MicroRNA‐29b‐3p suppresses oral squamous cell carcinoma cell migration and invasion via IL32/AKT signalling pathway

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is aggressive accompanied with poor prognosis. We previously isolated the most invasive cells resembling the invasive tumour front by microfluidic technology and explored their differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) in our previous work. Here, we verified the miR‐29b‐3p as a guarder that suppressed migration and invasion of OSCC cells and was down‐regulated in the most invasive cells. Besides that, the invasion suppression role of miR‐29b‐3p was achieved through the IL32/AKT pathway. Thus, miR‐29b‐3p and IL32 might serve as therapeutic targets for blocking the progression and improving the outcome of OSCC.     

Deficiency of Macf1 in osterix expressing cells decreases bone formation by Bmp2/Smad/Runx2 pathway

Microtubule actin cross‐linking factor 1 (Macf1) is a spectraplakin family member known to regulate cytoskeletal dynamics, cell migration, neuronal growth and cell signal transduction. We previously demonstrated that knockdown of Macf1 inhibited the differentiation of MC3T3‐E1 cell line. However, whether Macf1 could regulate bone formation in vivo is unclear. To study the function and mechanism of Macf1 in bone formation and osteogenic differentiation, we established osteoblast‐specific Osterix (Osx) promoter‐driven Macf1 conditional knockout mice (Macf1^f/fOsx‐Cre). The Macf1^f/fOsx‐Cre mice displayed delayed ossification and decreased bone mass. Morphological and mechanical studies showed deteriorated trabecular microarchitecture and impaired biomechanical strength of femur in Macf1^f/fOsx‐Cre mice. In addition, the differentiation of primary osteoblasts isolated from calvaria was inhibited in Macf1^f/fOsx‐Cre mice. Deficiency of Macf1 in primary osteoblasts inhibited the expression of osteogenic marker genes (Col1, Runx2 and Alp) and the number of mineralized nodules. Furthermore, deficiency of Macf1 attenuated Bmp2/Smad/Runx2 signalling in primary osteoblasts of Macf1^f/fOsx‐Cre mice. Together, these results indicated that Macf1 plays a significant role in bone formation and osteoblast differentiation by regulating Bmp2/Smad/Runx2 pathway, suggesting that Macf1 might be a therapeutic target for bone disease.     

Effect of (R)‐salbutamol on the switch of phenotype and metabolic pattern in LPS‐induced macrophage cells

Evidence demonstrates that M1 macrophage polarization promotes inflammatory disease. Here, we discovered that (R)‐salbutamol, a β₂ receptor agonist, inhibits and reprograms the cellular metabolism of RAW264.7 macrophages. (R)‐salbutamol significantly inhibited LPS‐induced M1 macrophage polarization and downregulated expressions of typical M1 macrophage cytokines, including monocyte chemotactic protein‐1 (MCP‐1), interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) and tumour necrosis factor α (TNF‐α). Also, (R)‐salbutamol significantly decreased the production of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), while increasing the reduced glutathione (GSH)/oxidized glutathione (GSSG) ratio. In contrast, (S)‐salbutamol increased the production of NO and ROS. Bioenergetic profiles showed that (R)‐salbutamol significantly reduced aerobic glycolysis and enhanced mitochondrial respiration. Untargeted metabolomics analysis demonstrated that (R)‐salbutamol modulated metabolic pathways, of which three metabolic pathways, namely, (a) phenylalanine metabolism, (b) the pentose phosphate pathway and (c) glycerophospholipid metabolism were the most noticeably impacted pathways. The effects of (R)‐salbutamol on M1 polarization were inhibited by a specific β₂ receptor antagonist, ICI‐118551. These findings demonstrated that (R)‐salbutamol inhibits the M1 phenotype by downregulating aerobic glycolysis and glycerophospholipid metabolism, which may propose (R)‐salbutamol as the major pharmacologically active component of racemic salbutamol for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and highlight the medicinal value of (R)‐salbutamol.     

Tin Halide Perovskites: Progress and Challenges

The chemical composition engineering of lead halide perovskites via a partial or complete replacement of toxic Pb with tin has been widely reported as a feasible process due to the suitable ionic radius of Sn and its possibility of existing in the +2 state. Interestingly, a complete replacement narrows the bandgap while a partial replacement gives an anomalous phenomenon involving a further narrowing of bandgap relative to the pure Pb and Sn halide perovskite compounds. Unfortunately, the merits of this anomalous behavior have not been properly harnessed. Although promising progress has been made to advance the properties and performance of Sn‐based perovskite systems, their photovoltaic (PV) parameters are still significantly inferior to those of the Pb‐based analogs. This review summarizes the current progress and challenges in the preparation, morphological and photophysical properties of Sn‐based halide perovskites, and how these affect their PV performance. Although it can be argued that the Pb halide perovskite systems may remain the most sought after technology in the field of thin film perovskite PV, prospective research directions are suggested to advance the properties of Sn halide perovskite materials for improved device performance.     

Osteoclastogenesis Modulatory Steroids from the South China Sea Gorgonian Coral Iciligorgia sp.

A new 9,11‐secosteroid, (22R)‐22‐acetoxy‐3β,6α,11‐trihydroxy‐9,11‐seco‐5α‐cholest‐7‐en‐9‐one, along with twelve known analogues were isolated from the South China Sea gorgonian coral Iciligorgia sp. Their structures were determined by the spectroscopic analysis and comparison with reported data. In an in vitro test of osteoclastic differentiation, three compounds exhibited significant down‐regulating effect whereas two compounds showed significant up‐regulating effect at 0.5 and 1.0 μm . This is the first report of the chemical investigation of the gorgonian Iciligorgia sp. The acetoxy substitution at C‐22 seems to play an important role in the regulating activity.     

In Situ Conversion of Cu3P Nanowires to Mixed Ion/Electron‐Conducting Skeleton for Homogeneous Lithium Deposition

The introduction of 3D wettable current collectors is one of the practical strategies toward realizing high reversibility of lithium (Li) metal anodes, yet its effect is usually insufficient owing to single electron‐conductive skeleton. Here, homogeneous Li deposition behavior and enhanced Coulombic efficiency is reported for electrochemically lithiated Cu₃P nanowires, owing to the formation of a mixed ion/electron‐conducting skeleton (MIECS). In particular, by evaluating the Gibbs free energy change, the possible chemical reaction between Cu₃P and molten Li is used to construct a MIECS containing Li₃P and Cu–Li alloy phase. The successful conversion of Cu₃P nanowires to Li₃P and Cu–Li alloy nanocomposite not only greatly reduces the surface energy between molten Li and Cu₃P, but also induces uniform Li stripping/plating behavior via balanced ion/electron transport. Thus, the as‐obtained Li@MIECS composite anode displays superior cycling stability in both symmetric cells and full cells. This work provides a promising option for the preparation of high‐performance composite Li anodes containing MIECS by thermally pre‐storing Li.     

Comparison of bacterial community structure and function under different petroleum hydrocarbon degradation conditions

Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering - Bioremediation methods have been successfully applied to the removal of organic pollutants for decades, but the responses of the microbial community to...     

Human Monoclonal Antibodies: On the Menu of Targeted Therapeutics Against COVID-19

Virologica Sinica - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), reminiscent of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, has been a tragic disaster to people all over the world. As...     

Epidemiological,Clinical and Serological Characteristics of Children with Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Wuhan: A Single-centered,Retrospective Study

In December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in the samples obtained from three adult patients who suffered from an unknown viral pneumonia in Wuhan (Li et al. 2020). This unknown viral pneumonia is further named as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the World Health Organization. To date, the number of new COVID-19 cases has continued to skyrocket and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on humans is far greater than any pathogen of this century in both breadth and depth. Previous studies have shown that adults with COVID-19 have symptoms of fever, dry cough, dyspnea, fatigue and lymphocytopenia. Moreover, COVID-19 is more likely to cause death in the elderly, especially those with chronic comorbidities (Huang et al. 2020). In Wuhan, more than 50, 000 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed, including over 780 pediatric patients, and only one child death case (Lu et al. 2020). Although the number of children cases was far fewer than that of adults, COVID-19 might endanger children's health and the information on children remains limited, especially in serological study. In the retrospective study, the investigators analyzed the epidemiological, clinical and serological characteristics of children with COVID-19 in Wuhan in the early stages of the outbreak, which might provide theoretical and practical help in controlling COVID-19 and similar emerging infectious diseases in the future.     

柑橘木虱成虫趋光行为反应

柑橘木虱Diaphorina citri Kuwayama是柑橘黄龙病(huanglongbing,HLB)的重要传播媒介。为了利用灯光诱控技术防治柑橘木虱,本实验于室内条件下研究柑橘木虱对波长为360 nm、400 nm、440 nm、480 nm、520 nm、560 nm和600 nm的LED光源和不同光照强度趋光行为反应。结果表明:柑橘木虱对7种单色光都有正趋向性。其中雌雄混合存在时对400 nm的紫光趋向性最强,其次是560 nm的绿光;单独处理时,雌成虫对400 nm的紫光趋性最强,其次是520 nm的绿光,雄成虫则是对520 nm的绿光趋性最强,其次是400 nm的紫光。在200μw/cm 2到1000μw/cm 2的光照强度范围内,随着光照强度的增大,柑橘木虱雄成虫趋光行为逐渐增强,在光照强度为1000μw/cm 2时趋光行为最强,但雌成虫趋光行为变化不明显。该研究表明:柑橘木虱雌雄成虫具有明显的正趋光性,且对光谱和光强的反应存在差异。这一结果可为柑橘木虱田间的灯光诱控提供实验依据。