Search

Chemotherapy is a standard systemic treatment option for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Cisplatin has been used to treat TNBC, but frequently leads to cisplatin resistance in patients. The aim of our study was to investigate cisplatin-resistant mechanism in TNBC. To identify the potential genes and pathways relative to cisplatin resistance, GSE103115 data were analyzed by the Limma package and Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). TNBC data from TCGA, GSE76250 and GSE115275 datasets were used to calculate NDC80 expression. Immunohistochemistry detected NDC80 protein expression in TNBC tissues from patients before and after cisplatin treatment. After expose to cisplatin treatment, the viability and proliferation of TNBC cells were measured by CCK-8 and colony formation assays, respectively. NDC80 was regarded as a cisplatin-resistant gene because after cisplatin treatment NDC80 was downregulated in cisplatin-sensitive cells but was upregulated in cisplatin-resistant cells. NDC80 was over-expressed in TNBC tissues compared to normal tissues. Furthermore, NDC80 expression in TNBC patients was increased after cisplatin treatment. Cisplatin-sensitive TNBC patients showed lower NDC80 expression than cisplatin-resistant patients. Additionally, NDC80 expression was correlated with clinical stages, tumor size and chemotherapy of TNBC patients. Moreover, NDC80 overexpression promoted the viability and proliferation of TNBC cells and enhanced the cells resistance to cisplatin. The potential pathways relative to cisplatin resistance were obtained, such as p53 signaling pathway and Oxidative phosphorylation. These findings provide new insights for understanding the mechanism of cisplatin resistance in TNBC, and NDC80 may be a potential therapeutic target for TNBC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a major inflammatory disease worldwide. We previously demonstrated that licorice residue flavones (LFs) showed satisfactory efficacy in the treatment of UC. Therefore, research into the ingredients of LFs may lead to the discovery of novel anti-UC targets. In the current study, we separated licoflavone B (LB) from LFs and administered it to dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-exposed C57BL/6 mice for 14 days. Our results demonstrated that high dose LB (120 mg/kg) significantly prevented DSS-induced weight loss, disease activity index (DAI) increase, histological damage, and colonic inflammation, indicating that LB has ameliorative effects on UC. We also investigated the composition of the intestinal barrier and microflora in an attempt to explore the mechanisms of LB against UC. As a result, we found that LB preserved the integrity of the colonic barrier by inhibiting colonic cell apoptosis and protecting the expression of occludin, claudin-1, and ZO-1. Moreover, LB reshaped the microflora composition by suppressing harmful bacteria (Enterococcus et al.) and boosting beneficial microorganisms (Bacteroides et al.). Further molecular exploration implied that LB exerted anti-UC activity through blocking the MAPK pathway. Here, we explored anti-UC activity of LB for the first time and clarified its mechanisms. These results will provide valuable clues for the discovery of novel anti-UC agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decreasing bioaccessible antibiotics, heavy metals, and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in soil by adsorption is an attractive, but unrealized, approach for ARG risk reduction. This approach has the potential to reduce the (co)selection pressure from antibiotics and heavy metals on bacteria and ARG horizontal gene transformation to pathogens. Here, a wet-state silicon-rich biochar/ferrihydrite composite (SiC–Fe(W)) synthesized by loading ferrihydrite onto rice straw-derived biochar was examined for i) adsorption of oxytetracycline and Cu2+ to reduce (co)selection pressure and ii) adsorption of extracellular antibiotic resistance plasmid pBR322 (containing tet A and bla TEM-1) to inhibit ARG transformation. SiC–Fe(W) gained the adsorption priority of biochar (for Cu2+) and wet-state ferrihydrite (for oxytetracycline and pBR322) and showed adsorptive enhancement (for Cu2+ and oxytetracycline) from a more wrinkled and exposed surface from biochar silica-dispersed ferrihydrite and a more negatively charged biochar, and the adsorption capacity for SiC–Fe(W) was 17–135 times that of soil. Correspondingly, 10 g/kg SiC–Fe(W) amendment increased the soil adsorption coefficient K d by 31%–1417% and reduced the selection pressure from dissolved oxytetracycline, co-selection pressure from dissolved Cu2+, and transformation frequency of pBR322 (assessed with Escherichia coli). The development of Fe–O–Si bonds on silicon-rich biochar in alkaline enhanced ferrihydrite stability and adsorption capacity (for oxytetracycline), presenting a new potential strategy of biochar/ferrihydrite composite synthesis for adsorptive inhibition of ARG proliferation and transformation in ARG pollution control. [Display omitted] • SiC–Fe(W) containing silica-stabilized and high-surface ferrihydrite and sichar was synthesized. • SiC–Fe(W) held adsorption capacity exceeding biochar and wet-state ferrihydrite for Cu2+ and oxytetracycline. • Adsorptive inhibition of ARG proliferation and transmission in soil was realized by SiC–Fe(W). • SiC–Fe(W) promoted the persistence of soil sorption enhancement towards oxytetracycline and ARG in dry-wet cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Preharvest chitosan sprays promoted wound healing and reduced disease development. • Chitosan induced suberin poly phenolic deposition at wound sites during healing. • Chitosan sprays activated phenylpropanoid pathway at wound sites during healing. Suberin poly phenolic is an important component of healing tissue. We aimed to develop a new method to accelerate wound healing of harvested muskmelons. In this study, the plants and fruits of muskmelons were sprayed with 0.1 % chitosan four times during fruit development to evaluate the effect of chitosan treatment on wound healing of harvested muskmelons. The results showed that preharvest chitosan sprays reduced the weight loss and disease index of harvested muskmelons during healing. Chitosan sprays also accelerated the deposition of suberin poly phenolic at wound sites of harvested muskmelons during healing. The treatment increased the activities of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and cinnamate-4-hydroxylase, and promoted the accumulation of cinnamic acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, p -coumaric acid, total phenols and flavonoids at wound sites. We suggest that preharvest chitosan sprays activated phenylpropanoid metabolism, promoted the deposition of suberin poly phenolic at wound sites of harvested muskmelons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • ZIF-67-derived CoO@GC/WO 3 @CL is used as a bifunctional catalyst for the first time. • Intra-particle maturation of WO 3 from microrod to nanosphere forms more O-vacancies. • PVP-derived CL protects Co2+ (CoOOH) and O-vacancies to stabilize ORR/OER activities. • Cooperation between WO 3 and Co2+ boosts electron transfer to promote 4e− ORR pathway. • Interaction between CoOOH (Co3+) and O-vacancies (WO 3) promotes O 2 generation (OER). Oxygen reduction/evolution reactions (ORR/OER) play the vital roles in energy-conversion devices, especially for Zn-air batteries (ZABs). However, it is always a challenge to explore a stable bifunctional catalyst. Here, WO 3 -anchored ZIF-67-derived CoO@graphitized carbon is wrapped by a thin carbon-layer to obtain CoO@GC/WO 3 @CL catalysts. The well-crystallized WO 3 nanospheres are evolved from WO 3 microrods via an intra-particle maturation. For ORR, the peak-potential of CoO@GC/WO 3 @CL-800 (800 ℃) (0.81 V vs. RHE) is higher than that of Pt/C (0.79 V). Synergies between WO 3 (oxygen vacancies) and CoO (Co2+) improve mass/charge transfer to boost the 4e− pathway. For OER, CoO@GC/WO 3 @CL-800 has a lower overpotential (330 mV) than RuO 2 (490 mV) at 10 mA cm−2. The O 2 evolution rate can reach 0.125 mmol s−1 with a high Faraday efficiency of 96.7 %. Cooperation between CoOOH and oxygen vacancies promotes the H 2 O-oxidation to boost the O 2 -generation. A relatively low ΔE [E j=10 (OER)-E 1/2 (ORR)] of 0.72 V confirms the highly-stable ORR/OER activities of CoO@GC/WO 3 @CL-800, which obtains a higher power density (138 mW cm−2) than Pt/C + RuO 2 cathode in primary ZABs. This study indicates a new direction to build a multilayer-structured ORR/OER catalyst by using ZIFs as templates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]