Anti-Alzheimer’s disease performance of triptolide nanoliposomes modified with lactoferrin

According to the immune inflammation theory of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), triptolide (TP) is a potential drug for the treatment of AD, but it distributed widely in vivo resulting in the multi-organ toxicity. In order to improve the efficacy and reduce the toxicity of TP, stealth brain-targeting TP nanoliposomes (Lf-TP-PL) were prepared with polyethyleneglycol (PEG)-modified and lactoferrin (Lf) as the brain-targeting head group. Compared with TP solution (TP-S), common TP nanoliposomes (TP-CL) and PEG-modified TP nanoliposomes (TP-PL), the effect of Lf-TP-PL on the growth of PC12 cells inductively damaged by Aβ1-42, as the model in vitro AD cells, was studied. The effects of Lf-TP-PL on the behavioral ability of AD model mice were evaluated by Morris water maze test. The results showed that compared with TP-S, TP-CL, and TP-PL, Lf-TP-PL had stronger abilities to repair the PC12 cells inductively damaged by Aβ1-42, and could mitigate spatial memory deficit of AD model mice in a better way. Lf-TP-PL is a potential nanomedicine for AD treatment.</jats:p

Experimental study on fire extinguishing efficiency of polymer hydrogel fire extinguishing agent in pine-fir mixed coniferous forest fires

Pine and fir wood is commonly used in furniture, gardening and construction industries, and has high economic value. It is in great demand in the timber industry. Therefore, pine and fir trees are now widely planted in China. However, pine and fir trees belong to flammable species, with a high content of oil and grease, and the ignition point of pine and fir leaf litter is extremely low. Once burning occurs, it spreads rapidly and can easily turn into a major forest fire. Therefore, the use of extinguishing agents to mitigate and prevent the spread of forest fires is of great importance. In this paper, fire and extinguishing tests were investigated using mixed wood stack burning of pine and fir and mixed fuel from leaf litter. The suppression effects of three different extinguishing agents, AFFF, CAF and hydrogel, on wood fires and leaf litter combustion were compared. And the suppression supply strength of different extinguishing agents to suppress pine and fir trees was determined. The results show that both hydrogel and CAF can effectively extinguish wood stack fires, and AFFF shows re-ignition phenomenon after extinguishing wood stack fires; Comparison of extinguishing time, cooling rate and heat dissipation capacity revealed that hydrogel was superior to CAF; Hydrogel has a highly efficient fire extinguishing properties. It is calculated that the amount of hydrogel used to extinguish pine and cedar fires is only 54 % of the water required, about 87 % of the amount of Class A foam required under the same circumstances, and about 79 % of the amount of aqueous film-forming foam required; Compared with the foam extinguishing agent, the hydrogel extinguishing agent showed better cooling effect, less extinguishing agent dosage, and shorter extinguishing time of 11 s when extinguishing fires in leaf litter; For the rapid spread of leaf litter combustion and easy to re-ignite characteristics, hydrogel has a significant anti-reignition effect

Abstract P044: Activation of Interferon Regulatory Factor-3 Prolongs Stress-Induced Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis and Decreases Survival Post Myocardial Infarction

Background. The innate immune response is critical in mediating host protection from foreign antigen or stress. It is evident that multiple innate immune pathways also tightly regulate the remodeling process post-myocardial infarction (MI), however it is not clear how this process is mediated. In order to further elucidate the underlying mechanism of this process, we screened both mouse and human post-MI microarray databases and identified a common, significantly upregulated transcription factor of interest, interferon regulatory factor-3 (IRF3). To assess its function in vivo, we tested the hypothesis that activation of IRF3 post-MI coordinates maladaptive repair by promoting cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Methods/Results. We randomly allocated IRF-3 knockout (IRF-3-/-) mice and their wild-type (WT) counterparts to either left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery ligation or sham operation. Four weeks post-MI, deficiency in IRF3 led to improved survival [88% (44/50) vs. 29% (14/49) in WT, p&lt;0.0001], preserved cardiac function via echocardiography [Fractional Shortening: 37% vs. 22.9% in WT, LVEDD: 5.15mm vs. 5.85mm in WT, LVESD: 4.15mm vs. 5.14mm in WT; p&lt;0.057#x005D;, and attenuated infarct size [27% vs. 44% in WT, p&lt;0.05]. Assessing the stress response 1-week post-MI, we found that NFkB signaling (IKKa, Ikba, p65) as well as pan-ubiquitination of proteins, were both significantly downregulated in the border infarct zone of IRF3-/- mice. These findings were complemented with increased protein and mRNA expression of de-ubiquitinating enzyme A20. Interestingly, in IRF3-/- mice these results were linked with decreased apoptosis (Caspases, TUNEL staining), however with a more specific attenuation of the mitochondrial-specific apoptotic pathway (Bid, Cytochrome C, Caspase9). Conclusions. These data establish a novel link between the innate immune transcription factor IRF3 and maladaptive regulation of cardiomyocyte apoptosis through mitochondrial apoptotic pathway activation. As an acute responder coordinating maladaptive remodeling, IRF3 may prove to be an efficacious therapeutic target to improve outcome following MI.</jats:p