Matrine inhibits cell growth, migration, invasion and promotes autophagy in hepatocellular carcinoma by regulation of circ_0027345/miR-345-5p/HOXD3 axis.

BACKGROUND: Matrine has been reported to exert anti-tumor effects in multiple types of cancers containing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the anti-tumor molecular mechanisms of matrine in HCC is still not fully revealed. METHODS: Cell viability, apoptosis, cycle, migration and invasion were determined by Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), Flow cytometry and Transwell assays, respectively. Levels of all protein were analyzed by western blot analysis. The levels of circular RNA_0027345 (circ_0027345), microRNA-345-5p (miR-345-5p) and homeobox-containingD3 (HOXD3) were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The interaction between circ_0027345 and circ_0027345 was identified using dual-luciferase reporter assay. The mouse xenograft model was constructed to explore the effect of matrine on tumor growth in vivo. RESULTS: Matrine suppressed cell growth, migration and invasion, while promoted apoptosis and autophagy in HCC cells. Matrine down-regulated the levels of circ_0027345 and HOXD3, and up-regulated miR-345-5p expression. Besides, circ_0027345 overexpression could reverse the inhibitory effect of matrine on cell progression. As the target gene of circ_0027345, miR-345-5p elevation counteracted the promotion effect of circ_0027345 overexpression on development of HCC cells. Moreover, miR-345-5p knockdown could facilitate cell growth, migration, invasion and repress cell apoptosis and autophagy by targeting HOXD3. Meanwhile, matrine restrained tumor growth of HCC by regulating circ_0027345/miR-345-5p/HOXD3 axis in vivo. CONCLUSION: Matrine inhibited cell development and tumorigenesis in HCC by increasing miR-345-5p and decreasing circ_0027345 and HOXD3.

Biosynthesized of reduced graphene oxide nanosheets and its loading with paclitaxel for their anti cancer effect for treatment of lung cancer.

Multifunctional nanocarriers are in immediate need to develop anticancer activity for the treatment of cancers. In the present research, the graphene oxide was reduced via an efficient method which reduced to RGO by using Euphorbia milii leaves extract. Thus obtained RGO nanocomposites were subsequently characterized by means UV-Vis absorption technique. AFM imaging was further performed in order to analyze the surface morphology of GO nanosheet as well as to estimate the average thickness of the GO nanosheets before and after the addition of Euphorbia milii leaves extract. Furthermore, the anticancer effect of RGO-loaded PTX (RGO/PTX) on A549 (Human lung cancer cell lines) was evaluated by MTT assay. The results displayed that with the increase in the concentration of RGO/PTX to200 ??g/mL, the cell viability reduced to 29%. Even more increase in the concentration to 500 ??g/mL of RGO/PTX, the cell viability also showed rapid reduction to 10%. Based on this, we can conclude that the increased concentration of RGO/PTX decreased the cell viability of A549 cell lines tremendously and has the potential to serve in the lung carcinoma targeted chemotherapy.

Efficient up-conversion red emission from TiO2:Yb,Er nanocrystals.

Usually, up-conversion (UC) green emission is easily observed by using rare-earth doped fluoride nanocrystals. However, preferential red emission is desired for some actual applications especially in biological field. Here, we demonstrated that the dominant UC red emission can be realized by preparing TiO2:Yb,Er nanocrystals under 980 nm exciation. By controlling the crystal symmetry and size via the annealing temperature and Yb3+ ions concentration, the enhanced UC red emission is achieved. The multi-photon relaxation and cross-relaxation mechanisms may be responsible for the energy transform process and in turn the UC emission.

High-efficiency near-infrared emission from Bismuth-doped SiO0.73 thin films fabricated by ion implantation technology.

Over the past decade, the possibility of near-infrared light generation and amplification on chip has attracted great interest for future monolithic integrated optical components. In this Letter, we demonstrated a CMOS-compatible method to fabricate amorphous SiO0.73 thin films doped with Bi ions. It exhibited highly improved σ(em)×τ of up to 4.2×10(-23) cm2 s and greatly enhanced near-infrared characteristic emission originated from Bi ions by nearly 60 times via Si nanocrystal size control. We anticipated that this Bi-doped near-infrared light emitter would be a new starting point for future research in the field of optoelectronic integration.

Improved sensitization efficiency in Er(3+) ions and SnO2 nanocrystals co-doped silica thin films.

Er(3+) ions and SnO2 nanocrystals co-doped silica thin films are prepared by an improved sol-gel spin-coating method. With increase in annealing temperature, the related 1.54 µm characteristic emission intensity from Er(3+) ions is obviously enhanced by more than two orders of magnitude via SnO2 nanocrystals size control to boost the sensitization efficiency. Quantitative studies of steady-state spectroscopic data and fluorescence decay curves demonstrate that the related sensitization efficiency via size-tunable nanocrystals is increased from 0.14% to 1.3%. This improved sensitization efficiency is achieved by doping some of the Er(3+) ions into the SnO2 inner sites at a high annealing temperature, as revealed by high-resolution TEM, X-ray diffraction patterns and elemental mapping technique. Different sensitization mechanisms are also discussed separately according to the selective photoluminescence excitation measurements. All these results have not only explained the greatly improved sensitization efficiency resulting from SnO2 nanocrystals but also indicated that the development of Er(3+) ions and SnO2 nanocrystals co-doped silica thin films could result in promising high-performance near-infrared luminous materials using broadband UV pumping.

Highly efficient near-infrared emission in Er3+ doped silica films containing size-tunable SnO2 nanocrystals.

Co-doping size-tunable SnO2 nanocrystals into Er(3+) ions embedded silica thin films produces an enhancement of Er-related near-infrared emission by three orders of magnitude. Selective PL and PLE measurements show that energy transfer process occurs between SnO2 nanocrystals and Er(3+) ions. Quantitative studies of PL decay lifetime and photoluminescence temperature-dependence demonstrate that both high energy transfer efficiency from SnO2 nanocrystals to Er(3+) ions and the partial incorporation of Er(3+) ions into SnO2 nanocrystals contribute to the near-infrared emission enhancement. All these results indicated that SnO2 nanocrystals with suitable size have great potentials in fabricating high-efficiency near-infrared luminous materials as sensitizers of Er(3+) ions.