Dried tangerine peel polysaccharide accelerates wound healing by recruiting anti-inflammatory macrophages.

Macrophage polarization is a key process involved in wound healing. The continuous release of proinflammatory cytokines by macrophages inhibits the healing process of chronic wounds, such as diabetic wounds. To promote wound healing, it is important to change the phenotype of resident macrophages to prevent inflammation.

Comparative Study on the Mechanism of Macrophage Activation Induced by Polysaccharides from Fresh and Dried Longan.

Longan ( Lour.) is a kind of traditional fruit used as a medicine and a food. Fresh longan is primarily consumed as a fruit, whereas dried longan is commonly employed for medicinal purposes.

Dried tangerine peel polysaccharide (DTPP) alleviates hepatic steatosis by suppressing TLR4/MD-2-mediated inflammation and endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a complex pathogenic metabolic syndrome characterized by increased inflammation and endoplasmic reticulum stress. In recent years, natural polysaccharides derived from traditional Chinese medicine have shown significant anti-inflammatory effects, making them an attractive therapeutic option. However, little research has been conducted on the therapeutic potential of dried tangerine peel polysaccharide (DTPP) - one of the most important medicinal resources in China.

Lian-Mei-Yin formula alleviates diet-induced hepatic steatosis by suppressing Yap1/FOXM1 pathway-dependent lipid synthesis.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease, with a global prevalence of 25%. Patients with NAFLD are more likely to suffer from advanced liver disease, cardiovascular disease, or type II diabetes. However, unfortunately, there is still a shortage of FDA-approved therapeutic agents for NAFLD.

Discovery of novel cannabidiol derivatives with augmented antibacterial agents against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Drug-resistant bacterium infections are a severe threat to public health and novel antimicrobial agents combating drug-resistant bacteria are an unmet medical need. Although cannabidiol (CBD) has been reported to show antibacterial effects, whether its antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can be improved remains unclear. Herein, a series of novel CBD derivatives were designed and synthesized using various chemical approaches including amidation, Friedel-Crafts alkylation, and Negishi cross-coupling reaction for the modifications at the C-7, C-2', C-4', and C-6' positions of CBD skeleton.

Fucoidan from Inhibits Inflammatory Response, Both In Vitro and In Vivo.

Fucoidan has been reported to present diverse bioactivities, but each extract has specific features from which a particular biological activity, such as immunomodulation, must be confirmed. In this study a commercially available pharmaceutical-grade fucoidan extracted from , FE, was characterized and its anti-inflammatory potential was investigated. Fucose was the main monosaccharide (90 mol%) present in the studied FE, followed by uronic acids, galactose, and xylose that were present at similar values (3.

- Promotes the Survival of Motor Neurons Derived from Neural Stem Cells.

Neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation creates new hope for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders by direct differentiation into neurons. However, this technique is limited by poor survival and functional neuron deficiency. In this research study, we generated pro-survival murine NSCs (mNSCs) via the ectopic expression of -.

Turning gray selenium into a nanoaccelerator of tissue regeneration by PEG modification.

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element involved in nearly all human physiological processes but suffers from a narrow margin between benefit and toxicity. The nanoform of selenium has been proven shown to be more bioavailable and less toxic, yet significant challenges remain regarding the efficient and feasible synthesis of biologically active nanoselenium. In addition, although nanoselenium has shown a variety of biological activities, more interesting nanoselenium features are expected.

Smectite promotes probiotic biofilm formation in the gut for cancer immunotherapy.

Administration of probiotics to regulate the immune system is a potential anti-tumor strategy. However, oral administration of probiotics is ineffective because of the poor inhabitation of exogenous bacteria in host intestines. Here we report that smectite, a type of mineral clay and established anti-diarrhea drug, promotes expansion of probiotics (especially Lactobacillus) in the murine gut and subsequently elicits anti-tumor immune responses.

An "all-in-one" scaffold targeting macrophages to direct endogenous bone repair in situ.

Scaffolds for tissue repair are designed in an increasingly complicated manner to meet multi-facet biological needs during the healing process. However, overly sophisticated design, especially the use of multiple components and delivery of exogenous cells, hampers the bench-to-bedside translation. Here, a multi-functional - yet mono-compositional - bioactive scaffold is devised to mediate the full-range, endogenous bone repair.

A toll-like receptor agonist mimicking microbial signal to generate tumor-suppressive macrophages.

Switching macrophages from a pro-tumor type to an anti-tumor state is a promising strategy for cancer immunotherapy. Existing agents, many derived from bacterial components, have safety or specificity concerns. Here, we postulate that the structures of the bacterial signals can be mimicked by using non-toxic biomolecules of simple design.

A Water-Soluble, Two-Photon Probe for Imaging Endogenous Hypochlorous Acid in Live Tissue.

Detection of hypochlorous acid (HClO) in the living system may help to uncover its essential biological functions. However, current imaging agents suffer from poor water solubility that limit their live-tissue applications. Here, a water-soluble probe (NNH) is devised through innovative hydrazone modification of 1,8-naphthalimide at 3' position.

An ortho-aldehyde modified probe to image thiols in living cells with enhanced selectivity.

Developing fluorescent probes to image thiols in the living system may provide powerful tools to study the functions of thiol-containing biological molecules. In this study, we report the design and evaluation of a novel turn-on fluorescent probe NQNO for selective detection of thiols in living cells. By introducing an ortho-aldehyde group to NNO, a conventional compound representing a class of thiol-imaging strategy, we obtained NQNO with enhanced selectivity for thiols over the major interferent hydrogen sulfide (HS).

A tumour microenvironment-responsive polymeric complex for targeted depletion of tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs).

Tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) play pivotal roles in promoting cancer progression. Systemic delivery of therapeutic agents to efficiently eliminate these cells remains challenging. Here, we report the development of a bio-responsive polymeric complex (PAB) that can be systemically administrated to target and eliminate TAMs in tumours.

Post-screening characterisation and in vivo evaluation of an anti-inflammatory polysaccharide fraction from Eucommia ulmoides.

We report here the discovery of a polysaccharide, namely EUP1, with anti-inflammatory activity from the herb of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. We separated three polysaccharide fractions from this herb based on acidity and screened them for their activity in modulating the phenotype of murine macrophages. Among them, EUP1 was the only fraction to exert such a function - it stimulated Raw 264.

A macrophage-activating, injectable hydrogel to sequester endogenous growth factors for in situ angiogenesis.

Biomaterials scaffolds designed for many regenerative applications are expected to support neo-vascularisation, which is now being hampered by two limitations - the instability of exogenous growth factors (GFs) that are delivered to promote angiogenesis; and the loss of extracellular matrix components that bind and stabilise GFs. Here, we report the design and evaluation of an injectable hydrogel system aimed at restoring a GF-binding microenvironment to enhance the pro-angiogenic functions of endogenous GFs. This gel comprises two polysaccharides with their unique bioactivities: Konjac glucomannan (KGM) as the building block of the gel scaffold, for its demonstrated capacity to activate macrophages/monocytes to secrete pro-angiogenic/-mitogenic GFs; and heparin (Hep), a representative glycosaminoglycan molecule that binds numerous pro-angiogenic GFs, as functional moieties to sequester the macrophage-produced GFs.

Functionalized Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes as Carriers of Ruthenium Complexes to Antagonize Cancer Multidrug Resistance and Radioresistance.

Multidrug resistance and radioresistance are major obstacles for successful cancer therapy. Due to the unique characteristics of high surface area, improved cellular uptake, and the possibility to be easily bound with therapeutics, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted increasing attention as potential nanodrug delivery systems. In this study, a CNT-based radiosensitive nanodrug delivery system was rationally designed to antagonize the multidrug resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma.

pH-responsive cancer-targeted selenium nanoparticles: a transformable drug carrier with enhanced theranostic effects.

Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) have been widely used in various biomedical applications, including cancer therapy, diagnosis and drug delivery. Herein, we fabricated a novel type of structure-transformable capsules by decoration of SeNPs with folate-chitosan to form smart-shell nanocapsules (FAC@CurP-SeNPs). The shrink particles could target cancer cells over expressing folate receptor and enter the cells via folate receptor-mediated endocytosis.

Mixed-ligand ruthenium polypyridyl complexes as apoptosis inducers in cancer cells, the cellular translocation and the important role of ROS-mediated signaling.

Ruthenium (Ru) polypyridyl complexes have emerged as leading players among the potential metal-based candidates for cancer treatment. However, the roles of cellular translocation in their action mechanisms remain elusive. Herein we present the synthesis and characterization of a series of ruthenium (Ru) complexes containing phenanthroline derivatives with varying lipophilicities, and examine their mechanism of anticancer action.

Differential effects of amino acid surface decoration on the anticancer efficacy of selenium nanoparticles.

The use of selenium for anticancer therapy has been heavily explored during the last decade. Amino acids (AAs) play central roles both as building blocks of proteins and intermediates in metabolism. In the present study, AAs-modified selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs@AAs) have been successfully synthesized in a simple redox system.