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BACKGROUND Polyphenols extracted from plants are usually highly unstable and rapidly transformed into various reaction products during food and drug processing, thus limiting their applications. To improve the stability and solubility of polyphenols from the leaves of Chinese star anise (Illicium verum Hook. f.), and hence to expand their application to food and medicine, the extracted anise leaf polyphenols (ALPs) were microencapsulated using β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) and cyclodextrin‐based metal–organic frameworks (β‐CD‐MOFs). RESULTS: The optimum inclusion rate of ALP/β‐CD‐MOFs was 97.80% at a core–wall ratio of 1:10. Meanwhile, the stabilities, solubilities and antioxidant activities of the polyphenols before and after inclusion were compared. The results showed both the stabilities and solubilities of ALP/β‐CD‐MOFs were significantly improved compared with those of ALPs and ALP/β‐CD, suggesting the potential of β‐CD‐MOFs as newer and better carriers than β‐CD for polyphenols in food industry applications. The free radical (including superoxide, hydroxyl and DPPH radicals) scavenging activities were also improved by microencapsulation. Superoxide radical scavenging reaction also showed slow‐release property of ALP/β‐CD‐MOFs. The formation of the inclusion complex was further confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectral characterization. CONCLUSIONS: Microencapsulation with β‐CD‐MOFs could expand the application scope of ALPs, and it is more effective than encapsulation with β‐CD. This is important for a better understanding and application of this useful traditional Chinese plant. As a new material with high efficiency and edibility, β‐CD‐MOFs are not limited to the chemical field, but also have potential in new areas of food, medicine and healthcare products. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) causes a heavy disease burden worldwide. Cell division cycle 45 (Cdc45) and its encoding gene (CDC45) have been studied for a long time, but their expression patterns and roles in liver carcinogenesis and advanced HCC deterioration are still incompletely understood. This study integrated tissue microarray and bioinformatics analyses to explore the expression and clinical value of CDC45 and Cdc45 in HCC. MATERIAL AND METHODS In HCC, the expression and relationships with clinic-pathological parameters of CDC45 and Cdc45 were investigated by integrating the RNA-sequencing data, downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Oncomine databases, and tissue microarray with immunohistochemistry staining. Co-expressed genes and genetic alterations of CDC45 separately obtained from Oncomine and cBioPortal databases were identified to shed light on the potential mechanisms of CDC45 in HCC. RESULTS CDC45 and Cdc45 were both overexpressed in HCC tissues, and the CDC45 level progressively increased from stage I to III. The survival outcomes of the group with high CDC45 expression were significantly worse compared with the group with low expression. Amplification and deep deletion were 2 major significant alteration types in HCC patients, and the outcomes were worse in patients with altered versus unaltered CDC45. NUDT1, E2F1, CCNE2, MCM5, and CENPM were identified as the most significantly co-expressed genes. CONCLUSIONS CDC45 and Cdc45 were both upregulated in HCC, and increased expression levels and genetic alternations of CDC45 were correlated with worse prognosis in HCC patients. CDC45 may promote HCC by co-expressing with NUDT1, E2F1, CCNE2, MCM5, and CENPM.

Objective: To establish a method for evaluating the activity of von Willebrand factor cleaving protease (vWF-cp) and evaluate its clinical application., Methods: Purified von Willebrand factor polymer was isolated by gel filtration from human fresh-frozen plasma as the enzyme substrate. SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, and luminographic detection were used to evaluate vWF-cp activity of 60 healthy adults, 28 patients with cerebral infarction (CI) and 7 with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)., Results: In the subjects involved, the method for evaluating vWF-cp activity had intra- and inter-batch coefficient of variation(CV) of 4.81% (n=8) and 8.63% (n=6), respectively. According to this method, the plasma vWF-cp activity in the 60 healthy adults was significantly higher than that in the CI patients [(86.53-/+17.49)% vs (77.15-/+16.72)%, P<0.05]. In TTP patients before plasma replacement, the vWF-cp activity was (9.06-/+7.17)% and increased significantly to (47.00-/+6.27)% 24 h after plasma replacement, respectively, but still significantly lower than that of healthy adults (P<0.01), whereas in the convalescent stage, the activity approached the normal level [(83.18-/+8.83)%, P>0.05]., Conclusions: According to the described method, which allows accurate vWF-cp activity measurement with good sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility, vWF-cp activity is lower in CI patients and even more so in TTP patients than that of healthy adults. Plasma replacement can effectively increase the vWF-cp activity in TTP patients.