Biofilms in plastisphere from freshwater wetlands: Biofilm formation, bacterial community assembly, and biogeochemical cycles.

Microorganisms can colonize to the surface of microplastics (MPs) to form biofilms, termed "plastisphere", which could significantly change their physiochemical properties and ecological roles. However, the biofilm characteristics and the deep mechanisms (interaction, assembly, and biogeochemical cycles) underlying plastisphere in wetlands currently lack a comprehensive perspective. In this study, in situ biofilm formation experiments were performed in a park with different types of wetlands to examine the plastisphere by extrinsic addition of PVC MPs in summer and winter, respectively. Results from the spectroscopic and microscopic analyses revealed that biofilms attached to the MPs in constructed forest wetlands contained the most abundant biomass and extracellular polymeric substances. Meanwhile, data from the high-throughput sequencing showed lower diversity in plastisphere compared with soil bacterial communities. Network analysis suggested a simple and unstable co-occurrence pattern in plastisphere, and the null model indicated increased deterministic process of heterogeneous selection for its community assembly. Based on the quantification of biogeochemical cycling genes by high-throughput qPCR, the relative abundances of genes involving in carbon degradation, carbon fixation, and denitrification were significantly higher in plastisphere than those of soil communities. This study greatly enhanced our understanding of biofilm formation and ecological effects of MPs in freshwater wetlands.

Water temperature governs organophosphate ester dynamics in the aquatic food chain of Poyang Lake.

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are increasingly recognized as pervasive environmental contaminants, primarily from their extensive application in flame retardants and plasticizers. Despite their widespread presence, the intricacies of OPE bioaccumulation within aquatic ecosystems remain poorly understood, particularly the environmental determinants influencing their distribution and the bioaccumulation dynamics across aquatic food chains. Here we show that water temperature plays a crucial role in modulating the dispersion of OPE in the aquatic environment of Poyang Lake. We quantified OPE concentrations across various matrices, uncovering levels ranging from 0.198 to 912.622 ng L-1 in water, 0.013-493.36 ng per g dry weight (dw) in sediment, 0.026-41.92 ng per g wet weight (ww) in plankton, 0.13-2100.72 ng per g dw in benthic invertebrates, and 0.31-3956.49 ng per g dw in wild fish, highlighting a pronounced bioaccumulation gradient. Notably, the intestines emerged as the principal site for OPE absorption, displaying the highest concentrations among the seven tissues examined. Among the various OPEs, tris(chloroethyl) phosphate was distinguished by its significant bioaccumulation potential within the aquatic food web, suggesting a need for heightened scrutiny. The propensity for OPE accumulation was markedly higher in benthic invertebrates than wild fish, indicating a differential vulnerability within aquatic biota. This study lays a foundational basis for the risk assessment of OPEs as emerging contaminants and underscores the imperative to prioritize the examination of bioaccumulation effects, particularly in benthic invertebrates, to inform future environmental safeguarding strategies.

Transformation pathways of the carbon-containing group compounds during municipal sludge pyrolysis treatment.

Municipal sludge contains abundant amounts of carbon, with contents ranging from 14 % to 38 %. The various carbon-containing group compounds can be converted into beneficial products, but pollutants and greenhouse gases are also released through the municipal sludge pyrolysis process. Ascertaining the pathways by which carbon-containing group compounds is converted and transformed is crucial for addressing pollution concerns and promoting recycling. This study explored the transformation pathways of carbon-containing group compounds during the pyrolysis process of municipal sludge. The results showed that the three major carbon-containing group compounds including protein (61 %), cellulose (9 %), and hemicellulose (7 %), had significantly different pyrolysis temperature of 600 °C, 400 °C and 300 °C. In terms of gas pollution, most carbon was fully pyrolyzed into CO2. While the temperature raised up to 500 °C, a part of the CO2 converted into CO. Meanwhile, the various carbon-containing compounds exhibited distinct effects on gas production, which CH4 was produced more with cellulose and protein presenting in the sludge. When temperature increased to 700 °C, the 60 % of the carbon-containing group compounds were transformed into liquid and solid. The pyrolysis liquid in the low-temperature stage (30-300 °C) contained a relatively high aliphatics content and lower organooxygen species (OOSs) content (at 200 °C), suggesting a potential for resource utilization. The yield of CO in the gas rapidly increased as the temperature increased in the high-temperature stage (500-700 °C). The insights from this study hold practical implications for enhancing municipal sludge pyrolysis efficiency, reducing pollution, and facilitating more sustainable and resource-efficient practices.

Association between normalized lactate load and in-hospital mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Lactate was a prognostic indicator for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. However, the association between normalized lactate load, representing hypoxic burden over time, and in-hospital mortality remained uncertain. METHODS: The data for this study was obtained from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV, version 2.1) database. The normalized lactate load, describing the average intensity of hyperlactatemia, was calculated as the area under the curve (AUC) of lactate divided by time. 5882 AMI patients enrolled in this study were divided into survivor (n = 5015), and non-survivor group (n = 867). The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to assess the predictive efficacy of normalized lactate load for in-hospital mortality, and areas under the curves of different parameters were compared using DeLong test. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was employed to explore the association between normalized lactate load and in-hospital mortality. The adjusting variables included age, gender, ethnicity, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, congestive heart failure, shock, dyslipidemia, cardiac arrest, cerebrovascular disease, neutrophil, lymphocyte, creatinine, blood nitrogen urea, clopidogrel, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI)/angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), statins, dialysis, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score and Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS II). Restricted cubic spline (RCS) was conducted to evaluate nonlinear associations of normalized lactate load with in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 14.7%. After adjusting for confounding variables, normalized lactate load was independently associated with increased risk of in-hospital mortality (Normalized lactate load≥2.6 vs Normalized lactate load<2.6: OR, 95% CI: 1.56, 1.27-1.93). The RCS demonstrated a positive linear relationship between normalized lactate load and in-hospital mortality (non-linear p = 0.725). ROC curves showed that normalized lactate load was better than first lactate, maximum lactate, and mean lactate in predicting in-hospital mortality, but lower than SOFA and SAPS II. Among participants with at least nine lactate measures, normalized lactate load showed predictive performance comparable to SOFA and SAPS II. CONCLUSION: Normalized lactate load can be used to predict the prognosis of in-hospital mortality in AMI patients, and its prediction performance increases with the increase of lactate measurement.

Influence of targeted nursing-guided bladder filling on embryo transfer outcomes and patient comfort: A prospective open randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: The success of assisted pregnancy relies heavily on the effectiveness of the embryo transfer process. Currently, embryo transfer is typically conducted with the assistance of abdominal ultrasound. OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of targeted nursing interventions on the embryo transfer procedure, its impact on pregnancy outcomes, and the level of patient comfort concerning bladder management throughout the procedure. METHODS: A total of 247 patients who underwent embryo transfer at the Reproductive Center of Peking University People's Hospital from December 2019 to August 2020 were included in this study. These patients were categorized into two groups: the control group (n= 124) and the experimental group (n= 123). Within the control group, patients received conventional preoperative education, whereas those within the experimental group were subjected to targeted nursing interventions. Furthermore, patients in the experimental group were furnished with explicit instructions pertaining to the volume and timing of water intake. Multiple factors were assessed in this study, encompassing bladder filling, the quality of uterine imaging, the utilization of assistive devices during the surgical procedure, and pregnancy outcomes. Additionally, a post-operative questionnaire was administered to both groups to gauge their comfort levels regarding urinary retention. RESULTS: Following the targeted nursing intervention, ultrasound scans indicated an increase in bladder depth (5.91 ± 1.76 vs. 5.40 ± 1.61, P= 0.02), resulting in clearer endometrial imaging (96.74% vs. 88.71%, P= 0.02). Additionally, the experimental group reported significantly higher levels of comfort with urine retention (P= 0.01) compared to the control group, and these differences held statistical significance. Furthermore, the pregnancy rate in the experimental group was greater than that in the control group (52.85% vs. 50.8%, P> 0.05). CONCLUSION: Based on the premise that pregnancy rates remain unaffected, the implementation of targeted nursing care has the potential to augment bladder filling, enhance the quality of endometrial imaging, reduce the requirement for instrument-assisted embryo transfers, and notably enhance the comfort of patients in relation to urine retention.

Recurrent Implantation Failure: Bioinformatic Discovery of Biomarkers and Identification of Metabolic Subtypes.

Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) is a challenging scenario from different standpoints. This study aimed to investigate its correlation with the endometrial metabolic characteristics. Transcriptomics data of 70 RIF and 99 normal endometrium tissues were retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Common differentially expressed metabolism-related genes were extracted and various enrichment analyses were applied. Then, RIF was classified using a consensus clustering approach. Three machine learning methods were employed for screening key genes, and they were validated through the RT-qPCR experiment in the endometrium of 10 RIF and 10 healthy individuals. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were generated and validated by 20 RIF and 20 healthy individuals from Peking University People's Hospital. We uncovered 109 RIF-related metabolic genes and proposed a novel two-subtype RIF classification according to their metabolic features. Eight characteristic genes (SRD5A1, POLR3E, PPA2, PAPSS1, PRUNE, CA12, PDE6D, and RBKS) were identified, and the area under curve (AUC) was 0.902 and the external validated AUC was 0.867. Higher immune cell infiltration levels were found in RIF patients and a metabolism-related regulatory network was constructed. Our work has explored the metabolic and immune characteristics of RIF, which paves a new road to future investigation of the related pathogenic mechanisms.

Brusatol induces ferroptosis in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma by repressing GSH synthesis and increasing the labile iron pool via inhibition of the NRF2 pathway.

Brusatol (Bru), a bioactive compound found in Brucea sumatrana, exerts antitumour effects on several malignancies. However, the role and molecular mechanism of Bru in squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus (ESCC) remain unclear. Here, we found that Bru decreased the survival of ESCC cells. Subsequently, the ferroptosis inhibitors, deferoxamine and liproxstatin-1, rescued Bru-induced cell death, indicating that ferroptosis plays a major role in Bru-induced cell death. Furthermore, Bru promoted lipid peroxidation, glutathione (GSH) depletion, and ferrous iron overload in vitro. Consistent with these in vitro results, Bru significantly inhibited tumour growth in KYSE150 xenograft nude mice by triggering ferroptosis. Mechanistically, nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (NRF2) inactivation via increased ubiquitin-proteasome degradation was found to be a vital determinant of ferroptosis induced by Bru. Notably, Bru significantly decreases GSH synthesis, iron storage, and efflux by downregulating the expression of NRF2 target genes (glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC), solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11), ferritin heavy chain 1 (FTH1), and solute carrier family 40 member 1 (SLC40A1)), resulting in the accumulation of lethal lipid-based reactive oxygen species (ROS) and intracellular enrichment of chelated iron. Taken together, our findings indicate that ferroptosis is a novel mechanism underlying Bru-induced antitumour activity and will hopefully provide a valuable compound for ESCC treatment.

Review of the Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Essential Oils from Artemisia Argyi, Artemisia Princeps, and Artemisia Montana.

BACKGROUND: Artemisia argyi Lévl. et Van., Artemisia princeps Pamp., and Artemisia montana Pamp., which are the sources of mugwort, have been popular across East Asian countries for nearly 2000 years now. Essential oils are the major chemical component obtained from them, exhibiting a variety of biological activities. OBJECTIVE: This review mainly focuses on the chemical composition and biological activities of A. argyi essential oil (AAEO), A. princeps essential oil (APEO), and A. montana essential oil (AMEO), with a special focus on their common and specific characteristics. The traditional use, distribution, and botany of A. argyi, A. princeps, and A. montana have also been summarized. In addition, the pharmacokinetics of AAEO was involved. METHODS: We collected literature from online and offline databases by entering the following keywords: mugwort, wormwood, A. argyi, A. princeps, A. montana, essential oil, and volatile oil. No language limitation was present in our search. RESULTS: A. argyi, A. princeps, and A. montana were used as traditional medicine, food, and health care products for a long time in Asia. They are widely distributed in most parts of China, Korea, and Japan. AAEO, APEO, and AMEO composed of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and their derivatives, alkanes, olefins, etc. Most of the specific compounds of AAEO were monoterpenoids, nearly half of the specific compounds of APEO were aliphatic hydrocarbons, and the sesquiterpenes were the typical specific compounds of AMEO. The mugwort essential oil showed multiple biological activities, such as anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumor, anticoagulation, sedative, and insecticide. CONCLUSION: The present review provided insight into the chemical composition and biological activity of AAEO, APEO, and AMEO. The comprehensive literature showed that they possessed wide application prospects in various fields. However, they should be studied in more depth. The underlying bioactive mechanisms should be elucidated and their toxicity and quality control should be determined.

Interaction between biochar-dissolved organic matter and chlorophenols during biochar adsorption.

Biochar (BC) has been widely applied in the remediation of chlorophenols (CPs) from contaminated sites in which the role and mechanisms of BC dissolved organic matter (BDOM), as a crucial component of BC, with CPs are largely unknown and thus need to be investigated. In this study, DOM was derived from peanut hulls (PDOM) and corn stalks (CDOM) as BC sources, and the interactions between PDOM/CDOM and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) were analysed using excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy (EEM) in combination with multiple models. EEM combined with fluorescence region integration (EEM-FRI) indicated that humic-like materials were the major materials of both PDOM and CDOM (percentage fluorescence response Ri,n > 60%), and CDOM contained more protein- and fulvic-like materials than PDOM. Based on EEM in combination with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC), 4 components were obtained, and the percentage decrease in maximum fluorescence intensities (Fmax) showed that the main components interacting with TCP in PDOM/CDOM were protein- and fulvic-like components (> 25%). Moreover, the modified Stern-Volmer model was used to calculate the stability constants (Log KTCP) of PDOM/CDOM and TCP for the first time, and the mechanism of static quenching was dominant for interacting with TCP in PDOM (Log KTCP: 4.36-4.65) and CDOM (Log KTCP: 3.53-4.73). Furthermore, the sequential TCP binding of fluorescent components in BDOM generally followed the order of protein-like → short-wavelength fulvic-like → long-wavelength fulvic-like → humic-like components. These findings will provide a basis for screening biochar as a functional material for CP remediation applications and for understanding the environmental chemical behaviour of leached DOM during biochar application.

Characterising the interactions between Cu(II) and fulvic acid subcomponents using differential fluorescence spectroscopy combined with parallel factor analysis.

Fulvic acid (FA) consists of various organic compounds that interact with metals in the aquatic environment. Interactions between subcomponents (FA3, FA5, FA7, FA9 and FA13) of FA and Cu(II) were investigated using fluorescence quenching titration by coupling differential fluorescence spectroscopy (DFS) and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). The material fluorescence intensities derived from FA subcomponents decreased with Cu(II) concentration increase, and stronger quenching was experienced at low Cu(II) concentrations. Humic-like materials of FA3 and protein-like materials of FA9 have relatively higher presence of carboxylic groups with greater molecular polarity, and preferential interaction of Cu(II) occurs. Fluorescence DFSs can be successfully broken down into five components as follows: fulvic-like components of a major compound containing carboxylic-like and phenolic-like groups, fulvic-like components of a major compound containing groups of other components, humic-like components of a major compound containing carboxylic-like and phenolic-like groups, humic-like components of a major compound containing carboxylic-like groups, and protein-like components. The fulvic-like components of a major compound containing carboxylic-like and phenolic-like groups exhibited stronger quenching with Cu(II) in five FA subcomponents. Static quenching is the dominant mechanism for the binding of Cu(II) by the FA subcomponent. The log K of quenching constants fitted using the modified Ryan-Weber equation (R2 = 0.9368-0.9985) ranged from 4.32 to 6.14 for five components derived from FA subcomponents. Subcomponents that were eluted earlier exhibited stronger binding affinity with Cu(II).

Predicting the risk of dental implant loss using deep learning.

AIM: To investigate the feasibility of predicting dental implant loss risk with deep learning (DL) based on preoperative cone-beam computed tomography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six hundred and three patients who underwent implant surgery (279 high-risk patients who did and 324 low-risk patients who did not experience implant loss within 5 years) between January 2012 and January 2020 were enrolled. Three models, a logistic regression clinical model (CM) based on clinical features, a DL model based on radiography features, and an integrated model (IM) developed by combining CM with DL, were developed to predict the 5-year implant loss risk. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the model performance. Time to implant loss was considered for both groups, and Kaplan-Meier curves were created and compared by the log-rank test. RESULTS: The IM exhibited the best performance in predicting implant loss risk (AUC = 0.90, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.84-0.95), followed by the DL model (AUC = 0.87, 95% CI 0.80-0.92) and the CM (AUC = 0.72, 95% CI 0.63-0.79). CONCLUSIONS: Our study offers preliminary evidence that both the DL model and the IM performed well in predicting implant fate within 5 years and thus may greatly facilitate implant practitioners in assessing preoperative risks.

Study of Saponin Components after Biotransformation of Dioscorea nipponica by Endophytic Fungi C39.

This study conducted the solid fermentation process of Dioscorea nipponica using endophytic fungi C39 to determine the changes in the diosgenin concentration. The results revealed that endophytic fungi C39 could effectively biotransform the saponin components in D. nipponica. Moreover, the maximum increase in the diosgenin concentration reached 62.67% in 15 days of solid fermentation. MTT assay results demonstrated that the inhibitory effects of the fermentation drugs on four types of cancer cells (liver cancer cells (HepG2), stomach cancer cells (BGC823), cervical cancer cells (HeLa), and lung cancer cells (A549)) were better than those of the crude drugs obtained from D. nipponica. The chemical composition of the samples obtained before and after the biotransformation of D. nipponica was analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. A total of 32 compounds were identified, 21 of which have been reported in Dioscorea saponins and the ChemSpider database and 11 compounds were identified for the first time in D. nipponica. The biotransformation process was inferred based on the variation trend of saponins, which included transformation pathways pertaining to glycolytic metabolism, ring closure reaction, dehydrogenation, and carbonylation. The cumulative findings provide the basis for the rapid qualitative analysis of the saponin components of D. nipponica before and after biotransformation. The 11 metabolites obtained from biotransformation are potential active ingredients obtained from D. nipponica, which can be used to further identify pharmacodynamically active substances.

Humic acid promoted activation of peroxymonosulfate by Fe3S4 for degradation of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol: An experimental and theoretical study.

Chlorophenols are difficult to degrade and biohazardous in the natural environment. This study demonstrated that humic acid (HA) could promote Fe3S4 activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to degrade 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP), the degradation efficiency of TCP was increased by 33%. The system of Fe3S4-HA/PMS produced more reactive oxygen species, and •OH was the dominant ROS. The genealogy of iron oxides together with S0 on the Fe3S4 surface inhibited PMS activation leading to the significant reduction of TCP degraded (< 70%). These problems could be solved successfully through introducing HA, which facilitated electron transfer and increased the continuous release of iron ions by 2 times. In accordance with the determined density functional theory (DFT), the degradation pathway was put forward, which indicated that TCP dechlorination and oxidation to 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone constituted the main degradation pathway. Furthermore, the intermediates that were produced in the main degradation processes of TCP showed lower toxicity than TCP according to results that were obtained utilizing the calculations of quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) together with Toxicity Estimation Software Tool (TEST). Thus, the Fe3S4-HA/PMS system was demonstrated to be an efficient and safe technology for organic pollutant degradation in contaminated groundwater and surface water environments.

Krüppel-like factor 5 -mediated Sirtuin6 promotes osteogenic differentiation and inhibits inflammatory injury of lipopolysaccharide-induced periodontal membrane stem cells by inhibiting nuclear factor kappa-B pathway.

Periodontitis is a chronic infectious disease that causes inflammation and immune response and has an ultimate impact on the health of the whole body. Sirtuin6 (SIRT6) and Krüppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) have been reported to regulate the inflammatory response and play an important role in the development of periodontitis. LPS was adopted to induce periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) to construct a periodontitis cell model. SIRT6 expression was assayed through RT-qPCR and Western blot. Subsequently, after SIRT6 was overexpressed, CCK8 was to appraise cell viability. ELISA analysis was used to estimate inflammatory response. ALP staining, ARS staining, and Western blot were used to detect osteogenic differentiation. The JASPAR website then predicts the binding of transcription factor KLF5 to SIRT6 promoter. The interaction between KLF5 and SIRT6 was verified by a luciferase reporter and ChIP assays. Additionally, the osteogenic differentiation and inflammation in LPS-induced PDLSCs transfected with Ov-SIRT6 and si-KIF5 were also explored. Finally, the protein levels of the nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) pathway-related factors were detected by Western blot to further explore the mechanism. There was a marked decrease in SIRT6 expression in LPS-induced PDLSCs. SITR6 overexpression prevented LPS-induced cell viability loss and inflammation, while promoting osteogenic differentiation. In addition, KLF5 could transcriptionally activate SIRT6. Further, KLF5 knockdown reversed the impacts of SIRT6 on the proliferation, inflammation, and osteogenic differentiation of LPS-induced PDLSCs via mediating NF-κB pathway. Overall, KLF5-mediated SIRT6 promoted the viability and osteogenic differentiation, while inhibiting the inflammatory response of LPS-induced PDLSCs by inhibiting NF-κB pathway.

Association Between Chronic Periodontal Disease and Erectile Dysfunction: A Case-Control Study.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) and chronic periodontal disease (CPD) share mutual risk factors, and the incidence of ED is increasing among young adults. The relation of CPD and ED remains obscure due to inconsistent clinical evidence. This study aimed to further assess the relationship between CPD and ED using the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Need (CPITN) and the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF). Totally, 202 adult men were included, with 100 subjects with ED in the case group and 102 subjects without ED undergoing routine dental examinations in the control group. The IIEF questionnaire was used to assess the severity of ED, and CPD was assessed through the Community Periodontal Index (CPI) score. Periodontal assessments were performed by one single calibrated examiner. Logistic regression analysis was performed for the association between CPD and ED. After adjustment for age, smoking status, tooth brushing time, education level, monthly income, tooth brushing frequency, and gum bleeding, higher CPI score was identified to be associated with a greater risk of ED (odds ratio [OR] = 2.755, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.400, 5.423], p = .003), suggesting that CPD was positively associated with the odds of ED. CPD was getting more severe with the progress of ED (p < .05). Men with ED could be encouraged to receive routine dental examinations and appropriate preventive dental measures to maintain oral and periodontal health.

Folic acid targets splenic extramedullary hemopoiesis to attenuate carbon black-induced coagulation-thrombosis potential.

Due to its wide applications in tire and rubber products, carbon black (CB) implicates concerns on its safety during production, collection, and handling. Here we report that exposure CB, increases coagulation-thrombosis potential in a splenic extramedullary hemopoiesis (EMH)-dependent manner. Adult C57BL/6 mice are kept in whole-body inhalation chambers, and exposed to filtered room air (FRA) or CB for 28 consecutive days. CB exposure resulted in splenic EMH characterized with platelet precursor cells, megakaryocytes (MKs), hyperplasia and enhanced in vivo blood coagulation ability. Metabolomics analysis suggests significant enhance in PGE2 production but reduction in folic acid (FA) levels in murine serum following CB exposure. Mechanistically, activation of COX-dependent PGE2 production promotes IL-6 expression in splenic macrophages, which subsequently results in splenic EMH and increased platelet counts in circulation. Administration of FA protects the mice against CB-induced splenic EMH through inhibiting prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (Ptgs2 or Cox2) and prostaglandin E synthase (Ptges) expression in splenic macrophages, eventually recover the coagulation capacity to normal level. The results strongly suggest the involvement of splenic EMH in response to CB exposure and subsequently increased coagulation-thrombosis potential. Supplementation with FA may be a candidate to prevent thrombosis potential attributable to CB exposure.

Studies on biotransformation mechanism of Fusarium sp. C39 to enhance saponin content of Paridis Rhizoma.

Paridis Rhizoma is a natural medicine with strong anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory activities. Our previous research have found that Fusarium sp. C39, an endophytic fungus isolated from Dioscorea nipponica which contains the similar chemical components, significantly increased the steroidal saponins content of Paridis Rhizoma by fermentation. In this study, the inhibitory effects of fermentated Paridis Rhizoma extract (PRE) on liver cancer cells (Hepal-6), cervical cancer cells (Hela), and lung cancer cells (A549) were determined to be stronger than that of the unfermented extract. For discovering the fermentation mechanism of PRE with Fusarium sp. C39, 36 components with obviously quantitative variations were screened out by UPLC-Q/TOF-MS and 53 key genes involved in the metabolic pathways of steroidal saponins were identified by transcriptome. On the basis of comprehensively analyzing information from the metabonomics and transcriptome, it can be speculated that the increase of spirostanol saponins and nuatigenin-type saponins enhanced the inhibitory effect of fermented PRE on cancer cell proliferation. Under the action of glycosidase, glycosyltransferase, oxidoreductases, and genes involved in sterol synthesis, strain C39 achieved the synthesis of diosgenin and the alteration of configurations, sugar chain and substituent of steroidal saponins. The research suggested a microbial transformation approach to increase the resource utilization and activity of Paris polyphylla.

Increased risk of periodontitis occurrence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and its association with the levels of IL-1ß and TNF-α in gingival crevicular fluid.

BACKGROUND: Periodontitis (PD) is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by infection of the periodontal supporting tissues. Clinical studies have reported that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have a higher prevalence of PD. This study aimed to explore the correlation between RA and PD. METHODS: A total of 307 RA patients (RA group) and 324 healthy individuals (control group) who received physical examinations during the same period were recruited to this study. The incidence of PD in the two groups was analyzed, and the periodontal disease index (PDI) and bleeding on probing (BOP) were recorded. Then, 42 RA patients with PD and 56 control group patients with PD were selected for further analysis. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the levels of interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of the two groups. For patients with both RA and PD, the level of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and the duration of morning stiffness were also recorded. RESULTS: The prevalence of PD in the RA group (51.5%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (31.2%), and the prevalence of PD also increased notably with the increase of age and the duration of the disease in RA patients. The levels of TNF-α and IL-1ß in the PDI and the GCF in the concurrent RA and PD group were significantly higher than those in the PD group (P<0.05). Partial correlation analysis showed that TNF-α in the GCF positively correlated with the BOP of patients with RA and PD. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the level of TNF-α in the GCF and serum CRP were independent influencing factors of the level of IL-1ß in the GCF (the r values were 1.074 and 3.851, respectively; P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of RA can increase risk of PD occurrence and is positively correlated with the levels of IL-1ß and TNF-α in the GCF.

lncRNA TUG1 as a ceRNA promotes PM exposure-induced airway hyper-reactivity.

With the increased appreciation for the significance of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), the present research aimed to determine the role of competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) in the process of particulate matter (PM) exposure-induced pulmonary damage. Alterations in messenger RNA (RNA), microRNA and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) profiles of human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells treated with PM were analyzed by microarray assays. Next, we identified that lncRNA taurine upregulated gene 1 (TUG1) acted as a competing endogenous RNA for microRNA-222-3p (miR-222-3p) and subsequently attenuated the inhibitory effect of miR-222-3p on CUGBP elav-like family member 1 (CELF1). The binding potency among ceRNAs was verified by RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay and dual-luciferase reporter assay. Knockdown of TUG1 attenuated HBE cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest by downregulation of CELF1 and protein 53 (p53). Further, we confirmed that Tug1/mir-222-3p/CELF1/p53 network aggravated PM-induced airway hyper-reactivity (AHR) in mice. In summary, our novel findings revealed that TUG1 triggered dysfunction of pulmonary cells followed by PM exposure by serving as a sponge for miR-222-3p and thereby upregulating the expression of CELF1and p53.

Immunoregulatory mechanism studies of ginseng leaves on lung cancer based on network pharmacology and molecular docking.

Panax ginseng is one of the oldest and most generally prescribed herbs in Eastern traditional medicine to treat diseases. Several studies had documented that ginseng leaves have anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties similar to those of ginseng root. The aim of this research was to forecast of the molecular mechanism of ginseng leaves on lung cancer by molecular docking and network pharmacology so as to decipher ginseng leaves' entire mechanism. The compounds associated with ginseng leaves were searched by TCMSP. TCMSP and Swiss Target Prediction databases were used to sort out the potential targets of the main chemical components. Targets were collected from OMIM, PharmGKB, TTD, DrugBank and GeneCards which related to immunity and lung cancer. Ginseng leaves exert its lung cancer suppressive function by regulating the several signaling proteins, such as JUN, STAT3, AKT1, TNF, MAPK1, TP53. GO and KEGG analyses indicated that the immunoreaction against lung cancer by ginseng leaves might be related to response to lipopolysaccharide, response to oxidative stress, PI3K-Akt, MAPK and TNF pathway. Molecular docking analysis demonstrated that hydrogen bonding was interaction's core forms. The results of CCK8 test and qRT-PCR showed that ginseng leaves inhibit cell proliferation and regulates AKT1 and P53 expression in A549. The present study clarifies the mechanism of Ginseng leaves against lung cancer and provides evidence to support its clinical use.