Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 attenuates oxidative stress and VSMC proliferation via the JAK2/STAT3/SOCS3 and profilin-1/MAPK signaling pathways.

Angiotensin (Ang) II plays a vital role in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) growth and proliferation. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a specific Ang II-degrading enzyme but its role in VSMC proliferation remains largely unknown. We hypothesized that ACE2 might suppress Ang II-mediated oxidative stress and VSMC proliferation. Human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells (HUASMCs) were pretreated with Ang II (100nM) for 6h and 24h, respectively. Exposure to Ang II resulted in significant increases in suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) expression and phosphorylation levels of JAK2, STAT3 and ERK1/2 linked with elevated superoxide production and cell proliferation in HUASMCs. These changes were strikingly prevented by administration of ERK1/2 inhibitor PD98059 (10µM) and JAK/STAT inhibitor WP1066 (5 µM) but were largely aggravated by ACE2 inhibitor DX600 (0.5 µM). More importantly, treatment with human recombinant ACE2 (hrACE2; 1mg/ml) dramatically prevented Ang II-mediated SOCS3 expression and the JAK2-STAT3 and ERK1/2 signaling, and resulted in attenuation of superoxide production and cell proliferation in HUASMCs. Intriguingly, downregulation of profilin-1 with profilin-1 siRNA (50 nM) was able to abolish Ang II-induced upregulations of profilin-1 expression, ERK1/2 phosphorylation and superoxide production with attenuation of VSMC proliferation. In conclusion, treatment with hrACE2 prevents Ang II-mediated activation of the JAK2/STAT3/SOCS3 and profilin-1/MAPK signaling pathways, contributing to attenuation of superoxide generation and cell proliferation in HUASMCs, suggesting a protective mechanism of ACE2 against Ang II-mediated oxidative stress and VSMC proliferation. ACE2 may represent a potential candidate to prevent and treat vascular disorders.

A gold nanoparticle-based immunochromatographic assay: the influence of nanoparticulate size.

Four different sized gold nanoparticles (14 nm, 16 nm, 35 nm and 38 nm) were prepared to conjugate an antibody for a gold nanoparticle-based immunochromatographic assay which has many applications in both basic research and clinical diagnosis. This study focuses on the conjugation efficiency of the antibody with different sized gold nanoparticles. The effect of factors such as pH value and concentration of antibody has been quantificationally discussed using spectra methods after adding 1 wt% NaCl which induced gold nanoparticle aggregation. It was found that different sized gold nanoparticles had different conjugation efficiencies under different pH values and concentrations of antibody. Among the four sized gold nanoparticles, the 16 nm gold nanoparticles have the minimum requirement for antibody concentrations to avoid aggregation comparing to other sized gold nanoparticles but are less sensitive for detecting the real sample compared to the 38 nm gold nanoparticles. Consequently, different sized gold nanoparticles should be labeled with antibody under optimal pH value and optimal concentrations of antibody. It will be helpful for the application of antibody-labeled gold nanoparticles in the fields of clinic diagnosis, environmental analysis and so on in future.

Telmisartan attenuates aortic hypertrophy in hypertensive rats by the modulation of ACE2 and profilin-1 expression.

Profilin-1 has recently been linked to vascular hypertrophy and remodeling. Here, we assessed the hypothesis that angiotensin (Ang) II type I receptor antagonist telmisartan improves vascular hypertrophy by modulation of expression of profilin-1 and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Ten-week-old male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were received oral administration of telmisartan (5 or 10mg/kg; daily) or saline for 10 weeks. Compared with Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats, there were marked increases in systolic blood pressure and profilin-1 expression and reduced ACE2 and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) levels in aorta of SHR, associated with elevated extracellular-signal regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) phosphorylation signaling and aortic hypertrophy characterized with increased media thickness, which were strikingly reversed by telmisartan. In cultured human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells (HUASMCs), Ang II induced a dose-dependent increase in profilin-1 expression, along with decreased ACE2 protein expression and elevated ERK1/2 and JNK phosphorylation. In addition, blockade of ERK1/2 or JNK by either specific inhibitor was able to abolish Ang II-induced ACE2 downregulation and profilin-1 upregulation in HUASMCs. Importantly, treatment with telmisartan (1 or 10 µM) or recombinant human ACE2 (2mg/ml) largely ameliorated Ang II-induced profilin-1 expression and ERK1/2 and JNK phosphorylation and augmented PPARγ expression in the cultured HUASMCs. In conclusion, telmisartan treatment attenuates vascular hypertrophy in SHR by the modulation of ACE2 and profilin-1 expression with a marked reversal of ERK1/2 and JNK phosphorylation signaling pathways.

Structure and haemocompatibility of ZnO films deposited by radio frequency sputtering.

ZnO films were first deposited on silicon and glass substrates using radio frequency sputtering and then annealed in air at different temperatures from 300 to 700 degrees C. The microstructures, surface energy and optical properties of ZnO films were examined by x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, contact angle test and UV-visible optical absorption spectroscopy, respectively. Results show that a perfectly oriented ZnO (0 0 2) thin film is obtained in all ZnO samples. Raman spectroscopy, in combination with those derived by UV-visible optical absorption spectroscopy, provides us with an accurate description of ZnO nature, revealing that, after annealing, ZnO films exhibit better crystallinity and narrower optical energy gap. The contact angle test denotes that the adhesive work and polar component of the surface energy of ZnO films increase steadily with the annealing temperature, which leads to more active interaction between annealed ZnO films and blood plasma. The platelet adhesion experiment shows that there are fewer platelets adhered to the surface of ZnO films compared to the polyurethane (PU) used in clinical application, suggesting ZnO's better compatibility with blood. As the annealing temperature increases, the number of platelets adhered to ZnO films increases correspondingly, which we believe is due to the narrower optical energy gap. Therefore, the appropriate surface properties and the wide optical energy gap of ZnO thin films are believed to be the main factors responsible for the excellent haemocompatibility.