Metformin alleviates spinal cord injury by inhibiting nerve cell ferroptosis through upregulation of heme oxygenase-1 expression

Previous studies have reported upregulation of heme oxygenase-1 in different central nervous system injury models.Heme oxygenase-1 plays a critical anti-inflammatory role and is essential for regulating cellular redox homeostasis.Metformin is a classic drug used to treat type 2 diabetes that can inhibit ferroptosis.Previous studies have shown that,when used to treat cardiovascular and digestive system diseases,metformin can also upregulate heme oxygenase-1 expression.Therefore,we hypothesized that heme oxygenase-1 plays a significant role in mediating the beneficial effects of metformin on neuronal ferroptosis after spinal cord injury.To test this,we first performed a bioinformatics analysis based on the GEO database and found that heme oxygenase-1 was upregulated in the lesion of rats with spinal cord injury.Next,we confirmed this finding in a rat model of T9 spinal cord compression injury that exhibited spinal cord nerve cell ferroptosis.Continuous intraperitoneal injection of metformin for 14 days was found to both upregulate heme oxygenase-1 expression and reduce neuronal ferroptosis in rats with spinal cord injury.Subsequently,we used a lentivirus vector to knock down heme oxygenase-1 expression in the spinal cord,and found that this significantly reduced the effect of metformin on ferroptosis after spinal cord injury.Taken together,these findings suggest that metformin inhibits neuronal ferroptosis after spinal cord injury,and that this effect is partially dependent on upregulation of heme oxygenase-1.

Effects of Fruticosa potentilla L. on Expression of Glucose and Lipid Metabolism Key Enzymes and Hormones in T2DM Rats

[Objectives]To study the effects of Fruticosa potentilla L.on the expression of key enzymes and hormones related to glucose and lipid metabolism in T2DM rats.[Methods]The ethyl acetate fraction of 95%methanol extract of F.potentilla(MEE)was administered orally to the T2DM rats,and the level of glucose and expression of insulin,resistin,leptin,glucokinase(GK)and glucose-6-phosphatase(G-6-Pase)in the rats were measured and detected.[Results]In the T2DM rats administered with MEE,the postprandial blood glucose level decreased,the expression levels of resistin,leptin and G-6-Pase were down-regulated,and the expression levels of insulin and GK were up-regulated(P<0.05,P<0.01).[Conclusions]F.potentilla can reduce effectively postprandial blood glucose level,regulate the expression of a variety of enzymes and hormones related to glucose and lipid metabolism and recover partially the insulin level in T2DM rats to achieve resistance to T2DM.

Identification of the primary motor area by three-dimensional reconstruction of the corticospinal tract using diffusion tensor imaging

Functional MRI （fMRI） is widely used as a non-invasive method for the evaluation of pre-operation motor function.However,patients with cortical function impairment,such as those with hemiparesis,can rarely achieve hand clenching,a typical fMRI task for central sulcus identification,and the method is also of limited use in uncooperative children.Thus,it is important to develop a new method for identifying primary motor areas （PMA） in such individuals.This study used corticospinal tractography to identify the PMA in 20 patients with deep-seated brain tumor.Two regions of interest were set within the brainstem for corticospinal tract （CST） fiber tracking：one at the level of the pons and the other at the level of the cerebral peduncle.The CST fiber tracking results and fMRI activation signals were merged with three-dimensional anatomic MRI findings.The consistency of identifying the PMA by CST and fMRI was analyzed.fMRI activation signals were distributed mainly in the contralateral central sulcus around the omega-shaped hand knob.The CST consistently propagated from the pons and cerebral peduncle to the suspected PMA location.There was a good correlation between CST fiber tracking results and fMRI activation signals in terms of their abilities to identify the PMA.The differences between fMRI and CST fiber tracking findings may result from our functional task,which consisted only of hand movements.Our results indicate that diffusion tensor imaging is a useful brain mapping technique for identifying the PMA in paralyzed patients and uncooperative children.

Simple and efficient delivery of cellimpermeable organic fluorescent probes into live cells for live-cell superresolution imaging

Numerous commercial organic fluorophores with excellent optical properties are precluded from live-cell superresolution imaging due to poor cell permeability.Here,we develop a simple but effective strategy that renders cells permeable to cell-impermeable,organic fluorescent probes by using a novel peptide vehicle,PV-1.By simple coincubation with PV-1,22 different cell-impermeable,organic fluorescent probes were efficiently delivered into live cells and specifically labeled a variety of organelles.Moreover,PV-1 can simultaneously transfer up to three different probes into live cells.By using PV-1 and these cell-impermeable fluorescent probes,we obtained multicolor,longterm,live-cell superresolution images of various organelles,which allowed us to study the dynamic interactions between them.PV-1,together with these organic fluorescent probes,will greatly broaden the applications of superresolution imaging technology in diverse live-cell studies and opens up a new avenue in the design and application of peptide vehicles.

Author Correction:Simple and efficient delivery of cell-impermeable organic fluorescent probes into live cells for live-cell superresolution imaging

Because dfTAT(Nat Methods,2014,11(8):861−867)and 3TAT(Traffic,2018,19(6):421−435)have been reported to be able to deliver SNAP-surface 488 into live cells,our claim that“PV-1 is the first vehicle that can transfer cellimpermeable organic fluorescent probes into live cells with satisfactory efficiency for imaging,requiring only the coincubation of the probes with PV-1”is inaccurate.To address this discrepancy,we have made the following corrections to the article on the recommendations of the editor.

汇款与情感:当代朝鲜族跨国家庭关系动力学

本文以朝鲜族一位普通移民女性的汇款经历及其家庭关系的变化,试图说明跨国汇款是在情感与经济上维持跨国家庭的重要模式,并充满了情爱、义务和怨恨。事实上,尽管汇款对维持家庭关系和为跨国生活不稳定提供相应缓冲发挥了重要作用,但同时也伴随着额外的情感压力。当代朝鲜族跨国家庭的生活经历揭示了汇款实践对维持跨国家庭关系的象征意义和情感意义、对朝鲜族跨国家庭归属方面带来的变化,以及由此造成的跨国家庭模式的复杂性。