Dimethyl fumarate ameliorates chronic stress-induced anxiety-like behaviors by decreasing neuroinflammation and neuronal activity in the amygdala.

BACKGROUND: Chronic stress-induced neuroinflammation plays a pivotal role in the development and exacerbation of mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression. Dimethyl Fumarate (DMF), an effective therapeutic agent approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, has been widely reported to display anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects. However, the impact of DMF on chronic stress-induced anxiety disorders and the exact underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. METHODS: We established a mouse model of chronic social defeat stress (CSDS). DMF was administered orally 1 h before daily stress session for 10 days in CSDS + DMF group. qRT-PCR and western blotting were used to analyze mRNA and protein expression of NLRP3, Caspase-1 and IL-1ß. Immunofluorescence staining was carried out to detect the expression of Iba 1 and c-fos positive cells as well as morphological change of Iba 1+ microglia. Whole-cell patch-clamp recording was applied to evaluate synaptic transmission and intrinsic excitability of neurons. RESULTS: DMF treatment significantly alleviated CSDS-induced anxiety-like behaviors in mice. Mechanistically, DMF treatment prevented CSDS-induced neuroinflammation by inhibiting the activation of microglia and NLRP3/Caspase-1/IL-1ß signaling pathway in basolateral amygdala (BLA), a brain region important for emotional processing. Furthermore, DMF treatment effectively reversed the CSDS-caused disruption of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission balance, as well as the increased intrinsic excitability of BLA neurons. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide new evidence that DMF may exert anxiolytic effect by preventing CSDS-induced activation of NLRP3/Caspase-1/IL-1ß signaling pathway and alleviating hyperactivity of BLA neurons.

A storage mechanism of data access record on consortium chain based on master-slave blocks.

Although data on the blockchain cannot be tampered with, malicious access by insiders can also lead to data leakage. Access records of block are an important basis for tracing the source of data breaches; however, access records themselves may be tampered with. Therefore, it is important to study how to protect the block access records. So far, the protection of block access records has not received much attention. To make block access records a protected data resource as well, this paper proposes a storage mechanism of data access record on consortium chain based on master-slave blocks. In this mechanism, the master block is used to store data resources, and the slave block of the master block is used to store access records of the master block. This method ensures that the slave block has the security characteristics of the single chain block, making the access record traceable and immutable. The storage mechanism's viability is confirmed by real-world experimentation. The proposed mechanism outperforms the single chain in terms of data query performance, according to the testing results on public data sets.

[Identification of horn-derived animal medicines based on detection of keratin-derived characteristic peptides].

Due to the highly stable structure of keratin, the extraction and dissolution steps of animal medicines rich in keratin are complex, which seriously restricts the detection efficiency and flux. Therefore, this study simplified the pre-treatment steps of horn samples and optimized the detection methods of characteristic peptides to improve the efficiency of identifying the specificity of horn-derived animal medicines. For detection of the characteristic peptides in horn-derived animal medicines treated with/without iodoace-tamide(IAA), the ion pair conditions of the characteristic peptides were optimized, and the retention time, intensity and other data of the specific peptides were compared between the samples treated with/without IAA. Two pre-treatment methods, direct enzymatic hydrolysis and total protein extraction followed by enzymatic hydrolysis, were used to prepare horn-derived animal medicine samples. The effects of different methods on the detection of specific peptides in the samples of Saiga antelope horn, water buffalo horn, goat horn, and yak horn were compared regarding the retention time of specific peptides and ion intensity. The results indicated that after direct enzymatic hydrolysis, the specific peptides in the samples without IAA treatment can be detected. Compared with the characteristic peptides in the samples treated with IAA, their retention time shifted back and the mass spectrometry response slightly decreased. The specific peptides of the samples without IAA treatment had good specificity and did not affect the specificity identification of horn-derived animal medicines. Overall, the process of direct enzymatic hydrolysis can be used to treat horn samples, omitting the steps of protein extraction and dithiothreitol and IAA treatment, significantly improving the pre-treatment efficiency without affecting the specificity identification of horn-derived animal medicines. This study provides ideas for quality research and standard improvement of horn-derived animal medicines.

Psychological Resilience in Post-acute Care: A Cross-Sectional Study of Health Care Workers in Singapore Community Hospitals.

OBJECTIVES: Psychological resilience is a crucial component of mental health and well-being for health care workers. It is positively linked to compassion satisfaction and inversely associated with burnout. The current literature on health care worker resilience has mainly focused on primary care and tertiary hospitals, but there is a lack of studies in post-acute and transitional care settings. Our study aims to address this knowledge gap and evaluate the factors associated with psychological resilience among health care professionals working in community hospitals. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Physicians, nurses, rehabilitation therapists (consisting of physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists), pharmacists, dietitians, and social workers in 2 community hospitals in Singapore. METHODS: Eligible health care workers were invited to fill in anonymous, self-reported questionnaires consisting of sociodemographic, lifestyle, and work-related factors together with the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10). Univariate analysis and multiple linear regression were conducted to study the relationship between each factor and resilience scores. RESULTS: A total of 574 responses were received, giving a response rate of 81.1%. The mean CD-RISC-10 score reported was 28.4. Multiple linear regression revealed that male gender (B = 1.49, P = .003), Chinese (B = -3.18, P < .001), active smokers (B = -3.82, P = .01), having perceived work crisis support (B = 2.95, P < .001), work purpose (B = 1.84, P = .002), job satisfaction (B = 1.01, P = .04), and work control (B = 2.53, P < .001) were significantly associated with psychological resilience scores among these health care workers. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Our study highlights the importance of certain individual and organizational factors that are associated with psychological resilience. These findings provide valuable insight into developing tailored interventions to foster resilience, such as strengthening work purpose and providing effective work crisis support, thus reducing burnout among health care workers in the post-acute care setting.

TFPI from erythroblasts drives heme production in central macrophages promoting erythropoiesis in polycythemia.

Bleeding and thrombosis are known as common complications of polycythemia for a long time. However, the role of coagulation system in erythropoiesis is unclear. Here, we discover that an anticoagulant protein tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) plays an essential role in erythropoiesis via the control of heme biosynthesis in central macrophages. TFPI levels are elevated in erythroblasts of human erythroblastic islands with JAK2V617F mutation and hypoxia condition. Erythroid lineage-specific knockout TFPI results in impaired erythropoiesis through decreasing ferrochelatase expression and heme biosynthesis in central macrophages. Mechanistically, the TFPI interacts with thrombomodulin to promote the downstream ERK1/2-GATA1 signaling pathway to induce heme biosynthesis in central macrophages. Furthermore, TFPI blockade impairs human erythropoiesis in vitro, and normalizes the erythroid compartment in mice with polycythemia. These results show that erythroblast-derived TFPI plays an important role in the regulation of erythropoiesis and reveal an interplay between erythroblasts and central macrophages.

Nanoparticles targeting OPN loaded with BY1 inhibits vascular restenosis by inducing FTH1-dependent ferroptosis in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Vascular restenosis following angioplasty continues to pose a significant challenge. The heterocyclic trioxirane compound [1, 3, 5-tris((oxiran-2-yl)methyl)-1, 3, 5-triazinane-2, 4, 6-trione (TGIC)], known for its anticancer activity, was utilized as the parent ring to conjugate with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, resulting in the creation of the spliced conjugated compound BY1. We found that BY1 induced ferroptosis in VSMCs as well as in neointima hyperplasia. Furthermore, ferroptosis inducers amplified BY1-induced cell death, while inhibitors mitigated it, indicating the contribution of ferroptosis to BY1-induced cell death. Additionally, we established that ferritin heavy chain1 (FTH1) played a pivotal role in BY1-induced ferroptosis, as evidenced by the fact that FTH1 overexpression abrogated BY1-induced ferroptosis, while FTH1 knockdown exacerbated it. Further study found that BY1 induced ferroptosis by enhancing the NCOA4-FTH1 interaction and increasing the amount of intracellular ferrous. We compared the effectiveness of various administration routes for BY1, including BY1-coated balloons, hydrogel-based BY1 delivery, and nanoparticles targeting OPN loaded with BY1 (TOP@MPDA@BY1) for targeting proliferated VSMCs, for prevention and treatment of the restenosis. Our results indicated that TOP@MPDA@BY1 was the most effective among the three administration routes, positioning BY1 as a highly promising candidate for the development of drug-eluting stents or treatments for restenosis.

Late-Stage Skeletal Muscle Transcriptome in Duchenne muscular dystrophy shows a BMP4-Induced Molecular Signature.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a fatal X-linked recessive disease due to loss-of-function mutations in the DYSTROPHIN gene. DMD-related skeletal muscle wasting is typified by an aberrant immune response involving upregulation of TGFß family of cytokines. We previously demonstrated that bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) is increased in DMD and BMP4 stimulation induces a 20-fold upregulation of Smad8 transcription. However, the role of BMP4 in severely affected DMD skeletal muscle is unknown. We hypothesized that transcriptomic signatures in severely affected human DMD skeletal muscle are driven by BMP4 signaling. Transcriptomes from skeletal muscle biopsies of late-stage DMD vs. non-DMD controls and C2C12 muscle cells with or without BMP4 stimulation were generated by RNA-Seq and analyzed for single transcript differential expression as well as by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analyses. A total of 2,328 and 5,291 transcripts in the human muscle and C2C12 muscle cells, respectively, were differentially expressed. We identified an overlapping molecular signature of 1,027 genes dysregulated in DMD muscle that were induced in BMP4-stimulated C2C12 muscle cells. Highly upregulated DMD transcripts that overlapped with BMP4-stimulated C2C12 muscle cells included ADAMTS3, HCAR2, SERPING1, SMAD8 , and UNC13C. The DMD transcriptome was characterized by dysregulation of pathways involving immune function, extracellular matrix remodeling, and metabolic/mitochondrial function. In summary, we define a late-stage DMD skeletal muscle transcriptome that substantially overlaps with the BMP4-induced molecular signature in C2C12 muscle cells. This supports BMP4 as a disease-driving regulator of transcriptomic changes in late-stage DMD skeletal muscle and expands our understanding of the evolution of dystrophic signaling pathways and their associated gene networks that could be explored for therapeutic development.

Spatial transcriptomics reveals gene interactions and signaling pathway dynamics in rat embryos with anorectal malformation.

Anorectal malformation (ARM) is a prevalent early pregnancy digestive tract anomaly. The intricate anatomy of the embryonic cloaca region makes it challenging for traditional high-throughput sequencing methods to capture location-specific information. Spatial transcriptomics was used to sequence libraries of frozen sections from embryonic rats at gestational days (GD) 14 to 16, covering both normal and ARM cases. Bioinformatics analyses and predictions were performed using methods such as WGCNA, GSEA, and PROGENy. Immunofluorescence staining was used to verify gene expression levels. Gene expression data was obtained with anatomical annotations of clusters, focusing on the cloaca region's location-specific traits. WGCNA revealed gene modules linked to normal and ARM cloacal anatomy development, with cooperation between modules on GD14 and GD15. Differential gene expression profiles and functional enrichment were presented. Notably, protein levels of Pcsk9, Hmgb2, and Sod1 were found to be downregulated in the GD15 ARM hindgut. The PROGENy algorithm predicted the activity and interplay of common signaling pathways in embryonic sections, highlighting their synergistic and complementary effects. A competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory network was constructed from whole transcriptome data. Spatial transcriptomics provided location-specific cloaca region gene expression. Diverse bioinformatics analyses deepened our understanding of ARM's molecular interactions, guiding future research and providing insights into gene regulation in ARM development.

Genetic Analysis of Two Novel GPI Variants Disrupting H Bonds and Localization Characteristics of 55 Gene Variants Associated with Glucose-6-phosphate Isomerase Deficiency.

OBJECTIVE: Glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (GPI) deficiency is a rare hereditary nonspherocytic hemolytic anemia caused by GPI gene variants. This disorder exhibits wide heterogeneity in its clinical manifestations and molecular characteristics, often posing challenges for precise diagnoses using conventional methods. To this end, this study aimed to identify the novel variants responsible for GPI deficiency in a Chinese family. METHODS: The clinical manifestations of the patient were summarized and analyzed for GPI deficiency phenotype diagnosis. Novel compound heterozygous variants of the GPI gene, c.174C>A (p.Asn58Lys) and c.1538G>T (p.Trp513Leu), were identified using whole-exome and Sanger sequencing. The AlphaFold program and Chimera software were used to analyze the effects of compound heterozygous variants on GPI structure. RESULTS: By characterizing 53 GPI missense/nonsense variants from previous literature and two novel missense variants identified in this study, we found that most variants were located in exons 3, 4, 12, and 18, with a few localized in exons 8, 9, and 14. This study identified novel compound heterozygous variants associated with GPI deficiency. These pathogenic variants disrupt hydrogen bonds formed by highly conserved GPI amino acids. CONCLUSION: Early family-based sequencing analyses, especially for patients with congenital anemia, can help increase diagnostic accuracy for GPI deficiency, improve child healthcare, and enable genetic counseling.

An optimized metastructure switchable between ultra-wideband angle-insensitive absorption and transmissive polarization conversion: a theoretical study.

An optimized metastructure (MS) switchable between ultra-wideband (UWB) angle-insensitive absorption, and transmissive linear-to-circular (LTC) polarization conversion (PC), is proposed, which is a theoretical study. The structural parameters of this MS are optimized by the thermal exchange optimization algorithm. By modulating the chemical potential (µc) of the graphene-based hyperbolic metamaterial embedded in the MS, the MS can achieve UWB absorption in the absorption state and LTC PC in the transmission state. At normal incidence, in the absorption state, the MS exhibits absorptivity exceeding 0.9 within 7-15.45 THz, with a relative bandwidth (RBW) of 75.28%. By elevating µc, an UWB LTC PC is realized, with a RBW of 118.8%, achieving transmittance above 0.9 and the axial ratio below 3 dB. When prioritizing the angular stability, in the absorption state, the MS secures the angular stability of 75° for TE waves and 65° for TM ones. In the transmission state, the angular stability of PC reaches 60°, with RBW = 100.7%. Moreover, by manipulating µc, the tunability of UWB absorption is realized. The optimized MS provides a reference for designing multifunctional intelligent terahertz modulators, with promising application potential in domains like electromagnetic shielding, communication systems, and THz modulation.

Influence of microbial inoculation site on trichloroethylene degradation in electrokinetic-enhanced bioremediation of low-permeability soils.

The integration of electrokinetic and bioremediation (EK-BIO) represents an innovative approach for addressing trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination in low-permeability soil. However, there remains a knowledge gap in the impact of the inoculation approach on TCE dechlorination and the microbial response with the presence of co-existing substances. In this study, four 1-dimensional columns were constructed with different inoculation treatments. Monitoring the operation conditions revealed that a stabilization period (∼40 days) was required to reduce voltage fluctuation. The group with inoculation into the soil middle (Group B) exhibited the highest TCE dechlorination efficiency, achieving a TCE removal rate of 84%, which was 1.1-3.2 fold higher compared to the others. Among degraded products in Group B, 39% was ethylene. The physicochemical properties of the post-soil at different regions illustrated that dechlorination coincided with the Fe(III) and SO42- reduction, meaning that the EK-BIO system promoted the formation of a reducing environment. Microbial community analysis demonstrated that Dehalococcoides was only detected in the treatment of injection at soil middle or near the cathode, with abundance enriched by 2.1%-7.2%. The principal components analysis indicated that the inoculation approach significantly affected the evolution of functional bacteria. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis demonstrated that Group B exhibited at least 2.8 and 4.2-fold higher copies of functional genes (tceA, vcrA) than those of other groups. In conclusion, this study contributes to the development of effective strategies for enhancing TCE biodechlorination in the EK-BIO system, which is particularly beneficial for the remediation of low-permeability soils.

Targeting the chromatin structural changes of antitumor immunity.

Epigenomic imbalance drives abnormal transcriptional processes, promoting the onset and progression of cancer. Although defective gene regulation generally affects carcinogenesis and tumor suppression networks, tumor immunogenicity and immune cells involved in antitumor responses may also be affected by epigenomic changes, which may have significant implications for the development and application of epigenetic therapy, cancer immunotherapy, and their combinations. Herein, we focus on the impact of epigenetic regulation on tumor immune cell function and the role of key abnormal epigenetic processes, DNA methylation, histone post-translational modification, and chromatin structure in tumor immunogenicity, and introduce these epigenetic research methods. We emphasize the value of small-molecule inhibitors of epigenetic modulators in enhancing antitumor immune responses and discuss the challenges of developing treatment plans that combine epigenetic therapy and immunotherapy through the complex interaction between cancer epigenetics and cancer immunology.

Erratum: [Corrigendum] Chloroquine potentiates the anticancer effect of sunitinib on renal cell carcinoma by inhibiting autophagy and inducing apoptosis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3892/ol.2017.7635.].

Uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 prevents the progression of liver injury.

BACKGROUND: Uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1) plays a crucial role in metabolizing and detoxifying endogenous and exogenous substances. However, its contribution to the progression of liver damage remains unclear. AIM: To determine the role and mechanism of UGT1A1 in liver damage progression. METHODS: We investigated the relationship between UGT1A1 expression and liver injury through clinical research. Additionally, the impact and mechanism of UGT1A1 on the progression of liver injury was analyzed through a mouse model study. RESULTS: Patients with UGT1A1 gene mutations showed varying degrees of liver damage, while patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) exhibited relatively reduced levels of UGT1A1 protein in the liver as compared to patients with chronic hepatitis. This suggests that low UGT1A1 levels may be associated with the progression of liver damage. In mouse models of liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and concanavalin A (ConA), the hepatic levels of UGT1A1 protein were found to be increased. In mice with lipopolysaccharide or liver steatosis-mediated liver-injury progression, the hepatic protein levels of UGT1A1 were decreased, which is consistent with the observations in patients with ACLF. UGT1A1 knockout exacerbated CCl4- and ConA-induced liver injury, hepatocyte apoptosis and necroptosis in mice, intensified hepatocyte endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and oxidative stress, and disrupted lipid metabolism. CONCLUSION: UGT1A1 is upregulated as a compensatory response during liver injury, and interference with this upregulation process may worsen liver injury. UGT1A1 reduces ER stress, oxidative stress, and lipid metabolism disorder, thereby mitigating hepatocyte apoptosis and necroptosis.

Tandem Vinylogous Aldol and Intramolecular [2 + 2] Cycloaddition toward Benzocyclobutenes by UV Light Photocatalysis.

A facile and efficient radical tandem vinylogous aldol and intramolecular [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction for direct synthesis of cyclobutane-containing benzocyclobutenes (BCBs) under extremely mild conditions without using any photocatalysts is reported. This approach exhibited definite compatibility with functional groups and afforded new BCBs with excellent regioselectivity and high yields. Moreover, detailed mechanism studies were carried out both experimentally and theoretically. The readily accessible, low-cost, and ecofriendly nature of the developed strategy will endow it with attractive applications in organic and medicinal chemistry.

Rack1-mediated ferroptosis affects hindgut development in rats with anorectal malformations: Spatial transcriptome insights.

Anorectal malformation (ARM), a common congenital anomaly of the digestive tract, is a result of insufficient elongation of the urorectal septum. The cytoplasmic protein Receptor of Activated C-Kinase 1 (Rack1) is involved in embryonic neural development; however, its role in embryonic digestive tract development and ARM formation is unexplored. Our study explored the hindgut development and cell death mechanisms in ARM-affected rats using spatial transcriptome analysis. We induced ARM in rats by administering ethylenethiourea via gavage on gestational day (GD) 10. On GDs 14-16, embryos from both normal and ARM groups underwent spatial transcriptome sequencing, which identified key genes and signalling pathways. Rack1 exhibited significant interactions among differentially expressed genes on GDs 15 and 16. Reduced Rack1 expression in the ARM-affected hindgut, verified by Rack1 silencing in intestinal epithelial cells, led to increased P38 phosphorylation and activation of the MAPK signalling pathway. The suppression of this pathway downregulated Nqo1 and Gpx4 expression, resulting in elevated intracellular levels of ferrous ions, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxides. Downregulation of Gpx4 expression in the ARM hindgut, coupled with Rack1 co-localisation and consistent mitochondrial morphology, indicated ferroptosis. In summary, Rack1, acting as a hub gene, modulates ferrous ions, lipid peroxides, and ROS via the P38-MAPK/Nqo1/Gpx4 axis. This modulation induces ferroptosis in intestinal epithelial cells, potentially influencing hindgut development during ARM onset.

Effects of New Psychoactive Substance Esketamine on Behaviors and Transcription of Genes in Dopamine and GABA Pathways in Zebrafish Larvae.

Esketamine (ESK) is the S-enantiomer of ketamine racemate (a new psychoactive substance) that can result in illusions, and alter hearing, vision, and proprioception in human and mouse. Up to now, the neurotoxicity caused by ESK at environmental level in fish is still unclear. This work studied the effects of ESK on behaviors and transcriptions of genes in dopamine and GABA pathways in zebrafish larvae at ranging from 12.4 ng L- 1 to 11141.1 ng L- 1 for 7 days post fertilization (dpf). The results showed that ESK at 12.4 ng L- 1 significantly reduced the touch response of the larvae at 48 hpf. ESK at 12.4 ng L- 1 also reduced the time and distance of larvae swimming at the outer zone during light period, which implied that ESK might potentially decrease the anxiety level of larvae. In addition, ESK increased the transcription of th, ddc, drd1a, drd3 and drd4a in dopamine pathway. Similarly, ESK raised the transcription of slc6a1b, slc6a13 and slc12a2 in GABA pathway. This study suggested that ESK could affect the heart rate and behaviors accompanying with transcriptional alterations of genes in DA and GABA pathways at early-staged zebrafish, which resulted in neurotoxicity in zebrafish larvae.