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Traditional anticancer treatments have several limitations, but cancer is still one of the deadliest diseases. As a result, new anticancer drugs are required for the treatment of cancer. The use of metal nanoparticles (NPs) as alternative chemotherapeutic drugs is on the rise in cancer research. Metal NPs have the potential for use in a wide range of applications. Natural or surface-induced anticancer effects can be found in metals. The focus of this review is on the therapeutic potential of metal-based NPs. The potential of various types of metal NPs for tumor targeting will be discussed for cancer treatment. The in vivo application of metal NPs for solid tumors will be reviewed. Risk factors involved in the clinical application of metal NPs will also be summarized.

There is a need to find better strategies to promote wound healing, especially of chronic wounds, which remain a challenge. We found that synovium mesenchymal stem cells (SMSCs) have the ability to strongly promote cell proliferation of fibroblasts; however, they are ineffective at promoting angiogenesis. Using gene overexpression technology, we overexpressed microRNA‐126‐3p (miR‐126‐3p) and transferred the angiogenic ability of endothelial progenitor cells to SMSCs, promoting angiogenesis. We tested a therapeutic strategy involving controlled‐release exosomes derived from miR‐126‐3p‐overexpressing SMSCs combined with chitosan. Our in vitro results showed that exosomes derived from miR‐126‐3p‐overexpressing SMSCs (SMSC‐126‐Exos) stimulated the proliferation of human dermal fibroblasts and human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC‐1) in a dose‐dependent manner. Furthermore, SMSC‐126‐Exos also promoted migration and tube formation of HMEC‐1. Testing this system in a diabetic rat model, we found that this approach resulted in accelerated re‐epithelialization, activated angiogenesis, and promotion of collagen maturity in vivo. These data provide the first evidence of the potential of SMSC‐126‐Exos in treating cutaneous wounds and indicate that modifying the cells—for example, by gene overexpression—and using the exosomes derived from these modified cells provides a potential drug delivery system and could have infinite possibilities for future therapy. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2017;6:736–747

Background In addition to genetic variation, epigenetic variation plays an important role in determining various biological processes. The importance of natural genetic variation to crop domestication and improvement has been widely investigated. However, the contribution of epigenetic variation in crop domestication at population level has rarely been explored. Results To understand the impact of epigenetics on crop domestication, we investigate the variation of DNA methylation during soybean domestication and improvement by whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of 45 soybean accessions, including wild soybeans, landraces, and cultivars. Through methylomic analysis, we identify 5412 differentially methylated regions (DMRs). These DMRs exhibit characters distinct from those of genetically selected regions. In particular, they have significantly higher genetic diversity. Association analyses suggest only 22.54% of DMRs can be explained by local genetic variations. Intriguingly, genes in the DMRs that are not associated with any genetic variation are enriched in carbohydrate metabolism pathways. Conclusions This study provides a valuable map of DNA methylation across diverse accessions and dissects the relationship between DNA methylation variation and genetic variation during soybean domestication, thus expanding our understanding of soybean domestication and improvement.

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite is a wide-field all-sky survey mission designed to detect Earth-sized exoplanets. After over 4 yr of photometric surveys, data from sectors 1–57, including approximately 1,050,000 light curves with a 2 minute cadence, were collected. By crossmatching the data with Gaia’s variable star catalogue, we obtained labeled data sets for further analysis. Using a random forest classifier, we performed classification of variable stars and designed distinct classification processes for each subclass: 6770 EA, 2971 EW, 980 CEP, 8347 DSCT, 457 RRab, 404 RRc, and 12,348 ROT were identified. Each variable star was visually inspected to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the compiled catalog. Subsequently, we ultimately obtained 6046 EA, 3859 EW, 2058 CEP, 8434 DSCT, 482 RRab, 416 RRc, and 9694 ROT, and a total of 14,092 new variable stars were discovered.

Pollen tubes, which carry plant sperm, need to grow from where they land in the flower to where the ovule is. Zhong et al. now show how pollen from related plant species race to reach the ovule first. One set of fast-evolving peptide signals is tuned to speed up growth of conspecific pollen tubes. A related set of evolutionarily ancient peptides is tuned to attract all pollen tubes. Thus, fertilization is more likely to happen through conspecific pollen tubes, but a fail-safe system encourages even the laggards to get where they need to go. Science , this issue p. eaau9564 Competition between fast- and slow-growing pollen tubes driven by peptide signals favors conspecific fertilization. Reproductive isolation is a prerequisite for speciation. Failure of communication between female tissues of the pistil and paternal pollen tubes imposes hybridization barriers in flowering plants. Arabidopsis thaliana LURE1 (AtLURE1) peptides and their male receptor PRK6 aid attraction of the growing pollen tube to the ovule. Here, we report that the knockout of the entire AtLURE1 gene family did not affect fertility, indicating that AtLURE1-PRK6–mediated signaling is not required for successful fertilization within one Arabidopsis species. AtLURE1s instead function as pollen tube emergence accelerators that favor conspecific pollen over pollen from other species and thus promote reproductive isolation. We also identified maternal peptides XIUQIU1 to -4, which attract pollen tubes regardless of species. Cooperation between ovule attraction and pollen tube growth acceleration favors conspecific fertilization and promotes reproductive isolation.

Background Short tandem repeat (STR) mutations are major drivers of genetic variation and deeply influence phenotypic diversity and evolution, they are often overlooked despite their significant effects. Results Here, we leverage mutation accumulation lines descended from Col-0 accession of Arabidopsis thaliana to assess the variation in the repeat length of STRs (STR mutation rate). We find that STR mutation rate far exceeds single nucleotide polymorphisms rates. Interspecific comparison between A. thaliana and Arabidopsis lyrata reveals rapid STR turnover, with the most majority of the loci occurring only in A. thaliana . Intraspecific comparison of ten assembled A. thaliana genomes reveals that 29.3% of STRs display presence/absence variations, 36.5% show length variation, 21.2% have both types of variations, while only a small proportion have no variation. By association analysis, we find several STRs are associated with diverse phenotypes. Further analysis based on RNA-seq dataset from 413 accessions, we identify 3,871 expression-associated STRs and 651 splicing-associated STRs, of which over one thousand co-localized with known signals for diverse traits detected by genome-wide association studies. Notably, based on analysis of the expression levels of 24,175 genes and splice site strength values of 12,784 splice sites, as well as 16 phenotypes of natural A. thaliana populations, we determine the similar average heritability of these three trait sets explained by STR variation. Conclusions Our results reveal the evolutionary dynamics of STRs, and highlight the importance of STR variation as an important contributor to missing heritability in regulating complex traits.

Diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) exhibits substantial biological and clinical heterogeneity. This study investigated the expression and prognostic implications of C‐X‐C chemokine receptor type 5 (CXCR5) and lymphocyte activation gene‐3 (LAG‐3) on peripheral blood CD8+ T cells in patients with DLBCL. A total of 71 DLBCL patients and 71 healthy controls were enrolled. The expression levels of CXCR5 and LAG‐3 on peripheral blood CD8+ T cells were assessed and analyzed for their impact on 5‐year progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results revealed significantly elevated CXCR5 and LAG‐3 expression levels in DLBCL patients compared to controls. CXCR5 expression correlated with lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels, extranodal involvement, Ann Arbor stage, and International Prognostic Index (IPI) scores, while LAG‐3 expression was associated with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) scores, number of extranodal sites, bone marrow involvement, Ann Arbor stage, and IPI scores. Multivariate analysis identified advanced age, Ann Arbor stage III‐IV, and elevated CXCR5 and LAG‐3 expression as independent risk factors for poorer 5‐year PFS and OS. Furthermore, patients with higher CXCR5 and LAG‐3 expression levels demonstrated significantly reduced 5‐year PFS and OS rates. In conclusion, elevated CXCR5 and LAG‐3 expression on peripheral blood CD8+ T cells plays a pivotal role in DLBCL progression and prognosis, making these markers potential therapeutic targets or prognostic indicators.

This paper selected eight totally eclipsing contact binaries for photometric and spectroscopic studies. Spectral data were analyzed by University of Lyon Spectroscopic analysis Software, and photometric data were analyzed using PHOEBE through Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling. We used two methods to calculate the initial values for running MCMC: one method is a new approach proposed by ourselves to model light curves without spots, while the other method is the genetic algorithm, which can determine physical parameters with spots. The results imply that these eight targets are all contact binary stars with a small mass ratio below 0.25. There are four systems exhibiting the O’Connell effect. By adding a dark spot on the primary component, the ideal fitting can be obtained. Meanwhile, it was found that two systems are shallow contact binaries, while the remaining six are moderate contact binaries. An O − C analysis of the eight eclipsing binary stars revealed that seven of them exhibit long-term changes. Four of them display a long-term decreasing trend in orbital period, while the other three show a long-term increasing trend, and two targets exhibit periodic variations. A decrease in period may be caused by the transfer of matter from the more massive component to the less massive component, while an increase in period may be caused by transfer in the opposite way. The absolute physical parameters, orbital angular momentum, initial masses, and ages of these eight systems were calculated. Additionally, their mass–luminosity and mass–radius distributions were analyzed.

Sepsis-induced multiple organ dysfunction and inflammatory response are life-threatening symptoms without effective treatment. Fisetin, a dietary flavonoid extracted from berries and family Fabaceae, has displayed neuroprotective and anti-oxidant activities. In this study we investigated whether fisetin exerted a protective effect against sepsis-induced multiple organ dysfunction in mouse cecum ligation and puncture (CLP) model. The mice were injected with fisetin (10 mg/kg, ip) 0.5 h prior to CLP, and sacrificed 18 h after CLP. We found that fisetin administration significantly alleviated CLP-induced lung, liver and kidney injury, as well as the expression levels of interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and IL-1β in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). In lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs), application of fisetin (3–10 μM) dose-dependently inhibited the expression levels of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Furthermore, fisetin dose-dependently inhibited the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, MK2, and transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase (TAK) 1 via attenuating the interaction between TAK1 and TAK-binding proteins (TAB) 1. These results demonstrate that fisetin is a promising agent for protecting against sepsis-induced inflammatory response and organ injury via inhibiting macrophage activation.