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Objective: The aim of this study was to screen the differential genes related to ferroptosis in osteoporosis patients., Materials and Methods: GEO2R was used to screen the differential genes related to ferroptosis in osteoporosis patients by searching the relevant chips in the GEO database, and Spearman's correlation analysis was used to describe the correlation between quantitative variables without normal distribution. p-values lower than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Another group of osteoporosis patients was selected in the GEO database to verify the significantly differentially expressed genes., Results: The results showed that 10 samples in chip GSE35956 were identified as research objects, and a total of 5 ferroptosis differential genes were screened out: ATP5MC3, CDKN1A, MT1G, NCOA4, SLC1A5, of which 3 up-regulated genes (CDKN1A, MT1G, SLC1A5), 2 down-regulated genes (ATP5MC3, NCOA4). The above differential genes were placed in 19 samples of chip GSE35959 for verification, and the same expression trend was obtained, but only the MT1G difference was statistically significant., Conclusions: The gene correlation test found that MT1G and ATP5MC3 had a strong negative correlation.

Alginate oligosaccharides (AOs) prepared through enzymatic reaction by diverse alginate lyases under relatively controllable and moderate conditions possess versatile biological activities. But widely used commercial alginate lyases are still rather rare due to their poor properties (e.g., lower activity, worse thermostability, ion tolerance, etc.). In this work, the alginate lyase Alyw208, derived from Vibrio sp. W2, was expressed in Yarrowia lipolytica of food grade and characterized in order to obtain an enzyme with excellent properties adapted to industrial requirements. Alyw208 classified into the polysaccharide lyase (PL) 7 family showed maximum activity at 35 °C and pH 10.0, indicating its cold-adapted and high-alkaline properties. Furthermore, Alyw208 preserved over 70% of the relative activity within the range of 10-55 °C, with a broader temperature range for the activity compared to other alginate-degrading enzymes with cold adaptation. Recombinant Alyw208 was significantly activated with 1.5 M NaCl to around 2.1 times relative activity. In addition, the endolytic Alyw208 was polyG-preferred, but identified as a bifunctional alginate lyase that could degrade both polyM and polyG effectively, releasing AOs with degrees of polymerization (DPs) of 2-6 and alginate monomers as the final products (that is, DPs 1-6). Alyw208 has been suggested with favorable properties to be a potent candidate for biotechnological and industrial applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Synthetic peptides are promising structural and functional components of bioactive and tissue-engineering scaffolds. Here, we demonstrate the design of self-assembling nanofiber scaffolds based on peptide amphiphile (PA) molecules containing multi-functional histidine residues with trace metal (TM) coordination ability. The self-assembly of PAs and characteristics of PA nanofiber scaffolds along with their interaction with Zn, Cu, and Mn essential microelements were studied. The effects of TM-activated PA scaffolds on mammalian cell behavior, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and glutathione levels were shown. The study reveals the ability of these scaffolds to modulate adhesion, proliferation, and morphological differentiation of neuronal PC-12 cells, suggesting a particular role of Mn(II) in cell-matrix interaction and neuritogenesis. The results provide a proof-of-concept for the development of histidine-functionalized peptide nanofiber scaffolds activated with ROS- and cell-modulating TMs to induce regenerative responses.

The floods in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta have long caused a shortage of clean water supply, which has a significant impact on the indigenous people in the region. We have conducted a preliminary survey of the water quality of the Hau Giang River (one of the two main branches of the Mekong River) before, during, and after the flood season. The obtained results demonstrated that the water in the Hau Giang River was highly turbid and contaminated with a large number of harmful microorganisms. Thus, in this study, a simple filter system based on silver nanoparticles coated onto activated carbon derived from rice husk (AgNPs@AC) has been proposed for treating floodwater from the Hau Giang River. The optimal conditions for AgNPs@AC preparation were established. The prepared AgNPs@AC was then characterized using various surface analyses such as SEM, TEM, XRD, BET, FTIR, and DLS. The initial floodwater source would be pre-treated with polyaluminum chloride using the coagulation-sedimentation method to remove the suspended solids before being discharged into the filtration column containing AgNPs@AC. The results showed that the filter system based on AgNPs@AC performed well in removing turbidity, dissolved solids, suspended solids, color, and bacteria from the floodwater. In addition, it was determined that the filter column with a 30 mm thick AgNPs@AC layer could continuously process 1300 m 3 of the floodwater and had a service life of more than two months. The findings of this study not only added to our understanding of the floodwater treatment capacity of activated carbon coated nanoparticles, but they also provided valuable information for water treatment plants along the Hau Giang River, aquatic ecosystem researchers, and public health researchers., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The search for life/health quality has driven the search for a better understanding of food components on the overall individual health, which turns to be intrinsically related to the digestive system. In vitro digestion models are considered an alternative for the in vivo studies for a variety of practical reasons, but further research is still needed concerning the colon model establishment. An effective in vitro colon model should consider all unit operations and transport phenomena, together with chemical and biochemical reactions, material handling and reactor design. Due to the different techniques and dependence on the donor microbiota, it is difficult to obtain a standard protocol with results reproductible in time and space. Furthermore, the colon model should be fed with a representative substrate, thus what happens in upper digestion tract and absorption prior to colon is also of crucial importance. Essentially, there are two ways to think about how to achieve a good and useful in vitro colon model: a complex biomimetic system that provides results comparable with the in vivo studies or a simple system, that despite the fact it could not give physiologically relevant data, it is sufficient to understand the fate of some specific components., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Partially acetylated chitosan oligosaccharides (COS), which consists of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and glucosamine (GlcN) residues, is a structurally complex biopolymer with a variety of biological activities. Therefore, it is challenging to elucidate acetylation patterns and the molecular structure-function relationship of COS. Herein, the detailed deacetylation pattern of chitin deacetylase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Sc CDA₂, was studied. Which solves the randomization of acetylation patterns during COS produced by chemical. Sc CDA₂ also exhibits about 8% and 20% deacetylation activity on crystalline chitin and colloid chitin, respectively. Besides, a method for separating and detecting partially acetylated chitosan oligosaccharides by high performance liquid chromatography and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS) system has been developed, which is fast and convenient, and can be monitored online. Mass spectrometry sequencing revealed that Sc CDA₂ produced COS with specific acetylation patterns of DAAA, ADAA, AADA, DDAA, DADA, ADDA and DDDA, respectively. Sc CDA₂ does not deacetylate the GlcNAc unit that is closest to the reducing end of the oligomer furthermore Sc CDA₂ has a multiple-attack deacetylation mechanism on chitin oligosaccharides. This specific mode of action significantly enriches the existing limited library of chitin deacetylase deacetylation patterns. This fully defined COS may be used in the study of COS structure and function.

A series of new triphenylphosphonium (TPP) derivatives of the triterpenoid betulin (1, 3-lup-20(29)-ene-3β,28-diol) have been synthesized and evaluated for cytotoxic effects against human breast cancer (MCF-7), prostate adenocarcinoma (PC-3), vinblastine-resistant human breast cancer (MCF-7/Vinb), and human skin fibroblast (HSF) cells. The TPP moiety was applied as a carrier group through the acyl linker at the 28- or 3- and 28-positions of betulin to promote cellular and mitochondrial accumulation of the resultant compounds. A structure-activity relationship study has revealed the essential role of the TPP group in the biological properties of the betulin derivatives produced. The present results showed that a conjugate of betulin with TPP (3) enhanced antiproliferative activity toward vinblastine-resistant MCF-7 cells, with an IC 50 value as low as 0.045 μM.

Background: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs), steroids and representatives of other pharmacological groups [1, 2] are widely used for pharmacological regulation of inflammation. However, their anti-inflammatory effects are accompanied by serious adverse reactions [3, 4]. There was a hope that newer NSAIDs, selective inhibitors of COX-2, would be safer, but their longer-term use appeared to cause an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke [5]. Carrageenan rat paw oedema model is traditionally used for search and development of new NSAIDs with assessment of effects after 3 to 5 hours after oedema induction [6, 7], neglecting longer-term effects [8]., Objective: To compare effects of traditional NSAIDs (indomethacin, naproxen) on the development, duration and intensity of carrageenan rat paw oedema., Methods: Carrageenan paw oedema was induced in 18 rats by sub-plantar injection into the right hind paw of the animals of 0.1 ml of 1% aqueous gel of carrageenan-λ (22049 SIGMA λ-Carrageenan plant-mucopolysaccharide, Sigma-Aldrich). We assessed the intensity of the oedema development and its duration by measurements of rat paw volume using plethysmometer 37140 (UgoBasile, Italy). Measurements were made prior to induction of oedema (base-line volume) and at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, 168 and 192 hours after sub-plantar carrageenan injection. Calculating the percentage of increase in paw volume assessed the intensity of the oedema. The base-line paw volume was taken for 100%.Animals were divided into 3 groups of 6 rats each; group 1: control (solvent); group 2: naproxen 15 mg/kg and group 3: indomethacin 10 mg/kg. These doses are known as ED50 (effective doses 50) on carrageenan rat paw oedema with single-dose NSAIDs administration [9]. To get the most accurate estimate of the intensity of the simulated by carrageenan inflammatory response and the potential effects of some NSAIDs with their longer-term use we calculated areas under the curve «increase in paw volume - time» using standard method of numerical integration - trapezoidal method. Statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Office Excel 2007 with the calculation of arithmetic means M, their standard deviations (δ) and standard errors (m). We applied Student's t-test and accepted as significant the differences with P values equal to or less than 0.05., Results: The inflammatory reaction induced by carrageenan, developed in a form of swelling/oedema with an increase in the rat paw volume up to 55% of the baseline volume. The maximum volume of oedema was observed in the control group at 3 h after the injection of carrageenan, which is in accordance with the literature data on the development of carrageenan paw edema in rats [10, 11]. Naproxen at a dose of 15 mg/kg showed anti-inflammatory activity at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 hours after administration of carrageenan with suppression of oedema development by 59, 81, 73, 60 and 39% (p = 0.03; 0.001; 0.001; 0.001 and 0.01), respectively. There was no oedema inhibition by naproxen at later time-points. Indomethacin at a dose of 10 mg/kg showed anti-inflammatory effect at 2, 3, 4, and 5 hours after carrageenan oedema induction with inhibition of oedema development by 54, 54, 54 and 33% (p = 0.01, 0.004, 0.001 and 0.01) respectively. Again there was no oedema inhibition by indomethacin at the later time-points.When comparing the calculated areas under the curve «increase in paw volume - time» we found no differences between the values of control and study groups: naproxen (15 mg/kg) and indomethacin (10 mg/kg). We think that these values of areas under the curve «increase in paw volume - time» represent the total inflammatory reaction induced by carrageenan and need to be used for the assessment of future potential anti-inflammatory agents which should not only produce short-term symptomatic oedema suppression, but change the nature of the oedema response, potentially with alternative mechanisms of action. Our experimental findings are in accordance with the well-known lack of effects of NSAIDs on the outcomes of chronic inflammatory diseases [12]. This may be due to the fact that they suppress the development and symptoms of inflammation at the early stages, but the reaction to inflammatory stimuli develops fully over the longer period of time and takes its full course nonetheless. This proves that traditional modeling approaches to future potential anti-inflammatory agents development needs re-assessment., Conclusions: Single-dose administration of naproxen (15 mg/kg) or indomethacin (10 mg/kg) exerts decrease in rat paw oedema volume at no later than 5 hours after oedema induction by carrageenan. Evaluating anti-inflammatory activity by the areas under the curve «increase in paw volume - time» proves that a single-dose NSAID's administration has no effect on the inflammatory response when evaluated not by single time-point index (at 3 or 5 hours), but by assessing the oedema development and duration over 192 hours (8 days).