Comparison of HBV-specific T cell reactivity across the pregnant, postpartum and non-pregnant women with chronic HBV infection.

Objective: To investigate the features of HBV-specific T cell reactivity across the pregnant, postpartum or non-pregnant women with chronic HBV infection.

Methods: A total of 283 patients with chronic HBV infection were enrolled in this study, including 129 patients during pregnancy, 58 patients during postpartum less than 6 months and 96 non-pregnant patients at childbearing age. A universal ELISpot assay was set up using a broad-spectrum T-cell epitope peptide library which containing 103 functionally validated CD8 T-cell epitopes derived from overall HBsAg, HBc/eAg, HBx and HBpol proteins and fitting to the human leukocyte antigen polymorphisms of Chinese population.

Spectral-Sensing System for Distinguishing CHOH and CDOD.

Spectrally discriminating CHOH and CDOD, and even detecting CHOH contents in the CDOD solvent, are important yet have not been achieved so far, likely owing to their very similar chemical/physical properties. Herein, dynamic transesterification reactions, which can be achieved via two-step proton transfers, can be signaled via ultraviolet UV-visible (UV/vis) absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies under mild experimental conditions. Introduction of strong electron-withdrawing groups, such as -NO, to the aromatic ring (benzoic acid moiety or phenol moiety) of carboxylate esters to activate the esters is important for transesterification reactions and is an intriguing method for modulating the selectivity of the spectral response.

Routine evaluation of HBV-specific T cell reactivity in chronic hepatitis B using a broad-spectrum T-cell epitope peptide library and ELISpot assay.

Background: The clinical routine test of HBV-specific T cell reactivity is still limited due to the high polymorphisms of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) in patient cohort and the lack of universal detection kit, thus the clinical implication remains disputed.

Methods: A broad-spectrum peptide library, which consists of 103 functionally validated CD8 T-cell epitopes spanning overall HBsAg, HBeAg, HBx and HBpol proteins and fits to the HLA polymorphisms of Chinese and Northeast Asian populations, was grouped into eight peptide pools and was used to establish an ELISpot assay for enumerating the reactive HBV-specific T cells in PBMCs. Totally 294 HBV-infected patients including 203 ones with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), 13 ones in acute resolved stage (R), 52 ones with liver cirrhosis (LC) and 26 ones with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were detected, and 33 CHB patients were longitudinally monitored for 3 times with an interval of 3-5 months.

Bioinformatics analysis of GPS1 expression and biological function in breast cancer.

G protein pathway suppressor 1 (GPS1) is involved in the development of many diseases including tumors, but its specific regulatory mechanism in breast cancer is not clear. The goal of the present study was to explore the biological effects and underlying mechanism of GPS1 in breast cancer. Public databases were used to analyze GPS1 expression and the relationship with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of breast cancer patients, combined with in vitro experiments to analyze the mechanism of action and immune relevance of GPS1 in breast cancer.

Screening of Efficient Adjuvants for the RBD-Based Subunit Vaccine of SARS-CoV-2.

The variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are more transmissible, with a reduced sensitivity to vaccines targeting the original virus strain. Therefore, developing an effective vaccine against both the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and its variants is an urgent need. It is known that the receptor-binding domain (RBD) in the S protein of SARS-CoV-2 is an important vaccine target, but subunit vaccines usually have lower immunogenicity and efficacy.

[Determination of four fatty acid ethyl esters in olive oil by solid phase extraction-gas chromatography].

The fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE) content of olive oil is an important indicator of its quality. At present, the international standard method used to detect FAEEs in olive oil is silica gel (Si) column chromatography-gas chromatography (GC); however, this technique presents a number of disadvantages, including complex operation, long analysis times, and high reagent consumption. In this study, a method based on Si solid phase extraction (SPE)-GC was established to determine four FAEEs in olive oil, namely, ethyl palmitate, ethyl linoleate, ethyl oleate, and ethyl stearate.

A Non-Hydrolysis Reaction-Based Imine for Fluorescence Response toward Al Ions with Extremely High Selectivity.

Designing an imine-based fluorescent probe capable of greatly suppressing the tendency of intrinsic hydrolysis reaction is an attractive topic in the field of chemo-/biosensing. In this work, hydrophobic 1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diamine containing two amine groups was introduced to synthesize probe R-1 bearing two imine bonds linked by two salicylaldehyde (SAs). The hydrophobicity of binaphthyl moiety and the unique clamp-like structure formed from double imine bonds and from ortho-OH on SA part make probe R-1 is able to function as an ideal receptor to coordinate with Al ions, leading to the fluorescence originated from the complex rather than from the assumed hydrolyzed fluorescent amine is turned on.

Modulating Dual Fluorescence Emissions in Imine-Based Probes to Distinguish DO and HO.

How to distinguish DO and HO and determine the trace HO content in DO solvent, by using molecule-based spectral probes, is an intriguing topic in analytical chemistry, yet considerably few examples remain up to now, likely due to the very similar physical/chemical properties between DO and HO. In this work, we found that both the hydrolysis reactions to release fluorescent amines and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) of imines, functioning as dual fluorescence signals to distinguish DO and HO, could be modulated by changing the imine structures. The hydrophobicity of imines showed an important contribution to the ability of modulating the hydrolysis reactions and AIE, demonstrating a significant difference on fluorescence signals in DO and HO solvents.

Enantioselective Dynamic Exchange Reactions of Imines.

Although dynamic reactions of imines have been extensively studied, the dynamic behaviors manipulated by chirality remain nearly unexplored. In this work, enantioselective amine exchange reactions were demonstrated as a first example via the reaction of enantiomeric chiral amines such as natural amino acids with a series of innovative axially chiral 1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diamine (BNDA)-based imines that were prepared from the condensation reactions between BNDA and salicylaldehyde (SA) or its derivatives. This enantioselective dynamic behavior can be directly indicated by the degree of the fluorescence response of the -configuration of imines to the d-enantiomer of chiral amine, because the released BNDA can serve as the fluorescence signal output when the amine exchange reaction occurs, which is far higher than the response to its l-enantiomer under identical experimental conditions.

Self-Assembled Multivalent Ag-SR Coordination Polymers with Phosphatase-Like Activity.

We show herein the phosphatase-like catalytic activity of coordination polymers obtained after adding Ag -ions to thiols bearing hydrophobic alkyl chains terminated with a 1,4,7-triazacyclononane (TACN) group. The subsequent addition of Zn -ions to the self-assembled polymers resulted in the formation of multivalent metal coordination polymers capable of catalysing the transphosphorylation of an RNA-model compound (2-hydroxypropyl-4-nitrophenyl phosphate, HPNPP) with high reactivity. Analysis of a series of metal ions showed that the highest catalytic activity was obtained when Ag -ions were used as the first metal ions to construct the backbone of the coordination polymer through interaction with the -SH group followed by Zn -ions as the second metal ions complexed by the TACN-macrocycle.

Extraction, structural elucidation and immunostimulating properties of water-soluble polysaccharides from wheat bran.

A water-soluble polysaccharide was extracted from wheat bran (WBP) and investigate their structural characteristics and immunostimulatory activities. The chemical composition of WBP and purified fraction (WBP-F) mainly consists of neutral sugars (91.2 ± 1.

A pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyridine-based ratiometric fluorescent probe for sensing Cu in cell.

Ratiometric fluorescent probes based on FRET mechanism have attracted great attention due to their large pseudo-Stokes shifts and built-in correction for environmental effects. However, most donors failed to meet the requirement that the emission of the donor must overlap well with the absorption of the acceptor. Therefore, searching for new fluorophore to construct FRET system is in great need.

A ratiometric fluorescent probe for detection of exogenous mitochondrial SO based on a FRET mechanism.

A novel imidazo[1,5-]pyridine-hemicyanine based ratiometric fluorescent probe for detection of mitochondrial SO was designed and synthesized. The probe is based on a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) mechanism. It exhibits high selectivity and sensitivity towards SO with a fast response time (3 min) and detection limit of 0.

A mitochondria-targeted and FRET-based ratiometric fluorescent probe for detection of SO derivatives in water.

A mitochondria-targeted ratiometric fluorescent probe based on the fluorophore pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole was developed. It showed high sensitivity and selectivity toward SO derivatives in water. The probe was also successfully applied to detect intrinsically generated SO derivatives in living glioma cells, which may be helpful in ascertaining the biological roles of SO in mitochondria.

A FRET-based ratiometric fluorescent probe for detection of intrinsically generated SO derivatives in mitochondria.

A mitochondria-targeted ratiometric fluorescent probe based on hemicyanine and pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole was presented. It shows high sensitivity and selectivity toward SO in pure water. The limit of detection (LOD) was as low as 26.

A FRET based ratiometric fluorescent probe for detection of sulfite in food.

A new fluorophore pyrido[1,2-]benzimidazole based ratiometric fluorescent probe for the selective detection of sulfite ions in water was investigated. It shows large (pseudo) Stokes shifts (260 nm), high FRET efficiency, high selectivity and sensitivity. A distinct color change from red to colorless was observed and importantly, it proves to be a convenient and efficient tool to detect the sulfite levels in sugar samples.

FRET-based ratiometric fluorescent probe for Cu with a new indolizine fluorophore.

A new fluorophore indolizine was synthesized and used as a donor to construct FRET system. The chemodosimeter shows a large Stokes shifts (193 nm), high sensitivity, and high selectivity. The probe can quickly (10 min) detect Cu effectively in a wide pH range from 5 to 12 and with a detection limit as low as 9.

A new pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole-rhodamine FRET system as an efficient ratiometric fluorescent probe for Cu in living cells.

A novel fluorophore pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole was synthesized and used as a donor to construct FRET system. The probe shows a large Stokes shifts (190 nm), high selectivity, fast response (within 2 min), and high sensitivity toward Cu (detection limit 42 nM). A significant colour change from colourless to pink could be observed, enabling naked-eye detection of Cu.