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It is a big challenge to separate N2O from CO2 using adsorption because they have similar physical properties. The Fe3+-F- site in MIL-100Fe transforms to an unsaturated Fe2+ site under high-temperature activation (300 °C), and the target sorbent MIL-100Fe-300 exhibits the biggest difference in CO2 and N2O adsorption capacity, and the selectivity of N2O/CO2 (50%/50%) is up to 3.00 at 298 K. According to DFT calculations, the original Fe3+-F- site has strong interaction with CO2, but the open Fe2+ site has a stronger interaction with N2O. Through a breakthrough experiment, it was confirmed that MIL-100Fe-300 has the best N2O/CO2 separation performance, making it potentially a useful material in industry.

Cerium dioxide nanocrystals embedded in porous carbon rod materials were used for sulfur storage and embedding. Polar cerium dioxide effectively adsorbed polysulfide and inhibited the shuttle effect. By calculating the diffusion coefficient of the lithium-ions, it was concluded that the porous carbon rod material with cerium oxide was beneficial for the rapid binding of lithium ions and sulfur.

Although having shown great promise for efficient gas separation, relevant study of Ti-MOF membranes remains very scarce, owing to limited Ti source types and uncertain factors which dominate the separation properties. In this work, we pioneered the use of the Ti8(μ2-O)8(OOCC6H5)16 cluster as the Ti source of MIL-125 membranes, which led to lower reaction temperature and higher missing-linker number within the framework and therefore, enhanced CO2/N2 adsorption selectivity. The MIL-125 membrane prepared by combining single-mode microwave heating with tertiary growth displayed an ideal CO2/N2 selectivity of 38.7, which ranked the highest among all pristine pure MOF membranes measured under comparable conditions. In addition, the ideal H2/N2 and H2/CH4 selectivity was as high as 64.9 and 40.7, thus showing great promise for versatile utility in gas separation.

Aims This study assessed contributions of exposure to neighborhood stressors (violent victimization, witnessing crime, greater alcohol and drug availability) to variation in alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms among drinkers in three cities in Texas, USA. Methods We used data from interviews conducted from 2011 to 2013 with Mexican-origin adults (ages 16–65) in the US-Mexico Study of Alcohol and Related Conditions who were past-year drinkers (N = 1960; 55% male) living in two cities in the Texas-Mexico border region (Laredo, n = 751 and Brownsville/McAllen, n = 814) and one interior comparison site (San Antonio, n = 771). Analyses (conducted in 2018 and 2019) examined overall and gender-stratified multilevel mediated effects of each border site (versus San Antonio) on AUD symptoms through the neighborhood-level factors, adjusting for individual- and neighborhood-level covariates. Results Overall, drinkers in Laredo reported more AUD symptoms than drinkers in the other cities, and their neighborhoods had more witnessing of crime and greater perceived drug availability, as well as higher levels of disadvantage and a lower proportion non-Hispanic White residents, than neighborhoods in San Antonio. Witnessing neighborhood crime was associated with increased AUD symptoms, while neighborhood disadvantage and proportion non-Hispanic White residents each were negatively associated with AUD symptoms. Perceived neighborhood insecurity, crime victimization, perceived neighborhood drug availability and neighborhood alcohol availability (off- and on-premise) were not significantly associated with AUD symptoms. Stratified models suggested possible gender differences in indirect effects through witnessing neighborhood crime. Conclusion Reducing witnessing of neighborhood crime may help reduce AUD symptoms among adults living in the US border region.

The separation of ethylene (C2H4) from C2 hydrocarbons is considered as one of the most difficult and important processes in the petrochemical industry. Heat-driven cryogenic distillation is still widely used in the C2 hydrocarbons separation realms, which is an energy intensive process and takes up immense space. In response to a greener, more energy-efficient sustainable development, we successfully synthesized a multifunction microporous Mg-based MOF [Mg2(TCPE)(µ2-OH2)(DMA)2].solvents (NUM-9) with C2H6/C2H2 selectivity based on a physical adsorption mechanism, and with outstanding stability; especially, it is stable up to 500 °C under an air atmosphere. NUM-9a (activated NUM-9) shows good performances in the separation of C2H6/C2H2 from raw ethylene gases. In addition, its actual separation potential is also examined by LAST and dynamic column breakthrough experiments. GCMC calculation results indicate that the unique structure of NUM-9a is primarily conducive to the selective adsorption of C2H6 and C2H2. More importantly, compared with C2H4, NUM-9a prefers to selectively adsorb C2H6 and C2H2 simultaneously, which makes NUM-9a as a sorbent have the capacity to separate C2H4 from C2 hydrocarbon mixtures under mild conditions through a greener and energy-efficient separation strategy.

The removal of low content of ethane (C2H6) from ethylene (C2H4) using C2H6-selective adsorbents to reduce the energy consumption in the petrochemical industry is one of the meaningful and challenging tasks in separation research. Herein, we report for the first time the systematic research of covalent-organic frameworks (COFs) as a platform used for the separation of light hydrocarbons based on their specific topology. Benefiting from its richly distributed weakly polar surface and suitable pore cavities, COF-1 exhibits the highest adsorption selectivity (1.92 at 298 K and 1 bar) for the C2H6/C2H4 mixture among the COFs studied. Density functional theory calculations clearly revealed that COF-1 can exhibit multiple C-H···π interactions with ethane in its suitable pore environment and thus preferentially binds to ethane over ethylene. Finally, breakthrough experiments proved that COF-1 may be regarded as an effective porous adsorbent with polymer-grade C2H4 obtained directly from C2H6/C2H4 mixtures at 298 K and 1 bar.

Background Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) A2M-AS1 has been indicated to be augmented in breast cancer (BC), with its specific function undetermined. Therefore, this study is designed to investigate the mechanism of lncRNA A2M-AS1 in BC. Methods The expression of A2M-AS1, microRNA (miR)-146b, and MUC19 in BC tissues and cells was measured. Then, the interaction among A2M-AS1, miR-146b, and MUC19 was detected. After A2M-AS1, miR-146b, and MUC19 expression were altered in BC cells, cell proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis were detected, and the protein levels of Hippo-related proteins (YAP and p-YAP) were evaluated. Tumor growth assay was also performed to validate the effects of A2M-AS1 and miR-146b in vivo. Results A2M-AS1 and MUC19 were highly expressed in BC, while miR-146b was poorly expressed. A2M-AS1 acts as a molecular sponge for miR-146b, which targeted and negatively modulated MUC19. A2M-AS1 accelerated BC cell proliferation, invasion, and colony formation and suppressed apoptosis via the miR-146b/MUC19/Hippo axis, which was confirmed in vivo. Conclusion Taken above together, an oncogenic role for A2M-AS1 in BC was elicited by acting as a miR-146b sponge to promote MUC19 expression. The findings will present some cues for a further approach to BC.

OBJECTIVE: Prior research has suggested that drug use rates may be high at the U.S.–Mexico border, but in more recent research rates varied significantly between border communities. This study reports findings on the mediating influence of neighborhood-level variables on the observed difference in past-year drug use rates between two border sites and an interior site, focusing on Mexican Americans. METHOD: Data were analyzed from the U.S.–Mexico Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions (UMSARC) on 1,345 Mexican-origin respondents ages 18–40 from the border sites of Laredo and Brownsville/McAllen compared with the nonborder site of San Antonio, separately for men and women. Neighborhood-level variables (based on census tracts and block groups) included drug availability, neighborhood insecurity, crime victimization, crime witnessing, off-premise alcohol outlet density, on-premise alcohol outlet density, percentage crossing the border more than 100 times, neighborhood disadvantage, residential stability, and percentage of White/non-Hispanic. RESULTS: When individual sociodemographic characteristics were controlled for, lower drug use among men in Brownsville/McAllen (vs. San Antonio) was partially mediated by lower drug availability and lower perceived neighborhood insecurity whereas increased drug use among women in both Laredo and Brownsville/McAllen was partially mediated by the lower proportion of White/non-Hispanic residents compared with San Antonio. CONCLUSIONS: Neighborhood-level variables partially explain the heterogeneity in drug use across sites at the U.S.–Mexico border, but different factors appear to be operating for men compared with women. These findings suggest the potential importance of addressing neighborhood factors in reducing drug-related harm at the U.S.–Mexico border.

Hadamard coding spectral imaging technology is a computational spectral imaging technology that modulates the target’s spectral information and recovers the original spectrum by the inverse transfo...

In response to the safety performance of liquid electrolytes in traditional lithium-ion batteries, we have prepared a new type of polymer electrolyte. In this paper, PVDF is used as the polymer electrolyte matrix, bio-based filler soybean protein isolate (SPI), and inorganic filler montmorillonite (MMT) as additional groups. In addition, the effects of the addition of soybean protein isolate (SPI) and montmorillonite (MMT) on the polymer electrolyte ion conductivity, lithium ion migration number, and electrode interface performance were investigated. After the test, it was found that the polymer electrolyte membrane with MMT and SPI had an ion conductivity of 2.56 × 10−4 S cm−1 at room temperature, an electrochemical stability window of 5.1 V, and a Li+ transfer number of 0.77. When assembling Li/LiTFSI-MMT-SPI-PVDF/Li batteries, the symmetric battery has a stable electrode interface because it can circulate stably for more than 100 h at a very small polarization voltage. Graphical Abstract

Recently, porous organic cages (POCs) have emerged as a novel porous material with many merits and are widely utilized in many application fields. In this work, for the first time, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to investigate the mechanism of lysozyme adsorption onto the CC3 crystal, a kind of widely studied POC material. The simulation results show that lysozyme adsorbs onto the surface of CC3 with "top end-on," "back-on," or "side-on" orientations. It is found that the van der Waals interaction is the primary contribution to the binding; the conformation of the lysozyme is well preserved during the adsorption process. This provides some evidence for its biocompatibility and feasibility in biorelated applications. Arginine plays an important role in mediating the adsorption through nonpolar aliphatic chains. More importantly, the distribution and structure of the water layer on the POC surface has a significant impact on adsorption. This study provides insights into the development of POC materials with defined morphologies for the adsorption of biomolecules and may help the rational design of biorelated systems.

Aims Alcohol policy effects on alcohol’s harms due to others’ drinking (AHTO) and contextual factors that may mediate such policy effects have been understudied. This study examines state binge drinking prevalence as a mediator of the relationship between state alcohol policy and socioeconomic environments and individual-level AHTO. Methods A nationally representative sample of US adults (N = 32,401; 13,873 males, 18,528 females) from the 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 National Alcohol Surveys and the 2015 National Alcohol’s Harm to Others Survey, administered in telephone interviews and based on random digit dialed sampling, were linked with state-level Alcohol Policy Scale (APS) scores, binge drinking prevalence and socioeconomic status (SES) data. Three 12-month AHTO measures were family/marriage difficulties, assault or vandalism and riding with drunk driver or having traffic accident. Three-level mediation analyses were conducted, controlling for gender, race, education, marital status, family problem-drinking history and state policing rate. Results The effects of the APS on reduced risks for assault/vandalism and drinking-driving harms were significantly mediated by reduced state binge drinking prevalence. The APS had no direct or indirect effect on family/marital trouble. State SES had significant indirect effects on increased risks for assault/vandalism and driving-related harm through increased state binge drinking prevalence and a direct effect on reduced family/marital problems. Conclusions A more stringent alcohol policy environment could reduce assault/vandalism and driving-related harm due to another drinker by lowering state binge drinking rates. Alcohol policies may not be effective in reducing family problems caused by another drinker more prevalent in low-SES states.

Although metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) show numerous advantages over other crystalline materials, their industrial relevances have been impeded owing to their many drawbacks such as environmental impacts and economic costs of their synthesis. A green preparation pathway could greatly reduce the environmental costs, energy, and the need for toxic organic solvents, and consequently reduce the production cost. Thus, the most desirable synthesis route is the replacement of harsh organic solvents with aqueous solutions to abate environmental and economic impacts. This review summarizes recent research advancements of water-based routes for MOF synthesis and gives a brief outline of the most prominent examples. The challenges and prospects of the commercialization of promising MOFs in the future are also presented. This study aims to offer necessary information regarding the green, sustainable, and industrially acceptable fabrication of MOFs for their commercial applications in the future.

The removal of ethane from ethene streams is of great importance and a challenging process for feedstock purification to produce polyethylene in the petrochemical industry. Traditional industrial c...

A novel fluorinated biphenyldicarboxylate ligand of 3,3',5,5'-tetrafluorobiphenyl-4,4'-dicarboxylic acid (H2-TFBPDC) and its terbium metal-organic framework, {[Tb2(TFBPDC)3(H2O)]·4.5DMF·0.5H2O}n (denoted as JXNU-6), were synthesized. JXNU-6 exhibits a three-dimensional (3D) framework built from one-dimensional (1D) terbium carboxylate helical chains bridged by TFBPDC2- linkers. The 3D framework of JXNU-6 features 1D fluorine-lined channels. The gas adsorption experiments show that the activated JXNU-6 (JXNU-6a) displays distinct adsorption behavior for propyne (C3H4) and propylene (C3H6) gases. The effective removal of a trace amount of C3H4 from C3H6 was achieved by JXNU-6a under ambient conditions, which is demonstrated by the column-breakthrough experiments. The modeling studies show that the preferential binding sites for C3H4 are the exposed F atoms on the pore surface in 1D channels. The strong C-H···F hydrogen bonds between C3H4 molecules and F atoms of TFBPDC2- ligands dominate the host-guest interactions, which mainly account for the excellent C3H4/C3H6 separation performance of JXNU-6a. This work provides a strategy for specific recognition toward C3H4 over C3H6 through the C-H···F hydrogen bond associated with the fluorinated organic ligand.

Introduction Understanding the role of alcohol in hypertension and heart problems requires a lifecourse perspective accounting for drinking patterns before onset of health problems that distinguishes between lifetime abstinence and former drinking, prior versus current drinking, and overall alcohol consumption in conjunction with heavy episodic drinking. Using prospective data among U.S. adults aged 21–55 years, this study accounts for these lifecourse factors to investigate the effect of alcohol on hypertension and heart problems. Methods Data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, aged 14–21 years in 1979 and followed through 2012 (n=8,289), were analyzed in 2017–18 to estimate hypertension and heart problems onset from lifecourse drinking patterns. Discrete-time survival models stratified by sex and race/ethnicity, controlling for demographics and time-varying factors of employment, smoking, and obesity. Results Elevated risks for hypertension were found for women drinking >14 drinks/week regardless of any heavy drinking (AOR=1.57, p=0.023) and for men engaged in risky drinking (15–28 drinks/week) together with monthly heavy drinking (AOR=1.64, p=0.016). Having a history of weekly heavy drinking elevated the risk for women but not for men. No significant relationship was evident for alcohol and heart problems onset. Conclusions This study confirms previous findings of increased hypertension risk from higher volume and heavier drinking patterns among women and men but did not find any support for increased heart problems risk, which may be due to the younger age profile of the sample. Further research that incorporates lifecourse drinking patterns is needed to better understand the alcohol–health relationship.

The development of porous metal–organic framework (MOF) solids displaying efficient separation and purification of acetylene is of cardinal significance but challenging in the chemical industry. Am...

Traditional ways of producing drinking water from groundwater, water recycling and water conservation are not sufficient. Seawater desalination would close the gap but the main technology used is thermally driven multi-flash distillation, which is energy consuming and not sustainable. Stacking two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials into lamellar membranes is a promising technique in the pursuit of both high selectivity and permeance in water desalination. However, 2D membranes tend to swell in water, and increasing their stability in aqueous solution is still challenging. Here, we report non-swelling, MXene membranes prepared by the intercalation of Al3+ ions. Swelling is prevented by strong interactions between Al3+ and oxygen functional groups terminating at the MXene surface. These membranes show excellent non-swelling stability in aqueous solutions up to 400 h and possess high rejection of NaCl (~89.5–99.6%) with fast water fluxes (~1.1–8.5 l m−2 h−1). Such membranes can be easily fabricated by simple filtration and ion-intercalating methods, which holds promise for their scalability. Two-dimensional lamellar membranes for water purification are promising but suffer from swelling that reduces their ion sieving performance in water. This study reports easy-to-fabricate, non-swelling MXene membranes prepared by the intercalation of Al3+ ions that could be scalable.

Lignin-based nanomaterials fabricated by solution self-assembly in organic-aqueous solvent mixtures are among the most attractive biomass-derived products. To accurately control the structure, size, and properties of lignin-based nanomaterials, it is important to achieve fundamental understanding of its dissolution and aggregation mechanisms. In this work, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are employed to explore the dissolution and aggregation behavior of enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (EHL) in different organic-aqueous solvent mixtures at molecular scale. EHL was found to dissolve well in appropriate organic-aqueous solvent mixtures, such as acetone-water mixture with a volume ratio of 7:3, whereas it aggregated in pure water, ethanol, acetone, and tetrahydrofuran. The interactions between the EHL-coated AFM probe and the substrate were 1.21±0.18 and 0.75±0.35 mN m-1 in water and acetone, respectively. In comparison, the interaction decreased to 0.15±0.08 mN m-1 in acetone-water mixture (7:3 v/v). MD simulations further indicate that the hydrophobic skeleton and hydrophilic groups of lignin could be solvated by acetone and water molecules, respectively, which significantly promoted its dissolution. Conversely, only the hydrophobic skeleton or the hydrophilic groups were solvated in organic solvent or water, respectively, inducing serious aggregation of lignin.

In this article, we are interested in studying the transition density function of the couple given by the first hitting time of a fixed threshold by a one-dimensional uniformly elliptic diffusion p...

In the present work, a novel self-enhanced electrochemiluminescence (ECL) composite was for the first time prepared by simply electrospinning a mixture of polyacrylonitrile (PAN), Ru(bpy)32+, poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) and Nafion, and defined as PAN@Ru@PEI@Nafion nanofiber mat (PAN@Ru@PEI@Nafionnfm). Herein, Ru(bpy)32+ was applied as an ECL reagent, and PEI was selected as a co-reactant due to the abundant tertiary amine groups in its backbone. In order to further improve the ECL efficiency of the Ru(bpy)32+-PEI system, we innovatively loaded Ru(bpy)32+ and PEI into PAN nanofibers simultaneously by a one-step electrospinning technique. As a result, the electronic transmission distance between them was sharply shortened. Meanwhile, with the help of electrostatic interaction between positively charged Ru(bpy)32+ or PEI and negatively charged Nafion, exfoliation of Ru(bpy)32+ and PEI from the PAN nanofiber mat was effectively avoided. As expected, the luminous nanofibers exhibited excellent ECL performance including high efficiency and good stability. On this basis, we fabricated a new self-enhanced ECL sensor with excellent analysis performance. Using α-naphthol as an analytical probe, the sensor showed a wide linear range from 1.0 × 10-12 to 1.0 × 10-7 M with a low detection limit of 1.0 × 10-12 M. When it was applied to detect α-naphthol from carbaryl hydrolysis, the results were well consistent with those obtained from the high efficiency liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) method, indicating the potential application of the ECL sensor in real sample assays.

Light olefins (ethylene, propylene, and 1,3-butadiene) are widely used as building blocks in the petrochemical industry and for the fabrication of everyday products. Developing energy cost-efficient porous materials for the separation of light olefins is fundamentally and industrially important. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), representing a novel class of porous materials, possess unique pore structures, endowing them with exceptional porosity, tunable pore sizes, and facile functionalization. These features permit distinct host–guest interactions and/or sieving effects, allowing the separation of molecules in an energy-efficient manner. However, some critical factors, such as large-scale production and fabrication into shaped forms need to be addressed for real industrial separations. To solve these issues, many novel approaches for synthesizing and shaping MOFs have recently been developed. In this review, we summarize and highlight recent advances in the realm of gas separation using MOFs as adsorbents, covering the progress made in improving the key features of MOFs that are necessary for their real-world applications, and opening a broader perspective on the current status of this field and its challenges.

In this study, experiments and molecular dynamics simulations were combined to get insights into the role of solvent during the process of xylose conversion under catalyst-free conditions. Solvents used for furfural production were comparatively discussed, including traditional and emerging biomass-derived solvents – water, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), dimethyl formamide (DMF), isopropanol (ISO), γ-butyrolactone (GBL) and γ-valerolactone (GVL). The degradation behavior of solvents, the solubility and α/β ratio of xylose, the distribution of the solvent around xylose/furfural and the hydrogen bonding between them were also studied. The results showed that in pure solvents, the different hydrogen bonding between xylose and the solvent resulted in different products. Water was a favourable solvent for xylose to form furfural among these pure solvents because less formic acid was produced from xylose in water under catalyst-free conditions. Furfural could be produced in mixed solvents if there was more water around xylose, which was similar to the case in pure water. Otherwise, the situation in mixed solvents was similar to that in the corresponding pure organic solvents. GBL and GVL, as green solvents, had weaker affinities with xylose than DMSO, DMF and ISO, but were intensively attracted by furfural, thus they could provide protective shells for furfural, which played a positive role during the production of furfural. The highest furfural yield of 46.4% was achieved in GBL–H2O at 180 °C – 150 min in the absence of catalysts.

Background: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of noncoding RNAs implicated in the development of many malignancies, including gastric cancer (GC). Herein, we investigated the functions and molecular mechanisms of non-coding RNA activated by DNA damage (NORAD) in GC. Methods: NORAD expression at the mRNA levels was determined by qRT-PCR assay. Cell proliferation, migration and invasion was detected by CCK-8 assay, in vivo tumor formation assay and Transwell assay. NORAD location was detected by nucleocytoplasmic fractionation assay. The interaction between NORAD and miR-204-5p/KMT2D axis was verified by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay and RIP assay. Results: NORAD was upregulated in GC tissues and cell lines. NORAD silencing repressed cell proliferation and G2/M cell cycle transition in GC. NORAD could act as a ceRNA of miR-204-5p and regulate KMT2D expression. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that NORAD played as an oncogene in GC, which might provide a new therapeutic target for the disease.

Soluble tumor necrosis factor related apoptosis-inducing ligand (sTRAIL) is a promising candidate for antitumor protein drugs. However, the low stability and poor pharmacokinetic profile significantly limit its clinical application. In this work, a novel strategy was used to improve sTRAIL performance by combining genetic engineering with coaxial electrospinning. We first obtained a stable homotrimer via genetic engineering using the adenovirus knobless fiber motif to modify sTRAIL. In vitro studies showed that the engineered sTRAIL was more stable and had higher antitumor activity than wild sTRAIL. This new recombinant sTRAIL was then encapsulated into poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanofibers by coaxial electrospinning to further enhance the stability and achieve the controlled release of sTRAIL. Surprisingly, the recombinant sTRAIL maintained its biological activity during the electrospinning process and exhibited a good cumulative release. The establishment of incorporation treatment of breast c...

Ferrocene (Fc) is a common quencher of Ru(bpy)

Methane (CH

Differences in alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use by sexual identity vary across samples of women recruited using different sampling methods. We used propensity score (PS) weighting methods to address two methodological questions: (1) Do disparities between sexual minority women (SMW) and heterosexual women persist when differences in risk and protective factors are similarly distributed between groups, and (2) Does accounting for SMW-specific resiliency factors impact differences between non-probability samples of SMW?Four samples included SMW from a longitudinal study with a nonprobability sample (n = 373), a national general population panel sample (n = 373), and a national LGBTQ-specific panel sample (n = 311), as well as a national probability sample of heterosexual women (n = 446). Between-groups analyses using double-robust PS weighted models estimated differences in ATOD use under hypothetical conditions in which samples have similar risk and protective factors.After PS weighting, imbalance in confounders between SMW and heterosexual samples was substantially reduced, but not eliminated. In double-robust PS weighted models, SMW samples consistently had significantly greater odds of drug use than heterosexuals, with odds from 8.8 to 5.6 times greater for frequent marijuana use and 4.8-3.2 greater for other drug use. Few differences between SMW samples in ATOD outcomes or other variables remained after PS weighting.Relative to heterosexual women, disparities in marijuana and other drug use among SMW are evident regardless of sampling strategy. The results provide some reassurance about the validity of large nonprobability samples, which remain an important recruitment strategy in research with SMW.

Oxidative stress-induced dopaminergic neuronal loss and apoptosis play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD), and as a vital antioxidant protein, thioredoxin (Trx) exerts neuroprotection against PD. In this study, we investigated the effect of Schisanhenol (Sal), an active component from a traditional Chinese herb Schisandra rubriflora (Franch.), on MPP+-induced apoptosis and its association with thioredoxin-1 (Trx1) in SH-SY5Y cells. The protein levels of Trx1 and apoptosis-related proteins were detected by Western blot, the expression of Trx1 mRNA by real time qPCR, and apoptosis was detected by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Pretreatment with Sal (1 µM, 10 µM, and 50 µM) dose-dependently ameliorated MPP+-induced neuronal injury, confirmed by the improvement of the viability and morphological changes. Sal decreased the apoptosis rate of cells, suppressed the production of DNA ladder and sub-G1 peak, inhibited the Caspase-3 activity and the expression of apoptosis-related proteins. Sal enhanced the expression of Trx1 both in the protein and mRNA levels. However, the Trx1 inhibitor PX-12 suppressed the protective effects of Sal. In addition, Sal inhibited NF-κB translocation and activation. These results suggest that Sal has a protective effect against MPP+-induced apoptosis in SH-SY5Y cells via up-regulation of Trx1 expression and suppression of ASK1-P38-NF-κB pathway.

Objectives Paeoniflorin, an active component of Radix Paeoniae Alba, has a neuroprotective effect in Parkinson's animal models. However, its mechanism of action remains to be determined. Methods In this study, we hypothesized that the neuroprotective effect of paeoniflorin occurs through the α-synuclein/protein kinase C δ subtype (PKC-δ) signaling pathway. We tested our hypothesis in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced mouse model of Parkinson's disease. We evaluated the effects of paeoniflorin on the expression levels of signal components of the α-synuclein/PKC-δ pathway, cellular apoptosis and motor performance. Results Our results demonstrated that paeoniflorin restored the motor performance impairment caused by MPTP, inhibited apoptosis, and protected the ultrastructure of neurons. Paeoniflorin treatment also resulted in the dose-dependent upregulation of an antiapoptotic protein, B-cell lymphoma-2, at the mRNA and protein levels, similar to the effects of the positive control, selegiline. In contrast, paeoniflorin treatment downregulated the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins BCL2-Associated X2, α-synuclein, and PKC-δ at the mRNA and protein levels, as well as the level of the activated form of nuclear factor kappa B (p-NF-κB p65). Conclusions Thus, our results showed that paeoniflorin exerts its neuroprotective effect by regulating the α-synuclein/PKC-δ signaling pathway to reduce neuronal apoptosis.