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Background Fangchinoline (Fan) is extracted from traditional Chinese medicine (called Fangji), or the root of Stephania tetrandra Moore. Fangji is well-known in Chinese medical literature for treating rheumatic diseases. Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is a rheumatic disease whose progression can be mediated via CD4+ T cell infiltration. Objective This study identifies the potential role of Fan in inducing apoptosis in Jurkat T cells. Methods First, we explored the biological process (BP) associated with SS development by performing a gene ontology analysis of SS salivary gland-related mRNA microarray data. The effect of Fan on Jurkat cells was investigated by analyzing the viability, proliferation, apoptosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and DNA damage. Results Biological process analysis showed that T cells played a role in salivary gland lesions in patients with SS, indicating the significance of T cell inhibition in SS treatment. Viability assays revealed that the half-maximal inhibitory concentration of Fan was 2.49 μM in Jurkat T cells, while the proliferation assay revealed that Fan had an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of Jurkat T cells. The results of the apoptotic, ROS, agarose gel electrophoresis, and immunofluorescence assays showed that Fan induced oxidative stress-induced apoptosis and DNA damage in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion These results indicate that Fan could significantly induce oxidative stress-induced apoptosis and DNA damage and inhibit the proliferation of Jurkat T cells. Moreover, Fan further enhanced the inhibitory effect on DNA damage and apoptosis by inhibiting the pro-survival Akt signal.

The effects of most clinical treatments for dentin hypersensitivity are not long-lasting. To overcome the defects, the mesoporous silica nanoparticles and silver nanoparticles entered the field of oral materials. This study aimed to synthesize a novel, lowcytotoxic dentin desensitizer and investigate its occlusion effects on dentinal tubules. The biphasic stratification approach, a chemical reduction method, and the Stober method were used to synthesize silver nanoparticle-loaded and nonporous silica-encapsulated mesoporous silica (Ag-MSNs@nSiO 2 ), which was a noncrystalline structure with an average size of approximately 128 nm and a silver content of 3.506%. Atomic absorption spectrometry and the 3-(4,5dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide cell viability assay showed that Ag-MSNs@nSiO 2 slowly released silver ions and had nearly no cytotoxicity. An electron microscope was used to observe the blocking effects on the dentinal tubules of sensitive tooth disc models, which were randomly divided into the following four groups: a deionized water group, a 5.9 M silver nitrate solution group, an Ag-MSNs@nSiO 2 group, and a Gluma desensitizer group. There were no significant differences in the relative area of open dentinal tubules between the Ag-MSNs@nSiO 2 group and the Gluma desensitizer group (P > 0.05). Detection of protein structures showed that multilevel structures of bovine serum albumin in dentin tubules were significantly changed by silver ions from Ag-MSNs@nSiO 2 . These results suggest that nearly noncytotoxic Ag-MSNs@nSiO 2 was successfully synthesized by a series of methods. Ag-MSNs@nSiO 2 occluded dentin tubules immediately and effectively. Moreover, the blockage effects may be enhanced and maintained by continuous condensation of proteins in dentinal tubules.

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