The functions and applications of A7R in anti-angiogenic therapy, imaging and drug delivery systems

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2(VEGFR-2)and neuropilin-1(NRP-1)are two prominent antiangiogenic targets.They are highly expressed on vascular endothelial cells and some tumor cells.Therefore,targeting VEGFR-2 and NRP-1 may be a potential antiangiogenic and antitumor strategy.A7R,a peptide with sequence of Ala-Thr-Trp-Leu-Pro-Pro-Arg that was found by phage display of peptide libraries,can preferentially target VEGFR-2 and NRP-1 and destroy the binding between vascular endothelial growth factor 165(VEGF165)and VEGFR-2 or NRP-1.This peptide is a new potent inhibitor of tumor angiogenesis and a targeting ligand for cancer therapy.This review describes the discovery,function and mechanism of the action of A7R,and further introduces the applications of A7R in antitumor angiogenic treatments,tumor angiogenesis imaging and targeted drug delivery systems.In this review,strategies to deliver different drugs by A7R-modified liposomes and nanoparticles are highlighted.A7R,a new dual targeting ligand of VEGFR-2 and NRP-1,is expected to have efficient therapeutic or targeting roles in tumor drug delivery.

Risk Early-Warning Method for Natural Disasters Based on Integration of Entropy and DEA Model

Risk early-warning of natural disasters is a very intricate non-deterministic prediction, and it was difficult to resolve the conflicts and incompatibility of the risk structure. Risk early-warning factors of natural disasters were differentiated into essential attributes and external characters, and its workflow mode was established on risk early-warning structure with integrated Entropy and DEA model, whose steps were put forward. On the basis of standard risk early-warning DEA model of natural disasters, weight coefficient of risk early-warning factors was determined with Information Entropy method, which improved standard risk early-warning DEA model with non-Archimedean infinitesimal, and established risk early-warning preference DEA model based on integrated entropy weight and DEA Model. Finally, model was applied into landslide risk early-warning case in earthquake-damaged emergency process on slope engineering, which exemplified the outcome could reflect more risk information than the method of standard DEA model, and reflected the rationality, feasibility, and impersonality, revealing its better ability on comprehensive safety and structure risk.

Astrocytic effect of low molecular weight heparin-superoxide dismutase conjugate in interleukin-6 overexpressing mice following local cerebral ischemia

BACKGROUND： Studies have shown that low molecular weight heparin-superoxide dismutase conjugate exhibits a remarkable neuroprotective effect. OBJECTIVE： To investigate the effect of low molecular weight heparin-superoxide dismutase conjugate on astrocytes in an interleukin-6 （IL-6） overexpressing mice following local cerebral ischemia. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： Randomized, cytological, controlled, animal study was performed in the Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Neurology and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina from January 2005 to March 2005. MATERIALS： Nine IL-6 transgenic mice, irrespective of gender, were randomly divided into three groups： sham-operated, model, and treatment, with three mice in each group. With exception of the sham-operated group, right middle cerebral artery occlusion was induced in the mice. Expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein, an astrocyte marker, was determined by immunohistochemistry. Low molecular weight heparin-superoxide dismutase conjugate was purchased from Biochemistry and Biotechnique Institute, Shandong University. METHODS： Two minutes prior to ischemia induction, 0.5 mL/kg saline or 20 000 U/kg low molecular weight heparin-superoxide dismutase conjugate were administrated via the femoral artery in the model group and treatment group, respectively. The sham-operated group underwent the same protocols, with the exception of occlusion and treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： The number of glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive cells was quantified under light microscopy （x200）. RESULTS： In the sham-operated group, there were a large number of astrocytes in the IL-6 transgenic mice. However, the cell bodies were small, and the branches were few and thin. The number of astrocytes in the model group was remarkably less than the sham-operated group. Compared to the model and sham-operated groups, the number of astrocytes significantly increased, and the cell body became larger, following treatment with low molecular weight heparin-superoxide dismutase conjugate. Astrocytes exhibited hypertrophy and hyperplasia, and the processes became longer and thicker. CONCLUSION： The low molecular weight heparin-superoxide dismutase conjugate may provide neuroprotection through astrocytic activation at the super-early stage of cerebral ischemia and reperfusion.

Entropy-Based Set Pair Analysis Model on Geological Disaster Risk for Military Engineering

Measuring the geological disaster-risked situation, is a typical non-deterministic decision-making issue in disaster pre- vention and emergency response science for military engineering. Based on the given geological disaster risk analysis mechanism, geological disaster risk monitoring matrix was established, and risk characters’ value was obtained by mining the hidden information in the monitoring matrix with Entropy theory;with Identity, Discrepancy, and Contrary of Set Pair Analysis and distance measurement, geological disaster-risked model was erected for military engineering, and the steps were given for measuring geological disaster risk, which determined geological disaster-risked SPA force and order relationship of military engineering. Finally, case showed that model has the feasibility and effectiveness over measuring the geological disaster-risked situation for military engineering.

Effects of low molecular weight heparin-superoxide dismutase conjugate on serum levels of nitric oxide,glutathione peroxidase,and myeloperoxidase in a gerbil model of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury

BACKGROUND： Several studies have demonstrated that low molecular weight heparin-superoxide dismutase （LMWH-SOD） conjugate may exhibit good neuroprotective effects on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury though anticoagulation, decreasing blood viscosity, having anti-inflammatory activity, and scavenging oxygen free radicals. OBJECTIVE： To investigate the intervention effects of LMWH-SOD conjugate on serum levels of nitric oxide （NO）, glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px）, and myeloperoxidase （MPO） following cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： A randomized, controlled, and neurobiochemical experiment was performed at the Institute of Biochemical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University between April and July 2004. MATERIALS： A total of 60 Mongolian gerbils of either gender were included in this study. Total cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury was induced in 50 gerbils by occluding bilateral common carotid arteries. The remaining 10 gerbils received a sham-operation （sham-operated group）. Kits of SOD, NO, and MPO were sourced from Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute, China. LMWH, SOD, and LMWH-SOD conjugates were provided by Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnique, Shandong University, China. METHODS： Fifty successful gerbil models of total cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury were evenly randomized to five groups： physiological saline, LMWH-SOD, SOD, LMWH ＋ SOD, and LMWH. At 2 minutes prior to ischemia, 0.5 mL/65 g physiological saline, 20 000 U/kg LMWH-SOD conjugate, 20 000 U/kg SOD, a mixture of SOD （20 000 U/kg） and LMWH （LMWH dose calculated according to weight ratio, LMWH： SOD = 23.6：51）, and LMWH （dose as in the LMWH ＋ SOD group） were administered through the femoral artery in each above-mentioned group, respectively. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Serum levels of NO, MPO, and GSH-Px. RESULTS： Compared with 10 sham-operated gerbils, the cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury gerbils exhibited decreased serum levels of GSH-Px and increased serum levels of NO and MPO （P 〈 0.01）. The serum level of GSH-Px was significantly upregulated in all groups, in particular in the LMWH-SOD group （P 〈 0.01）, compared with the physiological saline group （P 〈 0.05-0.01）. Following medical treatment, serum levels of NO and MPO were significantly downregulated in all groups, in particular in the LMWH-SOD group （P 〈 0.01）. Serum levels of GSH-Px, NO, and MPO in the LMWH-SOD group were close to those in the sham-operated group （P 〉 0.05）. CONCLUSION： In cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury, LMWH-SOD conjugate exhibits stronger neuroprotective effects on free radical scavenging, inflammation inhibition, and cytotoxicity inhibition than simple or combined application of LMWH and SOD by downregulating NO and MPO levels and upregulating the GSH-Px level.

The relevance study of effective information between near infrared spectroscopy and chondroitin sulfate in ethanol precipitation process

Near infrared spectroscopy(NIRS)is based on molecular overtone and combination vibrations.It is difficult to assign specific features under complicated system.So it is necessary to find the relevance between NIRS and target compound.For this purpose,the chondroitin sulfate(CS)ethanol precipitation process was selected as the research model,and 90 samples of 5 different batches were collected and the content of CS was determined by modifed carbazole method.The relevance between NIRS and CS was studied throughout optical pathlength,pretreat ment methods and variables selection methods.In conclusion,the first derivative with Savitzky--Golay(SG)smoothing was selected as the best pretreatment,and the best spectral region was selected using interval partial least squares(iPLS)method under 1 mm optical cell.A multivariate cali-bration model was established using PLS algorithm for determining the content of CS,and the root mean square error of prediction(RMSEP)is 3.934gL-1.This method will have great potential in process analytical technology in the future.

Concise Synthesis of Lactococcus garvieae Lipoteichoic Acids Through an Additive-Modulated Preactivation Protocol and the Immunological Studies

Lipoteichoic acids(LTAs)are macroamphiphiles composed of alditol,lipid,phosphate,and carbohydrate units.Due to their inherent complexity,it is a severe challenge to access LTAs with structural integrity from natural sources for biological or immunological evaluation.Here,we describe the first total synthesis of Lactococcus garvieae LTA(type II LTA),containing five distinct 1,2-cis gluco/galactopyranosidic linkages,via a novel additive-modulated O-glycosyl trichloroacetimidate preactivation glycosidation strategy.This strategy features(1)high glycosidation yields and excellent 1,2-cis stereoselectivities independent of the donor anomeric configuration,(2)common and inexpensive reagents as promoters and additives,(3)application to standard glycosyl imidate donors without resorting to participating protection,and(4)general application to reactive and less reactive glycosyl acceptors.Thus,via the precise stereocontrolled construction of three galactopyranosidic and two glucopyranosidic bonds on a multigram scale,a series of structurally well-defined LTA molecules were successfully assembled.Immunological evaluation of these type II synthetic LTAs showed a structure–activity relationship in the stimulation of a proinflammatory response.

Nanoscale monitoring of mitochondria and lysosome interactions for drug screening and discover

Technology advances in genomics,proteomics,and metabolomics largely expanded the pool of potential therapeutic targets.Compared with the in vitro setting,cell-based screening assays have been playing a key role in the processes of drug discovery and development.Besides the commonly used strategies based on colorimetric and cell viability,we reason that methods that capture the dynamic cellular events will facilitate optimal hit identification with high sensitivity and specificity.Herein,we propose a live-cell screening strategy using structured illumination microscopy (SIM) combined with an automated cell colocalization analysis software,CellprofilerTM,to screen and discover drugs for mitochondria and lysosomes interaction at a nanoscale resolution in living cells.This strategy quantitatively benchmarks the mitochondria-lysosome interactions such as mitochondria and lysosomes contact (MLC) and mitophagy.The automatic quantitative analysis also resolves fine changes of the mitochondria-lysosome interaction in response to genetic and pharmacological interventions.Super-resolution live-cell imaging on the basis of quantitative analysis opens up new avenues for drug screening and development by targeting dynamic organelle interactions at the nanoscale resolution,which could facilitate optimal hit identification and potentially shorten the cycle of drug discovery.

Super-resolution quantification of nanoscale damage to mitochondria in live cells

Mitochondrial damage,characterized by altered morphological distribution and the damage of cristae,is closely associated with mitochondrial disease.However,imaging methods for capturing mitochondrial morphology at the nanoscale level in live samples remain unavailable,which seriously hinders the accurate evaluation and diagnosis of mitochondrial-related diseases.In response,we propose a super-resolution quantification strategy based on structured illumination microscopy(SIM)for the rapid,accurate evaluation of mitochondrial morphology.Using the strategy,we accurately captured the morphological distribution of mitochondria at the nanoscale level in a way generally applicable to checking various cell processes and identifying patients with mitochondrial disease who exhibit the SLC25A46 mutation.We also used algorithm-assisted super-resolution imaging to quantitatively analyze damage to mitochondrial cristae,which supports a novel drug screening strategy—high-resolution drug screening—for investigating drugs’pharmacodynamics on organelles in living cells.In short,our strategy improves the accurate examination of changes in mitochondrial morphology in living cells and indicates new ways in which SIM-imaging can assist in diagnosing mitochondrial disease at the single-cell level.

Divergent Synthesis of Core m1,Core m2 and Core m3 O-Mannosyi Glycopeptides via a Chemoenzymatic Approach

O-Mannosylation plays a vital role in the regulation of a variety range of biological processes,for instance,brain and muscle development.However,the precise function remains largely unknown due to its innate heterogeneity.In this regard,it is still welcome to develop efficient methods to access diverse structurally-defined glycopeptides.In this study,a diversity-oriented assembly of O-mannosylα-dystroglycan(α-DG)glycopeptides has been achieved via a chemoenzymatic strategy.This strategy features(i)gram scale divergent synthesis of core m1,core m2 and core m3 mannosylated amino acids from judiciously designed protecting group strategies and chemical glycosidation;(i)efficient glycopeptide assembly via the optimized microwave-assisted solid phase peptide synthesis(SPpS);and(ii)enzymatic elaboration of the core glycan structures to install galactosyl and sialyl-galactosyl moieties.The efficiency and flexibility of this chemoenzymatic approach was demonstrated with the construction of 12 glycopeptides with different core m1,core m2 and core m3 mannosyl glycans,including a core m2 glycopeptide bearing a heptasaccharide for the first time.