Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is composed of three isoforms, TGF-β1, TGF-β2, and TGF-β3. TGF-β1 is a cytokine with multiple biological functions that has been studied extensively. It plays an ...important role in regulating the differentiation of immune cells and maintaining immune cell functions and immune homeostasis. Pregnancy is a carefully regulated process. Controlled invasion of trophoblasts, precise coordination of immune cells and cytokines, and crosstalk between trophoblasts and immune cells play vital roles in the establishment and maintenance of normal pregnancy. In this systematic review, we summarize the role of TGF-β1 in regulating fetal-maternal immune tolerance in healthy and pathological pregnancies. During healthy pregnancy, TGF-β1 induces the production of regulatory T cells (Tregs), maintains the immunosuppressive function of Tregs, mediates the balance of M1/M2 macrophages, and regulates the function of NK cells, thus participating in maintaining fetal-maternal immune tolerance. In addition, some studies have shown that TGF-β1 is dysregulated in patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion or preeclampsia. TGF-β1 may play a role in the occurrence and development of these diseases and may be a potential target for the treatment of these diseases.
For the poor ovarian response (POR) population, the relationship between medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) dose in progestin-primed ovarian stimulation (PPOS) and clinical outcome is still unclear. ...This study aims to explore the effect of MPA dose in PPOS on clinical outcomes in POSEIDON group 3 and 4 patients with different body mass index (BMI) levels, hoping to provide clinical doctors with better options for controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) programs.
This is a retrospective analysis of 253 oocyte retrieval cycles of POSEIDON group 3 and 4 patients who underwent PPOS protocol in IVF/ICSI treatment at the Reproductive Medical Center of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from March 2019 to April 2022. The effects of different MPA doses (8 mg/d or 10 mg/d) on pregnancy outcomes were compared in normal BMI (18.5-24 kg/m
) and high BMI (≥24 kg/m
) patients, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the factors affecting pregnancy outcomes.
For normal BMI patients, the 8-mg/d MPA group had a higher embryo implantation rate (33.78% vs. 18.97%,
= 0.012). For high BMI patients, the 10-mg/d MPA group had a higher HCG positive rate (55.00% vs. 25.00%,
= 0.028), clinical pregnancy rate (50.00% vs. 20.00%,
= 0.025), and cumulative pregnancy rate (37.74% vs. 13.79%,
= 0.023) compared with the 8-mg/d MPA group. There was no significant difference in cumulative live birth rate between the 8-mg/d and 10-mg/d MPA groups in patients with normal or high BMI. The results of multivariate logistic regression showed a significant correlation between MPA dose and cumulative pregnancy in the high BMI population (OR = 0.199, 95% CI: 0.046~0.861,
= 0.031).
For POR patients with high BMI, 10 mg/d of MPA in the PPOS protocol had a higher cumulative pregnancy rate than 8 mg/d of MPA, but it had no significant effect on the cumulative live birth rate.
The aim of this study was to encapsulate glabridin (GB) into nanoparticles, prepared by an ionic-gelation method blended with chitosan (CS) and poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) to address the issue of ...poor stability and low water solubility of glabridin.
The physicochemical properties of nanoparticles were investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy.
FT-IR results indicated that the spontaneous interaction between CS, γ-PGA and GB can form a cross linked network-structure, leading to the spontaneous formation of nanoparticles. Morphology of the complex particles was nano-scale spherical shape. Furthermore, particle size was decreased according to the decrease of γ-PGA contents and CS, accompanying with the increase of mixed solution transmittance. The m
: m
= 1: 1 and mCS: (m
+ m
) =1: 1 were considered to be a proper preparation condition of CS/γ-PGA/GB hybrid nanoparticles, which produced the smaller nanoparticles with the satisfactory encapsulation efficiency (EE), loading content (LC) and sustained GB release. With the increase of pH values, the potential, EE, and LC decreased gradually, while the particle size increased. The nanoparticles prepared with higher molecular weight γ-PGA had larger particle size and less loading capacity on GB. Additionally, moderate weight ratio of CS/γ-PGA/GB, low pH, and high molecular weight of γ-PGA were favorable for sustained release.
It can be concluded that the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles and GB release behaviors were affected by several factors including the weight ratio of CS/γ-PGA/GB, pHvalues, and γ-PGA molecular weight (MW). Nanoencapsulation using CS, γ-PGA and GB has a potential application for the development of functional cosmetic products with skin-whitening effect.
D phase emulsification method was applied to prepare nano-emulsions in the Span 80-Tween 80/glycerin/water/mineral oil system. The phase behavior of this system during the entire emulsification ...process and the stability of the prepared emulsions were investigated by means of a pseudo-ternary phase experimental design. A possible emulsification mechanism was preliminarily proposed on the basis of our experimental results. It was found that the special self-assembled structure of the D phase and its capability for oil phase were the crucial factors in the D phase emulsification. Firstly, the surfactant alignment of the D phase was beneficial to the formation of small oil droplets in the O/D phase. Then, a quick movement of the surfactants toward the oil-water interface was critical for preparing nano-emulsions. Furthermore, the stability of the nano-emulsions during storage (30 days) was predominantly related to the addition amount of surfactants. The higher the content of surfactant in the system, the more stable the nano-particle interface film was formed. The stable interface film avoids the aggregation of the particles due to the thermal motion of the molecules, and the nano-particles could remain stable during storage.
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•Discussed the entire process of D phase emulsification method•Investigated the phase behavior by means of pseudo-ternary phase diagram•A possible emulsification mechanism was preliminarily proposed.
This study aimed to investigate the influence of the preparation process and composition on the microstructure of the O/W primary emulsions and the corresponding impact on the formation of ...oil-in-water-in-oil (O/W/O) multiple emulsions.
Multiple emulsions were prepared by a two-step emulsification method and the microstructure was characterized by the microscope.
The primary emulsion was prepared by four kinds of preparation methods, which include both high-energy and low-energy emulsification, and then the primary emulsion was re-emulsified by stirring in the outer phase.
Through the theoretical investigation and the corresponding verification experiments of the interfacial film, the geometric reason for O/W/O multiple emulsion which was relatively difficult to prepare has been found. The microstructure of O/W particles was more obvious, and the particle size became smaller with the increase of the hydrophilic emulsifier amount beneficial to the formation and stability of O/W/O structures. However, the excess emulsifier that existed in the water phase could interfere the stability of the W/O interface. Moreover, the viscosity of inner oil phase had a large influence on the formation of O/W/O emulsion by affecting the particle size of the primary emulsion and the dynamic equilibrium between the inner and outer oil phase.
It can be concluded that fine multiple emulsions were formed when the particle size of the primary emulsion was moderate since the large particles would break through the outer interface membrane and small particles would combine with the outer oil phase due to the Ostwald ripening.
The structure and characterization of the oligopeptide crystals formed from the feather keratin solution obtained by superheated water treatment are reported. The FTIR spectra and 1H and 13C ...solid‐state NMR results indicate that the peptides, arranged mostly in a beta‐sheet structure in feather, reorganize into a mainly alpha‐helix and less beta‐sheet mixed secondary structure, when self‐assemble from the solution at room temperature. MALDI‐ToF‐ToF spectra confirm that the most primary sequence with the mass 1884 come from the feather keratin 4, KRFA_CHICK of Gallus gallus. The largely preservation of all but cystine amino acid species and the increase of hydrophobic amino acids content in the oligopeptide crystals are proved by the amino acid analysis.
The analysis of oligopeptides crystal formed from the oligopeptides solution extracted from the beta‐sheet keratin by superheated water suggests that a change from beta‐sheet to alpha‐helix arrangement of the peptides occurs during the crystallization process. The results may help understanding the mechanism of self‐assembly of amino‐acids in biomaterials based on oligopeptides.
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a mucopolysaccharide alternately linked by glucuronic acid and n-Acetylglucosamine as disaccharide units. This study prepared HA derivative (DA-HA) by modifying sodium ...hyaluronate with dopamine (DA). DA-HA had unique surface activity. By optimizing the reaction conditions systematically, DA-HA could prepare the emulsion with uniform droplets successfully. When
n
(COOH) /
n
(EDC) /
n
(NHS) was 1/2/4,
n
(HA) /
n
(DA) was 1/5, the reaction pH was 5.5, and the molecular weight of HA was 1350 KDa, the emulsion particles were relatively uniform. The chemical structure of DA-HA was characterized, and the results showed that DA was grafted on the HA chain through the amide bond. In addition, the effect of formula composition on the emulsifying performance of DA-HA was studied. The particle size of emulsion decreased as the concentration of DA-HA increased. When the oil-water ratio was 4/6 or 5/5, the emulsion droplets were small and uniform. When the aqueous phase was in an acidic or weakly alkaline condition, the particle size of the emulsion was smaller. The introduction of high salinity will destroy the stability of the emulsion. Meanwhile, DA-HA also had good moisturizing property and biosafety, which greatly expanded the application of HA in cosmetics.
Graphical abstract
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•Depending on the pH, sodium lauroyl glutamate can exist in three distinct states.•A high-viscosity viscoelastic system based on natural surfactants has been successfully ...created.•Depending on the concentration, the SLG/LHSB compound system can form worm-like micelles of various length and quantity.
The pH and the state of SLG in aqueous solution are strongly connected. When the pH was below 5.5, it would be transformed into N-lauroyl glutamic acid (LGA) with limited solubility; when the pH was between 5.5 and 6.5, SLG was the major component in the system; and when the pH was above 6.5, disodium lauroyl glutamate predominated (DLG). Because SLG and lauramidopropyl hydroxy sulfobetaine (LHSB, also known as lauramidopropyl hydroxy Sultaine) can combine to generate mixed micelles that can solubilize insoluble materials, the compound system outperformed the single system in terms of dissolving. The viscosity of the SLG and LHSB compound system changed dramatically with pH, corresponding to the change in SLG components with pH. The viscoelastic properties of the composite system were investigated by using steady-state and oscillatory shear sweep rheological measurements. The zero-shear viscosity (η0) had a strong dependence on the concentration of the compound system. The compound system began to form worm-like micelles at 0.05 mol/L. When the system concentration hit 0.35 mol/L, the worm-like micelles began to break, and their length reduced while their quantity rose. (Cryogenic-transmission electron microscopy (Cryo-TEM) confirmed the formation of worm-like micelles. The system demonstrated benign features and outstanding foaming performance in the foam performance and irritation tests.
The adsorption behavior of two lipophilic emulsifiers at the interface between water-oil and polyol (glycerin, 1,3-butanediol)-oil, and the interaction between them and the corresponding emulsion ...features were investigated. The dynamic interfacial tension (IFT), saturation adsorption amount (Γ∞), Langmuir constant (κ), interfacial critical micelle concentration (CMCIFT), dynamic adsorption capacity, affinity of emulsifier and medium were determined. The experimental results showed that medium had more significant effect on the adsorption behavior of emulsifier than that of emulsifier type. In Glycerol-Mineral oil (Gly-M) and Water-Mineral oil (W-M) systems, PGPH has the large CMCIFT than Span 80 and the the opposite was true in 1,3-butanediol-Mineral oil (BD-M), which was related to the affinity of emulsifiers and medium. The Γ∞ values of emulsifier in Gly-M and W-M were similar, while the differences in CMCIFT and κ were significant. The emulsifier had larger CMCIFT and smaller Γ∞ in BD-M. This has been similarly demonstrated in emulsification, where PGPH could form W/O/W multi-structure emulsions in W-M and single structure emulsions in polyol-mineral oil. Among them, P/O was formed in Gly-M and O/P was formed in BD-M. In the same system, such as Gly-M system, P/O emulsions were both formed with the emulsifier of Span 80 and PGPH, which existed some differences in particle size and stability. Our results provided useful insights into the adsorption mechanism of emulsifier at polyol-oil interfaces and the construction of polyol/oil emulsion systems.
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