Melatonin reduced colon inflammation but had no effect on energy metabolism in ageing Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus).

In photoperiod-sensitive wild animals, the secretion of melatonin (MT) is modulated by external photoperiod, and MT affects inflammation and the ageing process. The beneficial effects of MT in delaying the progress of ageing have been reported in laboratory mice and rats. However, little is known about MT in wild mammals. In the current study, we investigated energy metabolism, microbial community structure and colon homeostasis in ageing Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) through exogenous supplementation of MT to test the hypothesis that MT has beneficial effects on gut homeostasis in ageing gerbils. Exogenous MT supplementation had no effect on energy metabolism in Mongolian gerbils but reduced the levels of circulating tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), immune globulin G (IgG) and corticosterone (CORT). The increase in the level of inflammation in ageing animals was related to changes in the structure and diversity of the gut microbiota. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Prevotella, Treponema, Corynebacterium, and Sphingomonas was increased in ageing animals and decreased significantly by the treatment of MT. Christensenella and Lactobacillus were attenuated in ageing animals, and tended to be enhanced by MT treatment. Functions related to glycosphingolipid biosynthesis-ganglio series and lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis (metabolisms of cofactors, vitamins and glycan) were increased in ageing animals and decreased significantly by the treatment of MT. Our data suggest that a supplement of MT could improve colon homeostasis through changing the composition of gut microbiota and reducing inflammation in ageing gerbils.

High Expression of CISD2 in Relation to Adverse Outcome and Abnormal Immune Cell Infiltration in Glioma.

Glioma is a serious disease burden globally, with high mortality and recurrence rates. CDGSH iron sulfur domain 2 (CISD2) is an evolutionarily conserved protein that is involved in several cancers. However, its role in the prognosis and immune infiltration in glioma remains unclear. In our research, RNA-seq matrix and clinicopathological relevant data for CISD2 were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases. Human Protein Atlas was used to verify the CISD2 protein level in glioma, and STRING was used to establish relative coexpression gene network. The Kaplan-Meier plotter was adopted to analyze the effect of CISD2 on prognosis. The connection between CISD2 expression and immune infiltration was analyzed using single-sample GSEA (ssGSEA), TIMER, and GEPIA. In contrast to normal tissues, CISD2 expression was significantly higher in glioma tissues, and CISD2 presented a certain diagnostic value in distinguishing glioma tissues from normal tissues. Furthermore, the CISD2 level was correlated with age, histologic grade, histological type, isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) status, 1p/19q codeletion status, and primary therapy outcome of glioma, while high CISD2 mRNA expression was correlated with grave overall survival. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that CISD2 was an independent risk factor for patients with glioma. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that CISD2 could regulate proliferation, immune reaction, and mitochondrial function. The results from the ssGSEA and TIMER databases confirmed that CISD2 acts a prominent role in immune cell infiltration in the tumor microenvironment, especially in low-grade glioma (LGG). Furthermore, CISD2 expression was observably correlated to M2 polarization in macrophages with glioma progression. This is the first research to investigate the immune role of CISD2 in glioma. CISD2 may be an innovative prognostic biomarker and can act as a potential target for future therapy for glioma.

Blurring the line between addenda and heteroatoms in a giant polyoxotungstotellurite.

The 3.5 nm-sized polyanion [H4TeWO372]80-, exhibiting an exceptionally high Te : W ratio, expands the structural role of TeIV ions from classical heterogroups within polyoxotungstate subunits to addenda ions. Investigations on the self-assembly conditions, proceeding in a simple one-pot reaction, point to the pH as one critical factor for circumventing this limitation.

Construction of molecular rectangles with titanium-oxo clusters and rigid aromatic carboxylate ligands.

Four rectangular molecular architectures have been successfully constructed using {Ti5O7} clusters as inorganic vertical edges and bridging aromatic carboxylates as horizontal edges. The introduced organic ligands show a strong influence on the light absorption behaviors of the obtained hybrid complexes.

Diverse tetrahedral tetrazolate frameworks with N-rich surface.

Three tetrahedral tetrazolate frameworks (TTFs) with SOD, and topologies (TTF-4, -5 and -6) are obtained by using the anion and solvent as structure-directing agents. The resulting SOD-type TTF-4 shows high chemical stability as well as high CO2 uptake capacity.

Bandgap Engineering of Titanium-Oxo Clusters: Labile Surface Sites Used for Ligand Substitution and Metal Incorporation.

Through the labile coordination sites of a robust phosphonate-stabilized titanium-oxo cluster, 14 O-donor ligands have been successfully introduced without changing the cluster core. The increasing electron-withdrawing effect of the organic species allows the gradual reduction of the bandgaps of the {Ti6 } complexes. Transition-metal ions are then incorporated by the use of bifunctional O/N-donor ligands, organizing these {Ti6 } clusters into polymeric structures. The coordination environments of the applied metal ions show significant influence on their visible-light adsorption. Both the above structural functionalizations also tune the photocatalytic H2 production activities of these clusters. This work provides a systematic bandgap engineering study of titanium-oxo clusters, which is important not only for their future photocatalytic applications, also for the better understanding of the structure-property relationships.

A new cadmium-doped titanium-oxo cluster with stable photocatalytic H2 evolution properties.

A new Cd-doped titanium-oxo cluster (TOC) stabilized by tert-butylacetic acid ligands has been prepared through an easily handled solvothermal reaction; photocatalytic studies indicate that it displays good H2 evolution ability (3.15 µmol h(-1)), and moreover preserves high catalytic stability.

Use of polymer-bound Schiff base as a new liquid binding agent of diffusive gradients in thin-films for the measurement of labile Cu²âº, Cd²âº and Pb²âº.

A new diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) device with solution of polymer-bound Schiff base (Py-PEI) derived from poly(ethyleneimine) and 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde as the binding agent (Py-PEI DGT) was developed for measuring labile Cu(2+), Cd(2+) and Pb(2+) in waters. In synthetic solution, uptake percentages of Cu(2+), Cd(2+) and Pb(2+) by Py-PEI DGT were 99.2 ± 4.4%, 103.7 ± 4.8% and 98.7 ± 5.5% of the total metals, respectively. Performance of Py-PEI DGT was independent of pH 4-8.5 and ionic strength 1 × 10(-4)-0.1 mol L(-1). The uptake of labile metals showed agreement with the theoretical values of free ions in EDTA solution, and decreased with increase of humic acid (HA) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) contents in water due to the complexation of HA and DOC with metals. DGT devices containing different liquid binding agents (Py-PEI, polyacrylate (PA) and poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS)) were deployed in the same solution. The higher uptake percentages of Py-PEI DGT (13.2 ± 1.1, 26.5 ± 2.4 and 62.7 ± 3.2% of total Cu(2+), Cd(2+) and Pb(2+)) were obtained with respective to PSS DGT (6.7 ± 0.6, 9.2 ± 0.9 and 29.6 ± 2.7% of total above metals) and PA DGT (8.9 ± 0.9 and 16.2 ± 1.1% of total Cu(2+) and Cd(2+)) due to its relatively strong binding affinity with metals.

Cognitive-enhancing effects of polygalasaponin hydrolysate in aß(25-35)-induced amnesic mice.

Polygalasaponins are the major active constituents of Polygala tenuifolia exhibiting antiamnesic activity, but their applications are limited due to their toxicities. Evidence showed that the toxicities can be attenuated by hydrolysis. Herein, effects of a hydrolysate of polygalasaponins (HPS) on cognitive impairment induced by Aß(25-35) were assessed by Morris water maze and step-through passive avoidance tests. The impaired spatial reference memory was improved by HPS (50 and 100 mg/kg). In the acquisition trial of step-through test, HPS (50 and 100 mg/kg) increased the latency into the dark chamber and decreased the error frequency significantly (P < .05). However, no significant change was observed during the retention trial. Additionally, HPS increased the corresponding SOD activities (62.34%, 22.09%) and decreased MDA levels (28.21%, 32.35%) in both cortex and hippocampus as compared to model animals. These results show that HPS may be a useful treatment against amnesia probably via its antioxidant properties.

Phytolacacinoside A, a new triterpenoid saponin from Phytolacca acinosa Roxb.

Phytolacacinoside A (1), a novel triterpenoid saponin, together with the seven known compounds, was isolated from 75% ethanol extract of the root of Phytolacca acinosa Roxb (Phytolaccaceae). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of analysis of spectroscopic data and physicochemical properties as 3-O-beta-[(beta-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 --> 4)-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl)]-11beta-methoxy-jaligonic acid 30-methyl ester 28-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1), 3-O-beta-[(beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 --> 4)-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl)]-jaligonic acid 30-methyl ester 28-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (2, esculentoside G), 3-O-beta-[(beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 --> 4)-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl)]-jaligonic acid 30-methyl ester (3, phytolaccoside E), 3-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-jaligonic acid 30-methyl ester (4, phytolaccoside B), hypaphorine (5), palmitic acid monoglyceride (6), beta-sitosterol (7), and daucosterol (8).

[Plants as bioreactor for the production of pharmaceutical proteins].

Transgenic plant as bioreactor has been used to produce recombinant proteins for medicinal purposes, including mammalian antibodies, blood substitutes and vaccines. As the demand for biopharmaceuticals is expected to increase, transgenic plants have the potential to provide virtually unlimited quantities of proteins for use as tools in both human health care and the bioscience. This paper reviews the recent developments in this field and the prospect of commercial applications.