Bio-based aerogels serve as potential materials in separation of oil/water mixtures. Nevertheless, there remain some key challenges, including expensive/toxic organic cross-linkers, unpromising ...reusability, and poor performance in emulsion separation. Hereby, a novel, robust, and superhydrophobic sodium alginate/graphene oxide/silicon oxide aerogel (SA/GO/SiO2-M) was fabricated by simple calcium ion cross-linking self-assembly, freeze-drying, and chemical vapor deposition methods based on the renewable and abundant raw materials. The as-prepared SA-based aerogel possesses high absorbency for varieties of organic solvents and oils. Importantly, it shows high efficiency in the separation of surfactant-stabilized water-in-oil emulsions. SA/GO/SiO2-M aerogels display excellent reusability in both absorption and separation because of their good mechanical properties in the air and oil phase, and the mechanism in emulsion separation is discussed. This study shows that SA/GO/SiO2-M aerogels are a promising material in treating oil contaminants from different fields.
Increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. NADPH oxidase (Nox), a ...multicomponent enzyme, has been identified as one of the key sources of ROS. Nox4, one of the seven members of Nox family (Nox1, Nox2, Nox3, Nox4, Nox5, Duox1 and Duox2), has been extensively investigated in recent years. Its unique structures result in the constitutive generation of hydrogen peroxide (H
2
O
2
) as the main product. As a key oxygen sensor, Nox4-derived H
2
O
2
plays diverse roles in cell proliferation, migration and death. Increased expression of Nox4 in cancer has been observed, which participates in metastasis, angiogenesis and apoptosis. Expression of Nox4 in endothelial cells actively mediated endothelial activation, dysfunction and injury, which contributes to the development of atherosclerosis, hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy and among others. This article explores the experimental studies related to the gene, structure, physiological function and pathological significance of Nox4. As Nox4 might serve as a potential target for the therapy of cardiovascular diseases and cancer, the Nox4 inhibitor is also discussed in this article.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Danshen in Chinese) is a classical Huoxue Huayu (a traditional Chinese medical term means promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis) herb with 1000 years of ...clinical application. It mainly contains two groups of ingredients: the hydrophilic phenolic acids and the lipophilic tanshinones. Both groups have demonstrated multiple bioactivities, such as antioxidative stress, antiplatelet aggregation, anti‐inflammation, among others. Recent data have demonstrated that its lipophilic compounds, especially the tanshinones, show potent anticancer activities both in vitro and in vivo. The anticancer effects of the hydrophilic phenolic acids have also been reported. Furthermore, tanshinones provide structural skeletons for chemical modifications, allowing for a series of derivatives of interests. This review provides a systematic summary of the anticancer profile and the underlying mechanisms of the bioactive compounds isolated from Danshen with special emphasis on tanshinones, aiming to bring new insights for further research and development of this ancient herb.
Neurodegenerative diseases (NDD) are typically associated with neuron loss in nervous system areas. Interventions with related death mechanisms may ameliorate NDD progression. Oxidative stress plays ...an important role in NDD cell death routines. However, tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BHP), a widely used oxidative stress stimulus, induces neural cell death through a mechanism that remains elusive. In our study, the ferroptosis marker events occurred after co-treatment with 100 μM t-BHP for 1 h, all of which were reversed in the presence of the ferroptosis inhibitor ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1) and the iron chelator deferoxamine, implying the occurrence of ferroptosis. Moreover, mitochondrial dysfunction accompanied by a decreased in membrane potential and ATP production, increased mitochondrial ROS generation. Furthermore, this mitochondrial dysfunction could be reversed by Fer-1. In addition, JNK1/2 and ERK1/2 were activated upstream of the ferroptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction. In summary, these data suggest that ferroptosis, coupled with mitochondrial dysfunction, was involved in t-BHP-induced PC12 death. JNK1/2 and ERK1/2 played important roles in t-BHP-induced cell death. Overall, this study might provide clues to the oxidative stress-based strategies for cell protection in NDD.
Chemotherapy is the standard internal medical treatment for cancer. However, the resistance of cancer cells to nearly all kinds of chemotherapeutic drugs and targeted drugs has become prevalent, and ...approximately 80–90% of deaths in cancer patients are directly or indirectly attributed to drug resistance. The progress of new drug research and development has also been impeded by the occurrence of drug resistance, which has emerged as a considerable challenge in cancer therapy. Fortunately, natural products with diverse chemical structures and pharmacological effects serve as effective substances against drug resistance. Since the discovery of a series of drug‐resistant proteins, drug‐efflux inhibition has been applied as the primary strategy to overcome drug resistance by maintaining the intracellular concentrations of chemotherapeutic drugs. Nonapoptotic cell death is considered an alternative strategy because most cases of drug resistance result in evasion and insensitivity to apoptosis. In this concise review, we summarize two strategies using natural products against drug resistance.
As an anthracycline antibiotic, doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the most potent and widely used chemotherapeutic agents for various types of solid tumors. Unfortunately, clinical application of this drug ...results in severe side effects of cardiotoxicity.
We aim to review the research focused on elimination or reduction of DOX cardiotoxicity without affecting its anticancer efficacy by natural products.
This study is based on pertinent papers that were retrieved by a selective search using relevant keywords in PubMed and ScienceDirect. The literature mainly focusing on natural products and herb extracts with therapeutic efficacies against experimental models both in vitro and in vivo was identified.
Current evidence revealed that multiple molecules and signaling pathways, such as oxidative stress, iron metabolism, and inflammation, are associated with DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Based on these knowledge, various strategies were proposed, and thousands of compounds were screened. A number of natural products and herb extracts demonstrated potency in limiting DOX cardiotoxicity toward cultured cells and experimental animal models.
Though a panel of natural products and herb extracts demonstrate protective effects on DOX-induced cardiotoxicity in cells and animal models, their therapeutic potentials for clinical needs further investigation.
•The small-molecule inhibitors targeting CD47/SIRPα axis, a promising phagocytosis checkpoint in cancer therapy, are reviewed for the first time.•In addition to targeting the interaction of ...CD47/SIRPα, compounds regulating CD47 at transcriptional, translational and posttranslational levels are summarized.•Challenges followed by the corresponding strategies are proposed for further development of small-molecule inhibitors targeting CD47/SIRPα axis.
Immunotherapy has become an indispensable part of cancer treatment. A pivotal phagocytosis checkpoint, named cluster of differentiation 47 (CD47), which functions as ‘don’t eat me’ signal to protect cells from phagocytosis upon interaction with signal regulatory protein alpha (SIRPα) on macrophages, has recently attracted much attention. Numerous antibodies targeting the CD47/SIRPα axis have shown encouraging efficacy in clinical trials. Meanwhile, studies on small-molecule inhibitors that interfere with CD47/SIRPα interaction or regulate CD47 expression are also in full swing. In this review, we summarize the small-molecule inhibitors interrupting the binding of CD47/SIRPα and regulating CD47 at the transcriptional, translational, and post-translational modification (PTM) levels. We provide perspectives and strategies for targeting the CD47/SIRPα phagocytosis checkpoint.
Napabucasin (also known as BBI608) is a natural naphthoquinone originally identified as a cancer cell stemness inhibitor. Accumulated in vitro and in vivo evidence demonstrated that napabucasin ...showed significant anticancer effects in various types of cancers. Napabucasin inhibits cancer cell proliferation, induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, and suppresses metastasis and relapse. Such anticancer activities of napabucasin mainly rely on the inhibition of cancer stemness by targeting signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and its related gene inhibition. However, several novel molecular targets for napabucasin, such as NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) and thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR1), have been reported. Napabucasin represents a promising anticancer lead for multiple cancers. In this mini review, the anticancer potential and the molecular mechanism of napabucasin will be briefly highlighted.
In this paper, the power density capability of AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) made on Si, SiC, and diamond substrates were compared with devices on Si and SiC with integrated ...microchannel cooling. A device temperature limit of 200 °C was used to define the power density. The numerical model accounts for heat transfer from channel of the AlGaN/GaN HEMTs to the heat sink, fluid flow rates, pressure drop, and pumping power required for liquid cooling. The diamond substrate was shown to be superior in reducing the junction temperatures in conventional passive cooling methods employing high thermal conductivity substrates. However, singlephase liquid cooling with microchannels integrated into a SiC substrate showed that it is possible to operate the devices at power densities higher than that on 200-μm-thick diamond substrates, considering a maximum operational temperature of 200 °C. Microchannels integrated into the Si substrate also showed a slight increase in the power density compared with passively cooled devices on SiC. Overall, this methodology shows a promising alternative to expensive high thermal conductivity substrates for cooling AlGaN/GaN HEMTs.
Treatment of enriched environment (EE) exerts neuroprotective effect in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, how the component of EE contributes to the functional recovery after brain ...ischemia remains unclear. Here we examined the effect of physical and social components of EE on poststroke astrocytes proliferation using an animal model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) followed by reperfusion. Rats were divided into five groups: physical enrichment group (PE), social enrichment group (SE), physical and social enrichment group (PSE), ischemia + standard group (IS) and sham-operated + standard group (SS). In a set of behavioral tests, we demonstrated that animals in the enriched groups exhibited improved functional outcomes compared with those in standard group. Reduced infarct volume was only observed in PSE and PE groups. Double immunofluorescent labeling and western blot analysis revealed that rats in PSE and PE groups showed significantly more proliferated astrocytes and higher expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the periinfarct cortex, compared with those in SE group. Astrocytes proliferation and BDNF expression were significantly correlated with functional outcomes. Collectively, this study suggests that physical activity is a more important component of EE regarding the effect on astrocytes proliferation and BDNF expression, which may contribute to the improved neurological function of stroke animals.
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