The identification of markers for disease diagnostic, prognostic, or predictive purposes will have a great effect in improving patient management. Proteomic-based approaches for biomarker discovery are promising strategies used in cancer research. In this study, we performed quantitative proteomic analysis on four patients including clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and paired adjacent non-cancerous renal tissues using label-free quantitative proteomics and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to identify differentially expressed proteins. Among 3,061 identified non-redundant proteins, we found that 210 proteins were differentially expressed (83 overexpressed and 127 underexpressed) in ccRCC tissue when compared with normal kidney tissues. Two most significantly dysregulated proteins (PCK1 and SNRPF) were chosen to be confirmed by western blotting. Pathway analysis of 210 differentially expressed proteins showed that dysregulated proteins are related to many cancer-related biological processes such as oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis and amino acid synthetic pathways. Online survival analysis indicated the prognostic value of these dysregulated proteins. In conclusion, we identified some potential diagnostic biomarkers for ccRCC and an in-depth understanding of their involved biological pathways may help pave the way to discover new therapeutic strategies for ccRCC.

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Bile reflux gastritis (BRG) is associated with the development of gastric cancer (GC), but the specific mechanism remains elusive. Here, a comprehensive study is conducted to explore the roles of refluxed bile acids (BAs) and microbiome in gastric carcinogenesis. The results show that conjugated BAs, interleukin 6 (IL‐6), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and the relative abundance of LPS‐producing bacteria are increased significantly in the gastric juice of both BRG and GC patients. A secondary BA, taurodeoxycholic acid (TDCA), is significantly and positively correlated with the LPS‐producing bacteria in the gastric juice of these patients. TDCA promotes the proliferation of normal gastric epithelial cells (GES‐1) through activation of the IL‐6/JAK1/STAT3 pathway. These results are further verified in two mouse models, one by gavage of TDCA, LPS, and LPS‐producing bacteria (Prevotella melaninogenica), respectively, and the other by bile reflux (BR) surgery, mimicking clinical bile refluxing. Moreover, the bile reflux induced gastric precancerous lesions observed in the post BR surgery mice can be prevented by treatment with cryptotanshinone, a plant‐derived STAT3 inhibitor. These results reveal an important underlying mechanism by which bile reflux promotes gastric carcinogenesis and provide an alternative strategy for the prevention of GC associated with BRG.

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Motion conversion plays an irreplaceable role in a variety of machinery. Although many macroscopic motion converters have been widely used, it remains a challenge to convert motion at the nanoscale. Here we propose a nanoscale linear-to-linear motion converter, made of a flake-substrate system of graphene, which can convert the out-of-plane motion of the substrate into the in-plane motion of the flake. The curvature gradient induced van der Waals potential gradient between the flake and the substrate provides the driving force to achieve motion conversion. The proposed motion converter may have general implications for the design of nanomachinery and nanosensors.

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The conversion of other forms of energy into mechanical work through the geometrical extension and retraction of nanomaterials has a wide variety of potential applications, including for mimicking biomotors. Here, using molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that there exists an intrinsic energy conversion mechanism between thermal energy and mechanical work in the telescopic motions of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs). A DWCNT can inherently convert heat into mechanical work in its telescopic extension process, while convert mechanical energy into heat in its telescopic retraction process. These two processes are nearly thermodynamically reversible. The underlying mechanism for this energy conversion is that the configurational entropy changes with the telescopic overlapping length of concentric individual tubes. We also find that the entropy effect enlarges with the decreasing intertube space of DWCNTs. As a result, the spontaneous telescopic motion of a condensed DWCNT can be switched to extrusion by increasing the system temperature above a critical value. These findings are important for fundamentally understanding the mechanical behavior of concentric nanotubes, and may have general implications in the application of DWCNTs as linear motors in nanodevices.