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•The gut microbiome profile of a rat model of MNNG-induced gastric carcinogenesis was analyzed.•Changes in gut microbiota composition were detected by 16S rRNA gene ...sequencing.•Bacterial species richness increased and diversity decreased during gastric carcinogenesis progression.•The most significant changes were occurred at the precancerous lesion of GC stage.•Gut microbiome changes in the rat gastric carcinogenesis model were similar to those in human.
Although many studies have examined changes in gut microbiota composition in gastric carcinogenesis to clarify the mechanism of action of anticancer drugs, it is unclear whether animal models of gastric carcinogenesis adequately reflect the disease in humans.
To address this issue, the present study investigated changes in the gut microbiome profile of a rat model of gastric carcinogenesis established using a combination of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), sodium salicylate, irregular fasting, and ranitidine. The rats were divided into control (Normal), chronic non-atrophic gastritis (CNAG), chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG), precancerous lesion of gastric cancer (PLGC), and gastric cancer (GC) groups according to histopathological features. Gut microbiome in gastric carcinogenesis profiling was performed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing of rat feces samples.
We found that gut bacterial species richness increased whereas species diversity decreased during gastric carcinogenesis, with the most significant changes detected in the PLGC group. Gut microbiota community composition differed across groups, with the greatest similarities observed between CNAG and CAG groups and between PLGC and GC groups. There were significant differences in taxonomic representation at the phylum level: the PLGC group had the highest ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes whereas the GC group had the highest abundance of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria.
These results indicate that changes in the gut microbiome in a rat model of MNNG-induced gastric carcinogenesis are similar to those observed in humans, thus providing a useful tool for evaluating the efficacy and mechanism of action of novel monotherapies or drug combinations for the treatment of gastric carcinogenesis.
•Peripheral plasma protein expression was used to determine clinically relevant biomarkers for depression.•This is the first study to observe the up-regulation of CFB and SERPIND1 in plasma from ...depression.•The results indicate that acute phase response signaling pathway dysregulation is associated with depression.
Globally, depression is one of the most serious debilitating psychiatric mental disorders. In this study, we validated the expression levels of fibrinogen alpha (FGA), fibrinogen beta (FGB), fibrinogen gamma (FGG), Complement factor B (CFB) and serpin family D member 1(SERPIND1) in the acute phase response signaling pathway in plasma samples using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Then illuminate the roles of FGA, FGB, FGG, CFB, SERPIND1 in depression using microarray data.
Gene expression dataset GSE98793 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. There were 128 whole blood samples included 64 patients with major depressed patients and 64 healthy controls. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, and then protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed to screen crucial genes associated with FGA, FGB, FGG, CFB and SERPIND1. Moreover, gene ontology (GO) biological processes analyses was performed.
The ELISA data showed that the expression levels of FGA, FGB, FGG, CFB and SERPIND1 were up-regulated in depressed patients. The enriched GO terms were predominantly associated with the biological processes including more genes were inflammation related. The PPI network was found these five genes interacted with 11 genes. FGA, FGB, FGG, CFB and SERPIND1 may be important in the pathogenesis of depression.
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This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) combined with paclitaxel-based chemotherapy and paclitaxel-based chemotherapy alone for gastric cancer ...treatment. Literature searches (up to September 25, 2019) were performed using the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, PubMed, Chinese Science and Technology Journals (CQVIP), Wanfang, and China Academic Journals (CNKI) databases. Data from 14 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), with 1,109 participants, were included. The results indicated that, compared with paclitaxel-based chemotherapy alone, the combination of TCMs and paclitaxel-based chemotherapy significantly improved the tumor response rate (TRR; RR: 1.39; 95% CI: 1.24-1.57;
< 0.001,
= 12%), increased the quality of life based on the Karnofsky Performance Scale score (RR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.19-1.96;
< 0.001,
= 0%), and reduced the side effects, such as neutropenia (RR: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.55-0.84;
< 0.001,
= 44%), leukopenia (RR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.54-0.90;
< 0.01,
= 40%), thrombocytopenia (RR: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.46-0.96;
< 0.05,
= 32%), and nausea and vomiting (RR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.32-0.80;
< 0.01,
= 85%). Hepatic dysfunction (RR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.33-1.20;
= 0.16,
= 0%), neurotoxicity (RR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.26-1.55;
= 0.32,
= 0%), and anemia (RR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.40-1.04;
= 0.07,
= 0%) were similar between the two groups. Evidence from the meta-analysis suggested that compared with paclitaxel-based chemotherapy alone, the combination of TCMs and paclitaxel-based chemotherapy may increase the TRR, improve quality of life, and reduce multiple chemotherapy-related side effects in gastric cancer patients. Additional rigorously designed large RCTs are required to confirm the efficacy and safety of this treatment.
Flowers of Carthamus tinctorius L. are traditionally used in China to treat cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases. Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA), the main constituent of Carthamus tinctorius ...L. flowers, is known for its multiple biological activities. In the present study, HSYA was isolated from Carthamus tinctorius L. flowers by a macroporous resin adsorption chromatography method coupled with a Waters high-throughput auto-purification system and it's vasodilatation effects on pulmonary artery (PA) were explored by an assay of tension study on rat pulmonary artery (PA) rings. Results suggest that HSYA possesses vascular relaxation effects on rat PA by activating the KV channel in pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells (PVSMCs).
To investigate the protective effect of Dahuang Fuzi Decoction (DHFZD), a traditional Chinese prescription, at alleviating sepsis-induced inflammation and gut barrier damage in rats.
Forty ...clean-grade male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided randomly into three groups: normal control group (NCG, n = 10), model control group (MCG, n = 15) and DHFZD-treated group (DHFZDG, n = 15). NCG rats were sham operated on and used as the controls, whereas MCG and DHFZDG rats were used to replicate the rat sepsis model using cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The DHFZDG rats received DHFZD by gavage (4.5 mg/g of body weight) 2 h prior to CLP and after its successful induction, while the NCG and MCG rats received equivalent amounts of sterilized water by gavage. All rat groups were starved and had free access to water. At 24 h post-experimental set up, the mortality of rats in each group was recorded, and peritoneal inflammation assessment and pathological changes related to the intestinal mucosal injury index (IMII) in the surviving rats were evaluated. D-lactic acid, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 peripheral blood concentrations, along with secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) in the intestinal mucosa were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Gut microbes were detected using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
DHFZD reduced sepsis-related mortality in the rats. Moreover, it alleviated peritoneal inflammation and pathological changes according to the IMII. DHFZD reduced serum procalcitonin, TNF-α and IL-6 concentrations, but not the IL-10 concentration. It also reduced serum D-lactic acid and increased sIgA concentrations in intestinal mucosa. Notably, DHFZDG restored gut microbiota diversity and regulated the decrease in Bacteroidetes induced by sepsis, compared with the MCG rats.
DHFZDG may play a protective role in sepsis by alleviating sepsis-induced inflammation and gut barrier damage in rats.
Long persistent luminescence (LPL) including thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) and phosphorescence is widely applied in luminogens. Recently, Pan et al. pioneered the discovery of TADF ...and phosphorescence in the HPI2C molecule by manipulating temperature in line with the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) dynamics (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 2726). They blazed a new trail to explore the switching mechanism between TADF and phosphorescence in single molecule. Nevertheless, luminescence mechanism for HPI2C cannot be explained solely through experimental means. Theoretically, we demonstrate that the ESIPT and photocyclization channel induced conical intersection processes facilitate the fluorescence quenching of the Enol* state. Moreover, we prove the cruciality of the T2 state in the TADF phenomenon involved in Keto* state and reconsider the mechanism of the dual phosphorescence. Our investigation is favorable to provide theoretical support for the design of the LPL materials based on the ESIPT-attributed molecules.
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•The ESIPT process and peaked conical intersection facilitate the fluorescence quenching of the Enol* state.•The T2 state plays a predominant role in TADF phenomenon involved in Keto* state.•The anti-Kasha mechanism of dual phosphorescence is reconsidered.
Semi-preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was successfully used for isolation and purification of oridonin from Isodon rubescens by using a two-phase-solvent system composed ...of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (2.8:5:2.8:5, v/v/v/v). The targeted compound isolated, collected and purified by HSCCC was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A total of 40.6 mg of oridonin with the purity of 73.5% was obtained in less than 100 min from 100 mg of crude Isodon rubescens extract. The chemical structure of the compound was identified by IR, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR.
Depression is a severe disabling psychiatric illness and the pathophysiological mechanisms remain unknown. In previous work, we found the changes in extrinsic coagulation (EC) pathway proteins in ...depressed patients compared with healthy subjects were significant. In this study, we screened differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in the EC pathway, and explored the molecular mechanism by constructing a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. The DEPs of the EC pathwaywere initially screened by isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) in plasma samples obtained from 20 depression patients and 20 healthy controls, and were then identified by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software was used to analyse pathway. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by analyzing the GSE98793 microarray data from the Gene Expression Omnibus database using the Significance Analysis for Microarrays (SAM, version 4.1) statistical method. Cytoscape version 3.4.0 software was used to construct and visualize PPI networks. The results show that Fibrinogen alpha chain (FGA), Fibrinogen beta chain (FGB), Fibrinogen gamma chain (FGG) and Coagulation factor VII (FVII) were screened in the EC pathway from depression patient samples. FGA, FGB, and FGG were significantly up-regulated, and FVII was down-regulated. Thirteen DEGs related to depression and EC pathways were identified from the microarray database. Among them NF-κB Inhibitor Beta (NFKBIB) and Heat shock protein family B (small) member 1 (HSPB1) were highly correlated with EC pathway. We conclude that EC pathway is associated with depression, which provided clues for the biomarker development and the pathogenesis of depression.
The task-specific covalent triazine frameworks (CTF-CSUs) with carbazole moieties embedded in the main chain were designed and prepared by a bottom-up technology. The CTF-CSUs exhibit extremely high ...yields (99%) under significantly mild conditions (0.1 MPa, 25 °C) for CO2 chemical fixation. More importantly, they deliver attractive ORR activity, superior durability and methanol tolerance relative to commercially available Pt/C reference electrocatalyst (E-TEK, 20%).
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•Bifunctional carbazole-based CTFs are synthesized via the bottom-up chemistry.•The resulting CTFs are featured by large surface area, high nitrogen content and excellent physico-chemical stability.•The frameworks are used for effective CO2 chemical fixation and oxygen reduction reaction.
Task-specific carbazole-based covalent triazine frameworks (CTF-CSUs) have been designed and prepared. The obtained materials could serve as excellent catalysts for both CO2 chemical fixation and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Results shown that using CTF-CSUs as catalysts, the cycloaddition reactions between CO2 and epoxides were readily achieved with extremely high yields (99%) under mild conditions (0.1 MPa, 25 °C). The catalysts could be reused for five times without any obvious loss of catalytic activity. In addition, the as-made carbazole-containing CTFs catalysts delivered attractive ORR activity, superior durability and methanol tolerance relative to commercially available Pt/C reference electrocatalyst (E-TEK). Rich N contents (15.33 wt%) and large surface areas (982 m2 g−1) combining abundant mesopores favor a combination of two-electron and four-electron reduction pathway under alkaline condition. All these attracting characteristics were attributed to their unique structures and strong synergistic effect between carbazole and triazine moieties.
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