Research Progress on the Extraction and Purification of Anthocyanins and Their Interactions with Proteins.

Anthocyanins, as the most critical water-soluble pigments in nature, are widely present in roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and fruit peels. Many studies have indicated that anthocyanins exhibit various biological activities including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, hypoglycemic, vision protection, and anti-aging. Hence, anthocyanins are widely used in food, medicine, and cosmetics. The green and efficient extraction and purification of anthocyanins are an important prerequisite for their further development and utilization. However, the poor stability and low bioavailability of anthocyanins limit their application. Protein, one of the three essential nutrients for the human body, has good biocompatibility and biodegradability. Proteins are commonly used in food processing, but their functional properties need to be improved. Notably, anthocyanins can interact with proteins through covalent and non-covalent means during food processing, which can effectively improve the stability of anthocyanins and enhance their bioavailability. Moreover, the interactions between proteins and anthocyanins can also improve the functional characteristics and enhance the nutritional quality of proteins. Hence, this article systematically reviews the extraction and purification methods for anthocyanins. Moreover, this review also systematically summarizes the effect of the interactions between anthocyanins and proteins on the bioavailability of anthocyanins and their impact on protein properties. Furthermore, we also introduce the application of the interaction between anthocyanins and proteins. The findings can provide a theoretical reference for the application of anthocyanins and proteins in food deep processing.

sAPPα Peptide Promotes Damaged Microglia to Clear Alzheimer's Amyloid-ß via Restoring Mitochondrial Function.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease with amyloid-ß (Aß) deposition as the main pathological feature. It's an important challenge to find new ways to clear Aß from the brain. The soluble amyloid precursor protein α (sAPPα) is a neuroprotective protein and can attenuate neuronal damage, including toxic Aß. However, the regulatory role of sAPPα in non-neuronal cells, such as microglia, is less reported and controversial. Here, we showed that sAPPα promoted the phagocytosis and degradation of Aß in both normal and damaged microglia. Moreover, the function of damaged microglia was improved by the sAPPα through normalizing mitochondrial function. Furthermore, the results of molecular docking simulation showed that sAPPα had a good affinity with Aß. We preliminarily reveal that sAPPα is similar to antibodies and can participate in the regulation of microglia phagocytosis and degradation of Aß after binding to Aß. sAPPα is expected to be a mild and safe peptide drug or drug carrier for AD.

Research progress in leveraging biomaterials for enhancing NK cell immunotherapy. / 生物材料增效NKç»†èƒžå ç–«ç–—æ³•ç ”ç©¶è¿›å±•.

NK cell immunotherapy is a promising antitumor therapeutic modality after the development of T cell immunotherapy. Structural modification of NK cells with biomaterials may provide a precise, efficient, and low-cost strategy to enhance NK cell immunotherapy. The biomaterial modification of NK cells can be divided into two strategies: surface engineering with biomaterials and intracellular modification. The surface engineering strategies include hydrophobic interaction of lipids, receptor-ligand interaction between membrane proteins, covalent binding to amino acid residues, click reaction and electrostatic interaction. The intracellular modification strategies are based on manipulation by nanotechnology using membranous materials from various sources of NK cells (such as exosome, vesicle and cytomembranes). Finally, the biomaterials-based strategies regulate the recruitment, recognition and cytotoxicity of NK cells in the solid tumor site in situ to boost the activity of NK cells in the tumor. This article reviews the recent research progress in enhancing NK cell therapy based on biomaterial modification, to provide a reference for further researches on engineering NK cell therapy with biomaterials.

[Research status and prospect of tissue engineering technology in treatment of atrophic rhinitis].

Objective: To review the research progress of the feasibility of a new treatment method for atrophic rhinitis (ATR) based on tissue engineering technology (seed cells, scaffold materials, and growth factors), and provide new ideas for the treatment of ATR. Methods: The literature related to ATR was extensively reviewed. Focusing on the three aspects of seed cells, scaffold materials, and growth factors, the recent research progress of ATR treatment was reviewed, and the future directions of tissue engineering technology to treat ATR were proposed. Results: The pathogenesis and etiology of ATR are still unclear, and the effectiveness of the current treatments are still unsatisfactory. The construction of a cell-scaffold complex with sustained and controlled release of exogenous cytokines is expected to reverse the pathological changes of ATR, promoting the regeneration of normal nasal mucosa and reconstructing the atrophic turbinate. In recent years, the research progress of exosomes, three-dimensional printing, and organoids will promote the development of tissue engineering technology for ATR. Conclusion: Tissue engineering technology can provide a new treatment method for ATR.

Insights into the Oxidative Stress Alleviation Potential of Enzymatically Prepared Dendrobium officinale Polysaccharides.

(1) Background: The extraction parameters can dramatically alter the extraction rate and biological activity of polysaccharides. (2) Methods: Here, an enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE) was employed to extract D. officinale polysaccharides (DOPs), and its optimal extraction conditions were established by single-factor and Box-Behnken design (BBD) experiments. Further, on the basis of in vitro antioxidant capacity, the paraquat (PQ)-induced oxidative stress of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) was chosen as a research model to explore the antioxidant activity of DOPs. (3) Results: The results showed that the extraction yield of DOPs reached 48.66% ± 1.04% under the optimal condition. In vitro experiments had shown that DOPs have considerable ABTS+ radical scavenging capacity (EC50 = 7.27 mg/mL), hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity (EC50 = 1.61 mg/mL), and metal chelating power (EC50 = 8.31 mg/mL). Furthermore, in vivo experiments indicated that DOPs (0.25 mg/mL) significantly prolonged the lifespan, increased antioxidant enzyme activity, and upregulated the expression of daf-16 (>5.6-fold), skn-1 (>5.2-fold), and sir-2.1 (>2.3-fold) of C. elegans. (4) Conclusions: DOPs can be efficiently extracted by EAE and are effective in the reduction of oxidative stress levels in C. elegans.

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) mediates the quiescence of activated hepatic stellate cells (aHSCs) by regulating M2 macrophage exosomal smooth muscle cell-associated protein 5 (SMAP-5). / ç»´ç”Ÿç´ D受体（VDR）通过调节M2巨噬细胞外泌体SMAP-5介导肝星状细胞的静息.

An effective therapeutic regimen for hepatic fibrosis requires a deep understanding of the pathogenesis mechanism. Hepatic fibrosis is characterized by activated hepatic stellate cells (aHSCs) with an excessive production of extracellular matrix. Although promoted activation of HSCs by M2 macrophages has been demonstrated, the molecular mechanism involved remains ambiguous. Herein, we propose that the vitamin D receptor (VDR) involved in macrophage polarization may regulate the communication between macrophages and HSCs by changing the functions of exosomes. We confirm that activating the VDR can inhibit the effect of M2 macrophages on HSC activation. The exosomes derived from M2 macrophages can promote HSC activation, while stimulating VDR alters the protein profiles and reverses their roles in M2 macrophage exosomes. Smooth muscle cell-associated protein 5 (SMAP-5) was found to be the key effector protein in promoting HSC activation by regulating autophagy flux. Building on these results, we show that a combined treatment of a VDR agonist and a macrophage-targeted exosomal secretion inhibitor achieves an excellent anti-hepatic fibrosis effect. In this study, we aim to elucidate the association between VDR and macrophages in HSC activation. The results contribute to our understanding of the pathogenesis mechanism of hepatic fibrosis, and provide potential therapeutic targets for its treatment.

Freeform measurement method based on differential confocal and real-time comparison.

To meet the need for the high-precision contactless measurement of the freeform surface profile during the manufacturing, we propose a high-precision measurement method that combines the laser differential confocal trigger sensor (LDCTS) and the real-time comparison method using reference planes (RCMRP). LDCTS is used to measure the freeform surface under test (FSUT), which enables the high-precision measurement of the surface profile with the large roughness and local inclination. Through the real-time comparisons of the coordinate changes of the reference planes and FSUT, the dominant straightness and rotation errors can be separated based on the error model and thus the spatial motion errors can be significantly reduced along all three axes. Combing these two strategies, we find that the inclination measurement capacity becomes larger than 25° and the repeated measurement accuracy is improved to be better than 10 nm within the horizontal scanning range of 150 mm × 150 mm. Compared with the non-RCMRP method, the repeated measurement accuracy is improved by at least 5 times. We believe the proposed method provides a strategy for the high-precision measurement of freeform surface profile with large local inclination and roughness during different manufacturing periods.

Enhanced precision inspection of free-form surface with an improved whale optimization algorithm.

For precision inspection of free-form surface parts using non-contact measurement methods, the registration between the actual measurement model and the ideal design model is necessary.The traditional iterative closure point (ICP) method requires good initial parameters to obtain the global optimal transformation matrix, which is difficult to guarantee in the actual detection process. In order to improve the accuracy and robustness of free-form surface precision inspection, an Improved Whale Optimization Algorithm (IWOA) is proposed in this study.This algorithm can solve the required registration parameters by constantly updating the population. A measurement experimental system is designed to test the accuracy of blade registration. The performance of IWOA is evaluated by the actual measurement experiment, and the results are verified by a comparative study with Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA), Lévy flight trajectory-based Whale Optimization Algorithm (LWOA), and Adaptive Whale Optimization Algorithm (AWOA). The surface registration errors are 0.1711mm for IWOA, 2.0015 mm for WOA, 1.2656 mm for LWOA, 2.8132 mm for AWOA and 2.1537 mm for ICP. The results show that the accuracy of IWOA is more than 7 times higher than other four algorithms. In general, the experiments indicate that IWOA has a good registration ability and can meet the needs of industrial measurement.

Histidine Tautomeric Effect on the Key Fragment R3 of Tau Protein from Atomistic Simulations.

Self-assembly of hyperphosphorylated tau proteins into neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Previous studies suggest that the tau monomer may play an important role in NFTs formation in two general categories: inert (Mi) monomer and seed-competent (Ms) monomer. In the current study, replica-exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) were performed to investigate the effect of histidine tautomerism on the structures of a key fragment (R3) of tau protein and the transformation between different conformations. Based on the simulation results, we propose the histidine tautomerism hypothesis for tau protein misfolding. Histidine tautomerism greatly expands the conformational library, which triggers the emergence of conformations with higher aggregation tendency. Moreover, the conversions existing in both isomers and conformations may cause protein misfolding to occur more readily.

Application of vision measurement model with an improved moth-flame optimization algorithm.

An improved moth-flame optimization (IMFO) algorithm is proposed to increase the location accuracy of a vision measurement system. This algorithm can optimize the initial pose parameters by improving a series of random solutions to the required precision. A measurement experiment system of space manipulator is designed to precision test. The IMFO algorithm is evaluated on 23 benchmark functions and measurement experiments for pose, and the results are verified by a comparative study with self-adaptive differential evolution (SaDE), moth-flame optimization (MFO), and proactive particle swarm optimization (PPSO). The statistical results of the benchmark functions show that the IMFO algorithm can provide very promising and competitive results. Additionally, the experimental results of pose measurement show that the accuracy of the IMFO algorithm is approximately twice higher than that of other three algorithms. All in all, the experiments indicate that the IMFO algorithm has a good optimization ability to complete the visual identification accurately.

Bidirectional heterostructures consisting of graphene and lateral MoS2/WS2 composites: a first-principles study.

First-principles calculations have been performed to explore the structural and electronic properties of bidirectional heterostructures composed of graphene and (MoS2) X /(WS2)4-X (X = 1, 2, 3) lateral composites and compare them with those of heterobilayers formed by graphene and pristine MS2 (M = Mo, W). The band gaps of the lateral heterostructures lie between those of pristine MoS2 and WS2. The weak coupling between the two layers can induce a tiny band-gap opening of graphene and formation of an n-type Schottky contact at the G-(MoS2) X /(WS2)4-X interface. Moreover, the combination ratio of MoS2/WS2 can control the electronic properties of G-(MoS2) X /(WS2)4-X . By applying external electric fields, the band gaps of (MoS2) X /(WS2)4-X (X = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4) monolayers undergo a direct-indirect transition, and semiconductor-metal transitions can be found in WS2. External electric fields can also be used effectively to tune the binding energies, charge transfers, and band structures (the types of Schottky and Ohmic contacts) of G-(MoS2) X /(WS2)4-X heterostructures. These findings suggest that G-(MoS2) X /(WS2)4-X heterostructures can serve as high-performance nano-electronic devices.

Overexpression of LASS2 inhibits proliferation and causes G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in papillary thyroid cancer.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of LAG1 longevity-assurance homologue 2 (LASS2) in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). METHODS: Immunohistochemistry staining was conducted to explore the expression levels of LASS2 in PTC tissues and adjacent normal thyroid tissues and nodular goiter tissues. Western blotting and RT-qPCR were performed to explore the expression levels of LASS2 in three PTC cell lines (TPC-1, K1, BCPAP). An Adv-LASS2-GFP recombinant adenovirus vector was constructed and transduced into BCPAP cells. Then CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay, cell cycle distribution, and apoptosis were performed. Western blotting was used to examine the expression of p21, cyclin D1, cyclin-dependent kinase 4, p53 and p-p53. RESULTS: LASS2 was downregulated in PTC tissues compared with adjacent thyroid tissues or nodular goiter tissues. In addition, the expression of LASS2 was found to be associated with TNM stage and lymph node metastasis. BCPAP cells expressed the lowest LASS2 compared to TPC-1 cells or K1 cells. Overexpression of LASS2 significantly inhibited proliferation, promoted apoptosis and caused G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in BCPAP cells. Furthermore, overexpression of LASS2 significantly increased the expression of p21, inhibited the expression of cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 4, and increased the expression of p-p53, but did not effect the expression of p53 in BCPAP cells. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that overexpression of LASS2 inhibits PTC cell proliferation, promotes apoptosis and causes G0/G1 cell cycle arrest via a p53-dependent pathway. Thus, LASS2 may serve as a novel biomarker in PTC.