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A novel biocompatible polyvinyl alcohol/carbon dioxide modified polyethyleneimine (PVA/PEI-CO2) composite nanofiber was fabricated by a green and facile protocol, which reduces the cytotoxicity of PEI through the surface modification of the PEI with CO2. The 13C NMR spectrum, elemental analysis, and TGA show that CO2 has been incorporated in the PEI surface resulting in a relatively stable structure. The resulting PVA/PEI-CO2 composite nanofibers have been characterized by attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), contact angle, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that the average diameters of the nanofibers range from 265 ± 53 nm to 423 ± 80 nm. The cytotoxicity of PVA/PEI-CO2 composite nanofibers was assessed by cytotoxicity evaluation using the growth and cell proliferation of normal mice Schwann cells. SEM and the MTT assay demonstrated the promotion of cell growth and proliferation on the PVA/PEI-CO2 composite scaffold. It suggests that PEI-CO2 can have tremendous potential applications in biological material research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers, and it has a poor prognosis. Emerging evidence shows that circular RNAs (circRNAs) may act as good therapeutic targets for cancers due to their abundance and stability. However, their regulatory role in CRC needs further investigation. This study revealed that circAPLP2 was upregulated and miR-101-3p was downregulated in CRC tissues and cells compared to normal controls. Knockdown of circAPLP2 and overexpression of miR-101-3p inhibited the cell proliferation, migration and invasion and induced the apoptosis of CRC cells. circAPLP2 acted as a miR-101-3p sponge to upregulate its target gene Notch1, which activated cascades of proliferation- and metastasis-related proteins (c-Myc, cyclin D1, MMP-2 and MMP-9). Additionally, knockdown of circAPLP2 suppressed tumour growth and liver metastases of CRC in nude mice. Taken together, these results indicate that circAPLP2 promotes proliferation and metastasis by targeting miR-101-3p to activate the Notch signalling pathway in CRC, which provides new insights into the mechanisms underlying CRC malignancy and suggests a new therapeutic target., Competing Interests: None., (AJTR Copyright © 2020.)