The initial attempt to reveal the emission processes of both mechanoluminescence and room temperature phosphorescence with the aid of circular dichroism in solid state

A phenothiazine derivative PtzChol containing non-conjugated chiral cholesterol group was designed and synthesized. By analyzing the single crystal structure of PtzChol carefully, coupled with the circular dichroism(CD) signals before and after grinding, it was found that the introduction of cholesterol produced a positive effect on the production of chiral space group, on mechanoluminescence(ML) and room temperature phosphorescence(RTP), and throughout the entire light-emitting process, the CD signal could well reflect the changes of molecular arrangement.

The Notch pathway attenuates burn-induced acute lung injury in rats by repressing reactive oxygen species

Background:Acute lung injury(ALI)is a common complication following severe burns.The underlying mechanisms of ALI are incompletely understood;thus,available treatments are not sufficient to repair the lung tissue after ALI.Methods:To investigate the relationship between the Notch pathway and burn-induced lung injury,we established a rat burn injury model by scalding and verified lung injury via lung injury evaluations,including hematoxylin and eosin(H&E)staining,lung injury scoring,bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and wet/dry ratio analyses,myeloperoxidase immunohistochemical staining and reac-tive oxygen species(ROS)accumulation analysis.To explore whether burn injury affects Notch1 expression,we detected the expression of Notch1 and Hes1 after burn injury.Then,we extracted pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells(PMVECs)and conducted Notch pathway inhibition and activation experiments,via aγ-secretase inhibitor(GSI)and OP9-DLL1 coculture,respectively,to verify the regulatory effect of the Notch pathway on ROS accumulation and apoptosis in burn-serum-stimulated PMVECs.To investigate the regulatory effect of the Notch pathway on ROS accumulation,we detected the expression of oxidative-stress-related molecules such as superoxide dismutase,nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate(NADPH)oxidase(NOX)2,NOX4 and cleaved caspase-3.NOX4-specific small interfering RNA(siRNA)and the inhibitor GKT137831 were used to verify the regulatory effect of the Notch pathway on ROS via NOX4.Results:We successfully established a burn model and revealed that lung injury,excessive ROS accumulation and an inflammatory response occurred.Notch1 detection showed that the expression of Notch1 was significantly increased after burn injury.In PMVECs challenged with burn serum,ROS and cell death were elevated.Moreover,when the Notch pathway was suppressed by GSI,ROS and cell apoptosis levels were significantly increased.Conversely,these parameters were reduced when the Notch pathway was activated by OP9-DLL1.Mechanistically,the inhibition of NOX4 by siRNA and GKT137831 showed that the Notch pathway reduced ROS production and cell apoptosis by downregulating the expression of NOX4 in PMVECs.Conclusions:The Notch pathway reduced ROS production and apoptosis by downregulating the expression of NOX4 in burn-stimulated PMVECs.The Notch-NOX4 pathway may be a novel therapeutic target to treat burn-induced ALI.

Induced circularly polarized luminescence of perovskite nanocrystals by self-assembly chiral gel

Perovskites nanocrystals(NCs)with circularly polarized light(CPL)activity have drawn much attention due to the fascinating photoelectric properties of perovskite NCs as well as the abundant applications of CPL in three-dimensional(3D)displays,nonlinear optics,spintronics devices,CPL lasers,and so on.Herein,bio-inspired by life,we designed and synthesized a simple amphiphilic molecule which could self-assemble into chiral gel with helix chirality in non-polar solvents.Through co-assembly of the CsPbX3 NCs with the chiral gel,CPL at the first excitation band of CsPbX3 NCs is induced in the whole visible spectrum with a maximum glum of 8.2×10−3.The induced CPL arises from the selective CPL-absorption of the CsPbX3 NCs’luminesce by the chiral gel,which provides a facile and practical approach to induce CPL in perovskite NCs and other nanocrystals.

Adoptive transfer of metabolically reprogrammed macrophages for atherosclerosis treatment in diabetic ApoE^(-/-) mice

Atherosclerosis is characterized by inflammation in the arterial wall,which is known to be exacerbated by diabetes.Therapeutic repression of inflammation is a promising strategy for treating atherosclerosis.In this study,we showed that diabetes aggravated atherosclerosis in apolipoproteinE knockout(ApoE^(-/-))mice,in which increased expression of long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase 1(Acsl1)in macrophages played an important role.Knockdown of Acsl1 in macrophages(Mφ^(shAcsl1))reprogrammed macrophages to an anti-inflammatory phenotype,especially under hyperglycemic conditions.Injection of Mφ^(shAcsl1) reprogrammed macrophages into streptozotocin(STZ)-induced diabetic ApoE^(-/-) mice(ApoE^(-/-)+STZ)alleviated inflammation locally in the plaque,liver and spleen.Consistent with the reduction in inflammation,plaques became smaller and more stable after the adoptive transfer of reprogrammed macrophages.Taken together,our findings indicate that increased Acsl1 expression in macrophages play a key role in aggravated atherosclerosis of diabetic mice,possibly by promoting inflammation.Adoptive transfer of Acsl1 silenced macrophages may serve as a potential therapeutic strategy for atherosclerosis.

A fluorogenic-inhibitor-based probe for profiling and imaging of monoamine oxidase A in live human glioma cells and clinical tissues

Monoamine oxidase A(MAO-A)plays a critical role in the development of glioma and other neurological disorders.Specific analysis of MAO-A activities and its drug interactions in intact tissue is important for biological and pharmacological research,but highly challenging with current chemical tools.Fluorogenic-inhibitor-based probes offer improved selectivity,sensitivity,and effectiveness to image and profile endogenous targets in an activity-based manner from mammalian cells,which are however rare.Herein,we report HD1 as the first fluorogenic-inhibitor-based probe that can selectively label endogenous MAO-A from various mammalian cells and clinical tissues.The probe was delicately designed based on N-propargyl tetrahydropyridine,a small MAO-A-specific fluorogenic and inhibitory war-head,so that the probe becomes fluorescent upon in situ enzymatic oxidation and covalent labeling of MAO-A.With the excellent binding affinity(in vitro K_(i)=285 n M)and fluorogenic properties,HD1 offers a promising approach to simultaneously image endogenous MAO-A activities by super-resolution fluorescence microscopy and study its drug interactions by subsequent activity-based protein profiling,in both live cells and human glioma tissues.