Curcumin is a polyphenolic bioactive compound in turmeric. We examined if antioxidant effects of curcumin are associated with lifespan extension in Drosophila. In this experiment, females and males of Drosophila were fed diets either containing no curcumin (C0) or supplemented with curcumin at 0.5 (C1) and 1.0 (C2) mg/g of diet. The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), enzyme activity of superoxide dismutase AGE (2013) (SOD), and expression of seven age-related genes in females and males were analyzed. We found that C1 and C2 increased mean lifespan by 6.2 % and 25.8 % in females, and by 15.5 % and 12.6 % in males, respectively. Meanwhile, C1 and C2 significantly decreased MDA levels and increased SOD activity in both genders. Diets C1 in females and C2 in males are effective in extending mean lifespan and improving levels of two physiological and biochemical measures related to aging in Drosophila. Lifespan extension of curcumin in Drosophila was associated with the up-regulation of Mn-SOD and CuZn-SOD genes, and the downregulation of dInR, ATTD, Def, CecB, and DptB genes. The present results suggest that curcumin increases mean lifespan of Drosophila via regulating gene expression of the key enzyme SOD and reducing accumulation of MDA and lipid peroxidation. This study provided new insights for understanding the anti-aging mechanism of curcumin in Drosophila.
Pyroptosis has been reported to improve the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and may be a strategy to enhance osteosarcoma treatment. The extent to which modulation of mitochondria could induce tumor pyroptosis to enhance immunotherapy has not been characterized. We synthesized a mitochondria-targeting polymer micelle (OPDEA-PDCA), in which poly[2-(N-oxide-N,N-diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (OPDEA) was used to target mitochondria and the conjugated dichloroacetate (DCA) was used to inhibit pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDHK1). This conjugate induced pyroptosis through initiation of mitochondrial oxidative stress. We found that OPDEA-PDCA targeted mitochondria and induced mitochondrial oxidative stress through the inhibition of PDHK1, resulting in immunogenic pyroptosis in osteosarcoma cell lines. Moreover, we showed that OPDEA-PDCA could induce secretion of soluble programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) molecule. Therefore, combined therapy with OPDEA-PDCA and an anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody significantly suppressed proliferation of osteosarcoma with prolonged T cell activation. This study provided a strategy to initiate pyroptosis through targeted modulation of mitochondria, which may promote enhanced antitumor efficacy in combination with immunotherapy.
As contributors to governmental initiatives to reuse wastewater pollutants in the European Union, the United States and China, we consider that decentralized recovery of these resources could result in more environmental, economic and social benefits than the near-term upgrade of centralized facilities China boom leaves children behind Some 61 million children were left behind by migrant parents in China in 2010-14, or almost 22% of the country's children (see go.nature.com/clylrn; in Chinese). This side effect of urban development is seriously affecting the mental and physical health of those abandoned juveniles who are uncared for. We urge China's government to weigh this social damage against economic gain and to take steps to mitigate it. There were 274 million Chinese migrant workers in 2014-an unprecedented number. Evidence is increasing for the adverse effects of such upheaval on some children's physical, psychological and social development (Q. Li et al.
Near-infrared (NIR) absorbing nanoagents with functions of photoacoustic imaging (PAI) and photothermal therapy (PTT) have received great attention for cancer therapy. However, endowing them with multifunctions, especially targeting ability, for enhancing in vivo PAI/PTT generally suffers from the problems of synthetic complexity and low surface density of function groups. We herein report high density glycopolymers coated perylenediimide nanoparticles (PLAC-PDI NPs), self-assembled by poly(lactose)-modified perylenediimide (PLAC-PDI), as tumor-targeted PAI/PTT nanoagents. Atom transfer radical polymerization and click reaction were used in sequence to prepare PLAC-PDI, which can accurately control the content of poly(lactose) (PLAC) in PLAC-PDI and endow PLAC-PDI NPs with high density PLAC surface. The high density PLAC surface provided NPs with long-time colloidal stability, outstanding stability in serum and light, and specific targeting ability to cancer cells and tumors. Meanwhile, PLAC-PDI NPs also presented high photothermal conversion efficiency of 42% by virtue of strong π-π interactions among perylenediimide molecules. In living mice, PAI experiments revealed that PLAC-PDI NPs exhibited effective targeting ability and enhanced PTT efficacy to HepG2 tumor compared with control groups, lactose blocking, and ASGP-R negative tumor groups. Overall, our work provids new insights for designing glycopolymers-based therapeutic nanoagents for efficient tumor imaging and antitumor therapy.
Nickel foam supported Zn-Co hydroxide nanoflakes were fabricated by a facile solvothermal method. Benefited from the unique structure of Zn-Co hydroxide nanoflakes on a nickel foam substrate, the as prepared materials exhibited an excellent specific capacitance of 901 F g(-1) at 5 A g(-1) and remarkable cycling stability as electrode materials in supercapacitors.
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