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Two coral fluorescent proteins of distinct colors for sharp visualization of cell-cycle progression.Cell Structure and Function Jul 2023We cloned and characterized two new coral fluorescent proteins: h2-3 and 1-41. h2-3 formed an obligate dimeric complex and exhibited bright green fluorescence. On the...
We cloned and characterized two new coral fluorescent proteins: h2-3 and 1-41. h2-3 formed an obligate dimeric complex and exhibited bright green fluorescence. On the other hand, 1-41 formed a highly multimeric complex and exhibited dim red fluorescence. We engineered 1-41 into AzaleaB5, a practically useful red-emitting fluorescent protein for cellular labeling applications. We fused h2-3 and AzaleaB5 to the ubiquitination domains of human Geminin and Cdt1, respectively, to generate a new color variant of Fucci (Fluorescent Ubiquitination-based Cell-Cycle Indicator): Fucci5. We found Fucci5 provided more reliable nuclear labeling for monitoring cell-cycle progression than the 1 and 2 generations that used mAG/mKO2 and mVenus/mCherry, respectively.Key words: fluorescent protein, cell cycle, time-lapse imaging, flow cytometry.
Topics: Humans; Color; Cell Division; Cell Cycle; Cell Cycle Proteins; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Coloring Agents; Green Fluorescent Proteins
PubMed: 37394513
DOI: 10.1247/csf.23028 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2023Studies of liver dysfunction in relation to bone and joint-related diseases are scarce, and its causality remains unclear. Our objective was to investigate whether serum...
BACKGROUND
Studies of liver dysfunction in relation to bone and joint-related diseases are scarce, and its causality remains unclear. Our objective was to investigate whether serum liver enzymes are causally associated with bone and joint-related diseases using Mendelian randomization (MR) designs.
METHODS
Genetic data on serum liver enzymes (alkaline phosphatase (ALP); alanine transaminase (ALT); gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT)) and six common bone and joint-related diseases (rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoporosis, osteoarthritis (OA), ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and gout) were derived from independent genome-wide association studies of European ancestry. The inverse variance-weighted (IVW) method was applied for the main causal estimate. Complementary sensitivity analyses and reverse causal analyses were utilized to confirm the robustness of the results.
RESULTS
Using the IVW method, the positive causality between ALP and the risk of osteoporosis diagnosed by bone mineral density (BMD) at different sites was indicated (femoral neck, lumbar spine, and total body BMD, odds ratio (OR) [95% CI], 0.40 [0.23-0.69], 0.35 [0.19-0.67], and 0.33 [0.22-0.51], respectively). ALP was also linked to a higher risk of RA (OR [95% CI], 6.26 [1.69-23.51]). Evidence of potential harmful effects of higher levels of ALT on the risk of hip and knee OA was acquired (OR [95% CI], 2.48 [1.39-4.41] and 3.07 [1.49-6.30], respectively). No causal relationship was observed between GGT and these bone and joint-related diseases. The study also found that BMD were all negatively linked to ALP levels (OR [95% CI] for TBMD, FN-BMD, and LS-BMD: 0.993 [0.991-0.995], 0.993 [0.988-0.998], and 0.993 [0.989, 0.998], respectively) in the reverse causal analysis. The results were replicated via sensitivity analysis in the validation process.
CONCLUSIONS
Our study revealed a significant association between liver function and bone and joint-related diseases.
Topics: Humans; Genome-Wide Association Study; Mendelian Randomization Analysis; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Alanine Transaminase; gamma-Glutamyltransferase; Osteoarthritis, Knee; Osteoporosis; Alkaline Phosphatase; Coloring Agents; Liver
PubMed: 37662902
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1195553 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2023The development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is strongly associated with oxidative stress, but it is unclear whether increasing dietary antioxidant...
INTRODUCTION
The development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is strongly associated with oxidative stress, but it is unclear whether increasing dietary antioxidant intake reduces the risk of COPD. Therefore, this study assessed the association between antioxidant intake and COPD in US adults aged ≥ 40 years and further examined the correlation using the Composite Dietary Antioxidant Index (CDAI).
METHODS
The study included 8,257 US adults aged ≥ 40 years using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for three cycles from 2007-2012. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to calculate the correlation between antioxidant intake and CDAI with COPD. Restricted cubic spline was further used to explore the exposure-response relationship. Mediation analysis was used to explore the role of inflammatory factors in the association between CDAI and COPD.
RESULTS
This study included 8257 participants (4111 women [weighted, 50.7%]; mean [SD] age, 58.8 [11.2] years). In a multivariable-adjusted model of single antioxidant intake, a linear downward association between carotenoid intake and the incidence of COPD (P for trend = 0.052; Pnon- linear = 0.961). In a multivariable adjusted model for CDAI, this association is similarly present (P for trend = 0.018; Pnon-linear = 0.360). Multiple linear regression modeling showed that leukocytes (P = 0.002), alkaline phosphatase (P< 0.001), and c-reactive protein (P< 0.001) were negatively associated with CDAI levels. Meanwhile, mediation analysis revealed that alkaline phosphatase and c-reactive protein partially influenced the association between CDAI and COPD prevalence, with mediation ratios of 6.4% (P< 0.01) and 4.68% (P = 0.04), respectively.
CONCLUSION
The risk of COPD decreased with increased carotenoid intake and CDAI. In addition, CDAI has been found to be strongly associated with inflammatory factors and can reduce the incidence of COPD by mediating inflammatory factors.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Female; Middle Aged; Antioxidants; Mediation Analysis; Nutrition Surveys; Alkaline Phosphatase; C-Reactive Protein; Carotenoids; Coloring Agents; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
PubMed: 38259449
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1310399 -
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) Nov 2023Lymphedema is a progressive condition. Its therapy aims to reduce edema, prevent its progression, and provide psychosocial aid. Nonsurgical treatment in advanced stages... (Review)
Review
Lymphedema is a progressive condition. Its therapy aims to reduce edema, prevent its progression, and provide psychosocial aid. Nonsurgical treatment in advanced stages is mostly insufficient. Therefore-in many cases-surgical procedures, such as to restore lymph flow or excise lymphedema tissues, are the only ways to improve patients' quality of life. Lymphoscintigraphy (LS), near-infrared fluorescent (NIRF) imaging-also termed indocyanine green (ICG) lymphography (ICG-L)-ultrasonography (US), magnetic resonance lymphangiography (MRL), computed tomography (CT), photoacoustic imaging (PAI), and optical coherence tomography (OCT) are standardized techniques, which can be utilized in lymphedema diagnosis, staging, treatment, and follow-up. The combined use of these imaging modalities and self-assessment questionnaires deliver objective parameters for choosing the most suitable surgical therapy and achieving the best possible postoperative outcome.
Topics: Humans; Quality of Life; Indocyanine Green; Coloring Agents; Lymphedema; Lymphography
PubMed: 38004065
DOI: 10.3390/medicina59112016 -
Nature Communications Oct 2023Calcium in interstitial fluids is central to systemic physiology and a crucial ion pool for entry into cells through numerous plasma membrane channels. Its study has...
Calcium in interstitial fluids is central to systemic physiology and a crucial ion pool for entry into cells through numerous plasma membrane channels. Its study has been limited by the scarcity of methods that allow monitoring in tight inter-cell spaces of living tissues. Here we present high performance ultra-low affinity genetically encoded calcium biosensors named GreenT-ECs. GreenT-ECs combine large fluorescence changes upon calcium binding and binding affinities (Kds) ranging from 0.8 mM to 2.9 mM, making them tuned to calcium concentrations in extracellular organismal fluids. We validated GreenT-ECs in rodent hippocampal neurons and transgenic zebrafish in vivo, where the sensors enabled monitoring homeostatic regulation of tissue interstitial calcium. GreenT-ECs may become useful for recording very large calcium transients and for imaging calcium homeostasis in inter-cell structures in live tissues and organisms.
Topics: Animals; Calcium; Zebrafish; Fluorescence; Calcium Signaling; Diagnostic Imaging; Coloring Agents
PubMed: 37798285
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41928-w -
Dermatologie (Heidelberg, Germany) Oct 2023
Topics: Tattooing; Biosensing Techniques; Coloring Agents
PubMed: 37450053
DOI: 10.1007/s00105-023-05195-6 -
Environmental Science and Pollution... Mar 2024Due to the increasing pressure on environmentally friendly approaches and sustainable production processes, the textile dyeing industry has focused on natural colorants.... (Review)
Review
Due to the increasing pressure on environmentally friendly approaches and sustainable production processes, the textile dyeing industry has focused on natural colorants. Thus, the use of bio-mordants, which are biological materials, has become widespread as an alternative to metal salts, most of which are non-ecological, used in the application processes of natural colorants. In natural dyeing, dyers want to use mordant substances in the dyeing processes in order to both expand the color spectrum and improve the fastness properties. Conventional metal salts used in natural dyeing are made up of metallic ions, which, when released into the environment as wastewater effluent at the end of the dyeing process, cause major damage to the ecosystem. Many researchers have thought about using mordants derived from natural sources to address the environmental problem. This article is a review of the investigation of natural mordants used instead of metallic mordants in the process of coloring various textile materials with natural dyestuff sources. It has been determined that many substances, most of them herbal materials, are used as mordants. In this review, mordants, except for conventional metal salts, are examined under three main groups for a better understanding. These groups are as follows: (i) natural or bio-mordants, (ii) oil mordants, and (iii) new-generation and non-vegetable-based mordants. Here, researchers will find an overview of the most recent developments in green mordants as well as application techniques for a variety of mordants.
Topics: Ecosystem; Salts; Textiles; Coloring Agents; Wastewater; Metals
PubMed: 38396176
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-32174-8 -
Nature Biomedical Engineering Aug 2023A plaque assay-the gold-standard method for measuring the concentration of replication-competent lytic virions-requires staining and usually more than 48 h of runtime....
A plaque assay-the gold-standard method for measuring the concentration of replication-competent lytic virions-requires staining and usually more than 48 h of runtime. Here we show that lens-free holographic imaging and deep learning can be combined to expedite and automate the assay. The compact imaging device captures phase information label-free at a rate of approximately 0.32 gigapixels per hour per well, covers an area of about 30 × 30 mm and a 10-fold larger dynamic range of virus concentration than standard assays, and quantifies the infected area and the number of plaque-forming units. For the vesicular stomatitis virus, the automated plaque assay detected the first cell-lysing events caused by viral replication as early as 5 h after incubation, and in less than 20 h it detected plaque-forming units at rates higher than 90% at 100% specificity. Furthermore, it reduced the incubation time of the herpes simplex virus type 1 by about 48 h and that of the encephalomyocarditis virus by about 20 h. The stain-free assay should be amenable for use in virology research, vaccine development and clinical diagnosis.
Topics: Viral Plaque Assay; Coloring Agents; Deep Learning; Holography; Virus Replication
PubMed: 37349390
DOI: 10.1038/s41551-023-01057-7 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Mar 2024Cosmetic products are chemical substances or mixtures used on the skin, hair, nails, teeth, and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity, whose use is intended to clean,... (Review)
Review
Cosmetic products are chemical substances or mixtures used on the skin, hair, nails, teeth, and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity, whose use is intended to clean, protect, correct body odor, perfume, keep in good condition, or change appearance. The analysis of cosmetic ingredients is often challenging because of their huge complexity and their adulteration. Among various analytical tools, mass spectrometry (MS) has been largely used for compound detection, ingredient screening, quality control, detection of product authenticity, and health risk evaluation. This work is focused on the MS applications in detecting and quantification of some common cosmetic ingredients, i.e., preservatives, dyes, heavy metals, allergens, and bioconjugates in various matrices (leave-on or rinse-off cosmetic products). As a global view, MS-based analysis of bioconjugates is a narrow field, and LC- and GC/GC×GC-MS are widely used for the investigation of preservatives, dyes, and fragrances, while inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-MS is ideal for comprehensive analysis of heavy metals. Ambient ionization approaches and advanced separation methods (i.e., convergence chromatography (UPC)) coupled to MS have been proven to be an excellent choice for the analysis of scented allergens. At the same time, the current paper explores the challenges of MS-based analysis for cosmetic safety studies.
Topics: Cosmetics; Perfume; Allergens; Preservatives, Pharmaceutical; Mass Spectrometry; Coloring Agents; Metals, Heavy
PubMed: 38542972
DOI: 10.3390/molecules29061336 -
Nature Communications Jun 2023Live-cell RNA imaging with high spatial and temporal resolution remains a major challenge. Here we report the development of RhoBAST:SpyRho, a fluorescent light-up...
Live-cell RNA imaging with high spatial and temporal resolution remains a major challenge. Here we report the development of RhoBAST:SpyRho, a fluorescent light-up aptamer (FLAP) system ideally suited for visualizing RNAs in live or fixed cells with various advanced fluorescence microscopy modalities. Overcoming problems associated with low cell permeability, brightness, fluorogenicity, and signal-to-background ratio of previous fluorophores, we design a novel probe, SpyRho (Spirocyclic Rhodamine), which tightly binds to the RhoBAST aptamer. High brightness and fluorogenicity is achieved by shifting the equilibrium between spirolactam and quinoid. With its high affinity and fast ligand exchange, RhoBAST:SpyRho is a superb system for both super-resolution SMLM and STED imaging. Its excellent performance in SMLM and the first reported super-resolved STED images of specifically labeled RNA in live mammalian cells represent significant advances over other FLAPs. The versatility of RhoBAST:SpyRho is further demonstrated by imaging endogenous chromosomal loci and proteins.
Topics: Animals; Rhodamines; Fluorescent Dyes; Ionophores; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Oligonucleotides; RNA; Mammals
PubMed: 37391423
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39611-1