Attenuation of Experimental Autoimmune Hepatitis in Mice with Bone Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes Carrying MicroRNA-223-3p

Lu, Feng-Bin,Chen, Da-Zhi,Chen, Lu,Hu, En-De,Wu, Jin-Lu,Li, Hui,Gong, Yue-Wen,Lin, Zhuo,Wang, Xiao-Dong,Li, Ji,Jin, Xiao-Ya,Xu, Lan-Man,Chen, Yong-Ping Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology 2019 Molecules and cells Vol.42 No.12

MicroRNA-223-3p (miR-223-3p) is one of the potential microRNAs that have been shown to alleviate inflammatory responses in pre-clinical investigations and is highly encased in exosomes derived from bone mesenchymal stem cells (MSC-exosomes). MSC-exosomes are able to function as carriers to deliver microRNAs into cells. Autoimmune hepatitis is one of the challenging liver diseases with no effective treatment other than steroid hormones. Here, we examined whether MSC-exosomes can transfer miR-223-3p to treat autoimmune hepatitis in an experimental model. We found that MSC-exosomes were successfully incorporated with miR-223-3p and delivered miR-223-3p into macrophages. Moreover, there was no toxic effect of exosomes on the macrophages. Furthermore, treatments of either exosomes or exosomes with miR-223-3p successfully attenuated inflammatory responses in the liver of autoimmune hepatitis and inflammatory cytokine release in both the liver and macrophages. The mechanism may be related to the regulation of miR-223-3p level and STAT3 expression in the liver and macrophages. These results suggest that MSC-exosomes can be used to deliver miR-223-3p for the treatment of autoimmune hepatitis.

Intersubband Transitions in Nonpolar GaN-based Resonant Phonon Depopulation Multiple-Quantum Wells for Terahertz Emissions

Ya-Feng Song,Xiong-Xiong Kong,Wei-Bin Tang,Zhong-Qiang Suo,Huan Zhang,Chen-Yang Li,Qian Jia,Cai-Xia Xue,Yan-Wu Lu,Chao-Pu Yang 한국물리학회 2019 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.74 No.11

We investigate the polarization effect in intersubband transitions in polar and nonpolar GaN-based multiple-quantum well (MQW) structures for terahertz (THz) emissions by using systematic comparisons and design a nonpolar GaN/Al$_{0.2}$Ga$_{0.8}$N two-well-based MQW structure with an emitting photon of 7.27 THz (30.07 meV). Its lower energy separation (92.7 meV) matches the resonant phonon depopulation condition for better population inversion. It shows a lower threshold current density $J\rm_{th}$ at all temperatures (1.548 kA/cm$^2$ at 90 K) and a higher output power of up to 86.1 mW at 5.8 K and 33.6 mW at 100 K. Our results for the polar GaN MQW are very close to the experimental data in the literature. We find that the $J\rm_{th}$ of the nonpolar GaN MQW increases more slowly than that of the polar GaN MQW as temperature increases, indicating the nonpolar GaN MQW may be a worth-trying direction for improving the operation temperature. These results can provide meaningful references for the design and fabrication of nonpolar GaN-based THz MQW or quantum cascade structures.

Effects of ball milling on structural changes and hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass in liquid hot-water compressed carbon dioxide

Houfang Lu,Xiaoliang Yuan,Shijie Liu,Guangrong Feng,Yingying Liu,Yongdan Li,Bin Liang 한국화학공학회 2016 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.33 No.7

Mechanical activation is an effective method for destroying the crystalline structure. Biomass, especially its hemicellulose, can be degraded in the green solvent of liquid hot-water compressed carbon dioxide. To improve the degradation of crystalline cellulose in liquid hot-water compressed carbon dioxide, pretreatment of camphorwood sawdust by mechanical activation with a stirring ball mill was studied. Ball milling parameters and their effects on structure were determined by SEM, XRD and FT-IR. The influence of milling parameters on cellulose conversion can be ranked as follows: ball milling speed>activation time>the mass ratio of ball to biomass. The optimum milling condition was obtained at ball milling speed of 450 rpm and mass ratio of 30 : 1 of ball to biomass for 2 h. In this condition, cellulose crystallinity of sawdust decreased from 60.93% to 21.40%. The cellulose conversion was 37.8%, which was nearly four times of raw material (10.2%). The glucose yield in the hydrolysate was 1.49 g·L−1, which was nearly three times of that of raw material. It showed mechanical activation can destroy the crystalline structure of cellulose to promote degradation and the damage of lignocellulosic internal structure caused by ball milling is irreversible.

Grafting of A Novel Phosphorylcholine-Containing Vinyl Monomer onto Polycarbonateurethane Surfaces by Ultraviolet Radiation Grafting Polymerization

Jian Lu,Jintang Guo,Yakai Feng,Bin Gao 한국고분자학회 2012 Macromolecular Research Vol.20 No.7

An original phosphorylcholine (PC) containing vinyl monomer (compound 1) was grafted onto the surface of polycarbonate urethane (PCU) films by ultraviolet (UV) initiated polymerization. The vinyl monomer was synthesized from 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and L-α-glycerylphosphorylcholine (GPC) by two relative reactions through the coupling of the isocyanate groups in HDI with the hydroxyl groups in HEMA and GPC, respectively. The existence of phosphorylcholine groups on the surface of compound 1-grafted PCU films was verified by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and water contact angle measurements. The surfaces of the grafted PCU films showed lower water contact angles than did the surfaces of non-grafted PCU films. Furthermore, the surface morphology of a grafted PCU film was observed using scanning electrical microscopy (SEM), which showed that the grafted polymer film exhibits a rough and pinhole-free surface. In addition, the blood compatibility of the compound 1-grafted PCU films was evaluated by platelet adhesion studies using the non-grafted PCU film as a reference. It was found by SEM that fewer platelets adhered to the surfaces of the grafted PCU films compared to the reference. The high PC-grafted PCU film did not show any substantial platelet attachment on its surface. These results indicated that these compound 1-grafted polymers may have potential application as biomaterials for vascular grafts and some subcutaneously implanted devices.

Roseovarius tibetensis sp. nov., a halophilic bacterium isolated from Lake LongmuCo on Tibetan Plateau

Hui-bin Lu,Xiao-feng Xue,Dorji Phurbu,Peng Xing,Qing-long Wu 한국미생물학회 2018 The journal of microbiology Vol.56 No.11

Two Gram-stain negative halophilic strains, designated as LM2T and LM4, were isolated from Lake LongmuCo on Tibetan Plateau. These two strains were aerobic, catalaseand oxidase- positive, nonmotile and rod-shaped organisms. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that LM2T and LM4 belong to the genus Roseovarius, with Roseovarius tolerans EL-172T (97.3% and 97.4% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, respectively) and Roseovarius azorensis SSW084T (95.5% and 95.6% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, respectively) as their closest neighbors. Q-10 was the sole respiratory quinone of these two strains. The major fatty acids were C18:1 ω7c/C18:1 ω6c, C16:0, C19:0 cyclo ω8c, and 11-methyl C18:1 ω7c. The polar lipids included phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, phospholipid of unknown structure containing glucosamine, and unidentified aminolipid. The DNA G + C content was between 64.2 and 64.5 mol%. DNA-DNA hybridization showed 96.7% relatedness between LM2T and LM4, 24.9% relatedness between LM2T and R. tolerans EL-172T, and 36.3% relatedness between LM4 and R. tolerans EL-172T. Based on phylogenetic analysis, DNA-DNA hybridization, a range of physiological and biochemical characteristics, LM2T and LM4 belong to the same species and were clearly distinguished from the type strains of the genus Roseovarius. It was evident that LM2T and LM4 could be classified as a novel species of the genus Roseovarius, for which the name Roseovarius tibetensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is LM2T (= CGMCC 1.16230T = KCTC 62028T).

A Modified Extraction Method of Circulating Free DNA for Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutation Analysis

Haihua Yuan,Bin Jiang,Zhong-Zheng Zhu,Yachao Lu,Feng Liu,Wenying Zhang,Gang Huang,Guanshan Zhu 연세대학교의과대학 2012 Yonsei medical journal Vol.53 No.1

Purpose: Circulating free DNA (cfDNA) in plasma is promising to be a surrogate for tumor tissue DNA. However, not all epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in tumor tissue DNA has been detected in matched cfDNA, at least partly due to inefficient cfDNA extraction method. The purpose of this study was to establish an efficient plasma cfDNA extraction protocol. Materials and Methods: The yield of plasma cfDNA extracted by our modified phenol-chloroform (MPC) method from non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients was compared with that by QIAamp MinElute Virus Spin kit (Qiagen kit) as control, using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. TaqMan quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays were used to quantify the plasma cfDNA extracted. Both Mutant-enriched PCR (ME-PCR) coupled sequencing and DxS EGFR mutation test kit were used to evaluate the impact of extraction method on EGFR mutation analysis. Results: MPC method extracted more plasma cfDNA than Qiagen kit method (p=0.011). The proportion of longer fragment (≥202 bp) in cfDNA extracted by MPC method was significantly higher than by Qiagen kit method (p=0.002). In the sequencing maps of ME-PCR products, a higher mutant peak was observed on plasma cfDNA extracted by MPC method than by Qiagen kit method. In DxS EGFR mutation test kit results, plasma cfDNA extracted by MPC method contained more tumor-origin DNA than by Qiagen kit method. Conclusion: An improved plasma cfDNA extraction method of MPC is provided, which will be beneficial for EGFR mutation analysis for patients with NSCLC.

Study on Soy Isoflavone Consumption and Risk of Breast Cancer and Survival

Kang, Hong-Bin,Zhang, Ya-Feng,Yang, Jin-Dun,Lu, Kuan-Liang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.3

Aim: Isoflavones in soy foods are part of a larger class of flayonoid compounds that have have been demonstrated to be potent dietary anti-cancer agents, and the effect of soy intake on the survival of ovarian cancer is conflicting. Therefore, we aimed to explore the whether soy intake is related to the risk of death of breast cancer. Methods: A prospective study was conducted. A total of 256 patients included in this study had breast cancer and were recruited between January 2004 and January 2006. All of them were followed up from since January 2011. A univariate Cox's regression analysis was used to assess the association between soy intake and survival. Results: The education level, menopausal status, ER/PR status and TNM stage were significant difference in the survival of breast cancer. The highest soy isoflavone was associated with a decreased death risk of breast cancer (OR=0.25, 95% CI=0.09-0.54). Moreover, the higher consumption of soy protein also presented a trend decreased breast cancer risk, and the highest consumption significantly reduced the cancer risk compared with the lowest consumption (OR=0.38, 95% CI=0.17-0.86). Conclusion: The present study suggests soy intake is associated with a significant reduced death risk of breast cancer in Chinese population. Further large sample studies are warranted to confirm the inverse association of soy consumption and breast cancer survival by menopausal status.

Genetic Characterization of the Escherichia coli O66 Antigen and Functional Identification of its wzy Gene

Jiansong Cheng,Bin Liu,David A. Bastin,Weiqing Han,Lei Wang,Lu Feng 한국미생물학회 2007 The journal of microbiology Vol.45 No.1

Escherichia coli is a clonal species, and occurs as both commensal and pathogenic strains, which are normally classified on the basis of their O, H, and K antigens. The O-antigen (O-specific polysaccharide), which consists of a series of oligosaccharide (O-unit) repeats, contributes major antigenic variability to the cell surface. The O-antigen gene cluster of E. coli O66 was sequenced in this study. The genes putatively responsible for the biosynthesis of dTDP-6-deoxy-L-talose and GDP-mannose, as well as those responsible for the transfer of sugars and for O-unit processing were identified based on their homology. The function of the wzy gene was confirmed by the results of a mutation test. Genes specific for E. coli O66 were identified via PCR screening against representatives of 186 E. coli and Shigella O type strains. The comparison of intergenic sequences located between galF and the O-antigen gene cluster in a range of E. coli and Shigella showed that this region may perform an important function in the homologous recombination of the O-antigen gene clusters.

Using Features as the Knowledge Carrier for Cross Company Collaboration and Change Management - A design methodology for compressing lead-time from plastic part design to mold making

Zengzhi, Li,Qinrong, Fu,Feng, Lu Wen,Bin, Song Society for Computational Design and Engineering 2003 International Journal of CAD/CAM Vol.3 No.1

This paper presents a methodology in which the knowledge of design intents and change requests is communicated unambiguously cross collaboration partners through features. The domain of application is focused on the plastic part design for enabling effective collaboration between the product design and plastic mold making. The methodology takes the feature-based design approach and allows design features and knowledge to be reused in plastic injection mold design. It shortens the mold design lead-time, reduces mold design efforts, and enables unambiguous and fast design change management between product and mold designers. These contribute to the reduction of product development cycle time.

Genetic Characterization of the Escherichia coli O66 Antigen and Functional Identification of its wzy Gene

Cheng, Jiansong,Liu, Bin,Bastin David A.,Han, Weiqing,Wang, Lei,Feng Lu The Microbiological Society of Korea 2007 The journal of microbiology Vol.45 No.1

Escherichia coli is a clonal species, and occurs as both commensal and pathogenic strains, which are normally classified on the basis of their O, H, and K antigens. The O-antigen (O-specific polysaccharide), which consists of a series of oligosaccharide (O-unit) repeats, contributes major antigenic variability to the cell surface. The O-antigen gene cluster of E. coli O66 was sequenced in this study. The genes putatively responsible for the biosynthesis of dTDP-6-deoxy-L-talose and GDP-mannose, as well as those responsible for the transfer of sugars and for O-unit processing were identified based on their homology. The function of the wzy gene was confirmed by the results of a mutation test. Genes specific for E. coli O66 were identified via PCR screening against representatives of 186 E. coli and Shigella O type strains. The comparison of intergenic sequences located between galF and the O-antigen gene cluster in a range of E. coli and Shigella showed that this region may perform an important function in the homologous recombination of the O-antigen gene clusters.