Objective: To investigate the combined preventive effect of folic acid (FA) and vitamin B12 (VB12) on the developmental toxicity of alcohol. Methods: To build animal model with the developmental toxicity by giving 5g/kg bw alcohol (25% ethanol) intragastrically (IG) to ICR mice during gestational day (GD) 6-15. In addition to alcohol, three groups were given FA 60 mg/kg bw, VB12 1 mg/kg bw, FA 60 mg/kg bw + VB12 1 mg/kg bw respectively by IG during GD1-GD16. An alcohol model group and a negative control group were set. All dams were killed at GD18. Results: Compared to the alcohol model group, the pregnant mice of FA + VB12 combined intervention group put on more weight during pregnancy; the live fetal rate; the fetal weight, body length and tail length were all increased; the abnormal ossification rate of sternum, occipital bone, and four limbs dropped (P

ObjectiveTo observe the therapeutic effect of Radix Paeoniae Rubra-Radix Aconiti Lateralis on acute-on-chronic liver failure （ACLF） rats and its effect on M1/M2 macrophage polarization. MethodMale SD rats were randomly divided into normal group， model group， positive group （lactulose， 1.8 g·kg^-1） and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） group （Radix Paeoniae Rubra-Radix Aconiti Lateralis， 5.85 g·kg^-1）， six in each group. The ACLF rat model was established by subcutaneous and tail vein injection of bovine serum albumin combined with intraperitoneal injection of D-galactosamine+lipopolysaccharide. Then the modeled rats were intervened with corresponding drugs for one week. The normal group and model group were given the same dose of distilled water. The histopathological changes of liver tissue were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. The mRNA and protein expression levels of CD86， inducible nitric oxide synthase （iNOS）， CD206 and arginase 1 （Arg1） were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）， Western blot and immunohistochemistry. ResultCompared with the conditions in the normal group， pseudolobule formation in liver tissue and morphological changes and necrosis of hepatocytes were observed in ACLF rats， accompanied by a large number of inflammatory cell infiltration. Moreover， the mRNA and protein expression levels of CD86， iNOS were up-regulated（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the treatment groups had improved necrosis and inflammatory infiltration of hepatocytes， down-regulated mRNA and protein expression of CD86 and iNOS （P<0.01） and up-regulated mRNA and protein expression of CD206 and Arg1 （P<0.05， P<0.01）， with the up regulation in the TCM group better than that in the positive group. ConclusionACLF rats had unbalanced M1/M2 macrophage polarization， and the imbalance shifted towards M1. Radix Paeoniae Rubra-Radix Aconiti Lateralis inhibited the activation of M1 macrophages and reduced the inflammatory response of liver failure by promoting the polarization of liver macrophages towards M2.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are phospholipid bilayer vesicles actively secreted by cells, that contain a variety of functional nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids, and are important mediums of intercellular communication. Based on their natural properties, EVs can not only retain the pharmacological effects of their source cells but also serve as natural delivery carriers. Among them, plant-derived nanovesicles (PNVs) are characterized as natural disease therapeutics with many advantages such as simplicity, safety, eco-friendliness, low cost, and low toxicity due to their abundant resources, large yield, and low risk of immunogenicity in vivo. This review systematically introduces the biogenesis, isolation methods, physical characterization, and components of PNVs, and describes their administration and cellular uptake as therapeutic agents. We highlight the therapeutic potential of PNVs as therapeutic agents and drug delivery carriers, including anti-inflammatory, anticancer, wound healing, regeneration, and antiaging properties as well as their potential use in the treatment of liver disease and COVID-19. Finally, the toxicity and immunogenicity, the current clinical application, and the possible challenges in the future development of PNVs were analyzed. We expect the functions of PNVs to be further explored to promote clinical translation, thereby facilitating the development of a new framework for the treatment of human diseases.

OBJECTIVE: To establish a rapid detection and genotyping method for SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/5 variants using CRISPPR-Cas12a gene editing technology. METHODS: We combined reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and CRISPR gene editing technology and designed a specific CRISPPR RNA (crRNA) with suboptimal protospacer adjacent motifs (PAM) for rapid detection and genotyping of SARS- CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/5 variants. The performance of this RT- PCR/ CRISPPR-Cas12a assay was evaluated using 43 clinical samples of patients infected by wild-type SARS-CoV-2 and the Alpha, Beta, Delta, Omicron BA. 1 and BA. 4/5 variants and 20 SARS- CoV- 2-negative clinical samples infected with 11 respiratory pathogens. With Sanger sequencing method as the gold standard, the specificity, sensitivity, concordance (Kappa) and area under the ROC curve (AUC) of RT-PCR/CRISPPR-Cas12a assay were calculated. RESULTS: This assay was capable of rapid and specific detection of SARS- CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/5 variant within 30 min with the lowest detection limit of 10 copies/μL, and no cross-reaction was observed in SARS-CoV-2-negative clinical samples infected with 11 common respiratory pathogens. The two Omicron BA.4/5 specific crRNAs (crRNA-1 and crRNA-2) allowed the assay to accurately distinguish Omicron BA.4/5 from BA.1 sublineage and other major SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. For detection of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/5 variants, the sensitivity of the established assay using crRNA-1 and crRNA-2 was 97.83% and 100% with specificity of 100% and AUC of 0.998 and 1.000, respectively, and their concordance rate with Sanger sequencing method was 92.83% and 96.41%, respectively. CONCLUSION By combining RT-PCR and CRISPPR-Cas12a gene editing technology, we successfully developed a new method for rapid detection and identification of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/5 variants with a high sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility, which allows rapid detection and genotyping of SARS- CoV-2 variants and monitoring of the emerging variants and their dissemination.
Humans ; COVID-19 ; CRISPR-Cas Systems ; Genotype ; Reproducibility of Results ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; SARS-CoV-2/genetics* ; RNA ; COVID-19 Testing