Therapeutic utility of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells-based approaches in pulmonary diseases: Recent advancements and prospects.

Pulmonary diseases across all ages threaten millions of people and have emerged as one of the major public health issues worldwide. For diverse disease conditions, the currently available approaches are focused on alleviating clinical symptoms and delaying disease progression but have not shown significant therapeutic effects in patients with lung diseases. Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) isolated from the human UC have the capacity for self-renewal and multilineage differentiation. Moreover, in recent years, these cells have been demonstrated to have unique advantages in the treatment of lung diseases. We searched the Public Clinical Trial Database and found 55 clinical trials involving UC-MSC therapy for pulmonary diseases, including coronavirus disease 2019, acute respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pulmonary fibrosis. In this review, we summarize the characteristics of these registered clinical trials and relevant published results and explore in depth the challenges and opportunitiesfaced in clinical application. Moreover, the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in UC-MSC-based therapy for pulmonary diseases are also analyzed in depth. In brief, this comprehensive review and detailed analysis of these clinical trials can be expected to provide a scientific reference for future large-scale clinical application.

Egr­1 inhibits colon cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion via regulating CDKL1 at the transcriptional level.

Colon cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide, and the molecular mechanisms involved in the oncogenesis and progression of colon cancer remain unclear. Early growth response 1 (Egr­1) is a transcription factor that is closely associated with several tumor processes; however, its role in colon cancer is unknown. The present study aimed to explore the function and mechanism of transcription factor Egr­1 in colon cancer progression. The association between Egr­1 expression and the survival of patients with colon cancer was analyzed. Transwell assay was used to measure the migration and invasion of colon cancer cells. Cell Counting Kit­8 assay was used to evaluate the cell proliferative ability. Reverse transcription­quantitative PCR and western blot assays were used to identify whether Egr­1 could regulate cyclin­dependent kinase­like 1 (CDKL1). Luciferase and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were used to detect the mechanism by which Egr­1 regulated CDKL1. Based on The Cancer Genome Atlas database, it was found that low Egr­1 expression was associated with a poor prognosis in patients with colon cancer. Furthermore, overexpression of Egr­1 inhibited colon cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, whereas knockdown of Egr­1 increased colon cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Additionally, overexpression of Egr­1­induced cell proliferation, migration and invasion were reversed by overexpression of CDKL1. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that Egr­1 regulated CDKL1 expression at the transcriptional level. The present study illustrated the mechanism of Egr­1 regulating CDKL1, by which Egr­1 affected colon cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion. The current findings suggested that Egr­1/CDKL1 may be a new promising target for the treatment of colon cancer.

Controllably Confined ZnO on USY Zeolites (USY@ZnO/Al2 O3 ) as Efficient Lewis Acid Catalysts for Baeyer-Villiger Oxidation.

A ZnAl-LDHs (layered double hydroxides) phase was readily formed on the surface of a USY zeolite through a distinctive in situ growth method that benefitted from the interaction of the added Zn source and aluminum species extracted from the Al-rich USY zeolite crystals. The migration of aluminum and simultaneous interaction with the external Zn source took place in one pot to form a ZnAl-LDHs phase coated on the surface of the USY crystals. Upon calcination, the ZnAl-LDHs phase was transformed into a ZnO/Al2 O3 composite that was still firmly anchored on the USY zeolite, without sacrificing the core-shell structure. The resultant USY@ZnO/Al2 O3 materials gave rise to unique Lewis acidity and hierarchical porosity, which endowed the catalyst with promising performance in the Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of ketones with H2 O2 or bulky tert-butyl hydroxide as an oxidant.

Robust synthesis of green fuels from biomass-derived ethyl esters over a hierarchically core/shell-structured ZSM-5@(Co/SiO2) catalyst.

A novel bifunctional ZSM-5@(Co/SiO2) material with a hierarchical core/shell structure was successfully prepared through a simple chemoselective interaction between the crystal surface silica species of zeolite and the external Co2+ source in basic media, which served as an excellent catalyst in the synthesis of green fuels from biomass-derived ethyl esters.

Controllable hydrothermal synthesis of Ni/H-BEA with a hierarchical core-shell structure and highly enhanced biomass hydrodeoxygenation performance.

Ni based catalysts are wildly used in catalytic industrial processes due to their low costs and high activities. The design of highly hierarchical core-shell structured Ni/HBEA is achieved using a sustainable, simple, and easy-tunable hydrothermal synthesis approach using combined NH4Cl and NH3·H2O as a co-precipitation agent at 120 °C. Starting from a single-crystalline hierarchical H+-exchanged beta polymorph zeolite (HBEA), the adjustment of the precipitate conditions shows that mixed NH4Cl and NH3·H2O precipitates with proper concentrations are vital in the hydrothermal synthesis for preserving a good crystalline morphology of HBEA and generating abundant highly-dispersed Ni nanoparticles (loading: 41 wt%, 5.9 ± 0.7 nm) encapsulated onto/into the support. NH4Cl solution without an alkali is unable to generate abundant Ni nanoparticles from Ni salts under the hydrothermal conditions, whereas NH3·H2O seriously damages the pore structure. After studying the in situ changes in infrared, X-ray diffractometry, temperature-programmed reduction, and scanning electron microscopy measurements, as well as variations in the filtrate pH, Si/Al ratios, and solid sample Ni loading, a two-step dissolution-recrystallization process is proposed. The process consists of Si dissolution and no change in elemental Al, and after the dissolved Si(iv) concentrations have promoted Ni phyllosilicate nanosheet solubility, further growth of multilayered Ni phyllosilicate nanosheets commences. The precursor Ni phyllosilicate is changeable between Ni3Si2O5(OH)4 and Ni3Si4O10(OH)2, because of competition in kinetically-favored and thermodynamically-controlled species caused by different basic agents. The superior catalytic performance is demonstrated in the metal/acid catalyzed biomass derived bulky stearic acid hydrodeoxygenation with 90% octadecane selectivity and a promising rate of 54 g g-1 h-1, which highly excels the reported rates catalyzed by Ni catalysts. Significant improvements in activity and selectivity are related to the highly dispersive Ni nanoparticles onto/into intra-mesopores of hierarchical HBEA, hence enhance the accessibility of bulky substrates to metal sites and mass transfer capacity.

A novel acid-base bifunctional catalyst (ZSM-5@Mg3Si4O9(OH)4) with core/shell hierarchical structure and superior activities in tandem reactions.

A hierarchically core/shell structured base-acid bifunctional catalyst, ZSM-5@Mg3Si4O9(OH)4, was successfully prepared through a simple hydrothermal reaction between the silica species on the ZSM-5 crystal surface and the Mg2+ source in basic solution. The obtained catalyst showed superior activity and stability in one-pot deacetalization-Knoevenagel condensation reaction.

One-pot synthesized hierarchical zeolite supported metal nanoparticles for highly efficient biomass conversion.

Hierarchically porous zeolite supported metal nanoparticles are successfully prepared through a base-assisted chemoselective interaction between the silicon species on the zeolite crystal surface and metal salts, in which in situ construction of mesopores and high dispersion of metal species are realized simultaneously.