In vitro and in vivo studies of a decanuclear Ni(II) complex as a potential anti-breast cancer agent.

A non-platinum-metal decanuclear complex [NiL(CHCOO) (CHOH)]·8(CHOH) (Ni complex) has been developed with a tri-dentate 2,3-dihydroxybenzaldehyde-2-aminophenol Schiff base ligand (HL). Single crystal X-ray analysis reveals that the Ni complex displays a sandwich loaf-shaped decanuclear structure and its anticancer activity was evaluated. The cell cytotoxicity results indicating that the Ni complex is most effective to human breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 and its mechanism were further investigated.

Potential therapies for non-coding RNAs in breast cancer.

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the frequent tumors that seriously endanger the physical and mental well-being in women with strong heterogeneity, and its pathogenesis involves multiple risk factors. Depending on the type of BC, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy are the current systemic treatment options along with conventional chemotherapy. Despite significant progress in understanding BC pathogenesis and therapeutic options, there is still a need to identify new therapeutic targets and develop more effective treatments.

Drug-resistant exosome miR-99b-3p induces macrophage polarization and confers chemoresistance on sensitive cells by targeting PPP2CA.

The most frequent cancer in women to be diagnosed is breast cancer, and chemotherapy's ability to be effective is still significantly hampered by drug resistance. Tumor-derived exosomes play a significant role in drug resistance, immunological modulation, metastasis, and tumor proliferation. In this work, the differential miRNAs in the exosomes of drug-resistant and susceptible breast cancer cell lines were screened using miRNA-seq.

The direct binding of bioactive peptide Andersonin-W1 to TLR4 expedites the healing of diabetic skin wounds.

Background: Chronic nonhealing wounds remain a considerable challenge in clinical treatment due to excessive inflammation and impeded reepithelialization and angiogenesis. Therefore, the discovery of novel prohealing agents for chronic skin wounds are urgent and important. Amphibian-derived prohealing peptides, especially immunomodulatory peptides, provide a promising strategy for the treatment of chronic skin trauma.

Gallium-based metal-organic frameworks loaded with antimicrobial peptides for synergistic killing of drug-resistant bacteria.

Increased antibiotic resistance has made bacterial infections a global concern, which requires novel non-antibiotic-dependent antibacterial strategies to address the menace. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a promising antibiotic alternative, whose antibacterial mechanism is mainly to destroy the membrane of bacteria. Gallium ions exhibit an antibacterial effect by interfering with the iron metabolism of bacteria.

Protocol for rapidly inducing genome-wide RNA Pol II hyperphosphorylation by selectively disrupting INTAC phosphatase activity.

While several inhibitors targeting RNA polymerase II (Pol II) kinases have been applied for inhibiting RNA Pol II phosphorylation, there are few approaches for inducing RNA Pol II hyperphosphorylation. Here, we present a protocol for constructing the INTS8 degradation tag (dTAG) system combined with ectopic expression of N-terminally truncated INTS8 (INTS8-ΔN) in DLD-1 cells. We describe steps for INTS8-dTAG cell line construction, validation of knockin and degradation, and INTS8-ΔN rescue.

Affected inflammation-related signaling pathways in snake envenomation: A recent insight.

Snake envenomation is well known to cause grievous pathological signs, including haemorrhagic discharge, necrosis, and respiratory distress. However, inflammatory reactions are also common envenoming manifestations that lead to successive damage, such as oedema, ulceration, lymphadenectasis, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and even multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Interference with the inflammatory burst is hence important in the clinical treatment of snake envenomation.

Photoinduced Mechanical Cloaking of Diarylethene-Crosslinked Microgels.

The serial connection of multiple stimuli-responses in polymer architectures enables the logically conjunctive gating of functional material processes on demand. Here, a photoswitchable diarylethene (DAE) acts as a crosslinker in poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) microgels and allows the light-induced shift of the volume phase-transition temperature (VPTT). While swollen microgels below the VPTT are susceptible to force and undergo breakage-aggregation processes, collapsed microgels above the VPTT stay intact in mechanical fields induced by ultrasonication.

Appropriateness of Empirical Antibiotic Therapy in Hospitalized Patients with Bacterial Infection: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: The incidence of inappropriate and excessive empirical antibiotic therapy is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of different empirical antibiotic therapy prescriptions, related factors, and outcomes in hospitalized patients with bacterial infection.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed and patients with bacterial infection who were admitted between October 1, 2019, and September 30, 2020, were included.

INTAC endonuclease and phosphatase modules differentially regulate transcription by RNA polymerase II.

Gene expression in metazoans is controlled by promoter-proximal pausing of RNA polymerase II, which can undergo productive elongation or promoter-proximal termination. Integrator-PP2A (INTAC) plays a crucial role in determining the fate of paused polymerases, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we establish a rapid degradation system to dissect the functions of INTAC RNA endonuclease and phosphatase modules.

Hepatic inhibitors expression profiling of venom-challenged Sinonatrix annularis and antidotal activities.

Snake venom is considered a "toxin arsenal", and it often induces a series of clinical and pathophysiological symptoms in snakebite victims. Interestingly, toxin inhibitors are commonly found in the serum of snakes and their predators. Sinonatrix annularis is a type of non-venomous snake that was reported to contain an "inhibitor cocktail", including phospholipase A inhibitors (PLIs), metalloproteinase inhibitors (SVMPIs), and small serum protein (SSP).

Corneal Biomechanics Losses Caused by Refractive Surgery.

Recent advances, specifically in the understanding of the biomechanical properties of the cornea and its response to diseases and surgical interventions, have significantly improved the safety and surgical outcomes of corneal refractive surgery, whose popularity and demand continue to grow worldwide. However, iatrogenic keratectasia resulting from the deterioration in corneal biomechanics caused by surgical interventions, although rare, remains a global concern. On one hand, in vivo biomechanical evaluation, enabled by clinical imaging systems such as the ORA and the Corvis ST, has significantly improved the risk profiling of patients for iatrogenic keratectasia.

Nanoscale Surface Topography Modulates hIAPP Aggregation Pathways at Solid-Liquid Interfaces.

The effects that solid-liquid interfaces exert on the aggregation of proteins and peptides are of high relevance for various fields of basic and applied research, ranging from molecular biology and biomedicine to nanotechnology. While the influence of surface chemistry has received a lot of attention in this context, the role of surface topography has mostly been neglected so far. In this work, therefore, we investigate the aggregation of the type 2 diabetes-associated peptide hormone hIAPP in contact with flat and nanopatterned silicon oxide surfaces.

Increased salinity improves the thermotolerance of mesophilic anammox consortia.

While the application of anammox-based process for mesophilic sidestream treatment is at present the state of the art and mainstream treatment at ambient temperature is also in development, the feasibility of thermophilic anammox process is still unclear. This study investigated the effects of salinity on the thermotolerance of mesophilic anammox sludge. In batch activity tests, 45 °C seems to be the critical temperature for the tolerance of mesophilic anammox consortia without acclimatization or amendments.

Bioluminescent tracing of a Yersinia pestis pCD1-mutant and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis in subcutaneously infected mice.

Yersinia pestis has evolved from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis serotype O:1b. A typical Y. pestis contains three plasmids: pCD1, pMT1 and pPCP1.

[Application and obstacles of ANAMMOX process].

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX), as its essential advantages of high efficiency and low cost, is a promising novel biological nitrogen elimination process with attractive application prospects. Over the past two decades, many processes based on the ANAMMOX reaction have been continuously studied and applied to practical engineering, with the perspective of reaching 100 full-scale installations in operation worldwide by 2014. Our review summarizes various forms of ANAMMOX processes, including partial nitritation-ANAMMOX, completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite, oxygen limited autotrophic nitrification and denitrification, denitrifying ammonium oxidation, aerobic deammonification, simultaneous partial nitrification, ANAMMOX and denitrification, single-stage nitrogen removal using ANAMMOX and partial nitritation.

Transient and long-term effects of bicarbonate on the ANAMMOX process.

In this study, the effects of both transient and long-term inorganic carbon (IC) addition on the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) process under pseudo-steady-state and substrate inhibitions were analyzed using reactor performance and measures of sludge activity. Compared with the nitrogen removal rate (NRR) of 3.42 kg N m(-3) day(-1) in the control bioreactor (ICDR) without IC, the peak NRR reached 21.

Evaluating the recovery performance of the ANAMMOX process following inhibition by phenol and sulfide.

In this study, the recovery performance of two anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) reactors (R1, R2) that were previously subjected to phenol and sulfide for nearly 200 days with respective levels of 12.5-50 and 8-40 mg L(-1) and then operated in the absence of these suppressors was investigated. High nitrogen removal rates of greater than 36 kg-Nm(-3)d(-1) were achieved through the 81 and 75 days restoration of R1 and R2, respectively.

Enhancement of ANAMMOX activity by low-intensity ultrasound irradiation at ambient temperature.

This paper aims to investigate the enhancement effect of low intensity intermittent ultrasound irradiation on the efficiency of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) process at ambient temperature. With intermittently irradiated (ultrasound intensity of 0.19 w/cm(2), exposure time of 0.

Tiam1-regulated osteopontin in senescent fibroblasts contributes to the migration and invasion of associated epithelial cells.

The tumor microenvironment undergoes changes concurrent with neoplastic progression. Cancer incidence increases with aging and is associated with tissue accumulation of senescent cells. Senescent fibroblasts are thought to contribute to tumor development in aging tissues.

Scaffold proteins IRSp53 and spinophilin regulate localized Rac activation by T-lymphocyte invasion and metastasis protein 1 (TIAM1).

The Rac exchange factor Tiam1 is involved in diverse cell functions and signaling pathways through multiple protein interactions, raising the question of how signaling and functional specificity are achieved. We have shown that Tiam1 interactions with different scaffold proteins activate different Rac-dependent pathways by recruiting specific Rac effector proteins, and reasoned that there must be regulatory mechanisms governing each interaction. Fibroblasts express at least two Tiam1-interacting proteins, insulin receptor substrate protein 53 kDa (IRSp53) and spinophilin.

[Construction of antisense human tankyrase-1 RNA retroviral vector and its inhibition on tongue cancer cells].

Objective: To investigate the inhibition of telomerase activity and cellular proliferation in tongue cancer TCCA-8113 cell lines by antisense human tankyrase-1 RNA treatment, and explore the possibility of the tankyrase-1 as a target of gene therapy for tongue cancer.

Methods: The replication deficient retrovirus expressing tankyrase-1 antisense RNA was constructed to infect the TCCA-8113 cells. Tankyrase-1 expression was examined by RT-PCR.

Expression of MTA2 gene in ovarian epithelial cancer and its clinical implication.

In order to investigate the roles of MTA2 in the pathogenesis of ovarian epithelial cancer, the expression of MTA2 in 4 ovarian cell lines were detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western-blot assays. MTA2 expression in normal, borderline, benign and malignant epithelial ovarian tissues was immunohistochemically examined. The expression of MTA2 mRNA and protein was detected in all of 4 cell lines of ovarian epithelial cancer.