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Natural plant-derived compounds with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity have become an effective strategy against multidrug-resistant bacteria. The present study was designed to compare the antibacterial activity of six chlorogenic acid (CA) isomers extracted from stevia and investigated the underlying antibacterial mechanisms involved. The results indicated that isochlorogenic acid C (ICAC) exhibited the strongest antibacterial activity against the tested bacteria, especially E. coli, at a 2 mg/mL minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and 8 mg/mL minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). At the MBC, ICAC inhibited 72.66% of the clinical multidrug-resistant strains. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that ICAC induced considerable morphological alterations in E. coli ATCC25922 and C4E2. The significant increase in the activity of extracellular alkaline phosphatase (AKP) indicated that ICAC damages the permeability of the bacterial cell wall. Additionally, the intracellular membrane (IM) permeability and the content of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a main component of the outer membrane (OM), were determined. The significant decrease in LPS content and increased leakage of intracellular proteins and K+ from E. coli indicated that ICAC could induce the exfoliation of OM and disrupt IM permeability, resulting in the loss of barrier function. The uptake of propidium iodide (PI), a compromised cell membrane nucleic acid stain, and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) further demonstrated that ICAC disrupted IM integrity. Moreover, the bactericidal effect and damage to bacterial microstructural function occurred in a dose-dependent manner. These data demonstrate that ICAC has excellent antibacterial activity and is a promising approach for overcoming the antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria.

The catalytic generation of H2 in living cells provides a method for antioxidant therapy. In this study, an [FeFe]-hydrogenase mimic [Ru + Fe2S2@F127(80)] was synthesized by self-assembling polymeric pluronic F-127, catalytic [Fe2S2] sites, and photosensitizer Ru(bpy)32+. Under blue light irradiation, hydrated protons were photochemically reduced to H2, which increased the local pH in living cells (HeLa cells). The generated H2 was subsequently used as an antioxidant to decrease reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in living cells (HEK 293T, HepG2, MCF-7, and HeLa cells). Our findings revealed that the proliferation of HEK 293T cells increased by a factor of about six times, relative to that of other cells (HepG2, MCF-7, and HeLa cells). Intracellular ROS and pH levels were then monitored using fluorescent cell imaging. Our study showed that cell imaging can be used to evaluate the ability of Ru + Fe2S2@F127 to eliminate oxidative stress and prevent ROS-related diseases.

Many technologies have been developed for breast reconstruction after lumpectomy. Although the technologies achieved promising success in clinical, there are still many shortages hanging over and trouble the researchers. Tissue engineering technology was introduced to plastic surgery that gave a light to lumpectomy patients in breast reconstruction. The unexpected absorption rate, resulting from limited vascularization and low cell survival rate, is a major factor that leads to unsatisfactory results for the previous studies in our lab. In the study, the laminin-modified alginate synthesized by a new method of low concertation of sodium periodate would be mixed with ADSCs and Rg1 in the medium; and then sprayed into a calcium chloride (CaCl2) solution to prepare into microsphere (abbreviated as ADSC–G-LAMS) by bio-electrospray with a power syringe for the mass production and smaller bead size. The developed ADSC–G-LAMS microspheres had the diameter of 232 ± 42 μm. Sustained-release of the Rg1 retained its biological activity. WST-1, live/dead staining, and chromosome aberration assay were evaluated to confirm the safety of the microspheres. In in vivo study, ADSC–G-LAMS microspheres combined with autologous adipocytes were transplanted into the dorsum of rats by subcutaneous injection. The efficacy was investigated by H&E and immunofluorescence staining. The results showed that the bioactive ADSC–G-LAMS microspheres could integrate well into the host adipose tissue with an adequate rate of angiogenesis by constantly releasing Rg1 to enhance the ADSC or adipocyte survival rate to join tissue growth and repair with adipogenesis for breast reconstruction after lumpectomy.

Abstract Background Escherichia coli are mostly commensals but also contain pathogenic lineages. It is largely unclear whether the commensal E. coli as the potential origins of pathogenic lineages may consist of monophyletic or polyphyletic populations, elucidation of which is expected to lead to novel insights into the associations of E. coli diversity with human health and diseases. Methods Using genomic sequencing and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) techniques, we analyzed E. coli from the intestinal microbiota of three groups of healthy individuals, including preschool children, university students, and seniors of a longevity village, as well as colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, to probe the commensal E. coli populations for their diversity. Results We delineated the 2280 fresh E. coli isolates from 185 subjects into distinct genome types (genotypes) by PFGE. The genomic diversity of the sampled E. coli populations was so high that a given subject may have multiple genotypes of E. coli, with the general diversity within a host going up from preschool children through university students to seniors. Compared to the healthy subjects, the CRC patients had the lowest diversity level among their E. coli isolates. Notably, E. coli isolates from CRC patients could suppress the growth of E. coli bacteria isolated from healthy controls under nutrient-limited culture conditions. Conclusions The coexistence of multiple E. coli lineages in a host may help create and maintain a microbial environment that is beneficial to the host. As such, the low diversity of E. coli bacteria may be associated with unhealthy microenvironment in the intestine and hence facilitate the pathogenesis of diseases such as CRC.

The serum total protein levels of the elderly possibly decrease gradually with aging. However, serum total protein levels are not suitable as a uniform reference standard for the elderly at different ages and genders. Thus, we investigated the total serum protein distribution in different gender and age groups of 11,453 elderly individuals aged ≥60 years and without liver or renal disease from Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China. The total protein levels (TPL) of these individuals exhibited normal distribution (Z = 1.206, P = 0.109), whereas the reference range (95% CI) was 54.1 g/L to 82.3 g/L. TPL was higher in females than in males for those aged between 60 and 75 years, whereas no significant difference was observed for those aged between 80 and 95 years. TPL was negatively correlated with age in males (r = -0.1342, P

Background High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and monocytes are associated with coronary artery disease, and the ratio of monocytes to high-density lipoprotein (MHR) is associated with long-term adverse outcomes and the recurrence of atrial fibrillation. Currently, the trend of coronary heart disease proned to young people is becoming prominent. However, the relationship between MHR and in-stent restenosis (ISR) in patients with premature coronary heart disease (PCHD) has not been investigated. Therefore, we aimed to assess the relationship between MHR and ISR in patients with PCHD. Methods We retrospectively included 257 patients (men ≤ 55 years old, women ≤ 65 years old) with PCHD who underwent drug-eluting stent implantation and follow-up coronary angiography at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from September 2016 to September 2019. Patients were divided into ISR and non-ISR groups depending on their follow-up coronary angiography results. Relative clinical information was recorded and analyzed. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine the optimum pre-procedural MHR cutoff value to predict ISR. Results Logistic regression analysis showed that MHR, smoking history, and fibrinogen were independent risk factors for ISR in patients with PCHD. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of MHR was 0.750 (95% confidence interval, 0.695-0.820; P

Phellinus linteus (PL), an edible and medicinal mushroom containing a diversity of styrylpyrone-type polyphenols, has been shown to have a broad spectrum of bioactivities. In this study, the submerged liquid culture in a 1600-L working volume of fermentor was used for the large-scale production of PL mycelia. Whether PL mycelia extract is effective against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is still unclear. In the high fat/high fructose diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD C57BL/6 mice study, the dietary supplementation of ethyl acetate fraction from PL mycelia (PL-EA) for four weeks significantly attenuated an increase in body weight, hepatic lipid accumulation and fasting glucose levels. Mechanistically, PL-EA markedly upregulated the pgc-1α, sirt1 genes and adiponectin, downregulated gck and srebp-1c; upregulated proteins PPARγ, pAMPK, and PGC-1α, and downregulated SREBP-1 and NF-κB in the liver of HFD-fed mice. Furthermore, the major purified compounds of hispidin and hypholomine B in PL-EA significantly reduced the level of oleic and palmitic acids (O/P)-induced lipid accumulation through the inhibition of up-regulated lipogenesis and the energy-metabolism related genes, ampk and pgc-1α, in the HepG2 cells. Consequently, these findings suggest that the application of PL-EA is deserving of further investigation for treating NAFLD.

Tapioca and potato starches were used to investigate the effect of heat–moisture treatment (HMT; 95–96 °C, 0–60 min, 1–6 iterations) on gelatinization properties, swelling power (SP), solubility and pasting properties. Tapioca starch had similar content and degree of polymerization of amylose, but a higher amylopectin short/long chain ratio, to potato starch. After HMT, the gelatinization temperature range was narrowed for tapioca starch, but was widened for potato starch. Decreases in SP and solubility were less for tapioca than potato starches, coinciding with a progressive shift to the moderate-swelling pasting profile for tapioca but a drastic change to the restricted-swelling profile for potato. Moreover, decreasing extents of SP and maximum viscosity for HMT tapioca starch were, respectively, in the range of 47–63% and 0–36%, and those of HMT potato starch were 89–92% and 63–94%. These findings indicate that the granule expansion and viscosity change of starch during gelatinization can be tailored stepwise by altering the HMT holding time and iteration.