Spermidine promotes nucleus pulposus autophagy as a protective mechanism against apoptosis and ameliorates disc degeneration

Spermidine has therapeutic effects in many diseases including as heart diastolic function, myopathic defects and neurodegenerative disorders via autophagy activation. Autophagy has been found to mitigate cell apoptosis in intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Accordingly, we theorize that spermidine may have beneficial effects on IDD via autophagy stimulation. In this study, spermidine's effect on IDD was evaluated in tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP)‐treated nucleus pulposus cells of SD rats in vitro as well as in a puncture‐induced rat IDD model. We found that autophagy was actuated by spermidine in nucleus pulposus cells. In addition, spermidine treatment weakened the apoptotic effects of TBHP in nucleus pulposus cells. Spermidine increased the expression of anabolic proteins including Collagen‐II and aggrecan and decreased the expression of catabolic proteins including MMP13 and Adamts‐5. Additionally, autophagy blockade using 3‐MA reversed the beneficial impact of spermidine against nucleus pulposus cell apoptosis. Autophagy was thus important for spermidine's therapeutic effect on IDD. Spermidine‐treated rats had an accentuated T2‐weighted signal and a diminished histological degenerative grade than vehicle‐treated rats, showing that spermidine inhibited intervertebral disc degeneration in vivo. Thus, spermidine protects nucleus pulposus cells against apoptosis through autophagy activation and improves disc, which may be beneficial for the treatment of IDD.     

FGF1 improves functional recovery through inducing PRDX1 to regulate autophagy and anti‐ROS after spinal cord injury

Fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) is thought to exert protective and regenerative effects on neurons following spinal cord injury (SCI), although the mechanism of these effects is not well understood. The use of FGF1 as a therapeutic agent is limited by its lack of physicochemical stability and its limited capacity to cross the blood‐spinal cord barrier. Here, we demonstrated that overexpression of FGF1 in spinal cord following SCI significantly reduced tissue loss, protected neurons in the ventricornu, ameliorated pathological morphology of the lesion, dramatically improved tissue recovery via neuroprotection, and promoted axonal regeneration and remyelination both in vivo and in vivo. In addition, the autophagy and the expression levels of PRDX1 (an antioxidant protein) were induced by AAV‐FGF1 in PC12 cells after H₂O₂ treatment. Furthermore, the autophagy levels were not changed in PRDX1‐suppressing cells that were treated by AAV‐FGF1. Taken together, these results suggest that FGF1 improves functional recovery mainly through inducing PRDX1 expression to increase autophagy and anti‐ROS activity after SCI.     

An Ultralong Lifespan and Low‐Temperature Workable Sodium‐Ion Full Battery for Stationary Energy Storage

Presently, commercialization of sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) is still hindered by the relatively poor energy‐storage performance. In addition, low‐temperature (low‐T) Na storage is another principal concern for the wide application of SIBs. Unfortunately, the Na‐transfer kinetics is extremely sluggish at low‐T, as a result, there are few reports on low‐T SIBs. Here, an advanced low‐T sodium‐ion full battery (SIFB) assembled by an anode of 3D Se/graphene composite and a high‐voltage cathode (Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂O₂F) is developed, exhibiting ultralong lifespan (over even 15 000 cycles, the capacity retention is still up to 86.3% at 1 A g^?1), outstanding low‐T energy storage performance (e.g., all values of capacity retention are >75% after 1000 cycles at temperatures from 25 to ?25 °C at 0.4 A g^?1), and high‐energy/power properties. Such ultralong lifespan signifies that the developed sodium‐ion full battery can be used for longer than 60 years, if batteries charge/discharge once a day and 80% capacity retention is the standard of battery life. As a result, the present study not only promotes the practicability and commercialization of SIBs but also points out the new developing directions of next‐generation energy storage for wider range applications.     

New Insight on Tuning Electrical Transport Properties via Chalcogen Doping in n‐type Mg3Sb2‐Based Thermoelectric Materials

n‐type Mg₃Sb_1.5Bi_0.5 has recently been discovered to be a promising thermoelectric material, yet the effective n‐type dopants are mainly limited to the chalcogens. This may be attributed to the limited chemical insight into the effects from different n‐type dopants. By comparing the effects of different chalcogen dopants Q (Q = S, Se, and Te) on thermoelectric properties, it is found that the chalcogen dopants Q become more efficient with decreasing electronegativity difference between Q and Mg, which is mainly due to the increasing carrier concentration and mobility. Using density functional theory calculations, it is shown that the improving carrier concentration originates from the increasing doping limit induced by the stabilizing extrinsic defect. Moreover, the increasing electron mobility with decreasing electronegativity difference between Q and Mg is attributed to the smaller effective mass resulting from the enhancing chemical bond covalency, which is supported by the decreasing theoretical density of states. According to the above trends, a simple guiding principle based on electronegativity is proposed to shed new light on n‐type doping in Zintl antimonides.     

江西省武功山地区种子植物新资料

报道产自武功山地区的6种新记录种子植物,包括江西省新记录种子植物4种:望春玉兰(Magnolia biondii Pampan.)、桑叶葡萄(Vitis heyneana subsp.ficifolia(Bunge)C.L.Li)、湖南黄芩(Scutellaria hunanensis C.Y.Wu)、疏花车前(Plantago asiatica L.subsp.erosa(Wall.)Z.Y.Li),以及武功山地区新记录种子植物2种:肾萼金腰(Chrysosplenium delavayi Franch.)和佛光草(Salvia substolonifera Stib.),并对每种新记录植物的主要分类特征、价值以及植物地理意义进行了讨论,凭证标本均保存于吉首大学植物标本馆(JIU)和中山大学标本室(SYS)。     

Persistence and Periodic Solutions of a System of Two Competing Species with Functional Response

1IntroductionOneofthemOStnit~tingquestionsinrnathernaticalbiologyconcernsthesurvivalofspeCiesinecologiCalmodels.Perslstenceisanimportantconceptindabingwiththeseproblems.Therearemanyliteraturesaboutthedy'ndricsofdiffuSivecompetingspeCies,butthefunctionalresPOnseofthisfOITnhasnotbeenst'Udiedtoomuchyet.Inthispaper,weconsiderthepersistenceproblemforanonautonomoussystemoftwOcompetingspecieswithfunctionalreSPOnse,themodelweconsiderinthispaperishereallri(t),ail(t),D,(t)anda(t)areassumedtobecon…     

Systemic induction of H2O2 in pea seedlings pretreated by wounding and exogenous jasmonic acid

Pea seedlings (Pisum sativum L.) were used as materials to test the timings and compartments of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) triggered by wounding and exogenous jasmonic acid (JA). The results showed that H₂O₂ could be systemically induced by wounding and exogenous JA. H₂O₂ increased within 1 h and reached the peak 3–5 h after wounding in either the wounded leaves or the unwounded leaves adjacent to the wounded ones and the inferior leaves far from the wounded ones. After this, H₂O₂ decreased and recovered to the control level 12 h after wounding. The activities of antioxidant enzymes, however, were rapidly increased by wounding. Diphenylene iodonium (DPI), an inhibitor of NADPH oxidase, could significantly inhibit H₂O₂ burst that was mediated by wounding and exogenous JA. Assay of H₂O₂ subcellular location showed that H₂O₂ in response to wounding and exogenous JA was predominantly accumulated in plasma membrane, cell wall and apoplasmic space. Numerous JA (gold particles) was found via immunogold electron microscopy to be located in cell wall and phloem zones of mesophyll cell after wounding.     

G蛋白、蛋白激酶C和Na+-H+交换在内皮素-1诱导培养心肌细胞肥大反应中的作用

内皮素-1(ET-1)是一种强的生长因子,并诱导心肌细胞肥大反应.在本实验中,我们探讨了G蛋白、蛋白激酶C(PKC)和Na+-H+交换在ET-1诱导的培养新生大鼠心肌细胞肥大反应中的作用.ET-1(10-10～10-7 mol/L)促进3H-亮氨酸掺入,增加细胞蛋白质的含量和心肌细胞的表面积,且呈剂量依赖性,它们的EC50分别为5.2×10-10,5.2×10-10和7.3×10-10mol/L.用蛋白激酶C(PKC)抑制剂,Staurosporin(2 nmol/L)预处理心肌细胞,可完全阻断ET-1诱导的心肌细胞的这些肥大反应,而蛋白激酶C激动剂,佛波醇酯(PMA)(10-8～10-6mol/L)呈剂量依赖性促进心肌细胞的肥大反应.用Na+-H+交换抑制剂,氨氯吡咪(10-4mol/L)预处理心肌细胞,可抑制ET-1诱导的心肌细胞肥大反应,但不影响PMA诱导的心肌细胞肥大反应.百日咳毒素(150ng/ml)预处理心肌细胞,可明显抑制ET-1诱导的心肌细胞肥大反应.这些结果提示,ET-1诱导的培养新生大鼠心肌细胞肥大反应是与百日咳毒素敏感的G蛋白相耦联,蛋白激酶C和Na+-H+交换可能在ET-1诱导的心肌细胞肥大反应中是重要的细胞内信使转导途径.     

副溶血性弧菌-霍乱弧菌混合生物被膜形成过程研究

【目的】研究副溶血性弧菌(Vibrioparahaemolyticus,VP)和霍乱弧菌(Vibriocholera,VC)混合生物被膜的形成过程。【方法】在4、8、12、24、36、48、60、72 h测定单独条件下VP、VC及其混合后生物被膜的形成情况,通过结晶紫染色法、平板菌落计数法、测定胞外多糖、胞外蛋白,通过荧光原位杂交(FISH)观察混合生物被膜形成。【结果】虽然形成的混合生物被膜量介于VC和VP之间,但混合生物被膜在形成过程中,成熟期后生物被膜量的变化较小,对环境的抗性增强。混合生物被膜中拥有更多的活菌,混合生物被膜形成过程中胞外蛋白和胞外多糖的变化体现出其可能在对抵御不适应环境中起重要作用,通过FISH可观察到不同时期生物被膜的变化过程。【结论】VC与VP共同形成生物被膜的过程中,混合生物被膜总量虽然减少,但混合生物被膜中拥有更多的活菌,这可能引起更大的危害。研究混合生物被膜形成过程中被膜的变化,可为有害生物被膜的控制提供基础。     

Apocynin attenuates renal fibrosis via inhibition of NOXs-ROS-ERK-myofibroblast accumulation in UUO rats

Background: Oxidative stress has been identified as an important pathogenesis mechanism in the development of renal interstitial fibrosis in unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Previous studies have demonstrated increased expression of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase (NOXs) in response to UUO. We aimed to investigate whether NOXs activation was involved in the development of renal fibrosis in UUO by contribution to oxidative stress and the potential mechanism in the present study.

Methods: Apocynin, a NOXs inhibitor, was initiated immediately by gavage after UUO was performed on Wistar rats and continued until 7 days after UUO. Changes of markers of oxidative stress, renal macrophage infiltration and fibrosis, TGF-β1 expression, NOXs expression and activity, and ERK activation were evaluated.

Results: Apocynin significantly attenuated the activity of NOXs, accompanied with decreased expression of NOX2, NOX4, and oxidative stress markers in the obstructed kidneys of UUO. Additionally, collagen deposition and renal fibrosis induced by UUO were attenuated by apocynin treatment. Furthermore, apocynin treatment significantly attenuated the phosphorylation of ERK, accumulation of myofibroblast and infiltration of macrophage in obstructed kidneys. No significant effect of apocynin on UUO-induced increased TGF-β1 expression could be observed. And there was no significant change of anti-oxidants enzyme activities in the obstructed kidneys of apocynin-treated rats.

Conclusions: These results suggested that apocynin might exert beneficial effects on renal fibrosis by inhibition of NOXs activation and subsequent reduction of oxidative stress, ERK activation, and myofibroblast accumulation in UUO rats. Targeting NOXs may serve as a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of renal fibrosis.