Fuzheng Huayu recipe inhibits bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats by inhibiting M2 polarization of macrophages via the oxidative phosphorylation pathway.

Fuzheng Huayu recipe (FZHYR) is a Chinese patent medicine for the treatment of fibrosis. The effects of FZHYR on pulmonary fibrosis and macrophage polarization were investigated . FZHYR inhibited pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis and M2 polarization of macrophages in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis (BPF) of rat model.

Blocked Autophagy is Involved in Layered Double Hydroxide-Induced Repolarization and Immune Activation in Tumor-Associated Macrophages.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are important immune cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME). The polar plasticity of TAMs makes them important targets for improving the immunosuppressive microenvironment of tumors. The previous study reveals that layered double hydroxides (LDHs) can effectively promote the polarization of TAMs from the anti-inflammatory M2 type to the pro-inflammatory M1 type.

Astragaloside IV restores Th17/Treg balance via inhibiting CXCR4 to improve chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has a high fatality rate and poses a great threat to human health. Astragaloside IV (AS-IV) is proven to attenuate cigarette smoke (CS)-induced pulmonary inflammation, based on which this research focuses on the mechanism of AS-IV in COPD.

Methods: To evaluate the effects of AS-IV, CD4 T cells received different concentrations of AS-IV.

Risk factors associated with indoor transmission during home quarantine of COVID-19 patients.

Purpose: The study aimed to identify potential risk factors for family transmission and to provide precautionary guidelines for the general public during novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) waves.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study with numerous COVID-19 patients recruited was conducted in Shanghai. Epidemiological data including transmission details, demographics, vaccination status, symptoms, comorbidities, antigen test, living environment, residential ventilation, disinfection and medical treatment of each participant were collected and risk factors for family transmission were determined.

A mitochondria-anchored supramolecular photosensitizer as a pyroptosis inducer for potent photodynamic therapy and enhanced antitumor immunity.

Background: The discovery of a potent photosensitizer with desirable immunogenic cell death (ICD) ability can prominently enhance antitumor immunity in photodynamic therapy (PDT). However, majority of commercially-available photosensitizers suffer from serious aggregation and fail to elicit sufficient ICD. Pyroptosis as a newly identified pattern for potent ICD generation is rarely disclosed in reported photosensitizers.

Multifunctional silica nanocomposites prime tumoricidal immunity for efficient cancer immunotherapy.

The tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) has been demonstrated to be the main cause of cancer immunotherapy failure in various malignant tumors, due to poor immunogenicity and existence of immunosuppressive factors. Thus, establishing effective treatments for hostile TIME remodeling has considerable potential to enhance immune response rates for durable tumor growth retardation. This study aims to develop a novel nanocomposite, polyethyleneimine-modified dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles loaded with microRNA-125a (DMSN-PEI@125a) to synergistically enhance immune response and immunosuppression reversion, ultimately generating a tumoricidal environment.

Layered Double Hydroxide Nanoparticles with Osteogenic Effects as miRNA Carriers to Synergistically Promote Osteogenesis of MSCs.

Inefficient differentiation and poor engraftment hinder the clinical applications of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based cell therapies in regenerative medicine. Layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoparticles are sheet-like materials with desirable biocompatibility and anion-exchange properties and have been widely applied as drug and nucleotide carriers in the field of tissue repair. However, few studies have focused on the biological effects of LDH itself.

Distribution of COPD Comorbidities and Creation of Acute Exacerbation Risk Score: Results from SCICP.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often coexists with multiple comorbidities which may have a significant impact on acute exacerbations of patients. At present, what kind of comorbidities affects acute exacerbations and how comorbidities lead to poor prognosis are still controversial. The purpose of our study is to determine the impact of comorbidities on COPD exacerbation and establish an acute exacerbation risk assessment system related to comorbidities.

Layer-Number-Dependent Effects of Graphene Oxide on the Pluripotency of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells Through the Regulation of the Interaction Between the Extracellular Matrix and Integrins.

Introduction: Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) possess great application prospects in biological research and regenerative medicine, so it is important to obtain ESCs with excellent and stable cellular states during in vitro expansion. The feeder layer culture system with the addition of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is currently applied in ESC cultures, but it has a series of disadvantages that could influence the culture efficiency and quality of the ESCs. With the development of nanotechnology, many studies have applied nanomaterials to optimize the stem cell culture system and regulate the fate of stem cells.

Trifunctional Graphene Quantum Dot@LDH Integrated Nanoprobes for Visualization Therapy of Gastric Cancer.

Visualization technology has become a trend in tumor therapy in recent years. The superior optical properties of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) make them suitable candidates for tumor diagnosis, but their tumor targeting and drug-carrying capacities are still not ideal for treatment. Sulfur-doped graphene quantum dots (SGQDs) with stable fluorescence are prepared in a previous study.

Psychological Impact During the First Outbreak of COVID-19 on Frontline Health Care Workers in Shanghai.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a significant health threat. Health care worker (HCWs) are at a significant risk of infection which may cause high levels of psychological distress. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 on HCWs and factors which were associated with these stresses during the first outbreak in Shanghai.

The Combination of Hemogram Indexes to Predict Exacerbation in Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by pulmonary and systemic inflammatory processes, and exacerbation of COPD represents a critical moment in the progression of COPD. Several biomarkers of inflammation have been proposed to have a predictive function in acute exacerbation. However, their use is still limited in routine clinical practice.

Anti-fibrotic effect of melittin on TRIM47 expression in human embryonic lung fibroblast through regulating TRIM47 pathway.

Aims: To investigate the effect and underlying mechanism of melittin and tripartite motif (TRIM) family in human embryonic lung fibroblast (HELF).

Materials And Methods: Lentiviral RNA interference vector and lentiviral overexpression vector were constructed and packaged by transfecting 293T cells; the proliferation of HELF was examined using Cell Counting Kit 8; Western blot and qRT-PCR were performed to examine protein and mRNA expression; the interaction with protein phosphatase magnesium-dependent 1A (PPM1A) was examined by Co-immunoprecipitation.

Key Findings: Compared with the control group, the mRNA expression of the TRIM6, TRIM8 and TRIM47 in the IPF group significantly increased.

Assessing risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients presenting with symptoms in Shanghai, China: a multicentre, observational cohort study.

Background: The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to international concern. We aimed to establish an effective screening strategy in Shanghai, China, to aid early identification of patients with COVID-19.

Methods: We did a multicentre, observational cohort study in fever clinics of 25 hospitals in 16 districts of Shanghai.

Layered double hydroxide eliminate embryotoxicity of chemotherapeutic drug through BMP-SMAD signaling pathway.

Recent studies indicate that exogenous chemotherapy agents can cross the placenta barrier and cause fetal toxicity, while there exists barely alternative therapy for pregnant cancer patients. Here, we show a robust protective effect of layered double hydroxide (LDH) against etoposide (VP16) induced in vitro mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) toxicity and in vivo embryo developmental disorders. The nano-composite system (L-V) abrogated the original VP16 generated mitochondrial mediated mESCs toxicity totally, surprisingly maintained the pluripotency without leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and prevented the down-regulation of ectoderm marker expression during spontaneous embryoid bodies differentiation.

Dexamethasone combined with berberine is an effective therapy for bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats.

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a heterogeneous pathological process in lung tissues with a considerable mortality rate. Currently, combination therapy represents an effective approach to treat PF. Dexamethasone (Dxs) and berberine (BBR) are widely applied to inhibit the progression of PF.

Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 14 contributes to lipopolysaccharide-induced fibrogenesis in mouse L929 fibroblasts via modulating PPM1A.

Herein, we found that serum chemokine ligand 14 (CXCL14) was significantly enhanced in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In our current study, mouse L929 fibroblasts were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (100 ng/mL). Cell proliferation, the levels of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) and MMP9, as well as extracellular matrix (ECM) content were assessed to evaluate the fibrogenesis of L929 cells.

FGF2 and FGFR2 in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer.

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of FGF2 and FGFR2 in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and lung cancer (LC) as well as their clinical significance. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and western blotting were used to detect FGF2 and FGFR2 expression in LC and adjacent normal tissues of LC patients and lavage fluid of idiopathic pulmonary fibers patients and normal controls (confirmed by bronchoalveolar lavage examination). The expression levels of FGF2 mRNA and protein in the non-small cell LC tissues were significantly higher than those in the adjacent normal tissues (P<0.

Etoposide loaded layered double hydroxide nanoparticles reversing chemoresistance and eradicating human glioma stem cells in vitro and in vivo.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most malignant and lethal glioma in human brain tumors and contains self-renewing, tumorigenic glioma stem cells (GSCs) that contribute to tumor initiation, therapeutic resistance and further recurrence. In this study, we combined in vitro cellular efficacy with in vivo antitumor performance to evaluate the outcome of an etoposide (VP16) loaded layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposite (L-V) on human GSCs. The effects on GSC proliferation and apoptosis showed that loading with LDH could significantly sensitize GSCs to VP16 and enhance the GSC elimination.

Fluorescent carbon dots from antineoplastic drug etoposide for bioimaging in vitro and in vivo.

Carbon dots (CDs) hold great promise as a class of fluorophores for bioimaging. Here, we report a simple solvothermal approach to prepare photoluminescent CDs derived from the antineoplastic drug etoposide. The CDs show photoluminescence ranging from 365 to 650 nm when excited at 360 nm.

Efficient VEGF targeting delivery of DOX using Bevacizumab conjugated SiO@LDH for anti-neuroblastoma therapy.

Unlabelled: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays an important role in angiogenesis and is highly expressed in carcinoma, which make it an important target for tumor targeting therapy. Neuroblastoma is the main cause for cancer-related death in children. Like most solid tumors, it is also accompanied with the overexpression of VEGF.

Enhanced photocytotoxicity of curcumin delivered by solid lipid nanoparticles.

Curcumin (Cur) is a promising photosensitizer that could be used in photodynamic therapy. However, its poor solubility and hydrolytic instability limit its clinical use. The aim of the present study was to encapsulate Cur into solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) in order to improve its therapeutic activity.

Anti-Metastatic and Anti-Angiogenic Activities of Core-Shell SiO@LDH Loaded with Etoposide in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Currently, nanoparticles have gained a great attention in the anti-tumor research area. However, to date, studies on the anti-metastasis action of core-shell SiO@LDH (LDH: layered double hydroxide) nanoparticles remain untouched. Two emerging aspects considered are establishing research on the controlling delivery effect of SiO@LDH combined with anti-cancer medicine from a new perspective.

Enhanced Anti-Metastatic Activity of Etoposide Using Layered Double Hydroxide Nano Particles.

Cell migration and invasion are integral to lung cancer metastasis. In this study, we investigated the combination of traditional chemotherapy and a layered double hydroxide (LDH) carrier as a new strategy for the inhibition of migration and invasion. To investigate the characteristics and possible mechanisms of VP16-LDH [the Mg-Al/LDH containing etoposide (VP16)], we used several experimental techniques, such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and fluorescent microscopy.

Comprehensive analysis of gene-expression profile in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objective: To investigate the gene-expression profile of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and explore the possible therapeutic targets.

Methods: The microarray raw dataset GSE29133, including three COPD samples and three normal samples, was obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus. After data preprocessing with the Affy package, Student's t-test was employed to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs).