Carrier-free self-assembled nanoparticles based on prochloraz and fenhexamid for reducing toxicity to aquatic organism.

Nanoformulations of pesticides are an effective way to increase utilization efficiency and alleviate the adverse impacts on the environments caused by conventional pesticide formulations. However, the complex preparation process, high cost, and potential environmental risk of nanocarriers severely restricted practical applications of carrier-based pesticide nanoformulations in agriculture. Herein, carrier-free self-assembled nanoparticles (FHA-PRO NPs) based on fenhexamid (FHA) and prochloraz (PRO) were developed by a facile co-assembly strategy to improve utilization efficiency and reduce toxicity to aquatic organism of pesticides. The results showed that noncovalent interactions between negatively charged FHA and positively charged PRO led to core-shell structured nanoparticles arranged in an orderly manner dispersing in aqueous solution with a diameter of 256 nm. The prepared FHA-PRO NPs showed a typical pH-responsive release profile and exhibited excellent physicochemical properties including low surface tension and high max retention. The photostability of FHA-PRO NPs was improved 2.4 times compared with free PRO. The FHA-PRO NPs displayed superior fungicidal activity against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea and longer duration against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on potted rapeseed plants. Additionally, the FHA-PRO NPs reduced the acute toxicity of PRO to zebrafish significantly. Therefore, this work provided a promising strategy to develop nanoformulations of pesticides with stimuli-responsive controlled release characteristics for precise pesticide delivery.

The effect of gender on clinical outcomes following routine revascularizations with polymer-free sirolimus-eluting stents.

BACKGROUND: Gender-specific outcomes after percutaneous coronary interventions were studied by a number of research groups with different endpoints and cohorts of different ethnic extractions. The purpose of this report is to use propensity score matching to determine gender-specific differences in clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary interventions with polymer-free sirolimus-coated stents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The basis for this post hoc analysis was two large all-comers studies with prospectively enrolled patients from Europe and Asia. Data were pooled and analyzed in terms of clinical outcomes to assess the impact of gender in patients with stable coronary artery disease and acute coronary syndrome. The primary endpoint was the accumulated target-lesion revascularization rate whereas secondary endpoints consisted of the event rates for major adverse cardiac events (MACE), myocardial infarction, bleeding events and death from all causes. The purpose of these post hoc analyses was to detect potential differences in clinical outcomes between females and males in unselected and propensity-score-matched cohorts. RESULTS: Overall, in the unmatched cohorts, accumulated target-lesion revascularization rates did not differ between both genders (2.7% vs. 2.0%; P = 0.101), however, accumulated MACE rates were higher in females than in males (5.2% vs. 3.9%; P = 0.020). After propensity-score-matching, primarily adjusting for age, hypertension and diabetes, our data revealed similar accumulated MACE in women and men (5.5% vs. 5.2%; P = 0.749). In the unmatched STEMI subgroup, all-cause mortality was significantly higher in females driven by older age ( P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In the propensity-score-matched real-world cohorts, female gender was not a predictor for increased rates of accumulated MACE. In the unmatched STEMI subgroup, all-cause mortality was significantly higher in females due to older age. Age seems to be the determining factor for increased clinical event rates and not gender.

Fabrication of Enzyme-Responsive Prodrug Self-Assembly Based on Fluazinam for Reducing Toxicity to Aquatic Organisms.

Prodrug-based nanodrug delivery systems were drug formulations by covalently conjugating drugs with inversely polar groups via a cleavable bond to self-assemble into nanoparticles for efficient drug delivery. To improve the utilization efficiency of fluazinam (FZN), enzyme-responsive prodrugs were prepared by conjugating FZN with different alkyl aliphatic acids through a nucleophilic substitution reaction and subsequently self-assembled into nanoparticles (FZNP NPs) without using any harmful adjuvant. The obtained FZNP NPs exhibited excellent efficacies against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum as a result of improved physicochemical properties, including low surface tension, high retention, and enhanced photostability. The LC50 values of FZNP NPs toward zebrafish were 3-8 times that of FZN, which illustrated that the FZNP NPs reduced the detriments of FZN to the aquatic organisms while retaining good biological activity. Therefore, prodrug self-assembly technology would offer a potential method for improving the utilization efficiency of pesticides and lowering the risks to the ecological environment.

A high adhesion co-assembly based on myclobutanil and tannic acid for sustainable plant disease management.

BACKGROUND: Pesticides are irreplaceable inputs for protecting crops from pests and improving crop yield and quality. Self-assembly nanotechnology is a promising strategy by which to develop novel nano-formulations for pesticides. Nano-formulations improve the effective utilization of pesticides and reduce risks to the environment because of their eco-friendly preparation, high drug loading, and desirable physicochemical properties. Here, to enhance the utilization efficiency of myclobutanil (MYC) and develop a novel nano-formulation, carrier-free co-assembled nanoparticles (MT NPs) based on MYC and tannic acid (TA) were prepared by noncovalent molecular interactions using a green preparation process without any additives. RESULTS: The results showed that the prepared spherical nanoparticles had good stability in neutral and acidic aqueous solutions, low surface tension (40.53 mN m-1 ), high rainfastness, and good maximum retention values on plant leaves. Release of active ingredients from MT NPs could be regulated by altering the molar ratio of subassemblies in the co-assembly and the pH of the environment. Antifungal experiments demonstrated that MT NPs had better activities against Alternaria alternata and Fusarium graminearum [half-maximal effective concentration (EC50 ) = 6.40 and 77.08 mg/L] compared with free MYC (EC50 = 11.46 and 124.82 mg/L), TA (EC50 = 251.19 and 503.81 mg/L), and an MYC + TA mixture (EC50 = 9.62 and 136.21 mg/L). These results suggested that MYC and TA incorporated in the co-assembled nanoparticles had a synergistic antifungal activity. The results of a genotoxicity assessment indicated that MT NPs could reduce the genotoxicity of MYC to plant cells. CONCLUSION: Co-assembled MT NPs with synergistic antifungal activity have outstanding potential for the management of plant diseases. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Stable Fluorescent Nanoparticles Based on Co-assembly of Acifluorfen and Poly(salicylic acid) for Enhancing Herbicidal Activity and Reducing Environmental Risks.

Herbicides are widely used in modern agricultural production for their advantages of high efficiency, convenience, and speed. However, there have been many problems caused by herbicide formulations, such as volatilization, leaching, and rain-washing loss in the process of agricultural application. Self-assembled nanotechnology is a promising strategy to solve these existing problems due to the environmentally friendly preparation process and high delivery efficiency. In this study, the stable fluorescent nanoparticles (AP NPs) based on co-assembly of acifluorfen (ACI) and poly(salicylic acid) (PSA) are constructed by using non-covalent bond interactions. The results indicate that the obtained nanoparticles with a stable fluorescence characteristic show improved physiochemical properties, such as uniform morphology, good thermal stability, low surface tension, and high retention on plants. The co-assembly can produce singlet oxygen to enhance the herbicidal activity under irradiation of light and reduce the leaching property of ACI to minimize the adverse impact on the aquatic environment. The safety evaluation of soybean seedlings indicates that AP NPs have no damage to non-target plants. In summary, the co-assembled herbicidal nano-formulation composed of ACI and PSA has high bioactivity and low environmental risks, which can be widely used in agricultural production.

Self-Assembled Nanoparticles of a Prodrug Conjugate Based on Pyrimethanil for Efficient Plant Disease Management.

Self-assembled nanotechnology is a promising strategy for improving the effective utilization of pesticides due to its distinct advantages. Herein, an amide-bonded prodrug conjugate based on pyrimethanil (PYR) and butyric acid (BA) was successfully synthesized by the nucleophilic substitution reaction and subsequently self-assembled into spherical nanoparticles (PB NPs) with an average size of 85 nm through the solvent exchange method without using any toxic adjuvant. The results showed that PB NPs based on PYR and BA had a synergistic antimicrobial activity against S. sclerotiorum on plant leaves due to good photostability, low volatilization, good surface activity, and improved retention. Additionally, PB NPs could be used by plant cells as nutrients to promote the growth of plants and thus reduced the toxicity of PYR to plant. Therefore, this prodrug conjugate self-assembly nanotechnology would provide a promising strategy for improving the effective utilization rates of pesticides and reducing their toxicities to plants.

Surface modification of nucleopolyhedrovirus with polydopamine to improve its properties.

BACKGROUND: Baculoviruses have been developed as promising biopesticides to control pests due to their high host specificity and virulence, and nontoxicity to humans and nontarget animals. However, their sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) radiation and instability in the natural environment are major constraints to its large-scale application. In this study, polydopamine-nucleopolyhedrovirus microcapsules were established to improve the instability of baculoviruses in sunlight. RESULTS: The optimal conditions for the preparation of polydopamine-nucleopolyhedrovirus microcapsules were as follows:  Spodoptera exigua nucleopolyhedrovirus (SeMNPV)concentration of 2 × 108 polyhedral inclusion body（PIB） mL-1 , reaction time of 6 h, and pH of 9.0. The particle size of the obtained microcapsules was about 1 µm. The microencapsulated baculovirus improved its thermal stability and wettability, and enhanced its insecticidal activity against Spodoptera exigua. Moreover, under the same UV treatment, the insecticidal effect against S. exigua larvae of microencapsulated baculovirus was only reduced by 8.89%, whereas that of the nonmicroencapsulated baculovirus was reduced by 27.27%. CONCLUSION: Polydopamine-nucleopolyhedrovirus microcapsules provided better UV resistance and preparation stability compared with unmodified SeMNPV, and demonstrate an idea for the development of a baculovirus-based stabilized product. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Designed CXCR4 mimic acts as a soluble chemokine receptor that blocks atherogenic inflammation by agonist-specific targeting.

Targeting a specific chemokine/receptor axis in atherosclerosis remains challenging. Soluble receptor-based strategies are not established for chemokine receptors due to their discontinuous architecture. Macrophage migration-inhibitory factor (MIF) is an atypical chemokine that promotes atherosclerosis through CXC-motif chemokine receptor-4 (CXCR4). However, CXCR4/CXCL12 interactions also mediate atheroprotection. Here, we show that constrained 31-residue-peptides ('msR4Ms') designed to mimic the CXCR4-binding site to MIF, selectively bind MIF with nanomolar affinity and block MIF/CXCR4 without affecting CXCL12/CXCR4. We identify msR4M-L1, which blocks MIF- but not CXCL12-elicited CXCR4 vascular cell activities. Its potency compares well with established MIF inhibitors, whereas msR4M-L1 does not interfere with cardioprotective MIF/CD74 signaling. In vivo-administered msR4M-L1 enriches in atherosclerotic plaques, blocks arterial leukocyte adhesion, and inhibits atherosclerosis and inflammation in hyperlipidemic Apoe-/- mice in vivo. Finally, msR4M-L1 binds to MIF in plaques from human carotid-endarterectomy specimens. Together, we establish an engineered GPCR-ectodomain-based mimicry principle that differentiates between disease-exacerbating and -protective pathways and chemokine-selectively interferes with atherosclerosis.

Histone Deacetylase 9 Activates IKK to Regulate Atherosclerotic Plaque Vulnerability.

RATIONALE: Arterial inflammation manifested as atherosclerosis is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Genome-wide association studies have identified a prominent role of HDAC (histone deacetylase)-9 in atherosclerosis and its clinical complications including stroke and myocardial infarction. OBJECTIVE: To determine the mechanisms linking HDAC9 to these vascular pathologies and explore its therapeutic potential for atheroprotection. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied the effects of Hdac9 on features of plaque vulnerability using bone marrow reconstitution experiments and pharmacological targeting with a small molecule inhibitor in hyperlipidemic mice. We further used 2-photon and intravital microscopy to study endothelial activation and leukocyte-endothelial interactions. We show that hematopoietic Hdac9 deficiency reduces lesional macrophage content while increasing fibrous cap thickness thus conferring plaque stability. We demonstrate that HDAC9 binds to IKK (inhibitory kappa B kinase)-α and ß, resulting in their deacetylation and subsequent activation, which drives inflammatory responses in both macrophages and endothelial cells. Pharmacological inhibition of HDAC9 with the class IIa HDAC inhibitor TMP195 attenuates lesion formation by reducing endothelial activation and leukocyte recruitment along with limiting proinflammatory responses in macrophages. Transcriptional profiling using RNA sequencing revealed that TMP195 downregulates key inflammatory pathways consistent with inhibitory effects on IKKß. TMP195 mitigates the progression of established lesions and inhibits the infiltration of inflammatory cells. Moreover, TMP195 diminishes features of plaque vulnerability and thereby enhances plaque stability in advanced lesions. Ex vivo treatment of monocytes from patients with established atherosclerosis reduced the production of inflammatory cytokines including IL (interleukin)-1ß and IL-6. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings identify HDAC9 as a regulator of atherosclerotic plaque stability and IKK activation thus providing a mechanistic explanation for the prominence of HDAC9 as a vascular risk locus in genome-wide association studies. Its therapeutic inhibition may provide a potent lever to alleviate vascular inflammation. Graphical Abstract: A graphical abstract is available for this article.

Compartment-resolved Proteomic Analysis of Mouse Aorta during Atherosclerotic Plaque Formation Reveals Osteoclast-specific Protein Expression.

Atherosclerosis leads to vascular lesions that involve major rearrangements of the vascular proteome, especially of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Using single aortas from ApoE knock out mice, we quantified formation of plaques by single-run, high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics. To probe localization on a proteome-wide scale we employed quantitative detergent solubility profiling. This compartment- and time-resolved resource of atherogenesis comprised 5117 proteins, 182 of which changed their expression status in response to vessel maturation and atherosclerotic plaque development. In the insoluble ECM proteome, 65 proteins significantly changed, including relevant collagens, matrix metalloproteinases and macrophage derived proteins. Among novel factors in atherosclerosis, we identified matrilin-2, the collagen IV crosslinking enzyme peroxidasin as well as the poorly characterized MAM-domain containing 2 (Mamdc2) protein as being up-regulated in the ECM during atherogenesis. Intriguingly, three subunits of the osteoclast specific V-ATPase complex were strongly increased in mature plaques with an enrichment in macrophages thus implying an active de-mineralization function.

Overexpression of STRA8, BOULE, and DAZL Genes Promotes Goat Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells In Vitro Transdifferentiation Toward Putative Male Germ Cells.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), which are well characterized and widely utilized adult stem cells, encompass the capacity to commit to a variety of cell types. This study was conducted to develop an effective way to induce goat BMSCs (gBMSCs) to transdifferentiate toward putative male germ cells by overexpressing STRA8 (stimulated by RA-8), BOULE (also called BOLL), and DAZL (deleted in azoospermia-like). First, we found that the expression levels of these 3 genes gradually increased during development of the goat testis from 10 days postnatal to 8 months old. Therefore, we hypothesized that overexpressing these genes might contribute to the transdifferentiation of gBMSCs toward germ cells. We then overexpressed, separately and in combination, STRA8, BOULE, and DAZL in gBMSCs. Our results showed that a small population of transfected gBMSCs transdifferentiated into early goat germ cell-like cells and that these cells expressed primordial germ cell specification genes STELLA (also known as DPPA3, developmental pluripotency associated 3) and C-KIT (tyrosine kinase receptor) as well as premeiotic genes MVH (mouse vasa homolog), DAZL, BOULE, STRA8, PIWIL2 (piwi-like RNA-mediated gene silencing 2), and RNF17 (ring finger protein 17). Importantly, results from quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, immunofluorescence, and Western blot analysis showed that the meiotic marker synaptonemal complex protein 3 (SCP3) significantly increased in transfected cells compared to untransfected control cells ( P < .05). Additionally, the co-overexpression group cells had the highest SCP3 messenger RNA and protein expression levels, which indicated that 3-gene co-overexpression had the highest potential to transdifferentiate gBMSCs to germ cells. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the overexpression of STRA8, BOULE, and DAZL was able to promote the transdifferentiation of gBMSCs to early goat germ cell-like cells in vitro, which probably enhanced maturation and progression through meiosis. This approach would be important to generating gametes for future basic science as well as for potential clinical applications.

Age-associated and tissue-specific expression of osteopontin in male Hu sheep reproductive tract.

Osteopontin (OPN) is indispensable in mammalian reproduction, but the role of OPN in male reproductive tract and fertility remains unclear. The objective of this study is to elucidate the function of OPN by unveiling the localization and expression of OPN in the reproductive tract (testis, epididymis, and ductus deferens) of male Hu sheep in different ages (10-days, 4-months, and 8-months). To accomplish this, the localization, mRNA and protein expression patterns of OPN in all samples were investigated. Immune staining showed that OPN was present in the testicular interstitium of prepubertal Hu sheep testis (10-days and 4-months group), while it was immunostained in acrosomes of spermatids nearby adluminal compartment of seminiferous tubules in sexual maturity Hu sheep testis (8-months group). The localization of OPN in epididymis gradually changed from the loose connective tissue to the apical region of principal cells (pseudostratified columnar epithelium) with growing (10-days to 8-months). In addition, increase trend was observed in the mRNA expression levels of OPN with growing in the same reproductive tissues (P<0.05). Furthermore, two different OPN isoforms of 30kDa and 34kDa were detected in the reproductive tract of male Hu sheep by western blot. Immunofluorescence detection showed that OPN was localized in the cauda epididymal spermatozoa. These results suggested that the expression of OPN might be closely related to spermatogenesis and spermatozoa function in Hu sheep. This will be helpful for us to understand how OPN regulate the high reproductive capacity in Hu sheep.

[Construction of goat germ cell specific reporting system pVASA-EGFP].

To monitor the trans-differentiation from adult stem cells to germ cells, we analyzed the vasa expression of goat testicular tissues in different ages and constructed the germ cell specific reporting vector pVASA-EGFP. The expression of vasa was verified by RT-PCR and immunofluorescence. The vector pVASA-EGFP was constructed by molecular technology, then transfected into goat bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) by Lipofectamine 2000. Moreover, we observed the expression of the vector through green fluorescent protein (GFP). Immunofluorescence results show that Vasa was expressed in all groups of goat testicular tissues, RT-PCR results show that the levels of vasa mRNA in 3-month group and 10-month group were significantly higher than that in 10-day group. Sequencing and restriction enzyme results show that the vector was successfully constructed. After transfection and RA treatment, GFP expression was observed, which proved the validity of our reporting system. All the results proved that vasa was expressed in different ages in goat testicular tissues, and the vector pVASA-EGFP is efficient in monitoring the trans-differentiation in vitro, which paves the way for further characterization and screening of the trans-differentiation of goat BMSCs.

Ectopic expression of DAZL gene in goat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells enhances the trans-differentiation to putative germ cells compared to the exogenous treatment of retinoic acid or bone morphogenetic protein 4 signalling molecules.

The plasticity of human and murine bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) has been proven by their ability to trans-differentiate to multilineage cells, including germ cells. We have investigated ability of goat BMSCs to trans-differentiate to germ cells with extrinsic (e.g., retinoic acid [RA] and BMP4 signalling molecules) and intrinsic factor expression (e.g., DAZL gene ectopic expression). Having optimized the concentration of RA and BMP4, gBMSCs were treated with RA 1 µM) and BMP4 (25 ng/mL), individually and collectively. Both RA and BMP4 induced OCT4, MVH, DAZL, STELLA, NANOG and C-KIT expression, but RNF17, PIWIL2, STRA8, and SCP3 were only expressed after RA treatment. In terms of an endogenous factor, a germ cell specific gene, deleted in Azoospermia-like (DAZL), was overexpressed by plasmid and mRNA techniques. Compared with the RA treated group, DAZL ectopic expression upregulated the transcription and translation of MVH, and SCP3 was also increased at the mRNA level. The mRNA-based method had more effect on the germ cells gene expression compared to the plasmid method. Ectopic expression of the DAZL gene enhanced trans-differentiation compared to the RA-treated group. Knockdown experiments confirmed the pivotal role of DAZL in germ cell differentiation. This study provides further information on the mechanisms underlying the spermatogenesis, which will guide the derivation of post-meiotic germ cells from adult stem cells in vitro.

[Reprogramming mechanism and genetic stability of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)].

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were reprogrammed from somatic cells using specific transcription factors. Bypassing the ethical issue caused by embryonic stem cells (ESCs), iPSCs can be successfully induced from a variety of cells, which makes iPSCs a powerful research tool for developmental biology. iPSCs have also become indispensable to the research of life science due to their broad potential applications. However, it's a big challenge to obtain iPSCs with high quality and genetic stability. Here, we review the research progress of increasing the reprogramming mechanism and genetic stability of iPSCs in order to provide references of reprogramming efficiency of iPSCs, reducing the cost, and addressing key points of iPSCs quality control, further promoting clinical application of the iPSCs.