ACP-ESM2: The prediction of anticancer peptides based on pre-trained classifier.

Anticancer peptides (ACPs) are a type of protein molecule that has anti-cancer activity and can inhibit cancer cell growth and survival. Traditional classification approaches for ACPs are expensive and time-consuming. This paper proposes a pre-trained classifier model, ESM2-GRU, for ACP prediction to make it easier to predict ACPs, gain a better understanding of the structural and functional differences of anti-cancer peptides, and optimize the design for the development of more effective anti-cancer treatment strategies. The model is made up of the ESM2 pre-trained model, a bidirectional GRU recurrent neural network, and a fully connected layer. ACP sequences are first fed into the ESM2 model, which then expands the dimensions before feeding the findings back into the bidirectional GRU recurrent neural network. Finally, the fully connected layer generates the ultimate output. Experimental validation demonstrates that the ESM2-GRU model greatly improves classification performance on the benchmark dataset ACP606, with AUC, ACC, and MCC values of 0.975, 0.852, and 0.738, respectively. This exceptional prediction potential helps to identify specific types of anti-cancer peptides, improving their targeting and selectivity and, therefore, furthering the development of tailored medicine and treatments.

Inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase as a therapeutic approach for blood-brain barrier dysfunction.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a protective semi-permeable structure that regulates the exchange of biomolecules between the peripheral blood and the central nervous system (CNS). Due to its specialized tight junctions and low vesicle trafficking, the BBB strictly limits the paracellular passage and transcellular transport of molecules to maintain the physiological condition of brain tissues. BBB breakdown is associated with many CNS disorders. Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) is a hydrolase enzyme that converts epoxy-fatty acids (EpFAs) to their corresponding diols and is involved in the onset and progression of multiple diseases. EpFAs play a protective role in the central nervous system via preventing neuroinflammation, making sEH a potential therapeutic target for CNS diseases. Recent studies showed that sEH inhibition prevented BBB impairment caused by stroke, hemorrhage, traumatic brain injury, hyperglycemia and sepsis via regulating the expression of tight junctions. In this review, the protective actions of sEH inhibition on BBB and potential mechanisms are summarized, and some important questions that remain to be resolved are also addressed.

Unveiling a pH-Responsive Dual-Androgen-Blocking Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Polymer for Enhanced Synergistic Therapy of Prostate Cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy diagnosed in men. Androgens are directly related to its pathogenesis. Inhibition of the androgen receptor (AR) is considered to be the most promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of prostate cancer. In this study, a new type of pH-responsive dual androgen-blocking nanodrug (FASC MIPs) based on a molecularly imprinted polymer has been designed and synthesized. The nanodrug could selectively sequester testosterone from the prostate tumor through specific molecular imprinting sites and simultaneously deliver the AR inhibitory drug bicalutamide, which ultimately leads to enhanced synergistic therapy of prostate cancer. FASC MIPs demonstrate excellent pH responsiveness in a simulated tumor microenvironment due to the presence of chitosan and significantly inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells (LNCaP cells) by blocking the G1 phase of cytokinesis. Additionally, the nanodrug also displayed excellent antitumor properties in a xenograft mouse model of prostate cancer without any sign of detrimental effects on healthy tissues and organs. Both in vitro and in vivo studies verified the augmented and synergistic therapeutic effects of FASC MIPs, and the proposed dual-androgen-blocking strategy could explore novel avenues in prostate cancer treatment.

Exploring salt tolerance and indicator traits across four temperate lineages of the common wetland plant, Phragmites australis.

Common reed (Phragmites australis) is a widely utilized plant for wetland restoration and construction, facing challenges posed by high salinity as a stressor. Among the diverse P. australis lineages, functional traits variation provides a valuable genetic resource for identifying salt-tolerant individuals. However, previous investigations on P. australis salt tolerance have been restricted to regional scales, hindering the identification of key functional traits associated with salt tolerance in natural habitats. To address this gap, we conducted a greenhouse experiment to assess and compare the salt tolerance of four major temperate P. australis lineages worldwide. We utilized the maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) as a health indicator, while final biomass and wilt status served as indicators of salt tolerance across lineages. Our findings revealed significant differentiation in plant functional traits among different lineages, but no significant effect of interaction between salinity and lineage on most traits. Correlation analyses between salt-tolerance indicators and functional traits in the control group indicated that biomass, leaf width, and relative leaf water content are potential predictors of salt tolerance. However, ecological strategies, physiological traits, and latitudinal origin did not exhibit significant correlations with salt tolerance. Our study provides valuable indicator traits for effectively screening salinity-tolerant genotypes of P. australis in field settings, and holds significant potential for enhancing wetland construction and biomass production in marginal lands.

Tricyclic Diester and 2,5-Furandicarboxylic Acid for the Synthesis of Biobased Hydrolysis Copolyesters with High Glass Transition Temperatures.

The reluctance of a polyester with high glass transition temperature (Tg) and mechanical properties to hydrolyze is a well-known fact, for instance, the high hydrolysis resistance of aromatic polyesters based on terephthalic acid and 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). The synthesis of polyesters that have a high Tg (>100 °C) and a fast hydrolytic degradation quality at the same time is a valuable topic. Herein, a renewable rigid diester, N,N'-trans-1,4-cyclohexane-bis(pyrrolidone-4-methyl carboxylate) (CBPC), was obtained via Michael addition. CBPC was copolymerized with FDCA and ethylene glycol to prepare a series of copolyesters PECxEFy with a high Mn over 30 kDa. PECxEFy showed a Tg range of 75.2-109.2 °C which outdistanced the most biobased polyesters. The thermal stability of all PECxEFy remained unchanged with the introduction of CBPC. Moreover, PECxEFy presented superior mechanical performances which were matching or exceeding those of commercial polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polylactic acid (PLA). PECxEFy was stable in air but was able to undergo noticeable hydrolytic degradation, proving their enhanced degradability. And the regulation between CBPC and FDCA composition can be leveraged to adjust the degradation and environmental durability of PECxEFy, up to practical applications. Computational studies systematically revealed the relationship between CBPC with a tricyclic structure and the improved Tg and hydrolyzation properties. The outstanding thermal and mechanical performances and hydrolysis of these copolyesters appear to be promising candidates for renewable alternatives to industrial petrochemical polyesters.

Physiological responses of Quercus acutissima and Quercus rubra seedlings to drought and defoliation treatments.

Ongoing global climate change is increasing the risk of drought stress in some areas, which may compromise forest health. Such drought events also increase outbreaks of insect herbivores, resulting in plant defoliation. Interactions between drought and defoliation are poorly understood. In a greenhouse experiment, we selected a native species, Quercus acutissima Carr. and an alien species, Quercus rubra L. to explore their physiological responses to drought and defoliation treatments. After the treatments, we determined the seedlings' physiological responses on Days 10 and 60. Our results showed that the defoliation treatment accelerated the carbon reserve consumption of plants under drought stress and inhibited the growth of both seedling types. Under the drought condition, Q. rubra maintained normal stem-specific hydraulic conductivity and normal growth parameters during the early stage of stress, whereas Q. acutissima used less water and grew more slowly during the experiment. Sixty days after defoliation treatment, the stem starch concentration of Q. acutissima was higher than that of the control group, but the stem biomass was lower. This indicates that Q. acutissima adopted a 'slow strategy' after stress, and more resources were used for storage rather than growth, which was conducive to the ability of these seedlings to resist recurrent biotic attack. Thus, Q. acutissima may be more tolerant to drought and defoliation than Q. rubra. The resource acquisition strategies of Quercus in this study suggest that the native Quercus species may be more successful at a long-term resource-poor site than the alien Quercus species.

Spatially-directed magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers with good anti-interference for simultaneous enrichment and detection of dual disease-related bio-indicators.

As the changes of biomarkers directly reflect the occurrence of degenerative diseases, accurate detection of biomarkers is of great significance for disease diagnosis and control. However, single index detection has high uncertainties to accurately reflect the pathological characteristics because of the complexity of the human internal environment and the extremely trace concentration of indicators. To this end, a method for simultaneous detection of dual-biomarkers based on anti-interference magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (D-mag-MIPs) is thereby proposed, and successfully applied in human urine analysis for the detection of Parkinson's disease bio-indicators 4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and dopamine (DA). In this work, carboxyl functionalized ferric oxide served as a magnetic core, laying a solid foundation for batch detection. Hyperbranched polyethylenimine, whose abundant amino groups can provide multiple interaction forces to templates with high affinity, is employed as a functional monomer. Relative to single-template MIPs, D-mag-MIPs achieve the detection of dual bio-indicators in a one-time test, reducing the false positive result probability and enhancing the detection accuracy. The proposed methodology has been evaluated to exhibit good anti-interference, satisfactory precision, low detection limits, wide linear ranges and fast batch detection for DA and DOPAC. This work thus offers an alternative and efficient pathway for convenient batch detection of dual bio-indicators from biofluids at once.

Conjugated polymer nanoparticles and their nanohybrids as smart photoluminescent and photoresponsive material for biosensing, imaging, and theranostics.

The emergence of conjugated polymers (CPs) has provided a pathway to attain smart multifunctional conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNs) with enhanced properties and diverse applications. CPNs based on π-extended CPs exhibit high fluorescence brightness, low cytotoxicity, excellent photostability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation ability, high photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE), etc. which endorse them as an excellent theranostic tool. Furthermore, the unique light-harvesting and energy transfer properties of CPNs enables their transformation into smart functional nanohybrids with augmented performance. Owing to such numerous features, simple preparation method and an easy separation process, the CPNs and their hybrids have been constantly rising as a frontrunner in the domain of medicine and much work has been done in the respective research area. This review summarizes the recent progress that has been made in the field of CPNs for biological and biomedical applications with special emphasis on biosensing, imaging, and theranostics. Following an introduction into the field, a first large section provides overview of the conventional as well as recently established synthetic methods for various types of CPNs. Then, the CPNs-based fluorometric assays for biomolecules based on different detection strategies have been described. Later on, examples of CPNs-based probes for imaging, both in vitro and in vivo using cancer cells and animal models have been explored. The next section highlighted the vital theranostic applications of CPNs and corresponding nanohybrids, mainly via imaging-guided photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT) and drug delivery. The last section summarizes the current challenges and gives an outlook on the potential future trends on CPNs as advanced healthcare material.

Fabrication of metal coordination-synergistic magnetic imprinted microspheres based on ligand-free Fe3O4-Cu for specific recognition of bovine hemoglobin.

In this work, a synergistic imprinting strategy combined with metal coordination based on ligand-free Fe3O4-Cu was proposed to fabricate molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the recognition and isolation of bovine hemoglobin (BHb) specifically in biological samples. Copper doped magnetic microspheres prepared solvothermally in a one-pot pathway act as both magnetic core and metal affinity substrate. Upon anchoring BHb to Fe3O4-Cu through metal coordination, the imprinted layer was formed via dopamine self-polymerization. Profiting from the synergistic effect, the obtained imprinted microspheres exhibited an enhanced adsorption performance with the adsorption capacity of 400.86 mg g-1, imprinting factor of 11.88, selectivity coefficient above 5.8, superior to most of other reported BHb-MIPs. Furthermore, kinetic adsorption analyses pointed to a chemisorption-limited process as described by the pseudo-second-order model, and the isothermal adsorption analyses implied monolayer adsorption, as described by the Langmuir model. In addition, the resultant magnetic MIPs can be used at least six adsorption-desorption cycles without re-incubation in the metallic salt solution, avoiding secondary environmental pollution. Furthermore, the well-defined materials showed selectivity both in individual protein samples and bovine serum, providing a promising potential in bioseparation.

Plant Size Plays an Important Role in Plant Responses to Low Water Availability and Defoliation in Two Woody Leguminosae Species.

Plant size influences plant responses to combined environmental factors under climate change. However, their roles in plant ecophysiological responses are not fully understood. Two rapidly growing Leguminosae species (Robinia pseudoacacia and Amorpha fruticosa) were used to examine plant responses to combined drought and defoliation treatments (two levels of both treatments). Both 1.5 month-old seedlings and 3 month-old seedlings were grown in a greenhouse, and seedling growth, leaf gas exchanges, stem hydraulics, and concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates were determined after 60 days of treatment. Our results indicated defoliation had no significant effect on plant height, basal diameter, and total biomass whatever plant sizes and species. Under the low water availability treatment, the defoliated seedlings significantly increased by 24% in stem water potential compared with non-defoliated seedlings in large R. pseudoacacia. Compared with the high water availability in large non-defoliated R. pseudoacacia seedlings, the low water availability significantly reduced by 26% in stem starch concentration to maintain the stem soluble sugar concentration stable, but not in small R. pseudoacacia seedlings. We also found a negative correlation between leaf and root soluble sugar concentration under low water availability in A. fruticosa. The results demonstrate defoliation could relieve the effect of low water availability in large seedlings. Large seedlings had more compensatory mechanisms in response to defoliation and drought treatments than small seedlings, thus species with large carbon reserves are more recommended for vegetation restoration under combined drought and defoliation conditions. Future studies with more species are crucial for obtaining more rigorous conclusions.

Novel bayberry-and-honeycomb-like magnetic surface molecularly imprinted polymers for the selective enrichment of rutin from Sophora japonica.

Rutin (RT), a widely distributed natural flavonoid compound, has been generally utilized as an important active ingredient owing to its considerable biomedical and economic value. Inspired by the structure features of densely-packed bayberry and well-orientated honeycomb, a novel type of magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (HB-TI-MMIPs) with abundant high-affinity and uniformly-distributed binding sites was rationally constructed for the selective enrichment of RT from Sophora japonica. The polymerization conditions, physicochemical properties, and adsorption performance of the imprinted nanomaterials were systematically investigated. The optimized HB-TI-MMIPs display a high adsorption capacity, fast adsorption rate, and satisfactory selectivity towards RT. Meanwhile, the proposed analytical methodology using HPLC, with HB-TI-MMIPs as adsorbents, successfully applied to enrich and detect RT from Sophora japonica with high recoveries (87.2-94.6%) and good RSDs (lower than 4.3%). Therefore, the fabricated HB-TI-MMIPs with a fast magnetic responsivity and desirable adsorption performance would be attractive in plant active ingredients extraction fields.

Quantifying Key Points of Hydraulic Vulnerability Curves From Drought-Rewatering Experiment Using Differential Method.

Precise and accurate estimation of key hydraulic points of plants is conducive to mastering the hydraulic status of plants under drought stress. This is crucial to grasping the hydraulic status before the dieback period to predict and prevent forest mortality. We tested three key points and compared the experimental results to the calculated results by applying two methods. Saplings (n = 180) of Robinia pseudoacacia L. were separated into nine treatments according to the duration of the drought and rewatering. We established the hydraulic vulnerability curve and measured the stem water potential and loss of conductivity to determine the key points. We then compared the differences between the calculated [differential method (DM) and traditional method (TM)] and experimental results to identify the validity of the calculation method. From the drought-rewatering experiment, the calculated results from the DM can be an accurate estimation of the experimental results, whereas the TM overestimated them. Our results defined the hydraulic status of each period of plants. By combining the experimental and calculated results, we divided the hydraulic vulnerability curve into four parts. This will generate more comprehensive and accurate methods for future research.

Magnetic imprinted nanoparticles with synergistic tailoring of covalent and non-covalent interactions for purification and detection of procyanidin B2.

A synergistic imprinting strategy of covalent and non-covalent interactions is proposed to prepare magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (DI-MMIPs) for highly selective separation of procyanidin B2 (PC) from grape seed samples. Dopamine and 3-amino-phenylboronic acid as cooperative functional monomers endow the imprinted sites with synergistic tailoring. Benefiting from the synergistic effect, the DI-MMIPs exhibit enhanced imprinting performance with high adsorption capacity (27.71 mg g-1), fast kinetic equilibrium time (within 30 min), outstanding selectivity (IF = 5.8, SC > 3.2), and satisfactory regeneration ability. In addition, the DI-MMIPs possess good magnetism, uniform morphology with typical core-shell structure, and stable crystallization. Furthermore, the established DI-MMIPs coupled with HPLC-UV (~ 280 nm) method has a wide linearity range of 0.05-200 µg mL-1 with correlation coefficient of 0.9997, high recoveries (> 93.1%) with RSDs from 2.9 to 5.5%, and low LOD (0.0008 µg mL-1). Consequently, this work provides an effective and easily tailored way to fabricate magnetic imprinted nanomaterials with both rapid recognition rate and high selectivity and thus holds great promise to realize the extraction and detection of PC from real samples.

The river shapes the genetic diversity of common reed in the Yellow River Delta via hydrochory dispersal and habitat selection.

Understanding the driving mechanisms of local genetic diversity is a fundamental challenge under the global environmental changes. Rivers provide an excellent study system to demonstrate the effects of hydrochory dispersal and habitat selection on genetic diversity of riparian flora. In this study, we focused on the genetic variation of common reed (Phragmites australis) in the Yellow River Delta, China. Firstly, samples were collected in the Yellow River Delta, its neighboring wetland and its upstream plain. The genetic variation of P. australis was investigated using two chloroplast DNA fragments and eleven nuclear microsatellites. The findings showed that the genetic variation of P. australis in the Yellow River Delta belonged to two distinct lineages (haplotype O and haplotype P), which were similar to the upstream, and to the neighboring populations, respectively. Moreover, the genetic results suggested the potential dispersal of haplotype O from upstream to downstream. Secondly, we surveyed the plant functional traits of common reed from the Yellow River Delta in the field and in the common garden. The results showed significant differences between riverine and non-riverine populations in plant functional traits (e.g. specific leaf area and leaf length), haplotype composition and genetic clustering, which implied natural selection by habitat conditions. Lastly, we re-analyzed the plant performance data from a salt manipulation experiment with different haplotypes, and the results supported that salinity is a significant selective stressor on P. australis lineages in the Yellow River Delta. Our study highlights the significance of hydrochory dispersal and habitat selection in the river effects on genetic diversity of riparian flora, and provides important information for biodiversity conservation and wetland management in the Yellow River Delta.

Defoliation Significantly Suppressed Plant Growth Under Low Light Conditions in Two Leguminosae Species.

Seedlings in regenerating layer are frequently attacked by herbivorous insects, while the combined effects of defoliation and shading are not fully understood. In the present study, two Leguminosae species (Robinia pseudoacacia and Amorpha fruticosa) were selected to study their responses to combined light and defoliation treatments. In a greenhouse experiment, light treatments (L+, 88% vs L-, 8% full sunlight) and defoliation treatments (CK, without defoliation vs DE, defoliation 50% of the upper crown) were applied at the same time. The seedlings' physiological and growth traits were determined at 1, 10, 30, and 70 days after the combined treatment. Our results showed that the effects of defoliation on growth and carbon allocation under high light treatments in both species were mainly concentrated in the early stage (days 1-10). R. pseudoacacia can achieve growth recovery within 10 days after defoliation, while A. fruticosa needs 30 days. Seedlings increased SLA and total chlorophyll concentration to improve light capture efficiency under low light treatments in both species, at the expense of reduced leaf thickness and leaf lignin concentration. The negative effects of defoliation treatment on plant growth and non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) concentration in low light treatment were significantly higher than that in high light treatment after recovery for 70 days in R. pseudoacacia, suggesting sufficient production of carbohydrate would be crucial for seedling growth after defoliation. Plant growth was more sensitive to defoliation and low light stress than photosynthesis, resulting in NSCs accumulating during the early period of treatment. These results illustrated that although seedlings could adjust their resource allocation strategy and carbon dynamics in response to combined defoliation and light treatments, individuals grown in low light conditions will be more suppressed by defoliation. Our results indicate that we should pay more attention to understory seedlings' regeneration under the pressure of herbivorous insects.

Is there evidence of local adaptation of Phragmites australis to water level gradients and fluctuation frequencies?

Greater differences in hydrologic conditions are expected between coastal and inland wetlands with global climate change. Local adaptation has been considered as a significant driver of intraspecific differentiation in heterogeneous habitats. The common reed Phragmites australis is a cosmopolitan wetland species with high genetic variability and adaptability. In our study, reeds collected from coastal and inland wetlands were subjected to three stable water level gradients and two fluctuation frequencies in a common garden experiment. We measured their aboveground and belowground biomass, height, density, stem diameter, leaf water potential, specific leaf area, and photosynthetic parameters. Our results showed that P. australis exhibited high tolerance to stable and fluctuating water levels up to 30 cm depth. Increased shoot elongation rate and water-use efficiency promoted the establishment of P. australis in flooding habitats. The common reeds in the high-frequency water level fluctuation had a shorter shoot height and a lower shoot density than those in the low-frequency one. The coastal populations performed better under high (30 cm) and low (0 cm) water levels than the inland populations, which preferred shallow water (15 cm). The adaptation strategies of coastal and inland reeds to fluctuation frequencies were no different. We concluded that local adaptation might occur in P. australis populations due to different water levels rather than fluctuation frequency in coastal and inland wetlands. Our findings could provide a theoretical basis on the effects of flooding on intraspecific variation of wetland plants in future environmental change scene.

Weak Tradeoff and Strong Segmentation Among Plant Hydraulic Traits During Seasonal Variation in Four Woody Species.

Plants may maintain long-term xylem function via efficiency-safety tradeoff and segmentation. Most studies focus on the growing season and community level. We studied species with different efficiency-safety tradeoff strategies, Quercus acutissima, Robinia pseudoacacia, Vitex negundo var. heterophylla, and Rhus typhina, to determine the seasonality of this mechanism. We separated their branches into perennial shoots and terminal twigs and monitored their midday water potential (Ψmd), relative water content (RWC), stem-specific hydraulic conductivity (Ks), loss of 12, 50, and 88% of maximum efficiency (i.e., P12, P50, P88) for 2 years. There were no correlations between water relations (Ψmd, RWC, Ks) and embolism resistance traits (P12, P50, P88) but they significantly differed between the perennial shoots and terminal twigs. All species had weak annual hydraulic efficiency-safety tradeoff but strong segmentation between the perennial shoots and the terminal twigs. R. pseudoacacia used a high-efficiency, low-safety strategy, whereas R. typhina used a high-safety, low-efficiency strategy. Q. acutissima and V. negundo var. heterophylla alternated these strategies. This mechanism provides a potential basis for habitat partitioning and niche divergence in the changing warm temperate zone environment.

TRPV1 acts as a Tumor Suppressor and is associated with Immune Cell Infiltration in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: evidence from integrated analysis.

Differential expression of TRPV1 has been detected in many cancer types, including clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). However, the clinical significance of TRPV1 expression profile in ccRCC has not been comprehensively elucidated. In this study, TRPV1 expression in ccRCC and other cancer types was analyzed based on data from the GEO and Oncomine databases. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was performed for further validation in human ccRCC tissue chips. Survival and correlation analyses of TRPV1 were conducted using Kaplan-Meier Plotter (KM-Plotter) and the Tumor IMmune Estimation Resource (TIMER) database. TRPV1 exhibited a low expression profile in 2 GEO datasets (GSE6344, GSE36895) and 4 Oncomine datasets (Gumz, Lenburg, Beroukhim 1 and Beroukhim 2), as also confirmed by IHC staining. Survival analysis indicated that high enrichment of TRPV1 significantly predicted a better overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of 1, 3, 5 and 10 years in ccRCC patients. TIMER analysis showed that TRPV1 copy number alterations (CNA) were closely related to immune cell infiltration. The detailed results indicated that TRPV1 expression was positively correlated with the infiltration level of CD4+ T cells, but negatively correlated with B cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells infiltration. In addition, TRPV1 might also be inversely related to abundance of the regulatory T cells (Treg) and the M2 subset of macrophages. Finally, we found that TRPV1 expression was tightly associated with several key molecules of the classical pathways in ccRCC, such as VHL, TP53, HIF1A, MTOR, MAPK1, MET, CTNNB1, etc. Our research work suggests that TRPV1 is a novel tumor suppressor and prognosis marker for ccRCC and is of great value for further exploration.

Hydrophilic magnetic molecularly imprinted nanobeads for efficient enrichment and high performance liquid chromatographic detection of 17beta-estradiol in environmental water samples.

Novel magnetic molecularly imprinted nanobeads for 17ß-estradiol (E2), namely, E2-MMINs, were synthesized by molecularly imprinted polymers on the surface of magnetic nanobeads in aqueous solvents. The hydrophilic nanobeads were set up by adopting carboxyl group-functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles as carriers, E2 as template molecule, and dopamine as functional monomer. The synthesized E2-MMINs were investigated in different aspects including synthesis conditions, physical and chemical properties, and adsorption conditions. The experimental results show that the E2-MMINs present not only thin imprinting layers, stable crystal form, and fast magnetic separation ability, but also rapid kinetics (20 min), high binding amount (41.48 mg g-1), satisfactory specificity (imprinting factor = 8.07), and favorable reusability (adsorption efficiency > 94.8% after reusing for 10 times). Moreover, the method employing E2-MMINs combined with high performance liquid chromatography for the specific enrichment and determination of trace E2 has been developed with the low LOD (0.008 µg L-1), and the application in environmental water samples has been proved. This work demonstrates that the proposed synthetic strategy is highly promising to the synthesis of hydrophilic nanobeads for efficient enrichment and detection of target molecule E2.

Bioinformatics analysis of key genes and pathways in Hashimoto thyroiditis tissues.

Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) is one of the most common autoimmune diseases, and the incidence of HT continues to increase. Long-term, uncontrollable HT results in thyroid dysfunction and even increases carcinogenesis risks. Since the origin and development of HT involve many complex immune processes, there is no effective therapy for HT on a pathogenesis level. Although bioinformatics analysis has been utilized to seek key genes and pathways of thyroid cancer, only a few bioinformatics studies that focus on HT pathogenesis and mechanisms have been reported. In the present study, the Gene Expression Omnibus dataset (GSE29315) containing 6 HT and 8 thyroid physiological hyperplasia samples was downloaded, and differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis, Gene Ontology analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis, protein-protein interaction analysis, and gene set enrichment analysis were performed. In total, 85 DEGs, containing 76 up-regulated and 9 down-regulated DEGS, were identified. The DEGs were mainly enriched in immune and inflammatory response, and the signaling pathways were involved in cytokine interaction and cytotoxicity. Moreover, ten hub genes were identified, and IFN-γ, IFN-α, IL6/JAK/STAT3, and inflammatory pathways may promote the origin and progression of HT. The present study indicated that exploring DEGs and pathways by bioinformatics analysis has important significance in understanding the molecular mechanisms of HT and providing potential targets for the prevention and treatment of HT.