One of the major mediators of multidrug resistance (MDR) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the overexpression of ATP-binding cassette subfamily G member 2 (ABCG2). In this study, we conducted ...in vitro and in vivo experiments to determine whether PD153035, an inhibitor of EGFR, could reverse ABCG2-mediated MDR in human NSCLC and transfected cells overexpressing ABCG2. The efficacy of SN-38, topotecan, and mitoxantrone (MX) were significantly increased by PD153035, PD153035 significantly reversed ABCG2-mediated MDR by attenuating the efflux activity of this transporter. In addition, PD153035 significantly down-regulated the expression of the ABCG2 transporter protein. Furthermore, a combination of PD153035 and topotecan, exhibited significant synergistic anticancer activity against mice xenografted with human H460/MX20 cells. These results, provided that they can be extrapolated to humans, suggest that the combination of topotecan and PD153035 could be a promising therapeutic strategy to attenuate the resistance to topotecan, as well as other anticancer drugs, mediated by the overexpression of ABCG2.
•ABCG2 is a major transporter responsible for the efflux chemotherapy, leading to multidrug resistance.•PD153035, can significantly improve the effect of chemotherapy drugs by reversing ABC transporter-mediated drug resistance.•This study demonstrated that the combination of PD153035 with chemotherapy can reverse ABCG2-mediated drug resistance, could be of great clinical interest.
Polyimide (PI) nanofiber-based nonwovens have been fabricated via electrospinning for the separators of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric ...analysis (TGA) and hot oven tests show that the PI nanofiber-based nonwovens are thermally stable at a high temperature of 500 °C while the commercial Celgard membrane exhibits great shrinkage at 150 °C and even goes melting over 167 °C, indicating a superior thermal stability of PI nanofiber-based nonwovens than that of the Celgard membrane. Moreover, the PI nanofiber-based nonwovens exhibit better wettability for the polar electrolyte compared to the Celgard membrane. The PI nanofiber-based nonwoven separators are also evaluated to have higher capacity, lower resistance and higher rate capability compared to the Celgard membrane separator, which proves that they are ideal candidates for separators of high-performance rechargeable LIBs.
Display omitted Polyimide (PI) nanofiber-based nonwovens have been fabricated via electrospinning for separators of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The electrospun PI nanofiber-based nonwovens exhibit superior thermal stability and better wettability for the liquid electrolyte. They are also evaluated to have higher capacity, lower resistance and higher rate capability compared to the commercial Celgard membrane separator, making them ideal candidates for separators of high-performance rechargeable LIBs.
► Polyimide (PI) nanofiber-based nonwovens have been fabricated via electrospinning for separators of LIBs. ► Electrospun PI nanofiber nonwovens show superior thermal stability than that of the commercial Celgard membrane. ► Compared to the Celgard membrane, PI nanofiber nonwovens exhibit better wettability toward electrolyte. ► The electrospun PI nanofiber nonwoven separators present high-performance battery properties.
Spinal cord stimulation has become an important modality in pain treatment especially for neuropathic pain conditions refractory to pharmacotherapy. However, the molecular control of inhibitory and ...excitatory mechanisms observed after spinal cord stimulation are poorly understood. Here, we used RNA-seq to identify differences in the expression of genes and gene networks in spinal cord tissue from nerve-injured rats with and without repetitive conventional spinal cord stimulation treatment. Five weeks after chronic constrictive injury to the left sciatic nerve, male and female rats were randomized to receive repetitive spinal cord stimulation or no treatment. Rats receiving spinal cord stimulation underwent epidural placement of a miniature stimulating electrode and received seven sessions of spinal cord stimulation (50 Hz, 80% motor threshold, 0.2 ms, constant current bipolar stimulation, 120 min/session) over four consecutive days. Within 2 h after the last spinal cord stimulation treatment, the L4-L6 spinal segments ipsilateral to the side of nerve injury were harvested and used to generate libraries for RNA-seq. Our RNA-seq data suggest further increases of many existing upregulated immune responses in chronic constrictive injury rats after repetitive spinal cord stimulation, including transcription of cell surface receptors and activation of non-neuronal cells. We also demonstrate that repetitive spinal cord stimulation represses transcription of several key synaptic signaling genes that encode scaffold proteins in the post-synaptic density. Our transcriptional studies suggest a potential relationship between specific genes and the therapeutic effects observed in patients undergoing conventional spinal cord stimulation after nerve injury. Furthermore, our results may help identify new therapeutic targets for improving the efficacy of conventional spinal cord stimulation and other chronic pain treatments.
Microglia are the resident macrophages of the central nervous system and are associated with the pathogenesis of many neurodegenerative and brain inflammatory diseases; however, the origin of adult ...microglia remains controversial. We show that postnatal hematopoietic progenitors do not significantly contribute to microglia homeostasis in the adult brain. In contrast to many macrophage populations, we show that microglia develop in mice that lack colony stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) but are absent in CSF-1 receptor-deficient mice. In vivo lineage tracing studies established that adult microglia derive from primitive myeloid progenitors that arise before embryonic day 8. These results identify microglia as an ontogenically distinct population in the mononuclear phagocyte system and have implications for the use of embryonically derived microglial progenitors for the treatment of various brain disorders.
Our aim was to investigate whether guinea pig urothelium-derived bioactivities compatible with the existence of urothelium-derived inhibitory factor could be demonstrated by in vitro serial bioassay ...and whether purinergic P1 receptor agonists, nitric oxide, nitrite or prostaglandins might explain observed activities. In a cascade superfusion system, urothelium-denuded guinea pig ureters were used as bioassay tissues, recording their spontaneous rhythmic contractions in presence of scopolamine. Urothelium-intact or -denuded guinea pig urinary bladders were used as donor tissues, stimulated by intermittent application of carbachol before or during the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), the adenosine/P1 nucleoside receptor antagonist 8-(p-sulfophenyl)theophylline (8-PST) or the cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor diclofenac infused to bath donor and bioassay tissues. The spontaneous contractions of bioassay ureters were unaltered by application of carbachol 1-5 µM in the presence of scopolamine 5-30 µM. When carbachol was applied over the urothelium-denuded bladder, the assay ureter contraction rate was unaltered. Introducing carbachol over the everted urothelium-intact bladder significantly inhibited the contraction frequency of the assay ureter, suggesting the transfer of an inhibitory activity from the bladder to the assay ureter. The transmissible inhibitory activity was not markedly antagonized by L-NAME, 8-PST or diclofenac, while L-NAME nearly abolished nitrite release from the urothelium-intact bladder preparations. We suggest that urothelium-derived inhibitory factor is a transmissible entity over a significant distance as demonstrated in this novel cascade superfusion assay and seems less likely to be nitric oxide, nitrite, an adenosine receptor agonist or subject to inhibition by administration of a cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor.
IL-12 induces initiation of the differentiation of naive CD4+ T lymphocytes into Th1 cells and is important for the control of cell-mediated immunity. beta-Chemokines serve to attract various types ...of blood leukocytes to sites of infection and inflammation. The specific receptor for the beta-chemokines (macrophage-inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha, MIP-1beta, and RANTES), CCR5, also functions as the primary coreceptor for macrophage-tropic isolates of HIV-1. IL-12, but not IL-4, IL-10, or IL-13, now has been shown to down-modulate the surface expression of CCR5 induced by IL-2 on both CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. Decreased CCR5 surface expression was not secondary to transcriptional inhibition, given that CCR5 mRNA was enhanced in cells cultured in IL-12/IL-2 compared with those cultured in IL-2 only. The effect of IL-12 in down-modulation of CCR5 surface expression was shown to be mediated by soluble factors secreted from the T cells. Rapid and transient intracellular Ca2+ mobilization was induced in monocytes by IL-12-induced supernatants, which desensitized the response of monocytes to MIP-1alpha, but not their response to stromal cell-derived factor-1alpha. Neutralization with specific Abs identified these factors as MIP-1alpha and MIP-1beta from most donors. IL-4, IL-10, IFN-gamma, and IL-18 primarily inhibited MIP-1beta secretion and also weakly suppressed MIP-1alpha secretion. HIV-1 replication was inhibited in IL-2/IL-12-containing cultures that correlated with chemokine and chemokine-receptor levels. These data suggest that the effects of IL-12 on beta-chemokine production and chemokine-receptor expression may contribute to the immunomodulatory activities of IL-12 and may have potential therapeutic relevance in controlling HIV-1 replication.
Severe respiratory infections can result in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
. There are no effective pharmacological therapies that have been shown to improve outcomes for patients with ...ARDS. Although the host inflammatory response limits spread of and eventually clears the pathogen, immunopathology is a major contributor to tissue damage and ARDS
. Here we demonstrate that respiratory viral infection induces distinct fibroblast activation states, which we term extracellular matrix (ECM)-synthesizing, damage-responsive and interferon-responsive states. We provide evidence that excess activity of damage-responsive lung fibroblasts drives lethal immunopathology during severe influenza virus infection. By producing ECM-remodelling enzymes-in particular the ECM protease ADAMTS4-and inflammatory cytokines, damage-responsive fibroblasts modify the lung microenvironment to promote robust immune cell infiltration at the expense of lung function. In three cohorts of human participants, the levels of ADAMTS4 in the lower respiratory tract were associated with the severity of infection with seasonal or avian influenza virus. A therapeutic agent that targets the ECM protease activity of damage-responsive lung fibroblasts could provide a promising approach to preserving lung function and improving clinical outcomes following severe respiratory infections.
Mitochondria support synaptic transmission through production of ATP, sequestration of calcium, synthesis of glutamate, and other vital functions. Surprisingly, less than 50% of hippocampal CA1 ...presynaptic boutons contain mitochondria, raising the question of whether synapses without mitochondria can sustain changes in efficacy. To address this question, we analyzed synapses from postnatal day 15 (P15) and adult rat hippocampus that had undergone theta-burst stimulation to produce long-term potentiation (TBS-LTP) and compared them to control or no stimulation. At 30 and 120 min after TBS-LTP, vesicles were decreased only in presynaptic boutons that contained mitochondria at P15, and vesicle decrement was greatest in adult boutons containing mitochondria. Presynaptic mitochondrial cristae were widened, suggesting a sustained energy demand. Thus, mitochondrial proximity reflected enhanced vesicle mobilization well after potentiation reached asymptote, in parallel with the apparently silent addition of new dendritic spines at P15 or the silent enlargement of synapses in adults.
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