Exosomal Tenascin-C primes macrophage pyroptosis amplifying aberrant inflammation during sepsis-induced acute lung injury.

Sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI) is a serious complication of sepsis and the predominant cause of death. Exosomes released by lung tissue cells critically influence the progression of ALI during sepsis by modulating the inflammatory microenvironment. However, the molecular mechanisms by which exosome-mediated intercellular signaling exacerbates ALI in septic infection remain undefined. Our study found increased levels of exosomal Tenascin-C (TNC) in the plasma of both patients and mice with ALI, showing a strong association with disease progression. By integrating exosomal proteomics with transcriptome sequencing and experimental validation, we elucidated that LPS induce unresolved endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERs) in alveolar epithelial cells (AECs), ultimately leading to the release of exosomal TNC through the activation of PERK-eIF2α and the transcription factor CHOP. In the sepsis mouse model with TNC knockout, we noted a marked reduction in macrophage pyroptosis. Our detailed investigations found that exosomal TNC binds to TLR4 on macrophages, resulting in an augmented production of ROS, subsequent mitochondrial damage, activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway, and induction of DNA damage response. These interconnected events culminate in macrophage pyroptosis, thereby amplifying the release of inflammatory cytokines. Our findings demonstrate that exosomal Tenascin-C, released from AECs under unresolved ER stress, exacerbates acute lung injury by intensifying sepsis-associated inflammatory responses. This research provides new insights into the complex cellular interactions underlying sepsis-induced ALI.

Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Resistance to Common Antibiotics: An Overview of Current Methods and Techniques.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is an essential cause of tuberculosis treatment failure and death of tuberculosis patients. The rapid and reliable profiling of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) drug resistance in the early stage is a critical research area for public health. Then, most traditional approaches for detecting MTB are time-consuming and costly, leading to the inappropriate therapeutic schedule resting on the ambiguous information of MTB drug resistance, increasing patient economic burden, morbidity, and mortality. Therefore, novel diagnosis methods are frequently required to meet the emerging challenges of MTB drug resistance distinguish. Considering the difficulty in treating MDR-TB, it is urgently required for the development of rapid and accurate methods in the identification of drug resistance profiles of MTB in clinical diagnosis. This review discussed recent advances in MTB drug resistance detection, focusing on developing emerging approaches and their applications in tangled clinical situations. In particular, a brief overview of antibiotic resistance to MTB was present, referred to as intrinsic bacterial resistance, consisting of cell wall barriers and efflux pumping action and acquired resistance caused by genetic mutations. Then, different drug susceptibility test (DST) methods were described, including phenotype DST, genotype DST and novel DST methods. The phenotype DST includes nitrate reductase assay, RocheTM solid ratio method, and liquid culture method and genotype DST includes fluorescent PCR, GeneXpert, PCR reverse dot hybridization, ddPCR, next-generation sequencing and gene chips. Then, novel DST methods were described, including metabolism testing, cell-free DNA probe, CRISPR assay, and spectral analysis technique. The limitations, challenges, and perspectives of different techniques for drug resistance are also discussed. These methods significantly improve the detection sensitivity and accuracy of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MRT) and can effectively curb the incidence of drug-resistant tuberculosis and accelerate the process of tuberculosis eradication.

EGFR of platelet regulates macrophage activation and bacterial phagocytosis function.

BACKGROUND: Beyond their crucial role in hemostasis, platelets possess the ability to regulate inflammation and combat infections through various mechanisms. Stringent control of macrophage activation is essential during innate immune responses in sepsis. Macrophages are considered crucial phagocytic cells that aid in the elimination of pathogens. Platelet interactions with monocytes-macrophages are known to be significant in the response against bacterial infections, but the primary mediator driving these interactions remains unclear. EGFR plays critical role in the regulation of inflammation and infection through various mechanisms. RESULTS: The overexpression of platelets by thrombopoietin (TPO) leads to the sequestration of both pro-inflammatory (IL-6/IL-1) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines in the organ tissue of septic mice. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is critical for platelet activation in sepsis. EGFR-licensed platelets enhance macrophage immune function, including the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the clearance of bacteria. Platelet EGFR also induces M1 macrophage polarization by increasing the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and CD64. CONCLUSION: EGFR can activate platelet immune function. Moreover, activated platelets efficiently regulate bacterial phagocytosis and pro-inflammatory function of macrophages through an EGFR-dependent pathway.

Siglec-F+ neutrophils in the spleen induce immunosuppression following acute infection.

Background: The mechanisms underlying the increased mortality of secondary infections during the immunosuppressive phase of sepsis remain elusive. Objectives: We sought to investigate the role of Siglec-F+ neutrophils on splenic T lymphocytes in the immunosuppressed phase of sepsis and on secondary infection in PICS mice, and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Methods: We established a mouse model of sepsis-induced immunosuppression followed by secondary infection with LPS or E. coli. The main manifestation of immunosuppression is the functional exhaustion of splenic T lymphocytes. Treg depletion reagent Anti-IL-2, IL-10 blocker Anti-IL-10R, macrophage depletion reagent Liposomes, neutrophil depletion reagent Anti-Ly6G, neutrophil migration inhibitor SB225002, Siglec-F depletion reagent Anti-Siglec-F are all used on PICS mice. The function of neutrophil subsets was investigated by adoptive transplantation and the experiments in vitro. Results: Compared to other organs, we observed a significant reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines in the spleen, accompanied by a marked increase in IL-10 production, primarily by infiltrating neutrophils. These infiltrating neutrophils in the spleen during the immunosuppressive phase of sepsis undergo phenotypic change in the local microenvironment, exhibiting high expression of neutrophil biomarkers such as Siglec-F, Ly6G, and Siglec-E. Depletion of neutrophils or specifically targeting Siglec-F leads to enhance the function of T lymphocytes and a notable improvement in the survival of mice with secondary infections. Conclusions: We identified Siglec-F+ neutrophils as the primary producers of IL-10, which significantly contributed to T lymphocyte suppression represents a novel finding with potential therapeutic implications.

Resting-state functional connectivity of amygdala subregions predicts treatment outcome for cognitive behavioral therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder at a 4-month follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is considered as the first-line treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, the underlying neural mechanisms through which CBT exerts its effects in OCD remain unclear. This study aims to investigate whether the improvement of clinical symptoms in OCD patients after CBT treatment is associated with changes in resting-state functional connectivity (FC) of the amygdala subregion, and whether these changes can be served as potential predictors of four-months treatment efficacy. METHODS: We collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data from 57 OCD patients and 50 healthy subjects at baseline. In the patient group, rs-fMRI was also obtained after completion of an 8-week CBT treatment and 4 months post-treatment. A whole-brain rsFC analysis was conducted using the amygdala subregion as the seed point. We analyzed the FC patterns in relation to 4 months clinical outcomes to elucidate the long-term efficacy of CBT in OCD patients. RESULTS: Treatment responseat at pre-treatment was found to be associated with reduced rsFC between the left basolateral amygdala(BLA)and left superior temporal gyrus(STG) at baseline. Lower pre-treatment FC were negatively correlated with the severity of OCD symptoms as measured by the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Severity Scale (Y-BOCS). Moreover, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for the FC between the left BLA and STG at the end of treatment was 73.0% and 70.4% for the effective-ineffective and remitted or unremitted groups, respectively. At the 4-month follow-up, the area under the ROC curve for the effective-ineffective and remitted or unremitted groups was 83.9% and 76.5%, respectively. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that brain functional activity in patients with OCD can predict treatment response to CBT, and longitudinal changes in relevant brain functional activity following CBT treatment are associated with treatment response in OCD.

Identification and biochemical characterization of a carboxylesterase gene associated with ß-cypermethrin resistance in Dermanyssus gallinae.

Dermanyssus gallinae is a major hematophagous ectoparasite in layer hens. Although the acaricide ß-cypermethrin has been used to control mites worldwide, D. gallinae has developed resistance to this compound. Carboxylesterases (CarEs) are important detoxification enzymes that confer resistance to ß-cypermethrin in arthropods. However, CarEs associated with ß-cypermethrin resistance in D. gallinae have not yet been functionally characterized. Here, we isolated a CarE gene (Deg-CarE) from D. gallinae and assayed its activity. The results revealed significantly higher expression of Deg-CarE in the ß-cypermethrin-resistant strain (RS) than in the susceptible strain (SS) toward α-naphthyl acetate (α-NA) and ß-naphthyl acetate (ß-NA). These findings suggest that enhanced esterase activities might have contributed to ß-cypermethrin resistance in D. gallinae. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed that Deg-CarE expression levels were significantly higher in adults than in other life stages. Although Deg-CarE was upregulated in the RS, significant differences in gene copy numbers were not observed. Additionally, Deg-CarE expression was significantly induced by ß-cypermethrin in both the SS and RS. Moreover, silencing Deg-CarE via RNA interference decreased the enzyme activity and increased the susceptibility of the RS to ß-cypermethrin, confirming that Deg-CarE is crucial for ß-cypermethrin detoxification. Finally, recombinant Deg-CarE (rDeg-CarE) expressed in Escherichia coli displayed high enzymatic activity toward α/ß-NA. However, metabolic analysis indicated that rDeg-CarE did not directly metabolize ß-cypermethrin. The collective findings indicate that D. gallinae resistance to ß-cypermethrin is associated with elevated CarEs protein activity and increased Deg-CarE expression levels. These findings provide insights into the metabolic resistance of D. gallinae and offer scientific guidance for the management and control of D. gallinae.

Abnormalities of structural covariance of insular subregions in drug-naïve OCD patients.

The insula plays a significant role in the neural mechanisms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Previous studies have identified functional and structural abnormalities in insula in obsessive-compulsive disorder patients. The predictive coding model in the context of interoception can explain the psychological and neuropathological manifestations observed in obsessive-compulsive disorder. The model is based on the degree of laminar differentiation of cerebral cortex. The interindividual differences in a local measure of brain structure often covary with interindividual differences in other brain regions. We investigated the anatomical network involving the insula in a drug-naïve obsessive-compulsive disorder sample. We recruited 58 obsessive-compulsive disorder patients and 84 matched health controls. The cortical thickness covariance maps between groups were compared at each vertex. We also evaluated the modulation of Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale scores and obsessive-compulsive disorder duration on thickness covariance. Our findings indicated that the thickness covariance seeded from granular and dysgranular insula are different compared with controls. The duration and severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder can modulate the thickness covariance of granular and dysgranular insula with posterior cingulate cortex and rostral anterior cingulate cortex. Our results revealed aberrant insular structural characteristics and cortical thickness covariance in obsessive-compulsive disorder patients, contributing to a better understanding of the involvement of insula in the pathological mechanisms underlying obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Altered brain functional network topology in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A comparison of patients with varying severity of depressive symptoms and the impact on psychosocial functioning.

BACKGROUND: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with psychosocial impairment, which can be exacerbated by depressive symptoms. In this study, we employed graph theory analysis to investigate the association among neuroimaging, clinical features, and psychosocial functioning in OCD patients, with a specific focus on the differential impact of depressive symptoms. METHODS: 216 OCD patients were divided into two subgroups based on depressive symptoms. Resting-state functional MRI data were acquired from a subset of 106 OCD patients along with 77 matched healthy controls (HCs). We analyzed the topological characteristics of the entire brain and the cognition-related subnetworks and performed Pearson correlation analyses to further explore the relationship with psychosocial functioning. RESULTS: OCD patients with more severe depressive symptoms exhibited greater impairment across all dimensions of psychosocial functioning. Graph theory analysis revealed more pronounced reductions in network efficiency within the entire brain, the default mode network (DMN), and the cingulo-opercular network (CON) among patients with non or mild depressive symptoms. Lower nodal efficiency and degree centrality of the right superior temporal gyrus (STG) were found in OCD patients and these variables were positively correlated with psychosocial functioning impairment. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that the presence of depressive symptoms generally exacerbated psychosocial functioning impairment in OCD patients. Abnormalities in the functional integration of the entire brain, the DMN, and the CON in OCD patients may comprise the basis of cognitive deficits, while dysfunction of the right STG may affect the psychosocial functioning through its role in emotion, intention perception, and insight.

Nanostructured steady-state nanocarriers for nutrients preservation and delivery.

Food bioactives possess specific physiological benefits of preventing certain diet-related chronic diseases or maintain human health. However, the limitations of the bioactives are their poor stability, lower water solubility and unacceptable bioaccessibility. Structure damage or degradation is often found for the bioactives under certain environmental conditions like high temperature, strong light, extreme pH or high oxygen concentration during food processing, packaging, storage and absorption. Nanostructured steady-state nanocarriers have shown great potential in overcoming the drawbacks for food bioactives. Various delivery systems including solid form delivery system, liquid form delivery system and encapsulation technology have been developed. The embedded food nutrients can largely decrease the loss and degradation during food processing, packaging and storage. The design and application of stimulus and targeted delivery systems can improve the stability, bioavailability and efficacy of the food bioactives upon oral consumption due to enzymatic degradation in the gastrointestinal tract. The food nutrients encapsulated in the smart delivery system can be well protected against degradation during oral administration, thus improving the bioavailability and releazing controlled or targeted release for food nutrients. The encapsulated food bioactives show great potential in nutrition therapy for sub-health status and disease. Much effort is required to design and prepare more biocompatible nanostructured steady-state nanocarriers using food-grade protein or polysaccharides as wall materials, which can be used in food industry and maintain the human health.

In vivo anti-obesity efficacy of fucoxanthin/HP-ß-CD nanofibers in high-fat diet induced obese mice.

Fucoxanthin (Fx) has poor water solubility and bioavailability, which limits its application in the food industry. To improve the physicochemical properties of Fx, hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrin (HP-ß-CD) encapsulated Fx nanofibers (Fx/HP-ß-CD nanofibers) were fabricated via electrospinning without using polymer. Molecular docking analysis showed the Fx/HP-ß-CD nanofibers contained Fx and HP-ß-CD at 1:2. Morphological analysis revealed the nanofibers were homogeneous without beads, having a diameter around 499 nm. The thermostability of Fx was significantly improved after encapsulationg by HP-ß-CD. Animal studies showed that there was a 14% decrease of body weight, 11% white adipose tissue reduction and 9% lower of liver triglyceride for the mice treated with Fx/HP-ß-CD nanofibers as compared with that of Fx treated mice. The total cholesterol was reduced by 23% in mice serum after treatment with Fx/HP-ß-CD as compared with that of Fx. Interestingly, the Fx/HP-ß-CD in this study could attenuate the testicular histopathology in obese mice.

Broad phosphorylation mediated by testis-specific serine/threonine kinases contributes to spermiogenesis and male fertility.

Genetic studies elucidate a link between testis-specific serine/threonine kinases (TSSKs) and male infertility in mammals, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, we identify a TSSK homolog in Drosophila, CG14305 (termed dTSSK), whose mutation impairs the histone-to-protamine transition during spermiogenesis and causes multiple phenotypic defects in nuclear shaping, DNA condensation, and flagellar organization in spermatids. Genetic analysis demonstrates that kinase catalytic activity of dTSSK, which is functionally conserved with human TSSKs, is essential for male fertility. Phosphoproteomics identify 828 phosphopeptides/449 proteins as potential substrates of dTSSK enriched primarily in microtubule-based processes, flagellar organization and mobility, and spermatid differentiation and development, suggesting that dTSSK phosphorylates various proteins to orchestrate postmeiotic spermiogenesis. Among them, the two substrates, protamine-like protein Mst77F/Ser9 and transition protein Mst33A/Ser237, are biochemically validated to be phosphorylated by dTSSK in vitro, and are genetically demonstrated to be involved in spermiogenesis in vivo. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that broad phosphorylation mediated by TSSKs plays an indispensable role in spermiogenesis.

Small-sample learning reveals propionylation in determining global protein homeostasis.

Proteostasis is fundamental for maintaining organismal health. However, the mechanisms underlying its dynamic regulation and how its disruptions lead to diseases are largely unclear. Here, we conduct in-depth propionylomic profiling in Drosophila, and develop a small-sample learning framework to prioritize the propionylation at lysine 17 of H2B (H2BK17pr) to be functionally important. Mutating H2BK17 which eliminates propionylation leads to elevated total protein level in vivo. Further analyses reveal that H2BK17pr modulates the expression of 14.7-16.3% of genes in the proteostasis network, and determines global protein level by regulating the expression of genes involved in the ubiquitin-proteasome system. In addition, H2BK17pr exhibits daily oscillation, mediating the influences of feeding/fasting cycles to drive rhythmic expression of proteasomal genes. Our study not only reveals a role of lysine propionylation in regulating proteostasis, but also implements a generally applicable method which can be extended to other issues with little prior knowledge.

A bifunctional hepatocyte-mitochondrion targeting nanosystem for effective astaxanthin delivery to the liver.

A bifunctional hepatocyte-mitochondrion targeting nanosystem was prepared for astaxanthin by conjugating lactobionic acid (LA) and triphenylphosphonium-modified 2-hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrin onto sodium alginate. Hepatocyte-targeting evaluation indicated that the fluorescence intensity of HepaRG cells treated with the bifunctional nanosystem increased 90.3%, which was greater than that (38.7%) of the LA-only targeted nanosystem. The Rcoloc was 0.81 for the bifunctional nanosystem in mitochondrion-targeting analysis, which was greater than that (0.62) of the LA-only targeted nanosystem. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) level of the astaxanthin bifunctional nanosystem treated group significantly reduced to 62.20%, lower than that of free astaxanthin (84.01%) and LA-only targeted group (73.83%). Mitochondrial membrane potential recovered 97.35% in the astaxanthin bifunctional nanosystem treated group while the LA-only targeted group recovered 77.45%. The accumulation of bifunctional nanosystem in liver increased by 31.01% compared to the control. These findings indicated that the bifunctional nanosystem was beneficial for astaxanthin delivery in the liver precision nutrition intervention.

METTL3-mediated m6A mRNA methylation regulates neutrophil activation through targeting TLR4 signaling.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification accounts for the most prevalent mRNA internal modification and has emerged as a widespread regulatory mechanism in multiple physiological processes. We address a role of methyltransferase-like protein 3 (METTL3) in neutrophil activation. METTL3 controls neutrophil release from bone marrow to circulation through surface expression of CXC chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2) in a Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling-dependent manner in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemia. We show that the mRNA of TLR4 is modified by m6A, exhibiting increased translation and slowed degradation simultaneously, leading to elevated protein levels of TLR4, which eventually promotes the TLR4 signaling activation of neutrophil. The reduced expression of TLR4 lowers cytokine secretion in METTL3-deleted neutrophils upon LPS stimulation through TLR4/Myd88/nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling. Collectively, these data demonstrate that METTL3 modulation of TLR4 expression is a critical determinant of neutrophil activation in endotoxemia.

Preparation and evaluation of ovalbumin-fucoidan nanoparticles for nicotinamide mononucleotide encapsulation with enhanced stability and anti-aging activity.

Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) has been recognized as a promising bio-active compound in relieving aging-related mitochondrial dysfunction. Self-assembled nanoparticles were prepared based on interaction between ovalbumin (OVA) and fucoidan to improve the stability and bio-accessibility of NMN. The OVA-fucoidan nanoparticles (OFNPs) displayed outstanding thermal stability and entrapment ability of NMN. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) analysis and senescence-associated ß-galactosidase (SA-ß-gal) staining characterization indicated that NMN encapsulated by OFNPs could effectively alleviate the cellular senescence of d-galactose-induced senescent cells. In vivo Caenorhabitis elegans experiment demonstrated that NMN-loaded OFNPs caused less accumulation of lipofuscin and protected NMN from thermal damage. Compared with free NMN, the NMN-loaded OFNPs prolonged lifespan from 28 to 31 days, increased 26% reproductive ability, and improved 12% body length of Caenorhabitis elegans. The results indicated that the use of nanocarriers could be a good strategy to improve anti-oxidative stress and anti-aging ability of NMN.

Shared genetics of psychiatric disorders and type 2 diabetes:a large-scale genome-wide cross-trait analysis.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with psychiatric disorders have elevated rates of type 2 diabetes comorbidity. Although little is known about the shared genetics and causality of this association. Thus, we aimed to investigate shared genetics and causal link between different type 2 diabetes and psychiatric disorders. METHODS: We conducted a large-scale genome-wide cross-trait association study(GWAS) to investigate genetic overlap between type 2 diabetes and anorexia nervosa, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders and Tourette syndrome. By post-GWAS functional analysis, we identify variants genes expression in various tissues. Enrichment pathways, potential protein interaction and mendelian randomization also provided to research the relationship between type 2 diabetes and psychiatric disorders. RESULTS: We discovered that type 2 diabetes and psychiatric disorders had a significant correlation. We identified 138 related loci, 32 were novel loci. Post-GWAS analysis revealed that 86 differentially expressed genes were located in different brain regions and peripheral blood in type 2 diabetes and related psychiatric disorders. MAPK signaling pathway plays an important role in neural development and insulin signaling. In addition, there is a causal relationship between T2D and mental disorders. In PPI analysis, the central genes of the DEG PPI network were FTO and TCF7L2. CONCLUSION: This large-scale genome-wide cross-trait analysis identified shared genetics andpotential causal links between type 2 diabetes and related psychiatric disorders, suggesting potential new biological functions in common among them.

EGFR-TNFR1 pathway in endothelial cell facilitates acute lung injury by NF-κB/MAPK-mediated inflammation and RIP3-dependent necroptosis.

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) has emerged as a pivotal effector critically correlated with disease severity in acute lung injury (ALI). Because both the excessive activation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1) in sepsis-induced vasculitis are markedly diminished through EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, a specific mechanism must exist to modulate TNFR1 cellular fates regulated by EGFR. Here, we demonstrated that EGFR, a specific binding partner of TNFR1, exhibited an increased NF-κB/MAPK-mediated inflammation that was governed by enhanced recruitment of TNFR-associated factor 2 (TRAF2) to TNFR1 complex I in endothelial cell (EC). Moreover, EGFR activation triggered a remarkable increase in the phosphorylation of receptor-interacting protein 1 (RIP1) and its binding with receptor-interacting protein 3 (RIP3) which led to enhanced frequency of necroptosis in complex IIb. Inhibiting the kinase of EGFR disrupted the formation of complex I and complex IIb and prevents EC from NF-κB/MAPK-mediated inflammation and RIP3-dependent necroptosis. Consistently, pharmacological inhibition of EGFR can limit the destructive effects of neutrophils activation and the hyperpermeability of lung vascular in hyperinflammation period. Collectively, we have identified EC-EGFR as a modulator of TNFR1-mediated inflammation and RIP3-dependent necroptosis, providing a possible explanation for the immunological basis of anti-EGFR therapy in sepsis-induced ALI.

EGFR promotes the apoptosis of CD4+ T lymphocytes through TBK1/Glut1 induced Warburg effect in sepsis.

INTRODUCTION: Sepsis-induced apoptosis leads to lymphopenia including the decrease of CD4+ T cells thus favoring immunosuppression. OBJECTIVES: Although epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors significantly improve the survival rate of septic mice, the effect of EGFR on the function and metabolism of CD4+ T cells in sepsis remained unknown. METHODS: CD4+ T cells from septic mice and patients were assessed for apoptosis, activation, Warburg metabolism and glucose transporter 1 (Glut1) expression with or without the interference of EGFR activation. RESULTS: EGFR facilitates CD4+ T cell activation and apoptosis through Glut1, which is a key enzyme that controls glycolysis in T cells. EGFR, TANK binding kinase 1 (TBK1) and Glut1 form a complex to facilitate Glut1 transportation from cytoplasm to cell surface. Both the levels of membrane expression of EGFR and Glut1 and the activation levels of CD4+ T cells were significantly higher in patients with sepsis as compared with healthy subjects. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrated that through its downstream TBK1/Exo84/RalA protein system, EGFR regulates Glut1 transporting to the cell surface, which is a key step for inducing the Warburg effect and the subsequent cellular activation and apoptosis of CD4+ T lymphocytes and may eventually affect the immune functional status, causing immune cell exhaustion in sepsis.

Hepatic-targeted delivery of astaxanthin for enhanced scavenging free radical scavenge and preventing mitochondrial depolarization.

Astaxanthin (AST), as natural hydrophobic nutrition, has exhibited health-promoting benefits for its outstanding antioxidant property. However, most studies tend to enhance its stability and solubility while the targeted delivery of AST is limited. In this study, liver-targeted nanocarriers were designed and prepared by lactobionic acid-modified (2-hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrin) for efficient controlled delivery of AST. The minimum average size of AST nanoparticles was about 98 nm with a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.41. The lactobionic acid-modified AST nanoparticles exhibited significant cellular uptake, and an admirable ability to scavenge free radicals for H2O2-induced HepaRG cells in preventing mitochondrial depolarization. Moreover, accumulation of AST nanoparticles in liver was observed due to the modification of lactobionic acid (LA) of the nanocarriers through the specific binding of LA-asialoglycoprotein receptors. The results in this study provided a new idea for liver-specific nutrition delivery of AST in developing functional food for liver disease nutrition intervention.