Towards a rigorous understanding of societal responses to climate change.

A large scholarship currently holds that before the onset of anthropogenic global warming, natural climatic changes long provoked subsistence crises and, occasionally, civilizational collapses among human societies. This scholarship, which we term the 'history of climate and society' (HCS), is pursued by researchers from a wide range of disciplines, including archaeologists, economists, geneticists, geographers, historians, linguists and palaeoclimatologists. We argue that, despite the wide interest in HCS, the field suffers from numerous biases, and often does not account for the local effects and spatiotemporal heterogeneity of past climate changes or the challenges of interpreting historical sources. Here we propose an interdisciplinary framework for uncovering climate-society interactions that emphasizes the mechanics by which climate change has influenced human history, and the uncertainties inherent in discerning that influence across different spatiotemporal scales. Although we acknowledge that climate change has sometimes had destructive effects on past societies, the application of our framework to numerous case studies uncovers five pathways by which populations survived-and often thrived-in the face of climatic pressures.

Adaptation mechanism of three Impatiens species to different habitats based on stem morphology, lignin and MYB4 gene.

BACKGROUND: Impatiens is an important genus with rich species of garden plants, and its distribution is extremely extensive, which is reflected in its diverse ecological environment. However, the specific mechanisms of Impatiens' adaptation to various environments and the mechanism related to lignin remain unclear. RESULTS: Three representative Impatiens species,Impatiens chlorosepala (wet, low degree of lignification), Impatiens uliginosa (aquatic, moderate degree of lignification) and Impatiens rubrostriata (terrestrial, high degree of lignification), were selected and analyzed for their anatomical structures, lignin content and composition, and lignin-related gene expression. There are significant differences in anatomical parameters among the stems of three Impatiens species, and the anatomical structure is consistent with the determination results of lignin content. Furthermore, the thickness of the xylem and cell walls, as well as the ratio of cell wall thickness to stem diameter have a strong correlation with lignin content. The anatomical structure and degree of lignification in Impatiens can be attributed to the plant's growth environment, morphology, and growth rate. Our analysis of lignin-related genes revealed a negative correlation between the MYB4 gene and lignin content. The MYB4 gene may control the lignin synthesis in Impatiens by controlling the structural genes involved in the lignin synthesis pathway, such as HCT, C3H, and COMT. Nonetheless, the regulation pathway differs between species of Impatiens. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated consistency between the stem anatomy of Impatiens and the results obtained from lignin content and composition analyses. It is speculated that MYB4 negatively regulates the lignin synthesis in the stems of three Impatiens species by regulating the expression of structural genes, and its regulation mechanism appears to vary across different Impatiens species. This study analyses the variations among different Impatiens plants in diverse habitats, and can guide further molecular investigations of lignin biosynthesis in Impatiens.

Optimal face-to-face coupling for fast self-folding kirigami.

Kirigami-inspired designs can enable self-folding three-dimensional materials from flat, two-dimensional sheets. Hierarchical designs of connected levels increase the diversity of possible target structures, yet they can lead to longer folding times in the presence of fluctuations. Here, we study the effect of rotational coupling between levels on the self-folding of two-level kirigami designs driven by thermal noise in a fluid. Naturally present due to hydrodynamic resistance, we find that this coupling parameter can significantly impact a structure's self-folding pathway, thus enabling us to assess the quality of a kirigami design and the possibility for its optimization in terms of its folding rate and yield.

General Entropy Approach Toward Ultratough Sustainable Plastics.

Entropy is a universal concept across the physics of mixtures. While the role of entropy in other multicomponent materials has been appreciated, its effects in polymers and plastics have not. In this work, it is demonstrated that the seemingly small mixing entropy contributes to the miscibility and performance of polymer alloys. Experimental and modeling studies on over 30 polymer pairs reveal a strong correlation between entropy, morphology, and mechanical properties, while elucidating the mechanism behind: in polymer blends with weak interactions, entropy leads to homogeneously dispersed nanosized domains stabilized by highly entangled chains. This unique microstructure promotes uniform plastic deformation at the interface, thus improving the toughness of conventional brittle polymers by 1-2 orders of magnitude without sacrificing other properties, analogous to high-entropy metallic alloys. The proposed strategy also applies to ternary polymer systems and copolymers, offering a new pathway toward the development of sustainable polymers.

Cytosolic DNA initiates a vicious circle of aging-related endothelial inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction via STING: the inhibitory effect of Cilostazol.

Endothelial senescence, aging-related inflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction are prominent features of vascular aging and contribute to the development of aging-associated vascular disease. Accumulating evidence indicates that DNA damage occurs in aging vascular cells, especially in endothelial cells (ECs). However, the mechanism of EC senescence has not been completely elucidated, and so far, there is no specific drug in the clinic to treat EC senescence and vascular aging. Here we show that various aging stimuli induce nuclear DNA and mitochondrial damage in ECs, thus facilitating the release of cytoplasmic free DNA (cfDNA), which activates the DNA-sensing adapter protein STING. STING activation led to a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), thereby releasing pro-aging cytokines and cfDNA to further exacerbate mitochondrial damage and EC senescence, thus forming a vicious circle, all of which can be suppressed by STING knockdown or inhibition. Using next-generation RNA sequencing, we demonstrate that STING activation stimulates, whereas STING inhibition disrupts pathways associated with cell senescence and SASP. In vivo studies unravel that endothelial-specific Sting deficiency alleviates aging-related endothelial inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction and prevents the development of atherosclerosis in mice. By screening FDA-approved vasoprotective drugs, we identified Cilostazol as a new STING inhibitor that attenuates aging-related endothelial inflammation both in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrated that Cilostazol significantly inhibited STING translocation from the ER to the Golgi apparatus during STING activation by targeting S162 and S243 residues of STING. These results disclose the deleterious effects of a cfDNA-STING-SASP-cfDNA vicious circle on EC senescence and atherogenesis and suggest that the STING pathway is a promising therapeutic target for vascular aging-related diseases. A proposed model illustrates the central role of STING in mediating a vicious circle of cfDNA-STING-SASP-cfDNA to aggravate age-related endothelial inflammation and mitochondrial damage.

The effect of multimodal care based on Peplau's interpersonal relationship theory on postoperative recovery in lung cancer surgery: a retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer remains a major global health concern due to its high incidence and mortality rates. With advancements in medical treatments, an increasing number of early-stage lung cancer cases are being detected, making surgical treatment the primary option for such cases. However, this presents challenges to the physical and mental recovery of patients. Peplau known as the "mother of psychiatric associations" has formulated a theory of interpersonal relationships in nursing. Through effective communication between nurses and patients over four periods, she has established a good therapeutic nurse-patient relationship. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the effect of perioperative multimodal nursing based on Peplau's interpersonal relationship theory on the rehabilitation of patients with surgical lung cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 106 patients with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent thoracoscopic lobectomy at our department between June 2021 and April 2022. Patients were categorized into two groups according to the different nursing intervention techniques. The Peplau's group comprised 53 patients who received targeted nursing interventions, and the control group comprised 53 patients who received conventional nursing care. We observed the patients' illness uncertainty, quality of life, and clinical symptoms in both groups. RESULTS: Patients in the Peplau's group had significantly lower illness uncertainty scores and a significantly higher quality of recovery than those in the control group. However, there were no significant differences in length of post-anesthesia care unit stay, complication rates, and visual analog scores between both groups. CONCLUSION: The multimodal perioperative nursing based on Peplau's interpersonal relationship theory not only reduces the illness uncertainty of patients with lung cancer surgery and improves their QoR but also expands the application of this theory in clinical practice, guiding perioperative nursing of patients with lung cancer. IMPLICATIONS: These findings provide practical information for standardized care in a hectic anesthetic care setting. IMPACT: The assessed anesthesia nursing model helps reduce uncertainty and promote early recovery in patients with cancer at various stages of their disease, which expands the scope of therapeutic practice and existing theories. It also serves as a guide for care in the anesthesia recovery room. REPORTING METHOD: We adhered to the relevant Equator guidelines and the checklist of items in the case-control study report. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Patients cooperated with medical staff to complete relevant scales.

Inhibition of miR-214-3p attenuates ferroptosis in myocardial infarction via regulating ME2.

Myocardial infarction (MI) contributes to an increased risk of incident heart failure and sudden death, but there is still a lack of effective treatment in clinic. Recently, growing evidence has indicated that abnormal expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) plays a crucial role in cardiovascular diseases. In this research, the involvement of miRNA-214-3p in MI was explored. A mouse model of MI was established by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery, and primary cultures of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) were submitted to hypoxic treatment to stimulate cellular injury in vitro. Our results showed that miR-214-3p level was significantly upregulated in the infarcted region of mouse hearts and in NRCMs exposed to hypoxia, accompanying with an obvious elevation of ferroptosis. Inhibition of miR-214-3p by antagomir injection improved cardiac function, decreased infarct size, and attenuated iron accumulation and oxidant stress in myocardial tissues. MiR-214-3p could also promote ferroptosis and cellular impairments in NRCMs, while miR-214-3p inhibitor effectively protected cells from hypoxia. Furthermore, dual luciferase reporter gene assay revealed that malic enzyme 2 (ME2) is a direct target of miR-214-3p. In cardiomyocytes, overexpression of ME2 ameliorated the detrimental effects and excessive ferroptosis induced by miR-214-3p mimic, whereas ME2 depletion compromised the protective role of miR-214-3p inhibitor against hypoxic injury and ferroptosis. These findings suggest that miR-214-3p contributes to enhanced ferroptosis during MI at least partially via suppressing ME2. Inhibition of miR-214-3p may be a new approach for tackling MI.

SARS-CoV-2 NSP13 interacts with host IRF3, blocking antiviral immune responses.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), poses an unprecedented threat to human health since late 2019. Notably, the progression of the disease is associated with impaired antiviral interferon (IFN) responses. Although multiple viral proteins were identified as potential IFN antagonists, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated. In this study, we firstly demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 NSP13 protein robustly antagonizes IFN response induced by the constitutively active form of transcription factor IRF3 (IRF3/5D). This induction of IFN response by IRF3/5D is independent of the upstream kinase, TBK1, a previously reported NSP13 target, thus indicating that NSP13 can act at the level of IRF3 to antagonize IFN production. Consistently, NSP13 exhibits a specific, TBK1-independent interaction with IRF3, which, moreover, is much stronger than that of NSP13 with TBK1. Furthermore, the NSP13-IRF3 interaction was shown to occur between the NSP13 1B domain and IRF3 IRF association domain (IAD). In agreement with the strong targeting of IRF3 by NSP13, we then found that NSP13 blocks IRF3-directed signal transduction and antiviral gene expression, counteracting IRF3-driven anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. These data suggest that IRF3 is likely to be a major target of NSP13 in antagonizing antiviral IFN responses and provide new insights into the SARS-CoV-2-host interactions that lead to viral immune evasion.

A potential immunotherapy target for breast cancer: parenchymal and immune-stromal expression of the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway.

BACKGROUND: The NOD-, LRR- and pyrin domain­containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is a critical component of the innate immune system. It has been known to play an important role in the carcinogenesis and prognosis of breast cancer patients. While the clinical evidence of the relationship between NLRP3 inflammasome activation and long-term survival is still limited, the possible roles of parenchymal or immune-stromal cells of breast cancer tissues in contributing to such carcinogenesis and progression still need to be clarified. This study is an analysis of patients receiving breast cancer surgery in a previous clinical trial. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to detect the expression levels of NLRP3 inflammasome pathway-related proteins, including NLRP3, caspase-1, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein (ASC), IL-1ß, and IL-18, in parenchymal and immune-stromal cells of breast cancer tissues compared to those of adjacent normal tissues, respectively. The relationship between NLRP3 inflammasome expression and clinicopathological characteristics, as well as 5-year survivals were analyzed using the Chi-square test, Kaplan-Meier survival curves, and Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: In the parenchymal cells, ASC and IL-18 protein levels were significantly up-regulated in breast cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues (P<0.05). In the immune-stromal cells, all the five NLRP3 inflammasome pathway-related proteins were significantly elevated in breast cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.05). Carcinoma cell embolus was found to significantly correlate with high NLRP3 expression in parenchymal cells of the tumor (x2=4.592, P=0.032), while the expression of caspase-1 was negatively correlated with tumor progression. Histological grades were found to have a positive correlation with IL-18 expression in immune-stromal cells of the tumor (x2=14.808, P=0.001). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that high IL-18 expression in the immune-stromal cells and the positive carcinoma cell embolus were both associated with poor survival (P < 0.05). The multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model implied that the high IL-18 expression and positive carcinoma cell embolus were both independent risk factors for unfavorable prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: The activation of NLRP3 inflammasome pathways in immune-stromal and tumor parenchymal cells in the innate immune system was not isotropic and the main functions are somewhat different in breast cancer patients. Caspase-1 in parenchymal cells of the tumor was negatively correlated with tumor progression, and upregulation of IL-18 in immune-stromal cells of breast cancer tissues is a promising prognostic biomarker and a potential immunotherapy target. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This clinical trial has been registered at the Chictr.org.cn registry system on 21/08/2018 (ChiCTR1800017910).

Regulation of toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathways in atherosclerosis: from mechanisms to targeted therapeutics.

Atherosclerosis, one of the life-threatening cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), has been demonstrated to be a chronic inflammatory disease, and inflammatory and immune processes are involved in the origin and development of the disease. Toll-like receptors (TLRs), a class of pattern recognition receptors that trigger innate immune responses by identifying pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), regulate numerous acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Recent studies reveal that TLRs have a vital role in the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis, including the initiation of endothelial dysfunction, interaction of various immune cells, and activation of a number of other inflammatory pathways. We herein summarize some other inflammatory signaling pathways, protein molecules, and cellular responses associated with TLRs, such as NLRP3, Nrf2, PCSK9, autophagy, pyroptosis and necroptosis, which are also involved in the development of AS. Targeting TLRs and their regulated inflammatory events could be a promising new strategy for the treatment of atherosclerotic CVDs. Novel drugs that exert therapeutic effects on AS through TLRs and their related pathways are increasingly being developed. In this article, we comprehensively review the current knowledge of TLR signaling pathways in atherosclerosis and actively seek potential therapeutic strategies using TLRs as a breakthrough point in the prevention and therapy of atherosclerosis.

SZC-6, a small-molecule activator of SIRT3, attenuates cardiac hypertrophy in mice.

Sirtuin3 (SIRT3), a class III histone deacetylase, is implicated in various cardiovascular diseases as a novel therapeutic target. SIRT3 has been proven to be cardioprotective in a model of Ang II-induced cardiac hypertrophy. However, a few small-molecule compounds targeting deacetylases could activate SIRT3. In this study, we generated a novel SIRT3 activator, 3-(2-bromo-4-hydroxyphenyl)-7-hydroxy-2H-chromen-2-one (SZC-6), through structural optimization of the first SIRT3 agonist C12. We demonstrated that SZC-6 directly bound to SIRT3 with Kd value of 15 µM, and increased SIRT3 deacetylation activity with EC50 value of 23.2 ± 3.3 µM. In neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs), pretreatment with SZC-6 (10, 20, 40 µM) dose-dependently attenuated isoproterenol (ISO)-induced hypertrophic responses. Administration of SZC-6 (20, 40 and 60 mg·kg-1·d-1, s.c.) for 2 weeks starting from one week prior ISO treatment dose-dependently reversed ISO-induced impairment of diastolic and systolic cardiac function in wild-type mice, but not in SIRT3 knockdown mice. We showed that SZC-6 (10, 20, 40 µM) dose-dependently inhibited cardiac fibroblast proliferation and differentiation into myofibroblasts, which was abolished in SIRT3-knockdown mice. We further revealed that activation of SIRT3 by SZC-6 increased ATP production and rate of mitochondrial oxygen consumption, and reduced ROS, improving mitochondrial function in ISO-treated NRCMs. We also found that SZC-6 dose-dependently enhanced LKB1 phosphorylation, thereby promoting AMPK activation to inhibit Drp1-dependent mitochondrial fragmentation. Taken together, these results demonstrate that SZC-6 is a novel SIRT3 agonist with potential value in the treatment of cardiac hypertrophy partly through activation of the LKB1-AMPK pathway.

JMJD6 protects against isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy via inhibition of NF-κB activation by demethylating R149 of the p65 subunit.

Histone modification plays an important role in pathological cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. In this study we investigated the role of a histone arginine demethylase, Jumonji C domain-containing protein 6 (JMJD6) in pathological cardiac hypertrophy. Cardiac hypertrophy was induced in rats by subcutaneous injection of isoproterenol (ISO, 1.2 mg·kg-1·d-1) for a week. At the end of the experiment, the rats underwent echocardiography, followed by euthanasia and heart collection. We found that JMJD6 levels were compensatorily increased in ISO-induced hypertrophic cardiac tissues, but reduced in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Furthermore, we demonstrated that JMJD6 overexpression significantly attenuated ISO-induced hypertrophy in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) evidenced by the decreased cardiomyocyte surface area and hypertrophic genes expression. Cardiac-specific JMJD6 overexpression in rats protected the hearts against ISO-induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, and rescued cardiac function. Conversely, depletion of JMJD6 by single-guide RNA (sgRNA) exacerbated ISO-induced hypertrophic responses in NRCMs. We revealed that JMJD6 interacted with NF-κB p65 in cytoplasm and reduced nuclear levels of p65 under hypertrophic stimulation in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, JMJD6 bound to p65 and demethylated p65 at the R149 residue to inhibit the nuclear translocation of p65, thus inactivating NF-κB signaling and protecting against pathological cardiac hypertrophy. In addition, we found that JMJD6 demethylated histone H3R8, which might be a new histone substrate of JMJD6. These results suggest that JMJD6 may be a potential target for therapeutic interventions in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure.

Machine learning-based identification of symptomatic carotid atherosclerotic plaques with dual-energy computed tomography angiography.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop and validate a machine learning model incorporating both dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) angiography quantitative parameters and clinically relevant risk factors for the identification of symptomatic carotid plaques to prevent acute cerebrovascular events. METHODS: The data of 180 patients with carotid atherosclerosis plaques were analysed from January 2017 to December 2021; 110 patients (64.03±9.58 years old, 20 women, 90 men) were allocated to the symptomatic group, and 70 patients (64.70±9.89 years old, 50 women, 20 men) were allocated to the asymptomatic group. Overall, five machine learning models using the XGBoost algorithm, based on different CT and clinical features, were developed in the training cohort. The performances of all five models were assessed in the testing cohort using receiver operating characteristic curves, accuracy, recall rate, and F1 score. RESULTS: The shapley additive explanation (SHAP) value ranking showed fat fraction (FF) as the highest among all CT and clinical features and normalised iodine density (NID) as the 10th. The model based on the top 10 features from the SHAP measurement showed optimal performance (area under the curve [AUC] .885, accuracy .833, recall rate .933, F1 score .861), compared with the other four models based on conventional CT features (AUC .588, accuracy .593, recall rate .767, F1 score .676), DECT features (AUC .685, accuracy .648, recall rate .667, F1 score .678), conventional CT and DECT features (AUC .819, accuracy .740, recall rate .867, F1 score .788), and all CT and clinical features (AUC .878, accuracy .833, recall rate .867, F1 score .852). CONCLUSION: FF and NID can serve as useful imaging markers of symptomatic carotid plaques. This tree-based machine learning model incorporating both DECT and clinical features could potentially comprise a non-invasive method for identification of symptomatic carotid plaques to guide clinical treatment strategies.

The m6A demethylase FTO promotes the osteogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells by downregulating PPARG.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant posttranscriptional methylation modification that occurs in mRNA and modulates the fine-tuning of various biological processes in mammalian development and human diseases. In this study we investigated the role of m6A modification in the osteogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and the possible mechanisms by which m6A modification regulated the processes of osteoporosis and bone necrosis. We performed systematic analysis of the differential gene signatures in patients with osteoporosis and bone necrosis and conducted m6A-RNA immunoprecipitation (m6A-RIP) sequencing to identify the potential regulatory genes involved in osteogenesis. We showed that fat mass and obesity (FTO), a primary m6A demethylase, was significantly downregulated in patients with osteoporosis and osteonecrosis. During the differentiation of human MSCs into osteoblasts, FTO was markedly upregulated. Both depletion of FTO and application of the FTO inhibitor FB23 or FB23-2 impaired osteogenic differentiation of human MSCs. Knockout of FTO in mice resulted in decreased bone mineral density and impaired bone formation. PPARG, a biomarker for osteoporosis, was identified as a critical downstream target of FTO. We further revealed that FTO mediated m6A demethylation in the 3'UTR of PPARG mRNA, and reduced PPARG mRNA stability in an YTHDF1-dependent manner. Overexpression of PPARG alleviated FTO-mediated osteogenic differentiation of MSCs, whereas knockdown of PPARG promoted FTO-induced expression of the osteoblast biomarkers ALPL and OPN during osteogenic differentiation. Taken together, this study demonstrates the functional significance of the FTO-PPARG axis in promoting the osteogenesis of human MSCs and sheds light on the role of m6A modification in mediating osteoporosis and osteonecrosis.

The novel STAT3 inhibitor WZ-2-033 causes regression of human triple-negative breast cancer and gastric cancer xenografts.

Hyperactive signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling is frequently detected in human triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and gastric cancer, leading to uncontrolled tumor growth, resistance to chemotherapy, and poor prognosis. Thus, inhibition of STAT3 signaling is a promising therapeutic approach for both TNBC and gastric cancer, which have high incidences and mortality and limited effective therapeutic approaches. Here, we report a small molecule, WZ-2-033, capable of inhibiting STAT3 activation and dimerization and STAT3-related malignant transformation. We present in vitro evidence from surface plasmon resonance analysis that WZ-2-033 interacts with the STAT3 protein and from confocal imaging that WZ-2-033 disrupts HA-STAT3 and Flag-STAT3 dimerization in intact cells. WZ-2-033 suppresses STAT3-DNA-binding activity but has no effect on STAT5-DNA binding. WZ-2-033 inhibits the phosphorylation and nuclear accumulation of pY705-STAT3 and consequently suppresses STAT3-dependent transcriptional activity and the expression of STAT3 downstream genes. Moreover, WZ-2-033 significantly inhibited the proliferation, colony survival, migration, and invasion of TNBC cells and gastric cancer cells with aberrant STAT3 activation. Furthermore, administration of WZ-2-033 in vivo induced a significant antitumor response in mouse models of TNBC and gastric cancer that correlated with the inhibition of constitutively active STAT3 and the suppression of known STAT3 downstream genes. Thus, our study provides a novel STAT3 inhibitor with significant antitumor activity in human TNBC and gastric cancer harboring persistently active STAT3.

Caspase-11 promotes NLRP3 inflammasome activation via the cleavage of pannexin1 in acute kidney disease.

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a major cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) in clinic. The activation of NLRP3 inflammasome is associated with inflammation and renal injury in I/R-induced AKI. In the current study we explored the molecular and cellular mechanisms for NLRP3 inflammasome activation following renal I/R. Mice were subjected to I/R renal injury by clamping bilateral renal pedicles. We showed that I/R injury markedly increased caspase-11 expression and the cleavage of pannexin 1 (panx1) in the kidneys accompanied by NLRP3 inflammasome activation evidenced by the activation of caspase-1 and interlukin-1ß (IL-1ß) maturation. In Casp-11-/- mice, I/R-induced panx1 cleavage, NLRP3 inflammasome activation as well as renal functional deterioration and tubular morphological changes were significantly attenuated. In cultured primary tubular cells (PTCs) and NRK-52E cells, hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) markedly increased caspase-11 expression, NLRP3 inflammasome activation, IL-1ß maturation and panx1 cleavage. Knockdown of caspase-11 attenuated all those changes; similar effects were observed in PTCs isolated from Casp-11-/- mice. In NRK-52E cells, overexpression of caspase-11 promoted panx1 cleavage; pretreatment with panx1 inhibitor carbenoxolone or knockdown of panx1 significantly attenuated H/R-induced intracellular ATP reduction, extracellular ATP elevation and NLRP3 inflammasome activation without apparent influence on H/R-induced caspase-11 increase; pretreatment with P2X7 receptor inhibitor AZD9056 also attenuated NLRP3 inflammasome activation. The above results demonstrate that the cleavage of panx1 by upregulated caspase-11 is involved in facilitating ATP release and then NLRP3 inflammasome activation in I/R-induced AKI. This study provides new insight into the molecular mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in AKI.

The novel indomethacin derivative CZ-212-3 exerts antitumor effects on castration-resistant prostate cancer by degrading androgen receptor and its variants.

Androgen receptor (AR) serves as a main therapeutic target for prostate cancer (PCa). However, resistance to anti-androgen therapy (SAT) inevitably occurs. Indomethacin is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug that exhibits activity against prostate cancer. Recently, we designed and synthesized a series of new indomethacin derivatives (CZ compounds) via Pd (II)-catalyzed synthesis of substituted N-benzoylindole. In this study, we evaluated the antitumor effect of these novel indomethacin derivatives in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Upon employing CCK-8 cell viability assays and colony formation assays, we found that these derivatives had high efficacy against CRPC tumor growth in vitro. Among these derivatives, CZ-212-3 exhibited the most potent efficacy against CRPC cell survival and on apoptosis induction. Mechanistically, CZ-212-3 significantly suppressed the expression of AR target gene networks by degrading AR and its variants. Consistently, CZ-212-3 significantly inhibited tumor growth in CRPC cell line-based xenograft and PDX models in vivo. Taken together, the data show that the indomethacin derivative CZ-212-3 significantly inhibited CRPC tumor growth by degrading AR and its variants and could be a promising agent for CRPC therapy.

Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-2 stimulates osteoclast differentiation and bone loss in periodontitis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM-2) in the healthy and diseased tissue, including gingivitis or periodontitis, and then to assess whether it has an impact on the development of periodontitis. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The gingival tissues from healthy controls, gingivitis, and periodontitis underwent hematoxylin-eosin and immunohistochemical staining, and the association of TREM-2 expression or TREM-2+ cell counts with clinical parameters was assessed. An anti-TREM-2 antibody was used to block the osteoclastogenesis in vitro and during the experimental periodontitis by injection into the gingiva. The relative gene expression of TREM-2 in different gingival tissues was analyzed by quantitative PCR. RESULTS: In the gingival tissues of periodontitis, TREM-2 expression and TREM-2+ cell counts were significantly higher than those of gingivitis and healthy controls (p<0.05). In the group of periodontitis showing moderate signs, the gingival tissues displayed significantly lower TREM-2 expression, in contrast with the group with advanced periodontal symptoms (p < 0.05). Consistently, blocking TREM-2 significantly decreased osteoclast formation both in vitro and in vivo (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Increased TREM-2 expression and TREM-2+ cells were positively associated with the development of periodontitis. Osteoclast differentiation and stimulating alveolar bone loss were partly relied on TREM-2, which could be a target to be blocked for attenuating osteoclastogenesis in periodontitits.

First Report of 'Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia' Associated with the Invasive Weed Eclipta prostrata (L.) in Taiwan.

Eclipta prostrata (L.), commonly known as false daisy of the family Asteraceae, is an erect or prostrate annual herb that grows 5 to 45 cm tall. It is widespread mainly in tropical and subtropical regions like India, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Brazil (Chung et al., 2017). E. prostrata has very wide medicinal properties accounted by several phytochemicals like thiophene derivatives, steroids, flavonoids, and polypeptides (Feng et. al., 2019). It is also used as a traditional herbal medicine for the treatment of bleeding, hemoptysis and itching, hepatitis diarrhea, and even hair loss (Timalsina et al., 2021). In September 2021, E. prostrata displaying branch proliferation and phyllody symptoms with about 30% (6 were symptomatic and 14 were healthy) incidence rate was observed in Mailiao, Yunlin, Taiwan where phytoplasma disease is permeating and has affected many crops and non-crop species including peanut, mungbean, curl-leaved tobacco, false amaranth, etc. Compared to healthy E. prostrata bearing white ray florets and cream or dull white disk florets, symptomatic ones developed phyllody which is more pronounced on the severely infected ones. Further examination by transmission electron microscope revealed a pleomorphic (circular, elliptical, and bell-shaped) phytoplasma-like organisms accumulated in the sieve elements of the symptomatic leaves. Phytoplasma infection was further confirmed by nested polymerase chain reaction using universal primers P1/P7 (carried out for 12 cycles), followed by R16F2n/R16R2 (carried out for 35 cycles) on the genomic DNA extracted by Plant Genomic DNA Purification Kit (DP022-150, GeneMark) (Lee et al. 1993). Results revealed that the conserved 16S rRNA gene with a 1.2 kb fragment size was amplified only by the symptomatic samples. Furthermore, western blotting was done using the polyclonal antibody raised against the immunodominant membrane protein (Imp) of peanut witches'-broom (PnWB) phytoplasma, a 'Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia' in Taiwan that belongs group to 16SrII (Chen et al. 2021). Consistent with the nested PCR, only the symptomatic samples revealed a specific Imp signal with a size of 19 kDa. To classify the phytoplasma associated with the symptomatic E. prostrata, the DNA sequence (No. OM397418) of the P1/P7 primer pair-amplified DNA fragment was obtained using P1 and a nested primer (5'-GGGTCTTTACTGACGCTGAGG-3'), which shares 100% identity with that of GenBank accession NZ_AMWZ01000008 (complement [31109 to 32640]) of PnWB phytoplasma. Further analysis of the virtual RFLP pattern of OM397418 by iPhyClassifier confirmed that the phytoplasma identified in the symptomatic E. prostrata belongs 16SrII-V subgroup. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of phytoplasma disease in E. prostrata associated with the 'Ca. P. aurantifolia' in Taiwan.

Detection, Identification, and Molecular Characterization of the 16SrII-V Subgroup Phytoplasma Strain Associated with Digera muricata in Taiwan.

Digera muricata (L.) Mart. is a pantropical annual herb belonging to the Amaranthaceae family. In August 2021, D. muricata with indicative phytoplasma symptoms of phyllody, witches'-broom, and virescence was discovered adjacent to a peanut field in Mailiao, Yunlin, Taiwan. The causal agent of the observed symptoms was detected and identified by a series of molecular characterizations. Sieve elements of the phloem tissue were perused under the transmission electron microscope and revealed the presence of pleomorphic phytoplasma-like organisms. Nested PCR using phytoplasma universal primer pairs P1/P7 and R16F2n/R16R2 was able to amplify a 1.2-kb DNA fragment for the 16S rRNA gene only from the symptomatic D. muricata. The 16S rRNA-based phylogenetic analysis and the iPhyClassifier-based virtual RFLP further affirmed that the phytoplasma associated with the diseased D. muricata can be classified into the 16SrII-V subgroup. Moreover, displayed evident symptoms were explained by the concomitant detection of PHYL1 and SAP11, the virulence genes responsible for the development of leaf-like flowers and shoot proliferation, respectively. Although phytoplasma infection on the noncrop species does not have a direct economic impact, its role in disease spread and perpetuation is indubitable.