Standalone Stretchable Biophysical Sensing System Based on Laser Direct Write of Patterned Porous Graphene/Co3O4 Nanocomposites.

Skin-interfaced wearable sensors can continuously monitor various biophysical and biochemical signals for health monitoring and disease diagnostics. However, such devices are typically limited by unsatisfactory and unstable output performance of the power supplies under mechanical deformations and human movements. Furthermore, there is also a lack of a simple and cost-effective fabrication technique to fabricate and integrate varying materials in the device system. Herein, we report a fully integrated standalone stretchable biophysical sensing system by combining wearable biophysical sensors, triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), microsupercapacitor arrays (MSCAs), power management circuits, and wireless transmission modules. All of the device components and interconnections based on the three-dimensional (3D) networked graphene/Co3O4 nanocomposites are fabricated via low-cost and scalable direct laser writing. The self-charging power units can efficiently harvest energy from body motion into a stable and adjustable voltage/current output to drive various biophysical sensors and wireless transmission modules for continuously capturing, processing, and wirelessly transmitting various signals in real-time. The novel material modification, device configuration, and system integration strategies provide a rapid and scalable route to the design and application of next-generation standalone stretchable sensing systems for health monitoring and human-machine interfaces.

Case report: BTK inhibitors is effective in type II mixed cryoglobulinemia with wild-type MyD88.

This study presents two cases of type II mixed cryoglobulinemia. One case is essential, while the other is presumably associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Both patients tested positive for monoclonal IgMκ, but negative for MyD88 mutation. They showed resistance to rituximab combined with a glucosteroid regimen, but responded positively to BTK inhibitors. These cases highlight the remarkable effectiveness of BTK inhibitors in treating refractory type II cryoglobulinemia without MyD88 mutation. The first patient achieved rapid complete remission of nephrotic syndrome within one month of starting ibrutinib, along with a significant reduction in cryoglobulin levels and abnormal clonal cells. The second patient had a rapid disappearance of rash within three days and accelerated wound healing within one week of initiating orelabrutinib, accompanied by a reduction in C-reactive protein. However, there was no reduction in cryoglobulin levels during the 12-month follow-up. These findings suggest varied mechanisms of action of BTK inhibitors in type II cryoglobulinemia through different mechanisms.

Modulation of immunosuppressive effect of rapamycin via microfluidic encapsulation within PEG-PLGA nanoparticles.

The high hydrophobicity and low oral availability of immunosuppressive drug, rapamycin, seriously limit its application. It was thus aimed to develop a PEG-PLGA based nano-loading system for rapamycin delivery to achieve improved bioavailability with sustained effects via a novel microfluidic chip and manipulation of the hydrophobic PLGA chain length. PDMS based microfluidic chip with Y shape was designed and PEG-PLGA polymers with different PLGA chain length were used to prepare rapamycin nano-delivery systems. Dendritic cells were selected to evaluate the immunosuppressive effect of the nanoparticles including cytotoxicity assay, dendritic cell activation, and cytokine levels. The effects of different PEG-PLGA nanoparticles on the immunomodulatory properties were finally compared. It was shown that PEG-PLGA could be successfully used for rapamycin encapsulation via microfluidics to obtain nano-delivery systems (Rapa&P-20 k, Rapa&P-50 k and Rapa&P-95 k) ranging from 100 nm to 116 nm. The encapsulation efficiency was ranged from 69.70% to 84.55% and drug loading from 10.45% to 12.68%. The Rapa&P-50 k (PLGA chain length: 50 k) could achieve the highest drug loading (DL) and encapsulation efficiency (EE) as 12.68% and 84.55%. The encapsulated rapamycin could be gradually released from three nanoparticles for more than 1 month without any noticeable burst release. The Rapa & P nanoparticles exhibited enhanced immunosuppressive effects over those of free rapamycin as shown by the expression of CD40 and CD80, and the secretion of IL-1ß, IL-12 and TGF-ß1. Rapa&P-50 k nanoparticles could be the optimal choice for rapamycin delivery as it also achieved the most effective immunosuppressive property. Hence, this study could provide an efficient technology with superior manipulation to offer a solution for rapamycin delivery and clinical application.

Manipulation of porous poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) microcarriers via microfluidics for C2C12 expansion.

The growth and repair of skeletal muscle are due in part to activation of muscle precursor cells, commonly known as satellite cells or myoblasts. In order to acquire enough cells for neoskeletal muscle regeneration, it is urgent to develop microcarriers for skeletal myoblasts proliferation with a considerable efficiency. The current study was thus proposed to develop a microfluidic technology to manufacture porous poly(l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) microcarriers of high uniformity, and porosity was manipulated via camphene to suit the proliferation of C2C12 cells. A co-flow capillary microfluidic device was first designed to obtain PLCL microcarriers with different porosity. The attachment and proliferation of C2C12 cells on these microcarriers were evaluated and the differentiation potential of expanded cells were verified. The obtained porous microcarriers were all uniform in size with a high mono-dispersity (CV < 5 %). The content of camphene rendered effects on the size, porosity, and pore size of microcarriers, and porous structure addition produced a softening of their mechanical properties. The one of 10 % camphene (PM-10) exhibited the superior expansion for C2C12 cells with the number of cells after 5 days of culture reached 9.53 times of the adherent cells on the first day. The expanded cells from PM-10 still retained excellent myogenic differentiation performance as the expressions of MYOD, Desmin and MYH2 were intensively enhanced. Hence, the current developed porous PLCL microcarriers could offer as a promising type of substrates not only for in vitro muscular precursor cells expansion without compromising any multipotency but also have the potential as injectable constructs to mediate muscle regeneration.

Template assisted preparation of silicone (polydimethylsiloxane) elastomers and their self-cleaning application.

The formation of self-cleaning functions on silicone elastomers is crucial for practical applications but still challenging. In this study, superhydrophobic silicone elastomers (SHSEs) with a 3D-hierarchical microstructure were achieved during the curing process with the assistance of a homemade template. The micro-nano structure formed by the assistance of the template makes the silicone elastomer surface achieve robust superhydrophobicity with a WCA at ∼163°, which can easily self-clean, removing surface contamination. Also, TiO2 particles transferred from the template endow the surface with photocatalytic functions, which can degrade organic pollutants under UV irradiation. After sandpaper abrasion, the formed SHSE can maintain its excellent hydrophobicity and show liquid repellency to wine and coffee droplets. The SHSEs with self-cleaning functions have promising applications in water treatment, medical facilities, and wearable devices.

In situ formation of Co3O4 nanocrystals embedded in laser-induced graphene foam for high-energy flexible micro-supercapacitors.

The cost-effective synthesis of flexible energy storage devices with high energy and power densities is a challenge in wearable electronics. Here, we report a facile, efficient, and scalable approach for preparing three-dimensional (3D) laser-induced graphene foam (Co3O4@LIG) embedded with porous Co3O4 nanocrystals using a CO2 infrared laser. The in situ formed Co3O4@LIG nanocomposites directly serve as active materials, current collectors, and the conductive substrate for micro-supercapacitors (MSCs). Benefiting from rational structural features, the MSC based on Co3O4@LIG nanocomposites (Co3O4@LIG-MSC) with an interdigitated electrode configuration exhibits excellent electrochemical performance, including a high specific capacitance (143.5 F g-1), excellent rate capability, high energy density (19.9 W h kg-1 at a power density of 0.5 W kg-1), and remarkable power density (15.0 W kg-1 at an energy density of 15.8 W h kg-1). Furthermore, the device possesses good stability under different bending diameters and cycling stability. Such a highly integrated flexible MSC with high energy and power densities made by a directly laser scribing strategy has some potential for the fabrication of wearable energy storage devices.

Identification of proteins associated with development of psoriatic arthritis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells: a quantitative iTRAQ-based proteomics study.

BACKGROUND: Biomarkers for distinguishing psoriatic arthritis (PsA) from psoriasis without arthritis (PsO) are still lacking. METHODS: We applied isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) and LC-MS/MS to analyze the proteome profile of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected from patients with PsO, patients with PsA, and healthy controls. Bioinformatics analysis and western blotting were performed to identify and validate differentially expressed proteins. RESULTS: We identified 389, 199, 291, and 60 significantly differentially expressed proteins (adj.p < 0.05) in the comparison of all psoriatic patients versus healthy controls, PsO group versus healthy controls, PsA group versus healthy controls, and PsA group versus PsO group, respectively. Among these proteins, 14 proteins may represent promising biomarkers for PsA: SIRT2, NAA50, ARF6, ADPRHL2, SF3B6, SH3KBP1, UBA3, SCP2, RPS5, NUDT5, NCBP1, SYNE1, NDUFB7, HTATSF1. Furthermore, western blotting confirmed that SIRT2 expression was significantly higher in PBMCs from PsA patients than PsO and healthy controls, and was negatively correlated with the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p-p38MAPK; p = 0.006, r = - 0.582). CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study provided a broad characterization of the proteome of PBMCs in PsA as compared to PsO and healthy controls, which may help to provide prospective strategies for PsA diagnosis.

Preparation and characterization of a novel polylactic acid/hydroxyapatite composite scaffold with biomimetic micro-nanofibrous porous structure.

Combining synthetic polymer scaffolds with inorganic bioactive factors is widely used to promote the bioactivity and bone conductivity of bone tissue. However, except for the chemical composition of scaffold, the biomimetic structure also plays an important role in its application. In this study, we report the fabrication of polylactic acid/hydroxyapatite (PLA/HA) composite nanofibrous scaffolds via phase separation method to mimic the native extracellular matrix (ECM). The SEM analysis showed that the addition of HA dramatically impacted the morphology of the PLA matrix, which changed from 3D nanofibrous network structure to a disorderly micro-nanofibrous porous structure. At the same time, HA particles could be evenly dispersed at the end of the fiber. The FTIR and XRD demonstrated that there was not any chemical interaction between PLA and HA. Thermal analyses showed that HA could decrease the crystallization of PLA, but improve the thermal decomposition temperature of the composite scaffold. Moreover, water contact angle analysis of the PLA/HA composite scaffold demonstrated that the hydrophilicity increased with the addition of HA. Furthermore, apatite-formation ability tests confirmed that HA could not only more and faster induced the deposition of weak hydroxyapatite but also induced specific morphology of HA.

Suppressing Dazl modulates tumorigenicity and stemness in human glioblastoma cells.

BACKGROUND: Glioblastoma is devastating cancer with a high frequency of occurrence and poor survival rate and it is urgent to discover novel glioblastoma-specific antigens for the therapy. Cancer-germline genes are known to be related to the formation and progression of several cancer types by promoting tumor transformation. Dazl is one such germline gene and is up-regulated in a few germ cell cancers. In this study, we analyzed the expression of Dazl in human glioblastoma tissues and cells, and investigated its significance in proliferation, migration, invasion and chemoresistance of the glioblastoma cell lines. METHODS: We evaluated the expression of Dazl in different pathologic grades of glioblastoma tissues by immunohistochemistry. We assessed the expression of Dazl in glioblastoma cells and normal human astrocytes (NHA) cells by western blotting and RT-qPCR. Then we generated Dazl knockout glioblastoma cell lines using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology to explore the cellular function of Dazl. We detected the proliferation and germline traits via CCK-8 assays and alkaline phosphatase staining, respectively. Boyden chamber assays were performed to measure glioblastoma cell migration and invasion. Crystal violet staining was used to determine the number of viable cells after the treatment of Doxorubicin and Temozolomide. Finally, we used subcutaneous xenograft studies to measure the growth of tumors in vivo. RESULTS: We found that Dazl was upregulated in glioblastoma tissues and glioblastoma cell lines. Dazl knockdown glioblastoma cells showed decreased cellular proliferation, migration, invasion, and resistance in vitro, and inhibited the initiation of glioblastoma in vivo. The glioblastoma cell lines A172, U251, and LN229 were found to express stem cell markers CD133, Oct4, Nanog, and Sox2. The expression of these markers was downregulated in Dazl-deficient cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that Dazl contributes to the tumorigenicity of glioblastoma via reducing cell stemness. Therefore, cancer-germline genes might represent a new paradigm of glioblastoma-initiating cells in the treatment of malignant tumors.

Nanos3, a cancer-germline gene, promotes cell proliferation, migration, chemoresistance, and invasion of human glioblastoma.

BACKGROUND: Radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery have made crucial strides in glioblastoma treatment, yet they often fail; thus, new treatment and new detection methods are needed. Aberrant expression of Nanos3 has been functionally associated with various cancers. Here, we sought to identify the clinical significance and potential mechanisms of Nanos3 in human glioblastoma. METHODS: Nanos3 expression was studied in nude mouse glioblastoma tissues and glioblastoma cell lines by immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and RT-PCR. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 gene editing assay was performed to generate the Nanos3 knockdown glioblastoma cell lines. The effects of Nanos3 on glioblastoma cells proliferation, migration, invasion, chemoresistance, germ cell characteristics, and tumor formation were analyzed by CCK8, transwell, cell survival experiments and alkaline phosphatase staining in vitro and in nude mouse models in vivo. Correlation between the expression of stemness proteins and the expression of Nanos3 was evaluated by Western blot. RESULTS: We found that Nanos3 was strongly expressed in both glioblastoma cell lines and tissues. Western blot and sequencing assays showed that the Nanos3 knockdown glioblastoma cell lines were established successfully, and we discovered that Nanos3 deletion reduced the proliferation, migration, and invasion of glioblastoma cells in vitro (P < 0.05). Nanos3 knockdown enhanced the sensitivity of glioblastoma cells to doxorubicin (DOX) and temozolomide (TMZ) (P < 0.05), and Nanos3+/- glioblastoma cell lines did not show the characteristics of the germline cells. In addition, Nanos3 deletion inhibited subcutaneous xenograft tumor growth in vivo (P < 0.001). Moreover, the oncogenesis germline protein levels of CD133, Oct4, Ki67, and Dazl decreased significantly in glioblastoma cells following Nanos3 knockdown. CONCLUSIONS: Both in vitro and in vivo assays suggest that Nanos3, which is a cancer-germline gene, initiates the tumorigenesis of glioblastoma via acquiring the oncogenesis germline traits. These data demonstrate that ectopic germline traits are necessary for glioblastoma growth.

Mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species play an important role in Doxorubicin-induced platelet apoptosis.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective chemotherapeutic agent; however; its use is limited by some side effects; such as cardiotoxicity and thrombocytopenia. DOX-induced cardiotoxicity has been intensively investigated; however; DOX-induced thrombocytopenia has not been clearly elucidated. Here we show that DOX-induced mitochondria-mediated intrinsic apoptosis and glycoprotein (GP)Ibα shedding in platelets. DOX did not induce platelet activation; whereas; DOX obviously reduced adenosine diphosphate (ADP)- and thrombin-induced platelet aggregation; and impaired platelet adhesion on the von Willebrand factor (vWF) surface. In addition; we also show that DOX induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial ROS generation in a dose-dependent manner. The mitochondria-targeted ROS scavenger Mito-TEMPO blocked intracellular ROS and mitochondrial ROS generation. Furthermore; Mito-TEMPO reduced DOX-induced platelet apoptosis and GPIbα shedding. These data indicate that DOX induces platelet apoptosis; and impairs platelet function. Mitochondrial ROS play a pivotal role in DOX-induced platelet apoptosis and GPIbα shedding. Therefore; DOX-induced platelet apoptosis might contribute to DOX-triggered thrombocytopenia; and mitochondria-targeted ROS scavenger would have potential clinical utility in platelet-associated disorders involving mitochondrial oxidative damage.

Migration of Transformed Bone Marrow-Derived Cells with Peripheral Neural Tumor Traits In Vivo.

The identification of the original cells in tumors may allow for measures that protect the original cells and prevent tumor formation. In the present study, we isolated a subpopulation of cells with the features of neural tumor cells from transformed BMDCs in vitro. These neural tumor cells expressed the markers of neural tumor progenitor cells and differentiated neural tumor cells in vitro. Moreover, the subcloned cells from transformed BMDCs could migrate to distant tissues and drive peripheral neural tumors in vivo. Therefore, our results further verify that transformed mouse BMDCs are a potential source of peripheral neural tumors.

Activation of the germ-cell potential of human bone marrow-derived cells by a chemical carcinogen.

Embryonic/germ cell traits are common in malignant tumors and are thought to be involved in malignant tumor behaviors. The reasons why tumors show strong embryonic/germline traits (displaced germ cells or gametogenic programming reactivation) are controversial. Here, we show that a chemical carcinogen, 3-methyl-cholanthrene (3-MCA), can trigger the germ-cell potential of human bone marrow-derived cells (hBMDCs). 3-MCA promoted the generation of germ cell-like cells from induced hBMDCs that had undergone malignant transformation, whereas similar results were not observed in the parallel hBMDC culture at the same time point. The malignant transformed hBMDCs spontaneously and more efficiently generated into germ cell-like cells even at the single-cell level. The germ cell-like cells from induced hBMDCs were similar to natural germ cells in many aspects, including morphology, gene expression, proliferation, migration, further development, and teratocarcinoma formation. Therefore, our results demonstrate that a chemical carcinogen can reactivate the germline phenotypes of human somatic tissue-derived cells, which might provide a novel idea to tumor biology and therapy.

Germline traits of human hepatoblastoma cells associated with growth and metastasis.

Genes that are specific to germline and embryonic development can be activated in many tumors. Here, we show that germline traits that are present in human hepatoblastoma cells might be associated with the malignant behaviors of these tumor cells. In culture, single human hepatoblastoma cells differentiated into germ cell-like cells, which further developed into oocyte-like cells and formed parthenogenetic blastocyst-like structures. The germ cell-like cells and their embryonic derivatives from hepatoblastoma cells may favorably give rise to xenograft tumors with embryonal/germline traits and intrahepatic metastasis. These findings suggest that germline potential can be spontaneously activated in human hepatoblastoma cells and it might be important for tumor formation and metastasis.

Spontaneous germline potential of human hepatic cell line in vitro.

The germ-cell lineage in mammals is believed to separate from somatic lineages around the time of gastrulation. We present data showing that germline cells can originate from a human hepatic cell line (HL7702) in vitro. In specific culture conditions, the HL7702 cells gave rise to a subpopulation of morphologically distinct cells, some of which expressed germline-specific markers, consistent with germ cell formation. After prolonged culture, the putative germ cells were capable of forming follicle-like structures, generating oocyte-like cells, subsequently developing into blastocyst-like structures in vitro, and causing germ cell/embryonic tumors in vivo, thereby indicating that the human hepatic cells actually have the potential of germline cells in vitro. Our findings will provide a novel way to obtain human germ cells and a new model to investigate human oogenesis in vitro.

Spontaneous generation of germline characteristics in mouse fibrosarcoma cells.

Germline/embryonic-specific genes have been found to be activated in somatic tumors. In this study, we further showed that cells functioning as germline could be present in mouse fibrosarcoma cells (L929 cell line). Early germline-like cells spontaneously appeared in L929 cells and further differentiated into oocyte-like cells. These germline-like cells can, in turn, develop into blastocyst-like structures in vitro and cause teratocarcinomas in vivo, which is consistent with natural germ cells in function. Generation of germline-like cells from somatic tumors might provide a novel way to understand why somatic cancer cells have strong features of embryonic/germline development. It is thought that the germline traits of tumors are associated with the central characteristics of malignancy, such as immortalization, invasion, migration and immune evasion. Therefore, germline-like cells in tumors might provide potential targets to tumor biology, diagnosis and therapy.