cGAS: action in the nucleus.

As a canonical cytoplasmic DNA sensor, cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) plays a key role in innate immunity. In recent years, a growing number of studies have shown that cGAS can also be located in the nucleus and plays new functions such as regulating DNA damage repair, nuclear membrane repair, chromosome fusion, DNA replication, angiogenesis and other non-canonical functions. Meanwhile, the mechanisms underlying the nucleo-cytoplasmic transport and the regulation of cGAS activation have been revealed in recent years. Based on the current understanding of the structure, subcellular localization and canonical functions of cGAS, this review focuses on summarizing the mechanisms underlying nucleo-cytoplasmic transport, activity regulation and non-canonical functions of cGAS in the nucleus. We aim to provide insights into exploring the new functions of cGAS in the nucleus and advance its clinical translation.

Marked variations in diversity and functions of gut microbiota between wild and domestic stag beetle Dorcus Hopei Hopei.

BACKGROUND: Although stag beetles are a popular saprophytic insect, their gut microbiome has been poorly studied. Here, 16 S rRNA gene sequencing was employed to reveal the gut microbiota composition and functional variations between wild and domestic Dorcus hopei hopei (Dhh) larval individuals. RESULTS: The results indicated a significant difference between the wild and domestic Dhh gut microbiota., the domestic Dhh individuals contained more gut microbial taxa (e.g. genera Ralstonia and Methyloversatilis) with xenobiotic degrading functions. The wild Dhh possesses gut microbiota compositions (e.g. Turicibacter and Tyzzerella ) more appropriate for energy metabolism and potential growth. This study furthermore assigned all Dhh individuals by size into groups for data analysis; which indicated limited disparities between the gut microbiota of different-sized D. hopei hopei larvae. CONCLUSION: The outcome of this study illustrated that there exists a significant discrepancy in gut microbiota composition between wild and domestic Dhh larvae. In addition, the assemblage of gut microbiome in Dhh was primarily attributed to environmental influences instead of individual differences such as developmental potential or size. These findings will provide a valuable theoretical foundation for the protection of wild saprophytic insects and the potential utilization of the insect-associated intestinal microbiome in the future.

A non-canonical role of endothelin converting enzyme 1 (ECE1) in promoting lung cancer development via directly targeting protein kinase B (AKT).

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the second most common malignancy in the world, and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) in particular is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Endothelin converting enzyme 1 (ECE1) is a membrane-bound metalloprotease involved in endothelin-1 (ET-1) processing and regulates vasoconstriction. However, very few studies have reported the involvement of ECE1 in regulating tumor cell proliferation, and the mechanism remains poorly understood. Therefore, we aimed to determine the role of ECE1 in lung cancer development. METHODS: The Cancer Genome Atlas database and Kaplan-Meier plotter were used to assess the association between ECE1 and lung cancer. The expression of ECE1 was detected using immunohistochemistry staining and western blotting. A variety of in vitro assays were performed to evaluate the effects of ECE1 on the colony formation, proliferation, migration and invasion using ECE1 knockdown lung cancer cells. The gene expression profiles regulated by ECE1 were investigated by RNA sequencing. An immunoprecipitation assay and immunofluorescence assay were used to evaluate the mechanism underlying the regulatory effect of ECE1 on protein kinase B (AKT). The effect of ECE1 on tumor development was assessed by xenografted lung cancer cells in either C57BL/6 mice or nude mice. RESULTS: ECE1 was upregulated in LUAD and correlated with the poor prognosis of patients with LUAD. Functional studies showed that knockdown of ECE1 retarded the progression of tumors formed by lung cancer cells at least partly by inhibiting tumor cell proliferation. Moreover, ECE1 accelerated tumor cell proliferation through promoting AKT activation dispensable of its canonical target ET-1. Mechanically, ECE1 interacted with the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of AKT and facilitated its translocation to the plasma membrane for activation. Furthermore, the inhibition of AKT activity counteracted the lung cancer cell growth inhibition observed both in vitro and in xenografts caused by ECE1 suppression. CONCLUSIONS: The present study reveals a non-canonical function of ECE1 in regulating AKT activation and cell proliferation, which provides the basis for the development of a novel strategy for the intervention of cancer including LUAD by abrogating ECE1-AKT signaling.

Zinc and fluorine ions dual-modulated NiCoP nanoprism array electrocatalysts for efficient water splitting.

Designing efficient, stable, and low-cost bifunctional catalysts for overall water splitting is significant but challenging. In this work, Zn and F ions co-doped NiCoP nanoprism arrays grown directly on nickel foam (Zn/F-NiCoP/NF) was synthesized via hydrothermal method followed by phosphorization treatment. The resultant Zn/F-NiCoP/NF exhibits high electrocatalytic activity towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER, η10 = 59 mV) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER, η50 = 285 mV). An alkaline electrolyzer using Zn/F-NiCoP/NF as both cathode and anode requires a low cell voltage of 1.568 V at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 with a high long-term stability of up to 40 h, which outperforms many reported Ni,Co-based catalysts. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations proof that simultaneous doping of NiCoP with Zn and F ions provides flexibility to regulate the electronic configuration and downshifts the transition metal d-band center, thereby optimizing adsorption energy between reactants and intermediates, which enhances the HER and OER catalytic activities. This work highlights that cation-anion co-doping strategy is an effective way to develop highly active transition metal phosphides electrocatalyst for water splitting.

Synergistic modulation of inverse spinel Fe3O4 by doping with chromium and nitrogen for efficient electrocatalytic water splitting.

Earth-abundant Fe-based oxides have drawn less attention in electrocatalytic water splitting owing to the inferior intrinsic activity and poor conductivity. Therefore, developing an effective method to increase the catalytic performance of Fe-based oxides is of great importance for the practical application. Herein, a novel Cr/N co-doped Fe3O4 electrocatalyst (denoted as Cr-Fe3O4-N/NF) is designed and prepared by a simple immersion treatment followed by a calcination method for efficient water splitting. The resultant Cr-Fe3O4-N/NF shows significant catalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with overpotentials of 218 and 95 mV at 10 mA cm-2. Furthermore, the water splitting system using Cr-Fe3O4-N/NF could afford a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at 1.53 V, which is superior to two-electrode system composed of Pt/C and RuO2. The high activities are attributed to the synergistic effect between Cr and N element doping. Specifically, the introduction of electron-deficient Cr is conductive to accelerate the dissociation process of water, adsorption process of intermediates, adjust the electronic structure. Simultaneously, N doping can increase the adsorption of H intermediates, provide more active sites for hydrogen absorption, and improve the electrical conductivity. This study provides a new strategy for Cr and N co-doped metal oxides electrocatalysts for high-performance water splitting.

Ru-doping modulated cobalt phosphide nanoarrays as efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution rection.

Electrochemical water splitting is regarded as a prospective means for H2 production. The lack of efficient active sites and the sluggish kinetics in alkaline media remain the major obstacles for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, a rational construction of Ru-doped cobalt phosphide leaf-like nanoarrays supported on carbon cloth (Ru-CoP NAs) was designed via a MOF-derived route and subsequent phosphating treatment for accelerating HER in the alkaline. The unique hierarchical structure is conductive to exposing more active sites and accelerating the diffusion of electrolyte and the release of H2 bubble. The optimized Ru-CoP-2.5 NAs exhibits a small overpotential of 52 mV to drive 10 mA cm-2 for HER and a low Tafel slope of 39.7 mV dec-1 in 1 M KOH, which outperforms most of other reported CoP-based electrocatalysts. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) calculations unveil that Ru dopants can modulate the electron environment around pure CoP and optimize the adsorption energy of H*, accelerating the reaction kinetics. This work provides an insight to promote the electrocatalytic activity of metal phosphide for hydrogen production.

Synergistically Coupled CoMo/CoMoP Electrocatalyst for Highly Efficient and Stable Overall Water Splitting.

Finding reservoir-rich and efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for water splitting is key to further sustainable energy development. Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) are extensively exploited as effective electrocatalysts, but the construction of strong coupling interfaces to improve catalytic performance by simple methods is still a bottleneck. Here, we designed and prepared a novel heterostructure electrocatalyst composed of cobalt-molybdenum (CoMo) alloy particles integrated with CoMoP nanosheets via the method of template-assisted conversion, followed by electrodeposition. Thanks to the strong interfacial coupling and synergistic effect between CoMo alloy particles and CoMoP nanosheets, the prepared CoMo/CoMoP/NF shows outstanding activity with overpotentials of only 29 mV for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and 246 mV for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in 1 M KOH at a current density of 10 mA cm-2. Furthermore, the assembled CoMo/CoMoP || CoMo/CoMoP electrode can attain 10 mA cm-2 with a low battery voltage of 1.54 V. This study offers a valuable reference to the construction of bimetallic alloy/bimetallic phosphide heterostructure electrocatalysts, which applies to the large-scale application of electrocatalytic energy conversion technology.

Synergistically integrated Co9S8@NiFe-layered double hydroxide core-branch hierarchical architectures as efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for water splitting.

Efficient, low-cost, and robust electrocatalysts development for overall water splitting is highly desirable for renewable energy production yet still remains challenging. In this work, Co9S8 nanoneedles arrays are synergistically integrated with NiFe-layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) nanosheets to form Co9S8@NiFe-LDH core-branch hierarchical architectures supported on nickel foam (Co9S8@NiFe-LDH HAs/NF). The Co9S8@NiFe-LDH HAs/NF exhibits high catalytic performances for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with overpotential of 190 and 145 mV at 10 mA cm-2, respectively. The density functional theory calculations predict that the synergy between Co9S8 and NiFe-LDH contributes to the high catalytic performance by lowering the energy barrier of HER. When used as both anode and cathode electrocatalyst, it can deliver 10 mA cm-2 at a low cell voltage of 1.585 V with excellent long-term durability. This work opens a new avenue toward the exploration of highly efficient and stable electrocatalyst for overall water splitting.

Synergistically Integrating Nickel Porous Nanosheets with 5d Transition Metal Oxides Enabling Efficient Electrocatalytic Overall Water Splitting.

An integration hydrogen adsorption benign component such as a metal with an oxygen-containing reactant adsorption benign component such as metal oxide allows for efficient overall water splitting in alkaline solutions and yet remains a considerable challenge. Herein, 5d transition metal oxide WO2 and WO3 (denoted as WOx) nanoparticles are purposely integrated with a porous Ni nanosheet array grown on nickel foam (NF) to design a strongly coupled Ni/WOx/NF porous nanosheet array electrocatalyst. Through the anion exchange of Ni(OH)2 nanosheets with tungstate, followed by hydrogenation treatment, abundant Ni/WOx interfaces with strong coupling interaction are generated. Benefiting from the strong synergies between Ni and WOx and the unique nanostructure, Ni/WOx/NF only requires the overpotentials of 42 mV for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and 395.7 mV for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) to achieve the current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm-2, respectively. Furthermore, the Ni/WOx/NF can achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at a low cell voltage of 1.54 V in a two-electrode system. This work opens a novel avenue for the design of high-performance but low-cost electrocatalysts for overall water splitting.

Synergistically coupling of Fe-doped CoP nanocubes with CoP nanosheet arrays towards enhanced and robust oxygen evolution electrocatalysis.

The rational design of high-performance and low-cost oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts for water splitting is of vital importance for development of renewable hydrogen energy. Herein, we demonstrate an interfacial engineering strategy to prepare Fe-doped CoP nanocubes/CoP nanosheet arrays heterostructure supported on carbon cloth (denoted as CoFeP/CoP/CC). The resultant CoFeP/CoP/CC heterostructure catalyst possesses abundant heterogeneous interfaces, which enables the exposure of reaction active sites and possibly modulation of electronic structure of the catalyst. Furthermore, this strong interfacial coupling of CoFeP and CoP as well as the integration structure on the carbon cloth guarantee high electronic conductivity and enhanced mechanical stability. Benefiting from these advantages, the CoFeP/CoP/CC-heterostructure exhibits high electrocatalytic OER performance with a low overpotential of 240 mV for reaching a current density of 10 mA cm-2, which outperforms the commercial noble metal RuO2 (255 mV) and many reported TMPs-based electrocatalysts. Moreover, this CoFeP/CoP/CC catalyst shows a remarkable OER catalytic stability over 100 h. This work provides an effective avenue for the design of the high-performance OER catalyst by interfacial engineering strategy.