Epigallocatechin Gallate Attenuates Gentamicin-Induced Nephrotoxicity by Suppressing Apoptosis and Ferroptosis

Gentamicin (GEN) is a kind of aminoglycoside antibiotic with the adverse effect of nephrotoxicity. Currently, no effective measures against the nephrotoxicity have been approved. In the present study, epigallocatechin gallate (EG), a useful ingredient in green tea, was used to attenuate its nephrotoxicity. EG was shown to largely attenuate the renal damage and the increase of malondialdehyde (MDA) and the decrease of glutathione (GSH) in GEN-injected rats. In NRK-52E cells, GEN increased the cellular ROS in the early treatment phase and ROS remained continuously high from 1.5 H to 24 H. Moreover, EG alleviated the increase of ROS and MDA and the decrease of GSH caused by GEN. Furthermore, EG activated the protein levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). After the treatment of GEN, the protein level of cleaved-caspase-3, the flow cytometry analysis and the JC-1 staining, the protein levels of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and SLC7A11, were greatly changed, indicating the occurrence of both apoptosis and ferroptosis, whereas EG can reduce these changes. However, when Nrf2 was knocked down by siRNA, the above protective effects of EG were weakened. In summary, EG attenuated GEN-induced nephrotoxicity by suppressing apoptosis and ferroptosis.     

Design of an Internal/External Bicontinuous Conductive Network for High-Performance Asymmetrical Supercapacitors

High-energy density supercapacitors have attracted extensive attention due to their electrode structure design. A synergistic effect related to core–shell structure can improve the energy storage capacity and power density of electrode materials. The Ni-foam (NF) substrate coupled with polypyrrole (PPy) conductive coating can serve as an internal/external bicontinuous conductive network. In this work, the distinctive PPy@FeNi₂S₄@NF and PPy@NiCo₂S₄@NF materials were prepared by a simple two-step hydrothermal synthesis with a subsequent in situ polymerization method. PPy@FeNi₂S₄@NF and PPy@NiCo₂S₄@NF could deliver ultrahigh specific capacitances of 3870.3 and 5771.4 F·g⁻¹ at 1 A·g⁻¹ and marvelous cycling capability performances of 81.39% and 93.02% after 5000 cycles. The asymmetric supercapacitors composed of the prepared materials provided a high-energy density of over 47.2 Wh·kg⁻¹ at 699.9 W·kg⁻¹ power density and 67.11 Wh·kg⁻¹ at 800 W·kg⁻¹ power density. Therefore, the self-assembled core–shell structure can effectively improve the electrochemical performance and will have an effective service in advanced energy-storage devices.     

Snapshots of key intermediates unveiling the growth from silver ions to Ag70 nanoclusters

Nanoclusters (NCs) are considered as initial states of condensed matter, and unveiling their formation mechanism is of great importance for directional synthesis of nanomaterials. Here, we initiate the reaction of Ag(i) ions under weak reducing conditions. The prolonged reaction period provides a unique opportunity for revealing the five stages of the growth mechanism of 20-electron superatomic Ag₇₀ NCs by a time-dependent mass technique, that is, aggregate (I) → reduction (II) → decomposition and recombination (III) → fusion (IV) → surface recombination and motif enrichment (V), which is different from the formation process applicable to the gold clusters. More importantly, the key intermediates, Ag₁₄ without free electrons (0e) in the first (stage I) and Ag₂₄ (4e) in the second (stage II), were crystallized and structurally resolved, and the later transformation rate towards Ag₇₀ was further controlled by modulating solvents for easy identification of more intermediates. In a word, we establish a reasonable path of gradual expansion in size and electrons from Ag(i) ions to medium-sized 20e Ag₇₀. This work provides new insights into the formation and evolution of silver NCs, and unveils the corresponding optical properties along with the process.

The bottom-up synthesis of “medium-sized” Ag₇₀ (20e) was controlled and tracked, and then revealed. The crystallized key intermediates of Ag₁₄ (0e) and Ag₂₄ (4e) present the growth snapshots of silver nanoclusters.     

Traditional Chinese Medicine Rhodiola Sachalinensis Borissova from Baekdu Mountain (RsBBM) for Rheumatoid Arthritis: Therapeutic Effect and Underlying Molecular Mechanisms

The lack of effective rheumatoid arthritis (RA) therapies is a persistent challenge worldwide, prompting researchers to urgently evaluate traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) as potential clinical RA treatments. The present investigation was conducted to evaluate the therapeutic effects and potential molecular mechanisms of the active components isolated from TCM Rhodiola sachalinensis Borissova from Baekdu Mountain (RsB^BM) using an experimental adjuvant arthritis model induced by injection of rats with Freund’s complete adjuvant. After induction of the adjuvant arthritis rat model, the extract-treated and untreated groups of arthritic rats were evaluated for RsB^BM therapeutic effects based on comparisons of ankle circumferences and ELISA-determined blood serum inflammatory factor levels (TNF-α, IL-1β, and PGE2). In addition, the joint health of rats was evaluated via microscopic examination of hematoxylin-eosin-stained synovial tissues. Furthermore, to explore whether NF-κB and RANK/RANKL/OPG signaling pathways participated in observed therapeutic effects from a molecular mechanistic viewpoint, mRNA and protein levels related to the expression of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), osteoprotegerin (OPG), and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-Β ligand (RANKL) were analyzed via quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. Treatment of arthritic rats with the extract of RsB^BM was shown to reduce ankle swelling, reduce blood serum levels of inflammatory factors, and alleviate arthritis-associated synovial inflammation and joint damage. Moreover, an RsB^BM 50% ethanol extract treatment inhibited bone destruction by up-regulating OPG-related mRNA and protein expression and down-regulating RANKL-related mRNA and protein expression, while also reducing inflammation by the down-regulating of the NF-κB pathway activity. The results clearly demonstrated that the extract of RsB^BM alleviated adjuvant arthritis-associated joint damage by altering activities of inflammation-associated NF-κB and the RANK/RANKL/OPG signaling pathways. Due to its beneficial effects for alleviating adjuvant arthritis, this RsB^BM 50% ethanol extract should be further evaluated as a promising new therapeutic TCM treatment for RA.     

Enzymatic Synthesis of a Diastereomer of Neoabyssomicin Derivative Using the Diels-Alderase AbyU

Main observation and conclusion The enzyme AbyU catalyses a Diels-Alder (DA) reaction during abyssomicin C biosynthesis.In this study,AbyU is shown to convert t...     

Estimation of biophysical properties of cell exposed to electric field

Excitable media,such as cells,can be polarized and magnetized in the presence of an external electromagnetic field.In fact,distinct geometric deformation can be induced by the external electromagnetic field,and also the capacitance of the membrane of cell can be changed to pump the field energy.Furthermore,the distribution of ion concentration inside and outside the cell can also be greatly adjusted.Based on the theory of bio-electromagnetism,the distribution of field energy and intracellular and extracellular ion concentrations in a single shell cell can be estimated in the case with or without external electric field.Also,the dependence of shape of cell on the applied electronic field is calculated.From the viewpoint of physics,the involvement of external electric field will change the gradient distribution of field energy blocked by the membrane.And the intracellular and extracellular ion concentration show a certain difference in generating timevarying membrane potential in the presence of electric field.When a constant electric field is applied to the cell,distinct geometric deformation is induced,and the cell triggers a transition from prolate to spherical and then to oblate ellipsoid shape.It is found that the critical frequency in the applied electric field for triggering the distinct transition from prolate to oblate ellipsoid shape obtains smaller value when larger dielectric constant of the cell membrane and intracellular medium,and smaller conductivity for the intracellular medium are used.Furthermore,the effect of cell deformation is estimated by analyzing the capacitance per unit area,the density of field energy,and the change of ion concentration on one side of cell membrane.The intensity of external applied electric field is further increased to detect the change of ion concentration.And the biophysical effect in the cell is discussed.So the deformation effect of cells in electric field should be considered when regulating and preventing harm to normal neural activities occurs in a nervous system.     

One Stone Two Birds—Enantioselective Bimetallic Catalysis for α-Amino Acid Derivatives with an Allene Unit

Main observation and conclusion A highly enantioselective 2,3-allenylation of acyclic and cyclic α-imino carboxylates via a synergistic bimetallic Pd/Cu catalys...     

Three-dimensional supramolecular crystalline materials based on Keggin-based polyoxometalates and 1,2-Bis (4-pyridyl) ethylene for supercapacitor electrodes

Transition Metal Chemistry - To research the application of polyoxometalates (POMs)-based supramolecular crystalline materials in supercapacitors, two new compounds,...     

Correlating conductivity and Seebeck coefficient to doping within crystalline and amorphous domains in poly(3-(methoxyethoxyethoxy)thiophene)

Molecular doping of conjugated polymers (CPs) plays a vital role in optimizing organic electronic and energy applications. For the case of organic thermoelectrics, it is commonly believed that doping CPs with a strong dopant could result in higher conductivity (σ) and thus better power factor (PF). Herein, by investigating thermoelectric performance of a polar side-chain bearing CP, poly(3-(methoxyethoxyethoxy)thiophene) (P3MEET), vapor doped with fluorinated-derivative of tetracyanoquinodimethane FnTCNQ (n = 1, 2, 4), we show that using strong dopants can in fact have detrimental effects on the thermoelectric performance of CPs. Despite possessing higher electron affinity, doping P3MEET with F4TCNQ only results in a σ (27.0 S/cm) comparable to samples doped with other two weaker dopants F2TCNQ and F1TCNQ (26.4 and 20.1 S/cm). Interestingly, F4TCNQ-doped samples display a marked reduction in the Seebeck coefficient (α) compared to F1TCNQ- and F2TCNQ-doped samples from 42 to 13 μV/K, leading to an undesirable suppression of the PF. Structural characterizations coupled with Kang-Snyder modeling of the α–σ relation show that the reduction of α in F4TCNQ-doped P3MEET samples originates from the generation of low mobility carrier within P3MEET's amorphous domain. Our results demonstrate that factors such as dopant distribution and doping efficiency within the crystalline and amorphous domains of CPs should play a crucial role in advancing rational design for organic thermoelectrics.