Covalent labeling of a chromatin reader domain using proximity-reactive cyclic peptides

Chemical probes for chromatin reader proteins are valuable tools for investigating epigenetic regulatory mechanisms and evaluating whether the target of interest holds therapeutic potential. Developing potent inhibitors for the plant homeodomain (PHD) family of methylation readers remains a difficult task due to the charged, shallow and extended nature of the histone binding site that precludes effective engagement of conventional small molecules. Herein, we describe the development of novel proximity-reactive cyclopeptide inhibitors for PHD3—a trimethyllysine reader domain of histone demethylase KDM5A. Guided by the PHD3–histone co-crystal structure, we designed a sidechain-to-sidechain linking strategy to improve peptide proteolytic stability whilst maintaining binding affinity. We have developed an operationally simple solid-phase macrocyclization pathway, capitalizing on the inherent reactivity of the dimethyllysine ε-amino group to generate scaffolds bearing charged tetraalkylammonium functionalities that effectively engage the shallow aromatic ‘groove’ of PHD3. Leveraging a surface-exposed lysine residue on PHD3 adjacent to the ligand binding site, cyclic peptides were rendered covalent through installation of an arylsulfonyl fluoride warhead. The resulting lysine-reactive cyclic peptides demonstrated rapid and efficient labeling of the PHD3 domain in HEK293T lysates, showcasing the feasibility of employing proximity-induced reactivity for covalent labeling of this challenging family of reader domains.

We describe the development of covalent cyclic peptide ligands which target a chromatin methylation reader domain using a proximity-reactive sulfonyl fluoride moiety.     

A MXene-derived redox homeostasis regulator perturbs the Nrf2 antioxidant program for reinforced sonodynamic therapy

Ultrasound (US)-mediated sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has emerged as a spatiotemporally controllable therapeutic modality in combating cancer because of its high tissue-penetration depth and minimal invasiveness. However, the elevated nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) antioxidant program in cancer cells can serve as a chief reactive oxygen species (ROS) detoxification system to alleviate oxidative injury and promote tumorigenesis, and thus greatly antagonize the therapeutic efficacy of ROS-mediated anticancer therapies. Herein, we report that vanadium carbide MXene-derived carbon dots (PMQDs) can act as high-efficacy sonosensitizers to efficiently generate ROS upon US irradiation and simultaneously hinder the Nrf2 antioxidant program for enhanced sonodynamic therapy of cancer. These PMQDs show superior US-triggered ROS generating ability because of their efficient migration/separation of electron–hole pairs and narrow bandgap. Importantly, these PMQDs can serve as efficient redox homeostasis regulators to perturb the Nrf2 antioxidant mechanism and thus reduce its effects on ROS neutralization for enhanced SDT efficacy. Overall, the present study will not only provide a new paradigm to augment SDT by perturbing the Nrf2 antioxidant program, but also give valuable insights into developing high-efficacy MXene-derived nanoagents for cancer therapy.

A redox homeostasis regulator has been developed as a high-efficacy sonosensitizer to efficiently generate reactive oxygen species upon ultrasound irradiation and simultaneously hinder the Nrf2 antioxidant program for enhanced sonodynamic therapy.     

CdSe量子点的光物理性质研究与荧光杂化纤维的制备

半导体纳米晶体(NCs)具有良好的光稳定性,广泛的发射持久性和高消光系数,在过去几年被广泛研究报道,其中,硒化镉半导体纳米晶体(CdSe NCs)被广泛用于电子照明、太阳能发电、光电传感等领域.然而CdSe NCs的电学、热力学和光物理性质具有较强的尺寸依赖性,在传统的制备方法及应用中容易出现晶体表面缺陷和悬空键以及较...     

Computational fluid dynamic-discrete element method coupling analysis of particle transport in branched networks

An understanding of the particle transport characteristics in a branched network helps to predict the particle distribution and prevent undesired plugging in various engineering systems.Quantitative analysis of particle flow characteristics is challenging in that experiments are expensive and particle flow is difficult to detect without disturbing the flow.To overcome this difficulty,man-made fractal tree-like branched networks were built,and a coupled computational fluid dynamic and discrete element method model was applied.A series of numerical simulations was carried out to analyze the influence of fractal structure parameters of networks on the particle flow characteristics.The joint influence of inertial,shunt capacity and superposition from upstream branches on particle flow was investigated.The injection position at the inlet determined the particle velocity and its future flow path.The particle density ratio,particle size and bifurcation angle had a greater influence on the shunting of K2 branches than that in the K1 level and N_k22/N_k21 reached a maximum at 60°.Compared with a network with an even number of branches,there was a preferential branch when the branch number was odd.The preferential branch effect or asymmetry degree of the level(K2)branches had a more significant impact on particle shunting than that from the upstream branches(K1).     

硅烷化磁铁粉固定胰蛋白酶的研究

分别以硅烷化磁铁粉、硅烷磁化脱乙酰几丁质及脱乙酰几丁质作载体,甲醛或戊二醛为交联剂,对胰蛋白酶的固定化条件及所制备的固定化酶的性质进行了研究．研究了载体种类、交联剂和ｐＨ值以及载体与酶比例等因素对胰蛋白酶固定化的影响．研究了不同载体固定胰蛋白酶的特点,证明以硅烷化试剂和甲醛作交联剂的硅烷化磁铁粉作胰蛋白酶固定化的载体具有明显优点,所制备的硅烷化磁铁粉固定化胰蛋白酶酶学性质明显优于可溶性胰蛋白酶     

几乎强幂零Γ—环所确定的根

本文讨论几乎强幂零Γ-环及其所确定的根。主要证明了:(1)Γ-环的素根类是几乎强幂零Γ-环类的最小划分;(2)由一切几乎强幂零Γ-环类所确定的下根重合于由一切无非零几乎强幂零理想的Γ-环所确定的上根。     

500—4250eV电子对CO2的散射全截面绝对测量

对中能电子与二氧化碳分子碰撞的散射全截面测量，给出５００－４２５０ｅＶ电子对ＣＯ２的绝对散射全截面。对测量结果作了曲线拟合，并与已有的实验和理论结果进行了比较     

Computational Insight into Biotransformation Profiles of Organophosphorus Flame Retardants to Their Diester Metabolites by Cytochrome P450

Biotransformation of organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) mediated by cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) has a potential correlation with their toxicological effects on humans. In this work, we employed five typical OPFRs including tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP), tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCIPP), tri(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), triethyl phosphate (TEP), and 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate (EHDPHP), and performed density functional theory (DFT) calculations to clarify the CYP-catalyzed biotransformation of five OPFRs to their diester metabolites. The DFT results show that the reaction mechanism consists of Cα-hydroxylation and O-dealkylation steps, and the biotransformation activities of five OPFRs may follow the order of TCEP ≈ TEP ≈ EHDPHP > TCIPP > TDCIPP. We further performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to unravel the binding interactions of five OPFRs in the CYP3A4 isoform. Binding mode analyses demonstrate that CYP3A4-mediated metabolism of TDCIPP, TCIPP, TCEP, and TEP can produce the diester metabolites, while EHDPHP metabolism may generate para-hydroxyEHDPHP as the primary metabolite. Moreover, the EHDPHP and TDCIPP have higher binding potential to CYP3A4 than TCIPP, TCEP, and TEP. This work reports the biotransformation profiles and binding features of five OPFRs in CYP, which can provide meaningful clues for the further studies of the metabolic fates of OPFRs and toxicological effects associated with the relevant metabolites.     

High efficiency giant magnetoresistive device based on two-dimensional MXene (Mn2NO2)

Due to the unique electronic structure of half-metals, characterized by the conductivity of majority-spin and the band gap of minority-spin, these materials have emerged as suitable alternatives for the design of efficient giant magnetoresistive (GMR) devices. Based on the first-principles calculations, an excellent GMR device has been designed by using two-dimensional (2D) half-metal Mn₂NO₂. The results show that Mn₂NO₂ has sandwiched between the Au/nMn₂NO₂ (n = 1, 2, 3)/Au heterojunction and maintains its half-metallic properties. Due to the half-metallic characteristics of Mn₂NO₂, the total current of the monolayer device can reach up to 1500 nA in the ferromagnetic state. At low voltage, the maximum GMR is observed to be 1.15 × 10³¹ %. Further, by increasing the number of layers, the ultra-high GMR at low voltage is still maintained. The developed device is a spintronic device exhibiting the highest magnetoresistive ratio reported theoretically so far. Simultaneously, a significant negative differential resistance (NDR) effect is also observed in the heterojunction. Owing to its excellent half-metallic properties and 2D structure, Mn₂NO₂ is an ideal energy-saving GMR material.     

Prospective study on observations of γ-ray sources in the Galaxy using the HADAR experiment

The High Altitude Detection of Astronomical Radiation (HADAR) experiment is a refracting terrestrial telescope array based on the atmospheric Cherenkov imaging technique. It focuses the Cherenkov light emitted by extensive air showers through a large aperture water-lens system for observing very-high-energy γ-rays and cosmic rays. With the advantages of a large field-of-view (FOV) and low energy threshold, the HADAR experiment operates in a large-scale sky scanning mode to observe galactic sources. This study presents the prospects of using the HADAR experiment for the sky survey of TeV γ-ray sources from TeVCat and provids a one-year survey of statistical significance. Results from the simulation show that a total of 23 galactic point sources, including five supernova remnant sources and superbubbles, four pulsar wind nebula sources, and 14 unidentified sources, were detected in the HADAR FOV with a significance greater than 5 standard deviations (σ). The statistical significance for the Crab Nebula during one year of operation reached 346.0 σ and the one-year integral sensitivity of HADAR above 1 TeV was ~1.3%–2.4% of the flux from the Crab Nebula.