Advanced biology最新文献

This study aimed to establish a complete atlas of retinal cells in lens-induced myopia (LIM) and electroacupuncture (EA) intervention by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and to explore the potential mechanism of EA in improving experimental myopia progression in guinea pigs. scRNA-seq is used to assess changes in individual cellular gene levels in the retina of LIM- and EA-treated guinea pigs. In addition, the role of EA in slowing myopia progression by improving retinal mitochondrial function is further investigated. scRNA-seq identified ten cell clusters in the retina of LIM and EA guinea pigs and mitochondrial respiratory chain-related genes in Cones and Muller-glia cells-Cytochrome oxidase subunit III (COX3), NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (ND4), and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) are closely related to lens-induced myopia. A comprehensive atlas in the retina of LIM and EA guinea pigs at a single-cell level is established, and the positive role of EA in improving retinal mitochondrial function to slow the experimental myopia progression in guinea pigs is revealed.

Drug Delivery

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition that severely impacts patient quality of life, and there are no available treatments that restore lost function. Biomaterials can provide local, sustained release of therapeutics, but drug-releasing biomaterials do not address variability in injury severity. To tune delivery to a unique injury, Ryan J. Gilbert and co-workers developed a fibrous scaffold that can be stimulated with a magnetic field to alter the release rate of a growth factor. The authors found that sustained release of the growth factor resulted in a greater reduction of spinal cord astrocyte reactivity compared to bolus delivery in vitro. The astrocytes treated with the drug-releasing scaffold supported sensory neuron growth in coculture, shown in the flourescence image. Article number 2300531 provides a foundation for developing biomaterials capable of tunable growth factor release in response to externally applied magnetic fields for SCI treatment.

Alveolar epithelial Type II (ATII) cells are closely associated with early events of Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Proteostasis dysfunction, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction are known causes of decreased proliferation of alveolar epithelial cells and the secretion of pro-fibrotic mediators. Here, a large body of evidence is systematized and a cascade relationship between protein homeostasis, endoplasmic reticulum stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and fibrotropic cytokines is proposed, providing a theoretical basis for ATII cells dysfunction as a possible pathophysiological initiating event for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Ferroptosis is a new type of cell death characterized by iron dependence and the excessive accumulation of lipid reactive oxygen species (lipid ROS) that has gradually become better characterized. There is sufficient evidence indicating that ferroptosis is associated with a variety of human life activities and diseases, such as tumor suppression, ischemic organ injury, and degenerative disorders. Notably, ferroptosis is also involved in the initiation and development of fibrosis in various organs, including liver fibrosis, pulmonary fibrosis, renal fibrosis, and cardiac fibrosis, which is usually irreversible and refractory. Although a large number of patients with fibrosis urgently need to be treated, the current treatment options are still limited and unsatisfactory. Organ fibrosis involves a series of complex and orderly processes, such as parenchymal cell damage, recruitment of inflammatory cells and activation of fibroblasts, which ultimately leads to the accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) and the formation of fibrosis. An increasing number of studies have confirmed the close association between these pathological processes and ferroptosis. This review summarizes the role and function of ferroptosis in fibrosis and proposes several potential therapeutic strategies and pathways based on ferroptosis.

People all over the world, independent of their culture or background, touch their faces up to 800 times per day. No other part of the body is touched as often as the face. Forehead, nose, and chin-the so-called T-zone of the face-are touched particularly frequently during spontaneous facial self-touches (sFST). It is hypothesized that there is a relationship between the density of mechanoreceptors (inferred from facial hair distribution) and the frequency of spontaneous self-touching. In order to indirectly measure the density of mechanoreceptors (cutaneous end organ complexes), the number of vellus and terminal hairs at 40 different measuring points on the face of 30 (15f/15m) healthy volunteers in study A is determined. In study B, the frequency of sFST at the same 40 measuring points in 66 (32f/34m) healthy persons is determined. Study A reveals that the number of facial hairs-in both sexes-is higher in the T-zone than in other areas of the face. Study B reveals that the T-zone is touched more frequently than other areas of the face. Skin areas of the face with a higher number of vellus hairs (and presumably higher innervation density) are touched particularly frequently during sFST.

The skin is an effective protective barrier that significantly protects the body from damage caused by external environmental factors. Furthermore, skin condition significantly affects external beauty. In today's era, which is of material and spiritual prosperity, there is growing attention on skincare and wellness. Ultraviolet radiation is one of the most common external factors that lead to conditions like sunburn, skin cancer, and skin aging. In this review, several mechanisms of UV-induced skin cell senescence are discussed, including DNA damage, oxidative stress, inflammatory response, and mitochondrial dysfunction, which have their own characteristics and mutual effects. As an illustration, mitochondrial dysfunction triggers electron evasion and the generation of more reactive oxygen species, leading to oxidative stress and the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, which in turn causes mitochondrial DNA (mt DNA) damage. Based on the current mechanism, suitable prevention and treatment strategies are proposed from sunscreen, dietary, and experimental medications respectively, aimed at slowing down skin cell aging and providing protection from ultraviolet radiation. The effects of ultraviolet rays on skin is summarized, offering insights and directions for future studies on mechanism of skin cell senescence, with an anticipation of discovering more effective prevention and cure methods.

The regulation of protein uptake and secretion by cells is paramount for intercellular signaling and complex multicellular behavior. Mimicking protein-mediated communication in artificial cells holds great promise to elucidate the underlying working principles, but remains challenging without the stimulus-responsive regulatory machinery of living cells. Therefore, systems to precisely control when and where protein release occurs should be incorporated in artificial cells. Here, a light-activatable TEV protease (LaTEV) is presented that enables spatiotemporal control over protein release from a coacervate-based artificial cell platform. Due to the presence of Ni²⁺-nitrilotriacetic acid moieties within the coacervates, His-tagged proteins are effectively sequestered into the coacervates. LaTEV is first photocaged, effectively blocking its activity. Upon activation by irradiation with 365 nm light, LaTEV cleaves the His-tags from sequestered cargo proteins, resulting in their release. The successful blocking and activation of LaTEV provides control over protein release rate and triggerable protein release from specific coacervates via selective irradiation. Furthermore, light-activated directional transfer of proteins between two artificial cell populations is demonstrated. Overall, this system opens up avenues to engineer light-responsive protein-mediated communication in artificial cell context, which can advance the probing of intercellular signaling and the development of protein delivery platforms.

Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn) is significantly associated with poor prognosis in colorectal carcinoma (CRC), however, mechanisms of Fn in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) and microsatellite instability (MSI) in CRC have not been fully elucidated. Clinical samples are collected to analyze the relationship between Fn abundance and microsatellite stability. Tumor cells are treated with Fn to detect the expression of proteins related to toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), myeloid differentiation factor 88 (Myd88), mutS homolog 6 (MSH6), and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathways, respectively. Combined with the prediction results from TargetScan, the regulatory role of microRNA upstream of MSH6 is demonstrated. The effect of this regulatory axis on CRC development is demonstrated using a nude mouse tumor model. Compared with microsatellite stability (MSS)-type CRC patients, MSI-type showed higher Fn abundance. Fn treatment of CRC cells activated TLR4/Myd88/NF-κB signaling pathway, transcriptionally activating miRNA-155-5p expression, thereby negatively regulating MSH6. Fn treatment accelerated the malignant progression of CRC in mice, and this process is inhibited by miRNA-155-5p antagomir. Fn in CRC upregulated miRNA-155-5p by activating TLR4/NF-κB signaling to inhibit MSH6, and this regulatory pathway may affect MSS of cancer cells.

RETRACTION: N. Kameta, Y. Manaka, H. Akiyama, T. Shimizu, “Bioreactors Based on Enzymes Encapsulated in Photoresponsive Transformable Nanotubes and Nanocoils End-Capped with Magnetic Nanoparticles,” Advanced Biosystems 2, no. 4 (2018): 1700214, https://doi.org/10.1002/adbi.201700214.

The above article, published online on 1 February 2018 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the authors, Naohiro Kameta, Yuichi Manaka, Haruhisa Akiyama and Toshimi Shimizu; the journal Editor-in-Chief, Monty Montano; and Wiley-VCH GmbH, Weinheim. The retraction has been agreed upon following an investigation into concerns raised by National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), and also requested by all authors due to image falsification and fabrication in electron microscopy images. In Figure 2a and 2f, where the first author falsified TEM images of irrelevant nanotubes that were developed by the authors in other studies; in Figures 2b and 2c, where the first author carelessly placed incorrect scale bars and scale values; all affecting the interpretation of the data and research results presented.