Applications and perspectives of quaternized cellulose, chitin and chitosan: A review.

Recently, increasing attention has been paid to natural polysaccharides for their low cost, biocompatibility and biodegradability. Quaternization is a modification method to improve the solubility and antibacterial ability of natural polysaccharides. Water-soluble derivatives of cellulose, chitin and chitosan offer the prospect of diverse applications in a wide range of fields, such as antibacterial products, drug delivery, wound healing, sewage treatment and ion exchange membranes. By combining the inherent properties of cellulose, chitin and chitosan with the inherent properties of the quaternary ammonium groups, new products with multiple functions and properties can be obtained. In this review, we summarized the research progress in the applications of quaternized cellulose, chitin and chitosan in recent five years. Moreover, ubiquitous challenges and personal perspectives on the further development of this promising field are also discussed.

Short term outcomes of extremely low birth weight infants from a multicenter cohort study in Guangdong of China.

With the increase in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants, their outcome attracted worldwide attention. However, in China, the related studies are rare. The hospitalized records of ELBW infants discharged from twenty-six neonatal intensive care units in Guangdong Province of China during 2008-2017 were analyzed. A total of 2575 ELBW infants were enrolled and the overall survival rate was 55.11%. From 2008 to 2017, the number of ELBW infants increased rapidly from 91 to 466, and the survival rate improved steadily from 41.76% to 62.02%. Increased survival is closely related to birth weight (BW), regional economic development, and specialized hospital. The incidence of complications was neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (85.2%), oxygen dependency at 28 days (63.7%), retinopathy of prematurity (39.3%), intraventricular hemorrhage (29.4%), necrotizing enterocolitis (12.0%), and periventricular leukomalacia (8.0%). Among the 1156 nonsurvivors, 90.0% of infants died during the neonatal period (≤ 28 days). A total of 768 ELBW infants died after treatment withdrawal, for reasons of economic and/or poor outcome. The number of ELBW infants is increasing in Guangdong Province of China, and the overall survival rate is improving steadily.

Clinical treatment outcomes and their changes in extremely preterm twins: a multicenter retrospective study in Guangdong Province, China. / è¶ æœªæˆç†ŸåŒèƒŽå„¿ä¸´åºŠæ•‘æ²»ç»“å±€åŠå˜åŒ–åˆ†æžï¼šä¸€é¡¹å¹¿ä¸œçœå¤šä¸­å¿ƒå›žé¡¾æ€§ç ”ç©¶.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical treatment outcomes and the changes of the outcomes over time in extremely preterm twins in Guangdong Province, China. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for 269 pairs of extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks who were admitted to the department of neonatology in 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province from January 2008 to December 2017. According to the admission time, they were divided into two groups: 2008-2012 and 2013-2017. Besides, each pair of twins was divided into the heavier infant and the lighter infant subgroups according to birth weight. The perinatal data of mothers and hospitalization data of neonates were collected. The survival rate of twins and the incidence rate of complications were compared between the 2008-2012 and 2013-2017 groups. RESULTS: Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of severe asphyxia and smaller head circumference at birth (P<0.05). The mortality rates of both of the twins, the heavier infant of the twins, and the lighter infant of the twins were lower in the 2013-2017 group compared with the 2008-2012 group (P<0.05). Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of pulmonary hemorrhage, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (P-IVH), and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) and a higher incidence rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant increase in the survival rate over time in extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks in the 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province. The incidences of severe asphyxia, pulmonary hemorrhage, PDA, P-IVH, and NRDS decrease in both the heavier and lighter infants of the twins, but the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia increases. With the improvement of diagnosis and treatment, the multidisciplinary collaboration between different fields of fetal medicine including prenatal diagnosis, obstetrics, and neonatology is needed in the future to jointly develop management strategies for twin pregnancy.

Cold atmospheric plasma applications in dermatology: A systematic review.

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) applications can potentially lead to effective therapy for numerous skin diseases. Our aim is to systematically review the available data and map the use of CAP in dermatology. PubMed, Embase and Web of science were explored before 2020 for studies regarding the use of CAP in dermatology. A total of 166 studies were finally included. 74.1% of these studies used indirect CAP sources. Most studies used plasma jet (67.5%). Argon was the mostly used working gas (48.2%). Plasma application itself could be direct (89.2%) and indirect (16.3%). The proportion of studies with in vivo results remained 57.2%, of which most concerned direct plasma treatment (97.9%). Analyses performed indicate that CAP has been beneficial in many skin disorders. While, most CAP applications were focused on wound healing and melanoma treatment. This study provides a brief overview of CAP sources and relative medical applications in dermatology.

Self-Assembled Peptide Functionalized Gold Nanopolyhedrons with Excellent Chiral Optical Properties.

Because of the unique optical properties of gold nanomaterials, the preparation of gold nanomaterials with excellent chirality has received extensive attention. In order to develop a simple fabrication method for three-dimensional chiral Au nanostructures with a size of several hundred nanometers, chiral gold nanoparticles were developed to transfer chirality of a peptide to gold nanoparticles. In this study, the controlled synthesis of asymmetric gold nanopolyhedrons was achieved. The asymmetric gold nanopolyhedrons prepared via peptide-directed growth can exhibit strong circular dichroism (∼±50 mdeg) couplets in the visible range (500-600 nm). Also, the morphology of chiral Au nanododecahedrons-peptide particles showed distorted and asymmetric properties. In order to prove that the size and spatial structure of gold nanopolyhedrons have an influence on their chiral optical properties, Au nanotrioctahedron-peptide particles were prepared by using Au nanotrioctahedrons with different morphologies. Au nanotrioctahedron-peptide particles also exhibited circular dichromatic couplets in the visible region.

Clinical analysis of 84 cases of erythrodermic psoriasis and 121 cases of other types of erythroderma from 2010-2015.

Erythroderma with complicated etiology is one of the severe skin diseases and has high mortality, of which the incidence was 0.5‰-1.5‰ in skin diseases. Erythrodermic psoriasis (EP) is the commonest type of erythroderma. In addition, there are drug-induced erythroderma, erythroderma secondary to preexisting dermatoses, malignancy-related erythroderma, and idiopathic erythroderma of unknown etiology. Erythroderma of different etiologies has various clinical manifestations, resulting in relevant curative effects and outcomes. In this article, we retrospectively investigated 205 erythroderma patients about clinical symptoms, auxiliary examination and treatments, and evaluated the efficacy and prognosis. There were 84 cases of EP among 205 patients, 10 cases of erythroderma caused by specific drugs, 77 cases of erythroderma secondary to preexisting dermatoses (excluding psoriasis), 7 cases of erythroderma patients suffering from malignancy and 27 cases with unknown causes. We concluded that the etiology of male patients in different age groups had significant difference. The incidence of EP was the highest among all types. The EP was commonly accompanied with hypoproteinemia, and changed into psoriasis vulgaris after treatment. Drug-induced erythroderma was commonly accompanied with fever, and mostly cured by systematic steroid therapy. For erythroderma secondary to preexisting dermatoses, the original dermatoses must be actively treated to achieve a satisfying prognosis. Erythroderma with malignancy or unknown causes had long-term duration, poor response to the treatment, and high potential to relapse. Therefore, clarifying the etiology, providing an appropiate and individual regimen, and regular follow-up are crucial for the successful treatment of erythroderma with unknown causes.

Clinical Analysis of 84 Cases of Erythrodermic Psoriasis and 121 Cases of Other Types of Erythroderma from 2010-2015 / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

Erythroderma with complicated etiology is one of the severe skin diseases and has high mortality,of which the incidence was 0.5％-1.5％ in skin diseases.Erythrodermic psoriasis (EP) is the commonest type of erythroderma.In addition,there are drug-induced erythroderma,erythroderma secondary to preexisting dermatoses,malignancy-related erythroderma,and idiopathic erythroderma of unknown etiology.Erythroderma of different etiologies has various clinical manifestations,resulting in relevant curative effects and outcomes.In this article,we retrospectively investigated 205 erythroderma patients about clinical symptoms,auxiliary examination and treatments,and evaluated the efficacy and prognosis.There were 84 cases of EP among 205 patients,10 cases of erythroderma caused by specific drugs,77 cases of erythroderma secondary to preexisting dermatoses (excluding psoriasis),7 cases of erythroderma patients suffering from malignancy and 27 cases with unknown causes.We concluded that the etiology of male patients in different age groups had significant difference.The incidence of EP was the highest among all types.The EP was commonly accompanied with hypoproteinemia,and changed into psoriasis vulgaris after treatment.Drug-induced erythroderma was commonly accompanied with fever,and mostly cured by systematic steroid therapy.For erythroderma secondary to preexisting der matoses,the original dermatoses must be actively treated to achieve a satisfying prognosis.Erythroderma with malignancy or unknown causes had long-term duration,poor response to the treatment,and high potential to relapse.Therefore,clarifying the etiology,providing an appropiate and individual regimen,and regular follow-up are crucial for the successful treatment of erythroderma with unknown causes.

Opacity proteins of neisseria gonorrhoeae in lipooligosaccharide mutants lost ability to interact with neutrophil-restricted CEACAM3 (CD66d).

Lipooligosacharide (LOS) of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonococci, GC) is involved in the interaction of GC with host cells. Deletion of the alpha-oligosaccharide (alpha-OS) moiety of LOS (lgtF mutant) significantly impairs invasion of GC into epithelial cell lines. GC opacity (Opa) proteins, such as OpaI, mediate phagocytosis and stimulate chemiluminescence responses in neutrophils in part through interaction with members of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) family, which includes CEACAM3 (CD66d), a human neutrophil specific receptor for phagocytosis of bacteria. In the present work, we examined the effects of OpaI-expressing lgtF mutant on phagocytosis by HeLa-CEACAM3 cells and chemiluminescence responses in neutrophils. The results showed that lgtF mutant even expressing OpaI completely lost the ability to promote either phagocytosis mediated by CEACAM3 interaction in HeLa cells or chemiluminescence responses in neutrophils. These data indicated that Opa proteins in the lgtF mutant, which might result from the conformational change, cannot be functional.

Lipoxin A4 inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced production of inflammatory cytokines in keratinocytes by up-regulating SOCS2 and down-regulating TRAF6.

Liopxin A4 (LXA4) is considered to be a crucial modulator in the inflammatory responses. In the present study, we aimed to study the effect of LXA4 on the inflammatory cytokines production induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the possible mechanism in normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs). NHEKs were isolated and cultured. The expression of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), LXA4 receptor (ALXR) and aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in NHEKs was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The mRNA and protein levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) were determined in NHEKs stimulated by LPS (10 µg/mL) with or without preincubation with LXA4 (100 nmol/L) for 30 min by real-time quantitative PCR (real-time qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The expression levels of tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) and suppressors of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2) mRNAs and proteins, and nuclear translocation of NF-kB-p65 were measured by real-time qPCR and Western blotting, respectively. The results showed that NHEKs expressed TLR4, ALXR and AhR. LXA4 significantly inhibited the mRNA and protein expression levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß and TRAF6 induced by LPS in NHEKs, and LXA4 obviously increased the expression of SOCS2 at mRNA and protein levels. The nuclear NF-kB-p65 protein expression induced by LPS was inhibited after preincubation with LXA4 in NHEKs. It was concluded that LXA4 inhibits the LPS-induced production of TNF-α and IL-1ß in NHEKs by up-regulating SOCS2 and down-regulating TRAF6.

Lipoxin A4 inhibits proliferation and inflammatory cytokine/chemokine production of human epidermal keratinocytes associated with the ERK1/2 and NF-κB pathways.

BACKGROUND: Current in vitro studies show that lipoxin A4 (LXA4) has multiple biological functions including inhibiting cell proliferation and inflammatory cytokine production. Our previous studies showed LXA4 could inhibit the expression of IL-6 and IL-8 in normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs). However, more specific effects including regulation of cell proliferation and anti-inflammatory mechanisms of LXA4 in NHEKs have not been previously studied. OBJECTIVE: We proposed to investigate the effects of LXA4 on cell proliferation and inflammatory cytokine/chemokine production in NHEKs, and the possible molecular mechanisms of cell cycle and anti-inflammatory signal transduction pathway. METHODS: NHEKs were stimulated with LPS, with or without preincubation with LXA4. Cell proliferation and cell cycle of NHEKs were examined by WST-8, CFSE assay and DNA staining, respectively. The mRNA and protein levels of inflammatory cytokines were quantified by real-time quantitative PCR and ELISA. The expressions of signaling proteins cyclin D1, P16INK4A, ERK1/2 and NF-κB-p65 were analyzed using Western blotting. RESULTS: Cell proliferation and inflammatory cytokine/chemokine production of NHEKs were suppressed by LXA4, which caused G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest in NHEKs. The expression of cyclin D1 was down-regulated by LXA4, contrary to the results of P16INK4A. The ERK1/2 phosphorylation and NF-κB-p65 nuclear translocation of NHEKs were both suppressed by LXA4. CONCLUSION: Cell growth and inflammatory cytokine/chemokine production of NHEKs were inhibited by LXA4, and the inhibitory effects might be associated with the mechanisms of cyclin D1/P16INK4A, ERK1/2 and NF-κB signal transduction pathway.

Analysis of Th1/Th2 response pattern for erythrodermic psoriasis.

As one of the most serious types of psoriasis, pathogenesis of erythrodermic psoriasis (EP) is unclear so far. In this study, we aimed to detect the levels of Th1/Th2 cytokine-associated transcription factors and T-lymphocyte clone in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) derived from EP patients, and gene expression level of T-bet/GATA-3 in skin lesion. The potential role of Th1/Th2 reaction pattern played in the pathogenesis of EP was also discussed. Serum levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10 were quantified by ELISA among 16 EP patients, 20 psoriasis vulgaris (PV) patients and 15 healthy controls. The expression levels of T-bet/GATA-3 in the skin lesion and PBMCs were examined by real-time qPCR. The ratio of Th1/Th2 was measured by flow cytometry. The levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10 were higher in EP patients than in the healthy controls. The levels of IL-4 and IL-10 were 69.44±11.45 and 12.62±4.57 pg/mL, respectively, in EP patients, significantly higher than those in PV patients and healthy controls (P<0.05). Flow cytometry revealed the levels of both Th1 and Th2 in PBMCs from EP patients were higher than those in healthy controls, and the Th1/Th2 ratio was dramatically lower than in PV patients (P<0.01). The ratios of IFN-γ/IL-4 and T-bet/GATA-3 in EP patients were both less than 1.0, suggesting a reversal when compared with the other two groups. Our study indicated that the EP patients exerted a Th1/Th2 bidirectional response pattern, and the balance of Th cell subsets inclines to Th2, which might be one of the important mechanisms of EP pathogenesis.

Silencing endothelin-3 expression attenuates the malignant behaviors of human melanoma cells by regulating SPARC levels.

Endothelin-3 (ET-3) is aberrantly expressed in both metastatic melanoma tissues and cultured melanoma cells. Our previous work showed that ET-3 could promote survival of metastatic melanoma cells via its altered expression. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms responsible for these gene-induced phenotypes in melanoma cells. An ET-3 gene sequence-specific shRNA vector pLVTHM-ET3-RNAi was constructed and transfected into human malignant melanoma cells A375 and MMRU, and the resultant molecular events and cellular changes were examined. As compared with the empty-vector group, cell proliferation was slowed down, and the growth inhibition rates were 38.9% in A375 cells and 38.4% in MMRU cells after transfection. In addition, cell invasion capability was also inhibited, with a reduction of 62.2% in A375 cells and 54.3% in MMRU cells. The percentage of apoptotic cells was found to increase. Meanwhile, in both cell lines, secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) levels were down-regulated together with inhibition of its upstream signaling molecule, NF-κB. Thus, the current results suggested that down-regulated expression of ET3 attenuates the malignant behaviors of human melanoma cells partially by decreasing the expression of SPARC and NF-κB.

IL-36 cytokine expression and its relationship with p38 MAPK and NF-κB pathways in psoriasis vulgaris skin lesions.

This study examined the correlation of the expression of interleukin-36 (IL-36), a novel member of interleukin-1 (IL-1) family, with p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathways in psoriasis vulgaris skin lesions. The expression levels of IL-36α, IL-36ß, IL-36Γ, phosphorylated p38 MAPK, and NF-κBp65 were detected in the skin tissues of 38 psoriasis patients and 17 healthy control subjects by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. The cytokine expression levels were compared between the psoriasis group and the control group. A correlation analysis between cytokine proteins was performed in the psoriasis group. Results showed that the expression levels of IL-36a, IL-36ß, IL-36Γ, phosphorylated p38 MAPK and NF-κBp65 in the psoriasis group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.001). In the psoriasis group, the IL-36 cytokine expression was positively correlated with phosphorylated p38 MAPK and NF-κBp65 expression (P<0.05). A significant positive correlation was also found between the phosphorylated p38 MAPK and NF-κBp65 expression (P<0.01). It was concluded that the increased IL-36 expression is correlated with p38 MAPK and NF-κB pathways in psoriasis vulgaris skin lesions. All the three factors may be jointly involved in the pathogenesis and local inflammatory response of psoriasis.

Predictive impact of common variations in DNA repair genes on clinical outcome of osteosarcoma.

We aimed to assess the role of XPG, XPC and MMS19L polymorphisms on response to chemotherapy in osteosarcomas, and the clinical outcomes. One hundred and eighty five osteosarcoma patients who were histologically confirmed were enrolled in our study between January 2007 and December 2009. Genotyping of XPG, XPC and MMS19L was performed in a 384-well plate format on the MassARRAY® platform. Individuals with XPG TT genotype and T allele were more likely to be better response to chemotherapy than CC genotype, with the OR (95% CI) of 4.17 (1.64-11.54) and 2.66 (1.39-5.11), respectively. Those carrying MMS19L TT genotype and T allele showed better response to chemotherapy, with ORs (95% CI) of 4.8 (1.56-17.7) and 2.3 (1.22-4.36), respectively. Patients carrying TT genotype of XPG and MMS19L showed a significantly longer overall survival than CC genotype, with a 0.47 and 0.30-fold risk of death when compared with the wild-type of the gene. XPG and MMS19L are correlated with response to chemotherapy and prognosis of osteosarcoma, so that they could be used as predictive markers for prognosis.

Intratumoral injection of pEGFC1-IGFBP7 inhibits malignant melanoma growth in C57BL/6J mice by inducing apoptosis and down-regulating VEGF expression.

Malignant melanoma (MM) is a type of aggressive skin cancer, and the effective therapy for MM is highly desired. Recently, genome-wide RNA interference screening study revealed that loss of expression of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 (IGFBP-7) is a critical step in development of MM, and this secreted protein plays a central role in apoptosis of MM. Furthermore, a prostatic carcinoma cell line stably transfected with IGFBP-7 cDNA showed poor tumorigenicity. Thus, we supposed it to be an efficacious agent for inhibiting melanomas. In this study, we constructed pEGFC1-IGFBP7 to try to obtain high expression of IGFPB7 and then we demonstrated that this plasmid inhibited proliferation of B16-F10 melanoma cells efficiently in vitro. Moreover, intratumoral injection of pEGFC1-IGFBP7 inhibited MM growth in C57BL/6J mice. The inhibition of MM growth is due to apoptosis and reduced expression of VEGF induced by pEGFC1-IGFBP7. These results suggest a potential new clinical strategy for MM treatment.

In-vivo transfection of pcDNA3.1-IGFBP7 inhibits melanoma growth in mice through apoptosis induction and VEGF downexpression.

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide RNA interference screening study revealed that loss of expression of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) is a critical step in development of a malignant melanoma (MM), and this secreted protein plays a central role in apoptosis of MM. In this study we constructed pcDNA3.1-IGFBP7 to obtain high expression of IGBPF7 and to inhibit the growth of MM in C57BL/6J mice. METHODS: pcDNA3.1-IGFBP7 was transfected into B16-F10 cell, the expression of IGFBP7 was detected by RT-PCR and western blot. The proliferations and apoptosis rates of transfected and control cells were measured by CCK8 and FCM, respectively. The tumorigenicity and tumor growth in both pcDNA3.1-IGFBP7 group and control groups were studied in C57BL/6J mice model. IGFBP7, caspase-3, and VEGF expressions in tumor tissue were measured by immunohistochemistry. Apoptosis of tumors were detected by TUNEL. RESULTS: We demonstrated this plasmid inhibited proliferation of B16-F10 melanoma cells efficiently in vivo, exploiting the high expression of IGFBP7. More importantly, in-vivo transfection of pcDNA3.1-IGFBP7 inhibited MM growth in C57BL/6J mice. The inhibition of MM growth was proved owing to apoptosis and reduced expression of VEGF induced by pcDNA3.1-IGFBP7. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest a potential new clinical strategy for MM gene treatment.

[Study on the classification of gonococcal island of different genotypes and effects of sac-4 gene on serum resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae].

OBJECTIVE: Using molecular methods to study the relationship between genotypes and serum resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Wuhan area. METHODS: NG-mast and serum bactericidal assays at the molecular level were used to differentiate the 46 strains which were isolated from the outpatients of sexually transmitted disease clinics and the relationship between different genotypes while phenotypes was also studied. RESULTS: 80.43% of the 46 strains contained the island and we were able to define three different combinations of genes in the isolates. Results from serum bactericidal assays showed that all 9 sac-4+ strains did not provide any serum resistance. CONCLUSION: Different isolates carried different gonococcal genetic islands (pathogenicity island) and certain phenotypes. There were no sobious relationship between sac-4 gene and serum resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.