Clinical Value of CD24 Expression in Retinoblastoma

Background. The expression of CD24 has been detected in a wide variety of human malignancies. Downregulation of CD24 inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in tumor cells, whereas its upregulation increases tumor growth and metastasis. However, no data on CD24 protein levels in retinoblastoma are available, and the mechanism of CD24 involvement in retinoblastoma progress has not been elucidated. The aim of this study was to explore the expression profile of CD24 in the retinoblastoma tumor samples and to correlate with clinicopathological parameters. Methods. Immunohistochemistry was performed for CD24 on the archival paraffin sections of retinoblastoma and correlated with clinicopathological features. Western blotting was performed to confirm immunoreactivity results. Results. CD24 immunoreactivity was observed in 72.0% (36/50) of the retinoblastoma specimens. Among the 35 low-risk tumors, CD24 was expressed in 62.9% (22/35) tumors and among the 15 high-risk tumors, CD24 was expressed in 93.3% (14/15) tumors. High-risk tumors showed significantly increased expression of CD24 compared to tumors with low-risk (P < 0.05). Conclusions. This is the first correlation between CD24 expression and histopathology in human retinoblastoma. Our study showed increased expression of CD24 in high risk tumors compared to low risk tumors. Further functional studies are required to explore the role of CD24 in retinoblastoma

Abusive Supervision, Leader-Member Exchange, and Creativity: A Multilevel Examination

Despite the growing attention on the topic of abusive supervision, how abusive supervision affects individual and team creativity have not yet been thoroughly investigated. Drawn from the perspective of leader-member exchange (LMX), the current study develops a multilevel model to describe the relationships between abusive supervision and creativity at both team and individual levels, with a focus on the roles played by team-level leader-member exchange (TLMX) and LMX differentiation (DLMX). Based on data collected from 319 team members and their team leaders in 71 teams, the results show that abusive supervision has a negative relationship with TLMX, a practice that is conducive to both team and individual creativity. At the team level, the negative relationship between abusive supervision and TLMX is lessened by a higher level of DLMX. In addition, the positive relationship between TLMX and team creativity is weakened by a higher level of DLMX. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed

Preparation of ZrB2-ZrC-SiC-ZrO2 nanopowders with in-situ grown homogeneously dispersed SiC nanowires

To explore the application of SiC nanowires (SiCnws) in ZrB2 based ceramic materials, a facile approach is reported to in situ synthesize homogeneously dispersed SiCnws in ZrB2-ZrC-SiC-ZrO2 nanopowders by pyrolyzing a B-Si-Zr containing sol precursor impregnated in polyurethane sponge. The sponge was used to provide porous skeletons for the growth of SiC nanowires and facilitate their uniform distribution in the powders. After heat-treatment of the precursor with a Si/Zr atomic ratio of 10 at 1500 °C for 2 h, ZrB2-ZrC-SiC-ZrO2 ceramic powders were obtained with an even and fine particle size of ~100 nm. The SiCnws were in a diameter of ~100 nm with a controllable length varying from tens to hundreds of microns by increasing the silicon content in the precursor. Moreover, the produced SiCnws were in high purity, and homogeneously dispersed in the hybrid nanopowders. The study can open up a feasible route to overcome the critical fabrication process in SiCnws reinforced ceramic matrix composites

Fabrication of astaxanthin-loaded electrospun nanofiber-based mucoadhesive patches with water‐insoluble backing for the treatment of oral premalignant lesions

Oral premalignant lesions (OPL) are one of the most common oral diseases, affecting the quality of life and even leading to oral cancer. Current treatments commonly use steroids/retinoids in mouthwashes, films, or ointments. However, conventional drugs/formulations have significant side effects/limitations. Herein, astaxanthin-loaded polycaprolactone (PCL)/gelatin (GT) nanofiber-based mucoadhesive patches (PGA) with the water‐insoluble PCL nanofiber backing (PCL/PGA) are developed via electrospinning for the management of OPL. The saliva-insoluble PCL backing could greatly prevent drug loss after application in the oral cavity. The prepared PCL/PGA patches exhibit a suitable astaxanthin release rate for achieving high local drug concentration, which permeated into buccal mucosa. In addition, the developed thin patches display excellent wet tissue adhesion and great air permeability due to their high porosity. Notably, the in vivo experiment shows that the bioactive mucoadhesive patches significantly promote the recovery of OPL by suppressing the expression of Ki67 and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), comparable to clinical tretinoin cream formulation. Also, the patches did not induce any side effects (i.e., hair loss and oral ulcers) compared to clinical tretinoin cream formulation. The results demonstrate that this novel electrospun mucoadhesive bilayer patch holds great potential for the treatment of OPL

Structure and magnetic property of potassium intercalated pentacene: observation of superconducting phase in KxC22H14

We report the results from systematic investigations on the structure and magnetic properties of potassium intercalated pentacene as a function of potassium content, K x C22H14 (1  ≤  x  ≤  3). Synchrotron radiation powder x-ray diffraction technique revealed that there are two different stable phases can be obtained via potassium intercalation, namely, K1C22H14 phase and K3C22H14 phase. Structural phase transition was induced when the potassium content was increased to the nominal value x  =  3. This phase transition is accompanied by drastic change in their magnetic property, where those samples with compositions K1C22H14 shows ferromagnetic behavior and those with near K3C22H14 lead to observation of superconductivity with transition temperature, T c, of 4.5 K. It is first time that superconductivity was observed in linear oligoacenes. Both magnetization study and synchrotron radiation powder x-ray diffraction clearly indicates that the superconducting phase belong to K3C22H14 as a result of phase transition from triclinic to monoclinic structure induced by chemical doping

Phosphatidic acid phospholipase A1 mediates ER-Golgi transit of a family of G protein-coupled receptors

The coat protein II (COPII)-coated vesicular system transports newly synthesized secretory and membrane proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi complex. Recruitment of cargo into COPII vesicles requires an interaction of COPII proteins either with the cargo molecules directly or with cargo receptors for anterograde trafficking. We show that cytosolic phosphatidic acid phospholipase A1 (PAPLA1) interacts with COPII protein family members and is required for the transport of Rh1 (rhodopsin 1), an N-glycosylated G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), from the ER to the Golgi complex. In papla1 mutants, in the absence of transport to the Golgi, Rh1 is aberrantly glycosylated and is mislocalized. These defects lead to decreased levels of the protein and decreased sensitivity of the photoreceptors to light. Several GPCRs, including other rhodopsins and Bride of sevenless, are similarly affected. Our findings show that a cytosolic protein is necessary for transit of selective transmembrane receptor cargo by the COPII coat for anterograde trafficking

Exogenous spermidine alleviates diabetic cardiomyopathy via suppressing reactive oxygen species, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and Pannexin-1-mediated ferroptosis

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a serious complication and death cause of diabetes mellitus (DM). Recent cardiology studies suggest that spermidine (SPD) has cardioprotective effects. Here, we verified the hypothesis of SPD’s protective effects on DCM. Therefore, db/db mice and primary neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes were used to observe the effects of SPD. Immunoblotting showed that ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and SPD/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT) were downregulated and upregulated in the myocardium of db/db mice, respectively. We found that diabetic mice showed cardiac dysfunction in 12 weeks. Conversely, exogenous SPD could improve cardiac functions and reduce the deposition of collagens, myocardial damage, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) in diabetic mouse hearts. Our results also demonstrated that cardiomyocytes displayed ferroptosis and then activated Pannexin-1 expression, which resulted in the increase of the extracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Subsequently, increased ATP as a paracrine molecule combined to purinergic receptor P2X7 to activate ERK1/2 signaling pathway in cardiomyocytes and activated NCOA4-mediated ferroptinophagy to promote lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis. Interestingly, SPD could reverse these molecular processes. Our findings indicate an important new mechanism for DCM and suggest that SPD has potential applicability to protect against deterioration of cardiac function with DCM