The long coiled-coil protein NECC2 regulates oxLDL-induced endothelial oxidative damage and exacerbates atherosclerosis development in apolipoprotein E -/- mice

Oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL)-induced endothelial oxidative damage promotes the development of atherosclerosis. Caveolae play an essential role in maintaining the survival and function of vascular endothelial cell (VEC). It is reported that the long coiled-coil protein NECC2 is localized in caveolae and is associated with neural cell differentiation and adipocyte formation, but its role in VECs needs to be clarified. Our results showed NECC2 expression increased in the endothelium of plaque-loaded aortas and oxLDL-treated HUVECs. Down-regulation of NECC2 by NECC2 siRNA or compound YF-307 significantly inhibited oxLDL-induced VEC apoptosis and the adhesion factors expression. Remarkably, inhibition of NECC2 expression in the endothelium of apoE-/- mice by adeno-associated virus (AAV)-carrying NECC2 shRNA or compound YF-307 alleviated endothelium injury and restricted atherosclerosis development. The immunoprecipitation results confirmed that NECC2 interacted with Tyk2 and caveolin-1(Cav-1) in VECs, and NECC2 further promoted the phosphorylation of Cav-1 at Tyr14 b y activating Tyk2 phosphorylation. On the other hand, inhibiting NECC2 levels suppressed oxLDL-induced phosphorylation of Cav-1, uptake of oxLDL by VECs, accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species and activation of NF-κB. Our findings suggest that NECC2 may contribute to oxLDL-induced VEC injury and atherosclerosis via modulating Cav-1 phosphorylation through Tyk2. This work provides a new concept and drug target for treating atherosclerosis.

Measurements of All-Particle Energy Spectrum and Mean Logarithmic Mass of Cosmic Rays from 0.3 to 30 PeV with LHAASO-KM2A

We present the measurements of all-particle energy spectrum and mean logarithmic mass of cosmic rays in the energy range of 0.3-30 PeV using data collected from LHAASO-KM2A between September 2021 and December 2022, which is based on a nearly composition-independent energy reconstruction method, achieving unprecedented accuracy. Our analysis reveals the position of the knee at 3.67±0.05±0.15  PeV. Below the knee, the spectral index is found to be -2.7413±0.0004±0.0050, while above the knee, it is -3.128±0.005±0.027, with the sharpness of the transition measured with a statistical error of 2%. The mean logarithmic mass of cosmic rays is almost heavier than helium in the whole measured energy range. It decreases from 1.7 at 0.3 PeV to 1.3 at 3 PeV, representing a 24% decline following a power law with an index of -0.1200±0.0003±0.0341. This is equivalent to an increase in abundance of light components. Above the knee, the mean logarithmic mass exhibits a power law trend towards heavier components, which is reversal to the behavior observed in the all-particle energy spectrum. Additionally, the knee position and the change in power-law index are approximately the same. These findings suggest that the knee observed in the all-particle spectrum corresponds to the knee of the light component, rather than the medium-heavy components.

Investigations of clinical characteristics and inflammatory markers of febrile seizures induced by coronavirus infection

The study of children who experienced with febrile seizures(FS) as a result of COVID-19 infection to gain insight into the clinical characteristics and prognosis of neurological damage, with the aim of improving prevention, diagnosis, and the treatment of neurological complications. This study investigated the clinical features of 53 children with FS who were admitted to Sanya Women and Children's Hospital from December 1, 2022, to January 31, 2023. The results indicated that the duration of convulsion in the case and control group was 7.90±8.91 and 2.67±1.23 (minutes) respectively. The analysis reveals that convulsions occurred within 24 hours in 39 cases (95.12%) of the case group, and in 8 cases (66.7%) of the control group. The difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Additionally, the case group presented lower counts of WBC and NEU compared to the control group (p<0.05). The findings indicate that convulsions manifest at earlier stages of COVID-19 in children and the last longer than in the control group. It is therefore crucial for healthcare workers to remain attentive to patients with COVID-19 who report fever within 24 hours, and act promptly to implement preventive measures, particularly in cases of prolonged fever. It is essential to integrate the clinical manifestation, particularly convulsions, and the continuous numerical changes of inflammatory factors to assess COVID-19 linked with febrile seizures. In addition, larger-scale multi-center and systematic research are necessary to aid clinicians in monitoring neuropathological signals and biological targets, enabling more equitable diagnosis and treatment plans.

Measurement of Ultra-High-Energy Diffuse Gamma-Ray Emission of the Galactic Plane from 10 TeV to 1 PeV with LHAASO-KM2A

The diffuse Galactic γ-ray emission, mainly produced via interactions between cosmic rays and the interstellar medium and/or radiation field, is a very important probe of the distribution, propagation, and interaction of cosmic rays in the Milky Way. In this Letter, we report the measurements of diffuse γ rays from the Galactic plane between 10 TeV and 1 PeV energies, with the square kilometer array of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). Diffuse emissions from the inner (15°10  TeV). The energy spectrum in the inner Galaxy regions can be described by a power-law function with an index of -2.99±0.04, which is different from the curved spectrum as expected from hadronic interactions between locally measured cosmic rays and the line-of-sight integrated gas content. Furthermore, the measured flux is higher by a factor of ∼3 than the prediction. A similar spectrum with an index of -2.99±0.07 is found in the outer Galaxy region, and the absolute flux for 10≲E≲60  TeV is again higher than the prediction for hadronic cosmic ray interactions. The latitude distributions of the diffuse emission are consistent with the gas distribution, while the longitude distributions show clear deviation from the gas distribution. The LHAASO measurements imply that either additional emission sources exist or cosmic ray intensities have spatial variations.

[Effect of Hispidulin on Proliferation and Apoptosis of Leukemia K562 Cells by Up-Regulating IL-37]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect and underlying mechanism of hispidulin on the proliferation and apoptosis of leukemia K562 cells.

METHODS

K562 cells were cultured in vitro and treated with 0, 5, 25 or 100 μmol/L hispidulin for 24 h. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were detected by CCK-8 and flow cytometry, respectively. Western blot was used to assess the expression of Bax, Bcl-2 and interleukin (IL)-37 proteins. Bone marrow mononuclear cells were extracted from 17 chronic myeloid leukemia patients and 21 healthy individuals by Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient method, and the expression of IL-37 protein was measured by Western blot. K562 cells with IL-37 overexpression or knockdown were constructed, and then treated with 0 or 100 μmol/L hispidulin for 24 h. Cell proliferation, apoptosis and protein expression of Bax and Bcl-2 were determined in the same way as above.

RESULTS

After K562 cells were treated with hispidulin, the cell inhibition rate, apoptosis rate, and the protein expression of Bax and IL-37 were significantly increased (P <0.05), but the cell proliferation and expression of Bcl-2 protein were decreased (P <0.05). The expression of IL-37 protein in bone marrow mononuclear cells of the leukemia patient was 0.24±0.03, which was significantly lower than 0.91±0.05 of healthy controls (P <0.05). Overexpression of IL-37 significantly promoted inhibition rate, apoptosis rate, and expression of Bax protein in K562 cells (P <0.05), but suppressed the expression of Bcl-2 protein (P <0.05). In addition, knockdown of IL-37 could reverse the effects of hispidulin on proliferation and apoptosis of K562 cells.

CONCLUSION

Hispidulin inhibits the proliferation and induces apoptosis of leukemia K562 cells, which may be related to the up-regulation of IL-37 protein in cells.

[Research Progress of Immune Heterogeneity in Leukemia Microenvironment--Review]

Although the body has a strong immune system which can resists the invasion of leukemia cells, leukemia cells disseminate systemically and form an immunosuppressive microenvironment through a variety of mechanisms, including regulation of antigen presentation, utilization of immunosuppressive enzyme AXL, immune cell inhibitory checkpoint NKG2A and immunoregulatory gene VISTA, resulting in immune escape. Therefore, most types of leukemia are inevitable for the affliction of drug resistance or relapse, and the immune efficacy is not as significant as that of other hematological tumors and the prognosis is suboptimal. This article reviews the immune heterogeneity of leukemia microenvironment from many aspects, including anti-leukemia immunity and immune escape. In addition, it also reviews the latest progress and future prospects of immune checkpoint inhibition, adoptive cell therapy and vaccine therapy in leukemia, providing a theoretical basis for the development of personalized combination therapy strategies with less toxic side effects.

A tera-electron volt afterglow from a narrow jet in an extremely bright gamma-ray burst

Some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have a tera-electron volt (TeV) afterglow, but the early onset of this has not been observed. We report observations with the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory of the bright GRB 221009A, which serendipitously occurred within the instrument field of view. More than 64,000 photons >0.2 TeV were detected within the first 3000 seconds. The TeV flux began several minutes after the GRB trigger, then rose to a peak about 10 seconds later. This was followed by a decay phase, which became more rapid ~650 seconds after the peak. We interpret the emission using a model of a relativistic jet with half-opening angle ~0.8°. This is consistent with the core of a structured jet and could explain the high isotropic energy of this GRB.

Lysine-Specific Demethylase 1 Promises to Be a Novel Target in Cancer Drug Resistance: Therapeutic Implications

Chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy are effective against most tumors, but drug resistance remains a barrier to successful treatment. Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1), a member of histone demethylation modifications, can regulate invasion, metastasis, apoptosis, and immune escape of tumor cells, which are associated with tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Recent studies suggest that LSD1 ablation regulates resensitivity of tumor cells to anticarcinogens containing immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) via multiple upstream and downstream pathways. In this review, we describe the recent findings about LSD1 biology and its role in the development and progression of cancer drug resistance. Further, we summarize LSD1 inhibitors that have a reversal or resensitive effect on drug resistance and discuss the possibility of targeting LSD1 in combination with other agents to surmount resistance.

YF343, a Novel Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor, Combined with CQ to Inhibit- Autophagy, Contributes to Increased Apoptosis in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

BACKGROUND

Compounds that target tumor epigenetic events are likely to constitute a prominent strategy for anticancer treatment. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) have been developed as prospective candidates in anticancer drug development, and currently, many of them are under clinical investigation. We assessed the anticancer efficacy of a now hydroxamate-based HDACi, YF-343, in triple-negative breast cancer development and studied its potential mechanisms.

METHODS

YF-343 was estimated as a novel HDACi by the HDACi drug screening kit. The biological effects of YF-343 in a panel of breast cancer cell lines were analyzed by Western blot and flow cytometry. YF-343 exhibited notable cytotoxicity, promoted apoptosis, and induced cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, it also induced autophagy, which plays a pro-survival role in breast cancer cells.

RESULTS

The combination of YF-343 with an autophagy inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) significantly suppressed breast tumor progression as compared to the YF-343 treatment alone both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, the molecular mechanism of YF-343 on autophagy was elucidated by gene chip expression profiles, qPCR analysis, luciferase reporter gene assay, chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, immunohistochemical analysis, and other methods. E2F7, a transcription factor, promoted the expression of ATG2A via binding to the ATG2A promoter region and then induced autophagy in triple-negative breast cancer cells treated with YF-343.

CONCLUSION

Our studies have illustrated the mechanisms for potential action of YF-343 on tumor growth in breast cancer models with pro-survival autophagy. The combination therapy of YF-343 and CQ maybe a promising strategy for breast cancer therapy.

Constraints on Heavy Decaying Dark Matter from 570 Days of LHAASO Observations

The kilometer square array (KM2A) of the large high altitude air shower observatory (LHAASO) aims at surveying the northern γ-ray sky at energies above 10 TeV with unprecedented sensitivity. γ-ray observations have long been one of the most powerful tools for dark matter searches, as, e.g., high-energy γ rays could be produced by the decays of heavy dark matter particles. In this Letter, we present the first dark matter analysis with LHAASO-KM2A, using the first 340 days of data from 1/2-KM2A and 230 days of data from 3/4-KM2A. Several regions of interest are used to search for a signal and account for the residual cosmic-ray background after γ/hadron separation. We find no excess of dark matter signals, and thus place some of the strongest γ-ray constraints on the lifetime of heavy dark matter particles with mass between 10^{5} and 10^{9}  GeV. Our results with LHAASO are robust, and have important implications for dark matter interpretations of the diffuse astrophysical high-energy neutrino emission.

Global morbidity and mortality of lower respiratory infections: A population -based study

BACKGROUND

This study provides a comprehensive, comparative and updated estimates of temporal patterns of lower respiratory infections (LRIs) globally over the past three decades.

METHODS

The data on morbidity and mortality of patients with LRIs at the global, regional and national levels were retrieved from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study.

RESULTS

Globally, the incident cases of LRIs increased from 414,342,866 [95% uncertainty interval (UI):383,529,625 to 449, 086,938]in 1990 to 488,902,504(95% UI: 457,572,987 to 522,635,542)in 2019 with the age standardized incidence rate (ASIR) decreased from 8,276/100,000 persons (95% UI: 7,727 to 8,892) to 6,295/100,000 persons (95% UI: 5,887 to 6,737) between 1990 and 2019. Number of LRIs deaths were 2,493,200 (95% UI: 2,268,184 to 2,736,184) in 2019, a decrease of 24.9% (95% UI: -34.4 to -15.4) in the past 30 years. Meanwhile, the age-standardized death rate (ASDR) declined also from 67/100,000 persons (95% UI: 61 to 73) in 1990 to 34/100,000 persons (95% UI: 31 to 38) in 2019. Moreover, the numbers and age-standardized rates per 100,000 persons of morbidity and mortality varied widely by age, sex, Socio-Demographic Index (SDI) quintiles, and geographical locations in 2019.

CONCLUSION

LRIs remain a major public health concern . Some differences in age, sex, SDI quintiles, and geographical locations contribute to LRIs-related global health policy development and health system resource optimization.

Effects of SLCO1B1 on elimination and toxicities of high-dose methotrexate in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Aim: To evaluate the association between SLCO1B1 polymorphisms and elimination/toxicities of high-dose methotrexate (MTX). Methods: SLCO1B1 rs11045879 and rs4149056 polymorphisms were retrospectively genotyped in 301 children with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia. MTX concentration, doses of leucovorin rescue and toxicities were recorded. Results: SLCO1B1 rs11045879C carriers (CC + CT) had higher plasma MTX levels at 96 hr, and longer MTX elimination time. The number of leucovorin rescue doses in rs4149056C carriers (CC + CT) was more than those in TT ones. Moreover, SLCO1B1 polymorphisms were associated with HDMTX toxicities including thrombocytopenia, renal toxicity and anal mucositis, but not associated with MTX level at other time points or delayed elimination. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that genotyping of SLCO1B1 might be useful to optimize MTX therapy.

[Research Progress of m6A Methylation Modification in Hematological Tumors--Review]

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is one of the most common epigenetic modifications of eukaryotic mRNAs, which is involved in the regulation of gene expressions and biological processes in a variety of cells with dynamic and reversible methylation processes. In recent years, many studies have shown that m6A methylation modification not only acts on the growth, proliferation, and medullary differentiation of acute myeloid leukemia cells, but also participates in the regulation of the proliferation and apoptosis of other hematological tumor cells such as chronic myeloid leukemia and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and it can even weaken the efficacy of anti-hematological tumor immunotherapy and induce immune escape leading to tumor resistance. With the successive development of a variety of m6A methylation-related enzyme inhibitors, it will provide new therapeutic ideas for patients with relapsed and refractory hematological tumors. In this paper, we review the research progress on the mechanism of m6A methylation on the occurrence, development, and tumor immunity of various hematological tumors.

Discovery of 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives containing a bisamide moiety as a novel class of potential cardioprotective agents

Myocardial injury is a nonnegligible problem in cardiovascular diseases and cancer therapy. The functional feature of N-containing heterocycles in the cardiovascular field has attracted much attention in recent years. Herein, we discovered a lead compound 12a containing 1,3,4-oxadiazole by extensive screening of anticancer derivatives containing nitrogen-heterocycle, which exhibited potential protective activity against oxidative stress in cardiomyocytes. Follow-up structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies also highlighted the role of substitution sites and bisamide moiety in enhancing the protective activity against oxidative stress. Specifically, compound 12d exhibited low cytotoxicity under high concentration and potent myocardial protection against oxidative stress in H9c2 cells. Preliminary mechanistic studies showed compound 12d could decrease the expression of cardiac hypertrophy and oxidative stress-related proteins/genes and reduce mitochondria-mediated cell apoptosis, thereby enhancing the cell vitality of injured cardiomyocytes. In this study, 1,3,4-oxadiazole may represent a novel pharmacophore that possesses potential myocardial protection and provides more choices for future optimization of cardiovascular drugs, especially for the treatment of onco-cardiology.

Exploring Lorentz Invariance Violation from Ultrahigh-Energy γ Rays Observed by LHAASO

Recently, the LHAASO Collaboration published the detection of 12 ultrahigh-energy γ-ray sources above 100 TeV, with the highest energy photon reaching 1.4 PeV. The first detection of PeV γ rays from astrophysical sources may provide a very sensitive probe of the effect of the Lorentz invariance violation (LIV), which results in decay of high-energy γ rays in the superluminal scenario and hence a sharp cutoff of the energy spectrum. Two highest energy sources are studied in this work. No signature of the existence of the LIV is found in their energy spectra, and the lower limits on the LIV energy scale are derived. Our results show that the first-order LIV energy scale should be higher than about 10^{5} times the Planck scale M_{Pl} and that the second-order LIV scale is >10^{-3}M_{Pl}. Both limits improve by at least one order of magnitude the previous results.

Multi-level fingerprinting and cardiomyocyte protection evaluation for comparing polysaccharides from six Panax herbal medicines

The role of polysaccharides in quality control of ginseng is underestimated. Large-scale comparison on the polysaccharides of Panax ginseng (PG), P. quinquefolius (PQ), P. notoginseng (PN), Red ginseng (RG), P. japonicus (ZJS), and P. japonicus var. major (ZZS), was performed by both chemical and biological approaches. Holistic fingerprinting at polysaccharide and the hydrolyzed oligosaccharide and monosaccharide levels utilized various chromatography methods, while OGD and OGD/R models on H9c2 cells were introduced to evaluate the protective effects on cell viability and mitochondrial function. Polysaccharides from six ginseng species exhibited remarkable content difference (RG > PG/ZZS/ZJS/PQ > PN), but weak differentiations in molecular weight distribution and oligosaccharide profiles, while Glc and GalA were richer for monosaccharide compositions of PG and RG polysaccharides, respectively. RG polysaccharides (25/50/100 μg/mL) showed significant cardiomyocyte protection by regulating mitochondrial functions. These new evidences may provide support for the supplementary role of polysaccharides in quality control of ginseng.

Discovery of Potent and Selective 2-(Benzylthio)pyrimidine-based DCN1-UBC12 Inhibitors for Anticardiac Fibrotic Effects

DCN1, a co-E3 ligase, interacts with UBC12 and activates cullin-RING ligases (CRLs) by catalyzing cullin neddylation. Although DCN1 has been recognized as an important therapeutic target for human diseases, its role in the cardiovascular area remains unknown. Here, we first found that DCN1 was upregulated in isolated cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) treated by angiotensin (Ang) II and in mouse hearts after pressure overload. Then, structure-based optimizations for DCN1-UBC12 inhibitors were performed based on our previous work, yielding compound DN-2. DN-2 specifically targeted DCN1 at molecular and cellular levels as shown by molecular modeling studies, HTRF, cellular thermal shift and co-immunoprecipitation assays. Importantly, DN-2 effectively reversed Ang II-induced cardiac fibroblast activation, which was associated with the inhibition of cullin 3 neddylation. Our findings indicate a potentially unrecognized role of DCN1 inhibition for anticardiac fibrotic effects. DN-2 may be used as a lead compound for further development.

[Relationship between the pre-pregnancy BMI, gestational weight gain, and risk of preeclampsia and its subtypes]

Objective: To explore the effects of maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain and its subtypes on the risk of preeclampsia. Methods: Pregnant women delivered in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from March 2012 to September 2016 were selected as the research subjects. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 9 274 pregnant women were included. 901 preeclampsia pregnant women were selected as the case group, and 8 373 non-preeclampsia pregnant women were selected as the control group. General demographic characteristics, pre-pregnancy weight, height, lifestyle during pregnancy, reproductive history, and disease history of pregnant women were collected, and pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain were calculated. Unconditional logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between pre-pregnancy BMI and weight gain during pregnancy and PE and its clinical subtypes. Results: Among the 901 preeclampsia after inclusion and exclusion, 401 cases were diagnosed as early-onset PE (EOPE), 500 cases were late-onset PE (LOPE), 178 cases were Mild PE (MPE), and 723 cases were severe PE (SPE). There were statistically significant differences between PE and non-PE pregnant women in terms of maternal age, residence, parity, family history of gestational diabetes and hypertension (P<0.05). After adjusting for the above factors, the logistic regression analysis results showed that pre-pregnancy BMI<18.5 kg/m² and inadequate gestational weight gain were protective factors for PE (OR=0.74, 95%CI: 0.56-0.98; OR=0.78, 95%CI: 0.62-0.99), while pre-pregnancy BMI≥24.0 kg/m² and excessive gestational weight gain were risk factors for PE (OR=1.82, 95%CI: 1.54-2.14; OR=1.82, 95%CI: 1.54-2.15). After subtype analysis on PE, the results showed that pre-pregnancy BMI<18.5 kg/m² was a protective factor for EOPE and MPE (OR=0.52, 95%CI: 0.32-0.83; OR=0.47, 95%CI: 0.23-0.97), while pre-pregnancy BMI≥24.0 kg/m² and excessive gestational weight gain were risk factors for clinical subtypes of PE. After stratification according to pre-pregnancy BMI, excessive gestational weight gain was the risk factor for PE (OR=1.86, 95%CI: 1.51-2.30; OR=1.90, 95%CI: 1.39-2.60) in pregnant women 18.5 kg/m²≤BMI<24.0 kg/m² and ≥24.0 kg/m². Inadequate gestational weight gain (OR=0.55, 95%CI: 0.34-0.89) was a protective factor for PE in pregnant women with pre-pregnancy BMI≥24.0 kg/m². Excessive gestational weight gain (OR=4.05, 95%CI: 1.20-13.69) was a risk factor for EOPE in pregnant women with pre-pregnancy BMI<18.5 kg/m². Excessive gestational weight gain was a risk factor for the clinical subtype of PE in pregnant women 18.5 kg/m²≤BMI<24.0 kg/m² before pregnancy. Inadequate gestational weight gain was a protective factor for EOPE and MPE (OR=0.39, 95%CI: 0.19-0.80; OR=0.29, 95%CI: 0.11-0.77) in pregnant women with pre-pregnancy BMI≥24.0 kg/m². Excessive weight gain was a risk factor for EOPE, LOPE and SPE (OR=1.60, 95%CI: 1.06-2.42;OR=2.20, 95%CI: 1.44-3.37;OR=2.28, 95%CI: 1.58-3.29). Conclusions: Pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain affect the risk of preeclampsia and its clinical subtypes. In contrast, the influence of gestational weight gain on preeclampsia varies among different pre-pregnancy BMI groups. Therefore, it is recommended to pay attention to the changes in pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain simultaneously to reduce preeclampsia.

Peta-electron volt gamma-ray emission from the Crab Nebula

The Crab Nebula is a bright source of gamma rays powered by the Crab Pulsar's rotational energy through the formation and termination of a relativistic electron-positron wind. We report the detection of gamma rays from this source with energies from 5 × 10^-4 to 1.1 peta-electron volts with a spectrum showing gradual steepening over three energy decades. The ultrahigh-energy photons imply the presence of a peta-electron volt electron accelerator (a pevatron) in the nebula, with an acceleration rate exceeding 15% of the theoretical limit. We constrain the pevatron's size between 0.025 and 0.1 parsecs and the magnetic field to ≈110 microgauss. The production rate of peta-electron volt electrons, 2.5 × 10³⁶ ergs per second, constitutes 0.5% of the pulsar spin-down luminosity, although we cannot exclude a contribution of peta-electron volt protons to the production of the highest-energy gamma rays.

Extended Very-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emission Surrounding PSR J0622+3749 Observed by LHAASO-KM2A

We report the discovery of an extended very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray source around the location of the middle-aged (207.8 kyr) pulsar PSR J0622+3749 with the Large High-Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). The source is detected with a significance of 8.2σ for E>25  TeV assuming a Gaussian template. The best-fit location is (right ascension, declination) =(95.47°±0.11°,37.92°±0.09°), and the extension is 0.40°±0.07°. The energy spectrum can be described by a power-law spectrum with an index of -2.92±0.17_{stat}±0.02_{sys}. No clear extended multiwavelength counterpart of the LHAASO source has been found from the radio to sub-TeV bands. The LHAASO observations are consistent with the scenario that VHE electrons escaped from the pulsar, diffused in the interstellar medium, and scattered the interstellar radiation field. If interpreted as the pulsar halo scenario, the diffusion coefficient, inferred for electrons with median energies of ∼160  TeV, is consistent with those obtained from the extended halos around Geminga and Monogem and much smaller than that derived from cosmic ray secondaries. The LHAASO discovery of this source thus likely enriches the class of so-called pulsar halos and confirms that high-energy particles generally diffuse very slowly in the disturbed medium around pulsars.

Ultrahigh-energy photons up to 1.4 petaelectronvolts from 12 γ-ray Galactic sources

The extension of the cosmic-ray spectrum beyond 1 petaelectronvolt (PeV; 10¹⁵ electronvolts) indicates the existence of the so-called PeVatrons-cosmic-ray factories that accelerate particles to PeV energies. We need to locate and identify such objects to find the origin of Galactic cosmic rays¹. The principal signature of both electron and proton PeVatrons is ultrahigh-energy (exceeding 100 TeV) γ radiation. Evidence of the presence of a proton PeVatron has been found in the Galactic Centre, according to the detection of a hard-spectrum radiation extending to 0.04 PeV (ref. ²). Although γ-rays with energies slightly higher than 0.1 PeV have been reported from a few objects in the Galactic plane^3-6, unbiased identification and in-depth exploration of PeVatrons requires detection of γ-rays with energies well above 0.1 PeV. Here we report the detection of more than 530 photons at energies above 100 teraelectronvolts and up to 1.4 PeV from 12 ultrahigh-energy γ-ray sources with a statistical significance greater than seven standard deviations. Despite having several potential counterparts in their proximity, including pulsar wind nebulae, supernova remnants and star-forming regions, the PeVatrons responsible for the ultrahigh-energy γ-rays have not yet been firmly localized and identified (except for the Crab Nebula), leaving open the origin of these extreme accelerators.

Analysis of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Eupatorium fortunei Turcz. and their in vitro neurotoxicity

This study was to analyze the pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in Eupatorium fortunei herbs and its derived finished products with a view to evaluating their effects on the proliferation and oligodendrogenesis of neural progenitor cells (NPCs). Using a LC-MS/MS method with 32 PAs reference standards, 8 PAs including intermedine, intermedine N-oxide, lycopsamine, lycopsamine N-oxide, retronecine, seneciphylline and senkirkine and 7-acetylintermedine N-oxide were identified with intermedine N-oxide and lycopsamine N-oxide being most abundant. The total PA amounts were found to vary from 0.18 to 61.81 μg/g in 30 batches of herbs and from 0.86 to 36.96 μg/g in 4 commercial finished products, respectively. Risk assessments indicated that the short-term intake seemed unlikely lead to acute toxic effects but the chronic use warranted cautions. Using NPCs derived from mouse induced pluripotent stem cells as an in vitro testing model, intermedine, intermedine N-oxide and lycopsamine N-oxide appeared to decrease cell viability at 30 μM whereas intermedine N-oxide inhibited oligodendrogenesis of NPCs at 10 μM. The present results suggested that the PAs in the majority of E. fortunei herbs and the derived products not only resulted in their exposure far exceeding the acceptable intake limit (i. e. 1.0 μg PA per day for adults) in herbal medicinal products recommended by the European Medicines Agency but also induced neurotoxicity to NPCs in vitro.

[Folic acid supplementation before and during pregnancy and the risk of preeclampsia]

Objective: To investigate the relationship between folic acid supplementation and the risk of preeclampsia (PE). Methods: A total of 9 048 pregnant women were selected from the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University in Taiyuan from March 2012 to September 2016. Among them, 882 pregnant women with PE were divided into case group, and 8 166 pregnant women without PE were divided into control group. Information on demographic characteristics, folic acid supplementation, maternal complications, and other factors were collected by face-to-face interviews after child birth in the hospital. Unconditional logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the relationship between folic acid supplementation and the risk of PE and the effects of pre-pregnancy BMI on the relationship of folic acid supplementation with the risk of PE. Results: Compared with nonusers, folic acid supplement users had reduced risk of PE (OR=0.79, 95%CI: 0.64-0.96). Folic acid supplementation before and during pregnancy were negatively related with the risk of PE (OR=0.63, 95%CI: 0.49-0.81). Pregnant women who used folic acid tablets only or used both folic acid tablets and multivitamin containing folic acid had reduced risk of PE (OR=0.81, 95%CI: 0.66-0.99; OR=0.64, 95%CI: 0.49-0.85). No significant relationship was observed in the multivitamin group. Supplemental folic acid doses of <400, 400, and >400 μg/d were related with reduced risk of PE (OR=0.62, 95%CI: 0.42-0.91; OR=0.81, 95%CI: 0.66-0.99; OR=0.68, 95%CI: 0.49-0.94). After stratified by pre-pregnancy BMI, pregnant women who used folic acid supplementation, those with pre-pregnancy BMI<24.0 kg/m(2) had reduced risk of PE (OR=0.75, 95%CI: 0.59-0.96). However, no significant relationship was observed in women with pre-pregnancy BMI≥24.0 kg/m(2). Conclusions: Folic acid supplementation before and during pregnancy were related with reduced risk of PE. Pre-pregnancy BMI might affect the relationship between folic acid supplementation and the risk of PE. Appropriate folic acid supplementation should be recommend for women with different pre-pregnancy BMI.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel thiosemicarbazone-indole derivatives targeting prostate cancer cells

To discover novel anticancer agents with potent and low toxicity, we designed and synthesized a range of new thiosemicarbazone-indole analogues based on lead compound 4 we reported previously. Most compounds displayed moderate to high anticancer activities against five tested tumor cells (PC3, EC109, DU-145, MGC803, MCF-7). Specifically, the represented compound 16f possessed strong antiproliferative potency and high selectivity toward PC3 cells with the IC₅₀ value of 0.054 μM, compared with normal WPMY-1 cells with the IC₅₀ value of 19.470 μM. Preliminary mechanism research indicated that compound 16f could significantly suppress prostate cancer cells (PC3, DU-145) growth and colony formation in a dose-dependent manner. Besides, derivative 16f induced G1/S cycle arrest and apoptosis, which may be related to ROS accumulation due to the activation of MAPK signaling pathway. Furthermore, molecule 16f could effectively inhibit tumor growth through a xenograft model bearing PC3 cells and had no evident toxicity in vivo. Overall, based on the biological activity evaluation, analogue 16f can be viewed as a potential lead compound for further development of novel anti-prostate cancer drug.

Size-Transformable Hyaluronan Stacked Self-Assembling Peptide Nanoparticles for Improved Transcellular Tumor Penetration and Photo-Chemo Combination Therapy

Size-transformable nanomedicine has the potential to overcome systemic and local barriers, leading to efficient accumulation and penetration throughout the tumor tissue. However, the design of this type of nanomedicine was seldom based on active targeting and intracellular size transformation. Here, we report an intracellular size-transformable nanosystem, in which small and positively charged nanoparticles (<30 nm) prepared from the self-assembly of an amphiphilic hexadecapeptide derivative was coated by folic acid- and dopamine-decorated hyaluronan (HA) to form large and negatively charged nanoparticles (∼130 nm). This nanosystem has been proven to improve the blood circulation half-life of the drug and prevent premature intravascular drug leakage from the nanocarrier. Once accumulated in the tumor, the nanoparticles were prone to HA- and folic acid-mediated cellular uptake, followed by intracellular size transformation and discharge of transformed small nanoparticles. The size-transformable nanosystem facilitated the transcytosis-mediated tumor penetration and improved the internalization of nanoparticles by cells and the intracellular release of 7-ethyl-10 hydroxycamptothecin. With an indocyanine green derivative as the intrinsic component of the amphiphilic polymer, the nanosystem has exhibited additional theranostic functions: photoacoustic imaging, NIR-laser-induced drug release, and synergistic chemotherapy and phototherapy, leading to a 50% complete cure rate in a subcutaneous B16 melanoma model. This nanosystem with multimodalities and efficient tumor penetration has shown potentials in improving anticancer efficacy.

Five-year Clinical Outcomes of CAD Patients Complicated with Diabetes after StentBoost-optimized Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Objective To evaluate the instant effects and five-year clinical outcomes of coronary artery disease patients complicated with diabetes mellitus after StentBoost-optimized percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods From March 2009 to July 2010, 184 patients undergoing PCI at our hospital were found stent underexpansion or malapposition by StentBoost after stents implantation and were divided into the diabetic (n=73, 39.67%) and the non-diabetic group (n=111, 60.33%). All patients received StentBoost-guided post-dilatation after stent implantation. The instant procedural results were measured and clinical outcome after five-year follow-up was analyzed in each group. Between-group comparisons were performed using Chi-square test or Student's t test. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was carried out to reveal the independent predictors for long-term clinical outcomes of StentBoost-optimized PCI . Results After StentBoost-guided post-dilatation, the minimum diameter (MinLD), maximum diameter (MaxLD) and average diameter in both groups increased significantly than before (P<0.001), the (MaxLD-MinLD)/MaxLD ratio and the in-stent residual stenosis decreased accordingly (P<0.001). The five-year follow-up showed similar mortality rate (4.92% vs. 2.86%, P=0.67) and major adverse cardiac event rate (11.48% vs. 11.43%, P = 1.0) between the diabetic and the non-diabetic group, whereas the recurrence of angina pectoris was higher in the diabetic group compared to the non-diabetic group (47.54% vs. 29.52%; P=0.02). A multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age and left ventricular ejection fraction rather than diabetes mellitus were independent predictors for long-term clinical outcomes. Conclusions StentBoost could effectively improve instant PCI results; the long-term clinical outcomes of StentBoost-optimized PCI were similar between diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Age and left ventricular ejection fraction were the independent predictors for long-term clinical outcomes.

A promising non-invasive index for predicting liver inflammation in chronic hepatitis B patients with alanine aminotransferase ≤2 upper limit of normal

Inexpensive and simple non-invasive indexes for predicting liver inflammation are urgently required, but have been poorly studied in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with alanine transaminase (ALT) ≤2 times the upper limit of normal (ULN). A total of 356 CHB patients with ALT ≤2 ULN who presented at Huashan Hospital (n=181) and the First Hospital of Quanzhou (n=175) were enrolled and randomly divided into an experimental assessment cohort (n=238) and validation cohort (n=118) at a ratio of 2:1. Histological analysis of liver tissue was performed to determine the pathological stage according to the Scheuer scoring system. For the experimental assessment cohort, univariate and multivariate analysis identified aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and albumin (ALB) as independent predictors of liver necroinflammation [liver necroinflammation grade (G)≥2] in patients with ALT ≤2 ULN. Therefore, a novel index, the AST-to-ALB ratio (ATAR), was proposed, which had a better diagnostic performance [area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)=0.721] than that of ALB (AUC=0.632; P=0.039 vs. ATAR) and AST (AUC=0.682; P=0.082 vs. ATAR). In the validation cohort, the AUC of ATAR (0.728) to identify patients with a G≥2 was slightly greater than that of AST (0.660; P=0.149 vs. ATAR) and ALB (0.672; P=0.282 vs. ATAR). Furthermore, a similar diagnostic superiority was also demonstrated in patients with ALT ≤1 ULN. Thus, ATAR may be a promising non-invasive surrogate marker for liver necroinflammation CHB patients with ALT ≤2 ULN and thereby determine whether anti-viral treatment should be initiated.

Primary pulmonary amebic abscess in a patient with pulmonary adenocarcinoma: a case report

Background

Primary pulmonary amoeba is very rare and here we report a case of a 68-year-old man presenting with primary pulmonary amoeba after undergoing chemotherapy for lung adenocarcinoma.

Case presentation

In October 2016, the man aged 68 was admitted to our hospital because of repeated cough for 8 months and hemoptysis for 1 month. He was diagnosed lung adenocarcinoma and underwent surgery in 2012 without receiving chemotherapy. In March 2016, the patients suffered recurrence of cancer and was treated with chemotherapy. After 2 months of chemotherapy, the patient had consistent cough with white sputum, and chest CT showed a local lung nodule. The physicians suspected that the patient had pulmonary infectious diseases, and he was treated with empirical antibacterial treatment. However, his symptom wasn’t relieved and later the percutaneous lung biopsy found trophozites of Entamoeba histolytica. After administration of metronidazole, the symptoms of the patient were markedly relieved and the lesions were absorbed.

Conclusions

In such cases where patients with pulmonary nodules were in immunodeficiency state and had adequate but ineffective anti-bacterial treatment, Entamoeba histolytica infection could be one of the rare causes. Percutaneous lung biopsy should be recommended and specific dying for parasites should be done when necessary.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s40249-018-0419-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Role of quantitative hepatitis B core antibody levels in predicting significant liver inflammation in chronic hepatitis B patients with normal or near-normal alanine aminotransferase levels

AIM

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels are not free from significant hepatic lesions. Recently, there has been an improved understanding of the clinical significance of quantitative hepatitis B core antibody levels (qAnti-HBc) during CHB management. In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the utility of qAnti-HBc in identifying significant liver inflammation in CHB patients.

METHODS

A total of 469 patients (training set, n = 363; validation set, n = 106) who underwent liver biopsy (LB) were included. The qAnti-HBc levels were quantified and the relationship between histology and serum markers was systematically analyzed.

RESULTS

In the training set, qAnti-HBc levels were found to have significant diagnostic value for moderate to severe liver inflammation (≥G2) in all patients (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUROC] = 0.768; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.721-0.810; P < 0.001) and in patients with normal or near-normal ALT levels (AUROC = 0.767; 95% CI, 0.697-0.828; P < 0.001). Our novel index (AC index) for the identification of ≥G2 inflammation, which combined the qAnti-HBc and ALT levels, significantly improved diagnostic performance (AUROC = 0.813; 95% CI, 0.768-0.852) compared to the use of ALT alone (AUROC = 0.779; 95% CI, 0.732-0.821) in all patients. In the validation set, the AC index showed an improved AUROC of 0.890 (95% CI, 0.814-0.942) and 0.867 (95% CI, 0.749-0.943) in all patients and patients with normal ALT levels, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The qAnti-HBc level predicts significant liver inflammation well, even in patients with normal or near-normal ALT levels. Compared with the conventional ALT level, the AC index is a more reliable non-invasive biomarker for significant liver inflammation in CHB patients.

Pharmacokinetic Considerations of Inhaled Pharmaceuticals for Systemic Delivery

BACKGROUND

Systemic pulmonary delivery is considered to have advantages over oral or intravenous administration for certain drugs.

METHODS

In this article, we review the effects of intrinsic drug properties and drug loading carriers on the pharmacokinetic parameters of inhaled drugs in the context of use in systemic pulmonary delivery.

RESULTS

The delivery of drugs via inhalation can be advisable to achieve a fast onset of action; enhance the systemic bioavailability of drugs with poor oral absorption, including peptides and proteins; avoid invasive administration and improve patient compliance. To optimize the functioning of this delivery system, there is high demand for a systematic understanding of the pharmacokinetic characteristics, which are closely related to the pharmacodynamic and toxicological effects.

CONCLUSION

The pharmacokinetic parameters of inhaled drug products are affected by many factors, including physiological and pathological variables and the intrinsic drug and formulation properties.

[Effects of human amniotic epithelial stem cells-derived exosomes on healing of wound with full-thickness skin defect in rats]

Objective: To investigate the effects of human amniotic epithelial stem cells-derived exosomes on healing of wound with full-thickness skin defect in rats. Methods: (1) Human amniotic epithelial stem cells were isolated from the amnion tissue of 5 full-term pregnant women in Department of Obstetrics of our hospital by the method of trypsin digestion, and their morphology was observed. The third passage of cells were stained with rhodamine-phalloidin for cytoskeleton observation. The third passage of cells were identified with flow cytometry through the detection of expressions of cell surface markers CD29, CD31, CD34, CD90, CD105, SSEA3, SSEA4 and immunity-related marker human leukocyte antigen-D related site (HLA-DR). The third passage of cells were also assessed the ability of adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation. (2) The third passage of human amniotic epithelial stem cells were cultured in DMEM medium supplemented with 10% exosome-free fetal bovine serum. Exosomes were isolated from culture supernatant by the method of ultracentrifugation and represented with scanning electron microscope for morphologic observation. (3) Six adult SD rats were anesthetized, and four 1 cm×1 cm sized wounds with full-thickness skin defect were made on the back of each rat. The wounds on the back of each rat were divided into control group, 25 μg/mL exosomes group, 50 μg/mL exosomes group, and 100 μg/mL exosomes group according to the random number table (with 6 wounds in each group), and a total volume of 100 μL phosphate buffered saline, 25 μg/mL exosomes, 50 μg/mL exosomes, and 100 μg/mL exosomes were evenly injected around the wound through multiple subcutaneous sites, respectively. The wound healing rate was calculated based on measurement on post injury day (PID) 7, 14, and 21. On PID 21, the healed wound tissue of each group was collected and stained with HE to observe and count skin accessories, and the arrangement of collagen fibers was observed with Masson staining. Data were processed with analysis of variance for repeated measurement, analysis of variance of randomized block design, one-way analysis of variance, and Bonferroni test. Results: (1) The cells, which were isolated and cultured, displayed typical cobblestone morphology with many microvilli on cell surface. Among the cells, the positive expression rates of CD29, CD90, SSEA3, and SSEA4 were above 50.0%, and the rate of CD105 was 8.0%, while the rates of CD31, CD34, and HLA-DR were almost 0. The cells could differentiate into adipocytes and osteoblasts. The above results revealed that the cells cultured were human amniotic epithelial stem cells. (2) Human amniotic epithelial stem cells-derived exosomes were round or oval vesicles with diameter from 50 to 150 nm. (3) On PID 7 and 21, wound healing rates of the four groups were close (with P values above 0.05). On PID 14, wound healing rates of 50 and 100 μg/mL exosomes groups were (89.8±4.3)% and (92.0±4.6)% respectively, significantly higher than the wound healing rate of control group [(80.3±6.4)%, P<0.05 or P<0.01]. Moreover, the wound healing rate of 100 μg/mL exosomes group was significantly higher than that of 25 μg/mL exosomes group [(83.3±5.1)%, P<0.05]. On PID 21, the numbers of skin accessories in 50 and 100 μg/mL exosomes groups were 4.3±1.4 and 5.1±1.6 respectively, obviously more than those of control group and 25 μg/mL exosomes group (respectively 1.4±0.5 and 1.8±0.6, with P values below 0.01). Well reorganized collagen fibers were observed just in the healed wound tissue of 50 and 100 μg/mL exosomes groups. Conclusions: Human amniotic epithelial stem cells-derived exosomes can promote healing of wound with full-thickness skin defect in rats.

[Effects of hypoxia on the phenotype transformation of human dermal fibroblasts to myofibroblasts and the mechanism]

Objective: To investigate the effects of hypoxia on the phenotype transformation of human dermal fibroblasts to myofibroblasts and the mechanism. Methods: The third passage of healthy adult human dermal fibroblasts in logarithmic phase were cultured in DMEM medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum for the following five experiments. (1) In experiments 1, 2, and 3, cells were divided into normoxia group and hypoxia group according to the random number table, with 10 dishes in each group. Cells of normoxia group were cultured in incubator containing 21% oxygen, while those of hypoxia group with 1% oxygen. At post culture hour (PCH) 0 and 48, 5 dishes of cells were collected from each group, respectively. mRNA expressions of markers of myofibroblasts including alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), type Ⅰ collagen, and type Ⅲ collagen of cells were determined with real time fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in experiment 1. Protein expressions of α-SMA, type Ⅰ collagen, and type Ⅲ collagen of cells were determined with Western blotting in experiment 2. The protein expression of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) of cells was determined with Western blotting in experiment 3. (2) In experiment 4, cells were divided into normoxia group, hypoxia group, and hypoxia+ pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) group according to the random number table, with 5 dishes in each group. Cells in the former two groups were treated the same as those in experiment 1. Cells in hypoxia+ PDTC group were treated the same as those in hypoxia group plus adding 4 mL PDTC with a final molarity of 10 μmol/L in the culture medium. At PCH 48, the protein expression of NF-κB of cells was determined with Western blotting. (3) In experiment 5, cells were divided into normoxia group, hypoxia group, hypoxia+ PDTC group, and normoxia+ PDTC group according to the random number table, with 5 dishes in each group. Cells in the former three groups were treated the same as those in experiment 4. Cells in normoxia+ PDTC group were treated the same as those in normoxia group plus adding 4 mL PDTC with a final molarity of 10 μmol/L in the culture medium. At PCH 48, protein expressions of α-SMA, type Ⅰ collagen, and type Ⅲ collagen of cells were determined with Western blotting. Data were processed with analysis of variance of factorial design, one-way analysis of variance, and LSD-t test. Results: (1) Compared with those of normoxia group at corresponding time point, mRNA expressions and protein expressions of α-SMA, type Ⅰ collagen, and type Ⅲ collagen and the protein expression of NF-κB in fibroblasts of hypoxia group were not changed obviously at PCH 0 (with t values from -1.21 to 2.04, P values above 0.05), while mRNA expressions and protein expressions of α-SMA, type Ⅰ collagen, and type Ⅲ collagen and the protein expression of NF-κB significantly increased at PCH 48 (with t values from -12.57 to -3.44, P values below 0.01). (2) At PCH 48, the protein expression of NF-κB in fibroblasts of hypoxia group was 0.83±0.12, significantly higher than that of normoxia group (0.17±0.06, t=-16.96, P<0.001). The protein expression of NF-κB in fibroblasts of hypoxia+ PDTC group was 0.31±0.08, significantly lower than that of hypoxia group (t=12.73, P<0.001). (3) At PCH 48, protein expressions of α-SMA, type Ⅰ collagen, and type Ⅲ collagen in fibroblasts of hypoxia group were 0.73±0.09, 1.25±0.10, and 1.16±0.07, respectively, significantly higher than those of normoxia group (0.14±0.06, 0.87±0.08, and 0.77±0.13, respectively, with t values from 9.24 to 11.24, P values below 0.001). The protein expression of α-SMA in fibroblasts of normoxia+ PDTC group was 0.24±0.07, significantly higher than that of normoxia group (t=4.22, P<0.01). Protein expressions of type Ⅰ collagen and type Ⅲ collagen in fibroblasts of normoxia+ PDTC group were 0.25±0.06 and 0.32±0.11, respectively, significantly lower than those of normoxia group (with t values respectively -4.31 and -3.88, P values below 0.01). Protein expressions of α-SMA, type Ⅰ collagen, and type Ⅲ collagen in fibroblasts of hypoxia+ PDTC group were 0.09±0.08, 0.38±0.12, and 0.47±0.08, respectively, significantly lower than those of hypoxia group (with t values from 11.78 to 22.98, P values below 0.001). Conclusions: Hypoxia can significantly up-regulate the expressions of α-SMA, type Ⅰ collagen, and type Ⅲ collagen in human dermal fibroblasts, which may promote the phenotype transformation of fibroblasts to myofibroblasts, and this is likely to be associated with the activation of NF-κB signal pathway.

A pH-independent instantaneous release of flurbiprofen: a study of the preparation of complexes, their characterization and in vitro/in vivo evaluation

In this study, furbiprofen/hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) inclusion complexes were prepared to improve the drug dissolution and facilitate its application in hydrophilic gels. Inclusion complexes were prepared using a supercritical fluid processing and a conventional optimized co-lypholization method was employed as a reference. The entrapment efficacy and drug loading of both methods were investigated. Evaluation of drug dissolution enhancement was conducted in deionized water as well as buffer solutions of different pH. Carbopol 940 gels of both flurbiprofen and flurbiprofen/HPβCD inclusion complexes, with or without penetration enhancers, were prepared and percutaneous permeation studies were performed using rat abdominal skin samples. Formation of flurbiprofen/HPβCD inclusion complexes was confirmed by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results obtained showed that SCF processing produced a higher EE (81.91 ± 1.54%) and DL (6.96 ± 0.17%) compared with OCL with values of 69.11 ± 2.23% and 4.00 ± 1.01%, respectively. A marked instantaneous release of flurbiprofen/HPβCD inclusion complexes prepared by SCF processing (103.04 ± 2.66% cumulative release within 5 min, a 10-fold increase in comparison with flurbiprofen alone) was observed. In addition, this improvement in dissolution was shown to be pH-independent (the percentage cumulative release at pH 1.2, 4.5, 6.8 and 7.4 at 5 min was 95.19 ± 1.71, 101.75 ± 1.44, 105.37 ± 4.58 and 96.84 ± 0.56, respectively). Percutaneous permeability of flurbiprofen-in-HPβCD-in-gels could be significantly accelerated by turpentine oil and was related to the water content in the system. An in vivo pharmacokinetic study showed a 2-fold increase in C_max and a shortened T_max as well as a comparable relative bioavailability when compared with the commercial flurbiprofen Cataplasms (Zepolas^®). With their superior dissolution, these flurbiprofen/HPβCD inclusion complexes prepared by SCF processing could provide improved applications for flurbiprofen.

Effects of phenolic constituents of daylily flowers on corticosterone- and glutamate-treated PC12 cells

Background

Daylily flowers, the flower and bud parts of Hemerocallis citrina or H. fulva, are well known as Wang-You-Cao in Chinese, meaning forget-one’s sadness plant. However, the major types of active constituents responsible for the neurological effects remain unclear. This study was to examine the protective effects of hydroalcoholic extract and fractions and to identify the active fractions.

Methods

The extract of daylily flowers was separated with AB-8 resin into different fractions containing non-phenolic compounds, phenolic acid derivatives and flavonoids as determined using UPLC-DAD chromatograms. The neuroprotective activity was measured by evaluating the cell viability and lactate dehydrogenase release using PC12 cell damage models induced by corticosterone and glutamate. The neurological mechanisms were explored by determining their effect on the levels of dopamine (DA), 5-hydroxy tryptamine (5-HT), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), noradrenaline (NE) and acetylcholine (ACh) in the cell culture medium measured using an LC-MS/MS method.

Results

Pretreatment of PC12 cells with the extract and phenolic fractions of daylily flowers at concentrations ranging from 0.63 to 5 mg raw material/mL significantly reversed corticosterone- and glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in a dose-dependent manner. The fractions containing phenolic acid derivatives (0.59% w/w in the flowers) and/or flavonoids (0.60% w/w) exerted similar dose-dependent neuroprotective effect whereas the fractions with non-phenolic compounds exhibited no activity. The presence of phenolic acid derivatives in the corticosterone- and glutamate-treated PC12 cells elevated the DA level in the cell culture medium whereas flavonoids resulted in increased ACH and 5-HT levels.

Conclusion

Phenolic acid derivatives and flavonoids were likely the active constituents of daylily flowers and they conferred a similar extent of neuroprotection, but affected the release of neurotransmitters in a different manner.

Research on the printability of hydrogels in 3D bioprinting

As the biocompatible materials, hydrogels have been widely used in three- dimensional (3D) bioprinting/organ printing to load cell for tissue engineering. It is important to precisely control hydrogels deposition during printing the mimic organ structures. However, the printability of hydrogels about printing parameters is seldom addressed. In this paper, we systemically investigated the printability of hydrogels from printing lines (one dimensional, 1D structures) to printing lattices/films (two dimensional, 2D structures) and printing 3D structures with a special attention to the accurate printing. After a series of experiments, we discovered the relationships between the important factors such as air pressure, feedrate, or even printing distance and the printing quality of the expected structures. Dumbbell shape was observed in the lattice structures printing due to the hydrogel diffuses at the intersection. Collapses and fusion of adjacent layer would result in the error accumulation at Z direction which was an important fact that could cause printing failure. Finally, we successfully demonstrated a 3D printing hydrogel scaffold through harmonize with all the parameters. The cell viability after printing was compared with the casting and the results showed that our bioprinting method almost had no extra damage to the cells.

Pulmonary delivered polymeric micelles--pharmacokinetic evaluation and biodistribution studies

Polymeric micelles represent interesting delivery systems for pulmonary sustained release. However, little is known about their in vivo release and translocation profile after delivery to the lungs. In the present study, curcumin acetate (CA), which is an ester prodrug of curcumin, or the mixture of CA and Nile red was encapsulated into PEG–PLGA micelles by a solvent evaporation method. The micellar formulation increased the stability of CA in water and physiologically relevant fluids and led to a sustained drug release in vitro. Following intratracheal (IT) administration to rats, CA loaded micelles achieved not only prolonged pulmonary retention with AUC values almost 400-fold higher than by IV route, but also local sustained release up to 24 h. In addition, IT delivery of micelles appeared to facilitate the uptake into the pulmonary vascular endothelium and efficiently translocate across the air–blood barrier and penetrate into the brain. Co-localization of CA and Nile red confirmed that micelles in lung and brain tissue were still intact. This study is the first to demonstrate that aerosolized PEG–PLGA micelles are a promising carrier for both pulmonary and non-invasive systemic sustained release of labile drugs.

Involvement of the inhibition of intestinal glucuronidation in enhancing the oral bioavailability of resveratrol by labrasol containing nanoemulsions

Nanoemulsions have been developed for the oral delivery of poorly bioavailable phenolic compounds that are sensitive to intestinal glucuronidation. However, little is known about the contribution of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) inhibitory excipients in nanoemulsions toward the inhibition of intestinal glucuronidation and the consequent enhanced bioavailability. In this study, Labrasol but not poloxamer 188 (F68) was found to inhibit the glucuronidation of resveratrol (RES), a model phenolic compound, in an inhibition assay with rat microsomes. Subsequently, two nanoemulsions, Lab-N and F68-N, were prepared with similar particle size distribution, zeta potentials, and entrapment efficiency by coemulsifying with Labrasol or F68, respectively. Although Lab-N exhibited inferior or comparable profiles of in vitro release, cellular uptake in Caco-2 cells, and lymphatic transport in rats to F68-N, the in vitro absorption study with everted sacs suggested that Labrasol containing formulations significantly and dose-dependently increased the transport of RES relative to free RES or F68-N by decreasing the amount of permeated metabolite, RES-3-glucuronide (RES-G). The in vivo pharmacokinetic experiments indicated that Lab-N exhibited increments in the maximum plasma concentration and the bioavailability of RES by 1098% and 560%, respectively, and significant decreases in those of RES-G, compared to F68-N. The overall results demonstrated that the improved oral bioavailability of RES by Lab-N was mainly attributable to the inhibition of intestinal glucuronidation by the presence of UGT inhibitory excipient.

Association between melatonin receptor 1A (MTNR1A) gene single-nucleotide polymorphisms and the velvet antler yield of Sika deer

Melatonin, a secretion from pineal gland is ambiguously considered as the key hormone involved in regulation of the antler cycle in Sika deer. To find out more about the roles of melatonin and its receptor gene, we carried out current study to investigate the association between polymorphisms in melatonin receptor 1A (MTNR1A) gene and the antler yield from Sika deer. A total of 251 Sika deer were analyzed in this study, of which consisted of Wusan Sika deer (n = 163) and Dongfeng Sika deer (n = 88). MTNRA gene was amplified by PCR and genotyped by Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Three polymorphism loci (C518T, C629G and C635T) were detected in exon2 of MTNR1A gene. The restriction site Ecol881 was used for C518T while a C629G polymorphism locus was digested with Mval restriction endonucleases. In Wusan Sika deer the allele frequencies of C and T were 0.637 and 0.363 for C518T, Also C and G alleles in C629G locus were 0.206 and 0.794. Genotypic frequencies of allele CC, CT and TT were 33.7, 59.9 and 6.4 % respectively, It showed 1.8, 37.4 and 60.7 % for frequencies of genotypes CC, CG and GG. In Dongfeng Sika deer the allele frequencies of C and T were 0.518 and 0.482 for C518T, C and G alleles were 0.375 and 0.625 for C629G. Genotypic frequencies were 10.6, 82.4 and 7.1 % for genotypes CC, CT and TT respectively, and they were 1.1, 72.7 and 26.2 % for genotypes CC, CG and GG. Among three SNPs, only C629G showed significant association (P < 0.05) with average antler yield in Wusan Sika deer, while no SNP was significant in Dongfeng Sika deer. These preliminary results implied that the identified SNPs of MTNR1A gene might influence the antler yield in Wusan Sika deer.

Differences in frequencies of UGT1A9, 1A7, and 1A1 genetic polymorphisms in Chinese Tibetan versus Han Chinese populations

As part of a series of pharmacogenomics studies of the Chinese population, we investigated genetic polymorphisms of some UGT1A regions. The three genes that were analyzed were UGT1A9, 1A7, and 1A1; we sequenced their exons, together with promoters, surrounding introns and 3'-untranslated regions (3'UTR) in 100 unrelated-healthy Chinese Tibetan individuals. We compared the data with information on Han Chinese of the same region, which we downloaded from the HapMap database. We identified 40 polymorphisms; 16 of them were shared by the two populations. We then analyzed their linkage disequilibrium map. The UGT1As cluster can be divided into two linkage blocks in the Tibetan population: Block 1 (UGT1A9, UGT1A7), Block 2 (3'-UTR). Furthermore, we identified haplotypes and selected their tagSNPs. In exon 1 of UGT1A7 gene, 393G>A (Arg131Gln, rs17868324) was found at a frequency of 44.4% in the Tibetan population, compared to only 0.7% in the Han population. The linkage blocks in the Han Chinese sample differed from that of the Chinese Tibetan group; the former had Block 1 (UGT1A9, UGT1A7), Block 2 (UGT1A7), and Block 3 (3'-UTR). These findings provide fundamental information for future molecular genetic studies of the UGT1A gene cluster as well as for personalized medicine in Chinese.

Bora regulates meiotic spindle assembly and cell cycle during mouse oocyte meiosis

Bora is the binding partner of Aurora A, which is required for its activation and phosphorylation of Polo like kinase 1 (Plk1), and is involved in the spindle assembly and progress of the cell cycle during mitosis. In this study, we examined the expression, localization, and function of Bora during mouse oocyte meiosis. The expression level of Bora was increased during oocyte meiotic maturation, with an elevated level at metaphase. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that Bora was concentrated as a dot shortly after germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), associating first with the surrounding chromosomes and then with the spindle throughout oocyte meiotic maturation. Further experiments confirmed that Bora co-localized with α-tubulin at prometaphase/metaphase, but dissociated from α-tubulin at anaphase/telophase. In metaphase-II-arrested oocytes, Bora was evenly distributed in the cytoplasm after treatment with a microtubule-depolymerizing agent, or recruited to the spindle after treatment with a microtubule-polymerizing agent, indicating that Bora was physically connected to the meiotic spindle and α-tubulin at metaphase. Furthermore, inhibition or depletion of Bora by either anti-Bora antibody or Bora siRNA microinjection significantly reduced the rates of GVBD and inhibited first polar body extrusion; caused morphologically defective spindles and misaligned chromosomes; arrested maturing oocytes at prometaphase/metaphase-I stage, or left oocytes and their first polar bodies with severely misaligned chromosomes and defective spindles; and/or caused the disappearance of Aurora A and Plk1 at the spindle. These results indicated that Bora acts as a critical regulator of Aurora A and Plk1, and is involved in microtubule organization during oocyte meiosis.