Orderly Nanodendritic Nickel Substitute for Raney Nickel Catalyst Improving Alkali Water Electrolyzer.

The development of nonprecious metal catalysts to meet the activity-stability balance at industrial-grade large current densities remains a challenge toward practical alkali-water electrolysis. Here, this work develops an orderly nanodendritic nickel (ND-Ni) catalyst that consists of ultrafine nanograins in chain-like conformation, which shows both excellent activity and robust stability for large current density hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media, superior to currently applied Raney nickel (R-Ni) catalyst in commercial alkali-water electrolyzer (AWE). The ND-Ni catalyst featured by a three-dimensional (3D) interconnecting microporous structure endows with high specific surface area and excellent conductivity and hydrophilicity, which together afford superior charge/mass transport favorable to HER kinetics at high current densities. An actual AWE with ND-Ni catalyst demonstrates durable water splitting with 1.0 A cm-2 at 1.71 V under industrial conditions and renders a record-low power consumption of 3.95 kW h Nm-3 with an energy efficiency close to 90%. The hydrogen price per gallon of gasoline equivalent (GGE) is calculated to be ≈$0.95, which is less than the target of $2.0 per GGE by 2026 from the U.S. Department of Energy. The results suggest the feasibility of ND-Ni substitute for R-Ni catalyst in commercial AWE.

Curcumin analog WZ26 induces ROS and cell death via inhibition of STAT3 in cholangiocarcinoma.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is an aggressive biliary epithelial tumor with limited therapeutic options and poor prognosis. Curcumin is a promising active natural compound with several anti-cancer properties, though its clinical uses remain hindered due to its poor bioavailability. We recently synthesized curcumin analogs with multifunctional pharmacological and bioactivities with enhanced bioavailability. Among these novel curcumin analogs, WZ26 is a representative molecule. However, the anti-tumor effect of WZ26 against CCA is unclear. In this study, we evaluated the anti-tumor effect of WZ26 in both CCA cells and CCA xenograft mouse model. The underlying molecular anti-cancer mechanism of WZ26 was also studied. Our results show that WZ26 significantly inhibited cell growth and induced mitochondrial apoptosis in CCA cell lines, leading to significant inhibition of tumor growth in xenograft tumor mouse model. Treatment of WZ26 increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, subsequently decreased mitochondrial membrane potential and inhibited the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), thereby inducing G2/M cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis. Pretreatment of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), an antioxidant agent, could fully reverse the WZ26-induced ROS-mediated changes in CCA cells. Our findings provide experimental evidence that curcumin analog WZ26 could be a potential candidate against CCA via enhancing ROS induction and inhibition of STAT3 activation.

Piperlongumine inhibits migration and proliferation of castration-resistant prostate cancer cells via triggering persistent DNA damage.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is the leading cause of death among men diagnosed with prostate cancer. Piperlongumine (PL) is a novel potential anticancer agent that has been demonstrated to exhibit anticancer efficacy against prostate cancer cells. However, the effects of PL on DNA damage and repair against CRPC have remained unclear. The aim of this study was to further explore the anticancer activity and mechanisms of action of PL against CRPC in terms of DNA damage and repair processes. METHODS: The effect of PL on CRPC was evaluated by MTT assay, long-term cell proliferation, reactive oxygen species assay, western blot assay, flow cytometry assay (annexin V/PI staining), ß-gal staining assay and DAPI staining assay. The capacity of PL to inhibit the invasion and migration of CRPC cells was assessed by scratch-wound assay, cell adhesion assay, transwell assay and immunofluorescence (IF) assay. The effect of PL on DNA damage and repair was determined via IF assay and comet assay. RESULTS: The results showed that PL exhibited stronger anticancer activity against CRPC compared to that of taxol, cisplatin (DDP), doxorubicin (Dox), or 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), with fewer side effects in normal cells. Importantly, PL treatment significantly decreased cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix and inhibited the migration of CRPC cells through affecting the expression and distribution of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), leading to concentration-dependent inhibition of CRPC cell proliferation and concomitantly increased cell death. Moreover, PL treatment triggered persistent DNA damage and provoked strong DNA damage responses in CRPC cells. CONCLUSION: Collectively, our findings demonstrate that PL potently inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of CRPC cells and that these potent anticancer effects were potentially achieved via triggering persistent DNA damage in CRPC cells.

The different biological effects of TMPyP4 and cisplatin in the inflammatory microenvironment of osteosarcoma are attributed to G-quadruplex.

OBJECTIVE: Osteosarcoma (OS) is characterized by high levels of the tumour-associated inflammatory microenvironment. Moreover, in approximately 60% of OS, telomere length is maintained by alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) pathway. Whether the ALT pathway can be exploited for OS therapeutic treatment and how the OS inflammatory microenvironment influences the anti-cancer drug effect remains unknown. Here, we examined the biological effects of TMPyP4 and cisplatin in the inflammatory microenvironment of OS cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Immunofluorescence in situ hybridization (IF-FISH) and C-circle experiments were used to detect the G-quadruplex and ALT activity. The redox potential of single guanine, G-quadruplex and G-quadruplex/TMPyP4 was evaluated by the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy (LUMO), zeta potential and cyclic voltammetry. Cell viability, flow cytometry and apoptosis, Western blot, comet assay, adhesion, transwell and scratch experiments were performed to compare the anti-tumour proliferation and migration effects of TMPyP4 and cisplatin in the inflammatory microenvironment. RESULTS: This study indicated that compared with cisplatin, TMPyP4 could induce the formation of human telomeres and FAK G-quadruplex in vitro and in vivo, and TMPyP4-treated OS cells showed fewer extrachromosomal C-circles and fewer ALT-associated promyelocytic leukaemia bodies. Consequently, the ALT activity and FAK-related cell migration were suppressed by TMPyP4. Mechanistically, the formation of G-quadruplex resulted in both lower redox potential than G within the genome and FAK transcription inhibition, and TMPyP4 could enhance this phenomenon, especially in the inflammatory microenvironment. CONCLUSIONS: Our results reveal that TMPyP4 is more suitable for OS treatment than cisplatin.

[Identification of compound heterozygous mutations of F11 gene in a pedigree affected with heriditary coagulation factor XI deficiency].

OBJECTIVE: To identify potential mutations of F11 gene in a pedigree affected with hereditary coagulation factor XI (FXI) deficiency and explore its molecular pathogenesis. METHODS: Prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen (FIB), coagulation factor VIII activity (FVIIIC), coagulation factor IX activity (FIXC), coagulation factor XI activity (FXIC), coagulation factor XII activity (FXIIC) and lupus anticoagulation (LA) of the proband and eight family members were determined. FXI antigen (FXIAg) was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). For the proband, potential mutations in the exons, flanking introns and 5'-, 3'-untranslated regions of the F11 gene were screened by direct DNA sequencing. The results were confirmed by reverse sequencing. Suspected mutations were detected in other family members. ClustalX-2.1-win and four online bioinformatic tools (PolyPhen-2, PROVEAN, SIFT, and Mutation Taster) were used to study the conservation and possible impact of the mutations. The structure of the mutational sites was processed with Swiss-PdbViewer. RESULTS: The propositus had prolonged APTT (69.6 s), whose FXIC and FXIAg were reduced to 6.0% and 10.7%, respectively. Her mother, elder sister, one younger sister, little brother, daughter and son showed slightly prolonged APTT and moderate FXIC and FXIAg levels. Gene sequencing revealed that the propositus carried a heterozygous nonsense mutation c.738G>A (p.Trp228stop) in exon 7 and a heterozygous mutation c.1556G>C (p.Trp501Ser) in exon 13. Her mother, elder sister and daughter were heterozygous for the p.Trp228stop mutation, while one younger sister and little brother and son were heterozygous for p.Trp501Ser. Her husband and the youngest sister were of the wild type. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that Trp501 was highly conserved among all homologous species. The p.Trp501Ser was predicted to be "probably damaging","deleterious", "affect protein function" and "disease causing" corresponding to PolyPhen-2, PROVEAN, SIFT and Mutation Taster. Model analysis demonstrated that the non-polar Trp501 has two benzene rings, forming a hydrogen bond with Gln512 in the wild type. Once substituted by Ser501, the side chain may form another hydrogen bond with the benzene of His396. This may affect the normal space conformation and stability of FXI protein. CONCLUSION: The compound heterozygous mutations of the F11 gene probably accounted for the low FXI concentration in this pedigree.

[Observation on therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture therapy for promoting consciousness of patients with coma].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the promoting consciousness effect of electroacupuncture therapy on the patients with long-term coma caused by severe craniocerebral trauma. METHODS: Twenty-nine cases with coma more than 3 weeks and Glasgow Coma Scales (GCS) of 8 or less were divided into an observation group (n=15) and a control group (n=14). They were treated with the same western medicine. In addition to ordinary treatment, the observation group was treated with electroacupuncture at Baihui (GV 20), Shuigou (GV 26), Yongquan (KI 1) etc. for 30 min and the needles were retained for 30 min, once each day. RESULTS: The average awake time and awake rate were 40.1 days and 73.3% (11/15) respectively in the observation group, which were higher than 51.8 days and 28.6% (4/14) in the control group. CONCLUSION: Electroacupuncture therapy combine with western medicine is more effective in improving consciousness of patients in coma caused by severe craniocerebral trauma.

Prevalence of abnormity of blood lipid and associated factors in health examination population in Beijing.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of abnormity of blood lipid and associated factors in healthy population in Beijing. METHODS: Totally, 38462 individuals who received health examination were enrolled in our study. We divided them into eight groups according to their ages. The levels of serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol were tested, and the relationship of blood lipid abnormity with body mass index (BMI) and fasting blood glucose was analyzed. RESULTS: The incidences of hypercholesterolemia, hyperglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterolemia, and hyper low-density lipoprotein cholesterolemia presented increasing trend in this population. The incidence rate of abnormity of blood lipid in health examination population increased with BMI increase. The incidence of abnormity of blood lipid in overweight and obesity population was significantly higher than that in low weight and normal weight populations (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the trend of abnormal blood lipid incidence coincided with that of abnormal fasting blood glucose. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of overweight, obesity, and abnormity of blood lipid in Beijing presents increasing trend. The incidence of abnormity of blood lipid increases with BMI increase, in coincidence with that of fasting blood glucose.

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its associations with other metabolic disorders and cardiovascular changes in health examination population in Beijing.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and its associations with other metabolic disorders and cardiovascular changes in health examination population in Beijing. METHODS: Totally, 10,916 individuals who received health examination in Health Examination Center of Peking Union Medical College Hospital were enrolled. The height, weight, blood pressure, serum levels of triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and fasting blood glucose were recorded. MS was diagnosed based on the working criteria of Chinese Diabetes Society 2004 (CDS2004). Meanwhile, other metabolic disorders, including fatty liver and hyperuricemia, were recorded. The cardiovascular changes were reflected by the reports of electrocardiogram (ECG) ST-T changes and atherosclerosis of retinal arteries. RESULTS: The overall prevalence rate of MS was 6.1% (666/10,916) in the population. The prevalence rate of MS in male was much higher than that in female (9.0% vs. 2.7%, P=0.000). For individuals with MS, the prevalence rates of fatty liver and hyperuricemia were significantly higher than those without MS, respectively (70.4% vs. 35.4%, P=0.000; 29.9% vs. 17.7%, P=0.000). As for cardiovascular changes, the prevalence rates of ECG ST-T changes and atherosclerosis of retinal arteries were significantly higher in individuals with MS than those without MS, respectively (13.8% vs. 11.7%, P=0.012; 12.0% vs. 6.8%, P=0.000). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of MS in Beijing population is high. The individuals with MS have a higher risk for other metabolic disorders and cardiovascular changes.