ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Farnesol is a Candida-secreted quorum-sensing molecule of great interest as a potential antifungal agent for serious and hardly curable infections-candidiasis, especially vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC). METHODS: The effect of farnesol on cellular morphology and viability and evaluated the production of Th1 (IL-2), Th2 (IL-4), proinflammatory (IL-6), chemotactic (IL-8), and Th17 (IL-17) cytokines in the culture supernatants of vaginal epithelial cell line (VK2) were evaluated. Moreover, we tested the inhibitory effect of farnesol on C. albicans adhesion. Scanning electron microscopy was conducted to observe any VK2 cell ultrastructural changes. RESULTS: Only low concentrations (≤ 50 µmol/L) of farnesol did not affect the morphology and viability of the VK2 cells (P > 0.05). Farnesol reduced the adhesion of C. albicans to the VK2 cells. When treated with farnesol, statistical elevated levels of both IL-4 and IL-17 secreted by the infected VK2 cells were present in the culture supernatants (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Farnesol acts as a stimulator to up-regulate the Th17-type innate immune response, as well as Th2-type humoral immunity following C. albicans infection. Further research is required to select the optimal therapeutic dose to develop efficacious and safe mucosal immune adjuvant for treating VVCs.
Subject(s)
Candida albicans , Farnesol , Farnesol/pharmacology , Interleukin-17 , Interleukin-4 , Immunity, Innate , Epithelial CellsABSTRACT
The chiral dodecanuclear palladium(II) thio cluster LaPd12(C3H5NO2S)3(C3H6NO2S)21 (1) was prepared by reacting l-cysteine (l-Cys) with PdCl2 and La2O3 in aqueous solution under carefully controlled conditions. Compound 1 was structurally characterized by single-crystal XRD, TGA, IR, UV-vis, (13)C NMR, and CD spectroscopy. Insight into the dimerization process of 1 was obtained by ESI-MS and DFT calculations.
ABSTRACT
The reaction of [γ-SiW10O36](8-) with Mn(2+) and Ln(3+) in an aqueous solution led to the isolation of a series of new lanthanide-containing sandwich-type polyoxometalates (POMs) [{Ln(H2O)n}2{Mn4(B-α-SiW9O34)2(H2O)2}](6-) (1-5a) (Ln = La (1), Nd (2), Gd (3), Dy (4), Er (5); n = 5, 6), which crystallize in the space groups C2/c with a = 33.0900(2)-32.9838(15) Å, b = 12.8044(10)-12.7526(6) Å, c = 22.8273(17)-22.6368(11) Å, V = 9669.2(12)-9519.7(8) Å(3), Z = 2 (1, 2); P1Ì with a = 11.9502(4)-11.8447(6) Å, b = 13.2203(4)-13.1164(5) Å, c = 15.8291(5)-15.8524(7) Å, V = 2221.25(13)-2189.95(18) Å(3), Z = 1 (3, 4, 5), respectively. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that they consist of two-dimensional networks based on a sandwich-type polyanion [Mn4(B-α-SiW9O34)2(H2O)2](12-) (6a, {Mn4(SiW9)2}) and lanthanide cations (Ln(3+)), which are further connected into three-dimensional frameworks by potassium cations for 3, 4, and 5. The unprecedented combination of time-resolved electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) studies and X-ray crystallography allows us not only to directly observe the in-solution rearrangement of divant anion [γ-SiW10O36](8-) into the sandwich-type POM 6a via an intermediate species [Mn3(B-ß-SiW8O30(OH))(B-ß-SiW9O33(OH))(H2O)](12-) (7a, {Mn3(SiW8)(SiW9)}) from ESI-MS results, but also to gain the solid-state structures of intermediate and final product isolated from reaction solutions from X-ray crystallography results, from which the self-assembly mechanism of the lanthanide-containing sandwich-type POMs 1-5a was proposed.
ABSTRACT
The genetic effects of general and specific combining ability, male, female, and specific reciprocal cross were estimated for height, diameter of breast height (dbh), volume, crown-width, under branch height, crook degree and ratio of branch with shoot in Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Three quantitative characters, i.e. tree height, dbh, volume were focused, and their effects were discussed in detail. It was found that the GCA, SCA and specific reciprocal cross effects (SRE) were most important, and female effect (FEM) and male effect (MAL) were less important. Three parents with high GCA were good materials used for establishing seed orchard. Eight combinations significantly improved quantitative characters. One of them was improved on quantitative character and trunk quality at the same time. The breeding strategy and methods were also suggested for E. globulus.
