Physiological dynamics as indicators of plant response to manganese binary effect

IntroductionHeavy metals negatively affect plant physiology. However, plants can reduce their toxicity through physiological responses. Broussonetia papyrifera is a suitable candidate tree for carrying out the phytoremediation of manganese (Mn)-contaminated soil.MethodsConsidering that Mn stress typically exerts a binary effect on plants, to reveal the dynamic characteristics of the physiological indexes of B. papyrifera to Mn stress, we conducted pot experiments with six different Mn concentrations (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 mmol/L) for 60 days. In addition to the chlorophyll content, malondialdehyde (MDA), proline (PRO), soluble sugar, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), the absorption and transfer characteristics of Mn, and root structure were also measured.ResultsPhytoremedial potential parameters such as the bioconcentration factor (BCF) and translocation factor (TF) displayed an increasing trend with the increase of Mn concentration. At lower Mn concentrations (<0.5 mmol/L), the TF value was <1 but crossed 1 when the Mn concentration exceeded 100 mmol/L. The Mn distribution in various tissues was in the following order: leaf > stem > root. The root structure analysis revealed that low-level concentrations of Mn (1 mmol/L) promoted root development. Mn concentration and stress duration had significant effects on all measured physiological indexes, and except soluble sugar, Mn concentration and stress time displayed a significant interaction on the physiological indexes.DiscussionOur study demonstrates that the physiological indexes of B. papyrifera display dynamic characteristics under Mn stress. Thus, during the monitoring process of Mn stress, it appears to be necessary to appropriately select sampling parts according to Mn concentration

Cerebral endothelial cell derived small extracellular vesicles improve cognitive function in aged diabetic rats

Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) mediate cell-cell communication by transferring their cargo biological materials into recipient cells. Diabetes mellitus (DM) induces cerebral vascular dysfunction and neurogenesis impairment, which are associated with cognitive decline and an increased risk of developing dementia. Whether the sEVs are involved in DM-induced cerebral vascular disease, is unknown. Therefore, we studied sEVs derived from cerebral endothelial cells (CEC-sEVs) of aged DM rats (DM-CEC-sEVs) and found that DM-CEC-sEVs robustly inhibited neural stem cell (NSC) generation of new neuroblasts and damaged cerebral endothelial function. Treatment of aged DM-rats with CEC-sEVs derived from adult healthy normal rats (N-CEC-sEVs) ameliorated cognitive deficits and improved cerebral vascular function and enhanced neurogenesis. Intravenously administered N-CEC-sEVs crossed the blood brain barrier and were internalized by neural stem cells in the neurogenic region, which were associated with augmentation of miR-1 and -146a and reduction of myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 and thrombospondin 1 proteins. In addition, uptake of N-CEC-sEVs by the recipient cells was mediated by clathrin and caveolin dependent endocytosis signaling pathways. The present study provides ex vivo and in vivo evidence that DM-CEC-sEVs induce cerebral vascular dysfunction and neurogenesis impairment and that N-CEC-sEVs have a therapeutic effect on improvement of cognitive function by ameliorating dysfunction of cerebral vessels and increasing neurogenesis in aged DM rats, respectively

Cross-Database Analysis Reveals Sensitive Biomarkers for Combined Therapy for ERBB2+ Gastric Cancer

Exploring ERBB2-related pathways will help us finding sensitive molecules and potential combined therapeutic targets of ERBB2-targeted therapy for ERBB2+ gastric cancer (GC). In this study, we performed a cross-databases study focused on ERBB2+ GC. The data of ERBB2+ GC deposited in the cancer genome atlas (TCGA), gene expression omnibus (GEO), InBio MapTM, cancer cell line encyclopedia (CCLE), and cancer therapeutics response portal (CTRP) were analyzed. The correlation of expression levels of candidate and IC50 of candidate genes-targeted drugs were verified on NCI-N87 and MKN-45 GC cell lines. We found that RARA, THRA, CACNB1, and TOP2A are drug sensitive biomarkers of ERBB2-targeted treatment with FDA-approved drugs. All these genes act through Myc signaling pathway. Myc is the downstream hub gene of both ERBB2 and RARA. The expression of RARA, THRA, and CACNB1 were negatively correlated with Myc activation, while ERBB2 and TOP2A positively correlated with Myc activation. SH3BGRL3, SH3BGRL, and NRG2 were identified as potential ligands of ERBB2. The ERBB2+ GC with RARA amplification demonstrated better prognosis than those without RARA amplification, while overexpression of NRG2 and SH3BGRL correlated with poor prognosis in ERBB2+ GC. About 90% of ERBB2+ GC was compatible with chromosome instability (CIN) subtype of TCGA, which overlaps with intestinal-type GC in Lauren classification. In validating experiments, combination of Lapatinib and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) synergistically suppresses cell growth, and accompanied by decreased expression of MYC. In conclusions, we identified several predicting biomarkers for ERBB2-targeted therapy and corresponding histological features of ERBB2+ GC. Combination of ERBB2 antagonist or RARA agonist may be effective synergistic regimens for ERBB2+ GC

Photoflexoelectric effect in halide perovskites

Harvesting environmental energy to generate electricity is a key scientific and technological endeavour of our time. Photovoltaic conversion and electromechanical transduction are two common energy-harvesting mechanisms based on, respectively, semiconducting junctions and piezoelectric insulators. However, the different material families on which these transduction phenomena are based complicate their integration into single devices. Here we demonstrate that halide perovskites, a family of highly efficient photovoltaic materials, display a photoflexoelectric effect whereby, under a combination of illumination and oscillation driven by a piezoelectric actuator, they generate orders of magnitude higher flexoelectricity than in the dark. We also show that photoflexoelectricity is not exclusive to halides but a general property of semiconductors that potentially enables simultaneous electromechanical and photovoltaic transduction and harvesting in unison from multiple energy inputs

Geographic Variation Did Not Affect the Predictive Power of Salivary Microbiota for Caries in Children With Mixed Dentition

Dental caries is one of the most prevalent chronic oral diseases, affecting approximately half of children worldwide. The microbial composition of dental caries may depend on age, oral health, diet, and geography, yet the effect of geography on these microbiomes is largely underexplored. Here, we profiled and compared saliva microbiota from 130 individuals aged 6 to 8 years old, representing both healthy children (H group) and children with caries-affected (C group) from two geographical regions of China: a northern city (Qingdao group) and a southern city (Guangzhou group). First, the saliva microbiota exhibited profound differences in diversity and composition between the C and H groups. The caries microbiota featured a lower alpha diversity and more variable community structure than the healthy microbiota. Furthermore, the relative abundance of several genera (e.g., Lactobacillus, Gemella, Cryptobacterium and Mitsuokella) was significantly higher in the C group than in the H group (p<0.05). Next, geography dominated over disease status in shaping salivary microbiota, and a wide array of salivary bacteria was highly predictive of the individuals’ city of origin. Finally, we built a universal diagnostic model based on 14 bacterial species, which can diagnose caries with 87% (AUC=86.00%) and 85% (AUC=91.02%) accuracy within each city and 83% accuracy across cities (AUC=92.17%). Although the detection rate of Streptococcus mutans in populations is not very high, it could be regarded as a single biomarker to diagnose caries with decent accuracy. These findings demonstrated that despite the large effect size of geography, a universal model based on salivary microbiota has the potential to diagnose caries across the Chinese child population