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A multifunctional supramolecular complex is reported for the integrated multiple magnetic resonance imaging/computed X-ray tomography (MRI/CT) imaging and photothermal therapy, wherein a gadolinium-substituted paramagnetic polyoxometalate cluster and food-borne antioxidant peptides identified from the trepang protein hydrolysates are introduced. The as-prepared complex maintained an uniform particle size and much better biocompatibility, and is an ideal candidate for the in vivo applications. The complex allows for T1-weighted MR imaging and a high Hounsfield unit value for enhanced CT imaging. Interestingly, we demonstrate that the complex possesses outstanding photothermal cancer-killing effects due to its high photothermal conversion efficiency under the exposure of an NIR laser and enhanced antibacterial activity to avoid bacterial infection from the thermal therapeutic process. These results indicate that the supramolecular complex platform exhibit potential for accurate medical diagnosis at an early stage and effective eradication of the tumor cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focused on the mechanism of Ser-Ala-Gly-Pro-Ala-Phe (SAGPAF) treatment to improve gastric mucosal injury in mice. A gastric mucosa injury model induced by ethanol was established, and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, nitric oxide (NO) content and myeloperoxidase (MPO) level were determined. We performed macroscopic and histopathological evaluation of the gastric organs. Moreover, we analyzed the mechanism of SAGPAF treatment by western blotting. Compared with the model group, the SOD activity and NO content in the medium-dose and high-dose SAGPAF groups of treated with 10 kV cm -1 field intensity were significantly increased. The MDA content and MPO level were decreased significantly. They significantly reduced the gastric mucosal injury induced by ethanol (21.17 ± 3.51% and 13.99 ± 2.00%) and the histopathological scores (3.83 ± 0.40 and 4.33 ± 0.37) ( P < 0.05). Western blotting analysis showed that SAGPAF after pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment improved gastric injury by reducing protein phosphorylation. These findings provided strong evidence that PEF-treated SAGPAF enhanced the gastric mucosal barrier function by inhibiting the activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) signaling pathways, reducing the ethanol-induced inflammatory response and oxidative stress.

The current study looks to evaluate the effect of corn silk flavonoids on membranous nephropathy (MN). Polyamide resin (PR) can be used to enrich corn silk ethanol extract (CSEE) to obtain flavonoid-rich extract (PR-CSEE), the total flavonoid content (TFC) of which we found to be 57.4%. The results of scanning electron microscope, Fourier-transform infrared, and high-performance liquid chromatography analyses determined that PR-CSEE and CSEE have different structural characteristics, but that PR-CSEE has higher TFC. MN mice models were induced by cationic bovine serum albumin, and we found that PR-CSEE administration reduced urine protein levels markedly, while renal function, glomerular atrophy, inflammatory infiltration, and in-serum immunoglobulin G and complement 3 content were improved. Through LC-MS 2 spectrometry analysis, we pinpointed the 12 major flavonoid active compounds in PR-CSEE. These findings suggest that PR-CSEE can act as a potential functional food material by which to improve MN.

A multifunctional supramolecular complex is reported for the integrated multiple magnetic resonance imaging/computed X-ray tomography (MRI/CT) imaging and photothermal therapy, wherein a gadolinium-substituted paramagnetic polyoxometalate cluster and food-borne antioxidant peptides identified from the trepang protein hydrolysates are introduced. The as-prepared complex maintained an uniform particle size and much better biocompatibility, and is an ideal candidate for the in vivo applications. The complex allows for T1-weighted MR imaging and a high Hounsfield unit value for enhanced CT imaging. Interestingly, we demonstrate that the complex possesses outstanding photothermal cancer-killing effects due to its high photothermal conversion efficiency under the exposure of an NIR laser and enhanced antibacterial activity to avoid bacterial infection from the thermal therapeutic process. These results indicate that the supramolecular complex platform exhibit potential for accurate medical diagnosis at an early stage and effective eradication of the tumor cells.