Lightweight and drift-free magnetically actuated millirobots via asymmetric laser-induced graphene.

Millirobots must have low cost, efficient locomotion, and the ability to track target trajectories precisely if they are to be widely deployed. With current materials and fabrication methods, achieving all of these features in one millirobot remains difficult. We develop a series of graphene-based helical millirobots by introducing asymmetric light pattern distortion to a laser-induced polymer-to-graphene conversion process; this distortion resulted in the spontaneous twisting and peeling off of graphene sheets from the polymer substrate.

Bioinformatic assay reveal the potential mechanism of Guizhi-Shaoyao-Zhimu decoction against rheumatoid arthritis and mild-to-moderate COVID-19.

Background And Objective: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are more susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) than healthy population, but there is still no therapeutic strategy available for RA patients with corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Guizhi-Shaoyao-Zhimu decoction (GSZD), Chinese ancient experience decoction, has a significant effect on the treatment of Rheumatism and gout. To prevent RA patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 from developing into severe COVID-19, this study explored the potential possibility and mechanism of GSZD in the treatment of this population.

FOXI3 pathogenic variants cause one form of craniofacial microsomia.

Craniofacial microsomia (CFM; also known as Goldenhar syndrome), is a craniofacial developmental disorder of variable expressivity and severity with a recognizable set of abnormalities. These birth defects are associated with structures derived from the first and second pharyngeal arches, can occur unilaterally and include ear dysplasia, microtia, preauricular tags and pits, facial asymmetry and other malformations. The inheritance pattern is controversial, and the molecular etiology of this syndrome is largely unknown.

GDF11 inhibits adipogenesis of human adipose-derived stromal cells through ALK5/KLF15/β-catenin/PPARγ cascade.

Obesity is a metabolic disease characterized by excessive fat storage, and the adipogenic differentiation of adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) is closely linked to its occurrence. Growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11), a well-known molecule in the field of anti-aging, also has great potential in regulating stem cell differentiation. In this study, we found that GDF11 inhibited adipogenic differentiation of human ADSCs in vitro by activating the WNT/β-catenin and SMAD2/3 pathways while inhibiting the AKT pathway.

β-Caryophyllene Acts as a Ferroptosis Inhibitor to Ameliorate Experimental Colitis.

Macrophage infiltration is one of the main pathological features of ulcerative colitis (UC) and ferroptosis is a type of nonapoptotic cell death, connecting oxidative stress and inflammation. However, whether ferroptosis occurs in the colon macrophages of UC mice and whether targeting macrophage ferroptosis is an effective approach for UC treatment remain unclear. The present study revealed that macrophage lipid peroxidation was observed in the colon of UC mice.

A 16-color full spectrum flow cytometric analysis for comprehensive evaluation of T-cell reconstitution in SIV-infected rhesus macaques.

T-cell reconstitution is central in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection/disease progression. Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) have been the most widely used animal model for HIV research so far. An effective flow cytometry panel is crucial for monitoring the T cell reconstitution in SIV infection progression.

Peptide modified geniposidic acid targets bone and effectively promotes osteogenesis.

Background: Geniposidic acid (GPA), one of the active components of Eucommia ulmoides, promote bone formation and treat osteoporosis by activating farnesoid X receptor (FXR). However, GPA has low oral availability and lack of bone targeting in the treatment of bone related diseases. With the development of modern technology, small molecules, amino acids, or aptamers are used for biological modification of drugs and target cells in bone tissue, which has become the trend of bone targeted research.

Babam2 negatively regulates osteoclastogenesis by interacting with Hey1 to inhibit Nfatc1 transcription.

Osteoclast-mediated excessive bone resorption was highly related to diverse bone diseases including osteoporosis. BRISC and BRCA1-A complex member 2 (Babam2) was an evolutionarily conserved protein that is highly expressed in bone tissues. However, whether Babam2 is involved in osteoclast formation is still unclear.

Activation of farnesoid X receptor signaling by geniposidic acid promotes osteogenesis.

Background: New targets and strategies are urgently needed for the identification and development of anabolic drugs for osteoporosis. Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a promising novel therapeutic target for bone metabolism diseases. Although used clinically, FXR agonists have obvious side effects; therefore, the development of new FXR agonists for the treatment of osteoporosis would be welcomed.

Generation of functional oligopeptides that promote osteogenesis based on unsupervised deep learning of protein IDRs.

Deep learning (DL) is currently revolutionizing peptide drug development due to both computational advances and the substantial recent expansion of digitized biological data. However, progress in oligopeptide drug development has been limited, likely due to the lack of suitable datasets and difficulty in identifying informative features to use as inputs for DL models. Here, we utilized an unsupervised deep learning model to learn a semantic pattern based on the intrinsically disordered regions of ~171 known osteogenic proteins.

A novel lncRNA linc-AhRA negatively regulates innate antiviral response in murine microglia upon neurotropic herpesvirus infection.

Microglia are the primary cellular source of type I interferons (I-IFNs) in the brain upon neurotropic virus infection. Although the I-IFN-based antiviral innate immune response is crucial for eliminating viruses, overproduction led to immune disorders. Therefore, the relatively long-lasting I-IFNs must be precisely controlled, but the regulatory mechanism for the innate antiviral response in microglia remains largely unknown.

A functional motif of long noncoding RNA Nron against osteoporosis.

Long noncoding RNAs are widely implicated in diverse disease processes. Nonetheless, their regulatory roles in bone resorption are undefined. Here, we identify lncRNA Nron as a critical suppressor of bone resorption.

miR-146a-5p targets to regulate bone mass.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been proven to serve as key post-transcriptional regulators, affecting diverse biological processes including osteogenic differentiation and bone formation. Recently, it has been reported that miR-146a-5p affects the activity of both osteoblasts and osteoclasts. However, the target genes of miR-146a-5p in these procedures remain unknown.

The quinazoline derivative, 04NB-03, induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells in a reactive oxygen species-dependent manner.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most deadly malignancies worldwide. However, current therapeutic drugs for HCC are far from satisfactory. Thus, the development of new drugs is urgently needed.

BRE Promotes Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Growth by Activating AKT Signaling.

Brain and reproductive organ-expressed protein (BRE) is aberrantly expressed in multiple cancers; however, its expression pattern in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and its role in ESCC progression remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression pattern of BRE in human ESCC and its role in ESCC progression. BRE was overexpressed in ESCC tissues compared with that in the adjacent non-tumor tissues.

A novel quinolinylmethyl substituted ethylenediamine compound exerts anti-cancer effects via stimulating the accumulation of reactive oxygen species and NO in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Owing to the limitations in the current therapeutic strategies for treating HCC, development of novel chemotherapeutic drugs is urgently needed. In the present study, we found that QQM, a newly-synthesized quinolinylmethyl substituted ethylenediamine compound, exhibited anti-HCC effects both in vitro and in vivo.

Roles of long non-coding RNAs and emerging RNA-binding proteins in innate antiviral responses.

The diseases caused by viruses posed a great challenge to human health, the development of which was driven by the imbalanced host immune response. Host innate immunity is an evolutionary old defense system that is critical for the elimination of the virus. The overactive innate immune response also leads to inflammatory autoimmune diseases, which require precise control of innate antiviral response for maintaining immune homeostasis.

Dysregulation of cofilin-1 activity-the missing link between herpes simplex virus type-1 infection and Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a multifactorial disease triggered by environmental factors in combination with genetic predisposition. Infectious agents, in particular herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), are gradually being recognised as important factors affecting the development of AD. However, the mechanism linking HSV-1 and AD remains unknown.

A comprehensive investigation of the mRNA and protein level of ACE2, the putative receptor of SARS-CoV-2, in human tissues and blood cells.

The outbreak of pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 posed a great threat to global human health, which urgently requires us to understand comprehensively the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) was identified as a functional receptor for SARS-CoV-2, distribution of which may indicate the risk of different human organs vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Previous studies investigating the distribution of ACE2 mRNA in human tissues only involved a limited size of the samples and a lack of determination for ACE2 protein.

LncRNA Nron regulates osteoclastogenesis during orthodontic bone resorption.

Activation of osteoclasts during orthodontic tooth treatment is a prerequisite for alveolar bone resorption and tooth movement. However, the key regulatory molecules involved in osteoclastogenesis during this process remain unclear. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a newly identified class of functional RNAs that regulate cellular processes, such as gene expression and translation regulation.

Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis identifies host long noncoding RNA MAMDC2-AS1 as a co-factor for HSV-1 nuclear transport.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 (HSV-1) infection exhibited high heterogeneity at individual cells level, including the different gene expression patterns and varying amounts of progeny virus. However, the underlying mechanism of such variability remains obscure. The importance of host long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in virus infection had been recognized, while the contribution of lncRNAs to the heterogeneous infection remains unknown.

Intestinal Microbiota-Associated Metabolites: Crucial Factors in the Effectiveness of Herbal Medicines and Diet Therapies.

Although the efficacy of herbal medicines (HMs) and traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) in human diseases has long been recognized, their development has been hindered in part by a lack of a comprehensive understanding of their mechanisms of action. Indeed, most of the compounds extracted from HMs can be metabolized into specific molecules by host microbiota and affect pharmacokinetics and toxicity. Moreover, HMs modulate the constitution of host intestinal microbiota to maintain a healthy gut ecology.

High-glucose-induced miR-214-3p inhibits BMSCs osteogenic differentiation in type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune insulin-dependent disease associated with destructive bone homeostasis. Accumulating evidence has proven that miRNAs are widely involved in the regulation of bone homeostasis. However, whether miRNAs also regulate osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in T1DM mice is under exploration.

Madecassoside ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced neurotoxicity in rats by activating the Nrf2-HO-1 pathway.

Neuroinflammation is a predisposing factor for several neurodegenerative diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of madecassoside (MA) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cognitive impairment and neuroinflammation in rats. MA has many protective effects such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.