Publications by authors named "Cheng Cao"

Blood-contacting devices serve as a mainstay in clinical treatment, yet thrombosis remains a major cause of device failure and poses risks to patient health. In this study, we developed a diselenide cross-linker, ,'-bis(methacryloyl)selenocystamine (BMASC), incorporated into poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA) microgels (defined as BSM) to create an enzyme-mimetic zwitterionic microgel coating (BSMC). The superhydrophilicity of PSBMA provides outstanding antifouling performance, while the diselenide bonds mimic the catalytic action of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in generating nitric oxide (NO).

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This study investigates the micro-pore-throat structure of Upper Paleozoic tight sandstone gas reservoirs in the southeastern Ordos Basin, China, with a focus on the Yan'an gas field. The aim is to analyze the micro-pore-throat characteristics and their influence on fluid seepage to optimize gas-water two-phase flow, reservoir evaluation, and development strategies. The research integrates core analysis, thin section petrography, FE-SEM, MICP, NMR, and gas-water relative permeability tests.

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Excessive inflammation causes a wide range of diseases. Here, we found that stimulating TRPV1+ nerves at the nape activated the nucleus of the solitary tract and C1 neurons in the brainstem via the somatosensory afferent pathway, and rapidly induced the secretion of corticosterone, and drove the vagal-adrenal axis to release serum catecholamines, and activated the autonomic-splenic reflex to suppress cytokine production. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis revealed that stimulating TRPV1+ nerves significantly changed the expression of genes enriched in multiple pathways related to the inflammatory response in the spleen under pathological and normal physiological conditions.

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Naringenin is a plant flavonoid found in citrus fruits and is known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. However, extracting high-purity naringenin from citrus fruits and separating its enantiomers remains challenging. This study synthesized a molecularly imprinted multiple-component covalent organic framework (MI COF) with abundant imprinted recognition sites for the first time.

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Photothermal therapy (PTT) utilizes photothermal materials to convert light energy into heat under external light irradiation, effectively killing cancer cells. Therefore, the efficacy of PTT is largely determined by the photothermal conversion efficiency of the material. In this study, we developed a novel ladder-type conjugated polymer, PPAPA, a phenazine ring fusion reaction.

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Antigen-presenting cells (APCs) process tumor vaccines and present tumor antigens as the first signals to T cells to activate anti-tumor immunity, which process requires the assistance of co-stimulatory second signals on APCs. The immune checkpoint programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) not only mediates the immune escape of tumor cells but also acts as a co-inhibitory second signal on APCs. The serious dysfunction of second signals due to the high expression of PD-L1 on APCs in the tumor body results in the inefficiency of tumor vaccines.

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Article Synopsis
  • The vacuolar-type H-ATPase (V-ATPase) is essential for regulating pH levels in cells, and its activity is influenced by various pathways, particularly phosphorylation, which is not well understood.
  • In response to starvation, the kinase ABL1 phosphorylates a specific subunit of V-ATPase, ATP6V1B2, enhancing its assembly and function.
  • ABL1 inhibition disrupts V-ATPase assembly and lysosomal acidification, leading to impaired autophagy processes, including the degradation of damaged cellular components, highlighting ABL1's key role in cellular stress responses.
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Microneedles represent a miniaturized mechanical structure with versatile applications, including transdermal drug delivery, vaccination, body-fluid extraction, and bio-sensing. Over the past two decades, microneedle-based devices have garnered considerable attention in the biomedicine field, exhibiting the potential for mitigating patient discomfort, enhancing treatment adherence, avoiding first-pass effects, and facilitating precise therapeutic interventions. As an application-oriented technology, the innovation of microneedles is generally carried out in response to a specific demand.

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  • The study addresses the challenge of varying economic traits in sea cucumber aquaculture by comparing gene expression and networks to find key genes related to morphological differences in Apostichopus japonicus.
  • Researchers identified three important genes linked to better economic traits and discovered specific SNPs in the ficolin-2 gene that correlate with two traits: body weight and papilla number.
  • These findings aim to enhance breeding strategies and biomarker resources, promoting advancements in molecular-assisted breeding for sea cucumbers.
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The secondary metabolites of seawater and freshwater blue-green algae are a rich natural product pool containing diverse compounds with various functions, including antiviral compounds; however, high-efficiency methods to screen such compounds are lacking. Advanced virtual screening techniques can significantly reduce the time and cost of novel antiviral drug identification. In this study, we used a cyanobacterial secondary metabolite library as an example and trained three models to identify compounds with potential antiviral activity using a machine learning method based on message-passing neural networks.

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  • The study aimed to explore how relative fat mass (RFM) and low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) scores relate to sleep disorders among the U.S. population, using data from NHANES from 2005 to 2014 with over 5,000 participants.
  • Results indicated a positive correlation between higher RFM and better LCD scores, as well as a significant link between both RFM and LCD scores with the likelihood of sleep disorders.
  • The study concluded that managing RFM and following an LCD could help reduce the risk of developing sleep disorders.
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The successful delivery of nanoparticles (NPs) to cancer cells is dependent on various factors, including particle size, shape, surface properties such as hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity, charges, and functional moieties. Tailoring these properties has been explored extensively to enhance the efficacy of NPs for drug delivery. Single-chain polymer nanoparticles (SCNPs), notable for their small size (sub-20 nm) and tunable properties, are emerging as a promising platform for drug delivery.

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Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs) are recognized as key bioactive constituents of Lycium barbarum with diverse biological activities. However, current research on LBPs is largely confined to crude extracts, offering limited insight into the structural properties underlying their biological effects. In this study, we separated crude LBP into acidic LBP (ALBP) and neutral LBP (NLBP), which exhibited distinct physicochemical properties.

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  • - This study compares polymeric micelles and single-chain nanoparticles (SCNPs) as drug delivery systems, focusing on their internalization by breast cancer cells and macrophages.
  • - Researchers synthesized various copolymers and analyzed how the solvent impacts the self-assembly and resultant structure of these nanoparticles, emphasizing the role of solvent in photocross-linking.
  • - The findings revealed that using acetonitrile for cross-linking resulted in better-defined nanoparticles with higher cellular uptake and identified passive transport as the primary mechanism for delivery into MCF-7 cells.
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  • Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a vestibular disorder marked by repeated vertigo episodes, and this study investigates how micronutrient levels in the blood may influence the risk of developing BPPV.
  • Utilizing Mendelian randomization analysis, the research specifically examined 15 micronutrients and found a significant link between higher blood selenium levels and increased BPPV risk, while the association with folate was inconsistent and not conclusive.
  • The findings indicate that selenium may act as an independent risk factor for BPPV, emphasizing the importance of further research on micronutrients' roles in this condition.
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Predicting anti-cancer drug response can help with personalized cancer treatment and is an important topic in modern oncology research. Although some methods have been used for anti-cancer drug response prediction, how to effectively integrate various features related to cancer cell lines, drugs, and their known responses is still affected by the redundant information of input features and the complex interactions between features. In this study, we propose a bilinear attention model, named BANDRP, based on multiple omics data of cancer cell lines and multiple molecular fingerprints of drugs to predict potential anti-cancer drug responses.

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  • * Results showed the minimally invasive group had shorter incisions, less blood loss, quicker pain relief, and better shoulder function at 12 months post-surgery.
  • * The findings suggest that the new minimally invasive technique is a safer and more effective option compared to the traditional surgery, with no major differences in surgery time or healing.
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  • The study aims to establish how anxiety and depression affect the progression and treatment outcomes of vitiligo, aiming to improve psychological care for patients.
  • Using a Mendelian randomization analysis and various statistical tests, researchers found that depression notably increases the risk of developing vitiligo and that different levels of anxiety and depression correlate with varying clinical characteristics in patients.
  • The results indicate that moderate to severe anxiety-depression negatively impacts treatment effectiveness, establishing a U-shaped relationship where the most significant influence occurs at specific anxiety-depression scores.
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Reproductive toxicity is one of the important issues in chemical safety. Traditional laboratory testing methods are costly and time-consuming with raised ethical issues. Only a few in silico models have been reported to predict human reproductive toxicity, but none of them make full use of the topological information of compounds.

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Vitiligo is an acquired autoimmune skin disease characterized by patchy depigmentation of the skin, often accompanied by white hair. The aetiology of vitiligo is complex and difficult to cure, and its disfiguring appearance significantly impacts patients' mental and physical health. Psychological stress is a major factor in inducing and exacerbating vitiligo, as well as affecting its treatment efficacy, though the specific mechanisms remain unclear.

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Background: Chemicals may lead to acute liver injuries, posing a serious threat to human health. Achieving the precise safety profile of a compound is challenging due to the complex and expensive testing procedures. In silico approaches will aid in identifying the potential risk of drug candidates in the initial stage of drug development and thus mitigating the developmental cost.

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Ubiquitin-like with PHD and RING finger domains 1 (UHRF1) is an epigenetic regulator that plays critical roles in tumours. However, the DNA methylation alteration patterns driven by UHRF1 and the related differentially expressed tumour-related genes remain unclear. In this study, a UHRF1-shRNA MCF-7 cell line was constructed, and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing and RNA sequencing were performed.

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  • FOXM1 is a transcription factor linked to cell growth and tumor development, and its high levels are associated with poor cancer prognosis; however, the reasons behind its overexpression are not well understood.
  • The study reveals that ABL1, a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase, enhances FOXM1 expression by binding to it and phosphorylating specific tyrosine residues, particularly pY575, which is crucial for stabilizing FOXM1 and preventing its degradation.
  • The research demonstrates that FOXM1 with the pY575 mutation is less stable and leads to slower cell division and reduced tumor growth, suggesting that targeting ABL1 may be a potential treatment strategy for cancers
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been reported to decrease semen quality in reproductive-age men. Semen quality in vaccinated men after SARS-CoV-2 infection remains unclear. We recruited reproductive-age Chinese men scheduled for COVID-19 vaccination from December 2022 to March 2023.

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