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Autophagy, a process that isolates intracellular components and fuses them with lysosomes for degradation, plays an important cytoprotective role by eliminating harmful intracellular substances and maintaining cellular homeostasis. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent progenitor cells with the capacity for self-renewal that can give rise to a subset of tissues and therefore have potential in regenerative medicine. However, a variety of variables influence the biological activity of MSCs following their proliferation and transplantation in vitro. The regulation of autophagy in MSCs represents a possible mechanism that influences MSC differentiation properties under the right microenvironment, affecting their regenerative and therapeutic potential. However, a deeper understanding of exactly how autophagy is mobilized to function as well as clarifying the mechanisms by which autophagy promotes MSCs differentiation is still needed. Here, we review the current literature on the complex link between MSCs differentiation and autophagy induced by various extracellular or intracellular stimuli and the molecular targets that influence MSCs lineage determination, which may highlight the potential regulation of autophagy on MSCs’ therapeutic capacity, and provide a broader perspective on the clinical application of MSCs in the treatment of a wide range of diseases.

The functionalized graphene, with prominent capability over expansion of interlayer spacing and enhancement of sodium ion diffusivity, has gained paramount interests in fabricating anode of sodium ion batteries(SIBs). Here, a poly(sodium 4-vinylbenzenesulfonate)graphene composite(PSS-rGO) was synthesized via an in situ insertion process. The insertion structure is based on the π-π interaction between the electron of graphene and the electron of PSS, which expands the interlayer spacing of rGO and, more importantly, stabilizes the structure of the composites, restrains the stack of graphene. Beyond that, the introduced sodium sulfonate groups are capable of increasing the diffusion rate of sodium ions for fast sodium ion adsorption, ensuring superior cycling performance. The performances of the simples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD), Raman spectrometer(Raman), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer(XPS), electrochemical workstation and battery detection system. The results show the PSS-rGO remains a reversible capacity of 256 mAh·g-1 at 5 A·g-1 after 6000 cycles, with an ultralow decay rate of 0.003%. This work provides a feasible avenue for exploring advanced organic-inorganic hybrid materials with high capacity, fast sodium storage and ultralong lifespan for SIBs.

Placing blocking layers between electrodes has shown paramount prospects in suppressing the shuttle effect of Li–S batteries, but the associated ionic transport would be a concurrent obstacle. Herein, we present a Li-based crystal composited with carbon (LiPN2@C) by a one-step annealing of Li+ absorbed melamine polyphosphate, which simultaneously achieves alleviated polysulfide-shuttling and facilitated Li+ transport. As a homologous crystal, LiPN2 with abundant lithiophilic sites makes Li+ transport more efficient and sustainable. With a LiPN2@C-modified separator, the Li2S cathode exhibits a much-lower activation potential of 2.4 V and a high-rate capacity of 519 mA h g−1 at 2C. Impressively, the battery delivers a capacity of 726 mA h g−1 at 0.5C with a low decay rate of 0.25% per cycle during 100 continuous cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) are attracting increasing attention due to the abundance of K resources, but the sluggish kinetics and inferior cycling stability of anodes still hinder their application. Herein, we present a hybrid 1T/2H phase MoSe2 anode, which shows noticeable pseudocapacitive response and fast kinetics for K storage. Correspondingly, superior electrochemical performances including a high reversible capacity of 440 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.1 A g−1 and superb rate capacity of 211 mA h g−1 at 20.0 A g−1 are achieved. We believe this work may shed light on the phase engineering of transition metal compounds for rapid charging PIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A versatile low-temperature molten salt approach has been developed for fabricating a MoS2@CoS2 heterostructure electrocatalyst, where low-cost molten KSCN serves as both the reaction medium and sulfur source. The as-obtained electrocatalyst with a defect-rich structure is highly efficient for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), delivering a low overpotential of 96 mV at an HER current density of 10 mA cm−2, a small Tafel slope of 60 mV dec−1, and outstanding durability. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that the heterostructures present an optimized Gibbs free energy of hydrogen adsorption (ΔGH*) close to zero, which is responsible for the excellent HER performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) are attracting increasing attention due to the abundance of K resources, but the sluggish kinetics and inferior cycling stability of anodes still hinder their application. Herein, we present a hybrid 1T/2H phase MoSe2 anode, which shows noticeable pseudocapacitive response and fast kinetics for K storage. Correspondingly, superior electrochemical performances including a high reversible capacity of 440 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.1 A g−1 and superb rate capacity of 211 mA h g−1 at 20.0 A g−1 are achieved. We believe this work may shed light on the phase engineering of transition metal compounds for rapid charging PIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are highly favored in clinical trials due to their unique characteristics, which have isolated from various human tissues. Derived from dental tissues, dental stem cells (DSCs) are particularly notable for their applications in tissue repair and regenerative medicine, attributed to their readily available sources, absence of ethical controversies, and minimal immunogenicity. Hydrogel-loaded stem cell therapy is widespread across a variety of injuries and diseases, and has good repair capabilities for both soft and hard tissues. This review comprehensively summarizes the regenerative and differentiation potential of various DSCs encapsulated in hydrogels across different tissues. In addition, the existing problems and future direction are also addressed. The application of hydrogel-DSCs composite has gained substantial progress in the field of tissue regeneration and need in-depth study in the future., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Japan Human Cell Society.)

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stromal cells that can be derived from a wide variety of human tissues and organs. They can differentiate into a variety of cell types, including osteoblasts, adipocytes, and chondrocytes, and thus show great potential in regenerative medicine. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an organic injury to brain tissue with a high rate of disability and death caused by an external impact or concussive force acting directly or indirectly on the head. The current treatment of TBI mainly includes symptomatic, pharmacological, and rehabilitation treatment. Although some efficacy has been achieved, the definitive recovery effect on neural tissue is still limited. Recent studies have shown that MSC therapies are more effective than traditional treatment strategies due to their strong multi-directional differentiation potential, self-renewal capacity, and low immunogenicity and homing properties, thus MSCs are considered to play an important role and are an ideal cell for the treatment of injurious diseases, including TBI. In this paper, we systematically reviewed the role and mechanisms of MSCs and MSC-derived exosomes in the treatment of TBI, thereby providing new insights into the clinical applications of MSCs and MSC-derived exosomes in the treatment of central nervous system disorders., (©The Author(s) 2024. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY International License.)

Objectives: To explore the mechanism of ginseng in the treatment of periodontitis based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology., Methods: Potential targets of ginseng and periodontitis were obtained through various databases. The intersection targets of ginseng and periodontitis were obtained by using VENNY, the protein-protein interaction network relationship diagram was formed on the STRING platform, the core target diagram was formed by Cytoscape software, and the ginseng-active ingredient-target network diagram was constructed. The selected targets were screened for gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. The core targets of ginseng's active ingredients in treating periodontitis were analyzed by molecular docking technique., Results: The 22 ginseng's active ingredients, 591 potential targets of ginseng's active ingredients, 2 249 periodontitis gene targets, and 145 ginseng-periodontitis intersection targets were analyzed. Ginseng had strong binding activity on core targets such as vascular endothelial growth factor A and epidermal growth factor receptor, as well as hypoxia induced-factor 1 (HIF-1) signaling pathway and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-protein kinase B (PI3K-Akt) signaling pathway., Conclusions: Ginseng and its active components can regulate several signaling pathways such as HIF-1 and PI3K-Akt, thereby indicating that ginseng may play a role in treating periodontitis through multiple pathways.

Placing blocking layers between electrodes has shown paramount prospects in suppressing the shuttle effect of Li-S batteries, but the associated ionic transport would be a concurrent obstacle. Herein, we present a Li-based crystal composited with carbon (LiPN 2 @C) by a one-step annealing of Li + absorbed melamine polyphosphate, which simultaneously achieves alleviated polysulfide-shuttling and facilitated Li + transport. As a homologous crystal, LiPN 2 with abundant lithiophilic sites makes Li + transport more efficient and sustainable. With a LiPN 2 @C-modified separator, the Li 2 S cathode exhibits a much-lower activation potential of 2.4 V and a high-rate capacity of 519 mA h g -1 at 2C. Impressively, the battery delivers a capacity of 726 mA h g -1 at 0.5C with a low decay rate of 0.25% per cycle during 100 continuous cycles.

A versatile low-temperature molten salt approach has been developed for fabricating a MoS2@CoS2 heterostructure electrocatalyst, where low-cost molten KSCN serves as both the reaction medium and sulfur source. The as-obtained electrocatalyst with a defect-rich structure is highly efficient for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), delivering a low overpotential of 96 mV at an HER current density of 10 mA cm-2, a small Tafel slope of 60 mV dec-1, and outstanding durability. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that the heterostructures present an optimized Gibbs free energy of hydrogen adsorption (ΔGH*) close to zero, which is responsible for the excellent HER performance.