Normal cells require adhesion to extracellular matrix for survival. Cell detachment causes a drastic increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) that promotes anoikis. In the present study, we observed that upon detachment from matrix, human mammary epithelial cells strongly upregulate manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD, or SOD2), a principal mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme that detoxifies ROS through dismutation of superoxide. Induction of MnSOD by cell detachment is dependent on the NFκB transcription factor. Detachment of mammary epithelial cells potently increases mitochondrial superoxide levels, which are further elevated by depletion of MnSOD in suspended cells. Consequently, cells depleted of MnSOD are hypersensitive to matrix detachment and exhibit increased anoikis. These results suggest that detachment-induced MnSOD counters mitochondrial superoxide accumulation and confers anoikis resistance. Taken together with our previous finding that detached cells evade excessive ROS production by attenuating oxidative metabolism of glucose, we conclude that mammary epithelial cells coordinate their responses to detachment through increasing MnSOD and decreasing ROS generation from mitochondrial glucose oxidation, thereby mitigating anoikis. Anoikis is a barrier to tumor metastasis. Indeed, MnSOD expression is elevated in human breast cancer metastases compared with primary tumors. Expression of MnSOD correlates with histologic tumor grades in human cancer and contributes to cancer cell's resistance to anoikis. Our study suggests that inhibition of ROS detoxification coupled with stimulation of glucose oxidative metabolism may be an efficient strategy to enhance anoikis and block metastasis.
This Research Article reports on the enhancement of the thermal transport properties of nanocomposite materials containing hexagonal boron nitride in poly(vinyl alcohol) through room-temperature atmospheric pressure direct-current microplasma processing. Results show that the microplasma treatment leads to exfoliation of the hexagonal boron nitride in isopropyl alcohol, reducing the number of stacks from >30 to a few or single layers. The thermal diffusivity of the resulting nanocomposites reaches 8.5 mm(2) s(-1), 50 times greater than blank poly(vinyl alcohol) and twice that of nanocomposites containing nonplasma treated boron nitride nanosheets. From TEM analysis, we observe much less aggregation of the nanosheets after plasma processing along with indications of an amorphous carbon interfacial layer, which may contribute to stable dispersion of boron nitride nanosheets in the resulting plasma treated colloids.
Stretch-induced crystallization
(SIC) and phase transitions of
poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) have been studied with the in
situ synchrotron radiation wide-angle X-ray scattering technique
(WAXS) during tensile deformation at temperatures ranging from −45
to −65 °C. The phase transitions during tensile deformation
go through different processes at different temperature regions, where
four phases are involved in namely oriented amorphous (OA), mesophase,
α form, and β form crystals. We found that SIC of the
α form can proceed via two different multistage ordering processes
with either the mesophase or β form as the structural intermediate.
Further cyclic tensile experiments demonstrate that the transition
from the β to α form is a reversible process controlled
by stress, which is attributed to the different helical pitches in
β and α forms. A nonequilibrium phase diagram of SIC and
phase transitions are constructed in strain–temperature space,
which is of great significance for practical applications of PDMS
at low temperature.
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