20(S)-protopanaxadiol and oleanolic acid ameliorate cognitive deficits in APP/PS1 transgenic mice by enhancing hippocampal neurogenesis

Kaili Lin,Stephen Cho-Wing Sze,Bin Liu,Zhang Zhang,Zhu Zhang,Peili Zhu,Ying Wang,Qiudi Deng,Ken Kin-Lam Yung,Shiqing Zhang 고려인삼학회 2021 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.45 No.2

Background: Alzheimer"s disease (AD) is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorders. Enhancing hippocampal neurogenesis by promoting proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) is a promising therapeutic strategy for AD. 20(S)-protopanaxadiol (PPD) and oleanolic acid (OA) are small, bioactive compounds found in ginseng that can promote NSC proliferation and neural differentiation in vitro. However, it is currently unknown whether PPD or OA can attenuate cognitive deficits by enhancing hippocampal neurogenesis in vivo in a transgenic APP/PS1 AD mouse model. Here, we administered PPD or OA to APP/PS1 mice and monitored the effects on cognition and hippocampal neurogenesis. Methods: We used the Morris water maze, Y maze, and open field tests to compare the cognitive capacities of treated and untreated APP/PS1 mice. We investigated hippocampal neurogenesis using Nissl staining and BrdU/NeuN double labeling. NSC proliferation was quantified by Sox2 labeling of the hippocampal dentate gyrus. We used western blotting to determine the effects of PPD and OA on Wnt/GSK3β/β-catenin pathway activation in the hippocampus. Results: Both PPD and OA significantly ameliorated the cognitive impairments observed in untreated APP/PS1 mice. Furthermore, PPD and OA significantly promoted hippocampal neurogenesis and NSC proliferation. At the mechanistic level, PPD and OA treatments resulted in Wnt/GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway activation in the hippocampus. Conclusion: PPD and OA ameliorate cognitive deficits in APP/PS1 mice by enhancing hippocampal neurogenesis, achieved by stimulating the Wnt/GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway. As such, PPD and OA are promising novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of AD and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Crystallization and Mechanical Properties of Continuous Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polyether-ether-ketone Composites

Kaili Zhu,Hongsheng Tan,Yajie Wang,Changheng Liu,Xiaomin Ma,Jie Wang,Haini Xing 한국섬유공학회 2019 Fibers and polymers Vol.20 No.4

The effect of two different continuous carbon fibers (CCF1 and CCF2) with different material properties onstructure-properties of continuous carbon fibers reinforced polyether-ether-ketone prepreg tapes (CCF/PEEKPT) prepared bya wet powder impregnation process were investigated. The effects of fiber content on the tensile properties, dynamicmechanical behavior, crystallization melting behavior and fracture morphology of prepared prepreg tapes were performed bythe dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscope (SEM)etc. The results showed that, the tensile strength of CCF1/PEEKPT increased with increasing of the carbon fiber contentwithin 50-75 wt%. Meanwhile, the tensile strength of 50-65 wt% CCF2/PEEKPT had the same change trend, but thendecreased when the fiber content of composites was higher than 65 wt%. The storage modulus (E′) of composites increasedwith adding content of carbon fiber. The composites still maintained high deformation resistance when the temperature roseto 290 oC. Compared with pure PEEK, the crystallinity and crystallization rate of the composites both increased with theoccurrence of fiber inducing PEEK crystallization, but the crystallization onset temperature, crystallization temperature andmelting temperature of CCF/PEEKPT moved to low temperatures with adding of fiber content. In general, these observationssuggested that CCF hindered the movement of the polymer chain segment and constrained the spherulites growth of PEEKfor CCF/PEEKPT.

Crystal Structure Control of ZnxCd1-xS Alloyed Nanocrystals and Structural Dependent Fluorescence Properties

Kaili Qin,Jingling Li,Yanqing Zhu,Xueqing Xu,Xiudi Xiao,Bing Deng,Juan Yang,Zhuoneng Bi,Shuaijun Chen,Gang Xu 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2019 NANO Vol.14 No.8

Crystal structure control is so important to the fluorescence properties that each element should be considered carefully. In conventional synthesis of ZnxCd1-xS alloyed nanocrystals (NCs), most of studies focus on ligand–surface interaction on the formation of either zinc blende or wurtzite ZnxCd1-xS nanocrystals, instead of the reactant source. In this work, mixed crystal phase was found easily in ZnxCd1-xS alloyed NCs when reaction proceeded at high Zn/Cd source ratio condition. Therefore, we regulate the Zn/Cd ratio to obtain relative pure zinc-blende structure, and study the influence of structure change on the fluorescence properties. Further, we have proposed a two-step ZnS coating method to acquire ZnxCd1-xS/ZnS NCs with separated crystal-phase between core and shell. Compared with maximum QY of 81% for ZnxCd1-xS/ZnS NCs synthesized by conventional one-step coating method, the performance of the optimized NCs has significantly improved with maximum QY of 93%.

Improved Antitumor Efficacy and Reduced Toxicity of Liposomes Containing Bufadienolides

Kaili Hu,Fuqiang Hu,Jianfang Feng,Lin Zhu,Haiyuan Liang 대한약학회 2011 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.34 No.9

Long-circulating liposomes are used extensively nowadays for enhancing the therapeutic effect and reducing the toxicity of anticancer drugs. In this paper, a traditional Chinese medicine, toad venom, which has long been used in the clinic for tumor therapy with unpleasant side effects, was incorporated into poloxamer modified liposomes to increase its antitumor effect and reduce its toxicity. Our preparation of bufadienolides liposomes had a particle size of around 70 nm and an entrapment efficiency of about 87.6%. Lyophilized liposomes well retained their appearance, particle size and encapsulation efficiency for 3 months. The in vitro release results verified the sustained release properties of the bufadienolides liposomes. The concentration of bufadienolides in modified liposomes that caused 50% cell killing was much lower than that of free drug for both Lovo cells and NCI-H157 cells. Compared to the bufadienolides solution and the unmodified liposomes, the bufadienolides liposomes significantly prolonged the retention time and increased the area under the curve in vivo. The antitumor efficiency of the bufadienolides liposomes against mice bearing H22 liver cancer cells and Lewis pulmonary cancer cells were 2.15 and 2.96, respectively, times that of a bufadienolides solution at the same toxicity. The safety test results demonstrated that the bufadienolides liposomes had an LD_50 that was 3.5 times the LD_50 of bufadienolides solution and caused no allergen-related or blood vessel irritation effects. All these results proved that poloxamer modified bufadienolides liposomes have improved antitumor efficacy and safety.

Low-Temperature Synthesis of Highly Efficient, Deep-Red Zn-Cu-In-Se/ZnSe Fluorescence Quantum Dots

Juan Yang,Jingling Li,Yanqing Zhu,Xueqing Xu,Xiudi Xiao,Bing Deng,Kaili Qin,Zhuoneng Bi,Shuaijun Chen,Gang Xu 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2019 NANO Vol.14 No.6

We report a facile synthesis method on CuInSe2 (CISe)-based quantum dots (QDs) by using tri-n-octylphosphine selenium (TOPSe) as selenide precursor, with assistance of oleylamine (OAm) and n-dodecanethiol (DDT). We demonstrate that the OAm and DDT jointly contribute to the formation of the low-temperature-decomposable metal-sulfide clusters, and promote the QD nucleation at relatively low temperature range of 180–200 ℃. Furthermore, to improve fluorescence property, Zn-doping and ZnSe coating are simultaneously carried out. The obtained deep-red ZnCISe/ZnSe QDs possess higher quantum yield of 65% at wavelength of 670 nm, which is in the best performance range ever reported. Then, we investigate the improvement mechanism, where the sufficient Zn replacement of In sites is the crucial factor. This modified core–shell structure provides two benefits, on the one hand, the enhancement on intrinsic defect-related recombination, and the other hand, the improved core–shell interface that reduces the nonradiative recombination.