes. We further revealed that m6A regulates the translation and stability of modified RNAs in metaphase II (MII) oocytes and during oocyte-to-embryo transition, respectively. Moreover, we observed m6A-dependent asymmetries in the epi-transcriptome between the blastomeres of two-cell embryo. scm6A-seq thus allows in-depth investigation into m6A characteristics and functions, and the findings provide invaluable single-cell resolution resources for delineating the underlying mechanism for gametogenesis and early embryonic development.

Stratifin promotes renal dysfunction in ischemic and nephrotoxic AKI mouse models via enhancing RIPK3-mediated necroptosis.

Stratifin (SFN) is a member of the 14-3-3 family of highly conserved soluble acidic proteins, which regulates a variety of cellular activities such as cell cycle, cell growth and development, cell survival and death, and gene transcription. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is prevalent disorder characterized by inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and programmed cell death in renal tubular epithelial cells, but there is still a lack of effective therapeutic target for AKI. In this study, we investigated the role of SFN in AKI and the underlying mechanisms. We established ischemic and nephrotoxic AKI mouse models caused by ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) and cisplatin, respectively. We conducted proteomic and immunohistochemical analyses and found that SFN expression levels were significantly increased in AKI patients, cisplatin- or I/R-induced AKI mice. In cisplatin- or hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-treated human proximal tubule epithelial cells (HK2), we showed that knockdown of SFN significantly reduced the expression of kidney injury marker Kim-1, attenuated programmed cell death and inflammatory response. Knockdown of SFN also significantly alleviated the decline of renal function and histological damage in cisplatin-caused AKI mice in vivo. We further revealed that SFN bound to RIPK3, a key signaling modulator in necroptosis, to induce necroptosis and the subsequent inflammation in cisplatin- or H/R-treated HK2 cells. Overexpression of SFN increased Kim-1 protein levels in cisplatin-treated MTEC cells, which was suppressed by RIPK3 knockout. Taken together, our results demonstrate that SFN that enhances cisplatin- or I/R-caused programmed cell death and inflammation via interacting with RIPK3 may serve as a promising therapeutic target for AKI treatment.

Differentially expressed genes in head kidney of Pelteobagrus fulvidraco following Vibrio cholerae challenge.

The yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) is a freshwater fish with high economic value in eastern China. Nevertheless, pathogens causing bacterial diseases in P. fulvidraco have brought about huge economic loss and high mortality in artificial aquaculture. For disease control, it is critical to further understand the immune system of yellow catfish and immune-related genes with which they respond to pathogenic infections. In this study, high-throughput sequencing methods were used to analyze the transcriptomic spectrum of the head kidney from P. fulvidraco challenged by Vibrio cholera. A total of 45,544 unique transcript fragments (unigenes) were acquired after assembly and annotation, with an average length of 1,373 bp. Additionally, 674 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified after stimulation with V. cholerae, 353 and 321 genes were identified as remarkably up- or downregulated, respectively. To further study the immune-related DEGs, we performed KEGG enrichment and GO enrichment. The results showed gene regulation of response to stimulus, immune response, immune system progress, response to external stimuli and cellular response to stimuli. Analysis of KEGG enrichment is important to identify chief immune related pathways. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) results indicated 10 immune response genes that were found to be upregulated compared to a control group after 6 h of V. cholerae challenging. In summary, the results of our study are helpful to determine the defense mechanisms and immune system responses of yellow catfish in reaction to bacterial challenges.

MiR-149-5p: An Important miRNA Regulated by Competing Endogenous RNAs in Diverse Human Cancers.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) consist of a large family of small, non-coding RNAs with the ability to result in gene silencing post-transcriptionally. With recent advances in research technology over the past several years, the physiological and pathological potentials of miRNAs have been gradually uncovered. MiR-149-5p, a conserved miRNA, was found to regulate physiological processes, such as inflammatory response, adipogenesis and cell proliferation. Notably, increasing studies indicate miR-149-5p may act as an important regulator in solid tumors, especially cancers in reproductive system and digestive system. It has been acknowledged that miR-149-5p can function as an oncogene or tumor suppressor in different cancers, which is achieved by controlling a variety of genes expression and adjusting downstream signaling pathway. Moreover, the levels of miR-149-5p are influenced by several newly discovered long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs). However, there is blank about systematic function and mechanism of miR-149-5p in human cancers. In this review, we firstly summarize the present comprehension of miR-149-5p at the molecular level, its vital role in tumor initiation and progression, as well as its potential roles in monitoring diverse reproductive and digestive malignancies.

Rutaecarpine derivative Cpd-6c alleviates acute kidney injury by targeting PDE4B, a key enzyme mediating inflammation in cisplatin nephropathy.

Acute kidney injury (AKI), characterized by a rapid decline in renal function, is triggered by an acute inflammatory response that leads to kidney damage. An effective treatment for AKI is lacking. Using in vitro and in vivo AKI models, our laboratory has identified a series of anti-inflammatory molecules and their derivatives. In the current study, we identified the protective role of rutaecarpine (Ru) on renal tubules. We obtained a series of 3-aromatic sulphonamide-substituted Ru derivatives exhibiting enhanced renoprotective and anti-inflammatory function. We identified Compound-6c(Cpd-6c) as having the best activity and examined its protective effect against cisplatin nephropathy both in vivo and in vitro in cisplatin-stimulated tubular epithelial cells (TECs). Our results showed that Cpd-6c restored renal function more effectively than Ru, as evidenced by reduced blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels in mice. Cpd-6c alleviated tubular injury, as shown by PAS staining and molecular analysis of kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), with both prevention and treatment protocols in cisplatin-treated mice. Moreover, Cpd-6c decreased kidney inflammation, oxidative stress and programmed cell death. These results have also been confirmed in cisplatin-treated TECs. Using web-prediction algorithms, molecular docking, and cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA), we identified phosphodiesterase 4B (PDE4B) as a Cpd-6c target. In addition, we firstly found that PDE4B was up-regulated significantly in the serum of AKI patients. After identifying the function of PDE4B in cisplatin-treated tubular epithelial cells by siRNA transfection or PDE4 inhibitor rolipram, we showed that Cpd-6c treatment did not protect against cisplatin-induced injury in PDE4B knockdown TECs, thus indicating that Cpd-6c exerts its renoprotective and anti-oxidative effects via the PDE4B-dependent pathway. Collectively, Cpd-6c might serve as a potential therapeutic agent for AKI and PDE4B may be highly involved in the initiation and progression of AKI.

Characterization of the mitochondrial genomes of two toads, Anaxyrus americanus (Anura: Bufonidae) and Bufotes pewzowi (Anura: Bufonidae), with phylogenetic and selection pressure analyses.

Mitogenomes are useful in analyzing phylogenetic relationships and also appear to influence energy metabolism, thermoregulation and osmoregulation. Much evidence has accumulated for positive selection acting on mitochondrial genes associated with environmental adaptation. Hence, the mitogenome is a likely target for environmental selection. The family Bufonidae (true toads) has only nine complete and four partial mitogenomes published compared to the 610 known species of this family. More mitogenomes are needed in order to obtain a clearer understanding of the phylogenetic relationships within Bufonidae that are currently controversial. To date, no mitogenomes have been reported from the genera Anaxyrus and Bufotes. Anaxyrus americanus can live in low temperature environments and Bufotes pewzowi can live in high salinity environments. We sequenced the mitogenomes of these two species to discuss the phylogenetic relationships within Bufonidae and the selection pressures experienced by specimens living in low temperature or saline environments. Like other toads, the circular mitogenomes of both species contained the typical 37 genes. Anaxyrus americanus had the highest A+T content of the complete mitogenome among the Bufonidae. In addition, A. americanus showed a negative AT-skew in the control region, whereas Bufotes pewzowi showed a positive AT-skew. Additionally, both toad species had unique molecular features in common: an ND1 gene that uses TTG as the start codon, an extra unpaired adenine (A) in the anticodon arm of trnS (AGY), and the loss of the DHU loop in trnC. The monophyly of Bufonidae was corroborated by both BI and ML trees. An analysis of selective pressure based on the 13 protein coding genes was conducted using the EasyCodeML program. In the branch model analysis, we found two branches of A. americanus and Bufotes pewzowi that were under negative selection. Additionally, we found two positively selected sites (at positions 115 and 119, BEB value > 0.90) in the ND6 protein in the site model analysis. The residue D (119) was located only in A. americanus and may be related to adaptive evolution in low temperature environments. However, there was no evidence of a positively selected site in Bufotes pewzowi in this study.

Smad3 promotes AKI sensitivity in diabetic mice via interaction with p53 and induction of NOX4-dependent ROS production.

The incidence and severity of acute kidney injury (AKI) is increased yearly in diabetic patients. Although the mechanisms for this remain unclear, the prevention of AKI in diabetic nephropathy is feasible and of value. As we detected highly activation of TGF-ß/Smad3 signaling in both human biopsy and mouse model of diabetic nephropathy, we hypothesized that Smad3 activation in diabetic kidneys may increase AKI sensitivity. We tested our hypothesis in vitro using TGF-ß type II receptor (TGF-ßRII) disrupted tubular epithelial cells (TECs) and in vivo in mice with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic nephropathy before the induction of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. We found that high glucose (HG)-cultured TECs showed increased inflammation, apoptosis and oxidative stress following hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury. Disruption of TGF-ßRII attenuated cell injury induced by H/R in HG-treated TECs. Consistently, Smad3 knockdown in diabetic kidney attenuated I/R-induced AKI. Mechanistically, Smad3 binds to p53 and enhances p53 activity in cells treated with HG and H/R, which may lead to TECs apoptosis. Additionally, ChIP assay showed that Smad3 bound with the promoter region of NOX4 and induced ROS production and inflammation. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that Smad3 promotes AKI susceptibility in diabetic mice by interacting with p53 and NOX4.

RIPK1 inhibitor Cpd-71 attenuates renal dysfunction in cisplatin-treated mice via attenuating necroptosis, inflammation and oxidative stress.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a destructive clinical condition induced by multiple insults including ischemic reperfusion, nephrotoxic drugs and sepsis. It is characterized by a sudden decline in renal function, in addition to excessive inflammation, oxidative stress and programmed cell death of renal tubular epithelial cells. RIPK1-mediated necroptosis plays an important role in AKI. In the present study, we evaluated the treatment effects of Compound-71 (Cpd-71), a novel RIPK1 inhibitor, by comparing with Necrostatin-1 (Nec-1), a classic RIPK1 inhibitor, which has several drawbacks like the narrow structure-activity relationship (SAR) profile, moderate potency and non-ideal pharmacokinetic properties, in vivo and in vitro Our results showed that pretreatment of Cpd-71 attenuated cisplatin-induced renal injury, restored renal function and suppressed renal inflammation, oxidative stress and cell necroptosis. In addition, Cpd-71 inhibited renal damage while reducing the up-regulated serum creatinine (Cr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels in established AKI mice model. Consistently, we confirmed that Cpd-71 exhibited more effectively suppressive effect on cisplatin-induced renal tubular cell necroptosis than Nec-1, by physically binding to the allosteric type III ligand binding site of RIPK1, thereby reduced RIPK1 kinase activity, RIPK1/RIPK3 complex formation and phosphor-MLKL membrane translocation by molecular docking, Western blot, co-immunoprecipitation and cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA). Taken together, we currently showed that targeting RIPK1 with Cpd-71 may serve as a promising clinical candidate for AKI treatment.

Paricalcitol accelerates BACE1 lysosomal degradation and inhibits calpain-1 dependent neuronal loss in APP/PS1 transgenic mice.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have revealed that vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease, and vitamin D supplementation may be effective strategy to ameliorate the neurodegenerative process in Alzheimer's disease patients. Paricalcitol (PAL), a low-calcemic vitamin D receptor agonist, is clinically used to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism. However, the potential application of PAL for treating neurodegenerative disorders remains unexplored. METHODS: The APP/PS1 mice were intraperitoneally injected with PAL or vehicle every other day for 15 weeks. The ß-amyloid (Aß) production was confirmed using immunostaining and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The underlying mechanism was verified by western blot and immunostaining in vivo and in vitro. FINDINGS: Long-term PAL treatment clearly reduced ß-amyloid (Aß) generation and neuronal loss in APP/PS1 transgenic mouse brains. PAL stimulated the expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) possibly through inhibiting sterol regulatory element binding protein-2 (SREBP2); PAL also promoted LRP1-mediated ß-site APP cleavage enzyme 1 (BACE1) transport to late endosomes, thus increasing the lysosomal degradation of BACE1. Furthermore, PAL diminished 8-hydroxyguanosine (8-OHdG) generation in neuronal mitochondria via enhancing base excision repair (BER), resulting in the attenuation of calpain-1-mediated neuronal loss. INTERPRETATION: The present data demonstrate that PAL can reduce Aß generation through accelerating BACE1 lysosomal degradation and can inhibit neuronal loss through suppressing mitochondrial 8-OHdG generation. Hence, PAL might be a promising agent for treating Alzheimer's disease. FUND: This study was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (U1608282).

The complete mitochondrial genome of the hybrid of Hoplobatrachus chinensis (♀)×H. rugulosus (♂) and its phylogeny.

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the hybrid of Hoplobatrachus chinensis (♀) × H. rugulosus (♂) was obtained in this study. The circular mitochondrial genome was 20,282 bp in length (including extra ND5 genes). Compared with the complete mitogenome of the parents, the results indicated that the mitochondria of the hybrid tiger frog was consistent with a maternal inheritance. Phylogenetic analyses using concatenated nucleotide sequences of the 11 protein-coding genes with two different methods (maximum likelihood and MrBayes analysis) both highly supported a close relationship of the hybrid frogs with the Chinese tiger frog (=H. chinensis).

The complete mitochondrial genome of Fejervarya kawamurai (Anura: Dicroglossidae) and its phylogeny.

The mitochondrial genome of Fejervarya kawamurai is a circular molecule of 17,650 bp in length, containing 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, 23 tRNA genes (including an extra tRNA-Met), and the control region. The AT content of the whole genome is 56.9%. In Bayesian inference (BI) and Maximum likelihood (ML) analyses, we found that F. kawamurai is a sister clade to F. multistriata and F. limnocharis. The monophyly of Fejervarya, Quasipaa, Nanorana was well supported (1.00 in BI and 100% in ML).

Host-Guest Self-Assembly Toward Reversible Thermoresponsive Switching for Bacteria Killing and Detachment.

A facile method to construct reversible thermoresponsive switching for bacteria killing and detachment was currently developed by host-guest self-assembly of ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD) and adamantane (Ad). Ad-terminated poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (Ad-PNIPAM) and Ad-terminated poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride (Ad-PMT) were synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization, and then assembled onto the surface of ß-CD grafted silicon wafer (SW-CD) by simply immersing SW-CD into a mixed solution of Ad-PNIPAM and Ad-PMT, thus forming a thermoresponsive surface (SW-PNIPAM/PMT). Atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), and water contact angle (WCA) analysis were used to characterize the surface of SW-PNIPAM/PMT. The thermoresponsive bacteria killing and detachment switch of the SW-PNIPAM/PMT was investigated against Staphyloccocus aureus. The microbiological experiments confirmed the efficient bacteria killing and detachment switch across the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of PNIPAM. Above the LCST, the Ad-PNIPAM chains on the SW-PNIPAM/PMT surface were collapsed to expose Ad-PMT chains, and then the exposed Ad-PMT would kill the attached bacteria. While below the LCST, the previously collapsed Ad-PNIPAM chains became more hydrophilic and swelled to cover the Ad-PMT chains, leading to the detachment of bacterial debris. Besides, the proposed method to fabricate stimuli-responsive surfaces with reversible switches for bacteria killing and detachment is facile and efficient, which creates a new route to extend the application of such smart surfaces in the fields requiring long-term antimicrobial treatment.