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European Journal of Dentistry May 2024The development of remineralization biomimetics using organic peptide molecules is expected to resemble the hydroxyapatite (HA) mineralization process in tooth...
OBJECTIVES
The development of remineralization biomimetics using organic peptide molecules is expected to resemble the hydroxyapatite (HA) mineralization process in tooth enamel. The development of an amelogenin derivative peptide combined with antimicrobial peptide was designed, resulting in QP3VH. This combination then was mixed with chitosan as a carrier. This study aimed to evaluate the biomimetic efficacy of QP3VH as a remineralizing agent combined with chitosan.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fifty deciduous mandibular incisor enamel samples were used in this study. The artificial enamel lesions were created on a buccal surface and were randomly assigned to five groups of 10 each according to the remineralizing agent used: QP3VH, NaF, QP3VH + NaF, QP3VH + CS (QP3VH + chitosan), and saline distilled water (SDW). Each group was performed pH cycling for seven days. Enamel surface morphology and evaluation of mineral content Ca/P (calcium and phosphate) using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The assessment was carried out, after demineralization, and after application with remineralization agents.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Data were analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance followed by least significance difference post-hoc test. The paired -test was utilized to compare the demineralization and remineralization results. The significance level used was 95%.
RESULTS
The remineralized group exhibited a significant increase in calcium and phosphate content on the enamel surface ( <0.05), and QP3VH + CS produced the maximum Ca/P mass percent after remineralization.
CONCLUSION
Combining QP3VH with chitosan produces greatest remineralization than QP3VH, QP3VH + NaF, Naf, and SDW; therefore, QP3VH peptide has potential as a remineralizing agent, in the future.
PubMed: 38759995
DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1782189 -
RSC Advances May 2024Porphyrin and porphyrinoid derivatives have been extensively studied in the assembly of catalysts and sensors, seeking biomimetic and bioinspired activity. In...
Porphyrin and porphyrinoid derivatives have been extensively studied in the assembly of catalysts and sensors, seeking biomimetic and bioinspired activity. In particular, Fe and Ni porphyrins can be used for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) by immobilization of these molecular catalysts on semiconductor materials. In this study, we designed a hybrid material containing a crystalline mesoporous TiO thin film in which the catalytic centres are Ni-porphyrin (NiP), Fe-porphyrin (FeP), and a NiP/FeP bimetallic system to assess whether the coexistence of both metalloporphyrins improves the OER activity. The obtained photoelectrodes were physicochemically and morphologically characterized through high-resolution FE-SEM images, UV-vis and Raman spectroscopies, cyclic voltammetry, and impedance measurements. The results show a differential behavior of the mono- and bimetallic porphyrin systems, where the Fe(iii) centre in FeP may increase the acidity and lower the reduction potential of the Ni couple when co-deposited with NiP leading to an improved photoelectrochemical water-oxidation performance. We have validated the cooperative effect of both metal complexes within this novel system, where the μ-peroxo-bridged interaction between Fe and Ni is integrated into a supramolecular heterometallic structure of porphyrins.
PubMed: 38756854
DOI: 10.1039/d3ra08047a -
Nature Communications May 2024Conductive cardiac patches can rebuild the electroactive microenvironment for the infarcted myocardium but their repair effects benefit by carried seed cells or drugs....
Conductive cardiac patches can rebuild the electroactive microenvironment for the infarcted myocardium but their repair effects benefit by carried seed cells or drugs. The key to success is the effective integration of electrical stimulation with the microenvironment created by conductive cardiac patches. Besides, due to the concerns in a high re-admission ratio of heart patients, a remote medicine device will underpin the successful repair. Herein, we report a miniature self-powered biomimetic trinity triboelectric nanogenerator with a unique double-spacer structure that unifies energy harvesting, therapeutics, and diagnosis in one cardiac patch. Trinity triboelectric nanogenerator conductive cardiac patches improve the electroactivity of the infarcted heart and can also wirelessly monitor electrocardiosignal to a mobile device for diagnosis. RNA sequencing analysis from rat hearts reveals that this trinity cardiac patches mainly regulates cardiac muscle contraction-, energy metabolism-, and vascular regulation-related mRNA expressions in vivo. The research is spawning a device that truly integrates an electrical stimulation of a functional heart patch and self-powered e-care remote diagnostic sensor.
Topics: Animals; Myocardial Infarction; Rats; Myocardium; Male; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Electric Stimulation; Humans; Myocardial Contraction
PubMed: 38755124
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48468-x -
Frontiers in Pharmacology 2024Breast cancer (BC) continues to be a major health challenge globally, ranking as the fifth leading cause of cancer mortality among women, despite advancements in cancer...
Breast cancer (BC) continues to be a major health challenge globally, ranking as the fifth leading cause of cancer mortality among women, despite advancements in cancer detection and treatment. In this study, we identified four novel compounds from marine organisms that effectively target and inhibit the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), crucial for BC cell growth and proliferation. These compounds not only induced early apoptosis through Caspase-3 activation but also showed significant inhibitory effects on EGFR mutations associated with drug resistance (T790M, L858R, and L858R/T790M), demonstrating high EGFR kinase selectivity. Cell Thermal Shift Assay (CETSA) experiments indicated that Tandyukisin stabilizes EGFR in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, binding competition assays using surface plasmon resonance technology revealed that Tandyukisin and Trichoharzin bound to distinct sites on EGFR and that their combined use enhanced apoptosis in BC cells. This discovery may pave the way for developing new marine-derived EGFR inhibitors, offering a promising avenue for innovative cancer treatment strategies and addressing EGFR-mediated drug resistance.
PubMed: 38751788
DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1396605 -
Journal of Advanced Research May 2024Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved turnover process for intracellular substances in eukaryotes, relying on lysosomal (in animals) or vacuolar (in yeast and plants)... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved turnover process for intracellular substances in eukaryotes, relying on lysosomal (in animals) or vacuolar (in yeast and plants) mechanisms. In the past two decades, emerging evidence suggests that, under specific conditions, autophagy can target particular macromolecules or organelles for degradation, a process termed selective autophagy. Recently, accumulating studies have demonstrated that the abnormality of selective autophagy is closely associated with the occurrence and progression of many human diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, cancers, metabolic diseases, and cardiovascular diseases.
AIM OF REVIEW
This review aims at systematically and comprehensively introducing selective autophagy and its role in various diseases, while unravelling the molecular mechanisms of selective autophagy. By providing a theoretical basis for the development of related small-molecule drugs as well as treating related human diseases, this review seeks to contribute to the understanding of selective autophagy and its therapeutic potential.
KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF REVIEW
In this review, we systematically introduce and dissect the major categories of selective autophagy that have been discovered. We also focus on recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying both classical and non-classical selective autophagy. Moreover, the current situation of small-molecule drugs targeting different types of selective autophagy is further summarized, providing valuable insights into the discovery of more candidate small-molecule drugs targeting selective autophagy in the future. On the other hand, we also reveal clinically relevant implementations that are potentially related to selective autophagy, such as predictive approaches and treatments tailored to individual patients.
PubMed: 38750694
DOI: 10.1016/j.jare.2024.05.009 -
Journal of Nanobiotechnology May 2024The complexity of repairing large segment defects and eradicating residual tumor cell puts the osteosarcoma clinical management challenging. Current biomaterial design...
The complexity of repairing large segment defects and eradicating residual tumor cell puts the osteosarcoma clinical management challenging. Current biomaterial design often overlooks the crucial role of precisely regulating innervation in bone regeneration. Here, we develop a Germanium Selenium (GeSe) co-doped polylactic acid (PLA) nanofiber membrane-coated tricalcium phosphate bioceramic scaffold (TCP-PLA/GeSe) that mimics the bone-periosteum structure. This biomimetic scaffold offers a dual functionality, combining piezoelectric and photothermal conversion capabilities while remaining biodegradable. When subjected to ultrasound irradiation, the US-electric stimulation of TCP-PLA/GeSe enables spatiotemporal control of neurogenic differentiation. This feature supports early innervation during bone formation, promoting early neurogenic differentiation of Schwann cells (SCs) by increasing intracellular Ca and subsequently activating the PI3K-Akt and Ras signaling pathways. The biomimetic scaffold also demonstrates exceptional osteogenic differentiation potential under ultrasound irradiation. In rabbit model of large segment bone defects, the TCP-PLA/GeSe demonstrates promoted osteogenesis and nerve fibre ingrowth. The combined attributes of high photothermal conversion capacity and the sustained release of anti-tumor selenium from the TCP-PLA/GeSe enable the synergistic eradication of osteosarcoma both in vitro and in vivo. This strategy provides new insights on designing advanced biomaterials of repairing large segment bone defect and osteosarcoma.
Topics: Osteosarcoma; Animals; Bone Regeneration; Tissue Scaffolds; Rabbits; Calcium Phosphates; Osteogenesis; Polyesters; Humans; Cell Differentiation; Bone Neoplasms; Cell Line, Tumor; Biomimetic Materials; Schwann Cells; Nanofibers; Biocompatible Materials; Selenium
PubMed: 38750519
DOI: 10.1186/s12951-024-02430-7 -
Scientific Reports May 2024Traditional 2D imaging technologies are limited by the need for a large field of view and their sensitivity to small target motion. Inspired by the characteristics of...
Traditional 2D imaging technologies are limited by the need for a large field of view and their sensitivity to small target motion. Inspired by the characteristics of insect compound eye structure, we propose an infrared bionic compound eye camera based on a small lens array. The camera is composed of 61 small lens arrays mounted on a curved spherical shell and a relay optical system. The imaging device is a high-performance cooled mid-wave infrared detector. This is an innovative design for an infrared biomimetic compound eye camera system that provides a wide field of view and all-day detection capability. Aimed to meet the specified requirements. The optical system achieves a 100% cold-membrane match between the infrared optical system and the cooled detector, and the relay optical system optimizes the large-field aberration by introducing a higher-order aspheric surface and modifying the geometric surface of the lenses. Our entire system enables an observation field angle of . The experiments showed that the image quality of the system is high, each ommatidium was effective within the imaging range of the compound eye camera, resulting in an improved signal-to-noise ratio in various scenes.
PubMed: 38750028
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61606-1 -
Applied Spectroscopy May 2024Tuning the 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS) structure usually requires harsh conditions and long reaction times, which can result in low yields. Herein, ANS...
Tuning the 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS) structure usually requires harsh conditions and long reaction times, which can result in low yields. Herein, ANS was modified to form an ANS group of uniform materials based on organic salts (GUMBOS), prepared with simple metathesis reactions and distinct cations, namely tetrabutylammonium (N), tetrahexylammonium (N), and tetrabutylphosphonium (P). These ANS-based GUMBOS were investigated as fluorescent probes for membrane binding studies with four proteins having distinct physicochemical properties. Liposomes of 1,2-dimyristoyl--glycero-3-phosphocholine were employed as membrane models as a result of their ability to mimic the structure and chemical composition of cell membranes. Changes in fluorescence intensity were used to monitor protein binding to liposomes, and adsorption data were fitted to a Freundlich-like isotherm. It was determined that [N][ANS] and [P][ANS] GUMBOS have enhanced optical properties and lipophilicity as compared to parent ANS. As a result, these two GUMBOS were selected for subsequent protein-membrane binding studies. Both [N][ANS] and [P][ANS] GUMBOS and parent ANS independently reached membrane saturation within the same concentration range. Furthermore, distinct fluorescence responses were observed upon the addition of proteins to each probe, which demonstrates the impact of properties such as lipophilicity on the binding process. The relative maintenance of binding cooperativity and maximum fluorescence intensity suggests that proteins compete with ANS-based probes for the same membrane binding sites. Finally, this GUMBOS-based approach is simple, rapid, and involves relatively small amounts of reagents, making it attractive for high-throughput purposes. These results presented herein can also provide relevant information for designing GUMBOS with ameliorated properties.
PubMed: 38747750
DOI: 10.1177/00037028241249768 -
Frontiers in Oncology 2024Early detection of cancer is crucial to reducing fatalities and improving patient outcomes. Metastasis is the first stage of aggressive cancers, often occurring before... (Review)
Review
Early detection of cancer is crucial to reducing fatalities and improving patient outcomes. Metastasis is the first stage of aggressive cancers, often occurring before primary lesions can be seen. It occurs when cancerous cells disseminate to distant, non-malignant organs through the bloodstream, known as circulating tumor cells (CTCs). CTCs, or cancer tumor cells, are valuable indicators for predicting treatment response, metastasis progression, and disease progression. However, they are primarily used for research due to challenges like heterogeneity, separation from blood, and lack of clinical validation. Only a few methods have been approved for clinical use. One area of research is the isolation and identification of CTCs, which could significantly impact early cancer detection and prognosis. Current technologies using whole-blood samples use size, immunoaffinity, and density approaches, along with positive and negative enrichment techniques. Surface modification of nanomaterials is important for effective cancer therapies because it improves their ability to target and reduces interactions with healthy tissues. Consequently, researchers have created biomimetic nanoparticles covered with cell membranes using functional, targeted, and biocompatible coating technology. Nanoparticles with membranes can target specific cells, stay in circulation for longer, and avoid immune responses, which makes them much better at capturing CTCs. This study examines the current opportunities and difficulties associated with using cell membrane-coated nanoparticles as a capture technique for CTCs. In addition, we examine potential future developments in light of the current obstacles and investigate areas that require further research to fully understand its growing clinical possibilities.
PubMed: 38746681
DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1389775 -
Research Square Apr 2024The development of subunit vaccines that mimic the molecular complexity of attenuated vaccines has been limited by the difficulty of intracellular co-delivery of...
The development of subunit vaccines that mimic the molecular complexity of attenuated vaccines has been limited by the difficulty of intracellular co-delivery of multiple chemically diverse payloads at controllable concentrations. We report on hierarchical hydrogel depots employing simple poly(propylene sulfone) homopolymers to enable ratiometric loading of a protein antigen and four physicochemically distinct adjuvants in a hierarchical manner. The optimized vaccine consisted of immunostimulants either adsorbed to or encapsulated within nanogels, which were capable of noncovalent anchoring to subcutaneous tissues. These 5-component nanogel vaccines demonstrated enhanced humoral and cell-mediated immune responses compared to formulations with standard single adjuvant and antigen pairing. The use of a single simple homopolymer capable of rapid and stable loading and intracellular delivery of diverse molecular cargoes holds promise for facile development and optimization of scalable subunit vaccines and complex therapeutic formulations for a wide range of biomedical applications.
PubMed: 38746232
DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4177821/v1