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The alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) and aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) play critical roles in alcoholism development and alcohol toxicology; however, few studies have focused on the miRNA-mediated mechanisms underlying the expressions of alcohol-metabolizing enzymes. In the present study, we showed the expression changes of each alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) in the liver samples of alcoholic hepatitis (AH) patients, and predicted the miRNAs targeting the dysregulated alcohol-metabolizing genes by a systematic in silico analysis. 13 miRNAs were predicted to regulate the expressions of ADH1A, ADH4, and ALDH2, respectively, with hsa-miR-148a-3p (miR-148a) showing the most significant down-regulation in AH patients. Following experimental evidence using HepG2 cells proved that miR-148a promoted ADH4 expression by directly binding to the coding sequence of ADH4 and increasing the mRNA stability via an AGO1-dependent manner. Additional assays showed that secondary structure of ADH4 transcript affected the target accessibility and binding of miR-148a-3p. In sum, our results suggest that the expressions of key alcohol-metabolizing enzymes are repressed in AH patients, and the non-canonical positive regulation of miR-148a on ADH4 reveals a new regulationary mechanism for ADH genes.

3-bromo-4,5-Bis(2,3-dibromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzyl)-1,2-benzenediol (CYC31) is a bromophenol protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibitor isolated from the red alga Rhodomela confervoides. Here, the effect of CYC31 on the insulin signaling and fatty-acid-induced disorders in C2C12 myotubes was investigated. Molecular docking assay showed that CYC31 was embedded into the catalytic pocket of PTP1B. A cellular study found that CYC31 increased the activity of insulin signaling and promoted 2-NBDG uptake through GLUT4 translocation in C2C12 myotubes. Further studies showed that CYC31 ameliorated palmitate-induced insulin resistance in C2C12 myotubes. Moreover, CYC31 treatment significantly increased the mRNA expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1B (CPT-1B) and fatty acid binding protein 3 (FABP3), which was tightly linked with fatty acid oxidation. These findings suggested that CYC31 could prevent palmitate-induce insulin resistance and could improve fatty acid oxidation through PTP1B inhibition.

We have demonstrated the role of thermal annealing treatment after InGaN quantum well layer growth to improve the interface morphology and luminescence properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs). X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope analyses reveal that better structural properties are achieved by appropriately increasing the ramp-up time as well as relatively decreasing the annealing temperature as the interface quality of MQWs is improved. Moreover, the photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) measurements confirm the higher crystal quality and optical properties of InGaN/GaN MQWs. The reason may be the redistribution of indium atoms improves the homogeneity of localized states in MQWs, and the In-rich clustering behavior is obviously alleviated. This annealing method is feasible and can lead to obtaining high-performance semiconductor optoelectronic devices.

With ideal optical properties, semiconducting polymer quantum dots (SPs) have become a research focus in recent years; a considerable number of studies have been devoted to the application of SPs in non-invasive and biosafety phototherapy with near-infrared (NIR) lasers. Nevertheless, the relatively poor stability of SPs in vitro and in vivo remains problematic. PCPDTBT was chosen to synthesize photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) dual-model SPs, considering its low band gap and desirable absorption in the NIR window. For the first time, cetrimonium bromide was used as a stabilizer to guarantee the in vitro stability of SPs, and as a template to prepare SP hybrid mesoporous silica nanoparticles (SMs) to achieve long-term stability in vivo. The mesoporous structure of SMs was used as a reservoir for the hypoxia-activated prodrug Tirapazamine (TPZ). SMs were decorated with polyethylene glycol-folic acid (SMPFs) to specifically target activated macrophages in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Upon an 808 nm NIR irradiation, the SMPFs generate intracellular hyperthermia and excessive singlet oxygen. Local hypoxia caused by molecular oxygen consumption simultaneously activates the cytotoxicity of TPZ, which effectively kills activated macrophages and inhibits the progression of arthritis. This triple PTT-PDT-chemo synergistic treatment suggests that SMPFs realize the in vivo application of SPs and may be a potential nano-vehicle for RA therapy with negligible side-toxicity.

The co-delivery of nanoparticles encapsulating gene therapies and chemotherapeutic drugs can achieve synergistic treatment and reduce side effects in normal tissues relative to the systemic use of single drug delivery. Activated macrophages play a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Hyaluronic acid (HA), a natural polysaccharide, is a specific ligand for CD44 that is overexpressed on the surface of activated macrophages. In this study, HA-coated pH-responsive nanoparticles loaded with MCL-1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) and dexamethasone (HNPs/MD) were developed for RA treatment. The HNPs/MD had a mean particle size of 117.07 ± 2.21 nm and zeta potential of 15.53 ± 1.06 mV. The release rates of both MCL-1 siRNA and dexamethasone from the HNPs/MD at pH 4.5 and 6.0 were higher than those at pH 7.4, indicating that the nanoparticles were acid-sensitive. Cytotoxicity assays showed that compared with single drug loaded nanoparticles, the HNPs/MD showed higher cytotoxicity to activated macrophages. The superior therapeutic effect of HNPs/MD was demonstrated in an adjuvant-induced arthritis rat model. These findings indicate that pH-sensitive and HA-targeting co-delivery nanoparticles provide a new direction for the therapy of RA.

N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) is a universal organic solvent which widely used in various industries, and a considerable amount of DMF is detected in industrial effluents. Accumulating animal and epidemiological studies have identified liver injury as an early toxic effect of DMF exposure; however, the detailed mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we systematically integrated the quantitative proteomics, lipidomics, and metabolomics data obtained from the primary human hepatocytes exposed to DMF, to depict the complicated biochemical reactions correlated to liver damage. Eventually, we identified 284 deregulated proteins (221 downregulated and 63 upregulated) and 149 deregulated lipids or metabolites (99 downregulated and 50 upregulated) induced by DMF exposure. Further, the integration of the protein-metabolite (lipid) interactions revealed that N-glycan biosynthesis (involved in the endoplasmic reticulum stress and the unfolded protein response), bile acid metabolism (involved in the lipid metabolism and the inflammatory process), and mitochondrial dysfunction and glutathione depletion (both contributed to reactive oxygen species) were the typical biochemical reactions disturbed by DMF exposure. In summary, our study identified the versatile protein, lipid, and metabolite molecules in multiple signaling and metabolic pathways involved in DMF induced liver injury, and provided new insights to elucidate the toxic mechanisms of DMF.

III-nitride materials play a significant role in adjusting the emission of quantum emitters. In quantum networks, photons are used as flying qubits, and Gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have shown powerful single photon emission characteristics. Due to the high refractive index contrast of the semiconductor quantum dots, the extraction efficiency is low. In this paper, we numerically simulate the unidirectional emission quantum dot of InGaN formed on the apex of a silver-coated GaN nano-pyramid structure using FDTD software, and the structure is optimized to form an enhancement of extraction efficiency at a wavelength of 520 nm, its extraction efficiency has been improved from 91.35% to 97.2%. Most of the extracted light from the quantum dots is directed to the bottom of the pyramid with high directivity and incident into the single-mode optical fiber. The new structure is expected to be applied to unidirectional, bright and high extraction efficiency quantum emitters in quantum communication systems.

Cisplatin is a commonly used drug for chemotherapy, however, whether it may be used synergistically with radiotherapy remains unclear. The present study investigated the underlying mechanisms of synergistic killing by radiosensitization and cisplatin, with a focus on the growth inhibition, apoptosis and autophagy of non-small cell human lung cancer cells in vitro and in a tumor xenograft in vivo. A549 cells were used for the in vitro experiments and divided into the following four treatment groups: Sham-irradiated; conventional radiotherapy (CRT) of five doses of 2 Gy every day; hyperfractionated radiotherapy of five doses of 2 Gy (1 Gy twice a day at 4 h intervals) every day; and CRT plus cisplatin. A xenograft tumor-bearing C57BL/6 model was established for the in vivo experiments and the above-mentioned treatments were administered. MTT and colony formation assays were used to detect cell viability and western blotting was performed to detect the levels of protein expression. Monodansylcadaverine staining and the immunofluorescence technique were used to analyze the autophagy rate, while flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry were performed to detect the expression levels of the genes associated with apoptosis and autophagy, including microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (MAPLC3)-II, phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) III, Beclin1, phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-AKT), damage-regulated autophagy modulator (DRAM), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein, caspase-3 and p21. The MTT assay demonstrated that cisplatin exhibits a dose-dependent cytotoxicity in A549 cells and synergizes with radiation to promote the cell-killing effect of radiation. In the xenograft mouse model of Lewis cells, cisplatin plus ionizing radiation (IR) (five doses of 2 Gy) yielded the most significant tumor suppression. The autophagic vacuoles, the ratio of MAPLC3-II to MAPLC3-I (LC3-II/LC3-I) and the levels of Beclin1 were found to increase in all treatment groups, with the most marked upregulation observed in the CRT plus cisplatin treatment group. In addition, caspase-3 processing was enhanced in the group treated with the combination of cisplatin with radiation, compared with the group treated with radiation alone. Fractionated IR resulted in a significant increase in p21 expression, which was further enhanced when combined with cisplatin. Furthermore, treatment with cisplatin and fractionated IR resulted in a significant elevation of the expression of the autophagy-related genes, PI3KIII, Beclin1 and DRAM1. However, the levels of p-AKT were observed to decline following exposure to fractionated IR in the presence or absence of cisplatin. As for the apoptosis signaling genes, the combination of cisplatin and fractionated IR therapy resulted in a significant decrease in Bcl-2 expression and a marked upregulation of p21 expression. The current study offers strong evidence that the combination of cisplatin with radiation strengthens the killing effect of radiation via pro-apoptotic and pro-autophagic cell death.

Activated macrophages play a vital role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathophysiology. CD44 is an overexpressed receptor on activated macrophages that is a potential target site for RA treatment. In this study, we prepared hyaluronic acid (HA) coated acid-sensitive polymeric nanoparticles (HAPNPs) composed of egg phosphatidylcholine, polyethylenimine, and poly (cyclohexane-1,4-diyl acetone dimethylene ketal) (PCADK) loaded with dexamethasone (Dex) for the treatment of RA. PCADK was used to form polymeric cores because of its acid-sensitivity. The HAPNPs were about 150 nm in size and had a zeta potential of &minus, 2.84 mV. The release rate of Dex from HAPNPs/Dex in vitro increased markedly when the pH decreased from 7.4 to 4.5, indicating that the HAPNPs were pH-sensitive. In a cellular uptake study, stronger fluorescence signals were observed in activated macrophages treated with HAPNPs, suggesting that HAPNPs could be effective nanodevices target to activated macrophages. In rats with adjuvant-induced arthritis, HAPNPs could inhibited the progression of RA. Taken together, these results suggest that the HAPNPs could be useful in RA therapy.