Neuroligin-1 plays an important role in methamphetamine-induced hippocampal synaptic plasticity.

The neurotoxic effects of methamphetamine (METH) include not only neuronal apoptosis and autophagy, but also lead to substance use disorder and have become increasingly prominent. Studies suggest that synaptic plasticity may be the structural basis of METH-induced neurological impairment. Neuroligins are postsynaptic adhesion molecules involved in the regulation of synaptic organization and function. Animal studies have shown that neuroligin (NLG)- 1 is involved in memory formation; however, its role in METH-induced neurotoxicity is not clear. In the present study, we used 1 mM METH in vitro; mice in the acute and subacute exposure groups received intraperitoneal injections of 30 mg/kg METH (1 injection) or 15 mg/kg METH (8 separate injections at 12-h intervals). We found that the expression of NLG-1, Synapsin-1, and postsynaptic density-95 were increased after METH exposure. We further observed that METH-induced inhibition of long-term potentiation and spatial memory loss could be alleviated when mice were pretreated with NLG-1 small interfering RNA. Therefore, our study provides evidence that NLG-1 is involved in METH-induced hippocampal synaptic plasticity and may be a potential target for the treatment of METH-induced neurotoxicity.

Sudden unexpected death due to spontaneous pneumothorax caused by ruptured bilateral pulmonary bullae.

Sudden unexpected death due to pneumothoraces caused by spontaneous rupture of bilateral pulmonary bullae is rare. This article reports the case of a 16-year-old girl who experienced this rare phenomenon without any precipitating factors. The patient did not have a history of chest pains or smoking but experienced chest tightness in the early morning and collapsed and died 4 h later. Autopsy identified the cause of death to be bilateral pneumothoraces and massive bilateral pulmonary collapse (atelectasis) due to ruptured apical bullae of the bilateral lungs. No injuries or other significant pathological findings were identified. A low body mass index (16.5) may have been a risk factor for the spontaneous tension pneumothoraces. In some situations, genetic counseling and testing may be helpful in identifying a heritable process associated with spontaneous pneumothoraces.

Identification of volatile active components in Acori Tatarinowii Rhizome essential oil from different regions in China by C6 glioma cells.

BACKGROUND: Acori Tatarinowii Rhizome (ATR) is a well-recognized Chinese herbal medicine prescribed to treat neurological disorders. The essential oil (ATEO) is considered as the active fraction of ATR and the content of ATEO is used as the only indicator for ATR content determination. The quality of ATEO varies widely due to region difference; however, little is known about how to study ATEO quality chemically and biologically in response to region difference. Thus, it is of great importance to identify volatile active components in ATEO to conduct quality study. In this study, we analyzed ATEO from different regions in China using chemical component analysis combined with biological activity evaluation. METHODS: GC-MS was used to obtain different volatile component profiles of ATEO and significantly changed volatile components were screened out. The neuroprotective activities of ATEO, including anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation and neurotrophic functions, were revealed in C6 glioma cells. The correlation study between the bioactivities and the components was performed. RESULTS: 57 volatile components, including terpenoids, phenylpropanoids, aromatic compounds, and other aliphatic compounds, were identified. 8 volatile components (ß-asarone, cis-methyl isoeugenol, γ-asarone, methyleugenol, calarene, longifolene, ß-caryophyllene and caryophyllene oxide) from ATEO were significantly changed due to region difference and 2 of them (ß-asarone and γ-asarone) showed strong correlation with neuroprotective activities. CONCLUSIONS: Our results reveal that ATEO from different regions in China show great changes in chemical composition and biological activity. Moreover, phenylpropanoids (ß-asarone and γ-asarone) present strong correlation with the bioactivities, which are considered as volatile active components in ATEO. The findings will be useful for the development of quality study of ATEO.

One-step preparation of fluorographene: a highly efficient, low-cost, and large-scale approach of exfoliating fluorographite.

Fluorographene, a cousin of graphene, not only inherits the excellent mechanical properties of graphene but also has great unique application potential in high-performance devices and materials, such as lubricating agents, digital transistors, nanocomposites, and energy-storage devices. However, large-scale preparation of fluorographene remains a great challenge. Herein, an easy-operating, highly scalable, and low-cost approach was reported for the preparation of fluorographene using commercially available fluorographite as the starting material. In this procedure, fluorographite turned into few-layer fluorographene through a rapid exfoliation process with Na2O2 and HSO3Cl as exfoliating agents. The whole preparation process was performed in air and without heating, sonication, and protective gas. The obtained fluorographene was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, (19)F nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, and it possesses a hexagonal polycrystalline structure. Fluorographene and fluorographite were employed as cathode materials of the primary lithium battery, and it was found that the specific discharge capacity of the battery using fluorographene was improved remarkably compared to that using fluorographite. Cyclic voltammetry results also showed that specific capacitances of fluorographene were dozens of times higher than that of fluorographite. It is clear that electrochemical properties of fluorographene are significantly improved against fluorographite.

The GSTM1 null genotype increased risk of gastric cancer: a meta-analysis based on 46 studies.

BACKGROUND: Glutathione S-transferases M1 (GSTM1) is an important phase II metabolizing enzyme. The null genotype of GSTM1 causes total loss of GSTM1 enzyme activity and numerous studies have investigated the association between GSTM1 null genotype and gastric cancer risk. METHODS: This meta-analysis was designed to investigate the relationship between GSTM1 null genotype and susceptibility to gastric cancer and assess the influence of Helicobacter pylori infection, smoking, Lauren's classification, and other factors. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to estimate the association strength. RESULTS: A total of 46 eligible studies were indentified and analyzed in this meta-analysis, including 8138 cases of gastric cancer and 13867 controls. Pooled results showed that the GSTM1 null genotype was associated with a significantly increased risk of gastric cancer (OR=1.217, 95% CI: 1.113-1.331, P(heterogeneity)<0.001). Sub-group analysis suggested that the significant association was only observed in Asians (OR=1.273, 95%: 1.137-1.426, P(heterogeneity)= 0.002), but not in Caucasians. The increased risk was found among H. pylori positive population (OR=1.928, 95% CI: 1.028-3.615, P(heterogeneity)=0.065), while no association was found among H. pylori negative population (OR=0.969, 95% CI: 0.618-1.521, P(heterogeneity)=0.168). For smoking status, the GSTM1 null genotype increased risk of gastric cancer in both ever-smokers and non-smokers. Source of control, sample size, location of tumor and Lauren's classification did not modify the association. CONCLUSIONS: In this meta-analysis based on 46 epidemiological studies, we show that the GSTM1 null genotype is associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer among Asians but not among Caucasians. H. pylori infection but not smoking status could modify the association.

Fine tuning micellar core-forming block of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) amphiphilic copolymers based on chemical modification for the solubilization and delivery of doxorubicin.

This study aimed to optimize poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEG-b-PCL)-based amphiphilic block copolymers for achieving a better micellar drug delivery system (DDS) with improved solubilization and delivery of doxorubicin (DOX). First, the Flory-Huggins interaction parameters between DOX and the core-forming segments [i.e., poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly[(ε-caprolactone-co-γ-(carbamic acid benzyl ester)-ε-caprolactone] (P(CL-co-CABCL))] was calculated to assess the drug-polymer compatibility. The results indicated a better compatibility between DOX and P(CL-co-CABCL) than that between DOX and PCL, motivating the synthesis of monomethoxy-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly[(ε-caprolactone-co-γ-(carbamic acid benzyl ester)-ε-caprolactone] (mPEG-b-P(CL-co-CABCL)) block copolymer. Second, two novel block copolymers of mPEG-b-P(CL-co-CABCL) with different compositions were prepared via ring-opening polymerization of CL and CABCL using mPEG as a macroinitiator and characterized by (1)H NMR, FT-IR, GPC, WAXD, and DSC techniques. It was found that the introduction of CABCL decreased the crystallinity of mPEG-b-PCL copolymer. Micellar formation of the copolymers in aqueous solution was investigated with fluorescence spectroscopy, DLS and TEM. mPEG-b-P(CL-co-CABCL) copolymers had a lower critical micelle concentration (CMC) than mPEG-b-PCL and subsequently led to an improved stability of prepared micelles. Furthermore, both higher loading capacity and slower in vitro release of DOX were observed for micelles of copolymers with increased content of CABCL, attributed to both improved drug-core compatibility and favorable amorphous core structure. Meanwhile, DOX-loaded micelles facilitated better uptake of DOX by HepG2 cells and were mainly retained in the cytosol, whereas free DOX accumulated more in the nuclei. However, possibly because of the slower intracellular release of DOX, DOX-loaded micelles were less potent in inhibiting cell proliferation than free DOX in vitro. Taken together, the introduction of CABCL in the core-forming block of mPEG-b-PCL resulted in micelles with superior properties, which hold great promise for drug delivery applications.