Astragalus Polysaccharides Attenuate Ovalbumin-Induced Allergic Rhinitis in Rats by Inhibiting NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation and NOD2-Mediated NF-κB Activation

Jiangtao Xu,Qiong Zhang,Zhaoxin Li,Yuhang Gao,Zhiyu Pang,Yina Wu,Geng Li,Dongyong Lu,Lijuan Zhang,Detang Li 한국식품영양과학회 2021 Journal of medicinal food Vol.24 No.1

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is an IgE-mediated chronic inflammatory disease of the allergic nasal mucosa. It has a significant effect on quality life; most patients with AR also suffer from sleep disorders, mood disorders, and deterioration in social relationships. As increasing numbers of medicinal plants show productive anti-inflammatory activity against inflammatory diseases, there is growing interest in natural medicinal plant ingredients. To this end, we selected Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) to evaluate its anti-inflammatory effect on ovalbumin-induced AR rats, and we further explored its impact on NLRP3 inflammasome activation and NOD2-mediated NF-κB activation. We found that APS can alleviate the nasal symptom of AR rats and attenuate pathological alterations. APS also reduced the inflammatory cytokine levels. APS not only inhibited the NLRP3 inflammasome activation but also inhibited NF-κB activation by decreasing NOD2 expression and blocking the phosphorylation of NF-κB (p65). In conclusion, APS can effectively improve the inflammatory symptoms of nasal mucosa in AR rats, which may be mediated by the inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and NOD2-mediated NF-κB activation. These findings indicate that APS has the potential to be used as a therapeutic agent for AR.

Highly Durable and Robust Superhydrophobic/Superoleophilic Cotton Fabric with Well-designed Roughness for Oil/Water Separation

Jiangtao Hu,Qianhong Gao,Lu Xu,Minglei Wang,Maojiang Zhang,Kuo Zhang,Xiaojing Guo,Weihua Liu,Guozhong Wu 한국섬유공학회 2018 Fibers and polymers Vol.19 No.7

Herein we report a simple and reproducible method for fabricating highly durable and robust superhydrophobic and superoleophilic cotton fabrics via simultaneous radiation-induced graft polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate and subsequent chemical modifications with aminopropyltriethoxysilane and hexamethyldisilazane. The chemical structure and the surface topography of the pristine and the modified cotton fabrics were investigated in detail by ATR-FTIR, XPS, and 29Si NMR, and a grafting layer was successfully immobilized onto the surface of the cotton fabric by forming covalent bonds. Multi-dimensional surface roughness was created by combining micro-sized fibers of the cotton fabric, nanoscaled protuberances of the grafting chain, and molecular level spherical projection points of silicon methyl. The superhydrophobic cotton fabric exhibited long-term stability, ultra-high durability and robustness, and maintained its properties even after 25 wash cycles. The fabric also showed excellent water repellency with a water contact angle of 153 o and a high efficiency of oil/water separation (98 %). The superhydrophobic/superoleophilic cotton fabric developed in the present work exhibits important potential applications in superhydrophobic textiles and oil/water separation.

Seismic rehabilitation of RC frame using epoxy injection technique tested on shaking table

Jiangtao Yu,Yuanmiao Zhang,Zhoudao Lu 국제구조공학회 2014 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.52 No.3

A 1/4-scale two-bay eight-storey reinforced concrete frame was tested on shaking table. Initial shaking table tests were carried out through a set of real seismic excitations to investigate the seismic behavior of the RC frame. Subsequently, the damaged frame was repaired using epoxy injection technique, and then subjected to the tests with the same records. The purpose of this study was to investigate experimentally the dynamic characteristics, cracking pattern and lateral inter-story stiffness of RC frames using epoxy injection technique. The test results indicate that epoxy-injection technique appears to be a satisfactory method for repairing earthquake-damaged structure.

Phenylboronic acid-functionalized gelatin–oleic acid nanoparticles for high loading and efficient transdermal delivery of Celastrol towards the treatment of psoriasis

Jiangtao Su,Na Lin,Xiangyu You,Heshuang Dai,Meng Rao,Lu Ye,Fan Ye,Le Cai,Yuxin Chen,Gao Zhou,Xiaoxia Guo 한국고분자학회 2023 Macromolecular Research Vol.31 No.11

Systemic toxicity, poor aqueous solubility, and poorly cell permeable ability hindered the clinical application of Celastrol. In this study, we aimed to design and synthesize an amphiphilic conjugate to encapsulate Celastrol into micelles to improve its water solubility, cellular membrane penetration, improving the clinic translation potential of Celastrol for the treatment of psoriasis. For this purpose, we first synthesized gelatin and oleic acid conjugate (GOC-1), and then covalently bonded 4-(3-boronophenylamino)-4-oxobutanoic acid (BPOA) with GOC-1 to form a stable GOC-2 conjugate which can self-assemble into micelles in aqueous solution. Celastrol (Cel) was physically encapsulated into the core of GOCs micelles. The dynamic stability, particle size, drug release, zeta potential, drug-loading efficiency, and surface morphology of Cel/loaded GOCs nano-micelles were determined. In addition, cell viability, cellular uptake of Cel/loaded GOC-2, and skin permeation and in vivo anti-psoriasis effect of Cel-loaded GOC-2 were investigated. Our results have shown that Cel/loaded GOC-1 and Cel/loaded GOC-2 have spherical shapes with diameters of around 200–300 nm. Compared to GOC-1, GOC-2 micelles showed higher drug-loading efficiency and excellent permeation ability in vitro. Moreover, Cel/GOC-2 micelles reduced erythema and white scales on the dorsal skin of psoriatic mice. In conclusion, BPOA attached GOC nanoparticles as a Celastrol carrier not only increase its water solubility but also improve drug-loading efficiency and cell permeation ability, exhibiting superior anti-psoriatic effect than the commercially available tacrolimus. Our work is expected to provide a facile approach to prepare nanocarrier for Celastrol to improve the clinic translation potential of Celastrol.

Dual stimuli-responsive polymeric prodrug consisting of reversible covalent bonded celastrol for tumor targeted delivery

Jiangtao Su,Meng Rao,Heshuang Dai,Le Cai,Fan Ye,Lu Ye,Yuchen Hu,Ban Chen,Xiaoxia Guo 한국고분자학회 2024 Macromolecular Research Vol.32 No.2

In this work, pH/GSH-responsive amphiphilic polymeric prodrug (EDA-GLA/CE/2-FPBA) was successfully prepared and could self-assembled into micelles in an aqueous solution. The EDA-GLA/CE/2-FPBA micelles possessed high stability in physiological condition and were pH and GSH sensitive due to the reversible borate ester bonds and disulfide bonds within the prodrug polymer. The structures of the prodrug polymers were characterized by NMR, FTIR, UV–vis spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering measurement indicated that the resulting micelles have desirable size distribution and regular spherical shape. Free active Celastrol can be released under low pH and high GSH environment; In vitro cellular uptake and growth inhibition assays suggested that the blank polymer micelles showed good biocompatibility. EDA-GLA/CE/2-FPBA micelles were more efficiently internalized by monolayer tumor cells and demonstrated superior tumor targeting effects as compared to free Celastrol control. These results demonstrated that the novel prodrug self-assembled dual-responsive nano-delivery platform was able to improve the bioavailability and tumor targeting activity of Celastrol, which provides a basis for further clinical applications of Celastrol and its derivatives.

Seismic rehabilitation of RC frame using epoxy injection technique tested on shaking table

Yu, Jiangtao,Zhang, Yuanmiao,Lu, Zhoudao Techno-Press 2014 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.52 No.3

A 1/4-scale two-bay eight-storey reinforced concrete frame was tested on shaking table. Initial shaking table tests were carried out through a set of real seismic excitations to investigate the seismic behavior of the RC frame. Subsequently, the damaged frame was repaired using epoxy injection technique, and then subjected to the tests with the same records. The purpose of this study was to investigate experimentally the dynamic characteristics, cracking pattern and lateral inter-story stiffness of RC frames using epoxy injection technique. The test results indicate that epoxy-injection technique appears to be a satisfactory method for repairing earthquake-damaged structure.

Study for Improvement of Laser Induced Damage of 1064 nm AR Coatings in Nanosecond Pulse

Hongfei Jiao,Xinbing Cheng,Jiangtao Lu,Ganghua Bao,Jinlong Zhang,Bin Ma,Huasong Liu,Zhanshan Wang 한국광학회 2013 Current Optics and Photonics Vol.17 No.1

For the conventionally polished fused silica substrate, an around 100 nm depth redeposition polishing layer was formed on the top of surface. Polishing compounds, densely embedded in the redeposition polishing layer were the dominant factor that limited the laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) of transmission elements in nanosecond laser systems. Chemical etching, super-precise polishing and ion beam etching were employed in different ways to eliminate these absorbers from the substrate. After that,Antireflection (AR) coatings were deposited on these substrates in the same batch and then tested by 1064nm nano-pulse laser. It was found that among these techniques only the ion beam etching method, which can effectively remove the polishing compound and did not induce extra absorbers during the disposal process, can successfully improve the LIDT of AR coatings.