Lead-free BZT-BCT (0.5Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3-0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3) nanowires with a high piezoelectric coefficient are synthesized and nanogenerators (NGs) composed of them are successfully developed. The studied in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility of the NGs shows great potential for their application as in vivo power sources.

BackgroundQuercetin is a natural bioactive flavonoid that is present in a wide variety of vegetables and fruits and exhibits a promising anti-metastasis property in various human cancer cells. However, the effect of quercetin on human HCCLM3 cells is unclear.Material/MethodsIn the current study, a wound-healing assay was performed using quercetin-treated HCCLM3 cells to further explore whether quercetin affects the motility of human HCCLM3 cells. Transwell assay was used to explore the potential effect of quercetin in HCCLM3 cells on cell migration and cell invasion. Western blotting analysis was used to explore the expression of p-Akt1, MMP-2, and MMP-9 in quercetin-treated HCCLM3 cells.ResultsThe wound-healing time was delayed in quercetin-treated HCCLM3 cells, and the ability to migrate and invade was inhibited in quercetin-treated human HCCLM3 cells. Moreover, the protein levels of p-Akt1, MMP-2, and MMP-9 were down-regulated in quercetin-treated HCCLM3 cells, as detected by Western blotting.ConclusionsOur data show that quercetin attenuated cell migration and invasion by suppressing the protein levels of p-Akt1, MMP-2, and MMP-9 in HCCLM3 cells.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a rare malignancy with a high prevalence in China. This study aimed to characterize the ICC tissues’ bacterial metagenomics signature and explore its antitumor potential for cancer. In this study, 16S rRNA sequencing was carried out on 99 tissues to characterize the features of intratumoral microbiota, followed by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and multilevel validation. The presence of microbial DNA in tissues was determined using staining, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A Gram-positive aerobic bacterium, identified as Staphylococcus capitis , was cultured from fresh tissues. Meanwhile, scRNA-seq showed that intratumoral bacteria could be present in multiple cell types. Using 16S rRNA sequencing, we identified a total of 2,320,287 high-quality reads corresponding to 4,594 OTU (operational taxonomic units) sequences. The most abundant bacterial orders include Burkholderiales, Pseudomonadales, Xanthomonadales, Bacillales and Clostridiales . Alpha and Beta diversity analysis revealed specific features in different tissues. In addition, the content of Paraburkholderia fungorum was significantly higher in the paracancerous tissues and negatively correlated with CA199 (Carbohydrate antigen199) levels. The results of in vitro and in vivo experiments suggest that P. fungorum possesses an antitumor activity against tumors. Metabolomics and transcriptomics showed that P. fungorum could inhibit tumor growth through alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism. We determined the characteristic profile of the intratumoral microbiota and the antitumor effect of P. fungorum in ICC.

Lysine acetylation (Kac) as an important posttranslational modification of histones is essential for the regulation of gene expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the atlas of whole acetylated proteins in HCC tissues and the difference in protein acetylation between normal human tissues and HCC tissues are unknown. In this report, we characterized the proteome and acetyl proteome (acetylome) profile of normal, paracancerous, and HCC liver tissues in human clinical samples by quantitative proteomics techniques. We identified 6781 acetylation sites of 2582 proteins and quantified 2492 acetylation sites of 1190 proteins in normal, paracancerous, and HCC liver tissues. Among them, 15 proteins were multiacetylated with more than 10 lysine residues. The histone acetyltransferases p300 and CBP were found to be hyperacetylated in hepatitis B virus pathway. Moreover, we found that 250 Kac sites of 214 proteins were upregulated and 662 Kac sites of 451 proteins were downregulated in HCC compared with normal liver tissues. Additionally, the acetylation levels of lysine 120 in histone H2B (H2BK120ac), lysine 18 in histone H3.3 (H3.3K18ac), and lysine 77 in histone H4 (H4K77ac) were increased in HCC. Interestingly, the higher levels of H2BK120ac, H3.3K18ac, and H4K77ac were significantly associated with worse prognosis, such as poorer survival and higher recurrence in an independent clinical cohort of HCC patients. Overall, this study lays a foundation for understanding the functions of acetylation in HCC and provides potential prognostic factors for the diagnosis and therapy of HCC.