Central innate immunization induces tolerance against post-traumatic stress disorder-like behavior and neuroinflammatory responses in male mice.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe psychiatric disorder associated with abnormally elevated neuroinflammatory responses. Suppression of neuroinflammation is considered to be effective in ameliorating PTSD-like behaviors in rodents. Since pre-stimulation of microglia prior to stress exposure can prevent neuroinflammation, we hypothesized that pre-stimulation of microglia may prevent PTSD in animals. The results show that a single injection of a classical immune stimulant, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), at 50, 100 or 500, but not 10 µg/kg, one day before stress exposure, prevented the anxiety- and fear-like behaviors induced by modified single prolonged stress (mSPS). The time-dependent analysis shows that a single injection of LPS (100 µg/kg) either one or five, but not ten, days before stress prevented mSPS-induced anxiety- and fear-like behaviors. A second low-dose LPS injection 10 days after the first injection or a repeated LPS injection (4 × ) 10 days before stress induced tolerance to mSPS. Mechanistic studies show that a single injection of LPS one day before stress stimulation prevented mSPS-induced increases in levels of interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and IL-6 mRNA in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex. Inhibition of microglia by pretreatment with minocycline or depletion of microglia by PLX3397 abolished the preventive effect of low-dose LPS pre-injection on mSPS-induced anxiety- and fear-like behavior and neuroinflammatory responses. These results suggest that pre-stimulation of microglia may prevent the development of PTSD-like behaviors by attenuating the development of neuroinflammatory responses. This could help to develop new strategies to prevent the damaging effects of harmful stress on the brain.

CO2/H2 Separation by Synergistic Enhanced Hydrate Method with SDS and R134a.

The synergistic effect of thermodynamic promoter tetrafluoroethane (R134a) and kinetic promoter sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) can significantly improve the phase equilibrium conditions required for CO2 hydrate formation and promote rapid generation of CO2 hydrate. Based on this, this study investigates the influence of SDS and R134a synergy on the separation of CO2/H2 mixed gas using the hydrate method. The research reveals that without SDS addition, R134a hydrate forms first at the gas-liquid interface before CO2 hydrate induction, hindering gas-liquid exchange. The addition of SDS can inhibit the formation of the hydrate film, enhance the initiator effect of R134a in the CO2 hydrate formation process, accelerate the nucleation of CO2 hydrate, and thus synergistically strengthen the separation of CO2/H2 mixed gases. Hydrate formation can be achieved at a concentration of 100 ppm of SDS solution, and the synergistic growth effect of R134a and CO2 hydrate becomes more significant with increasing SDS concentration. Optimal separation efficiency and maximum H2 concentration are achieved at 500 ppm of SDS, with 42.29 and 54.88% separation efficiency and H2 concentration, respectively. Decreasing the initial charge temperature has little impact on separation efficiency but significantly reduces the induction time, reducing it to 3 min at 12 °C. This study improved the separation efficiency of CO2 and H2 mixed gas, providing a better reference for hydrogen purification by the hydrate method.

Apoptosis-induced decline in hippocampal microglia mediates the development of depression-like behaviors in adult mice triggered by unpredictable stress during adolescence.

Depression triggered by harmful stress during adolescence is a common problem that can affect mental health. To date, the mechanisms underlying this type of depression remain unclear. One mechanism for the promotion of depression by chronic stress in adulthood is the loss of hippocampal microglia. Since deleterious stress in adolescence also activates microglia, we investigated the dynamic changes of microglia in the hippocampus in mice exposed to chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) in adolescence. Our results showed that 12 days of CUS stimulation in adolescence induced typical depression-like behaviors in adult mice, which were accompanied by a significant decrease and dystrophy of microglia in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. Further analysis showed that this decrease in microglia was mediated by the initial response of microglia to unpredictable stress in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and their subsequent apoptosis. Blocking the initial response of microglia to unpredictable stress by pretreatment with minocycline was able to prevent apoptosis and microglial decline as well as the development of depression-like behaviors in adult mice induced by adolescent CUS. Moreover, administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or macrophage-colony stimulatory factor (M-CSF), two drugs that reversed microglia decline in the dentate gyrus, ameliorated the depression-like behaviors induced by CUS stimulation in adolescence. These findings reveal a novel mechanism for the development of depression-like behaviors in animals triggered by deleterious stress in adolescence and suggest that reversing microglial decline in the hippocampus may be a hopeful strategy for the treatment of depression triggered by deleterious stress in adolescence.

PITPNA-AS1 Inhibits Cell Proliferation and Migration in Ovarian Cancer by Regulating the MIR-223-3p/RHOB Axis.

Background: Ovarian cancer is a fatal gynecologic malignancy. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) has been verified to serve as key regulator in ovarian cancer tumorigenesis. Objective: The aim of the study was to study the functions and mechanism of lncRNA PITPNA-AS1 in ovarian cancer cellular process. Methods: Clinical ovarian cancer samples were collected and stored at an academic medical center. Cellular fractionation assays and fluorescence in situ hybridization were conducted to locate PITPNA-AS1 in OC cells. TUNEL staining, colony-forming assays, and Transwell assays were performed for evaluating cell apoptosis as well as proliferative and migratory abilities. Western blot was conducted for quantifying protein levels of epithelialmesenchymal transition markers. The binding relation between genes was verified by RNA pulldown, RNA immunoprecipitation, and luciferase reporter assays. Gene expression levels in ovarian cancer tissues and cells were subjected to RT-qPCR. Results: PITPNA-AS1 level was downregulated in ovarian cancer samples and cells. PITPNA-AS1 overexpression contributed to the accelerated ovarian cancer cell apoptosis and inhibited cell migration, proliferation, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition process. In addition, PITPNA-AS1 interacted with miR-223-3p to regulate RHOB. RHOB knockdown partially counteracted the repressive impact of PITPNA-AS1 on ovarian cancer cell activities. Conclusion: PITPNA-AS1 inhibited ovarian cancer cellular behaviors by targeting miR-223-3p and regulating RHOB.

Treatment of landfill leachate by black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.) larvae and the changes of intestinal microbial community.

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) (Hermetia illucens) are commonly used to treat organic waste. This work aims to evaluate the transformation effect, heavy metal migration, and alterations in the gut microbiota of BSFL in addition to treating landfill leachate (LL) with BSFL. We found that BSFL may grow in various landfill leachate concentrations without obvious toxicity and growth inhibition. In addition, the results indicated a significant increase in the content of ammonia nitrogen and the activity of urease and ß-glucosidase (ß-GC) in LL, increased from 2570.17 mg/L to 5853.67 mg/L, 1859.17 mg/(g·d) to 517,177.98 mg/(g·d), 313.73 µg/(g·h) to 441.91 µg/(g·h) respectively. Conversely, the content of total nitrogen (TN) and total organic carbon (TOC) decreased in LL, decreasing by 31.24% and 29.45% respectively. Heavy metals are accumulated in the leachate by the BSFL to differing degrees, the descending sequence of accumulation is Cd > As > Cu > Cr. As dropped by 26.0%, Cd increased by 22.6%, Cu reduced by 5.23%, and Cr increased by 317.1% in the remaining matrix. The concentration of heavy metals satisfies the organic fertilizers' limit index (NY/T1978). The diversity of intestinal microorganisms in BSFL decreased, from 2819 OTUs to 2338 OTUs, with Providencia and Morganella emerging as the core flora. The gene abundance of nitrogen metabolism in the microbiota increased significantly. The TOC, ß-GC, and Copper (Cu) content in BSFL correlated significantly with the gut microbiota. In Summary, this study revealed the treatment effect of BSFL on LL, the migration of heavy metals, and changes in the intestinal microorganisms of BSFL. The content of heavy metals in BSFL was found to be much lower than the upper limit of feed protein raw materials, demonstrating that BSFL is a sustainable method to treat LL.

Fabrication of multifunctional facial masks from phenolic acid grafted chitosan/collagen peptides via aqueous electrospinning.

Facial masks have become ubiquitous in our daily life to endow skin enough moisture and activated nutrition through mask nonwovens infused with skincare ingredients. However, the active nutrients in wet masks are prone to deterioration and deactivation. Herein, a novel multifunctional nanofiber dry mask was successfully prepared using aqueous-electrospun phenolic acid grafted chitosan/collagen peptides. When used, the functional nanofibers in the mask dissolve through spraying moisture, activating active ingredients in response to water and providing in-situ free radical scavenging, moisturizing and antibacterial effects to the skin. In this work, a series of gallic acid (GA), caffeic acid (CA), and protocatechuic acid (PA) have been studied to be grafted with chitosan to improve water solubility of chitosan (CS). Also, through aqueous electrospinning of phenolic acid-grafted chitosan/collagen peptides, a one-step green multifunctional nanofiber mask was obtained. The results showed that the mask had a 12.14 % moisturizing rate and a 94.09 % activity for removing free radicals from the skin after encountering moisture. Considering its high efficiency, controllable function release, and easy processability, the nanofiber multifunctional mask may provide a competitive alternative to facial masks and promote potential value-added applications of bio-based macro-molecules.

Handling the Challenges of Small-Scale Labeled Data and Class Imbalances in Classifying the N and K Statuses of Rubber Leaves Using Hyperspectroscopy Techniques.

The nutritional status of rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) is inseparable from the production of natural rubber. Nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) levels in rubber leaves are 2 crucial criteria that reflect the nutritional status of the rubber tree. Advanced hyperspectral technology can evaluate N and K statuses in leaves rapidly. However, high bias and uncertain results will be generated when using a small size and imbalance dataset to train a spectral estimaion model. A typical solution of laborious long-term nutrient stress and high-intensive data collection deviates from rapid and flexible advantages of hyperspectral tech. Therefore, a less intensive and streamlined method, remining information from hyperspectral image data, was assessed. From this new perspective, a semisupervised learning (SSL) method and resampling techniques were employed for generating pseudo-labeling data and class rebalancing. Subsequently, a 5-classification spectral model of the N and K statuses of rubber leaves was established. The SSL model based on random forest classifiers and mean sampling techniques yielded optimal classification results both on imbalance/balance dataset (weighted average precision 67.8/78.6%, macro averaged precision 61.2/74.4%, and weighted recall 65.7/78.5% for the N status). All data and code could be viewed on the:Github https://github.com/WeehowTang/SSL-rebalancingtest. Ultimately, we proposed an efficient way to rapidly and accurately monitor the N and K levels in rubber leaves, especially in the scenario of small annotation and imbalance categories ratios.

Alleviating OH Blockage on the Catalyst Surface by the Puncture Effect of Single-Atom Sites to Boost Alkaline Water Electrolysis.

Nonprecious transition metal catalysts have emerged as the preferred choice for industrial alkaline water electrolysis due to their cost-effectiveness. However, their overstrong binding energy to adsorbed OH often results in the blockage of active sites, particularly in the cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction. Herein, we found that single-atom sites exhibit a puncture effect to effectively alleviate OH blockades, thereby significantly enhancing the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance. Typically, after anchoring single Ru atoms onto tungsten carbides, the overpotential at 10 mA·cm-2 is reduced by more than 130 mV (159 vs 21 mV). Also, the mass activity is increased 16-fold over commercial Pt/C (MA100 = 17.3 A·mgRu-1 vs 1.1 A·mgPt-1, Pt/C). More importantly, such electrocatalyst-based alkaline anion-exchange membrane water electrolyzers can exhibit an ultralow potential (1.79 Vcell) and high stability at an industrial current density of 1.0 A·cm-2. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the isolated Ru sites could weaken the surrounding local OH binding energy, thus puncturing OH blockage and constructing bifunctional interfaces between Ru atoms and the support to accelerate water dissociation. Our findings exhibit generality to other transition metal catalysts (such as Mo) and contribute to the advancement of industrial-scale alkaline water electrolysis.

Selective breeding of cold-tolerant black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae: Gut microbial shifts and transcriptional patterns.

The larvae of black soldier fly (BSFL) convert organic waste into insect proteins used as feedstuff for livestock and aquaculture. BSFL production performance is considerably reduced during winter season. Herein, the intraspecific diversity of ten commercial BSF colonies collected in China was evaluated. The Bioforte colony was subjected to selective breeding at 12 °C and 16 °C to develop cold-tolerant BSF with improved production performance. After breeding for nine generations, the weight of larvae, survival rate, and the dry matter conversion rate significantly increased. Subsequently, intestinal microbiota in the cold-tolerant strain showed that bacteria belonging to Morganella, Dysgonomonas, Salmonella, Pseudochrobactrum, and Klebsiella genera were highly represented in the 12 °C bred, while those of Acinetobacter, Pseudochrobactrum, Enterococcus, Comamonas, and Leucobacter genera were significantly represented in the 16 °C bred group. Metagenomic revealed that several animal probiotics of the Enterococcus and Vagococcus genera were greatly enriched in the gut of larvae bred at 16 °C. Moreover, bacterial metabolic pathways including carbohydrate, lipid, amino acids, and cofactors and vitamins, were significantly increased, while organismal systems and human diseases was decreased in the 16 °C bred group. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that the upregulated differentially expressed genes in the 16 °C bred groups mainly participated in Autophagy-animal, AMPK signaling pathway, mTOR signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, FoxO signaling pathway, Hippo signaling pathway at day 34 under 16 °C conditions, suggesting their significant role in the survival of BSFL. Taken together, these results shed lights on the role of intestinal microflora and gene pathways in the adaptation of BSF larvae to cold stress.

Amorphization Activated Multimetallic Pd Alloys for Boosting Oxygen Reduction Catalysis.

Amorphous nanomaterials have drawn extensive attention owing to their unique features, while amorphization on noble metal nanomaterials still remains formidably challenging. Herein, we demonstrate a universal strategy to synthesize amorphous Pd-based nanomaterials from unary to quinary metals through the introduction of phosphorus (P). The amorphous Pd-based nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit generally promoted oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and durability compared with their crystalline counterparts. Significantly, the quinary P-PdCuNiInSn NPs, benefiting from the amorphous structure and multimetallic component effect, exhibit mass activities as high as 1.04 A mgPd-1 and negligible activity decays of 1.8% among the stability tests, which are much better than values for original Pd NPs (0.134 A mgPd-1 and 28.4%). Experimental and theoretical analyses collectively reveal that the synergy of P-induced amorphization and the expansion of metallic components can considerably lower the free energy changes in the rate-determined step, thereby explaining the positive correlation with the catalytic activity.

Microglia-Dependent Reversal of Depression-Like Behaviors in Chronically Stressed Mice by Administration of a Specific Immuno-stimulant ß-Glucan.

In recent years, the decline of microglia in the hippocampus has been shown to play a role in the development of depression, and its reversal shows marked antidepressant-like effects. ß-glucan is a polysaccharide from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and has numerous beneficial effects on the nervous system, including improving axon regeneration and cognition. Considering its immuno-stimulatory activities in cultured microglia and brain tissues, we hypothesize that ß-glucan may be a potential candidate to correct the functional deficiency of microglia and thereby alleviate depression-like behaviors in chronically stressed animals. An expected, our results showed that a single injection of ß-glucan 5 h before behavioral tests at a dose of 10 or 20 mg/kg, but not at a dose of 5 mg/kg, reversed the depression-like behavior induced by chronic stress in mice in the tail suspension test, forced swimming test, and sucrose preference test. The effect of ß-glucan (20 mg/kg) also showed time-dependent properties that were statistically significant 5 and 8, but not 3, hours after drug injection and persisted for at least 7 days. Fourteen days after ß-glucan injection, no antidepressant-like effect was observed anymore. However, this effect was overcome by a second ß-glucan injection (20 mg/kg) 14 days after the first ß-glucan injection. Stimulation of microglia appeared to mediate the antidepressant-like effect of ß-glucan, because both inhibition of microglia and their depletion prevented the antidepressant-like effect of ß-glucan. Based on these effects of ß-glucan, ß-glucan administration could be developed as a new strategy for the treatment of depression.

Obligatory role of microglia-mobilized hippocampal CREB-BDNF signaling in the prophylactic effect of ß-glucan on chronic stress-induced depression-like behaviors in mice.

Our previous studies have reported that pre-stimulation of microglia before stress stimulation is a possible strategy to prevent depression-like phenotypes; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying this effect are still unclear. Here, we used ß-glucan, a polysaccharide from Saccharomyces cerevisiae with immunomodulatory activities that cannot elicit pro-inflammatory responses in microglia, to address this issue. Our results showed that a single injection of ß-glucan one day before stress exposure dose-dependently prevented the depression-like behaviors triggered by chronic unpredictable stress (CUS), which peaked at 20 mg/kg and prevented the impairment of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling, a pathological process critical for the progression of depression-like phenotypes. Inhibition of BDNF signaling by infusion of an anti-BDNF antibody into the hippocampus, knock-in of the mutant BDNF Val68Met allele, or blockade of the BDNF receptor in the hippocampus abolished the preventive effect of ß-glucan on CUS-induced depression-like behaviors. Further analysis showed that cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB)-mediated increase of BDNF expression in the hippocampus was essential for the prevention of depression-like phenotypes by ß-glucan. Pretreatment with minocycline or PLX3397 before ß-glucan injection to suppress microglia abolished the preventive effect of ß-glucan on impaired CREB-BDNF signaling in the hippocampus and depression-like behaviors in CUS mice. These results suggest that an increase in hippocampal BDNF following CREB activation triggered by ß-glucan-induced microglia stimulation and subsequent TrkB signaling mediates the preventive effect of ß-glucan on depression. ß-Glucan may be a more suitable immunostimulant for the prevention of depression due to its inability to promote pro-inflammatory responses in microglia.

Comparative study of the effects of ultrasound-assisted alkaline extraction on black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae protein: Nutritional, structural, and functional properties.

In this study, we developed an ultrasound-assisted alkaline method for extracting black soldier fly larvae protein (BSFLP). The effects of ultrasound-assisted extraction on the nutritional value, structural characteristics, and techno-functional properties of BSFLP were compared with those using the conventional hot alkali method. The results showed that ultrasound-assisted extraction significantly increased the extraction ratio of BSFLP from 55.40% to 80.37%, but reduced the purity from 84.19% to 80.75%. The BSFLP extracted by ultrasound-assisted extraction met the amino acid requirements for humans proposed by the Food and Agriculture Organization in 2013, and ultrasound-assisted extraction did not alter the limiting amino acids of the BSFLP. The ultrasound-assisted extraction increased the in vitro protein digestibility from 82.97% to 99.79%. Moreover, ultrasound-assisted extraction obtained BSFLP with a more ordered secondary structure and more loosely porous surface morphology, without breaking the peptide bonds. By contrast, the conventional hot alkaline method hydrolyzed BSFLP into smaller fragments. The effect of ultrasound-assisted extraction on the structure of BSFLP improved the solubility and emulsion capacity of BSFLP, but reduced its foaming properties. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that ultrasound-assisted alkaline extraction could be a suitable method for extracting BSFLP and improving its nutritional value, and structural and functional properties. The findings obtained in this study could promote the wider application of BSFLP in food industry.

Rapid Growth of the CO2 Hydrate Induced by Mixing Trace Tetrafluoroethane.

Rapid formation of the CO2 hydrate can be significantly induced by the gaseous thermodynamic promoter 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane(R134a) due to the mild phase equilibrium conditions, although the formation mechanism and dynamic behavior are not clear. Therefore, a visual experimental system was developed to study the effects of different concentrations of R134a on the induction time, gas consumption, and growth morphology of the CO2 hydrate. At the same time, the combined effects under stirring and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) systems were also studied. In addition, visualization and experimental model diagrams were combined to explain the fast formation mechanism of the R134a/CO2 hydrate. The results show that the CO2 hydrate average conversion rate was increased by more than 63% with the addition of mixed trace R134a(7%). A special phenomenon is found that two temperature peaks appear on the hydrate formation temperature curve, corresponding to two different stages of hydrate formation when stirring or SDS is added to the mixed gas reaction system. Furthermore, the gas consumption in stirring and SDS systems increases by 9 and 44%, respectively. Finally, it is also found that the R134a/CO2 mixed hydrate formed under the action of SDS has a "capillary" mechanism, which provides a gas-liquid phase exchange channel and a large number of nucleation sites for CO2 hydrate, thus promoting the formation of CO2 hydrate. This paper provides a novel, simple, and efficient method for CO2 hydrate gas storage technology.

Effects of the Oat Hay Feeding Method and Compound Probiotic Supplementation on the Growth, Antioxidant Capacity, Immunity, and Rumen Bacteria Community of Dairy Calves.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of the oat hay feeding method and compound probiotics (CMP) on the growth, health, serum antioxidant and immune indicators, rumen fermentation, and bacteria community of dairy calves from 3 to 5 months of age. Forty-eight female Holstein calves (80 ± 7 days of age, 93.71 ± 5.33 kg BW) were selected and randomly divided into four groups. A 2 × 2 factorial design was adopted for the experiment, with the factors of the oat hay feeding method (fed as free-choice or 16.7% in the diet) and compound probiotics (CMP) inclusion (0.15% or 0%) in the pelleted starter. The results showed that, compared with giving oat hay as free-choice, feeding a diet of 16.7% oat hay increased the pelleted starter intake at 1-84 d (p < 0.05), with an average daily gain (ADG) at 61-84 d (p = 0.02); adding CMP to the pelleted starter did not significantly affect body weight, and reduced the fecal index (p < 0.05). Feeding 16.7% oat hay increased the concentration of IgA, IgG, and IgM (p < 0.01), while adding CMP increased the catalase (p < 0.01) and decreased the concentration of malondialdehyde (p < 0.01) in serum. Feeding 16.7% oat hay increased the ruminal concentration of propionic acid (p < 0.05) and isobutyric acid (p = 0.08), and decreased the ruminal pH (p = 0.08), the concentration of acetic acid (p < 0.05), and the ratio of acetic acid to propionic acid (p < 0.01). Feeding 16.7% oat hay reduced the relative abundance of ruminal Firmicutes, Unidentified-Bacteria, Actinobacteria, Prevotella, NK4A214-group, Olsenella, and Actinobacteriota (p < 0.05); adding CMP increased the relative abundance of ruminal Prevotella, Rikenellaceae-RC9-gut-group, Ruminococcus, NK4A214-group, and Ruminococcus (p < 0.05), and decreased the abundance of Desulfobacterora, Prevotella-7, and Erysipelotricaceae-UCG-002 (p < 0.05). In conclusion, feeding a diet of 16.7% oat hay increased the pelleted starter intake and average daily gain, while slightly reducing the ruminal pH values; adding CMP to the pelleted starter resulted in reduced diarrhea incidence, increased serum antioxidant capacity and immunity, as well as ruminal richness and diversity of microorganisms in dairy calves from 3 to 5 months of age.

Effects of environmental factors on avian communities in urban parks in small- to medium-sized city: a case study of Fuyang City, Anhui, China.

With a worldwide expansion of urbanization, the conservation of urban biodiversity is attracting growing attention; it is important to study the relationship between wildlife and urban green spaces. In this study, we selected 31 parks in the urban area of Fuyang City in the North China Plain. A total of 8795 individual birds from 69 species were recorded. The study found that (a) at the local level, tree diversity and heights are the most important factors contributing to each level of bird diversity, followed by the coverage of shrubs and herbs, and (b) at the landscape level, the proportion of woodland has a strong positive correlation with the multidimensional diversity of birds, followed by the patch diversity and percent of grassland. Our results showed that artificial greenland can effectively increase bird diversity. While considering urban planning and human well-being, the proportion of vegetation and landscape in urban parks should be properly planned, providing more habitats to enrich bird diversity.

Nanomolar range of FAM237B can activate receptor GPR83.

Our recent study confirmed that the mature neuropeptide FAM237A, also known as neurosecretory protein GL (NPGL), is an efficient agonist for GPR83. The paralog FAM237B was previously reported as a weak agonist for GPR83. In the present study, we prepared mature human FAM237B via an intein-fusion approach and demonstrated that it could cause a significant activation effect at the nanomolar range (1‒10 nM) in a NanoBiT-based ß-arrestin recruitment assay. Thus, FAM237B appears to be another endogenous agonist for GPR83 and future in vivo studies will be required to confirm this.

Spiral grass inspired eco-friendly zein fibrous membrane for multi-efficient air purification.

Air pollution, one of the severest threats to public health, may lead to cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses. In order to cope with the deteriorating air pollutant, there is an increasing demand for filters with high purification efficiency, but it's tough to strike a balance between efficiency and resistance. Fabricating an eco-friendly fibrous filter which can capture both PM2.5 and gaseous chemical hazards with high efficiency but under ultra-low resistance is a long-term challenge. Herein, inspired by the interesting ribbon shape of spiral grass, a green and robust 3D nonwoven membrane with controllable hierarchical structure made of self-curved zein nanofibers modified by zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) via bi-solvent electrospinning and fumigation welding method was fabricated. The obtained ZIF-8 modified zein membranes showed extraordinary overall performance with high PM2.5 removal efficiency (99.04 %) at a low stress drop (54.87 Pa), first-rate formaldehyde removal efficiency (98.8 %) and excellent photocatalytic antibacterial. In addition, the relatively weak mechanical properties of zein fibrous membranes have been improved via solvent fumigation welding of the joint zein fibers. This study provides a green and convenient insight to the manufacturing of environmentally-friendly zein fibrous membranes with high filtration efficiency, low air resistance and high formaldehyde removal for sustainable air remediation.

Human embryonic stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cell secretome reverts silica-induced airway epithelial cell injury by regulating Bmi1 signaling.

Silicosis is an irreversible chronic pulmonary disease caused by long-term inhalation and deposition of silica particles, which is currently incurable. The exhaustion of airway epithelial stem cells plays a pathogenetic role in silicosis. In present study, we investigated therapeutic effects and potential mechanism of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived MSC-likes immune and matrix regulatory cells (IMRCs) (hESC-MSC-IMRCs), a type of manufacturable MSCs for clinical application in silicosis mice. Our results showed that the transplantation of hESC-MSC-IMRCs led the alleviation of silica-induced silicosis in mice, accompanied by inhibiting epithelia-mesenchymal transition (EMT), activating B-cell-specific Moloney murine leukemia virus integration site 1 (Bmi1) signaling and airway epithelial cell regeneration. In consistence, the secretome of hESC-MSC-IMRC exhibited abilities to restore the potency and plasticity of primary human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) proliferation and differentiation following the SiO2 -induced HBECs injury. Mechanistically, the secretome resolved the SiO2 -induced HBECs injury through the activation of BMI1 signaling and restoration of airway basal cell proliferation and differentiation. Moreover, the activation of BMI1 significantly enhanced the capacity of HBEC proliferation and differentiation to multiple airway epithelial cell types in organoids. Cytokine array revealed that DKK1, VEGF, uPAR, IL-8, Serpin E1, MCP-1 and Tsp-1 were the main factors in the hESC-MSC-IMRC secretome. These results demonstrated a potential therapeutic effect of hESC-MSC-IMRCs and their secretome for silicosis, in part through a mechanism by activating Bmi1 signaling to revert the exhaustion of airway epithelial stem cells, subsequentially enhance the potency and plasticity of lung epithelial stem cells.

Wnt5a/Ca2+ signaling regulates silica-induced ferroptosis in mouse macrophages by altering ER stress-mediated redox balance.

Silicosis is a chronic pulmonary disease characterized by diffuse fibrosis of lung caused by the deposition of silica dust (SiO2). The inhaled silica-induced oxidative stress, ROS production and macrophage ferroptosis are key drivers of the pathological process of silicosis. However, mechanisms that involved in the silica-induced macrophage ferroptosis and its contributions to pathogenesis of silicosis remain elusive. In the present study, we showed that silica induced murine macrophage ferroptosis, accompanied by elevation of inflammatory responses, Wnt5a/Ca2+ signaling activation, and concurrent increase of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and mitochondrial redox imbalance in vitro and vivo. Mechanistic study further demonstrated that Wnt5a/Ca2+ signaling played a key role in silica-induced macrophage ferroptosis by modulating ER stress and mitochondrial redox balance. The presence of Wnt5a/Ca2+ signaling ligand Wnt5a protein increased the silica-induced macrophage ferroptosis by activating ER-mediated immunoglobulin heavy chain binding protein (Bip)-C/EBP homology protein (Chop) signaling cascade, reducing the expression of negative regulators of ferroptosis, glutathione peroxidase 4 (Gpx4) and solute carrier family 7 member 11 (Slc7a11), subsequentially increasing lipid peroxidation. The pharmacologic inhibition of Wnt5a signaling or block of calcium flow exhibited an opposite effect to Wnt5a, resulted in the reduction of ferroptosis and the expression of Bip-Chop signaling molecules. These findings were further corroborated by the addition of ferroptosis activator Erastin or inhibitor ferrostatin-1. These results provide a mechanism by which silica activates Wnt5a/Ca2+ signaling and ER stress, sequentially leads to redox imbalance and ferroptosis in mouse macrophage cells.