Cooperative Entrapment of Xanthene Dyes by a Core‐Engineered Unimolecular Micelle

The cooperative entrapment of a specified guest is only available for a well‐defined host. Here it is reported that a common host conducts cooperative entrapment of guests. Alkylation of a hyperbranched polyethylenimine (PEI) by epoxy poly(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ethers (PEG1) leads to a water‐soluble PEI@PEG1 ( H1 ). The multifunctional core of H1 is modified to result in H2 – H4, with different polarities and ionic charges. H1 – H4 exist as unimolecular micelles, and can effectively entrap dyes of rose bengal (RB) or eosin Y (EY). Experiments indicate that the guest dyes are exclusively accommodated in the cores of H1 – H4 . The encapsulation proceeds in a cooperative manner, as analysis by the Hill equation (n > 1). It is found that the cooperativity stems from the enhanced π–π stacking of the dyes upon encapsulation, and a polar and ionic environment favors the cooperativity. This is the first example of a cooperative entrapment being realized by a common host.

     

Pituitary deficiency after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage

OBJECTIVE:

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage puts patients at high risk for the development of pituitary insufficiency. We evaluated the incidence of pituitary dysfunction in these patients and its correlation with clinical outcome.

METHODS:

Pituitary function was tested in 66 consecutive patients in the first 15 days after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. The following were measured in all patients: thyroid-stimulating hormone, free thyroxine, triiodothyronine, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, total testosterone (in males), estradiol (in females), prolactin, serum cortisol, plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone, growth hormone and insulin growth factor.

RESULTS:

The endocrine assessment was made at a mean of 7.4 days (standard deviation ±6.6) after subarachnoid hemorrhage. Forty-four (66.7%) female and 22 (33.3%) male patients were evaluated. Thirty-nine patients (59.1%) had some type of pituitary dysfunction. Follicle-stimulating hormone/luteinizing hormone deficiency was the most frequent disorder (34.8%), followed by growth hormone/insulin growth factor (28.7%), adrenocorticotropic hormone (18.1%) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (9%). Seventeen (25.7%) patients showed deficiencies in more than one axis. A greater incidence of hormone deficiency was observed in patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale score ≤13 (t test, p = 0.008), Hunt-Hess grade ≥4 (t test, p<0.001), or Fisher grade 4 (t test, p = 0.039). Hormone deficiency was not significantly associated (p>0.05) with increased hospitalization or clinical outcome.

CONCLUSION:

Pituitary dysfunction was identified in a substantial portion of patients with previous aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, but no association was found between this dysfunction and poor clinical outcome.     

CD19 + CD21lo/neg cells are increased in systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc). The purpose of this study was to examine recirculating lymphocytes from SSc patients for potential biomarkers of interstitial lung disease (ILD). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from patients with SSc and healthy controls enrolled in the Vanderbilt University Myositis and Scleroderma Treatment Initiative Center cohort between 9/2017–6/2019. Clinical phenotyping was performed by chart abstraction. Immunophenotyping was performed using both mass cytometry and fluorescence cytometry combined with t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding analysis and traditional biaxial gating. This study included 34 patients with SSc-ILD, 14 patients without SSc-ILD, and 25 healthy controls. CD21^lo/neg cells are significantly increased in SSc-ILD but not in SSc without ILD (15.4 ± 13.3% vs. 5.8 ± 0.9%, p = 0.002) or healthy controls (5.0 ± 0.5%, p < 0.0001). While CD21^lo/neg B cells can be identified from a single biaxial gate, tSNE analysis reveals that the biaxial gate is comprised of multiple distinct subsets, all of which are increased in SSc-ILD. CD21^lo/neg cells in both healthy controls and SSc-ILD are predominantly tBET positive and do not have intracellular CD21. Immunohistochemistry staining demonstrated that CD21^lo/neg B cells diffusely infiltrate the lung parenchyma of an SSc-ILD patient. Additional work is needed to validate this biomarker in larger cohorts and longitudinal studies and to understand the role of these cells in SSc-ILD.

     

芹菜素治疗去卵巢骨质疏松模型大鼠的作用与剂量

文题释义： 芹菜素：主要存在于瑞香科、马鞭草科、卷柏科植物中,如芫花,卷柏中含量较大。芹菜素属于黄酮类,具有抑制致癌物质的致癌活性;作为治疗HIV和其他病毒感染的抗病毒药物;MAP激酶的抑制剂;治疗各种炎症;抗氧化剂;镇静、安神;降压。与其他黄酮类物质(槲皮素、山奈黄酮)相比具有低毒、无诱变性等特点。 骨密度：全称是骨骼矿物质密度,是骨骼强度的一个重要指标,以g/cm³表示,是一个绝对值。在临床使用骨密度值时由于不同的骨密度检测仪的绝对值不同,通常使用T值判断骨密度是否正常。T值是一个相对值,正常参考值在-1和+1之间。当T值低于-2.5时为不正常。骨密度,是骨质量的一个重要标志,反映骨质疏松程度,预测骨折危险性的重要依据。 背景：研究证实芹菜素具有抗病毒、抗炎、抗氧化、镇静安神等功效。 目的：研究不同剂量芹菜素对大鼠骨质疏松的疗效并探讨其机制。 方法：实验方案经南方医科大学动物实验伦理委员会批准。成年雌性SD大鼠42只,通过卵巢切除法建立大鼠骨质疏松模型,实验分为7组,每组6只大鼠,分别为假手术组、芹菜素20,40,60和80 mg/kg组、对照组、阳性对照组。假手术组未摘除卵巢,阳性对照组每天灌胃烯雌酚(0.02 mg/kg)、维生素D和钙;对照组给予同等量纯净水皮下注射;芹菜素各组分别给予相应剂量的芹菜素皮下注射;1次/d,用药8周。分别检测干预后第4周和第8周大鼠股骨密度和血清中钙、磷、骨碱性磷酸酶、Ⅰ型前胶原氨基末端前肽、β-Ⅰ型胶原C-末端肽的水平。 结果与结论：①与对照组比较,芹菜素剂量为40,60和80 mg/kg时,大鼠的骨密度、血清中钙、磷在第4周和第8周时均较高(P < 0.05),Ⅰ型前胶原氨基末端前肽、β-Ⅰ型胶原C-末端肽、骨碱性磷酸酶较低(P < 0.05);②与阳性对照组比,芹菜素剂量为60 mg/kg和80 mg/kg时,大鼠的骨密度、血清中钙、磷和骨碱性磷酸酶、Ⅰ型前胶原氨基末端前肽、β-Ⅰ型胶原C-末端肽在第4周和第8周时均无明显差别(P > 0.05),剂量为 20 mg/kg和 40 mg/kg时,骨密度、血清中钙、磷、均比阳性对照组低(P < 0.05),Ⅰ型前胶原氨基末端前肽、β-Ⅰ型胶原C-末端肽比阳性对照组高(P < 0.05);③对照组和假手术组比较,在第4周和第8周时大鼠骨密度、 血清中钙、磷均比较低(P < 0.05),Ⅰ型前胶原氨基末端前肽、β-Ⅰ型胶原C-末端肽均比较高(P < 0.05);④结果说明,去卵巢法建立大鼠骨质疏松模型确实有效;芹菜素对骨质疏松的治疗作用和剂量相关,一定剂量的芹菜素具有类似烯雌酚样的抗骨质疏松效果。 ORCID: 0000-0002-9167-5286(赖丽金) 中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：组织构建;骨细胞;软骨细胞;细胞培养;成纤维细胞;血管内皮细胞;骨质疏松;组织工程