Chitooligosaccharide prevents vascular endothelial cell apoptosis by attenuation of endoplasmic reticulum stress via suppression of oxidative stress through Nrf2-SOD1 up-regulation

CONTEXT

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress contributes to endothelium pathological conditions. Chitooligosaccharides (COS) have health benefits, but their effect on endothelial cells is unknown. We demonstrate for the first time a protective effect of COS against ER-induced endothelial cell damage.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the protective effect of COS on ER stress-induced apoptosis in endothelial cells.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Endothelial (EA.hy926) cells were pre-treated with COS (250 or 500 μg/mL) for 24 h, and then treated with 0.16 μg/mL of Tg for 24 h and compared to the untreated control. Apoptosis and necrosis were detected by Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide co-staining. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured with the DCFH₂-DA and DHE probes. The protective pathway and ER stress markers were evaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, western blot, and immunofluorescence analyses.

RESULTS

COS attenuated ER stress-induced cell death. The viability of EA.hy926 cells treated with Tg alone was 44.97 ± 1% but the COS pre-treatment increased cells viability to 74.74 ± 3.95% in the 250 μg/mL COS and 75.34 ± 2.4% in the 500 μg/mL COS treatments. Tg induced ER stress and ROS, which were associated with ER stress-mediated death. Interestingly, COS reduced ROS by upregulating nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and the oxidative enzymes, superoxide dismutase1 (SOD1) and catalase. COS also suppressed up-regulation of the ER-related apoptosis protein, CHOP induced by Tg.

CONCLUSIONS

COS protected against ER stress-induced apoptosis in endothelial cells by suppressing ROS and up-regulation Nrf2 and SOD1. These findings support the use of COS to protect endothelial cells.

Novel Composite Membranes Based on Chitosan Copolymers with Polyacrylonitrile and Polystyrene: Physicochemical Properties and Application for Pervaporation Dehydration of Tetrahydrofuran

Pervaporation has been applied for tetrahydrofuran (THF) dehydration with novel composite membranes advanced by a thin selective layer composed of chitosan (CS) modified by copolymerization with vinyl monomers, acrylonitrile (AN) and styrene, in order to improve the chemical and mechanical stability of CS-based membranes. Composite membranes were developed by depositing a thin selective layer composed of CS copolymers onto a commercially-available porous support based on aromatic polysulfonamide (UPM-20^®). The topography and morphology of the obtained materials were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). Thermal properties and stability were determined by coupled evolved gas analysis (EGA-MS). Transport properties were estimated in pervaporation dehydration of THF. The effect of operating parameters for the pervaporation dehydration of THF such as feed compositions and temperatures (295, 308 and 323 K) was evaluated. It was shown that CS modification with different vinyl monomers led to a difference in physical and transport properties. The composite membrane with the thin selective layer based on CS-PAN copolymer demonstrated optimal transport properties and exhibited the highest water content in the permeate with a reasonably high permeation flux.

Scavenging of reactive oxygen species by phenolic compound-modified maghemite nanoparticles

Maghemite (γ-Fe₂O₃) nanoparticles obtained through co-precipitation and oxidation were coated with heparin (Hep) to yield γ-Fe₂O₃@Hep, and subsequently with chitosan that was modified with different phenolic compounds, including gallic acid (CS-G), hydroquinone (CS-H), and phloroglucinol (CS-P), to yield γ-Fe₂O₃@Hep-CS-G, γ-Fe₂O₃@Hep-CS-H, and γ-Fe₂O₃@Hep-CS-P particles, respectively. Surface modification of the particles was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Magnetic measurements indicated that the polymer coating does not affect the superparamagnetic character of the iron oxide core. However, magnetic saturation decreased with increasing thickness of the polymer coating. The antioxidant properties of the nanoparticles were analyzed using a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Cellular uptake and intracellular antioxidant activity of the particles were evaluated by an iron assay and flow cytometry, respectively, using L-929 and LN-229 cells. Compared to the control, the phenolic modification significantly reduced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels to 35-56%, which was associated with a 6-8-times higher cellular uptake in L-929 cells and a 21-31-times higher cellular uptake in LN-229 cells. In contrast, γ-Fe₂O₃@Hep particles induced a 3.8-times and 14.9-times higher cellular uptake without inducing antioxidant activity. In conclusion, the high cellular uptake and the antioxidant properties associated with the phenolic moieties in the modified particles allow for a potential application in biomedical areas.

Preparation and Characterization of Facilitated Transport Membranes Composed of Chitosan-Styrene and Chitosan-Acrylonitrile Copolymers Modified by Methylimidazolium Based Ionic Liquids for CO₂ Separation from CH₄ and N₂

CO₂ separation was found to be facilitated by transport membranes based on novel chitosan (CS)-poly(styrene) (PS) and chitosan (CS)-poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) copolymer matrices doped with methylimidazolium based ionic liquids: [bmim][BF₄], [bmim][PF₆], and [bmim][Tf₂N] (IL). CS plays the role of biodegradable film former and selectivity promoter. Copolymers were prepared implementing the latest achievements in radical copolymerization with chosen monomers, which enabled the achievement of outstanding mechanical strength values for the CS-based membranes (75-104 MPa for CS-PAN and 69-75 MPa for CS-PS). Ionic liquid (IL) doping affected the surface and mechanical properties of the membranes as well as the gas separation properties. The highest CO₂ permeability 400 Barrers belongs to CS-b-PS/[bmim][BF₄]. The highest selectivity α (CO₂/N₂) = 15.5 was achieved for CS-b-PAN/[bmim][BF₄]. The operational temperature of the membranes is under 220 °C.