HOTAIR/miR-1277-5p/FBN2 signaling axis is involved in recurrent spontaneous abortion by regulating the growth, migration, and invasion of HTR-8/SVneo cells†.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the specific pathways by which HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA contributes to the pathogenesis of unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion. METHODS: Real-time quantitative PCR was employed to assess the differential expression levels of HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA in chorionic villi tissues from unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion patients and women with voluntarily terminated pregnancies. HTR-8/SVneo served as a cellular model. Knockdown and overexpression of HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA in the cells were achieved through siRNA transfection and pcDNA3.1 transfection, respectively. Cell viability, migration, and invasion were evaluated using cell counting kit-8, scratch, and Transwell assays, respectively. The interaction among the HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA /miR-1277-5p/fibrillin 2 axis was predicted through bioinformatics analysis and confirmed through in vitro experiments. Furthermore, the regulatory effects of the HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA /miR-1277-5p/fibrillin 2 signaling axis on cellular behaviors were validated in HTR-8/SVneo cells. RESULTS: We found that HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA was downregulated in chorionic villi tissues from unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion patients. Overexpression of HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA significantly enhanced the viability, migration, and invasion of HTR-8/SVneo cells, while knockdown of HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA had the opposite effects. We further confirmed the regulatory effect of the HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA /miR-1277-5p/fibrillin 2 signaling axis in unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion. Specifically, HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA and fibrillin 2 were found to reduce the risk of unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion by enhancing cell viability, migration, and invasion, whereas miR-1277-5p exerted the opposite effects. CONCLUSION: HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA promotes unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion development by targeting inhibition of miR-1277-5p/fibrillin 2 axis.

Mesoporous MgO enriched in Lewis base sites as effective catalysts for efficient CO2 capture.

Capturing CO2 has become increasingly important. However, wide industrial applications of conventional CO2 capture technologies are limited by their slow CO2 sorption and desorption kinetics. Accordingly, this research is designed to overcome the challenge by synthesizing mesoporous MgO nanoparticles (MgO-NPs) with a new method that uses PEG 1500 as a soft template. MgO surface structure is nonstoichiometric due to its distinctive shape; the abundant Lewis base sites provided by oxygen vacancies promote CO2 capture. Adding 2 wt % MgO-NPs to 20 wt % monoethanolamine (MEA) can increase the breakthrough time (the time with 90% CO2 capturing efficiency) by ∼3000% and can increase the CO2 absorption capacity within the breakthrough time by ∼3660%. The data suggest that MgO-NPs can accelerate the rate and increase CO2 desorption capacity by up to ∼8740% and ∼2290% at 90 °C, respectively. Also, the excellent stability of the system within 50 cycles is verified. These findings demonstrate a new strategy to innovate MEA absorbents currently widely used in commercial post-combustion CO2 capture plants.

[EMmim][NTf2 ]-a Novel Ionic Liquid (IL) in Catalytic CO2 Capture and ILs' Applications.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have been used for carbon dioxide (CO2 ) capture, however, which have never been used as catalysts to accelerate CO2 capture. The record is broken by a uniquely designed IL, [EMmim][NTf2 ]. The IL can universally catalyze both CO2 sorption and desorption of all the chemisorption-based technologies. As demonstrated in monoethanolamine (MEA) based CO2 capture, even with the addition of only 2000 ppm IL catalyst, the rate of CO2 desorption-the key to reducing the overall CO2 capture energy consumption or breaking the bottleneck of the state-of-the-art technologies and Paris Agreement implementation-can be increased by 791% at 85 °C, which makes use of low-temperature waste heat and avoids secondary pollution during CO2 capture feasible. Furthermore, the catalytic CO2 capture mechanism is experimentally and theoretically revealed.

Chemical looping based ammonia production-A promising pathway for production of the noncarbon fuel.

Ammonia, primarily made with Haber-Bosch process developed in 1909 and winning two Nobel prizes, is a promising noncarbon fuel for preventing global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. However, the undesired characteristics of the process, including high carbon footprint, necessitate alternative ammonia synthesis methods, and among them is chemical looping ammonia production (CLAP) that uses nitrogen carrier materials and operates at atmospheric pressure with high product selectivity and energy efficiency. To date, neither a systematic review nor a perspective in nitrogen carriers and CLAP has been reported in the critical area. Thus, this work not only assesses the previous results of CLAP but also provides perspectives towards the future of CLAP. It classifies, characterizes, and holistically analyzes the fundamentally different CLAP pathways and discusses the ways of further improving the CLAP performance with the assistance of plasma technology and artificial intelligence (AI).

KIT ligand produced by limbal niche cells under control of SOX10 maintains limbal epithelial stem cell survival by activating the KIT/AKT signalling pathway.

Homeostasis and function of limbal epithelial stem cells (LESCs) rely on the limbal niche, which, if dysfunctional, leads to limbal epithelial stem cell deficiency (LSCD) and impaired vision. Hence, recovery of niche function is a principal therapeutic goal in LSCD, but the molecular mechanisms of limbal niche homeostasis are still largely unknown. Here, we report that the neural crest transcription factor SOX10, which is expressed in neural crest-derived limbal niche cells (LNCs), is required for LNCs to promote survival of LESCs both in vivo and in vitro. In fact, using mice with a Sox10 mutation and in vitro coculture experiments, we show that SOX10 in LNCs stimulates the production of KIT ligand (KITL), which in turn activates in LESCs the KIT-AKT signalling pathway that protects the cells against activated CASPASE 3-associated cell death. These results suggest that SOX10 and the KITL/KIT-AKT pathway play key roles in limbal niche homeostasis and LESC survival. These findings provide molecular insights into limbal niche function and may point to rational approaches for therapeutic interventions in LSCD.

Thermodynamics of NaHCO3 decomposition during Na2CO3-based CO2 capture.

Amine-basedcarbon-capture technologies have been shown to be energetically expensive and to cause significant environmental and epidemiological impacts due to their volatility. Bicarbonate formation from carbon dioxide's reaction with water has been suggested as an effective alternative for capturing CO2; however, the thermodynamics of this reaction are not well understood. This study experimentally determined the equilibrium constant of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) decomposition to sodium, water, and carbon dioxide; the study also compared the equilibrium constant to theoretical calculations. Using a combination of experimentation and thermodynamic relationships, the unitless equilibrium constants of the forward and reverse reactions were calculated accurately (error <±9% and <±4%, respectively). Equilibrium data were calculated using enthalpy and entropy values of each component of NaHCO3 decomposition at temperatures ranging from 25 to 155°C respectively. These results offer more data essential to optimizing NaHCO3 use in environmentally friendly next-generation CO2-capture technologies.

Catalyst-TiO(OH)2 could drastically reduce the energy consumption of CO2 capture.

Implementing Paris Climate Accord is inhibited by the high energy consumption of the state-of-the-art CO2 capture technologies due to the notoriously slow kinetics in CO2 desorption step of CO2 capture. To address the challenge, here we report that nanostructured TiO(OH)2 as a catalyst is capable of drastically increasing the rates of CO2 desorption from spent monoethanolamine (MEA) by over 4500%. This discovery makes CO2 capture successful at much lower temperatures, which not only dramatically reduces energy consumption but also amine losses and prevents emission of carcinogenic amine-decomposition byproducts. The catalytic effect of TiO(OH)2 is observed with Raman characterization. The stabilities of the catalyst and MEA are confirmed with 50 cyclic CO2 sorption and sorption. A possible mechanism is proposed for the TiO(OH)2-catalyzed CO2 capture. TiO(OH)2 could be a key to the future success of Paris Climat e Accord.

Lenalidomide improvement of cisplatin antitumor efficacy on triple-negative breast cancer cells in vitro.

Lenalidomide is an immunomodulatory drug and possesses anti-angiogenic and immunomodulatory activities against multiple myeloma. The present study assessed the in vitro effect of lenalidomide combined with cisplatin on MDA-MB-231, a triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line and explored the underlying molecular mechanism of this combination. Cell viability, apoptosis and the protein expression of phosphorylated (p) and total extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), caspase-3, cleaved poly-adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase (cPARP), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) were measured in MDA-MB-231 cells treated with different concentrations of lenalidomide, cisplatin and their combination using different biochemical assays. Lenalidomide demonstrated no significant effect on the cell viability of MDA-MB-231 cells, even at high concentrations, whereas lenalidomide in combination with cisplatin, significantly reduced cisplatin IC50 from 7.8 to 3.0 µM in MDA-MB-231 cells. In addition, lenalidomide and cisplatin in combination significantly induced cell apoptosis by 1.6- and 1.38-fold, respectively compared with lenalidomide and cisplatin alone (P<0.05). The expression levels of VEGF, bFGF and Bcl-2 proteins were significantly reduced (P<0.01), whereas caspase-3 and cleaved PARP expression were significantly increased in MDA-MB-231 cells treated with the combination compared to those treated with single agents (P<0.01). Lenalidomide treatment alone significantly reduced the p-ERK level compared with the control (P<0.05) and cisplatin treatment alone significantly increased it (P<0.01), however treatment with them in combination significantly reduced the p-ERK level in MDA-MB-231 cells compared with cisplatin treatment alone (P<0.05). In conclusion, the present study provides the basis for using lenalidomide in combination with cisplatin in TNBC therapy.

Fe2O3, a cost effective and environmentally friendly catalyst for the generation of NH3 - a future fuel - using a new Al2O3-looping based technology.

Fe2O3 is found to be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly catalyst for chemical looping generation of NH3 - a future fuel. The optimal Fe2O3 loading on nitrogen carriers, AIN, is 5 wt%. Fe2O3 can reduce the activation energy of the N-desorption step of AIN by 100 kJ mol-1 or ∼30%.

Maintenance of antiangiogenic and antitumor effects by orally active low-dose capecitabine for long-term cancer therapy.

Long-term uninterrupted therapy is essential for maximizing clinical benefits of antiangiogenic drugs (AADs) in cancer patients. Unfortunately, nearly all clinically available AADs are delivered to cancer patients using disrupted regimens. We aim to develop lifetime, nontoxic, effective, orally active, and low-cost antiangiogenic and antitumor drugs for treatment of cancer patients. Here we report our findings of long-term maintenance therapy with orally active, nontoxic, low cost antiangiogenic chemotherapeutics for effective cancer treatment. In a sequential treatment regimen, robust antiangiogenic effects in tumors were achieved with an anti-VEGF drug, followed by a low-dose chemotherapy. The nontoxic, low dose of the orally active prodrug capecitabine was able to sustain the anti-VEGF-induced vessel regression for long periods. In another experimental setting, maintenance of low-dose capecitabine produced greater antiangiogenic and antitumor effects after AAD plus chemotherapy. No obvious adverse effects were developed after more than 2-mo of consecutive treatment with a low dose of capecitabine. Together, our findings provide a rationalized concept of effective cancer therapy by long-term maintenance of AAD-triggered antiangiogenic effects with orally active, nontoxic, low-cost, clinically available chemotherapeutics.

Using chemo-drugs or irradiation to break immune tolerance and facilitate immunotherapy in solid cancer.

The immunity is dual host-protective and tumor-promoting in cancer development and progression. Many immune suppressive cells and cytokines in microenvironment can prevent cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and natural killer cells (NK) from killing tumor cells. Chemotherapy drugs and irradiation have been reported helpful in breaking immune tolerance and creating microenvironment for adoptive cell therapy. Low-dose cyclophosphamide or gemcitabine therapy can selectively deplete T regulatory cells (Treg). Paclitaxel can alter cytokine network at the tumor site, and 5-fluorouracil shows a pronounced effect on myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) depletion. Local tumor irradiation and total body irradiation (TBI) can also affect tumor microenvironment and facilitate immunotherapy. In this review, we summarize the particular effects of these agents and methods on immunomodulation, as well as their potential values in immunotherapy. The combination with immunotherapy represents a novel therapeutic strategy.

Review of the progress in preparing nano TiO2: an important environmental engineering material.

TiO2 nanomaterial is promising with its high potential and outstanding performance in photocatalytic environmental applications, such as CO2 conversion, water treatment, and air quality control. For many of these applications, the particle size, crystal structure and phase, porosity, and surface area influence the activity of TiO2 dramatically. TiO2 nanomaterials with special structures and morphologies, such as nanospheres, nanowires, nanotubes, nanorods, and nanoflowers are thus synthesized due to their desired characteristics. With an emphasis on the different morphologies of TiO2 and the influence factors in the synthesis, this review summarizes fourteen TiO2 preparation methods, such as the sol-gel method, solvothermal method, and reverse micelle method. The TiO2 formation mechanisms, the advantages and disadvantages of the preparation methods, and the photocatalytic environmental application examples are proposed as well.

[Efficacy of cryoablation combined with CpG oligonucleotides in the treatment of murine transplanted colon carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of cryoablation combined with CpG ODN in the treatment of murine transplanted colon carcinoma. METHODS: Colon carcinoma model was established by subcutaneously inoculating CT26 cells into the right flank in BALB/c mice. The tumor-bearing mice were randomly divided into 4 groups:the group of PBS injected in peritumoral area, the group of cryoablation, the group of cryoablation combined with CpG ODN, the group of CpG ODN injected in peritumoral area. The tumor size changes were measured. Serum levels of interleukin (IL)-12 and interferon-gamma(IFN-gamma) were assayed by ELISA. The rates of CD3(+)CD4(+)T, CD3(+)CD8(+)T lymphocytes in serum were counted with flow cytometry. Mice in the cryoablation group and the combined group with tumor regression were re-challenged with CT26 cells. RESULTS: The survival time of cryoablation group and combined therapy group were (80.3 + or - 5.4) days and (83.8 + or - 5.5) days, respectively, longer than (53.7 + or - 3.7) days in PBS group and (51.5 + or - 6.8) days in CpG ODN group(all P<0.05). The suppress rates of tumor cells in cryoablation group and combined therapy group were 83.8% and 86.2% respectively. After 20 days following treatment, CD3(+)CD4(+)T/CD3(+)CD8(+)T ratio and the concentrations of IL-12 and IFN-gamma in mice serum of cryoablation group and combined therapy group were higher than those in PBS group and CpG ODN group(all P<0.05). No significant difference was found in CD3(+)CD4(+)T/CD3(+)CD8(+)T ratio between cryoablation group and combined therapy group(P>0.05). However, the concentrations of IL-12 and IFN-gamma in combined therapy group were higher than those of cryoablation group(all P<0.05). After re-challenging, tumor formation rate in the cryoablation combined with CpG ODN group was 16.7%, significantly lower than that in the cryoablation group(83.8%)(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Cryoablation combined with CpG ODN can increase antitumor immune response in mice, and therefore can decrease the tumor formation when re-challenged with CT26 cells.

[Therapeutic and immunological effects of microwave ablation combined with CpG ODN on transplanted colon carcinoma in mice].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the therapeutic and immunological effects of microwave ablation (MA) combined with CpG ODN in mice bearing transplanted colon carcinoma. METHODS: A mouse model bearing colon carcinoma was established by subcutaneously inoculating CT26 cells into the right flank of Balb/c mice. The tumor-bearing mice were randomized into control group with PBS injection in the peritumoral area, MA group, MA combinated with CpG ODN group, and CpG ODN group with CpG ODN injection in the peritumoral area. The tumor volume changes were observed, and serum CD3(+)CD4(+) and CD3(+)CD8(+) T lmyphocytes were analyzed by flow cytometry after the treatments. Serum levels of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-12 and IFN-gamma were detected by ELISA. The mice in the MA group and the combined treatment group showing tumor regression were rechallenged with CT26 cells. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in the number of serum CD3(+), CD3(+)CD4(+), or CD3(+)CD8(+) T lymphocytes between the 4 groups. The ratio of CD3(+)CD4(+)/CD3(+)CD8(+) T lymphocytes in the combined treatment group and MA group were 1.58-/+0.10 and 1.53-/+0.13, respectively, significantly higher than that in PBS group and CpG ODN group (P<0.05). The serum concentration of IL-2, IL-12 and IFN-gamma in the combined treatment group were 64.6-/+7.4 pg/ml, 314.1-/+26.9 pg/ml and 61.9-/+7.3 pg/ml, respectively, significantly higher than those in the other 3 groups (P<0.05). The tumor formation rate in the combined treatment group was significantly lower than that in MA group (25.0% vs 75.0%, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: CpG ODN can enhance the immunity and decrease the tumor formation rate following a rechallenge with CT26 cells in mice treated with MA.