Epithelial–mesenchymal transition is driven by transcriptional and post transcriptional modulations in copd: Implications for disease progression and new therapeutics

© 2019 Eapen et al. COPD is a common and highly destructive disease with huge impacts on people and health services throughout the world. It is mainly caused by cigarette smoking though environmental pollution is also significant. There are no current treatments that affect the overall course of COPD; current drugs focus on symptomatic relief and to some extent reducing exacerbation rates. There is an urgent need for in-depth studies of the fundamental pathogenic mechanisms that underpin COPD. This is vital, given the fact that nearly 40%– 60% of the small airway and alveolar damage occurs in COPD well before the first measurable changes in lung function are detected. These individuals are also at a high risk of lung cancer. Current COPD research is mostly centered around late disease and/or innate immune activation within the airway lumen, but the actual damage to the airway wall has early onset. COPD is the end result of complex mechanisms, possibly triggered through initial epithelial activation. To change the disease trajectory, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms in the epithelium that are switched on early in smokers. One such mechanism we believe is the process of epithelial to mesenchymal transition. This article highlights the importance of this profound epithelial cell plasticity in COPD and also its regulation. We consider that understanding early changes in COPD will open new windows for therapy

Effect of Acinetobacter sp on Metalaxyl Degradation and Metabolite Profile of Potato Seedlings (Solanum tuberosum L.) Alpha Variety

One of the most serious diseases in potato cultivars is caused by the pathogen Phytophthora infestans, which affects leaves, stems and tubers. Metalaxyl is a fungicide that protects potato plants from Phytophthora infestans. In Mexico, farmers apply metalaxyl 35 times during the cycle of potato production and the last application is typically 15 days before harvest. There are no records related to the presence of metalaxyl in potato tubers in Mexico. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of Acinetobacter sp on metalaxyl degradation in potato seedlings. The effect of bacteria and metalaxyl on the growth of potato seedlings was also evaluated. A metabolite profile analysis was conducted to determine potential molecular biomarkers produced by potato seedlings in the presence of Acinetobacter sp and metalaxyl. Metalaxyl did not affect the growth of potato seedlings. However, Acinetobacter sp strongly affected the growth of inoculated seedlings, as confirmed by plant length and plant fresh weights which were lower in inoculated potato seedlings (40% and 27%, respectively) compared to the controls. Acinetobacter sp also affected root formation. Inoculated potato seedlings showed a decrease in root formation compared to the controls. LC-MS/MS analysis of metalaxyl residues in potato seedlings suggests that Acinetobacter sp did not degrade metalaxyl. GC–TOF–MS platform was used in metabolic profiling studies. Statistical data analysis and metabolic pathway analysis allowed suggesting the alteration of metabolic pathways by both Acinetobacter sp infection and metalaxyl treatment. Several hundred metabolites were detected, 137 metabolites were identified and 15 metabolic markers were suggested based on statistical change significance found with PLS-DA analysis. These results are important for better understanding the interactions of putative endophytic bacteria and pesticides on plants and their possible effects on plant metabolism

Effects of vitamin D supplementation on disabling foot pain in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis

Objectives: This study aims to determine whether vitamin D supplementation or maintaining sufficient vitamin D level reduces foot pain over two years in patients with symptomatic knee OA. Methods: A post hoc study was conducted from a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial named the VItamin D Effect on Osteoarthritis (VIDEO) study. Symptomatic knee OA patients with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels between 12.5 nmol/L to 60 nmol/L were included and randomly allocated to either monthly vitamin D3 or placebo treatment (1:1) for 2 years. Manchester Foot Pain and Disability Index (MFPDI) was used to evaluate foot pain and Disabling foot pain was defined as at least one of the 10 functional limitation items (items 1-9,11) being documented as on 'most/every day(s)' in the last month. A repeated-measure mixed effect model was used to analyze the change of MFPDI scores between groups adjusting for potential confounders.Results: A total of 413 patients with a mean age of 63.2 years (49.7% males) were enrolled and 340 completed the study. The mean MFPDI score was 22.8±7.3, with 23.7% participants having disabling foot pain at baseline. There were significant differences in MFPDI scores change between groups over 2 years, with more improvements in vitamin D group than in placebo group (-0.03 vs. 1.30, P=0.013) and more improvement in those maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels (n=226) than those who did not (n=114) (-0.09 vs. 2.19, P=0.001). Conclusion: Vitamin D supplementation and maintenance of sufficient vitamin D levels may improve foot pain in those with knee OA

One-pot synthesis, characterization, and antioxidant capacity of sulfur- and oxygen-substituted 1,4-naphthoquinones and a structural study

In the present study, we reported the one-pot synthesis of S,S- and S,O-substituted 1,4-naphthoquinones, their structural studies, and investigation of their antioxidant activity. The multicomponent reactions of 2,3-dichloro-1,4-naphthoquinone with sulfur- and oxygen-containing nucleophiles were investigated to obtain highly functionalized S,S- and S,O-substituted 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives. All new compounds were characterized on the basis of H-1, F-19, and C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Crystal structure of 2,3-dihydro-2-(hydroxymethyl)naphtho[2,3-b]-1,4-oxathiin-5,10-dione was determined by X-ray diffraction method. The synthesized compounds were screened for their antioxidant capacity and free radical scavenging activity using the cupric reducing antioxidant capacity method and DPPH method, respectively. 3-Chloro-2-[3-(3-chloro-1,4-dihydro-1,4-dioxonaphthalen-2-yloxy)propylsulfanyl]-1,4-naphthoquinone shows the highest antioxidant capacity with 0.63 cupric reducing antioxidant capacity-trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity coefficient

Enhanced Thermal Lens Effect in Gold Nanoparticle-Doped Lyotropic Liquid Crystal by Nanoparticle Clustering Probed by Z-Scan Technique

This work presents an experimental study of the thermal lens effect in Au nanoparticles-doped lyotropic liquid crystals under cw 532 nm optical excitation. Spherical Au nanoparticles of about 12 nm were prepared by Turkevich’s method, and the lyotropic liquid crystal was a ternary mixture of SDS, 1-DeOH, and water that exhibits an isotropic phase at room temperature. The lyotropic matrix induces aggregation of the nanoparticles, leading to a broad and a red-shifted surface plasmon resonance. The thermal nonlinear optical refraction coefficient n 2 increases as a power of number density of nanoparticles, being possible to address this behavior to nanoparticle clustering.This work had the financial support of the Brazilian agencies CAPES, CNPq, FINEP, and Fundação Araucária, and it is part of the research program of the Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Fluidos Complexos (INCT-FCx). The authors also thanks to the Advanced Microscopy Laboratory (LMA) of the Institute of Nanoscience of Aragon.Peer reviewe