Geranylgeranyl Pyrophosphate Promotes Profibrotic Factors and Collagen-Specific Chaperone HSP47 in Fibroblasts.

Fibrosis, characterised by excessive extracellular matrix deposition, contributes to both organ failure and significant mortality worldwide. Whereas fibroblasts are activated into myofibroblasts, marked by phenotypic factors such as α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), periostin, fibroblast activation protein (FAP) and heat shock protein 47 (HSP47), the cellular processes of trans-differentiation for fibrosis development remain poorly understood. Herein, we hypothesised that the molecular signalling of geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP), a crucial biochemical molecule for protein prenylation, is essential in the regulation of profibrotic mechanisms for fibroblast-to-myofibroblast activation.

Retraction of "Probing the Reactions of Thiourea (CHNS) with Metals (X = Au, Hf, Hg, Ir, Os, W, Pt, and Re) Anchored on Fullerene Surfaces (CX)".

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c04044.

Hydronium Ion Transport across the Liquid/Liquid Interface Assisted by a Phase-Transfer Catalyst: Structure and Thermodynamics Using Molecular Dynamics Simulation.

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to examine the thermodynamic and structural aspects of the transfer of the classical hydronium ion (HO) across a water/1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) interface assisted by the phase-transfer catalyst (PTC) tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl) borate anion (TPFB). The free energy of transfer from water to DCE of the HO-TPFB ion pair is calculated to be 6 ± 1 kcal/mol, significantly less than that of the free hydronium ion (17 ± 1 kcal/mol). The ion pair is relatively stable at the interface and in the organic phase when it is accompanied by three water molecules with a small barrier to dissociation that supports its utility as a PTC.

Tailoring adsorbents for levodopa detection: a DFT study on Pt-encapsulated fullerene systems.

Despite its effectiveness in managing the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease, levodopa therapy is often accompanied by adverse effects that can significantly reduce patients' quality of life. Hence, the need to detect levodopa has escalated among researchers and health experts. Herein, the intricacies of levodopa adsorption were studied using newly tailored fullerene-based adsorbents.

Surface modification of graphene and fullerene with Sulfur (S), Selenium (Se), and Oxygen (O): DFT Simulation for enhanced zidovudine delivery in HIV treatment.

HIV is one of the most threatening health conditions with a highly increasing rate, affecting millions of people globally, and from its time of discovery until now, its potential cure cannot be explicitly defined. This challenge of having no/low effective drugs for the subjected virus has called for serious attention in the scientific world of virus disease therapeutics. Most of these drugs yields low effectiveness due to poor delivery; hence, there is a need for novel engineering methods for efficient delivery.