Selective Construction and Structural Transformation of Homogeneous Linear Metalla[4]catenane and Metalla[2]catenane Assemblies.

Although the synthesis of mechanically interlocked molecules has been extensively researched, selectively constructing homogeneous linear [4]catenanes remains a formidable challenge. Here, we selectively constructed a homogeneous linear metalla[4]catenane in a one-step process through the coordination-driven self-assembly of a bidentate benzothiadiazole derivative ligand and a binuclear half-sandwich rhodium precursor. The formation of metalla[4]catenanes was facilitated by cooperative interactions between strong sandwich-type π-π stacking and non-classical hydrogen bonds between the components. Moreover, by modulating the aromatic substituents on the binuclear precursor, two homogeneous metalla[2]catenanes were obtained. The molecular structures of these metallacatenanes were unambiguously characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Additionally, reversible structural transformation between metal-catenanes and the corresponding metallarectangles could be achieved by altering their concentration, as confirmed by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy studies.

Administration of Exogenous Progesterone Protects Against Brucella abortus Infection-Induced Inflammation in Pregnant Mice.

Progesterone has been recognized as essential for the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy, and is typically known as an immunosuppressive agent. However, its effects on mediating Brucella infection-induced inflammation have not been evaluated. Here we demonstrated that Brucella abortus infection inhibits progesterone levels in the pregnant mouse by suppressing the production of progesterone by placenta. Progesterone treatment significantly reduced the secretion of inflammatory cytokines in serum, macrophages, and trophoblasts of B. abortus-infected mice, leading to decreased placentitis and enhancing the pup viability. Mechanistically, this decreased inflammatory response results from inhibition of NF-kB activation by progesterone. Moreover, progesterone treatment suppresses B. abortus growth within trophoblasts associated with an inability of bacteria to escape the late endosome compartment in vitro. Collectively, our data illustrate that progesterone treatment might be useful therapeutically in protection against placentitis or abortion caused by B. abortus infection.

Construction and expression of an antimicrobial peptide scolopin 1 from the centipede venoms of Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans in Escherichia coli using SUMO fusion partner.

Antimicrobial peptide scolopin 1 (AMP-scolopin 1) is a small cationic peptide identified from centipede venoms of Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans. It has broad-spectrum activities against bacteria, fungi, and tumor cells, which may possibly be used as an antimicrobial agent. We first report here the application of small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) fusion technology to the expression and purification of cationic antimicrobial peptide AMP-scolopin 1. The fusion protein expressed in a soluble form was purified to a purity of 95% by Ni-IDA chromatography. After the SUMO-scolopin 1 fusion protein was cleaved by the SUMO protease at 30°C for 1 h, the cleaved sample was reapplied to a Ni-IDA. The recombinant scolopin1 had similar antimicrobial properties to the synthetic scolopin 1. Thus, we successfully established a system for purifying peptide of centipede, which could be used for further research.

[Variation Characteristics of Surface Water Quality in China in Recent Years].

Based on data from 839 comparable sections (sites) of the national surface water environmental quality monitoring network from 2012 to 2020, the variation tendency of surface water environmental quality over the past nine years was analyzed. The results showed that the environmental quality of surface water in China has continuously improved, the proportion of Grade Ⅰ-Ⅲ water quality increased steadily, and the proportion of inferior Grade Ⅴ water quality decreased in succession. The annual average concentration of ammonia nitrogen, total phosphorus, and permanganate index all showed a decreasing trend annually; compared with those in 2012, the three indicator concentrations respectively declined 75.9%, 48.2%, and 17.5% by 2020. In Guangxi, Hainan, and Ningxia, the proportion of Grade Ⅰ-Ⅲ water quality sections was maintained at 100%, whereas Hubei and Jiangxi showed a consecutive decreasing trend, and the other provinces showed a consecutive increasing trend. In Guangxi, Hainan, Ningxia, Hunan, and Fujian, the proportion of inferior Grade Ⅴ water quality sections remained at 0, and the other provinces showed a decreasing trend yearly. The annual average concentration of total phosphorus in Guangxi and Jiangxi and the permanganate index in Hubei, Hainan, and Liaoning increased annually, whereas that in the other provinces decreased to varying degrees. The proportion of Grade Ⅰ-Ⅲ water quality sections in Ten Major basins showed a fluctuating upward trend. The proportion of inferior Grade Ⅴ water quality in the Zhejiang and Fujian Slice Rivers was maintained at 0, and the other river basins showed a fluctuating and declining trend. The annual average of the main pollution indicators all decreased to varying degrees. In 2020, 53% of 32 important lakes were eutrophic, which increased 12% compared to that in 2012. On the whole, surface water quality has generally improved in China during the past nine years; especially since the 13th Five-Year Plan period, remarkable achievements have been made in the prevention and control of water pollution. However, there are differences among various provinces and basins, the improvement in water environmental quality is unbalanced and uncoordinated, water resources are distributed unevenly, and the eutrophication trend of lakes and reservoirs is not optimistic. In the future, water resources, water environment, and water ecology should be overall managed, and great attention should be focused on precise pollution control and ecological restoration of surface water.

Purple tea water extract blocks RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis through modulation of Akt/GSK3ß and Blimp1-Irf8 pathways.

A number of studies demonstrated that some tea extracts exert inhibitory effects on osteoclastogenesis induced by receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL). However, the effect of purple tea, a famous tea in China, on osteoclastogenesis remains unclear. In this study, a water-based purple tea extract (PTE) was found to suppress osteoclast formation, osteoclastic resorption pit area formation, and F-actin ring formation within RANKL-stimulated bone marrow macrophages (BMMs). Furthermore, our results demonstrated that PTE could inhibit expression of master transcription factors NFATc1 and c-Fos and their target genes DC-STAMP, Ctsk, and Atp6v0d2. Western blot analysis revealed that PTE treatment led to reduced RANKL-induced phosphorylation of Akt and GSK3ß without altering transient activation of NF-κB and MAPKs (p38, JNK, ERK1/2) signaling. In addition, the results demonstrated that PTE treatment of RANKL-stimulated BMMs could down-regulate Blimp1 expression and up-regulate Irf8 expression. In summary, these results suggest that PTE treatment of RANKL-stimulated BMMs inhibited osteoclast differentiation via modulation of Blimp1-Irf8 and Akt/GSK3ß signaling pathways. Aligning with our in vitro results, in vivo PTE administration ameliorated bone loss in LPS-treated mice. Taken together, the results presented in this work suggest that PTE treatment possesses anti-osteolytic activity.

Size-controlled synthesis of porous ZnSnO3 nanocubes for improving formaldehyde gas sensitivity.

During the detection of formaldehyde, sensitivity and selectivity is still a challenging issue for most reported gas sensors. Herein, an alternative formaldehyde chemosensor that is based on porous ZnSnO3 nanocubes was synthesized. The products are characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM (HRTEM), XPS, PL measurements and N2 adsorption-desorption. The size of the ZnSnO3 nanocubes is about 100 nm and the corresponding specific surface area is 70.001 m2 g-1. A gas sensor based on these porous ZnSnO3 nanocubes shows high sensitivity and selectivity to formaldehyde. The porous ZnSnO3 nanocube sensor could detect 50 ppm formaldehyde at about 210 °C with a response value of 21.2, which is twice as much as ethanol, and 3 times that of the other five gases. Moreover, the response of the sensor had an acceptable change after a pulse test for 90 days. The sensor can detect formaldehyde with a minimum concentration of 1 ppm, and it has a good linear relationship between 1-50 ppm formaldehyde. The gas sensor based on porous ZnSnO3 nanocubes can be utilized as a promising candidate for a practical detector of formaldehyde due to its high gas response and excellent selectivity.

The advances in brucellosis vaccines.

Brucellosis is a worldwide zoonosis affecting animal and human health. Till now, there is no effective vaccine licensed for brucellosis in humans. Although M5, H38 and 45/20 vaccines were used to prevent animal brucellosis in the early stages, the currently used animal vaccines are S19, Rev.1, S2, RB51 and SR82. However, these vaccines still have several drawbacks such as residual virulence and interfering conventional serological tests. With the development of DNA recombination technologies and the completion of the sequence of Brucella genome, much research focuses on the search for potential safer and more effective vaccines. Preliminary studies have demonstrated that new vaccines, including genetically engineered attenuated vaccines, subunit vaccines and other potential vaccines, have higher levels of protection, but there are still some problems. In this paper, we briefly review the main vaccines that have been used in controlling the brucellosis for decades and the progress in the development of new brucellosis vaccines.

Anemonin Attenuates RANKL-Induced Osteoclastogenesis and Ameliorates LPS-Induced Inflammatory Bone Loss in Mice via Modulation of NFATc1.

Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease characterized by insufficient osteoblastic function and/or excessive osteoclastic activity. One promising strategy for treating osteoporosis is inhibiting excessive osteoclast resorbing activity. Previous studies have revealed that anemonin (ANE), isolated from various types of Chinese natural herbs, has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties. However, whether ANE regulates osteoclastogenesis is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the potential effect of ANE on osteoclastogenesis and inflammatory bone loss in mice. In in vitro studies, ANE suppressed RANKL-stimulated osteoclast differentiation and function by downregulating the expression of osteoclast master transcriptor NFATc1, as well as its upstream transcriptor c-Fos, by decreasing NF-κB and ERK1/2 signaling. Interestingly, ANE did not change the phosphorylation and degradation of IκB-α and activation of JNK and p38 MAPKs. However, ANE repressed the phosphorylation of MSK-1 which is the downstream target of ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK and can phosphorylate NF-κB p65 subunit. These results implicated that ANE might suppress NF-κB activity via modulation of ERK1/2 mediated NF-κB phosphorylation. In addition, ANE directly suppressed NFATc1 transcription by inhibiting Blimp-1 expression, and the subsequent enhancement of the expression of NFATc1 negative regulators, Bcl-6 and IRF-8. Moreover, in vivo studies were conducted using an LPS-induced inflammatory bone loss mice model. Micro-CT and histology analysis showed that ANE treatment significantly improved trabecular bone parameters and bone destruction. These data indicate that ANE can attenuate RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis and ameliorate LPS-induced inflammatory bone loss in mice through modulation of NFATc1 via ERK1/2-mediated NF-κB phosphorylation and Blimp1 signal pathways. ANE may provide new treatment options for osteoclast-related diseases.

Molecular structure, expression pattern and functional characterisation of APRIL in an aquatic mammal.

The Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaorientalis) is listed on the First Order of Protected Animals in China and was identified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in 2011. A proliferation inducing ligand (APRIL), belonging to the tumour necrosis factor (TNF) family, is critical for immune regulation. In this study, we identified a finless porpoise APRIL cDNA (fAPRIL) by RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) strategies, from the Yangtze finless porpoise (fAPRIL). This gene encodes 247 amino acids containing a predicted transmembrane domain and a TNF domain, and phylogenetic analysis of the APRIL sequence indicated that finless porpoises are closely related to Artiodactyla. In vitro, soluble fAPRIL (fsAPRIL) not only promoted the survival/proliferation of the mouse spleen lymphocytes, but also bound specifically to the surface of the B cells. The results of this study contribute to our understanding of the immune mechanisms in the finless porpoise and other aquatic mammals.

Molecular cloning, expression, bioinformatics analysis and bioactivity characterization of TNF13B (BAFF) gene in bat (Vespertilio superans Thomas).

B cell activating factor (BAFF) belonging to the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family is critical to B cell survival, proliferation, maturation, and immunoglobulin secretion and to T cell activation. In the present study, the full-length cDNA of BAFF (designated bBAFF) from the bat (Vespertilio superans Thomas) was cloned using RT-PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) techniques. The full-length cDNA of bBAFF consists of 986 bases including an 873 bp open reading frame encoding 290 amino acids. Sequence comparison indicated that the amino acid of bBAFF possessed the TNF signature, a transmembrane domain, a putative furin protease cleavage site and three cysteine residues. The predicted three-dimensional (3D) structure of the bsBAFF monomer, analyzed by comparative protein modeling, revealed that it was very similar to its counterparts. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis indicated that bBAFF mRNA was predominantly expressed in bat lymphoid tissue spleen. The SUMO (Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier)-bsBAFF was efficiently expressed in Escherichia coliBL21 (DE3) and confirmed by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting analysis. Laser scanning confocal microscopy analysis showed that bsBAFF could bind to its receptors on B cells. In vitro, the MTT assays indicated that SUMO-bsBAFF was not only able to promote survival/proliferation of bat lymphocytes but also able to stimulate survival/proliferation of mouse B cells. These findings indicate that bsBAFF plays an important role in the survival/proliferation of B cells and has functional cross-reactivity among mammalians. The present findings may provide valuable information for research into the immune system of the bat.