Ultrasound monitoring of temperature and coagulation change during tumor treatment with microwave ablation

Microwave ablation therapy has become an important method for tumor treatment in recent years. The temperature and the coagulation region need real-time noninvasive monitoring to ensure the safety and effectiveness during the treatment. The authors reviewed the ultrasonic monitoring methods for tumor microwave ablation therapy both at home and abroad. In addition, the authors also prospected this technique in the future.     

A cross-study gene set enrichment analysis identifies critical pathways in endometriosis

Background  

Endometriosis is an enigmatic disease. Gene expression profiling of endometriosis has been used in several studies, but few studies went further to classify subtypes of endometriosis based on expression patterns and to identify possible pathways involved in endometriosis. Some of the observed pathways are more inconsistent between the studies, and these candidate pathways presumably only represent a fraction of the pathways involved in endometriosis.     

Backbone assignment of HINT1 protein, a mouse histidine triad nucleotide binding protein

HINT1 is a mouse histidine triad nucleotide binding protein. Here we report the assignments for the backbone nitrogen, carbon and proton NMR signals.     

Microglia and Microglia-Like Cell Differentiated from DC Inhibit CD4 T Cell Proliferation

The central nervous system (CNS) is generally regarded as a site of immune privilege, whether the antigen presenting cells (APCs) are involved in the immune homeostasis of the CNS is largely unknown. Microglia and DCs are major APCs in physiological and pathological conditions, respectively. In this work, primary microglia and microglia-like cells obtained by co-culturing mature dendritic cells with CNS endothelial cells in vitro were functional evaluated. We found that microglia not only cannot prime CD4 T cells but also inhibit mature DCs (maDCs) initiated CD4 T cells proliferation. More importantly, endothelia from the CNS can differentiate maDCs into microglia-like cells (MLCs), which possess similar phenotype and immune inhibitory function as microglia. Soluble factors including NO lie behind the suppression of CD4 T cell proliferation induced by both microglia and MLCs. All the data indicate that under physiological conditions, microglia play important roles in maintaining immune homeostasis of the CNS, whereas in a pathological situation, the infiltrated DCs can be educated by the local microenvironment and differentiate into MLCs with inhibitory function.     

Bioactive conformational generation of small molecules: A comparative analysis between force-field and multiple empirical criteria based methods

Background  

Conformational sampling for small molecules plays an essential role in drug discovery research pipeline. Based on multi-objective evolution algorithm (MOEA), we have developed a conformational generation method called Cyndi in the previous study. In this work, in addition to Tripos force field in the previous version, Cyndi was updated by incorporation of MMFF94 force field to assess the conformational energy more rationally. With two force fields against a larger dataset of 742 bioactive conformations of small ligands extracted from PDB, a comparative analysis was performed between pure force field based method (FFBM) and multiple empirical criteria based method (MECBM) hybrided with different force fields.     

Identification and characterization of a leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) consensus phosphorylation motif

Mutations in LRRK2 (leucine-rich repeat kinase 2) have been identified as major genetic determinants of Parkinson's disease (PD). The most prevalent mutation, G2019S, increases LRRK2's kinase activity, therefore understanding the sites and substrates that LRRK2 phosphorylates is critical to understanding its role in disease aetiology. Since the physiological substrates of this kinase are unknown, we set out to reveal potential targets of LRRK2 G2019S by identifying its favored phosphorylation motif. A non-biased screen of an oriented peptide library elucidated F/Y-x-T-x-R/K as the core dependent substrate sequence. Bioinformatic analysis of the consensus phosphorylation motif identified several novel candidate substrates that potentially function in neuronal pathophysiology. Peptides corresponding to the most PD relevant proteins were efficiently phosphorylated by LRRK2 in vitro. Interestingly, the phosphomotif was also identified within LRRK2 itself. Autophosphorylation was detected by mass spectrometry and biochemical means at the only F-x-T-x-R site (Thr 1410) within LRRK2. The relevance of this site was assessed by measuring effects of mutations on autophosphorylation, kinase activity, GTP binding, GTP hydrolysis, and LRRK2 multimerization. These studies indicate that modification of Thr1410 subtly regulates GTP hydrolysis by LRRK2, but with minimal effects on other parameters measured. Together the identification of LRRK2's phosphorylation consensus motif, and the functional consequences of its phosphorylation, provide insights into downstream LRRK2-signaling pathways.     

NaCl对渗透胁迫下三角叶滨藜光合作用和水分状况的调节

以溶液培养的三角叶滨藜(Atriplex triangularis)为材料, 测定分析了在PEG诱导的渗透胁迫条件下, 适量的NaCl对其光合作用和水分吸收的影响, 以探讨环境溶液中NaCl对植物适应干旱的影响。结果表明, PEG诱导的渗透胁迫导致三角叶滨藜植株吸水困难、叶绿素含量降低、光合系统受损、生长受抑制、生物量减少; 而在PEG渗透胁迫的处理液中添加10–40 mmol·L^–1NaCl可以明显降低植株水势和叶片渗透势, 维持较高的细胞膨压, 减缓PEG渗透胁迫对光合系统的破坏作用, 保证相对较高的光合速率和生长速度, 从而有效增强了三角叶滨藜对渗透胁迫的适应能力。     

Plant regeneration through direct somatic embryogenesis,antioxidant properties,and metabolite profiles of Swertia corymbosa (Griseb.) Wight ex C.B. Clarke

A protocol for induction of direct somatic embryogenesis and subsequent plant regeneration for the medicinally important and endangered plant of Swertia corymbosa has been developed for the first time. In the present study, in vitro derived leaf explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) individually and in combination with cytokinins for its effectiveness to induce the differentiation of somatic embryos. The antioxidant activities of methanolic extracts from non-embryonic callus (NEC), pre-embryoid masses (PEM), somatic embryos at globular stage (SEG), somatic embryos at heart-shaped stage (SEHS), and cotyledonary embryos (SEC) of S. corymbosa were evaluated using three in vitro assays: scavenging of free radicals (DPPH and ABTS) and ferric reducing antioxidant test. In all cases, the methanolic extract from SEG demonstrated better antioxidant activity than those taken from other tested samples. Higher amounts of swertianin (1), methylswertianin (2), and 1,2- dihydroxy-6-methoxyxanthone-8-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl (3) were found in SEG stage followed by SEHS and PEM when compared to NEC and SEC.     

Selenium nanoparticles-loaded chitosan/citrate complex and its protection against oxidative stress in <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">d</Emphasis>-galactose-induced aging mice

Background

Selenium (Se) is an indispensable trace element required for animals and humans, and extra Se-supplement is necessary, especially for those having Se deficiency. Recently, selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs), as a special form of Se supplement, have attracted worldwide attention due to their distinguished properties and excellent bioactivities. In this present study, an eco-friendly and economic way to prepare stable SeNPs was introduced. SeNPs were synthesized in the presence of chitosan (CTS) and then embedded into chitosan/citrate gel, generating selenium nanoparticles-loaded chitosan/citrate complex (SeNPs-C/C). Additionally, the clinical potential of SeNPs-C/C was evaluated by using d-galactose (d-gal)-induced aging mice model.

Results

SeNPs in high uniform with an average diameter of around 50 nm were synthesized in the presence of chitosan, and reversible ionic gelation between chitosan and citrate was utilized to load SeNPs. Subsphaeroidal SeNPs-C/C microspheres of 1–30 μm were obtained by spay-drying. Single SeNPs were physically separated and embedded inside SeNPs-C/C microparticles, with excellent stability and acceptable release. Acute fetal test showed SeNPs-C/C was safer than selenite, with a median lethal dose (LD₅₀) of approximately 4-fold to 11-fold of that of selenite. Oral administration of SeNPs-C/C remarkably retarded the oxidative stress of d-gal in Kunming mice by enhancing the activity of antioxidase, as evidenced by its significant protection of the growth, liver, Se retention and antioxidant bio-markers of mice against d-gal.

Conclusions

The design of SeNPs-C/C opens a new path for oral delivery of SeNPs with excellent stability, energy-conservation and environment-friendliness. SeNPs-C/C, as a novel supplement of Se, could be further developed to defend the aging process induced by d-gal.

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