One-pot preparation of nanoporous Ag-Cu@Ag core-shell alloy with enhanced oxidative stability and robust antibacterial activity

Metallic core–shell nanostructures have inspired prominent research interests due to their better performances in catalytic, optical, electric, and magnetic applications as well as the less cost of noble metal than monometallic nanostructures, but limited by the complicated and expensive synthesis approaches. Development of one-pot and inexpensive method for metallic core–shell nanostructures’ synthesis is therefore of great significance. A novel Cu network supported nanoporous Ag-Cu alloy with an Ag shell and an Ag-Cu core was successfully synthesized by one-pot chemical dealloying of Zr-Cu-Ag-Al-O amorphous/crystalline composite, which provides a new way to prepare metallic core–shell nanostructures by a simple method. The prepared nanoporous Ag-Cu@Ag core-shell alloy demonstrates excellent air-stability at room temperature and enhanced oxidative stability even compared with other reported Cu@Ag core-shell micro-particles. In addition, the nanoporous Ag-Cu@Ag core-shell alloy also possesses robust antibacterial activity against E. Coli DH5α. The simple and low-cost synthesis method as well as the excellent oxidative stability promises the nanoporous Ag-Cu@Ag core-shell alloy potentially wide applications.

[Comparison and analysis of clinical effects of total arthroscopic repair and arthroscopic-assisted small incision repair for the treatment of rotator cuff injury]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the clinical effects of arthroscopic repair and arthroscopic-assisted small incision repair for the treatment of rotator cuff injury.

METHODS

The clinical data of 86 patients with rotator cuff injury from January 2012 to January 2015 were analyzed retrospectively. All the patients were divided into two groups: arthroscopic assisted small incision repair group(group A) and arthroscopic repair group(group B). There were 46 patients in group A, including 25 males and 21 females, with an average age of (52.8±7.8) years old. And there were 40 patients in group B, including 23 males and 17 females, with an average age of (53.2±9.5) years old. Several indexes such as shoulder joint activity, muscle strength and ASES, UCLA and VAS scores were examined before and after operation to compare therapeutic effects between these two groups.

RESULTS

All the patients were followed up, and the mean time was 20.8 months (ranged, 18 to 35 months). The results of patients in group A as follows: range of abduction motion of shoulder joint was (131.4±18.8)°, external rotation was (64.9±8.8)°, and internal rotation was(63.7±7.3)°. Results of patients in group B as follows: range of abduction motion of shoulder joint was(132.3±16.9), external rotation was(65.1±9.4)°, and internal rotation was(64.4±8.1)°. All the patients had better shoulder mobility than those before operation, but there were no significant differences between two groups after operation. Postoperative scores of patients in group A: ASES was 88.4±8.9, UCLA score was 29.6±3.6, VAS was 1.4±0.3; and in group B, the above scores were 89.5±9.6, 30.8±4.1 and 1.3±0.4 respectively. All the patients had better scores than those before operation, but there were no significant differences between two groups after operation.

CONCLUSIONS

Arthroscopic repair and arthroscopic-assisted small incision for repair of rotator cuff injury has clinical curative effects to some extent, and these two methods could improve the safety and reliability of surgical treatment.

Whole-exome sequencing identifies a homozygous donor splice-site mutation in STAG3 that causes primary ovarian insufficiency

Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) is the depletion or loss of normal ovarian function, which cause infertility in women before the age of 40 years. Two homozygous germline truncation mutations in STAG3 gene had been reported to causes POI in consanguineous families. Here, we aimed to identify the genetic cause of POI in 2 affected sisters manifested with primary amenorrhea and partial development of secondary sexual characters with normal range of height of a consanguineous Han Chinese family. Whole-exome and Sanger sequencing identified a homozygous donor splice-site mutation (NM_012447.2: c.1573+5G>A) in the STAG3 gene. RT-PCR revealed that the mutation causes loss of wild-type donor splice-site which leads to aberrant splicing of STAG3 mRNA and consecutive formation of STAG3 alternative transcript (p.Leu490Thrfs*10) . This is the first report of splice-site mutation of STAG3 gene causes POI in 2 Han Chinese patients.

A Dynamic Biochemomechanical Model of Geometry-Confined Cell Spreading

Cell spreading is involved in many physiological and pathological processes. The spreading behavior of a cell significantly depends on its microenvironment, but the biochemomechanical mechanisms of geometry-confined cell spreading remain unclear. A dynamic model is here established to investigate the spreading of cells confined in a finite region with different geometries, e.g., rectangle, ellipse, triangle, and L-shape. This model incorporates both biophysical and biochemical mechanisms, including actin polymerization, integrin-mediated binding, plasma viscoelasticity, and the elasticity of membranes and microtubules. We simulate the dynamic configurational evolution of a cell under different geometric microenvironments, including the angular distribution of microtubule forces and the deformation of the nucleus. The results indicate that the positioning of the cell-division plane is affected by its boundary confinement: a cell divides in a plane perpendicular to its minimal principal axis of inertia of area. In addition, the effects of such physical factors as the adhesive bond density, membrane tension, and microtubule number are examined on the cell spreading dynamics. The theoretical predictions show a good agreement with relevant experimental results. This work sheds light on the geometry-confined spreading dynamics of cells and holds potential applications in regulating cell division and designing cell-based sensors.

Few-Layered Mo(1-x)WxS2 Hollow Nanospheres on Ni3S2 Nanorod Heterostructure as Robust Electrocatalysts for Overall Water Splitting

Owing to unique optical, electronic, and catalytic properties, MoS₂ have received increasing interest in electrochemical water splitting. Herein, few-layered Mo_(1-x)W_xS₂ hollow nanospheres-modified Ni₃S₂ heterostructures are prepared through a facile hydrothermal method to further enhance the electrocatalytic performance of MoS₂. The doping of W element optimizes the electronic structure of MoS₂@Ni₃S₂ thus improving the conductivity and charge-transfer ability of MoS₂@Ni₃S₂. In addition, benefitting from the few-layered hollow structure of Mo_(1-x)W_xS₂, the strong electronic interactions between Mo_(1-x)W_xS₂ and Ni₃S₂ and the hierarchical structure of one-dimensional nanorods and three-dimensional Ni foam, massive active sites and fast ion and charge transportation are obtained. As a result, the optimized Mo_(1-x)W_xS₂@Ni₃S₂ heterostructure (Mo-W-S-2@Ni₃S₂) achieves an extremely low overpotential of 98 mV for hydrogen evolution reaction and 285 mV for oxygen evolution reaction at 10 mA cm^-2 in alkaline electrolyte. Particularly, using Mo-W-S-2@Ni₃S₂ heterostructure as a bifunctional electrocatalyst, a cell voltage of 1.62 V is required to deliver a 10 mA cm^-2 water splitting current density. In addition, the electrode can be maintained at 10 mA cm^-2 for at least 50 h, indicating the excellent stability of Mo-W-S-2@Ni₃S₂ heterostructure. Therefore, this development demonstrates an effective and feasible strategy to prepare highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting.

FOXP3 promotes tumor growth and metastasis by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and EMT in non-small cell lung cancer

Background

The role of cancer cell FOXP3 in tumorigenesis is conflicting. We aimed to study FOXP3 expression and regulation, function and clinical implication in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

One hundred and six patients with histologically-confirmed NSCLC who underwent surgery were recruited for the study. Tumor samples and NSCLC cell lines were used to examine FOXP3 and its related molecules. Various cell functions related to tumorigenesis were performed. In vivo mouse tumor xenograft was used to confirm the in vitro results.

Results

NSCLC patients with the high level of FOXP3 had a significant decrease in overall survival and recurrence-free survival. FOXP3 overexpression significantly induced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, whereas its inhibition impaired its oncogenic function. In vivo studies confirmed that FOXP3 promoted tumor growth and metastasis. The ectopic expression of FOXP3 induced epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) with downregulation of E-cadherin and upregulation of N-cadherin, vimentin, snail, slug, and MMP9. The oncogenic effects by FOXP3 could be attributed to FOX3-mediated activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, as FOXP3 increased luciferase activity of Topflash reporter and upregulated Wnt signaling target genes including c-Myc and Cyclin D1 in NSCLC cells. Co-immunoprecipitation results further indicated that FOXP3 could physically interacted with β-catenin and TCF4 to enhance the functions of β-catenin and TCF4, inducing transcription of Wnt target genes to promote cell proliferation, invasion and EMT induction.

Conclusions

FOXP3 can act as a co-activator to facilitate the Wnt-b-catenin signaling pathway, inducing EMT and tumor growth and metastasis in NSCLC.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12943-017-0700-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Compact tunable photonic comb filter on a silicon platform

We propose and demonstrate a compact wavelength- and bandwidth-tunable photonic comb filter on a silicon platform. It is a Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity fabricated on silicon-on-insulator, which is composed of two cascaded Sagnac loop mirrors (SLMs) with multimode-interferometer-assisted Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) couplers. The effective length of the FP cavity and the reflectivity of the SLMs can be dynamically changed based on thermal-optical effects by tuning three phase shifters along the cavity length and MZI arms, leading to center wavelength tuning and bandwidth tuning of the comb filter. Three tuning cases are investigated. By independently or simultaneously tuning three microheaters, center wavelength tuning with a tuning efficiency of ∼0.017  nm/mW and bandwidth tuning from 4.37 to 27.6 GHz are achieved in the experiment.

[Correlation between serum uric acid level and acute renal injury after coronary artery bypass grafting]

Objective: To evaluate whether early postoperative serum uric acid level can predict postoperative acute renal injury (AKI) among patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Methods: The study retrospectively enrolled 1 306 patients undergoing CABG in Fuwai Hospital between September 2012 and December 2013. The patients were divided into 5 groups by the concentrations of serum uric acid measured on the morning of the first postoperative day, and uric acid categories were as follow: less than 195 μmol/L (Q1 group, 262 cases), 195-236 μmol/L (Q2 group, 263 cases), 237-280 μmol/L (Q3 group, 260 cases), 281-336 μmol/L (Q4 group, 261 cases), more than 336 μmol/L (Q5 group, 260 cases). The primary end points were AKI (RIFLE criteria), severe AKI (AKI≥stage Ⅰ), postoperative continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) requirement, in-hospital death, length of stay in hospital and intensive care unit(ICU). The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was used to determine the ability of the early postoperative serum uric acid level as a risk factor for postoperative AKI prediction. Results: Among the 1 306 patients enrolled in the study, AKI was found in 335 patients (25.65%). After adjusting for variables that were different between the 5 groups, the Q5 group had significantly higher risk of AKI, AKI≥ stage Ⅰ and the requirement of CRRT (P<0.01). The ROC for the outcome of postoperative AKI had an AUC of 0.648 (95% CI: 0.612-0.683) when serum creatinine levels alone were used and 0.722 (95% CI: 0.688-0.755) when serum uric acid levels alone were used (both P<0.001). Early postoperative serum uric acid was a better predictor than serum creatinine(P<0.001). Conclusion: The serum uric acid concentration within 12 hours after operation is an independent predictor of postoperative AKI in patients undergoing CABG, which could be used to identify patients at high risk for AKI.

Asian consortium on radiation dose of pediatric cardiac CT (ASCI-REDCARD)

BACKGROUND

With incremental utilization of pediatric cardiac CT in congenital heart disease, it is imperative to define its current radiation dose levels in clinical practice in order to help imagers optimize CT protocols, particularly in Asia and other developing countries where CT physicists are not readily available.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate current radiation dose levels and influencing factors in cardiac CT in children with congenital heart disease in Asia by conducting a retrospective multi-center, multi-vendor study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We included 1,043 pediatric cardiac CT examinations performed in 8 centers between January 2014 and December 2014 to evaluate congenital heart disease. In five weight groups, we calculated radiation dose metrics including volume CT dose index, size-specific dose estimate, dose-length product and effective dose. Age at CT exam, gender, tube voltage, scan mode, CT indication and image reconstruction algorithm were analyzed to learn whether they influenced CT radiation dose.

RESULTS

Volume CT dose index, size-specific dose estimate, dose-length product and effective dose of pediatric cardiac CT showed variations in the range of 4.3-23.8 mGy, 4.9-17.6 mGy, 55.8-501.3 mGy∙cm and 1.5-3.2 mSv, respectively, within five weight groups. Gender, tube voltage, scan mode and cardiac function assessment significantly influenced CT radiation dose.

CONCLUSION

This multi-center, multi-vendor study demonstrated variations in radiation dose metrics of pediatric cardiac CT reflecting current practice in Asia. Gender, tube voltage, scan mode and cardiac function assessment should be considered as essential radiation dose-influencing factors in developing optimal pediatric cardiac CT protocols.

[An analysis of four cases of misdiagnosed primary lymphocytic hypophysitis]

To improve the differential diagnosis of sellar region mass, 4 cases with sellar mass and misdiagnosed as lymphocytic hypophysitis (LYH) were reviewed retrospectively.The 4 patients (2 male and 2 female) aged 20-60 years old were all presented with symptoms of headache, polydipsia and polyuria.Biochemical studies confirmed the diagnoses of central diabetes insipidus and hypopituitarism.Head MRI scans showed LYH like image for all the cases, and, thus, high dose methylprednisolone pulse therapy (HDMPT) was applied to the patients.Their symptoms deteriorated and the sellar mass enlarged after a short period of partial improvement.Operations were performed in all the patients.Histology study showed craniopharyngioma with abscess, primary abscess, secondary hypophysitis caused by Wegener's granulomatosis, and germinoma with secondary hypophysitis, respectively.In conclusion, surgery or biopsy is necessary for those who presented with sellar region mass and was suspected to be with LYH, but with poor response or even worse after HDMPT.

LEPR gene polymorphism and plasma soluble leptin receptor levels are associated with polycystic ovary syndrome in Han Chinese women

Aim: To investigate the association of LEPR polymorphisms and plasma leptin and soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R) levels with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in Chinese women. Patients & methods: LEPR Lys109Arg (rs1137100) and Gln223Arg (rs1137101) polymorphisms of PCOS patients and the controls were genotyped. Plasma leptin and sOB-R levels of two groups were measured. Results: The genotypic distributions of Lys109Arg (rs1137100) differed between the PCOS and control groups. Plasma sOB-R levels increased significantly in PCOS patients and were associated with PCOS independent of BMI. Furthermore, luteinizing hormone, triglyceride and fasting blood glucose correlated significantly to PCOS patients’ sOB-R levels. Conclusion: LEPR Lys109Arg (rs1137100) was associated with PCOS susceptibility and genotype AA was deduced to be a protective factor for PCOS; sOB-R levels might be recognized as a new indicator for the severity of PCOS.

A Sacrifice-for-Survival Mechanism Protects Root Stem Cell Niche from Chilling Stress

Temperature has a profound influence on plant and animal development, but its effects on stem cell behavior and activity remain poorly understood. Here, we characterize the responses of the Arabidopsis root to chilling (low but above-freezing) temperature. Chilling stress at 4°C leads to DNA damage predominantly in root stem cells and their early descendants. However, only newly generated/differentiating columella stem cell daughters (CSCDs) preferentially die in a programmed manner. Inhibition of the DNA damage response in these CSCDs prevents their death but makes the stem cell niche more vulnerable to chilling stress. Mathematical modeling and experimental validation indicate that CSCD death results in the re-establishment of the auxin maximum in the quiescent center (QC) and the maintenance of functional stem cell niche activity under chilling stress. This mechanism improves the root's ability to withstand the accompanying environmental stresses and to resume growth when optimal temperatures are restored.

An activated Th17-prone T cell subset involved in chronic graft-versus-host disease sensitive to pharmacological inhibition

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) remains a major complication of allogeneic stem cell transplantation requiring novel therapies. CD146 and CCR5 are expressed by activated T cells and associated with increased T cell migration capacity and Th17 polarization. We performed a multiparametric flow cytometry analysis in a cohort of 40 HSCT patients together with a cGvHD murine model to understand the role of CD146-expressing subsets. We observed an increased frequency of CD146+ CD4 T cells in the 20 patients with active cGvHD with enhanced RORγt expression. This Th17-prone subset was enriched for cells coexpressing CD146 and CCR5 that harbor mixed Th1/Th17 features and were more frequent in cGvHD patients. Utilizing a murine cGvHD model with bronchiolitis obliterans (BO), we observed that donor T cells from CD146-deficient mice versus those from WT mice caused significantly reduced pulmonary cGvHD. Reduced cGvHD was not the result of failed germinal center B cell or T follicular helper cell generation. Instead, CD146-deficient T cells had significantly lower pulmonary macrophage infiltration and T cell CCR5, IL-17, and IFN-γ coexpression, suggesting defective pulmonary end-organ effector mechanisms. We, thus, evaluated the effect of TMP778, a small-molecule RORγt activity inhibitor. TMP778 markedly alleviated cGvHD in murine models similarly to agents targeting the Th17 pathway, such as STAT3 inhibitor or IL-17-blocking antibody. Our data suggest CD146-expressing T cells as a cGvHD biomarker and suggest that targeting the Th17 pathway may represent a promising therapy for cGvHD.

Tetrahydrofolate Modulates Floral Transition through Epigenetic Silencing

Folates, termed from tetrahydrofolate (THF) and its derivatives, function as coenzymes in one-carbon transfer reactions and play a central role in synthesis of nucleotides and amino acids. Dysfunction of cellular folate metabolism leads to serious defects in plant development; however, the molecular mechanisms of folate-mediated cellular modifications and physiological responses in plants are still largely unclear. Here, we reported that THF controls flowering time by adjusting DNA methylation-regulated gene expression in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Wild-type seedlings supplied with THF as well as the high endogenous THF content mutant dihydrofolate synthetase folypoly-Glu synthetase homolog B exhibited significant up-regulation of the flowering repressor of Flowering Wageningen and thereby delaying floral transition in a dose-dependent manner. Genome-wide transcripts and DNA methylation profiling revealed that THF reduces DNA methylation so as to manipulate gene expression activity. Moreover, in accompaniment with elevated cellular ratios between monoglutamylated and polyglutamylated folates under increased THF levels, the content of S-adenosylhomo-Cys, a competitive inhibitor of methyltransferases, was obviously higher, indicating that enhanced THF accumulation may disturb cellular homeostasis of the concerted reactions between folate polyglutamylation and folate-dependent DNA methylation. In addition, we found that the loss-of-function mutant of CG DNA methyltransferase MET1 displayed much less responsiveness to THF-associated flowering time alteration. Taken together, our studies revealed a novel regulatory role of THF on epigenetic silencing, which will shed lights on the understanding of interrelations in folate homeostasis, epigenetic variation, and flowering control in plants.

Disruption of SHH signaling cascade by SBE attenuates lung cancer progression and sensitizes DDP treatment

Deregulated Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) pathway facilitates the initiation, progression, and metastasis of Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), confers drug resistance and renders a therapeutic interference option to lung cancer patients with poor prognosis. In this study, we screened and evaluated the specificity of a Chinese herb Scutellariabarbata D. Don extraction (SBE) in repressing SHH signaling pathway to block NSCLC progression. Our study confirmed that aberrant activation of the SHH signal pathway conferred more proliferative and invasive phenotypes to human lung cancer cells. This study revealed that SBE specifically repressed SHH signaling pathway to interfere the SHH-mediated NSCLC progression and metastasis via arresting cell cycle progression. We also found that SBE significantly sensitized lung cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agent DDP via repressing SHH components in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic investigations indicated that SBE transcriptionally and specifically downregulated SMO and consequently attenuated the activities of GLI1 and its downstream targets in SHH signaling pathway, which interacted with cell cycle checkpoint enzymes to arrest cell cycle progression and lead to cellular growth inhibition and migration blockade. Collectively, our results suggest SBE as a novel drug candidate for NSCLC which specifically and sensitively targets SHH signaling pathway.

Microbiota-gut-brain axis and the central nervous system

The gut and brain form the gut-brain axis through bidirectional nervous, endocrine, and immune communications. Changes in one of the organs will affect the other organs. Disorders in the composition and quantity of gut microorganisms can affect both the enteric nervous system and the central nervous system (CNS), thereby indicating the existence of a microbiota-gut-brain axis. Due to the intricate interactions between the gut and the brain, gut symbiotic microorganisms are closely associated with various CNS diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and multiple sclerosis. In this paper, we will review the latest advances of studies on the correlation between gut microorganisms and CNS functions & diseases.

Inositol kinase Itpkb is a novel therapeutic target for chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD)

Chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD) is a common and life-threatening complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. cGVHD is mediated by donor T cells recognizing and attacking host tissues followed by activation of effector cells such as B cells to product pathogenic autoantibodies and macrophages to mediate fibrotic responses. Safer and more effective therapies are needed for cGVHD treatment. Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate 3-kinase B (Itpkb) is a Ca2+ dependent kinase downstream of lymphocyte receptor signaling that regulates T and B cell homeostasis and function by controlling the intracellular Ca2+ level, thus regulating apoptotic responses. Genetic deletion of Itpkb results in apoptosis. GNF362, a LMW Itpkb inhibitor blocks T cell driven autoimmunity. In this study, we explore the role of Itpkb in cGVHD pathogenesis and hypothesize that cGVHD can be prevented by disrupting the Itpkb signaling pathway. We test the hypothesis in two preclinical cGVHD models with distinct clinical manifestations and pathophysiology, including a multi-organ system cGVHD mouse model that is characterized by bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) driven by spontaneous germinal center reactions and antibody deposition, and a scleroderma model that is characterized by macrophage infiltration and skin fibrosis. This study demonstrates that depleting Itpkb in donor T cells, but not in donor bone marrow blocked cGVHD lung disease and germinal center reaction in the BO model. In addition, pharmaceutical inhibition of Itpkb with GNF362 significantly reduced cGVHD manifestations in both models. These data identify Itpkb as an essential mediator of cGVHD pathogenesis and suggest Itpkb inhibition as a novel approach to treat cGVHD.

5-Aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy stimulates local immunity in patients with condylomata acuminata via activation of T lymphocytes

The article "5-Aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy stimulates local immunity in patients with condylomata acuminata via activation of T lymphocytes" by J. Du, Q. Cheng, Z. Zhang, J.-F. Wu, F. Li, S.-Y. Chen, Y.-L. Wang, X.-N. Lu, J.-H. Xu, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2017; 21 (5): 1125-1135 has been withdrawn.