Active Pulsatile Gels: From a Chemical Microreactor to a Polymeric Actuator.

We report on a synthesis protocol, experimental characterization, and theoretical modeling of active pulsatile Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) hydrogels. Our two-step synthesis technique allows independent optimization of the geometry, the chemical, and the mechanical properties of BZ gels. We identify the role of the surrounding medium chemistry and gel radius for the occurrence of BZ gel oscillations, quantified by the Damköhler number, which is the ratio of chemical reaction to diffusion rates. Tuning the BZ gel size to maximize its chemomechanical oscillation amplitude, we find that its oscillatory strain amplitude is limited by the time scale of gel swelling relative to the chemical oscillation period. Our experimental findings are in good agreement with a Vanag-Epstein model of BZ chemistry and a Tanaka Fillmore theory of gel swelling dynamics.

A novel variant of DNM1L expanding the clinical phenotypic spectrum: a case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Mitochondrial diseases are heterogeneous in terms of clinical manifestations and genetic characteristics. The dynamin 1-like gene (DNM1L) encodes dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1), a member of the GTPases dynamin superfamily responsible for mitochondrial and peroxisomal fission. DNM1L variants can lead to mitochondrial fission dysfunction. CASE PRESENTATION: Herein, we report a distinctive clinical phenotype associated with a novel variant of DNM1L and review the relevant literature. A 5-year-old girl presented with paroxysmal hemiplegia, astigmatism, and strabismus. Levocarnitine and coenzyme Q10 supplement showed good efficacy. Based on the patient's clinical data, trio whole-exome sequencing (trio-WES) and mtDNA sequencing were performed to identify the potential causative genes, and Sanger sequencing was used to validate the specific variation in the proband and her family members. The results showed a novel de novo heterozygous nonsense variant in exon 20 of the DNM1L gene, c.2161C>T, p.Gln721Ter, which is predicted to be a pathogenic variant according to the ACMG guidelines. The proband has a previously undescribed clinical manifestation, namely hemiparesis, which may be an additional feature of the growing phenotypic spectrum of DNM1L-related diseases. CONCLUSION: Our findings elucidate a novel variant in DNM1L-related disease and reveal an expanding phenotypic spectrum associated with DNM1L variants. This report highlights the necessity of next generation sequencing for early diagnosis of patients, and that further clinical phenotypic and genotypic analysis may help to improve the understanding of DNM1L-related diseases.

Expression of SMARCA2 and SMARCA4 in gastric adenocarcinoma and construction of a nomogram prognostic model.

BACKGROUND: Aberrant expression of SWI/SNF complex subunits is closely associated with tumorigenesis. The clinicopathological and prognostic significance of altered SMARCA2 and SMARCA4 subunits has not been well evaluated in gastric adenocarcinoma. METHODS: We collected 1271 postoperative cases of gastric adenocarcinoma and then constructed tissue microarrays (TMA), from which we obtained the immunohistochemistry expression of SMARCA2 and SMARCA4. Next, we screened the variables related to the loss of SMARCA2 and SMARCA4 by univariate correlation analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Then, we identified the variables related to prognosis by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Finally, we constructed a nomogram prognostic model and evaluated it. RESULTS: The loss of SMARCA2 and SMARCA4 occurred in 236 (18.57%) and 86 (6.77%) cases, respectively, including 26 cases of co-loss. After multivariate logistic regression, variables independently associated with SMARCA2 loss were T stage, differentiation status, WHO histological classification, and EBER. Variables independently associated with SMARCA4 loss were differentiation status, WHO histological classification, PD-L1, and MMR. Survival analysis revealed that the SMARCA2 and SMARCA4 lost groups showed worse survival than the corresponding present groups (P = 0.032 and P = 0.0048, respectively). Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses identified independent prognostic factors, including age, T stage, N stage, M stage, SMARCA2, and chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: The loss of SMARCA2 and SMARCA4 correlated with poor differentiation, leading to a worse prognosis. SMARCA2, as an independent prognostic factor, combined with other clinicopathological variables, established a novel nomogram prognostic model, which outperformed the AJCC TNM model.

Preparation and Characterization of Metal-Organic Framework Coatings for Improving Protein Crystallization Screening.

Modifying crystallization plates can significantly impact the success rate and quality of protein crystal growth, making it a helpful strategy in protein crystallography. However, appropriate methods for preparing nano-sized particles with a high specific surface area and strategies for applying these nanoparticles to form suitable coatings on crystallization plate surfaces still need to be clarified. Here, we utilized both an ultrasonic crusher and a high-pressure homogenizer to create a nano metal-organic framework (MOF), specifically HKUST-1, and introduced a solvent evaporation method for producing MOF coatings on 96-well crystallization plates to induce protein crystal growth. The morphology of MOF coatings on the resin surface of the plate well was characterized using optical and scanning electron microscopy. Compared to the control group, crystallization screening experiments on nine proteins confirmed the effectiveness of plates with MOF coatings. Applying MOF coatings to crystallization plates is an easy-to-use, time-efficient, and potent tool for initiating crystallization experiments.

[Analysis of clinical characteristics and ACADM gene variants in four children with Medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical and genetic characteristics of four patients with medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD). METHODS: Four children who had presented at the Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University between August 2019 and August 2021 were selected as the study subjects. Clinical data of the children were collected. The children were subjected to whole exome sequencing (WES). RESULTS: All of the four children were diagnosed with MCADD. Blood amino acid and ester acyl carnitine spectrum test showed that the concentration of octanoyl carnitine (C8) was significantly increased. The main clinical manifestations included poor mental response (3 cases), intermittent diarrhea with abdominal pain (1 case), vomiting (1 case), increased transaminase (3 cases), and metabolic acidosis (2 cases). Five variants were identified by genetic testing, among which c.341A>G (p.Y114C) was unreported previously. Three were missense variants, one was frameshift variant and one was splicing variant. CONCLUSION: The clinical heterogeneity of MCADD is obvious, and the severity of the disease may vary. WES can assist with the diagnosis. Delineation of the clinical symptoms and genetic characteristics of the disease can facilitate early diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

[Clinical characteristics and genetic analysis of a child with Galactosemia due to compound heterozygous variants of GALT gene].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical features and genetic basis of a child with Galactosemia. METHODS: A child who had presented at the Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University on November 20, 2019 was selected as the study subject. Clinical data of the child was collected. Whole exome sequencing was carried out for the child. Candidate variants were validated by Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: Clinical manifestations of the child have included anemia, feeding difficulty, jaundice, hypomyotonia, abnormal liver function and coagulation abnormality. Tandem mass spectrometry showed increased citrulline, methionine, ornithine and tyrosine. Urine organic acid analysis showed increased phenyllactic acid, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, 4-hydroxyphenyllactic acid, 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate and N-acetyltyrosine. Genetic testing revealed that the child has harbored compound heterozygous variants of the GALT gene, namely c.627T>A (p.Y209*) and c.370G>C (p.G124R), which were respectively inherited from her healthy parents. Among these, c.627T>A (p.Y209*) was known as a likely pathogenic variant, while c.370G>C (p. G124R) was unreported previously and also predicted as a likely pathogenic variant(PM1+PM2_Supporting+PP3_Moderate+PPR). CONCLUSION: Above discovery has expanded the spectrum of the GALT gene variants underlying Galactosemia. Patients with thrombocytopenia, feeding difficulties, jaundice, abnormal liver function and coagulation abnormality without obvious causes should be analyzed by screening of metabolic diseases in combination with genetic testing.

Prognostic and immune infiltration significance of ARID1A in TCGA molecular subtypes of gastric adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: AT-rich interaction domain 1A (ARID1A) is an essential subunit of the switch/sucrose non-fermentable chromatin remodeling complex and is considered to be a tumor suppressor. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) molecular classification has deepened our understanding of gastric cancer at the molecular level. This study explored the significance of ARID1A expression in TCGA subtypes of gastric adenocarcinoma. METHODS: We collected 1248 postoperative patients with gastric adenocarcinoma, constructed tissue microarrays, performed immunohistochemistry for ARID1A, and obtained correlations between ARID1A and clinicopathological variables. We then carried out the prognostic analysis of ARID1A in TCGA subtypes. Finally, we screened patients by random sampling and propensity score matching method and performed multiplex immunofluorescence to explore the effects of ARID1A on CD4, CD8, and PD-L1 expression in TCGA subtypes. RESULTS: Seven variables independently associated with ARID1A were screened out: mismatch repair proteins, PD-L1, T stage, differentiation status, p53, E-cadherin, and EBER. The independent prognostic variables in the genomically stable (GS) subtype were N stage, M stage, T stage, chemotherapy, size, and ARID1A. PD-L1 expression was higher in the ARID1A negative group than in the ARID1A positive group in all TCGA subgroups. CD4 showed higher expression in the ARID1A negative group in most subtypes, while CD8 did not show the difference in most subtypes. When ARID1A was negative, PD-L1 expression was positively correlated with CD4/CD8 expression; while when ARID1A was positive, this correlation disappeared. CONCLUSIONS: The negative expression of ARID1A occurred more frequently in the Epstein-Barr virus and microsatellite instability subtypes and was an independent adverse prognostic factor in the GS subtype. In the TCGA subtypes, ARID1A negative expression caused increased CD4 and PD-L1 expression, whereas CD8 expression appeared independent of ARID1A. The expression of CD4/CD8 induced by ARID1A negativity was accompanied by an increase in PD-L1 expression.

Digital inclusive finance & the high-quality agricultural development: Prevalence of regional heterogeneity in rural China.

Developing digital inclusive finance is one of the most effective ways to alleviate financial exclusion in the agriculture sector. For empirical investigation, data from 30 provinces of Rural China is collected from the period 2011 to 2020. The study constructs five dimensions and 22 indicators in total to critically conduct the impact of digital inclusive finance on high-quality agricultural development. The level of agricultural development is measured by entropy weight TOPSIS, and the impact of digital inclusive finance on its high-quality development is empirically tested. The results show that digital inclusive finance has significantly improved the agricultural sector and, particularly, the Eastern region of China has the greatest impact. Three dimensions of digital inclusion finance have regional heterogeneity in terms of impact on agricultural development in Rural China. Data does not show the simple linear relationship between digital inclusion finance and agricultural development quality. The impact of the former on the latter is characterized by the double thresholds. The digital inclusive finance index is the weakest when it is lower than the first threshold that is 4.7704, and the impact of the second threshold that is 5.3186 on high-quality agricultural development is gradually enhanced. After crossing the second threshold, the impact of digital inclusive finance on high-quality agricultural development in Rural China is significantly enhanced. The development of digital inclusive finance should be strengthened in the Central and Western regions to compensate for regional financial imbalances and promote synergy in the high-quality development of agriculture across the country.

Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of SWI/SNF complex subunits in undifferentiated gastric carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The switch/sucrose nonfermentable (SWI/SNF) complex is an evolutionarily conserved chromatin remodeling complex that displays dysfunction in many tumors, especially undifferentiated carcinoma. Cancer stem cells (CSC), a special type of undifferentiated cancer cells with stem cell-like properties, play an essential role in tumor cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. In undifferentiated gastric carcinomas, the association of SWI/SNF complexes with clinicopathological features, CSC phenotype, and the prognosis is not fully understood. METHODS: We collected a cohort of 21 patients with undifferentiated/dedifferentiated gastric carcinoma. We next performed immunohistochemistry staining for the five subunits of the SWI/SNF complex (ARID1A, ARID1B, SMARCA2, SMARCA4, and SMARCB1), and four mismatch repair proteins (MLH1, PMS2, MSH2, and MSH6), as well as other markers such as p53, PD-L1, and cancer stem cell (CSC) markers (SOX2, SALL4). Then, we investigated the correlation of SWI/SNF complex subunits with clinicopathological characters and performed prognostic analysis. RESULTS: We observed SMARCA2 loss in 12 cases (57.14%), followed by ARID1A (5 cases, 23.81%) and SMARCA4 (3 cases, 14.29%). Fourteen cases (66.67%) lost any one of the SWI/SNF complex subunits, including 3 cases with SMARCA2 and ARID1A co-loss, and 3 cases with SMARCA2 and SMARCA4 co-loss. Correlation analysis revealed that the CSC phenotype occurred more frequently in the SWI/SNF complex deficient group (P = 0.0158). Survival analysis revealed that SWI/WNF complex deficiency, undifferentiated status, CSC phenotype, and the loss of SMARCA2 and SMARCA4 resulted in worse survival. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses screened out three independent factors associated with worse prognosis: undifferentiated status, SWI/SNF complex deficiency, and lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: The SWI/SNF complex deficiency was more likely to result in a CSC phenotype and worse survival and was an independent prognostic factor in undifferentiated/dedifferentiated gastric carcinoma.

Volumetric Imaging of Neural Activity by Light Field Microscopy.

Recording the highly diverse and dynamic activities in large populations of neurons in behaving animals is crucial for a better understanding of how the brain works. To meet this challenge, extensive efforts have been devoted to developing functional fluorescent indicators and optical imaging techniques to optically monitor neural activity. Indeed, optical imaging potentially has extremely high throughput due to its non-invasive access to large brain regions and capability to sample neurons at high density, but the readout speed, such as the scanning speed in two-photon scanning microscopy, is often limited by various practical considerations. Among different imaging methods, light field microscopy features a highly parallelized 3D fluorescence imaging scheme and therefore promises a novel and faster strategy for functional imaging of neural activity. Here, we briefly review the working principles of various types of light field microscopes and their recent developments and applications in neuroscience studies. We also discuss strategies and considerations of optimizing light field microscopy for different experimental purposes, with illustrative examples in imaging zebrafish and mouse brains.

Profiling of d-alanine production by the microbial isolates of rat gut microbiota.

d-alanine (d-Ala) and several other d-amino acids (d-AAs) act as hormones and neuromodulators in nervous and endocrine systems. Unlike the endogenously synthesized d-serine in animals, d-Ala may be from exogenous sources, e.g., diet and intestinal microorganisms. However, it is unclear if the capability to produce d-Ala and other d-AAs varies among different microbial strains in the gut. We isolated individual microorganisms of rat gut microbiota and profiled their d-AA production in vitro, focusing on d-Ala. Serial dilutions of intestinal contents from adult male rats were plated on agar to obtain clonal cultures. Using MALDI-TOF MS for rapid strain typing, we identified 38 unique isolates, grouped into 11 species based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. We then used two-tier screening to profile bacterial d-AA production, combining a d-amino acid oxidase-based enzymatic assay for rapid assessment of non-acidic d-AA amount and chiral LC-MS/MS to quantify individual d-AAs, revealing 19 out of the 38 isolated strains as d-AA producers. LC-MS/MS analysis of the eight top d-AA producers showed high levels of d-Ala in all strains tested, with substantial inter- and intra-species variations. Though results from the enzymatic assay and LC-MS/MS analysis aligned well, LC-MS/MS further revealed the existence of d-glutamate and d-aspartate, which are poor substrates for this enzymatic assay. We observed large inter- and intra-species variation of d-AA production profiles from rat gut microbiome species, demonstrating the importance of chemical profiling of gut microbiota in addition to sequencing, furthering the idea that microbial metabolites modulate host physiology.

Biomimetic Chiral Photonic Materials with Tunable Metallic Colorations Prepared from Chiral Melanin-like Nanorods for UV Shielding, Humidity Sensing, and Cosmetics.

Many biological species combine the helical organization of cellulose or chitin microfibrils with broadband light absorption of black melanin to produce brilliant structural colors with metallic and glossy effects and other diverse functions. In this work, based on core-shell CNC@PDA chiral nanorods consisting of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) as the core and melanin-like polydopamine (PDA) as the shell that can form well-defined chiral liquid crystal phases, we report chiral photonic materials that closely mimic the unique coloration mechanisms and functionalities mastered by several biological species. The photonic films formed by such single CNC@PDA nanorods have brilliant iridescent structural colors originating from selective reflection of circularly polarized lights by the helical organization of CNC@PDAs across the films. Furthermore, the colors of such films have background-independent brightness, high visibility, and metallic effects that arise from the light absorption of the PDA component. Especially, the color ranges and metallic effects of the films can be conveniently tuned by varying the thickness of the PDA shell. In addition, the UV absorption and hygroscopic properties of PDA endow these CNC@PDA films with efficient broadband UV shielding and sensitive humidity-induced dynamic color changes. Due to the mussel-like superior adhesion of PDA, CNC@PDA-based photonic coatings can be formed conformably onto diverse kinds of substrates. A shiny eye shadow with viewing angle-dependent colorful patterns was used to demonstrate the potential applications. With combinations of multiple unique properties in one photonic material fabricated from a single building block, these CNC@PDA-based films are expected to have potential applications in cosmetics, UV protection, anticounterfeiting, chiral reflectors, etc.

Association of sleep disturbance with shift work, occupational stress, and musculoskeletal pain in Chinese public hospital emergency workers: A multicentre cross-sectional study.

Poor sleep, which is reportedly prevalent among healthcare professionals, could lead to various detrimental consequences. This study aimed to investigate the sleep quality of individuals working in emergency departments of public hospitals in China and explore the potential factors influencing sleep disturbance. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 7688 emergency workers from 147 public hospitals in Shandong, China. Log-binomial regression analysis was performed to explore the relationship of sleep disturbance with possible influencing factors, including individual and work characteristics, occupational stress, shift work, and musculoskeletal pain. The participants' mean Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score was 9.6 ± 4.8, with 5341 (69.5%, 68.2-70.7%) of them experiencing sleep disturbance. The sleep quality was poorer in doctors (10.2 ± 5.1, 71.0%, 69.0-73.0%) than in nurses (9.2 ± 4.5, 68.6%, 67.0-70.1%), and poorer in those working in secondary (9.9 ± 4.5, 70.2%, 68.0-72.3%) and tertiary (12.2 ± 4.9, 77.5%, 75.3-79.7%) hospitals than in primary hospitals (8.0 ± 4.1, 64.6%, 62.6-66.6%). High prevalence of sleep disturbance was significantly associated with shift work, occupational stress, musculoskeletal pain, fewer breaks in a work shift, and less exercise during leisure time, after adjusting for confounding variables. Sleep disturbance occurred in emergency workers in the following order: two-shift rotation > three-shift rotation > permanent night shift > permanent day shift. Emergency workers in public hospitals in China had poor sleep quality and commonly experienced musculoskeletal pain. Urgent and comprehensive measures are needed to combat these issues.

SMARCA2 deficiency in NSCLC: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical analysis of a large series from a single institution.

BACKGROUND: SMARCA2 (SWI/SNF Related, Matrix Associated, Actin Dependent Regulator of Chromatin, Subfamily A, Member 2) is an important ATPase catalytic subunit in the switch-sucrose nonfermenting (SWI/SNF) complex. However, its relationship with the pathological features of NSCLC and its prognosis remain unclear. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 2390 patients with surgically resected NSCLC, constructed tissue microarrays (TMAs) and performed immunohistochemical assays. We analyzed the correlation of SAMRCA2 with clinicopathological features and evaluated its prognostic value. RESULTS: Among 2390 NSCLC cases, the negative expression ratios of SAMRCA2, SMARCA4, ARID1A, ARID1B and INI1 were 9.3%, 1.8%, 1.2%, 0.4% and 0%, respectively. In NSCLC, male sex, T3 and T4 stage, moderate and poor differentiation, tumor ≥ 2 cm, Ki67 ≥ 15%, SOX-2 negative expression, middle lobe lesion and adenocarcinoma were relative risk factors affecting SMARCA2-negative expression. In lung adenocarcinomas, high-grade nuclei, histological morphology of acinar and papillary, solid and micropapillary and TTF-1-negative expression were relative risk factors affecting SMARCA2-negative expression. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the OS was shorter in the SMARCA2-negative group. Multivariate survival analysis revealed that SMARCA2-negative expression was an independent factor correlated with a poor prognosis in NSCLC. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, SMARCA2-negative expression is an independent predictor of a poor outcome of NSCLC and is a potential target for NSCLC treatment.

Bioreduction of Gold Ions under Greener Conditions by the Thiol-Modified M13 Bacteriophage and with Hydroxylamine as the Autocatalytic Reducing Agent.

Bioreduction of gold ions by the thiol-modified M13 bacteriophage (M13-SH) has been exploited as the potential alternative to conventional methods based on toxic chemicals, due to the gold affinity of the thiol groups, inherent gold reduction, and high specific surface area of the filamentous virus. Such efforts have been hindered by harsh conditions involving strong reducing agents and extreme pH that are harmful to the virus. Herein, a virus-friendly and greener method of bioreduction of AuCl4 - at neutral pH based on M13-SH is demonstrated. M13-SH was prepared by coupling the virus with N-succinimidyl S-acetylthioacetate, followed by deacylation in the presence of hydroxylamine·HCl to expose the thiol groups. The key finding is that without time-consuming purification, the mixture after deacylation consisting of M13-SH, residual hydroxylamine, and so forth can directly turn ionic gold species into gold, leading to macroscopic precipitated products with interconnected linear structures consisting of fused gold nanoparticles. Besides working as the virus-friendly reducing agent with a unique autocatalytic style, hydroxylamine diminishes disulfide bonding-induced intervirus bundling of M13-SH so as to maintain its efficient biosorption of ionic gold precursors. This work demonstrates a general and green strategy of bioreduction of gold via combination of the gold-affinity proteins or organisms and the unique autocatalytic reduction of hydroxylamine.

Biosynthesis of Gut-Microbiota-Derived Lantibiotics Reveals a Subgroup of S8 Family Proteases for Class III Leader Removal.

Lanthipeptides are a group of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides with diverse structural features and bioactivities. Gut-microbiota-derived lanthipeptides play important roles in gut homeostasis of the host. Herein, we report the discovery and biosynthesis of class III lantibiotics named amylopeptins, which are derived from the gut microbiota of Sprague-Dawley rats and display a narrow antimicrobial spectrum. In contrast to known class III lanthipeptides, the biosynthesis of amylopeptins employs AmyP, which belongs to a subgroup of S8 family serine proteases, to remove the leader of corresponding precursor peptides in a site-specific manner during the last step of their maturation. Overall, this study shows for the first time that S8 family proteases participate in the biosynthesis of class III lanthipeptides.

Construction of a survival prediction model for high-and low -grade UTUC after tumor resection based on "SEER database": a multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: There are differences in survival between high-and low-grade Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma (UTUC). Our study aimed to develop a nomogram to predict overall survival (OS) of patients with high- and low-grade UTUC after tumor resection, and to explore the difference between high- and low-grade patients. METHODS: Patients confirmed to have UTUC between 2004 and 2015 were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. The UTUCs were identified and classified as high- and low-grade, and 1-, 3- and 5-year nomograms were established. The nomogram was then validated using the Chinese multicenter dataset (patients diagnosed in Shandong, China between January 2010 and October 2020). RESULTS: In the high-grade UTUC patients, nine important factors related to survival after tumor resection were identified to construct nomogram. The C index of training dataset was 0.740 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.727-0.754), showing good calibration. The C index of internal validation dataset was 0.729(95% CI:0.707-0.750). On the other hand, Two independent predictors were identified to construct nomogram of low-grade UTUC. The C index was 0.714 (95% CI: 0.671-0.758) for the training set,0.731(95% CI:0.670-0.791) for the internal validation dataset. Encouragingly, the nomogram was clinically useful and had a good discriminative ability to identify patients at high risk. CONCLUSION: We constructed a nomogram and a corresponding risk classification system predicting the OS of patients with an initial diagnosis of high-and low-grade UTUC.

Sodium alginate/collagen/stromal cell-derived factor-1 neural scaffold loaded with BMSCs promotes neurological function recovery after traumatic brain injury.

Stem cell therapy is promising for neural repair in devastating traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the low survival and differentiation rates of transplanted stem cells are main obstacles to efficient stem cell therapy in TBI. Stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and its receptor CXCR4 are key factors that regulate the survival, recruitment, and differentiation of stem cells. Herein, we synthesized a sodium alginate (SA)/collagen type I (Col)/SDF-1 hydrogel and investigated whether the SA/Col/SDF-1 hydrogel loaded with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) had therapeutic effects on a TBI model. Our results showed that the SA/Col/SDF-1 scaffold could stably release SDF-1 and provide biocompatible and biodegradable microenvironment for the survival, migration, and neuronal differentiation of BMSCs in vitro. In a rat model of TBI, the SA/Col/SDF-1 hydrogel loaded with BMSCs significantly ameliorated motor and cognition dysfunction and relieved anxiety and depressive-like behaviors. In addition, the BMSCs/SA/Col/SDF-1 scaffold reduced brain lesions and neuronal cell death and mitigated neuroinflammation. Further studies demonstrated that the BMSCs/SA/Col/SDF-1 hydrogel promoted the migration of BMSCs in the lesions and partly enhanced neurogenesis by activating the SDF-1/CXCR4-mediated FAK/PI3K/AKT pathway. Taken together, our results indicate that the SA/Col/SDF-1 scaffold loaded with BMSCs exerts neuroreparative effects in a TBI rat model, and thus, it may serve as an alternative neural regeneration scaffold for brain injury repair. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Hydrogel facilitates the biological behaviors of transplanted stem cells for tissue regeneration. In this study, we synthesized sodium alginate (SA)/collagen type I (Col)/ scaffold to simultaneously deliver stromal cell derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in a rat model of traumatic brain injury (TBI). We found that the SA/Col/SDF-1 hydrogel could continuously release SDF-1 and was conducive to the survival, migration and neuronal differentiation of BMSCs in vitro. In addition, the SA/Col/SDF-1 hydrogel loaded with BMSCs significantly ameliorated neurological deficits, mitigated neuroinflammation, promoted the recruitment of BMSCs and enhanced neurogenesis in TBI partly by activating the SDF-1/CXCR4-mediated FAK/PI3K/AKT pathway. Our results may serve as an alternative neural regeneration strategy for brain injury.