[Three cases of acute chlorfenapyr poisoning].

This paper reported 3 cases of poisoning caused by chlorfenagyr. Chlorfenapyr poisoning has gradually increased in clinical practice. The early stage after poisoning is digestive tract symptoms, followed by sweating, high fever, changes in consciousness, changes in myocardial enzymology, etc. Its main mechanism of intoxication is uncoupling oxidative phosphorylation. Since there is no specific antidote after poisoning, the fatality rate of chlorfenapyr poisoning remains high. The therapeutic measures are early gastrointestinal decontamination, symptomatic and supportive treatments, and early blood purification may be an effective treatment.

Identification of a glutathione S-transferase gene of Physarum polycephalum as a biomarker for nanosized TiO2 exposure under dark conditions.

In this study, a glutathione S-transferase gene (gst) from sensitive Physarum polycephalum was selected for its ability to detect nanosized TiO2 (nTiO2 ) exposure under dark conditions. The concentration of nTiO2 (25, 40 and 60 nm) for subsequent assays was first determined (5-18 mg ml-1 ) and total GST enzyme activity of P. polycephalum was confirmed to be increased 6-44 fold in groups treated with nTiO2 . Second, an RNA-seq study was performed to identify candidate gst genes before isolation of an optimum gst gene of P. polycephalum (Ppgst), which encoded 223 amino acids. Third, the transcriptional level of the Ppgst gene was further confirmed to be positively correlated with nTiO2 exposure within the concentration range of (5-15 mg ml-1 ) by qPCR. In conclusion, these results indicated that the transcriptional level of Ppgst can reflect nTiO2 exposure, suggesting that it may be employed as a new biomarker for nTiO2 pollution under dark conditions. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study identifies a new gst gene for indicating nanosized TiO2 under dark conditions and provides a new option for detection of nanosized TiO2 pollution under dark conditions.

Engineering a protein-based nanoplatform as an antibacterial agent for light activated dual-modal photothermal and photodynamic therapy of infection in both the NIR I and II windows.

The rapid rise of drug- and multi-drug resistant pathogenic bacteria constitutes an increasing risk to global public health. Thus, it is essential to develop new agents and/or strategies to overcome the antibiotic resistance crisis. Herein, ultra-small protein-based nanoparticles (NPs) with absorption covering both the near-infrared (NIR) I and II windows were constructed as novel antibacterial agents, which introduced a killing strategy utilizing the synergistic photothermal and photodynamic effects. The agent engineered by the conjugation of Ce6 molecules to ultra-small hydrophilic protein-modified copper sulfide NPs can transfer light energy into thermal energy for photothermal therapy and produce reactive oxygen species for photodynamic therapy. Under the irradiation of both NIR I and II lasers, the agent demonstrated a potent bacteria killing activity on both Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) in vitro bacteria with high efficacy and safety. Furthermore, the as-prepared NPs also displayed an efficient in vivo bactericidal activity in a mouse model as monitored by measuring the photoacoustic signals of the blood vessels around the infection site. Consequently, leveraging the synergistic photothermal and photodynamic effects, the as-designed ultra-small NIR NPs may eliminate the emergence of drug resistance due to the mechanical destruction of the bacteria cell, thus representing a promising approach to control the antibiotic resistance crisis.

Stable expression and integrated hepatitis B virus genome in a human hepatoma cell line.

HepG2.2.15 cell is a widely used cell model for studying HBV (hepatitis B virus) in vitro. In these cells, the HBV genome is integrated in several sites of HepG2 cellular DNA. These multiple copies may have some influence on the cellular processes. We constructed a new plasmid, pSEH-Flag-HBV, and transfected it into HepG2 cells, and then screened it with hygromycin. We then used ELISA, PCR, and RT-PCR to detect the expression of HBV in these cell lines. A cell line that stably expressed hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was established. Using Southern blotting analysis, we found that the HBV genome was integrated as a single copy in the cellular DNA. This cell line will be a useful alternative model for HBV studies.

Photocatalytic hydrogen generation over lanthanum doped TiO2 under UV light irradiation.

TiO2 nanoparticles doped with different amount of lanthanum were obtained by sol-gel approach and followed annealing at different temperature. The crystal size of TiO2 doped with lanthanum was smaller than that of pure TiO2. Photocatalytic activity of TiO2 doped with lanthanum for water splitting into H2 was investigated. The photocatalytic activity of TiO2 doped with lanthanum for water splitting into H2 is higher than that of pure TiO2. It was found that the optimal photocatalyst was TiO2 doped with 2 wt% lanthanum and calcined at 600 degrees C for 4 h which had hydrogen generation rate 700.6 micromol h(-1).

Gastric cancer exosomes promote tumour cell proliferation through PI3K/Akt and MAPK/ERK activation.

BACKGROUND: Exosomes are nanometer-sized vesicles that are released by normal and neoplastic cells. Previous studies have focused on the interaction between tumour-derived exosomes and the immune system, as a consequence of immune suppression or enhancement. However, the effects of tumour-derived exosomes on tumour cells themselves have not been well studied. AIMS: To investigate the effects of gastric cancer exosomes on tumour cell proliferation and the possible mechanisms. METHODS: By serial centrifugation and sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation, we isolated and purified the exosomes from gastric cancer SGC7901 cells, then viewed them by electron microscopy. Cell proliferation was measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Protein expression was assayed by Western blotting. RESULTS: SGC7901-cell-derived exosomes promoted the proliferation of SGC7901 and BGC823 cells. The increase in proliferation induced by exosomes was accompanied by activation of Akt and extracellular-regulated protein kinase, and phosphoinositide 3-kinase or extracellular-regulated protein kinase inhibitor partially reversed the proliferative effect of exosomes. Moreover, the exosome-induced increase in activity of Akt and extracellular-regulated protein kinase coincided with decreased expression of the Casitas B-lineage lymphoma family of ubiquitin ligases. CONCLUSION: Gastric cancer exosomes promoted tumour cell proliferation, at least in part, by activation of PI3K/Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular-regulated protein kinase pathways. The decreased expression of Casitas B-lineage lymphoma proteins might have contributed to the activation of Akt and extracellular-regulated protein kinase.