40Ni-Added Poly(polyoxometalate) Assembled by {Ni6GeW9} and {Ni8(GeW9)2} Units: Structure, Magnetic, and Heterogeneous Catalysis Properties.

A novel 40Ni-added germanotungstate, Cs8K14Na3H3{[Ni6(OH)3(H2O)6(B-α-GeW9O34)]2[Ni8(µ6-O)(µ2-OH)2 (µ3-OH)2(H2O)B2O3(OH)2(B-α-GeW9O34)2]}2·84H2O (1), was made by the reaction of the trivacant [A-α-GeW9O34]10- ({GeW9}) precursor with Ni2+ cations and B5O8-, and systematically investigated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and powder X-ray diffraction. Single crystal X-ray analysis indicates that the polyoxoanion of 1 is a novel octamer constructed by {Ni6GeW9} and {Ni8(GeW9)2} structural building units via Ni-O═W linkages. The magnetic behavior shows the existence of overall ferromagnetic interactions among the Ni2+ centers in compound 1. Photocatalytic H2 production studies have implied that 1 can work as a heterogeneous catalyst for hydrogen production with decent robustness and recyclability.

Serum netrin-1 serves as a prognostic biomarker of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Netrin-1 exhibits anti-inflammatory properties. Netrin-1 could alleviate brain injury of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) rat. This study was designed to discern the utility of serum netrin-1 as a biomarker for assessing the severity and prognosis of patients with aneurysmal SAH. METHODS: Netrin-1 concentrations were gauged in serum from 104 patients and 104 controls. Hemorrhagic clinical and radiological severity was assessed utilizing World Federation of Neurological Surgeons (WFNS) score, modified Fisher score, and Hunt Hess score. Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score was recorded at 6 months after SAH. GOS score of 1-3 was considered as a poor outcome. RESULTS: Patients showed substantially lower serum netrin-1 concentrations than controls (median, 237.9 pg/ml; interquartile range, 189.6-271.2 pg/ml vs. median, 815.4 pg/ml; interquartile range, 581.8-990.4 pg/ml). Netrin-1 concentrations were independently correlated with WNFS score, modified Fisher score, Hunt Hess score and serum C-reactive protein concentrations (t = -4.667, -3.792, -4.304 and - 3.549 respectively). Area under ROC curve was 0.837 (95% CI, 0.752-0.902) for predicting 6-month poor prognosis. Serum netrin-1 concentrations <229.3 pg/ml emerged as an independent prognostic predictor (odds ratio, 14.316; 95% confidence interval, 5.032-40.726). CONCLUSIONS: Serum netrin-1 might represent a potential biomarker for reflecting severity, inflammation and prognosis of human aneurysmal SAH.

The NLRP3 Inflammasome: An Important Driver of Neuroinflammation in Hemorrhagic Stroke.

Hemorrhagic stroke is a devastating clinical event with no effective medical treatment. Neuroinflammation, which follows a hemorrhagic stroke, is an important element that involves both acute brain injury and subsequent brain rehabilitation. Therefore, delineating the key inflammatory mediators and deciphering their pathophysiological roles in hemorrhagic strokes is of great importance in the development of novel therapeutic targets for this disease. The NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is a multi-protein complex that is localized within the cytoplasm. This NOD-like receptor orchestrates innate immune responses to pathogenic organisms and cell stress through the activation of caspase-1 and the maturation of the proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) and IL-18. Mounting evidence has demonstrated that when the NLRP3 inflammasome is activated, it exerts harmful effects on brain tissue after a hemorrhagic stroke. This review article summarizes the current knowledge regarding the role and the underlying mechanisms of the NLRP3 inflammasome in the pathophysiological processes of hemorrhagic strokes. A better understanding of the function and regulation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in hemorrhagic strokes will provide clues for devising novel therapeutic strategies to fight this disease.

Expression library immunization to discover and improve vaccine antigens.

Genetic immunization is a novel method for vaccination in which DNA is delivered into the host to drive both cellular and humoral immune responses against its protein product. While genetic immunization can be potent, it requires that one have, in hand, a gene that encodes a protective protein antigen. Therefore, for many diseases, one cannot make a genetic vaccine because no protective antigen is known or no gene for this antigen is available. This lack of candidate antigens and their genes is a considerable bottleneck in developing new vaccines against old infectious agents, new emerging pathogens, and bioweapons. To address this limitation, we developed expression library immunization (ELI) as a high-throughput technology to discover vaccine candidate genes at will, by using the immune system to screen the entire genome of a pathogen for vaccine candidate. To date, ELI has discovered new vaccine candidates from a diverse set of bacterial, fungal, and parasitic pathogens. In addition, the process of applying ELI to the genome of pathogens allows one to genetically re-engineer these antigens to convert immunoevasive pathogen proteins into immunostimulatory vaccine antigens. Therefore, ELI is a potent technology to discover new vaccines and also generate genomic vaccines with amplified, multivalent immunostimulatory capacities.