DEC1 Negatively Regulates the Expression of DEC2 through Binding to the E-box in the Proximal Promoter

Human DEC (differentially expressed in chondrocytes), mouse STRA (stimulated with retinoic acid), and rat SHARP (split and hairy related protein) proteins constitute a new and structurally distinct class of the basic helix-loop-helix proteins. In each species, two members are identified with a sequence identity of \u3e90% in the basic helix-loop-helix region and ∼40% in the total proteins, respectively. Recently, we have reported that DEC1 is abundantly expressed in colon carcinomas but not in the adjacent normal tissues. The present study was undertaken to extend the expression study of DEC1 and to determine whether DEC1 and DEC2 had similar expression patterns among paired cancer-normal tissues from the colon, lung, and kidney. Without exceptions, DEC1 was markedly higher in the carcinomas, whereas the opposite was true with DEC2. In stable transfectants, tetracycline-induced expression of DEC1 caused proportional decreases in the expression of DEC2. Co-transfection with DEC1 repressed the activity of a DEC2 promoter reporter by as much as 90%. The repression was observed with wild type DEC1 but not its DNA binding-defective mutants. Studies with deletion and site-directed mutants located, in the proximal promoter, an E-box motif that supported the DEC1-mediated repression. Disruption of this E-box markedly abolished the ability of the reporter to respond to DEC1. Our findings assign for DEC1 the first target gene that is regulated through direct DNA binding. DEC/STRA/SHARP proteins are highly identical in the DNA binding domain but much more diverse in other areas. DEC1-mediated repression on the expression of DEC2 provides an important mechanism that these transcription factors regulate the cellular function not only by modulating the expression of their target genes but also the expression of members within the same class

Farm-waste-derived recyclable photothermal evaporator

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Tian, Y., Liu, X., Li, J., Deng, Y., DeGiorgis, J. A., Zhou, S., Caratenuto, A., Minus, M. L., Wan, Y., Xiao, G., & Zheng, Y. Farm-waste-derived recyclable photothermal evaporator. Cell Reports Physical Science, 2(9), (2021): 100549, https://doi.org/10.1016./j.xcrp.2021.100549Interfacial solar steam generation is emerging as a promising technique for efficient desalination. Although increasing efforts have been made, challenges exist for achieving a balance among a plethora of performance indicators—for example, rapid evaporation, durability, low-cost deployment, and salt rejection. Here, we demonstrate that carbonized manure can convert 98% of sunlight into heat, and the strong capillarity of porous carbon fibers networks pumps sufficient water to evaporation interfaces. Salt diffusion within microchannels enables quick salt drainage to the bulk seawater to prevent salt accumulation. With these advantages, this biomass-derived evaporator is demonstrated to feature a high evaporation rate of 2.81 kg m−2 h−1 under 1 sun with broad robustness to acidity and alkalinity. These advantages, together with facial deployment, offer an approach for converting farm waste to energy with high efficiency and easy implementation, which is particularly well suited for developing regions.This project is supported by the National Science Foundation through grant no. CBET-1941743. This project is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation under EPSCoR Cooperative Agreement no. OIA-1655221

Pomegranate (Punica granatum) extract and its polyphenols reduce the formation of methylglyoxal-DNA adducts and protect human keratinocytes against methylglyoxal-induced oxidative stress

Pomegranate extract (PE) and its polyphenols have been reported to show skin protective effects but their cytoprotective effects against methylglyoxal (MGO)-induced DNA damage and cell dysfunctions are unclear. Herein, we evaluated whether PE, punicalagin (PA), ellagic acid (EA), and urolithin A (UA), can alleviate MGO-induced DNA damage in human keratinocytes. PE (50 µg/mL) and PA (50 µM) protected DNA integrity and reduced the formation of MGO-DNA adducts and tailed DNA by 60.2 and 49.7%, respectively, in HaCaT cells. PE and PA reduced MGO-induced cytotoxicity by increasing the cell viability (by 17.5 and 15.0%) and decreasing reactive oxygen species (by 28.3 and 30.0%), respectively. PE and PA also ameliorated MGO-induced cell dysfunction by restoring cell adhesion, migration, and wound healing capacity. Findings from this study provide insights into the skin protective effects of PE and its polyphenols supporting their applications as potential bioactive ingredients for cosmeceuticals

Associations of triglyceride levels with longevity and frailty: A Mendelian randomization analysis.

Observational studies suggest associations of triglyceride levels with longevity and frailty. This study aimed to test whether the associations are causal. We used data from the Rugao Longevity and Ageing Study, a population-based cohort study performed in Rugao, China. A variant in the APOA5 gene region (rs662799) was used as the genetic instrument. Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were performed to examine the associations of genetically predicted triglycerides with two ageing phenotypes - longevity ( ≥95 years) and frailty (modified Fried frailty phenotype and Rockwood frailty index). C allele of rs662799 was robustly associated with higher triglyceride levels in the comparison group (β = 0.301 mmol/L per allele, p < 0.001), with an F statistic of 95.3 and R2 = 0.040. However MR analysis did not provide strong evidence for an association between genetically predicted triglyceride levels and probability of longevity (OR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.35, 1.07 per 1 mmol/L increase in triglycerides). In the ageing arm (70-84 years), genetically predicted triglyceride levels were not associated with the frailty index (β = 0.008; 95% CI: -0.013, 0.029) or the frailty phenotype (OR: 1.91; 95% CI: 0.84, 4.37). In conclusion, there is currently a lack of sufficient evidence to support causal associations of triglyceride levels with longevity and frailty in elderly populations

Preparation of an Acridinium Ester-Labeled Antibody and Its Application in GoldMag Nanoparticle-Based, Ultrasensitive Chemiluminescence Immunoassay for the Detection of Human Epididymis Protein 4

An ultrasensitive and rapid sandwich-type chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) was developed for the clinical determination of human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) in human serum, using GoldMag nanoparticles as solid phase and acridinium ester (AE) as chemiluminescence system (GMP-CLIA). The process of AE labeling antibodies was systematically studied and evaluated. The effect of varies factors such as molar ratio of AE to antibodies, labeling time, and the components of elution buffer and trigger solution were optimized. Under the selected conditions, AE labeling experiments were successfully performed with the average labeling efficiency of 1.92 ± 0.08, and antibody utilization rate of 69.77 ± 1.19%. Antibody activity remained unchanged after labeling. The established GMP-CLIA method can detect HE4 in the range of 0.25–50 ng·mL−1 (10–2000 pM) with a detection limit of 0.084 ng·mL−1 (3.36 pM). The sensitivity has reached a high level, comparable with the current commercial detection kits. This proposed method has been successfully applied to the clinical determination of HE4 in 65 human sera. The results showed a good correlation with a clinical method, microplate-based chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA), with the correlation coefficient of 0.9594

Inhibition of EGFR/PI3K/AKT cell survival pathway promotes TSA\u27s effect on cell death and migration in human ovarian cancer cells

Trichostatin A (TSA), a hydroxamate-type inhibitor of mammalian histone deacetylases, is emerging as one of a potentially new class of anticancer agents. TSA is known to act by promoting the acetylation of histones, leading to uncoiling of chromatin and activation of a variety of genes implicated in the regulation of cell survival, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. In addition, there is an increasing appreciation of the fact that TSA may act through mechanisms other than induction of histone acetylation. Accumulated experimental data indicate that TSA activates phosphatidyl inositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT signaling. Using human ovarian cancer cell line Caov3 cells, we observed that TSA induced cell death in a time- and dose-dependent manner and also inhibited cell migration. TSA transiently activated EGFR tyrosine phosphorylation and AKT activation in a time- and dose-dependent manner, which had been inhibited by EGFR inhibitor PD153035 and PI3 kinase inhibitor LY294002. We also observed that TSA transiently induced survivin expression that had been inhibited by PD153035 and LY294002, suggesting that TSA-induced survivin expression is mediated by EGFR/PI3 kinase pathway. Combination of EGFR inhibitor 153035 or PI3 kinase inhibitor LY294002 with TSA enhanced TSA-induced cell death and TSA reduction of cell migration. Collectively, our data demonstrate that TSA transiently activated EGFR/PI3K/AKT cell survival pathway, leading to expression of survivin. Inhibition of this pathway enhanced TSA-induced cell death and inhibited cell migration. Our data suggest that combination of EGFR/PI3K/AKT cell survival pathway inhibitors with TSA be a better approach to ovarian cancer treatment

Phenolic-enriched maple syrup extract protects human keratinocytes against hydrogen peroxide and methylglyoxal induced cytotoxicity

Reactive carbonyl species including methylglyoxal (MGO) are oxidation metabolites of glucose and precursors of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). They are important mediators of cellular oxidative stress and exacerbate skin complications. Published data supports that certain phenolic compounds can exert cellular protective effects by their antioxidant activity. A phenolic-enriched maple syrup extract (MSX) was previously reported to show protective effects against AGEs- and MGO-induced cytotoxicity in human colon cells but its skin protective effects remain unknown. The protective effects of MSX were evaluated against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)- and MGO-induced cytotoxicity in human keratinocytes (HaCaT cells). Cellular viability and antioxidant activity were evaluated by the luminescent cell viability CellTiter-Glo assay and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay, respectively. A single-cell gel electrophoresis (Comet assay) was used to measure the strand breaks in the DNA of HaCaT cells. MSX (at 50 μg/mL) ameliorated H2O2- and MGO-induced cytotoxicity by increasing cell viability by 21.5% and 25.9%, respectively. MSX reduced H2O2- and MGO-induced ROS production by 69.4% and 56.6%, respectively. MSX also reduced MGO-induced DNA damage by 47.5%. MSX showed protective effects against H2O2- and MGO-induced cytotoxicity in HaCaT cells supporting its potential for dermatological and/or cosmeceutical applications

Environmentally friendly and efficient hornet nest envelope-based photothermal absorbers

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Xie, L., Liu, X., Caratenuto, A., Tian, Y., Chen, F., DeGiorgis, J. A., Wan, Y., & Zheng, Y. Environmentally friendly and efficient hornet nest envelope-based photothermal absorbers. Acs Omega, 6(50), (2021): 34555–34562, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.1c04851.Water shortage is a critical global issue that threatens human health, environmental sustainability, and the preservation of Earth’s climate. Desalination from seawater and sewage is a promising avenue for alleviating this stress. In this work, we use the hornet nest envelope material to fabricate a biomass-based photothermal absorber as part of a desalination isolation system. This system realizes an evaporation rate of 3.98 kg m–2 h–1 under one-sun illumination, with prolonged evaporation rates all above 4 kg m–2 h–1. This system demonstrates a strong performance of 3.86 kg m–2 h–1 in 3.5 wt % saltwater, illustrating its effectiveness in evaporation seawater. Thus, with its excellent evaporation rate, great salt rejection ability, and easy fabrication approach, the hornet nest envelope constitutes a promising natural material for solar water treatment applications.The authors acknowledge the support from the National Science Foundation, USA, through grant number CBET-1941743 and the National Science Foundation under EPSCoR Cooperation Agreement OIA-1655221

Isolation and identification of flavonoid-producing endophytic fungi from medicinal plant Conyza blinii H.Lév that exhibit higher antioxidant and antibacterial activities

Background Conyza blinii H. Lév is a medicinal plant that has a variety of pharmacological activities, but its study is at a standstill due to the shortage of resources. Method This study utilized the surface sterilization method to isolate endophytic fungi, and they were preliminarily identified by morphology. Flavonoid-producing strains were screened by NaNO2-Al(NO)3 colorimetry and further identified by the ITS sequence. Additionally, we used five antioxidant assays (DPPH, Hydroxyl radical, ABTS, FRAP and T-AOC assays) to systematically evaluate the antioxidant capacity of total flavonoids , and we also determined their antibacterial activity. Results In this study, 21 endophytic fungi were isolated from wild Conyza blinii H. Lév for the first time. There were six flavonoid-producing strains, especially CBL11, whose total flavonoid content reached 50.78 ± 2.4 mg/L. CBL12, CBL12-2 and CBL1-1 all exhibited excellent antioxidant activity. The effect of CBL12 was similar to that of ascorbic acid at low concentrations, and its radical scavenging rates for DPPH and ABTS were 94.56 ± 0.29 % and 99.88 ± 0.27%, respectively, while its IC50 values were only 0.11 ± 0.01 mg/mL and 0.2 ± 0.01 mg/mL. Through LC-MS, we found that CBL12 could produce many high-value flavonoids, such as 3-methoxyflavone, nobiletin, formononetin, scopoletin, and daidzein. Additionally, CBL9 had good antibacterial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Notably, we obtained the high-yield strains CBL12 and CBL9, which not only had high yields (10.64 ± 1.01 mg/L and 10.17 ± 0.11 mg/L, respectively) but also had excellent biological activity. Hence, the results of this study provide new ideas for endophytic fungi that can be exploited as a source of flavonoids and other medicinal components from Conyza blinii H. Lév. Moreover, this study can serve as a reference for the development of rare medicinal materials