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New Phytol 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.

• Transport and homeostasis of transition metals in chloroplasts, which are accurately regulated to ensure supply and to prevent toxicity induced by these metals, is thus crucial for chloroplasts function and photosynthetic performance. However, the mechanisms that maintain the balance of transition metals in chloroplasts remain largely unknown. • We have characterized an albino-revertible green 1 (arg1) rice mutant. Read More

J Antimicrob Chemother 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Department of Paediatrics, University of Luebeck, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Luebeck, Germany.

Background: Vancomycin is an extensively used anti-infective drug in neonatal ICUs. However, exposure-toxicity relationships have not been clearly defined.

Objectives: To evaluate the risk profile for hearing deficits in vancomycin-exposed very-low-birthweight infants (VLBWI). Read More

Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Department of Cardiology, Oslo University Hospital, Postboks 4950 Nydalen, 0424 Oslo, Norway.

Early and late cardiovascular (CV) toxicities related to many cancer treatments may complicate the clinical course of patients, offsetting therapeutic benefits, and altering prognosis. The early detection, monitoring, and treatment of cardiotoxicity have therefore become essential parts of cancer patient care. CV imaging is a cornerstone of every cardio-oncology unit, but its use may vary across Europe because of the non-uniform availability of advanced imaging techniques and differences in the organization and logistics of cardio-oncology services. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 May 11;733:139340. Epub 2020 May 11.

Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.

Background: Exposure to ionizing radiation increases the risk of chronic metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Internal ionizing radiation from inhaled radioactive aerosol may contribute to the associations between fine particulate matter (PM) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Methods: We used the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records to study 1,061,937 pregnant women from 2001 to 2015 with a singleton pregnancy without pre-existing diabetes. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 Apr 30;733:139070. Epub 2020 Apr 30.

School of Life Sciences, Gibbet Hill Campus, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.

Regulatory tests assess crop protection product environmental fate and toxicity before approval for commercial use. Although globally applied laboratory tests can assess biodegradation, they lack environmental complexity. Microbial communities are subject to temporal and spatial variation, but there is little consideration of these microbial dynamics in the laboratory. Read More

J Hazard Mater 2020 May 15;398:122900. Epub 2020 May 15.

Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Biosciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address:

In recent years the terms "micro-/nanoplastics" (MNPLs) have caught special attention due to the increasing levels by which humans are exposed. Among MNPLs, polystyrene nanoparticles (PSNPs) are one of the most represented MNPLs in the environment. These tiny particles may enter into the human body, translocate through human barriers, interacting with blood and lymphatic immune cells, and reaching secondary organs. Read More

J Hazard Mater 2020 May 17;398:122860. Epub 2020 May 17.

Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; Ecological Experimental Station of Red Soil, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yingtan 335211, China. Electronic address:

The inhibition of cadmium (Cd) absorption by selenium (Se) in rice may be associated with iron plaque (IP) formation, but the driving mechanisms are still unclear. This study investigated the effects of Se on the growth, oxidative toxicity, radial oxygen loss (ROL), IP formation, and Cd absorption of rice exposed to Cd. The results of this study showed that Cd stress elevated the levels of O- and HO and depressed superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities. Read More

Mol Ther Nucleic Acids 2020 May 12;20:882-894. Epub 2020 May 12.

Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Macau, Macau, China. Electronic address:

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a valuable source of antimicrobial agents and a potential solution to the multi-drug resistance problem. In particular, short-length AMPs have been shown to have enhanced antimicrobial activities, higher stability, and lower toxicity to human cells. We present a short-length (≤30 aa) AMP prediction method, Deep-AmPEP30, developed based on an optimal feature set of PseKRAAC reduced amino acids composition and convolutional neural network. Read More

Oral Oncol 2020 May 25;108:104753. Epub 2020 May 25.

Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. Electronic address:

Background: Deregulation of the PI3K signalling pathway is frequent in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) and may be implicated in radioresistance. We report on the results from a phase I 3 + 3 dose escalation study of alpelisib, a class I α-specific PI3K inhibitor in combination with concurrent cisplatin-based chemoradiation (CRT) in patients with locoregionally advanced SCCHN (LA-SCCHN).

Methods: Eligible patients had previously untreated LA-SCCHN and were candidates for CRT. Read More

Environ Toxicol Pharmacol 2020 May 7;79:103400. Epub 2020 May 7.

Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Hradec Kralove, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. Electronic address:

Digoxin is a cardiac glycoside used as drug in case of heart problems, including congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation or flutter, and certain cardiac arrhythmias. It has a very narrow therapeutic window of the medication. Digoxin is toxic substance with well known cardiotoxic effect. Read More

Food Chem 2020 May 21;327:127103. Epub 2020 May 21.

State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu Province, China; School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address:

The removal of pesticide residues in food by ultrasound has attracted more attention in recent years, and the formation of intermediate products may have some profound effects on the toxicity of treated food. Therefore, degradation of parathion methyl (PM) in bovine milk by ultrasonic treatment was studied in this paper. Results showed that the ultrasonic intensity and the initial concentration of PM had a significant effect on the degradation rate of PM (P < 0. Read More

Food Chem 2020 May 12;327:127031. Epub 2020 May 12.

McGill University, Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, 21111 Lakeshore, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address:

The 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds have received extensive attention due to their high reactivity and toxicity in vitro and in vivo. Availability of scavenging compounds may facilitate development of efficient strategies for their control. The concept of in situ generation of carbonyl trapping agents is an intriguing proposition and has been demonstrated with amino acid tryptophan. Read More

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2020 May 25;200:110772. Epub 2020 May 25.

Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Science, University of Catania, Catania, Italy. Electronic address:

Recently two-dimensional nanomaterials, such as graphene and molybdenum disulfide (MoS), have received much attention as adsorbent materials for the effective removal of organic contaminants. MoS is attracting attention, not only for its chemical-physical properties, but also for its wide availability in nature as a constituent of molybdenite. The aim of this investigation was to assess the effects of different MoS concentrations (5 × 10, 5 × 10 and 5 × 10 mg/ml) on the embryonated eggs of Gallus gallus domesticus, according to Beck method. Read More

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2020 May 25;200:110756. Epub 2020 May 25.

Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan; Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan. Electronic address:

Arsenic is a recognized highly toxic contaminant, responsible for numerous human diseases and affecting many millions of people in different parts of the world. Contrarily, curcumin is a natural dietary polyphenolic compound and the main active ingredient in turmeric. Recently it has drawn great attention due to its diverse biological activities, strong antioxidant properties and therapeutic potential against many human ailments. Read More

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2020 May 25;200:110718. Epub 2020 May 25.

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8569, Japan. Electronic address:

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been frequently found in surface waters worldwide, and its estrogenic effects in humans are well documented. Nevertheless, less is known about other bisphenol analogues (BPs), such as bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF) which are alternative to BPA. There have been few environmental investigations on BPs in developing countries, especially India. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 May 19;734:139406. Epub 2020 May 19.

Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, SE-90187 Umeå, Sweden.

Metal contamination of freshwater ecosystems is a great threat to aquatic insect communities. In the past, focus has been on the toxic effects on the insect larvae, despite emerging evidence showing that negative effects can occur during metamorphosis to adults. There is therefore a risk that traditional studies on insect larvae would underestimate effect from metals. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 May 15;734:139484. Epub 2020 May 15.

INRAE, UR EABX, 50 avenue de Verdun, 33612 Cestas cedex, France. Electronic address:

Pesticides are increasingly used worldwide to protect crops. However, only a small fraction of pesticides really hit their target organisms, with the remaining fraction reaching the environment by several phenomena such as leaching, and ending up in aquatic ecosystems: the final receptor of micropollutants. Chemical stressors induce changes in taxonomic composition of fauna and flora which are now the focus of many biomonitoring studies. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 May 5;734:138837. Epub 2020 May 5.

Interuniversity Consortium of Marine Biology of Leghorn "G. Bacci", 57128 Livorno, Italy; Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, San Piero a Grado, 56122 Pisa, Italy.

The use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is rapidly increasing and several scientific studies have addressed their toxicological properties. However, only a very small number of publications have deal with the interaction between CNTs and other molecules. Triclosan (TCS) is an antibacterial agent used in personal care and household products. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 May 16;734:139499. Epub 2020 May 16.

College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, PR China. Electronic address:

The widespread use of levofloxacin (LEV) and oxytetracycline (OTC) in hospitals and farms inevitably contributes to water pollution through waste disposal processes, municipal wastewater treatment, and manure application to farmlands, which adversely affects aquatic microorganisms. Here, we evaluated the toxicity of LEV and OTC to cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algae monocultures and freshwater microcosms. Three test cyanobacteria were inhibited by both LEV and OTC at all examined concentrations. Read More

J Electrocardiol 2020 May 4;60:177-183. Epub 2020 May 4.

Instituto de Ingeniería Biomédica, UBA, Paseo Colón 850 (C1063ACV), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Instituto Argentino de Matemática 'Alberto P. Calderón', CONICET, Saavedra 15 (C1083ACA), Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Introduction: Antiarrhythmic drugs therapies are currently going through a turning point. The high risk that exists during the treatments has led to an ongoing search for new non-invasive toxicity risk biomarkers.

Methods: We propose the use of spatial biomarkers obtained through the quaternion algebra, evaluating the dynamics of the cardiac electrical vector in a non-invasive way in order to detect abnormal changes in ventricular heterogeneity. Read More

Chemosphere 2020 May 23;256:127169. Epub 2020 May 23.

State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China. Electronic address:

Parental exposure to perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS), an aquatic pollutant of emerging concern, is previously found to impair the embryonic development of offspring. However, the impairing mechanisms remain to clarify. In the present study, adult zebrafish were exposed to 0, 10 and 100 μg/L PFBS for 28 d, after which disturbances in maternal transcript transfer and offspring embryogenesis were investigated. Read More

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2020 May 13;193:111124. Epub 2020 May 13.

SRM Research Institute, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, 603 203, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Electronic address:

In this present study, we have carried out the antioxidant function of transglutaminase (TG) identified from Arthrospira platensis (Ap) transcriptome. The antioxidant peptide ML11 (MLRSIGIPARL) has been predicted from the transglutaminase core domain and the peptide's free radical scavenging potential was evaluated and it shows that it functions on a dose dependent manner. The ML11 peptide cell toxicity was analysed in the human blood leucocytes which resulted no cytotoxic activity in any of the cell population. Read More

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2020 May 11;193:111119. Epub 2020 May 11.

Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Complutense University, Plaza Ramón y Cajal s/n, Madrid 28040, Spain. Electronic address:

Voriconazole (VCZ) is currently the first-line treatment for invasive aspergillosis, although the doses are limited by its poor solubility and high hepatic toxicity. The aim of this study was to develop a solid self-dispersing micellar system of VCZ to improve the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) relationship and reduce hepatotoxicity. In this work, solid micellar systems of VCZ are formulated with different polysorbate 80 ratios using mannitol as a hydrophilic carrier. Read More

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2020 May 15;193:111121. Epub 2020 May 15.

LAQV, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, Portugal, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal.

Vitamin A is essential to human health. Encapsulation in lipid nanoparticles was used to overcome vitamin A poor water solubility in beverages. This work aimed to develop and characterize lipid nanoparticles, containing vitamin A, for food fortification, assuring its stability and oral bioaccessibility. Read More

J Ethnopharmacol 2020 May 25:112937. Epub 2020 May 25.

School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Parklands Drive, Southport, Queensland, 4222, Australia; Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Quality Use of Medicines Network, Queensland, 4222, Australia. Electronic address:

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Triphala is used in Ayurveda to treat a wide variety of diseases, including numerous bacterial infections. Interestingly, the plant components of triphala (Terminalia bellirica, Terminalia chebula and Emblica officinalis) are also good inhibitors of bacterial growth when used individually, yet plant preparations are generally used in combination in traditional medicine. Surprisingly, no previous studies have addressed the reason why the combination is preferred over the individual components to treat bacterial infections. Read More

Ann Oncol 2020 May 25. Epub 2020 May 25.

Breast Cancer Research Centre-WA & Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia.

Background: Neratinib is an irreversible pan-HER tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for extended adjuvant treatment in early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer based on the phase III ExteNET study. In that trial, in which no anti-diarrheal prophylaxis was mandated, grade 3 diarrhea was observed in 40% of patients and 17% discontinued due to diarrhea. The international, open-label, sequential-cohort, phase II CONTROL study is investigating several strategies to improve tolerability. Read More

Ann Oncol 2020 May 25. Epub 2020 May 25.

GE and Digestive Oncology Department, CUB Hôpital Erasme, Brussels, Belgium.

Background: There is a high unmet clinical need for treatments for advanced/metastatic biliary tract cancers (BTC) after progression on first-line chemotherapy. Regorafenib has demonstrated efficacy in some gastrointestinal tumors that progress on standard therapies.

Patients And Methods: REACHIN was a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized phase 2 study designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of regorafenib in patients with nonresectable/metastatic BTC that progressed after gemcitabine/platinum chemotherapy. Read More

Toxicol Lett 2020 May 25. Epub 2020 May 25.

Department of Defense, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD), 2900 Ricketts Point Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, 21010, USA. Electronic address:

Toxicol Lett 2020 May 25. Epub 2020 May 25.

UFP Energy, Environment and Health Research Unit (FP-ENAS), University Fernando Pessoa, Praça Nove de Abril, 349, 4249-004, Porto, Portugal; UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Rua Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal. Electronic address:

Synthetic cathinones abuse remains a serious public health problem. Kidney injury has been reported in intoxications associated with synthetic cathinones, but the molecular mechanisms involved have not been explored yet. In this study, the potential in vitro nephrotoxic effects of four commonly abused cathinone derivatives, namely pentedrone, 3,4-dimethylmethcatinone (3,4-DMMC), methylone and 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), were assessed in the human kidney HK-2 cell line. Read More

Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2020 May 25:115074. Epub 2020 May 25.

Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG 31.270-901, Brazil. Electronic address:

The natural naphthoquinones lapachol, α- and β-lapachone are found in Bignoniaceous Brazilian plant species of the Tabebuia genus (synonym Handroanthus) and are recognized for diverse bioactivities, including as antimalarial. The aim of the present work was to perform in silico, in vitro and in vivo studies to evaluating the antimalarial potential of these three naphthoquinones in comparison with atovaquone, a synthetic antimalarial. The ADMET properties of these compounds were predicted in silico by the preADMET program. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2020 May 25. Epub 2020 May 25.

Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India. Electronic address:

Chikungunya virus; the pathogen for chikungunya febrile and arthritic disease, having 11.8 kb positive-sense RNA genome encodes polyproteins for structural and non-structural regions. The polyprotein (P1234) corresponding to the non-structural part from 5' end gets auto-cleaved by the action of nsP2 protease, which leads to the generation of individual functional enzymatic proteins like nsP4, nsP1, nsP2 and nsP3. Read More

Eur J Pharmacol 2020 May 25:173211. Epub 2020 May 25.

School of Functional Food and Wine, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, 110016, PR China; Key Laboratory of Structure-based Drug Design and Discovery of Education, Shenyang Pharmaceurical University, Shenyang, 110016, PR China. Electronic address:

20 (R)-Dammarane-3β, 12β, 20, 25-tetrol (25-OH-PPD), a ginsenoside, was derived from Panax ginseng (C. A. Meyer) and inhibited growth of several cancer cell lines. Read More

J Control Release 2020 May 25. Epub 2020 May 25.

Utah Center for Nanomedicine, Nano Institute of Utah, and University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States; Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Nano Institute of Utah, and University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Electronic address:

Chronic toxicity evaluations of nanotechnology-based drugs are essential to support initiation of clinical trials. Ideally such evaluations should address the dosing strategy in human applications and provide sufficient information for long-term usage. Herein, we investigated one-year toxicity of non-surface modified silica nanoparticles (SNPs) with variations in size and porosity (Stöber SNPs 46 ± 4. Read More

Chem Biol Interact 2020 May 25:109134. Epub 2020 May 25.

School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Griffith University, Queensland, 4222, Australia; Quality Use of Medicines Network, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address:

Montelukast is a cysteinyl leukotriene (CysLT) receptor antagonist with efficacy against a variety of diseases, including asthma and inflammation-related conditions. However, various neuropsychiatric events (NEs) suspected to be related to montelukast have been reported recently, with limited understanding on their association and underlying mechanisms. This study aimed to investigate whether montelukast can induce neuroinflammation and neurotoxicity in microglial HAPI cells and neural SH-SY5Y cells. Read More

Environ Sci Technol 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Despite many studies on the toxicity of nanoplastic particles (NPPs) to aquatic invertebrates, the effects of ecological constituents such as humic substances (HSs) are often neglected. In our study, Daphnia magna was used to evaluate the effects of three HSs, natural organic matter (NOM), fulvic acid (FA), and humic acid (HA), on NPP toxicity and corona formation. Acute toxicity tests of NPP was reduced by all HSs at environmentally relevant concentrations. Read More

Eur J Heart Fail 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Cardio-Oncology Center of Excellence, Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, USA.

This position statement from the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology Cardio-Oncology Study Group in collaboration with the International Cardio-Oncology Society presents practical, easy-to-use and evidence-based risk stratification tools for oncologists, haemato-oncologists and cardiologists to use in their clinical practice to risk stratify oncology patients prior to receiving cancer therapies known to cause heart failure or other serious cardiovascular toxicities. Baseline risk stratification proformas are presented for oncology patients prior to receiving the following cancer therapies: anthracycline chemotherapy, HER2-targeted therapies such as trastuzumab, vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors, second and third generation multi-targeted kinase inhibitors for CML targeting BCR-ABL, multiple myeloma therapies (proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs), RAF and MEK inhibitors or androgen deprivation therapies. Applying these risk stratification proformas will allow clinicians to stratify cancer patients into low, medium, high and very high risk of cardiovascular complications prior to starting treatment, with the aim of improving personalised approaches to minimise the risk of cardiovascular toxicity from cancer therapies. Read More

Neurosurgery 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Department of Neurosurgery, Unit of Radiotherapy, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico C. Besta, Milano, Italia.

Background: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for benign intracranial meningiomas is an established treatment.

Objective: To summarize the literature and provide evidence-based practice guidelines on behalf of the International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society (ISRS).

Methods: Articles in English specific to SRS for benign intracranial meningioma, published from January 1964 to April 2018, were systematically reviewed. Read More

Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book 2020 May;40:309-318

Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Nashville, TN.

As researchers learn more about tumor biology and the molecular mechanisms involved in tumorigenesis, metastasis, and tumor evolution, clinical trials are growing more complex and patient selection for clinical trials is becoming more specific. Rather than exploit certain phenotypic characteristics of tumor cells (e.g. Read More

J Agric Food Chem 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Despite a number of excellent studies in detoxification enzyme mediated the interaction between insect and plant allelochemical, there are no reports on the pathway of transferrin effect in insect response to host plant allelochemical. Our research indicates that () inhibited the apoptotic cell death treated by 2-tridecanone, a host plant allelochemical present in tomato species (), by cellular redox-related transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). Nrf2 can defend organisms against the detrimental effects of oxidative stress, and play pivotal roles in preventing host plant allelochemical-related toxicity. Read More

J Nat Prod 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Marine Science Program, Florida International University, 3000 NE 151st Street, North Miami, Florida 33181, United States.

A new, cyclic carbonate eudesmane-type sesquiterpene, eudesmacarbonate (), was isolated from marine filamentous cyanobacterial mats associated with apparent ingestion-related intoxications of captive bottlenose dolphins in the Florida Keys. Sequencing of 16S rDNA revealed that mats were composed of closely related Oscillatoriacean species including a previously undocumented species of . The structure of was elucidated by (+)-HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and vibrational circular dichroism data. Read More

ACS Nano 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) are potent toll-like receptor (TLR) 9 agonists and have shown promise as anti-cancer agents in preclinical studies and clinical trials. Binding of CpG to TLR9 initiates a cascade of innate and adaptive immune responses, beginning with activation of dendritic cells, and resulting in a range of secondary effects that include the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, activation of natural killer (NK) cells, and expansion of T cell populations. Recent literature suggests that local delivery of CpG in tumors results in superior antitumor effects as compared to systemic delivery. Read More

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Cryoablation and photothermal therapy are anticancer therapeutic strategies that destroy tumors by external energy intervention of achieving extremely low temperature and very high temperature in a short time. Compared with traditional surgical resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, they have the advantages of minimally invasive and small side effects. However, single cryoablation or photothermal therapy itself has limited therapeutic accuracy, which greatly restricts its clinical application. Read More

Bioconjug Chem 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Although the extensive clinical use of the ADC trastuzumab-DM1(T-DM1) for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) targeted cancer therapy, many patients who initially respond to T-DM1 treatment eventually met the insufficient efficacy issue partly attributed to the decreased of surface HER2 caused by HER2 degradation in target cells. In our study, we engineered a HER2 targeted DNA aptamer-DM1 conjugate (HApDC) can maintain the homeostasis of surface HER2 on the target cancer cell. These conclusions were supported by determining efficient internalization of HApDC into HER2 overexpressed BT474 and SKBR3 cancer cell lines and by identifying the membranal HER2 level on HApDC treated BT474 cells. Read More

Environ Sci Technol 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Tread particles (TPs) from vehicle tires are widely distributed in soil ecosystems; therefore, there is an urgent need to evaluate their effects on soil biota. In the present study, the soil worm Enchytraeus crypticus was incubated for 21 days in soil microcosms containing increasing concentrations of TPs (0, 0.0048%, 0. Read More

Pharmacotherapy 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.

Gut microbial communities are capable of enzymatically transforming pharmaceutical compounds into active, inactive, and toxic metabolites, thus potentially affecting the pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of orally administered medications. Our understanding of the impact and clinical relevance of how gut microbial communities can directly and indirectly affect drug metabolism, and ultimately, clinical outcomes, is limited. Interindividual variability of gut microbial composition may partially explain differences observed in drug efficacy and toxicity in certain patient populations. Read More

Dalton Trans 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Department of Organic Chemistry I, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.

This work describes the synthesis of the gold(i) complexes of phosphine sulphides. The formation of these new derivatives has been confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The coordination of gold(i) with the sulphur atom of the phosphine sulphides favors the inhibition of topoisomerase I as well as a high cytotoxicity of the gold(i)-complexed compounds against the cancer line A549 with IC50 values in the nanomolar range and IC50 values below 5 μM against the SKOV3 cell line. Read More

Dalton Trans 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Dokuz Eylul University, 35210 Izmir, Turkey.

New Zn(ii), Cd(ii) and Hg(ii) complexes of saccharinate (sac) and 2,6-bis(2-benzimidazolyl)pyridine (bzimpy), [Zn(bzimpy)2](sac)2·2H2O (Zn), [Cd(sac)2(bzimpy)] (Cd) and [Hg(sac)2(bzimpy)] (Hg), were prepared and fully characterized by spectroscopic methods and X-ray crystallography. In vitro anticancer screening in A549 (lung), MCF-7 (breast) and HT29 (colon) cell lines showed that Zn was highly cytotoxic against A549 and MCF-7 cells with IC50 values of 1.74 ± 0. Read More

J Am Heart Assoc 2020 May 28:e016887. Epub 2020 May 28.

Department of Medicine Division of Cardiovascular Medicine University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison WI.

The SARS-Cov-2 viral pandemic causing COVID-19 disease begs for rapid and innovative treatments. In addition to flu-like respiratory symptoms, acute cardiac manifestations include cardiac injury, shock and arrhythmia. Several pharmacological therapies have been suggested including repurposing of existing drugs such as chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, sometimes co-administered with azithromycin. Read More

Expert Opin Biol Ther 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

M210 Starling Loving Hall, 320 W 10th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210.

Introduction: Ovarian cancer typically presents at an advanced stage and while initial chemotherapy response rates are favorable, a majority of patients experience recurrence with the subsequent development of chemoresistance. Recurrent, platinum-resistant disease is associated with a very poor prognosis as treatment in this setting is often limited by systemic toxicity. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are novel therapeutic agents designed to target antigens specific to ovarian tumor cells with direct delivery of cytotoxic agents to combat recurrent, platinum-resistant disease while limiting systemic toxicity. Read More

Nano Lett 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

With the widespread use of antibiotics, the number of complex infection cases caused by unknown pathogens is increasing and novel antibiotics with tunable antibacterial spectra and low toxicity are highly desirable. Herein, we report that by selecting thiol or amine, two groups with different binding affinities with gold, as anchoring groups, phenylboronic acid can be decorated on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with different densities, which contributes to Gram-selective antibacterial activities of the AuNPs. The AuNPs modified with amine- or thiol-tethered phenylboronic acids specifically bind to lipopolysaccharide (LPS, Gram-negative) or lipoteichoic acid (LTA, Gram-positive) respectively. Read More