Targeting Hsp90α to inhibit HMGB1-mediated renal inflammation and fibrosis.

Renal fibrosis, a terminal manifestation of chronic kidney disease, is characterized by uncontrolled inflammatory responses, increased oxidative stress, tubular cell death, and imbalanced deposition of extracellular matrix. 5,2'-Dibromo-2,4',5'-trihydroxydiphenylmethanone (LM49), a polyphenol derivative synthesized by our group with excellent anti-inflammatory pharmacological properties, has been identified as a small-molecule inducer of extracellular matrix degradation. Nonetheless, the protective effects and mechanisms of LM49 on renal fibrosis remain unknown.

Simplified Synthesis of Poly(ethyleneimine)-Modified Silica Particles and Their Application in Oligosaccharide Isolation Methods.

There are great challenges in the field of natural product isolation and purification and in the pharmacological study of oligosaccharide monomers. And these isolation and purification processes are still universal problems in the study of natural products (NPs), traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), omics, etc. The same polymer-modified materials designed for the special separation of oligosaccharides, named Sil-epoxy-PEI and Sil-chloropropyl-PEI, were synthesized via two different methods and characterized by scanning electron microscopy combined with energy spectrum analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, zeta potential as well as surface area analysis, etc.

Theory-Guided Experimental Design of Covalent Triazine Frameworks for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production.

The high crystalline covalent triazine framework-1 (CTF-1), composed of alternating triazine and phenylene, has emerged as an efficient photocatalyst for solar-driven hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, it is of great challenge to further improve photocatalytic HER performance via increasing crystallinity due to its near-perfect crystallization. Herein, an alternative strategy of scaffold functionalization is employed to optimize the energy band structure of crystalline CTF-1 for boosting hydrogen-evolving activity.

Rhodojaponin VI indirectly targets Cav2.2 channels -ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein to alleviate neuropathic pain.

Neuropathic pain is a chronic disease that severely afflicts the life and emotional status of patients, but currently available treatments are often ineffective. Novel therapeutic targets for the alleviation of neuropathic pain are urgently needed. Rhodojaponin VI, a grayanotoxin from , showed remarkable antinociceptive efficacy in models of neuropathic pain, but its biotargets and mechanisms are unknown.

Affinity-based protein profiling to reveal targets of puerarin involved in its protective effect on cardiomyocytes.

Natural products are an important source of new drugs. Some of them may be used directly in clinical settings without further structural modification. One of these directly used natural products is puerarin (Pue), which protects cardiomyocytes against oxidative stress and high glucose stress.

Recent Advances in Conjugated Polymers for Visible-Light-Driven Water Splitting.

With the ambition of solving the challenges of the shortage of fossil fuels and their associated environmental pollution, visible-light-driven splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen using semiconductor photocatalysts has emerged as a promising technology to provide environmentally friendly energy vectors. Among the current library of developed photocatalysts, organic conjugated polymers present unique advantages of sufficient light-absorption efficiency, excellent stability, tunable electronic properties, and economic applicability. As a class of rising photocatalysts, organic conjugated polymers offer high flexibility in tuning the framework of the backbone and porosity to fulfill the requirements for photocatalytic applications.

TWIST2: A new candidate tumor suppressor in prostate cancer.

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is a leading cause of cancer morbidity and mortality in men worldwide; however, PCa incidence and mortality rates vary widely across geographic regions and ethnic groups. The current study was designed to elucidate the pivotal factors involved in PCa occurrence and development.

Methods: We performed RNA sequencing on the prostate tumor and adjacent normal tissues from Chinese PCa patients.

Activity-based protein profiling reveals that secondary-carbon-centered radicals of synthetic 1,2,4-trioxolanes are predominately responsible for modification of protein targets in malaria parasites.

Endoperoxide-containing antimalarials, such as artemisinin and the synthetic trioxolane OZ439, are prodrugs activated by heme to generate primary and secondary carbon-centered radicals. We employed activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) to show that the secondary-carbon-centered radical of 1,2,4-trioxolanes is primarily responsible for protein labeling in malaria parasites.

The Cumulative Effect of Gene-Gene and Gene-Environment Interactions on the Risk of Prostate Cancer in Chinese Men.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a multifactorial disease involving complex genetic and environmental factors interactions. Gene-gene and gene-environment interactions associated with PCa in Chinese men are less studied. We explored the association between 36 SNPs and PCa in 574 subjects from northern China.

Analysis of the Relationship Between ADIPOR1 Variants and the Susceptibility of Chronic Metabolic Diseases in a Northeast Han Chinese Population.

Objective: Shared genetic variants in ADIPOR1 have been identified as closely related to coronary artery disease (CAD), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and T2D with CAD susceptibility, suggesting that these variants are strong candidates for the common soil hypothesis. Therefore, it is essential to analyze the relationship between ADIPOR1 variants and the susceptibility to CAD, T2D, and T2D with CAD in other populations.

Materials And Methods: A case-control study was conducted which included three case cohorts [CAD (n = 316), T2D (n = 295), T2D with CAD (n = 302)], and a control cohort (n = 268) from a population in northeast China.

Association of FOXP4 Gene with Prostate Cancer and the Cumulative Effects of rs4714476 and 8q24 in Chinese Men.

Background: The tumor suppressor forkhead box P4 (FOXP4) plays important roles in oncogenesis, and the FOXP4 variant rs1983891 is associated with prostate cancer (PCa) in several studies. However, association studies conducted in Northern and Southern Chinese have provided conflicting results. Therefore, here we performed fine mapping of FOXP4 to identify the association with PCa and the potential application in Chinese men.

Serum Uric Acid Levels and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies.

Context: An excess circulating uric acid level, even within the normal range, is always comorbid with metabolic syndrome (MS), several of its components, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which was regarded as hepatic manifestation of MS; however, these associations remain controversial.

Objective: This study aimed to quantitatively assess the relationship between the serum uric acid (SUA) levels and the MS/NAFLD risk.

Design: We searched for related prospective cohort studies including SUA as an exposure and MS/NAFLD as a result in MEDLINE (PubMed) and EMBASE databases up to January 31, 2015 and July 28, 2015, respectively.

Biological function and molecular mechanism of Twist2.

Twist2, one of the basic helix-loop-helix protein (bHLH) family members, is responsible for the transcriptional regulation in mesenchymal cell lineages during its development. Twist2 functions as a molecular switch to activate or repress target genes by direct or indirect mechanisms. Twist2 can directly bind with conserved E-box on DNA sequence, to recruit co-activators or repressors, and interfere with the activation or inhibition function through protein-protein interactions with E-protein modulators.

8q24 rs4242382 polymorphism is a risk factor for prostate cancer among multi-ethnic populations: evidence from clinical detection in China and a meta-analysis.

Background: Evidence supporting an association between the 8q24 rs4242382-A polymorphism and prostate cancer (PCa) risk has been reported in North American and Europe populations, though data from Asian populations remain limited. We therefore investigated this association by clinical detection in China, and meta-analysis in Asian, Caucasian and African-American populations.

Materials And Methods: Blood samples and clinical information were collected from ethnically Chinese men from Northern China with histologically- confirmed PCa (n=335) and from age-matched normal controls (n=347).

[Ultrasonic dynamic focus data reordering design based on FPGA].

The existing analog reordering and folding technology has the following problems: it cause the attenuation of the ultrasonic signal, and it is difficult to achieve beam steering in color Doppler ultrasonic diagnostic instrument. This article proposes a design method to achieve digital reordering of dynamic focusing data. The digital reordering is composed of two parts, bit reordering which is implemented with multiplier and byte reordering using switch selection.

Farrerol regulates occludin expression in hydrogen peroxide-induced EA.hy926 cells by modulating ERK1/2 activity.

Endothelial tight junction is a crucial intracellular junctional structure that controls paracellular permeability across vascular endothelium. Oxidative stress-mediated elevation in endothelial permeability is associated with pathogenesis of several cardiovascular diseases. In the present research, the regulation of farrerol on occludin, a transmembrane proteins associated with endothelial tight junction, was investigated in hydrogen peroxide-induced human endothelium-derived EA.

THADA gene polymorphism and prostate cancer risk: a meta-analysis.

Background: The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1465618 in THADA at 2p21 has been identified as being associated with prostate cancer (PCa) risk in Europeans; however, it is not clear whether the SNP is related to PCa risk in multiple populations. We investigated the association of rs1465618 in THADA with PCa in a Chinese population and carried out a meta-analysis in multiple populations, testing the relevance of this SNP for PCa risk.

Patients And Methods: We genotyped the SNP using high resolution melting (HRM) analysis and assessed its association with PCa risk in a case-control study of 289 PCa patients and 288 controls in a Chinese population.

Association of 8 loci on chromosome 8q24 with prostate carcinoma risk in northern Chinese men.

Multiple genetic studies have confirmed association of 8q24 variants with susceptibility to prostate cancer (PCa). As PCa risk SNPs may also influence disease outcome, we studied here eight 8q24 risk alleles, and evaluated their role in PCa clinical covariates in northern Chinese men. Blood samples and clinical information were collected from ethnically Chinese men from Northern China with histologically-confirmed PCa (n=289) and from age-matched normal controls (n=288).

Susceptibility loci associations with prostate cancer risk in northern Chinese men.

Background: KLK3 gene products, like human prostate-specific antigen (PSA), are important biomarkers in the clinical diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa). G protein-coupled receptor RFX6, C2orf43 and FOXP4 signaling plays important roles in the development of PCa. However, associations of these genes with PCa in northern Chinese men remain to be detailed.

Synthesis and biological activities of new halophenols.

A series of new halophenols were synthesized, and their structures were established on the basis of 1H, 13C NMR and mass spectral data. All of the prepared compounds were screened for their in vitro protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation inhibitory activity. Twelve halophenols showed significant PTK inhibitory activity, most of them exhibited stronger activities than that of genistein, a positive reference compound.

Solvent-induced helix superstructure in achiral dumbbell-shaped hydrazine derivatives.

We studied hydrogen-bonding assemblies in a series of dumbbell-shaped hydrazine derivatives, namely oxalyl N',N'-bis(3,4-dialkoxybenzoyl)-hydrazide (BFH-n, n = 4, 6, 8, 10) and oxalyl N',N'-dibenzoyl-hydrazide (FH-0). It has been demonstrated that NH-1 protons of BFH-n precipitated from tetrahydrofuran (THF) or dimethylformamide (DMF) were involved in intramolecular H-bonding to form 6-membered rings. Meanwhile, NH-2 protons of BFH-n precipitated from THF formed intermolecular hydrogen bonds with C═O groups of neighboring molecules, while NH-2 protons of BFH-n precipitated from DMF formed intermolecular hydrogen bonds with C═O group of neighboring DMF molecules.

[Simultaneous determination of four flavonoids in Malus prunifolia from Shanxi province by RP-HPLC].

Objective: To develop an HPLC method for simultaneous determination of rutin, hyperoside, quercetin and kaempferol in Malus prunifolia from Shanxi province in China.

Method: The separation was performed on a Hypersil C18 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm), using a gradient elution with methanol-water containing 0.

Nanoparticles, helical fibers, and nanoribbons of an achiral twin-tapered bi-1,3,4-oxadiazole derivative with strong fluorescence.

A twin-tapered bi-1,3,4-oxadiazole derivative (BOXD-T8) showed a monomeric feature and intramolecular charge transition at concentrations lower than 10(-5) mol/L. BOXD-T8 molecules self-assembled to nanoparticles and further to helical nanofibers with blue fluorescence emission in DMSO, while nanoribbons resulted in an emission-enhanced gel in ethanol. The strong fluorescent emissions of BOXD-T8 in an isolated state in apolar solvents were attributed to the coplanar conformation of the rigid backbone and the strong fluorescent emissions of BOXD-T8 in the aggregation states were attributed to the coplanar conformation of the rigid backbone and J aggregation.