Moderate Exercise Enhances Endothelial Progenitor Cell Exosomes Release and Function

Purpose: Exercise has cardiovascular benefits which might be related to endothelial progenitor cells (EPC). Meanwhile, there is evidence suggesting that EPC-derived exosomes (EPC-EX) promote vascular repair and angiogenesis through their carried microRNA (miR)-126. In this study, we investigated whether exercise could increase the levels of circulating EPC-EX and their miR-126 cargo, and by which promote the protective function of EPC-EX on endothelial cells (EC). Methods: Plasma EPC-EX from sedentary, low, or moderate exercise mice, respectively, denoted as EPC-EXS, EPC-EXL, and EPC-EXM, were isolated using microbead-based sorting techniques and characterized by nanoparticle tracking analysis, Western blot, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assessments of biomarkers and miR-126. High glucose (25 mM) with hypoxia (1% O2) was used for inducing an EC injury model. The injured EC were treated by coculturing with vehicle, EPC-EXS, EPC-EXL, EPC-EXM, or EPC-EXM + anti–miR-126. After that, EC were used for flow cytometry analysis of apoptosis, assessments of tube formation and migration, and measurements of miR-126 level and its downstream sprouty-related protein-1 (SPRED1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Results: 1) Isolated EPC-EX positively expressed exosomal markers (CD63 and Tsg101) and EPC markers (CD34 and VEGFR2). 2) Exercise intensity dependently elevated plasma level of EPC, EPC-EX/EPC ratio, and miR-126 expression in EPC and EPC-EX. 3) Injured EC displayed apoptosis increment, angiogenic dysfunction and miR-126 reduction. 4) EPC-EXM had better effects than EPC-EXS and EPC-EXL on alleviating those changes of injured EC, accompanied with SPRED1 downregulation and VEGF upregulation. 5) The effects of EPC-EXM were abolished by miR-126 knockdown. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that exercise can increase EPC-EX release and miR-126 level and enhance the effects of EPC-EX on protecting EC against injury through the SPRED1/VEGF pathway

Comparative transcriptomic analyses of two sugarcane Saccharum L. cultivars differing in drought tolerance

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is an important cash crop, and drought is an important factors limiting its yield. To study the drought resistance mechanism of sugarcane, the transcriptomes of two sugarcane varieties with different levels of drought resistance were compared under different water shortage levels. The results showed that the transcriptomes of the two varieties were significantly different. The differentially expressed genes were enriched in starch and sucrose metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolic pathways. Unique trend genes of the variety with strong drought resistance (F172) were significantly enriched in photosynthesis, mitogen-activated protein kinases signaling pathway, biosynthesis of various plant secondary metabolites, and cyanoamino acid metabolism pathways. Weighted correlation network analysis indicated that the blue4 and plum1 modules correlated with drought conditions, whereas the tan and salmon4 modules correlated with variety. The unique trend genes expressed in F172 and mapped to the blue4 module were enriched in photosynthesis, purine metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism, beta-alanine metabolism, photosynthesis-antenna proteins, and plant hormone signal transduction pathways. The expression of genes involved in the photosynthesis-antenna protein and photosynthesis pathways decreased in response to water deficit, indicating that reducing photosynthesis might be a means for sugarcane to respond to drought stress. The results of this study provide insights into drought resistance mechanisms in plants, and the related genes and metabolic pathways identified may be helpful for sugarcane breeding in the future

NPC-EXs Alleviate Endothelial Oxidative Stress and Dysfunction through the miR-210 Downstream Nox2 and VEGFR2 Pathways

We have demonstrated that neural progenitor cells (NPCs) protect endothelial cells (ECs) from oxidative stress. Since exosomes (EXs) can convey the benefit of parent cells through their carried microRNAs (miRs) and miR-210 is ubiquitously expressed with versatile functions, we investigated the role of miR-210 in the effects of NPC-EXs on oxidative stress and dysfunction in ECs. NPCs were transfected with control and miR-210 scramble/inhibitor/mimic to generate NPC-EXscon, NPC-EXssc, NPC-EXsanti-miR-210, and NPC-EXsmiR-210. The effects of various NPC-EXs on angiotensin II- (Ang II-) induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction, apoptosis, and dysfunction, as well as dysregulation of Nox2, ephrin A3, VEGF, and p-VEGFR2/VEGFR2 in ECs were evaluated. Results showed (1) Ang II-induced ROS overproduction, increase in apoptosis, and decrease in tube formation ability, accompanied with Nox2 upregulation and reduction of p-VEGFR2/VEGFR2 in ECs. (2) Compared to NPC-EXscon or NPC-EXssc, NPC-EXsanti-miR-210 were less whereas NPC-EXsmiR-210 were more effective on attenuating these detrimental effects induced by Ang II in ECs. (3) These effects of NPC-EXsanti-miR-210 and NPC-EXsmiR-210 were associated with the changes of miR-210, ephrin A3, VEGF, and p-VEGFR2/VEGFR2 ratio in ECs. Altogether, the protective effects of NPC-EXs on Ang II-induced endothelial injury through miR-210 which controls Nox2/ROS and VEGF/VEGFR2 signals were studied

Effects of Long-Lasting High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Chronic Disorders of Consciousness: A Pilot Study

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) recently was shown to benefit rehabilitation of patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC). However, high-Definition tDCS (HD-tDCS) has not been applied in DOC. In this study, we tried to use HD-tDCS protocol (2 mA, 20 min, the precuneus, and sustaining 14 days) to rehabilitate 11 patients with DOC. Electroencephalography (EEG) and Coma Recovery Scale–Revised (CRS-R) scores were recorded at before (T0), after a single session (T1), after 7 days’ (T2), and 14 days’ HD-tDCS (T3) to assess the modulation effects. EEG coherence was measured to evaluate functional connectivity during the experiment. It showed that 9 patients’ scores increased compared with the baseline. The central-parietal coherence significantly decreased in the delta band in patients with DOC. EEG coherence might be useful for assessing the effect of HD-tDCS in patients with DOC. Long-lasting HD-tDCS over the precuneus is promising for the treatment of patients with DOC

Arabidopsis CPR5 Independently Regulates Seed Germination and Postgermination Arrest of Development through LOX Pathway and ABA Signaling

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) and the lipoxygenases (LOXs) pathway play important roles in seed germination and seedling growth and development. Here, we reported on the functional characterization of Arabidopsis CPR5 in the ABA signaling and LOX pathways. The cpr5 mutant was hypersensitive to ABA in the seed germination, cotyledon greening and root growth, whereas transgenic plants overexpressing CPR5 were insensitive. Genetic analysis demonstrated that CPR5 gene may be located downstream of the ABI1 in the ABA signaling pathway. However, the cpr5 mutant showed an ABA independent drought-resistant phenotype. It was also found that the cpr5 mutant was hypersensitive to NDGA and NDGA treatment aggravated the ABA-induced delay in the seed germination and cotyledon greening. Taken together, these results suggest that the CPR5 plays a regulatory role in the regulation of seed germination and early seedling growth through ABA and LOX pathways independently

Study on four polymorphs of bifendate based on X-ray crystallography

Bifendate, a synthetic anti-hepatitis drug, exhibits polycrystalline mode phenomena with 2 polymorphs reported (forms A and B). Single crystals of the known crystalline form B and 3 new crystallosolvates involving bifendate solvated with tetrahydrofuran (C), dioxane (D), and pyridine (E) in a stoichiometric ratio of 1:1 were obtained and characterized by X-ray crystallography, thermal analysis, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The differences in molecular conformation, intermolecular interaction and crystal packing arrangement for the four polymorphs were determined and the basis for the polymorphisms was investigated. The rotation of single bonds resulted in different orientations for the biphenyl, methyl ester and methoxyl groups. All guest solvent molecules interacted with the host molecule via an interesting intercalative mode along the [1 0 0] direction in the channel formed by the host molecules through weak aromatic stacking interactions or non-classical hydrogen bonds, of which the volume and planarity played an important role in the intercalation of the host with the guest. The incorporation of solvent-augmented rotation of the C–C bond of the biphenyl group had a striking effect on the host molecular conformation and contributed to the formation of bifendate polymorphs. Moreover, the simulated powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) patterns for each form were calculated on the basis of the single-crystal data and proved to be unique. The single-crystal structures of the four crystalline forms are reported in this paper

Adsorptive filtration of low-concentration lead with wet-laid filter media made from nano-TiO2 decorated cellulose fibers

BackgroundTiO(2)-cellulose composite fibers are a new type of bio-sorbent combining natural polymers and nanoparticles. However, their batch adsorption capacity is limited. Here mesoporous TiO2-cellulose composite fibers were synthesized and a filter medium was subsequently made from them to remove lead continuously by dynamic adsorption.</p