Immunofluorescence analysis of MSC specific protein expression in NaB-treated MSCs.

<p>MSCs were treated with 1 mmol/L NaB for 48 h, stained with FITC-conjugated anti-α-SMA, calponin or SM-MHC antibodies, and observed under a fluorescence microscope. The untreated MSCs were used as negative control and the primary SMCs were used as positive control. The isotype antibody was used as a background control. DAPI was used to stain the nuclei. Scale bar = 25 µm.</p

Histone acetylation modifications in co-cultured MSCs treated with NaB.

<p>MSCs were co-cultured with SMCs in a transwell chamber for 48 h. The MSCs were pretreated with 1.0 mM NaB before co-culturing. The MSCs in the co-culture system were harvested, and the genomic DNA was isolated and sonicated for a ChIP assay with antibodies against acetyl-histone H3K9, acetyl-histone H4 and normal rat IgG. The specific DNA fragments retrieved in the pull-down were further used for qPCR assays. The qPCR primers were designed to target the promoter of each gene. Values were given as folds of enrichment relative to the IgG control. Data are expressed as the mean ± SD of three biological replicates.*, <i>P</i><0.05, **<i>P</i><0.01, ***<i>P</i><0.001 compared to the untreated MSCs. ^#, <i>P</i><0.05, ^##<i>P</i><0.01, ^###<i>P</i><0.001 compared to the co-cultured MSCs.</p

Effects of NaB on HDAC1/2 expression and recruitment in MSCs.

<p>(A) Immunofluorescence analysis of HDAC1 and HDAC2 expression in MSCs treated with NaB (1 mM for 48 h). (B) Western blot assay to determine the expression of HDAC1 and HDAC2 in MSCs treated with 1 mM NaB for 48 h. (C) ChIP-qPCR assay to determine the recruitment of HDAC1 and HDAC2 to the α-SMA, calponin and SM-MHC promoters in MSCs treated with 1 mM NaB for 48 h. The ChIP assay was conducted with ChIP grade anti-HDAC1, HDAC2 and normal rat IgG antibodies, which were incubated with the sonicated supernatants of MSCs treated with 1 mM NaB. The isolated DNA fragments were analyzed by qPCR to determine the presence of the promoter regions of the α-SMA, calponin and SM-MHC genes. Values were given as fold changes normalized with normal rat IgG control. **, <i>P</i><0.01 compared to the untreated MSCs.</p

NaB induces SMC specific gene expression in MSCs co-cultured with SMCs.

<p>MSCs were co-cultured with SMCs in a transwell chamber with SMCs in the insert chamber and MSCs in the lower chamber. The MSCs were pretreated with 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mM NaB before co-culturing. The MSCs in the co-culture system were harvested, and the expression of the SMC specific genes α-SMA, calponin and SM-MHC was determined by quantitative real-time RT-PCR (A) and Western blot (B). *, <i>P</i><0.05, **, <i>P</i><0.01 <i>vs</i>. all other time points in the same NaB concentration group; ▴, <i>P</i><0.01 <i>vs</i>. all other time points in all NaB concentration groups. (C) The co-cultured MSCs were stimulated with 1 mmol/L NaB for 48 h, stained with FITC-conjugated anti-α-SMA, calponin or SM-MHC antibodies, and observed under a fluorescence microscope. DAPI was used to stain the cell nuclei. The isotype antibody was used as a background control. Scale bar = 25 µm.</p

Upregulated IL-1 Receptor-associated Kinase 1 (IRAK1) in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: IRAK1 Inhibition Represses Th17 Differentiation with Therapeutic Potential

<p>Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a typical autoimmune disease. Genome-wide analyses have revealed that interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 (IRAK1) is associated with susceptibility to SLE. Our previous study investigated the role of IRAK1 in nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)-related pathways in a mouse model of lupus. In this study, we aimed to further explore the etiological role of IRAK1. The gene expression and phosphorylation of IRAK1 in CD4⁺ T cells from lupus patients and healthy controls were examined by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blotting, respectively. The percentage of circulating Th17 cells and plasma IL-17A levels were evaluated by flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. The influence of IRAK1 suppression on Th17 development was assessed using an IRAK1 inhibitor and small interfering RNA. We found that IRAK1 transcript levels in CD4⁺ T cells were significantly upregulated in SLE patients in comparison to controls and were positively correlated with disease activity. <i>In vitro</i> experiments showed that lupus CD4⁺ T cells had more pronounced IRAK1 phosphorylation at threonine-209 upon IL-1β stimulation than did control cells. Moreover, IRAK1 expression was positively associated with Th17/IL-17A in patients. When naïve CD4⁺ T cells were polarized toward the Th17 subset, IRAK1 inhibition significantly repressed IL-17A production and the gene expression of Th17 markers, namely, retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor c, IL-23 receptor and IL-17A. In summary, IRAK1 is overexpressed and hyperactivated in CD4⁺ T cells from SLE patients. IRAK1 inhibition attenuates Th17 differentiation in the context of human SLE, suggesting a therapeutic opportunity.</p

Mesoporous ZrO₂ Nanoframes for Biomass Upgrading

The rational design and preparation of a high-performance catalyst for biomass upgrading are of great significance and remain a great challenge. In this work, mesoporous ZrO₂ nanoframe, hollow ring, sphere, and core–shell nanostructures have been developed through a surfactant-free route for upgrading biomass acids into liquid alkane fuels. The obtained ZrO₂ nanostructures possess well-defined hollow features, high surface areas, and mesopores. The diversity of the resultant ZrO₂ nanostructures should arise from the discrepant hydrolysis of two different ligands in zirconocene dichloride (Cp₂ZrCl₂) as the zirconium precursor. The time-dependent experiments indicate that Ostwald ripening and salt-crystal-template formation mechanisms should account for hollow spheres and nanoframes, respectively. Impressively, compared with the hollow sphere, commercial nanoparticle, and the ever-reported typical results, the ZrO₂ nanoframe-promoted Ni catalyst exhibits greatly enhanced catalytic activity in the upgrading of biomass acids to liquid alkane fuels, which should be ascribed to the hollow feature, large active surface area, highly dispersed Ni, and strong metal–support interactions arising from the structural advantages of nanoframes. The nanoframes also possess excellent solvothermal and thermal stability. Our findings here can be expected to offer new perspectives in material chemistry and ZrO₂-based catalytic and other applications

Swelling Poly(ionic liquid)s: Synthesis and Application as Quasi-Homogeneous Catalysts in the Reaction of Ethylene Carbonate with Aniline

Homogeneous catalysts generally show higher catalytic activities, while heterogeneous catalysts are more easily separated from products. To combine the advantages of heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts has been of great interest for many years. Here, we report a kind of facilely prepared cross-linked poly­(ionic liquid)­s (PILs) with swelling property to increase catalytic activities of heterogeneous catalysts. The swelling ability of PILs was greatly affected by cross-linking density and chain length of substituents on imidazolium, and the unique swelling property prompted the nonporous PILs to contact with substrates sufficiently, enhancing their catalytic activities similar to homogeneous ionic liquid monomers

Correlation between tumor-infiltrating Tregs and CD4+ T cells or CD8+ T cells in PDA tissue.

<p>The correlation of the tumor-infiltrating Treg frequency with that of tumor-infiltrating CD4⁺ T cells or tumor-infiltrating CD8⁺ T cells was analyzed. Correlations between the parameters were assessed through Pearson correlation analysis.</p

Flow cytometric analysis of the T cell subtype proportions.

<p>The proportions of CD4⁺ T cells, CD8⁺ T cells and Tregs in PBMCs and in pancreatic tissue lymphocytes or tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes from healthy control and PDA patients were analyzed via FCM. (A) Lymphocyte dot plots. The gate for lymphocytes is indicated. (B) CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells were defined based on CD4⁺CD8⁻ and CD8⁺CD4⁻ gating of CD3⁺ T cells. (C) Dot plots of Foxp3⁺CD25⁺ (Treg) cells based on the gating of CD4⁺ T cells. (D) Statistical analyses of the CD8⁺ T cell, CD4+ T cell and Treg percentages in the indicated groups. C-PBMCs, control peripheral blood mononuclear cells; PDA-PBMCs, PBMCs of PDA; C-PTL, control pancreatic tissue lymphocytes; PDA-TIL, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes of PDA. Comparisons between the two groups were assessed using Student's t test. NS, not significant; *** <i>P</i><0.001.</p

Competitive Coordination Strategy to Finely Tune Pore Environment of Zirconium-Based Metal–Organic Frameworks

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of crystalline porous materials with reticular architectures. Precisely tuning pore environment of MOFs has drawn tremendous attention but remains a great challenge. In this work, we demonstrate a competitive coordination approach to synthesize a series of zirconium–metalloporphyrinic MOFs through introducing H₂O and monocarboxylic acid as modulating reagents, in which well-ordered mesoporous channels could be observed clearly under conventional transmission electron microscopy. Owing to plenty of unsaturated Lewis acid catalytic sites exposed in the visualized mesoporous channels, these structures exhibit outstanding catalytic activity and excellent stability in the chemical fixation of carbon dioxide to cyclic carbonates. The zirconium-based MOFs with ordered channel structures are expected to pave the way to expand the potential applications of MOFs