Morphological and biochemical characteristics associated with autophagy in gastrointestinal diseases

Autophagy is a cellular catabolic process characterized by the formation of double-membrane autophagosomes.Transmission electron microscopy is the most rigorous method to clearly visualize autophagic engulfment and degradation.A large number of studies have shown that autophagy is closely related to the digestion,secretion,and regeneration of gastrointestinal(GI)cells.However,the role of autophagy in GI diseases remains controversial.This article focuses on the morphological and biochemical characteristics of autophagy in GI diseases,in order to provide new ideas for their diagnosis and treatment.

Fluorescent intracellular imaging of reactive oxygen species and pH levels moderated by a hydrogenase mimic in living cells

The catalytic generation of H_(2) in living cells provides a method for antioxidant therapy.In this study,an[FeFe]-hydrogenase mimic[Ru+Fe_(2)S_(2)@F127(80)]was synthesized by self-assembling polymeric pluronic F-127,catalytic[Fe_(2)S_(2)]sites,and photosensitizer Ru(bpy)_(3)^(2+).Under blue light irradiation,hydrated protons were photochemically reduced to H2,which increased the local pH in living cells(HeLa cells).The generated H2 was subsequently used as an antioxidant to decrease reactive oxygen species(ROS)levels in living cells(HEK 293T,HepG2,MCF-7,and HeLa cells).Our findings revealed that the proliferation of HEK 293T cells increased by a factor of about six times,relative to that of other cells(HepG2,MCF-7,and HeLa cells).Intracellular ROS and pH levels were then monitored using fluorescent cell imaging.Our study showed that cell imaging can be used to evaluate the ability of Ru t Fe2S2@F127 to eliminate oxidative stress and prevent ROS-related diseases.

Strain engineering of ion migration in LiCoO_(2)

Strain engineering is a powerful approach for tuning various properties of functional materials. The influences of lattice strain on the Li-ion migration energy barrier of lithium-ions in layered LiCoO_(2) have been systemically studied using lattice dynamics simulations, analytical function and neural network method. We have identified two Li-ion migration paths, oxygen dumbbell hop (ODH), and tetrahedral site hop (TSH) with different concentrations of local defects. We found that Li-ion migration energy barriers increased with the increase of pressure for both ODH and TSH cases, while decreased significantly with applied tensile uniaxial c-axis strain for ODH and TSH cases or compressive in-plane strain for TSH case. Our work provides the complete strain-map for enhancing the diffusivity of Li-ion in LiCoO_(2), and therefore, indicates a new way to achieve better rate performance through strain engineering.

The development of laminin-alginate microspheres encapsulated with Ginsenoside Rg1 and ADSCs for breast reconstruction after lumpectomy

Many technologies have been developed for breast reconstruction after lumpectomy.Although the technologies achieved promising success in clinical,there are still many shortages hanging over and trouble the researchers.Tissue engineering technology was introduced to plastic surgery that gave a light to lumpectomy patients in breast reconstruction.The unexpected absorption rate,resulting from limited vascularization and low cell survival rate,is a major factor that leads to unsatisfactory results for the previous studies in our lab.In the study,the laminin-modified alginate synthesized by a new method of low concertation of sodium periodate would be mixed with ADSCs and Rg1 in the medium;and then sprayed into a calcium chloride(CaCl2)solution to prepare into microsphere(abbreviated as ADSC-G-LAMS)by bio-electrospray with a power syringe for the mass production and smaller bead size.The developed ADSC-G-LAMS microspheres had the diameter of 232±42μm.Sustained-release of the Rg1 retained its biological activity.WST-1,live/dead staining,and chromosome aberration assay were evaluated to confirm the safety of the microspheres.In in vivo study,ADSC-G-LAMS microspheres combined with autologous adipocytes were transplanted into the dorsum of rats by subcutaneous injection.The efficacy was investigated by H&E and immunofluorescence staining.The results showed that the bioactive ADSC-G-LAMS microspheres could integrate well into the host adipose tissue with an adequate rate of angiogenesis by constantly releasing Rg1 to enhance the ADSC or adipocyte survival rate to join tissue growth and repair with adipogenesis for breast reconstruction after lumpectomy.