Low dose Emodin induces tumor senescence for boosting breast cancer chemotherapy via silencing NRARP

Zu, Cong,Qin, Guangyuan,Yang, Chunshu,Liu, Ning,He, Anning,Zhang, Mingdi,Zheng, Xinyu Elsevier 2018 Biochemical and biophysical research communication Vol.505 No.4

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P><B>Purpose</B></P> <P>The resistance to 5-FU often limits its clinical effectiveness on breast cancer treatment. Combination therapy thus is employed to overcome this treatment resistance. We here report a potent antitumor effect of Emodin at low dose on chemotherapy sensitivity of MCF-7 breast cancer cells.</P> <P><B>Methods</B></P> <P>Cell viability, apoptosis, glutathiones (GSH) concentration and Reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity following Emodin and 5-FU treatment was assessed. Cellular senescence following combined treatment and silence of NRARP was examined by senescence-associated β-galactosidase analysis. Western blot analysis was used to determine changes in the expression of p21, p16, p27, E2F1 and NRARP.</P> <P><B>Results</B></P> <P>Low dose Emodin potentiates 5-FU-induced apoptosis of breast cancer cells, in association with inhibition of NRARP, resulting in cellular senescence. RNA interference of NRARP induced cellular senescence in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Furthermore, the cellular senescence induced by Emodin and 5-FU treatment could be reverted by pcDNA–NRARP.</P> <P><B>Conclusion</B></P> <P>These findings provide preclinical evidence for repurposing use of Emodin in combination with chemotherapeutic agents to treat breast cancer as an alternative salvage regimen.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> The chemoresistance often limits clinical effectiveness of chemotherapy on breast cancer treatment. </LI> <LI> Emodin potentiates 5-FU-induced apoptosis of breast cancer cells. </LI> <LI> Low dose Emodin induces cellular senescence in breast cancer cells by inhibition of Nrarp. </LI> </UL> </P>

Overexpression of A RING finger ubiquitin ligase gene AtATRF1 enhances aluminium tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

Xiaomei Qin,Sheng Huang,Yanqing Liu,Mingdi Bian,Wuliang Shi,Zecheng Zuo,Zhenming Yang 한국식물학회 2017 Journal of Plant Biology Vol.60 No.1

Aluminium (Al) toxicity is a primary limitation of crop production in acid soils, which take over 40% of arable soil worldwide. In previous studies, a series of genes have been identified to regulate the plant Al resistance or tolerance. However, none of E3 ubiquitin ligase, the key factor of ubiquitination that plays an important role in plant growth and development, has been characterized for Al response in Arabidopsis. In this study, an E3 ubiquition ligase gene AtATRF1 (Al Tolerance RING Finger 1), a homolog of RAD18 interacting RAD6 to repair the damaged DNA in human and yeast, is isolated from Arabidopsis. It encodes a predicted protein of 296 amino acids with a C3HC4 type RING finger domain. The expression of AtATRF1 is induced by Al, and the transgenic plant overexpressing AtATRF1 enhances the Al tolerance. Similar as RAD18, the AtATRF1 locates in nucleus and regulates the expression of AtATR, which involves in DNA repair and Al response in Arabidopsis. Our results indicate that nuclearlocated AtATRF1 may interact and ubiquitinate the transcriptional regulator of AtATR to mediate the Al tolerance of Arabidopsis.

Novel Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Star Polymer Surface-Crosslinked with Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane

Jingyan Zhang,Dong Si,Shifeng Wang,Hao Liu,Xiaoming Chen,Haiou Zhou,Mingdi Yang,Guoying Zhang 한국고분자학회 2020 Macromolecular Research Vol.28 No.2

Novel organic/inorganic hybrid star polymer was prepared dually crosslinked within inner-core via divinylbenzene (DVB) and outer-surface via octafunctional polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS). Core cross-linked star polymers bearing dialkynyl-terminated polystyrene arms, (dialkynyl-PS)n-CCL, were synthesized at first by the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of DVB using α,α-dialkynyl-terminated PS macroinitiator, followed by the subsequent fractionation. Under high dilution conditions, (dialkynyl-PS)n-CCL was subjected to surface cross-linking with octa(3- azidopropyl) polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane, POSS-(N3)8, via click reaction, affording POSS-functionalized hybrid polymer doubly cross-linked within core and surface regions, SCL-(PS)n-CCL. FT-IR, 1H NMR, GPC, and elemental analysis results revealed that on average, the obtained hybrid polymer possesses a cross-linked PDVB inner core, ~14 linear PS arms (the MW per arm of 5.1 kDa), and ~4-5 POSS moieties at outer surface. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermograms and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed that after surface cross-linking the thermal stability of SCL-(PS)n-CCL is considerably improved. This work provides a proof-of-concept example for the preparation of dually cross-linked hybrid star polymer, which represents a novel category of organic/inorganic composite materials with unique chain architectures.

An In situ Forming Hydrogel Based on Photo-Induced Hydrogen Bonding

Jingyan Zhang,Shifeng Wang,Zeren Zhao,Dong Si,Haiou Zhou,Mingdi Yang,Xianbiao Wang 한국고분자학회 2020 Macromolecular Research Vol.28 No.12

Stimulus-induced in situ forming hydrogels possess the characteristics of easy management and minimal invasiveness via simple injection at target sites with a liquid and easy forming bulk gels. In the present study, a photoreactive monomer, N'-(2-nitrobenzyl)-N-acryloyl glycinamide (NBNAGA) was introduced to modify polyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogel preparation with stimuli responsiveness. Firstly, poly(acrylamide-co-N'-(2-nitrobenzyl)-N-acryloyl glycinamide), P(AM-co-NBNAGA), copolymer solution was prepared via reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization using the monomers mixture of AM, NBNAGA, and N,N'- methylene bis-acrylamide (BIS). The obtained polymer solution with viscous, transparent, and flowable appearance contained weak single hydrogen bonding and slight chemical crosslinking in a microscopic perspective. Secondly, without further purification, after irradiation using UV light at 365 nm, poly(acrylamide-co-N-acryloyl glycinamide) (P(AM-co-NAGA)) hydrogel conveniently in situ formed due to the cleavage of o-nitrobenzyl groups and the corresponding emergency of dual hydrogen bonding among “uncaged” dual amide moieties. P(AM-co-NAGA) hydrogel depicted both favorable temperature sensitivity and self-healing properties, then the heating induced in vitro release profiles of doxorubicin (DOX) was analyzed.

Metastable h-WO3 nano-hemitubes: controllable synthesis and superior adsorption–photocatalysis–oxidation activity for high-concentrated MB

Hu Hanmei,Ding Kangzhe,Yu Hong,He Yunyun,Yang Mingdi,오원춘 한국세라믹학회 2023 한국세라믹학회지 Vol.60 No.2

Novel metastable h-WO3 nano-hemitubes have been controllably prepared on a large scale assisted by inorganic structure directing agent of (NH4)2C2O4 through a convenient and facile hydrothermal route. The chemical composition, morphology, crystal structure, surface area and optical property of as-obtained products were investigated using various characterization techniques. Interestingly, it was found that the introduction and the adding amount of (NH4)2C2O4 played an important role in the process of controlling the phase and morphology of WO3. An appropriate amount of (NH4)2C2O4 (10–14 mmol) was beneficial for inducing the formation of metastable h-WO3 nano-hemitubes. However, monoclinic m-WO3 square-shaped nanoplates were obtained by adding 2 mmol (NH4)2C2O4. The results of photoluminescence (PL) test demonstrated that h-WO3 nano-hemitubes has a lower recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and a longer lifetime of photogenerated carriers. Due to the special structure, the prepared one-dimensional h-WO3 nano-hemitubes displayed very superior adsorption–photocatalysis–oxidation activity for removing MB from highly concentrated MB-containing wastewater, which was 6.1 times higher than that of two-dimensional monoclinic m-WO3 square-shaped nanoplates. The mechanism of adsorption–photocatalysis–oxidation degradation for MB on h-WO3 nano-hemitubes was simply proposed. The prepared h-WO3 nano-hemitubes may have a potential application in wastewater purification and environmental remediation.