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Protein-based biomaterials have the characteristics of stability and biocompatibility. Based on these advantages, various bionic materials have been manufactured and used in different fields. However, current protein-based biomaterials generally need to form monomers in cells and be purified before being assembled in vitro. The preparation process takes a long time, and the complex cellular environment is challenging to be optimized for producing the target protein product. Here this study proposed technology for in situ synthesis and assembly of the target protein, namely the cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS), which allowed to shorten the synthesis time and increase the flexibility of adding or removing natural or synthetic components. In this study, successful expression and self-assembly of the dihedral symmetric proteins proved the applicability of the CFPS system for biomaterials production. Furthermore, the fusion of different functional proteins to these six scaffold proteins could form active polymers in the CFPS system. Given the flexibility, CFPS is expected to become a powerful tool as the prototyping and manufacturing technology for protein-based biomaterials in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim was to evaluate the impact of metabolic syndrome (MS), MS individual components and 32 kinds of MS specific component combinations on all-cause mortality risk in a fixed cohort of MJ check-up population. Methods: We observed the events of death in a fixed cohort, where the population was composed of 45,542 individuals aged 35–74 who were examined at MJ Health check-up Center in 1997 as baseline examination, and were followed up to 2005. Median duration of follow-up was 7.44 years. MS was defined according to the National Cholesterol Educational Program (the revised NCEP-ATPIII for Asian in 2004), the prevalence of MS was standardized according to China’s fifth census data. We constructed common Cox regression model, simultaneously adjusting the classic risk factors (such as age, sex, smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, family history, etc.) to examine the relationship between MS, MS individual components and 32 kinds of MS specific component combinations on the occurrence of death with the fixed cohort. Results: The standardized prevalence of MS was 29.75% (male: 30.36%, female: 29.51%). There were 1,749 persons who died during the median 7.44-years follow-up, the mortality rate was 46 per 10,000 person years. The mortality rates were 71 and 35 per 10,000 person years for those with and without MS, respectively. After adjustment for age, sex and classical risk factors, compared with subjects without MS, the hazard ratio of all-cause mortality was 1.26 (95% CI: 1.14–1.40). The all-cause mortality were more highly significant than other combinations (P <0.05) when the following combinations exist: “elevated blood pressure”, “elevated fasting plasma glucose + low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol”, “elevated blood pressure + elevated triglyceride + elevated fasting plasma glucose”, “elevated fasting plasma glucose + low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol + elevated blood pressure + elevated triglyceride”. After adjusting age, sex and classical risk factors, the HRs for those with 0 to 5 components were 1, 1.22, 1.25, 1.33, 1.66, and 1.92, respectively. There was a significant dose-response relationship (P for liner trend <0.001) between the number of MS components and the risk of all-cause mortality in the overall fixed cohort sample. Conclusion: In a large scale middle-aged Taiwan check-up population, MS may be associated with a much higher risk for all-cause mortality. These results may underline the fact that MS is a non-homogeneous syndrome and have a significant impact on detecting high-risk individuals suffering from metabolic disorders for preventing and controlling death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To synthesize current evidence of the impact of Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) on hypoglycemia, treatment discontinuation and glycemic level in patients with type 2 diabetes. Design: Systematic review and network meta-analysis. Data Sources: Literature search (Medline, Embase, the Cochrane library), website of clinical trial, bibliographies of published systematic reviews. Eligibility Criteria: Randomized controlled trials with available data comparing GLP-1 RAs with placebo or traditional anti-diabetic drugs in patients with type 2 diabetes. Data Synthesis: Traditional pairwise meta-analyses within DerSimonian-Laird random effects model and network meta-analysis within a Bayesian framework were performed to calculate odds ratios for the incidence of hypoglycemia, treatment discontinuation, HbA1c<7.0% and HbA1c<6.5%. Ranking probabilities for all treatments were estimated to obtain a treatment hierarchy using the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) and mean ranks. Results: 78 trials with 13 treatments were included. Overall, all GLP-1 RAs except for albiglutide increased the risk of hypoglycemia when compared to placebo. Reduction in the incidence of hypoglycemia was found for all GLP-1 RAs versus insulin (except for dulaglutide) and sulphonylureas. For the incidence of treatment discontinuation, increase was found for exenatide, liraglutide, lixisenatide and taspoglutide versus placebo, insulin and sitagliptin. For glycemic level, decrease was found for all GLP-1 RAs versus placebo. Dulaglutide, exenatide long-acting release (exe_lar), liraglutide and taspoglutide had significant lowering effect when compared with sitagliptin (HbA1c<7.0%) and insulin (HbA1c<6.5%). Finally, according to SUCRAs, placebo, thiazolidinediones and albiglutide had the best decrease effect on hypoglycemia; sulphanylureas, sitagliptin and insulin decrease the incidence of treatment discontinuation most; exe_lar and dulaglutide had the highest impact on glycemic level among 13 treatments. Conclusions: Among 13 treatments, GLP-1 RAs had a significant reduction with glycemic level but a slight increase effect on hypoglycemia and treatment discontinuation. While albiglutide had the best decrease effect on hypoglycemia and treatment discontinuation among all GLP-1 RAs. However, further evidence is necessary for more conclusive inferences on mechanisms underlying the rise in hypoglycemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone cement containing alumina particles with a specific crystalline structure exhibits the ability to bond with bone. These particles (AL-P) are mainly composed of delta-type alumina (δ-AlO). It is likely that some of the proteins present in the body environment are adsorbed onto the cement and influence the expression of its bioactivity. However, the effect that this adsorption of proteins has on the bone-bonding mechanism of bone cement has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of the adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) onto AL-P and compared them with those of its adsorption onto hydroxyapatite (HA), which also exhibits bone-bonding ability, as well as with those of adsorption onto alpha-type alumina (α-AlO), which does not bond with bone. The adsorption characteristics of BSA onto AL-P were very different from those onto α-AlO but quite similar to those onto HA. It is speculated that BSA is adsorbed onto AL-P and HA by interionic interactions, while it is adsorbed onto α-AlO by electrostatic attraction. The results suggest that the specific adsorption of albumin onto implant materials might play a role in the expression of the bone-bonding abilities of the materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for the two-step synthesis of magnetic composites with a γ-FeO core, silica inner layer and numerous gold nanoparticles supported on the surface of the silica (γ-FeO/SiO/Au) is described. First, thiol-functionalized γ-FeO/SiO composites and gold colloids are prepared by modifying γ-FeO/SiO composites with mercaptosilane and reduction of Au to Au with citrate, respectively. Gold nanoparticles are then assembled on the surface of the thiol-functionalized γ-FeO/SiO composites to form γFeO/SiO/Au composites. The structure of the composite particles is confirmed by transmission electronic microscopy and powder X-ray diffraction. Immobilization studies with bovine serum albumin (BSA) demonstrate that the γ-FeO/SiO/Au composites can be used to immobilize BSA, making them useful for biomedical and biological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]