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We report the identification of a photocleavable anionic surfactant, 4-hexylphenylazosulfonate (Azo), which can be rapidly degraded by ultraviolet irradiation, for top-down proteomics. Azo can effectively solubilize proteins with performance comparable to that of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and is compatible with mass spectrometry. Azo-aided top-down proteomics enables the solubilization of membrane proteins for comprehensive characterization of post-translational modifications. Moreover, Azo is simple to synthesize and can be used as a general SDS replacement in SDS–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.A mass-spectrometry-compatible surfactant called Azo effectively solubilizes proteins, is rapidly degraded by ultraviolet irradiation and enables top-down proteomic analysis of membrane proteins.

Tissue-specific extracellular matrix plays an important role in promoting tissue regeneration and repair. We hypothesized that decellularized annular fibrosus matrix may be an appropriate scaffold for annular fibrosus tissue engineering. We aimed to determine the optimal decellularization method suitable for annular fibrosus. Annular fibrosus tissue was treated with 3 different protocols with Triton X-100, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and trypsin. After the decellularization process, we examined cell removal and preservation of the matrix components, microstructure and mechanical function with the treatments to determine which method is more efficient. All 3 protocols achieved decellularization; however, SDS or trypsin disturbed the structure of the annular fibrosus. All protocols maintained collagen content, but glycosaminoglycan content was lost to different degrees, with the highest content with TritonX-100 treatment. Furthermore, SDS decreased the tensile mechanical property of annular fibrosus as compared with the other 2 protocols. MTT assay revealed that the decellularized annular fibrosus was not cytotoxic. Annular fibrosus cells seeded into the scaffold showed good viability. The Triton X-100-treated annular fibrosus retained major extracellular matrix components after thorough cell removal and preserved the concentric lamellar structure and tensile mechanical properties. As well, it possessed favorable biocompatibility, so it may be a suitable candidate as a scaffold for annular fibrosus tissue engineering.

In the era of COVID-19, concerns about and consumption of soaps and detergents have increased. The environmental effects, along with their direct impacts on the human body, are being simultaneously considered to ensure safety and support healthy living. Natural soap compounds are considered readily biodegradable and unlikely to produce hazardous waste, while artificial detergents are composed of synthetic surfactants, plasticizers, binders, and additives. This study aimed to investigate representative natural soap compounds consisting of fatty acid salts and compare them with synthetic detergents, such as sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDB) and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). Environmental assays recommended by the OECD, as well as human keratinocyte assays for toxicity and biodegradability, were utilized. The major components of natural soap were found to be less toxic and more biodegradable in aquatic environments—assessed using algae, crustaceans, and fish—compared to synthetic detergents. Additionally, in the human keratinocyte assay, natural soap compounds were significantly less toxic and demonstrated higher viability than SLS after a 48 h culture and a 5 min exposure. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) obtained from the viability assay revealed values of 7.82 mM for potassium laurate (C12K), 7.56 mM for potassium oleate (C18:1K), and 0.604 mM for SLS. Therefore, natural soap appears to be valuable due to its lower toxicity, greater biodegradability in aquatic environments, enhanced safety for human cells, and potential efficiency in clinical applications.

An automatic decellularization device was developed to perfuse and decellularize male rats’ kidneys using both sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and to compare their efficacy in kidney decellularization and post-transplantation angiogenesis. Kidneys were perfused with either 1% SDS solution for 4 h or 1% SLES solution for 6 h. The decellularized scaffolds were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, periodic acid Schiff, Masson’s trichrome, and Alcian blue to determine cell removal and glycogen, collagen, and glycosaminoglycan contents, respectively. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy was performed to evaluate the cell removal and preservation of microarchitecture of both SDS and SLES scaffolds. Additionally, DNA quantification assay was applied for all groups in order to measure residual DNA in the scaffolds and normal kidney. In order to demonstrate biocompatibility of the decellularized scaffolds, human umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (hUC-MSCs) were seeded on the scaffolds. In addition, the allotransplantation was performed in back muscle and angiogenesis was evaluated. Complete cell removal in both SLES and SDS groups was observed in scanning electron microscopy and DNA quantification assays. Moreover, the extracellular matrix (ECM) architecture of rat kidney in the SLES group was significantly preserved better than the SDS group. The hUC-MSCs were successfully migrated from the cell culture plate surface into the SDS and SLES decellularized scaffolds. The formation of blood vessels was observed in the kidney in both SLES and SDS decellularized kidneys. The better preservation of ECM than SDS introduces SLES as the solvent of choice for kidney decellularization.

Propionate is a short chain fatty acid that is abundant as butyrate in the gut and blood. However, propionate has not been studied as extensively as butyrate in the treatment of colitis. The present study was to investigate the effects of sodium propionate on intestinal barrier function, inflammation and oxidative stress in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis mice. Animals in DSS group received drinking water from 1 to 6 days and DSS [3% (w/v) dissolved in double distilled water] instead of drinking water from 7 to 14 days. Animals in DSS+propionate (DSS+Prop) group were given 1% sodium propionate for 14 consecutive days and supplemented with 3% DSS solution on day 7-14. Intestinal barrier function, proinflammatory factors, oxidative stress, and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway in the colon were determined. It was found that sodium propionate ameliorated body weight loss, colon-length shortening and colonic damage in colitis mice. Sodium propionate significantly inhibited the increase of FITC-dextran in serum and the decrease of zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), occludin, and E-cadherin expression in the colonic tissue. It also inhibited the expression of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) mRNA and phosphorylation of STAT3 in colitis mice markedly, reduced the myeloperoxidase (MPO) level, and increased the superoxide dismutase and catalase level in colon and serum compared with DSS group. Sodium propionate inhibited macrophages with CD68 marker infiltration into the colonic mucosa of colitis mice. These results suggest that oral administration of sodium propionate could ameliorate DSS-induced colitis mainly by improving intestinal barrier function and reducing inflammation and oxidative stress via the STAT3 signaling pathway.

Back pain is a common and debilitating disorder with largely unknown underlying biology. Here we report a genome-wide association study of back pain using diagnoses assigned in clinical practice; dorsalgia (119,100 cases, 909,847 controls) and intervertebral disc disorder (IDD) (58,854 cases, 922,958 controls). We identify 41 variants at 33 loci. The most significant association (OR IDD  = 0.92, P  = 1.6 × 10 −39 ; OR dorsalgia  = 0.92, P  = 7.2 × 10 −15 ) is with a 3’UTR variant (rs1871452-T) in CHST3 , encoding a sulfotransferase enzyme expressed in intervertebral discs. The largest effects on IDD are conferred by rare (MAF = 0.07 − 0.32%) loss-of-function (LoF) variants in SLC13A1 , encoding a sodium-sulfate co-transporter (LoF burden OR = 1.44, P  = 3.1 × 10 −11 ); variants that also associate with reduced serum sulfate. Genes implicated by this study are involved in cartilage and bone biology, as well as neurological and inflammatory processes. Little is known about the biology of back pain, a leading cause of disability. Here the authors report 30 new back pain loci, implicating genes involved in cartilage/bone biology, as well as neurological and inflammatory processes.

The gut microbiota plays a major role in intestinal health, and an imbalance in its composition can lead to chronic gut inflammation and a predisposition to developing colorectal cancer (CRC). Currently, the use of probiotic bacteria represents an emerging alternative to treat and prevent cancer. Moreover, consumption of these beneficial bacteria may also favorably modulate the composition of the gut microbiota, which has been described in several studies to play an important role in CRC carcinogenesis. In this context, the aim of this study was to assess the protective effect of oral treatment with BL23, a probiotic strain well known for its anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. First, CRC was induced in C57BL6 mice by a single intraperitoneal injection with azoxymethane (8 mg/kg), followed by four courses of dextran sodium sulfate (2.5%) in drinking water that were separated by an adjustable recovery period. At the time of sacrifice (day 46), tumor incidence, histological scores, and epithelial proliferation were determined in colon samples. Our results show that BL23 significantly protected mice against CRC development; specifically, BL23 treatment reduced histological scores and proliferative index values. In addition, our analysis revealed that BL23 had an immunomodulatory effect, mediated through the downregulation of the IL-22 cytokine, and an antiproliferative effect, mediated through the upregulation of , and . Finally, BL23 treatment tended to counterbalance CRC-induced dysbiosis in mice, as demonstrated by an analysis of fecal microbiota. Altogether our results demonstrate the high potential of BL23 for the development of new, probiotic-based strategies to fight CRC.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, has increased in incidence and prevalence in recent decades. Both clinical and animal studies are critical for understanding the pathogenesis of this disease. Dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis is a frequently used animal model of IBD, but the underlying mechanism of the model remains incompletely understood. In this study, we found that NOD-like receptor family pyrin containing 3 (NLRP3) depletion markedly mitigated DSS-induced colitis and was accompanied by decreased activation of the inflammasome in the colons of mice. However, in vitro assays showed that DSS did not directly trigger but instead potentiated NLRP3 inflammasome assembly in macrophages in response to suboptimal ATP or nigericin stimulation. Mechanistically, DSS potentiated NLRP3 inflammasome activation in macrophages by augmenting KCa3.1-mediated potassium ion (K+) efflux. Furthermore, we found that pharmacologic blockade of the K+ channel KCa3.1 with TRAM-34 or genetic depletion of the Kcnn4 gene (encoding KCa3.1) not only ameliorated the severity of DSS-induced colitis but also attenuated in vivo inflammasome assembly in the colonic tissues of mice, suggesting a causal link between KCa3.1-mediated augmentation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and DSS-induced inflammatory injuries. Collectively, these results indicate that KCa3.1 plays a critical role in mediating DSS-induced colitis in mice by potentiating NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Our data provide a previously unknown mechanism by which DSS induces colitis in mice and suggests that KCa3.1 is an alternative therapeutic target for treating IBD.

Northern Shaanxi’s oil-gas drilling produces large amounts of waste drilling fluids with high-value solids (barite, bentonite). Traditional disposal causes resource waste and pollution. This study proposes a stepwise flotation process for typical local oil-based waste: surface cleaning to break oil film wrapping and combined reagents to regulate mineral surface hydrophobicity differences, enabling efficient separation and recovery of barite and bentonite. The flotation mechanism is also preliminarily explored. The experimental results show that: ultrasonic cleaning with 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution makes the oil desorption rate of solid phase >95%, restoring the natural surface properties of minerals. Through the stepwise flotation design, in the first stage at pH = 4.0, 0.8 kg/t sodium dodecyl sulfate and 0.6 kg/t sodium hexametaphosphate are added, and the recovery rate of bentonite reaches 86.3%; in the second stage at pH = 8.0, 1.2 kg/t sodium dodecyl sulfate and 0.7 kg/t gellan gum are added, and the grade of barite concentrate is 92.1% (BaSO₄ content), with a recovery rate of 88.7%. Through the flotation closed-circuit experiment, using the process of “one roughing, two cleaning and three scavenging”, the first stage can obtain bentonite concentrate with a recovery rate of 91.4% and a grade of 91.5%; the second stage can obtain barite concentrate with a recovery rate of 90.2% and a grade of 92.1%. SEM shows that bentonite is dissociated lamella, and barite presents clean prismatic crystals without oil film impurities, verifying the high efficiency of separation. Mechanism studies show that SDS has dual functions of oil breaking and collecting. Sodium hexametaphosphate inhibits the flotation of barite by chelating Ba²⁺ in barite. Gellan gum realizes separation by shielding the active sites of bentonite through hydrogen bonds. This study provides an efficient and low-consumption solution for the resource utilization of drilling waste liquid in northern Shaanxi.

Positive identification of capillary electrophoresis-sodium dodecyl sulfate (CE-SDS) electropherogram peaks provides information to understand protein molecular characteristics at the structural level. It is critical in the design of a robust assay that can accurately resolve, differentiate, and quantify all therapeutic protein components including fragmented species, which are considered as product related impurities. However, direct identification of the impurity peaks observed in CE-SDS is a challenging and oftentimes an ambiguous task. This paper proposed a systematic workflow for characterizing CE-SDS fragmentation peaks. Forced degradation of monoclonal antibody (mAb) by multiple stress methods was utilized to induce fragmentation and species enrichment. The characteristics, such as size and the clipped region of sequence, were then evaluated based on multiple enzymatic treatment and particle reduction. The identified fragments were further confirmed using tryptic digestion and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. Common fragment sizes and clipping locations are identified after evaluating multiple IgG molecules. The methodology and procedure described in this article are readily deployable and will provide necessary information for method, process, and product characterizations.