SIRT3 Protects Rotenone-induced Injury in SH-SY5Y Cells by Promoting Autophagy through the LKB1-AMPK-mTOR Pathway.

SIRT3 is a class III histone deacetylase that modulates energy metabolism, genomic stability and stress resistance. It has been implicated as a potential therapeutic target in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease (PD). Our previous study demonstrates that SIRT3 had a neuroprotective effect on a rotenone-induced PD cell model, however, the exact mechanism is unknown. In this study, we investigated the underlying mechanism. We established a SIRT3 stable overexpression cell line using lentivirus infection in SH-SY5Y cells. Then, a PD cell model was established using rotenone. Our data demonstrate that overexpression of SIRT3 increased the level of the autophagy markers LC3 II and Beclin 1. After addition of the autophagy inhibitor 3-MA, the protective effect of SIRT3 diminished: the cell viability decreased, while the apoptosis rate increased; α-synuclein accumulation enhanced; ROS production increased; antioxidants levels, including SOD and GSH, decreased; and MMP collapsed. These results reveal that SIRT3 has neuroprotective effects on a PD cell model by up-regulating autophagy. Furthermore, SIRT3 overexpression also promoted LKB1 phosphorylation, followed by activation of AMPK and decreased phosphorylation of mTOR. These results suggest that the LKB1-AMPK-mTOR pathway has a role in induction of autophagy. Together, our findings indicate a novel mechanism by which SIRT3 protects a rotenone-induced PD cell model through the regulation of autophagy, which, in part, is mediated by activation of the LKB1-AMPK-mTOR pathway

Aqua­(3-hydroxy­benzoato-κO)bis­(1,10-phenanthroline-κ2 N,N′)cobalt(II) 3-hydroxy­benzoate penta­hydrate

The crystal structure of the title compound, [Co(C7H5O3)(C12H8N2)2(H2O)](C7H5O3)·5H2O, consists of CoII complex cations, uncoordinated hydroxy­benzoate anions and uncoord­inated water mol­ecules. The CoII ion is coordinated by two phenanthroline ligands, a water mol­ecule and a 3-hydroxy­benzoate anion, and displays a distorted octa­hedral geometry. π–π stacking is observed between parallel phenanthroline ligands, the face-to-face separations being 3.454 (19) and 3.435 (7) Å. An extensive hydrogen-bonding network helps to stabilize the crystal structure. The hydroxybenzoate ligand is disordered over two positions, with site occupancy factors 0.6 and 0.4. One solvent water molecule is also disordered over two positions, with site occupancy factors 0.6 and 0.4

cyclo-Tetra-μ-malato-κ16 O,O′,O′′:O′′′-tetra­kis[bis­(1H-benzimidazole-κN 3)cobalt(II)] eicosa­hydrate

The title compound, [Co4(C4H4O5)4(C7H6N2)8]·20H2O, consists of tetra­nuclear CoII complexes and disordered uncoordinated water mol­ecules. The tetra­meric complex mol­ecule has symmetry. While two benzimidazole mol­ecules and a tridentate malate dianion coordinate a CoII ion, the carboxylate O atom from an adjacent malate dianion bridges the CoII ions to complete a distorted octa­hedral coordination geometry. The tridentate malate dianion chelates the CoII ion, and the chelate six- and five-membered rings show half-chair and envelope configurations, respectively. A face-to-face separation of 3.494 (9) Å between parallel benzimidazole ligands indicates the existence of π–π stacking between adjacent complexes. The crystal structure also involves N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Galaxy optical variability of Virgo cluster: new tracer for environmental influences on galaxies

We investigate the relationship between the optical variability of galaxies and their distances from the centre of the Virgo cluster using Palomar Transient Factory data. We define the ratio between the standard deviation of the galaxy brightness and the mean value of the standard deviation as a measure of a galaxy’s optical variability. A sample of 814 Virgo galaxies with 230 263 observations shows a monotonically decreasing trend of optical variability with increasing clustercentric distance. The variability level inside the cluster is 3.2σ higher than the level outside. We fit the variability with a linear function and find that the data reject a distance-independent model. We examine 217 background galaxies for comparison and find no significant trend in galaxy variability. We assess the relation with Monte Carlo simulation by rebuilding the brightness of each galaxy. The simulation shows a monotonically decreasing relation for member galaxy variability and a distance-independent relation for background galaxies. Our result is consistent with the theory that the cold gas flowing inwards the cluster centre fuels AGN activity. This work is a new implementation of the method using optical variability to investigate the relation between galaxies evolution and their environment

Classification of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndromes in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B by SELDI-Based ProteinChip Analysis

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome, also called ZHENG, is the basis concept of TCM theory. It plays an important role in TCM practice. There are excess and deficiency syndromes in TCM syndrome. They are the common syndromes in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Here we aim to explore serum protein profiles and potential biomarkers for classification of TCM syndromes in CHB patients. 24 healthy controls and two cohorts of CHB patients of excess syndrome (n = 25) or deficiency syndrome (n = 19) were involved in this study. Protein profiles were obtained by surface-enhanced laser desorption ionization time-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF/MS) and multiple analyses were performed. Based on SELDI ProteinChip data, healthy controls and CHB patients or excess and deficiency syndromes in CHB patients were obviously differentiated by orthogonal partial least square (OPLS) analysis. Two significant serum proteins (m/z 4187 and m/z 5032) for classifying excess and deficiency syndromes were found. Moreover, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.887 for classifying excess and nonexcess syndrome, and 0.700 for classifying deficiency and nondeficiency syndrome, respectively. Therefore, the present study provided the possibility of TCM syndrome classification in CHB patients using a universally acceptable scientific approach