Prognostic value of serum IGF-1, Gal-3, and PTX-3 levels in elderly patients with chronic heart failure.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), galactoagglutinin-3 (GAL-3), and pentamerin-3 (PTX-3) levels in elderly patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). METHODS: In this retrospective study, 107 elderly CHF patients treated in Xiangyang Central Hospital were designated as the observation group, and 60 healthy individuals were selected as the control group. The cardiac function indexes and serum IGF-1, Gal-3, and PTX-3 levels were compared between the two groups. Furthermore, the serum IGF-1, Gal-3, and PTX-3 levels in patients across different cardiac function grades were compared, as well as in patients with poor or favorable prognosis. Additionally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was adopted to explore the diagnostic value of serum IGF-1, Gal-3, and PTX-3 levels for senile CHF; and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to screen the independent factors affecting patients' prognosis. RESULTS: The serum IGF-1 level was significantly lower, while the levels of Gal-3 and PTX-3 were significantly higher in the observation group than those of the control group (all P<0.05). The serum IGF-1 level in patients with cardiac function grade IV was lower than that of the patients with cardiac function grade II and III, while the levels of Gal-3 and PTX-3 were higher than those with cardiac function grade II and III (all P<0.05). The serum IGF-1 level in the patients with cardiac function grade III was lower than those with cardiac function grade II, while the levels of Gal-3 and PTX-3 were higher in patients with grade III than those with grade II (all P<0.05). The serum IGF-1 level was lower, while the levels of Gal-3 and PTX-3 were higher in the patients with poor prognosis than those with favorable prognosis (all P<0.05). CONCLUSION: In elderly CHF patients, IGF-1 level were decreases, while the levels of Gal-3 and PTX-3 were increase. These biomarkers show high sensitivity in diagnosing CHF and are closely linked to the prognosis, indicating their value for clinical assessment and management of CHF.

Fluorine Modification Promoted Water Dissociation into Atomic Hydrogen on a Copper Electrode for Efficient Neutral Nitrate Reduction and Ammonia Recovery.

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia (NITRR) offers an attractive solution for alleviating environmental concerns, yet in neutral media, it is challenging as a result of the reliance on the atomic hydrogen (H*) supply by breaking the stubborn HO-H bond (∼492 kJ/mol) of H2O. Herein, we demonstrate that fluorine modification on a Cu electrode (F-NFs/CF) favors the formation of an O-H···F hydrogen bond at the Cu-H2O interface, remarkably stretching the O-H bond of H2O from 0.98 to 1.01 Å and lowering the energy barrier of water dissociation into H* from 0.64 to 0.35 eV at neutral pH. As a benefit from these advantages, F-NFs/CF could rapidly reduce NO3- to NH3 with a rate constant of 0.055 min-1 and a NH3 selectivity of ∼100%, far higher than those (0.004 min-1 and 9.2%) of the Cu counterpart. More importantly, we constructed a flow-through coupled device consisting of a NITRR electrolyzer and a NH3 recovery unit, realizing 98.1% of total nitrogen removal with 99.3% of NH3 recovery and reducing the denitrification cost to $5.1/kg of N. This study offers an effective strategy to manipulate the generation of H* from water dissociation for efficient NO3--to-NH3 conversion and sheds light on the importance of surface modification on a Cu electrode toward electrochemical reactions.

Ball-milled zero-valent iron with formic acid for effectively removing Cu(II)-EDTA accomplished by EDTA ligands oxidative degradation and Cu(II) removal.

Heavy metal complexes in industrial wastewater are challenging to be removed by conventional methods arising from their stable chelating structure. In this study, zero-valent iron (ZVI) was ball-milled with tiny formic acid (FA), and the as-prepared sample (FA-ZVIbm) was attempted to eliminate a model heavy metal complex of Cu(II)-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (Cu(II)-EDTA). The addition of FA to ball-milling could dramatically enhance the performance of ball-milled ZVI (ZVIbm) towards Cu(II)-EDTA removal and increase the removal rate constant by 80 times. This conspicuous improvement of Cu(II)-EDTA elimination was attributed to the ferrous formate (Fe(HCOO)2) shell formed on the surface of FA-ZVIbm. Results revealed that the Fe(HCOO)2 shell facilitated the activation of O2 to reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the leaching of Fe3+. Cu(II)-EDTA was decomplexed through both oxidative destruction and Fe3+ replacement, and the released Cu2+ was reduced by FA-ZVIbm and immobilized synchronously. Meanwhile, the ligands underwent oxidative degradation by ROS, thus avoiding the re-chelation ecological risk. Impressively, FA-ZVIbm could achieve cyclic treatment of actual copper complex wastewater and possessed promising advantage in treatment cost. This study would offer a promising approach for eliminating Cu(II)-EDTA through EDTA ligands degradation and synchronous Cu(II) removal, moreover to shed light on the decomplexation mechanism.

Transposable elements cause the loss of self-incompatibility in citrus.

Self-incompatibility (SI) is a widespread prezygotic mechanism for flowering plants to avoid inbreeding depression and promote genetic diversity. Citrus has an S-RNase-based SI system, which was frequently lost during evolution. We previously identified a single nucleotide mutation in Sm-RNase, which is responsible for the loss of SI in mandarin and its hybrids. However, little is known about other mechanisms responsible for conversion of SI to self-compatibility (SC) and we identify a completely different mechanism widely utilized by citrus. Here, we found a 786-bp miniature inverted-repeat transposable element (MITE) insertion in the promoter region of the FhiS2-RNase in Fortunella hindsii Swingle (a model plant for citrus gene function), which does not contain the Sm-RNase allele but are still SC. We demonstrate that this MITE plays a pivotal role in the loss of SI in citrus, providing evidence that this MITE insertion prevents expression of the S-RNase; moreover, transgenic experiments show that deletion of this 786-bp MITE insertion recovers the expression of FhiS2-RNase and restores SI. This study identifies the first evidence for a role for MITEs at the S-locus affecting the SI phenotype. A family-wide survey of the S-locus revealed that MITE insertions occur frequently adjacent to S-RNase alleles in different citrus genera, but only certain MITEs appear to be responsible for the loss of SI. Our study provides evidence that insertion of MITEs into a promoter region can alter a breeding strategy and suggests that this phenomenon may be broadly responsible for SC in species with the S-RNase system.

Triangle Cl-Ag1 -Cl Sites for Superior Photocatalytic Molecular Oxygen Activation and NO Oxidation of BiOCl.

BiOCl photocatalysis shows great promise for molecular oxygen activation and NO oxidation, but its selective transformation of NO to immobilized nitrate without toxic NO2 emission is still a great challenge, because of uncontrollable reaction intermediates and pathways. In this study, we demonstrate that the introduction of triangle Cl-Ag1 -Cl sites on a Cl-terminated, (001) facet-exposed BiOCl can selectively promote one-electron activation of reactant molecular oxygen to intermediate superoxide radicals (⋅O2 - ), and also shift the adsorption configuration of product NO3 - from the weak monodentate binding mode to a strong bidentate mode to avoid unfavorable photolysis. By simultaneously tuning intermediates and products, the Cl-Ag1 -Cl-landen BiOCl achieved >90 % NO conversion to favorable NO3 - of high selectivity (>97 %) in 10 min under visible light, with the undesired NO2 concentration below 20 ppb. Both the activity and the selectivity of Cl-Ag1 -Cl sites surpass those of BiOCl surface sites (38 % NO conversion, 67 % NO3 - selectivity) or control O-Ag1 -O sites on a benchmark photocatalyst P25 (67 % NO conversion and 87 % NO3 - selectivity). This study develops new single-atom sites for the performance enhancement of semiconductor photocatalysts, and also provides a facile pathway to manipulate the reactive oxygen species production for efficient pollutant removal.

Construction of an OCP-ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy Device to In Situ Monitor the Interfacial Reaction of Contaminants: Competitive Adsorption of Cr(VI) and Oxalate on Hematite.

The comprehensive understanding of contaminant interfacial behavior strongly depends on the in situ characterization technique, which is still a great challenge. In this study, we constructed a device integrated with open-circuit potentialand attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (OCP-ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy to simultaneously monitor the electrochemical and infrared spectral information on the interfacial reaction for the process analysis, taking the competitive adsorption of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and oxalate on hematite nanocubes (HNC) as an example. The synchronous OCP and infrared results revealed that Cr(VI) interacted with HNC via bidentate binuclear inner-sphere coordination, accompanied by electron transfer from HNC to Cr(VI), while oxalate was adsorbed on HNC through bidentate mononuclear side-on inner-sphere coordination with electron transfer from HNC to oxalate, and also outer-sphere coordination with negative charge accumulation. When oxalate was added to HNC with preadsorbed Cr(VI), oxalate would occupy the inner-sphere adsorption sites and thus cause the detaching of preadsorbed Cr(VI) from HNC. This study provides a promising in situ characterization technique for real-time interfacial reaction monitoring and also sheds light on the competitive adsorption mechanism of oxalate and Cr(VI) on the mineral surface.

Highly selective synthesis of surface FeIV=O with nanoscale zero-valent iron and chlorite for efficient oxygen transfer reactions.

High-valent iron-oxo species (FeIV=O) has been a long-sought-after oxygen transfer reagent in biological and catalytic chemistry but suffers from a giant challenge in its gentle and selective synthesis. Herein, we propose a new strategy to synthesize surface FeIV=O (≡FeIV=O) on nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) using chlorite (ClO2-) as the oxidant, which possesses an impressive ≡FeIV=O selectivity of 99%. ≡FeIV=O can be energetically formed from the ferrous (FeII) sites on nZVI through heterolytic Cl-O bond dissociation of ClO2- via a synergistic effect between electron-donating surface ≡FeII and proximal electron-withdrawing H2O, where H2O serves as a hydrogen-bond donor to the terminal O atom of the adsorbed ClO2- thereby prompting the polarization and cleavage of Cl-O bond for the oxidation of ≡FeII toward the final formation of ≡FeIV=O. With methyl phenyl sulfoxide (PMS16O) as the probe molecule, the isotopic labeling experiment manifests an exclusive 18O transfer from Cl18O2- to PMS16O18O mediated by ≡FeIV=18O. We then showcase the versatility of ≡FeIV=O as the oxygen transfer reagent in activating the C-H bond of methane for methanol production and facilitating selective triphenylphosphine oxide synthesis with triphenylphosphine. We believe that this new ≡FeIV=O synthesis strategy possesses great potential to drive oxygen transfer for efficient high-value-added chemical synthesis.

Oxalate-Promoted SO2 Uptake and Oxidation on Iron Minerals: Implications for Secondary Sulfate Aerosol Formation.

Mineral dust serves as a significant source of sulfate aerosols by mediating heterogeneous sulfur dioxide (SO2) oxidation in the atmosphere. Given that a considerable proportion of small organic acids are deposited onto mineral dust via long-range transportation, understanding their impact on atmospheric SO2 transformation and sulfate formation is of great importance. This study investigates the effect of oxalate on heterogeneous SO2 uptake and oxidation phenomenon by in situ FTIR, theoretical calculation, and continuous stream experiments, exploiting hematite (Fe2O3) as an environmental indicator. The results highlight the critical role of naturally deposited oxalate in mononuclear monodentate coordinating surface Fe atoms of Fe2O3 that enhances the activation of O2 for oxidizing SO2 into sulfate. Meanwhile, oxalate increases the hygroscopicity of Fe2O3, facilitating H2O dissociation into reactive hydroxyl groups and further augmenting the SO2 uptake capacity of Fe2O3. More importantly, other conventional iron minerals, such as goethite and magnetite, as well as authentic iron-containing mineral dust, exhibit similar oxalate-promoted sulfate accumulation behaviors. Our findings suggest that oxalate-assisted SO2 oxidation on iron minerals is one of the important contributors to secondary sulfate aerosols, especially during the nighttime with high relative humidity.

Pyrolysis temperature-switchable Fe-N sites in pharmaceutical sludge biochar toward peroxymonosulfate activation for efficient pollutants degradation.

Pyrolysis of pharmaceutical sludge (PS) is a promising way of safe disposal and to recover energy and resources from waste. The resulting PS biochar (PSBC) is often used as adsorbent, but has seldom been explored as catalyst. Herein we demonstrate that PSBC (0.4 g/L) could efficiently activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to 100% degrade 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) with rate constants of 0.42-1.70 min-1, outperforming other reported catalysts. Interestingly, the PMS activation pathway highly depended on PSBC pyrolysis temperature, which produced dominantly high-valent iron species (e.g., FeIVO2+) at low temperature but more sulfate radical (SO4·-) and hydroxyl radical (·OH) at higher temperature, e.g., 0.17, 0.23, 0.12 mmol/L of FeIVO2+ and 0.009, 0.038, 0.102 mmol/L of SO4·-/·OH were produced within 10 min by PSBC-600/PMS, PSBC-800/PMS, and PSBC-1000/PMS, respectively. Characterization, density functional theory (DFT) simulation and Pearson correlation analysis revealed that along with the increase of pyrolysis temperatures, the active sites of PSBC gradually shifted from atomically dispersed N-coordinated Fe moieties (FeNx) to iron nitrides (FexN), which activated PMS to produce FeIVO2+ and SO4·-/·OH, respectively. This study clarifies the structure-activity relationships of PSBC for PMS activation, and opens a new avenue for the treatment and utilization of PS as high value-added resources.

Surface Boronizing Can Weaken the Excitonic Effects of BiOBr Nanosheets for Efficient O2 Activation and Selective NO Oxidation under Visible Light Irradiation.

The photocatalytic O2 activation for pollutant removal highly depends on the controlled generation of desired reactive oxygen species (ROS). Herein, we demonstrate that the robust excitonic effect of BiOBr nanosheets, which is prototypical for singlet oxygen (1O2) production to partially oxidize NO into a more toxic intermediate NO2, can be weakened by surface boronizing via inducing a staggered band alignment from the surface to the bulk and simultaneously generating more surface oxygen vacancy (VO). The staggered band alignment destabilizes excitons and facilitates their dissociation into charge carriers, while surface VO traps electrons and efficiently activates O2 into a superoxide radical (•O2-) via a one-electron-transfer pathway. Different from 1O2, •O2- enables the complete oxidation of NO into nitrate with high selectivity that is more desirable for safe indoor NO remediation under visible light irradiation. This study provides a facile excitonic effect manipulating method for layered two-dimensional photocatalysts and sheds light on the importance of managing ROS production for efficient pollutant removal.

Functional analysis of flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase and flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylases from tea plant (Camellia sinensis), involved in the B-ring hydroxylation of flavonoids.

Flavonoids are major polyphenol compounds in plant secondary metabolism. The hydroxylation pattern of the B-ring of flavonoids is determined by the flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase (F3'H) and flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylase (F3'5'H). In this paper, one CsF3'H and two CsF3'5'Hs (CsF3'5'Ha and CsF3'5'Hb) were isolated. The phylogenetic tree results showed that F3'H and F3'5'Hs belong to the CYP75B and CYP75A, respectively. The Expression pattern analysis showed that the expression of CsF3'5'Ha and CsF3'5'Hb in the bud and 1st leaf were higher than other tissues. However, the CsF3'H had the highest expression in the 4th and mature leaf. The correlation analysis showed that the expression of CsF3'5'Hs is positively associated with the concentration of B-trihydroxylated catechins, and the expression of CsF3'H is positively associated with the Q contentration. Heterologous expression of these genes in yeast showed that CsF3'H and CsF3'5'Ha can catalyze flavanones, flavonols and flavanonols to the corresponding 3', 4' or 3', 4', 5'-hydroxylated compounds, for which the optimum substrate is naringenin. The enzyme of CsF3'5'Hb can only catalyze flavonols (including K and Q) and flavanonols (DHK and DHQ), of which the highest activities in catalyzing are DHK. Interestingly, The experiment of site-directed mutagenesis suggested that two novel sites near the C-terminal were discovered impacting on the activity of the CsF3'5'H. These results provide a significantly molecular basis on the accumulation B-ring hydroxylation of flavonoids in tea plant.

Activation of peroxymonosulfate by magnetic carbon supported Prussian blue nanocomposite for the degradation of organic contaminants with singlet oxygen and superoxide radicals.

In order to develop efficient and green catalyst for organic pollutants removal, magnetic carbon supported Prussian blue nanocomposite Fe3O4@C/PB was prepared for the first time. The performance of Fe3O4@C/PB in activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for the degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) was investigated. 2,4-DCP could be effectively degraded under the "Fe3O4@C/PB + PMS" system within a broad pH range of 2-9. Without pH adjustment (pH 3), 2,4-DCP (20 mg/L) was completely degraded in 50 min along with a 70% removal of TOC; while the required time for complete degradation of 2,4-DCP was shortened to 40 min under initial solution pH at 7. Fe3O4@C/PB could also activate PMS for the degradation of phenol, Acid Orange II, Reactive brilliant red X-3B, Rhodamine B and Methylene blue. The degradation rates higher than 95% could be achieved for all these contaminants within the time scale of 15-60 min. The studies of radical-quenching and electron paramagnetic resonance demonstrated that singlet oxygen (1O2) and superoxide radicals (O2-), rather than sulfate (SO4-) and hydroxyl (OH) radicals, were the dominant species responsible for the oxidation of organic pollutants. The plausible mechanism of the catalytic degradation was proposed and the enhanced activity of Fe3O4@C/PB was assumed to be related to the increased electron transfer owing to the synergic effect between the magnetic carbon and the mixed-valence units in PB. Fe3O4@C/PB is promising in wastewater treatment owing to its high efficiency, excellent stability and reusability, environmental friendliness and magnetic separability.

Degradation of Acid Orange 7 by peroxymonosulfate activated with the recyclable nanocomposites of g-C3N4 modified magnetic carbon.

Carbon-based catalysts have attracted high attention since they are greener and cheaper, while magnetic nanomaterials are very useful in environmental application because of the easy recovery and operation given by the magnetic separability. Therefore, graphitic carbon nitride modified magnetic carbon nanocomposites Fe3O4@C/g-C3N4 was prepared herein for the first time as a new carbon-based catalyst for the activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS). The catalytic properties of Fe3O4@C/g-C3N4 in activating PMS for the degradation of Acid Orange 7 (AO 7), a model organic pollutant, were investigated. AO 7 degradation efficiency was significantly enhanced after modification of Fe3O4@C with g-C3N4, and the composite Fe3O4@C/g-C3N4 from loading of 5 wt% g-C3N4 and calcined at 300 °C for 30 min exhibited the best performance. AO 7 could be efficiently decolorized using the "Fe3O4@C/C3N4 (5%) + PSM" system within the pH range of 2-6, and 97% of AO 7 could be removed in 20 min without pH adjustment (pH = 4). Radical quenching and EPR studies confirmed that both sulfate and hydroxyl radicals produced from PMS activation were the active species responsible for the oxidation of AO 7. The degradation mechanism was suggested based on the experimental results and XPS analyses. It was proposed that the CO groups on the carbon surface of Fe3O4@C rather than the CO in g-C3N4 played a key role as the active sites for PMS activation. The catalyst was magnetically separable and displayed good stability and reusability, thus providing a potentially green catalyst for sustainable remediation of organic pollutants.

Pin1 facilitates isoproterenol­induced cardiac fibrosis and collagen deposition by promoting oxidative stress and activating the MEK1/2­ERK1/2 signal transduction pathway in rats.

Peptidyl­prolyl cis/trans isomerase, NIMA-interacting 1 (Pin1) is a member of a large superfamily of phosphorylation­dependent peptidyl­prolyl cis/trans isomerases, which not only regulates multiple targets at various stages of cellular processes, but is also involved in the pathogenesis of several diseases, including microbial infection, cancer, asthma and Alzheimer's disease. However, the role of Pin1 in cardiac fibrosis remains to be fully elucidated. The present study investigated the potential mechanism of Pin1 in isoprenaline (ISO)­induced myocardial fibrosis in rats. The rats were randomly divided into three groups. Echocardiography was used to evaluate changes in the size, shape and function of the heart, and histological staining was performed to visualize inflammatory cell infiltration and fibrosis. Reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, immunohistochemistry and Picrosirius red staining were used to differentiate collagen subtypes. Additionally, cardiac­specific phosphorylation of mitogen­activated protein kinase kinase 1/2 (MEK1/2) and extracellular­signal regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), and the activities of Pin1 and α­smooth muscle actin (α­SMA) and other oxidative stress parameters were estimated in the heart. The administration of ISO resulted in an increase in cardiac parameters and elevated the heart­to­body weight ratio. Histopathological examination of heart tissues revealed interstitial inflammatory cellular infiltrate and disorganized collagen fiber deposition. In addition, lipid peroxidation products and oxidative stress marker activity in plasma and tissues were significantly increased in the ISO­treated rats. Western blot analysis showed significantly elevated protein levels of phosphorylated Pin1, MEK1/2, ERK1/2 and α­SMA in remodeling hearts. Treatment with juglone following intraperitoneal injection of ISO significantly prevented inflammatory cell infiltration, improved cardiac function, and suppressed oxidative stresses and fibrotic alterations. In conclusion, the results of the present study suggested that the activation of Pin1 promoted cardiac extracellular matrix deposition and oxidative stress damage by regulating the phosphorylation of the MEK1/2­ERK1/2 signaling pathway and the expression of α­SMA. By contrast, the inhibition of Pin1 alleviated cardiac damage and fibrosis in the experimental models, suggesting that Pin1 contributed to the development of cardiac remodeling in ISO­administered rats, and that the inactivation of Pin1 may be a novel therapeutic candidate for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and heart failure.

Snail1 is positively correlated with atrial fibrosis in patients with atrial fibrillation and rheumatic heart disease.

The present study investigated the association between Snail1 and atrial fibrosis in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and to determine the possible mechanism underlying this interrelation. A total of 19 patients were included in the current study and were divided into two groups: A sinus rhythm (SR) group (n=9) and an AF group (n=10). All patients underwent heart valve replacement surgery, during which ~200 mg right atrium tissue was obtained. Hematoxylin and eosin and Masson's trichrome-stained sections were used to evaluate the morphological changes of cardiomyocytes and the level of fibrosis. Immunohistochemistry was applied to observe the location and expression of Snail1. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to measure Snail1 mRNA levels. Western blotting was used to determine changes in the expression of Snail1, as well as in the expression of proteins involved in the Wnt pathway, including Wnt1, Wnt 3a, Wnt8a, Wnt5a and Wnt11. Compared with the SR group, expanded cardiomyocytes and higher collagen deposition was detected in the atrial tissue of the AF group. The expression of Snail1 mRNA and protein was significantly higher in the AF group than in the SR group (P<0.05). Additionally, the expression of Wnt1, 3a and 8a in the canonical Wnt signaling pathway, and Wnt5a and 11 in the noncanonical Wnt signaling pathway were significantly increased in the AF group. Furthermore, the phosphorylation level of glycogen synthase kinase 3ß (GSK3ß) and the levels of ß-catenin and GSK3ß were significantly increased in the AF group compared with the SR group (P<0.05). Snail1 may be involved in the development and maintenance of atrial fibrosis in patients with atrial fibrillation and rheumatic heart disease and may be developed as a novel biomarker to evaluate myocardial fibrosis in the future. Additionally, the current study suggests that the Wnt signaling pathway may participate in the process of increased Snail1 expression and atrial fibrosis in patients with AF and RHD.

TRPM7 channels mediate the functional changes in cardiac fibroblasts induced by angiotensin II.

Transient receptor potential melastatin 7 (TRPM7), a bifunctional channel protein owning both cation permeability and kinase activity, plays an important role in the pathophysiological process of many cell types, such as vascular smooth muscle cells, human glioma cells and mouse cortical astrocytes. However, whether TRPM7 channels play a key role in the functional change of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) induced by angiotensin II (Ang II) remains unknown. Using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, immunofluorescence assay, western blot analysis, RT-qPCR, RNA interference (RNAi) and whole-cell patch-clamp techniques, the present study aimed to explore the role of TRPM7 channels in the proliferation, differentiation and collagen synthesis of CFs induced by Ang II. Our data showed that Ang II time-dependently increased TRPM7 expression and TRPM7 currents in the CFs. Downregulation of TRPM7 attenuated the TRPM7 current density, and inhibited the proliferation, differentiation and collagen synthesis of CFs induced by Ang II. Our results identified the TRPM7 channel as a pivotal member associated with the functional change of CFs induced by Ang II, and suggest that the TRPM7 channel may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of fibrosis-related cardiac diseases.

C1 inhibitor-mediated myocardial protection from chronic intermittent hypoxia-induced injury.

The optimal treatment for chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH)-induced cardiovascular injuries has yet to be determined. The aim of the current study was to explore the potential protective effect and mechanism of a C1 inhibitor in CIH in the myocardium. The present study used a rat model of CIH in which complement regulatory protein, known as C1 inhibitor (C1INH), was administered to the rats in the intervention groups. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling. The expression of proteins associated with the apoptotic pathway, such as B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bax and caspase-3 were detected by western blot analysis. The expression of complement C3 protein and RNA were also analyzed. C1INH was observed to improve the cardiac function in rats with CIH. Myocardial myeloperoxidase activity, a marker of neutrophil infiltration, was significantly decreased in the C1INH intervention group compared with the CIH control group, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis was significantly attenuated (P<0.05). Western blotting and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated that the protein expression levels of Bcl-2 were decreased and those of Bax were increased in the CIH group compared with the normal control group, but the protein expression levels of Bcl-2 were increased and those of Bax were decreased in the C1INH intervention group, as compared with the CIH group. Furthermore, the CIH-induced expression and synthesis of complement C3 in the myocardium were also reduced in the C1INH intervention group. C1INH, in addition to inhibiting complement activation and inflammation, preserved cardiac function in CIH-mediated myocardial cell injury through an anti-apoptotic mechanism.

Supramolecular Templating Approach for the Solvent-Free Synthesis of Open-Framework Metal Oxalates.

A series of open-framework metal oxalates (metal = Zn, Co, Mn, Bi, In) were prepared under solvent-free conditions by a supramolecular templating approach. These compounds have cationic, anionic, and neutral frameworks with pore apertures ranging from small 8-membered rings (8 MRs) to extra-large 16 and 20 MRs. The zinc oxalate exhibits a proton conductivity of 2.6 × 10(-3) S cm(-1) at 60 °C under 98% relative humidity.