Construction of CaF2-appended PVA nanofibre scaffold

In this work, a new material, calcium fluoride ( CaF2 )-appended poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofibre scaffold, was prepared through electrospinning technique successfully. Scanning electron microscopy result showed that the morphology of the fibres was uniform and smooth, and the average diameter of the fibres was about 200 nm. Transmission electron microscopy results showed that many CaF2 nanoparticles were well dispersed in the PVA fibre matrix. The water-resistant ability of the scaffold was improved through intermolecular crosslinking of PVA by formaldehyde vapour. This novel material seems to be a promising scaffold for bone tissue engineering

Buddleoside inhibits TLR4-related pathway in a mouse model of acute liver failure, promotes autophagy, and inhibits inflammation

Purpose: To study the inhibitory influence of buddleoside on TLR4-associated pathway, autophagy and inflammation in a mouse model of acute liver failure (ALF).Methods: Sixty male C57BL/6 mice were assigned to 5 groups: control, model, and three dose-groups of buddleoside, with 12 mice per group. Levels of interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, TLR4 pathway-associated proteins, and autophagy-related proteins in each group were determined; cell adhesion in each group was also analyzed.Results: Levels of TLR4, MAPK and NF-кB-related pathways in model mice were significantly upregulated, relative to control mice, but they were more down-regulated in the 3 anthocyanin groups than in model group (p < 0.05). There were significantly higher levels of TNF-α, IL- and IL-6 in model mice than in the control group, but they were down-regulated in high-, medium- and low-dose mice, relative to model mice. The population of adherent cells was significantly higher in ALF mice than in controls, butthere were markedly lower numbers of these cells in the 3 anthocyanin-treated mice than in model mice (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Buddleoside mitigates ALF in mice by down-regulating inflammatory factors, reducing serum levels of ALT and AST, and up-regulating autophagy-related protein expressions by activating TLR4/MAPK/NF-кB signaling pathway. Thus, buddleoside may be useful in the treatment of acute liver failure, but this has to be curtained through clinical trials

Molecular marker analysis of ‘Shatangju’ and ‘Wuzishatangju’ mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco)

‘Wuzishatangju’(Citrus reticulata Blanco) is an excellent cultivar derived from a bud sport of a seedy ‘Shatangju’ cultivar found in Guangdong Province in the 1980s. In this study, six molecular markers including random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR), simple sequence repeat (SSR), sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP), inter-retrotransposn amplified polymorphism (IRAP) and retrotransposon-microsatellite amplified polymorphism (REMAP) were used to study the genetic variations between ‘Shatangju’ and ‘Wuzishatangju’. 1196 RAPD, seven SSR, 28 IRAP and 56 REMAP primers were used to detect the genetic variations between ‘Shatangju’ and ‘Wuzishatangju’. However, no difference was observed between the two cultivars. These results indicate that there was a very close genetic relationship between ‘Shatangju’ and ‘Wuzishatangju’ and RAPD, SSR, IRAP and REMAP markers could not distinguish them. Two and 21 specific bands were obtained using 100 ISSR and 153 SRAP primers, respectively. The present research could be a valuable tool for identification of Citrus bud sport clones, which laid the foundations for the further study of the mechanisms of Citrus bud sports.Key words: Citrus reticulata Blanco, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR), simple sequence repeat (SSR), sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP), inter-retrotransposon amplified polymorphism (IRAP), retrotransposon-microsatellite amplified polymorphism (REMAP), identification