Latest ArticlesHepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI) is the cause of postoperative hepatic dysfunction and failure, and even death. As an important biological effector molecule, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) of mitochondria as a gasotransmitter that is usually used to protect against acute HIRI injury. However, the exact relationship between HIRI and mitochondrial H2S remains tangled due to the lack of an effective analytical method. Herein, we have fabricated a mitochondria-targeted H2S-activatable fluorogenic probe (Mito-GW) to explore the stability of mitochondrial H2S and track the changes of mitochondrial H2S during the HIRI. By virtue of pyridinium electropositivity and its amphiphilicity, Mito-GW could accumulate in mitochondria. It goes through an analyte-prompted immolation when reacts with H2S, resulting in the releasing of the fluorophore (GW). Therefore, the extent of Mito-GW conversion to GW can be used to evaluate the changes of mitochondrial H2S level in living cells and tissues. As proof-of-principle, we have used Mito-GW to demonstrate the mitochondria H2S-levels increase and then decrease during HIRI in vitro and in vivo. Our research highlights the tremendous potential of Mito-GW as a mitochondrial H2S fluorogenic probe in elucidating the pathogenesis of HIRI, providing a powerful tool for promoting future research on hepatology.
A new aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-based fluorescence sensor, TPEPy-SS-C14, for simultaneous recognition of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been reported via the aggregation-disaggregation mechanism. The probe self-assembles nano-structure aggregations in aqueous solution. It shows fluorescence turn-on response toward ATP for the complexation-enhanced aggregation, but leads to fluorescence quenching of H2S for cleavage the aggregations.
Three novel matrine-type alkaloids (1–3) and two unprecedented aloperine-type alkaloids (4 and 5) were isolated from the root of Sophora tonkinensis and the seeds of Sophora alopecuroides respectively. Notably, compound 1 possessed an unprecedented 6/5/6 tricyclic skeleton, while compounds 2 and 3 characterized by rare 6/6/5/6 tetracyclic system and 6/6/6/6/6 pentacyclic system respectively. Moreover, compound 4 possessed an unprecedented 6/7/6/6 tetracyclic core, and compound 5 characterized by rare 6/6/6/6 tetracyclic skeleton. Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Biological tests indicated that compound 5 displayed significant anti-tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) activity compared with the positive control ningnanmycin.
Immunosuppressive microenvironments present critical problems in clinical chemotherapy. To regulate the tumor immune microenvironment for enhancing antitumor effect, a combination of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) with chemotherapeutics has been applied clinically. In this study, miriplatin (MiPt), the lipidic derivative of 5-fluorouracil (Fu-OA), as well as the programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) target siRNA (siPD-L1) were integrated into Lip-Pt/Fu@siPD-L1 nanoparticles (NPs) for chemo-immunotherapy. In vitro results showed that Lip-Pt/Fu@siPD-L1 NPs could exhibit effective siRNA gene silencing and promote the phagocytosis of tumor cells by macrophages. Furthermore, in vivo results revealed that Lip-Pt/Fu@siPD-L1 NPs showed significantly higher anti-tumor efficiency than that of the physical mixing of MiPt, 5-fluorouracil, and Lip@siPD-L1 NPs (delivery of siPD-L1 by liposomes). The best anti-tumor efficiency of Lip-Pt/Fu@siPD-L1 NPs resulted from the synergistic immunotherapeutic effects of MiPt and siPD-L1 based on the inhibition of CD47 expression and the downregulation of PD-L1 in tumor cells, which elicited a robust anti-tumor immune response through the activation of macrophage phagocytosis and immune checkpoint inhibition. The Lip-Pt/Fu@siPD-L1 NPs provide a potential strategy for tumor chemo-immunotherapy.
Artemisinin (ART) resistance has been an emerging clinical problem, severely compromising antimalarial efficacy and threatening the global malaria elimination campaign. Albeit intensive studies about the molecular mechanism for ART resistance are under way, no effective therapeutic targets for reversing resistance have been applied. Here, we explore glutathione (GSH) as a therapeutic target to develop a thermo-responsive nanoplatform to specifically co-deliver ART and GSH synthesis inhibitor (L-buthionine sulfoximine, BSO) in a sustained manner, effectively reversing ART resistance in vivo. By combining with BSO, ART exerts increased antimalarial activity with reduced half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) by 7.43-fold in ART-resistant strains. This work reveals that the GSH in ART-resistant parasites can be a promising therapeutic target for reversing ART resistance, paving the way for developing drug candidates and intelligent nanomedicines in malaria therapy.
NH3-SCR was one of the most promising deNOx technologies and it has been widely applied in industrial NOx reduction. However, with the further development of energy transformation in power generation sector, the development of NH3-SCR catalysts is facing some new challenges. It is becoming an urgent problem to solve low catalytic activity and stability of NH3-SCR catalysts at the working condition of ultra-low temperature (≤ 200 ℃) and high concentrations of H2O + SO2 due to the gradual deployment of new energy power plants. Furthermore, the traditional coal-fired power plants would need flexible operation with the increasing share of renewable energy generation. The NH3-SCR catalysts which were applied in coal-fired power industry would be requested to work in a wide temperature window from 200 ℃ to 500 ℃ in the near future. Therefore, in this review, we summarized the progress of NH3-SCR catalysts in solving these different industrial problems in recent years. And the research directions which were deserved to be focused on the development of NH3-SCR catalysts for the energy transition of power generation sector are proposed.
Triphenylamine (TPA)-based aggregation-induced emission luminogens (TPA-AIEgens), a type of photoactive material utilizing the typical TPA moiety, has recently attracted increasing attention for the diagnostics and treatment of tumors due to their remarkable chemo-physical performance in optoelectronic research. TPA-AIEgens are distinguished from other photoactive agents by their strong fluorescence, good sensitivity, high signal-to-noise ratio, resistance to photobleaching, and lack of high concentration or aggregation-caused fluoresce quenching effects. In this review, we summarize the current advancements and the biomedical progress of TPA-AIEgens in tumor theranostics. First, the design principles of TPA-AIEgens photoactive agents as well as the advanced targeting strategies for nuclei, cell membranes, cell organelle and tumors were introduced, respectively. Next, the applications of TPA-AIEgens in tumor diagnosis and therapeutic techniques were reviewed. Last, the challenges and prospects of TPA-AIEgens for cancer therapy were performed. The given landscape of the TPA-AIEgens hereby is meaningful for the further design and utilization of the novel photoactive material, which could be beneficial for the development of clinic applications.
The biosecurity hazards caused by pathogenic fungus have been widely concerned. Given the long-term coexistence of eukaryotic pathogens and quorum sensing bacteria in different habitats in environments, we hypothesized that they have social interactions via signal molecules. In this work, we firstly discovered the well-known bacterial signal molecules play an adverse role in the cell morphology and metabolism in a model pathogen Trichosporon asahii. N-Tetradecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C14-HSL) was discovered to increase pathogen hazards of T. asahii, which limited mycelium by 52%, but enhanced cell aggregation by 93%. Higher fluorescence intensity of tryptophan (59%) and aromatic protein (2-fold) contents after the treatment of C14-HSL, indicating that aromatic proteins helped aggregate Trichosporon and showed hydrophobicity. Transcriptome analysis revealed that C14-HSL upregulated the shikimate pathway (above 1-fold) located in downstream of tricarboxylic acid cycle, which contributed to the synthesis of more aromatic proteins and the formation of larger flocs. The limited mycelial growth of T. asahii attributed to the up-regulated expressions of cell cycle process. The fungal transboundary response to bacterial C14-HSL was controlled by signal transduction pathways. This study provides new insights into the co-evolution of bacterial and pathogenic fungi in microecosystems.
The efficient conversion of CO2 into hydrocarbon fuels (CH4) with high selectivity is considered as a great challenge in photocatalysis owing to the multiple-electron transfer pathway and competitive H2 generation. Herein, we developed carbon dots (CDs)-modulated S-scheme heterojunction of CDs/NiAl-LDH@In2O3 (C-DH@IN) through a facile in-situ hydrothermal method. Thanks to the multi-shell nanotube structure, the C-DH@IN shows an enhanced CH4 evolution rate of 10.67 µmol h−1 g−1 and higher selectivity of CH4 (85.70%) compared with In2O3 and NiAl-LDH@In2O3 binary catalyst in the pure water without sacrificial agent. Electron spin resonance (ESR) and in situ Fourier transform infrared spectra verify that the constructed S-scheme heterojunction can possess the strong redox capability and the HCOO− and CH3O− as critical intermediates play an important role in selective CO2 reduction to generate CH4. Furthermore, CDs with superior photoabsorption can boost the electron transfer and absorb H+, thus improving the integration of H+ and CO2 molecule. Therefore, this work emphasizes a facile strategy to achieve efficient CO2-to-CH4 conversion based on construction of CDs-based heterojunction catalysts.
Corrosion of reinforcement induced by chloride invasion is extensively considered as the dominating deterioration mechanism of reinforced concrete (RC) structures, leading to serious safety hazards and tremendous economic losses. However, it still lacks well dispersive and cost-efficient nanomaterials to improve the anti-chloride-corrosion ability of RC structures. Herein, specific carbon dots (CDs) with high dispersity and low cost are deliberately designed, successfully prepared by hydrothermal processing, and then firstly applied to immensely enhance chloride binding performance of cement, thereby contributing to suppressing the corrosion of reinforcement. Specifically, the tailored CDs are composed of the carbon core with highly crystalline sp2 C structures and oxygen-containing groups connecting on the carbon core; The typical equilibrium test confirms that with respect to that of the blank cement paste, the chloride binding capacity of cement paste involving 0.2 wt% (by weight of cement) CDs is increased by 109% after 14-day exposure to 3 mol/L NaCl solution; according to comprehensive analyses of phase compositions, the chloride binding mechanism of CDs-modified cement is rationally attributed to the fact that the incorporation of CDs advances the formation of calcium silicate hydrate (C–S–H) gels and Friedel's salt (Fs), thus enormously enhancing the physically adsorbed and chemically bound chloride ions of cement pastes. This work not only firstly provides a novel high-dispersity and low-cost nanomaterial toward the durability enhancement of RC structures, but also broadens the application of CDs in the field of engineering, conducing to stimulating their industrialization development.
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