Human Platelet Derived Mitochondrial OPA-1 Isoforms and Interaction With TDP-43 in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Optic atrophy 1(OPA1) is a GTPase protein that controls mitochondrial fusion, cristae integrity, and mtDNA maintenance. In neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease (PD), the mitochondrial network morphology is compromised. Studies on TAR-DNA binding protein 43 (TDP-43) has been the focus in our lab. OPA1 and TDP-43 interaction may shed a light on how aberrant TDP-43 interacts with OPA1, which will lead to mitochondrial dysfunction. The preliminary study tested the idea of whether OPA1 and TDP-43 are physically interacting in human platelet derived mitochondria obtained from healthy human subjects.

NanoIEA: A Nanopatterned Interdigitated Electrode Array-Based Impedance Assay for Real-Time Measurement of Aligned Endothelial Cell Barrier Functions.

A nanopatterned interdigitated electrode array (nanoIEA)-based impedance assay is developed for quantitative real-time measurement of aligned endothelial cell (EC) barrier functions in vitro. A bioinspired poly(3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine) (poly (l-DOPA)) coating is applied to improve the human brain EC adhesion onto the Nafion nanopatterned surfaces. It is found that a poly (l-DOPA)-coated Nafion grooved nanopattern makes the human brain ECs orient along the nanopattern direction. Aligned human brain ECs on Nafion nanopatterns exhibit increased expression of genes encoding tight and adherens junction proteins. Aligned human brain ECs also have enhanced impedance and resistance versus unaligned ones. Treatment with a glycogen synthase kinase-3 inhibitor (GSK3i) further increases impedance and resistance, suggesting synergistic effects occur on the cell-cell tightness of in vitro human brain ECs via a combination of anisotropic matrix nanotopography and GSK3i treatment. It is found that this enhanced cell-cell tightness of the combined approach is accompanied by increased expression of claudin protein. These data demonstrate that the proposed nanoIEA assay integrated with poly (l-DOPA)-coated Nafion nanopatterns and interdigitated electrode arrays can make not only biomimetic aligned ECs, but also enable real-time measurement of the enhanced barrier functions of aligned ECs via tighter cell-cell junctions.

The deformation of cancer cells through narrow micropores holds the potential to regulate genes that impact cancer malignancy.

Surgery, radiation, hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy are standard treatment strategies for metastatic breast cancer. However, the heterogeneous nature of the disease poses challenges and continues to make it life-threatening. It is crucial to elucidate further the underlying signaling pathways to improve treatment efficacy. Our study established two triple-negative breast cancer cell lines (TW-1 and TW-2) that were physically deformed using 3 µm pores to investigate the relationship between cancer cell deformation and metastasis within a heterogeneous population. The physical transformation of TW-1 and TW-2 cells significantly affected their growth and migration speed, as evidenced by wound healing assays for collective cell migration and microchannel assays for single-cell migration. We conducted bulk RNA sequencing to gain insights into the genes influenced by physical deformation. Additionally, we evaluated the effects of trametinib resistance on breast cancer cell metastasis by assessing cell viability and migration rates. Interestingly, TW-1 and TW-2 cells exhibited resistance to trametinib treatment. We observed a significant upregulation of GABRA-3, a protein commonly expressed in malignant breast cancer, and the critical transcription factor Myc in TW-1 and TW-2 cells compared to the control group (Ori). However, we did not observe a significant difference in Myc expression between TW-1 and TW-2 cells. In contrast, in the trametinib-resistant cell lines (TW-1-Tra and TW-2-Tra), we found increased expression of OCT4 and SOX2 rather than GABRA-3 or Myc. These findings highlight the differential expression patterns of these genes in our study, suggesting their potential role in cancer cell deformation and drug resistance. Our study presents a potential in vitro model for metastatic and drug-resistant breast cancer cells. By investigating the correlation between cancer cell deformation and metastasis, we contribute to understanding breast cancer heterogeneity and lay the groundwork for developing improved treatment strategies.

Fabrication of nanomolded Nafion thin films with tunable mechanical and electrical properties using thermal evaporation-induced capillary force lithography.

In this paper, we report a simple and facile method to fabricate nanomolded Nafion thin films with tunable mechanical, and electrical properties. To achieve this, we combine a novel thermal evaporation-induced capillary force lithography method with swelling process to obtain enhanced pattern fidelity in nanomolded Nafion films. We demonstrate that structural fidelity and mechanical properties of patterned Nafion thin films can be modulated by changing fabrication parameters such as swelling time, Nafion polymer concentration, and curing temperature. Interestingly, we also find that impedance properties of nanomolded Nafion thin films are associated with the Nafion polymer concentration and curing temperature. In particular, 20% Nafion thin films exhibit greater impedance stability and lower impedance values than 5% Nafion thin films at lower frequencies. Moreover, curing temperature-specific impedance changes are observed. These results suggest that capillary lithography can be used to fabricate Nafion nanostructures with high pattern fidelity capable of modifying mechanical and electrical properties of Nafion thin films.

Determination of Shelf Life Model of Pork Cutlet and Pork Lard during Accelerated Storage Conditions.

This study was carried out to establish shelf life for pork cutlet of ground meat and pork lard by using various quality indicators and to understand how quality changes in these products are accelerated by temperature. The samples were selected and purchased from markets in Korea, and the chosen quality indicators were total aerobic counts and coliform group in microbiological analyses, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances assay, volatile basic nitrogen, pH, acid value, and peroxide value in physical chemical analyses, and sensory evaluation. The pork cutlet samples were stored at -18℃, -6℃, and -1℃, whereas pork lard samples were stored at 10℃, 25℃, 35℃, and 45℃. These temperature conditions were set to real distribution conditions. The samples were then analyzed using various models including of reaction orders, arrhenius equation, and Q10 value. The quality limits for each sample were calculated, and shelf life was estimated. The results of this experiment highlighted the importance of temperature control during the distribution process of these products and revealed that temperature is a useful parameter for the establishment of a basic database for shelf life.

Fabrication of high aspect ratio nanogrid transparent electrodes via capillary assembly of Ag nanoparticles.

In this report, we describe the fabrication of periodic Ag nanogrid electrodes by capillary assembly of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) along patterned nanogrid templates. By assembling the AgNPs into these high-aspect-ratio nanogrid patterns, we can obtain high-aspect-ratio nanogratings, which can overcome the inherent trade-off between the optical transmittance and the sheet resistance of transparent electrodes. The junction resistance between the AgNPs is effectively reduced by photochemical welding and post-annealing. The fabricated high-aspect-ratio nanogrid structure with a line width of 150 nm and a height of 450 nm has a sheet resistance of 15.2 Ω sq(-1) and an optical transmittance of 85.4%.

Controlled Patterning of Vertical Silicon Structures Using Polymer Lithography and Wet Chemical Etching.

In order to improve their performance for various applications, a facile method for the wafer-scale fabrication of micro/nano-patterned vertical silicon (Si) structures such as silicon nanowires (SiNWs), silicon nanorods (SiNRs), and porous silicon (p-Si) was developed. The method is based on the combination of lithography techniques (photolithography, thermal nano-imprint lithography, nanosphere lithography) and wet chemical etching (electro-chemical etching, metal-assisted chemical etching) processes. Micro-patterned p-Si with various pore diameters from 30 nm to 1.2 um were fabricated via electro-chemical etching. Micro/nano-patterned Si microstructures, nanorods, and nanowires were also successfully fabricated by changing the thickness of the metal layer of 5 nm or 20 nm in the metal-assisted chemical etching process. This study also investigated the effect of the etching time and patterning on the etched SiNWs length. This method provides advantages of simplicity, speed, large-scale production, easy size and shape manipulation, and low cost.

High-durable AgNi nanomesh film for a transparent conducting electrode.

Uniform metal nanomesh structures are promising candidates that may replace of indium-tin oxide (ITO) in transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs). However, the durability of the uniform metal mesh has not yet been studied. For this reason, a comparative analysis of the durability of TCEs based on pure Ag and AgNi nanomesh, which are fabricated by using simple transfer printing, is performed. The AgNi nanomesh shows high long-term stability to oxidation, heat, and chemicals compared with that of pure Ag nanomesh. This is because of nickel in the AgNi nanomesh. Furthermore, the AgNi nanomesh shows strong adhesion to a transparent substrate and good stability after repeated bending.

Structural Effects of Sulfated-Glycoproteins from Stichopus japonicus on the Nitric Oxide Secretion Ability of RAW 264.7 Cells.

The effect of various levels of proteins, sulfates, and molecular weight (M w) of a sulfated-glycoprotein (NF3) from a sea cucumber, Stichopus japonicus, on nitric oxide (NO) releasing capacity from RAW 264.7 cells was investigated. The NF3 derivatives had various amounts of proteins (4.8~11.2%) and sulfates (6.8~25.2%) as well as different M w (640.3×10(3)~109.2×10(3) g/mol). NF3 was able to stimulate RAW 264.7 cells to release NO with lower protein contents, indicating that the protein moiety was not an important factor to stimulate macrophages. On the other hand, the NO inducing capacity was significantly reduced with decreased levels of sulfates and M w, implying that sulfates and M w played a pivotal role in activating RAW 264.7 cells. It was not clear why sulfates and a certain range of M w were essential for stimulating macrophages. It appeared that certain levels of sulfates and M w of sulfated-glycoproteins were required to bind to the surface receptors on RAW 264.7 cells.

Superamphiphobic surface by nanotransfer molding and isotropic etching.

We present a novel method of fabricating superhydrophobic and superoleophobic surfaces with nanoscale reentrant curvature by nanotransfer molding and controlled wet etching of the facile undercut. This method produces completely ordered re-entrant nanostructures and prevents capillary-induced bundling effects. The mushroom-like, re-entrant, overhanging structure demonstrates superhydrophobic and superoleophobic characteristics, as tested by water droplet bouncing and contact angle measurements, and has high transparency on a flexible substrate. Widespread use as self-cleaning surfaces is expected in the near future.

Cloning of the xylose reductase gene of Candida milleri.

The entire nucleotide sequence of the xylose reductase (XR) gene in Candida milleri CBS8195 sourdough yeast was determined by degenerate polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and genome walking. The sequence analysis revealed an open-reading frame of 981 bp that encoded 326 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 36.7 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence of XR of C. milleri was 64.7% homologous to that of Kluyveromyces lactis. The cloned XR gene was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the resulting recombinant S. cerevisiae strain produced xylitol from xylose, indicating that the C. milleri XR introduced into S. cerevisiae is functional. An enzymatic activity assay and semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR revealed that the expression of CmXR was induced by xylose.