Metal/covalent-organic framework (MOF/COF) membranes have attracted increasing research interest and have been considered as state-of-the-art platforms applied in various environment- and ...energy-related separation/transportation processes. To break the trade-off between permeability and selectivity to achieve ultimate separation, recent studies have been oriented towards how to design and exploit ultrathin MOF/COF membranes (
i.e.
sub-1 μm-thick). Given great advances made in the past five years, it is valuable to timely and systematically summarize the recent development and shed light on the future trend in this multidisciplinary field. In this review, we first present the advanced strategies in fabricating ultrathin defect-free MOF/COF membranes such as
in situ
growth, contra-diffusion method, layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly, metal-based precursor as the pre-functionalized layer, interface-assisted strategy, and laminated assembly of MOF/COF nanosheets. Then, the recent progress in some emerging applications of ultrathin MOF/COF membranes beyond gas separation is highlighted, including water treatment and seawater desalination, organic solvent nanofiltration, and energy-related separation/transportation (
i.e.
lithium ion separation and proton conductivity). Finally, some unsolved scientific and technical challenges associated with future perspectives in this field are discussed, inspiring the development of next-generation separation membranes.
Ultrathin metal/covalent-organic framework (MOF/COF) membranes have attracted increasing research interest and have been considered as state-of-the-art platforms applied in various environment- and energy-related separation/transportation processes.
High‐entropy alloys nanoparticles (HEANPs) are receiving extensive attention due to their broad compositional tunability and unlimited potential in bioapplication. However, developing new methods to ...prepare ultra‐small high‐entropy alloy nanoparticles (US‐HEANPs) faces severe challenges owing to their intrinsic thermodynamic instability. Furthermore, there are few reports on studying the effect of HEANPs in tumor therapy. Herein, the fabricated PtPdRuRhIr US‐HEANPs act as bifunctional nanoplatforms for the highly efficient treatment of tumors. The US‐HEANPs are engineered by the universal metal‐ligand cross‐linking strategy. This simple and scalable strategy is based on the aldol condensation of organometallics to form the target US‐HEANPs. The synthesized US‐HEANPs exhibit excellent peroxidase‐like (POD‐like) activity and can catalyze the endogenous hydrogen peroxide to produce highly toxic hydroxyl radicals. Furthermore, the US‐HEANPs possess a high photothermal conversion effect for converting 808 nm near‐infrared light into heat energy. In vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrated that under the synergistic effect of POD‐like activity and photothermal action, the US‐HEANPs can effectively ablate cancer cells and treat tumors. It is believed that this work not only provides a new perspective for the fabrication of HEANPs, but also opens the high‐entropy nanozymes research direction and their biomedical application.
The ultra‐small PtPdRuRhIr high‐entropy alloy nanoparticles (US‐HEANPs) are fabricated by the universal metal‐ligand cross‐linking strategy. This strategy takes advantage of simplicity, scalability, and genericity. The developed US‐HEANPs exhibit excellent peroxidase‐like activity and possess a high photothermal conversion effect. Under the synergistic effects of peroxidase‐like activity and photothermal action, the US‐HEANPs can effectively ablate cancer cells and treat tumors.
Melatonin regulates broad aspects of plant responses to various biotic and abiotic stresses, but the upstream regulation of melatonin biosynthesis by these stresses remains largely unknown. Herein, ...we demonstrate that transcription factor heat‐shock factor A1a (HsfA1a) conferred cadmium (Cd) tolerance to tomato plants, in part through its positive role in inducing melatonin biosynthesis under Cd stress. Analysis of leaf phenotype, chlorophyll content, and photosynthetic efficiency revealed that silencing of the HsfA1a gene decreased Cd tolerance, whereas its overexpression enhanced plant tolerance to Cd. HsfA1a‐silenced plants exhibited reduced melatonin levels, and HsfA1a overexpression stimulated melatonin accumulation and the expression of the melatonin biosynthetic gene caffeic acid O‐methyltransferase 1 (COMT1) under Cd stress. Both an in vitro electrophoretic mobility shift assay and in vivo chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with qPCR analysis revealed that HsfA1a binds to the COMT1 gene promoter. Meanwhile, Cd stress induced the expression of heat‐shock proteins (HSPs), which was compromised in HsfA1a‐silenced plants and more robustly induced in HsfA1a‐overexpressing plants under Cd stress. COMT1 silencing reduced HsfA1a‐induced Cd tolerance and melatonin accumulation in HsfA1a‐overexpressing plants. Additionally, the HsfA1a‐induced expression of HSPs was partially compromised in COMT1‐silenced wild‐type or HsfA1a‐overexpressing plants under Cd stress. These results demonstrate that HsfA1a confers Cd tolerance by activating transcription of the COMT1 gene and inducing accumulation of melatonin that partially upregulates expression of HSPs.
N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation plays important roles during development in different species. However, knowledge of m6A RNA methylation in monocots remains limited. In this study, we ...reported that OsFIP and OsMTA2 are the components of m6A RNA methyltransferase complex in rice and uncovered a previously unknown function of m6A RNA methylation in regulation of plant sporogenesis. Importantly, OsFIP is essential for rice male gametogenesis. Knocking out of OsFIP results in early degeneration of microspores at the vacuolated pollen stage and simultaneously causes abnormal meiosis in prophase I. We further analyzed the profile of rice m6A modification during sporogenesis in both WT and OsFIP loss-of-function plants, and identified a rice panicle specific m6A modification motif "UGWAMH". Interestingly, we found that OsFIP directly mediates the m6A methylation of a set of threonine protease and NTPase mRNAs and is essential for their expression and/or splicing, which in turn regulates the progress of sporogenesis. Our findings revealed for the first time that OsFIP plays an indispensable role in plant early sporogenesis. This study also provides evidence for the different functions of the m6A RNA methyltransferase complex between rice and Arabidopsis.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The cereal endosperm is a major factor determining seed size and shape. However, the molecular mechanisms of endosperm development are not fully understood. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) function in ...various biological processes. Here we show a lncRNA, MISSEN, that plays an essential role in early endosperm development in rice (Oryza sativa). MISSEN is a parent-of-origin lncRNA expressed in endosperm, and negatively regulates endosperm development, leading to a prominent dent and bulge in the seed. Mechanistically, MISSEN functions through hijacking a helicase family protein (HeFP) to regulate tubulin function during endosperm nucleus division and endosperm cellularization, resulting in abnormal cytoskeletal polymerization. Finally, we revealed that the expression of MISSEN is inhibited by histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) modification after pollination. Therefore, MISSEN is the first lncRNA identified as a regulator in endosperm development, highlighting the potential applications in rice breeding.
Methamphetamine use disorder (MAUD) can substantially jeopardize public security due to its high‐risk social psychology and behaviour. Given that the dopamine reward system is intimately correlated ...with MAUD, we investigated the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), as well as methylation status of dopamine receptor type 4 (DRD4), catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) genes, and paranoid and motor‐impulsive symptoms in MAUD patients. A total of 189 MAUD patients participated in our study. Peripheral blood samples were used to detect 3 SNPs and 35 CpG units of methylation in the DRD4 gene promoter region and 5 SNPs and 39 CpG units in the COMT gene. MAUD patients with the DRD4 rs1800955 C allele have a lower percentage of paranoid symptoms than those with the rs1800955 TT allele. Individuals with paranoid symptoms exhibited a reduced methylation degree at a particular DRD4 CpG2.3 unit. The interaction of the DRD4 rs1800955 C allele and the reduced DRD4CpG2.3 methylation degree were associated with a lower occurrence of paranoid symptoms. Meanwhile, those with the COMT rs4818 CC allele had lower motor‐impulsivity scores in MAUD patients but greater COMT methylation levels in the promoter region and methylation degree at the COMT CpG 51.52 unit. Therefore, based only on the COMT rs4818 CC polymorphism, there was a negative correlation between COMT methylation and motor‐impulsive scores. Our preliminary results provide a clue that the combination of SNP genotype and methylation status of the DRD4 and COMT genes serve as biological indicators for the prevalence of relatively high‐risk psychotic symptoms in MAUD patients.
The interaction of the DRD4 rs1800955 C allele and the reduced DRD4 CpG2.3 methylation degree were associated with a lower occurrence of paranoid symptoms. Based only on the COMT rs4818 CC polymorphism, there was a negative correlation between COMT methylation and motor‐impulsive scores. The combination of SNP genotype and methylation status of the DRD4 and COMT genes may serve as biological indicators to evaluate the prevalence of relatively high‐risk psychotic symptoms in MAUD patients.
The present work is focused on the use of electrochemical cathode-reduction method for leaching LiCoO2 produced by spent lithium-ion batteries. The thermodynamics, kinetics, and electrochemical ...impedance spectroscopy analyses are used to determine the probable control mechanism involved in the leaching of cobalt from spent LiCoO2. The leaching efficiencies reached about 90% for cobalt and nearly 94% for lithium using 1.25 mol/L of malic acid and a working voltage of 8 V for 180 min at 70 °C. Kinetics analysis indicates that the leaching process of cobalt could be divided into two stages: the first stage is controlled by a surface chemical reaction, and the second stage is controlled by a combination of the surface chemical reaction and diffusion. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy analysis show that the combination control at the second stage is related to the form of Co(OH)3 produced during the leaching process of spent LiCoO2. Finally, a novel process for the leaching of cobalt from spent LiCoO2 is proposed.
•A novel process of electrochemical cathode reduction is designed for leaching of spent LiCoO2 batteries.•The thermodynamics, kinetics and EIS are analyzed for understanding the controlling mechanism of leaching process.•The SEM, XPS and TEM are analyzed for clarifying the combination control at second stage of leaching process.
•Entropy and entransy theories are reviewed and compared from three perspectives.•Multi-objective optimization with entropy generation cannot meet various demands.•Minimum entropy generation does not ...lead to maximum heat transfer coefficient.•Entransy dissipation extremum corresponds to maximum heat transfer coefficient.•Entransy with Pareto Optimality is more appropriate for heat transfer optimization.
Performance improvement of convective heat transfer processes is significant for energy conservation. Considering the trade-off between the heat transfer enhancement and the pumping power reduction, the optimization of convective heat transfer processes can be modeled as a multi-objective optimization problem in the entropy-based approach and a constrained optimization problem in the entransy-based approach. This article first reviews these two theories and then compares them from the perspectives of optimization criteria, optimization methods and optimization results. Studies have shown that simply analyzing the entropy generation rate or other entropy generation criteria cannot meet the diverse objectives of various practical applications. Besides, the minimum heat transfer entropy generation does not always lead to the maximum of convective heat transfer coefficient, as reason is also analyzed here. In contrast, the entransy dissipation extremum corresponds to the maximum convective heat transfer coefficient as has been shown mathematically. Moreover, the entransy dissipation extremum principle and the variational method can be combined to find the optimal flow and temperature fields with better heat transfer results than determined using the entropy generation minimization principle. The entransy optimization results can then be used to design better augmentation technologies for convective heat transfer processes. In summary, the entransy theory is more appropriate for optimizing convective heat transfer processes without heat-work conversion processes.
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are crucial in the invasion, angiogenesis, progression, and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The lncRNA MYLK-AS1 promotes the growth and invasion of HCC ...through the EGFR/HER2-ERK1/2 signaling pathway. However, the clinical significance of MYLK-AS1 in HCC still needs to be further determined.
Bioinformatic analysis was performed to determine the potential relationship among MYLK-AS1, miRNAs and mRNAs. A total of 156 samples of normal liver and paired HCC tissues from HCC patients were used to evaluate MYLK-AS1 expression by qRT-PCR. Human HCC cell lines were used to evaluate the colony formation, cell proliferation, migration, invasion, cell cycle and apoptosis after transfection of lentiviral short-hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) targeting MYLK-AS1 or MYLK-AS1 vectors. The competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) mechanism was clarified using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), Western blotting, qPCR, RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP), and dual luciferase reporter analysis.
MYLK-AS1 up-regulation was detected in the HCC tumor tissues and cell lines associated with the enhancement of the angiogenesis and tumor progression. The down-regulation of MYLK-AS1 reversed the effects on angiogenesis, proliferation, invasion and metastasis in the HCC cells and in vivo. MYLK-AS1 acted as ceRNA, capable of regulating the angiogenesis in HCC, while the microRNA miR-424-5p was the direct target of MYLK-AS1. Promoting the angiogenesis and the tumor proliferation, the complex MYLK-AS1/miR-424-5p activated the VEGFR-2 signaling through E2F7, whereas the specific targeting of E2F transcription factor 7 (E2F7) by miR-424-5p, was indicated by the mechanism studies.
MYLK-AS1 and E2F7 are closely related to some malignant clinicopathological features and prognosis of HCC, thus the MYLK-AS1/ miR-424-5p/E2F7 signaling pathway might represent a promising treatment strategy to combat HCC.
Abstract
Background
The catenin beta 1 gene (CTNNB1) plays a crucial role in the malignant progression of various cancers. Recent studies have suggested that CTNNB1 hyperactivation is closely related ...to the occurrence and development of bladder cancer (BCa). As a member of the deubiquitinating enzyme (DUB) family, ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L3 (UCHL3) is abnormally expressed in various cancers. In this study, we discovered that UCHL3 is a novel oncogene in bladder cancer, suggesting it is a promising target against bladder cancer.
Methods
We utilized CRISPR‒Cas9 technology to construct cell lines with UCHL3 stably overexpressed or knocked out. The successful overexpression or knockout of UCHL3 was determined using Western blotting. Then, we performed CCK-8, colony formation, soft agar and Transwell migration assays to determine the impact of the UCHL3 gene on cell phenotype. RNA-seq was performed with UCHL3-depleted T24 cells (established via CRISPR–Cas9-mediated genomic editing). We analyzed differences in WNT pathway gene expression in wild-type and UCHL3-deficient T24 cell lines using a heatmap and by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Then, we validated the effect of UCHL3 on the Wnt pathway using a dual fluorescence reporter. We then analyzed the underlying mechanisms involved using Western blots, co-IP, and immunofluorescence results. We also conducted nude mouse tumor formation experiments. Moreover, conditional UCHL3-knockout mice and bladder cancer model mice were established for research.
Results
We found that the overexpression of UCHL3 boosted bladder cancer cell proliferation, invasion and migration, while the depletion of UCHL3 in bladder cancer cells delayed tumor tumorigenesis in vitro and in vivo. UCHL3 was highly associated with the Wnt signaling pathway and triggered the activation of the Wnt signaling pathway, which showed that its functions depend on its deubiquitination activity. Notably, Uchl3-deficient mice were less susceptible to bladder tumorigenesis. Additionally, UCHL3 was highly expressed in bladder cancer cells and associated with indicators of advanced clinicopathology.
Conclusion
In summary, we found that UCHL3 is amplified in bladder cancer and functions as a tumor promoter that enhances proliferation and migration of tumor cells in vitro and bladder tumorigenesis and progression in vivo. Furthermore, we revealed that UCHL3 stabilizes CTNNB1 expression, resulting in the activation of the oncogenic Wnt signaling pathway. Therefore, our findings strongly suggest that UCHL3 is a promising therapeutic target for bladder cancer.
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