A Biodegradable,Sustained-Released,Prednisolone Acetate Microfilm Drug Delivery System Effectively Prolongs Corneal Allograft Survival in the Rat Keratoplasty Model

Frequent and long-term use of topical corticosteroids after corneal transplantation is necessary to prevent graft rejection. However, it relies heavily on patient compliance, and sustained therapeutic drug levels are often not achieved with administration of topical eye drops. A biodegradable drug delivery system with a controlled and sustained drug release may circumvent these limitations. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of a prednisolone acetate (PA)-loaded poly (d,l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLC) microfilm drug delivery system on promoting the survival of allogeneic grafts after penetrating keratoplasty (PK) using a rat model. The drug release profiles of the microfilms were characterized (group 1). Subsequently, forty-eight PK were performed in four experimental groups: syngeneic control grafts (group 2), allogeneic control grafts (group 3), allogeneic grafts with subconjunctivally-implanted PA microfilm (group 4), and allogeneic grafts with PA eye drops (group 5; n = 12 in each). PA-loaded microfilm achieved a sustained and steady release at a rate of 0.006–0.009 mg/day, with a consistent aqueous drug concentration of 207–209 ng/ml. The mean survival days was >28 days in group 2, 9.9±0.8 days in group 3, 26.8±2.7 days in group 4, and 26.4±3.4 days in group 5 (P = 0.023 and P = 0.027 compared with group 3). Statistically significant decrease in CD4+, CD163+, CD 25+, and CD54+ cell infiltration was observed in group 4 and group 5 compared with group 3 (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the mean survival and immunohistochemical analysis between group 4 and group 5. These results showed that sustained PA-loaded microfilm effectively prolongs corneal allograft survival. It is as effective as conventional PA eye drops, providing a promising clinically applicable alternative for patients undergoing corneal transplantation.     

Emotional States Modulate the Recognition Potential during Word Processing

This study examined emotional modulation of word processing, showing that the recognition potential (RP), an ERP index of word recognition, could be modulated by different emotional states. In the experiment, participants were instructed to compete with pseudo-competitors, and via manipulation of the outcome of this competition, they were situated in neutral, highly positive, slightly positive, highly negative or slightly negative emotional states. They were subsequently asked to judge whether the referent of a word following a series of meaningless character segmentations was an animal or not. The emotional induction task and the word recognition task were alternated. Results showed that 1) compared with the neutral emotion condition, the peak latency of the RP under different emotional states was earlier and its mean amplitude was smaller, 2) there was no significant difference between RPs elicited under positive and negative emotional states in either the mean amplitude or latency, and 3) the RP was not affected by different degrees of positive emotional states. However, compared to slightly negative emotional states, the mean amplitude of the RP was smaller and its latency was shorter in highly negative emotional states over the left hemisphere but not over the right hemisphere. The results suggest that emotional states influence word processing.     

Schisandra chinensis Peptidoglycan-Assisted Transmembrane Transport of Lignans Uniquely Altered the Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Mechanisms in Human HepG2 Cell Model

Schisandra chinensis (Turz Baill) (S. chinensis) (SC) fruit is a hepatoprotective herb containing many lignans and a large amount of polysaccharides. A novel polysaccharide (called SC-2) was isolated from SC of MW 841 kDa, which exhibited a protein-to-polysaccharide ratio of 0.4089, and showed a characteristic FTIR spectrum of a peptidoglycan. Powder X-ray diffraction revealed microcrystalline structures within SC-2. SC-2 contained 10 monosaccharides and 15 amino acids (essential amino acids of 78.12%w/w). In a HepG2 cell model, SC-2 was shown by MTT and TUNEL assay to be completely non-cytotoxic. A kinetic analysis and fluorescence-labeling technique revealed no intracellular disposition of SC-2. Combined treatment of lignans with SC-2 enhanced the intracellular transport of schisandrin B and deoxyschisandrin but decreased that of gomisin C, resulting in alteration of cell-killing bioactivity. The Second Law of Thermodynamics allows this type of unidirectional transport. Conclusively, SC-2 alters the transport and cell killing capability by a “Catcher-Pitcher Unidirectional Transport Mechanism”.     

MiR-186-5p对3T3-L1前脂肪细胞增殖分化的影响研究 *

目的 探究miR-186-5p对小鼠3T3-L1前脂肪细胞增殖,分化的影响及其潜在的分子机制.方法: qRT-PCR检测miR-186-5p在不同周龄小鼠白色脂肪组织及3T3-L1前脂肪细胞增殖分化过程中的表达变化;通过脂质体将miR-186-5p mimics,inhibitors转染入增殖液或分化液培养的3T3-L1细胞后,利用CCK-8,EdU和qRT-PCR检测3T3-L1前脂肪细胞增殖变化,油红O染色观察其脂滴形态;通过生物信息软件TargetScan和双荧光报告系统分别对miR-186-5p靶基因进行预测和确认.结果: (1)miR-186-5p在1~6周龄小鼠的白色脂肪组织及3T3-L1前脂肪细胞自然分化过程中表达量均逐渐上调.(2)与阴性对照相比,mimics或inhibitors转染分别显著地促进或抑制了miR-186-5p的表达.(3)过表达miR-186-5p后,3T3-L1前脂肪细胞的增殖速率减慢,脂滴增大增多;而抑制miR-186-5p后,3T3-L1前脂肪细胞增殖速率增快,脂滴数量减少,且粒径变小.其中过表达miR-186-5p显著地降低了野生型Wnt5a和Mapk1 3'-UTR活性,而突变相应的绑定位点可解除该抑制作用.结论: miR-186-5p可抑制3T3-L1前脂肪细胞增殖,且通过直接靶向Wnt5a和Mapk1以促进其分化为成熟脂肪细胞.     

Classification of the Gut Microbiota of Patients in Intensive Care Units During Development of Sepsis and Septic Shock

The gut microbiota of intensive care unit (ICU) patients displays extreme dysbiosis associated with increased susceptibility to organ failure, sepsis, and septic shock. However, such dysbiosis is difficult to characterize owing to the high dimensional complexity of the gut microbiota. We tested whether the concept of enterotype can be applied to the gut microbiota of ICU patients to describe the dysbiosis. We collected 131 fecal samples from 64 ICU patients diagnosed with sepsis or septic shock and performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing to dissect their gut microbiota compositions. During the development of sepsis or septic shock and during various medical treatments, the ICU patients always exhibited two dysbiotic microbiota patterns, or ICU-enterotypes, which could not be explained by host properties such as age, sex, and body mass index, or external stressors such as infection site and antibiotic use. ICU-enterotype I (ICU E1) comprised predominantly Bacteroides and an unclassified genus of Enterobacteriaceae, while ICU-enterotype II (ICU E2) comprised predominantly Enterococcus. Among more critically ill patients with Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scores > 18, septic shock was more likely to occur with ICU E1 (P = 0.041). Additionally, ICU E1 was correlated with high serum lactate levels (P = 0.007). Therefore, different patterns of dysbiosis were correlated with different clinical outcomes, suggesting that ICU-enterotypes should be diagnosed as independent clinical indices. Thus, the microbial-based human index classifier we propose is precise and effective for timely monitoring of ICU-enterotypes of individual patients. This work is a first step toward precision medicine for septic patients based on their gut microbiota profiles.     

干皮孔菌属的一个新种和三个组合种

本文报道了产自斯里兰卡的干皮孔菌属一个新种,该种的主要特征是具有平伏反卷或具菌盖的子实体,很小的孔口（每毫米8-10个）,菌丝系统二系,生殖菌丝覆盖有刺状结晶,骨架菌丝橙棕色,细腊肠状担孢子（2.7-3.4×0.5-0.8μm）。基于ITS和nLSU序列的系统发育分析表明该新种属于干皮孔菌属的一个明确的分支。此外,将毛孔菌属组合到干皮孔菌属中,并报道了3个组合种,白边干皮孔菌、印度干皮孔菌和萨彦干皮孔菌。     

Lectin receptor kinase OsLecRK‐S.7 is required for pollen development and male fertility

Pollen grains are covered by exine that protects the pollen from stress and facilitates pollination. Here we isolated a male sterile mutant s13283 in rice exhibiting aborted pollen with abnormal exine and defective aperture. The mutant gene encodes a novel plasma membrane‐localized legume‐lectin receptor kinase that we named OsLecRK‐S.7. OsLecRK‐S.7 was expressed at different levels in all tested tissues and throughout anther development. In vitro kinase assay showed OsLecRK‐S.7 capable of autophosporylation. Mutation in s13283 (E560K) and mutation of the conserved ATP binding site (K418E) both knocked out the kinase activity. Mass spectrometry showed Thr₃₇₆, Ser₃₇₈, Thr₃₈₆, Thr₄₀₃, and Thr₆₅₇ to be the autophosphorylation sites. Mutation of individual autophosphorylation site affected the in vitro kinase activity to different degrees, but did not abolish the gene function in fertility complementation. oslecrk‐s.7 mutant plant overexpressing OsLecRK‐S.7 recovered male fertility but showed severe growth retardation with reduced number of tillers, and these phenotypes were abolished by E560K or K418E mutation. The results indicated that OsLecRK‐S.7 was a key regulator of pollen development.