Anticancer mechanisms on pyroptosis induced by Oridonin: New potential targeted therapeutic strategies.

Pyroptosis is a type of inflammatory cell death that is triggered by the formation of pores on the cell membrane by gasdermin (GSDM) family proteins. This process activates inflammasomes and leads to the maturation and release of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) and interleukin-18 (IL-18). Pyroptosis, a form of programmed cell death, has been found to be associated with various biomolecules such as caspases, granzymes, non-coding RNA (lncRNA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3). These biomolecules have been shown to play a dual role in cancer by affecting cell proliferation, metastasis, and the tumor microenvironment (TME), resulting in both tumor promotion and anti-tumor effects. Recent studies have found that Oridonin (Ori) has anti-tumor effects by regulating pyroptosis through various pathways. Ori can inhibit pyroptosis by inhibiting caspase-1, which is responsible for activating pyroptosis of the canonical pathway. Additionally, Ori can inhibit pyroptosis by inhibiting NLRP3, which is responsible for activating pyroptosis of the noncanonical pathway. Interestingly, Ori can also activate pyroptosis by activating caspase-3 and caspase-8, which are responsible for activating pyroptosis of the emerging pathway; Ori has been found to be effective in inhibiting pyroptosis by blocking the action of perforin, which is responsible for facilitating the entry of granzyme into cells and activating pyroptosis. Additionally, Ori plays a crucial role in regulating pyroptosis by promoting the accumulation of ROS while inhibiting the ncRNA and NLRP3 pathways. It is worth noting that all of these pathways ultimately regulate pyroptosis by influencing the cleavage of GSDM, which is a key factor in the process. These studies concludes that Ori has extensive anti-cancer effects that are related to its potential regulatory function on pyroptosis. The paper summarizes several potential ways in which Ori participates in the regulation of pyroptosis, providing a reference for further study on the relationship between Ori, pyroptosis, and cancer.

[Efficient Photolysis of Acid Orange 7 Using Low-frequency Electrodeless Lamp].

Using the low-frequency electrodeless lamp (LFEL) of 40 watts, the photodegradation of Acid orange 7 (A07) in water solution was studied. By applying a special reactor in which the light source was placed under the water, photodegradation efficiency of A07 using LFEL was compared with that using common UV mercury lamp. A few small degradation products were detected by GC-MS. The photodegradation mechanism of A07 was also studied based on the degraded compounds and the reactive oxidation species (ROS). It was found that the degradation rate of A07 could reach 94.1% under the conditions of aeration of 2 m3 x min(-1), AO7 20 mg x L(-1) of 7 L and 4 h reaction. The experimental results demonstrated that the degradation ability could be attributed to two aspects: the direct degradation and the indirect degradation of oxidation by ROS. Oxygen is an important source of ROS and providing more air could increase the degradation rate, and detectable ozone was produced when LFEL was working. Quenching tests showed that (1)O2 and O2*- were the key active species and *OH nearly had no function, which also indicated that the concentration of dissolved oxygen ( DO) was a key factor for the degradation.

[Photodegradation of atenolol in aqueous nitrate solution].

The aqueous photolysis of beta-blocker atenolol (ATL) using Xe lamp as simulated solar irradiation source was investigated in the presence of nitrate ions. The effects of nitrate ion concentration, solution pH value, and concentration of bicarbonate and humic substance on the photodegradation of ATL were studied. The results showed that photodegradation of ATL in nitrate solution followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. The increasing concentration of nitrate ion promoted the photodegradation rate of ATL. The first-order rate constant increased from 0.002 26 min(-1) to 0.009 4 min(-1) with nitrate concentration increasing from 0 to 5 mmol x L(-1). Acidic or alkaline condition of the solution favored the photodegradation of ATL. Different concentration of bicarbonate showed insignificant effect of the degradation while the increasing concentration of fulvic acid showed inhibiting effect. Hydroxyl radical was determined to be formed during the photolysis process of ATL using isopropanol as molecular probe. The main photoproducts of ATL were identified by using SPE-LC-MS techniques and possible photoinduced degradation pathways in nitrate solution were proposed.

[Physiological effects of metsulfuron-methy on Elodea nuttallii].

Physiological effects of metsulfuron-methy on Elodea nuttallii was studied. The growth status, the photosynthetic pigments content and activities of anti-oxidation enzymes of Elodea nuttallii were examined with different contents of metsulfuron-methyl in cultural solution. The results showed that metsulfuron-methy could stimulate the sprout bourgeoning but restrained the growth of frond remarkably. At lower concentrations, metsulfuron-methy could increase the content of chlorophyll at the beginning, but inhibited the syntheses of chlorophyll ultimately and reduced the plant's photosynthetic capacity. Activities of CAT and POD increased at first and then decreased, while SOD activities increased all the time. With higher concentration and longer treatment time, the activities of anti-oxidation enzymes would decrease. It is indicated that metsulfuron-methy can arise the formation and accumulation of reactive oxygen species in Elodea nuttalii, and induce activities of anti-oxidation enzymes. When stress intensity exceeds a certain value, the activities of anti-oxidation enzymes will be inhibited and reactive oxygen species can not be removed in time and will finally result in oxidative damages to the plant. This may be an important toxicity mechanism of this kind of herbicide to aquatic plants.

[Aerobic microbial degradation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers].

The biodegradation of 4, 4'-dibromodipheny ether (BDE15) and decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE209) by white rot fungi under aerobic conditions was studied. Effects of non-ionic surfactant Tween 80 and beta-cyclodextrin as solubilizers on the apparent solubilities and biodegradation rates of BDE15 and BDE209 were also evaluated. The results showed that both BDE15 and BDE209 were efficiently degraded by white rot fungi. The degradation rates were 43.0% and 62.5% for BDE209 and BDE15, respectively, after 10 d incubation. The degradation of BDE209 was greatly enhanced by addition of Tween 80 (< or = 700 mg/L) and beta-cyclodextrin, which may own to their solubilization effects on BDE209. However, Tween 80 at a high concentration (900 mg/L) would restrain the fungal growth, thereby decrease the degradation of BDE209. Addition of Tween 80 and beta-cyclodextrin exhibited some negative effects on the degradation of BDE15, which may due to decreased concentration of free BDE15 in water solution resulted from inclusion function of Tween 80 micelles and beta-cyclodextrin cavity, although the apparent solubility of BDE15 was drastically increased by both of them.

Beta-cyclodextrin and its derivatives-enhanced solubility and biodegradation of 2-nitrobiphenyl.

This paper investigated the effects of beta-cyclodextrins (beta-CD) and its two derivatives, hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD) and carboxymethyl-beta-cyclodextrin (CMCD), on the solubility and biodegradation of 2-nitrophenyl by an Acinetbacter sp. Results showed that beta-CD, HPCD and CMCD could not be utilized by Acinetbacter sp. as sole carbon source and none of the CDs had toxic effects on the growth of the bacteria in the experiments; all the CDs could enhance the apparent solubility and accelerate the biodegradation of 2-nitrobipheny. It showed that biodegradation-accelerating effects of CDs on 2-nitrobiphenyl were correlated with their solubility-enhancing effects. Among three CDs investigated, CMCD had the most obvious effects both on the apparent solubility and the biodegradation, followed by beta-CD and HPCD.

[Analysis on the removal efficiency of phosphorus in some substrates used in constructed wetland systems].

Constructed wetlands are widely used to purify wastewater in some developing countries. As filter substrates in such wetland, these substrates play important role on removal of pollutants from wastewater. Selecting suitable substrates is one of the effective ways to improve the performance of constructed wetland on treating wastewater. In this study the phosphorus adsorption capacities of sand, zeolite, vermiculite, two clay soils, two industrial by-products named steel slag and fly ash are examined for their potential use as substrate in constructed wetland. Both Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms are very fit for describing the adsorption characteristics of these substrates. Two industrial by-products including steel slag and fly ash have higher phosphorus adsorption capacity, which had 50490 and 17934 mg x kg(-1) respectively. Followed vermiculite, two clay soils named yellow cinnamon and xiashu loess with phosphorus adsorption capacity of 3473, 1893.7 and 1582 mg x kg(-1) respectively. The zeolite and sand had the least phosphorus adsorption capacity with 813.7 and 302 mg x kg(-1) respectively. The experiments on purifying phosphorus from synthesize domestic sewage using these substrates also demonstrate this conclusion. The ability of removal phosphorus of these substrates have closely relationship with their makeup and chemical properties such as pH, total calcium and reactive calcium, reactive Fe, Al including poorly coastal and amorphous Fe, Al oxide. The steel slag and fly ash with higher reactive Ca, such as calcium oxide, have better adsorption capacity of phosphorus than other substrates, and the substrates which contained more reactive Fe also have a better ability of adsorption phosphorus than others. To assess the environmental risk for using these substrates above, the phosphorus de-sorption characteristics of these substrates are also studied. The process of phosphorus desorption quickly reached equilibrium in no more than 4 hours in the experiments, the ratio of desorption and adsorption of phosphorus in substrates above is lower except sand. To take suitable measures to manage substrates above, the risk of pollution of phosphorus form these substrates will be controlled.