Search

Objective To explore the protective mechanism of geraninn on acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mice. Methods Forty-eight BALB/c mice (female, 4 weeks old, 18~22 g) were randomly divided into 6 groups (n=8): the blank group(control group), the LPS group, the dexamethasone group (Dex group, 2mg/kg), the geraninn low dose group (LD group, 10 mg/kg), the geraninn medium dose group (MD gruop, 20 mg/kg) and the geraninn high dose group (HD group, 40 mg/kg). The mice in blank group and LPS group were fed with normal saline, the mice in the Dex group were fed with dexamethasone and the mice in geraniin groups were given corresponding dose of drugs. Normal saline and all tested drugs were given once a day for 3 d. In 1 h later after the last administration, the acute lung injury model was established by using intranasal drip of LPS (4 mg/kg) in all groups except the blank group. In 6 h after modeling, the wet-to-dry (W/D) weight ratio of the lung tissues of mice in each group was collected. The pathological changes of lung tissue were observed by HE staining, and the number of inflammatory cells in broncho alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and blood was measured; The levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in plasma and BALF were detected by ELISA. The amount of p-NF-κBp65 was detected by immunohistochemical method. Results Compared with the blank group, the alveolar structure in LPS group was destroyed, inflammatory cell infiltrated, and the contents of IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α in serum and BALF in the LPS group increased; The W/D weight ratio of the lung tissues, the number of macrophages and neutrophils in BALF and serum, the relative expression of p-NF-κBp65 in lung tissue also increased(P < 0.01). Compared with the LPS group, pathological state of the lung tissues improved obviously among the groups (except the blank group); The contents of IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α in the serum and BALF, the W/D ratio of the lung tissues, the numbers of macrophages and neutrophils in BALF and the relative expression of p-NF-κBp65 of the lung tissue decreased evidently(P < 0.05). Conclusion Geraninn has a protective effect on acute lung injury in mice, and its mechanism may be related to the effect that geraninn leads to repression of p-NF-κB p65 and reduces the expression of inflammatory factors (IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α).

Self-assembly of peptides is closely related to many diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and prion diseases. Understanding the basic mechanism of this assembly is essential for designing ultimate cure and preventive measures. Template-assisted self-assembly (TASA) of peptides on inorganic substrates can provide fundamental understanding of substrate-dependent peptides assemble, including the role of hydrophobic interface on the peptide fibrillization. Here, we have studied the self-assembly process of a potential pentapeptide inhibitor on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) using real time atomic force microscopy (RT-AFM) as well as molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Experimental and simulation results show nanofilament formation consisting of β-sheet structures and epitaxial growth on HOPG. Height analysis of the nanofilaments and MD simulation indicate that the peptides adopt a lying down configuration of double-layered antiparallel β-sheets for its epitaxial growth, and the number of nanofilament layers is concentration-dependent. These findings provide new perspective for the mechanism of peptide-based fibrillization in amyloid diseases as well as for designing well-ordered micrometrical and nanometrical structures.

In order to optimize the extraction process of flavonoids from Hovenia dulcis and Schisandra chinensis, the effects of material-liquid ratio, extraction time, extraction temperature and extraction times on flavonoids extraction yield were investigated respectively with Hovenia dulcis and Schisandra chinensis as raw materials. And the extraction process was optimized by orthogonal test. The results showed that the optimal extraction process conditions were as followed: material-liquid ratio 1:30 (g/mL), extraction temperature 100 °C, extraction time 1.5 h and extraction times 4 times. Under these conditions, the flavonoids extraction yield from Hovenia dulcis and Schisandra chinensis was (45.95±0.33) μg/g. The extraction process of total flavonoids from Schisandra chinensis and Hovenia dulcis by orthogonal optimisation was feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores migrasomes' role in neuroblastoma, a common malignant tumor in children, and their potential impact on tumor formation. We analyzed neuroblastoma RNA-seq datasets from public databases, including GSE62564, GSE181559, target, and fwr144. Through data normalization and unsupervised classification using migrasome-specific molecular markers, Differentially Expressed Genes were identified, followed by functional enrichment analysis. Our novel migrasome-associated machine learning model, MigScore, was developed using ten algorithms and 101 combinations, validated on two single-cell datasets. This enabled immune infiltration assessment and drug compatibility prediction, highlighting the utility of MS275, a histone deacetylase inhibitor. Results showed a significant inverse relationship between MigScore and favorable clinical outcomes, elucidating the link between migrasome pathways and tumor immunogenicity. These findings suggest that migrasomes are crucial in neuroblastoma prognosis, leading to the possibility of personalized treatment strategies and improved outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]