Isolation and identification of NEAU-CP5: A seed-endophytic strain of B. velezensis that controls tomato bacterial wilt.

Bacterial wilt of tomato caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is a critical soilborne disease that drastically reduces yield. In the current study, an endophytic strain NEAU-CP5 with strong antagonistic activity against R. solanacearum was isolated from tomato seeds and characterized. The strain was identified as Bacillus velezensis based on 16S rRNA gene and whole genome sequence analysis. NEAU-CP5 can secrete amylase, protease, and cellulase, and also produce known antibacterial metabolites, including cyclo (leucylprolyl), cyclo (phenylalanyl-prolyl), cyclo (Pro-Gly), 3-benzyl-2,5-piperazinedione, pentadecanoic acid, eicosane, 2-methyoic acid, isovaleric acid, dibuty phthalate, and esters of fatty acids (HFDU), which may be responsible for its strong antibacterial activity. Fourteen gene clusters associated with antibacterial properties were also identified in the whole genome sequence of NEAU-CP5. Pot experiment demonstrated that the application of 108 CFU/mL NEAU-CP5 on tomato plants significantly reduced the incidence of tomato bacterial wilt by 68.36 ± 1.67 %. NEAU-CP5 also increased the activity of defense-related enzymes (CAT, POD, PPO, SOD, and PAL) in tomato plants. This is the first report of an effective control of bacterial wilt on tomato plants by B. velezensis and highlights the potential of NEAU-CP5 as a potential biocontrol agent for the management of tomato bacterial wilt.

Effect of comprehensive nursing intervention for congenital heart disease in children: A meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This meta-analysis aimed to assess the impact of nursing interventions (e.g., educational and empathic interviewing, motor exercise, therapeutic play interventions) on the perioperative outcome of children with congenital heart disease (CHD). METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, EBSCO, The Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan Fang Data and the VIP Chinese Journal Service platform from the date of database creation to August 2021. Our study adhered to the recommendations of the Cochrane Handbook and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. RevMan 5.4 and Stata 16.0 were used to complete the meta-analysis. RESULTS: This meta-analysis showed that comprehensive nursing intervention reduced both the length of hospital stay (weighted mean difference [WMD] = -1.982, 95%CI [-2.329, -1.634], P < .001) and the related risk of post-operative complications [OR = 0.345, 95%CI (0.225, 0.528), P < .001]. In addition, nursing intervention increased parental satisfaction with the care provided [OR = 0.308, 95%CI (1.923, 6.863), P < .001]. Nursing interventions have also had a positive impact in reducing preoperative anxiety [WMD = -6.721, 95% CI (-7.194, -6.249), P < .001] and postoperative pain [WMD = -7.103, 95% CI (-7.103, -7.663), P < .001] in children. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis confirms the beneficial effects of comprehensive nursing interventions in terms of reduced complication rates and shorter hospital stays. The effectiveness of comprehensive nursing in reducing anxiety and pain levels was also demonstrated. The findings support the implementation of comprehensive care interventions in the perioperative period for children with CHD to improve clinical outcomes.

Curcumin and berberine co-loaded liposomes for anti-hepatocellular carcinoma therapy by blocking the cross-talk between hepatic stellate cells and tumor cells.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are a major component of the tumor microenvironment (TME). In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), quiescent hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) could be activated to become CAFs, which play a critical role in tumor progression and drug resistance. Therefore, recent efforts have been focused on combining anti-HSC and pro-apoptotic activities to improve anti-tumor efficacy of drugs. In this study, glycyrrhetinic acid and hyaluronic acid-modified liposomes (GA-HA-Lip) were prepared for co-delivery of curcumin (CUR) and berberine (BBR) for the treatment of HCC. Furthermore, we established the LX-2+BEL-7402 co-cultured cell model and implanted the m-HSCs+H22 cells into a mouse to evaluate the anti-tumor effect of CUR&BBR/GA-HA-Lip both in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that CUR&BBR/GA-HA-Lip could accumulate in tumor tissues and be taken up by HSCs and BEL-7402 cells simultaneously. Compared with free CUR, the combination therapy based on GA-HA-Lip exhibits stronger pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferation effect both in vitro and in vivo. The anti-tumor mechanistic study revealed that CUR&BBR/GA-HA-Lip could inhibit the activation of HSCs and restrain drug resistance of tumor cells. In summary, CUR&BBR/GA-HA-Lip could be a promising nano-sized formulation for anti-tumor therapy.

Catellatospora tritici sp. nov., a novel cellulase-producing actinobacterium isolated from rhizosphere soil of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and emended description of the genus Catellatospora.

A Gram-positive, cellulose-degrading actinobacterium, designed strain NEAU-YM18T, was isolated from rhizosphere soil of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) sampled in Langfang, Hebei Province, PR China. The novel strain was characterized using a polyphasic approach. Morphological and chemotaxonomic characteristics confirmed that strain NEAU-YM18T belonged to the genus Catellatospora. Cells of strain NEAU-YM18T were observed to contain meso- and 3-hydroxy-diaminopimelic acids as diagnostic cell-wall amino acids. The acyl type of the cell-wall muramic acid was glycolyl. The whole-cell hydrolysates were xylose, glucose and ribose. The phospholipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylinositol. The major fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, iso-C16 : 0, C18 : 1 ω9c and summed feature 5 (anteiso-C18 : 0/C18 : 2 ω6,9c). The menaquinones were MK-9(H4), MK-9(H6) and MK-9(H2). The DNA G+C content was 71.1 %. The results of 16S rRNA gene sequence and phylogenetic analyses indicated that strain NEAU-YM18T was closely related to Catellatospora chokoriensis 2-25(1)T (98.4 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity), Catellatospora vulcania NEAU-JM1T (98.3%) and Catellatospora sichuanensis H14505T (98.3 %) and formed a branch with C. sichuanensis H14505T. Furthermore, the whole genome phylogeny of strain NEAU-YM18T showed that the strain formed an independent clade. The digital DNA-DNA hybridization results between NEAU-YM18T and C. chokoriensis 2-25(1)T, C. vulcania NEAU-JM1T and C. sichuanensis H14505T were 25.0, 24.7 and 24.7 %, respectively, and the whole-genome average nucleotide identity values between them were 81.5, 81.4 and 81.4 %, respectively. These genetic results and some phenotypic characteristics could distinguish strain NEAU-YM18T from its reference strains. In addition, genomic analysis confirmed that strain NEAU-YM18T had the potential to decompose cellulose and produce bioactive compounds. Therefore, strain NEAU-YM18T represents a novel species of the genus Catellatospora, for which the name Catellatospora tritici sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NEAU-YM18T (=CCTCC AA 2020040T=JCM 33977T).

pH-responsive Sulfated Hyaluronic Acid Nanoparticles Targeting Tumor Cells and CAFs for the Treatment of Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Tumor metastasis is a main cause of death in patients with breast cancer. The cross-talk between cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and tumor cells plays an important role in promoting tumor invasion and metastasis. It is important to develop a novel delivery system to inhibit tumor development by simultaneously targeting both CAFs and tumor cells. OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this research was to prepare nanoparticles to inhibit tumor proliferation and migration by blocking the cross-talk of tumor-CAFs. Additionally, a novel "MCF- 7+NIH/3T3" mixed cell model was established to mimic the tumor microenvironment (TME). METHODS: In this study, the pH-responsive nanoparticles (MIF/DOX-sul-HA NPs) based on sulfated hyaluronic acid (sul-HA) polymers were prepared for co-delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) and mifepristone (MIF). The effects of anti-proliferation and anti-metastasis of MIF/DOX-sul-HA NPs were investigated both in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: The results showed that MIF/DOX-sul-HA NPs were nearly spherical in shape with narrow particle size distribution and pH-responsive drug release, and could be taken up by both MCF-7 and NIH/3T3 cells. Compared with MCF-7 cells alone, the anti-tumor effect of single DOX was weak in the "MCF-7+NIH/3T3" mixed cell model. MIF/DOX-sul-HA NPs exhibited strong effects of anti-proliferation and anti-metastasis than the free single drug. CONCLUSION: The sul-HA nanoparticles for co-delivery of DOX and MIF could be a promising combined therapy strategy for the treatment of breast cancer.

Mixing Oil-Based Microencapsulation of Garlic Essential Oil: Impact of Incorporating Three Commercial Vegetable Oils on the Stability of Emulsions.

The active components in garlic essential oil are easily degradable, which limits its application in the food industry. Vegetable oils (VOs) were used to improve the stability of garlic essential oil (GEO) emulsion. The volatile compounds of GEO and its mixtures with vegetable oils (VOs), including corn oil (CO), soybean oil (SO), and olive oil (OO) indicated that GEO-VO mixtures had a higher percentage of Diallyl disulfide and Diallyl trisulfide than pure GEO. Adding an appropriate amount of VOs promoted the GEO emulsion (whey protein concentrate and inulin as the wall materials) stability in order of CO > SO > OO. Evaluation of the encapsulation efficiency, controlled release, and antimicrobial activity of GEO-VO microcapsules showed that the GEO was successfully entrapped and slowly released with active antibacterial activities on both E. coli and S. aureus. Collectively, these results implied that VOs, especially for 20% CO, improved the stability of GEO emulsions and the encapsulation efficiency of GEO microcapsules. The mechanism might be related to (1) the regulating effect of density difference between oil and water phases on prevention to gravitational separation, (2) the promotion to the compatibility of GEO and VOs to inhibit the phase separation caused by Ostwald ripening.

Combined anti-hepatocellular carcinoma therapy inhibit drug-resistance and metastasis via targeting "substance P-hepatic stellate cells-hepatocellular carcinoma" axis.

Peripheral nerves have emerged as the important components in tumor microenvironment (TME), which could activate hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) by secreting substance P (SP), leading to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) invasion and metastasis. Herein, we proposed a novel anti-HCC concept of blocking "SP-HSCs-HCC" axis for omnidirectional inhibition of HCC development. To pursue this aim, the novel CAP/GA-sHA-DOX NPs were developed for targeted co-delivery of capsaicin (CAP) and doxorubicin (DOX) using glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) modified sulfated-HA (sHA) as nanocarriers. Among that, CAP could inhibit the activation of HSCs as an inhibitor of SP. Notably, to real mimic "SP-HSCs-HCC" axis for in vitro and in vivo evaluation, both "SP + LX-2+BEL-7402" co-cultured cell model and "SP + m-HSC + H22" co-implantation mice model were attempted for the first time. Furthermore, in vivo anti-HCC effects were performed in three different tumor-bearing models: subcutaneous implantation of H22 or "SP + m-HSC + H22", intravenous injection of H22 for lung metastasis, and orthotopic implantation of H22 for primary HCC. Our results showed that CAP/GA-sHA-DOX NPs could be efficiently taken up by tumor cells and activated HSCs (aHSCs) simultaneously, and effectively inhibit tumor drug-resistance and migration by blocking SP-induced HSCs activation. In addition, CAP/GA-sHA-DOX NPs exhibited low ECM deposition, less tumor angiogenesis, and superior in vivo anti-HCC effects. The anti-HCC mechanisms revealed that CAP/GA-sHA-DOX NPs could down-regulate the expression level of Vimentin and P-gp, reverse epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of tumor cells. In brief, the nano-sized combination therapy based on GA-sHA-DOX polymers could effectively inhibit drug-resistance and metastasis of HCC by blocking "SP-HSCs-HCC" axis, which provides a promising approach for cancer therapy.

Dual-Ligand-Modified Liposomes Co-Loaded with Anti-Angiogenic and Chemotherapeutic Drugs for Inhibiting Tumor Angiogenesis and Metastasis.

BACKGROUND: Tumor angiogenesis has been proven to potentiate tumor growth and metastasis; therefore, the strategies targeting tumor-related angiogenesis have great potentials in antitumor therapy. METHODS: Here, the GA&Gal dual-ligand-modified liposomes co-loaded with curcumin and combretastatin A-4 phosphate (CUCA/GA&Gal-Lip) were prepared and characterized. A novel "BEL-7402+HUVEC" co-cultured cell model was established to mimic tumor microenvironment. The cytotoxicity and migration assays were performed against the novel co-cultured model. Angiogenesis ability was evaluated by tube formation test, and in vivo metastatic ability was evaluated by lung metastasis test. RESULTS: The result demonstrated that dual-ligand-modified liposomes showed greater inhibition of tumor angiogenesis and metastasis in comparison with other combined groups. Significantly, the mechanism analysis revealed that curcumin and combretastatin A-4 phosphate could inhibit tumor angiogenesis and metastasis via down-regulation of VEGF and VEGFR2 expression, respectively, and that GA&Gal-Lip could improve antitumor effect by GA/Gal-mediated active-targeting delivery. CONCLUSION: CUCA/GA&Gal-Lip hold great potentials in hepatoma-targeting delivery of antitumor drugs and can achieve anti-angiogenic and anti-metastatic effects by simultaneously blocking VEGF/VEGFR2 signal pathway, therefore exhibiting superior anti-hepatoma efficacy.

Co-Delivery of Curcumin and Capsaicin by Dual-Targeting Liposomes for Inhibition of aHSC-Induced Drug Resistance and Metastasis.

Recent research studies have shown that the low survival rate of liver cancer is due to drug resistance and metastasis. In the tumor microenvironment (TME), activated hepatic stellate cells (aHSCs) have been proven to favor the development of liver cancer. Hence, the combination therapy dual-targeting aHSCs and tumor cells might be an effective strategy for treatment of liver cancer. In this study, the novel multifunctional liposomes (CAPS-CUR/GA&Gal-Lip) were prepared for co-delivery of curcumin (CUR) and capsaicin (CAPS), in which glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) and galactose (Gal) were chosen as targeting ligands to modify the liposomes (Lip) for dual-targeting liver cancer. To mimic TME, a novel HSCs+HepG2 (human hepatoma cell line) cocultured model was established for the antitumor effect in vitro. The results showed that, compared to HepG2 cells alone, the cocultured model promoted drug resistance and migration by upregulating the expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and Vimentin, which were effectively inhibited by CAPS-CUR/GA&Gal-Lip. The efficacy of the in vivo antitumor was evaluated by three mice models: subcutaneous H22 (mouse hepatoma cell line) tumor-bearing mice, H22+m-HSC (mouse hepatic stellate cell) tumor-bearing mice, and orthotopic H22 cells-bearing mice. The results showed that CAPS-CUR/GA&Gal-Lip exhibited lesser extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, lesser tumor angiogenesis, and superior antitumor effect compared with the no- and/or Gal-modified Lip, which was attributed to the simultaneous blocking of the activation of HSCs and inhibition of the metastasis of tumor cells. The dual-targeting method using Lip is thus a potential strategy for liver cancer treatment.