Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells-derived exosomal microRNA-17-3p ameliorates inflammatory reaction and antioxidant injury of mice with diabetic retinopathy via targeting STAT1.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence has reported the role of microRNA (miR) on diabetic retinopathy (DR). Thus, the aim of the study was to investigate the effect of exosomal miR-17-3p targeting signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) on inflammatory reaction and antioxidant injury of DR mice. METHODS: A mouse diabetes model was established and injected with miR-17-3p-containing human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hucMSCs)-derived exosomes to ascertain the role of exosomal miR-17-3p. The blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAlc), weight, hemoglobin (Hb) content, inflammatory factors, oxidative stress factors, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), apoptosis index and glutamine synthetase (GS) level in serum and/or retinal tissues of DR mice were measured. miR-17-3p and STAT1 expression in retinal tissues as well as the target relationship between miR-17-3p and STAT1 were tested. RESULTS: miR-17-3p decreased and STAT1 increased in retinal tissues of DR mice, and STAT1 was the target gene of miR-17-3p. Injection of up-regulated exosomal miR-17-3p reduced the blood glucose and HbAlc, increased the weight, Hb content and GS level, decreased contents of inflammatory factors and VEGF, alleviated oxidative injury, and inhibited retinal cell apoptosis in DR mice through inhibiting STAT1. CONCLUSION: Functional studies reveal that hucMSCs-derived exosomes shuffle miR-17-3p to ameliorate inflammatory reaction and oxidative injury of DR mice via targeting STAT1.

Improving the simultaneous removal of chemical oxygen demand and terephthalic acid in a cross-flow aerobic sludge reactor by using response surface methodology.

Central composite design and response surface methodology (RSM) were implemented to optimize the operational parameters for a cross-flow aerobic sludge reactor (CFASR) in remedying mixed printing and dyeing wastewater (MPDW). The individual and interactive effects of three variables, hydraulic retention time (HRT), pH and sludge loading rate (SLR), on chemical oxygen demand (COD) and terephthalic acid (TA) removal rates were evaluated. For HRT of 15.3-19.8 hours, pH of 7.2-8.1 and SLR of 0.4-0.6 kg chemical oxygen demand (COD) per kg mixed liquor suspended solids per day, COD and TA removal rates of the CFASR exceeded 85% and 90%, respectively. The check experiment revealed that the effluent from the optimized CFASR was stable below the limitation of 100 mg COD/L and the TA concentration decreased by 6.0% compared to the usual CFASR. The results verified that the RSM was useful for optimizing the operation parameters of the CFASR in remedying MPDW.

Performance and model of a novel multi-sparger multi-stage airlift loop membrane bioreactor to treat high-strength 7-ACA pharmaceutical wastewater: effect of hydraulic retention time, temperature and pH.

In this study, three novel multi-sparger multi-stage airlift loop membrane bioreactors (Ms(2)ALMBRs) were set up in parallel for treating synthetic high-strength 7-ACA pharmaceutical wastewater under different HRTs, temperatures and pHs, respectively. During the 200-day operating time, average COD removal efficiencies were 94.96%, 96.05% and 93.9%. While average 7-ACA removal efficiencies were 66.44%, 59.04% and 59.60%, respectively. The optimal conditions were 10h, 15-35°C and 7-9 for HRT, temperature and pH, respectively. Moreover, the sludge characteristics and microorganism drug-resistances were explored. Results showed that different temperatures and pHs influenced contaminant removals by affecting MLSS concentration and ß-lactamase activity significantly. In addition, mathematical statistical models, built on the polynomial and linear regression techniques, were developed for exploring the inner relationships between HRT, temperature and pH changes and MLSS concentrations, ß-lactamase activities and contaminant removals of the Ms(2)ALMBR system.

[Comparison of PAHs distribution in stabilized sludge by sludge drying bed and reed bed].

The difference in the removal efficiencies of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in planted and unplanted sludge drying bed was investigated. Pilot-scale sludge drying bed and reed bed had the same size of 3.0 m x 1.0 m x 1.3 m (L x W x H), and the bed height consisted of a 65 cm media layer and a 65 cm super height. Both beds had a ventilation pipe which was mounted on the drainage pipes. The experiment lasted for three years, and the first two years was the sludge loading period, and the third year was the natural stabilization period. In the first two years, a total thickness of 8.4 m of sludge was loaded and the average sludge loading rate was 41.3 kg x (m2 x a)(-1). After the three-year stabilization, the contents of the sixteen PAHs decreased with time in both the sludge drying bed and the reed bed. The total PAHs contents in the surface, middle and bottom sludge layers in the sludge drying bed were 4.161, 3.543 and 3.118 mg x kg(-1) (DW), corresponding to 26.91%, 37.77% and 45.23% of removal; and the values in the reed bed were 2.722, 1.648 and 1.218 mg x kg(-1) (DW), corresponding to 52.18%, 71.05% and 78.60% of removal. The average PAHs removal in the reed bed was 29.86% higher than that in the sludge drying bed. In the stabilized sludge, the removal of low-molecular-weight PAHs predominated. The results suggested that reed played a positive role in the removal of PAHs.

Research progress on the negative factors of corneal endothelial cells proliferation.

The human corneal endothelium forms a boundary layer between anterior chamber and corneal stoma. The corneal endothelial cells are responsible for maintaining cornea transparency, which is very vital for our visual acuity, via its pump and barrier functions. The adult corneal endothelial cells in vivo lack proliferation in response to the cell loss caused by outer damages and diseases. As a result, in order to compensate for cell loss, corneal endothelial cells migrate and enlarge while not via dividing to increase the endothelial cell density. Therefore, it is not capable for corneal endothelium to restore the corneal clarity. Some researches have proved that in vitro the corneal endothelial maintained proliferation ability. This review describes the current research progress regarding the negative factors that inhibit proliferation of the corneal endothelial cells. This review will mainly present several genes and proteins that inhibit the proliferation of the corneal endothelial cells, of course including some other factors like enzymes and position.