Inhibition of phospholipase D2 induces autophagy in colorectal cancer cells

Autophagy is a conserved lysosomal self-digestion process used for the breakdown of long-lived proteins and damaged organelles, and it is associated with a number of pathological processes, including cancer. Phospholipase D (PLD) isozymes are dysregulated in various cancers. Recently, we reported that PLD1 is a new regulator of autophagy and is a potential target for cancer therapy. Here, we investigated whether PLD2 is involved in the regulation of autophagy. A PLD2-specific inhibitor and siRNA directed against PLD2 were used to treat HT29 and HCT116 colorectal cancer cells, and both inhibition and genetic knockdown of PLD2 in these cells significantly induced autophagy, as demonstrated by the visualization of light chain 3 (LC3) puncta and autophagic vacuoles as well as by determining the LC3-II protein level. Furthermore, PLD2 inhibition promoted autophagic flux via the canonical Atg5-, Atg7- and AMPK-Ulk1-mediated pathways. Taken together, these results suggest that PLD2 might have a role in autophagy and that its inhibition might provide a new therapeutic basis for targeting autophagy.     

Combinatorial Therapeutic Effect of Inhibitors of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase and Mitochondrial Complex I,and the Chemotherapeutic Drug,Temozolomide against Glioblastoma Tumorspheres

Resident cancer cells with stem cell-like features induce drug tolerance, facilitating survival of glioblastoma (GBM). We previously showed that strategies targeting tumor bioenergetics present a novel emerging avenue for treatment of GBM. The objective of this study was to enhance the therapeutic effects of dual inhibition of tumor bioenergetics by combination of gossypol, an aldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitor, and phenformin, a biguanide compound that depletes oxidative phosphorylation, with the chemotherapeutic drug, temozolomide (TMZ), to block proliferation, stemness, and invasiveness of GBM tumorspheres (TSs). Combination therapy with gossypol, phenformin, and TMZ induced a significant reduction in ATP levels, cell viability, stemness, and invasiveness compared to TMZ monotherapy and dual therapy with gossypol and phenformin. Analysis of differentially expressed genes revealed up-regulation of genes involved in programmed cell death, autophagy, and protein metabolism and down-regulation of those associated with cell metabolism, cycle, and adhesion. Combination of TMZ with dual inhibitors of tumor bioenergetics may, therefore, present an effective strategy against GBM by enhancing therapeutic effects through multiple mechanisms of action.     

Computational investigation on 2,6-diamino-3,5-dinitropyridine-1-oxide crystal

Density functional theory calculations were performed on crystalline 2,6-diamino-3,5-dinitropyridine-1-oxide (ANPyO). The conduct bands are generally quite flat, while the valence bands are uneven. The carbon, oxygen and amino nitrogen atoms make up the narrow lower energy levels. While the carbon, amino nitrogen and atoms in nitro group make up the higher energy levels. Change of electronic charges for the decrease of the cell edge a and c are almost the same, but different from the decrease of the cell edge b, indicating an anisotropic effect related to compressions. The C-Nitro and the N–O (N-oxide) bonds are the weakest, and tend to rupture upon external stimulation. The Mulliken population for the N–O (N-oxide) bond in crystal is much smaller than that in molecule, indicating that the molecular packing weakens this bond. Judged by the fact of N–O (N-oxide) bond being weaker than C-Nitro bond, ANPyO is sensitive to mechanic impact than 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene, which is in good agreement with experiment. The crystal lattice energy is predicted to be −166.03 kJ/mol, after being corrected for basis set superposition error.     

Atomic layer deposition of TiO2 nanotubes and its improved electrostatic capacitance

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanotubes are fabricated into anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane via atomic layer deposition (ALD). For the ALD of TiO₂, gaseous precursors, titanium (IV) isopropoxide and water are sequentially applied and chemically reacted with each other. A thickness of nanotubes is precisely controlled by the applied cycle numbers of ALD and the morphology of nanostructures is investigated by SEM and TEM. The amorphous property of TiO₂ nanostructures is revealed by XRD and the composition of nanotubes is measured by TEM–EDX. The impurity contents and binding structure of the nanostructures are analyzed by XPS. The electrostatic capacitance of TiO₂ nanotubes into AAO is 480 μF/cm² and it is about 3 times higher compared with AAO membrane (172 μF/cm²).     

Diode-end-pumped CW and actively Q-switched Tm,Ho:YLF ring laser

This paper presents CW and acoustic-optical Q-switched Tm,Ho:YLF laser performance in a laser-diode end-pumping figure-eight ring resonator structure at 77 K. Under CW operation, different transmission of output couplers and different cavity length were used to achieve best characteristics of the laser. The maximum power of 1.85 W is achieved with the threshold of 2.09 W, slope efficiency of 28.14% and optical-to-optical efficiency of 20.3% on the condition of 1 m cavity length and 18% transmission. Under pump power of 4 W, laser characteristics under Q-switched operation with different pulse repeat frequency was investigated. Maximum energy of 5.86 mJ is achieved with pulse width of 171.2 ns, peak power of 34.2 kW and dynamic-static ratio about Q-switch laser of 0.62 at pulse repeat frequency 70 Hz.     

Highly Efficient Oxidative Bromination of Alkanes with the HBr-H2O2 System in the Presence of Catalyst

Various cycloalkanes and straight‐chain alkanes were efficiently brominated with an aqueous HBr‐H₂O₂ system. This oxidative brominating process was promoted by catalysis and irradiation with light. The cycloalkanes were converted to the corresponding bromo‐cycloalkanes in moderate yields and the straight‐chain alkanes produced dominantly secondary bromides. This simple but effective bromination method of alkanes is characterized by high atom efficiency, inexpensive reagents and the absence of organic waste, which make it a good alternative to the existing method for C? H activation through bromination.     

Synthesis of Rod-Like Co3O4 Catalyst Derived from Co-MOFs with Rich Active Sites for Catalytic Combustion of Toluene

Catalysis Surveys from Asia - Co3O4 catalyst derived from Co-MOFs demonstrated rich active sites in the catalytic reaction. In this paper, we prepared the rod-like Co3O4 catalysts by calcining...