Integrated spatial metabolomics and transcriptomics decipher the hepatoprotection mechanisms of wedelolactone and demethylwedelolactone on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Eclipta prostrata L.has been used in traditional medicine and known for its liver-protective properties for centuries.Wedelolactone(WEL)and demethylwedelolactone(DWEL)are the major coumarins found in E.prostrata L.However,the comprehensive characterization of these two compounds on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)still remains to be explored.Utilizing a well-established zebrafish model of thioacetamide(TAA)-induced liver injury,the present study sought to investigate the impacts and mechanisms of WEL and DWEL on NAFLD through integrative spatial metabolomics with liver-specific transcriptomics analysis.Our results showed that WEL and DWEL significantly improved liver function and reduced the accumulation of fat in the liver.The biodistributions and metabolism of these two compounds in whole-body zebrafish were successfully mapped,and the discriminatory endogenous metabolites reversely regulated by WEL and DWEL treatments were also characterized.Based on spatial metabolomics and transcriptomics,we identified that steroid biosynthesis and fatty acid metabolism are mainly involved in the hepatoprotective effects of WEL instead of DWEL.Our study unveils the distinct mechanism of WEL and DWEL in ameliorating NAFLD,and presents a“multi-omics”platform of spatial metabolomics and liver-specific transcriptomics to develop highly effective compounds for further improved therapy.

Visualizing the spatial distribution and alteration of metabolites in continuously cropped Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge using MALDI-MSI

Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge(SMB)has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.Growing clinical usage has led to a huge demand for artificial planting of SMB.Thus,continuous cropping of SMB is an important challenge that needs to be addressed.Continuous cropping can alter the metabolic profile of plants,resulting in poor growth and low yield.In this study,we tried to image the spatial location and variation of endogenous metabolites in continuously cropped SMB using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging(MALDIMSI).Spatially resolved expressions of tanshinones,salvianolic acids,polyamines,phenolic acids,amino acids,and oligosaccharides in normal and continuously cropped SMB roots were compared.The expressions of dihydrotanshinone Ⅰ,tanshinone Ⅱ A,dehydromiltirone,miltirone,dehydrotanshinone ⅡA,spermine,salvianolic acid B/E,tetrasaccharide,and pentasaccharide in continuously cropped SMB roots were much lower than those in normal roots.There was little difference in the expressions of caffeic acid and salvianolic acid A in normal and continuously cropped SMB roots.Ferulic acid was more widely distributed in xylem of normal SMB but strongly expressed in xylem,phloem,and cambium of continuously cropped SMB.The spatially resolved metabolite information enhances our understanding of the metabolic signature of continuously cropped SMB and also provides insights into the metabolic effects of continuous cropping in other plants.

Sympathetic electromagnetically induced transparency ground state cooling of a~(40)Ca^(+)–~(27)Al^(+)pair in an~(27)Al^(+)clock

We report on electromagnetically induced transparency cooling of ^(40)Ca^(+)to sympathetically cool the threedimensional secular modes of motion in a ^(40)Ca^(+)–^(27)Al^(+)two-ion pair near the ground state.We observe simultaneous ground state cooling across all radial modes and axial modes of a ^(40)Ca^(+)–^(27)Al^(+)ion pair,occupying a broader cooling range in frequency space over 3 MHz.The cooling time is observed to be less than 1 ms.The mean phonon number and heating rates of all motional modes are measured.This study is not only an important step for reducing the secular motion time-dilation shift uncertainty and uptime ratio of ^(27)Al^(+)optical clock,but also essential for high-fidelity quantum simulations and quantum information processors using trapped ions.

Traffic-oriented reconfigurable NoC with augmented inter-port buffer sharing

As the number of cores in a multicore system increases,the communication pressure on the interconnection network also increases.The network-on-chip(NoC)architecture is expected to take on the ever-expanding communication demands triggered by the ever-increasing number of cores.The communication behavior of the NoC architecture exhibits significant spatial–temporal variation,posing a considerable challenge for NoC reconfiguration.In this paper,we propose a traffic-oriented reconfigurable NoC with augmented inter-port buffer sharing to adapt to the varying traffic flows with a high flexibility.First,a modified input port is introduced to support buffer sharing between adjacent ports.Specifically,the modified input port can be dynamically reconfigured to react to on-demand traffic.Second,it is ascertained that a centralized output-oriented buffer management works well with the reconfigurable input ports.Finally,this reconfiguration method can be implemented with a low overhead hardware design without imposing a great burden on the system implementation.The experimental results show that compared to other proposals,the proposed NoC architecture can greatly reduce the packet latency and improve the saturation throughput,without incurring significant area and power overhead.

A high-performance bio-tissue imaging method using air flow-assisted desorption electrospray ionization coupled with a high-resolution mass spectrometer

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) technology can simultaneously obtain the spatial distribution of thousands of chemical compounds and has unique advantages compared to other techniques that allow mapping the surface of bio-tissue. Here, we combined an air flow-assisted desorption electrospray ionization (AFADESI) MSI device with a high-resolution mass spectrometer to optimize the system parameters and achieve more accurate spatial distribution characteristics for compounds of interest while investigating bio-tissue sections. The platform set-up, required instrumentation, sample pretreatment, parameter optimization and bio-tissue characterization are described and discussed.Finally, the parameter conditions that can provide optimal ionic intensity and enhanced resolution were confirmed. The reasonable resolution and sensitivity improvements of AFADESI-MSI have been achieved through tandem a high-resolution mass spectrometer system, therefore, it would be a promising technique for the bio-tissue imaging analysis.

A rapid and sensitive UPLC–MS/MS method for quantitative determination of arformoterol in rat plasma, lung and trachea tissues

A rapid and sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry（UPLC–MS/MS） method was developed and fully validated for determination of arformoterol in rat plasma, lung and trachea tissues. The chromatographic separation was performed on an Agilent XDB C8 column with gradient elution by using acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid water. The method presented high sensitivity（LLOQ of 1.83 pg/mL for plasma and 3.90 pg/mL for lung and trachea tissue homogenates） and great linearity over the range of 1.83–458 pg/mL for plasma, 13.9–1560 pg/mL for lung and trachea tissue homogenates. No carry over effect and matrix effect were observed. The intra-and inter-day precision/accuracy were within ±15% at three quality control concentration levels. This robust method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic, lung and trachea tissue distribution study after inhalation administration of arformoterol tartrate inhalation solution（50 m g/kg）. The in vivo information indicate that arformoterol can be rapidly absorbed into blood through respiratory systems, lung and trachea tissue maintain a certain amount of arformoterol in 1 h after dosing.

A novel on-tissue cycloaddition reagent for mass spectrometry imaging of lipid C=C position isomers in biological tissues

Application of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging(MALDI-MSI) to investigate the spatiotemporal alterations of lipids in biological tissues has brought many significant results.However, the presence of structural isomers varying in C=C double bond(DB) locations makes isomerresolved MSI an urgent need. Herein, we introduce a new type of light-driven on-tissue [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction coupled with MALDI-MS/MS imaging to identify lipid DB position isomers and their spatial signatures in biological tissues. 3-Benzoylpyridine was introduced as a novel derivatization reagent, and it exhibited great reactivity toward lipid C=C bond to form oxetanes under both ultraviolet light and visible light irradiation. With this approach, DB position isomers of lipids were imaged with highly differential levels in distinct regions of rat brain, providing an accurate and spatially resolved approach to study tissue lipidomics.