Silk fibroin promotes H3K9me3 expression and chromatin reorganization to regulate endothelial cell proliferation.

Silk fibroin (SF), which is extensively utilized in tissue engineering and vascular grafts for enhancing vascular regeneration, has not been thoroughly investigated for its epigenetic effects on endothelial cells (EC). This study employed RNA sequencing analysis to evaluate the activation of histone modification regulatory genes in EC treated with SF. Subsequent investigations revealed elevated H3K9me3 levels in SF-treated EC, as evidenced by immunofluorescence and western blot analysis. The study utilized H2B-eGFP endothelial cells to demonstrate that SF treatment results in the accumulation of H2B-marked chromatin in the nuclear inner cavities of EC. Inhibition of H3K9me3 levels by a histone deacetylase inhibitor TSA decreased cell proliferation. Furthermore, the activation of the MAPK signaling pathway using chromium picolinate decreased the proliferative activity and H3K9me3 level in SF-treated EC. SF also appeared to enhance cell growth and proliferation by modulating the H3K9me3 level and reorganizing chromatin, particularly after oxidative stress induced by H2O2 treatment. In summary, these findings indicate that SF promotes EC proliferation by increasing the H3K9me3 level even under stress conditions.

Iron-catalyzed domino decarboxylation-oxidation of α,ß-unsaturated carboxylic acids enabled aldehyde C-H methylation.

A practical and general iron-catalyzed domino decarboxylation-oxidation of α,ß-unsaturated carboxylic acids enabling aldehyde C-H methylation for the synthesis of methyl ketones has been developed. This mild, operationally simple method uses ambient air as the sole oxidant and tolerates sensitive functional groups for the late-stage functionalization of complex natural-product-derived and polyfunctionalized molecules.

Iron-catalyzed oxidative C-C(vinyl) σ-bond cleavage of allylarenes to aryl aldehydes at room temperature with ambient air.

A general and selective iron-catalyzed allylic C-C(vinyl) σ-bond cleavage of allylarenes without the assistance of heteroatoms to give aryl aldehydes is reported. The unstrained carbon-carbon single bond cleavage reaction uses ambient air as the sole oxidant, proceeds efficiently at room temperature, and allows for exceptional functional-group tolerance, which addresses the long-standing challenges of current C-C bond cleavage/functionalization. Notably, the method enables rapid late-stage oxidation of complex bioactive molecules and can be used to expedite syntheses of natural products (vanillin and glucovanillin) from readily available chemical feedstocks.