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Introduction: Phillyrin, the main pharmacological component of Forsythia suspensa, exhibits a wide variability of therapeutic activities, such as anti-oxidative stress, free radicalclearing, antibacterial activity, hepatic protection, restoration of endothelial glycocalyx damage, prevention of bone loss, attenuation of inflammatory responses, and so on. Previous research has found that phillyrin is not easily absorbed by the body and is rarely excreted into bile, excrement and urine, suggesting that phillyrin circulates primarily in the form of metabolites. Materials and Methods: In the present study, HPLC-ESI-MS/MS method was used for the simultaneous detection of phillyrin and its three metabolites in rat bile, excrement and urine samples. Liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate was carried out for the pretreatment of bile and urine samples, while excrement samples were subjected to ultrasonic pretreatment with acetone. Chromatographic separation was performed on a C18 column with gradient elution. A tandem mass system coupled with a TurboIonSpray interface operating in simultaneous positive and negative ion multiple reaction monitoring modes was employed for the simultaneous detection of the analytes. Results: The proposed method demonstrated excellent accuracy and repeatability. Conclusion: This method was successfully applied for the pharmacokinetic evaluation of phillyrin and its three metabolites simultaneously.

Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) within the spinal canal sometimes leads to severe myelopathy. Teriparatide (TPD) is a recombinant human parathyroid hormone (PTH) (1–34), which promotes osteogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) via PTH 1 receptor (PTH1R). Although ligamentum flavum (LF)-MSCs from patients with OPLL have a high osteogenic potency, the effect of TPD on them remains unknown. In this study, we determined PTH1R expression in LF-MSCs from patients with OPLL and investigated whether TPD promotes osteogenic differentiation in them. First, LF-MSCs were isolated from patients with OPLL and cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) (controls). Cultured LF-MSCs were treated with different concentrations of TPD on days 0, 7, and 14. On day 21, osteogenic gene expression was quantified. Mineralization was measured based on optical density after Alizarin Red S staining. LF-MSCs from both groups expressed PTH1R at the same level. TPD did not enhance osteogenic gene expression and mineralization in LF-MSCs from both groups. TPD did not promote the osteogenic differentiation of LF-MSCs from patients with OPLL. Thus, it may be safe for patients with OPLL. However, further confirmation of our results with in vivostudies is necessary.

Multilineage-differentiating stress-enduring (Muse) cells are endogenous pluripotent stem cells that can be isolated based on stage-specific embryonic antigen-3 (SSEA-3), a pluripotent stem cell-surface marker. However, their capacities for survival, neurotrophic factor secretion, and neuronal and glial differentiation are unclear in rodents. Here we analyzed mouse adipose tissue-derived Muse cells in vitro. We collected mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from C57BL/6 J mouse adipose tissue and separated SSEA-3+, namely Muse cells, and SSEA-3–, non-Muse cells, to assess self-renewability; pluripotency marker expression (Nanog, Oct3/4, Sox2, and SSEA-3); spontaneous differentiation into endodermal, mesodermal, and ectodermal lineages; and neural differentiation capabilities under cytokine induction. Neurally differentiated Muse and non-Muse cell functions were assessed by calcium imaging. Antioxidant ability was measured to assess survival under oxidative stress. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF), and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) secretion were analyzed in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. SSEA-3+Muse cells (6.3 ± 1.9% of mouse adipose-MSCs), but not non-Muse cells, exhibited self-renewability, spontaneous differentiation into the three germ layers, and differentiation into cells positive for Tuj-1 (27 ± 0.9%), O4 (17 ± 3.4%), or GFAP (23 ± 1.3%) under cytokine induction. Neurally differentiated Muse cells responded to KCl depolarization with greater increases in cytoplasmic Ca2+levels than non-Muse cells. Cell survival under oxidative stress was significantly higher in Muse cells (50 ± 2.7%) versus non-Muse cells (22 ± 2.8%). Muse cells secreted significantly more BDNF, VEGF, and HGF (273 ± 12, 1479 ± 7.5, and 6591 ± 1216 pg/mL, respectively) than non-Muse cells (133 ± 4.0, 1165 ± 20, and 2383 ± 540 pg/mL, respectively). Mouse Muse cells were isolated and characterized for the first time. Muse cells showed greater pluripotency-like characteristics, survival, neurotrophic factor secretion, and neuronal and glial-differentiation capacities than non-Muse cells, indicating that they may have better neural-regeneration potential.

Organic lead halide compounds with perovskite structure become a promising photovoltaic material for low-cost thin film solar cells in recent years. The property of perovskite/metal interface is a fundamental topic for the effective charge transfer at metal electrodes. In this work, we develop an interface modification method of lithium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonimide) (LiTFSI) solution treatment, which can effectively decrease the charge transfer resistance at the CH3NH3PbI3–xClx/Au interface. After the solution treatment, uniform nanodots are formed at the surface of CH3NH3PbI3–xClxfilms, and the barrier height at CH3NH3PbI3–xClx/Au interface reduces from 0.51 V to 0.08 V. As a consequence, the efficiency of hole conductor free solar cells with CH3NH3PbI3–xClxharvester increase from 4.0% to 7.6% under one sun condition. It is also found that the hole conductor free perovskite solar cell can work in a photodetector mode, which has the same output properties with phototransistors. After the LiTFSI solution treatment, the sensitivity of this photodetector can be improved for about one time.

A solid/mist reaction method is developed to produce well-crystallized light harvester layers without pinhole defects for perovskite solar cells. The reaction based on mist precursor can be facilely operated with low process temperature. And it can effectively control the volume of CH3NH3I solution and the reaction temperature, which affect the quality of perovskite harvester layers and the performance of perovskite solar cells remarkably. Under optimized condition, the efficiencies of devices reach 16.2% with the average efficiency of 14.9%. The solid/mist reaction is also used to fabricate planar junction solar cells and a PCE of 14.9% is obtained.

The osteogenic microenvironment of bone-repairing materials plays a key role in accelerating bone regeneration but remains incompletely defined, which significantly limits the application of such bioactive materials. Here, the transcriptional landscapes of different osteogenic microenvironments, including three-dimensional (3D) hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds and osteogenic medium (OM), for mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in vitrowere mapped at single-cell resolution. Our findings suggested that an osteogenic process reminiscent of endochondral ossification occurred in HA scaffolds through sequential activation of osteogenic-related signaling pathways, along with inflammation and angiogenesis, but inhibition of adipogenesis and fibrosis. Moreover, we revealed the mechanism during OM-mediated osteogenesis involves the ZBTB16 and WNT signaling pathways. Heterogeneity of MSCs was also demonstrated. In vitroossification of LRRC75A+MSCs was shown to have better utilization of WNT-related ossification process, and PCDH10+MSCs with superiority in hydroxyapatite-related osteogenic process. These findings provided further understanding of the cellular activity modulated by OM conditions and HA scaffolds, providing new insights for the improvement of osteogenic biomaterials. This atlas provides a blueprint for research on MSC heterogeneity and the osteogenic microenvironment of HA scaffolds and a database reference for the application of bioactive materials for bone regeneration.

It has been proven that the mechanical microenvironment can impact the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, the effect of mechanical stimuli in biofabricating hydroxyapatite scaffolds on the inflammatory response of MSCs remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of mechanical loading on the inflammatory response of MSCs seeded on scaffolds. Cyclic mechanical loading was applied to biofabricate the cell-scaffold composite for 15 min/day over 7, 14, or 21 days. At the predetermined time points, culture supernatant was collected for inflammatory mediator detection, and gene expression was analyzed by qRT-PCR. The results showed that the expression of inflammatory mediators (IL1Band IL8) was downregulated (p < 0.05) and the expression of ALP(p < 0.01) and COL1A1(p < 0.05) was upregulated under mechanical loading. The cell-scaffold composites biofabricated with or without mechanical loading were freeze-dried to prepare extracellular matrix-based scaffolds (ECM-based scaffolds). Murine macrophages were seeded on the ECM-based scaffolds to evaluate their polarization. The ECM-based scaffolds that were biofabricated with mechanical loading before freeze-drying enhanced the expression of M2 polarization-related biomarkers (Arginase 1and Mrc1, p < 0.05) of macrophages in vitro and increased bone volume/total volume ratio in vivo. Overall, these findings demonstrated that mechanical loading could dually modulate the inflammatory responses and osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. Besides, the ECM-based scaffolds that were biofabricated with mechanical loading before freeze-drying facilitated the M2 polarization of macrophages in vitro and bone regeneration in vivo. Mechanical loading may be a promising biofabrication strategy for bone biomaterials.

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