Large cavities (≈10–12.3 nm) of cubic (Fm‐3m) mesoporous silica without intergrowth are synthesized in the presence of block copolymer templates. The entrance sizes of these cavities can be adjusted in the range of ≈4–9 nm as confirmed by nitrogen sorption studies and an examination of the negative gold replicas. The 3D open mesostructures facilitate the transportation of biomolecules (see picture), as well as the replication of a large‐pore (9 nm) cubic mesoporous carbon.

Autophagy requires diverse membrane sources and involves membrane trafficking of mATG9, the only membrane protein in the ATG family. However, the molecular regulation of mATG9 trafficking for autophagy initiation remains unclear. Here we identified two conserved classic adaptor protein sorting signals within the cytosolic N-terminus of mATG9, which mediate trafficking of mATG9 from the plasma membrane and trans-Golgi network (TGN) via interaction with the AP1/2 complex. Src phosphorylates mATG9 at Tyr8 to maintain its endocytic and constitutive trafficking in unstressed conditions. In response to starvation, phosphorylation of mATG9 at Tyr8 by Src and at Ser14 by ULK1 functionally cooperate to promote interactions between mATG9 and the AP1/2 complex, leading to redistribution of mATG9 from the plasma membrane and juxta-nuclear region to the peripheral pool for autophagy initiation. Our findings uncover novel mechanisms of mATG9 trafficking and suggest a coordination of basal and stress-induced autophagy.

Insect chemosensory proteins (CSPs) are supposed to transport hydrophobic chemicals to receptors on sensory neurons. However, CSPs are broadly expressed in various insect tissues, suggesting their involvement in the physiological processes beyond chemoreception. So, the exact physiological roles of CSPs in insects still need to be unraveled. In this study, three full-length of CSP genes from Spodoptera exigua have been cloned and characterized. The deduced amino acid sequences of SexiCSP1, SexiCSP2 and SexiCSP3 revealed open reading frames of 128, 128 and 126 amino acids, respectively, with four conserved cysteine residues. The expression patterns of the three SexiCSPs were further investigated by real-time PCR. Three SexiCSPs were expressed in antennae, heads, legs, wings, thoraxes, abdomens, testes and ovaries, with the highest expression level in female and male antennae. Furthermore, all three SexiCSPs mRNA were distributed extensively in the tested development stages with the highest expression level in pupae. RNAi-based gene silencing study resulted in a dramatic reduction of corresponding mRNA in female S. exigua after injection with dsRNA of all three SexiCSPs. Consequentially, 42.5% of mortalities, 68.3% (compare to DEPC water injected control) and 71.4% (compare to uninjected control) oviposition inhibition, and significantly effected egg hatching were observed in the female S. exigua injected with dsSexiCSP3 as compared to control treatments. On the other hand, dsSexiCSP1 and dsSexiCSP2 injected female adults did not show effects on survival and reproduction. Our study confirms the utility of RNAi approach to functional characterization of CSP genes in S. exigua and provides a starting point for further studies on female survival and reproduction in this insect. It also reveals the potential pest controlling method, as insect behavior regulation agent that disrupts the expression of chemosensory proteins.

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Neuroinflammation is closely related to brain iron homeostasis. Our previous study demonstrated that lipopolysaccharides (LPS) can regulate expression of iron-regulatory peptide hepcidin; however, the mechanism is undefined. Here, we demonstrated that intracerebroventricular injection of LPS in rat brain upregulated hepcidin and downregulated ferroportin 1 in the cortex and substantia nigra. LPS increased hepcidin expression in neurons only when they were co-cultured with BV-2 microglia, and the upregulation was suppressed by IL-6 neutralizing antibody in vitro. In addition, IL-6 but not IL-1α, IL-1β, or tumor necrosis factor-alpha increased hepcidin expression and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) phosphorylation in cortical neurons and MES23.5 dopaminergic neurons. These effects were blocked by the STAT3 inhibitor, stattic. Our results show that neurons are the major source of increased hepcidin expression in response to LPS challenge but microglia play a key mediator role by releasing IL-6 and recruiting the STAT3 pathway. We conclude that LPS upregulates hepcidin expression in neurons via microglia and the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Porous carbon supported Ru nanoclusters developed by a salt template-assisted strategy show excellent performances for multiple catalytic applications.

Natural exosomes can express specific proteins and carbohydrate molecules on the surface and hence have demonstrated the great potentials for gene therapy of cancer. However, the use of natural exosomes is restricted by their low transfection efficiency. Here, we report a novel targeting tLyp-1 exosome by gene recombinant engineering for delivery of siRNA to cancer and cancer stem cells. To reach such a purpose, the engineered tLyp-1-lamp2b plasmids were constructed and amplified in Escherichia coli. The tLyp-1-lamp2b plasmids were further used to transfect HEK293T tool cells and the targeting tLyp-1 exosomes were isolated from secretion of the transfected HEK293T cells. Afterwards, the artificially synthesized siRNA was encapsulated into targeting tLyp-1 exosomes by electroporation technology. Finally, the targeting siRNA tLyp-1 exosomes were used to transfect cancer or cancer stem cells. Results showed that the engineered targeting tLyp-1 exosomes had a nanosized structure (approximately 100 nm) and high transfection efficiency into lung cancer and cancer stem cells. The function verifications demonstrated that the targeting siRNA tLyp-1 exosomes were able to knock-down the target gene of cancer cells and to reduce the stemness of cancer stem cells. In conclusion, the targeting tLyp-1 exosomes are successfully engineered, and can be used for gene therapy with a high transfection efficiency. Therefore, the engineered targeting tLyp-1 exosomes offer a promising gene delivery platform for future cancer therapy.