Acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are the clinical manifestations of severe lung damage and respiratory failure. ALI and ARDS result are associated with high mortality in patients. At present, no effective treatments for ALI and ARDS exist. It is established that vitamin D exhibits anti-inflammatory effects, however, the specific effect of vitamin D on ALI remains largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether, and by which mechanism, vitamin D alleviates lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI. The results demonstrated that a vitamin D agonist, calcitriol, exhibited a beneficial effect on LPS-induced ALI in rats; calcitriol pretreatment significantly improved LPS-induced lung permeability, as determined using Evans blue dye. Results from reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blotting and ELISA analysis demonstrated that calcitriol also modulated the expression of members of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), including angiotensin (Ang) I-converting enzymes (ACE and ACE2), renin and Ang II, which indicates that calcitriol may exert protective effects on LPS-induced lung injury, at least partially, by regulating the balance between the expression of members of the RAS. The results of the present study may provide novel targets for the future treatment of ALI.

ObjectStudies have suggested that depression was accompanied by oxidative stress dysregulation, including abnormal total antioxidant capacity (TAC), antioxidants, free radicals, oxidative damage and autoimmune response products. This meta-analysis aims to analyse the clinical data quantitatively by comparing the oxidative stress markers between depressed patients and healthy controls.MethodsA search was conducted to collect the studies that measured the oxidative stress markers in depressed patients. Studies were searched in Embase, Medline, PsychINFO, Science direct, CBMDisc, CNKI and VIP from 1990 to May 2015. Data were subjected to meta-analysis by using a random effects model for examining the effect sizes of the results. Bias assessments, heterogeneity assessments and sensitivity analyses were also conducted.Results115 articles met the inclusion criteria. Lower TAC was noted in acute episodes (AEs) of depressed patients (p<0.05). Antioxidants, including serum paraoxonase, uric acid, albumin, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and zinc levels were lower than controls (p<0.05); the serum uric acid, albumin and vitamin C levels were increased after antidepressant therapy (p<0.05). Oxidative damage products, including red blood cell (RBC) malondialdehyde (MDA), serum MDA and 8-F2-isoprostanes levels were higher than controls (p<0.05). After antidepressant medication, RBC and serum MDA levels were decreased (p<0.05). Moreover, serum peroxide in free radicals levels were higher than controls (p<0.05). There were no differences between the depressed patients and controls for other oxidative stress markers.ConclusionThis meta-analysis supports the facts that the serum TAC, paraoxonase and antioxidant levels are lower, and the serum free radical and oxidative damage product levels are higher than controls in depressed patients. Meanwhile, the antioxidant levels are increased and the oxidative damage product levels are decreased after antidepressant medication. The pathophysiological relationships between oxidative stress and depression, and the potential benefits of antioxidant supplementation deserve further research.

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Chemical synthesis is a well established route for producing many chemicals on a large scale, but some drawbacks still exist in this process, such as unstable intermediates, multistep reactions, complex process control, etc. Biobased production provides an attractive alternative to these challenges, but how to make cells into efficient factories is challenging. As a key enabling technology to develop efficient cell factories, design-construction-evaluation-optimization (DCEO) biotechnology, which incorporates the concepts and techniques of pathway design, pathway construction, pathway evaluation, and pathway optimization at the systems level, offers a conceptual and technological framework to exploit potential pathways, modify existing pathways and create new pathways for the optimal production of desired chemicals. Here, we summarize recent progress of DCEO biotechnology and examples of its application, and provide insights as to when, what and how different strategies should be taken. In addition, we highlight future perspectives of DCEO biotechnology for the successful establishment of biorefineries.

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