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HuaChanSu (HCS) or Cinobufacini injection is an aqueous extract of the dried skin of Bufo bufo gargarigans, and has anti-tumor effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible therapeutic effect of HCS against breast cancer (BRCA) using cytology, network pharmacology, and molecular biology approaches. The half-inhibitory concentration (IC50) of HCS in the BRCA cells was determined by cytotoxicity assay, and were accordingly treated with high and low doses HCS in the TUNEL and scratch assays. The potential targets of HCS in the BRCA cells were identified through functional enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, and verified by molecular docking. The expression levels of key signaling pathways-related proteins in HCS-treated BRCA cells by western blotting. HCS inhibited the proliferation and migration of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, and induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, we screened 289 core HCS targets against BRCA, which were primarily enriched in the PI3K-AKT, MAPK chemokines, and other. signaling pathways. In addition, PIK3CA, PIK3CD, and MTOR were confirmed as HCS targets by molecular docking. Consistent with this, we observed a reduction in the expression levels of phosphorylated PI3K, AKT, and MTOR in the HCS-treated BRCA cells. Taken together, our findings suggest that HCS inhibits the growth of BRCA cells by targeting the PI3K-AKT pathway, and warrants further investigation as a therapeutic agent for treating patients with BRCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metastable Cu(OH)2 nanowire precursors are reconstructed to interconnected CuO nanosheets through cyclic voltammetry. The capacitance retention rate of the electrode increases to 320% of its original value at a current density of 60 mA cm−2 after 10 000 charge and discharge cycles, and a strange capacitance-soaring phenomenon occurs. Thus, it can be inferred that the structural reconstruction and phase transition of the metastable phase of the electrode during the electrochemical process may also improve the electrochemical performance, which necessitates the reconsideration of the non-stable state of the electrode. Furthermore, it should not be uniformly labeled as unacceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tb3+-activated LTA zeolite-derived boro-aluminosilicate glass samples with a composition of xTb2O3-68(Na2O-Al2O3-SiO2)–32B2O3 (x = 0.2, 1.0 and 10 extra wt%) were prepared using the melt-quenching method. The emission spectra recorded upon ultraviolet (UV) excitation with two different wavelengths of 193 and 378 nm showed blue light (5D3 to 7FJ=6,5,4 and 5D4 to 7F6 transitions of Tb3+) and green light (5D4 to 7F5 transition of Tb3+) emissions with comparable intensities up to a Tb3+ concentration of 10 extra wt%. Of note, the mean decay times of the green luminescence of the glass samples were relatively fast (<20 μs). The synthesized glass has potential in applications concerning UV imaging, UV detection, and plasma display panels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the regulatory effect of ampelopsin (AMP) on invasion activity and invasion gene expression of hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cell line and its molecular mechanism. Methods Hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cell line were cultured and treated with different doses of AMP (20, 40, 60, 80 μmol/L), and transfected with Dermcidin siRNA. Then the cell migration ability and invasive ability, the mRNA expression of Dermcidin and invasive genes were determined. Results After different doses of AMP treatment, the number of migration and invadsion cells and the mRNA levels of Dermcidin, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)2, MMP9 and MMP10 were lower than those in the control group; the greater the AMP dose was, the lower the number of cell migration, the number of invasion and the mRNA levels of Dermcidin, MMP2, MMP9, MMP10 were; the number of migration and invasion cells and the mRNA levels of MMP2, MMP9, MMP10 in HepG2 cells treated with 80μmol/L AMP combined with dermcidin gene siRNA transfection were significantly increased. Conclusion AMP inhibits the invasive activity and decreases the invasive genes expression in HepG2 cell line by down-regulating the expression of Dermcidin protein.

Metastable Cu(OH) 2 nanowire precursors are reconstructed to interconnected CuO nanosheets through cyclic voltammetry. The capacitance retention rate of the electrode increases to 320% of its original value at a current density of 60 mA cm -2 after 10 000 charge and discharge cycles, and a strange capacitance-soaring phenomenon occurs. Thus, it can be inferred that the structural reconstruction and phase transition of the metastable phase of the electrode during the electrochemical process may also improve the electrochemical performance, which necessitates the reconsideration of the non-stable state of the electrode. Furthermore, it should not be uniformly labeled as unacceptable.