Gender differences in the bile acid profiles of APP/PS1 transgenic AD mice

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and presents in the accumulation of amyloid and neurofibrillary tangle. The association between modulations of gut symbiotic microbes with neurological disease via bidirectional gut-brain axis has been well documented. Bile acid (BA) pools in the enterohepatic circulation could be valuable for probing complex biochemical interactions between host and their symbiotic microbiota. Herein we investigated the levels of 28 BAs in several compartments in enterohepatic circulation (including jejunal, ileum, cecum, colon and feces, plasma and liver tissue) by employing an APP/PS1 induced transgenic AD mouse model. We found that BA profiles in AD mice were gender specific. We observed decreased levels of taurine-conjugated primary BAs (TUDCA, TCA, T-α-MCA and T-β-MCA) and increased levels of secondary BA (iso-DCA) in plasma and liver extracts for female AD transgenic mice. In contrast, increased levels of TDCA in liver extracts and decreased levels of T-β-MCA in jejunal content were noted in male AD mice. These observations suggested that perturbations of BA profiles in AD mice displayed clear gender variations. Our study highlighted the roles of gut microbiota on neurodegenerative disease, which could be gender specific.Accepted versio

Single-Crystal Growth of P2-Type Layered Oxides with Increased Exposure of {010} Planes for High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries

An increase in the size of single-crystal particles can effectively reduce the interfacial side reactions of layered oxides for sodium-ion batteries at high voltages but may result in sluggish Na+ transport. Herein, single-crystal Na0.66Ni0.26Zn0.07Mn0.67O2 with increased proportions of {010} planes is synthesized by adding low-cost NaCl as the molten salt. With the assistance of a NaCl molten salt, the median diameter (D50) of single-crystal Na0.66Ni0.26Zn0.07Mn0.67O2 increases to 10.46 μm relative to that of the comparison sample without NaCl (6.57 μm). Electrolyte decomposition on the surface of single-crystal Na0.66Ni0.26Zn0.07Mn0.67O2 is considerably suppressed, owing to a decrease in the specific surface area. Moreover, the increased exposure of {010} planes is favorable for improving the Na+ transport kinetics of single-crystal particles. Therefore, at 100 mA g–1, single-crystal Na0.66Ni0.26Zn0.07Mn0.67O2 exhibits a high-capacity retention of 96.6% after 100 cycles, which is considerably greater than that of the comparison sample (86.8%). Moreover, the rate performance of single-crystal Na0.66Ni0.26Zn0.07Mn0.67O2 (average discharge capacity of 81.2 mAh g–1) is superior to that of the comparison sample (average discharge capacity of 61.2 mAh g–1) at 2000 mA g–1. This work provides a new approach for promoting the single-crystal growth of layered oxides for highly stable interfaces at high voltages without compromising Na+ transport kinetics