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This work aimed to explore the changes of rice protein (RP) in solubility, emulsifying properties, and antioxidant activity after the enzyme hydrolysis-assisted fibrillation dual modification. Results showed that enzyme hydrolysis by papain and fibrillation treatments significantly affected the secondary and tertiary structures of RP. The modified proteins, including RP hydrolysate (RPH), RP nanofibrils (RPN), and RPH nanofibrils (RPHN), demonstrated enhanced solubility and antioxidant activity compared to RP, with RPHN exhibiting the superior performance. The emulsifying capacity of RPH, RPN, and RPHN increased by 9.55 %, 22.86 %, and 26.57 %, respectively, compared to that of RP. Furthermore, RPHN displayed the highest emulsion stability index. Nanoemulsion stabilized by RPHN showed enhanced centrifugal, storage, and oxidative stabilities. Neither RPHN nor RPN exhibited cytotoxicity to human cell lines, and could provide nutrients for cells. Overall, the functional properties and antioxidant activity of RP were significantly improved by enzyme hydrolysis-assisted fibrillation dual modification. This study may provide reference for the development and utilization of nanofibrils from plant proteins., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The rotator cuff tendon-bone interface tissue exhibits high heterogeneity in its composition and structure, with collagen being its primary component. Here, we prepared tissue-engineered decellularized live hyaline cartilage grafts (dLHCG), this dLHCG scaffold's bioactive ECM mainly consists of collagen II, proteoglycans, and fibronectin, presenting a cartilage-like lacuna microstructure. The dLHCG scaffold loaded human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs) and adipose stem cells (ADSCs) were implanted into the interface. The dLHCG scaffold could maintain the pluripotency of stem cells, supporting the proliferation, osteogenic differentiation, and tenogenic differentiation of the MSCs. The collagen II, through the integrin α2β1-FAK-JNK signaling axis, promotes Runx-2 activation, playing a better regulatory role in the early osteogenic differentiation of MSCs, enhancing bone defect repair through an endochondral ossification process. The in vivo rat model demonstrated that 12 weeks post-operation, the MSC-loaded dLHCG scaffold group exhibited continuous aligned collagen fibers at the tendon-bone interface, with significantly enhanced biomechanical function compared to the control group. The dLHCG scaffold create an efficient interface, which promoting the restoration of the soft-hard gradient structure tissue at the junction between the scaffold and the host tissue, thereby providing a rational and promising strategy for the rapid healing of the rotator cuff injury., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Cardiomyocyte apoptosis plays a vital role in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (MI/R) injury; however, the role of beclin1 (BECN1) remains unclear. This study aimed at revealing the function of BECN1 during cardiomyocyte apoptosis after MI/R injury., Methods: In vivo, TTC and Evan's blue double staining was applied to verify the gross morphological alteration in both wild type (WT) mice and BECN1 transgene mice (BECN1-TG), and TUNEL staining and western blot were adopted to evaluate the cardiomyocyte apoptosis. In vitro, a hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) model was established in H9c2 cells to simulate MI/R injury. Proteomics analysis was preformed to verify if apoptosis occurs in the H/R cellular model. And apoptosis factors, RIPK1, Caspase-1, Caspase-3, and cleaved Caspase-3, were investigated using western bolting. In addition, the mRNA level were verified using RT-PCR. To further investigate the protein interactions small interfering RNA and lentiviral transfection were used. To continue investigate the protein interactions, immunofluorescence and coimmunoprecipitation were applied., Results: Morphologically, BECN1 significantly attenuated the apoptosis from TTC-Evan's staining, TUNEL, and cardiac tissue western blot. After H/R, a RIPK1-induced complex (complex II) containing RIPK1, Caspase-8, and FADD was formed. Thereafter, cleaved Caspase-3 was activated, and myocyte apoptosis occurred. However, BECN1 decreased the expression of RIPK1, Caspase-8, and FADD. Nevertheless, BECN1 overexpression increased RIPK1 ubiquitination before apoptosis by inhibiting OTUD1., Conclusions: BECN1 regulates FADD/RIPK1/Caspase-8 complex formation via RIPK1 ubiquitination by downregulating OTUD1 in C-Caspase-3-induced myocyte apoptosis after MI/R injury. Therefore, BECN1 can function as a cardioprotective candidate., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Artemdubosides A-E (1-5), the first examples of natural polyacetylenes substituted by 6'-O-crotonyl β-glucopyranoside, and artemdubosides F-G (6-7) that were two unusual polyacetylenes featuring a 6'-O-acetyl β-glucopyranoside moiety, were isolated from Artemisia dubia var. subdigitata. Their structures were elucidated based on the spectral data including HRESIMS, UV, IR, 1D and 2D NMR, and ECD calculations. Antihepatoma assay suggested that compound 1 exhibited activity against HepG2, Huh7, and SK-Hep-1 cells with inhibitory ratios of 77.1%, 90.8%, and 73.1% at 200.0 μM, respectively., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper aims to provide a state-of-the-art review on the effects of vegetation roots on the soil structure and soil hydraulic properties. After a thorough review of current studies, the effects of vegetation roots are summarized into four: root exudation, root penetration, root water uptake and root decay. Root exudates alter the size and stability of aggregates, the contact angle of soil, and the viscosity and surface tension of pore fluid; root exudates of crops always increase the soil water retention capacity and decrease the soil saturated hydraulic conductivity. Root penetration creates new pores or clogs existing pores during root growth, and root parameters (e.g., root biomass density, root diameter and root length density) are well correlated to soil hydraulic properties. Root water uptake can apparently increase the soil water retention capacity by providing an additional negative pressure and induce micro-fissures and macropores in the rhizosphere soil. Root decay modifies the pore structure and water repellency of soil, resulting in the increase of soil macro-porosity, soil water retention, and the saturated hydraulic conductivity or steady infiltration rate. Some of the above four effects may be difficult to be distinguished, and most importantly each is highly time-dependent and influenced by a multitude of plant-related and soil-related factors. Therefore, it remains a significant challenge to comprehend and quantify the effects of vegetation roots on the soil structure and soil hydraulic properties. Unsolved questions and disputes that require further investigations in the future are summarized in this review., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Respiratory viral infections, such as coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) and influenza, cause significant morbidity and mortality and have become a worldwide public health concern with tremendous economic and societal burdens. Vaccination is a major strategy for preventing infections. However, some new vaccines have an unmet need for impairing responses in certain individuals, especially COVID-19 vaccines, despite ongoing vaccine and adjuvant research. Here, we evaluated the effectiveness of Astragalus polysaccharide (APS), a bioactive polysaccharide extracted from the traditional Chinese herb Astragalus membranaceus as an immune adjuvant to regulate the efficacy of influenza split vaccine (ISV) and recombinant severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-Cov-2 vaccine in mice. Our data indicated that APS as an adjuvant can facilitate the induction of high levels of hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) titer and specific antibody immunoglobulin G (IgG) and confer protection against the lethal challenge of influenza A viruses, including increased survival and amelioration of weight loss in mice immunized with the ISV. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis revealed that the NF-κB and Fc gamma R-mediated phagocytosis signaling pathways are essential for the immune response of mice immunized with the recombinant SARS-Cov-2 vaccine (RSV). Another important finding was that bidirectional immunomodulation of APS on cellular and humoral immunity was observed, and APS-adjuvant-induced antibodies persisted at a high level for at least 20 weeks. These findings suggest that APS is a potent adjuvant for influenza and COVID-19 vaccines, and has the advantages of bidirectional immunoregulation and persistent immunity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The studies of iridium (III) complexes as potent anticancer reagents have attracted great attention. Here, a new iridium (III) complex [Ir(bzq) 2 (PYIP)](PF 6 ) (Ir1, bzq = benzo[h]quinoline, PYIP = 2-(pyren-1-yl)-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline) was synthesized and its liposomes (Ir1Lipo) was prepared. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method was used to detect the cytotoxic activity of Ir1 and Ir1Lipo on HepG2, SGC-7901, BEL-7402, HeLa, B16, A549 and normal NIH3T3 cells. The complex Ir1 displays no obvious inhibitory effect on the growth of BEL-7402 cells, while the Ir1Lipo shows significant cytotoxic activity on BEL-7402 cells (IC 50  = 2.6 ± 0.03 μM). In further studies, Ir1Lipo induced apoptosis by the mitochondrial pathways, such as increasing intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) content and intracellular Ca 2+ level, decreasing the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). In addition, after incubation with Ir1Lipo, the colony formation of BEL-7402 cells was significantly inhibited. Moreover, flow cytometry was used to detect the impact of Ir1Lipo on cell cycle distribution, and western blot was used to detect the expression of caspases and Bcl-2 (B-cell lymphoma-2) family proteins. Furthermore, Ir1Lipo exhibited significant antitumor activity in vivo with an inhibitory rate of 65.8%. These results indicated that Ir1Lipo induces apoptosis in BEL-7402 cells through intrinsic mitochondrial pathway., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Light and electricity are the most prevalent energy sources in natural environment. Herein, a visible-light active Ni foam@NiFe-LDH/Co 3 O 4 composite was successfully prepared by loading 1D Co 3 O 4 nanowires on the surface of 2D NiFe-LDH nanosheets to be a p-n heterojunction supported on the 3D Ni foam through hydrothermal method, which can be used as photoanode directly for photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) process to simultaneously remove bisphenol (BPA) and Cr(VI) from water. This unique Ni foam-based photoanode modified by NiFe-LDH/Co 3 O 4 heterojunction can fully expose the active sites, enhance visible-light absorption and facilitate the migration and separation of photogenerated carriers, thus obtained a boosted efficiency for simultaneous removal of BPA and Cr(VI) under a low applied voltage. Furthermore, the convenient recyclability and excellent stability of the as-prepared Ni foam@NiFe-LDH/Co 3 O 4 also show a great potential in environmental purification., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

p-n Heterojunctions of BiOI/ZnO nanorod arrays (BiOI/ZnO NRs) were prepared by loading the p-type BiOI nanosheets on the n-type ZnO nanorod arrays for efficient removal of organic contaminants in water during the piezo-photocatalytic degradation. Under concurrent visible-light irradiation and ultrasonic vibration, the bisphenol solution (50 mL, 10 mg/L) could be completely degraded within 30 min by 10 mg of 0.15 BiOI/ZnO NRs. It shows a dramatically-enhanced degradation efficiency under light irradiation and ultrasonic vibration, which is four times as high as that only under light irradiation. The excellent piezo-photocatalytic ability of BiOI/ZnO NRs could be attributed to the piezoelectric effect coupling with photocatalytic process. Under the irradiation of light, the electron-hole pairs were generated in BiOI nanosheets, and the piezoelectric potential is created inside the highly oriented one-dimensional ZnO nanorods by ultrasonic vibration, which can accelerate the migration of photogenerated carriers. It shows a strategy to effectively enhance the photocatalytic activity through utilizing the internal piezoelectric potential, which is generated by the one-dimensional nanorods with piezoelectric properties under ultrasonic vibration. So, it can promote the separation and prolong the lifetime of photogenerated carriers, and result in high-efficient degradation of organic contaminants., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: In this study, expression of cancer stem cells (CSCs)-related factor-Sex-determining region of Y chromosome-related high-mobility-group box 2 (SOX2) and anti-apoptotic specific factor- Survivin in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC) was detected to provide important clues for effective SACC prevention and treatment by combining clinical pathological parameters analysis., Methods: Paraffin and fresh specimens were collected from SACC patients who underwent surgery at the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department of Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital. The experimental group was designed as SACC tissue, and the control group normal paracancerous normal gland tissue. (1) SOX2 and Survivin expression were detected using immunohistochemistry and analyzed by comnining clinical pathological parameter analysis. (2) mRNA and protein expression levels of SOX2 and Survivin were detected using RT-PCR, Western Blot., Results: 1. Immunohistochemistry: (1) SOX2 was mainly expressed on the nucleus. The SOX2 positive rate was 28.57% in clinical stage I-II, and 76.92% in stage III-IV. (2) Survivin was mainly expressed in the cytoplasm. The Survivin positive rate was 61.90% in clinical stage I-II, and 76.92% in stage III-IV. (3) There was a clear correlation between SOX2 and Survivin. 2. RT-PCR and Western Blot: The mRNA and protein expression levels of SOX2 and Survivin were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.01)., Conclusion: (1) The mRNA and protein expression level of SOX2 and Survivin was significantly higher in SACC tissues than in paracancerous normal salivary gland tissues, indicating that both of the two are tissue-specific and may become SACC oncogenes. (2) SOX2 and Survivin are significantly correlated in expression, which may coorinatively participate in SACC incidence and development., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Megacities pose both challenges and opportunities for the transition towards sustainability, and understanding the evolution of urbanization in megacities has profound implications for human societies in an increasingly urbanized world. Here, we mapped and quantified spatiotemporal dynamics of urban expansion in China's six megacities (i.e., Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin) from 1978 to 2015, integrating remote sensing and GIS technology combined with landscape metrics and urban growth type analysis. The results show that six Chinese megacities have all undergone extensive physical expansion over the past four decades, and the magnitude of urban expansion is ranked in the order of Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Beijing, with annual growth rates of 11.02%, 8.07%, 5.80%, 5.37%, 4.56% and 3.46%, respectively. The megacities with smaller initial urban areas were associated with higher urban expansion rates. Differences in the direction, extent and location of expansion for each megacity related largely to the topography, policies and urban master planning. Temporal dynamics of urban growth and landscape metrics suggested that the urbanization processes of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin were basically consistent with urban growth theory, while those of Chongqing and Guangzhou did not match the theory well. Temporal coevolution of the urban area with urban population implied efficiency of urban land use in Shenzhen and Beijing, which are the first special economic zone and the capital of China, respectively. The efficiency of wealth creation in the urbanized area base was observed for all Chinese megacities, signifying the effectiveness of urban expansion as a vehicle to promote economic growth. We face the challenge of managing trade-offs between the benefits and costs of urban agglomeration., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Four polysaccharides, PTP-1, PTP-2, PTP-3 and PTP-4, were obtained from the water extraction of the stems of P. tricuspidata by anion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. The antioxidant activities of four PTPs were investigated, exhibiting different antioxidant activities, in which PTP-4 performed noticeable, with strong superoxide radical activity (comparable to BHT), high DPPH radical activity (78.53% at 1250 μg/mL), moderate hydroxyl radical scavenging activity and reducing power activity. Furthermore, the chemical structure of PTP-4 was measured by FT-IR, GC, 1 H and 13 C NMR spectra, indicating its mainly composition of the arabinose, xylose, galactose, glucuronic acid, and mannose. Thus, the stems of P. tricuspidata could be used as a potential source for natural antioxidant., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objective: The objectives of this study were to investigate the application and differential diagnostic value of safranin O staining, safranin-fast green staining, and Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) immunohistochemistry with regard to condylar hyperplasia and condylar osteochondroma., Study Design: Histopathologic presence was evaluated by using hematoxylin and eosin staining, safranin O staining, safranin-fast green staining, and immunohistochemistry of Runx2 in postoperative specimens of normal condyle (control), condylar hyperplasia, and condylar osteochondroma., Results: Safranin O staining clearly highlighted the tissue structure of the condylar cartilage, especially the hypertrophic layer. The safranin-fast green method showed a contrast in staining between cartilage and subchondral cancellous bone in the condyle specimens. Both methods were better than hematoxylin and eosin staining for morphologically distinguishing condylar hyperplasia and condylar osteochondroma. The expression of Runx2 in condylar hyperplasia was significantly greater than that in condylar osteochondroma., Conclusions: This study indicated that safranin O staining and safranin-fast green staining are effective staining methods to differentiate between condylar hyperplasia and condylar osteochondroma. Immunohistochemistry findings suggested that Runx2 is valuable in the differential diagnosis of these two diseases., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: With the inclusion criteria of patients confirmed and the therapeutic effects and stability evaluated, this article presents the clinical value of bimaxillary orthognathic surgery without bone graft of maxillofacial asymmetric deformities in patients treated for unilateral temporomandibular joint (TMJ) ankylosis., Study Design: From 2008 to 2012, 12 patients with dentomaxillofacial asymmetric deformities secondary to unilateral TMJ ankylosis who had undergone TMJ reconstruction as the primary surgery were included in the study. Preoperatively, all patients had compensatory occlusal plane and maxillary inclination <10° and mandibular advancement <15 mm according to computer-assisted 3-dimensional surgical simulation and prediction. Patients received LeFort I osteotomy and bilateral sagittal split rami osteotomy without bone graft, and genioplasty. Pre- and postoperative and long-term radiographic examinations were done to evaluate the therapeutic effects., Results: Maxillofacial asymmetry and abnormal occlusions in patients were clearly improved in the parameters of facial appearance and occlusion as recorded pre- and postoperatively and long term. All patients obtained satisfactory results and were stable in the 36- to 50-month follow-up period., Conclusion: The bimaxillary orthognathic treatment protocol without bone grafts described in this study can provide stable improvement in facial appearance and occlusion of secondary dentomaxillofacial deformities in appropriate patients with unilateral TMJ ankylosis., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The expansion of lipid droplets (LDs) and the differentiation of preadipocytes are two important aspects of mammalian lipid storage. In this study, we examined the role of CDP-diacylglycerol (DAG) synthases (CDSs), encoded by CDS1 and CDS2 genes in mammals, in lipid storage. CDS enzymes catalyze the formation of CDP-DAG from phosphatidic acid (PA). Knocking down either CDS1 or CDS2 resulted in the formation of giant or supersized LDs in cultured cells. Moreover, depleting CDS1 almost completely blocked the differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, whereas depleting CDS2 had a moderate inhibitory effect on adipocyte differentiation. The levels of many PA species were significantly increased upon knocking down CDS1 In contrast, only a small number of PA species were increased upon depleting CDS2 Importantly, the amount of PA in the endoplasmic reticulum was dramatically increased upon knocking down CDS1 or CDS2 Our results suggest that the changes in PA level and localization may underlie the formation of giant LDs as well as the block in adipogenesis in CDS-deficient cells. We have therefore identified CDS1 and CDS2 as important novel regulators of lipid storage, and these results highlight the crucial role of phospholipids in mammalian lipid storage., (Copyright © 2016 by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.)

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is hailed as one of the monumental scientific techniques of the twentieth century, and has become a common and often indispensable technique in many areas. However, researchers still frequently find some DNA templates very hard to amplify with PCR, although many kinds of endeavors were introduced to optimize the amplification. In fact, during the past decades, the experimental procedure of PCR was always the focus of attention, while the analysis of a DNA template, the PCR experimental subject itself, was almost neglected. Up to now, nobody can certainly identify whether a fragment of DNA can be simply amplified using conventional Taq DNA polymerase-based PCR protocol. Characterizing a DNA template and then developing a reliable and efficient method to predict the success of PCR reactions is thus urgently needed. In this study, by means of the Markov maximal order model, we construct a 48-D feature vector to represent a DNA template. Support vector machine (SVM) is then employed to help evaluate PCR result. To examine the anticipated success rates of our predictor, jackknife cross-validation test is adopted. The overall accuracy of our approach arrives at 93.12%, with the sensitivity, specificity, and MCC of 94.68%, 91.58%, and 0.863%, respectively., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In the following paper, a Re(I) complex with electron-withdrawing oxadiazole group in its diamine ligand (denoted as N-N) was synthesized. Its single crystal structure analysis confirmed the successful synthesis of both ligand and complex. The central Re(I) ion localized in a traditional octahedral coordination environment. The diamine ligand 2-(pyridin-2-yl)-5-(p-tolyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (denoted as PPOZ) took a coplanar structure and the corresponding face-to-face π-π attraction between PPOZ ligands made the Re(I) complex molecules adjust a highly ordered arrangement which was positive to improve emissive performance. In order to repress the excited state geometric relaxation and further improve the emissive performance, the Re(I) complex was doped into a polymer host poly(vinylpyrrolidone) via electrospinning, resulting in composite fibers. The morphology of those composite fibers was analyzed by electron microscopy. The photophysical comparison between bulk sample and composite fibers indicated that the composite fibers showed emission blue shift, longer excited state lifetime and improved photostability. Further analysis suggested that the excited state geometric relaxation could be effectively repressed when the Re(I) complex molecules were immobilized in the polymer matrix, leading to above variations., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The human lipodystrophy gene product Berardinelli-Seip congenital lipodystrophy 2/seipin has been implicated in adipocyte differentiation, lipid droplet (LD) formation, and motor neuron development. However, the molecular function of seipin and its disease-causing mutants remains to be elucidated. Here, we characterize seipin and its mis-sense mutants: N88S/S90L (both linked to motoneuron disorders) and A212P (linked to lipodystrophy) in cultured mammalian cells. Knocking down seipin significantly increases oleate incorporation into triacylglycerol (TAG) and the steady state level of TAG, and induces the proliferation and clustering of small LDs. By contrast, overexpression of seipin reduces TAG synthesis, leading to decreased formation of LDs. Expression of the A212P mutant, however, had little effect on LD biogenesis. Surprisingly, expression of N88S or S90L causes the formation of many small LDs reminiscent of seipin deficient cells. This dominant-negative effect may be due to the N88S/S90L-induced formation of inclusions where wild-type seipin can be trapped. Importantly, coexpression of wild-type seipin and the N88S or S90L mutant can significantly reduce the formation of inclusions. Finally, we demonstrate that seipin can interact with itself and its mutant forms. Our results provide important insights into the biochemical characteristics of seipin and its mis-sense mutants, and suggest that seipin may function to inhibit lipogenesis.

The proteomic makeup of lipid droplets (LDs) is believed to regulate the function of LDs, which are now recognized as important cellular organelles that are associated with many human metabolic disorders. However, factors that help determine LD proteome remain to be identified and characterized. Here we analyzed the phospholipid and protein composition of LDs isolated from wild type (WT) yeast cells, and also from fld1Δ, cds1, and ino2Δ mutant cells which produce 'supersized' LDs. LDs of fld1Δ and WT cells exhibited similar phospholipid profiles, whereas LDs of cds1 and ino2Δ strains had a higher (cds1) or lower (ino2Δ) percentage of phosphatidylcholine than those of WT, respectively. Unexpectedly, the presence of most known LD resident proteins was greatly reduced in the LD fraction isolated from cds1 and ino2Δ, including neutral lipid hydrolases. Consistent with this result, mobilization of neutral lipids was seriously impaired in these two strains. Contrary to the reduction of LD resident proteins, the Hsp90 family molecular chaperones, Hsc82 and Hsp82, were greatly increased in the LD fractions of cds1 and ino2Δ strains without changes at the level of expression. These data demonstrate the impact of LD phopholipids and size on the makeup of LD proteome., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Schwann cells (SCs) within peripheral nerve respond robustly after exposure to neurotrophic factors. Recent results have revealed that valproic acid (VPA), at a clinically relevant therapeutic concentration, produces effects similar to neurotrophic factors, and promotes neurite growth and cell survival. We hypothesized that VPA could also induce Schwann cell response. In this study, we sought to determine how pure Schwann cells responded to VPA by evaluating for proliferation, expression of S-100, growth cone-associated protein 43 (GAP-43), myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG), and myelin basic protein (MBP). Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that the Schwann cells were positive for S-100, GAP-43, MAG, and MBP greater than 99% of the experimental cells. The rate of proliferation was increased in experimental cells from MTT assay and Bromodeoxyuridine/DAPI double staining. Furthermore, Western blot showed an up-regulation in GAP-43, MAG and MBP protein expression in experimental cells, respectively. We also found that mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 pathway was involved in the enhanced cell proliferation of Schwann cells evoked by VPA. This study provides novel information regarding Schwann cell response to VPA, which might help the understanding of VPA-based treatment for peripheral nerve injury., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and the Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.)

Tetrandrine, a bisbenylisoquinoline alkaloid isolated from the dried root of Stephenia tetrandra (S Moore), possesses a remarkable pharmacological profile. However, the mechanisms of tetrandrine hepatotoxicity remain to be elucidated. In this study, we first proved apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction induced by tetrandrine in Sprague-Dawley rat liver in vivo. By further assuming apoptosis as an important mechanism in tetrandrine-induced hepatotoxicity, we focused on mitochondria-initiated apoptosis in primary hepatocytes isolated from Sprague-Dawley male rats. Tetrandrine treatment led to significant release of cytochrome c and downregulation of Bcl-X(L) accompanied by caspase 3 activation, and ultimately, DNA fragmentation. Caspase 3 activation was markedly inhibited by cyclosporin A (CsA) and Ac-DEVD-CHO. Furthermore, Endo G, a caspase-independent apoptotic protein, was detected for its expression and DNase activity. CsA blocked the release both of Endo G and cytochrome c significantly. Additionally, the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) increased in a time-dependent manner corresponding with a fall in intracellular GSH content after 10 microM tetrandrine treatment in 4h. Tetrandrine also induced mitochondrial dysfunction indicated by transition of mitochondrial transmembrane potential and decrease of intracellular ATP level. The findings indicated that the caspase-dependent mitochondrial apoptosis pathway was primarily involved in tetrandrine-induced apoptosis in rat primary hepatocytes. In addition, a caspase-independent pathway indicated by Endo G also contributed to apoptosis caused by tetrandrine. Meanwhile, ROS was proved an important inducer in this apoptosis process.