A facile chemical conversion synthesis of Sb2S3 nanotubes and the visible light-driven photocatalytic activities

We report a simple chemical conversion and cation exchange technique to realize the synthesis of Sb2S3 nanotubes at a low temperature of 90°C. The successful chemical conversion from ZnS nanotubes to Sb2S3 ones benefits from the large difference in solubility between ZnS and Sb2S3. The as-grown Sb2S3 nanotubes have been transformed from a weak crystallization to a polycrystalline structure via successive annealing. In addition to the detailed structural, morphological, and optical investigation of the yielded Sb2S3 nanotubes before and after annealing, we have shown high photocatalytic activities of Sb2S3 nanotubes for methyl orange degradation under visible light irradiation. This approach offers an effective control of the composition and structure of Sb2S3 nanomaterials, facilitates the production at a relatively low reaction temperature without the need of organics, templates, or crystal seeds, and can be extended to the synthesis of hollow structures with various compositions and shapes for unique properties

Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes

Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale(1-3). Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4-5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter(4); identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation(5,6); analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution(7); describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity(8,9); and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes(8,10-18).Peer reviewe

Preclinical emergence of vandetanib as a potent antitumour agent in mesothelioma: molecular mechanisms underlying its synergistic interaction with pemetrexed and carboplatin

BACKGROUND: Although pemetrexed, a potent thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibitor, enhances the cytoytoxic effect of platinum compounds against malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), novel combinations with effective targeted therapies are warranted. To this end, the current study evaluates new targeted agents and their pharmacological interaction with carboplatin-pemetrexed in human MPM cell lines. METHODS: We treated H2052, H2452, H28 and MSTO-211H cells with carboplatin, pemetrexed and targeted compounds (gefitinib, erlotinib, sorafenib, vandetanib, enzastaurin and ZM447439) and evaluated the modulation of pivotal pathways in drug activity and cancer cell proliferation. RESULTS: Vandetanib emerged as the compound with the most potent cytotoxic activity, which interacted synergistically with carboplatin and pemetrexed. Drug combinations blocked Akt phosphorylation and increased apoptosis. Vandetanib significantly downregulated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/Erk/Akt phosphorylation as well as E2F-1 mRNA and TS mRNA/protein levels. Moreover, pemetrexed decreased Akt phosphorylation and expression of DNA repair genes. Finally, most MPM samples displayed detectable levels of EGFR and TS, the variability of which could be used for patients' stratification in future trials with vandetanib-pemetrexed-carboplatin combination. CONCLUSION: Vandetanib markedly enhances pemetrexed-carboplatin activity against human MPM cells. Induction of apoptosis, modulation of EGFR/Akt/Erk phosphorylation and expression of key determinants for pemetrexed and carboplatin activity contribute to this synergistic interaction, and, together with the expression of these determinants in MPM samples, warrant further clinical investigation

Fruitless Wolfberry-Sprout Extract Rescued Cognitive Deficits and Attenuated Neuropathology in Alzheimer's Disease Transgenic Mice

Background: Alzheimer&#39;s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease featured by memory loss, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. Overproduction or insufficient clearance of A beta leads to its pathological aggregation and deposition, which is considered the predominant neuropathological hallmark of AD. Therefore, reducing A beta levels and inhibiting A beta-induced neurotoxicity are feasible therapeutic strategies for AD treatment. Wolfberry has been traditionally used as a natural antioxidant and anti-aging product. However, whether wolfberry species has therapeutic potential on AD remains unknown. Method: The effects of fruitless wolfberry-sprout extract (FWE) on A beta fibrillation and fibril disaggregation was measured by thioflavin T fluorescence and transmission electron microscope imaging; A beta oligomer level was determined by dot-blot; Cell viability and apoptosis was assessed by MTT and TUNEL assay. The levels of A beta 40/42, oxidative stress biomarkers and inflammatory cytokines were detected by corresponding kits. 8-month-old male APP/PSI mice and their age-matched WT littermates were treated with FWE or vehicle by oral administration (gavage) once a day for 4 weeks. Then the cognitive performance was determined using object recognition test and Y-maze test. The A beta burden and gliosis was evaluated by immunostaining and immunoblotting, respectively. Results: FWE significantly inhibited A beta fibrillation and disaggregated the formed A beta fibrils, lowered A beta oligomer level and A beta-induced neuro-cytotoxicity, and attenuated oxidative stress in vitro. Oral administration of FWE remarkably improved cognitive function, reduced A beta burden, decreased gliosis and inflammatory cytokines release, and ameliorated oxidative stress in the brains of APP/PS1 mice. Conclusion: These findings indicate that FWE is a promising natural agent for AD treatment.</p