Boosting selectivity and stability on Pt/BN catalysts for propane dehydrogenation via calcination & reduction-mediated strong metal-support interaction

Propane dehydrogenation(PDH) provides an alternative route for producing propylene. Herein, we demonstrates that h-BN is a promising support of Pt-based catalysts for PDH. The Pt catalysts supported on h-BN were prepared by an impregnation method using Pt(NH_(3))_(4)(NO_(3))_(2) as metal precursors. It has been found that the Pt/BN catalyst undergoing calcination and reduction is highly stable in both PDH reaction and coke-burning regeneration, together with low coke deposition and outstanding propylene selectivity(99%). Detailed characterizations reveal that the high coke resistance and high propylene selectivity of the Pt/BN catalyst are derived not only from the absence of acidity on BN support, but also from the calcination-induced and reduction-adjusted strong metal-support interaction(SMSI) between Pt and BN, which causes the partial encapsulation of Pt particles by BO_(x) overlayers. The BO_(x) overlayers can block the low-coordinated Pt sites and constrain Pt particles into smaller ensembles, suppressing side reactions such as cracking and deep dehydrogenation. Moreover, the BO_(x) overlayers can effectively inhibit Pt sintering by the spatial isolation of Pt during periodic reaction-regeneration cycles. In this work, the catalyst support for PDH is expanded to nonoxide BN, and the understanding of SMSI between Pt and BN will provide rational design strategy for BN-based catalysts.

A comparative study on different regeneration processes of Pt-Sn/γ-Al2O3 catalysts for propane dehydrogenation

Three different regeneration processes including hydrogen or nitrogen purging and coke-burning treatment were used to restore the Pt-Sn/γ-AlOcatalysts, through which propane dehydrogenation reaction was performed in a consecutive reaction-regeneration mode. It was found that the catalyst using hydrogen regeneration showed the best stability compared with those regenerated by nitrogen purging and coke-burning treatment, suggesting that hydrogen regeneration is an effective approach for maintaining the performance of Pt-Sn/γ-AlOcatalysts in propane dehydrogenation reaction. The effect of different regeneration atmospheres on the metal active center and the coke deposition was investigated by XRD,TEM, N-physisorption, TPO, TG and Raman technologies, and the results revealed that hydrogen or nitrogen regeneration resulted in little impact on the size and structure of metal active center, retaining the effective Pt Sn phase over the catalyst. Moreover, hydrogen regeneration not only removed the low dense components of the coke, but also altered the property of the residual coke through hydrogenation, leading to a higher mobility of coke, and thus a higher accessibility of the metal active centers. Whereas nitrogen regeneration only removed the low dense components of the coke. Although coke-burning regeneration caused a thorough coke removal, the catalyst subjected to repeated redox exhibited poor stability due to metal agglomeration, phase segregation and the resulting large PtSn particle and core-shell structure with a Sn-rich surface.

Lignin-assisted construction of sub-10 nm supramolecular self-assembly for photothermal immunotherapy and potentiating anti-PD-1 therapy against primary and distant breast tumors

Photothermal therapy(PTT)has brought hope for cancer treatments,with hyperthermia-induced immunogenic cell death(ICD),which is a critical part of therapeutically induced antitumor immune responses.Limited immune stimulation response in PTT is the primary reason for incomplete tumor ablation,therefore demonstrating urgent requirements for ICD amplifier.Herein,a sub-10 nm supramolecular nanoassembly was formed by coassembly of clinically approved aluminum adjuvant and commonly used indocyanine green(ICG)under the assistance of lignosulfonate(LS,a green and sustainable multifunctional lignin derivative)for localized photothermal-immunotherapy of breast cancer.The overall results revealed that LS-Al-ICG is capable of inducing amplified ICD,efficiently eliciting solid immune responses through dendritic cells(DCs)activation and cytotoxic T-cell responses initiation for tumor killing.Moreover,anti-PD-1 therapy blocked the PD-1 pathway and led to remarkable anti-tumor efficacy against laser-irradiated primary tumors and distant tumors by potentiating systemic tumor specific T cell immunity.The results of this study demonstrate a handy and extensible approach for engineering green natural lignin nanoparticles for cancer immunotherapy,which shows promise for delivering other therapeutics in biomedical applications.

Correction of β-thalassemia mutant by base editor in human embryos

β-Thalassemia is a global health issue, caused by mutations in the HBB gene. Among these mutations, HBB -28 （A〉G） mutations is one of the three most common mutations in China and Southeast Asia patients with β-thalassemia. Correcting this mutation in human embryos may prevent the disease being passed onto future generations and cure anemia. Here we report the first study using base editor （BE） system to correct disease mutant in human embryos. Firstly, we produced a 293T cell line with an exogenous HBB -28 （A〉G） mutant fragment for gRNAs and targeting efficiency evaluation. Then we collected primary skin fibroblast cells from a β-thalassemia patient with HBB -28 （A〉G） homozygous mutation. Data showed that base editor could precisely correct HBB -28 （A〉G） mutation in the patient＇s primary cells. To model homozygous mutation disease embryos, we consb＇ucted nuclear transfer embryos by fusing the lymphocyte or skin fibroblast cells with enucleated in vitro matured （IVM） oocytes.Notably, the gene correction efficiency was over 23.0% in these embryos by base editor. Although these embryos were still mosaic, the percentage of repaired blastomeres was over 20.0%. In addition, we found that base editor variants, with narrowed deamination window, could promote G-to-A conversion at HBB -28 site precisely in human embryos. Collectively, this study demonstrated the feasibility of curing genetic disease in human somatic cells and embryos by base editor system.

Effective gene editing by high-fidelity base editor 2 in mouse zygotes

Targeted point mutagenesis through homologous recombination has been widely used in genetic studies and holds considerable promise for repairing disease- causing mutations in patients. However, problems such as mosaicism and low mutagenesis efficiency continue to pose challenges to clinical applicaUon of such approaches. Recently, a base editor （BE） system built on cytidine （C） deaminase and CRISPR/Cas9 technology was developed as an alternative method for targeted point mutagenesis in plant, yeast, and human cells. Base editors convert C in the deamination window to thymidine （T） efficiently, however, it remains unclear whether targeted base editing in mouse embryos is feasible. In this report, we generated a modified high- fidelity version of base editor 2 （HF2-BE2）, and investigated its base editing efficacy in mouse embryos. We found that HF2-BE2 could convert C to T efficiently, with up to 100% biallelic mutation efficiency in mouse embryos. Unlike BE3, HF2-BE2 could convert C to T on both the target and non-target strand, expanding the editing scope of base editors. Surprisingly, we found HF2-BE2 could also deaminate C that was proximal to the gRNA-binding region. Taken together, our work demonstrates the feasibility of generating point mutations in mouse by base editing, and underscores the need to carefully optimize base editing systems in order to eliminate proximal-site deamination.

Single-cell transcriptomes of peripheral blood cells indicate and elucidate severity of COVID-19

The blood and immune system of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)infected patients are dysfunctional,and numerous studies have been conducted to resolve their characteristics and pathogenic mechanisms.Nevertheless,the variations of immune responses along with disease severity have not been comprehensively documented.Here,we profiled the single-cell transcriptomes of 96,313 peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs)derived from 12 COVID-19 patients(including four moderate,four severe and four critical cases)and three healthy donors.We showed that proliferative CD8 effector T cells with declined immune functions and cytotoxicity accumulated in the critical stage.By contrast,the quantity of natural killer(NK)cells was significantly reduced,while they exhibited enhanced immune activities.Notably,a gradually attenuated responseto COVID-19 along with disease severity was observed in monocytes,in terms of cellular composition,transcriptional discrepancy and transcription factor regulatory network.Furthermore,we identified immune cell-type dependent cytokine signatures distinguishing the severity of COVID-19 patients.In addition,cell interactions between CD8 effector T/NK cells and monocytes mediated by inflammatory cytokines were enhanced in moderate and severe stages,but weakened in critical cases.Collectively,our work uncovers the cellular and molecular players underlying the disordered and heterogeneous immune responses associated with COVID-19 severity,which could provide valuable insights for the treatment of critical COVID-19 patients.

Effective and precise adenine base editing n mouse zygotes

Dear Editor, Many human genetic diseases are caused by pathogenic single nucleotide mutations. Animal models are often used to study these diseases where the pathogenic point mutations are created and/or corrected through gene editing （e.g., the CRISPP-JCas9 system） （Komor et al., 2017; Liang et al., 2017）. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing depends on DNA double-strand breaks （DSBs）, which can be of low efficiency and lead to indels and off-target cleavage （Kim et al., 2016）. We and others have shown that base editors （BEs） may represent an attractive alternative for disease mouse model generation （Liang et al., 2017; Kim et al., 2017）. Compared to CRISPR/ Cas9, cytidine base editors （CBEs） can generate C·G to T·A mutations in mouse zygotes without activating DSB repair pathways （Liang et al., 2017; Kim et al., 2017; Komor et al., 2016）. In addition, CBEs showed much lower off-targets than CRISPR]Cas9 （Kim et al., 2017）, making the editing process potentially safer and more controllable. Recently, adenine base editors （ABEs） that were developed from the tRNA- specific adenosine deaminase （TADA） of Escherichia coli were also reported （Gaudelli et al., 2017）. As a RNA-guided programmable adenine deaminase, ABE can catalyze the conversion of A to I. Following DNA replication, base I is replaced by G, resulting in A·T to G·C conversion （Gaudelli et al., 2017; Hu et al., 2018）. The development of ABEs has clearly expanded the editing capacity and application of BEs. Here, we tested whether ABEs could effectively generate disease mouse models, and found high efficiency by ABEs in producing edited mouse zygotes and mice with single-nucleotide substitutions.

Single-cell analysis of transcription factor regulatory networks reveals molecular basis for subtype-specific dysregulation in acute myeloid leukemia

Highly heterogeneous acute myeloid leukemia(AML)exhibits dysregulated transcriptional programs.Transcription factor(TF)regulatory networks underlying AML subtypes have not been elucidated at single-cell resolution.Here,we comprehensively mapped malignancy-related TFs activated in different AML subtypes by analyzing single-cell RNA sequencing data from AMLs and healthy donors.We first identified six modules of regulatory networks which were prevalently dysregulated in all AML patients.AML subtypes featured with different malignant cellular composition possessed subtype-specific regulatory TFs associated with differentiation suppression or immune modulation.At last,we validated that ERF was crucial for the development of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells by performing loss-and gain-of-function experiments in zebrafish embryos.Collectively,our work thoroughly documents an abnormal spectrum of transcriptional regulatory networks in AML and reveals subtype-specific dysregulation basis,which provides a prospective view to AML pathogenesis and potential targets for both diagnosis and therapy.