[Influence on the expression of RHOA and ROCK-II after global cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in hippocampus by shenxiong huayu capsule].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Shenxiong Huayu capsule on the expression of hippocampal CA1 recombinant protein A (small GTP binding protein A, RHOA) and ROCK-2 (RHO associated protein kinase-2, ROCK-II). METHODS: Clean SD male rats (n=96), divided into three groups with 32 rats for each group, gavage was applied 7 days before modeling until the morning of the day to put to death. The groups included the normal control group (normal saline), global cerebral ischemia model group (normal saline) and Shenxiong Huayu capsule+global cerebral ischemia group (Shenxiong Huayu capsule 0.048 g/kg, was dissolved in 0.5 mL double distilled water, once a day, orally 0.3 mL/100 g). Modified Pulsinelli four-vessel occlusion model was constructed in global cerebral ischemia model and Shenxiong Huayu treatment groups and at 1, 3, 7, 14 d after successful modeling, water maze learning test was applied to evaluate the memory abilities of different groups, histopathological changes in HE staining, expression and protein content of RHOA and ROCK-II in immunohistochemical staining and Western blot was observed. RESULTS: At each time point, escape latency in model group was prolonged (P<0.05) when compared with that in normal control group, and that in Shenxiong Huayu was shorter (P<0.05) than that of model group, but still longer (P<0.05) than that of normal control group. HE staining showed that, compared with the normal group, model hippocampal CA1 reduced gradually from 1 d to 14 d; an increased survival neurons (P<0.05) in Shenxiong Huayu treatment group at each time points was observed, but still less than that in normal group (P<0.05); immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis demonstrated that the expression of RHOA and ROCK-II in normal control group was not obvious, in model group was decreased after an initial increasing, and that in Shenxiong Huayu treatment group was lower than that of model group (P<0.05), but still higher than that in normal group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Shenxiong Huayu capsule improve neuronal damage induced by global ischemia, decreased the expression of hippocampal CA1 region of RHOA and ROCK-II.

Enhancing antitumor efficacy of NIR-I region zinc phthalocyanine@upconversion nanoparticle through lysosomal escape and mitochondria targeting.

Accurately visualizing the intracellular trafficking of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) loaded with phthalocyanines and achieving precise photodynamic therapy (PDT) using near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation still present challenges. In this study, a novel NIR laser-triggered upconversion luminescence (UCL) imaging-guided nanoparticle called FA@TPA-NH-ZnPc@UCNPs (FTU) was developed for PDT. FTU consisted of UCNPs, folic acid (FA), and triphenylamino-phenylaniline zinc phthalocyanine (TPA-NH-ZnPc). Notably, TPA-NH-ZnPc showcases aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristic and NIR absorption properties at 741 nm, synthesized initially via molybdenum-catalyzed condensation reaction. The UCL emitted by FTU enable real-time visualization of their subcellular localization and intracellular trafficking within ovarian cancer HO-8910 cells. Fluorescence images revealed that FTU managed to escape from lysosomes due to the "proton sponge" effect of TPA-NH-ZnPc. The FA ligands on the surface of FTU further directed their transport and accumulation within mitochondria. When excited by a 980 nm laser, FTU exhibited UCL and activated TPA-NH-ZnPc, consequently generating cytotoxic singlet oxygen (1O2), disrupted mitochondrial function and induced apoptosis in cancer cells, which demonstrated great potential for tumor ablation.

Fluorinated triphenylamine silicon phthalocyanine nanoparticles with two-color imaging guided in vitro photodynamic therapy through lysosomal dysfunction.

Lysosome-targeting therapy has emerged as a promising strategy for combating drug-resistant tumors. However, the synthesis of nanodrugs to achieve efficient lysosome targeting remains a challenging task. In this study, a nanoparticle DSPE@TPA-FBPA-SiPc was developed for lysosome targeting therapy. The nanoparticle was prepared by loading 2-[4-(diphenylamino)-1-diphenicacid-1-carbobenzoxy-4-(1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane-4-phenoxy) silicon phthalocyanine (TPA-FBPA-SiPc) into 1,2-distearoyl-sn­glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[succinyl(polyethyleneglycol)-2000] (DSPE). DSPE@TPA-FBPA-SiPc demonstrated remarkable capabilities such as two-color imaging, lysosome targeting and in vitro photodynamic therapy functions. The results revealed that DSPE@TPA-FBPA-SiPc efficiently accumulated in lysosomes, leading to generation of a high amount of reactive oxygen species upon irradiation. This induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells by disrupting lysosomal function. Consequently, DSPE@TPA-FBPA-SiPc holds great potential as a photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy, utilizing the lysosomal-mediated cell death pathway.

[Effect of sleep deprivation on p38MAPK phosphorylation in the rat hippocampus].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of sleep deprivation (SD) on the expression of p38Mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) phosphorylation in the rat hippocampus. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=60) were divided randomly into control and sleep deprivation groups. The sleep deprivation models were established with the modified multiple platform methods. At 1 d, 3 d, 5 d, and 7 d after sleep deprivations, changes of neuron morphous in the hippocampal region of the rats were observed by HE staining. The expression of p38MAPK phosphorylation was detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. The learning-memory function was tested with Morris water maze and 4-PTT dry path maze. RESULTS: More obvious neuronal morphous damages, increased p38MAPK phosphorylation cells and p38MAPK phosphorylation expression, and decreased learning-memory function were found in the rats subject to sleep deprivation than those in the control. The changes were enhanced with the length of sleep deprivation. CONCLUSION: p38MAPK can be activated by sleep deprivation, which mediates the process of neuronal injury.

Micronization of gemfibrozil by reactive precipitation process.

Ultrafine gemfibrozil (GEM) was prepared by reactive precipitation process in which methyl cellulose (MC) was employed to inhibit the growth and the agglomeration of particles. The impact of NaOH concentrations on bulk GEM consumption was explored. The effects of H2SO4 concentrations and the drying methods on the particle size and morphology were also discussed. The produced ultrafine powders were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, specific surface area analysis and dissolution test. XRD patterns and FT-IR spectra showed that the as-obtained ultrafine GEM was a crystalline powder with the structure and components similar to those of bulk GEM. The ultrafine GEM had a mean particle size of about 1.25 microm with a narrow distribution from 0.6 to 3 microm. The specific surface area reached up to 11.01 m2/g, which was about 6 times as large as that of bulk GEM. In the dissolution tests, about 91.2% of ultrafine GEM was dissolved after 120 min, while there was only 23.6% of bulk GEM dissolved, proving that the dissolution property of ultrafine GEM was significantly enhanced when compared to commercial GEM owing to a decreased particle size and an increased specific surface area.

Over-expression of microRNA-1 causes arrhythmia by disturbing intracellular trafficking system.

Dysregulation of intracellular trafficking system plays a fundamental role in the progression of cardiovascular disease. Up-regulation of miR-1 contributes to arrhythmia, we sought to elucidate whether intracellular trafficking contributes to miR-1-driven arrhythmia. By performing microarray analyses of the transcriptome in the cardiomyocytes-specific over-expression of microRNA-1 (miR-1 Tg) mice and the WT mice, we found that these differentially expressed genes in miR-1 Tg mice were significantly enrichment with the trafficking-related biological processes, such as regulation of calcium ion transport. Also, the qRT-PCR and western blot results validated that Stx6, Braf, Ube3a, Mapk8ip3, Ap1s1, Ccz1 and Gja1, which are the trafficking-related genes, were significantly down-regulated in the miR-1 Tg mice. Moreover, we found that Stx6 was decreased in the heart of mice after myocardial infarction and in the hypoxic cardiomyocytes, and further confirmed that Stx6 is a target of miR-1. Meanwhile, knockdown of Stx6 in cardiomyocytes resulted in the impairments of PLM and L-type calcium channel, which leads to the increased resting ([Ca2+]i). On the contrary, overexpression of Stx6 attenuated the impairments of miR-1 or hypoxia on PLM and L-type calcium channel. Thus, our studies reveals that trafficking-related gene Stx6 may regulate intracellular calcium and is involved in the occurrence of cardiac arrhythmia, which provides new insights in that miR-1 participates in arrhythmia by regulating the trafficking-related genes and pathway.