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Background. Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic nonspecific inflammatory disease with unknown pathogenesis and vascular changes associated with the progression of CD. Many studies have shown that miRNAs participate in the development of CD. However, the effect of miRNAs in circulating exosomes on vascular endothelial cells in CD has not been investigated. Our study is aimed at identifying the differential miRNAs in circulating exosomes in CD and exploring their potential roles in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Methods. In our study, exosomes were extracted from circulating blood to identify differential miRNAs. After in vitro transfection of HUVECs with miR-144-3p mimics and inhibitors and the corresponding controls, cell counting kit-8, wound healing, Transwell migration, and tube formation assays were performed to study the viability, migration, and angiogenesis of HUVECs. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis was used to predict miRNA targets. Western blotting was used to determine protein expression. In addition, exogenous supplementation with the fibronectin 1 (FN1) protein rescued the effects of miR-144-3p on changes in cell function in vitro. Results. miR-144-3p was significantly increased in circulating exosomes of patients with CD compared with those in the control group. The promotion or inhibition of miR-144-3p correspondingly abolished or accelerated cell viability, migration, and angiogenesis. FN1 is a significant target of miR-144-3p, and exogenous FN1 administration improved the function of HUVECs in vitro. Conclusions. Circulating exosomal miR-144-3p from patients with active CD contributes to vascular endothelial dysfunction by affecting the gene expression of FN1. These findings suggested that circulating exosomal miR-144-3p could be a potential biological marker for CD.

Supplementary Table 1 from Api6/AIM/Spα/CD5L Overexpression in Alveolar Type II Epithelial Cells Induces Spontaneous Lung Adenocarcinoma

Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is a rare skin disease characterized by generalized sterile pustules with or without severe systemic symptoms. Here we share our experience with spesolimab in five Chinese patients with GPP flare.

Supplementary Figure 1 from Api6/AIM/Spα/CD5L Overexpression in Alveolar Type II Epithelial Cells Induces Spontaneous Lung Adenocarcinoma

Supplementary Figure 2 from Api6/AIM/Spα/CD5L Overexpression in Alveolar Type II Epithelial Cells Induces Spontaneous Lung Adenocarcinoma

Gastrointestinal bleeding is the most frequent major complication of antiplatelet therapy. In patients at low bleeding risk, however, clinically overt gastrointestinal bleeding is relatively uncommon.The authors sought to assess the effects of different antiplatelet regimens on gastrointestinal mucosal injury by means of a novel magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy system in patients at low bleeding risk.Patients (n = 505) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention in whom capsule endoscopy demonstrated no ulcerations or bleeding (although erosions were permitted) after 6 months of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) were randomly assigned to aspirin plus placebo (n = 168), clopidogrel plus placebo (n = 169), or aspirin plus clopidogrel (n = 168) for an additional 6 months. The primary endpoint was the incidence of gastrointestinal mucosal injury (erosions, ulceration, or bleeding) at 6-month or 12-month capsule endoscopy.Gastrointestinal mucosal injury through 12 months was less with single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT) than with DAPT (94.3% vs 99.2%; P = 0.02). Aspirin and clopidogrel monotherapy had similar effects. Among 68 patients without any gastrointestinal injury at randomization (including no erosions), SAPT compared with DAPT caused less gastrointestinal injury (68.1% vs 95.2%; P = 0.006), including fewer new ulcers (8.5% vs 38.1%; P = 0.009). Clinical gastrointestinal bleeding from 6 to 12 months was less with SAPT than with DAPT (0.6% vs 5.4%; P = 0.001).Despite being at low risk of bleeding, nearly all patients receiving antiplatelet therapy developed gastrointestinal injury, although overt bleeding was infrequent. DAPT for 6 months followed by SAPT with aspirin or clopidogrel from 6 to 12 months resulted in less gastrointestinal mucosal injury and clinical bleeding compared with DAPT through 12 months. (OPT-PEACE [Optimal Antiplatelet Therapy for Prevention of Gastrointestinal Injury Evaluated by Ankon Magnetically Controlled Capsule Endoscopy]; NCT03198741).

NiOOH@cobalt copper carbonate hydroxide nanorods demonstrate enhanced electrocatalytic activity toward hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR) and oxygen evolution reaction, enabling energy-saving hydrogen production with the assistance of the HzOR.

Ru-decorated Ni3S2 nanorod arrays demonstrate an superior alkaline hydrogen evolution performance. Further modification with polyaniline could significantly enhance the long-term stability for continuous hydrogen generation.

Background: We aimed to determine whether NLRP3 inflammasomes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were associated with carotid plaque instability in carotid atherosclerosis patients. Methods: Consecutive 38 carotid atherosclerosis with vulnerable plaques, 22 carotid atherosclerosis with stable plaques, and 40 healthy subjects with no carotid or coronary artery stenosis were enrolled. They were referred to the Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University from 2013-2019. Carotid plaques were evaluated by modified plaque vulnerability risk score (MPVRS) and pathological assessment. The mRNA and protein expression of NLRP3 inflammasome components in PBMC were determined by quantitative real time PCR and Western blot analysis or ELISA. Results: When consecutive study subjects undergoing carotid endarterectomy were divided into stable (≤4) and unstable (>4) plaque groups according to the MPVRS, the unstable plaque group had significantly raised mRNA and protein expression of NLRP3 inflammasome components in PBMC as compared with the stable plaque group and healthy subject group. Furthermore, subjects with higher NLRP3 protein expression in PBMC had greater incidence of cerebrovascular events. Conclusions: Increased NLRP3 inflammasome components in PBMC is associated with instability of human carotid atherosclerotic plaques, suggesting NLRP3 inflammasome as a potential biomarker for monitoring carotid plaque instability.

Objective Through the bioinformatics analysis of public data sets, to explore the potential biomarkers related to autophagy in the development of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) with heart failure (HF). Methods Microarray datasets for heart tissue in DCM with HF or healthy control were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by R software. Enrichment analysis, including Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and gene set enrichment analysis (GESA) were performed using DAVID and GSEA software. Hub genes were identified by protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and were validated in GSE21610 through the R software ggplot2 package and IBM SPSS Statistics 25. Results A total of 222 genes were obtained from the human autophagy database (http://www.autophagy.lu/index.html). There were 32 differentially expressed autophagy-related genes identified in the GSE29819 dataset in 14 samples of complicated dilated cardiomyopathy and 12 normal samples. GO, KEGG and GESA enrichment analysis showed that DEGs were mainly enriched in autophagy-related biological processes and cytokine signaling pathway. Seven hub genes and two gene cluster modules were identified using Cytoscape. Finally, it was further determined that FOXO1, FOXO3, CTSD and RAB7A as potential biomarkers have significant expression differences and diagnostic value in the GSE21610 dataset. Conclusion According to bioinformatics analysis, we found that the candidate genes FOXO1, FOXO3, CTSD and RAB7A were potentially related to the procession of autophagy and might be new diagnostic biomarkers for DCM with HF.

In early spring, because the tree and shrub layers are still dormant, the absorption of nutrients by herbs is the key factor to maintain nutrients in temperate forest ecosystems, but it is not clear whether climate change will change the nutrient uptake strategy of herbs. Therefore, we measured the biomass, fine root morphology, and stoichiometry of five dominant herbs in response to environmental changes in early spring in a temperate forest in northeastern China. The results showed that (1) Fine root morphology had strong plasticity. Under nitrogen addition treatment, the herbs tended to change the fine root length to absorb soil nutrients and water. (2) Under drought treatment, the herbs distributed more biomass to the belowground. Maintaining a higher root-shoot ratio might increase the relative supply of water to the herbs. (3) Nitrogen addition significantly decreased the belowground biomass allocation, but increased the ratio of belowground nitrogen to phosphorus (N:P) and the root metabolic activity. (4) Ephemeral herbaceous fine root morphology was more sensitive to water and nitrogen than other herbaceous plants. Collectively, in the context of climate change, early spring herbs may respond to environmental pressure through self-regulation and change growth strategies in temperate forest ecosystems.

Design of highly efficient heterojunctions for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is of significant importance to address the energy shortage and environmental crisis. Nevertheless, the smart design of semiconductor-based heterojunctions at the atomic scale still remains a significant challenge hitherto. Herein, we report novel atomic CdS/ZnIn2S4 heterojunctions by in-situ epitaxially growing 2D ZnIn2S4 nanosheets onto the surface of 1D defective CdS nanorods. The strong electronic coupling between defective CdS and ZnIn2S4 is confirmed by transient photocurrent response measurements, •O2- and •OH radicals experiments, and PL results, leading to accelerated interfacial charge separation and transfer. Additionally, the elevated charge transfer and electronic coupling are further confirmed by theoretical calculations. Consequently, CdS/ZnIn2S4 hybrids exhibit superior photocatalytic hydrogen generation activity to pristine CdS. Our findings offer a new paradigm for designing atomic 1D/2D heterojunctions for efficient solar-driven energy conversion.